The lost children (finished editing)

"Chapter 16; Sneaking about"

Trigger warnings: Spying, accidental animal experimentation, violence, etc.

Let me know if I should add to the list.

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In the forest, the night sky vanishes almost completely, save for only a few small fragments of stars that remain visible—like scattered pieces of a puzzle.

The air is heavy and the tension is so thick that you can cut it with a knife.

And it's so silent that you can hear even the smallest of whispers. Perhaps that's what made the death trap that is Neverland so unnerving and what made its occupants so frustrated . Like now.

"I don't get why we have to be the ones to find Harriet's dad!" Chad whined loudly, breaking the deadly silence of the forest as he ducked under a tree branch.

Evie was a few feet ahead of him cutting away at the branches and vines in their way. He desperately tried to keep up with her, not wanting to make Harriet even more mad than she was already by getting lost ."He's not our dad! Why can't she do it if it's so important to her?"

The Bluenette just sighed, hacking down yet another swirl of vines.

Chad could just tell by the way she did it that she was annoyed with him for some unfathomable reason. He didn't get a chance to comment on it, however, because the older girl spoke just as he was about to inquire about it.

"Because, Chad, she has to do damage control with Harry and fix the situation we have back at camp. Now, will you please shut up so we can find him?"

The blonde scowled at the back of his aunt's head, unhappy at how quickly she dismissed him. But he didn't comment on it, knowing it wouldn't do him any good. Instead he just questioned her—as it would annoy her enough to satisfy his own annoyance.

"What situation? Are you talking about Dude? Because if you are, that's not a situation. That's a talking dog."

Evie groaned, clearly growing more frustrated with him the more he talked.

'Good. Serves her right for dismissing me so quickly.'

He did his best to hide a smile as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Recognizing that he'd be in big trouble if she realized that he was acting this way deliberately .

"Sometimes" Evie gritted out, tightening her hold on his sword—which he had lent her so she could clear their path—before continuing "I worry about you Chad. Most times actually, because I'm starting to think that you actually don't have a brain in there."

Chad's smile slid right off his face as he sputtered indignantly "Excuse me?!—"

"You're excused" Evie said, cutting in, sounding a bit too smug for his liking. Which only made him angrier.

"I'll have you know that I do, in fact, have a brain! A very big one at that!"

Evie just moved forward, not even looking back at him. "Oh do you? Couldn't tell. I thought we were talking about Brains, not head size."

Chad halted his movements, staring at her retreating form in shock—absolutely floored by the comment. It took him a full ten seconds to realize what she was implying. And when he did realize it, he was outraged. "HEY WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"

Evie didn't stop walking— didn't even spare him a glance as she kept moving forward. Chopping through branches and vines as she threw an 'innocent' remark back at him.

"I thought you had a brain? Why don't you figure it out?" She bit back a smile as he sputtered yet again, trying desperately not to laugh as she did so .

"EVIE?!? EVIE?!"

She ignored his calls and kept moving forward.

"COMMON, THAT'S NOT FAIR! SLOW DOWN!" Chad yelped loudly as he clumsily stumbled after her. She sped up instead. "Oh you SUCK!"

The older child allowed herself to giggle at the comment. Satisfied that she managed to beat him at his own game once again. Only to freeze when she heard a couple of voices from up ahead—just as Chad caught up to her, panting.

"You *huff* fricking *huff* suck— OW! " He yelped as she elbowed him in the side, shushing him. "What was that for— OW! "

She did it again, shushing him harsher this time .

"Just. Listen. " She hissed, gesturing towards where the sound was coming from as she crept closer.

She hid behind a bush—yanking Chad down with her as she peeked over.

There was a blonde woman who looked to be about 28 in strange clothing that wasn't very lady-like talking to a man in similar strange clothing. The woman strangely looked as if the conversation physically pained her. As if she'd rather be anywhere else than where she was. Though the man didn't seem to notice that at all and kept talking.

Evie could just barely make out what they were saying.

"Listen.... just.. say.. You're right.. Henry.. all... matters.. if.. all... came from us... did all right."

"Yea, now.. get... son back."

"What are they talking about?" Chad whispered, earning him an incredulous look from Evie—who took a moment to calm herself to prevent herself from exploding at him.

"They're talking about Henry, you dolt. They're probably the ones he was talking about back at ca—" a voice cleared from behind them, causing the two small children to freeze momentarily before hesitantly turning around to discover the source of the sound. Which just so happened to be the very man they were looking for. Something they had absolutely no doubts about considering that he looked almost identical to 2 of his 3 children. Plus the leather of course.

He had the same stern and scary look on his face that Harriet often wore. And he towered over them like she did—only confirming their suspicions even further. The fact he had a similar accent when he finally did speak only cemented their belief in the conclusion further "and just who might you two be?" The two children automatically backed up, swallowing heavily. Trying not to look or feel intimidated.

It didn't work.