Shadows of Neverland (Second Star Book 3)

by Josh Hayes

  "Tom, get the rest of them out of here!" Peter yelled, pushing off the floor. He raced across the room, shiftblade already out and unfolding. He pressed his back against one of the large server racks, then peered out toward the security room. After a second round of enemy fire, he brought his pistol up and returned fire.

  Carter joined Tom near the platform, both taking turns firing back at the oncoming attackers. Irving held Maggs tight near the edge of the control booth, trying desperately to keep the little girl still. More enemy rounds pounded the wall behind her. Another explosion ripped through the wall at the front of the room, filling the air with dust, smoke and debris.

  This can't be happening, Wendy thought, wiping tears from her eyes. She coughed against the building smoke cloud. Peter was pinned down near the center of the room; he wouldn't be able to hold Hook's men off forever. They weren't going to make it—

  A suddenly brilliant light filled the room, blinding her. A blast of warm air hit her, rushing wind howling in her ears, drowning out the gunfire around her. Shielding her eyes, Wendy squinted against the brightness, and as her eyes adjusted, she saw a man-sized oval doorway appear in the middle of the room. Brilliant energy pulsed around the circumference, red and yellow and orange bands of lightning, lashing out in all directions. The stark white in the center faded, revealing a dark street stretching away from the opening, lit by dull orange streetlights.

  The Portal. Home.

  "Peter!" she shouted, scrambling to her feet. "Peter, it's open! It's open! Maggs, it's open!"

  The server rack Peter had taken cover behind exploded in a shower of sparks and smoke, knocking him back. He landed hard, rolling backwards, using the momentum to push himself back onto his feet. He fired twice, while dodging to the right. "What are you doing? Get out of here! Get to the Portal!"

  Wendy ran to Maggs, pulling her sister from Irving's arms. "Thank you, Irving. Thank you for helping her."

  "You're very welcome," Irving said, pushing himself to his feet.

  Another explosion shook the floor, almost knocking Wendy to the ground. She grunted, holding her sister upright. Irving stumbled away, heading for the platform where Carter was calling for him.

  Maggie clung tightly to Wendy as she turned for the Portal. Both sisters helped each other across the room, toward home.

  Gentry pointed at the swirling mass of energy. "There's only enough energy for one at a time."

  Peter fired again, emptying his magazine, then looked over his shoulder at them. "Go, Wendy! Get her home, I'll be right behind you."

  "No!" Wendy screamed. "Peter, no! You're coming too!"

  The sounds of the battle faded slightly as she crossed the threshold onto the platform, replaced by the howling wind and snapping energy bands. A strange mixture of rage and despair came over her as she realized that the man she loved wouldn't be coming with her. She felt her sister pulling on her, begging her to come with her, begging her to return to their world. But somewhere inside, a part of her had begun to believe that Neverland was her home now.

  "Wendy!" Peter shouted. "You have to—"

  A powerful blast ripped through the wall behind Wendy, throwing her forward, Maggs slipping from her arms as she fell. The impact knocked the air from her lungs, and pain shot through her body. She curled into a ball, gasping for breath. Ignoring the pain and ringing in her ears, she looked around, confused, her vision blurry from the impact.

  "Maggs?" she wheezed, as she sucked down gulps of precious air.

  Her sister was gone.

  Blood pulsed in her ears as she pushed herself up on hands and knees, eyes searching. Finally, her eyes locked onto the Portal. Maggs pushed herself to her knees, tears streaming down her face. "Wendy?"

  Wendy pushed herself to her feet and stepped toward the portal. She really was going ho—

  A thunderous crack ripped through the air as a blast of wind struck her head-on, pushing her back a step. Wind howled in her ears again as a second blast hit her. Lightning flashed, colorful bands of energy lashing out. A whistling filled the air around her, then a third clap of thunder echoed around her.

  "Wendy!" Maggs screamed.

  The floor trembled. Wendy cried out as another blast of wind hit her, knocking her off her feet. More energy lashed out. She could feel it pulsing through her. Through the swirling bands of energy, Wendy saw her sister reaching out for her. Wind howled in her ears, but something was wrong. The wind wasn't blowing against her, it was sucking in toward the Portal.

  The Portal flexed, humming with energy. Light flashed, and a ring of energy pulsed out from the opening in all directions. It hit Wendy like a truck, throwing her across the floor. Her world became a blur as she tumbled away from the Portal. She slammed into something hard, her right side erupting in pain.

  "Wendy!"

  Wendy ignored the pain, pushing herself to her knees. Her sister's hand stretched through the opening, an opening that was slowly growing smaller. "No!"

  Frantically, Wendy stumped to her feet. "No! No! No!"

  The wind changed directions again, pushing hard against her, as if the Portal was fighting her, refusing her passage.

  On the other side, Maggie was jumping up and down, wailing. "Wendy! Wendy, come on! Please, hurry!"

