Pan Never Fails

*Chapter Three*

*Present Day*

   I wake up to hear the birds chirping, opening my eyes and looking around my small treehouse. It's tiny, but comfortable. Full of things I have collected over the past year or two.

   I walk over to the wooden desk in the corner and brush through my thick black hair. I pull it up into a high ponytail and tie it with a small strip of cloth. I change out of my nightgown and put on some pants and a white shirt, pulling my boots on and double knotting the laces.

   I peek outside and open the door, climbing down the rope ladder. I start to make a fire in my fire pit and after a while the fire gets bigger. I take out a squirrel that I caught the day before and I roast it over the fire, eating it quickly. I climb up into my treehouse to grab a towel and a dark blue dress, heading out to the beach shortly after.

   Once I get there I walk over to a large group of boulders and set my bag down, looking around to make sure no one is here and I start to undress. I immediately jump into the water behind the boulders and wash myself off. After a few minutes I step out of the water and wrap the towel around myself. I pull on my clothes and dry my hair. The dress used to be longer but I ripped off the bottom so it now reaches my knees. I also ripped off the sleeves so they stop at my elbows instead. I am about to walk back to my camp when I see Felix emerging from the bushes.

   "How long have you been there?" I ask, squinting my eyes at him as I stop walking.

   "I didn't see you undress, if that's what you're asking," He says. I sigh in relief and continue walking. "Where do you think you're going, Princess?"

   "Home," I state simply, not bothering to correct him on my name. I feel his long fingers tightly wrap around my wrist and I spin around to face him.

   "No. You aren't." He smiles at me as he pinches a nerve on my neck and everything goes dark.

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   "Guys! I think she's waking up."

   "Just leave her. We don't even know who she is."

   What the heck? Where am I?

   I slowly open my eyes and look around, and I see five adults standing around me. I look down at my hands to see them tied up in front of me, my torso tied to a tree.

   "Who the hell are you people?" I ask, looking up and squinting at a lady with shoulder length black hair as she speaks up.

   "We'll be the ones asking questions. Who are you?"

   "Murphy. Liz Murphy." A man wearing eyeliner steps forward.

   "She might be with Pan. We need to be careful." I suddenly remember Felix... Who knocked me out... I'm going to have to punch him for that.

   "Where's Felix?" I ask no one in particular. The same man speaks again.

   "The boy that was with you before? He's somewhere in the forest," He says. "Probably still knocked out." For some unknown reason, I get very mad at this.

   "You knocked him out?" I ask. Another woman with black hair like a boy steps forward.

   "We did what we had to do to save you," She says. "He is one of Pan's boys. He's dangerous."

   "Don't you think I know that? I know he's dangerous! I've been here long enough to figure him and his boys out." I roll my eyes and shake my head. Adults are incredibly dense sometimes.

   "Then we could use her. She knows about Pan," The first lady says. "I'm Regina, by the way." When she says her name I immediately recognize her and the other woman, along with the man standing next to her.