Chapter 2

“Baby,” heaved Tink.

Wendy shuddered and pulled her arm tighter around Tink to steady herself. She lowered her head until the tip of her tongue touched the top of Tink’s nipple. This time when Wendy shuddered, Tink shuddered along with her.

“Mm-hmm,” mumbled Wendy.

Wendy wrapped her lips around Tink’s nipple and sucked until her cheeks sunk. She released Tink with a pop.

“Oh, my…” muttered Tink.

“Baby!” exclaimed Wendy.

“I love your mouth–” said Tink.

“I love your nipple–” said Wendy.

Wendy took a half step back, grinning. Tink smirked, eyelids fluttering a moment before focusing on Wendy’s face once again.

Tink stared at Wendy’s mouth. “I love your lips,” she said.

“And I love searching for that piercing under my tongue.”

Tink squeezed Wendy as they both nodded. With a contented sigh, Tink let her hands drop and reached around to take Wendy’s fingers in her grip once again.

Wendy stepped back and gazed into Tink’s eyes. Wendy sniffled and reached up to wipe across the corner of her right eye with the back of her hand.

“Shh, baby, I’ve got you,” said Tink.

“My life’s been such shit since you left,” said Wendy, clinging to Tink’s waist as her tears fell on Tink’s shoulder. “Not that I’m blaming you. I’m not. I’m the one who forgot. It’s just that…”

“Oh, Tink. Things are going to get better now that we’re together, right?”

Tink laid her hand over Wendy’s shoulder and stroked Wendy’s skin with her thumb. “I’m sorry to tell you this, baby, but it’s pretty much only going to get worse from here on out.”

“What!” exclaimed Wendy, jerking her head up. “Worse? You haven’t stopped by once in how many years? And when you do, you jump in my shower, let me suck your boobies, and then tell me things are going to get worse?”

“Fairies can only find people when they’re needed,” said Tink. “You needed me.”

“Yeah. To get me out of this house, out of this town, out of this whole shitty existence. How about that? I need you for that.”

“Not just that, Wendy, my love.” Tink moved her hands to Wendy’s cheeks and looked Wendy in the eye. “That drug coursing through Peter’s veins in the other room. It’s laced with something.”

“I’m not surprised. God only knows what that boy shoots up these days.”

“No, this is different. This isn’t from the street. It’s cooked up in a government lab. Deep inside a bunker below the Denver International Airport.”

“The…? What…? That’s oddly specific. Like under the arrivals gate or something?”

“No,” said Tink. “Baggage claim.”

“The drug was designed to make the population easier to control,” said Tink. “But there’s something wrong with the formula.”

“Yes,” said Tink. “Instead of making people passive, it turns them hyper-aggressive.”

Wendy laughed so hard she snorted. She extended both arms and clutched Tink by the shoulders. “You’re fucking with me, right? Just say it. You missed me and you came by for some sexy time in the shower. It’s fine. I missed you too, baby.”

“I wish I were,” said Tink. “But everything I’ve told you is true.”

“That means…” said Wendy. “That means…”

On the other side of the shower curtain, Wendy heard a scratching at the door.

“Peter?” said Wendy. “Give me a minute. I’m busy.”

The scratching continued, mixed with an occasional snarling.

“Peter, don’t you dare come in here.” Wendy turned her gaze from the bathroom door to stare into Tink’s eyes. “What is this shit?”

“I told you,” said Tink. “It’s the junk Peter shot in his veins. He’s infected. He’ll break down the door and if he bites you, you’ll be infected, too.”

“Well that sucks! What the fuck are we going to do about it?”

“Kill him,” said Tink.

“It’s not like you’re all that attached.”

“Yeah but… It’s Peter!”

“Not anymore,” said Tink, stepping out of the shower. “You got a nail file around?”

“Yeah, in the cabinet… Wait, no! You’re not…”

“It’s not Peter anymore,” said Tink, stepping out of the shower and reaching into the cabinet over the sink to take the nail file in her hand. She spun it around on her palm and closed her fingers around the handle.

Tink stepped toward the bathroom door and placed her other hand on the knob.

