~*Chapter Sixteen *~

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“There,” you smiled to yourself as you tied the last piece of wood in place. It wasn’t a very big looking raft, but it looked sturdy and reliable and that was all you needed. It would be enough to at least get you to the island that you could see on the horizon. Even if you couldn’t get off Neverland, you could at least stay away from everyone so you didn’t cause any problems. You had thought about finding Jin, but his threat about not looking for him lingered in your mind and he did scare you.

You picked up the oar you had made from multiple sticks of bamboo and put it on top of your raft before pushing the heavy contraption along the sand towards the water. You had also taken off the grey hoody you were wearing and tied off the hood so it made a sort of bag. You then went collecting fruits like you had done with Chanyeol; picking all the ones he had told you were definitely safe. The sack of fruit was also placed on board as well as other various sticks that you had sharpened against the rocks, just in case.

As soon as the raft was deep enough in the water to float on its own, you hopped on and prayed it wouldn’t sink. Thankfully, your craftsmanship was better that you had hoped and you began to paddle your way towards the island. It looked far away and evening was beginning to smear its orange and red gradient across the sky as you sailed away from Neverland and away from Baekhyun.

***

“Where’s Semmi?” Baekhyun asked when he couldn’t find you anywhere. He’d looked everywhere but you were nowhere to be found. His conversation with Tinkerbell had distressed and confused him but he knew he couldn’t get rid of you. She had kept comparing you to Wendy, but Baekhyun knew you were different. Looking back, Baekhyun realised that Wendy didn’t really like him, he was just infatuated and selfish in bringing her here. But when he looked at you, he knew you wanted to be here, he knew you didn’t want to go back and he knew you’d never leave.

“She said she left something back at the cave, she went out to get it,” Sehun explained, grabbing a handful of berries from the bowl on the table he was sitting at.

“How long ago was that?”

Sehun hummed and rolled his eyes as he thought, he got up and wandered in to the living room where he glanced at the clock. He pointed at it, counting the hours, “About three hours ago.”

“Three hours ago?” Baekhyun exploded, “It doesn’t take three hours to go to the cave and back, Sehun, you idiot! She could be in trouble, or worse!”

“I thought you said you didn’t care,” Sehun wiggled his eyebrows and Baekhyun grabbed a handful of berries himself and threw them at him.

“Hey! She said she’d be fine, she’s probably exploring or something, she is new here.”

“You really are stupid,” Baekhyun let out an exasperated sigh and ran for the door. His heart was racing and he had that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him something bad was going to happen.

“You’re going to miss food!” Sehun called after him, only to be ignored.

Baekhyun didn’t care about food when you could be drowning or getting attacked by who-knows what. Kris could be out looking around and snatch you away again – anything could happen in Neverland.  He immediately flew straight up and above the trees so he could fly better, making a beeline for the caves. He just hoped you were still there or near at least.

***

There was absolutely nothing of use on the island at all. It was only small, but the trees grew no fruits, there were no materials to be found whatsoever and there weren’t even any sturdy branches you could sleep on. You let out a deep sigh and unwrapped your hoody of fruit taking one of the blue pears, biting straight in to it. You sighed again as you chewed, sitting down on the sandy ground, watching the waves lap at the sand near your feet. You crossed your legs underneath you and it was then you let the tears you had been holding back fall.

You didn’t like crying, but right now, it was necessary. To have the hope of a new life shattered, destroyed you and you threw your blue pear away as you drew your knees up to your chest and hugged them. To be told you’re useless and dangerous and nothing but a hindrance hurt. You were hurting.  You sobbed quietly to yourself, not even bothering to wipe away your tears; you let them fall and soak the sand beneath you.

Eventually, once you had cried yourself dry, you got up and had a look around the island again, maybe there was something you had missed.

You were just about to give up again and go back to the beach to try and get some sleep, when you heard whispers. You looked around for the source of the noise, your heart beating fast. It could be anything. Who knows what lives on this island? You in a breath and tiptoed, trying not to make any noise. The whispers appeared to be getting louder, signalling that you were getting closer at least.

Suddenly, it stopped.

An eerie silence fell and you stopped in your tracks, trying to control your erratic breathing. Your ears then picked up a woman’s voice. It was still a whisper, but it appeared to be singing. It was a tune you didn’t recognise and a voice you didn’t recognise. You walked forward a bit further, pushing your way past the bushes and branches until you came in to a small clearing you hadn’t seen earlier on.

There was a small lake directly in the centre, surrounded by flowers mixed in with overgrown weeds. You walked over to it, one small step at a time. When you arrived right at the edge of the lake, you peered in and saw a small glowing light and the whispering seemed so close if felt like it was right next to your ear.

