AN – Well guys, chapter 7 is here. I hope you all enjoy it, and I think it's the longest one yet! *claps like a little kid* Anyway, I don't want to talk too long, but I am sorry it was soo late in getting here. Please review, I know a lot of people don't review, but it really helps the author to know what he/she needs to work on and what the readers like. So if you review asking for more of something, you have more of a chance of me writing it in, then if you didn't review! So please review! MLA
P.S. I don't know if you guys noticed, but in each chapter, I name the title "shadow something". And in each chapter, the shadow is something different, that will give you a clue as to what is going to happen next, if you can figger it out. Can you guys tell what the shadow is?
**********
Shadow's Mystification
**********
Smee quickly walked through the eerily lit passageways, carrying a hot drink. Hook glanced up from his papers when Smee walked in. Upon recognition of his first mate, he looked back down and slammed his fist into the makeshift stone table. Smee jumped, startled.
"I don't understand!" Hook angrily began. "According to this map, we are in the right place!" Smee silently listened to his captain rant. "But how come nothing is showing up!?"
"Maybe its just being overlooked Cap'n..." Smee began, only to be cut off.
"We are not overlooking anything! It is right here! How come the room looks no different!? These charts all say the room is different!"
Smee walked behind Hook and set the cup down on the table; he studied the charts, brows furrowed.
"Cap'n...it says...it reacts only when it is all in this room..." he pointed to the map, "we wouldn't know where it was unless it was all in there..."
Once again Hook interrupted his first mate. A fist slammed once more into the paper at which they had both been looking. Smee jumped, immediately deciding it would be in his best interest and safety to change the subject, before Hook decided to take out his anger on someone.
"Come Cap'n, let's get your mind off this nonsense. Your drink is getting cold, and what about the boy..."
For the third time, Smee was interrupted. Hook grabbed the drink and downed it quickly, placing it with the other twelve cups on the table. He stood up, swaying slightly.
"Ah, there's nothing like the taste of me best gin, even when it is your twelfth glass." He grinned at Smee. Smee gulped; a drunken Hook, albeit a happy drunken Hook, was never a good sign.
"Come Smee, I have some fun that I wish to enjoy." He strode out of the side-cave. Hook's crew glanced up from their various activities when Hook appeared. He turned to Bill Dukes in the silence that followed.
"Bring the boy." he commanded, grinning.
**********
Nibbs barely had time to clear the fog of sleep from his mind, when the pirates roughly grabbed him, pulling him swiftly out of his cave. He struggled against them, but his resistance proved just as futile as the first time. The pirates jeered at him when he was dragged into the main cave. Hook waited patiently, not moving a muscle, until Nibbs was dropped to the ground at his feet.
Silence fell over the group.
Only Hook's eyes moved, glancing left, right, the down; no one moved.
Suddenly Hook knelt down, as if he had never stopped moving.
"I'm giving you another chance boy. Where...is....Pan?" he asked, pulling a wooden box towards him. Even in as much pain as he was in, Nibbs still shook his head.
"I will never tell you Hook," he replied, defiance gleaming sadly in his eyes. Hook grinned, nodding as if he knew the answer all along, and Nibbs gulped. He also knew that a grinning Hook was never a good thing.
"One thing a pirate should always have," Hook began, opening the box, "is an extensive knowledge," he stopped and smirked at Nibbs, who was lying on his side next to the pirate captain and his box, "of poisons." Hook grinned as Nibbs eyes widened, and he struggled to remove his bonds. Hook turned to the box, seemingly carelessly, and removed a nasty looking syringe. The crew began jeering once again. Hook turned to Smee.
"Come Smee, which one should I use first?" Smee inwardly cringed. He knew the answer his Cap'n sought.
"I would say, the analeptic Cap'n."
Hook nodded, satisfied. He pulled out the small vial, and put it close to Nibbs face, turning it back and forth, watching the liquid move nonchalantly.
"Do you know what this is boy?" he leered. Nibbs shied away as much as he could.
"Stimoli Nervosa: this is an extremely powerful stimulant boy. Its so powerful that its effects vary from normal stimulants; it goes right to your central nervous system: everything you feel, even the slightest touch, becomes the utmost agony, for your nerves register this as pain."
Nibbs wanted to scream; he wanted to run, but he couldn't do either of these. He would not allow Hook the satisfaction of seeing his pain. So Nibbs clenched his jaw tight, and bit his lip till he drew blood when Hook filled the syringe and jabbed it into his upper arm. Just the tiny puncture hurt.
A fire slowly spread through his body. The stones he lay on now seemed to be cutting into his side. He rolled onto his back, tilting his head, breathing harshly. Hook watched this with a smile. He locked eyes with Nibbs and quickly pressed his finger into Nibbs cheek. Nibbs gasped and arched away in immediate reaction. His back arched when he unconsciously pressed himself into the floor to evade Hook. The room seemed fuzzier, and he blinked, hoping to regain his focus. White hot agony raced through his body with every pump of blood through his veins. Dimly through the pain, he could see Hook preparing another syringe, this time with a different liquid. He groaned inwardly, nostrils flaring.