From behind the shower curtain, Wendy heard a creak and then a loud snarl. She wrapped her arms around herself. The next snarl was followed by a wet slashing sound. The snarling changed to a gurgling and then fell silent. Everything ended with a thump against the floor.

Wendy huddled in the shower and jumped back as the curtain flew open in front of her.

“Time to get dressed,” said Tink. “We’ve got work to do.”

Part II: Huddled on the Beach in the Mist

In the darkness, Wendy Darling knelt over the lifeless corpse of her lover, Tink. “I believe,” said Wendy. “I believe, I believe, I believe!”

Only a short distance away, the waves of the Atlantic crashed over the sand.

“I believe, I believe, I believe,” repeated Wendy.

Tink sucked a breath. She sat up, grabbed Wendy’s cheeks in both hands, and mashed her lips to Wendy’s mouth. “I love you,” said Tink, after letting Wendy up for air.

“I love you too baby, but right now, we’ve got some shit to deal with.”

All around, a mob of shuffling bodies closed in on Wendy and Tink and the group of kids huddled around them.

“Miss Tink, Mother Wendy,” said a wide-eyed kid, not more than fifteen. “What’ll we do?”

“Katana,” said Tink.

A young girl, wearing a Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School basketball jersey appeared. She stepped over with a curved blade, still tucked in its black, lacquered scabbard. Kneeling on the sand, she held the sword out, high in both hands, as she bowed her head.

“Wakizashi,” said Tink.

A boy wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with King’s Wrestling appeared next, with the shorter sword. He dropped to one knee, offering up the sword in the same manner as the girl.

Tink hoisted herself to her feet and bowed to each of the kids in turn. “Arigatō,” she said.

“Gather the others in close,” said Wendy. “Stay behind us.

“I see it, Mother Wendy!” shouted another boy. “I see the lights.”

A long blast of the ferry’s horn signaled its arrival.

“Everybody stay close to Wendy,” said Tink. And then, turning to Wendy, she said. “Get ’em to the boat, baby. You do that and I’ll hold back the mob.”

“I love you,” said Wendy.

“I love you too.” Tink leaned in and kissed Wendy hard on the mouth. “Just get the kids to the boat. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Tink pulled the katana from it’s scabbard, passing the black lacquered sheath to the girl in the basketball jersey. “I’ll be back for that,” said Tink, winking before charging into the fray of snarling bodies.

“You really love her, don’t you, Mother Wendy?” said the kid in the wrestling T-shirt.

“Well,” said the kid. “That’s good, ’cause she’s dead again.”

“Shit!” said Wendy, before dashing after Tink hollering, “I believe, I believe, I believe.”

“That the last a yous?” asked the man in the camouflaged combat uniform of the New Jersey Army National Guard.

When Wendy and Tink both nodded, the man made a rolling motion with his hand, and the ramp of the car ferry rose up out of the sand.

“Hell of a job, you two,” he said, as the ferry’s engines kicked into high. “Why don’t you wander up to the bridge, get some coffee.”

Wendy shook her head. “My nerves are shot,” she said. “I don’t suppose you’ve got anyplace to rest?”

“When we get into port, there’s an aid station set up.”

Wendy sighed, her shoulders slumped.

“Until then,” said the man, “there’s an old car we couldn’t get off the boat before we cast off. Out of gas or something, I don’t know. Maybe you can crash out in the back.”

“Thanks,” said Wendy, reaching for Tink’s hand.

“You got enough room, baby?” asked Tink. She was curled up on one side in the back seat of a vintage first generation Dodge Challenger. Her head was perched on the armrest and her arm adorned with the tribal tattoo draped over Wendy’s waist.

Wendy nestled in the space in front of Tink.

“It’s fine,” said Wendy. “Really, I’m so tired, I don’t think it matters.”

“You were amazing, baby,” said Tink.

“I feel like you did all the work… and all the dying.”

Tink reached for Wendy’s hand and squeezed. “But you were always there at my side, to bring me back. Because you believed.”

“This is some crazy shit, huh,” said Wendy.

