Planet Neverland: A Space Age Fairy Tale (Star-Crossed Tales)

by J. M. Page

  "Just stay still," Peter finally snapped and Wendy froze, letting him unravel the mess they'd gotten into. Finally, they were both able to stand and each went to cradling different bruises from the collision.

  "I guess I didn't think that all the way through," Peter said with a laugh.

  "Yeah, I—" The ship turned right side up again and they both tumbled to the floor together once more.

  "What are they doing?" Wendy hissed, rubbing her elbow where it impacted the hard metal floor.

  Peter shrugged, picking himself up again. "Learning to pilot the ship."

  Her heart stopped. "Wait, what? You're letting them fly? Without supervision? Are you insane?"

  He shrugged again, dusting himself off. "I've been called worse. Besides, they're doing alright. I'm just letting them get a feel for the controls. I'll take it back before we dock — that's the tricky bit anyway."

  Wendy frowned, her hands going to her hips, her eyes narrowing. "How long have you all been awake?"

  Peter offered a sheepish smile, his hand rubbing the back of his neck as he shrugged another time. "Oh, not that long. An hour or s—"

  "An hour? Why was I still asleep?" Before she asked, she already knew the answer. She hoped it would be something else, but Wendy already knew: because no one wanted you around.

  "Ah, well... The boys thought you might like to sleep in. Thought maybe the prospect of them flying a bit would be too stressful for you and didn't want to worry you."

  He could put all the pretty words he wanted on it, but the outcome was still the same. They'd let her sleep because they didn't want her awake. A dull ache throbbed in her throat and she couldn't swallow it away. Peter kept looking at her like she was going to explode or have a meltdown. Like she was a ticking bomb set to go off any moment.

  Wendy took a steadying breath, cleared her throat and said, "I see."

  He still watched her like she was a viper poised to strike, but Wendy just walked way, back towards the front of the ship where she could still hear her brothers bickering.

  "Wendy, wait," Peter said, making her pause at the doorway. She didn't know what he wanted to say, but she didn't want to hear it. She didn't want his hollow apologies or false hope. Her brothers didn't want her around, why would they? She was specifically there to keep them out of trouble — trouble they might think of as fun — she couldn't blame them. It was okay. That was the job of a parent, to do what was best even if they didn't like it. She might not be their parent, but she was as close as they were ever going to get. Whatever he had to say, she didn't care.

  But she'd never know what Peter wanted to say. The moment he opened his mouth, an ear-piercing, bone-rattling screech echoed through the ship as it shuddered and shook. The sound left her ears ringing and her nerves jangling and she almost didn't want to ask, but she had to.

  "What was that?"

  Peter swallowed and she watched his Adam's apple dip low in his throat, his face pale. "That... If I had to place my bets, I'd say your brothers just tried docking." And then he shoved past her and sprinted off into the ship.

  Wendy hesitated, waiting for the sound of warnings or sirens, or the smell of smoke that usually accompanied the twins' mishaps. When a full minute went by without any of that, and without any more sounds that made it seem like a great beast was clawing into the hull of the ship, Wendy allowed herself a sigh of relief.

  This would all be over soon. The boys didn't even make it to Planet Neverland before they caused trouble. From the sounds of it, they'd done some serious damage to the ship and Wendy had to guess that wasn't an inexpensive repair. If Peter knew what was good for him, he'd turn around and send them all back home on the next ship out. Back where they belonged. Back where it was safe.

  And she didn't even have to be the fun-ruiner for once. For once, Wendy could seem like she'd been completely and totally supportive and encouraging of their decision without any guilt because it had taken care of itself.

  She had to wait another minute on her side of the door just to wipe the smile off her face. Finally, she walked through, trying her very best to look concerned and not at all vindicated.

  "Is everything alright?" she asked, spotting Peter at the controls. He didn't answer, instead hopping out of the chair and gesturing at Michael. "Alright, try it again," he said. "I've got you lined up, we're at a decent speed, just ease it in and nudge her into dock."

