The sunlight is beating down on us so heavily that I can feel its rays through the tank top I found in my wardrobe. It’s the kind of warmth that makes you feel like a rotisserie chicken - dizzy and burnt. My bangs are sticking to my forehead after only a few minutes of trekking down the hill and I almost audibly groan when José mentions he might have forgotten to put on deodorant. 

“Wanna check for me?” José lifts his arm and thrusts it at Luka who shoves him away. 

“Gross, dude,” Logan says. He’s ahead of the four of us, using a large branch he ripped from a tree as a walking stick. He barely glances back and when he does his eyes are dim like the stars in the city. It makes me wonder why he even invited me on the trip if he’s going to be so down the whole time. José is quick to answer that question. 

“Sorry but I wasn’t as concerned with my bodily smells as you. You're the one on the date with Dovie.” 

José gazes back at me with a sorry expression and I'm not sure if he’s sorry for me or for exposing Logan. I bite my lip. I don't know what I would say to Logan if he confirmed this was true. I most definitely don't let myself feel flattered considering that aside from Willow, I’m probably the only female he’s seen for ages. 

Logan stops in the middle of a fork in the dirt paths, his back towards us. 

Aaron, who has been walking at a leisurely pace beside me, jogs ahead to pick a twig from the ground. He tosses it in the air and catches it, a mischievous smile overtaking his features. He winks at me and then turns to Logan.  “A date? I wouldn’t have invited myself along if I’d known that.” 

“Nonsense!” Luka shouts in the worst British accent I have ever heard. “The two have to be chaperoned regardless! You never know what kind of trouble two young people in love could get into.”

Logan turns around. He's beet red and his lips are in a pout. “I don’t like her. I don't even know her.” After a second he adds, "No offense." 

I shrug, mildly amused by the boy's bluntness. "None taken." 

"Honestly, I was only trying to be nice. I mean, I felt bad." He resumes leading us, moving a little slower because the ground has become uneven and filled with pebbles. "First day here and she was already getting harassed by the likes of you." 

"Oh! He's getting sassy on us," Luka rebuttals with a grin. 

"Must be the heat. It feels like a hundred degrees out here." I swat a fly buzzing around my ear, fighting the urge to squirm since the boys have practically been catching the pests between their fingers all morning. I want to fit in but there will never be a world where I'm not utterly disgusted by insects. 

Aaron tosses me the plastic water bottle he’s been keeping in his back pocket. The shorts he's wearing are a little big on him, making the pockets seem massive. It's comforting to know I won't be the only one on the island looking less than fashionable. 

"I promise you it's not this miserably hot everyday," he says. 

José groans. "I hate to be that person but - are we there yet?" 

"Just about." Logan stops again. I don't spot anything at first but then he taps the ground with his walking stick and it makes an odd clunk. Weaved through blades of grass are rusty train tracks that extend out beyond us. "Five minute walk from here." 

The name "The Tracks" makes a lot of sense now. 

I guess that there used to be a train that took people around the island - maybe a cool attraction or way to give the kids at the boarding school an engaging tour. Nevertheless, it's hard to imagine it made any real stops considering the island is mostly wilderness with the occasional building that's even more abandoned than the castle. 

As we follow the railroad, Aaron invents a game of trying to balance on the sides of it for as long as possible. Everyone's competing except for Logan, who seems to take more pleasure observing the shenanigans rather than participating. All of us keep falling off but jump back on immediately, allowing no room for making a proper judgement on who's keeping balance the longest. I'm personally convinced it's me, though Aaron is cheating by continuously trying to shove me off.

At the end of the tracks are a bunch of train cars disconnected from each other. They are nothing like the modern ones I used to ride in the subway. They're made for being seen with their vibrant, red paint and gold trimming. Written in the same gold hue are the words The Mermaid, which I assume is what the train used to be called. Logan wastes no time as he jumps onto the backside, using the railing to help him up. 

"Welcome to my hideout." 

We are met with a wooden interior lined with pairs of black cushioned seats. Several of them are full of stuff like books, stationary and keychains. I assume that none of the other boys have been in here before since they all take their time looking at everything, oohing and aahing accordingly. 

"Where did you get all this stuff?" Luka asks, plopping down into a seat. 

"Gathered it from all the different train cars." 

