Forever Land

Part 12

Bella watched the empty waves for a long time, willing Wendi to magically return, but she didn't. She didn't know what to do. Wendi had trusted her, been her friend. The look of betrayal she gave her burned into her mind. She had been so angry, and now Wendi was condemned to fade away alone and afraid in the brig of a pirate ship.

Peter. She had to tell Peter; she owed Wendi that much, even if it made him hate her forever. With that she turned and fled back into the dark trees. Wendi's sad eye's and Hook's mocking laugh spurring her to run faster than than she ever had before.

She didn't pay heed to the noise she made, or the monsters she attracted, she just ran. At one point a particularly disgusting beast blocked her path, it's maw open wide as if it expected it's prey to just run right in. And to be fair what else could it's little brain conclude with Bella sprinting towards it, more monsters on her tail, and no possible means of stopping or changing course in time.

Instead, however, Bella did something quit startling to the beast, if indeed such a creature can be startled. She bared her teeth in a fierce way and let out a ferocious snarling roar that ended in a painful high note. So high was the note, that the beast snapped it's jaws closed and nearly fell over trying to clamp it's claws over it's abused ear holes. In it's distraction Bella performed a stunt she had used many times in her early days of running rampant with Peter and Rufio.

A downed log provided the perfect amount of height for her leap. She sailed through the air for only a moment before her fingers grasped the rough bark of a lower hanging branch. Her dangling feet swung up and over the beast's head before connecting again with solid ground and taking off once more. By the time the creature thought to snap at her, she was already gone, and the members of the parade she was inadvertently leading were crashing into it's side. They would be busy for some time untangling themselves.

Bella, in the meantime, had made it out of the dark trees and was making a beeline for the Hangman's tree. Her lungs already begging for reprieve, she only hoped Peter would actually be their. As luck would have it, possibly the only true piece of luck Bella had, had in a long time, Peter was at the tree. He was pouting because Wendi had told him she wanted some alone time today. His surly mood had chased everyone out of the tree, and those still nearby gave it as wide a berth as possible.

He likely would have spent the rest of the day wallowing in his misery has a sudden influx of chatter outside not drawn his curiosity. Bella had not exactly been discreet in her stampede: crashing through a game of freeze tag, nearly mowing down several young children, covered head to toe in muck, and leaving a frenzied sort of air in her wake. The children knew something was up, something bad. So as it was, word traveled throughout the island, even quicker than Bella's feet it would seem, and everyone began heading to the Hangman's Tree.

And poor Peter stepped out of the tree just in time for a jelly-legged, gasping, muck covered Bella to crash full tilt into him.

"Huggnggh."

"Pete...Pe," was all Bella managed before a coughing fit overtook her.

Peter rather unceremoniously shoved her off of himself and scrambled to the side in shock. Bella flopped like a dying fish, hacking violently. Several of the kids backed up in disgust when a glob of spittle flew flew from her lips. Peter wasn't one of them.

"Water!" He commanded, turning her on her side and rubbing her back in an attempt to sooth.

When Johnny handed him a gourd of water he sat her up and attempted to help her drink. Most just ended up splashing down the front of her. Peter sat with her for several long minutes, offering sips of water between coughs and murmuring comforting words. A sort of numbness fogged his brain and made his fingers shake. A kind of fear was creeping in that he hadn't felt in lifetimes. Questions flitted through his mind one after another. Each moment of not knowing what had happened making him all the more terrified.

By the time Bella managed to start speaking over half the children in Forever-land were present. Peter listened to her guilt and self loathing filled words with without so much as a twitch. If fact, it was as if his body had turned to stone as he stared at this...this person in his arms...his best friend in the world, as if she was a stranger.

"Peter please," Bella begged, "Peter I'm so sorry. Please. I don't know how to fix this."

Over a hundred children, yet it was nearly silent, except for little Mitchel who was sobbing into his teddy bear. Something in Peter seemed to snap, a look that could only be described as contempt crossed his face as he shoved Bella roughly away from himself and scrambled to his feet. A dozen different emotions ripped through him: sadness, anger, betrayal, heartbreak. Tears burned at the back of his throat but he couldn't let himself cry. Bella had no such problems as tears flowed freely down her face.

He finally chocked out, "How could you? How could you do that to a person? Why couldn't you just talk to me?" His voice was rising, "Instead you condemn Wendi to die alone at the hands of our greatest enemy?"

"Peter please," She sobbed, "Let me help save her. We can fix this. I have to fix this.

"No! You've done enough damage. Just stay out of the way."

Peter turned away. Completely dismissed Bella collapsed back to her knees sobbing in an ugly way. Made incredibly uncomfortable by the whole scene, most of the kids tried to pretend they couldn't see her and instead turned to Peter who was frantically trying to collect himself enough to come up with a plan. A few, particularly the ones who had been on the receiving end of Bella's spite before shot her nasty looks and murmured insults.

Peter was panicking. He knew he had to take action, yet he was frozen. He hadn't felt things like this since the lose of Rufio, but that time he had, had Bella at his side. Now he was completely alone; not even any of the found children he had last led to battle remained.

Peter. Peter. Someone seemed to be calling his name, but it was distorted, as if he were under water. A hand suddenly clapped onto his shoulder and gave him a little shake.

"Peter," The voice demanded much clearer this time, "Come on Peter your our leader so lead. What do we do?"

Peter's gaze met Johnny's steady eye's. He looked fierce, his back ramrod strait and an arm wrapped protectively around Mitchel. It was quit a sight compared to Peter's helplessness, and if it weren't for the slight quiver to his upper lip, you'd never be able to tell how upset he was. Those steady eye's were what Peter needed though. He straitened up and looked out as the crowd of worried faces and did the only thing he could think to do.

"Aurr Urr Uuuerrrr !" Head thrown back he crowed; crowed just like a rooster. "We fight!" He hollered. "We go out there, and we rescue Wendi, and we show those pirates that this is our island!" Children were beginning to cheer and call out encouragements. "We beat those pirates so good that they never dare bother us again! Who's with me!!"

All around children hooted and hollered, some even tried to crow or were making their own animal noises, and not a single one noticed that Bella had vanished once again.

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Things are getting intense! So I had a few cups of a new brand of coffee before I started this chapter and it made me a little hyper, and it somehow translated into me going into this crazy productive zone.  

I impressed myself a little bit with this chapter. I hope ya'll are impressed to.

~Michelle B.