Never

Chapter Fourteen

Lily was up early, on her morning run through the jungle, hair flying back in the wind, the pads of her feet pounding against the hard-packed earth as she ran, flying over the hills, down the twisting paths. Her breaths were even and steady, her pace fast and smooth. As she thundered smoothly around the last bend on her usual route, she heard a sound from down the hill, the cliff that rolled down into the river that rushed by, emptying into the Pirate's Lagoon.

It was someone crying.

Lily stopped short, panting for breath, hands on her knees for support as she peered down, through the brush, looking for the source of the sound. The sound was broken and terrified, the sobs of someone who had lost all hope. Lily knew that sound--it sounded like her, like her screams of pain and grief the first nights after the fire.

And then she saw him, peeking out of the bushes halfway down the slope. His hair was black and curly and fluffy, thick and long, with just his eyes and the top of his head showing. His face was streaked with tears. His eyes were empty, as empty as she'd felt, long ago. As she looked into those eyes, every bit of resolve, every bit of reservation and mistrust disappeared because God, she had to save him.

Soon she was slipping down the hill, surprisingly gracefully, until she landed in a kneeling position right in front of the crumpled boy. He looked up at her, terrified, scrambling backwards, nearly falling into the river. Lily grabbed his wrist, pulling him up.

"Who are you?" he gasped, trying to yank himself away.

"Shh, shh. I-I'm Lily, Tiger Lily. Are you okay? What's your name?"

"No, get away, I-," stuttered the boy, tears welling up in his dark eyes again as he scrambled at her arm, trying even harder, fighting with all his might.

"Stop it, stop, I want to help-"

He finally jerked away, toppling backwards into the river backwards. Lily fell back onto her butt with a sharp, surprised exclamation, reaching desperately for him, but he was gone.

She jumped to her feet, ripping off the black dress until she was just in her slip, stumbling down the hill to the water, diving in headlong, the cold shock of the water rattling her bones as she opened her eyes, searching for him. The current pushed her down stream, tumbling over and over until she lost all sense of direction. And then her elbow connected with something strange and hairy. When she got her bearings, she saw the boy floating nearby and yanked him above the water, paddling powerfully to the riverbank.

Lily dumped him on the grassy shore, gasping for breath, and dragged him onto higher ground. He spluttered, coughing, and turned to look at her through bloodshot eyes.

"Trust me yet, kid?" she groaned, stretching out on the ground beside him.

"Baelfire."

"What?"

He sighed, catching his breath. "No, that's my-" he coughed "-my name-"

"Oh," Lily turned to gaze at him through the reeds. He looked, what, twelve at the oldest? "Are you a Lost Boy?"

"A what?"

Lily's heart rate skyrocketed. Who could he be if he wasn't a Lost Boy? How did Pan not know that this boy, this Baelfire, was living on his island? He was in control of everything on this island, knew everything on this island. Hell, he'd been able to tell Lily's gender the moment her feet touched the soil of his home. If he didn't know that Baelfire was here...