Escaping Neverland

by Lynn Wahl

  Jasmine blinked, hand trembling. It was Pyro’s hand that pushed the sword away from my throat. He gave me a sad little smile and then walked away to sit on the ground by Jasmine’s hut, clearly keeping the smaller kids away from William.

  “Jasmine. Leave.” William’s voice was hard and without emotion.

  Jasmine shot him a hurt look, but when he just stared back without blinking, she huffed and stomped off.

  He patted the ground next to his hammock.

  “Come. Sit.”

  I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his bossiness and went and sat down next to him. When his hand stroked through my hair, I jumped a little in surprise and looked up at him.

  “I was worried about you,” he said.

  I swallowed hard, not sure how to take the look on his face. He looked genuinely sorry.

  “Yeah, um…I was worried about you too. I am really sorry about distracting you.”

  He jerked his shoulder and winced. “It was my own fault.” He was quiet for a few seconds, staring over to where Jasmine leaned against a tree.

  “Jasmine wouldn’t let me come back for you.”

  I coughed, not looking at him. “Yeah, well, you were hurt. She was right to keep you here. You would have been captured and killed.”

  “No one’s ever told me what to do before. I nearly killed her I was so angry.”

  I did look over at Jasmine then. She was staring at me, her eyes narrowed, face flushed with rage.

  I flinched and looked back at William. “Well it’s a good thing then that I managed to escape on my own.”

  “I’m glad,” he said. He winced and closed his eye, hunching over his missing arm.

  I touched his good arm, not really sure of myself, and leaned forward against him where he swung in the hammock. With my free hand clutching his, I pulled my sketchbook out. I drew William with two whole arms, the cocky smile he usually wore wreathing his face. My head throbbed and my vision wavered as I pushed through the tingling, but whatever I’d done to my head when I fell seemed to be getting better.

  William jumped up from the hammock with a cry of joy when his arm suddenly appeared. He wiggled his fingers in front of his face and drew his sword with a flourish. I smiled, glad I could help, and then stood. Before I could move away, he walked forward and in front of all the children, pulled me in and kissed me.

  I pushed him back. “You have got to stop doing that,” I said. I could feel myself blushing.

  “Never,” he said.

  I cleared my throat. “So, um, are you ready?”

  William looked at me and then nodded. “I know which gate he’s been using. I’ll take you there.”

  “William, wait. You can’t just take her. You’ll need help.” Jasmine’s voice was shrill with panic.

  After a second, I nodded. “She’s right. We need more people.”

  William pushed out his chest, face flushed with anger. “I don’t need help to take the Captain. I almost had him.”

  I licked my lips. “Um, William, actually, you looked sort of like you were getting your butt kicked. You need their help. The bigger kids at least.”

  William glared at me, but I pointed at his arm. “You agreed to help me.”

  He huffed out a breath. “Fine,” he said. “We leave in half an hour.”

  The kids let out a cheer and began scrambling for their weapons. When a kid, barely bigger than a toddler, ran by with a spear, I walked over to Jasmine.

  “Make the little ones stay here. They’re going to get hurt.”

  She shrugged. “We always get hurt when we fight the Captain. Besides, they’re all older than you. Let it go.”

  She left me standing there. Pyro nodded at me from across the clearing, as if he knew what I’d asked, but was encouraging me to let it go. With a deep sigh, I went and sat next to Stormy as the kids gathered together in front of William. I wished I could take all these kids back to their parents. But their parents were long gone and probably all of their remaining family as well.

  Mostly though, sitting there sweating in the heat and slapping at mosquitoes, I wished I was home in my bedroom, ice cold air from the air conditioner on my face, a cold glass of iced tea waiting on my desk. I tried to think of what my father would be doing with me gone, but I couldn’t really figure out how long I’d been missing. Had he gone to the police? He probably just assumed I’d run off with Jake, and good riddance.

  The thought made my head hurt. When Jake and I did get back, I didn’t know what I was going to tell him. Hey Dad, I was kidnapped by a fictional pirate and held hostage on an imaginary island. Yeah, that’d go over well.

