Neverland Rebel

Chapter Seventeen

I wake early the next morning to the sunrise. I walk around the forest for a while, noting the beauty of the island as always. When I head back to camp, Pan tells us that we will be playing another game. Why does he like games this much? Is he that bored on the island, that he plays games all the time? Pan says that we will be playing capture the flag, and he and Felix pick teams. Surprisingly, after a couple of boys are chosen, Pan picks me. Why?

Regardless, that thought is driven from my mind as Pan leads his team away and hides the flag in a remote location near some rocks before turning to us. "Devin, Twins, you guard the rocks. Make sure no one takes the flag. Sam, Owen, you and the rest of the boys will circle around the larger area. The second you see someone from the Felix's team, knock them out. Saramia, you come with me. We're stealing Felix's flag." The boys all nod and go to their stations. Once we are further away, I turn to Pan. "Why did you pick me? Also, why did you pick me to steal the flag? You barely know me." Pan just grins. "A new Lost Girl has new tricks. I wanted to see what you knew." Pan pulls a horn from his belt and blows it, indicating that the game has begun.

We walk through the forest looking for the other flag, making sure we don't run in to members of the opposing team. A couple of times, Pan and I had to hide behind trees as Lost Boys ran past us. Soon enough, we started coming across more and more Lost Boys. "More boys means the flag is close. Watch for someone who isn't moving, he'll be stationed at the flag." Pan whispers, and I nod. As we creep along the trees, the Boys fade away and I notice one boy guarding a hollow log. He seems tall and very powerful. It's a good hiding spot, I have to admit, but there's no way we'd be able to grab the flag without him noticing us and raising an alarm. Pan motions for me to come closer. "If you walk around to the outskirts of the trees, he'll follow you and I can grab the flag. Once I have the flag, I'll slip away and you follow me back." I shake my head. "It won't work. He doesn't care about me, just the flag. However, if you go, and pretend like you can't see him, he would totally leave his post. The glory of getting Pan out is enough to get him away, not some Lost Girl." Pan seems angry at first, but as I go on, I can tell he agrees with me. We split up and I get ready to grab the flag.

As I position myself behind the log, I see Pan in the trees ahead of the Lost Boy. He's doing well, and he appears to be threading through the trees without seeing the guard. The Lost Boy can see him as well, and I watch as his eyes light up at the prospect of getting Pan out. The fame he'd get from the other Lost Boys would be unreal. The guard sneaks away towards Pan, and I dart towards the hollow log. Sure enough, the flag is hidden within the log, and I grab it and run. I circle back through the trees and meet up with Pan, who had quickly jogged away from the guard. He sees the flag in my hands and grins, ready to win the game. Unfortunately, the guard must have checked the log, and I hear a shout from behind us: "THEY HAVE THE FLAG! FIND THEM!" Pan and I look at each other and start running into the forest as the Lost Boys start chasing us.

The Boys are running as fast as they can, and so are we. The flag is waving in the wind, and Pan grins at me as we run. "Hold it higher," he says, nodding at the flag, "Give them something to run for." I hold the flag above my head and watch as the wind tosses it in the air. We run faster, noting that the Boys are circling around us. We're confident that we made it, as the Boys slow behind us, and then we look where we're going. Just in time, we skid to a halt before we head off of the cliff that ends abruptly in front of us. The whoops of the Boys grow louder, and we realize there's nowhere to go. I look back at the cliff, and the water stretching out in front of us, and make a decision. "Come on." I shout, and just as Pan realizes what I'm about to do, I push him off the cliff, jumping just after him.

The fall only lasts a few seconds, but it's thrilling. I look down at Pan, who seems shocked that I pushed him off, and up at the Lost Boys, who stand surprised at the edge of the cliff. They aren't jumping down after us. Then, I hit the water, and my world becomes a swirl of blue water and the bubbles surrounding me. I swim up to surface and gasp for air, still reeling from the impact. I see Pan treading water next to me. "You had to push me off?" He acts affronted, and I can't help but to stop laughing. He starts laughing too, and the sunlight up above reflects off the dazzling ocean waves as we swim to shore, still holding back grins. We step onto the beach, and I hold the flag. "I'm still glad we won." Pan grins. "That we did." He grabs my hand where it holds the flag and raises it up, showing all the island that we won the game.

We walk into camp victorious, and Felix shakes his head when he sees us, trying to hide his grin. "You said capture the flag, not capture the flag and go swimming afterwards! Look at yourselves. Are you Lost Boys or mermaids?" I swat at him, grinning. "You're just jealous that you lost the game." Felix steps back, pretending to be injured by my hit. "Maybe you're just jealous that I'm not soaking wet." Pan looks at the two of us. "No, I think Mia's right. You're just jealous." He walks off, and I look at Felix questioningly. "Do I have a nickname now or did Pan forget the rest of my name?" Felix grins. "No, you've got a nickname. Saramia's too long. But I get the feeling Pan'll kill us if we use it too." He walks off to join Pan, and I'm left wondering to myself: Why the nickname, and why would Pan make sure it was just him who used it?