You know those moments when you understand what is said but the words still seem to be sinking in? All you can do is gape at the source of the words before what came out of their mouth finally sinks itself into your mind and latches itself there. I was having one of those moments.

"W-What?" I stammered.

"Ursula escaped," the woman repeated, as if I didn't understand the first time.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I know. But...how? How did she get out?"

"That's what we can't figure out." Zeke pursed his lips.

"She's a villain," one of the men said. "Isn't it obvious that she used her abilities?"

"Should we close down ComplexDisney?" I asked. Any thought of my mother and sister waiting patiently for me was forgotten as I watched the four of them intently.

"No way!" the woman said, throwing her brown hair over her shoulder. "The founders won't let us even if we wanted to. Besides, she doesn't seem to be in ComplexDisney anymore."

"So you're saying she is out...out in the world?" My heart was thumping fiercely.

Zeke nodded his head, his eyes shut as if he was in deep thought. I felt a tinge of irritation strum inside of me at this piece of news and the fact that even though it was a dangerous situation, people would still be walking around the parks freely - like nothing had happened. To them, it hadn't. Not until they found Ursula's empty exhibit.

"Excuses will have to be made for Ursula's absence as we work through this little, erh, dilemma," the taller man stated confidently. "I'm sure she'll be found within hours."

That was a complete lie. Didn't Ursula disguise herself as a lady in the movie? She could surely do that now if she found what she needed. And, if she did change her form, there was no certain way we would be able to identify her. I rubbed my forehead. Clearly, if this breakout hadn't swayed Stermin and Ykell into closing down the park, nothing would People that want money do the most irrational things.

"Gianna," Mom called from where she and my sister waited next to Cruella De Vil's exhibit.

I pretended to not notice the cold stare Cruella was giving the back of their heads. "Yeah, I know. Not yet, Mom."

Zeke's gaze followed mine and he watched my mother and sister for a moment. If he was gawking because my mother was disabled, he was going to get a flurry of colorful blurs matched to a girl named Gianna coming his way. The other three workers were murmuring between one another. I glared at Zeke as he looked back at me. "You have a nice family."

Taken by surprise, I stumbled over words to return. "Uh, yeah...I mean sure, thank you...I mean thanks. Thank you."

He offered a slight smile before letting his shoulders sag. All of the chaos must have really been weighing him down. I hadn't been there long so I couldn't expect to understand all of the things bound to happen, but I got the picture of how severe things could turn out.

"Let me talk to the founders," I finally said shortly, allowing them to give me looks of disbelief.

"Not likely," Zeke said. "Last time was bad enough."

"I was in there less than three minutes! It wasn't that bad."

"You're banned from their office."

I blinked. What? Banned? How am I banned? "They wanted our opinions!"

The three workers shifted uncomfortably. Zeke glanced at them and nodded his head sharply; indicating that they could leave. I watched them briskly rush away, probably going to see what they could do about the Ursula problem. I furrowed my eyebrows at my boss as he looked back at me. "Look, one thing you should know about Stermin and Ykell is that they expect you to agree with them. Anything otherwise irritates them to the point where they do something like banning or firing."

"Well, that makes no sense," I snapped. "Why call us there if they expect us to agree? That isn't exactly what wanting an opinion means."

"They aren't the best founders, but they know what they're doing."

"No, they don't."

"Don't do this again," he warned, leaning forward so that his face was inches from mine - that way I could hear his whisper as he concealed his voice from any eavesdroppers. "Talking low about people is wrong. You should know this. If you don't like how things are here, why did you apply for the job in the first place?"

I bit my lip, casting my eyes away from his face. Why did I apply for the job? To support my family, that was why. Mom needed the money for her medical needs and therapy and Mary-Ann and I were saving for her college and a vacation for the three of us. "I got this job because I need it. I never said I wanted it."

"So, theoretically speaking, if I fired you, would you not mind? Or would you be upset because you can't set the Disney characters free?" Zeke asked, his voice even lower than before, and his face portraying dead seriousness.

His words cut into my chest. As I inhaled a sharp breath of air, it came raspy and uneven. He didn't know that I was trying to set the characters free, did he? Would he fire me if he did? Even if he didn't know, would he still fire me because of my stubbornness? He said theoretically speaking, but his tone suggested the question was quite real.

My limbs began to noticeably tremble. With every ounce of air I inhaled and exhaled, it came harder to process through my lungs.

Zeke noticed the sudden change in my body language because the serious expression faded into guilt. He grabbed my arm and led me to a bench, guiding me to sit as I clenched my hands into fists. I needed the job to support my family but setting the characters go would release me of my duty as a worker. No one else ever accepted my job applications because of my history. If I saved the Disney characters, would it doom my loved ones?

"Hey," Zeke soothed softly as I saw Mary-Ann wheeling Mom toward me, expression worried. "I'm sorry. I wasn't going to fire you."

