VICIOUS (II) : peter pan ouat

How to Lose the Sun

Chapter 13

There's a woman who stands in front of me. She has blonde hair and peach lips, and I feel like I should know her. She stands out against the pitch black that surrounds us, and she smiles. As she moves closer to me, the ground ripples under her feet. Are we standing on water, or some sort of fabric?

"Charlotte, it's been so long."

I think she's talking to me, but I don't know the name she says. She must think I'm this Charlotte girl.

"Charlotte, I know you don't recognise me," she tells me. "But you must listen."

I cock my head to the side, trying to decipher her face. I think I'm supposed to know her, but I don't. Every slight curve to her face feels like a distant memory. Blocked away by the fog in my mind, her image is one I can't place. Her voice is like silk, but through the muffled tunnel of my memory, it's indistinguishable.

"You must get back home." She tells me. "Your father has a message for you."

I don't answer. I don't know my father either, but that doesn't feel like it's part of the memory lapse. The more I stare at her, the more I begin to connect the words to thoughts. I feel like I know her, but the word father is not the same. I don't think I know my father. I definitely don't know Charlotte's father. Although I'm beginning to think we have the same father.

"Charlotte, please try." She asks.

I shrug, unsure of what to make of her. Something about her is very familiar. Her hair reminds me of happiness, and her rosy cheeks of hot cocoa, and her brown eyes of the fireplace at the home we used to live in.

"Mom?" I ask.

I feel a hand on mine, as the light begins to press against my eyes. The hand is warm and soft, and part of me wants to sit in silence as I feel it against mine. I can hear my own breath filling the air before I realise I'm even breathing.

I hear the buzzing of a voice above me. A few voices actually, that whisper about. Are they whispering? Or am I just having trouble hearing them?

My eyes flutter open, and I see Pan. His weight is pressed against my side, and he gets up off the bed as I open my eyes.

As I look around, I spot an angry Alex. As he makes eye contact with me, he storms out in a furry. Harry follows him out. I'm glad they've made up, or at least seem to be.

It feels like my head is a demolition site. My skull threatens to burst apart at the seams.

"What's going on?" I ask.

What's the last thing I remember? I walked into the tent, to sit with Jared. The med tent is now lit up by candles, so it must be night. How long is the gap in my memory?

"You were out." Jared's voice rings out.

He stands next to Robert, and the two have their arms crossed.

I tumble on to the ground, scrambling off into a corner. Pan has already up and disappeared, so I won't get any clarity from him. Jared's awake?

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I ask.

How long was I out? Everything has flipped upside-down, and now I'm not all that sure what's going on.

"I've got my memory back if that's what you're asking." He sits down next to me, a sad smile on his face.

That's when I notice Rufio lying on the floor next to my bed. Is he dead? I get up backing away, as I watch Robert peel him off the ground and drag him away, silently.