The Land Never Lost

Chapter 4

James walked into the bakery with his head hung low. From behind the counter the baker looked up. He did not say anything. He just stared intensely at the twelve year old standing shyly in the doorway. James shifted from foot to foot anxious. He would have been more at ease if Peter was standing by his side. Their partnership always worked out this way. The confident and wild Peter, winning people over with his charisma. The responsible, yet loyal James who would follow Peter into any situation. The dynamic often led James exactly where he found himself on this day, apologizing for the adventures the boys got into.

"Sir, I won't try to excuse our actions from last night. It was wrong for us to steal from you." said James.

"Where is your little buddy huh?" the baker asked.

"He didn't feel good today. I think he ate too many, um... treats. His stomach is upset. I'm here to apologize and offer any help you need today in the shop. I'll do double the work for me and my friend."

The owner grunted and tossed James a broom. He quietly got to work sweeping the shop, silently hoping that Peter would find whatever he was looking for.

In the back of the shop Peter was crouching behind a dumpster. He was looking at the brick wall hoping to see a similar hand print to last night. Peter looked around the back door. He looked on the ground around the alley. NOTHING! Peter started walking down the alleyway when he caught a glimpse of an obsidian hand that looked out of place on an otherwise sunny day. On the tire of a nearby parked car was a black hand print. Peter looked both ways down the road before he approached the car. He extended his hand to touch the print. As soon as he made contact the tire popped with a sound that echoed loudly.

Peter was instantly terrified. He was not startled by the sound, but by the feeling that overtook him. The hand print felt unnaturally hot. Peter thought that level of heat should've melted the tire. Instead it burned a feeling of pure despair into the boy's mind. He turned away from the car and ran off down the street in a full sprint.

He ran and ran until he reached a quiet, empty playground. He sat on a swing catching his breath. As soon as his breathing was back to normal he noticed dark prints spread throughout the park. The ladder leading up the slide had one. Both sides of the seesaw had prints. The jungle gym had a few hand prints spread around it. Peter almost fell off the swing. His heart started racing. His head warned him to follow his heart and run away. Unfortunately for both his heart and head, Peter's curiosity was a greater pull. Peter tentatively walked towards the slide.

Shakily he reached a hand out to the print on the ladder. Before he made contact an invisible force smashed into the slide. The slide lay in a wreck ten feet from where it originally stood. A loud pop was followed by a sudden showering of gold. Peter turned to look where the force seemingly came from. In the crowd of tall trees he saw another green flash. Peter wiped his eyes. The light was nowhere to be seen. Peter started to walk towards the woods when he was brought back to reality.

"Peter! Peter!" James was frantically running down the road that led to the park. "Peter, we have to go now!" He said while grabbing Peter by the arm.

"James? How did you find me? I just ran and ended up here." Peter said wide eyed.

"Um Captain, maybe you should take a look at the street." James stepped to the side as the road came into Peter's view. It was an absolute mess. A car's back window was shattered. A tree lay cut in half in the road. A street sign was bent at the base facing the sky as if it was telling the world to stop. A fresh pothole was visible with fragments of gravel thrown about. "We heard the tire explode and the baker rushed out to see what was going on. I was going to follow him when I noticed all this mess leading this way. I figured I should follow it. But listen, we can talk about what happened back home. The people in town were distracted by the car but they will definitely be heading this way. We have to cut through the woods and go the long way home."