Chapter 13

Inside the tree, Maria could hear fighting going on. She trudged to the door, not ready to have to break them up, and knocked softly. Waiting for only a few seconds, Slightly appeared in the doorway. His eyes showed that he as hopeful Peter was back.
He did not want to be in charge anymore. The rest of the boys were panicking, thinking Peter was never coming back. "Oh, it's you," Slightly said dryly. He leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms.

Maria frowned and feigned a hurt expression. "Gee, nice to see you, too!" she teased. She brushed past him as she entered the tree, scowling at the mess the boys had created. "Guys, have you ever heard of cleaning?" She stepped over some broken glass
and plopped down on the bed.

Slightly closed the door and crossed his arms. "Have you seen Peter? He said he would be home a day ago," Slightly said. He looked tired and stressed. He was too young to be in charge of five other unruly boys. He couldn't figure out

Maria gulped. "Um, no," she stuttered. She didn't know about Peter's wish for her not to tell the boys, but she, too, didn't want them to worry.

Slightly dragged his hand down the face, aggravated that Peter lied to him. The rest of the boys gathered around Maria. They tilted their heads in confusion. "Why are you in his clothes?" asked Cubby while scratching his head.

Maria looked down at her clothes and cringed. "It's just a costume. I came from London, and I was playing with a little girl. She was dressed as Hook, and I was Peter." She stood up and made her way over to Peter's chair.

"Why were you in London?" Nibs questioned.

"Sleepover." There was an awkward silence for a few minutes. No one knew what to do or say.

"The ship! Maybe that's where Peter is!" Slightly bursted. "What if he got caught and is being tortured? We need to go find him!" He snatched his bow and fastened his quiver to his hip. "C'mon, guys. We can go get help from the Indians."

The boys followed suit and grabbed their weapons. Maria crossed her arms. "You know, instead of doing that,, why don't we make him a welcome home meal for him. It would be a nice surprise!" she coaxed. She couldn't let them find him wounded that badly.

"Um," Slightly faltered. "We don't know how to cook. Plus, Peter might be getting murdered by Hook at the moment. We need to get the Indians and save him."

"Guys, trust me. He's not on my dad's ship. My dad hasn't even come up with another plan to kill him yet." Maria picked up a toy block off the ground and tossed it up in the air. She thought she played that off pretty nicely. "Listen, Peter could be bringing
a mother back with him, so we need to clean and make a nice meal."

Slightly rubbed his arm, unsure of what to think. "Are you sure he's okay?" he asked.

Maria nodded yes and then clasped the block in both of her hands. "Now, let's get started. If you guys go hunting for some meat, I'm pretty sure I could make a nice stew. I'll stay here and clean while your out, and then I will get cooking once you get
back. Sound good?" She bit her bottom lip, praying that they would just comply and not argue. At last, her prayer was answered. They all shuffled themselves out the door.

Maria glanced at the now empty hideout and sighed. Flopping down on the bed, she covered her face with her hands and let herself take a breather. She needed to calm down. The whole day had been emotionally draining, and all she wanted to do was lie down
and sleep. But she said she would clean, so she sat back up.

Little did she know, Tinkerbelle had just woken up from her beauty nap. She flew over to Maria and hovered in the air. She could tell something was on her chest. "What's wrong?" she asked as nicely as she could.

Maria jumped. She thought she was alone. "Oh, hey Tink," Maria mumbled. "I'm fine. Just got a lot on my mind." She rubbed her arm and looked at the floating fairy. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest and was smirking. "What?" Maria questioned.

"I know something's up! Spill."

Maria hesitated. "Okay, I'll tell you, but please don't tell the boys." Maria took in a breath and then fiddled with her own hands. "Peter's at the Indian camp. He got shot in London-"

"He got SHOT?" Tink cried. "How?"

"He threw himself in the way of the bullet so I didn't get hurt."

Without another word, she flew out of a hole in the tree and headed for the camp. Maria rubbed the back of her neck and look around the hideout. It was a mess, and she had to clean it all by herself. She cursed, stood up, and began the treacherous job
of tidying up the place. She started by picking up all the toys and throwing them into the chest at the foot of the bed. Then she swept all of the broken glass outside. After that, she made all the beds, including Peter's.

