Pan's Revenge by Anna Katmore

hands around his throat
as we land on the floor. Knees bent, he kicks me hard in the guts,
tossing me across the room. He’s back at his feet before me, and
out of the study too. I follow him, but with his irritating ability
to fly, he’s always one step ahead.
    Standing on the very top of the main mast, he
wiggles his fingers. “Good bye, Captain. I have to return to London
and bring this little treasure back to my new friend!” His snide
laugh drifts down to me before he zigzags away through the starry
sky.
    And here I thought I’d been the cruel
brother.
    Adjusting my collar, I walk back into my
cabin. Time is pressing on me. Each day I have to stay here while
Peter is up to mischief in London, I might lose Angel a little
more.
    I flop on my stomach onto the bed, feet
dangling over the edge, and bury my face in the crook of my elbow.
Tonight feels like the end of doomsday. Rainbows are shooting out
of the middle of the island everyday at midnight and I have no idea
where to start to catch one. My long lost treasure is back on the
Jolly Roger, but it won’t help me to buy a ride out of Neverland,
whereas the sucker, Peter Pan, has a natural talent for flying and
can see the girl I love whenever he wants. He’s probably
brainwashing her by the minute.
    All he wants is vengeance. And I, of all
people, can understand why. I didn’t want him to grow up so fast…I
really didn’t. It all should have gone down a different path. What
went wrong? Bre’Shun said he had to destroy the watch. I made him.
Everything should be different now. Peter should age slowly like
any other person. And I should be the one meeting Angel again.
    Tilting my head, I gaze out through the
window, counting the stars surrounding the moon. They sparkle like
Angel’s eyes when she laughed. A sigh escapes me. The last time I
heard that sound, she lay in my arms, right in this bed. The memory
of it warms my heart…only to leave it cold and empty a moment
later.
    Reaching for my pillow, I pull it to my side,
wrap an arm around it and close my eyes. Moments later, sleep pulls
me under and I return to Mermaid Lagoon, where not too long ago I
sat through a chilly night with the loveliest girl in my arms.

 
Peter Pan
     
    FEW CANDLES
ARE burning when I arrive at the tree house and glide down the
hollow trunk. It’s so silent, I assume every one is asleep, but the Lost Boys’ booths are empty, the
beds still made. Stan is sitting alone on a stool down by the
wooden table.
    I land in front of him. “Where is
everybody?”
    Chin resting in his hands, he looks up.
“Gone.”
    “Why?”
    “You really have to ask that, Peter?”
    Walking slowly around the table, I study him
sideways. “Tami came back?” It wasn’t really a question. I take an
apple out of the larder and rub it against the sleeve of my
jacket.
    “ Yes, she
did. And I can’t believe what she told
us.” His voice grows louder, angrier with each word. “Peter, we all
understand how hard a shock this—this growing up thing was for you. But
dragging Angel into your plans of revenge is just wrong .
She’s a nice girl. You liked her. We all liked her.”
    My fingers fist around the apple, my nails
piercing the peel. “She told Hook the location of the treasure! Was
that actually nice of her?”
    “You can’t know if she did.” Stan rises from
his seat. It seems to take an endless time. Then he scowls at me
with fox eyes. “Tami and the boys left. They want nothing to do
with you until you get back to your senses.”
    I lower my gaze to the fruit in my hand, but
hunger has taken a leave. “And you?” I ask in a low voice.
    “I told them I wouldn’t leave you without
trying to change your mind. You’re my friend, Peter. Let’s put our
heads together and find a different way to steal the treasure
back.”
    “ You don’t
understand. This isn’t a game anymore!” I grit my teeth. “Hook
forced this doom on me. He has to pay for it. And I’ll get him
where it hurts. Angel