CHAPTER FORTY | FROZEN
"Okay, now it's just being rude." Alex scoffed, feeling pretty irritated about the shadows new move. "I mean, we were finally having some fun and then it does something like this?"
Naomi hummed, agreeing with Alex, she sighed, "Look, we need to find that last phrase because if Peter realises what's going on-and he will-everything will be for nothing." She said.
"Wait, he won't be able to read it, right?" Felix guessed hopefully. "The phrases, they were written in Ancient Greek."
"Unless the shadow changed it," Alex muttered in realisation, his fingers against his lips as he thought. He looked back at Naomi, "We need to find that phrase, now."
"But how are we going to do that?" Naomi asks, throwing her hands up in the air to show her clear despair. "We don't have the compass anymore and witho-"
"We don't need it," Alex cut her off, trying to talk a bit louder because the other boys were still dancing and hollering around the fire. He shot them an irritated glance and looked back at Naomi. "Look, you have found all of these phrases without the compass-all of them except one. You can do it without the compass, N."
Felix nodded, "He's right. You're very clever, just think about something, anything. What's a special place on the Island, like the waterfall or what's a special place for you, like where you found the card or a special place for Pan where we found the other phrase. Think about these things."
Naomi nodded and started thinking back to where she first found the phrase; at the waterfall. The second phrase was found at the Meeting Tree of her and Alex, the third one was given to her by Baelfire. The fourth one was written on Peter's thinking three and the last one was written in the book.
She frowned, trying to find a connection between the two and just as she was about to connect the dots, a voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "Felix!" Peter yelled. "I'm going to do something, you're in charge until I get back."
Naomi's eyes widened when he saw what he was going to do, he opened the compass and started following it to the South; towards the waterfall. "Oh, god." She mumbled.
"Yeah, you could say that." Alex added, still frowning while thinking.
Naomi sighed, what had all these places in common? She kept thinking, and then, suddenly she had it.
"They're all meeting places," She mumbled in realisation. "The waterfall is where Peter and I had our first proper conversation. The Meeting Tree is where Alex and I bonded, I properly met Baelfire at the cages and that Thinking Tree is where Peter met the shadow for the first time." She paused, frowning. "The only one that doesn't connect is the book, it's a long shot but perhaps it works?"
"It is something," Alex nodded slowly, "But then, we still don't know where the next phrase could be."
"Well, they're all meeting places, right?" Felix asked, looking at Naomi for confirmation. The brunette nodded quickly, wanting to hear what he had to say. "So, maybe the next phrase is where you first met the shadow."
Naomi snapped on her fingers, pointing at Felix while nodding. A large smile on her lips, "That's it!" She said. "Look, I'm going to get it, you guys need to stay here."
"What? No." Both Boys said in unison.
"Yes," Naomi argued. "I will be back but you need to look after the boys. Especially now, I need to do this quick because if Peter follows the compass, he'll be done in no time."
The boys were about the argue again when Naomi cut them off, "I really don't have time for this, I have to go!" She said quickly and started walking into the woods-leaving them no room to argue.
She ran through the woods, the leaves and branches breaking beneath her feet as she did so. She ran towards the small, creepy clearing in the woods-the place where he shadow had thrown her against a large rock, cutting her forehead open.
She was breathing heavily when she arrived there, looking around in a frenzy. She sighed and groaned in defeat when it suddenly started to rain, she couldn't see anything and her hope slowly drained away when the shadow suddenly appeared in front of her.
"It's time," It said in the same eerie voice, Naomi looked up and saw that it was handing her a small paper.
She hesitantly grabbed it, she unrolled it and read the phrase; "So, Naomi, it's time to come out of hiding. If you want to save him, just follow the lightning."
"What lightning?" Naomi asked, looking up at the shadow, the raindrops falling onto her face. Just as she was about to repeat her question, loud thunder was heard. She gasped and looked around, noticing the lightning that came shortly after. She smirked when realizing where it came from, "Skull Rock."