But as she was making his bed, she noticed a coat lying in the corner of the room. Thinking that was odd, she curiously strolled over to it and picked it up. She then saw a name in the back of it. Emily. She gasped and covered her mouth, as if there would
be someone listening to her. Studying it closer, she could remember being carried by her mother and clinging to the coat. Why did he have her mom's coat? It didn't belong to Peter. She tilted her head, trying to think of a good reason for him having
it. Then, she noticed something very disturbing on the sleeves.

Blood.

She again gasped and threw it back down, not wanting to touch it. The red on the sleeves had clearly dried a long time ago, but it didn't make sense. She turned away from it, only to look back over her shoulder.

Then, a loud eruption of noise bursted through the door. The boys were back and carrying loads of meat in their arms. Maria quickly pulled herself together and exited the room with a fake smile on her face. "Back already?" Maria asked kindly.

"We were gone for an hour," Slightly mentioned. "And we killed a cow!"

Cubby shook his head vigorously. "I'm the one who got it!"

"No, we did it," the twins argued.

Then, before any fighting happened, Slightly piped up. "It was a team effort."

Maria kept her smile and nodded. "Well, I'm proud of all of you. Now, who can build a fire, 'cause we need to cook this meat."

"I can!" Nibs yelled while raising his hand. "I've been building fires for a while now. I'm practically an expert!" He lowered his hand and stepped forward.

"Great!" She walked towards him and continued to force a smile. "Will you do that for me?"

"Sure," he said. Then he headed outside again and started collecting wood. The other boys followed him and help get it going. Maria took a deep breath and dropped her smile. She didn't know what to even think about her mom's coat. The blood especially
confused her. But she kept forcing herself to act like everything perfectly fine.

She also walked outside and sat down by the small fire. The boys had gathered around it and were chatting about the mother that they hoped was coming. Maria felt a little bad for planting that idea in their heads. But it kept them happy for the moment.

She sat down on the ground next to Slightly and brushed her hair back with her hand. Slightly came up with a brilliant idea to keep them busy. He decided to tell a story. It was about Peter, making Maria think about how injured he was when she left him.
She slumped a little and waited for the meat to cook all the way.

About half way through Slightly's story, a cannon sounded, making all the kids fall silent. "That's not good," Maria mumbled. She looked up at the sky to see a small figure hurling towards the ground. She then glanced at the boys. "Any of you got a telescope?"

"Here," Nibs said while tossing a gold one in the the air.

Maria snatched it in her hand, extended it, and peered through it. She then searched the sky for the figure. "Is this my dad's?" she questioned.

"Yeah. It's really helpful to look for Peter."

Maria suddenly found what she was looking for. A knot formed in her stomach as she saw a brown-haired little girl caught in a net.

It was Ally.

Maria hopped to her feet and thought of Peter's sweet kiss in the alley. But she went nowhere. "Dang it!" she shouted as she began running toward the growth.

"What?" Slightly asked, confused.

"We have to go save my friend!" she said, still running. "C'mon!"

So the boys chased after Maria, not sure where their destination would be. After a bit, Maria became lost. She didn't know if she was going in the right direction or if she would ever find Ally. "Let's split up," she ordered. She had to save Ally. She
knew she would be either hurt or dead, which made her search even harder.

Nibs had walked all the way to Mermaid Lagoon and was about to give up when he heard the small whimpering of a girl. He hesitated before speaking. "Hello?"

Then the girl answered. "Help, please," she yelled. She sounded as if she had been crying.

Nibs squinted to see the girl had crashed onto the center rock at the lagoon. "MARIA! Found her!"

Maria came sprinting through the trees and into the clearing. "Ally?" she shouted. "Where are you?"

"Over here," she said while sniffing up snot.

Maria looked at her and gasped. "Don't worry. I'm coming," she cooed. Then, she stepped into the cold, dark water. She pushed through the coldness and dove directly in. She climbed up on the pink rock to find Ally holding her wrist and sobbing.

Maria went straight to work. She drew her sword and cut the net that confined Ally. "Shh." she soothed. "It's okay. You're fine. I'm right here."

