The Real Neverland // WATTYS 2015

6. The First of Many

I had a week to believe in a lie, or else I was going to die. Today was only the first day. I'm going to die. How can I be in love with that psycho Pan? I woke up with these thoughts in my head. Today is going to be rough. I reported to training as I did everyday, but something was different. No one else was there, besides Pan.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"I gave them the day off." Pan replied.

"Well, thanks for the heads up," I said as I turned around to go back to my hut. As I started to walk, Pan appeared in front of me blocking my way.

"I gave them the day off. Not you." Pan had his arms crossed. Great. I turned back around and sat down on a stump. "What are you doing?"

"Well I have no one to practice with. So I'm sitting. What else can I do?" I was pissed at this point. I tried to stay calm, but I couldn't handle being stuck with him.

"And what am I? Chopped liver?" Might as well be. I thought to myself. "I let everyone have a break so I could train you myself." Again. Great. Pan motioned for me to get up and head to the targets. Might as well get this day over with. But it was far from over.

"Well get over here and 'help'," I sassed, using my fingers to do air quotes.

I nocked the arrow into the bow and aimed and suddenly felt Pan's hands on my hips. I jumped. "Woe there buddy. Hands off!" I growled at him.

"Your stance is wrong. I was trying to 'help'." He copied me in doing the air quotes around the word "help". I didn't point my arrow at him, but I thought about it. I turned back to the target and drew back my arrow. Again, feeling Pan's hands on my hips. One. Two. Three. Four... I counted to myself trying to stay calm. "Keep your hips square to the target. Relax your shoulders," Pan whispered in my ear, "and breath." I did as I was told and let go of the string. Bulls eye. With not even turning around I knew that Pan had his smug little grin on his face. I just rolled my eyes. "Again." Pan commanded.

We did this all day. I shot an arrow and Pan would place his hands on hips. By the end of the day I was tired of Pan and his hands.

"Good work today," Pan said putting his hand on my shoulder, "Tomorrow we will work on hand to hand combat."

"How is that suppose to work? You'll have me pinned within two seconds."

"That's the plan, love" He winked at me. Oh. My. God. Is this supposed to be helping me think that I like this weirdo because all it's doing is making me hate him more.

He accompanied me back to camp. At least he's being a gentleman, I thought. I walked a few paces behind Pan trying to avoid conversation. I looked at his back. He so tall and I can see his muscles through his shirt. I wonder what it would be li- No! You're not thinking like that. You do that and he wins.

"Like what you see?" Pan said with a chuckle. I felt my cheeks heat up. Pan turned around and saw my red face. "So you do?" he smirked, "Want to see it?" He reached for the bottom of his shirt and teased me with lifting it up about half an inch. My cheeks were on fire. I sped walked past Pan and toward my hut. I was up the ladder and about to open the door when I heard Pan's voice say, "Dream of me tonight, princess." My cheeks were red again, I could feel it. I got in and slammed the door. What am I doing? How can I get nervous around Pan? I thought to myself, You don't like him, you loath him. There's a difference!

After changing into my sleep clothes, I got into bed and shut my eyes. I was asleep in minutes and as I slept I started to dream. Now you may not know it, but dreaming, while living in Neverland, is very rare. Neverland is a place of dreams, so why would anyone need to have them while they slept. The fantasy start out nice. It was Peter and I walking through the forest, hand in hand. The flowers were in bloom and the sun was bright, coming through the trees and making God Rays everywhere. Everything seemed peaceful. I looked over to Peter and smiled. He smiled back. Then he looked as if he had an idea. He gripped my hand and lead me down a path off the one we were on. I followed without protest. The path was a long one, but I didn't care. The flowers were still pretty to look at and the path was made of cobble stone. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. After awhile I became aware that as we went further down the path the scenery changed. It started with one dead bloom in the flower bed, but the count grew. Ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand, who knew how many black and dead flowers were around us. I looked to Peter, hoping for answers, but he never seemed to notice. He was still facing away from me, leading us down the path. I took another look around me. Now the trees where different. Some weren't even there. After some time the forest looked as if someone had set it on fire. There were no flames or heat, it just looked like the aftermath of the tragic occurrence. Everything was a shade of black. I couldn't help but cry. Everything was once beautiful and peaceful, but now it's ruined and covered in charcoal. Peter stopped walking, as did I. Once we were still I collapsed to my knees.

"What happened Peter? What happened to the forest? It was so beautiful, but now it's- it's-" But he never answered. He didn't even turn around. "Peter? Are you going to answer?" Still nothing. I got up and put my hand on Peter's shoulder. "Are you OK? Peter?"

"I-," He started talking, "I thought I t..." He said everything in a whisper. I could barely hear him.

"What was that, Peter? Can you speak up, please?" I walked around so that I could see his face, but his head was down and his hair was covering his expression.

"I thought I told y..." Again with the whispering.

"One more time. Please?"

"I thought I told you never to call me that!" He was yelling at this point and what happened next could only be explained as something you would read in Dante's Inferno. All hell broke lose. The ground opened up just enough to make a pool of boiling lava. The sky turned orange and the tree were now on fire. There were no flowers, not even dead ones. I looked around me devastated at what I saw. Then the Lost Boys came out from behind the burning trees. They looked different. They were still wearing the same clothes, as they always do, but they didn't look like the Lost Boys that I had known. They looked like demons, red little demons. The Lost Boys cursed and spat at me. As they did Pan picked me up by my neck and started to walk toward the lava pit.

"You had a week. Your time is up." The voice came out of Pan, but it wasn't his voice. "Now you will die for your crimes against Neverland." The boys cheered around us. Jumping and yelling.

"Kill her!" One screamed.

"End her!" Another shouted.

"Please," I said, "It was a mistake. Please don't kill me!"

"I don't give second chances. You knew this from the beginning. You broke the rules. Now you must pay the price." He let go. The last thing I saw was a devilish grin on his face.

I bolted up right in my bed, screaming. I didn't even open my eyes for the fear of seeing the burning Neverland.

"Quite a nightmare you were having." I opened my eyes to see Pan standing next to my bed.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice nearly gone from all the screaming I just did.

"You had been yelling all night. I couldn't wake you up," he replied, "What were you dreaming about anyways?"

"Nothing."

"Was it about me?" He asked.

"No," I lied. My cheeked were red again. I put my hand to my face hoping that Pan didn't see the discoloration.

"So it was about me!" Darn it. He sounded happy to be apart of my nightmare. "Your falling for me. I can tell." Yup, happy. "I'll be going then."

"And were are you off to?"

"My hut. You kept me up all night. I gave everyone the day off again. This time including you. I need some sleep." Pan went to my door and left. One day down, I thought, six to go.

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