I'll Take You to Neverland

Chapter 13: Walk the Plank

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I take a step forward slowly, glancing back at the other boys who wait patiently for me to go. I don't know what to say to Pan, but the fear is over taking me and I can't find any way else to put it.

"Well go on." Pan commands jokingly, waving his hand as an invisible force pushes me towards the plank.

"Pan! Stop it!" I scream, pushing back against it, forcing my way backwards, away from the cliff's edge to safety- or, well, whatever this is.

"Ah, ah, ah, Tiger Lily. This is what you get. Just because you are new her doesn't mean you get out of your punishment. That wouldn't be fair, would it?" He pulls a face and mockingly looks around to see the reactions of the Lost Boys, each of them shakes their head, agreeing with him. "You lost, so you have to pay the price. And if you don't want to walk the plank, then don't lose next time." The force pushes me forward once more.

"Pan! I'm serious, I don't know how to swim!" I yell. Suddenly, it stops. Pan stares at me with an amused face. Why does everything have to be a joke to him?

"And why should I care?" He shrugs his shoulders, waiting for a reply that I don't give him. Finally, he let's out a sigh. "Fine, you still have to go. But you are no longer going to be considered a lady." He chuckles under his breath. "Not that anyone ever saw you that way." My anger increases by two fold and I almost break out again before he speaks, silencing me.

"The rest of you boys." He talks to the rest of those who lost. "Will have to walk before dear Tiger Lily. Then, you can carry her to shore after she walks." Everyone nods in agreement. "And if you can't do it." He smirks. "Leave her to drown, I don't want to lose any of you over her meaningless life."

His words hit me right in the heart. But as I watch the first boy- probably the oldest of all of those who lost- walks the plank, I feel a great sense of relief, knowing that someone might be there to catch me. But he falls with a yell, and I can't tell if he's scared, or enjoying it.

I run to the edge, glancing over it and half expecting him to be floating on the surface, dead. But a few moments later, a tiny head pops out of the water and I let out a deep sigh of relief. Meanwhile, the boys behind me continue to laugh as I overreact to everything that they've seen happen millions of times.

"Next!" Pan calls out, and I watch as a younger boy, probably eleven or twelve steps up.

"Be careful." I whisper. The boy looks at me as if I'm insane, then turns his head, ignoring me as he dives off the edge, into the dark water and joins his friend. Once again, his head pops up within a few seconds and I let out yet another sigh of relief.

"You worry to much." A third boy- I think I heard someone call him Luke- steps up to my side. "We've done this hundreds of times before. Even before I came to Neverland, a lot of us did things like this." His eyes are fixated on the task ahead of him but his mind stays on his memories. "Just relax." He places a hand on my shoulder, then walks forward, turning around and doing a little bow while all of the others make fun of him. Then, without looking back, Luke jumps off the edge, doing a back-flip and diving down into the water.

Another deep breath, and another sigh of relief as he swims off to the side, waiting for the next boy. Just as I turn around, there he is, the next boy to go.

"What's your name?" I ask, not recognizing him from the walk.

"Slightly!" The boy calls out, and all of the victorious boys cheer. "I didn't lose this game, not like you." Slightly teases. "But I do this for the fun."

"Fun?!"

"Yes! Tiger Lily, you're not as fierce as Peter makes you out to be. I didn't see your fight, but I expected more of you." He shakes his head. "What a shame. The great Tiger Lily is too scared to have a little fun, even when you have magic on your side."

"Slightly, go on." Pan calls, waiting.

"What am I to do with magic?" I grab his arm to stop him before he jumps.

"Use it to your advantage. I thought that you would guess by now that people like you and Peter can fly." He whispers to me quickly before taking a running jump, then does a cannon ball off of the side of the cliff. Of course I have to check to make sure that he's okay-and he is- but what he said sticks in my mind.

One by one, each boy goes up, trying to out do the last. Flips, dives, cannon balls, twists, turns, acting as if they have some task before 'unexpectedly' walking off the edge in an attempt to be humorous. And each time I go to the edge, feeling my stomach drop as I look down at the waves, until each of their heads pop up. They swim to the side every time, eagerly awaiting the next boy as they tread in the water below. And of course, eventually, it is my turn to go.

"Come on Tiger Lily, I've given you your chance to procrastinate, now get it on with!" Pan taunts.

I'm already at the edge, all of the boys looking up at me as they wait for me to go. And I do, I take a step forward onto the plank, my legs shaking- a slight breeze that would normally mean nothing to me might just cause my death- but I do as the old Peter Pan movies told me to do in this situation. If I need to fly, then I need to think happy thoughts.

I think deeply, coming up with the most random things that made me feel any form of joy. Getting a new dress, making my foster parents proud with good grades, my first kiss, the way Pan looked at me when he discovered I had powers.

Wait, no, scratch that last one.

I don't even know why that occurred to me, I don't like Pan. I did however, like the thought of being anything but worthless.

I skip over it, more happy thoughts darting through my head and I feel a smile creep over my lips. I can feel it, I'm almost at the planks edge, my spirits are high but my confidence higher. I know I can do it.

And with one last step, there I am at the edge- eyes still closed- a full blown smile stretched across my face. So I take a leap, and I'm in the air, heading up. Into the sky, ready to go and fly and get away from this place.

This is just before I begin to fall...

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