"Where am I?" Ally asked through her tears.

"You're in Neverland, Ally." Maria finished untangling all the ropes from the little girl, set her sword down on the rock, and helped her sit up. Ally looked up at Maria and wiped a tear away from her cheek. "What's the matter?"

"I hurt my wrist really badly," she whined.

Maria lifted Ally's wrist up carefully to find it was swollen, purple, and warm. "Yeah, its broken," Maria admitted. "Don't worry, though. I'll take you to the Indian camp, and they can fix you all up." Maria smiled at her little friend and gave her a
tight squeeze. "What are you doing here?"

"Sasha and me got in a fight. She told me to grow up, and I didn't want to. So I came here."

Maria cringed. "Ally, I'm glad you're here, but-"

"Oh, I want to meet Peter!" she interrupted. "Where is he?" She stood up and gazed around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"I don't know," she lied. She stood up, still cradling Ally's wrist. Then, she reached back for her sword, but it was missing. She knew she put it right there; she wondered where it went. Then, it came to her. The mermaids.

Looking around at the water, she cautiously slid back into the cold and helped Ally down. She squealed as she entered it, but it actually felt really good to her wrist.

Maria began to help Ally swim across the lagoon but stopped short. A searing pain formed in her leg. She cringed but kept swimming, thinking it would pass. But it became worse and worse until she cried out in agony. "Ally, go!" she choked out. Ally obeyed
and swam to shore. The pain had consumed all of Maria's thoughts, and she looked down to see what was causing it. All she saw was a cloud of red. She was bleeding.

Then, her leg went numb up to her hip. The pain subsided, but she couldn't move her leg at all. Quickly, she started kicking with her good leg. Swimming frantically, she tried to reach the sandy shore but was pulled underwater. Bubbles surrounded her
as she was completely immersed in the freezing cold water. She reached up for the surface only to have both of her wrists shackled tightly against a pink rock. Her leg was still bleeding but paralyzed.

It all happened so fast that Maria didn't even realize what happened. She was trapped underwater. And she didn't even get a good breath. Looking cautiously down at her leg, she found that there were long, deep scratches that stretched from her knee to
her ankle. She cringed. It was definitely going to take a while for that to heal.

Looking up, a blonde mermaid floated in front of her, sword in hand. Maria tried to break the chains' hold on her but failed. She looked into the creature's hazel eyes but did not cower.

"Hello, pirate," the mermaid snickered. "Comfy?" Maria turned her head and looked at the open water. "Oh, we're going to play the silent game, are we? Fine, don't talk. Just listen." The mermaid fiddled with the blade and came closer. "We know about you
and Peter. And we're not happy about it! Peter is our guy. He can't like you and us!" She crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "Plus, me and the others wanted to perform a little experiment." She motioned to the other girls with her head. "We want
to see if Peter still likes you once your dead." Maria slowly twisted her head towards the mermaid. Were they really going to kill her? Her through tightened in fear. "And if he does, he's yours. But of course you would be dead, so he would need someone's
shoulder to cry on."

Maria was shocked to see a crowd had formed around her. "So what do you say? Let's make this quick." he mermaid yanked down on Maria's chin, but it didn't budge. Maria frowned and kept her bravado. "Wow, you're stronger than I thought!" The mermaid quickly
whacked her in the stomach with her tail. Maria hunched forward in pain, loosening her clenched jaw. "But I'm smarter," the creature spat. She quickly pulled down on her chin with ease. Maria's lungs filled up water, fast. She had to get out of there.
But no matter how much she struggled, she couldn't shake off the chains.

Slowly, the darkness crept up and nearly consumed all of her vision. And with that, the mermaid smacked Maria in the head with her tail, making her scream all the air out of her lungs.

Outside the waters stood all six Lost Boys and Ally. Nibs was calming her down as best as he could and the rest were waiting for Maria. They stood there for about a minute before seeing bubbles surface. Slightly immediately walked into the water to search
for Maria. He found the cloud of blood and took in a deep breath before going under the surface. Then, finding the group of mermaids surrounding the rock, he frantically swam toward them only to be smashed against another rock. A red-haired mermaid
wrapped her strong hand around his neck, purposely digging her sharpened nails into his neck. He wanted to scream for help but couldn't. He felt some blood seeping out of the back of his head. Then he was pulled away from the rock only to be slammed
into it again. Slightly's vision became hazy. He could see Maria, but he had no idea how to get rid of the mermaid choking him to death.