“Yeah,” replied Tink. “Just rest.”

Wendy shifted around in the small space of the car’s back seat, until she had rolled enough to come face to face with Tink. “You’re not going to leave me again, are you?” asked Wendy. “You said fairies can only find people when they’re needed. Now that it’s over…?”

“Baby,” said Tink, moving her hand to cup Wendy’s cheek. “I’m still here.”

“Aw shit. Does that mean more fighting?”

Tink shook her head. “The effect is temporary. The infection will die out eventually.”

“And then?” said Wendy. “Is that when you’ll leave? And I’ll start to forget you?” A tear welled in the corner of Wendy’s eye. “I don’t want to forget you, Tink. Not again.”

“Baby,” said Tink, pushing aside Wendy’s tear with her thumb. “All you have to do is believe.”

“In fairies?” said Wendy, sniffling. “Believe in fairies? Or believe in you?”

Tink shook her head. “Us, baby,” she said. “Believe in us.”

“Oh, Tink,” heaved Wendy. “I… I…”

“I know, baby. Me too,” Tink leaned forward, her lips puckered.

The two only separated again after several minutes had passed. They both sighed.

“How long’s the ferry ride?” asked Wendy.

“About six hundred miles to Halifax. It’s safe there. No infection,” said Tink. “This boat wasn’t really designed for that kind of distance, so we’ll have to stop and refuel–“

Wendy chuckled. “Approximately,” she said. “How long will I be pressed up next to you in the back of this car? Approximately?”

“At least a day, I’d think,” said Tink. “Of course, we’ll have to get out at some point, to stretch and to eat something. I wonder what they have to eat?”

Tink didn’t get to finish. Wendy was already swooping in to press her lips hard against Tink’s mouth. “Mmm,” mumbled Tink.

“Mm. Mm-hmm,” said Wendy, pawing at Tink’s hair, keeping her in close.

“Ohh…” moaned Tink, as Wendy finally let her up for air. “Getting steamy back here.”

“Yeah,” said Wendy, reaching for the hem of Tink’s top.

“Baby,” heaved Tink, as she pulled her arms backward through the sleeves to help.

Tink’s top sailed toward the front of the car to land on the shift knob. Wendy’s was next to follow.

Wendy looked into Tink’s eyes, smirking. “I love these boobies,” she said.

“Nuh-uh,” said Tink, shaking her head. “No fair. I haven’t had a taste of yours yet.”

“Get in line, baby,” said Wendy. “I want to get my mouth on–“

Tink raised her hand to her mouth and covered her lips with her extended index finger. Her eyes went wide.

“What is it?” whispered Wendy, hunkering down below the line of the car’s windows.

“Boobies!” exclaimed Tink, dashing out with her arms to wrap around Wendy and pull her in.

Tink buried her face between Wendy’s breasts and planted kisses up, down, and sideways.

“It’s going to be a long twenty-four hours,” said Wendy, frowning. “You’re obnoxious.”

“You love it!” said Tink.

“I do,” replied Wendy, grabbing Tink’s cheeks with both hands. “And I love you.”

“That sure was some shit, huh?” said Tink, stretching and yawning as she stood beside the vintage Dodge Challenger, topping off the tank at pump number three of the Exxon station.

“Sure was,” said Wendy, clad in cut-off jean shorts and a New Jersey Nets T-shirt, stretched out over the hood of the car and soaking up the sun, her shoes nowhere to be seen.

“I think you’re showing a little skin there, baby,” commented Tink.

Wendy reached down and grabbed the hem of her T-shirt to pull it even higher.

“A lot of skin,” said Tink, laughing.

“Only for you,” said Wendy.

“What do you want to do now, baby?” asked Tink, pulling the pump handle from the car and hanging it up.

“I don’t know,” said Wendy. “The fuck out of New Jersey. That’s for sure, though.”

“Sounds good to me.” Tink walked around to the front of the car and leaned in to rest her head on Wendy’s bare tummy.

“Tink?” said Wendy, reaching to run her fingers through Tink’s hair.

“I believe in you. I believe in us.”

“I love you too, Wendy.”