The Dark Days

Twelve.

When I wake up I have a killer headache. I instantly use my hands to search my head for injuries. Finding none, I sit up and slide my legs to the floor, immediately noticing that the floor under my feet is concrete, no longer wood. Then I notice that my hands are no longer tied together, but now cuffed together. The cot I'm on is small, almost too short for me, and it's not very comfortable. Then I see bars, lots of them, and a desk directly across from me.

"Oh, good, you're up," says a female voice, startling me. I see a tall, good-looking blonde woman with a sheriff's badge on her belt standing just a few feet away from the door. She smiles apologetically and comes to the front of the cell. "Just wondering if you're hungry." My stomach growls, low enough that she doesn't hear, but loud enough to sound like an animal. I nod apprehensively. "Good," she says, and holds a piece of paper between the bars. "This is a menu from the local diner. You can take a look at it if you want."

Slowly I move to the end of the cot and take the paper from her, going back to the middle immediately after. I take my time to read the menu and then go back to the foot of the cot. "Can I have the number six, please? No tomatoes."

The woman nods as she takes the paper from me. "Just sit tight," she tells me. "This'll only take me a few minutes. I'll be right back. Nothing funny, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," I say, and she gives me a strange look before leaving.

I'm still a little tired, so I lay down on the cot and curl up, closing my eyes. Not five seconds later I hear light footsteps. I keep my eyes closed and pretend that I'm asleep.

"Mom?" says a young, familiar voice. The footsteps stop and I can feel eyes on me.

Oh my gosh, is that who I think it is? I think as I open one eye. The boy standing in front of my cell stares at me with a weird look. I open my other eye and sit up.

"Who're you?" he asks, still giving me the weird look. "Have I seen you before? I'm Henry." He goes to offer his hand, but stops himself.

"Kasey," I say, moving away from him a little. "I'm Kasey. And no, I don't think I've ever seen you before."

He studies me curiously. "That's strange. I swear I've seen you somewhere. Weird, huh?"

I smile a little and then look away, messing with the cuffs around my wrists.

"Why're you in here, anyways?" he asks, sitting down cross-legged in front of the cell. "Did you steal something?"

"What? No, I didn't steal anything."

"So why are you in here?"

"Look, kid, that blonde lady will be back any minute, and I'm sure she wouldn't want you in here talking to me -"

"You mean my mom?" he asks, cutting me off. "Her name is Emma. And besides, I'm in here all the time. She won't care."

"It doesn't matter," I say, trying not to snap. "I seriously doubt she'll be very happy if she finds out -"

I hear a car pull up outside and turn towards the sound even though I know I can't see anything. I hear the door slam open and slide to the very end of the cot, as far away from Henry as I can be. Something about the sound of pounding heels at a fast pace makes me nervous to be close to him.

"Sheriff Swan!" barks an angry female voice right before a short, black-haired woman with shoulder-length hair and a big purse appears. She stops when she sees me.

Then she sees Henry. Sitting right in front of my cell.

"Henry?!" she demands, stomping over to him as he stands up and grabbing his arm. "What are you dong here?!"

"I was just waiting for Emma -"

"I told you to stay away from here," she says angrily, and then looks over at me. "Were you talking to him?"

I blink a few times and open my mouth to respond, but she cuts me off. "Don't talk to my son," she orders, and then looks back at Henry. "Go, Henry, or you'll be late for school." She releases his arm and he goes to the door, stopping right before he disappears around the corner. He stares at me for a second before continuing on his way. "You," the woman snaps, making me look at her. "Don't ever talk to my son again. I know you're with Pan, and I know you helped him hurt my son, and I'm telling you right now -"

"Excuse me," I say, cutting her off, "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about." I stand from my cot. "I didn't do anything to harm your son, I never would. Pan switched bodies with him before I even came here, and I was locked in a box when he switched back, thank you very much." I sit back down and cross my legs, looking at the wall across from me.

The woman only stares, looking offended and disgusted. "Well I'll have you know, young lady, that I am the mayor of this town and you do not want to be on my bad side." She leans in a little. "It would be very bad for you."

"By the way you talk, your bad side seems to be the only side you have," I shoot back, and then continue staring at the wall. "Now if you don't mind, Madame Mayor, I'm quite tired of people who think they're above everyone else, so could you please leave me alone?"

The woman now looks shocked and bewildered. She huffs out an offended breath and then stomps away, the sound of her heels giving me a headache. I put my head in my hands, groaning as I do so. "Oh, thank goodness. Those heels were driving nails into my brain."

"Personally, I've never liked heels," says a familiar British accent. "Much too loud and noisy."

I instantly straighten and locate the source of the voice. Peter leans against the door of my cell, softly smirking. I stand and he straightens, holding his arms out to me. I run into his chest and he picks me up, twirling me around. He kisses me deeply and I can't stop myself from crying. I bury my head into Peter's chest as I cry, annoyed that I can't wrap my arms around his neck. "Peter, I'm so scared, I don't know what's happening. What's going on?"

"Shh, baby," he says, kissing my hair. "Don't stress yourself so much. I promise you won't be in here for very long."

I nod and he kisses my head again. I pull back and he kisses me softly, our lips moving slowly.

Suddenly there's footsteps in the hall and Peter breaks away, drying my face and kissing me again quickly before sitting me back on the cot and disappearing.

"Hey, I'm back," says the blonde woman as she enters with a big white paper bag. "Number six with no tomatoes," she says, stuffing the bag through the bars and holding it out for me.

I smile and thank her as I take it from her, going back to my cot and sitting back down. I barely keep my tears in as I eat and pray that Peter will get me out.