******
Naomi was running in the woods again, this seemed like all she did right now; running, trying to make it on time.
She sighed in relief when Skull Rock was slowly coming in sight and she was just about the stop running when she suddenly ran into something, or rather someone. "What the hell?" She cursed and looked at Alex and Felix who were following her. "Wha-I thought I told you guys to stay at the camp!"
"Yes, but we're not letting you do this alone," Alex says determinedly, stepping forward and grabbing her wrist. Felix nods and copies his movements, grabbing her other wrist. "We're ready,"
The brunette seemed to catch on and sighed, she nodded and closed her eyes before using her magic to teleport themselves onto Skull Rock.
They were standing right in front of the entrance, Naomi shook their hands off of her wrists and slowly stepped forward. Knowing that this was it, the moment she had been working to.
She took a deep breath and stepped inside, gasping when she suddenly felt a weird change in the atmosphere. She placed a hand on her chest and turned around to see that Alex and Felix were thrown against a tree.
"Don't worry about us," Alex groaned, giving her a slight thumbs up. "Just stop that Hourglass."
Naomi looked hesitant and she wanted to check on her friends but the shadow appeared again, withholding her from leaving. It was like it had drawn a barrier between her and him.
"What are you-" She started but the shadow simply pointed at the Hourglass, its sand was glowing and she noticed that it was already half empty. "Right, so, I just touch it or-"
"Naomi!" She heard the familiar accented voice behind her and sighed in defeat.
She turned around and saw that Peter was about to run towards her but Alex and Felix held him back, much to his dismay. "What do you think you're doing?" He spat at them, punching both of them in the stomach.
The two boys groaned but kept the green eyed boy in place, they looked at Naomi and nodded, the brunette took a deep breath and turned around to face the Hourglass again.
This didn't go unnoticed by Peter because he was still trashing in their hold, "You guys know what's going on!" He accused them. He used his magic and teleported from his grasp, "Tell me what's going on!"
Alex and Felix looked at each other, biting their lips and shaking their heads no, "We can't!" They yelled, trying to sound louder than the thunder.
"Why the hell not?" Peter yelled back, holding his hand up in the air because of the wind.
The boys were about to answer when another gust of wind went past them, this was by far the worst storm they had ever experienced.
"Hey, mind hurrying it up in there, N?" Alex yelled sarcastically.
"I'm trying!" Naomi answered. She shook her head and walked closer to the Hourglass, she looked at the shadow. "I just touch it, that's all?"
It nodded, making her narrow her eyes in suspicion. "Really? That's all?" She asked again, getting a nod in response.
"Okay," Naomi whispered under her breath, she reached out her hand and was about to touch it when she suddenly heard Alex and Felix screaming behind her. "What?"
She turned around and saw Peter running towards her, her eyes widening when he got thrown back against a tree thanks to the shadow's barrier. Except, he didn't wake up like Alex and Felix did-he stayed unconscious.
"No!" The brunette yelled, glaring at the shadow, she wanted to turn around and run towards the exit but before she could do anything, she was pushed foreword. Naomi tripped and placed her hand somewhere to steady herself, eyes widening when she saw where she had placed it.
She looked up at the Hourglass in horror and saw how a grain of sand fell, and another one, and another one and then; nothing.
She frowned and slowly pulled her hand back, another gust of wind came past her but this time it stopped the storm. She took a closer look at the Hourglass and saw one of the many grains of sand floating in the air, it was completely frozen.
Her finger tapped against the glass but the sand still didn't budge, it stayed still in the air. She frowned, was this really it? She just had to touch the Hourglass and Peter would be saved.
"Oh, god, Peter." Naomi said, quickly turning around with wide eyes. She ran over the barrier with ease, considering that it now disappeared along with the storm. She ran towards Alex and Felix who were crouched down to their leader's height.
