Peter Pan Imagines

Remember This Part 6

I woke suddenly to the sound of gunshots. Outside the tent people screamed and war trumpets blared one after another; the air was filled with both the scent of gunpowder and blood. Cautiously I jumped to my feet and ran to the entrance to see what was going on. Lifting the tarp, I saw a gruesome scene of a bloody massacre between the lost boys and older men that I didn't recognize. From the trees nearby swung corpses, hung by thin vines; on the ground laid entrails which I dared not identify.

My scream was silenced by my horror, I couldn't bring myself to speak or make a sound from the horrible sight I had just beheld. What exactly was this battle for anyway, for what cause? I bet Pan was behind it, his thirst for blood might not have been quenched by my suffering. I pressed my hand against the wall and found the invisible wall sealed just as usual. I pounded my fist against this cage, here I was at risk more than usual; it was only a matter of time until the tent was set on fire...

Then I smelled it, the smoke. As if my very thought had conjured it, a fire began to cave in the tent. A quick, lightning fast flame was now disintegrating the wooden beams and spreading to the floor. If I didn't get out of here quickly, I'd be burned to ash.

"HELP!" I screamed as I kicked and punched the invisible wall. "PLEASE, ANYONE!"

It was no use, no one could hear me. I was alone and about to meet my demise. The smoke then began to bring about shock. My mind had melted into a frightened mess and I found myself calling the name I thought I'd never call again..."PETER!" The smoke began to overtake my lungs. My eyes filled with the thick smog and poured out acidic tears.

"PETER!" My legs began to collapse under me and my muscles lost their strength. Propped up against the invisible wall, I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, one that I likely would not wake up from. Just as I closed my eyes, a shadowed figure was imprinted in my memory, towering over my suffocating form menacingly. Then all went black, the flames enclosing both my body and my memory.

"Help me..."
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"It was never supposed to happen this way, you know." A harsh but lulling voice brought me to amidst the deafening explosions of gunshots. "You were supposed to die and that was to be the end of it, however..." The voice sighed, my circle of vision gradually increasing. "...You still live, why?"

A pair of striking green eyes hidden beneath a mask of ash met mine. His cheeks were dirty and burnt, his clothes slightly singed. It was Peter, but...different somehow. Those eyes, those telling emerald eyes were cruel and strong, yet frightened and weak with intense fear.

I felt my lungs heavy with smoke which made me cough and writhe slightly. My eyes were still hazy with the charcoal dust, but I was slowly coming to. The gunshots were still loud as ever which frightened me, but when I tried to move my arms to get away, I realized that I was pinned down by Peter himself.

"Let me go! I need to leave now before I'm shot!" I spit in his face hoping he would wipe it away and give me a chance to escape, but he didn't. He wouldn't.

"WHY DO YOU LIVE NICOLE?" His rage made me flinch. From out of nowhere, this intensity arose. His eyes didn't phase away once from mine, quite the contrary; I could see the fire burning like an untamable flame behind them.

I looked from left to right trying to find an opening of escape until I heard something I dreaded more: soldiers searching for us. Men nearby were shouting about hearing a scream and were preparing to release vicious tracking dogs to catch us. If I remained here like this any longer, I'd be ripped to shreds.

"I said, GET OFF OF ME!" With a swift knee to Peter's stomach, I was up and running. I ran through the trees, the gunshot smoke clouding my vision worse than a foggy night. It was as if I was running in a delirium, smoke filling my senses and driving me forward.

"She went this way men! Retrieve her and bring her to base!" The men were after me now along with their dogs. Damn it! Peter had wasted so much precious time for escape. Now I was dead, dead before even he could even kill me.

Out of the trees ran several men in soldier attire. In uniformity they circled around me with a vicious dogs of every breed upon iron chains, ready to rip me to pieces. Once the soldiers finished circling, they paused where they stood. Some were bloodied, others bruised, most were covered in lost boy blood. Oddly enough, they looked like the military stationed in the town I once lived.

A head soldier stepped forward, fully decorated in ornaments and badges. "Stop right there Miss, I'm not going to hurt you, we're just here to retrieve you."

"Retrieve me?" I looked around and saw that all the men had their hands wrapped around the pistols in their holsters ready to fire. "Then why are you ready to shoot?"

"Miss, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, I suggest you come with us." The soldier's hands did not move to signify any means of civility or trustworthiness. I was trapped, either they killed me here and ended it, or dragged me off to their camp for undisclosed intensions.

I sighed and prepared to make the deal if it meant any chance of escape. "I will-"

"You will leave her right here." I felt the familiar whoosh of air behind me as well as the bloodthirsty venom in his voice. "She and I have a...contract of sorts that she needs to fulfil." I felt my eyes roll back into my head as he waved his hand, making me rapidly fall unconscious.

"Contract?" The head soldier scoffed as he looked at my sleeping form. "Kidnap is not a contract! We will be taking her back now to see the grand master!"

Pan began to laugh with a sadistic grin. "You think a couple of soldiers can walk on my island, kill of my lost boys, interrupt my plans, and live to tell the tale? If so," Pan flew forward and plunged his hand into the chest of one of the accompanying soldiers and plucked out his heart. "Then you are gravely mistaken." He crushed the heart between his fingers and turned it to dust which sent the soldier crumbling to his knees.

The head soldier was now shaking like a leaf but dared speak further, "You realize that not allowing us to retrieve Miss Peregrine is an act of instigation. We would have to declare war if you don't let us forward."

"So be it." Pan mumbled under his breath.

He disappeared in a cloud of green smoke along with me without a trace. The soldiers that remained stood there, terrified and mournful for their comrade who had died at Pan's hand. Grimly, they headed back to their stationed base to alert their superiors. Now war was coming to Neverland, and I was the very cause of it.

Sorry for not updating in so long, but things have been quite hectic. I will try to upload more this week as I slowly ascend out of my creative rut. Thank you to everyone who's kept with this story even through the super long wait time.
-MasterOfTheSevenSeas ⚓