  "You're letting him do it again?" Wendy shrieked, all her smug satisfaction draining in an instant.

  "Yeah, it should be my turn, he already screwed it up," John said, his arms crossed on the other side of the chair.

  Michael rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You couldn't even fly us straight in open space. What makes you think you could handle docking?"

  "Any attempt I make is bound to be better than your catastrophe."

  "Boys..." Wendy said in her warning tone.

  But they ignored her.

  "Catastrophe," Michael scoffed. "Do I need to remind you of the pickle jar incident?"

  John's face went crimson in a blink and he backed off, his green eyes blazing. "We swore we'd never talk about that again," he gritted through a clenched jaw.

  "Michael is doing this," Peter said with an air of authority in his voice that even Wendy had to admire. They straight-up ignored her attempts to break up the bickering, but now she quieted long enough to hear what Peter had to say. "Because he needs to learn what he did wrong before," Peter said to John. Then, turning to Wendy, giving her a look heavy with meaning, he added, "And the only way to learn is to do it again. Now, Michael, if you would..."

  Under Peter’s supervision, Michael was able to maneuver the ship into dock without further incident, though that didn’t stop Wendy from chewing her fingernails down to nothing.

  Peter and Tink headed up the procession off the ship, Wendy bringing up the rear behind the twins. As they gathered in the bridge that led to the main port building, Peter turned to the group as a whole.

  “Alright, we’ve gotta go through customs, so you all just let me do the talking. I know how to get through this.”

  She was sure it was meant to be reassuring, but his statement only worried Wendy more. She’d never considered there would be customs or border agents on another planet, but now it seemed fairly obvious.

  They walked down the cage-like bridge as it sloped down. At the end, it met with a large domed building, filled with all manner of aliens, with other cage-like bridges branching off from the center room like wheel spokes.

  In the center of the grand domed room, there was a glass elevator that periodically disappeared through the floor. And surrounding the elevator in a ring, were bored-looking agents manning desks outfitted with scanners, computers, and monitors. It all looked very official and the unease in Wendy’s gut burned like acid.

  She started off toward one of the agents with the shortest queue, but Peter noticed and grabbed her by the elbow.

  “Where are you going? Stay with me and stay quiet,” he ordered in a whispered hiss.

  She couldn’t help but notice the twin subtle smirks of her brothers as she was the one getting in trouble for once.

  They all joined one of the longer lines and settled in for a wait. As much as Wendy wanted to look around and marvel at the wonders around her, every time she did, she started to feel queasy, dizzy, and overwhelmed.

  She shouldn’t have come here. She should’ve stayed home and minded her own business. Sure, the twins could wind up in trouble without her watching over them, but they were adults, right?

  “Hey, watch it!” Michael gruffed, shoving John.

  “You watch it! I didn’t do anything,” John said, shoving back.

  Michael stumbled, off his balance, and nearly took down an innocent bystander in line in the process.

  “Boys,” Wendy hissed.

  They stopped fighting long enough to look sullen. Sullen she could deal with. It was injured or… worse that she couldn’t.

  Maybe it was for
the best she was here, even if it was nearly too much to handle. She didn’t know the first thing about this planet and being unprepared was pretty high up on her list of nightmares — right up there with that one about showing up to work naked.

  The line moved at a surprisingly brisk pace and before she knew it, the boys were at the counter, talking to the customs agent. Peter stood at their side, helping them navigate the process and it looked like everything was going to be okay. She was up next and then they’d be through and clear.

  Peter smiled and laughed with the agent, and though Wendy couldn’t hear the conversation, she envied the ease with which he navigated social interactions. He made it all look so simple.

  “Next,” a flat voice called. But it wasn’t from the agent Peter was still schmoozing. It was the one next to him who’d just opened her window.

  Panic gripped Wendy and she tried to get Peter’s attention with a series of frantic looks that she just knew should burn a hole right through the back of his head, but did nothing. The boys didn’t notice her panic at all, either, totally engrossed in whatever yarn Peter was spinning for the charmed agent.

