by Thomas Hayes
Chapter Nineteen
Following the cloud of fairies, I walked into the open metal door of the prison and looked around. The building was dark, as there were only a few thin, rectangular windows up near the ceiling to let any light in. It was also damp and musty, with the bars of the cells rusted-out and orange. The structure looked like it was over 200 years old, with crumbling brick walls, leaky pipes, and small rodents skittering away as we walked in.
But, at the moment, I didn’t care at all what the prison looked like—all I cared about was who was inside. Almost the entire building was made up of cells running along the walls, with a small walkway in the middle, so I used the fairies for light and scanned the cells, desperate to find Tim. What I saw instead was dozens of Neverlanders: Lost Boys, Natives, and Babbles. I even saw some poor mermaids, stuck in tanks of water, peering out through glass walls that were covered in algae. All of the Neverlanders, as tired and weak as they were, came to the front of their cells, eager to get a better look at us.
“Tim!” I yelled. “Tim, where are you? Are you here?”
“Emily?” he shouted. My heart leapt. It was him. It was him.
I ran toward the voice. “Tim? Are you okay? Where are you?”
“I’m here, Emily. I’m fine. Well, basically.”
I reached him. He was in a cell with six other Lost Boys, all of them captured during Hook’s raid. He looked okay, except he was now dressed like a Lost Boy and covered in mud.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” I said, looking him over. “I’m so sorry, Tim, I’m sorry that I left you. I never should have done that.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “It was scary as hell at first, but they’ve pretty much left us alone since throwing us in here. What’s happening, Emily? They keep talking about a witch. Is there a witch coming?”
“I don’t know, but that’s why we gotta get you out of there, and fast.”
“How’d you know where to find me? Where’s Peter?”
The tell-tale sound of Hook’s magic blast erupted outside, followed by breaking glass. Red light shot into the prison windows.
“There’s the answer to your last question,” I said. “Peter’s outside, but right now we have to worry about you.” I turned around. “Fairies? How quickly can you get these locks off? And can you start with this one?”
A green fairy flew into the lock on Tim’s cell. As she worked away inside it, her green light flickering, most of the other fairies flew into the locks on the other cells. The fairies that didn’t fly into locks instead fluttered into the cells to comfort the prisoners, as best they could, anyway, in their twinkling fairy voices.
“Fairies?” Tim said. He stared in disbelief at the lock. “Emily, what on earth is going on?”
With a flash, the lock on the cell swung open. The Lost Boys ran out, and I grabbed Tim, wrapping him in a hug.
“It’s a really long story, trust me,” I said. “I don’t think you wanna hear it. I know I don’t wanna hear it again. I’m just glad you’re safe.”
I looked down at my brother. He looked so young. I could see the fear in his eyes. Like me—even more than me—he had learned this adventure wasn’t so much fun anymore.
“Are we gonna be okay, Em?” I noticed his arms and hands were scraped up. “Where are we gonna go?”
“Home,” I said. “As soon as we get all these people out of here.”
“Who is that?” I heard someone say.
I turned around. All of the Neverlanders were free from their cells and were now standing in the aisle. At the front of the group were a teenage girl and two teenage boys. The younger boy was short and dark-haired, and the older boy was wearing glasses. The girl was a pretty brunette. They also had a dog with them—a big, furry, brown dog, with a slobbery tongue hanging out of its mouth.
“Wendy, who is that?” the boy in glasses asked.
“I’m not sure,” the girl said. “But I think we have her to thank for rescuing us.” She looked to me. “Did Peter send you here?”
The short boy’s eyes went wide. “It’s her, Wendy. It’s her. It’s Tinker Bell.”
Wendy stared at me. “Oh my god, you’re right, Michael. It is. Tinker Bell, I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you. This is amazing—how are you here?”
I held up my hands. “Sorry, no time for reunions right now. We need to get you guys back, along with everyone else.”
“Yes, of course.” Wendy shook her head, trying to get over her shock. “Where are we supposed to go? Are there others waiting for us?”
It was quiet. I realized everyone was looking to me for guidance. This is why I was there.
“Okay, everybody,” I said, raising my voice.. “I came here with Peter Pan—I assume you all know who he is. You’re all free to go now, obviously, so we’re all gonna head back with the fairies, through the woods and to the shore. There’s a flying machine and some canoes to take us to the Lost Boys’ island. Don’t head into town—stick to the trees. Whatever you do, move fast and avoid any commotion.”
“Hold on.” A female Native walked by me and toward a locked closet at the back of the prison. “Fairy? Can you give me a hand?”