The puncture of the needle into his arm this time felt like a chainsaw amputation. Nibbs couldn't hold back any longer. A scream ripped from his throat, and he arched in desperate escape. His body filled with liquid fire, and Nibbs felt his body temperature rise considerably, face flushing.
**********
Peter's fall was so sudden that no one reacted for a split second. Tootles was the first to snap out of it, and he caught Peter's falling body, easing him gently the rest of the way to the floor. Wendy snapped out of it, crying his name, and the other boys reacted upon hearing her cry.
"Peter!" Wendy dropped to her knees beside him. The lost boys followed suite, creating a circle around their fallen leader.
"What happened?" the twins asked simultaneously, looking at Tootles. Tootles looked at Slightly, who looked at Curly, who looked at Wendy, who looked down to Peter. Slightly couldn't resist a small chuckle.
"Well, whole lotta answers we're getting from him." he remarked. The others cracked small smiles. Wendy watched worriedly as Peter's breathing became heavier until he was gasping, his thin chest trying desperately to draw in enough air. Wendy pressed her hand to his forehead; Peter cried out, shaking his head back and forth in an attempt to remove her hand. Wendy quickly withdrew her hand, shocked.
Peter opened pain-filled eyes suddenly and turned his head slowly back towards Wendy, lips moving to form words. No sounds issued from his mouth however, so Wendy leaned down. Peter wheezed.
"It...hurts..." he managed in barely more than an agonized whisper. His eyes rolled, and he moaned helplessly. Wendy gently touched his arm, and he arched away from her touch. They looked at the spot she had touched curiously, wondering why he reacted so. There was a red puncture mark, seemingly embedded into his upper arm. Once again Peter moaned, tossing his head. They were all afraid to touch him, and Wendy was at a loss. Peter's moan suddenly spiraled into a scream; his neck arched from the floor, tilting his head back, and he grabbed his upper arm, clutching at it desperately, in an attempt to alleviate his pain.
His scream seemed to double in volume. Both voices echoed through the castle; Wendy and the lost boys looked around. Nibbs seemed so close, he seemed so near, he seemed right there. This wasn't the only thing that shocked them however:
Peter's voice echoed
the exact
same
way.
**********
Hook watched Nibbs with such smug satisfaction; one would have thought Christmas came early. He pulled out a second syringe, filling it with "Sogni Febbricitanti", knowing Nibbs was watching him. The curious blue liquid glowed in the candle light.
The boys scream sweetly filled his ears when he jammed the second needle in. Hook closed his eyes in delight, savoring the sound. His grin grew when the scream doubled in volume, before he snapped his eyes open. The boy wasn't the only one screaming! He recognized that voice; he had heard it before…Pan! Peter Pan was screaming also!
Hook turned to Smee, who had also recognized the voice. He selected another liquid, to counteract analeptic, and quickly inserted the third needle into Nibbs, whose screams grew then died away to gasping breaths. Hook listened intently, noticing that Peter's echoing screams grew before dying away in unison with Nibbs. He grinned down at the gasping boy beside him.
"What connection do you have with Pan boy?"
Nibbs just glared.
"Why is Pan screaming with you?"
More glares.
"Answer me boy!"
Hook shook Nibbs roughly by the shoulders, in emphasis. He returned the glare the factitiously feverish boy continued giving him. Nibbs ground his teeth together against the pain and fought to keep his vision clear. Nibbs was just as shocked as Hook, but he was not about to tell Hook. He managed to gather enough breath.
"I don't know." He hissed between his clenched teeth. Hook did not believe him; he slapped Nibbs across the face harshly, leaving a red mark.
"Tell me the truth boy!" he responded forcefully.
But it was no use; Nibbs had finally passed into blissful oblivion. Hook shot a look of disdain at him and motioned Bill Dukes to take Nibbs back to his cave.
**********
Wendy did not know what to do. She glanced at the lost boys, but they were just as shocked as she was; their wide eyes traveling from Peter to each other. If it was at all possible, Peter's screams intensified, the knuckles of his clutching hand bone white, as he unconsciously almost cut off the circulation to his left arm. His visage became exceedingly red, and sweat dripped from his brow. All Wendy could do was watch hopelessly, for there was nothing she could do. She longed to hold him close, and soothe him: make all his pain go away. She could not bear to see her Peter in pain, especially in a pain where she did not know its source.
"Did I just call Peter mine?" The thought entered Wendy's head unbidden. She shook her head to clear it, as Peter's screams receded to gasping breaths once more.
Wendy called his name, unsure if he was conscious or not. He moaned, and turned his head slowly toward her. She took the chance and removed his hand from his arm. Beneath it were three puncture marks, and Wendy knew what must have happened instantly. He no longer cried out at her touch, which she took as a good sign, so she placed her hand upon his burning forehead.
