by Shari Arnold
“Just watch,” she answers. She takes my hand, perhaps sensing how nervous I am.
Leaning close, the dinosaur rubs his face against Jeremy’s. I cover my mouth in fear. This would be the moment I would run away screaming. But Jeremy is nothing like me, apparently. He giggles and hugs the dinosaur close. I guess he has his answer.
With one long, drawn-out stretch of its neck, the dinosaur bends down to the ground anticipating Jeremy’s ascent. But Jeremy flies up instead, settling himself on the dinosaur’s back.
“I’m doing it!” he yells, holding onto the dinosaur’s neck as it begins to move. “I’m riding him!” And that breath of air I’d been holding slips through my lips with a loud whoosh.
All at once the children fill the sky. They’ve kept their distance long enough. They circle around, watching as Jeremy begins to explore his island by dinosaurback.
“Come on!” he calls out to them. “They’re friendly!” The rest of the children start to move in. Soon each dinosaur is giving a ride. Some take on more than a handful of children.
“Come on, Jane!” A small group of girls is waving at her from their perch on the dinosaurs. “Ride with us!”
Jane hesitates a moment. Her arms are crossed in front of her as she stands next to Meyer and Echo. The three of them resemble parents on the playground, excited for their children to play yet withdrawn from the experience.
“Go on,” Meyer tells her, nudging her from behind. “You know you want to.”
And then she’s gone, joining the children as they explore the newest addition to the Treasure Islands.
“Isn’t it amazing, Livy? I can’t wait for you to explore mine. We’ll have a dance today! In your honor, of course,” Jenna says with a bow.
“Of course,” I say, grinning back at her. “I can’t wait.”
Besides Echo, Jenna is the only child who hasn’t joined in now and I worry my presence is holding her back. “What about you?” I ask. “Why aren’t you down there?”
“Dinosaurs aren’t my favorite,” she tells me.
“Or your best?” I laugh, pulling her close.
“You’re my favorite, Livy,” she whispers, and all those things I’ve wanted to say to her since the moment I got here are unnecessary now. With those few words she’s made it clear we feel the same.
I lower myself to the ground, taking Jenna with me. I pull her into my lap and she rests her head back against my chest in that place where her head always fit best. While the dinosaurs roam Jeremy’s island I begin to believe in it all. In Neverland.
We sit like this a while, talking softly to each other, but mostly staying silent. At some point Echo and Meyer join us on the grass, but they keep their distance. The sky is still a sunny yellow with periodic swirls of purple and pink. It reminds me of summer fruit or rainbow sherbet.
I comb my fingers through Jenna’s hair and kiss her pink, full cheeks. She laughs and points out her favorite islands — the ones we can see.
“I could live in this moment forever,” I tell her, and she smiles at me and squeezes my hand.
The tension builds before anything else. It feels like static electricity moving across my skin. The grass begins to shiver and then the hairs on my arms rise up. The air around me is all at once thick and heavy, making it difficult for me to catch my breath.
“Get up, Livy,” Meyer says, and then he’s standing over me, pulling me to my feet. “Get up! We need to go!”
“What is it?” I ask but he doesn’t answer. He drags me toward the edge of the hill, and then out into the sky. His grip on my hand is so tight it’s almost painful.
“Livy!” Jenna calls after me, and I twist my wrist, anxious to return to her. But Meyer refuses to let go.
When I look back she and Echo are following us. Their heads are aimed down to maximize their speed, but still they’re unable to catch up.
Meyer is flying faster than ever; my hair whips around my face making it difficult to see. The wind is pushing against us. Down below, the mermaids hide under the surface of the water, a water so dark now, it mirrors the sky. I can just make out their frightened faces as they stare up at us. I’m afraid of what they see, their view of the sky is better than most.
“What is it? What’s happening?” I ask Meyer, not sure he can hear me over the angry howl of the wind. He keeps flying, never looking back. But I do. And so do Jenna and Echo.