  Another blast of energy slammed against her, pushing her back half a step, and another thunderclap reverberated around her. Energy bands snapped, and Wendy felt their power lash out and touch her. She could barely see Maggs through the opening. She screamed for it to stop, pushing against the wind as another blast of energy knocked her back.

  "No!" She screamed. "Stop! You can't! No! MAGGIE! STOP!"

  Her sister's face disappeared as the colorful, pulsating bands of energy met. One final burst of energy flared out from the center, and a second later it blinked out of existence. The wind's furious howling vanished, replaced by a sudden eerie silence.

  Wendy screamed, collapsing on the floor. She pressed her face into the cold surface and screamed until her throat hurt.

  Her father was gone. Her mother was gone. Her sister was gone. She'd failed them all. She'd broken her promise. Her entire body went numb as her heart broke.

  Hands and arms wrapped around her, pulling her to her feet. She was only vaguely aware of voices shouting instructions. She heard muted pops in the distance: gunshots? She didn't know, she didn't care.

  Let them kill me, she thought. She didn't have anything to live for now.

  She felt herself being lifted into the air. "Leave me." Her voice was weak, barely audible over the shouts and gunfire around her. She bounced through the air, realizing that the person carrying her was running. They were taking her away from Maggie.

  "No!" she cried, trying to wiggle free. "No, no, no, Maggie, I can't leave Maggie!"

  "Wendy, stop," Carter shouted. "There's nothing we can do, we have to get out of here, now! Wendy, stop!"

  "No, I promised! I promised! I have to help her! Daddy, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

  Another pair of hands latched around her feet, lifting higher. A second later she felt the cold floor of the skiff and turned to look back at the control room.

  Smoke poured through the gaping hole in the wall. Unending gunfire echoed through the air as the back wall and control station disintegrated under the assault. Displays shattered, flames burst from broken panels, showers of sparks sprayed the room.

  Tom lifted Wendy into one of the seats and began strapping her in.

  "Come on, Carter," Tom shouted. "He's not going to be able to hold them off forever! Help me!"

  Wendy fought to break free. "Let me go!"

  Carter moved over and held Wendy down, helping Tom get the harness secured and tightened.

  "Tim," Bella said, strapping herself in next to Wendy. "Come on, let's go!"

  "Where's Pan?"

  "He's holding them off," Tim shouted, moving into the cockpit behind Wendy. "Go!"

  "NO!" Wendy shouted.

  The world outside the skiff tilted and the
platform dropped away. Acceleration pushed Wendy back into her seat as she struggled to undo her harness. "Wait, no! We can't! Where's Peter?"

  Carter threw the door shut. "Stop her!"

  Bella reached over, pulling Wendy's hands away from the clasps. "Wendy, stop! There isn't anything we can do!"

  "We can't leave him!"

  Engines roared. Wendy felt the small craft shake as it shot away from the Skyward Garrison. Away from Peter. Away from her sister. Away from home.

  She twisted against the straps, craning her head around to see past Bella. Outside, the station grew small. She caught a glimpse of the warship as it appeared from the far side, before the skiff banked again and dove for the city. Even in the distance, the thing looked monstrous. There was no way they'd be able to stand against that.

  "I'm sorry," Wendy said.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Now

  "He held Hook's men off so we could escape," Wendy said, staring up into the night sky.

  "He was very a very brave man," Lily said, leading their little group through the maze of corridors cut from sheer rock. They turned a corner and approached two massive steel doors.

  "Still is," Michael corrected.

  Lily shot him a look and nodded. "Right. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

  He waved her off. "It's okay."

  They'd been walking for the better part of twenty minutes as Wendy had recounted her story. The Redleen fortress was massive. The tunnels seemed to run for miles, the entire complex cut from the rock cliffs and the earth beyond. Everything seemed oversized, and John wasn't sure if that was intentional or if the Redleen leaders just liked building things a little larger than life.

  "Hell of a way to end a story," Lily said, moving to a small control panel beside the doors.

  Wendy nodded, her jaw muscles clenching. Her words had become increasingly clipped and terse as she'd neared the end, and she'd had to pause several times before finishing. John couldn't fault her anger and hatred. With the amount of loss she'd suffered through, he was surprised she still managed to press on.

  I'm not sure I would've been able to, John thought to himself.

  Wendy eyed Lily for a moment. "It isn't over."

  A slight grin appeared at the edge of Lily's lips. "I'm glad to hear it." She keyed the panel. It flashed and chimed a two-tone alert. A clanking echoed from the doors as internal mechanisms unlocked and the massive doors slid apart.

  John and Michael exchanged questioning looks as the doors disappeared into the rock face, and Michael shrugged.

  "Come on," Lily said, stepping between the still-opening doors. "I want to show you something."

  They followed the woman onto a raised platform, looking down over an expansive hangar bay. The cavernous space was a hundred meters in width and twice that in length. Two rows of attack craft, like the ones Brycin had flown to escort them here, were lined up to the left. Several large transport barges were arrayed on the right. Support crews moved across the deck, transporting fuel, weapons, and supplies to the various craft.

