The Demon Disguised as an Angel

Chapter 16

I wake up, but Peter is nowhere in sight. "Peter?" I call.

"Right here, love," he says, appearing in front of me as if out of thin air.

"Good," I say, slowly closing my eyes. "Because at least I know that you didn't leave me here alone."

He silently laughs, apparently amused. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Yes. But, why would you care?"

"Because...I want to play a little game. Oh, but don't worry. You'll live through it," he says with a wicked grin.

"I never believed that you'd changed for a second," I say, narrowing my eyes. "What are the rules?"

"Oh, Amber...so eager to play, aren't we? There's only one rule in this game of mine: outsmart your opponents by any means possible," he says simply.

"What's the objective?" I ask, standing up.

"Objective?" he repeats, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah...there has to be a goal for someone to achieve to win, correct? What is it?" I ask, coming closer to him.

"Ah, yes," he says thoughtfully. "The objective of the game is to...not get captured. Because you see, Little Bird...it's a little game that I call...'cat and mouse'," he says as he hands me a dagger, which happens to have the word "mouse" carved on it. "You, dear, are the mouse. The Lost Boys and I are the cats. All you have to do is hide from the rest of us long enough not to get captured. The rest of us have to try and find you. I suggest you start running...now," he says with a smirk.

I can barely hear that, though, because I'm already sprinting out of Hangman's Tree.

I hear Peter shout: "C'mon, boys...Let's play!"

It sends chills down my spine. As he says it, he's staring straight at me. Still, I run, silently praying that I won't get caught. Although, I remember that I had played this type of "game" once before with Peter. And, if I had won that time, I can definitely win this time.

As I run further into the forest, I find a tree. I start to climb it. But, I slip, leaving scrapes and bruises on my hands, arms and legs. When I finally reach the top, I breathe a sigh of relief.

A short time later, to my disappointment, coming from the left side of the forest, I hear bone-chilling Indian battle cries. They found me, I think. I start to climb higher into the tree.

As the boys, led by Pan, start to come closer to where I've hidden, my heartbeat starts going faster and growing louder until it's almost deafening, making it almost impossible to keep climbing.

"When do you think we'll find the girl, Pan?" I hear Felix say with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Soon, Felix. We all know that she can't hide for long. Especially not from me," Pan says, looking straight ahead. Suddenly, he stops. "Isn't that right, Little Bird?" he snickers, not even looking up. Dang it! "You really thought that I wouldn't eventually find you?" he asks me, turning around to face me.

"I was counting on it, Peter. Now, what is it that you want?" I growl, narrowing my eyes.

"Oh, nothing...just come back with us...please?" he asks innocently, looking up.

"You can't fool me, Peter. I know you want more than that..." I say with a smirk as I climb down.

"Smart little lost girl...you're right," he says with a smirk. "But not quite yet."