“What is it, Livy? What’s happening?” she calls out to me. It terrifies me that she has to ask me this, seeing how this is her world and not mine.
“I don’t know!” I shout, but I’m pretty sure my words get lost somewhere between her and me.
We keep flying, heading toward the one patch of blue in a sky burning black. And once that blue disappears Meyer stops. He pulls me up close until our faces are almost touching. His eyes are dark green now, taking on the shadowy colors of the sky.
“Do you trust me, Livy?” he whispers, and I’ve heard this before, but this time I know the answer.
“Yes,” I tell him, nodding frantically. “Yes, Meyer. I do.” I stare into his eyes, afraid to look behind me. Afraid to look anywhere else. I am out of breath, and my heart is beating wildly. For the first time since this all began I truly feel fear.
“He has no claim over you. He can’t make you leave.”
“Leave?” I choke out the words, staring back at the darkness swirling around us. “Who? Who wants me to leave?”
Jenna wraps her arms around me, squeezing me tight. “I don’t want you to go!” she yells against my chest.
“Me neither,” Meyer whispers, his fingers digging into my flesh.
Soon Echo arrives and begins circling around us. The fear coming off of him is palpable. I don’t know what it is that has everyone afraid. I’m not even sure they do. But even without any answers from Meyer it is dreadfully clear.
Something threatening has entered Neverland.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The wind is getting stronger now. It surges around us, whipping us about in the sky. Jenna slips free of me and I scream, reaching for her. But the wind is too strong to fight. It sounds like it’s hissing, a large balloon deflating right next to our ears.
Meyer pulls me close, our foreheads touching. I don’t know how he can keep hold of me when everything else around us is blowing away.
“Come down now, Meyer,” a voice calls out. “You can’t hide her from me forever.”
“Don’t listen,” Meyer tells me, but it’s too late. Those angry words are so loud they feel like they’re trapped inside my chest.
“Come down,” the voice booms again and I close my eyes. I don’t want to see the thing that can make its voice fill the skies.
“Livy!” Jenna screams. Her arms are reaching for me as she falls. She is so terrified I forget to fear anything at all.
“Meyer! Let me go! I just need to get to her. Please!”
He still has hold of my hand. For a moment I don’t think he’s going to let go. I glance back, catching his indecision, and then he lets us drop.
Our fall is slow and heavy. The closer we get to the ground the tighter his grip on my hand feels. We land near the field of gold, where I first entered Neverland. We are far away from the Treasure Islands, as far as you can get without actually leaving this place, and yet once we’ve landed the children begin to join us. They drop to the ground with hesitance. They’ve braved the wind for us, leaving behind the safety of the islands, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.
“What is it?” Jane asks, landing just opposite me. She’s holding onto Jenna but once she sees me, she lets go.
Jenna runs straight at me, crying out my name. “I don’t understand! Nothing like this has ever happened before!”
I hate those words. They make me feel responsible. Did I bring something with me? Did I drag along some unseen darkness?
I take her in my arms wanting to protect her, but I’m still unsure what I need to protect her from. The air seems to crack,
splintering upon my skin. It should feel painful, this electricity, but instead it makes me more alert. More on guard.
And all at once he’s here, the one responsible for this nightmarish energy. He walks toward us through the tall grass. With his long black coat and his black hair, he is the darkest thing here. The colors react around him, straining against his mood. The trees, flowers and grass shrink away from him, and then bounce back once he’s passed.
“James,” Jenna whispers, coming out from behind my back. “What are you doing here?” She wipes at her cheeks, her smile a bit wobbly. But she is no longer afraid.
“James?” I stare at the man in front of me with disbelief. He’s the monster? He’s the reason Meyer was running away? Why is he here? And how did Jenna recognize my substitute tutor?
Meyer won’t look at me. He’s locked on to our newest arrival. His jaw is tense, his hands in fists at his sides. He is nearly trembling with fury.
The children rise from their fearful crouch. Their backs straightening as they resist the tension in the air. They’re not afraid of him, just a little unsure.
