VICIOUS (II) : peter pan ouat

How to Hear

"Is this what Pan has done to you?" She manages to whisper.

I roll my eyes. "If that's why you asked me to come-"

"It's not." Johnny cuts in.

His eyes dart away from us, instead choosing to look at something deeper in the forest. For someone so much bigger than me, he shows so much fear. Johnny is more than cowardly, and so is Alison.

"She has to tell you." He manages, still not looking.

I cross my arms, turning to Alison, waiting for an answer. She recoils from my glare, until she's pressed against a tree. She flinches away from my mere presence.

It's funny how I brought her here to destroy Johnny. To be fiery and brave, but only the opposite has happened. I should've seen this coming from the second I saw her on the beach. From the minute she fainted at a simple glance of me.

"You have a fate." She musters.

"Tell me something new." She's not even worth my eye contact.

"It's not what you think it is." She tells me. "Did you never think..."

Alison manages to let her fear consume her sentence, letting it trail off into the cold air. I gesture for her to continue, but she isn't looking at me.

"Did you ever wonder how you got here?" Johnny asks. "Girls don't hear the pipes. Did you ever wonder why you're Pan's favourite?"

"I have magic." I argue.

It's not fate I'm here, but a series of choices I have made. To give credit to some unknown force of nature for my whole existence isn't fair. Everything I have, I earned.

"This isn't because of you." Johnny presses on. "You've heard of prophecies, and that sort of stuff right? That's what this is."

"And what exactly is the prophecy?" I raise my voice.

Alison flinches. I'm beginning to think she is going to become part of the tree she is trying to camouflage into. Johnny looks to her, for an answer.

"You're mother, she told me, before she died, what must happen." Alison begins. "That no matter what, you had to get here. To Neverland."

"That's not what I was asking." I argue.

She looks at me. "You're fate, it's to stop Pan."

What the hell is that supposed to mean? Stop has various definitions, especially when it comes to what exactly I'm stopping him from doing. Is it fighting a war? Would I be stopping him from dying? Or perhaps, stopping him from living.

"What are you going off about?" My feet move closer to her.

"Can't you see what he has done, Charlotte?" Johnny demands. "Can't you see how he has warped you? Remember you threw up when you saw Lyle die only weeks ago? Yesterday you stabbed Oliver through the neck like it was nothing."

"It was nothing."

"It's not supposed to be nothing!" Johnny cries, pulling himself closer to me. "It's like you don't realise what's happening? You're not playing in a kiddie pool; you're neck deep in shark-infested waters!"

"He's a bad person." Alison grunts as if her own words are causing her pain. "In this war, he is going to kill a boy."

"I've killed boys." I shrug. "Why am I supposed to care?"

"Can't you see it's wrong?" Johnny grips my shoulders, trying to literally shake some sense into me. "He's going to steal a boy's heart and keep it in his chest, and you are supposed to stop him."

I back away. "This is ridiculous."

"Why?" Johnny spits. "Because he is going to murder a child in cold blood? Or because you are okay with it?"

Neither. It's because it's no big deal. He's killing the boy to survive. He told me he needed a boy for his heart, or something. I don't get why they are making such a big deal about it. There's nothing wrong with needing a heart for his own benefit.

"I'm done with this." I pull back, turning back towards the camp.

Alison shakes her head. "This is why you're mother died."

My whole body tenses, as I slowly turn around. "What?"

Johnny looks to Alison, and she can't decide which of us to look at. She backs away from both of us, her breathing becoming shallower.

"What did you say?" I scream, leaping into the air.

Johnny pulls me back, holding me in my arms as I thrash and claw. Alison backs away, fear in her eyes.

Good. She should be scared.

My nails dig into Johnny's skin, and I can't tell if I'm just seeing red or if his blood is actually clouding my vision.

A blood curdling scream fills my ears, and I stop. Johnny drops me, turning around to face the sound. It's not a sound of pain, or a sound of fear.

It's the sound of death.

Alison walks up next to Johnny and me, turning to face the camp.

"What was that?" She asks.

He shakes his head. "I don't know."

I know. "It's a girl."

~~~~~~

See, I liked this a lot. The prophecy is coming up, and now it is season finale time. The drill is three episodes in three days, starting next Wednesday. And then we are on book three! I am so excited.

Who do you think screamed?

For now, stay ready, and I'll see you Wednesday.