The Never Boy

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I draw my right arm back slowly until the string taunt between my fingers is touching my cheek. I can feel it as it stills along with the rest of my body. I take a deep breath. She wasn't getting away this time. I mean I said that the last 6 times but I was much more determined than the last time and the time before that. Plus I was staving. Right at that thought my stomach growls rather loudly and I think I've lost her again. For gods sake I have the worst luck. She raises her head to listen. I pray to all the souls in the never never that my stomach says silent. I line up the arrow with her glistening black eye. Straight threw the eye, Tiger Lily always said, quick death and less bleeding. I take another deep breath just before I release the string . . .

"PAN!" A head full of blond hair pops down from a branch above my head. I fall backwards startled trying to stay up straight. Turns out balancing on a tree branch on your toes wasn't the safest option while hunting.

This is really going to hurt in the morning.

My hand releases the arrow mid fall and it goes flying up into the tree where the wayward head had appeared. I hear a cracking sound as the tree brach breaks and the tiny boy comes crashing down from the tree landing on my stomach knocking the wind out of me.

"Pan you'll never believe what I just saw!" He exclaims.

I lift my head up from the forest floor and see the boy siting on my now enviably empty stomach. He was wearing a pair of raggedy old shorts that the fairies had made for him years ago but no shirt. His hair was a flop of blond mess and his lanky arms and legs also seems too long for his tiny frame.

"Slightly," I say threw a cough. "Can you get off me and then tell me?"

It takes him a moment to realize what I mean, he look down at where he's sitting and blushes deeply. He scrambles off me and stands up holding his hand out as if to help me up. I wave his hand away and roll over so I'm laying on my stomach instead of my back. I let out another cough still trying to get air into my lungs. That boy may be tiny but he packs a hard punch when falling from 5 feet.

"So tell me," I begin, looking up at him from my position on the ground. "What was so important that you made me scare away our dinner. For the fourth time this week I might add?"

You know how I said this was my sixth time trying to kill that darn doe. Well lets just say that the other two times I missed. Now by missed I mean, well no yeah I mean like I have awful aim. I'm better with my sword, that's why we have Ace.

He grimaces as if just realizing what he had done.

"I'm sorry Pan but your really going to want to see this!" He tells me as he leans down beside me on the ground. I bang my head on the ground a few times to make sure I didn't lose my temper.

These boys were literally going to kill me one day.

If I didn't fall out of a tree maybe I would stab myself with my own sword. I wouldn't be surprised.

"Alright. Show me already then. I'm not getting any older." I sigh as I get back up.

He grabs my hand and begins dragging me threw the woods. Twisting and turning threw many paths not even I knew off my heart. Slightly's one of the oldest boy's on the island and knows it better than anyone. Almost better than me. Although I'll never admit to that.

Where exactly are we going anyway? Neverland? Oh wait. . .

He was leading me to a very remote part of the island. Almost no one ever came to the north/ west side. It was extremely creepy in my opinion. I shiver at the thought of the last time I was here. Captain Hook and his merry band of psychos had managed to kidnap Curly and were trying to use him against me and the Lost Boys. This side of the island was legend to be the exit to the NeverNever. Lost and wayward souls wander the forest and you don't want to come face to face with an unfriendly one. I shiver at the thought.

'Where exactly are we going?" I question. " You know this side of the island is . . ."

Suddenly we stop mid stride and Slightly pulls me back quickly, we duck behind a bush on the side of the trail. Then out of no where a long sword come crashing threw the thick vines chopping them to pieces. I gasp.

No fricking way.

A middle-aged man with dreadlocks appears out of the vines. I glance at his arm looking for the hook that should be tattooed there. I spot it instantly on the inside of his wrist. I cover my mouth quickly as he shoots his head around searching for the source of the sound. After pausing for a few moments he continues on his way down the thickly over grown path that leads to the centre of the island. It hadn't been used since the Pirates left the Island almost 20 years ago. In real world time anyway. On Neverland it had only been around 4 years.

What in the world were they doing here now? I look down at Slightly and he just gives me a shrug obviously knowing the biggest question that I'm wondering.

"Is this what you were trying to show me?"

Slightly nods quickly. Probably still too shaken up to speak. The last time he encountered the Jolly Rogers crew he was five.

"That not all is it?" I ask him.

Without another word he grabs my hand once again and it only take us a few move steps before we reach the edge of the forest. The thick evergreen trees fade and turn to bleach white sand. The pockets of sunlight peaking threw the tree branches is now a full blue sky over head. The beauty of the scene is ruined when I see what lies out at sea. He hands me the telescope and I gaze threw it trying to see the unfriendly black dot in my vision form a moment before. Now it was very clearly a ship out in the crashing waves off shore. Not only that but also many small life boats were rowing slowly towards us. One already lay discarded and empty in the sand. They must have sent one ahead to scout before they all came to shore.

I bring the telescope down from my eye and look at Slightly.

"Go back to the hideout and warn the others. We have to make sure it's as well hidden as it was the last time they were here!" I whisper to him. He takes off into the woods in a blur.

What in the world was I going to do. Neverland had been free of Captain Hook and his crew for two decades now. We weren't prepared for a fight. We had had such a peaceful time since they left, but I knew the boy's would fight if need be.

I scan the shore counting how many pirates were now officially back in Neverland.Now that they were on shore I was so close I could just reach out and slice one of their throats if I wanted too. I counted around thirty men until I spotted one last boat coming a shore. It was slightly bigger than the rest I noticed. No wonder though, Captain Hook was stepping out of it, he needed the extra space for his ego. I focused closely and see that Shmee is also stepping out of the boat along with another man. No boy. He looked young. Only slightly older than me it seemed. The second he hit the soft sand he was on his hands and knees and it looked like he was kissing the ground. Well it seemed this new crew member didn't have his sea legs yet.

I sigh making the decision almost instantaneously. I shove the scope into one of my belt loops and smooth out my shirt. I had to show Hook that I meant business. He had been gone so long he probably forgot who runs this island and its most defiantly not him. Lots of things had changed since he left. So I was going to give him a cold wake up call. In the form of a good old fight. I tap my sword at my side.

'Well hello boy's," I say as I step out of the cover of the trees. "It's been a long time."