"But Peter..." I said, then could only shake my head. I knew no one else could really understand what it was like for me to be back here, just as I knew I would never understand their homes. I was just afraid. He was dangerous and cruel and he could hurt people even without touching them himself.

"I am glad to see you," I admitted with a small smile. "It makes me feel a lot better, not being here all alone."

I hadn't been alone before either, I had Sal and Nod and Charlie, but four against one -- especially when one of the four was so little -- weren't as good odds as fourteen against one. And now we had the pirates, too. At least, I thought we would, once I talked to them. Talked to the men who used to be boys who used to be my friends.