I shook my head slightly, trying to ease the tight grip on my chest that made no release as I inhaled as deeply as I could. Zeke's warm hand gripped my arm just above my elbow as my family reached us.

Mary-Ann gave me a once-over before turning to Zeke accusingly, giving him her famous you've-done-it-now glare. "What did you do?"

"He didn't..." I started, my voice raspy. "Just an-another panic attack."

"Because he did something," Mary-Ann snapped, her tone wound up with accusation.

I shook my head again as Mom placed her hand on my knee. "Just breathe, Gianna. We're going to go home."

Mary-Ann nodded in agreement and moved to help me up. She didn't seem to have the slightest bit of disappointment for leaving as her little sister attitude kicked in. I liked to think she got her fierce and stubborn attitude from me, but I doubt it worked that way. She probably got it from Dad. He was the wild, stubborn one. Both his daughters just happened to inherit it.

"Let me help," Zeke said, standing up from his kneeling position. He looked regretful as he watched my panic attack ensue. It wasn't him. I had random panic attacks. This one happened to be triggered at the perfect moment.

"No!" Mary-Ann said, scowling at him as I leaned against her just enough that I didn't have to focus solely on balancing on my legs as I egged the attack to pass over.

Mom noticed Zeke's guilt and spoke up. "It isn't you, dear. She was born with random panic attacks. After having to be in NICU for her first two months with severe breathing problems, the panic attacks aroused at the age of two-years-old. The doctors say it's just because of the way everything went at her birth and how her body didn't accept it properly. The slightest thing can trigger it, and it doesn't have to be something scary either."

I hated how she spoke like I couldn't hear, but that was my mom for you. She liked to give explanations for things others didn't understand. I let out a small cough as the slightest sensation of burning started up in my lungs. Dots specked my vision and danced around merrily, urging me to allow them all to consume me. Panic flared in my chest. I'm going to die. Mary-Ann studied my face. "You okay, sis?"

"Yeah," I rasped, noticing the paleness to my skin. Breathe, breathe, breathe.

Just as Zeke began moving to help, whilst ignoring my sister's objections, the air came more easily. The fear seeped away. I inhaled slowly and sighed in relief, allowing my trembling arms and legs to relax into a comfortable position that allowed them to rest just for a moment. Mom rubbed my back from her position down in her wheelchair.

"Okay," I said slowly, my voice a tad bit raspy. Tears blurred my vision. I was a little winded, but receiving oxygen correctly. "I'm okay."

"We're still leaving," Mom said firmly.

But I need to help with the Ursula situation-

"If you need a couple of days off, you can have it," Zeke said, rubbing his elbow awkwardly.

"Yes, she will take it," Mary-Ann replied, clearly still believing that he somehow caused it. I could already picture her at home demanding an explanation and permission to beat my supervisor up.

"No," I quickly intervened. "I can still work."

"You sure?" Zeke and Mom asked at the same time.

"Yeah, I...I'm okay now. I promise. Besides, I have to help catch...I need to be here to help out."

Mary-Ann looked between Zeke and I before sighing and releasing my waist where she had her arm wrapped around to help keep me balanced. "Fine. But if he does anything, tell me and I will be here to beat the harsh words, actions, and thoughts right out of him."

I groaned and opened my mouth to speak. She was one reason I got fired. She really hated seeing me upset or hurt, so if she found a source of my pain, she attacked it. It was an automatic mechanism inside of her that, unfortunately, couldn't be switched off.

Zeke spoke before I could, a humorous expression on his face. "Oh, I think Gianna could beat me up just as badly as you."

Mary-Ann nodded in agreement. "She sure can. I hit her boss in the face once because he made a rude remark when she had to take me to work with her one day, and when her boss smacked me across the face in response, I got to cheer Gianna on as she broke his nose and a thumb."

Zeke did a double take, his mouth dropping open slightly as he looked at me in disbelief. "You broke his nose and thumb?"

"Well, it was his nose and pinky, but yes, I did," I answered nervously.

"Well then..." he said, masking his shocked expression. "I'll make a mental note never to get on your bad side."

He already had though. Saying that I needed to just listen to the founders, and saying we couldn't be friends because of our rankings, was still rubbing me badly, causing a sting to grow inside of my chest. I just pushed it away because Zeke was still a nice guy and breaking his nose would ruin his handsome, magazine cover worthy face.

No. I'm kidding. I just don't want to get fired again.

"We need to go," Mom apologized. "Come on, girls. Ice cream on the way home?"

•~•~•~•~•

My sister Animal-Lover05 used to have panic attacks and it scared the crap out of me. Do any of you have - or know someone who has - panic attacks?

Since this is a Disney book, here's a picture from 2017 of the shirt I wore when writing this chapter at the time. It used to be my mom's and I still own and wear it often.

WHY IS IT SIDEWAYS?! I CAN'T FIX IT!! 😣

#DisneyFanAllTheWay
#SupportTheWoundedPeterPan

It says "I'm so fly, I Neverland." 😌