Aaron picks up a vintage rubber duck and makes quacking noises at me. When I shrug him off with a playfully judgemental look, he begins to use the duck as a puppet. He demands that I throw him some bread crumbs and pecks at my hair. Giving into the madness, I defend myself with a rubber chicken that makes a horrendous moan when squeezed. 

José squints at Logan who's flipping through a stack of records. "How come you never brought us here before?" 

"I was busy collecting things to make it cooler." 

"Your mission was successful," I say, moving on to a different pile. I spot a sketchbook and open it expecting a flood of different sketches but it's completely unused. "This is a really nice sketchbook." 

"You like drawing?" Luka asks. When I nod he snaps his fingers. "Knew it! You seem like the artsy type. Your haircut gave it away." 

I run my fingers through my ends. The hair temporarily straightens, recoiling back into their curls once I let go. "What's wrong with my hair?" 

"Nothing - it's, uh, artsy." 

Aaron waves a hand at him. "Don't listen to him. It's lovely." 

I want to scoff at the compliment because it doesn't even take the mirror stacked on the pile to tell me that the newly shaved patch on my head is very 'artsy'. Still, Aaron's compliment makes me smile. 

"If you like the sketchbook you can keep it." Logan gestures to another pile beside it. "There are some pencils and stuff in the box over there too." 

My fingertips tingle at the thought of drawing  something again. During the last few days, I haven't been inspired at all. I suppose thinking life as you know it is over can give you a mental block. Luckily, this island is full of inspiration. I could think of a million different landscapes to draw. 

I flash him what Charlie would call my obnoxious smile. "Thanks!" 

José wrinkles his nose. "Gosh, that smile is big. It's a sketchbook, not a million dollars." 

I roll my eyes. "It's even better than a million dollars." 

A voice cuts through our chattering like a lighting bolt. "What could be better than a million dollars?" 

Luka flips over in his seat and sticks his head out the window of the train cart. He glances back at me, his voice low. "It's Shawn." 

"Why do you look so spooked?" Aaron asks and I start to wonder if maybe I should have told him about the threat Shawn made yesterday. Luka's response only confirms that I should have. 

"He has a sword." 

My heart flutters as I realize he's not joking. One peek out the window and I can see that the muscular boy who also towers over me is thrusting a sword in the air with practiced skill. 

What the actual -? 

"Cool sword!" 

Aaron is unsuspecting when he exits the train cart and walks over to him. 

"Found it in a train cart like Logan's on the other side of the island. I've been messing with it in my freetime. I can carve the whole alphabet into a tree with just a few swipes of this thing." At the last part of his sentence, Shawn's eyes meet mine. Aaron traces his gaze back to my place in the train cart. The side of his mouth twitches downward. Aaron's tone is no longer as conversational. 

"You'll have to show me sometime." 

Shawn continues to stare at me. "I can show you now." 

"Maybe another time." 

Shawn releases a heavy breath, the blade gleaming in the sunlight. 

"He really wants to slice you like sushi," José comments. I elbow him in the side. 

"I've never seen him act like this." Logan sucks in a breath. "He's off his rocker." 

Shawn comes over with Aaron on his heels. He rattles the train cart like it's plastic and bangs on the side with his fist. Aaron warns him to stop but he isn't listening. 

"Come out, guys! You too, Dovie! I wanna play a game." 

I don't move a muscle in his direction but Luka pulls me along with him. Digging my heels in the ground is a cowardice thing to do so I follow, putting on my poker face. 

"He'd never actually hurt you,” Luka says. “He's not deranged." 

I'm not as certain.

"Here's the name of the game." I'm outside for not so much as five seconds before Shawn flips the sword in his hand, bringing it dangerously close to where I stand. "You run and try not to get sliced in two." 

"Alright, that's enough," Aaron warns. His face is as stern as it can be - which to be honest, is not very. I can't imagine him actually trying to disarm Shawn. Willow did say that Aaron goes too easy on the boys. Maybe he doesn't have much control over them at all. 

I back up against the train cart. The movement only lights a spark in Shawn's eyes. 

"You've got to be joking, Shawn," Luka says, leisurely cleaning his glasses with the fabric of his shirt. 

Before anyone can react, Shawn juts out the sword. He tips my chin up with its edge. I go completely still. I think I even stop breathing. 

"Do I look like I'm joking?" 

Stepping between us, Aaron lowers the sword from my face. His easy going disposition has melted into a stormy  scowl. He's staring lasers into Shawn but he's no match. Shawn was probably born scowling. 

