Young Writers Society

James nodded and led the way out, back into the hall. The bust was still where they'd left it, in front of the library door. He hoped that meant that the man who'd been antagonizing Kate wouldn't be seen again.

He did have the dreadful thought, though, that he realized he couldn't hope the same about Carter. Running into him again was inevitable, wasn't it?

James pushed the thought out of his mind as he hurried down the hall, past the staircase, and down the next hall, which was significantly shorter. Only two sets of doors, both double-doored this time. James wasn't sure if that was bad or good or just a neutral fact at this point, but he picked the pair of doors on the right first.

Slowly and cautiously, he pushed one of them open and peered into the room. It was... not what he expected to see. In the middle of the room, there was a raised circular platform with railing and a staircase that led up to it. Above the cylindrical platform, there was a giant bubble-like window above it that revealed the starry night sky above. At the top of the platform, there was a very large telescope, presumably to look at the stars.

All of this, of course, was illuminated not by any lights in the room, but from the dim light of the moon and stars shining through the window above. The corners of the room were dark, but it appeared that aside from more plush seating and random lavish decor sitting about, this was the room.

He hummed, stepping in.

Kate smirked as she followed James into the observatory. In a flash, she was at the Telescope's side, fiddling with all the delicate little dials. It was beautiful.

Kate could not name a single installation, let alone point one out, but Tallulah - and all sirens, allegedly - was all about the stars. 'It's just basic navigation,' she always said, laughing at Kate, who was enthralled with all of her little instruments and tools, 'you should really have all of this stuff on your ship already.'

Because sailors knew the stars. the captain, most especially.

Four weeks later, Kate knew how to operate all the fun little trinkets, but not which star was which and what led where.

James watched as Kate darted up the steps to the telescope. He never would've guessed that this would be something she was interested in, but he hardly knew anything about her anyways.

He hesitated as he started up the steps, looking up at the night sky.

"Do you recognize any of these stars?" he asked. He knew he didn't. They didn't look like the skies of his home.

"I wouldn't recognize the stars in the cove where I dock the Roger," she admitted, not without a hint of sarcasm.

But these stars did look off, a monkey would be able to tell they weren't the same ones around Neverland. But Neverland was an odd place for stars. It was an odd place for everything.

Genevieve entered a room with a pretty, light pink door. Of course it was her favourite colour, so that’s why she gravitated towards it. The inside was pink as well, a dream come true. Gigi walked around the large room, brushing her hand along the pink wallpaper detailed with little white flower, the sheer lace white and pink curtains, and the white bedspread embroidered with gold and pink flowers. She practically floated towards the huge white wardrobe. Inside, there were many clothes that were just her style. Genevieve finally picked a pink babydoll dress with white lace trim. White ballet flats were among the many shoes in the dresser drawer, and they seemed practical. Gigi stared at herself in the mirror, and twirled. She felt like a little girl again. With a white ribbon tied in her hair as the finishing touch, Gigi went to leave the dreamy room. “Why, if it isn’t the lovely lady herself?” She stopped breathing. Suddenly, standing by the open window, was Ian. He didn’t quite fit into the scenery. The pink and white lace curtains fluttered around him, sharply contrasting with his worn jeans and old army green shirt. Genevieve cringed at his footwear. A pair of ancient dirty Timbs clad his feet. She could already imagine the marks they left on the pristine white carpet. “Oh hell no.” Gigi whispered. Someone, or something bumped into her from behind, but she had tuned out everything but Ian.

James stood with one foot on the second and one foot on the third step. He was beginning to think that there might not be any answers found by looking in the rooms. Maybe that was too presumptuous since he didn't know what the other's might've found downstairs, but each room only proved what he already knew: they were in a mansion.

The only pattern so far had been their run-ins with people they didn't like, and that didn't like them. Enemies, though he didn't like calling Carter that. It was true of Carter in the strictest sense, but it was complicated. He and Carter had once been friends, and not all of those moments were sour.

He sighed. If he and Kate had run into Carter and the obnoxious skinny kid, the others might've run into enemies as well.

He froze with one hand on the railing of the steps at the thought. Were the others okay? Neither Carter or Kate's enemy had attacked them, but that wasn't true of everyone's enemies and it couldn't be assumed that they wouldn't -

He heard a footfall behind him. James flipped around and jumped, narrowly missing the blade of a sword that Carter had obtained somewhere. He didn't know what Carter was thinking. Maybe Carter didn't understand Kate's threat earlier - he would have no reason to.

James dodged another swipe of the sword and ran up the steps to the telescope, out of the reach of Carter's sword.

Carter pointed his sword up at him.

"You've been in situations like this before, haven't you?" Carter accused. "Swept up into some scheme of some mighty gods, or whatever higher beings threw this together."

James frowned. Why did that matter?

"Yes, but-"

Carter's eyes lit up with unholy revelation and a sickly smile spread across his face.

"So if we die here, we won't make it back to Nye, will we?"

James felt a chill run down his spine. He knew Carter did not mean "we" to include Carter. Carter meant him.

Benji had remained outside the door when Genevieve went in, knowing that she was probably planning on getting changed if she found some different clothes inside. He wasn't sure how long he was in there before he heard the voice.

When it sounded like she had stopped getting changed, he went inside the room. But he was so focused on the arrival of someone else - a man that had to be Genevieve's enemy - that he bumped right into her. The whisper she had given a second before was all Benji needed to know that.

His guess had been right.

He took a deep breath, trying to quell the fluttering of wings deep within the mansion's many hallways.

Kate jumped between James and the prick with the sword. This guy was no amateur, that was for sure, but he'd certainly never fought an undead. Anyone who had would have at least bothered with a glance at the vamp in the room.

Kate crossed her arms, "You done with your cute little threats?"

Carter laughed and slashed at Kate's calf. James yanked her back up the steps, but Carter only proceeded to step up them, and went in for a jab at Kate's side - at which point, James took the (risky) opportunity to jump out from behind Kate and leap at Carter.

Carter quickly changed the direction of his blade, but was just a fraction of a second too slow. James grabbed Carter, and the two of them went tumbling down the short flight of steps. James heard the sword clatter on the ground.

Alyss stopped outside the doorway that lead into the room. She was sure that Benji and Genevieve could handle this boy, and meanwhile she needed to keep watch. It would be just like Ryler to take advantage of her while her back was turned, and she surmised that Daniel was probably like that too.

She was just so sick and tired of this already. Why couldn't she go home!

Kate was mildly offended by James jumping in front of her, but she didn't have time to process this eternally familiar emotion before her body was already moving.

She grabbed the sword before either of the boys could so much as glance in its direction. She'd been scraped, really barely nicked, by this very blade a few moments ago, as evidenced by the red slash on her uncomfortably bare calf, but it wasn't bleeding. Just red, angry, glaring.

"That's enough," she snapped at the pair, raising the blade to both of them.

James pushed away from Carter and was surprised when Carter did the same. As James sprung up to his feet, Carter dashed for the door and sped out into the hall, out of sight.

James poked his head out to see which direction Carter had gone, but there was no one there. Carter must've run fast. Which seemed... strange. Maybe Carter had seen how Kate didn't bleed and knew something was off?

James looked to Kate, eyes falling to the slash on her calf.

"Will you be okay?"

She scoffed, "I'm already dead, genius." Will you be okay? Could he ask a dumber question?

She flourished the sword in her hand. It wasn't her usual type, and thus, she was probably a terrible fighter with it when facing someone who knew what they were doing, but it wasn't different enough to matter that much. She was just happy to be armed, finally.