Greatest challenge/Peter Pan (Completed)

Chapter 6: Dreamshade

Quinton and I got into contact with Penelope and Nova, and we all agreed to meet up at where Maddox and Zeke were. It took us merely twenty minutes to arrive, guns out and ready to fight.

Zeke was telling the truth. Maddox lay dead on the ground, an arrow protruding through his chest, very close to the heart. With the poison, dreamshade, as Quinton explained, he did not stand a chance.

I kneeled beside Maddox, and frowned. His gun was still in his hand. "Did you see them coming?"

"No, they just let loose their arrows, and one hit his mark!" Zeke yelled.

I glanced around. Sure enough, there were many arrows lying astray. My heart sank. Peter Pan was here to kill us all. But why then did he warn me? I turned at Zeke, scanning him. Sure enough, hanging on his left side, almost well hidden was the small blue box. One Gus had waved in my face in front of me at my greatest moments of defiance. How on earth did I not notice it?

"We have to leave," Nova said. "It's not safe."

"What a brilliant idea," a familiar cold voice echoed behind me.

We all turned out guns and pointed it, directly at Peter Pan.  He did not even flinch, but by now I knew that he had no fear against us. We were not even competition for him.

"You beast!" Nora yelled at him.

"Surely you did not expect this quest to be easy?" he took a step forward.

"Don't you dare move!" Zeke ordered.

"Or you'll do...what?" Peter Pan grinned. "Maddox got...precisely what he asked for. He let loose the rounds of his gun and injured one of my boys..."

"So you killed him?" I snapped. Peter Pan tilted his head as he looked at me. 

"Isn't that enough? I protect my own," Peter Pan said. 

"You're a dead man!" Zeke snapped.

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong...I'm just a boy," he smiled and vanished from sight. 

"What the..."

"Shhhh." Quinton ordered Penelope. "Do you hear that?"

I heard it, the sound of thunderous footsteps, heading towards us. And war cries.

"Natives!" Nova yelled. She pulled out her gun and started shooting.

"Are you mad? We need to run!"  Penelope called out.

I didn't disagree. We all took our leave. Maddox would not have the opportunity to be buried. He would have to wait. 

"To the beach!" Zeke ordered.

I focused on my breathing, but a sudden pain pierced my shoulder blade. I fell down.

"Finley!" I heard Quinton cry out.

"She's done for! Move!" Zeke's voice echoed.

I grunted and turned to see bushes right beside me. The same dark bushes I nearly fell into...dreamshade.

"Here goes nothing," I grunted and crawled underneath the bushes. I felt the thorns scratch my skin, but nothing pierced me...yet.  In a minute I heard the footsteps and saw leather bound shoes run past. Of course, they would not check the bushes. Who would be crazy enough to decide to hide underneath the world's deadliest plant? However, I had nothing to lose. And normally, it was my crazy ideas that kept me alive. I moaned as the pain from the arrow that stabbed me suddenly became evident.

I counted a lot of feet and knew that the group was in big danger. If they did not find a way to escape...fast, they would all be dead. Sure, they had guns, but the numbers of the natives would easily overcome that. Especially if they were shooting arrows.

A good five minutes passed by as I lay underneath the bushes. It finally grew quiet. I knew I had to get out. I tried to move but cried out in pain.

The feather and the shaft of the arrow latched onto my back also latched onto the bushes! I froze as I felt something drip close to the wound. The poison. My heart started racing. I tried to reach the arrow with my hand but in vain. I let out another cry. I was going to die...I was really going to die.

I heard a pair of footsteps, and I took a deep breath. "Quinton?" I whispered. No answer.

"Well, well, aren't you in a pickle?"

I sucked in a deep breath of air. I then realized I heard a lot more footsteps as if people were just appearing out of nowhere.

"If you just want me dead, then just kill me!" I yelled out.

"Who said I wanted you dead?"

"The natives for starters," I grunted.

"You stumbled into their territory with no escape plan, lesson number one in survival, don't go anywhere without knowing a way out, I'd think a girl like you would be smart enough to realize that," Peter Pan ducked down so that I could see his face.

"So what? You're just going to leave me here?" I asked. "Because if you're planning on doing that, go on ahead, I'm getting bored."

I gasped as the leaves of the dreamshade separated. As if releasing me from its deathly grip. I groaned as my legs were grabbed and pulled. I looked up to see several boys staring down at me, one right next to Peter Pan with a darker, scarred face, cloaked and dirty blond hair. 

I sat up and tried to grab the arrow, still lodged in my back. Pain shot up in my spine. And I wanted to collapse, but a boy grabbed me from behind. "Hold still," he said, and I could feel his hands wrapping around the shaft of the arrow. I clenched my teeth and gasped in surprise when I saw him handing the arrow to Peter Pan. I did not feel anything.

Peter Pan nimbly fiddled with the arrow. "You're lucky the natives don't tip their arrows with poison." 

"Sure," I said and tried to stand up, but the boy who pulled my arrow out pushed me down. I glared at him. 

"If you don't want to kill me, but you don't want to let me go, then what do you want with me?"  I snapped at Peter Pan.

Peter Pan met my eyes again, and I felt a squirm in my stomach. "Let's make it a game shall we? A puzzle...for you to solve." With that, he smiled.