He slowly opened feverishly glazed eyes at her soothing touch. His eyes shifted back and forth from Wendy to the empty space beside her.
"Wendy?, why are there two of you?" he asked in a small voice. Wendy smiled a sad smile. Even though it wrenched her heart to see him like this, she could not help but smile at his innocence. Her thumb stroked his heated forehead.
"Because you're sick Peter," Was the only answer she could accurately answer. He stared blankly between the two Wendys, rolled his head left the back again, and looked at her. He squinted.
"Wendy?" he asked again. She nodded.
"You're really pretty Wendy," he almost slurred, eyes rolling dizzily. The lost boys tried to stifle chuckles with their hands, earning them reproachful looks from the aforementioned girl. Peter shivered, the chills running up his spine.
"Peter, you don't know what you're saying, you're feverish." She responded remorsefully, inwardly wishing he weren't. She had wanted Peter to love her back, as she loved him, ever since Peter had show up on her windowsill all those nights ago; but now he was feverish, and didn't know what he was saying, she knew that. Wendy shook her head.
"We need to get him home." She told the boys. Curly began helping her get Peter up, but his voice stopped them.
"Noooo…ooo…..oooooo…ooo" he trailed in a half moan.
"Peter we need to take you home!" Wendy replied. He shook his head, well, rather, lolled his head in denial, as soon as she began speaking.
"Must…help…Nibbs…" he trailed again, breathlessly, "can't…stop…" It came out basically as a slur. Wendy shook her head, surprised that he could even be thinking of Nibbs in the state he was in. She nodded to Curly and they once again helped him sit up. Peter still fought them.
"We can't!" he managed, with more force, he head now resting on Curly's shoulder. "We hafta fin- Nibbs…almos dere." His uninjured arm waved, seemingly in random circles. Wendy gently grasped his hand, holding it in both of hers, and halting its movement.
"Peter, we don't even know where Nibbs is…" she began. He cut her off, shaking his head against Curly's shoulder.
"He's righ dere." He replied. Wendy looked over her shoulder at the gargoyle, but saw no one.
"Peter, that's just the gargoyle-"
"No! He dere! Hes righ in dere! He interrupted; the conviction, albeit slurred conviction in his words almost made Wendy think twice. She decided not to shake her head this time, and merely stopped arguing with Peter. The arguing was taking a toll on his already depleted strength, she realized, watching his shiver with more force, his hand unconsciously clenching around hers. This time she nodded.
"Alright Peter, we will stay here, but you must rest! No moving ok?"
But all Peter's will to move seemed to have left him. His eyes rolled once more as he looked at her, before he turned into the crook of Curly's neck, quickly slipping into a feverish slumber.
Curly looked up at Wendy, somehow sensing her jealousy, as she watched Peter sleep against his shoulder. Gently he shifted, and passed Peter over to Wendy. Peter sensed the change in position and buried his face into Wendy's neck. Wendy smiled protectively down at the sleeping angel on her shoulder, and then looked up, locking eyes with Curly in thanks. He winked and nodded in understanding.
Tink appeared from behind the gargoyle, quickly flying into the faces of the twins. One twin filled the bowl again with water, and she sprinkled it with her fairy magic once more, not having to tell them what needed to be done. Wendy nodded to Tink in gratitude, and Tink smiled back, knowing that Wendy could take care of him while she was away. With one more look at her sleeping best friend, she vanished once more behind the gargoyle. Again she could not help but double check that everything was alright, before quietly disappearing into a small crack in the wall, curiosity peaked by its stygian gloom.
The sun had begun to go down in Neverland, and its setting rays created a spectrum of color that shined through the castle, lighting it with an iridescent glow. Wendy and the lost boys settled back and watched as Neverland followed her master into slumber.
**********
Chapter 7 is finished! It took me so long to write, I know, but I was writing like five words in between notes, if that shows you just how much time I have in and out of school to write. :/ I hope you all enjoyed it, as you can see, a new plot twist! Haha. Now on to the review responses.
Nat – Wow, thank you for such compliments! I am not sure I deserve them! Yea I hate all the work. There is just so much going on, it makes me wish for summer, so that I could kick back and just write. But its not as bad, because I am on spring break right now, so I don't have anything to do right now. I don't think I will be delaying this fic, and definitely not stopping it. I love it too much, and its what keeps me sane during school. Haha I am sure that if people do not read this, they won't see your review telling them to read it. ;) thanks though!
Hailee – Cops and dogs definitely! We can bring the kibbles doughnuts. And we are all set! You are so random hun, but I love it. Keep writing your fic, and thanks for reviewing mine! Glad to see you like it so much! We WILL go to the premiere, we WILL! Lol.
MLA
Val – haha is this more enough? I hope so. I'm sorry it took me so long to update! Thanks for reviewing! It means a lot to me!
Well, there are only three for this chapter, but you guys are awesome, so I am happy. yayY! Until next time guys!, go read "Let the Fight Begin" and "Some Things Never Change" because they are amazing.
MLA
Shauna