by Chanda Hahn
Laying her hand over Peter’s chest wound, she breathed out the words, “I believe.”
Her hands grew warm, and she opened her eyes to see shadows glimmering and becoming corporeal. Her eyes glistened with tears as Wendy recognized her parents, George and Mary, kneeling by her, and behind them, Fox, Brittney and Candace. The room was filled with hundreds of souls bathed in a warm glow of celestial light, all of them touching each other, and touching the shadow in front until it culminated into her parent’s hands overlapping hers.
“I believe,” Wendy whispered again with passion.
“I believe,” she heard her parents say.
“I believe,” came the chorus of shadows.
“I believe.” Jax laid his hand on top of Wendy’s, his eyes focused on Peter.
“We believe,” Wendy cried out, and almost jumped when Peter’s chest began to move underneath her hands.
She screamed in delight when his green eyes opened, his cheek dimpling when he smiled. “I believe too,” he groaned and winced at the pain.
“You remember?” she asked hopefully.
“I remember everything.” He tried to sit up, and Jax extended his arm to assist him. “You saved me.” Peter reached out and cupped her cheek, pressing his forehead to hers, his lips parting as he breathed in deep. “You didn’t give up on me, even when I did.”
“I figured it was time to return the favor.” She grinned, blushing. “I will never give up on you. You promised me an espresso machine, and a puppy.”
He chuckled. “It sure doesn’t take much to make you happy.”
“All it takes is you,” she whispered, her heart quickening.
Peter sighed and pulled her in for a kiss. Their lips touched gently as they rediscovered each other, their hearts searching and finding the one that completes them. When they parted, they sighed.
Then she turned to thank her parents and the other shadows, and they waved.
“We love you,” Mary said. “Give John our love.”
“We are so proud of you.” George grinned, his arm wrapped around Mary’s waist.
Like a dial being turned down, their voices slowly muted and their bodies faded back into their shadow forms. She couldn’t help but cry as her parents blew kisses and waved goodbye.
“Thank you,” Wendy spoke, then blew a kiss and waved goodbye again. “Thank you all,” she said, addressing the other shadows. She was grateful, for whatever power allowed them to band together and save Peter.
“Can you see them?” Wendy asked in disbelief, reaching to clasp Peter’s hands in hers. Her heart ached at seeing her adoptive parents, at getting to say goodbye.
“I see them.” He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed the top of her knuckles.
“How touching,” a gravelly voice interjected. “Don’t you love unexpected reunions? Especially when they come back from the dead.”
Chapter 43
Hook stood over them, the bullet hole in his chest healed, his head cocked to the side in triumph. His gun pointed right between her eyes, before swinging it to point at Peter.
He must have panned. It’s the only way he could have survived, and he was able to see the shadows, like Wendy. But somehow he had kept his memories intact.
“How is it possible?” Jax asked.
His mouth turned up into a sinister grin, laughter rumbling loud and deep in his throat. “Fools. Such foolish little children, to think you could take on someone like me—Captain Hook. I have contingency plans for my contingency plans. We’ve spent years studying you. I own you and your abilities. I wasn’t going to pass up on eternal life. I had to try it on myself.”
Hook moaned happily. “It’s good to be alive.” He turned to Peter, tossing an empty injector pen to the ground. “You should have told me how great it feels to regenerate. Even if there are a few unfortunate side effects.”
He sucked in his breath and grasped his chest in pain. “It was worth it,” he muttered, wobbling, his hand trembling, unable to keep the gun trained at any one of them.
“Hook, something’s not right,” Jax said.
“I’m not sick, I feel great.” The veins bulged in his forehead and his face turned red, sweat beading across his brow.
“You don’t carry the PX gene,” Peter warned. “Your body won’t be able to adapt. You’re burning out.”
“I wasn’t about to let immortality slip by me,” Hook said irritably. “And it seems only the Primes lose their memories. Lucky me.” He stumbled forward, and a blister formed on his cheek, followed by another on his forehead.
“It’s not taking,” Peter said softly. “You’re going to burn out.”
