by J. M. Page
"What makes you think I want to bring you along?" the stranger said, his face slowly morphing into that devilishly reckless smile that made her knees feel like rubber.
Wendy paused, mulling it over. "You seem to need people to fill out your band of hooligans... I'm a person," she said without much conviction. "Besides, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into with my brothers. I know all their tricks. You're going to want me around."
The man looked her up and down, circling her like a predator sizing up its prey. Wendy squirmed, not sure she liked the unabashed way he looked at her.
"So you're willing to perform, then?" he asked, his face neutral, but his eyes sparkling.
Wendy tripped over her answer, looking over to her brothers and their twin horrified expressions. They may not want her to tag along, but it was for their own good. She couldn't just have them running around on a distant planet doing who knows what and getting themselves into danger. She couldn't let that rest on her conscience.
"Yes," she said finally, her voice firmer than she expected. "I'll do whatever it takes to stay with my brothers. I can be useful," she said, not knowing precisely how she'd be useful, but she could worry about that later, once she knew Michael and John were safe and sound.
"Peter," Tink hissed, crossing the room in a dainty scurry. She grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him aside, the two of them having an animated discussion that Wendy couldn't quite hear.
"Wendy, you don't have to do this," John said, pulling her attention away from the bickering pair of strangers. "We can take care of ourselves."
Wendy gave him a fond smile and patted him on the arm gently. "I know you think that, but you're still just boys. You need me to take care of you. University was one thing, when you were only a few blocks away, but this..." She gestured wildly, not knowing what she was trying to point to. "This is more than I think you realize. And if I can't talk you out of it, I'm going to have to go with you. That's all there is to it."
"You can't just—" Tink whisper-yelled at Peter, but he was already leaving her to return to the rest of them.
He clapped his hands together with a wide grin splitting his face. "Alright, it seems we're all off to Neverland," he said.
That simple sentence was enough to fill Wendy with a wash of relief and a buzzing gnawing dread all at once. Was she really going to venture off to another planet? She had a job — albeit not a very important one — and a life here on Earth.
But her real life was her brothers. She couldn't let harm come to them.
"Wonderful," she said, her voice ringing hollow.
Ignoring both her and Tink — who was still trying to pointedly get Peter's attention — he turned to the boys and said, "Let's finish getting all this packed up so we can go, yeah?" Then to Wendy he added, “Maybe you want to go grab a few things for the trip?”
She folded her arms, narrowing her eyes. “Yeah, and just give you the opportunity to leave me behind? I don’t think so. I’ll make do.”
“Suit yourself,” he said with a shrug, getting back to work.
They worked in silence, only a few words from Peter now and then to tell them where to put something or how to pack something up. With all five of them working, the job was done quickly and then it was time to board the ship.
Peter and Tink boarded first, followed by John, but Michael hung back, preventing Wendy from boarding.
"Look, I know you're just trying to do what you think is best, but we can handle this. We're adults now. Let us have this," he said, making her heart squeeze uncomfortably tight in her chest.
She knew what it was like to be eighteen and want nothing more than freedom, but she also had the benefit of hindsight. Wendy shook her head, the last of her hair coming free from its ponytail, and sighed.
"I'll just go along for a little while. How about that? I'll see that everything is in order and you two are taken care of and then I'll come home and mind my own business." She wasn't sure if that was a promise she could keep, but it would hold for a little while at least. Until she could figure out how to show the twins that they were making a terrible mistake.
Michael frowned, mulling it over before his expression softened. "Yeah, alright. Deal. That's probably the best I'll get out of you anyway," he teased, slinging an arm over her shoulder as they walked up the ramp into the spaceship.
"It certainly is," she agreed.
Peter's ship was unlike anything Wendy had ever seen. It was no bigger than the school bus she used to take as a child, but the body was shaped like a bullet, the entire front of the craft encased in dark glass she couldn't see through. She didn't know anything about spaceships, really, it had never interested her, and inter-planetary flights were only for the mega-rich on Earth. Judging by the wear and tear on their props, Wendy didn't think that Peter and Tink were mega-rich and she began to wonder if space travel was more common in other parts of the galaxy. Earth did its best to stay isolated and mind its own business, but Wendy couldn't help but consider the possibilities.
She and Michael climbed up the ramp, leading through a dark narrow tunnel, up into the main atrium of the craft. There, she could see out the giant glass front, looking out at the other end of the alley that spilled into a different street. Different, but really the same. All the streets in this part of town kind of blurred together.
"So, how long is this flight?" she finally asked, tilting her head back to look at the starless sky above. Too many city lights blotted out the stars and Wendy remembered the one time she'd seen them — with her parents on a trip before the twins were born. Before their family fell apart and she was left alone to pick up the pieces. There had been other times in the past when she'd thought she saw a star, but it always turned out to be satellites and shuttles. To think that she would soon be traveling to space — to another planet, another solar system — was almost too much for her mind to process.
Peter walked around the control panels, starting up the systems, reading things off monitors he brought to life with a press of a button. "We have stasis chambers for everyone to sleep in. It's not a very long trip, but you're better off asleep for light-speed travel."
