Peter Pan: The Land Beyond

Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Lagoon

We left the hideout an hour ago and have been traveling through the forest ever since. Most of the Lost Boys skip playfully behind Peter and me. Nick is the only one that doesn't seem happy about our adventure. Every time I glance back at them I see him glaring daggers at the back of my head. He must hate Elves; it is the only thing I can think of that would explain his resentment toward me. I try not to let his attitude bug me, but it still burns the edges of my patience. Peter doesn't seem to notice.

Peter leads the way by flying at a speed that we can keep up with. He hovers above the ground just inches from the tops of bushes, preventing him from getting snagged. Tinkerbell flies next to him, rounding his head on occasion and speaking in her native tongue so quietly that even I, can't hear her.

"Peter, where are we going?" I ask finally.

"It's a secret." He flips over onto his back and floats like that while he looks at me with a devilish grin on his face.

I step to the side to look around him and notice a gray bumpy wall in the distance. When I follow the wall upwards I notice that it's a mountain wall. All my life, I have never been outside of our city limits. Never saw the ocean, which I did just an hour ago in Peter's bedroom, and never been to the mountains. I could see the mountains from afar from some high areas in the city but to actually see them up close is completely different.

The mountain itself is tall with a white cap at the top. I imagine that the white is snow, but it has barely ever snowed here on the Island.

As we approach, I start to notice a large opening in the mountain off to the side of our line. It's dark inside, but massive, where the light of the sun breaks through the darkness at a good stretch. Peter makes a turn and heads for the opening. A cave. My pace quickens, he has caught my interest. I have never been in a cave before.

When we reach the entrance a warmth bellows out of the cave, it's wet and sticky. Peter comes to land in front of me. He stretches out his hand to me, his fingers and palm dirty. "Come with me," He says with a smile.

I contemplate touching his hand. He is, after all, a human. Humans are selfish, ignorant creatures. But Peter – he seems different. He flies, talks to faeries, and steals little girls from their beds. The last one, other humans do as well, but he thinks he's rescuing me. The longer I wait, the more innocent his eyes start to shine, rounding with a small pout dropping his lower lip. I can hear the Lost Boys whispering behind me.

Hesitantly, I reach out and touch the tips of our fingers together. A heat overwhelms me, and there is an explosion where my heart is. Slowly, my fingers glide up his and onto his palm before our hands wrap around each other. My eyes look up at him, expecting his expression to be as confused as mine feels but he looks content, a smile growing on his lips.

"Hold on to me, it's going to be dark for a bit." His hand tightens around mine, escalating my heartbeat. I wonder if he can feel the pulse of it in our hands.

He sets off, dragging me along with him, into the bowels of the darkness. He is right. It is dark. So dark that I can't see in front of me at all. Our hands disappear before my eyes and the only light that shines is Tinkerbell who leads the way.

I hear the pitter-patter of the boys rushing up to me and I almost take off running, but instead, I continue my slow pace with Peter holding my hand. Something grabs my other hand, it's soft and flesh-like. It clamps on as Peter has. It must be one of the Lost Boys, holding on so as not to get lost.