“What do you know? Worthless brats. You thought you destroyed me before, but look at this place! Look what I created! No. No, you don’t get to win. I’m sick of you interfering with my plans. It’s time for you all to die.” He swung the gun between the three of them. “You might regenerate, but this one can’t,” he said, leveling the gun directly on Jax.
“No!” Wendy cried, and with a rage born of pain and too much loss, she thrust her hands into the air and called on the shadows to help her one more time. The shadow tattoos merged at her fingertips as a dark cloud rolled across the floor, gathering to encircle Hook’s feet like a moving sea.
“What’s going on?” he cried out as the shadowy waves surged and rolled, flowing like water, up to his knees to spread across the whole room.
She wasn’t done with Hook and his machinations. Her soul cried out for revenge, and Wendy heeded her cry, letting her other half take control. A dark mass weaved its way through the shadow waves and bumped Hook’s leg, startling him. It circled slowly around Hook, propelling itself with its powerful tail, just enough above the surface to display the ridges on its back.
Terrified at what was swimming within the shadows around him, Hook randomly shot at the black mass, missing the morphling that was hunting him in the fog. Wherever he ran, the waves followed him, until he climbed up on a table to get out of the darkness.
“Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock,” Wendy chanted. “Your time is running out, Captain. It’s time for you to leave.” She raised her arms and slapped her palms together as a giant crocodile sprang out of the shadows behind Hook, snapped him between his jaws, and dragged him into the shadowy sea.
Chapter 44
“Where did he go?” Jax asked, spinning in a circle, looking for signs of Hook.
“Where the shadows live,” Wendy answered. “He may or may not find a way out, if he indeed can live forever. But I wouldn’t count on it being anytime soon.”
“That’s my girl!” Peter crowed, picking her up and spinning her around. Wendy’s laughter filled the room as they flew into the air. Their spinning slowed as they floated high in the underground room, looking into her eyes, he kissed her nose, her cheeks, and his eyes lingered on her lips until she blushed again.
“I will never stop hungering for your kisses,” he whispered and pressed his lips to hers, the kiss so deep it left her breathless.
“Are you guys done kissing or what?” Tootles blew a raspberry at them from the street.
Peter and Wendy glanced up and he grinned sheepishly. “Never.” His green eyes met hers and twinkled mischievously. “Are you okay with that?”
“You promising to never stop kissing me? Yes.” Her laughter rang out like bells in the air.
No, not her laughter.
Tink’s censor band. Tink was here!
“What the heck is taking you so long? Do we have to do all the work for you?” Tink snapped, softening her words. “Get your bahoobahaber up here.” Slightly and Tootles stood next to Tink and waved down at them.
Tootles teleported down to the floor next to Jax, grabbed his hand, and seconds later, he was on the street with the rest. Peter flew up through the hole with Wendy, and what greeted them was a sight to behold as the Wonderland Games building’s front windows were blown out. Shattered glass, ash, and the gooey slime of morphling remains coated th
e street. Everyone left of the Dusters, and lost boys and girls had made their way to the street outside of Wonderland Games.
Peter went to speak with Onyx. Both of their faces were solemn as Onyx pointed to the casualties laid out along the sidewalk, covered with curtains and sheets. Four wearing the gray uniforms of the lost boys and girls, and five wearing the black uniforms of the Dusters.
“Hey, Slightly, you made it,” Jax clapped him on the back.
“Yeah, Tootles was strong enough. He came and got us,” Slightly chuckled. “Looks like you had a blast without me.”
“Dad and Dr. Mee are on their way to us now. They had to wait to dock the boat. Michael was able to override their security system and unlock all of the doors. Slightly has set up a makeshift clinic in the Physical Therapy Clinic.” She pointed to the white building to the left of Wonderland Games. The Dusters are bringing in the injured now. Hey, you!” Tink screeched at President Helix, who was trying to sneak away. “Get back in line. No one said you could move your lazy butt off that sidewalk.”
Wendy smiled with tender affection, as Tink’s censor band didn’t go off. She was learning to tame her words. Maybe there was hope after all.
