I hold tightly onto the stump where that bastard tore my arm off, blood dripping between my fingers. I grind my teeth together, enduring this exhausting pain. It’s routine. Everything about this is. 

The stench leaks through, reminding me of what I am. A rotting corpse. One that’s seeking something better. Whatever that better something is… I want it.

The audience scatters from all the carnage. Those little rodents whimper as they flee. Perhaps seeing their “king” get dethroned was enough for them to think for themselves. I still hear their scampering from this area. In the center, next to Wendy.

That girl stares over at the bloody scene, wide-eyed. Her hand covers her mouth, visibly shaking. She mutters something that I can’t understand. Wendy’s strange companion hides under her legs, only blurting out a random set of letters. 

“Hey, kid! Stop staring, and start focusing on tending to my wound,” I shout over at the girl. I need her to do something. Anything to get her attention from watching the mess. “Y-Yes, ma’am!” Wendy responds.

“Actually, help me get my arm first,” I command her. She wordlessly follows as we go to retrieve my arm. Every time Wendy looks back at the scene, I push her head towards our objective. We eventually get there with my detached arm lying in its own mess.

“You want gum?” I offer to our little scientist, pulling a stick of lemon-flavored gum that I stole from Star. “Um, sure-.” “Great! Enjoy your snack while I handle something with my bodyguard,” I say to Wendy as I hand it to her before dragging my arm.

I glance back at the scene. Pete split in half. Good. Fairy is missing her glow. Also good. Star is hyperventilating in a puddle of blood. Not good.

His body lies curled on the ground, his uniform and cloak shredded and stained from the fight. His breathing gets louder and louder as I get closer. I catch myself matching the rhythm of this pathetic breathing. The rhythm maintains even as I drag that damned arm of mine, painting the floor below red.

Slap! I hit my bodyguard with the arm detached from me. “Snap the fuck out of it! We can’t lie around doing nothing,” I yell at Star. His eyes widen, returning to reality. He glares back at me, yet he refuses to get up.

“You’ve got to have a good reason to follow Dr. West…” I turn a bit away from him as I place my detached arm where it should be. I call over to Wendy to help me stitch this thing back to my body. She obliges and assists me in reattaching this limb.

As this goes on, Star, still lying in the red puddle, speaks up, “I--I-I want to see her… Maya… Pozharsky.” If I had to guess, this sounds like the woman the vampire was talking about earlier today. I don’t press on for anything more about this. Wendy almost finishes stitching me up, focusing on my arm rather than the conversation. “Then dust yourself off and let’s move on, Star,” I say to the vampire, hoping that’s enough to motivate him.

“Who’s Dr. West?” Wendy asks as she finishes up the stitchwork. “Remember when I talked about my situation?” I respond, testing my newly stitched-back arm. I’m able to move it just fine. “The situation you told me you were gonna- Whoa! Your arm is moving like normal! How is that possible?” “I don’t have time to explain that, kid. But I can say that Dr. West might be able to help me with that binding contract that’s been on me,” I try to answer the girl the best I can.

I get up from having to kneel for Wendy to do her stitchwork. Star walks past me. I guess he finally got over whatever he’s got now that he’s up. Star stops in his tracks before commenting, “Where do we go from here?” “Out of this damned island, of course,” I reply.

Wendy questions me, “Uh, Ms. Sable. I don’t even know where the exit is located.” She readjusts her glasses as she looks around for a solution before settling, “Well, I guess it won’t hurt to look around the ship.” “You look hungry. Want another gum?” I offer another stick. “Gum isn’t for eating-.” “Is that lemon-flavor?” Star questions, interrupting Wendy as he snatches it from my fingers.

For the moment, it’s the three of us, plus that abomination of an animal, going through the hallways. We stroll through the ship, looking for any clues. Nothing really comes up, as the children always run from us. We find our luck when we encounter Captain Hook with his signature hook, which I marked earlier. It looks like he escaped from that prison that I don’t think anyone is willing to guard at this point.

I point my gun at the pathetic man, “If you don’t know where we can escape the island, I’m gonna shoot!” He springs, pulling out maps from his pockets until he stops at the one, holding it in front with a red circle around it. “Th-There! Please don’t shoot me!” Hook says, trembling. 

