David's hands trailed up and down my thighs soothingly. My back was to his chest as we sat on the ground, watching a movie on the new TV we had. It had lasted longer than we had expected. We were a week into owning it, and it made lounging around the cave much more bearable. Marko and Paul were out for the night, trying to find a snack to eat. Dwayne was reading again, his hand wrapped in mine as he sat next to us. He had gone through a bit more than half of his collection so far, and he had quite a lot of books.
I sighed lowly and turned a bit to look over at the book Dwayne was reading. It was a small little thing that had dust covering almost every page that he had to constantly wipe away. It wasn't printed. It was pen scrawled across the pages in a swirly cursive that I could barely read. I wasn't even sure how he had it.
Most of the books were originally Max's; he had hundreds of them, and when he died, the boys had taken them all. They were filled with information that most humans - hell, even most supernatural creatures - didn't have access to. It was how they had originally found out about the lost.
Dwayne's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and then concentration. I tried to figure out what he was reading, but even if I could decipher the handwriting, it didn't look to be in English.
David shuffled a bit behind me, and I turned to see him looking at Dwayne with confusion. What was I missing?
Dwayne broke away from the book and placed it in my hands. It smelled heavily of citrus, which I didn't understand at all. "What am I supposed to be looking at?" I asked as I stared down at the pages. I was right - even the words I could read clearly weren't English.
David placed his finger on the page and dragged it along as he read it to me. "The newest species I've investigated are, as they've called themselves, the lost. Throughout my time with them and the few people who know of them, I've only collected a bit of data. Firstly, their ritual to become one of their kind, which I've detailed in past entries. Secondly, their hierarchical statuses as explained a few pages ago. This entry will detail their origin."
I sat up a bit more at the sentence, and David pulled me a bit closer before continuing. "There are many different stories told by different people, but the main consensus is as follows. The lost were born out of pure rage. The first of their kind was a boy whom I cannot find the real name for. For this study, we will be naming him Peter Pan after a story created years later based on them.
Peter Pan was seemingly in love with a girl we will call Wendy, but it seems that she did not love him back. At least, that is the conclusion we have come to. We at least know that Wendy certainly wanted to leave, but Peter didn't want her to. The area around here is extremely muddled through the story passing orally. Some believe that she killed him to run away while others believe he did it himself.
Either way, the anger he felt about her leaving festered in his soul after he was burned alive, and it trapped him inside the forest, forever condemned to stay within the forests and the small areas around them.
He then began luring others inside, others with anger in their hearts. The community grew and grew until there were hundreds of them, forever trapped. Of course, being a spirit did come with gained abilities. They're similar to the Christian demons in many ways such as sulfur being an identifying smell and abilities such as teleportation and- oh-" David turned the page only to stop abruptly. The next few pages were torn out roughly, the edges tapered off as if someone had torn it out in a hurry.
I ran my finger along the tear and breathed deeply before turning back to the original pages. There was a picture tacked to the bottom, and I tapped it thoughtfully. I swear I've seen this picture before. I placed the book down gently and clambered up, moving quickly.
The two boys called after me, and I could hear their footsteps follow as I made my way to my bedroom. Once I got into the room, I moved to the boxes of clothing I had, shuffling through them, looking for something specific. "Y'all brought all of my stuff, right?"
"Yeah, as much as we could," David replied. "What are you looking for?"
I shook my head as a response and moved to a different box. It took me a few moments before I finally found it. I let out a sound of excitement as I held it up and turned to them. It was a skinny silver chain with a decently-sized locket at the end. "This."
I walked over and sat on my bed, and they followed, sitting on either side of me. "What is it?" Dwayne asked as I fumbled for the button at the top.
I let a grin overtake my face as I got it open. It squeaked like it hadn't been opened in a bit. It most likely hadn't. "Look." I held it up to them, and they both blinked in surprise. It was the same picture that was in the book, a picture of a boy who looked barely over sixteen and a girl who looked quite a bit like me. It was of my great-great-something-grandmother; It was a family heirloom that had been passed down to the eldest girl when she turned sixteen.
Dwayne took it from my hand and held it carefully, flipping it over multiple times. "Where did you get this?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "It's been passed down. There was never really a story to it besides the fact that it was supposed to be passed down a specific line."
"It's gotta be important. Maybe it ties to this. I mean, why would your family have the same photo?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. It's just the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture in the book."
The sound of boots approaching made me look up, and I watched as Paul and Marko came in, their arms slung around each other as they laughed. "Hey, why are we back here?" Paul asked us.
Dwayne held out the necklace to them, and Marko took it. "What's this?" He asked as he opened it up.
Paul looked over his shoulder and furrowed his brows before taking it from him and holding it up in the air, glancing between me and the picture. "Is this you?"
I let out a questioning sound, and Marko bit his thumb. "I see it," he said, "but if that's you, who's the dude?"
I stood and walked over to them, taking the necklace. "It's not me, but I can see the resemblance." I stared at the picture. "It's going to help us somehow. I'm not sure how, but somehow."
David stood abruptly. "I think I have a plan."