  The only one that seemed to notice her distress at all was Tink, and she just watched, letting a slow smile creep onto her lips as she purposefully looked in the other direction.

  “Next,” the agent called again, sounding more irritated.

  But she wasn’t supposed to go to that agent. She was supposed to stick with Peter and not say anything at all.

  “Hey, you’re next,” the guy behind her — a creature that looked like he was carved from granite — said, giving her shoulder a tiny nudge.

  Though there wasn’t any force behind the nudge really, Wendy stumbled forward, hugging herself as she approached the border agent.

  “Welcome to Planet Neverland,” the agent said, her voice even and monotone. “State your business.”

  Wendy sent another frantic look in Peter’s direction, but he remained unaware. “Uh… I’m visiting with my family?” she finally answered, hoping that was good enough.

  The agent tapped something on her screen and then trained her dead brown eyes on Wendy again. “Do you have anything to declare?”

  Wendy’s hands went to her pockets, balling and twisting little bits of lint in an effort to channel this anxious energy somewhere it couldn’t be seen by authorities. “Declare?” she repeated.

  The agent’s eyes rolled toward the ceiling and she let out a heavy sigh, her expression falling into disdain. “Any produce, explosives, medical supplies, weapons, or other prohibited substances?”

  Wendy’s eyes went wide and she shook her head. “No, no, nothing like that. I don’t even have any luggage,” she said, gesturing beside her before gripping the edge of the counter to lean in plaintively.

  “I’m usually much more prepared, you see. But this was kind of a last-minute decision and I didn’t have time to pack or plan or—”

  The bored agent held up a chocolate colored hand to stop her. “Visa?”

  Wendy’s heart stuttered anew and she looked down the line of agents where other people were handing over packets of paperwork. Were there forms she should have filled out? Her intestines knotted and bile clogged her throat.

  “I… Uh…” If she didn’t have what was needed, what were they going to do to her? Send her back to Earth? Put her in an alien prison? Leave her stranded at port, trying to barter a trip home?

  The agent’s hand was still out, but now turned palm up, waiting for Wendy to hand over the papers she’d requested.

  “I’m so sorry, I never do anything like this. I always have everything ready and waiting and—” Just as hopeless tears threatened to spill from her eyes, she felt an arm circle around her shoulders and jumped, startled at the contact.

  “There you are!” Peter said jovially. “Must’ve gotten separated in line. How’s everything going?”

  Wendy practically slumped with relief at the sight of him. There was still a part of her brain that wanted to be annoyed that he’d left her, that wanted to be irritated they didn’t have requisite paperwork at the ready, but she could save her anger for later. Right now, she just wanted him to save her from alien jail.

  “I seem to have... misplaced my…” Wendy looked back to the agent who huffed another breath of annoyance.

  “Visa,” she supplied.

  “Right, my visa. Could you help me with that?” Wendy asked Peter, hoping she’d conveyed her point well enough.

  “Of course,” he said with a winning grin. He reached into an interior pocket of his jacket and pulled out a handful of shimmery plastic sheets, sliding them nonchalantly over to the other side of the agent’s desk.

  “I hope that’s all in order?” he asked as the bored-looking agent suddenly looked more interested. She fanned through the thin strips of iridescent plastic and finally gave him a pursed-lipped nod, hooking a thumb over her shoulder.

  “Through the gate, into the elevator. Garages are on level five, taxis on level three. Enjoy your stay.”

  Wendy’s eyes whipped back and forth between the customs agent and Peter as he steered her away from the desk and through the gate indicated.

  “But… I mean, how did you— Did she…?”

  “Shh,” Peter said, giving her shoulder a squeeze, not letting her out of his grip. “Just smile and walk. Don’t draw any attention,” he added.

  On the other side of the gate, the great glass elevator stood with its curved door open, John, Michael, and Tink waiting just outside it for them.

  “Told you she didn’t get lost,” John said, nudging Michael with his elbow. “You owe me five bucks.”

