“You’re sticking with me, toothpick,” he said as the little boy fought to escape his grip. Pinocchio’s hand shot into his pocket and the fairy godmother wand came out. He flicked it and it lit up like a firecracker. A blast came out that narrowly missed Puck’s foot. Unfortunately, it hit the ball of magic yarn instead. The ball let out a little yelp and smoke came out of it.
Daphne reached down and snatched the ball. “If you busted this, you’re in deep trouble.” She tried to take the magic wand from Pinocchio but he squirmed free and jumped through the portal before anyone could stop him.
At that moment, Sabrina couldn’t have cared less about him. “Just go!” she said as a tear dropped from her cheek. She followed the others through the door. The last thing Sabrina saw was the gnashing teeth of the revisers.
Sabrina found herself inside a tiny horse-drawn coach packed to its roof with children. Her group’s sudden appearance triggered a massive groan from the already crowded kids as they were shoved violently into smaller and tighter corners of the coach. Sabrina had never had claustrophobia before, but at that moment she felt trapped and unable to breathe.
“Sabrina!” Daphne’s voice cried out from somewhere in the mob.
“I’m here,” Sabrina said, choking. She tried to turn, but dozens of bodies were pressing against her. It felt like being locked inside a coffin or buried alive. She could feel panic coming on like a typhoon and her stomach was swirling uncomfortably. “Stay calm,” she told herself.
“Where are we?” the Cheshire Cat said, shoving the crowd for a little space. His efforts tumbled the children back and forth.
“And where’s Pinocchio?” Daphne asked.
“I see him,” Puck said from somewhere behind Sabrina. “He’s outside the coach, near the driver.”
Sabrina pushed against the mob of children and peered between the bars separating the coach from the front of the vehicle. She spotted a short, fat tub of a man who was wider than he was tall sitting with his back to her. His appearance was almost inhuman—more like a drawing of how a person might look than an actual person. The strange driver rode atop a buckboard and steered a team of skinny donkeys. Sitting next to him was Pinocchio.
“What story are we in?” Sabrina called out to him.
“Mine,” Pinocchio said. The smile on his face was not reassuring.
“Uh-oh,” Daphne said.
“I have to get out of here,” Sabrina said as she pulled on the bars that lined the coach. She fought desperately, letting out a terrified scream, and then everything turned a milky gray and flashed black . . .
When she woke, she saw her sister above her and a crowd of concerned faces gathered around. She was no longer in the coach. She was lying on a cold, cobblestone street.
“What happened?” she said, trying to sit up. Her eyes felt like they were rolling in their sockets, so she lay back down for a moment.
“You fainted,” Daphne said.
“Where’s Pinocchio?” she asked.
Daphne pointed down the street toward a little town. She saw a banner that read WELCOME TO TOYLAND.
Sabrina craned her neck for a better view and saw a bizarre little town lined with multicolored houses and streets littered with discarded toys. Everywhere she looked there were children running and playing without a care in the world. The biggest house on the street was under attack by an army of children dressed in tinfoil armor. A boy dressed in a king’s robes and a cardboard crown stood on the roof waving a paper sword and laughing at the approaching army. His soldiers below him were pelting them with water balloons and eggs.
“Just rest,” Daphne said.
Sabrina forced herself to her feet. “We can’t. We have to turn him over to the Editor.”
Daphne looked concerned as she took out the ball of yarn. She said Pinocchio’s name into it and set it on the ground. It popped and fizzled, but would not roll forward.
“That magic-wand blast must have fried it,” Daphne said. “I think we should leave it alone for a while—give it time to cool off.”
Sabrina frowned and took a few deep breaths. “Then we’ll do this the old-fashioned way. We should split up. Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere—take a few of the other knights. You’re in one group. Puppy, rabbit, cat, dodo—take some knights with you, too. My sister and Puck and I will stick together.” She didn’t want anyone slowing them down.
“I must protest your plan,” the White Rabbit said. “What if we do not find one another again? Any number of things could happen while we are here. One of us could become injured—or we could get lost. We would be trapped here.”
“I couldn’t care less,” Sabrina said. “We’re not babysitting you.”
Daphne raised her hands to calm the group. “Rabbit, you’re the one with the pocket watch. Meet us back here in an hour. And everyone else, do yourself a favor and don’t play with any of the kids in the town. Playing is a bad thing.”
“The words you say are insane,” Puck said. “They come out of your mouth like regular words but make no sense.”