Foreverland

Chapter XV

Chapter XV

-

"Oh, thank god," Liam said as he took in Peter's appearance. "You're in one piece."

Cam looked concerned. "Where have you been? What happened to you?" 

Peter bent down and plucked the dagger and pouch of fairy dust up from where he'd abandoned them on the ground. "I was tracking the reapers."

"For four days?" Liam asked, incredulous. "How did you manage that? They only ever stay on land for a day, at most."

Peter looked at them. "Not this time. They know Iris is with us in the forest somewhere. They tracked her to the lake and hid out there all night. The only reason they left the lakeshore is because one of them checked and saw that we'd all woken up and gone. I followed them after that, for a long time, until they came back to the lake earlier today." He looked at Iris. "That's when I found Iris's dagger and pouch."

"You thought she was dead," said Max. "So did we. She was gone for almost a day. We thought you'd both been captured." 

Peter nodded. "I thought she was dead. I stopped tracking the reapers, thinking it was all over, and came back here to tell you all." 

Iris frowned. "Does that mean the reapers are still on land?" She felt chills run down her spine at the thought.

"They could be," Peter said. "Probably." 

"How long do you think they'll stay?" She asked, fearful of what the answer might be.

They were all silent for a moment. "Well," Cam started. "They've never stayed nearly this long before. And if they knew how close they were to you when you were hiding in the lake, there's no telling how long they'll stay here, searching." 

"If they're here, it's only a matter of time before they find us," Liam said grimly. 

Max scowled. "We don't even know if they're still here. If they don't have anything to chase, they'll give up. We can't assume the worst."

"We have to assume the worst," Peter said. "It's the only way we're all going to stay safe."

"Then what should we do?" Liam asked. 

A ghost of a smirk passed Peter's lips. "I have a plan." 

- 

They all sat around the table, taking in everything Peter was telling them. 

"For now, we lay low," Peter said. "None of us are in a good enough condition to do this yet. We have to build up our strength again first."

"But what if the reapers stay on the island?" Cam asked.

Liam's eyes widened. "What if they close in on us?"

Iris gulped, listening intently. She feared that at any moment, the panel to the den would blast open and reapers would come flooding in. She was on high alert for the ominous banging that always accompanied the reapers when they were close. 

"Every day, I'll go out to check the reapers' position," Peter said. 

"You can't do that everyday by yourself," Max protested. 

Iris looked at Peter. "Max is right." 

Cam nodded with determination. "We'll take shifts. We're strong enough."

Liam and Max both nodded in agreement. 

"Alright," Peter gave in. "We can take shifts, twice a day to check."

Iris wanted to contribute as well, but she knew she was in the worst shape of all. Her side and calf were still basically open wounds. She couldn't push it. She needed to be as strong as possible so that when the time came, she could defend herself and the boys.

"So once we're strong enough," Max started, "we'll go out into the forest in groups and set off as many traps as we can find?"

Peter nodded. "It should throw them off, and lead them away from here."

"We'll have to be fast," Cam said. "Fast enough to outrun them."

"That's why we need to build up our strength," Peter said. "Which means getting sleep," he gave a pointed look to Iris. 

-

That night, Iris barely slept a wink.

She had to build up her strength so that she could be an asset to the boys- this, she knew. But she just couldn't get the conversation she'd had with Peter out of her mind, about her remembering.

She knew that she should be doing all that she could to remember, which meant taking every opportunity to dream, but she was afraid. All this time, her main desire had been to find out who she was, and to have her questions answered. Now, she knew that the answers were already in her, and had been the whole time. She had a feeling that they weren't going to be good.

All night, she tossed and turned, scared to dream. On top of the fear she felt, her side and calf were aching tremendously. It was all her fault that they had to take time to rest. She was the injured one, she was the careless one who'd let herself be almost killed by a siren. 

And what was she fighting for? What was this all for? She wondered why the reapers wanted her, and what they would do to her if they did catch her. Obviously she was more important than the boys, since the reapers could have easily captured them all when they were unconscious. But they left the boys to chase her. The whole time she was in the lake, they were right on the shore. If she'd left any sooner than she had, she would've swam right to them, and the boys' efforts- Peter's efforts, would've been for nothing. Iris had to be more careful. She didn't know how, but if she was ever again in a situation where it was her and her alone, she needed to be prepared. They all needed to be. 

At some point in the very early hours of the morning, she must've dozed off, because she was abruptly pulled out of her sleep by an ominous sound that terrified her more than anything.

A thumping. Right overhead. 

Iris jumped out of bed as quickly and quietly as possible, running into the den where her weapons were left on the table. She grabbed them, and turned. She nearly slammed into Peter's chest. He grabbed her by her upper arms, his eyes wide, silently bringing a finger to his lips to tell her to stay silent.