Maria's eyes fluttered open to see her clothes being ripped from her body. She winced as talons tore her flesh. All that was left was her underwear. Her lungs ached for air, but she knew she would have to hang in there for a while. Little did she know,
Slightly was coming to save her.

A mermaid shrieked in agony, her back arched, an arrow piercing through her stomach. She sank low to the lagoon's floor, revealing the battered Slightly. Maria's eyes widened with joy. Slightly had come to save her. Then she looked down, she was practically
naked. That was embarrassing.

The other boys jumped in, stabbing whoever was in their way. It was a blood bath, and Maria watched the whole thing unfold before her eyes. But the darkness kept creeping into her vision. The world began to spin and move. She fought it, but it still threatened
to overtake her.

The boys were still fighting off mermaids, frequently going up for air. They were desperately trying to get to Maria. They knew that Peter would kill them if anything happened to her. And, secretly, they kind of thought of Maria as a sister. They cared
about her too much to let her drown.

After a while, the boys had scared off all the mermaids as and swam over to the girl. he was hanging from the chains and had her eyes shut. Slightly and Cubby worked on releasing Maria's wrists, while Nibs blew a deep breath into Maria's mouth. Tootles
checked on her leg, and the twins assisted getting the chains away from her wrists.

Maria, however, was not helping at all. She was on the brink of unconsciousness and was unaware of her surroundings. But when Slightly wrapped his arms around her, her eyes fluttered open.

As soon as her head came into the air, she took in a much-needed gasp. Then, she coughed up about a gallon of water. Slightly treaded the water while assisting Maria. He swam slowly up to shore. Maria flopped weakly down on the sand, forgetting she was
naked. She continued to cough and stared up at the sky.

"Maria?" Ally asked while crouching down beside her. "Maria, are you okay? Can you hear me?"

Maria grasped at her aching head. "I'm fine, Ally," she mumbled. She really wasn't. She still couldn't feel or move her right leg, and she had a splitting headache. She watched as the other boys helped wipe the blood from Slightly's head. He whimpered
every time his wound was touched. They all saved her. They all risked their lives for her. She cringed from the pain and closed her eyes.

Slightly noticed Maria's lack of clothing and searched for something warm to cover her with. He noticed a glimmer of light in the corner of his eye. A fairy. "Hey," he beckoned. "Grab Maria something to wear, please."

The fairy nodded and took off into the forest. Slightly looked at the other Lost Boys and the girl. "What's your name?" he asked.

The girl looked up with fearful eyes. "Ally Darling," she responded. "I'm Jane's granddaughter."

"Jane grew up?" he whined. "Why do our mothers always grow up?"

Ally stood up and headed toward the fox boy. "They can't help it, you know. They have to go home and grow up."

Slightly pouted and inspected Ally. She was cradling her wrist, which was even more purple than before. "What happened-?"

"I broke it," she interrupted. She knew what he was going to ask. "It really hurts."

"Oh, well, we'll go to the camp to get it checked out." He rested his hand on her shoulder and smiled. He knew she was probably scared and worried, and he also knew he was in charge of her until Peter got back. Then the fairy returned with a blanket hanging
from her tiny arms. Slightly snatched it and thanked the creature. He then draped the dry cloth over Maria.

She smiled and glanced at Ally. Then, her face turned serious. "The crew will be coming after her," she mumbled. "You guys should go."

"What about you?" Ally asked.

"I can't walk. My leg is asleep." She began to sit up but was too weak.

"Mermaid venom," Slightly stated. "They must have released it from their nails into your leg."

"We're not leaving you," Ally interrupted. She glanced around at the forest. There was no sign of trouble. But then a branch cracked. She looked at Slightly with fearful eyes. The pirates were coming after her.

"I can't be seen with you," Maria told. "They'll kill you if they think you did this to me."

