فصل 39

CHAPTER 39

READY FOR ANYTHING

“NIBS! GET THE BOX!” peter shouted, straining against the chain holding him to the post.

Nibs stared wide-eyed at the motionless, blood-covered form of Sarah.

“Nibs!” repeated Peter. “Get the gold box!”

Shaken from his trance, Nibs looked around frantically.

“Over there!” said Peter, pointing. “The rest of you, find the key!” Peter rattled his chains. “Hook put it in his hut, I think. It’s the one over there.”

Slightly, Curly, and the Twins took off at a run toward Hook’s hut.

Nibs had the box now. “What do I do?” he asked.

“Listen carefully,” said Peter. “Set it on the ground next to Sarah. Now, twist the wheel on top. Just a little…good! Now, you mustn’t look directly at the starstuff. Turn it ’round the other way…good. Now tip the box so the starstuff flows into the wound.”

Nibs turned the box and lifted it over Sarah, his hands shaking badly. J.D., who had just regained consciousness, rose and stumbled over.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he called to Peter.

“I’ve seen it work before,” Peter answered, remembering the time, long ago, when he had used starstuff to save the life of Fighting Prawn.

“All right,” said J.D., reaching out his hands to steady Nibs’s. Together they tilted the gold box, farther and farther, until finally there was a brilliant flash and the sound of bells as starstuff began to flow into the horrible wound just below Sarah’s neck. Some spilled on Nibs’s and J.D.’s hands. Nibs, unaccustomed to its effects, became elated and began to hum and giggle. J.D. concentrated, forcing himself to focus, through squinted eyes, on the box. The stream of starstuff was abating. He tilted the box farther, until it was almost vertical, but only the barest trickle came out.

Afraid of what he would see, he forced himself to look at Sarah’s wound. His eyes opened wide.

“I don’t believe it,” J.D. whispered.

“Oh, my,” said Nibs.

The wound had healed. Where there had been a deep gash in Sarah’s skin, there was now only a faint redness—not even a scar. Only the hole in Sarah’s bloody shirt indicated what had happened. Sarah’s body was floating a foot off the ground; gently, J.D. pushed her back down.

Sarah’s eyes blinked open. She coughed, then cried out as a searing pain shot through her chest. She was afraid to look down; her eyes shone with fear.

“You’re gonna be okay,” said J.D.

Sarah didn’t believe him. She remembered the horrible sight of the red-smeared hook, her spurting blood…“I’m going to die,” she whispered.

“No,” said Nibs. He held up the gold box. “You’re going to be fine.” As he spoke, Sarah became aware of the warmth spreading through her.

Still, she didn’t dare look down. Her eyes met J.D.’s. “Is it really okay?” she said.

He nodded. “As a physicist,” he said, “I’m very reluctant to use the word miracle. But this was a miracle.”

Sarah turned toward Nibs. “Thank you,” she said.

“It was Peter’s idea,” said Nibs. “And I couldn’t have done it without your friend.”

“Well, then, thank you all,” said Sarah. She frowned. “You didn’t use up all the starstuff?”

“Don’t worry about that,” said J.D. “Just rest.”

“But—”

“Just rest.”

She lay back in the dirt and closed her eyes. They brought her some water in a coconut shell and wadded up some big leaves to form a crude pillow. The Twins found the key in Hook’s hut and brought it to Peter, who, with their help, finally freed himself from the ring around his neck. Sarah heard him walk over and felt his shadow as he stood over her. She opened her eyes.

“Are you all right?” he said. He himself had a raw, ugly, red line around his neck.

“I think so,” she said.

“I think so, too,” said Peter.

There was a moment of awkward silence, and then he said, “You saved my life. Hook would have killed me. I…well…thank you.”

“And you saved my life, from what I hear,” said Sarah. “I’d say we’re even.”

“No,” said Peter. “You risked your life for me.”

“I just…reacted,” said Sarah.

“But why?” said Peter. “Why risk your life?”

Sarah shook her head. “I don’t know. You were helpless there, chained to the post…it just seemed wrong.”

Peter nodded again. He was silent for a few moments, then said, “You told me your brother is in trouble. With Ombra.”

Sarah nodded.

“Then I’m going back with you,” said Peter. “To help.”

Tink chimed something.

“Tink, too,” he said. “We’ve fought Ombra before. More than once. We can help.”

“Peter, I really appreciate that,” said Sarah. “But it’s not a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Because our world…it’s changed since you were there last. It’s crazy there. You belong here.”

“I’ll come back here. When we’re done.”

“That’s another problem,” said J.D. “Assuming we can get over the bridge, I don’t know how we’d get you back here.”

