Grim (A Peter Pan Fanfic)

Prologue

"Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people." –Carl Sagan

***

"You absolute idiot! How stupid do you have to be to mess up something this simple? I could've sent the crocodile to do this—he would've done it right! Dammit..."

Peter Pan is very no-nonsense oriented, even towards something that reflects himself. His shadow is almost cowering; this is the first time Peter has raised his voice at him. They're usually on good terms, but, then again, his shadow usually does things correctly.

Peter puts his fingers to his temples, rubbing away the pounding headache that threatens to appear. His shadow isn't sure what to do. Is Peter done yelling at him? (Probably not.) Will he be shamed and forced to be sewn back to Peter? (Probably.) Or will Peter be forgiving just this once and let him off easy? (Yeah, right.)

"Boys! Come look at what got dragged in here, and tell me what should become of it!" Oh no, Peter's Lost Boys are almost as vile as him. Peter's shadow sulks, looking down at the person he brought back and wondering what was wrong with them. What didn't Peter like? Were they too short or scrawny? He knew he should've gone to France this time...

The Lost Boys come out from the fort and gather around, almost gasping once they see who is unconscious on the ground.

"A girl?!" Felix exclaims. "You've gotta be kiddin' me!"

The others cry out in protest also, and Peter stands in the middle, arms crossed, glaring at everything. "Does this seem correct to you boys? We're the Lost Boys! No girls belong here!" They cheer and nod now, agreeing with him like always.

"I think she's waking up!" Devin says over the noise. The girl is stirring and rubbing her eyes. She looks no older than sixteen, and when she takes in the scene around her, her expression turns to one of mass confusion.

"Before you say anything," Peter says as she opens her mouth to speak, crouching down to her level, "know this: you're banished."

"Get outta here," Felix agrees, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

"Where exactly is 'here'?" the girl asks, her voice layered with sleep and grogginess.

"You're on the island of Neverland. Us folk of Neverland don't take a liking to girls, do we boys?"

The Lost Boys shake their heads and disagree, making disgusted noises.

The girl narrows her eyes as she takes in her surroundings. The dead animals hanging from branches make her queasy, but it's not until she notices the body swaying from a far-off tree that her face pales completely. "Well, I wouldn't want to be in your company anyways. Just tell me how to get off this forsaken island."

"I'd rather not," Peter says with a cynical grin. "I think we'll just banish you instead. You can't leave unless you can fly, so good luck in the wild. Felix will escort you to the other side of the island." His voice drops to a whisper. "That's where we keep dangerous things."

"Is that why you're putting me over there?" The girl grins as Peter's smirk fades.

Felix pulls her up by the arm, pushing her forwards roughly.

"Hey, wait!" Peter calls after their retreating figures. "What's your name, girl?"

"Elly Ender," she calls back, her voice quiet and not echoing.

"Well, Elly," Peter says as the Lost Boys snicker, "do us all a favor and don't bother trying to survive out there."

Elly shoots him a menacing glare before turning to continue her travel to the other side of the island. Felix turns away after showing her the barrier she cannot cross, and he waves goodbye mockingly, cautioning her against the hyenas and poisonous plants.

"Who was that?" She doesn't continue until Felix turns back around. "Hanging from the tree?"

"The last person who trespassed on Neverland and thought he should pick a fight with us and our magic," he responds nastily. "Didn't you see his girlfriend? We hung them together. Let's hope we don't find a reason to do that to you."

Elly frowns even deeper and crosses the line. In nothing but silk pajamas and polka dot socks, she is determined to do the exact opposite of what that monster Peter told her. She's going to survive Neverland.