The Lost Boy

Chapter 6

"Rooster!" 

The voice was far away, echoing strangely inside his head. It started faint, but grew steadily louder, until it finally broke through the shell encasing his consciousness in his memory. 

"ROOSTER!" 

"Huh?!" A shudder and suddenly he was back in the jungle again, his vision slightly dazzled by the green that broke through the darkness from the memory. Codfish was shaking his shoulder, while the pixie, Tinker Bell, was hovering overhead, her expression concerned. 

"You alright, Roost?" Codfish asked, gripping Rooster's shoulder as Rooster's legs began to tremble and he leaned into his friend. 

"Yeah..." Rooster said, looking up at Tinker Bell as he regained his balance and straightened. "Yeah, I'm alright." 

Tinker Bell met his gaze, her eyes giving away her disbelief and shock at the events that had unfolded.

"What happ'ned?" Rooster asked, looking away from the pixie to focus on his friend's face. 

"You got all stiff," Codfish explained, his expression perplexed. "Your eyes got all far away and you got unsteady. I had to keep you standin'." 

Rooster fell silent, looking away from Codfish to stare at the dirt, then he glanced up at Tinker Bell as she descended through the air until she was about eye-level with him. 

"Who are you?" the fairy asked, her eyes searching his face as her voice rose with confusion and disbelief. 

"I'm called Rooster," he answered. "And this is Codfish." 

"Rooster? Codfish?" Tinker Bell cocked her head to the side and placed a hand just below her throat. "Those aren't the kind of names I imagined humans would have...do all humans have names like you?" 

Rooster shrugged. "Nah. Just us orphans." 

"Orphans?" 

"Kids without parents. Like me 'nd Codfish 'nd the other boys..." He swallowed a lump growing in his throat and glanced sideways at Codfish, who looked away.

"How'd you get here?" Tinker Bell asked, politely overlooking their discomfort. 

"Shipwreck," Rooster explained. "Somehow...we survived and ended up 'ere. Dunno how, but-" 

"Tailfins," Tinker Bell hissed under her breath. Or, at least, what he thought she said. 

"Tail...fins?" Rooster asked, while Codfish continued to look frustrated and bewildered. 

"Nothing," Tinker Bell said, waving a dainty hand. "Forget I said that. But I just can't believe you made it here. No humans have been here in centuries." 

"What?" Rooster and Codfish said together, Rooster in shock and Codfish in despairing confusion. 

"It's not exactly my place to explain..." Tinker Bell said, twisting her fingers together. "I could take you to someone who can? Maybe they can help." 

"Uh..." Rooster looked at Codfish, who snorted in irritation. 

"I can't understand her, 'member?" he snapped. "Don't look at me for answers, 'cause I can't give 'em."

"Want her to take us to someone who can?" Rooster offered. 

Codfish did a double take and looked at Tinker Bell, who nodded. Then Codfish turned back to Rooster and whispered, "You sure we can trust this..." He cleared his throat, clearly stopping himself from making the mistake of calling Tinker Bell a thing again. "This fairy?"