“My dad got me this when I first started driving,” she told him. “He doesn’t trust cell phone GPS”—it was very obvious by the look on his face that Peter didn’t know what that meant—“so he got me a map so I could find my way around if I ever got lost.” She unfolded it and smoothed her hands along the edges. “It has the woods.” She pointed to a large patch of green in the center of the map. “But it doesn’t have a whole lot of detail.” It showed the outline of the woods, the creeks that snaked through it, and some logging roads. “It’s old, so there’s way more logging roads now, but it’s better than nothing.” She turned to Peter. “Do you think this will help? Do you know how to read a map?”

Peter snorted and took it in his hands. “Of course I know how to read a map,” he said, puffing up his chest like a rooster. “I’m constantly using pirate maps back in Neverland. I’ve got a whole collection of them.”

Wendy rolled her eyes. “Pirate maps,” she said flatly. “Of course, how could I forget.”

“We can use the creeks and these trails as points of reference,” he said, trailing his finger along a blue line. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Great.” Wendy took out her phone and sent a quick text to her mom, letting her know she was with Jordan and would be home later. Wendy took a deep breath. “Are you ready?” she asked.

Peter sucked in his upper lip and gave her a look. A lot of things flickered in his eyes that she couldn’t quite read. He forced a smile, though it was more like a grimace. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

CHAPTER 16

The Tree

Plants and ferns flanked the tire-worn path. Wendy and Peter followed until it branched off and faded into the trees. “We just need to keep heading north,” Peter said, his eyes sweeping back and forth. “We should cross one of these trails and then hit the creek.”

“We also need to be on the lookout for the search parties,” Wendy added, coming to a stop at Peter’s side. “I don’t know how long it’ll take them to comb through the woods, but they’re starting on the northern side and working south. It would be bad if we ran into them halfway,” she said, tucking the map into her bag. “Especially if we haven’t found the tree yet.”

“We should be able to hear them from pretty far off,” Peter said. He jerked his head and gave Wendy a small grin. “Come on.”