Lost in the Never Woods(71)
It was silent as all three continued to stare at the TV. But they really didn’t need to. Wendy knew her parents were thinking the same thing she was: The Davies boys were the same exact ages as John and Michael when they went missing. Her brothers were friends with Joel and Matthew and had known Mr. and Mrs. Davies their entire lives. And they had gone missing in the woods behind their house, just like John and Michael had.
For her parents, it must have been like watching the news from five years ago all over again.
For Wendy, it was like waking up in a nightmare.
The shadow had done this on purpose. Peter was right. It was goading her, trying to hurt her, trying to make her angry. And it was working.
“Police have set up headquarters at the northern point of the woods. They will begin searching the woods for the Davies children, as well as the other missing children and signs of the kidnapper.”
A map appeared on the screen with a dot indicating where the police were starting their search. It was almost directly on the other side of the woods from Wendy’s house.
“The search-and-rescue units will be starting north and working their way south. The police have recommended that anyone living on the outskirts of the woods lock their doors and windows when they aren’t home, and keep their children under constant supervision. Anyone willing to volunteer to help with search efforts is encouraged to call…”
They were running out of time. Wendy knew it wasn’t safe for Peter to stay in the woods anymore. What if the cops started searching and found him hiding out in the hunting shack? He would probably get arrested and detained. Wendy doubted he would be able to break out of a holding cell, especially now that he was losing his magic at such an alarming rate. And if he was locked up, they wouldn’t be able to stop the shadow and all those kids would be lost and Peter would—well, they still weren’t sure what would happen to him, but it would be bad. Very bad. Wendy’s heart clenched. She refused to take that risk. Had she made a mistake by letting him go off on his own last night?
They needed to find that tree before the woods were overrun with cops and volunteers. Now, more than ever, they were running out of time.
“I’m going to the hospital,” Wendy said abruptly. She thought her parents would be so engrossed in the news that they might not even hear her, but they both swung around to face her.
“The hospital?” Mrs. Darling asked, confused. “But you don’t volunteer on the weekends.”
“Absolutely not!” Mr. Darling fumed, eyeing Wendy as if she were completely out of her mind. “I don’t want you leaving this house, and certainly not on your own!” She could tell his jaw was clenched by the way his mustache ruffled.
They were on edge and worried.
She needed to come up with a solid excuse.
“I promised Nurse Judy I would help out,” Wendy tried to explain. “They’re short staffed in the playroom and need someone to be there all day to keep an eye on the kids.”
“No,” Mr. Darling said in a low growl.
“I’ll be in the hospital surrounded by people,” Wendy reasoned. “Nothing is going to happen to me there. I’ll even call you when I’m heading home.” What would make him agree to her being gone all day? “Not to mention, Nurse Judy will be there looking after me the whole time.”
Mr. Darling made a gruff sound through his nose but didn’t object. Both her parents respected Nurse Judy, but it was more than just that.
There was a reason she was the head nurse, and why parents trusted her with their sick and injured kids. She was a hard-ass who didn’t beat around the bush, but, most impor-tant, she protected her patients fiercely and fought tooth and nail to get the best treatment for them. Even when Wendy was hospitalized, she remembered being scared and crying alone in her room while, in the hallway, Nurse Judy’s booming voice laid into doctors when she didn’t agree with their treatment plan.
It had been under her insistence that they ease up on the sedatives and, when Wendy was overcome with fear and grief and entirely unable to pull herself out of it, it was Nurse Judy who came in and guided her through with gentle words and distractions.
When her mother and father were too deep in their own mourning—her mother spending daylight hours in bed, her father joining search parties in the woods until he could no longer stand upright—it had been Nurse Judy who stepped in to take care of Wendy.
It was a solid bond of trust, one that Wendy needed to abuse in order to see Peter and stop the shadow.
Wendy’s mother glanced at her husband. For three heartbeats, she waited as they exchanged a silent look before Mrs. Darling turned back to Wendy. “Why don’t you ask Jordan to go with you?” she suggested.
Wendy inwardly groaned. She knew her mom was trying to help her out, that her father would feel better if Jordan was with her. She was probably also suggesting it in an attempt to nudge Wendy into making up with Jordan.
Her mother’s parenting was coming at a very inconvenient time.
Mr. Darling didn’t say yes, but he also wasn’t saying no.
“Fine, I’ll ask Jordan if she’ll go with me,” Wendy conceded.
She could tell her father didn’t want to agree to it. In all honesty, she didn’t blame him. It also felt kind of nice—but mostly strange—to know that he was still being protective of her. Again, it was terrible timing. It also made lying to him harder.