The Shadow (Second Book in the Neverland Bound Series)

Chapter 1 (Peter)

"Catherine!" I yell as her body crumples to the ground.  I can feel the strength returning to my body so I use it to push myself from the floor and run over to her.  I am just a couple strides from her when I am once again blinded by that infernal light that always bursts from that infernal hourglass whenever this infernal Shift has to occur.

As soon as it tones down, I dash over to her and pull her into my arms.  "Catherine!  Catherine!  Can you hear me?" I ask, lightly slapping her cheek.  I get no response and I can feel her body growing weaker by the minute.  "Please," I whisper, bringing my face closer to hers.  "Don't leave me."

We stay like that for a while until one of the boys speaks up awkwardly from behind me, "Umm... Peter?"

"What?" I ask, turning to find John standing hesitantly behind me.

"Uh...  Well, I think I might know how to save her," he says quietly.

"What is it?  How?" I ask desperately, and he jumps.

He gulps nervously and continues, "Well, you see, I read somewhere that if someone is bound to another through True Love then if one is at the brink of death, the other one can save them by splitting their heart in two."

I must not have looked convinced because he hurried to explain, "The love they share would be enough to sustain both of them, even if the heart is half the usual size."

I look at Cat's paling features and nod.  "Alright, I'll try it," I state and lay her gently back onto the floor.  Curly quickly hurries over and props her head up on his legs and I nod to him silently.

I then plunge my hand into my chest, feeling the familiar pain, and withdraw my heart from its resting place.  It pulses lightly in my hands as its true dark color is exposed, displaying how many wrong doings I have performed in my life, most of which I'm not proud of.  I place one hand on either side of the heart and gradually twist and pull the two halves apart.  The pain of this act is excruciating, but I don't care.  I deserve it for making Cat go through this.

I put my half back into my chest and then hold hers over her own.  I hold my breath, pray that this works, and gradually lower the halved heart into its new rightful place.  We all watch her for any sign of change, but her condition only seems to worsen.

"Come on, Catey.  Come on," Curly whispers from where he sits behind her head.

After it becomes apparent that nothing about her is changing, I can feel my heart begin to sink.  I did this.  Catherine is gone and it's entirely my fault.  The Lost Boys seem to have come to the same conclusion as I have that she is gone because they all bow their heads in sorrow.

I grit my teeth in an attempt to keep my emotions in check because I know there is no fixing this.  I slowly remove my hand from her chest, and miraculously, as soon as I do, the color floods back to her cheeks and I smile broadly at the quick recovery.  Her thick lashes then flutter open I am able to look into her beautiful blue eyes once again full of life.  The boys whoop and holler in celebration when they see that she's alright and she smiles at me and whispers, "Peter..."

"Yes love, I'm here," I say and she slowly frowns.  "What's wrong, love?" I ask, concerned.

"Am I...  I mean, are you... are we...?"

"Are we what?" I prompt.

"Are we dead?" she asks and I can't help but smile.

"No, love.  Thanks to you and John, we are both very much alive," I say and she looks at me confused.  I chuckle at her and continue, "I'll explain everything later."

She shrugs and nods.  The smile returns to her face and she pushes herself up onto her elbows.  Before either of us can say another word, the boys begin to crowd around her, all speaking excitedly.  Curly hugs her tightly and she laughs lightly at all of their antics.

I back up and give them some space.  After a while, Cat separates herself from the boys and walks over to me.  She takes my hand in hers and says, "Let's go home."

I smile broadly at her and lace my fingers through hers.  "Yes, I think that is a great idea," I say and we take to the air.

"Hold on," she says, tugging lightly on my hand.  She then turns and waves her hand over the boys and they rise up off the floor as well.  Turning back to me, she says, "Now we can go," and we all begin our flight back to camp.

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Later that night, after all the boys have returned to their own tents, I find myself and Cat alone in mine.  She sits on a stool and slowly brushes out her hair, eyes closed, a small smile gracing her lips.  As I lay comfortably on my bed, I examine her fully and thank my lucky stars that I still have her here with me despite everything we've been through these past few weeks.

Her eyes open and lock with mine and I can see a small blush form on her cheeks.  She places the brush delicately on the table in front of her and walks over to sit next to me.  I gently pull her into my embrace and she snuggles close to my chest.  I lower my head onto hers and we sigh in unison, causing her to giggle.

We lay like that in silence for a long time and just when I think she has fallen asleep, she speaks up.  "Peter?" she asks.

"Hmm?" I return tiredly.

She takes a deep breath and begins, "How did I...  What I really should ask is how am I-"

"Alive?" I say finishing her thought for her and she nods.  I tell her about John's suggestion to split my heart between the two of us and when I finish, she smiles up at me with those beautifully innocent blue eyes.

"Thank you, Peter," she says.

"Hey, that's supposed to be my line considering that it was you who saved me in the first place and made it possible for me to save you.  And besides, it's John you should be thanking.  He came up with the idea," I counter and she rolls her eyes.

"Well either way, you still saved my life," she says and kisses my cheek.

"Whatever you say, love," I say, and then kiss her full on the mouth.

She gasps silently at the suddenness of the kiss, but then slowly wraps her arms around my neck, returning it.  When I pull back, she sighs softly and I can't help but kiss her again.

"Why don't we get some sleep," I suggest, smiling softly at my beautiful Lost Girl.

"Why don't we do something else instead?" she asks slyly before kissing me soundly once again.

I'm surprised by her sudden boldness, but I don't complain as I pull her even closer to me again. Ours kisses become more heated as I feel her fingers graze the hem of my shirt. Before she can do anything more than that, however, I pull away from her slightly. She pouts at my action, a look that would normally crumble my resolution, but I can't seem to quiet the small voice at the back of my mind that keeps saying we shouldn't continue this. At least, not now.

"Come on, Cat. It's been a long day filled with too many near-death experiences for my taste. Do you mind if we go on and get some sleep? I promise I'll make it up to you some other time." I bargain.

She pauses for only a moment to think before she nods at me, snuggling up to my chest as I pull her closer. She fits perfectly in my arms, almost as if we were literally made for each other, like perfectly fitting pieces to a very complex puzzle.

"Good night, Cat," I say.

"Night, Peter," she replies as she sighs into my chest, and even if it is just for a moment, everything in the world feels absolutely perfect.