Lost Girl

The Ticking Monster

I woke up half hanging, half falling of my branch. My head was hanging down so that the world was turned on it's head. I sat back up and the sun shone bright through the canopy making the colours of the leaves even more pretty. I looked at the branch above me and saw that Henry was still sleeping, Hook on the other hand was wide awake.
"Did you have any sleep at all?" I asked. He glanced at me and smiled, "I told you, 'I stopped working with time a long time ago.' Darling," he quoted.

We walked east for a long time, saying nothing. Focusing on every sound around us. I heard a low grumbling somewhere on my left, I stopped dead and narrowed my eyes, looking in the bushes.
"(Y/n)? What's wrong-" Henry said but I hushed him. Pointing at the bush.
"There's something there," I mouthed, "Go warn Hook." Henry crossed me and stopped the captain from walking. The bush suddenly started rustling, the grumbling sound grew louder. And so was another sound. I understood immediately what it was when I heard Hook saying "oh no"
with annoyance in his voice. The ticking sound was now filling the air.
"RUN!" Hook yelled. We sprinted away, but the animal was faster than I thought. The ticking followed me closely, like death coming closer by the second. I gave up the idea of trying to calm the animal, it wouldn't recognise me from my dive. It was still a predator, a wild animal. "We have to climb in the trees if we want to escape it!" Henry called.
"Climbing would take too long, besides we can't even reach the branches from these trees," Hook said pointing at the high branches. The closer we got to the beach the higher the trees grew and the higher the branches hung.
"I didn't know that crocodile liked the forest," I panted while running beside Hook and Henry. "It doesn't, he lives in a cave near the Swamp. Someone must have brought him here," the captain explained. Behind us, twigs snapped underneath the weight of the humongous reptile, bushes were trampled over and ferns torn out of the ground. It's long tail smashing into every little tree, it's ticking coming closer and closer. I could hear it's jaws snap.
Bright light greeted us once we were out of the forest, the sand was pale and reflected the sunlight which nearly blinded us. The Croc had followed us on the beach and was wagging its tail left and right, teeth bared and ready to kill.

"Welcome, welcome. To the newest game of the Isle. Try not to get eaten!" I looked up in the sky and saw Peter flying down, landing right in front of me.
"What is this sick joke, Peter?" I hissed.
"It ain't a joke, it's a game. A cat and mouse chase," he explained innocently.
"You son of a bitch!" Hook snarled.
"Don't insult me, or I'll give you no vantage, and besides that's bad form" Peter replied coldly but with flaming green eyes.
"Why are you like this?" Henry asked, "Why can't you leave us alone?" Peter chuckled, "Poor little Henry, I noticed you haven't grown up. That means you still believe in me. Yet here you are, on the run with a Pirate and a Traitor," He spat that last word, "You know, I could forgive you. I could make you an official Lost Boy again. Don't you want to come back? Play all day and worry about nothing? You still have a chance, Henry." I looked at my friend and shook my head, "Henry don't listen to him, he's trying to set us up against each other." Peter gave me a cold grin, the Croc still waiting behind Peter to attack.
"Do you really want to grow up? Leave all this behind?" Peter threw his arms open.
"This is the only home you know. Counts for the three of you, where would you go if, by chance, I let you leave the Island?" He asked next.
"That's none of you concern," Hook answered. Peter gave him a icy glance but Hook didn't back down. I looked around me, there was nowhere to hide. Only sand. The Swamp wasn't the safest place to go and the dunes were too far. Going into the sea and swim back to the boat wasn't the best idea either since the Croc could swim like a pro.
"What do you say Henry? Come back and live a happy life as a Lost Boy? Or become a fugitives that I would probably hunt down for the rest of my life, when I'm tired of pissing Jamie off," Peter said glancing towards Hook. Henry looked at me with a sad face, I shook my head. He took a deep breath and said: "I'm sorry Peter, but I cannot follow someone like you." A moment of silence. Peter sighed, "Pity. I really thought you were smarter than this."
Not even a second after he snapped his fingers and the Croc came half sliding half sprinting towards us.
"Run!" I yelled. I ran with Henry by my side, pulling him forwards. The Croc only came closer. We would soon end up in the Mermaid Lagoon. I turned my head around, to check the Croc and to see Peter now aiming at us with a handcrafted crossbow. Where the hell did he get that from? I wondered. I saw him aiming at me, "(Y/N)!" Henry shouted, he pushed me aside and I smacked onto the ground.
I felt dizzy, something heavy was laying upon me. My thoughts vanished when a metal stench filled my nose and hot sticky blood drooled on my face.