***

Baekhyun landed on the small section of beach where the caves began. He checked every single one of them, calling your name as loud as he could, going inside and making sure you hadn’t fallen down or hurt yourself. His efforts were fruitless and he was beginning to get worried.

“Semmi!” he called again, desperation clear in his voice. He didn’t have the slightest idea where to look next. He jumped in to the air again and flew down the length of the beach, staring down at the ground for any clues.

That was when he saw it. Your necklace reflected the moonlight that had now set in, he’d been searching for hours. He was quite surprised that none of the Lost Boys had come to look for him yet either. He immediately flew down to the ground and picked up the necklace, brushing off the sand with his thumb. Finally, he then noticed the broken sticks, leaves and shoots of bamboo and like a light switch, his brain and he knew exactly where you had gone.

***

The light shone brighter, drawing you in closer. You leaned over and when you looked down, you could see all the way through the clear water and make out the outline of a shell. The shell was emitting the bright light and from what you assumed, the whispering noises too. The water wasn’t very deep from what you could see, so you took off your boots, socks and rolled up your trousers above your knee. You then dipped one foot in the water, recoiling instantly against the shock of the coldness.

“Stop being a baby,” you scolded yourself, plunging both feet in straight away. Pushing up your sleeves as high as you could, you reached down, still managing to get some of your shirt wet in the process. The shell seemed to be stuck on something and as you yanked on it, it didn’t seem to budge. You bent down as much as you could without soaking your trousers and put your other hand in to the freezing water, gripping the shell. You pulled as hard as you could and it came dislodged unexpectedly, sending you flying backwards in the water. Luckily, it didn’t go over your head, but you were completely soaked from the neck down.

You let out a loud, frustrated groan as you stood up, putting the shell on to the ground next to the lake before ringing out your shirt the best you could. Pulling yourself back on to land, you instantly began to shiver under the cold night air. You picked up the shell and began walking back to the beach. As you walked, the shell’s bright light began to dim down and the whispers stopped completely. You turned it around in your hands as you walked, examining it. It was a pretty shell, one of those conch shells that kids always press to their ears and claim to hear the sea in. It was a pastel lilac in colour and swirled around to a point. You did as a child would and pressed the conch shell to your ear in hopes it might say something.

“At the bottom… Nobody….Alone…”

You pulled it away and stared at it, what did that mean?

***

You got back to the beach and sat down on the raft so the sand didn’t stick to your wet trousers. You set the shell down next to you and grabbed the hoody of fruit, untying the end and letting the fruit fall on to the sand. You took off your wet shirt and quickly put on the hoody so at least your top half was dry. You then sat with the shell in your hand, watching the black waves lap at the sand again, shivering.

“You’re going to catch a cold like that.”

You looked to your left and saw Baekhyun landing next to you. You bit your lip and looked away. “How the heck did he find me?” You thought, rolling your eyes.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked, grabbing one of the fruits from the ground, taking a bite as he sat down on the raft with you. You didn’t know how to answer. You couldn’t exactly say “I overheard Tinkerbell telling you I’m useless and dangerous so I decided to run away.”

“This doesn’t look like the cave,” he continued, “Didn’t you leave something there?”

You shook your head, continuing to look out across the water rather than looking at him. You heard him take another bite of his fruit before he started talking again with a full mouth, “You weren’t trying to run away were you? Because it’s not possible to just run away from Neverland on a poorly made raft,” he chuckled. “Come on, let me take you back.”

“No,” you spoke up.

“Why?”

“Because I’m a hindrance, I’ll hurt people,” you whispered.

Baekhyun stopped chewing and swallowed. “Ah, so you heard Tinkerbell.” You nodded and looked at him, “Just let me go, Baek. I don’t want anyone to end up injured because of me.”

“Rubbish,” he scoffed, “Nobody’s going to get hurt. The only person in harm right now is you; you’re going to get pneumonia if you sit out here any longer like that,” he motioned to your soaked clothes and you sighed.

“What’s the point in me going back?” you asked, “Tinkerbell was right, I can’t do anything.”

“You don’t need to do anything,” Baekhyun said softly, “For whatever reason, the Baekhyun back on Earth brought you here which means there was a reason for it. So, you’re staying until you really want to go, because you don’t want to leave, do you?”

You shook your head and he smiled.

“Then it’s settled, you’re coming back with me,” he grinned, taking your hand in his, forcing you to stand up.

“Was my raft really that bad?” you asked, sighing.

“Actually, considering the materials you had to work with, it’s pretty good. But the only thing that’s going to get you out of this place is pixie dust and lots of it,” he smiled, squeezing your hand.