Author's Notes: Wow! 3 chapters revised in one day! To be honest, I've had these ones done for a couple days ; ) Let me know what you guys think about the revisions!

Updated: February 11, 2021

Chapter 2

Wendy woke up to the feeling of cold water filling her lungs.

Her eyes snapped open and she began sputtering, her arms flailing wildly in order to stay afloat in the raging waves. She spun in circles, gasping to find herself in the middle of a vast ocean. The shadow that had carried her from the burning building was long gone.

Wendy's body ached from the trials of that morning. If it was even still the same day, she reminded herself bitterly, having no memories after the explosion. But that would be a worry for another time. The only thing she needed to concern herself with was finding land.

She looked up to the sky, shocked to see that the sun was beginning to rise on the horizon. Not the same day. But with the light, she was able to make out a tiny speck floating in the distance. Land.

Wendy struggled to stay afloat as she slowly made her way towards the small island, silently thanking her father for enrolling her in swim lessons one summer. Without them, she would have surely drowned by now.

When she was finally able to feel the ocean floor, she breathed a sigh of relief. Regaining stability in her legs, she carefully walked onto the shore, collapsing onto the warm sand and closing her eyes for a moment, allowing her heart to slow before standing once more.

The beach she was on was indeed breathtaking. The pristine white sand beneath her feet was soft and warm and she found momentary joy at the feeling of it squishing between her toes, having never actually experienced the sensation before. In London, there were no beaches. Only cobblestone streets, automobiles, brick buildings, and smog that billowed out of chimneys, painting the sky in a murky and dismal grey. Of course, the city she loved was probably in ruins by now.

Wendy looked out to the ocean once more. The water was a cerulean blue and crystal clear, allowing her to see the sandy bottom. Along the ocean floor, there were all sorts of curious creatures that she had heard of but never seen. Small crabs scuttled across the sands, snapping their pincers as they went. Elegant jellyfish, the color of the moon, floated gracefully in the waves, their bodies sparkling and transparent in the crystal waters. Coral reefs of vibrants colors painted the sandy bottom with fish weaving past the holes and crevices playfully. Wendy felt a smile pull at her lips before turning back to the shore.

Hugging the beach for miles was a dense forest, the foliage so thick that she could not see more than a few feet into the tree lining. She shuddered at the thought of what could be living within those woods. Crawling spiders, slithering snakes, and other frightening creatures she would rather not come across. But the forest seemed as though her only option, lest she want to stay on this beach for who knew how long before someone found her.

A small voice inside hoped that her brothers were here, too. Perhaps they were both brought here by that shadow and were somewhere on this island. The only way to find out would be to go into the forest.

Wendy took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves, taking small, hesitant steps off of the beach and entering the woods. But once her bare foot landed on the soft, mossy floor, she could no longer hear the crashing waves of the ocean. Turning around, her eyes widened in shock.

The beach that Wendy was standing on had completely disappeared, as if it had never existed at all. Instead, there was only trees and ferns where sand and sea were a moment ago. She swallowed nervously before turning and beginning to carefully navigate through the dense vegetation, slowly but surely entering into the belly of a beast.

Hours passed as she walked, but it felt like days. The forest was so thick that the sun barely broke through the dense foliage. Only the occasional ray of light beamed down onto the ground, struggling to brighten the dark haze that surrounded this forest and the longer she walked, the more worried she became. Wendy had not seen any people or buildings or anything-just tall trees, thick grass, and dirt.

She had never been very comfortable being by herself, even in her own home. She was always around someone, either her brothers who she would pass the hours playing games with wooden swords and eye patches tied around their heads, or Nana who would curl up next to her while she was sleeping and console her when she was upset. Even Mother and Father would take time away from their busy lives and read to her and her brothers on the coldest of nights.

The memories of her family formed a pit in her stomach that gnawed at her insides. She had no idea what had happened to her parents, or her brothers. Wendy sighed.