“How did you know this guy knew a way out?” Star asks. “I was gonna ask anyone who didn’t run the same question,” I respond. Wendy takes the map, “Oh, hmm… Pete did say there’s Shadows guarding the exit.”  The pathetic Captain Hook pleads with us, “Please take me with you all, I’ve been meaning to get the hell out of this place. I haven’t seen my wife in a long-!” 

“Ugh, oh my God. Shut up! Fine. Just don’t talk about your life story, Hook,” I reluctantly allow him in this party of five… or four. I look at this foul beast, adding up our numbers. Its ears perk before speaking through its robotic voice, “Oh boy, a fwiend-!” “Shut up! You shant speak either!” I interrupt the disgusting thing. Ugh. I can’t handle this fucking party.

Wendy tells us to wait while she gathers her lab equipment before we agree on heading out. She takes a while before I head inside to rush her out, “Hey, four-eyes! We don’t have all day.” “I know, but we have to handle the Shadows when we get there,” Wendy worriedly speaks as she tinkers with her toys. “Just letting you know, Star tore apart an army of giant mutant alligators. You’re stressing over nothing,” I try to disarm her concerns.

She reluctantly proceeds; however, she still insists on taking her stuff. “A precaution,” she says. I brush this off, wanting to speed things up. We stroll out of the ship, finally feeling that fresh air. Even if it’s from inside this damned island. 

We march on as I make sure that Hook or that mutt keeps their mouths shut. A conversation spurs on despite my desire to keep it quiet. However, it came between Star and Wendy. My bodyguard asks, “I’m surprised you’re okay with leaving this place, Tendy.” “Wendy. But, yeah. I knew I’d eventually age here. I’ve only been here for a few weeks,” the young scientist responds. 

Star glances over. “When I showed up, there was a lot of tension. Pete liked me a bit too much, but Tink always hated me,” Wendy continues. “How did you get here? Weren’t your parents worried?” Star asks. “Oh, well, I’m just an orphan. I was looking for a home and well… I heard about Neverland. Not as nice as I thought it would be,” Wendy notes. 

“Well, you can return to being an orphan when we get out of here,” I say, trying to fade out the conversation before it continues. Wendy’s face dims upon my reaction before focusing on tinkering with her weird device. Hook, not getting the hint, mutters, “Damn, that’s harsh.” 

I shoot a bullet at his foot. “I said no talking,” I say out loud. “Huh, I shouldn’t be blasting these too much. I don’t think I have much ammo in that chamber or much in my pockets,” I confess. Hook tries to tend to his wound, but we continue to march, pressuring him to keep up with our pace. 

“I hope Tendy-.” “Wendy.” “-I hope you find a good home when we’re done,” Star attempts to sneak in his own comment as he gets interrupted by our scientist. “Hey, Mr. Star, I assume that’s your name.” “Yeah.” “You’re bad with names, huh? Ahaha,” Wendy asks with a slight chuckle. “I guess,” Star admits with barely any change in his expression. 

We walk and walk through the forest, getting ever so closer to our destination. The trees around us shrink as we journey, as black muck entangles many of them. As we reach there, even the grass loses its color. Everything in the environment is some shade of black.

Everything in front of us is a mess of dark blobs and figures, swiveling around. Many of these figures dance and sludge around. They heavily gate our destination. “Shadows, right?” I ask. “Yeah,” confirms both Star and Wendy, with Hook sneaking in his own voice to this. I’ll let that slide.

“Could you give me a moment? I need to finish setting-,” Wendy tries to buy herself time before something catches our attention. Captain Hook. That idiot is really running off without us, and now he’s deep in that dark maze. “Hey, dipshit-! Where are you going without us?” I call for that pathetic man. 

Before that man answers back, I witness the charcoal tendrils latch onto his limbs. They pull him effortlessly, leaving him a bloody mess. They clean up the pile immediately by absorbing whatever is left of Hook. “Let’s get going. I think those things are pissed now. Assuming any of them can hold lingering emotions,” I urge everyone to move on deep in the Shadows.

Wendy reluctantly listens, only following us when Star walks at the front. Wendy stays in the back with her mutt while I remain in the middle of the line. I raise my gun, ready for what’s to come, while cautious about preserving my ammunition. Wendy continues to work on her little device. Star, of course, should be the most ready out of anyone. Should be.