Peter woke up before everyone else and crept over to the corner where Wendy was sleeping. Slightly had insisted that she have her privacy, so they had hung a blanket to separate her from the rest of the large room. She was sprawled out on a white rug wearing an old T-shirt that the twins had given her, and she looked like an angel. At least she looked the way Curly had described angels. He'd never seen one. He pushed down the urge to run his fingers through her tangled hair, guessing that he'd probably scare her.
He was still thrilled to have her here in Neverland, although he was a little nervous by the unfamiliar emotions he was experiencing. They made him feel delighted and nauseous at the same time. And he was also starting to experience a little guilt for having taken her away from her home, away from this woman she called her mother. Maybe he would take her back in a week or so, after he had figured out why she made him feel the way he did.
A bright light zoomed down one of the tunnels and he turned just in time to catch Tink in his hand before the robot collided with his face.
"Ugh, let me go!" The fairy screamed. "If I wanted to be carried around all day I wouldn't have given myself wings!"
She was generally brash, but this morning she seemed a bit angrier than usual.
"Get everybody up, the pirates are already in position for Dead Man's Plague," she warned. "I'm betting they think this way you all won't have enough time to come up with a strategy."
Peter put his fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly. Curly and Nibs bolted upright, Slightly screamed, and the twins fell out of their beds and collapsed on the floor, still sleeping.
"We've got to go!" Peter announced. The pirates are already in position!"
"Don't those jerks believe in beauty rest?" Slightly yawned, clumsily gathering his things.
All the boys began to collect their gear and put on their suits. Peter had just finished pulling his legs through his bodysuit when Wendy's face appeared around the hanging blanket. He beamed at her, but her face flushed and she disappeared behind the makeshift curtain. He finished dressing and went over to see her.
"Oh good, you're fully dressed," she murmured, avoiding his eyes.
"Good morning! How did you sleep?" She opened her mouth, but he didn't wait for her answer. "Hurry and get ready!" He blurted. "We're going to play Dead Man's Plague with the pirates!"
"We're going to what?"
"It's a game! You'll love it! But we've got to leave soon."
"Hold on," Tink blared, "there is no way she's coming."
"Why not?"
"Because she doesn't have any equipment! She'll just get in the way!"
"It'll be fine, she can just watch."
Wendy furrowed her brows and Peter was afraid she was disappointed.
"I can give you a gun if you want," Peter ventured.
"No way!" Tink argued. "The pirates will be livid if they find out we've got another player!"
"Oh, come on, she's not going to do that much damage," Peter reasoned.
"How can you be so sure?" Wendy replied, a flash of annoyance in her eyes. She stalked past Peter and approached Slightly. Peter overheard her ask him to explain the rules of Dead Man's Plague. He was filled with sudden indignation. He didn't know why he was angry at Slightly. After all, it really didn't matter who explained the game to Wendy, but watching her approach him tied his stomach in knots. Before he could call her back, Slightly had already launched into an animated overview of the rules.
"Each team has to choose someone to have the plague," he began. "We can use whatever avatars we wish, but we're limited to two. If both of those get disabled, then we're on our own. One time I was manipulating a cheetah, but it malfunctioned in the first 30 seconds, so I had to switch to the first thing I saw, which was a sloth, and that didn't end well."
"Slightly, you're confusing her," Nibs interrupted, stepping in front of Slightly. "We use our avatars to distract the other players, but the goal is to shoot everyone on the opposing team."
"Except for the one who has the plague," a twin interjected.
"But we don't know who that is," added the other twin.
"Wait, shoot them with what?" Wendy inquired.
"With these," Curly said, holding up his gun and looking as if he was surprised that he had a spoken up. Everyone turned to him, so he continued. "These are pigment shooters," he explained, "Once you're shot, you're out. When the dart is embedded into your flesh, it changes the color of your skin for a few hours so you can't cheat and keep playing."
"But once I stayed purple for two days from a faulty dart!" One of the twins exclaimed, smiling gleefully at the memory.
"You can't use your avatars to shoot anyone," Curly pushed on, "you have to do that yourself, which is why we all have to be in pretty close range of the pirates."
"But the most important thing," Peter added, "is that you don't shoot the player who has the plague. If you do, then your entire team is out. You lose immediately."
Wendy nodded hesitantly.
"We don't have any extra gear for you," Peter said carefully, "but we do have an extra gun, and you can help me with my avatars."
Wendy narrowed her eyes at him for a moment and then broke into a smile.
"Sounds fun."
*****
Peter was sweating in his bodysuit by the time they got to the jungle arena. On the way there they had hastily put together a strategy and chosen Curly to have the plague. The twins had struggled to outfit Curly with the vapor packs as they ran along, and they had accidentally activated a couple of them, sending up sweet smelling fumes that made everyone's eyes water.
Wendy had asked a few more questions and she seemed excited, but every once in a while worry would cloud her features. He hoped she wasn��t still upset with him, although he couldn't figure out exactly what he had done to offend her.
Peter took his place in the arena, glimpsing the pirates between the thick trees and bushes.
"It's about time you kids showed up," Starkey scoffed, adjusting his goggles. "We thought you were going to forfeit!"
"Never!" The twins cried simultaneously. The other boys motioned for them to be quiet. They knew better than to engage in taunting, that was usually how the pirates found them out.
Peter scanned the arena and quickly located all 9 pirates. Starkey and Noodler were half hidden behind some rum berry bushes. Bill Jukes and Foggerty were carefully coaxing a metal rhinoceros to stand in front of them. Alf Mason, Cecco, and Whibbler were in the zebra trees. Smee, curiously, was lying on the ground. And Hook, the coward, was near the back, hiding behind a rock. Peter could only detect him from his shiny boot sticking out of the side.
The pirates were dressed in similar gear, with goggles, ear pieces, and sensors, but their controllers were in their titanium swords while the lost boys all had them attached to their wrists. Peter had showed Wendy the code to scroll through and manipulate an available avatar, but he didn't know if it would do her much good without her own controller and sensors.
Nibs ran to the receiver in the center of the arena and plugged all of their shadows into the corresponding slots next to the shadows of the pirates. Now that all of their pieces were in place to track the action, they only had 30 seconds until the game began. Peter checked that there were enough mechanical organisms in range and made sure that Curly was a little more prominent than everyone else. He glanced down at Wendy who was crouching behind a bush on his left. He winked at her and she raised her eyebrows playfully in response. Then the alarm sounded and the jungle came to life.