Caged • Robbie Kay/Peter Pan •

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"You're dead. You drowned. You left the note-" the top of my head felt as if someone had rested ice on it as adrenaline pulsed through my body, my own heartbeat rattled my ear drums. A shriek arose from my throat and Chase covered his ears.

"Listen to me! Stop screaming or they'll hear you." Chase said. The brisk sound of a match striking, cracked into the night and suddenly, his face was illuminated as he lit his lantern with the match.

My eyes wandered over his face, forgetting for a moment how to breath. A long scar trailed along his right cheek and his dark hair had grown since his disappearance, but the piercing blue eyes that met mine, were Chase's.

But still, I was unsure. Peter had talked about creatures in the woods. Perhaps, this was only an illusion; trickery of the darkness.

James opened his eyes and shot up quickly, blinking sleep away with unbelief when he saw the boy standing on the other side of the cage.

Footsteps clattered down the trail as bits of light shone through the trees and the leaves.

"Meadow! What's going on?"

"It's Chase! He's here! He's alive."

But the blue eyed boy that I had seen only seconds before had disappeared once more without so much as the sound of dry leaves under his feet. He was gone.

When the boys finally came into view, they looked around. "Where is he?" Pan questioned violently.

I was speechless. "He.. he was here. He's gone." I faltered, my heart returned to normal speed as the others searched around behind trees and bushes.

"You saw Chase?" Caspar asked.

"You must've been dreaming." Caspar stated.

"Are you sure it wasn't another nightmare?" Owen folded his arms, approaching the cage.

I thought for a moment. Maybe it had been a nightmare, but truly it seemed too real to be only a dream. I saw the haunting clarity in Chase's eyes. "James saw him!"

James eyes darted between each of the boys and then back at me. "I didn't see anything. You were just dreaming."

"You're lying. I know you saw him!"

"It was a mirage, Meadow." Pan spoke monotonously, folding his arms across his chest. "The same beasts that echo the cries of children during the night."

For some reason, my heart fell. I had hoped for a short time that Chase was indeed alive. That he hadn't really drowned or been eaten by mermaids. Chase wasn't a villain, but like Peter, simply a boy.

"You woke us up for nothing." Roux sighed, rubbing his eyes and heading back to the clearing.

"You can't leave me here, Peter. What if he comes back?" I fretted.

"Well you see, that's all apart of the punishment you submitted to." Peter said matter-of-factly. The sky had turned an ocean blue, though darkness still blanketed over the forest.

"Peter, please. Let us go and I'll take any other form of punishment." I muttered, pressing my face between the bars. He stepped closer; too close, eyeing me with the very eyes I had feared earlier today, almost as if he was contemplating my request.

"Anything?" he smirked.

My heart ceased for a few beats, then returned to normal speed. By the expression on his face, I knew exactly what he desired, but then again, perhaps I didn't. "Yes. Anything." I whispered.

"Let them out."

Owen, who stood a few feet behind Peter, perplexedly followed through with his request, taking the key from Peter and unlatching the door.