James comes to a stop a few feet away, and when he opens his arms some children run to him, hugging him close. They reach up, touching his face. To them he is a friend it seems. Someone they haven’t seen in a while.
“You don’t belong here,” Meyer says, his voice stern. “You should go.”
“I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me for someone who takes orders,” James drawls, while his eyes strike against Meyer.
“Well, hello there, Livy,” he says once he notices me. His smile is soft upon me, but there’s still an edge to his expression. “So this is where you’ve been hiding.”
I stare back at James, not quite sure of his place in all this. That foreboding feeling swells around him, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s how I usually feel around James.
“Livy?” Jenna says, turning her concerned expression on me. “You know him?” That flash of panic is back, and then her bottom lip begins to tremble. “How do you know him?”
“He’s my tutor,” I tell her, feeling like the only one not in on the secret. “I don’t understand.”
“Yes,” James says. “And as your tutor, it’s my responsibility to let you know you’ve broken the rules. I’m here to take you back.” He’s smiling now, his regular charming self. But I don’t trust him.
I guess all that darkness and wind was just for dramatic effect because the sky is lightening up — the blue more prevalent than the black — although there is still tension in the air. That has yet to clear.
“No!” Jenna cries.
“She’s not leaving,” says Meyer.
“We don’t want Livy to leave!” The children join in. “Can’t she visit a little longer?”
James is just about to answer when one little boy says, “Can I have a visitor? Can my sister visit?”
“And my sister?”
“My brother would come, I’m sure of it!”
“I want my mom to visit! I miss her! And my dad!”
One by one, they start crying. Their sadness spills over the meadow as the sky begins to darken once again.
“I think I’d rather just go back,” a little girl says, moving up close to me. “Do you think you could take me with you when you go?”
“I’m…” I look to Meyer for help and the wave of sadness coming off him nearly crushes me.
“Enough!” James yells, and the children all stop at once. They cower away from him. Some rush to hide behind Meyer or Jane.
James clears his throat and starts again. “Listen to me. There are no visitors in Neverland.” He glares at Meyer, his message loud and clear. “Livy has to go.”
“But she just got here!” Jenna stands in front of me, my own little guardian angel. She reaches for James’ hand, squeezing it tight. “Please don’t take her from me. She’s my sister.”
“You know the rules, Jenna.” His gaze is soft upon her. It nearly kills me. “She doesn’t belong here. You know this.” He kneels down in front of her and touches her face. It’s everything I can do to keep from slapping his hand away. I don’t like him touching her. Not at all.
“Would you want this for her?” he goes on. “Would you want Livy to miss out unnecessarily? She has more life left back home. She doesn’t belong here.” He glances up and his next words pin me to my spot. “She’s too old for this place.”
Too old? I look around at the children and then down into my own sister’s face. There is youthfulness here, that’s for sure, but more importantly there is innocence. The innocence that comes with hope. These children all lost something to get here. They lost their futures. Every last one. “I don’t understand,” I say. “Any of this.” My throat is tight. I’m so overwhelmed by everything that has happened I’m not sure whether to cry or scream. “So you two know each other?” I look to Meyer for answers but he’s too busy glaring at James to notice.
James stands up, towering over us all. “I’m sure he hasn’t bothered to explain any of it, have you, Meyer?”
“We’ve been busy,” he says through gritted teeth. “I was going to—”
“Were you?” James smirks. “Which part, I wonder. Were you going to explain how Livy’s parents are, at this very moment, holding her hands, and begging her to hang on? Or how her little friend, Jilly, is undergoing surgery? She’s been crying for days, worrying about Livy and how she won’t wake up.”
“Jilly?” Jenna chokes out. She reaches for me, gripping me tightly. “Livy, what’s happened to Jilly?” Her bottom lip begins to tremble and then she’s crying into my side.
“Is she okay?” I ask James. “Is she well enough for surgery?” I don’t question how he would know this or how he’s come to relay these messages to me. I just need to know that Jilly is going to be alright.