Slightly jerked his head to the sound and back at Maria. "C'mon," he whispered. He yanked her up to her feet and caught her under the arms. "Someone grab her feet," he ordered. Cubby ran to his aid and picked up her feet carefully. Together, they carried
her next to a tree and sat her down carefully. Maria rested her head against the coarse bark and closed her eyes, letting herself have a break from being a hero. She let Slightly cover her up again and brush her hair away from her face.

Earlier that day, Holden was given orders to find the person Hook had shot down. And even though he wished to curl up in his hammock and sleep, he followed the orders. He thought that maybe if he successfully brought the person back, Hook might actually
start treating him like a real member of the crew. He typically was the one who had to run all over the ship to do all kinds of errands for Hook. This was his chance to be recognized.

Yes, he was a cabin boy; however, he was a little old to be one. So really, he was a servant. He especially felt unimportant today. He had been whipped, beaten, and practically tortured. But that wasn't the worst part. He truly was hurt by Dancing Moon.
She totally ignored him at the camp and hadn't checked on him even when she could've. He balled his fists up while stomping through the forest. And then he felt a tear slide down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away but realized he was alone. He could
cry; he could let all of his frustrations go at that moment. So, when the next tear came, he let it fall onto the ground. And before he knew it, he was sobbing.

Stopping to take a breath, he felt a hand on his back. He winced from the pain and whipped around to see Dancing Moon standing there, beautiful as ever. "Holden," she cooed. "Oh, Holden!" She threw her arms around his neck and embraced him.

He, on the other hand, didn't want her sympathy. Pushing her away, he stared into her brown eyes. "What are you doing? Shouldn't you be pretending that I don't exist?" he spat.

"Excuse me?" she asked, taking a step back.

"You completely ignored me at the camp. I saw you talking with the others. I saw you praising your fiancé. You didn't even look my way!"

"Holden, I couldn't really be seen talking to you," she explained. "Plus, I didn't want my father to be suspicious of me. If he found out about us, he would disown me!"

"I get that you don't want to be disowned, but you could've checked on me when the coast was clear!"

"I was protecting myself!"

"Oh, yeah? And who was protecting me, huh? I had to wait for a thirteen-year-old to save me." She looked down, ashamed. "Look, I act tough, but…" he paused, thinking of the best thing to say. "I've lived a hard life. I need someone in my life to love
me unconditionally. And clearly you don't!"

She reached out to touch him, but he drew back. "I love you," she finally said. "I love you so much."

"Just not enough to stand up for me." He walked away and crossed his arms defensively, leaving the heartbroken Indian behind.

"Holden, please listen to me! I'm sorry for not checking on you, but-!"

"Don't waste your breath."

Dancing Moon faltered. She didn't know what to say. "And what about you?" she spat eventually. "Would you stand up for me in front of Hook?"

Holden swallowed the lump in his throat and spun on his heels. "I won't now." He headed back in the direction that the person crashed in and broke down in tears. He knew he did the right thing, but a deep part of him wanted to run back to her and apologize.
She was the only person he truly loved, but now she was out of his life. Sobbing into his hands, he walked the rest of the way to Mermaid Lagoon.

When he arrived, he tried to pull himself together and straightened his shirt. Hearing chatting among children, he knew he found more than what he needed. He found the Lost Boys, too! Feeling the slightest bit better he took a step onto the sandy shore
but was pulled back into the forest. He landed hard against the earth. Looking up to see who got him on the ground, he frowned when he saw seven crew mates around him. "Nice work, servant," one sneered. "You led us right to where we needed to be!"

Holden was speechless. "What-what are you doing here?" he stammered.

"Oh, don't be an idiot! We were never going to let you take the credit for taking the girl back to Hook." Holden just looked puzzled at the pirate. "Now, get out of our way!"

Holden submissively scooted backwards, allowing the pirates to pass him. He sat there, stunned at what had just occurred. This was definitely the worst day of his life, and no one even cared.

The kids had gathered in a circle to come up with a plan. Ally, still holding her wrist, had her back facing the forest. Nibs was trying his best to nurse it, but he didn't know what to do. Slightly was arguing with Cubby on what to do with Maria. "We
can't leave her!" Slightly yelled.

