Chapter 54
Chapter Fifty-Four
HOOK
We’re running.
The mist closes in the second we cross the threshold, curling and writhing like it’s alive.
It reaches for us, claws at us, hungry for a taste.
My lungs scream—not from exertion, but from the raw agony of holding my breath.
Every instinct howls at me to breathe, but I grit my teeth, keep my mouth shut, and push harder.
My boots hammer against the broken brick path beneath me, the uneven ground fighting me with every step.
Alice is just ahead, her hair flying loose like a wild flame.
She doesn’t look back—good. I don’t want her to.
She hasn’t hesitated, not once, and I’ll admit, I’m impressed.
She runs fast, faster than I’d have given her credit for, her skirt bunched in her fists to keep it out of her way.
She’s determined, relentless, and it stirs something dark and dangerous in me.
The mist thickens, swirling like smoke, blurring the edges of everything around us.
My eyes sting, sharp and searing, but I don’t dare stop.
The path beneath me shifts—solid one moment, soft as sand the next.
It’s like the bloody ground is alive, like it’s toying with us, waiting for one wrong step to swallow us whole.
If we go down, we’re dead. No one’s coming to save us.
I’m surprised there aren’t bodies here. No bones. No scraps of cloth. Nothing to mark the unlucky bastards who came before us. Maybe the earth did swallow them. Maybe it’ll swallow us too.
I keep my focus on Alice.
She’s the only thing here that doesn’t change. She glances over her shoulder, just for a second, her wide eyes locking with mine. I nod sharply. Keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t look back. Don’t worry about me.
We run. We run so fucking hard that my chest feels like it’s caving in.
The ache to breathe is unbearable. My throat burns, my lungs clawing for air. Every instinct in me begs for just one gulp—just one, it whispers. Pull your shirt over your face. Take a shallow breath. It’ll be fine.
But it won’t.
These flowers, this mist—it’s death. Lies and legends brought to life.
The deadliest thing in Neverland. One breath is all it takes, and you’re theirs.
You’ll lie beneath their petals, their poison wrapping around you like a lover’s embrace.
It gives you everything—everything you’ve ever wanted, everything you’ve ever dreamed.
It feeds it to you, makes you believe it’s real, and by the time you realise you’ve been trapped, it’s too late.
You’re nothing but a hollowed-out shell, rotting under their cursed beauty.
I hope Alice understands that. I hope she knows what we’re running from.
I clench my fists, forcing my legs to move faster, forcing my mind to focus.
But then I hear it.
“James.”
I clamp my hand over my mouth. If I didn’t need to see, I’d close my eyes. If I didn’t need to keep running, I’d stop.
The voice—the sound, that voice I know—cuts right into me. It buries itself under my skin, twisting deep.
No.
“James. Wait. Wait for me.”
No, no, no.
“You’re not real,” I think, the words hammering against the inside of my skull. You’re not real.
“James. Don’t leave me.”
“Sam,” I whisper, the name spilling out before I can stop it. My lips part, the mist brushing against them, ready to slide into my lungs, ready to claim me. The tang of it lingers on my tongue.
Fuck you. Fuck ... you.
Alice snaps her head around at the sound of my voice, her eyes wide with shock. But I don’t care. My feet slow, moving as if by their own will, and I turn my head.
Mistake.
But he’s there.
“Sam,” I say again, louder this time.
A boy stands in the mist, his small frame barely visible through the haze. His dark eyes are solemn, unblinking, fixed on me.
My hand flies back to my mouth, pressing hard to keep myself from breathing. My mind feels fractured, split between what I know and what I see.
I can’t breathe. I know I can’t. One inhalation, and it’s over.
But I can’t look away either. I can’t force myself to move because my brain doesn’t understand. It’s him. It’s Sam. Sam, the reason I ended up in Neverland. Sam—the reason for everything.
And I left him.
Alice grabs my arm, yanking me hard. I shove her off without thinking.
“Hook,” she snaps, her voice sharp and thick with panic.
That tone—her voice—snaps me back. My attention jerks to her. She’s shaking her head, her eyes wide, furious, and terrified all at once. But they’re red now, the edges stained crimson. Lines streak across her face like veins.
The mist.
It’s seeping in. Not just through our lungs—it’s getting us through our skin. We don’t even need to breathe it in.
I glance back at Sam.
He’s not real. He’s not real. He’s… not… real.
Please.
The pounding in my head is unbearable, the thoughts splintering, refusing to hold shape.
Another glance at the mist, at the boy standing in it. He’s still there. His dark eyes pierce through the haze, sharp and unrelenting, like they’re answering me—pulling me in. And it’s working.
I can’t look away. I don’t know how to turn away, how to run. How do I leave him behind again? I left him once, and it broke me.
