Peter gave a curt nod, eyes still locked on the shadow. He was poised, ready to lunge, a smoldering glower on his face.

Was that why she kept drawing the tree? Why she had seen it the other night in her dream? Was it some sort of muscle memory that kept coming back to her, that had brought her here? This was where Peter had found her. It was where she and her brothers had gone missing. Where her living nightmare over the past five years had begun.

Wendy turned back to the shadow. “Where are my brothers?” she repeated, losing her patience and composure.

Its eyebrows arched high, wrinkling its forehead. “Hasn’t Peter told you?” Its bright white teeth dragged over its bottom lip in amusement.

“He told me you have them, and all the other kids who have gone missing from town,” Wendy seethed through gritted teeth.

The shadow broke into another round of rumbling laughter that Wendy felt in her bones. After a long moment, they died down and it looked at her. “You’ll never see them again, Wendy,” he told her quietly with a smile.

A sudden burst of rage and anguish cut through Wendy like a knife. She lunged for the shadow, but it collapsed into a pool of black and dissipated into the woods, leaving echoes of laughter in its wake.

“No!” Wendy shouted. She wouldn’t let it get away, not now, they needed to stop it, she needed to get her brothers back. Wendy made to chase after it, but Peter grabbed her from behind.

“Wendy, stop!” Peter said, his breath harsh against the side of her neck. He locked his arms tightly around her middle, pulling her against him, lifting her off her feet.

Wendy struggled and thrashed. She kicked her feet out and tried to yank herself away from him, but he didn’t budge.

“Let me go!” she screamed into the woods. She pushed at his arms and attempted to jerk herself from his grip. “I need to stop it!” she yelled. She pounded her fists against his arms. “I have to get them back. I have to get my brothers back!” She was shaking now. “John and Michael, I have to get them back!” Her voice cracked and wailed. She felt like she had been broken in two. Her body ached all over, the longing for her brothers coursing through her skin. There was a gaping hole in her stomach.

“It’s gone, Wendy,” Peter said in her ear.

Wendy wanted to shout at Peter, but when she sucked in a breath, a wobbly sob choked her. Wendy’s legs gave out from under her, but Peter held her tight, keeping her close. She doubled over in Peter’s arms. Uncontrollable wails ripped through her throat. Sobs wracked her body.