Page 81 of Lost in the Never Woods

“What are you talking about?” she demanded. She couldn’t trust anything it said. It was probably just trying to manipulate her, to trick them. Wendy knew it fed off negative energy—she couldn’t let it get the better of her.

The shadow feigned a look of surprise. “Why, this is where dear Peter found you and your brothers!”

An electric shock ran through Wendy’s body. Caught off guard, she felt her resolve waver. Wendy glanced in Peter’s direction, unwilling to let the shadow distract her. “Is that true?” she asked him.

Peter gave a curt nod, eyes still locked on the shadow. He was poised, ready to lunge, a smoldering glower on his face.

Was that why she kept drawing the tree? Why she had seen it the other night in her dream? Was it some sort of muscle memory that kept coming back to her, that had brought her here? This was where Peter had found her. It was where she and her brothers had gone missing. Where her living nightmare over the past five years had begun.

Wendy turned back to the shadow. “Where are my brothers?” she repeated, losing her patience and composure.

Its eyebrows arched high, wrinkling its forehead. “Hasn’t Peter told you?” Its bright white teeth dragged over its bottom lip in amusement.

“He told me you have them, and all the other kids who have gone missing from town,” Wendy seethed through gritted teeth.

The shadow broke into another round of rumbling laughter that Wendy felt in her bones. After a long moment, they died down and it looked at her. “You’ll never see them again, Wendy,” he told her quietly with a smile.

A sudden burst of rage and anguish cut through Wendy like a knife. She lunged for the shadow, but it collapsed into a pool of black and dissipated into the woods, leaving echoes of laughter in its wake.

“No!” Wendy shouted. She wouldn’t let it get away, not now, they needed to stop it, she needed to get her brothers back. Wendy made to chase after it, but Peter grabbed her from behind.

“Wendy, stop!” Peter said, his breath harsh against the side of her neck. He locked his arms tightly around her middle, pulling her against him, lifting her off her feet.

Wendy struggled and thrashed. She kicked her feet out and tried to yank herself away from him, but he didn’t budge.

“Let me go!” she screamed into the woods. She pushed at his arms and attempted to jerk herself from his grip. “I need to stop it!” she yelled. She pounded her fists against his arms. “I have to get them back. I have to get my brothers back!” She was shaking now. “John and Michael, I have to get them back!” Her voice cracked and wailed. She felt like she had been broken in two. Her body ached all over, the longing for her brothers coursing through her skin. There was a gaping hole in her stomach.

“It’s gone, Wendy,” Peter said in her ear.

Wendy wanted to shout at Peter, but when she sucked in a breath, a wobbly sob choked her. Wendy’s legs gave out from under her, but Peter held her tight, keeping her close. She doubled over in Peter’s arms. Uncontrollable wails ripped through her throat. Sobs wracked her body.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Peter said gently into her ear, trying to coax her down, his cheek pressed against her hair. His words were as shaky as her hands.

She had failed them. Again.

The guilt and grief were all-consuming. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t pull herself out of it.

Under the cries of her mourning, Wendy could’ve sworn she could hear far-off chuckling.

Wendy twisted in Peter’s arms, burying her face in his shoulder. She balled his shirt into her fists and bawled with abandon.

Peter’s body tensed at first, but then his muscles relaxed. He placed one hand on the back of her neck and the other on the small of her back, pulling her closer. He tucked the top of her head under his chin.

The shadow had been right there in front of them. They should’ve stopped it. They should’ve done something. Wendy should’ve stopped it. That was why she was here, that was what she was supposed to do, but she hadn’t. She couldn’t—she didn’t know how. The thing that was holding John and Michael captive had been right in front of her, but she was still no closer to saving them.

Wendy didn’t know how long they stood there. She would start to calm down, but then she would think of her brothers scared in some dark room together, or Alex alone and crying in the woods, or the little girl, Ashley, being tormented by the shadow, and a new wave of guilt would consume her.

But Peter remained, holding on to her and occasionally speaking softly in her ear, “It’s going to be okay. We’ll find the missing kids. We’ll figure this out. Wendy, it will be okay.”

Eventually, the crying subsided into intermittent hiccups. Maybe she had finally cried out all the tears left in her, or her body just didn’t have the strength to keep it up. Every sob and ache drained Wendy of her energy to fight. The very air seemed to be weighing on her shoulders. She was exhausted and defeated.

The only comfort was the radiating warmth of Peter as she huddled against him. When she finally pulled back, the front of his shirt was soaked with her tears and snot. She rubbed her nose off on the back of her hand and tried to wipe the wetness from her cheeks. Her eyes stung. Everything was blurry. Her whole body ached with grief.

“Let’s get out of here,” Peter said gently. He tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “It’s getting late. We don’t want to run into the search crews…”

Wendy could only nod in agreement as she wiped her nose on her arm. She started to follow Peter, fingers lacing with his, but as she left the clearing, Wendy couldn’t help sparing one last look at the tree.

It stood there, silent and gray as stone. All trace of the whispers had vanished.