  “This way!” William shouted.

  I cursed and jumped up, hurrying after the group. Maybe I’d just tell my dad a version of the truth and pin the whole thing on Gregor. The idea of that man locked up forever gave me a little thrill, and I smiled. Yes. That would definitely work.

  Twenty-Four: Jake

  The fae totally ignored me as we walked through the jungle. I wished I’d had time to finish one of the steel horses, imagining how much easier it would be to ride than walking through the thick undergrowth. The only time the fae even acknowledged that I existed was when they spotted some of the Captain’s men. I’d already used three of the seven EMPs I’d made.

  I’d made fifty metal wolves, twenty spiders, and four of the dragonfly spies. So far, one wolf was still on the Captain’s ship. I’d knocked out three the first time and four the second. That left forty-two wolves still out there and all of the spiders. I wondered where they were and what the Captain was doing with them.

  Around me, the fae suddenly dropped to the ground. I followed, a bit slow. Nuada crawled his way back.

  “They’ve got the clearing guarded,” he said. His eyes were icy cold.

  I nodded and pulled the big EMP out of my bag. I crossed my fingers that it would work like I thought it would, and flipped the button.

  The sudden clanging of metal and startled cries from the Captain’s men made me smile. The fae didn’t wait. They jumped up from their spots and rushed forward. I was moving forward with them, caught up in the moment, when gunfire erupted. I flinched and tried to fall back, but a fae behind me pushed me forward.

  I saw a group of the Captain’s men waiting in front of the palace, guns leveled at the approaching fae. In front of my feet the dirt puffed up and little bits of leaves went flying as bullets plowed into the ground. The sound of rifles on full auto ripped through the clearing. Around me, the fae collapsed, some of them screaming, some of them already dead. I froze, then realized it made me a better target.

  With my teeth bared, I charged forward, hands raised. I was still holding the big EMP. While one of the Captain’s men was distracted by a rushing fae, I bashed him over the head with the used device. It shattered across the man’s face and he fell, screaming. The fae next to me ran him through and continued on.

  Finally, the clearing was quiet. I raised my head and tried to stop my legs from shaking. My eyes scanned the clearing. All that were left standing were the fae. Many of them had bullet wounds. They lay, writhing on the ground as others dug out the bullets using wooden tools. More fae suddenly spilled out of the trees, more than had been in Nuada’s group.

  The yellow and black striped fae who’d come up to Paige let out a joyful cry and raced across the clearing to hug a turquoise skinned female. That must be his wife. I smiled. Paige would be happy.

  I watched with wide eyes as more and more of the fae emerged from the trees. More of them had escaped than I’d thought possible. I saw the leader of the fae approach a group of younger females, and one of them shook her head. They carried a pallet between them, a sheet draped over the still form it carried.

  His cry of pain silenced the rest of the group. As one they turned to him and dropped to their knees. He stood there, head bowed in grief, and then raised his head.

  “Our Queen is dead!” he cried out. “She fought bravely to protect her people. As her
son, I claim the crown. Does anyone believe I am not the rightful heir to the throne?”

  No one said anything. After waiting a few seconds, he nodded and hurried off towards the palace, the crowd of fae trailing behind.

  I sat there, confused and unsure what to do. Finally, I just dropped my head into my hands and waited to see what was going to happen.

  “You must be Paige’s friend, Jake.”

  I looked up to see the turquoise skinned fae, Cashraina. She gave me a sad little smile and held out her hand. “Come. You must be hungry. Etain has told me how you helped them reach us and defeat the Captain’s men. We all saw what you just did. We are grateful.”

  I stood, not taking her hand, and followed her into the palace. She ignored the hostile glares of some of the other fae and took me to a small room towards the back. She disappeared and came back a few moments later with a plate of bread and cheese.

  I stared at the food in surprise. “How did you manage to survive?” I asked.

