Peter by day, Pan by night

Chapter 27

        The moon is full. And the boys are coming. 

        Yells ring out through the forest. I gasp and sit up. How can it already be midnight? I look at the fire. It is dead, my dress gone forever.

        How could I have fallen asleep? Adrenaline pours through me. Maybe this is a mistake. I should have left while I still had the chance.

        The hooded figures scream as they step out from the shadows. They raise their weapons, moonlight glinting off their blades.

        I only have a dagger and I can’t risk them seeing it. I am here to fight, but not with weapons yet. Fear pounds in my head as the lost boys run towards me.

        They can see me. I am not longer safe. The fairy dust shatters as they break through. Whoops fill the air. One of them leaps to my side and waves a dagger above his head. His hood falls back, baring red curls.

        “Bert?” I slump forward. Every boy carries a weapon and I am alone. Tigerlily told me Peter wouldn’t hurt me, but I don’t see him.

        I think of the daggers tucked in his belt. Why carry knives if you aren’t going to use them? Pain lashes through me as my fingers skip over the lump under my shirt.

        I carry a dagger. But I still haven’t decided if I am going to use it.

        The tallest lost boy strides toward me. The moonlight traces over his scar. His cold eyes flicker over me.

        “Ah, our brave Wendy.”

        One of them runs up, “Felix, it is empty!”

        Bert folds his arms. “No one is here except for…” The lost boys form a circle around me. Where is Peter Pan? I twist my hands around the bag on the ground. I wish I could hide it from their eyes.

        “What do you have there?” Daine nudges the bag with his foot. He bares his teeth. “Anything interesting?”

        I gulp. “N-no.” Just a green hat that doesn’t belong to me and a few odds and ends.

        “Where are the Indians?” Bert cracks his knuckles one by one. How can these boys be the same ones who used to make me laugh?

        I skim the crowd, searching for Kelvin. Which one is he? By now his old self will have died. The darkness has won.

        “Looking for me?” Peter flies down.

        “No, actually.”

        He frowns and skips his gaze over the tents. “What is going on?”

        Felix lifts his head. “No one’s here.”

        “That’s impossible!” Peter swings his glare toward me. “Wendy…what have you done?”

        I say nothing. He doesn’t know about the fairies or the hidden dagger. He doesn’t know about the bear in my bag or the memories running through my mind. He can no longer hear my thoughts.

        For the first time, he isn’t one step ahead-he’s two behind.

        Be brave. Be strong.

        I take a deep breath and open my mouth, but nothing comes out. What had I planned to say? Words will not fix this. Nothing will.

        Peter flicks his hand and green fire engulfs the teepee next to me. Tigerlily’s teepee.

        I scramble away from the angry flames, my heart pounding in my throat. “Peter! Calm down.” The name slips from me before I can remember I am not supposed to call him that anymore.

        This is Pan. I chant silently, the words burning through my mind. Peter is no more.

        “What have you done?” Peter growls again. He raises his hand and I flinch.

        I’m not brave, I’m terrified.

        Peter doesn’t hit me. He doesn’t look at me.

        Felix rubs his hands together. “Sir…The Indians are gone.”

        “You said that already!” Peter whirls on his second in command.

        “What I mean is, the darkness has won. The moon has stopped moving.” He swings his scythe over his shoulder. “We have won.”

        The lost boys cry out, their laughter overlapping with their shouts. I fidget next to the fire. What about me? When will Peter attack my world? How long do I have to change his mind? It’s a hopeless mission, but it’s already too late to turn back.

        “Come on boys,” Peter grins. “We’ve got work to do.”

        They start to return to the forest, kicking down teepees while they go. The clearing empties, leaving only Peter Pan and Felix and one lost girl.

        Peter starts to walk away.

        “Wait! What about me?”

        He doesn’t turn around. “You have sealed your fate. There is no place for you to run.” With those words he strolls back into the woods.

        Felix fingers the hook-like curve of his scythe. “Why did you stay behind? Did the fairies send you back?”

        “How did you know I left Neverland?” I stand up and sling my bag over my shoulder.

        He rolls his eyes. “Your outfit was made with fairy magic.” Something about his voice changes. It becomes older, darker. “And how is our dear fairy queen?”

        “Queen Marie is fine.” I fold my arms. Felix knows more than he’d admit. I don’t trust him at all.

        “Marie?” He narrows his eyes. “Interesting...”

        “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I didn’t return for our confusing conversations. I have work of my own to do.” A plan to make. A world to save.

        Felix nods and steps away from me. “It’s hopeless, you know. He’ll never change. Peter isn’t under the curse, he is the curse.”

        My hope trembles as I walk past him. “That’s not true.” But what if it is?

        “See you around, Wendy Moira Angela Darling.”

        I look back, but he is gone. How did he know my name? How does he seem to know more than Peter Pan?

        Who is Felix, really?