Neverland

Chapter 12

Ok, short update, but I've been trying to get it up as soon as I could. Thanks for waiting! love you guys!

The Cave was absolutely deserted.

As I looked around, I realized that I was wrong.

The unmoving bodies of Felix, Dan, and the poor kid that I still couldn’t remember the name of were scattered across the edges of the cave.

In the blink of an eye, Peter was at Felix’s side, the worry on his face was clear as he checked for a pulse. I relaxed as I watched his face fill with relief, but as he looked around, he seemed to realize what I had just begun to, and rage took its place.

Across the room, the Adam kid stirred.

Peter strode across, and I felt bad for the kid, seeing as he was about to get the full blunt of Peter’s anger. It wasn’t his fault he woke up first.

“Aidan, what happened?” He asked fiercely the moment the kid’s eyes opened.

Aidan! I thought, that’s his name!

He blinked in confusion, before looking around the room in fear and shock, “I- I don’t know…” he stammered, “One minute we were standing there guarding them, and next thing I knew we were flying through the air. I… I think Felix got the full blast of whatever it was, he hit the wall first.” Aidan spoke quickly, and I could tell he was afraid.

“What do you mean whatever it was?” asked Peter, seething.

“I- I don’t know! It looked like magic, but none of us sensed anything magical about her!

“Oh my God,” he said putting his head in his hands, “Of course! How could I have not noticed?” He looked as if he were having a mental breakdown. “The Perfume!” He gasped, “God, the perfume!” He looked me in the eye, “Didn’t you notice? The girl always smelled like perfume.” I nodded slowly. I had noticed, but I hadn’t thought much of it. I simply assumed she was one of those girls who wore perfume wherever they went. She wouldn’t have been the first girl like that I’d met. “It wasn’t perfume,” sighed Peter, “It was magic. Magic can’t be hidden, but a cast like that could cause you to overlook it. I knew  something was off about her! I had that little nagging feeling in the back of my head but I couldn’t figure it out!” I put my hand on his arm, “Peter, it’s ok,” I said, trying to calm him down. Where was the boy I had just been talking to? “No, Kate. It’s not ok. Don’t you see? They’re gone. They. Are. Gone. Who knows where they could be?” “You mean, you don’t-“ “No, Kate. I can’t see where they are. I can’t feel them on the island, but I didn’t feel them leave, either. I have absolutely no idea.” He was seething, and it scared me. “I’m- I’m sorry,” I stuttered, backing up slightly. “Yes. You should be.” He hissed, “If it weren’t for you, they’d be dead, and we wouldn’t have this mess.” Oh, no. He did not just blame this whole thing on me. “Excuse me?” I asked in disbelief, “If the ‘Oh, So Mighty Peter Pan’ would have just paid a little more attention to what was going on instead of being so damn cocky all the time, then maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation right now!” I shouted back. The look he gave me could cut through diamonds, but I managed to hold my ground. “I don’t even see why it matters,” I continued, “They’re gone. So what? At least it’s over!”

At this point he did the one thing I was least expecting him to do.

He laughed.

“Over?” he scoffed, “you think this is over?” “I- I…” I was stuttered, uncomprehending. “This is far from over, Kate. Whatever they wanted, you can bet they got it. They’ll be back. I don’t know when, but they will be back.”

“You know,” I started, stepping towards him, “You think you’re so-” I stumbled forwards, pain shooting up my spine. I had moved too quickly considering my wound. I tried to get up from the ground, but the world around me spun, and I fell back down. A strange numbness began to flow through my body, and my arms and legs tingled. Peter rushed to me. The anger in his face had disappeared, and fear had taken its place.

Keeling next to me, he looked up at the others, “Not a word of this gets out to the others. Do you hear me? Not. A. Word.” He picked me up and turned on his heel, walking briskly out of the cave as the others followed closely.

Peter’s POV

I lay on the ground of my cot, forcing Kate to take the cot. There was no way she was going back to her treehouse. Not tonight. I didn’t know if they were still out there, and she was in no condition to be on her own.

I needed rest, but it just wouldn’t come. Sloane’s insane grin haunted me every time I closed my eyes. Whatever she came here for, she got it, and I couldn’t help but worry what that would mean for me. I listened to Kate’s breathing, and thought of the rush of emotions that had overtaken me as I watched her being stabbed. Nothing else mattered in that moment. I didn’t care about Sloane or the others. All that mattered was Kate. What scared me was that in that moment, she mattered more to me than myself. The thought was absolutely terrifying.

Listening to her breath, however, I managed eventually to fall into a long, and for once dreamless sleep.

The next morning was filled with questions from the other Lost Boys, most of which went unanswered.

Socks came up to me, and tugged on my sleeve. He was always one of the braver ones of the group, despite his young appearance. “Where’s Kate?” he asked quietly, and I looked around. I had noticed that she didn’t show up earlier, but was surprised to see that she still hadn’t shown. I looked down at him, “She’s resting. She was hurt yesterday.” His eyes widened, “Is she ok?” I nodded, “Yeah, she’ll be fine.” He looked nervous as he walked away, and I couldn’t help but worry a bit myself.

I spent the time worrying about Kate. She was usually one of the first ones up, but it was near noon, and she still hadn’t surfaced. Finally giving in, I hurried over to the tent to check on her.

I found her lying on the bed in a tank top. A thin layer of sweat glistened on her forehead, and her skin had a sickly gray tint to it. She shivered feverishly as she slept, and I sat by her side, feeling her forehead. She was burning up.

“Dan!” I called from the tent. I saw him get up from the edge of the fire pit and jog towards me, a look of concern on his face. “It’s Kate,” I said, “I think her wound must have been infected or something.”

Dan studied her and nodded, “We need to turn her over so I can take a look at the wound.”

Lifting her gently,  I turned her onto her stomach, and she murmured something, but did not wake. I watched nervously as Dan rolled up the back of the tank top and unwrapped the bandage. The wound was yellow and oozing, and the skin surrounding it was an unhealthy shade of green. I winced at the sight of it, and held onto Kate’s limp hand.

“This isn’t just an infection,” he said quietly.

“This is poison.”

Sorry for such a short update, but I mean, come on. That was the perfect place to end it. But really, guys thanks for being so patient! I literally haven't had any time to write until now, and I'm already working on the next update that should be up tomorrow. Y'all are literally the best, and I hope you guys like it!

Love you guys! -Kat :))