  She smile and sat, taking a piece of cheese. “We have many skills,” she said. “Not even your metal creations are as fast as we are, and they cannot climb trees.”

  “I should have thought of that,” I said, without thinking. I clapped my hand over my mouth.

  She smiled. “We’re very glad that you did not. Now. Etain has told me that Paige left to fetch William. He said she’s trying to stop the Captain from bringing someone onto the island. Would you like to join her?”

  I shrugged, not really sure how to answer. I didn’t want to see the Captain ever again, but I didn’t think I could stand staying here. “Sure,” I said.

  She nodded. “Good. Paige worked very hard to save you. I’m sure you’ll be grateful to return the favor.”

  I felt the flush on my cheeks and tried to push it down, embarrassed at the reminder. In an attempt to cover up my embarrassment, I cleared my throat. “Is it far?”

  Cashraina shook her head. “No. Only about an hour’s walk. Etain has asked Nua—the King’s—permission to take you there. The gate only opens at sunset. You’ll have plenty of time to reach it.”

  I ate more of the food, trying to think what I could do if we did manage to make it there. I didn’t have a gun, and I couldn’t fight. I’d probably just get in the way. But Paige was going there. She must have some sort of plan.

  With that thought, I put the food aside and stood up. The Captain’s men had guns. I’d get one of those. Then I’d spit in the Captain’s face as I pulled the trigger.

  Twenty-Five: Paige

  As we walked, I told Pyro how Jake and I had managed to escape from the Captain’s ship. At my explanation of how I’d freed Jake from the Captain’s compulsion, Pyro stopped and called out to Jasmine. I explained it again for her.

  “Do you think it would work for anyone?” Jasmine asked.

  I nodded, thinking of the brother she’d mentioned. “Probably,” I said.

  Pyro flicked a flame between his fingers, his face thoughtful. “We could save all of the kids on the ship. I’ll have to tell William.”

  I thought of my plan to stop the Governor on my side of the gate and held back a wince. I didn’t think I was even going to be here much longer, let alone long enough to save a whole bunch of kids locked up on the Captain’s ship.

  “How many kids are there on the ship? I only saw one, Terence.” I didn’t think that Terence would have any siblings here in William’s group, not if his skill was computer code. He’d have been brought in recently, right after Jake.

  Pyro reached out a hand, singing a leaf. “Hundreds,” he said. “A lot of the kids William went to save were already under the Captain’s spell.”

  “Why doesn’t William just stop him at the gate?” I asked.

  Jasmine shrugged. “There’s no way to tell if the Captain’s using the gate or not. We can’t wait in the jungle every night that close to sunset. We tried, but the spiders kept grabbing kids. It’s safer just to pull the forgotten ones off the ship, like William did with you.”

  Pyro and Jasmine wandered back up to the front of the group when I didn’t say anything, leaving me to walk with Stormy at the back. A couple of the littler kids were walking next to her, stroking her legs every few steps. When one of them looked up at her back with a clear look of longing, I reached forward and plucked her off the ground, plopping her down on Stormy’s back.

  Her excited squeal had the whole group turning to look. William frowned and put his finger over his lips.

  The little girl shot him a wild grin, but clamped her teeth shut. When another child reached up, I put him on Stormy’s back behind her and continued on my way. I knew that she’d be well taken care of if I left. That was something at least.

  We came to the clearing around the gate well before sunset and settled down to wait in the shadows. I watched in amazement as the kids dropped down into the leaves and disappeared, their hand sewn clothing blending in with the forest floor.

  I tried to do the same, but it was kind of hard to hide a huge gray horse in a jungle, so I settled for leaning back against her bulk, trusting William to give the alarm if he spotted the Captain.

  When a stick snapped in the woods off to our right, I shot straight up, wishing I had some sort of weapon. My staff had been left behind at the faes’ original camp and no one had offered me anything else.

  William was suddenly in front of me, his sword drawn, an eager smile on his face, but when Etain pushed through the leaves, he let out a huff of annoyance and went back to his seat in a tree overlooking the clearing.