I had forgotten how comforting the woods could be when I wasn't scared of the people inside of it. The soft greens and browns made a calm settle in my heart that only a few things could give to me. The forest was louder than I remembered, but that could just be the part vampire in me. The crickets and frogs accompanied me, and I could hear the boys faintly, the wind whipping past them and jangling their jewelry. I could even hear Marko laughing quietly before David shushed them.
I looked up at the treetops with a smile only to stop at a new sound: footsteps. I turned a few times, trying to figure out where they were coming from, only to turn and meet the Fox. He stood only a few inches away, the mask's nose was almost touching mine. I took a quick step back and spoke. "You're here." I hadn't expected him to show up so soon.
He chuckled lowly and pressed forward. "Where have you been, little dove? I've been searching for you." His hands moved and settled on my hips, and I grimaced, trying to pull away. "Where have you been stowed away?" He questioned almost as if it was an afterthought.
"It doesn't matter," I responded. "I'm here now, and I have some questions." My voice faltered a bit, but I remained confident.
He tutted. "What makes you think I would answer your questions?"
"Because I have something you'd want." I reached into my pocket and pulled out the necklace, holding it up between us. His hold on my hips tightened, but he was quiet. "This is yours, right?"
He lifted a hand, his fingertips barely grazing the silver before I pulled it away. "How did you get that?" His voice cracked.
"I came across it the other day. It has something to do with you, doesn't it? What is it?"
The fox took a few steps back and nodded his head. He trailed his hands along the front of his mask before he gently lifted it up and away along with his hood. I inhaled deeply, not truly knowing what to expect.
He was pale, much paler than I thought a person could be, and when he opened his eyes, they had a hazy glaze over them. The - what I imagined was originally - bright blue now a soft, baby blue. He had deep burn marks rolling up the side of his face coming from under his shirt. His hair was a mess of honey-blonde curls, but they were singed at bits. Still, he looked the same as he did in the picture.
He blinked a few times, tears gathering in his eyes, and his voice was harsh when he spoke. "You were my everything."
"Huh?"
He shook his head. "You were my fucking everything- my Wendy."
"I'm- I'm not Wendy. I'm Ivarella." I took a few steps back, and he took a few forward, stalking towards me. "I'm Ivarella Saint. I'm not-"
"You are!" He yelled louder than I had expected, his eyes lightning ablaze with anger. "You're her reborn! I knew the moment you fucking showed back up. I could feel it. You have the same goddamn soul and you didn't even know it!"
I took a few unsteady breaths and shook my head. "What are you talking about? What do you mean? If- if I'm her, then why did you hurt me? Why did you put me through all that pain?"
"Because it was the only way I could get close to you! I want you- I need you! I've waited and waited for you to come back, and when you finally did, I watched, and I waited some more, and then they took you from me." He lunged forward and grabbed my face. "They took the only thing I ever cared about. Don't you understand? I love you! I've always loved you! But I can't have you, huh? Because you'll never choose me. You never did."
His grip tightened, and his fingernails dug into my face. I knew it would leave marks. "Let me go, Peter," I cried.
He shook his head. "You don't even remember my name. My own Wendy doesn't even know my name. How truly cruel fate is, it seems."
"What do you have planned?"
"I'm going to watch you burn, little birdie. I'm going to watch you burn just like you watched me!" He fell into hysterical laughter as he continued. "When the moon hits his peak, you're gonna burn, and you'll be one of us! Don't you just love the idea of that? A bunny mask would fit you so perfectly, don't you think? I can imagine it now!" Tears fell down both of our faces, but he continued to cackle. "Haven't you just missed me, birdie? I know I've missed you!"
He leaned forward to kiss me, and I froze. His lips barely brushed against mine before I was pulled back roughly into a chest, loud snarls filling the air. Peter yelled out an obscenity as David gripped his collar and shook him roughly, yelling something I couldn't hear. However, Peter just gave him a wide smile and fell back into a cloud of smoke disappearing completely.
I gasped only to clamp my hands over my mouth. I couldn't breathe. I stepped back again and again before falling onto my butt, trying to suck in air, but it was clogged. I had almost passed out when I heard a voice faintly in the back of my head. 'Oh, how I've missed you, birdie.'
Then, I could breathe again, and I turned just in time to throw up nothing. I was just heaving and then hacking roughly, and I watched as small bits of lit embers fell from my lips and to the ground below me, a foul taste following my mouth with it.
My boys were surrounding me, hands rubbing soothingly over various parts of me while David whispered encouragingly in my ear. "You're okay. I promise, you're okay."
I hacked a few more times before falling onto my side only to get picked up and placed on someone's lap. I groaned lowly and closed my eyes. "You did so well," Dwayne mumbled beside me. I was sitting in Marko's lap from what I could tell, and he pressed a kiss to the side of my head.
Paul spoke next. "We would have pulled you out sooner, but he was taking forever to give information. At least, we have an idea of what to do now, though, right? When's the full moon? That's what he said, right?"
"It's a few days," Dwayne replied. "Soon."
They all fell silent, and I sniffled and tried to speak. It didn't work. My voice was completely shot. So, instead, I raised my hand in the 'I love you' sign David had taught me.
They all smiled and gave 'I love you's back. We would figure it out. I knew we could.