Wendy pushed herself forward and burst into a clearing. She skidded to a stop, kicking up dirt and leaves. The string tugging at her chest that had pulled her through the woods vanished, as if suddenly cut.

Looming before her stood the tree. The darkness made it look even more towering. Shadows caught in the crags like deep scars in its graying, fleshy bark.

“Wendy!”

Her chest heaved, a moment of relief like a shot through her body. “Oh my God, I found you.” The words were choked as she rushed over.

Benjamin, Ashley, Matthew, Joel, and even little Alex huddled together in some kind of cage. They were a little worse for the wear—with tousled hair, faces smudged with dirt, and grimy clothes—but they were all in one piece and alive.

“Wendy, help!” Ashley cried, cheeks red, tears spilling down her pale face.

“Please!” said Benjamin, his voice jumping with a sob as he pulled on the bars.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay. I’ll get you out of here,” Wendy croaked.

Of course, they were not normal bars. Not a normal cage. It was made of the same undulating shadow tendrils that had tried to ensnare her twice. The ones that had wrapped Peter in their binds.

Wendy gripped them in her fists and pulled hard. They had little give and pulsed against her palms like a grotesque heartbeat.

“You have to get us out!” Joel pleaded. Matthew huddled against his older brother’s side, his fingers knotted into Joel’s shirt as he wailed.

Their voices tumbled over one another, begging and pleading, except for Alex. His entire body, drowning in his large blue hoodie, quaked violently. He reached an arm out for Wendy, his tear-stained cheek pressing against a bar, trying to shove himself through. Wendy caught his tiny hand as it swiped helplessly through the air. It was cold and clammy in her palms.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she said over and over, her voice tight and betraying her own fear as she tried to console them. Crouching down, she met Alex’s wide brown eyes. “It’ll be all right. I’ll get you out,” she said, cupping Alex’s cheek in her hand. He turned his face into her palm. Sobs jerked through his tiny body.

“I’ll get you all out,” she stressed. “I just—I just—”

“We really must stop meeting like this. It’s starting to get annoying.”

The shadow sprawled out on a thick branch, one leg dangling. Its eyes were narrowed into slits as it stared down at Wendy. All traces of its earlier venomous mirth had vanished.

“Let them go,” Wendy demanded, pulling herself away from their prison. Sniffles and whimpers sounded behind her. “I won’t let you hurt them.”