Peter thought about that, then said, “We’ll figure that out when the time comes.”

“Peter,” said Sarah, “I can’t let you risk it.”

“When Hook was about to stab me,” he said, “and you stopped him—were you thinking about the risk?”

Sarah said nothing.

“So it’s settled,” said Peter.

Sarah sighed and closed her eyes. She fell quickly to sleep.

They went back to the Mollusk side of the island by sea after “borrowing” one of the pirates’ longboats. The Lost Boys and J.D. rowed; Sarah, still weak, lay in the bow next to the gold box. Peter and Tink, high above, served as lookouts, but there was no sign of pirate pursuit.

As the longboat neared Skull Rock it was met by the mermaids, who used their powerful tails to greatly increase its speed. When they reached the Mollusk beach, they were greeted by Fighting Prawn and his men, who had worked through the night to repair their canoes in preparation for a rescue attempt. The Mollusks were relieved to see that the mission was unnecessary, although Fighting Prawn gave Peter a stern lecture about his foolish attempt to take Hook on alone.

After a hearty meal—food always came first with the Mollusks—Peter, Sarah, and J.D. described the events on the other side of the island. Fighting Prawn frowned when Peter announced his plan to go across the bridge with Sarah and J.D.

“Are you sure that is wise?” he asked.

“I’m sure it’s what I want to do,” answered Peter.

“It has been a long time,” said Fighting Prawn. “That world has changed.”

“A lot,” added J.D.

Tink chimed something. The others looked to Peter for a translation. “She says Ombra hasn’t changed,” he said.

Sarah spent the rest of the day in the care of one of Fighting Prawn’s daughters, Shining Pearl. Sarah’s clothes were badly shredded and bloodstained, so Shining Pearl, with much pleasure, attired her in a traditional Mollusk dress made of material woven from grass fibers and dyed in a rainbow of colors. It took some convincing, but Sarah also allowed Shining Pearl to decorate her hair with shells.

Sarah slept that night in Shining Pearl’s hut and awoke feeling almost fully recovered. She emerged to find J.D. deep in conversation with Fighting Prawn and Peter.

J.D. smiled at her outfit. “’Morning, Pocahontas,” he said, happy he’d found his own jeans in Hook’s hut. Fighting Prawn said something in Mollusk, and Peter laughed.

“What did you say?” Sarah asked.

“I said you should be prepared to receive a boiled-jellyfish pudding,” said Fighting Prawn. “What are you talking about?” said Sarah. “That’s how Mollusk men propose marriage,” said Peter.

J.D. laughed; Sarah blushed. “Have you guys made any progress?” she asked, eager to change the subject.

“We have,” said J.D. “For one thing, we know where the bridge is.”

“Where?”

“Skull Rock. The right-hand eye socket. Same as back in Disney World.”

“Makes sense,” said Sarah. “That’s where we wound up when we came over the bridge.”

“Yup. Fighting Prawn says that when Einstein and Pete Carmoody went back, they had the Mollusks lower them to the eye in a sling tied to a rope.”

“Is that what we’re going to do?”

“Basically. But instead of being lowered in a sling, we’ll be lowered in the ship from the Peter Pan ride.”

Fighting Prawn chuckled at that; Peter blushed.

“I’m still trying to explain the concept of Disney World to them,” said J.D. “They both have a hard time believing there’s a ride named for Peter.”

“There’s lots of stuff named for you,” said Sarah. “Peanut butter, for example.”

“What’s peanut butter?” said Peter.

“It’s delicious,” said Sarah. “But wait a minute…” She turned back to J.D. “I thought Hook dropped the little ship onto the Mollusk canoes.”

“He did,” said J.D. “But it was in shallow water. The mermaids found it and brought it to land.”

“Do we really need it?”

“I think maybe we do,” said J.D. “I think that when we activate the bridge, we’re going to find ourselves in exactly the same place we left from.”

“On the Peter Pan ride.”

“Right. But here’s where it could get a little weird. I also think it’s possible that we’re going to find ourselves there at exactly the same time we left.”

“You mean at 9:07 p.m.,” said Sarah.

“Definitely 9:07 p.m. But possibly at 9:07 p.m. on the same night we left,” said J.D. “In other words, no time will have passed there at all.”

“Wait a minute,” said Sarah. “We’ve been here for, what, two days. Time has passed here. How can it be the same day there?”

“I don’t have time to explain the physics of it,” said J.D. “But time isn’t what most people think. It’s not a constant, and it’s not linear. Does that make any sense?”

“Absolutely not,” said Sarah. She turned to Peter and Fighting Prawn. “Does that make sense to you?”

They shook their heads.

