Chapter 1

I watched Zach from the shelter of the trees as he looked at the boy on the ground in front of him. The boy looked like he had been thrown from the ocean. As I watched the boy woke up and sat up looking around. When his eyes fell on Zach with his bow drawn, he crawled back towards the trees as fast as he could, never taking his eyes off him.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Zach asked in his usually harsh manner. The boy looked fearfully at the bow still drawn in Zach's hand and slowly stood up.

He lifted his hands to show he had no weapon and said, " My name is Jack and I don't know why I'm here. I was thrown into a portal and I just woke up." He looked absolutely terrified, and for a moment I felt sorry for having drawn him into this mess, but only for a moment. He stood in one spot as Zach slowly circled around him to make sure that he had no weapons.

Zach slacked his bow and put his arrow in the quiver. As he slung his bow over his shoulder he grabbed Jack's hands and tied them behind his back. He told Jack to walk and they started into the forest. I stayed in the trees and followed them to a huge dead oak in the middle of the island. Zach knocked on the flattest side of the oak and it swung open.

I waited for them to go into the hideout and dodged in right before the doors closed, immediately climbing to the ceiling. I hoisted myself to the rafters of their elaborate network of underground rooms, and stayed right above Zach and Jack as they made their way to a big open room in the center of the underground network.

All of the lost boys were sitting at a wide table in the room and the boy sitting at the front of the table was undoubtedly Peter Pan. When Zach walked in Peter Pan stood up, his dirty blond hair standing out among the boys who all had darker hair. Zach took Jack to the front of room making him stand right in front of Pan.

"This is Jack. I found him at the cove. He says he was thrown unto a portal and doesn't know why he is here." Zach let go of Jack and sat down at the table. Pan looked Jack over and motioned to one if the boys to get him a chair. Jack stayed quiet during this whole ordeal and watched everything with observant eyes, taking it all in.

"Peter Pan! I can't believe I an in Neverland with Peter Pan!" Everyone in the room stopped talking to listen to Jack. "I've always had one question about this place, can I ask it?" Jack looked at Pan and he nodded so Jack went on. "Why aren't their lost girls?" The room went completely silent as every one looked at Zach or Pan.

Knowing this was my chance I softly said, "There were lost girls, once, but that was a while ago wasn't it?" Most of the boys started to whisper and glance around trying to find me. Zach and Pan, however, knew my oldest trick and looked up, directly into my eyes. I thought I briefly saw hurt or pain in Pan's eyes, but he quickly masked it.

"Zarina, get down here and tell the boys what you are talking about if you are going to start it." I shrugged and jumped down, landing right next to Peter. My auburn hair fell over my shoulder as I landed. I looked at all of the boys who we're looking at me astonished. I could tell what they were all thinking.

The last thing they expected to see was me. I was wearing a black shirt, and black jeans. I had a knife strapped to my thigh and a bow and quiver full of arrows slung over my shoulder. I was a little shorter than Pan, and my eyes were crystal blue, unlike his green ones. But the major difference was that I was a girl.

Zach stared at me like I was a ghost. The room was deathly silent as all of the boys looked from Pan to me then back to Pan. Finally one of the boys stood up a gaping at me said to Peter Pan "You know her! You always told us that girls are horrible and only cause problems." More of them started to speak up.

"Ya, how do you know her?"

"Why is she here?"

"Who is she?"

The boys continued to bombard Pan with questions and he answered them as best as he could. Zach sat by and watched with amusement, waiting for Pan to stop them and have me tell them the story. Pan stopped answering and just let them ask questions until they quit asking.

One of the boys turned and looked at me. "Are you a good storyteller?"

I grinned. Pan had told them stories, I could tell, but his stories usually were what he could remember from Wendy. And he had never been able to remember much. "I'm a pretty good storyteller." I said to the boys. Turning to Pan I said, "Surprised to see me?" He scowled and looked me over. I took the opportunity to do the same. He had changed since I had last seen him. Even though people don't age in Neverland, he seemed older somehow.

Finally he sat down and gestured for one of the boys to bring me a seat. As I sat down next to him, he turned toward me. "Yes," he said, "I am surprised to see you. I am a little curious Since you're here, you might as well tell them the story. I haven't told them a thing about it." He seemed upset by it and I couldn't blame him.

I tapped out a message in morse code and Pan stiffened a little. I turned to Zach and he nodded, confirming what I had suspected. When I had left Pan had gotten all new Lost Boys, except for Zach,and hadn't told them anything about his past. I almost felt sorry for him, but I couldn't bring myself to it. With a sigh of resignation I turned to the boys around the table.

"My story starts several years ago, on the islands that are off the west coast." I said, then launched into the story.