VICIOUS (II) : peter pan ouat

How to Fall Down

Disclaimer: Suicidal character. Summary at the bottom.

Chapter 5:

I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. The days seem to float on and on, and I've spent most of them trying to get my bearings around the island. The waterfall is an hour walk, if you know which direction to head. The shore is an hour walk in the opposite direction. I even spent a day scoping out Pan's house, which seems to have moved locations.

Which is nice. Where it used to be is a six hour walk from here, and little more than inaccessible. I'll be thankful it's closer now, once I find out where exactly closer is.

Since he hasn't been answering me when I call.

I twist my fingers around in the dirt, ripping out the thin roots of the dying plant before me. I had been trying to make it grow. Apparently I have more of a black thumb than a green one, especially when it comes to magic. Now I know not to try it in the future, at least without being taught how to do it.

This is boring, and I'm bored. Cursing myself under my breath, I head back to camp. My thick wool cloak catches on the bark of a nearby tree and I yank it free. I'm nowhere near in the mood for this.

Few boys are at the camp, and the ones that are stare at me. Their eyes pierce my skin and it takes all I have to hold myself up straight. It must be odd having a girl here. Like an invasion of their privacy. However, their eyes are an invasion of my privacy so it's not like I care about their feelings.

Harry runs up to me and grabs me by the arms. "Have you seen Robert?"

Of course I haven't seen him, I haven't seen much of anybody. His nails dig into my cloak and red cheeks bring out the bags under his eyes.

"No." I answer plainly.

"He's missing." Harry rambles on. "I noticed he was gone when I woke up, but he disappeared and after Alex and the Natives-"

"I doubt it was the Natives." I say. "Unless they are really worked up."

"You couldn't know that for sure." He interrupts, pressing on. "Pan and Felix have been dealing with them all week. They aren't happy, not since-"

"Who's been looking for Robert?" I interrupt.

"There's a search party but who knows where they've gone looking or what's happening. What's happening?"

I push past Harry. He's rambling and wild and is only going to slow me down. We don't need a repeat of Felix's abduction. Or mine, for that matter. I doubt they picked up Robert from the camp though, that's not their style. Alex would've heard a struggle, the boy's hearing is phenomenal.

"Which tents his?" I call back to Harry.

He runs up to me, leading me into his tent. I enter, noticing three hammocks strewn around. I paw through them, moving the fabric around, flipping them over and checking beneath them.

Beneath the last hammock, there are words scratched into the soil. Thin letters, I can barely make them out.

We all fall down. To James.

I drop the hammock, backing up. James is dead. The line from that poem, the black plague and death. Robert must like history as much as I do, if he knows the meaning.

I know the meaning, and it doesn't look good.

"We all fall down." Harry repeats. "You, you don't think-"

"The highest thing near here is the falls, isn't it?" I ask, frozen in my place.

Harry doesn't answer me, instead turning off and sprinting.