Potential for Darkness (Peter Pan)//(Robbie Kay)

12 ~ Hand to hand combat

<<<Day 16>>>

Adelina wasn't fooled by Neverland. Not the way the lost boys were. She knew Neverland wasn't the haven they thought it to be. All coming from unloving families, they had never experienced having someone out there who would lead and take care of them simultaneously, without controlling them. They didn't realize that the way Pan treated them, may it be better than what they'd had at home, still wasn't right. These poor boys were so desperate for a loving family, so desperate for a home, that they never stopped to think of how abusive this new one was.

But Adelina knew, and she was going to change that. Thinking of Gabriel, his wide, black eyes, the raw grief that swam in them, she wouldn't let anything come to harm that child ever again. Somehow, someway, may it take years, she would change Neverland into a better home.

The midday sun was high in the sky, its rays beating down harshly on all the lost boys, and the girl, in the clearing. Yet none of them dared halt and take a break, for their leader was present, and should he see someone slacking off, they would he severely punished. Time was of the essence, he'd continuously remind them, they can't afford the luxury of 'catching their breaths'.

The lost boys of Adelina's group were all cheering the two boys on. She watched on with silent pity as Ryan beat up his next opponent. It seemed that Ryan was the best at hand to hand combat, except for Felix and - needless to say - Pan. This had been going on for three days now, their group would practice hand to hand combat, one of the most useful skills needed if you want to survive here in Neverland, as Pan says.

Speaking of which, Pan had been unusually present during their group's training sessions, almost always having an eye on them. On the other hand, she rarely saw Felix during the day anymore, he claimed that Pan was sending him everyday to some new business across the island, yet he still wouldn't tell her what it was.

Meanwhile, she was stuck here, training for combat. Their practice routine happened in stages. First was the warming up, where everyone would practice punching and hitting and all those fancy moves on dummies, or in Adelina's case, Felix would coach her, trying to teach her the basics, and if he wasn't there then it was pretty much do-it-yourself as she tried copying the advanced and complex moves the others were practicing. Then would come the part she dreaded the most, the inevitable pairing in twos, each duo would fight until one of them admitted defeat, or for the proudest, were rendered unconscious.

Adelina had never gone past that stage, always getting beaten up and having to admit defeat or else she'd get choked or have a broken bone. She had bruises covering her arms, stomach and face along with the occasional cut, her body was sore and worn out from the physical exertion, yet she didn't complain, she sucked it up and took all the blows that she had to, if it meant that one day she would get better.

After the first round, each winner would pair up again according to Pan's say so, then those winners would pair up and so on until only one was left. Felix would always win when he was present, but most of the time he wasn't, which left Ryan as the winner.

"Adelina!" Pan barked as Hugo cried out that he surrendered before Ryan could dislocate his shoulder. "You're up!"

She stifled a groan as she walked up to the circle about six feet in diameter of dirt among the grass. She usually managed to avoid being paired with that brute, but a boy named Connor had gotten himself injured yesterday, meaning that they were an odd number, which meant that when their group had to find partners, Adelina didn't even bother trying to find one as she knew that she'd be left alone.