Lost in the Never Woods(33)

“Yeah, well.” Peter scuffed his foot against the ground. “Those things are sort of part of the problem. For some reason I’m getting older—and fast.” He looked genuinely worried. Ever since Wendy had first met him the other night, she had only seen him as grinning and cocky, if a bit delusional. But now he couldn’t stand still and kept fidgeting with his hands. “My flying has gotten all messed up since my shadow left,” Peter added, gesturing to his feet.

Sure enough, while Wendy’s shadow pooled on the cement below her, there was still nothing beneath Peter, just like last night. Wendy exhaled a laugh. “This is ridiculous.”

“If we don’t find my shadow, more kids are going to go missing,” Peter blurted out impatiently.

“What?” she asked incredulously. “What are you talking about?” The pieces of the puzzle began to click into place. “Wait—do you know what happened to those missing kids?” Her hand pointed in the general direction of the rec room where, presumably, the news coverage was still rolling.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!” Peter said, throwing his hands up in frustration. “I’m the one who is supposed to find and help lost kids, like in the stories, right?” Wendy nodded. “But ever since I found you and your brothers in the woods—”

Wendy felt like she had just been slapped across her face. The casual mention of her brothers was violent and jarring. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and her heart leapt into her throat.

Apparently Peter didn’t notice, because he continued on.

“Everything has been so messed up.”

Wendy felt like she was drowning in his words. It was too much, too fast. She didn’t feel very brave anymore, and she couldn’t maintain her look of skepticism. The wave of nausea washing over her was the same one she felt every time someone mentioned her brothers. “What?” she breathed.

Peter’s face became very serious. “That day, you, John, and Michael came with me to Neverland. When everyone thought you went missing, you were with me.”

“I— How—” Wendy struggled to find words. Under the panic and confusion, she couldn’t help feeling a flicker of hope about John and Michael. “You know about John and Michael?” she asked urgently.

Peter winced and looked at the ground.

She stepped toward him, pressing him for further explanation. “Have you seen them? Do you know where they are?” Peter’s few words sparked hope, a fleeting, dangerous thing.

Just a moment ago Peter’s words had been coming out in a rush, but now he paused. “It’s a long story … It’s complicated. It would be easier if you could just remember—”

“You have to tell me,” Wendy ordered, grabbing hold of his hand. She needed answers, and she needed them now.

Peter’s ears tinged red. He took a deep breath. “Like I told you, I used to come by your house to listen to you tell stories about me. I would travel from Neverland looking for lost kids who needed my help,” he explained. “And I heard you telling my stories to your brothers once, so I listened in from outside the window—”

“Right, the super-creepy window thing,” Wendy interrupted, dropping his hand.

“I mean, yeah, but—” Peter scratched the back of his head, red blooming in his cheeks. “It was just to hear you tell stories about me! I would go back and retell them to the lost ones back at Neverland—it sounds a lot creepier than it was, I promise.”

Wendy narrowed her eyes at him.

“Anyway, we actually talked one night, when my shadow went missing for the first time.” He said it so casually. “And then, well … when you guys got lost in the woods.”

Wendy’s heart hammered, demanding to be felt. For the past five years she had been wondering what had happened to her and her brothers. For years she’d had nothing and now the answers she had been looking for had fallen out of the sky. She didn’t know if it was out of desperation, but right now she wasn’t even questioning whether or not he was telling the truth. “Do you know what happened to us?” she choked out.

Peter gave her that look. That same look everyone always gave her whenever her brothers were brought up: tipped eyebrows and a frown. The universal look of pity. She hated that look.

“Maybe we should go somewhere else and talk about this,” he said quietly.

“No, you have to tell me now!” Wendy said, grabbing hold of his hand once again. She didn’t know if she could go another second without losing her mind, let alone wait long enough to relocate.

“Okay, okay,” Peter said, motioning with his free hand for her to keep her voice down. “When I found you, you were in the middle of the woods. I—I don’t know what happened before that.” He hesitated for a moment. “But it was almost dark and you were scared, so I took you back with me to Neverland.”

“Neverland, as in the magical island in the sky, from the stories?” Wendy asked. She was still struggling to accept all of this, but, more importantly, she wanted him to tell her the rest.

Peter squinted. “I guess that’s the easiest way to describe it, yeah.”

“Why didn’t you take us home?”

Another long pause. “I … You didn’t want to go home, you wanted to go with me,” Peter said with a small shrug.