An orange fairy flew into the lock on the closet. The door swung open, revealing what was inside: bows, arrows, swords, and slingshots.
“Our friends out there need our help,” the Native said. She grabbed a quiver of arrows and slung it onto her back. “Anyone who wants to reclaim their weapons and join in the fight, feel free.”
Many of the Natives and Lost Boys made their way to the closet and grabbed their weapons.
“Okay, that’s great,” I said. “I’m sure it’ll be appreciated. As for us…” I looked for the curvy fairy in yellow. She flew up to me. “Yellow, let’s go. We’re heading back to the Island of the Lost Boys as fast as possible.”
She nodded, then flew toward the prison door.
“What about the mermaids?” a Lost Boy asked. He stood near one of the rusted tanks in a cell. Unlike everyone else, the mermaids weren’t free yet. “We can’t leave them here.”
Wendy spoke up.
“Fairies, can you help get the mermaids back to the ocean?”
Seven fairies of all different colors flew into one of the mermaid’s cells.
“Are they strong enough to carry them all the way to the shore?” I asked.
“I don’t think carrying will be necessary,” Wendy said with a smile.
The seven fairies fluttered their wings above the tank, and after the water was doused with dust, the mermaid floated into the air, emerging from the water and shining with glitter. With a big smile, she did a celebratory somersault, then swam through the air just like it was water. She flipped her fin and made her way right out the door.
“Okay,” I said, watching the fairies repeat the process with the other mermaid tanks. “Looks like I still have a lot to learn about Never Land.”
Finally, we ran out the prison door. Some of the Native warriors and Lost Boys sprinted into town, but the rest stayed with me and the fairies in the forest.
“Tim,” I said, “Babbles, Lost Boys, and anyone else, let’s go. We’ll—”
There was a scream—it came from near the mansion. It was a loud, guttural, anguished scream. I looked in its direction.
“What was that?” Tim asked.
“It’s Peter,” I said.
Peter lay in the middle of the street in front of the mansion, holding his side and bleeding. Hook stomped toward him, his hook-hand glowing red. I watched as Tiger Lily ran at the mad pirate, firing her arrows, but Hook simply blasted her with red energy, sending her flying.
“Emily, what should we do?” Tim asked.
Peter screamed in agony.
“C’mon, Wendy,” John said, walking toward the mansion.
“Yeah,” Michael replied. “We gotta go help.”
“No,” I said.
The two boys turned around.
“No?” John asked, surprised,
“Yo
u’re going to the canoes,” I replied. “You, Wendy, and Michael. I promised Peter one thing on the way here: that I wouldn’t let you three try to help, that I would bring you back safely to the village of the Lost Boys. That’s what this whole thing has been about. That’s what Peter wants. And I’m keeping that promise.”
“Oh, really?” Michael asked, angry.
“She’s right,” Wendy said.
“What?” Michael replied. “Wendy, I don’t care who this girl is or who she used to be, she can’t tell us what to do!”
“We need to get over there and help Peter!” John shouted.
“No,” Wendy replied. “Tinker Bell is right. We’re leaving. This whole thing, all that—” she motioned toward the burning town where the battle still raged. “Is for us. To save us. Peter put all this together for us, and everyone out there is risking their lives for us. We can’t throw that away to face Hook, who we know can kill us in an instant. Then everything Peter and Tiger Lily and the others have fought for will have been for nothing. I’m not letting Hook take away the only family members I have left.” She turned to me. “But Tinker Bell?”
I looked to her.
“You need to promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“That no matter what, you will bring Peter home to us. That he’ll come back safe, like he always does. You need to promise me that. Or I won’t step foot in one of those damn canoes.”
I realized Wendy knew I wasn’t going with her and the others. That I couldn’t leave Peter. Somehow, I knew it, too.
“I’ll do my best,” I said.
“Thank you.” Wendy turned toward the group. Everyone was eager to get the hell out of there. “Fairies, lead us back to where the boats are waiting. We’ll keep up and stay right behind you.”
Tim and I watched them go.
“What are we gonna do, Em?” Tim asked. “Where are we going? Am I going with them?”
“Nope. I’m never letting you out of my sight again. But this time, I have an idea.” I called out to the group of fairies leaving with Wendy. “Blue?”
The blue fairy—my friend from the island—broke off and flew towards me. She hovered in front of my face. Like many of the fairies, she was wearing a little bag on her back. I knew it was a bag of fairy dust.
“Will you stay with me?” I asked her. “Will you keep my brother safe?”
She nodded.
“She’s keeping me safe?” Tim asked. “Where are we going?”
“You’re going with her,” I replied. “I’m going to finish the plan.”