“You’re dying, Livy.” James’ eyes flash at me. “Don’t you think you should be more concerned about your wellbeing right now.”
“I’m…what?”
Jenna’s soft weeping comes to a sudden stop. She looks up at me, her eyes wet and frozen with fear. Her every emotion so clear in front of me, I can almost breathe it in.
“You’re in a coma,” James continues. “You had a reaction to the anesthesia they used during your surgery. Your body tried to reject it. You had a seizure. You’ve slipped into a coma.”
“So I’m asleep then?” Neverland begins to fade, the bright colors begin to dull and appear hazy. “So I am dreaming.”
“You’re not dreaming!” Meyer shouts. “This is not a dream. None of this is!” He closes the distance between us in a few steps, and grabs hold of my shoulders. “How can you still believe that’s even a possibility, after everything you’ve seen and felt?” His eyes search mine. They are desperate, and wild. I can almost see the words he’s not saying. It’s like he’s begging me to stay here. He wants me to stay. But he won’t say it. At least, not in front of James.
“That’s true,” James chimes in, glaring at him. “But you’re not supposed to be here.” He lowers his voice so that only Meyer and I can hear. “She’s not yours to keep.”
“If I’m not dreaming, but I’m asleep…” I shake my head and take a step back. Meyer’s hands drop from my shoulders, but the look in his eyes tells me he hasn’t quite let go. Not yet.
“You can’t exist in both worlds,” James tells me. “If you choose to stay then you can never return to the life you knew.” He pauses a moment. “Or you can choose to go back.”
Back? Back to what? The way it was before? Life without Jenna? Where I roamed my quiet little world alone and sad. Back to how it was before? Before Meyer?
“What if I don’t want to go?” I whisper. “What if I want to stay?”
Jenna tightens her hold around me. “Is that really what you want, Livy? Do you want to stay?”
Yes! Maybe? I don’t know!
The tears are sliding down my face, but I can’t stop them. Nor can I stop these thoughts from r
acing through my mind. What if I do want to stay? Is that so horrible? Would I be an awful person for abandoning my family and my friends? Especially when I know exactly what they’ll feel once I’m gone. How terrible of me to do that to them, right? Especially to my parents. How could they handle losing both of their children?
I start to shake. It’s like my body is shutting down. Am I really thinking about this? Strangely it was better when I thought I might be dead. I mean, sure, I didn’t allow myself to think about it, but it was there. All the time. But now… knowing the choice is mine, knowing I can go back…
It should change things. It should change how I’m feeling. And even with all of this racing through my mind I don’t think I can leave this place. Not yet. I’m not ready.
“If you want to stay, you stay.” Meyer crosses his arms in front of his chest as though it’s that easy. There’s a look of superiority about him now.
“Oh come on.” James rolls his eyes. “You don’t have that kind of authority. In fact after this stunt you may have finally crossed that ever-moving line of yours.”
The children gasp as they turn back to Meyer. They’ve been following our exchange rather closely. They’re not quite sure what’s happening, but I’m sure they’ve grasped that something is happening. Something big.
“What do you mean?” Jane asks. She’s been silent up to this point, watching James as though at any moment she might need to take off running. “You can’t mean—”
“That he’s finished? That he might no longer reside over Neverland? I most certainly do mean that. You’ve been breaking rules long enough, Meyer. Sooner or later you’re going to be replaced.”
“There is no replacing me,” he scoffs. “I’ve been here longer than the stories have been told. For centuries.”
“Numbers mean nothing, neither does time, in the grand scheme of things.” James shrugs his shoulders as if it’s all so insignificant. As if we all are. “We can always find another guardian.”
“But not now,” Meyer says evenly.
“Not yet,” James answers, with a cross of his own arms.
“Well then.” Meyer strolls over to me, looking quite pleased with himself. “Now that everything is decided, let’s be off. We have a lot to do today.”