All of the investors were standing outside the building, obviously upset and terrified by the events that had just transpired. One or two looked mad enough to spit, but the Dusters had taken up guard duty.
“You’re going to hear from my lawyer,” Killz spat out, pointing a finger at President Helix.
“Now, now, this was just a beta test. I’m sure this can all be worked out in the second relaunch,” Helix said, trying to calm the crowd.
“You don’t seem to get it,” Peter said, addressing Helix. “It’s over.”
“The only relaunch that is happening,” Curly said, rolling up his sleeves, “is you.” He touched Helix’s temple and a slack expression moved over Helix’s face, followed by a giggle.
“What just happened?” Diego looked terrified at the instant transformation of Helix, his hands covering his cheeks. “Why does he look like a happy baby?”
“Because he no longer has a care in the world. I’ve made him forget everything,” Curly answered and moved toward Diego.
Diego squealed like a piglet and backed away, tripping over a fire hydrant. “Don’t you do any mind-mojo on me!”
“I’ll pay you a hundred thousand to do it to him,” Killz laughed, taking off his hat and slapping his knee.
Curly touched Diego’s temple and the man’s face went slack as well.
“What’s going on?” Wendy asked Onyx.
“When we got to the top floor of the building, John had them pretty much under control. It seems having the morphlings trying to tear down the building while they were in it was all the motivation they needed to pull the plug on investing in the new game.”
John came out of the building and gave Wendy a side hug. “Hey, I always tried to get you to play Warfare 8 with me, and now you have. You kicked butt, especially against the room of boxes.”
Wendy groaned in embarrassment. “You saw?”
“Hey, I was there. I led you to it. We make a great team.” He held his palm up for a high five, and she rolled her eyes in response, then turned back to the group on the sidewalk. John cleared his throat and gestured to them. “So, like Onyx said, I don’t think they know too much, and it was my idea to have Curly use his gift of persuasion to adjust their memories.”
Onyx nodded. “We decided the safest course of action is to make them forget the last few days and this island. We’re going to send them home with a command to never tell anyone or come back.”
“What about the Red Skulls?” Peter asked, placing his hand around Wendy, pulling her close.
“We made President Helix make an announcement to have all troops meet at the beach. Pilot and Nibs are gathering up the stragglers. We’re going to do the same thing. Mind-wipe them and take them back to the mainland. But we haven’t found Hook.”
“And you won’t.” Jax grinned. “Wendy took care of him.”
Heat rose to her cheeks and she blushed. Onyx lifted his fist for a fist bump. “Way to go!”
She raised her fist and bumped back, to John’s mock horror. “He gets a fist bump and I get dissed?”
Gently slapping her palm to John’s head, she laughed. “Is that better?”
His crooked grin was her answer.
“Wendy, I’d like you to meet my friends, Wu Zan, and Leroy.” Peter proudly introduced two of the Dusters to her, and she couldn’t help but grin and shake their hands—Wu Zan’s shake was quick and brisk, Leroy’s shake firm and long.
“Nice to meet you,” Wendy said.
Dr. Barrie and Dr. Mee came rushing out of the building into the street. Dr. Barrie’s face filled with worry as he searched through the sea of faces. “Peter, Craft, Onyx!” He called each one out as he recognized them.
Hearing his familiar voice, the Neverwood boys turned as a unit and ran to him, embracing him with a hug, patting his back. Their father was home.
Dr. Barrie’s face glistened with tears. “My boys! My boys, you’re okay. I’m sorry that I forgot you. It will be okay now. I’m here. I promise.”
Peter was the one who had to break the news to Dr. Barrie. “Not all of them made it. We lost a few of the boys today. Torque, Rash, and Dillinger. ”
Dr. Barrie was stricken, his mouth pulled down in a frown as he patted his heart as if to console himself. Tink came over and leaned her head on his arm.
Lifting his glasses, he wiped away his tears and took in the hopeful gazes of the Dusters. “But it looks like we gained a few additions to our family. What’s your name?” he asked the young woman next to him, who was pulling on the ends of her hair.