“Sam,” I shout, the name tearing from my throat like it’s been clawing its way out for years.
The whispers in my mind—the ones that tell me to run—are faint, drowned out by the sight of him. He doesn’t move, but I swear I see him blink. His small hand twitches, like he’s reaching for me.
“Come on,” Alice shouts, yanking my arm with all her strength. I think she punches me—maybe in the side, maybe in the arm—I barely feel it. I hear her though, loud and furious. “Get the fuck on, Hook.”
She pulls harder, dragging at me, her voice desperate and cracking.
My legs refuse to move, locked in place, my chest tight. If he’s still here, he’s real. He has to be.
Alice tugs again, harder this time, and my body finally responds. I stagger back as she drags me towards the gate. My lungs burn, screaming for air, and my steps feel heavier with each stride.
Even as we near the gate, even as the mist begins to thin, I glance back.
Sam is still there.
And he’s still watching.
“It’s real. It has to be.”
When we reach the end—the other side—the gate looms before us. Alice grabs the iron bars, rattling them hard, her desperation echoing in the silence. But they won’t budge.
She gathers her skirt in her hands, bunching the fabric at her thighs as she climbs over. No hesitation. No second thoughts. I move to follow, swinging myself over the top and landing hard on the other side.
“James. Don’t leave me.”
The voice comes again.
I shake my head, my stomach twisting.
I turn back the moment my feet hit the ground.
And he’s still there.
Standing in the field.
Watching me.
A gasp tears from my throat before I can stop it—raw, desperate, sharp enough to hurt. My chest heaves, my hands clutching at it, the burning need for air clawing at my mind. My gaze locks on him, unmoving, as the red mist above the field swirls and shifts, parting around him like he commands it.
It’s not real. It’s not real. He’s not real.
But I can’t look away.
Another gasp breaks free, long and ragged, scraping against my throat.
“Hook, what’s wrong? What is it?” Alice’s voice is distant. I hear her, but I can’t process her words. She’s behind me—somewhere behind me—her breaths sharp and panicked. I can feel her urgency like a pulse against my skin, but my mind is pulled somewhere else.
To him.
To Sam.
He’s walking towards me now, wide-eyed, looking just like I remember.
No, not exactly. Not the way he looked then. Not the version of him that haunts my nightmares. Not the glassy eyes, the blue lips, or the bruising that marred his face.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
The words tumble out before I can stop them, choking on their way out, my chest heaving with the weight of them. My knees buckle, and I want to drop to the ground, to beg for forgiveness.
I’ve dreamt of this moment—imagined it a thousand times. What I would say. How I would feel. This was the reason I came to Neverland, the purpose that has driven me for so long. And now the words are spilling out of me, words I’ve held for years, spilling too fast, too raw.
Alice grabs my arm, her hands frantic and desperate, trying to pull me away.
I shove her off without thinking.
“Hook.” Her voice cuts through the fog, sharp and furious.
She shakes me, her panic vibrating through me, but I can barely register her. She’s on the edge of my vision, nothing but a blur. My focus is locked on Sam.
“Why did you leave?” Sam’s voice is quiet, but his words hit their mark. “Why, James? Why did you go?”
My head shakes, my body trembling as I fall to my knees. “I didn’t leave you. I went to get help. I…” My voice cracks, my throat tightening.
My hands claw at the ground as I crawl forward, reaching out before I can stop myself. My lungs burn, my brain screaming at me to stop, to pull back. But all I see is him. All I hear is his voice.
“You promised to always look after me. Why didn’t you save me, James? Why did you run?”
I flinch.
And this is real—it has to be. Because the mist gives us dreams, doesn’t it? It gives us what we want. If this were the mist, I’d be lying in that field with Sam, basking in his forgiveness. I’d have what my heart craves. Not this. Not the truth of what I did.
I choke out another, “I’m sorry.” It’s pathetic. Empty. Just words. Just fucking words. But they’re all I have.
Alice’s hand slams against my chest, stopping me dead. She’s in front of me now, blocking my view.
“Snap out of it, Hook.” she shouts, her voice raw and desperate. “Whatever it is, it isn’t real. Wake the fuck up.”
“You left me to die."
The words claw at my mind, digging in deep, tearing me apart.
He’s not real. He’s not real. He’s not—
But the mist thickens around me, chilling what little air I have left. My chest feels like it’s collapsing. My body feels weightless, untethered. Like I’m falling.
“Hook.”
Alice.
I try to hold onto it—to hold onto her—but Sam’s face looms in my mind, his pain consuming everything.
The mist pulls me deeper.
And then, there’s nothing.
Not Sam. Not Alice.
Just silence.