Her throat was parched, as though she were swallowing sandpaper, and her stomach was starting to rumble. Never having been very athletic, she was not used to this much exertion and her legs felt as though they might collapse any second now from supporting her weight for this long without rest.

Spotting a fallen tree a few paces to the right of her, Wendy collapsed onto the hard surface, gasping and wheezing for several minutes as perspiration trickled down her neck. The school uniform she was wearing did nothing to help with the intense heat, the cotton frock clinging to her damp skin. Biting her lip, she removed the heavy layer, leaving herself in the white slip she wore underneath the dress. It was much lighter and allowed her to move more freely than the uniform.

If anyone were around, she would have felt subconscious about the amount of skin she was revealing. But as it was, she seemed to be the only one on this island and therefore, it didn't matter that her calves and upper arms were exposed to the sun. With the heavy frock off of her form, she could breathe easier, noticing for the first time, the beauty that was within the woods.

Fresh dew drops collected upon a silky spider web and twinkled in the golden rays peeking through the leaves. A small family of rabbits with white, fluffy tails that looked like cotton, hopped along a field of wildflowers that glistened amazing shades of white and lavender. She closed her eyes and focused on the millions of sounds that floated into her ears. The sweet trilling of birds that perched on trees high above. The sound of a woodpecker tapping against the hollow trunk of a tree. The trickle of water in a stream as it flowed downhill to join into a greater river. She inhaled deeply and a small smile crept past her lips as she smelled her favorite scent of evergreen.

When walking by a local street vendor with her mother one day, the man had offered a candle for Wendy to smell. When she inhaled the aroma, it smelled heavenly. So crisp and cool, nothing like anything she had ever smelled before. The man told her that it was the scent of evergreens and she had made sure to commit that scent and name to memory.

Inhaling deeply now, she relaxed upon the fallen tree and rested, enjoying the serenity and peace. However, her moment of tranquility was short lived. Wendy began to feel a tingling at the back of her neck, the hairs standing on end. Growing apprehensive, she listened tensely around her to see if she could hear anything that would indicate danger. When she didn't hear anything except for the birds and streams, she stood up and continued to walk, but at a faster pace than she had before, just to be safe.

As she strode briskly through the forest, she had this feeling as though she were being watched. She quickened her pace even more so, desperate now to find anything that could provide her safety from whatever she felt was studying her.

Wendy happened to glance to her right as she passed by a particularly odd tree, its branches mangled and its leaves dead, so unlike the others she had seen so far. It could very well have been from her anxiety that has yet to subside, but she felt like the tree was moving towards her, as though trying to block her from going any further.

Passing this off as a hallucination from hunger or dehydration, Wendy shook her head and carried on. But as she walked by the tree, she swore that it moved again. She paused and leaned down, scanning the ground thoroughly. Her eyes widened when she found scuff marks in the dirt, as if the roots had dragged themselves. Growing suspicious, she inspected the foliage carefully, her eyes trying to discern anything out of the ordinary. She became paralyzed with fear.

Within the dead and decaying leaves, she saw slate gray eyes staring back at her. They reminded her of steel-sharp, cold, and unyielding. She could not help but become trapped in their gaze. But as she saw hands reaching from within the tree's foliage to claw at her slip, she broke free from her daze and ran.

She dashed through the forest, trees and ferns flashing past her in a hazy blur of greens and golden yellows. It wasn't long before she was panting and sweating as she attempted to get as far away as possible from those piercing gray eyes. She was sprinting as fast as she could, hopping over roots and ducking under branches. She chanced a glance behind her and didn't see anyone following, but before she even had the chance to turn her head back around, Wendy felt herself collide with something solid and warm. A person.

Hands gripped her and before she could react, she was swung up and over a shoulder as though she were a sack of laundry. Wendy started screaming and kicking and pounding her tightly clenched fists against the person's back, anything to try to break the tight hold on her, but they kept a firm grip on her, their fingers digging into her skin, hard enough to cause bruising and she winced.

"Who are you?" she demanded, in the most authoritative tone she could muster. "Where are you taking me?"

