Peter Pan and the War of Evils

Chapter Three

 

Chapter Three

The logical brain had a very hard time figuring out why oxygen was still around them when they exited the stratosphere and why their skin wasn't peeling off from the velocity of their flight speed. They should've also been freezing to death, among a million other physical complications when entering space with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They were hurtling past stars, meteors, moons, and satellites that Kaytee knew would never document their fleeting presence.

Her eyes are wide, scanning around them as fast they could, her grip in Peter's hand was iron in fright, excitement, and adrenaline. He glanced down at her every few minutes, enjoying her fascinated expression: pink lips parted, eyebrows raised, her nose and cheeks flushed from the wind and exhilaration of flight. When she felt his gaze on her, she glanced up at him, wide-eyed and childlike. Peter always loved the thrill of flying between the Mainland and Neverland. The Great Black Void between worlds was so vast and awesome; with her by his side, it seemed powerful, alive, omniscient.

As they got closer to Neverland, Kaytee realized a great humming was emitting from the star like a homing beacon. The faintest shock waves were vibrating from its core, similar to when one drops a pebble into a still pond. She looked to Peter, about to comment on the strange pulsing, when she gasped.

Finally, it made sense why they could breathe where there was no air, why there was only a slight breeze against their faces when the force of their speed should've been ripping the skin from their bones. It was Peter: he was glowing, not as bright as Tinker Bell(who was tucked safely on the back of his neck), but enough so Kaytee could see the shield of light surrounding them like a bubble. It rippled, contouring around them like a cocoon molding to their forms. She lifted her free hand, extending her arm to the side and sure enough, the membrane of light shifted with her, encasing her limbs in safety. In magic.

She was unable to ponder it further because Peter spoke, yelling over the wind in their ears: "From this point on, we have to fly extra fast! It would be easier if you held onto me!" he pulled her closer, and she complied, locking both arms around his waist from the right side in a vice grip. Likewise he wrapped his right arm around her shoulders, his hold tight and steadfast.

They were zipping through space and time, with no anchor or familiar land in sight, and yet, she hadn't felt this safe in so long, maybe ever. Even out here, his skin was perfumed with the scent of a forest wet with fresh rain. Get it together! she mentally chided herself before she did something embarrassing, like sniff him.

The wind increased as their speed did, his magical barrier only able to do so much at however many millions of miles per hour they were going. Or was it Light-years at this point?

Everything around them blurred. They were plummeting towards the Neverland star, its four tails so long Kaytee couldn't see their ends. Flames sparked on the edges of their shield, though they only felt a slight difference in temperature. The light was becoming so great and intense, tears streamed from the corners of her eyes, though they did not burn. She wanted badly to look away but found herself unable to pry her gaze from their destination. From the corner of her eye, she saw Peter grinning.

They broke through the star's atmosphere, sending thousands of rainbow dust particles through the air. It was pitch black around them and ice cold. If there had been any light, she would've seen their breaths plume out in front of them. She squinted, jarred by the sudden lack of sight when it had been so bright just a moment before.

And then, there! The shadow of a mountain, the distant curve of a lagoon. As Neverland felt the presence of Peter grow stronger with every mile they flew, she blossomed, her forest shaking awake, the ice on the seashore cracking and defrosting. Her sun peeked over the coastline and then began his ascent after seeing all was well.