"Stop messing around! Someone will get hurt." 

Shawn ignores him and starts to countdown. 

"Ten, nine, eight . . ." 

Logan and José are gone. They charge in different directions without a second of hesitation, resembling frightened rabbits. They've known Shawn longer than I have. They know what he's capable of and if they believe he'll hurt us if he catches us, then so should I. 

"There's no way you’d try to stab me! We share a room!" Luka's feet are glued to the ground as I try to shove past him. He's blocking my way. 

“Move!” I scream. 

He's fixated on Shawn. "We're roommates!" 

"Three, two . . ." Shawn widens his stance and pulls his sword to his side, ready to strike. 

Aaron turns to us. His face is flushed. It seems he thought he would have had the situation under control before Shawn finished counting down. He doesn't. 

"Run!" 

Luka's feet finally figure out how to function and he takes off towards the forest, shouting something about it having plenty of places to hide. I try my best to keep up but yesterday night's game of tag has taken a lot out of me. My leg aches in pain as soon as I apply harsh pressure. Soon, instead of running, I'm limping. 

A few feet ahead, Luka spins around to find me. "Shoot! I forgot about your leg!" 

Everyone was made readily aware of my limp after lunch yesterday. José had asked very loudly why I walked like I just crapped my pants and everyone was already listening when I gave the answer. Shawn probably heard it too. He knows I don’t stand a chance when it comes to running. 

We both spot Aaron chasing after Shawn who's making a beeline for us. Aaron is quick and light on his feet. He runs like it's as easy as breathing and as graceful as dancing. Shawn runs with sheer power. His footsteps pound against the forest floor, sending up dirt and snapping branches into two. I'm not so sure Aaron will be able to catch up to him or that he'll be able to stop Shawn if he does. 

Luka scans the trees around us and then points to the closest one. "Shawn's horrible at climbing! Here!" 

He makes a step with his hands to boost me up onto the first tree branch. I get a good grip and hoist myself up the rest of the way. The fury in Shawn's expression keeps me climbing higher and higher. The wind I couldn't feel on the ground beats against my skin and turns my shirt into a flag. Luka remains sitting on the first branch like he's simply there to feel the afternoon breeze. 

"What are you doing? He'll reach you there!" 

He gives me a nonchalant shrug and goes as far as to rest his back against the trunk with his arms behind his head like he’s ready to take a nap. 

My mind is spinning both from his strangeness and how high up I am. Shawn makes it to the tree and instead of turning Luka into a shish kabob or taunting me, he starts to laugh. 

"This chick climbed up a tree! You got her to climb a tree!" He throws his sword into the ground and places his hands on hips as he scoffs at me. "You should see your face. You look like you pissed your pants." 

 "Excuse me?" I have my legs wrapped around the trunk of the tree. The world below me is rocking like a boat on the water so I try not to focus on the ground but on the boys who are acting too smug for their own good. 

Luka hops down and claps Shawn on the back. "It was just a joke." 

I blink at them. “I’m not laughing.” 

"And I still mean everything I said to you yesterday," Shawn adds, his face tightening. 

"Maybe not the part about killing her?" 

"Don't push it, Luka." 

Logan and José run past Aaron who's catching his breath. The two of them laugh and give each other high fives. Logan must have invited me to his hideout not to show me around 

 but to prank me. 

Those jerks. This was all a set up. 

"Waving sharp objects around isn't a joke." Aaron nods to the sword with a steely gaze. "I'm taking that." 

Knowing Aaron wasn't in on it makes me like him a million times more than I already did. 

Shawn lifts his shoulders. "Go ahead. It's duller than a kitchen knife." 

My initial reaction is to scold them. Charlie messes with me sometimes but he’d never threaten my life as a joke. In fact, I don’t know any sane person who would. Maybe these kids aren't sane. They were all at the bottom of the ship suffering before they got here. They were all treated horribly. Maybe they don't understand boundaries or how friends should treat each other. Expecting normal behavior from them might be unrealistic and maybe that’s why Aaron is so lenient. As I replay the last few seconds and try to view it from their perspective, I can kind of see the humor in it. Kind of. I'm the newbie and how can you resist messing with the newbie? 

Besides, it was kind of exhilarating to run and climb like my life depended on it. Well, that might be the adrenaline talking. 

Since there isn’t any real danger, I begin my descent. It's gonna be a long way down. 

