The Captive (First Book in the Neverland Bound Series)

Chapter 4 (Peter)

We had started our search over and hour ago, but there was still no sign of the girl. I am beginning to get irritated. I mean, how is it possible for a girl, who has never been to Neverland before, to simply vanish? And on top of everything else, managed to take out one of my finest men in the process? It just didn't make sense.

I take a deep, calming breath. Once again my rage has caused my thoughts to get all jumbled together and cloud my judgment. If I want to find her, I need to keep my cool. I decide to go clear my head and take to the air. Flying always seems to help me focus and besides, I might be able to find her better with an aerial view. I get high up enough to surpass even the highest tree tops and begin my search. I see the occasional lost boy, obviously one of the newer ones sense they have absolutely no idea how to stay hidden.

It's then that I allow my thoughts to wander. It's really quite odd. When I went to fetch her, I knew that her powers were great. I practically felt them emanating from her when I touched her. And I had seen her picture previously in a drawing. But when I saw her face to face, I got the strangest feeling that I knew her. I felt a connection with her that I haven't felt with anyone else ever before. It was almost as if we had been friends once. Maybe even more than friends.

As soon as the idea came, I repulsively try to push it away. To actually love someone would be like showing weakness. And Pan doesn't have weaknesses. But even as I thought this, I couldn't shake the look of her brilliant blue eyes from my mind, and the determination that they contained within.

I'm roughly jerked from my thoughts at the sharp sound of a whistle. It rings loud and true through the night air and I immediately recognize its origin. It's from one of the lost boys' whistles.

Upon initiation, each lost boy is issued a small wooden whistle. This whistle is used to alert the other boys of impending danger or if they have successfully found whatever it was they were sent to retrieve. Two short whistles means that the target has been found. One long whistle means that the individual is in danger. The latter is the one that can be heard.

All the boys can be heard yelling below. Some of the older members have taken off in the direction of where the noise originated while the newer initiates look around in confusion. Some of the older ones stop and give directions to the younger ones and soon enough, we are all headed in the sound's direction. I can see that some of the boys who had arrived first are congregated around a small form lying unconsciously on the ground. They're all whispering softly to one another, but as soon as I land, all conversation ceases. I step forward and examine the boy lying limply in the grass. If I remember correctly, this one's name is Noah. He's one of the newer recruits so I'm not positive that's his name.

"Is he dead?" Curly, one of the bolder boys, asks.

"No, he's still breathing," I reply. That's when I notice the large bump beginning to swell on the top of the boy's head. The lump looks very similar to the one found on Davis's head only hours earlier. It was her. She was here.

Even though I'm extremely upset that she has escaped again, I can't suppress the grin that spreads across my face. This girl is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

"Well, what do we do know, sir?" Curly asks, stepping forward.

"All of you get back to camp. And take him with you," I order, gesturing to the unconscious boy. "Curly! You come with me."

"Yes, sir!" he replies, grinning.

After I'm sure the other boys are sufficiently out of earshot, I turn to Curly and explain my suspicions about what happened to the boy. He nods and listens patiently to my theory, and when I'm finished asks, "So what's the plan, sir?"