“What’s going on?” Pete asks, alarm evident in his voice.
“I tried to stop her. I really did try, but she’s so much bigger than me so I guess that would make it a big problem. I said to her, ‘Bella, I don’t think this is such a fantastic idea,’ and she wouldn’t listen to me. Oh no. I knew it was a bad idea right from the start, or at least I wouldn’t do it, well, not until I was big and brave like you, but definitely not now and not even if I was as big as Bella.”
“Gabs, what’s wrong with Bella?” asks Pete, placing both hands on Gabs’s shoulders and giving him a slight shake.
“She’s gone,” the little boy says with wide eyes. “She’s in Everland!”
What do you mean Bella’s gone?” I ask.
“Like gone-gone. She left the Lost City,” says Gabs. “Disappeared. Ran away.”
“Why would she do that?” Pickpocket asks.
Gabs puts one hand on a hip as he pitches his voice in a higher octave, mimicking Bella. “She’s all, ‘No one treats me like a real Lost Kid,’ and ‘I’m going to prove that I’m as good as any of you boys.’ ” He throws his hands in the air. “Seriously, I’ve never thought she was less important than any of us and I tried to tell her so, but she wouldn’t listen. She just packed her bag of gold dust, put on her wings, and left. I have no clue what she’s yammering about, all this talk about her not being a Lost Kid.”
“This is bad,” Jack says, his eyes darting to the other Lost Boys.
“Did she say where she was going?” I ask, kneeling in front of the small boy.
“She said she’s going after Hook.” Gabs’s eyes grow wide with fear.
“What is she thinking? She can’t take on Hook alone!” Pete exclaims.
Gabs mimics Bella again, waving a hand around. “She says, ‘I’m going to get Gwen’s sister by myself and then that girl can go back to her dump of a house.’ I don’t think she likes you much, Gwen. No offense.”
“Did you see which direction she went?” Pete asks.
“She left through the western tunnel,” Gabs says, pointing to his left.
I shove past Pete toward the door. “Nice job, idiot. So much for being Bella’s guardian.”
“We’ll get her back before she reaches Hook’s palace,” Pete says. His voice is less confident than usual.
Spinning, I scowl at Pete. “This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t thrown your authority around and acted like … like …”
“Like what, a leader? Which is precisely what I am.” Pete’s brows narrow.
“No,” I whisper, “like her father, and a very poor one I might add.” My stomach drops as I recall again my last conversation with Joanna. You were a much better sister than you are a mother, she said, and here I am repeating her statement. I wish I could take back everything I said to Joanna. I wish she were here, safe with Mikey and me. I gulp the stale air, trying to shake the weight of blame. Turning, I open the door and burst out, nearly crashing into Doc as he runs up the steps with his medical bag in hand.
“I just heard about Bella,” Doc says, brushing by me. “How long has she been gone?”
“Maybe ten or fifteen minutes,” Gabs answers. “But I wouldn’t know for sure because I still haven’t earned a watch yet even though I’ve cleaned the privies out at least a dozen times.”
“She can’t leave. We’ve got to stop her.” Worry lines crease Doc’s brow.
“I’m already on it,” Pete says, pushing past Doc. “I’ll get our supplies. Meet me at the western tunnel in five minutes, Lost Boys.”
“We need to find her right away,” Doc replies with urgency. “Bella sees me twice a day for medication. She’s already overdue for her second dose.”
“I only see you once a week,” Pickpocket says. “If she’s receiving medication twice daily, she should be fine for a while, shouldn’t she?”
“No, the virus progresses slower in males, but in Bella’s case it is extremely aggressive. You might experience mild symptoms a week after your injection, but she will show severe symptoms within twelve hours after her last dose if she’s not treated right away.”
“What are you saying, Doc?” I ask, feeling a growing sense of anxiety.
“I’m saying if we don’t get her back soon, she’ll be dead in a day. Two days at best.”
Pete’s expression goes slack with alarm. “Jack, Pickpocket, get our supply packs from Stock. The rest of us will meet you at the entrance of the western tunnel. Gabs, where’s Justice?”
“He’s already at the tunnel entrance. He tried to stop her, too,” Gabs says, bouncing on his toes. “He tried to stop Bella, but she was in turbo mode and flew out like a rocket ship. Cogs really ought to tinker with her wings and make a ’mergency shutoff button or something.”