I lower myself to the next branch. My leg screams in protest and in an attempt to alieve the pain, I place the majority of my body weight against the trunk. Something makes a snapping noise beneath me and my breath catches. 

"Be careful." Luka nears the tree, pointing at a spot to my left. "Climb down there next." 

The spot is an uncomfortable length away but I can reach it if I stretch. 

Shawn chuckles darkly. "You'll ruin the prank if you go splat on the ground." 

 There is no need for me to fall from a dizzying height again. I would probably never even be put in a situation where I could fall from a dramatic height again if it wasn’t for this elaborate prank. Couldn’t they have just placed a whoopie cushion down or something? 

Remembering the pain I initially felt when I hit the deck of the ship is enough to make my hands start to tremble. I would give anything to ensure I never feel that pain again. Anything. 

"If I fall, it's on all of you for chasing me up here!" I yell, more agitated than I let on. 

I sneak a glance at the ground. 

It's not that far down.cI don't think I'll die if I fall. Maybe I’ll break my other leg but I won't die . . . unless I land on my neck. Then I might. 

I'm forced to place my bad leg down first. Pain shoots through it and I yelp. My leg gives out and causes me to lose my balance. 

I've fallen off the branch and my legs are suspended in the air. In a miraculous save, I catch the branch above me. I grip onto it for dear life. 

Oh crap. 

I dip my toe to find the branch I had fallen off of but the more I search the more I swing. I think the branch might have broken off. 

My body is hanging on but my stomach has fallen down to the forest's dirt. I bite back a scream. 

"Oh no!" The voice belongs to José. He desperately circles the tree but does nothing to help. He’s making me woozy. 

"We’ve killed her! I thought it'd be harmless! Shawn, you said it’d be harmless!" 

"Calm down!" I'm stumped on what to do and my arms are burning. It doesn't help that my insides are doing back flips that make my hands shake. A bead of sweat runs down my forehead and into my eyes. "I can't hold on for much longer!” 

"Everyone out of here! Go!" Aaron commands. The boys erupt into a puzzled commotion but it's hard to hear with the pounding in my ear.

All I can think about is the amount of pain I felt the first fall I took only weeks ago. Neverland doesn't even have a hospital. I'm going to be squashed on the ground with no hope. Will I get help in time? I might actually die. No. There’s no way I made it to a safe haven only to die a day later.  That’s just cruel. 

The boys have left towards the castle, leaving only Aaron behind. I think it's nice he sent them away so they won't have the added trauma of watching me turn into a mess of broken bones in front of them. It would have been nicer if they never chased me up here in the first place though. Those little demons.  

My muscles are spasming. I wish I invested some time in getting good at chin ups. Charlie used to invite me to the gym with him. I should have gone. I shouldn’t have climbed this tree in the first place. 

Aaron is staring up at me. I feel bad because it probably stinks to have someone die under your watch. I'm about to tell him it's not his fault when my arm muscle spasms out of control and I'm forced to undue my grip. 

I’m falling. 

I anticipate pain and lots of it. I brace myself for it. 

I scream but it's cut short. 

My fall is cut short. 

Aaron is holding me in a tight grip. My feet aren't touching the ground and I can reach up and touch the branch I was just holding onto if I tried. The sickeningly hot day has its first burst of cool air and it washes over us. Taking a chance, I look down and it's exactly as I expected. 

I barely fell. We're hovering high off the ground. 

"You can't tell them," he says. 

His eyes are searching mines, drinking them up like he’s been in the desert for days. Though he has a strong grip on my waist, his hands are trembling. 

No way. There is no way - I cut myself short. 

Of course, there is a way. I have been part of the way. All the kids on this island have been part of the way. This isn't something out of a fairytale. This is something straight out of my messed up life. 

Even after all the experiments and tests, I never thought I would see the day when they worked. 

If Aaron is flying right now, it means the person he despises the most has changed him in a life altering way. Nakpuna’s despicable quest was successful and if he’s done it to Aaron, perhaps he can do it to anyone. There’s no reason for him to stop using the innocent for his own gain. There’s nothing to keep him from continuing to harm Tina until he can perfect his formula and maybe by remaining out of his grip, Aaron is lengthening the time it will take for Nakpuna to do it. 

Aaron shakes me, leaning in close like that will help him see what I’m thinking. “Say something.” 

"You can fly."

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