J.D. smiled. “Yeah, it is counterintuitive,” he said. “But humor me, okay? I’m just saying we need to be ready for anything.”

“Okay,” said Sarah. “So when do we do this?”

J.D. pulled out his watch. The band had broken when he’d yanked it off Hook’s wrist, so he kept it in his pocket. He looked at the time. “A little under twelve hours,” he said.

The ascent to the top of Skull Rock was perilous, especially at night—it required climbing a set of shallow footholds carved into the back side of the huge rock, which became increasingly steep until it was nearly vertical at the top. Sarah, still weak, had the hardest time, but Peter hovered next to her the whole way up, steadying her as needed.

J.D. also struggled with the climb, and was careful never to look down. The Mollusks, including Fighting Prawn, ascended the rock easily, despite carrying the gold box and coils of heavy rope, which they used to haul up the Peter Pan’s Flight ship.

Far below, in canoes at the base of the rock, were more Mollusk warriors, along with the Lost Boys, who had begged to come along. Peter, after declaring that Nibs would be leader in his absence, had said good-bye and promised to come back soon. The Lost Boys believed him; they could not imagine Peter failing.

At the top of the rock, J.D. looked at his watch, easily visible in the moonlight.

“Fifteen minutes,” he said. “Time to fill the locket.” He pulled the second gold locket from his pocket and opened it. Sarah brought the gold box over and held its opening next to the locket.

“Please be enough,” she whispered.

She turned the little wheel and carefully tilted the box toward the locket. Nothing came out. She and J.D. exchanged a worried look. She tilted the box more. Still nothing.

“Please,” she whispered. She tilted the box as far as she could, the opening now pointing straight down. Suddenly, the night was filled with light and music.

Just as suddenly, it was gone.

“Did you get it?” said Sarah, temporarily blinded.

“I think so,” said J.D., snapping the locket shut. He realized he was floating, his feet six inches from the rock. In a few seconds he settled back down.

“That’s all there is,” said Sarah, her sight returning. “The box is empty. Do you think it was enough?”

“We’ll find out,” said J.D., looking at his watch, “in twelve minutes.”

The Mollusks tied the rope carefully to the little ship. J.D., Sarah, and Peter climbed in, with Sarah in the middle, holding the gold box in her lap. It was a tight fit. Ten strong warriors held the rope, their feet braced firmly against the rough rock. Four more slid the ship to the edge.

“We’ll tug twice when we reach the right level,” said J.D.

Fighting Prawn nodded.

“Thank you,” said Sarah. “For everything.”

“You are welcome.”

“I’m sorry for causing all this trouble,” said Sarah.

“It was…interesting,” said Fighting Prawn.

“Really?” said Sarah.

“Yes,” said Fighting Prawn. With just a hint of a smile, he added, “Although that does not mean we wish you to return.”

“Don’t worry about that,” said J.D.

The Mollusks began lowering the ship. As it disappeared from view, Fighting Prawn and Peter were looking at each other. Each knew it might be the last time he would ever see the other. Neither said a word. Neither had to.

The little ship descended slowly, bumping against the rock. The moon glinted off the water far below. Peter looked down, gauging the distance to the eye socket. He flew up once to tell the Mollusks to shift the rope about five feet to their right, then returned to the ship.

Finally, they reached the eye socket. It was much bigger than it appeared from the water, easily large enough for a man to stand upright in. When they were centered in front of it, Peter tugged twice on the rope, and they stopped descending. J.D. looked at his watch.

“Two minutes,” he said. He handed the locket to Sarah, saying, “You’ve had experience.”

Sarah took the locket. She looked at Peter and said, “Are you sure about this?”

He nodded.

“You can just fly away right now,” she said. “We won’t hold it against you.”

“I’m going with you,” he said.

“One minute,” said J.D.

The little ship had twisted slowly on the rope and was now facing directly into the eye socket. Sarah leaned forward, the locket in her hand.

“Thirty seconds,” said J.D.

They were utterly still. From far below came the sound of waves slapping against the base of Skull Rock. J.D.’s eyes were on his watch.

“Ten seconds,” he said.

Sarah clenched the locket.

“Five…four…three…two…now.”

Sarah threw the locket.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the world went white. As before, J.D. saw nothing but the whiteness. As before, he heard the sound of his voice screaming, but this seemed odd because he was certain that he was not screaming. Then, with a chill, he realized that he was hearing himself—when he had come across the bridge the first time. Now he knew that his hunch had been right: they were returning to their universe at exactly the same moment they had left it.

Then he heard another sound, one he recognized immediately…

Caw! Caw!

And then he heard a blood-chilling groan.