Wendy frowned. "Asleep?" But that meant she wouldn't see the stars after all. Her stomach sank.
"Really, it will feel like you closed your eyes for only a moment," John said, causing her to whip her head around.
"How do you know about this?"
John sent her a sheepish smirk and a shrug. "Do you really wanna know the answer to that?"
Wendy winced. That probably meant he was trying to build his own spaceship or something. "No," she answered, deciding that in this one instance, ignorance was bliss.
"John's right — it is John, right? You two should wear name tags or something," Peter said. Michael stopped his perusal of the monitors and gauges long enough to flash a grin Peter's way.
"What fun would that be?"
"But yes, John is correct. The pods emit a vapor that puts you under a deep sleep and hours pass by in what seems to be an instant. You have nothing to worry about, it's all perfectly safe. You should all take a seat, though if we want to get this show on the road."
As he said it, Peter pressed a button and a handful of chairs — one for each of them — rose from the floor, complete with safety harnesses. Wendy took hers quickly, strapping in as the spaceship rumbled to life. She could feel the vibration of the engine in her toes and it set off a mirror vibration in her veins, her whole body humming with nervousness and excitement. She'd never ever in a million years think to do something like this on her own, but even she had to admit it was... thrilling. She just couldn't let John and Michael know she felt that way. They'd always be wanting to go on crazy adventures if she did.
Tink also took her seat, and finally the boys sat too as Peter angled the nose of the craft toward the sky.
"All set?" he asked, jogging to his own seat and strapping in.
"Are you two buckled in?" Wendy asked, craning her neck to lo
ok at her brothers.
"Yes," John said, sounding exasperated.
Wendy took a deep breath to steady herself and nodded at no one as she gazed out the glass shield into the reddish-black haze of the night sky filled with light pollution from the city. "Okay, we're really doing thi—" Her words faded into a gasp as the ship shot off the ground and thrust her back into her seat, forcing the air from her lungs. The city rushed by in a blur, but then all at once, like surfacing from water, they burst free of the Earth's atmosphere and empty space greeted them.
Not completely empty, mind you. There was still the whole ring of satellites and debris that orbited the planet to navigate through, but they were actually in space. Peter deftly got them past the space junk and then they were whipping past the moon and heading out of the solar system.
"This is awesome!" Michael cried, and Wendy looked just in time to see him floating out of his chair, drifting around the cockpit.
"Hey, that looks fun," John said, followed by the click of his harness releasing.
"Race you down the hall?" Michael asked gleefully.
"Hurry up, slowpoke!" John answered, already breast-stroking through the air.
"Cheater!" Michael called as he chased after his twin.
"Boys! Be careful!" Wendy yelled after them, her stomach already in knots waiting for the sounds of an injury or an explosion — both were equally likely with those two.
"Relax," Peter said, grinning. She may not have known the man well, but she already knew enough to be wary of that grin. He flipped a switch on his control panel and there were two heavy thuds and cries of "ow!" Peter chuckled, shaking his head. "I turned on the gravity," he said to Wendy's puzzled look. "You can unbuckle now if you'd like."
Tink looked between the two of them and huffed, yanking her harness off and storming out of the cockpit.
Wendy frowned. "Did I do something to upset her?"
Peter laughed again and the sound made Wendy's heart feel like it was full of bubbles. "Who Tink? Nah. She probably just wants to get a head start on her beauty sleep. You know how performers are..."
Wendy tried to offer a smile of understanding, but it wound up more of a confused look. Finally, she shook her head, laughing a little at herself. "I don't, actually."
Peter nodded. "That's right. Well, you will soon enough. But for now, we should get to the stasis pods."
Wendy looked back out the front window and just stared for a long time. "Yeah, I suppose we should," she said, still not unstrapping from her seat.
Chapter Four
Peter
Peter watched Wendy stand from her seat, so graceful, but also hesitant. She wandered to the front of the ship, pressing her palm against the glass, her breath fogging it as she leaned in even further.
He tilted his head to the side, taking in the scene, once again, feeling like voyeur to this woman's life. He took a few silent steps until he was just behind her. She didn't seem to notice, because when he spoke she jumped, gasped, and held her hand to her heart.
"First time in space?" he asked.
Wendy's fingers curled into her chest and she took a deep breath to steady herself, the frantic pace of her pulse visible in the base of her neck.
She nodded slowly, turning her eyes back to the window. "I haven't seen stars since I was a little girl," she said, her voice awe-filled and distant. Her wide eyes stared into the abyss of space, transfixed.
"I'm surprised you wanted to join us," he said, not knowing how else to fill the void. Generally, Peter had no problem filling silences until they were stuffed to the brim with jokes, witty observations, and good-natured teases, but something about this woman's seriousness kept him mostly quiet.
Wendy turned away from the window to face him, her chin lifted in defiance. "You should never be surprised by the lengths I'm willing to go for my brothers."
He frowned at that, not sure what to make of the proclamation. Was it a threat? Or simply a statement of fact? Peter got the impression that Wendy thought he was nothing but trouble — the man determined to drag her sweet brothers into ruin and a life of loose morals — and he didn't know how to combat that impression when she was most likely right. The boys were a means to an end for him and she was right to think he didn't particularly care about their well-being. As long as they were standing and able to perform, he didn't care what trouble they got themselves into.
