Pan's Game || OUAT Fanfic || EDITED VERSION

Chapter 27; Old Friends & New Ones

"When you protect yourself from pain, be sure you don't protect yourself from love."

~ Alan Cohen

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Alice's P.O.V

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    "Hurry up, boys!" Peter yells. "We have to find them before nightfall. They won't survive out there on their own."
    I look up, the sky is tinted a light shade of orange, purple and pink. Just an hour until nightfall. We have about two dozen boys with us, a handful of older boys stayed behind to take care of the younger ones.

    Are Neverland's jungles so dangerous that you won't be able to survive a night in there alone?
    "There are too many deadly plants and animals here," Felix explains as if he read my mind. "If the plants don't kill them, the animals will."
    "Good to know," I say, desperately trying to catch up with the group's pace.

    I scan the group for Ray but it's hard for me to spot him as majority of the boys are a head taller than me. Why are you people so tall? God, I hate being short. The group suddenly stops. I make my way to the front of the group, which isn't hard seeing as I'm smaller than all the boys. Peter is kneeling down, studying the two fresh pairs of tracks on the ground.

    "We need to split up in order to find them as soon as possible. Hayden, Joseph," he says, pointing at two red haired boys. "You two stay here so the others will be able to find the meeting point."

    "The rest of you get into your pairs! We'll rendezvous back here," Peter orders, standing up. "Is that clear?"
    "Yes, Pan!" the boys shout in one voice.
    They immediately get into their pairs as soon as those words leave their mouths. Where's Ray? Was he asked to stay back at camp?

    Someone wraps places their hand on my shoulder. I don't even need to see his face to know who it is.
    "Hi, Peter," I say.
    "You'll be partnering with me," he says.
    "Where's Ray?" I ask.
    "Back at camp with the younger boys."

    I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I feel safe with him around me. But it's just a feeling, right? It doesn't mean anything.

    "Are we gonna look for your "guests" or are we just gonna stand here?" I ask.
    Peter answers my question by teleporting us to the beach.
    "How do the Lost Boys even get here?" I ask.
    "My shadow brings them here," he says. "It only brings children who feel lost or unloved."

    Then what about me? I don't feel unloved, I have Will and Lewis to keep me company. I had Lewis. So maybe I was lost, I always felt that I was missing something, that I didn't really belong in England. I craved adventure that of which England couldn't provide with its busy cities. Maybe I really did belong here. But am I happy here?

    "You alright, love?" Peter asks. "You've been awfully quiet."
    "I'm fine, I'm just thinking," I reply, keeping my eyes on the horizon.
    "That's a dangerous pass time."
    I smile. "That's something Halt would say."
    "Halt?"
    "I wouldn't expect you to know him," I say. "It's Ranger business."

    "Why do you read so many books?" Peter asks.
    "Why do you breathe?"
    "Because if I didn't I'd die."
    "Exactly."
    Peter sighs. "Touché."

****

    "Damn, those boys are good," Peter says.
    "What?" I ask.
    Peter kneels down and points at the soil. "Look at these tracks."
    "What about them?" I ask, kneeling down next to him.
    "Do you see how they're standing out in the soil?" he asks.
    "Yeah. Isn't that what tracks are? Footprinta standing out in the ground."