She received no response and looked down to see the back of a very muscular and tall boy. He was wearing a dark gray jacket with a hood covering his head and black pants with a belt that she noticed held a sharp dagger, glinting in the sun's rays. Her heart rate sped at the sight of the menacing blade. She resumed her thrashing, trying to release herself from his iron grip, but she knew it was a useless endeavor. He was too strong.

Wendy soon gave up and the pair travelled in silence, with him walking confidently and her sulking over his shoulder. She squinted at the sky, surmising that is was late afternoon based upon the sun's position. She had spent the entire day wandering the forest.

After an hour or so of riding on this boy's shoulder, Wendy was dumped onto the ground unceremoniously. She scrabbled to get away from her captor, but he took out rope that had been hidden within his jacket and bound her hands together. The rope rubbed against her sensitive skin, scraping her wrists from the course fibers. Wendy was terrified of what this boy could do to her. She had heard terrifying stories of what could happen to an unsuspecting girl walking alone on deserted streets in the dead of night. She began to imagine terrible, awful things-each one of them more horrifying than the last-and screamed as he approached her.

He rolled his eyes and put a hand over her mouth. "Could you shut up for two seconds?"

There was no menace in his tone, only thinly veiled irritation. He removed his hood and she lifted her head, glimpsing the face of her captor for the first time. He had wavy golden hair, a long narrow nose, and full lip-no more than seventeen years of age. She relaxed ever so slightly.

"Who are you," she asked hesitantly.

He held her gaze for a moment. "Felix."

She smiled kindly, hoping to charm her way into his good graces. "It's nice to meet you, Felix. My name is Wendy. I don't suppose you know how I can go back to London, do you? I'm not supposed to be here."

A smile appeared on his lips as he said, "You're not goin' back to London."

She swallowed. "How come?"

"No way back," Felix said with a shrug.

Her heart started to pound rapidly in her chest and she began to panic. Straining against the rope that tied her wrists together, she stood with difficulty while Felix watched her with mild amusement. When she glanced to the forest behind her, he placed his hands on her shoulders, keeping her in place.

She glared at him, proper manners now lost to the wind. "What do you mean there's 'no way back'. Surely, you must have a boat of some sort?"

As his smile widened, Wendy grew more desperate. "Perhaps a radio so that I may contact someone? A plane? Anything?"

Felix only chuckled and she pleaded, "Please, I need to leave. I must get back home. My brothers need me."

He rolled his eyes, growing tired of her begging. "Your brothers are here."

"What? You're certain of this? I must see them." She paused, trying to sound apologetic. "Please?"

The older boy blinked once before turning. "John! Michael! Can you get over here for a second?"

Wendy sidestepped Felix and tears sprung to her eyes, for surely she must be dreaming.

There were her brothers, sprinting towards her across the clearing. They tackled her to the ground and wrapped their arms around her. She rested her hands, still bound in ropes, atop their heads, feeling their silky curls weave in between her fingers, needing the reassurance that this was not some illusion, that her brothers were actually here with her and that they were together and safe. She brought her face close, resting her forehead on theirs as she looked at both of them, examining them for any injuries. Besides some dirt and what looked to be paint on them, they seemed completely fine.

She happened to glance down and noticed their clothes for the first time, beginning to laugh in amusement. "What are you both wearing?"

Her brothers shrugged sheepishly.

John and Michael had been dressed in a similar outfit to Felix. They wore light gray jackets with hoods, black pants and boots, with a belt at their sides. The outfit may have looked suitable for Felix, but on them, it made her brothers look quite silly. To her relief though, they had wooden slingshots instead of daggers.

Her relief over knowing that her brothers were safe was short lived and soon replaced with fury. She looked up at Felix. "Why have you brought us here," she demanded. "We have done nothing wrong."

The older boy glared at her. "Believe me. This wasn't my idea. I was just following orders."

Confused, she stood with the help of her brothers. "Whose orders," she asked. .

"Mine."

Wendy turned around.

"Peter Pan."