“It’s three o’clock now,” she said to Peter, finally glancing over at him. “We just need to make sure we’re back before my parents get home, or else my father will kill me. It’s not much time, but it’s enough to get started.”
“Are you sure you want to go looking for this tree?” Peter asked. He kept massaging his right thumb into his left palm, shifting his weight between his feet like he couldn’t stand still. “For all we know, this could just be a wild goose chase or a trap.” But even Wendy could tell by the way his jaw clenched that he knew she wasn’t going to change her mind.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Wendy said. He wished he would be less reluctant, because it wasn’t soothing her nerves. “It means something, I know it,” she told him. Even though the tightness in her chest and the thrumming of her heart told her to be afraid of the tree—something primal and instinctual—Wendy would push past it to find her brothers and the other missing kids. To put a stop to the shadow. “Besides, it’s the only clue we’ve got to go on.”
Peter looked at her like he was trying to decide if he wanted to keep arguing with her about it.
Wendy crossed her arms and fixed him with a stern look.
Peter groaned, craning his head back and closing his eyes for a moment. “Ugh, fine,” he muttered before straightening up. He hopped the small white fence and Wendy followed. “I’ve been getting to know my way around the woods,” he told her as they wound their way through the trees. “At least, what’s between my hunting shack and your house.” Peter gestured east. “I can get us to where you followed Alex and where I found you with the shadow,” he offered. “Maybe that’s a good place to start?”
“It’s the only plan we’ve got,” she conceded, jogging a few quick steps to close the distance between them.
The woods looked different in the daytime, but no less unsettling. Instead of only being able to make out things in her immediate vicinity, now she could see the vast expanse of trees stretching out in every direction, as far as she could see. It made her feel small and outnumbered.
The trees formed an erratic pattern of different shapes, sizes, and colors. Some trees were thick, with reddish-brown bark and patches of emerald moss. Others were tall, skinny, and pale with perfectly round leaves that rustled in the breeze. A sea of ivy spilled through the woods, puddling around the bases of the trees and climbing up into the canopy. Fallen trees leaned drunkenly against one another. Sun-dappled leaves flickered shadows on the sun-heated earth. Lights danced across fern fronds and thick brambles. Pinecones littered the forest floor like lost trinkets.
Wendy walked as close to Peter as she could but, as she kept throwing furtive glances over her shoulder, she kept treading on the heels of his shoes and bumping into his back.
“Ouch!”
“Sorry!” Wendy said as she caught her balance.
“Would you be more comfortable on my back?” Peter asked, hopping on one foot as he tugged his shoe back onto his foot. “Maybe a nice piggyback ride would save us both some trouble?” He grinned at her, but Wendy couldn’t manage to return it.
“I’m just a bit jumpy, okay?” she said, rubbing her sweaty palms on her thighs.
“A bit?” Peter repeated, arching his eyebrow.
“The woods and I aren’t exactly on good terms.” She squeezed her eyes shut and sucked in a deep breath through her nose. Every muscle in her body was tense. She could feel herself starting to shake.
Peter’s grin faded, lips twisting into a guilty smile. “At least walk next to me, then,” he said, no longer teasing. He stepped to the side and, as Wendy caught up to him, closed the space between them. Their arms were close enough that Wendy could practically feel the warmth radiating off his skin. The brush of his shoulder against hers was a grounding rhythm as they walked.
They walked farther in silence. Wendy was jealous of how he avoided tripping on roots or running into low-hanging branches, his feet moving deftly and with ease. Meanwhile, she kept stumbling at his side over uneven ground pitted with rocks and roots. To Peter’s credit, he did pause and wait every time she faltered.
When they walked into a clearing, Peter slowed to a stop. The towering trees around them formed an almost perfect circle. Tilting his head back, he looked around, blue eyes squinting in the sun. “This is where I found you last night,” he said, nodding to himself.
Wendy nodded along as she followed his gaze around. “I recognize the clearing … sort of,” she said. “The woods pretty much all look the same to me … but I definitely remember the clearing looking like this and being surrounded by trees and shadows.” She looked at the ground, curious whether there was still ash from the pixie dust’s destruction of the shadows, but there was only the spongy crunch of layers of dead pine needles and twigs underfoot.