The Land Never Lost

Chapter 20

Peter was the first to reach the clearing. Dexter and Dixon looked like they could run for an hour straight. Keith was bent over breathing hard, the skinny boy wasn't exactly athletic. James entered the clearing, his hand on Jake's back, giving the heavy boy an extra push. Peter told the boys to sit down and get ready for story time. As he had so many times before, he captivated them with his story about the past four years. Peter told them from now on, Pan would be there home. "But this isn't just a story boys, follow me to Pan and all this will be real." Peter looked to the sky at the brightest star. Now, he realized, it was the hard part. James was looking at Peter, "Okay captain, what are we supposed to do now?"

"Fly." Peter said plainly.

The twins shouted, "Yeah! Let's do this!". Keith covered the twins' mouths. James leaned into Peter and whispered, "Please tell me you are joking? I don't know what you learned in fairy land, but we cannot fly. We can all barely run." James stared at the sky trying to find what Peter was looking at.

Peter got to his feet and swung his arms. "First get in a circle.". The boys circled up. "Now hold hands.". James rolled his eyes, but Jake grabbed his hand. Peter said, "And last but not least, do not freak out.". Peter channeled his nemerald and was instantly wrapped in the glowing green light. Immediately all the other boys pulled their hands back. Jake said, "What was that?".

"That's how we fly. Now stop freaking out." Peter tried again and this time they all held on. Peter assumed this would have been much harder to pull off, but standing here with all his brothers made channeling nemerald easy. There was nothing more natural for Peter than going on an adventure with them. In a few minutes, Peter's nemerald enveloped each boy in a soft glow.

"Now, just stay positive and think about what makes you who you are. Find what's true to your heart and focus on that, then you should all be able to hold onto my nemerald." Peter said, slowly letting go of Dexter's and Dixon's hands. The other boys cautiously did the same, one by one maintaining the glow. Dexter jumped up and down excitedly, "We have powers!". Dixon laughed maniacally and ran around the clearing, his arms outstretched like a bird. Keith was staring at his glowing hands wide eyed, Jake was hyperventilating, and James stood smiling. He was patting Peter on the back, "You are amazing as always captain."

"What happens now?" Jake asked nervously.

"We fly at that star." Peter pointed directly above the clearing. At once, all the boys looked straight up. The bright star pulsated, as if it was trying to stand out among all the other ones in the sky.

Peter reached his hand out to Keith. The twins held each other's hand and shook anxiously. Jake was breathing hard until James walked over and put his arm around his shoulder. "Don't worry Jake, I got you." Jake looked at James and smiled, "Thanks bro." The clearing became still as all the boys circled up. The six boys, now paired up, all crouched at once and shot into the sky. The wind tried to resist their rise, but it was not a strong enough force. The brothers were back together again, on an adventure of a lifetime. Their howls and cheers filled the night sky, and six rays of green light had appeared and vanished faster than anyone could see.

The boys flew until the sky flipped and they were flying downwards towards Pan. Peter, Keith, Dexter, and Dixon were laughing hysterically as they made loops in the air. Suddenly Jake's body fell right past the group of boys, "Ah!" he screamed in a free fall. James tucked his arms to his side and nose dived after Jake, "I got 'em. I got 'em.".

The boys all flew after their brother, none fast enough to catch up. None but James, who caught up about 100 feet before Jake hit the ground. He grabbed Jake's hand and closed his eyes, James thought if he could spread nemerald to Jake he might be able to at least slow their fall. They were already too close to the ground, all they could do was brace for impact. Jake and James shut their eyes, "This is going to really hurt." Jake said softly. Suddenly their fall was stopped, both boys opened their eyes and saw a larger fairy holding them by their collars.