Chapter Twelve
The forest's eerie darkness consumed Pan and I as he carried me deeper and deeper into its core. I was beginning to worry about how far my 'punishment' is from camp, and my throat started running dry and I was suddenly claustrophobic due to how dark it was around us.
I rolled my eyes and stretched out my arm out and opened my palm upwards and closed my eyes briefly before I felt the warmth of the fire I released. I opened my eyes and smiled slightly as I practically operated a magical blow torch.
Pan stopped walking abruptly and I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.
"Are we here?" I asked quietly.
"What do you think you're doing?" His English accent rang around us.
"It's dark, cold and quiet. I needed to at least see where we're going – and could you please put me down already? It's weird talking to your ass and not your face." I complained as I helplessly stared at his lower back as I was carried like a potato sack.
"Fine. We're here anyway."
Pan placed me back on the ground and I finally managed to see his face again. He wore a neutral expression as he stared me down intimidatingly. I gulped as he raised a single perfect eyebrow at me, as if challenging me to try anything foolish – like running away.
I hesitantly broke my gaze at him and turned around and gasped softly. There were about seven bamboo cages the size of medium sized boxes. I spun around on my heels and faced Pan angrily.
"You're putting me in a cage like I'm some animal?!" I hollered at him as my face quickly reddened and my body started to viciously heat up, already causing a few droplets of sweat to roll down the sides of my forehead and down to my temple. Oh god, if Pan hadn't taught me how to control my powers, I would have burnt him alive along with me.
Pan smirked. "Come on, love. Based on what I've heard, you have already experienced imprisonment before, so this should be a piece of cake to you."
I surveyed him incredulously. "I did, but this is different."
I approached him fearlessly and boldly jabbed my index finger at his chest harshly, though he did not move a muscle and stared down at me amusedly.
"First of all, I was imprisoned in a damn castle, not in a jungle full of God knows what that could rip me to shreds." I quickly glanced around me to check if there was any monster lurking around the two of us but my vision focused on Peter once again when I heard him howl in laughter.
I jabbed at his chest again and hissed. "Nothing's funny."
"Actually, your entire demeanor is quite the show, honestly. Is Elisa Emerson scared?"
I scoffed. "I'm never scared."
Pan nodded with a crazed grin as he stepped forward and chests touched lightly.
"Good, because never is a long time, and you'll be staying in that cage for a long time." He murmured softly as he looked down at me, his eyes twinkling with insanity and brutality.
I glared at him. "You are not putting me in that cage, Pan."
Pan smiled and opened his mouth before he blew a breath, and I immediately knew it was magic, because I was instantly shoved into the cage behind me and it's door shut tightly. I gasped and pushed against the bamboo bars but they didn't move.
"Why, you ignorant asshole!" I yelled at Pan as he laughed whole-heartedly.
I grabbed at the bars as I felt the cage move upwards as it was lifted off the forest ground with a rope. I gulped and looked below me and my eyes widened slightly when I saw a weird glowing plant underneath my cage.
"What is that thing?" I demanded an answer as I pushed my finger through the bamboo bars and pointed at the peculiar plant.
"That," Pan started as he climbed up a tree that was right next to my cage. "Is dreamshade. Nasty poison, that is."
I pursed my lips. "You are such a bastard."
Pan laughed at me as I glared at him.
"It's not that bad. All I'm saying is that if you somehow miraculously succeed in escaping, you will fall right onto the plant and trust me when I tell you that Dreamshade has no cure, and you will die a slow and brutally painful death."
I rolled my eyes. "Nice. All of that because I did a little snooping?"
Pan's eyes narrowed at me dangerously. "You broke a rule, Emerson. Every Lost boy and girl get punished for breaking rules."
I sat straight in my cage and grabbed at the bars as I looked at him curiously.
"Who was that boy in that drawing, Pan?"
It was now Pan's turn to glare at me.
He turned around without answering me and he jumped off the tree and started walking away.
"Wait! When will I leave this stupid cage?!"
No answer, though he did stop to look back at me.
I leaned my back against the bamboo bars as I crossed my arms irritably and glared at the infuriatingly smug boy that was surveying me over through the bars.
"What, so you're just going to leave me here to die?" I snapped.
"You might want to watch your mouth when you're around me, love. You wouldn't want your cage to get any lower and meet your death, now would you?" He spoke teasingly and I felt my blood boil as I watched him laugh and turn his back towards me and walk away.
"I will kill you, Pan! You just wait!" I yelled out to him.
"I'm looking forward to it, Emerson!"
It has been four days since I've been thrown into this god damned bamboo cage and treated like a sinner of some sort. I was given proper meals everyday – breakfast, a fruit and then dinner, but whoever sent the food and water would always avoid eye contact with me or mutter things emphasising that what I had done was like a sin on Neverland.
I rolled my eyes. They treat Pan like he's a Lord, and God forgive me for even thinking that.
I had Connor, Luke, Felix and Jason provide me with the meals, one person a day, but I never heard a 'You did the right thing' from any of them.
"What the hell were you thinking, Elisa?! Have I not warned you about how Pan takes privacy seriously – especially his?!" Connor exclaimed dumbfounded as he handed me a plate of freshly picked strawberries.
Then there was Felix.
"Serves you right, you know. That was rather dumb of you to just saunter into Pan's hut without his consent and think you would get away with it." He shook his head with a smirk after passing me a cup of water.
Then there was Luke.
"Bold move, Emerson. Bold, brave and admirable – but so damn foolish that you haven't thought about the consequences of trespassing." He spoke with a glint of excitement in his eyes.
I sighed. "I'm just sick of not knowing anything. If I am going to be part of this so called 'family', then I deserve to know what happens on this island and be aware of everything."
Luke heaved himself up the branch of the tree beside my cage and he rested on it before looking at me with an exhausted expression.
"Did it ever occur to you that Pan is hiding things from not just you – but to all of us? You aren't the only clueless person on this island, Emerson." He drawled out lazily as he glanced around the forest idly.
I sat up straighter in my cage and clung onto the bamboo bars as I looked at him eagerly and desperately. "Yes, but there are some things that you all know and I don't."
Luke shot his face towards me irritably. "Like what?"
"Like the fact that someone fancies Pan." I blurted.
Luke's eyes widened slightly and he was instantly uncomfortable.
"Jake is stupid. He doesn't know what he's saying."
"That's not true because all of you reacted like it was a big deal."
Luke simply stared at me with an expression that I couldn't understand and he only pursed his lips.
"Is ... is one of you guys gay?" I asked.
Based on what I know, I'm the only Lost Girl, and Jake mentioned that someone fancies or fancied Pan, so it had to be one of the boys, right?
Luke looked at me in disbelief. "What makes you think one of us is gay, Emerson? None of us are gay."
"Then how could someone fa-"
"Just stop being nosy for once and mind your own damn business. Your tendency to know everything is what got you in this mess in the first place, so I suggest you just keep to yourself from now on." Luke snapped and was starting to hop off the tree before I stopped him.
"I saw something in his hut."
Luke glanced at me. "So? We all have stuff in our huts."
"No, no, I saw a drawing. A drawing of a boy – someone who resembles none of you. You think you might know who that boy is."
Luke stared at me for a while in wonder, but then he simply said. "No idea."
And just like that, I was left alone again.
I sighed and stared at the plate of mushrooms in front of me.
I scowled.
I will find out what Pan is up to once I leave this damn cage.