  Michael scoffed. “I’ll deduct it from the twenty you owe me,” he said.

  “Where’d you run off to, Wen?” John asked, ignoring his twin’s jab.

  She opened her mouth to say something, but Peter squeezed her shoulder again and continued steering her toward the elevator.

  “Come along, everyone,” he said crisply.

  Once they were in the elevator, the door had closed, and the tube descended into the floor, Peter dropped his arm and visibly relaxed.

  “So?” Tink prompted.

  Peter rolled his eyes. “Seems someone’s never had to bribe border control before,” he said with a pointed look at Wendy. “That agent cost me three times what Rafael normally does.”

  Tink looked smugly satisfied, sizing Wendy up with her eyes, her lips twisted into a cruel smirk. “I doubt she’s worth it.”

  “I’m right here, you know,” Wendy said tartly. “And I don’t have experience bribing officials because I follow the letter of the law. Exactly what kind of outfit are you running here?”

  “Oh, come on, Wen, don’t be such a sourpuss. We’re on another planet now! Isn’t that exciting?” Michael said, turning to the glass elevator and looking out. There wasn’t much to see from where they were — some shops and restaurants, then a parking garage full of sleek speedy spacecrafts, and they kept going down.

  Wendy pursed her lips and folded her arms. “It is not. I was perfectly happy on the planet we were meant to be on.”

  “Then maybe you should have stayed behind,” Tink said, her voice acid. Wendy whipped her head around to stare at the other woman, a combination of confusion and pure anger warring on her tongue. What had she done to deserve this treatment?

  Not that she disagreed with her. Maybe she should have stayed behind. She just wished the twins would have too.

  Finally, Wendy turned up her nose and said, “Well I didn’t.”

  The elevator dinged at the bottom floor and Peter led the way out, Tink glaring daggers over her shoulder at Wendy where he couldn’t see.

  The boys stepped out and looked around the chrome and glass space, open-mouthed and wide-eyed. “More elevators?” Michael asked.

  Peter chuckled, clapping him on the back. “Not exactly,” he said, steering the group towards another glass tube that looked remarkably like the elevator they’d just lef
t.

  Inside the not-an-elevator, there were more buttons than there was space. It looked like something out of Willy Wonka. Peter pressed one of the buttons and gave the boys a big grin.

  The tube dropped like they were in a chute, sending Wendy’s stomach into her throat, but then, the port building slipped away and they were free falling. She reached out to brace herself against the glass side of the elevator, hoping it wouldn't cave under her weight. As she leaned in to steady herself, the whole of Planet Neverland came into view, stealing away her breath.

  The planet itself was massive, covered in green and aqua clouds that swirled across the surface in delicate filigrees. Wrapped around the planet was a thick band of rings which seemed to shimmer like gold glitter. Rising above the wisps of clouds were the spires of a magnificent city, skyscrapers growing out of the mist like reeds from a lake.

  The twins clamored over each other to get a good view, shoving and hurling insults at each other, but Wendy didn't intervene. She was struck with the awesomeness of it all and couldn't find the energy to be upset with them.

  "This is your home?" she asked, turning to Peter with wide eyes.

  A huge grin split his face, producing the faintest dimple in one cheek. Just the sight of that dimple made Wendy's heart skip a beat and she wasn't sure why. "Yep. Home sweet home," he said as they continued hurtling toward the surface.

  Chapter Six

  Peter

  Seeing his home through her eyes gave him a new appreciation for it all. Of course, he'd always loved Neverland — the gleaming towers, the flashing neon lights, the hidden secrets that only someone who'd been there for decades could know. He'd been a resident of Neverland for as long as he could remember, but he'd never seen it quite like this.

  Wendy's eyes sparkled as she took in the skyline and the glimmering rings of dust. She gaped at the swirling surface that looked like something out of a witch's cauldron and the color that rose to her cheeks — that breathless excitement and wonder — made Peter long for the days when he was still awestruck by Neverland's beauty.