As the silence grew and spread, it felt like a physical force repelling them from one another. He couldn't say he was surprised about that, either. Wendy didn't seem like the type of woman he'd ever get along with, and Peter didn't have any plans to try and change that. She was more than likely just going to be in his way, so the sooner they established this divide, the better for him.
"Where is it we're going?" she asked, her voice soft and breathy. "I mean, in the sky, where's Neverland?"
The sound of his home's name on her prim lips did something deep down inside of Peter, but he shoved it away and grinned, pointing out the glass. "Do you see that big red one there?"
Wendy's brow pushed down, wrinkling her forehead as she squinted, leaning forward until her nose was against the glass. "That one?" she asked, pointing.
Peter followed her line of sight and shook his head. "No, over here," he said, slipping an arm around her shoulders, his chin practically resting on her shoulder as he lined up her vision. Wendy immediately stiffened at his touch, but she stood stock still like a statue, refusing to bend.
"Oh, I see it," she said with a nod. "So that's where Planet Neverland is?"
Peter's arm dropped and he took a step back, trying to rid his lungs of the cloyingly sweet floral scent of her. Being that near to Wendy was like burying his head in a pot of flowers.
"Second star to the right," he said, moving her pointing finger to line up with the right point of light. "And straight on 'til morning."
Wendy turned, her brow crinkled again. "Morning?"
Peter shrugged. "Relatively speaking. The ship will wake us up when we're close."
"I guess for that, I need to actually go to sleep," Wendy said, looking back at the stars. "It's a shame I won't get to enjoy the scenery along the way."
Peter waved her concerns off. "It gets pretty boring after a while. It's all the same. Black space, tiny dots of light. Not all that interesting."
Wendy turned away from the front window and started walking down the hall her brothers and Tink had disappeared down. Peter jogged to catch up to her, still feeling like there was something he should say to ease her worries even if easing worries wasn't necessarily his forte.
"This one can be yours," he said, instead of anything conciliatory, pointing at a tube-like chamber nestled in the hallway. There were half a dozen of these stasis pods on this ship and half of them were already occupied.
He pressed a button and the door hissed with release, popping open. Wendy bent to look in — it wasn't anything special, a simple mattress and pillow, smooth, sterile walls curving upward, and the tiny holes in the wall where the sleep-inducing vapor would be released. She stuck her head in, pulled back out, and made a face. "Cozy," she said.
Peter chuckled. "Yeah, well, at least it only feels like you've blinked for a moment," he said.
She sighed and nodded. "I suppose so." Then, Wendy got on her hands and knees, crawling into the tube before sitting on the center of the mattress.
"Just lay down and I'll start the sequence," he said.
She wriggled and huffed, trying to get situated and comfortable in the cramped space, but finally she lifted her head and said, "Go ahead then."
Peter tapped a few commands into the panel on the wall and watched as odorless colorless vapor shot into the space. Wendy's head dropped back to the pillow in an instant, in a deep sleep. He watched her for a moment, shaking his head at the turn of events. This woman had no business cavorting with people like him. She had no idea what she'd signed up for.
But as she lay there, her face placid and calm with the peace of a
deep slumber, Peter couldn't help but feel like maybe he was the one in over his head.
Chapter Five
Wendy
When she opened her eyes again, Wendy felt like she'd only blinked. Like no time had passed at all. What's more, she didn't know what had awoken her.
The ship lurched and Wendy flew up from the mattress, her forehead coming millimeters from the top of her stasis tube.
"Watch it! You're doing it wrong," she heard Michael say.
Her stomach twisted on itself, wringing with dread. What had they gotten into this time?
Peter says he has this under control. I should let him deal with it, she thought, trying to make her heart rate slow to a normal pace. The ship jumped again, this time tossing Wendy until her nose was squished up against the wall.
"You're awful. It's my turn," Michael said again. Then she heard the two of them scuffling and arguing and she groaned.
Peter did not have this under control.
She sat up, a few wayward hairs brushing the ceiling of the chamber, and reached for the door. It didn't budge. She pushed and pulled, felt around the walls, and finally resorted to kicking the porthole-like opening, but nothing worked.
"Let me out of here!" she shouted to no one, banging on the door. The ship turned on its side, and Wendy was thrown against the door hard enough to mash her cheek up in an uncomfortable grimace.
With the ship still on its side, Peter came walking down the hallway, making his way along the opposite wall, stepping around the other stasis chamber doors. He looked straight up and smiled at her, her face twisted like clay against the glass as gravity pushed her down, face first.
"Let me help," Peter said, reaching above his head to type in something on a keypad outside her door.
All at once, the door hissed open and Wendy tumbled out, landing in a tangled heap on top of Peter.
"Ow, sorry, I—"
"No, no, let me—"
"—if I could just—"
Wendy tried to extract herself, but the more she tried, to worse it seemed to get, their limbs crisscrossed and interlaced in an impossible knot.