  "What is this?" Wendy asked, stepping up to the railing.

  "The Elders may be reluctant to acknowledge the growing Regency threat, but our military is not. General Parsol keeps his people in an almost constant state of readiness. At any given time, they are running between two and five operations throughout the day."

  A shuttle, slightly larger than the skiff, lifted off the deck, moving toward one of the three large circular exit points on the right side. As it moved off, John noticed the three larger ships near the back of the bay.

  Using one of the crewmen standing below the first ship, John did some quick calculations in his head. The ships were at least forty-five meters long from bow to stern, with a beam of at least ten. A cargo ramp extended down between the two front landing struts, giving the crews easy access into the ship. Turret cannons, mounted on both the port and starboard sides of the bow, pointed straight up. Crew-served gun turrets were mounted along the gunwales every ten feet. Three-quarters of the deck was open near the bow, stretching back to a bridge looking over the deck.

  "That's what I'm talking about," John said, having no doubt about the purpose of those ships.

  "Serpa-killers," Lily explained, smiling.

  "Those are bigger than anything the Regency have," Michael said. "Except the Revenge and Pride, of course."

  "How?" Wendy asked.

  "The Graft forgot a lot of things when they abandoned Nevaris," Lily said. "Forgot, or simply left it behind. They had other pressing matters to deal with at the time."

  Wendy frowned. "I don't understand."

  "They were dying," Lily explained.

  Michael snapped his fingers. "I knew it. Was it the Dust?"

  Lily nodded. "The bands of rock that orbit the planet contain elements that are obviously beneficial to humans: long life, enhanced immune systems, really, the list goes on. Turns out those same elements are deadly for the Graft. About a year after the first of us arrived, they started to get sick. A couple years after that, they started to die. By the time they realized what was killing them, they couldn't get off the planet fast enough."

  John shook his head. "Where did they go?"

  "We don't know. They kept their navigational charts and anything remotely relevant to their race strictly classified. Even the Trustees didn't have access to that, and it was some of the first data they purged when they left."

  "Trustees?" Wendy asked.

  "Some of the very first people the Graft brought here were set up as liaisons between the Graft and humans. They were given special privileges and freedoms that others weren't. The first council of Elders were the Trustees that managed to escape during the purge. Those first Elders were able to preserve much of the original data, hiding it away until the Graft finally left for good. I don't think the Graft even cared what they were leaving behind near the end, they just wanted to get hell off this rock."

  "But why come all the way out here?" Wendy asked.

  "As you might imagine, the Trustees weren't well liked among the human population of Nevaris. They were looked at like traitors to their own race, and hated for the extra freedoms granted them by the Graft. They were hunted down after the Graft left; they deleted everything the Graft hadn't, and fled here."

  "What is this place?"

  "We think it was one of their storage sites, but we're not sure."

  "How many outposts did they leave behind?" John asked.

  "Several, although most were scientific stations. Our scouts spent a number of years searching them out, cataloging them and bringing back anything of value."

  "So if this wasn't where the Graft came from, what was it?" John asked. "Some kind of zoo?"

  "Not so much a zoo," Lily said. "More like a testing ground. Of course, they never came out and explained what their plans were. They wanted to study humanity, that much was certain, but to what end, we may never know."

  "It doesn't matter now," Wendy said. "It's our world now, and the only thing that matters is saving it from Hook's insanity. The Regency has done more damage to Neverland than the Graft ever did."

  John leaned forward on the railing. "I bet you we could do some serious damage with the airpower you have here."

  "Even with these ships, we don't come close to the amount of firepower Hook has at his disposal," Wendy said.

  John shrugged. "Having the biggest gun doesn't always mean you have the advantage."

  "It doesn't matter," Wendy said. "You heard the Chief, they don't have any desire to fight."

  Lily turned to face her. "The Council is reluctant to fight, true. But that doesn't mean my people aren't ready to put their lives on the line to save our world. We have been preparing for this fight for longer than I have been alive. The stakes are more than you or I can imagine, and the fate of two worlds rests in the balance."

  "Two worlds?" John asked.

  "You think Hook will stop with conquering Nevaris? Once he's finished here, Earth
will be next. If we lose this war, there will be no stopping him. It's time we stop running. It's time to take this right to Hook's doorstep. One way or another, the war for Neverland will end."

  The End

  The battle for Neverland will conclude in…

  Straight on 'til Morning

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for following me on this journey! Shadows is definitely one of my favorite stories, and I can't wait to hear what you think about it! Straight on 'Til Morning should be out sometime late next year (2018) and I hope you'll bear with me as I think the final book in the series will really be worth the wait.

  Best Regards,

  Josh

  PS. If you're into learning more about the authors of your favorite books, be sure to check out the podcast I co-host with Scott Moon and Ralph Kern: Keystroke Medium.

  Links:

  www.keystrokemedium.com

  www.youtube.com/c/keystrokemedium

  Keystroke Medium Facebook Group

  Table of Contents

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Also by

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Author's Note