word count: 1,218

chapter three - my hero

"You know what to do", Pan said and Felix took Wendy by the arm and shoved her into one of the cages. She began to panic; the cage was so small there was no doubt she'd get claustrophobic in it.

He approached a young boy in the crowd of boys and began dragging him into the cage next to Wendy's. She was astonished at the way that they treated their own. The boy couldn't be any older than twelve, and he looked so terrified, yet like it wasn't the first time.

"Please don't", Wendy begged, but Felix ignored her, he just closed the cage door and kneeled before it, giving Wendy a wicked smile. "Pull 'em up." She took a deep breath and looked around. The cage began to lift up in the air, wobbling and shaking. She saw the boy in the other cage, he was looking terribly miserable. "Psst", she hissed, but he didn't even turn to look at her. "What's your name?" she asked, but he still didn't say anything. She gave a frustrated sigh and leaned back. The cage was far too small to lay in, she didn't know how she'd sleep that night. She most likely wasn't going to.

Wendy woke up to a yanking movement and then heard whispers from below. "Be quiet." And just when she thought it was Felix to come torture her some more, she saw a glimpse of the red beanie on Smee's head. He was lowering her cage, and with him was Jack. He was a friend of Wendy's, although everyone had always thought he had a little crush on her. But they'd known each other since birth, and never in her sixteen years of time on this planet had he made a move on her. Which was good, because they were best friends, siblings.

"How did you find me?" she asked Jack as the cage was lowered, and she climbed out. She'd never been so happy to be on steady earth before.

"I saw you get taken by Pan, and we followed you here", Jack said and Smee nodded, taking a glance around. Wendy hugged him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Well, someone had to save you, didn't they?" Jack laughed and Wendy nudged him.

"Did you hear that?" Smee said, and looked toward a dark tall figure approaching them. They were looking around, not seeing Wendy and her accompanies clearly yet. Wendy took Jack's hand and pushed Smee to run toward the trees. The figure who turned out to be Felix yelled a signal and the Lost Boys were alerted. Wendy half dragged Jack through the dense forest, and Smee followed not far behind.

"We can't run forever!" Jack said, out of breath stumbling behind her. Wendy was a fairly good climber, they could use the trees to their advantage. She saw a few trees ahead, with branches low enough to be climbed. She pointed at them and Jack nodded. They were just behind a bundle of trees, so they could climb up without being noticed.

They reached the trees and Wendy set her foot in a dent, and searched for something to pull herself up on. She kept climbing, occasionally looking down, making sure Jack and Smee were following her. She reached the last branch, nearly five metres up from the ground and thought it was far enough. She helped Jack get on the same branch she was on, and saw Smee reaching for the one below it.

She was just about reach for Smee, when an arrow was shot in his back and he fell hard on the ground. "No!" she wanted to scream, but stopped herself and Jack held onto her for she nearly fell too. There were a few thinner branches with leaves on them covering Wendy and Jack, so they hide behind them until the Lost Boys left. Wendy couldn't stop the tears from flowing as she saw the life leave Smee's body. She saw Felix circle around him, looking for Wendy, but didn't think to look up after shooting Smee. Wendy lost her father when her mother died, and now she'd lost the last family she had apart from Jack.

Wendy and Jack were still sitting in the tree. The sun was beginning to rise and the air getting warmer.

"Can we get down already?" she asked. She was getting tired of crouching on the branch, and afraid she'd fall. Small animals, mice and rats were beginning to surround Smee's body after just a few hours.

"Yeah, I think so. But let's still be careful, the Lost Boys could be somewhere near", Jack said and stepped his foot on the lower branch to climb down. He let go of Wendy's hand, he'd been it holding for a while as comfort. Jack moved on a dent and tried to find a place to step his foot on. He thought he found it and moved his hand too early. Wendy saw him slip and quickly grabbed onto his arm. She caught him and Jack looked scared. He let out a breath as she got down safely after finding the branch.

"Careful", Wendy said when she got down on the ground. She looked at Smee's body and then guided Jack away, not wanting to look at him like this.

"I haven't slept in days", he told her and sighed.

"We've got to find something to eat and a safe place to rest", she said and glanced around. She saw something click in Jack's mind.

"I thought I saw a cliff, with a shade while we were running", he said and looked back.

"That's perfect", Wendy said and they began back to where they were running from. "We have to be careful. It's near their camp."

Wendy was lying awake on the cold hard ground of the cliff. She'd been awake for a good five hours and the sun was high up in the sky. It amazed her how Jack could sleep in the bright light of day. But the sun wasn't the only thing keeping her awake. There was Smee's unexpected death, her father not caring jack squad about her. And her mind was racing with thoughts, keeping her restless.

There was a faint rustle in the bushes behind her. Wendy thought of waking up Jack, but if someone wanted her to know they were there, they'd want only her to know it. She slowly got up and carefully approached the sound. She knew exactly what to expect, so she drew out her gun and waited, taking the risk of an ambush. A faint crack, and she saw a girl about her age, approach from the bushes. Her long blonde hair was up in a bun and thin stray hairs were framing her face. There were cuts and bruises on her body and she wore a torn dress. She was glancing around in fear and Wendy knew exactly who she was running from, she lowered her weapon.

"I need to hide from Pan", she said, her voice shaking.

A/N: please tell me what you think in the reviews!