  When Jake followed Etain onto the trail, I smiled and waved at him. “How’d you know where I was?” I asked.

  Jake pointed at Etain. “He heard you talking to Nuada and thought I’d like to help.”

  I choked back the giggle at the less than enthusiastic look on Jake’s face. When I looked at Etain, my face fell. “Was Cashraina…alive?” I asked.

  Jake nodded and handed me a rock with a piece of cord strung through it. “She told me to give you this. She didn’t know if you still had the first one and wanted to make sure you wouldn’t be afraid of the spiders.”

  I ran my thumb over the rock and then pulled the first one she’d given me out. “Nope, still have it. You can keep this one.”

  Jake took it. “What’s it do?”

  “I’m not really sure, but it keeps the spiders away.”

  Jake put it on and shuddered. “You mean the real spiders, not your pets.”

  “Yep. My spiders are much nicer than the wild ones.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Could have fooled me.” He locked his fist around the stone. “Thanks.”

  I shrugged, and watched as Etain disappeared back into the jungle.

  “The fae aren’t staying?” I asked.

  Jake shook his head. “No. Nuada’s leading them all to some super secret place up in the mountains to rebuild. There are a lot more of them left than I thought.”

  “That’s great,” I said.

  He nodded. “Yeah. It made me feel a little better.”

  Our conversation was interrupted by a low whistle from up in the trees. I looked up at William to see him pointing off to the opposite side.

  “The Captain’s coming,” I said, pulling Jake down beside Stormy.

  “Um, Paige, what are you going to do?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said, wondering the same thing myself. “I just know that I had to be here. We’ve got to keep the Governor from coming here and seeing this place. If he does, he’ll stop at nothing to help the Captain with his plans. We can’t let that happen.”

  Jake was quiet for a minute, staring at me so intently that it made me uncomfortable. “Paige, what if we just run back through the gate when it opens? We’d be back home again. Safe.”

  I shook my head. “We won’t. Gregor knows who you are. He’ll know that we know what’s going on here. We won’t be safe until this ends.”

  Jake paled. “You don’t know that.”

&n
bsp; I shuddered, remembering Gregor’s icy blue eyes boring into the back of my head along with the barrel of his gun. “I’m pretty sure they’re not going to let us go running around talking to the police about what they’re doing.”

  “We could tell them that we won’t say anything,” Jake said.

  I turned on him so fast he almost fell over. “And what, let all the fae here be killed? All the fairies? Lavender lost her entire family to the Captain’s greed. You just want to go and let that keep happening?”

  Lavender darted out from my hair and waved her fist in Jake’s face.

  Jake shifted, looking embarrassed, then angry. “Jeez, Paige. I’m seventeen. I like computers. I do good in school. What’d you expect? I’m not some stupid superhero rushing in to the save the day. I’m not even sure where you got it from.”

  I poked him in the chest with my finger. “You are too a superhero. Look what you can do here! We can help. I’m not going to just give up, and neither are you. We’ll figure out something.”

  “Will you two shut up? I can hear you all the way over here,” Jasmine hissed from the front of the group.

  One of the kids giggled and was quickly silenced by another one in the group.

  Jake put his hand on my arm. I looked down at the gun he held. He pushed it into my hands and leaned forward to whisper in my ear.

  “I thought I’d be able to use it, after everything he’s done to me, but I don’t think…I don’t think I can.”

  I stared at the rough looking gun, feeling my heart skipping in my chest. I didn’t think I could use it either. Before I could answer, everyone got quiet as the Captain stepped into the clearing, flanked by a set of metal wolves and four spiders.

  I swallowed hard at the sight of him and turned to pull some moss off the tree behind me. I handed two pieces to Jake and mimed sticking them in my ears.

  “Better than nothing,” I whispered.

  He nodded, looking a little grossed out as he pushed the moss into his ears.

  I watched over Stormy’s back as the Captain approached the gate with his men. In two quick steps, he was through, leaving the metal creatures to guard the gate.