Chapter 3: Lost

"What happened," I whisper. This can't be Ferryport Landing … can it?

"I," Puck starts, and then clears his throat. "I think it was a bomb."

I nod, unable to respond. Great, just when I'm starting to get used to this place. My eyes start to sting and I know tears are coming, but I don't care. I think I have a good reason to cry.

Puck, on the other hand, looks furious. "Who the heck did this and why would they want to bomb a small town like Ferryport Landing?" he practically screams.

"I honestly don't know. Maybe it was an accident," I say shakily.

Puck shrugs, still angry. He glances at me and notices I'm still in a towel. "Follow me. I think I have something you can wear." I follow him to a dresser near his trampoline and he tosses me some clothes, turning around so that I can change in privacy. I still blush, despite the fact that he's not looking. When I finish, we walk back to the door.

"Come on," he says, wrapping his arm around my waist. Um, wow Puck. Feeling a little touchy, today is he? Worse, though, I don't really mind. Stupid 16-year-old hormones. "Let's fly around a bit. See what we're dealing with." Oh right, flying. Of course he wasn't trying to hit on me, I mentally berate myself, only slightly disappointed. Of course, the fact that I was even a little disappointed caused me to scold myself all over again. It's a welcome distraction to the destruction, though, albeit a short one.

We are silent as he flies us over Ferryport Landing. Or rather what was Ferryport Landing. There are absolutely no recognizable landmarks. The Blue Plate Special, the bank, Heart's mansion, everything is gone. Worst of all, so is Granny's house. All that's left is the little, burnt, gray lump that is Puck's room.

Finally, Puck breaks the silence. "Um, where are we?" I'm thankful that he didn't mention all the destruction. That would make everything more real than it already is. Strangely, I'm only slightly worried that we're lost. I guess it's because there's nothing to return to.

"I have absolutely no idea. Everything looks the same." It's true. Even Puck's room, which is probably the most intact thing left, is impossible to find. "Let's just keep flying until we find some kind of shelter. I don't think we'll be able to find your room again."

He nods and we fall silent again. It's horrible to see our town like this. Finally, after about an hour (my watch is broken so I can't know for sure), we spot something brownish-gold in the distance. "Oh thank God, I'm exhausted," Puck says. "Plus, you're really heavy." I roll my eyes, not even planning to respond. His insults are normal, and anything normal is a blessing.

"What do you think it is?" I ask, growing tired of the silence.

"I think it's some kind of statue," he says curiously. "Where do you think we are?"

"That isn't the Hans Christian Anderson statue is it?" I ask, growing hopeful. Maybe others survived. Maybe we're not alone.

Puck frowns. "It could be. We've been flying long enough. But I doubt anyone was actually there. Mustardseed managed to build a nice everafter shelter. After that, no one even bothered coming to the Golden Egg." Oh yeah, I forgot about that.

We're silent the rest of the way to the statue. We tell it a knock knock joke and enter the Golden Egg. We search every room but we don't find anyone. We really are alone.

Eventually, we just sit in the main room and sip at the hot chocolate we found. "Do you think everyone's okay?" I ask Puck even though it's a stupid question. I already know that there's no possible way anyone made it.

"It's possible. Maybe there's a basement that we didn't know about and they survived that way," he says, not wanting to say the truth. We both know there's no basement.

I smile, not happy, but grateful that he didn't say anything awful. Yawning, I say, "I think I'll go take a nap. I'm really tired."

He nods and stands up too. We walk through the hallway and I walk into a bedroom. Surprisingly, he follows and says, "What? I'm not going to leave you alone. Not now." Then he walks over to a chair in the corner and sits down. Once again, I smile gratefully. I really didn't want to spend the night alone, even if it meant spending the night with Puck. I walk over to the bed, pull the covers over me, and fall asleep instantly.