Lost in the Never Woods(98)
She needed to make everything right. She needed to stop the shadow and rescue the children. She needed to save Peter. Without him, the lost kids in Neverland would stay lost. Her brothers would never be able to move on.
Wendy was terrified, but she wouldn’t give up. She would not fail John and Michael this time. Struggling to her feet, she stumbled into the bathroom. The sewing kit sat on the edge of the tub where she’d left it when she’d mended her jeans a few days ago. She snatched it up and stuffed it into her pocket.
A deep, steadying breath filled her lungs. She squeezed the acorn around her neck tight in her fist.
No matter what it took, Wendy would put an end to this nightmare. She would fight.
CHAPTER 21
Lost in the Never Woods
Wendy raced through the woods. Jumping over the fence and plunging into the trees had been like running headfirst into a whole new world. A dark one made of gnarled trees, undulating shadows, and the sounds of things she couldn’t see.
Her heart thudded an erratic rhythm, drums pounding in her veins. Branches groaned and swayed. Gusts of wind dragged cold fingers through her hair. The speed with which she threw herself through the trees was the only thing that kept her feet from tangling in gripping vines or sinking into the ground as it shifted and rolled.
The shadow’s magic seeped through the woods and unmade them, contorting them into a nightmare, and it was only growing more powerful with each step. As adrenaline surged in her veins, so did the black shapes in her peripheral vision.
They galloped and screamed, pushing in close, snapping at her heels. They swarmed as if sniffing her out, closing in like hungry beasts. They crowded her as if trying to herd her off course, but Wendy kept running, urging herself to move faster when they got too close.
It was as if the moon and stars had been blown out. Nothing looked familiar. She couldn’t tell where she was or where she was going. She had no idea if she was getting closer, or if the deteriorating woods were twisting in on themselves and running her in circles. She refused to let the movements in the corner of her eyes distract her.
Instinct was the only thing leading Wendy through the woods. They were unrecognizable, but her feet led her between trees, over fallen logs and under low-hanging branches. Her body knew the path like muscle memory, even if her mind didn’t.
Every noise slipping between the trees ran over her skin. A rattling inhale brushed the nape of her neck. An unnatural scream of a buck jolted her spine. A cacophony of screaming owls dragged cold nails across her stomach. Wendy’s breaths came in heavy pants. Her hair stuck to her lips. Her heart raced. She couldn’t turn back. She couldn’t stop. She needed to find Peter. She needed to get to the children before it was too late.
Wendy pushed herself forward and burst into a clearing. She skidded to a stop, kicking up dirt and leaves. The string tugging at her chest that had pulled her through the woods vanished, as if suddenly cut.
Looming before her stood the tree. The darkness made it look even more towering. Shadows caught in the crags like deep scars in its graying, fleshy bark.
“Wendy!”
Her chest heaved, a moment of relief like a shot through her body. “Oh my God, I found you.” The words were choked as she rushed over.
Benjamin, Ashley, Matthew, Joel, and even little Alex huddled together in some kind of cage. They were a little worse for the wear—with tousled hair, faces smudged with dirt, and grimy clothes—but they were all in one piece and alive.
“Wendy, help!” Ashley cried, cheeks red, tears spilling down her pale face.
“Please!” said Benjamin, his voice jumping with a sob as he pulled on the bars.
“Shh, shh, it’s okay. I’ll get you out of here,” Wendy croaked.
Of course, they were not normal bars. Not a normal cage. It was made of the same undulating shadow tendrils that had tried to ensnare her twice. The ones that had wrapped Peter in their binds.
Wendy gripped them in her fists and pulled hard. They had little give and pulsed against her palms like a grotesque heartbeat.
“You have to get us out!” Joel pleaded. Matthew huddled against his older brother’s side, his fingers knotted into Joel’s shirt as he wailed.
Their voices tumbled over one another, begging and pleading, except for Alex. His entire body, drowning in his large blue hoodie, quaked violently. He reached an arm out for Wendy, his tear-stained cheek pressing against a bar, trying to shove himself through. Wendy caught his tiny hand as it swiped helplessly through the air. It was cold and clammy in her palms.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she said over and over, her voice tight and betraying her own fear as she tried to console them. Crouching down, she met Alex’s wide brown eyes. “It’ll be all right. I’ll get you out,” she said, cupping Alex’s cheek in her hand. He turned his face into her palm. Sobs jerked through his tiny body.
“I’ll get you all out,” she stressed. “I just—I just—”
“We really must stop meeting like this. It’s starting to get annoying.”
The shadow sprawled out on a thick branch, one leg dangling. Its eyes were narrowed into slits as it stared down at Wendy. All traces of its earlier venomous mirth had vanished.
“Let them go,” Wendy demanded, pulling herself away from their prison. Sniffles and whimpers sounded behind her. “I won’t let you hurt them.”