“Jade.”
“Jade, I’m Dr. Barrie, or Mr. Barrie, or Dad—any work for me. Welcome to our family.”
Jade grinned and gave him a hug. “I remember you,” she whispered. “You were always kind to us.”
“And I strive to always be, but I’m sorry that I couldn’t save you back then. It seems like all of you have saved yourselves.” His eyes rested on Jax, and Dr. Barrie held out his hand. Jax grinned and took it. “Good job, my boy.” He looked around and nodded. “Didn’t burn it down too bad.”
Jax threw his head back and laughed. “Just wait. I will burn the island down to dust this time, as soon as everyone is off of it.”
“Oh, really? It’s kind of growing on me. I have a mind to vacation here. What say you, Dr. Mee?”
Dr. Mee was asking about Ditto’s wound as she came out of the Physical Therapy Clinic. Without looking, she retorted, “Not on my life. I’m going to head back to the school when it’s rebuilt.”
“Bet you thought you got rid of me,” Ditto called out to Jax and winced as Dr. Mee checked the bandage on his midsection. Not only had he reopened his earlier wound but also had two more punctures from the morphling’s bite. They were lucky he survived; it seemed that replicating might have been what saved his life. It turned out that because only one of his four doppelgangers was bitten, the morphling’s poison was only a quarter of its normal strength when he merged back into one.
“I’ll have to try harder next time,” Jax said without emotion.
“I’m like a cockroach,” Ditto grinned. “Impossible to kill.”
“And always multiplying,” Jax added, unable to hold back the snort that turned into a full belly laugh.
Ditto laughed hard, causing Dr. Mee to frown, but he seemed okay, so she moved into the clinic to help the others. “You’re always welcome to be on my team, any day,” Ditto added. “You didn’t do so bad for not being a gamer.”
“I’m a fast learner,” Jax agreed.
Onyx, still wearing his visor, got a message from Nibs. “Hey, guys. Looks like they need help gathering up the soldiers. They’re running into some resistance.”
“Go,” Peter said, directing Wu Zan, Jax, and Onyx to help. “We’ll take care of things down here.”
<
br /> Peter took Wendy’s hand in his, and together they turned to assess the full damage inside the dome. There was an awkwardness between the Dusters and the lost girls as they introduced themselves. A few held back and were more aloof than the others. A few chuckles came when the teens began to show off for each other when they met.
Wendy was thrilled to see that most had survived the morphling invasion. But the sight of all the losses dampened the joy. Lily, Brittney, Torque, Rash, and the others she hadn’t met yet. Plus, there were still many injured to deal with. Michael, Ash, Craft, Ditto all had wounds that would heal.
Peter brushed Wendy’s arm to get her attention and pointing to the makeshift clinic. Slightly and Dr. Mee were busy inside, tending to the injured. “Don’t worry. We’ll fix them all.”
Not all of them. Not the dead. But Wendy forced herself to smile and they began to undo what was done. But she was also worried about the wounds you couldn’t see. The emotional ones. First things first. The visors, helmets, and guns were dumped in a pile by the trash can. No more weapons, no more war.
“What’s going to happen now?” Wendy asked, looking at the size of their group.
“We live,” Peter said simply, reaching for her hand. “One day at a time. We live, we survive.”
Wendy watched the cleanup take place, the bandaging, and the hustle to right all that was destroyed. Wendy unzipped her uniform and shed the top, then made her way to the makeshift clinic to help Dr. Mee, knowing she could make herself useful there. But through all the people coming and going, and those in the clinic and the dead laid out on the street she had yet to see Jeremy. In fact, no one had seen him or could account for his whereabouts. What happened to him? Did he get killed?
Wendy hoped that wherever he was, that he had survived his encounter with Brittney.
Chapter 45
So much had happened the last few days, it was difficult to process it all. A week had passed since they had defeated Hook and taken down Neverland and, by way of association, Wonderland Games. And in that time, there had been a lot of decisions to make, people to take care of, and futures to plan—and yet so little time to make such life-altering choices.