"Hey, Pan, wake up." Alex said, slapping his cheeks softly.
Naomi bit her lip and grabbed his head, laying it on her lap, "Hey, Romeo, come on." She said, lightly shaking him. She grabbed his wrist, trying to search for a heartbeat, it was there but it was very faint. "No, no, this wasn't supposed to end like this! I stopped that Hourglass! You should be alive, not on the brink of death!"
The shadow flew towards them again and Naomi wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into her as she yelled, "Get away from him!" It didn't say anything and pointed towards the Hourglass. "I already stopped that stupid thing, just leave me alone. You've ruined enough."
A small tear streamed down her cheek, shocking the two other boys present, "Hey, Romeo, come on. You can't do this to me! I told you that I loved you! I never should've done that!" She yelled, hating herself at the moment. "Everybody I say 'I love you' to leaves, I-I shouldn't hav-"
The shadow grabbed her wrist and pointed at the Hourglass, "The sand," It said, nodding towards it. "Like Pixie Dust, but stronger."
Naomi's eyes widened, this was the most the shadow had ever said to her. She stood up, carefully placing Peter's head back on the ground. She ran towards the newly stopped Hourglass again. She climbed her way on top of it and made a slight crack in it on the top. It was small, but it was big enough for her to put her hand through.
She wiped her tear away with her left hand while her right hand grabbed the sand. She jumped down again, walking back to Alex and Felix who looked just as panicked as she. "What? A little bit of sand is supposed to safe Pan?" Felix snapped, a little on edge.
"I don't know, okay?" Naomi defended herself. She took a deep breath. "I've never worked with anything like pixie dust before. How does it work?"
"Well, you jus-" Ale started but he cut himself off and started blowing against the sand. Naomi seemed to catch on and started blowing against the, still glowing, sand.
She looked down and placed Peter's head in her lap again when her hands were empty. She could see the magic taking place but her mind was panicking too much to think straight. "Hey," She said, shaking him again. "Wake up. Don't-Don't leave me."
Naomi closed her eyes, another tear falling down her cheek. She waited for it to drop but instead she felt somebody softly wiping it away, she gasped and looked down.
"Oh, thank god." She said in relief, quickly wrapping her arms around his neck. He laughed softly in her neck, his arms around her waist. "B-But you were almost dead a-and-"
"Calm down, love." Peter told her, giving her a proper hug as he slowly sits up. He stroked her hair, smiling softly, "I'm alright now."
******
Naomi got a tighter hold of Peter's hand as she threw the compass into the ocean.
"God, I never want to see that again." She mumbled under her breath, earning herself a soft chuckle from him.
He smiled down at her, putting a lock of her brown hair behind her ear. "Me neither," He told her with an adoring smile.
Naomi, Alex and Felix had explained everything to him. At first, he was angry but when it dawned on him that Naomi had actually done it-she stopped the Hourglass, he couldn't be more happy.
The brunette sighed, kissing his lips a few times, "I think we're finally getting a little bit of peace," She says, grabbing his hand again as they start walking along the beach. "Baelfire's gone, My father isn't in Neverland anymore, Wendy's gone, the Hourglass is frozen and the shadow decided to let us be."
The green eyed boy smiled as he looked down at her, squeezing her hand slightly, "Maybe a little bit of peace isn't so bad," He says. "I mean, would you believe it that we could actually live our lives without any obstacles?"
Naomi laughed, her head leaning against his shoulder, "Not in the slightest."
END OF PART ONE
A/N: Don't worry, this isn't the real end! This was the story about how Naomi ended up in Neverland, the next chapter will be the second part of her story; the part where she will reunite with her father.
There will be a time skip from approximately thirty years, after that the hero's come to Neverland for a reason that I am not yet going to reveal.
And finally, I hope that I didn't make the end too cringy or too boring, I'm kinda unsure about it to be honest.
Anyways, thanks for reading! And, woah, three chapters in one day. I'm on a roll.
-L