"She would be a great distraction for the pirates! We could escape while they take care of her!" Cubby explained

"No! We can't leave her until we know she's safe! Peter would slit our throats if she died while we ran away like cowards."

"Ok, then what idea do you have?"

"I'm still thinking!"

Suddenly, two big hands grabbed Ally by the shoulders and threw her against a tree. She screamed in fear as she hit the bark.

Slightly charged at the pirate and drew his bow back. "Leave her alone," he demanded. The pirate twisted his body and backhanded slightly across the cheek. Slightly went stumbling into the shallow water of the lagoon. He whimpered from the pain in his
cheek, but it was replaced with something much worse. A foot kicked him in the head, sending a pulsing pang through his skull. He gripped his aching head, which was a stupid mistake. Hands snatched his arms and pulled them behind his back. Two cold
metal cuffs were locked onto his wrists, and two more were locked onto his ankles.

He was then pulled up by the hair and gagged. Looking around at the others, he found the same had been done to everyone but Ally and Nibs. Nibs was standing defiantly in front of Ally, protecting her from harm. Knife in hand, he swung at the pirates,
but they knocked it across the sand. "Run!" he commanded.

Ally did as he said and took off into the forest. Holden, still sitting, never saw the girl coming and tripped her on accident. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said gently. "You okay?"

Ally stood up and backed up against a tree. "Please, don't hurt me!" she begged. Holden also stood up but was shoved back down to the ground. The pirates surrounded the girl and reached for her wrists with open cuffs.

Just then, Nibs knocked her out of the way as the cuffs were placed on his wrists. He smirked at the pirate, who, in turn, scowled. "Don't touch her!" Nibs shouted. "She hurt her wrist."

The pirate laughed. "Like I care." He pulled out another pair and latched them onto Ally's frail wrists. Nibs pouted and looked down at the ground. What he thought would be a heroic moment failed. They were both gagged and had their feet chained. Ally
whimpered and cried, but none of the pirates payed attention. She felt alone. She knew at that moment that coming here was a mistake. Now she was a prisoner.

"Guys," Holden piped up. "Lets just leave the girl. Hook will be happy with the boys." He stepped between the pirate and Ally, turning to take a look at the girl's wrist.

"See, this is why you can't be trusted with big tasks like this. You're too soft." The pirate pressed Holden against a tree and pinned his arms to his sides. "And Hook will never trust you again when he hears about you and that Indian girl."

Holden froze. "You heard all that?" he asked nervously.

"Oh, yeah. The next one in handcuffs will be you once he hears about that. It's not personal. It's just business." Then, the pirate threw Ally over his shoulder with the rest of the boys. And they made their way to the ship, leaving Holden behind. He
stood there, knowing that he never would be able to escape his situation. He would forever be treated like dirt. His lip began to quiver, his hands trembled. He sank down to the ground and let the tears fall again. Then, he heard a small whimper come
from behind a tree. His curiosity got the better of him and he cautiously made his way to the sound. He drew his sword and rounded the corner. His eyes widened in horror as he saw Maria covered in scratches and several deep cuts in her leg. "Hi,"
she mumbled weakly.

"Maria, what happened?" he asked while crouching down in front of her. He immediately took his shirt off and began to wrap her leg with it. The blood quickly saturated the dingy, white shirt.

"I tried to be a hero." She forced a smile, trying to act like everything was fine.

Holden touched her forehead gingerly. It was freezing.. "You need help. I gotta get you to Hook." He shimmied one arm underneath her legs and the other behind her neck. "C'mon." He lifted her carefully and cradled her in his strong arms. Beginning to
walk, Maria rested her head on his shoulder.

She noticed his eyes were pink and puffy. "Have you been crying?" She tried lifting her head up, but couldn't.

"No." Holden glanced down at the shivering girl and gulped. Her couldn't lie to her. "Well, I've just had a rough day. But don't worry. Everything will work out." He forced a smile. "At least, I hope it does."

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it." He continued to walk through the dense forest. "Let's just get you home."

Maria snuggled up in his arms as they strolled through the woods. And before she knew it, she was fast asleep, exhausted from the day.

Hi everyone!

Hope you liked this chapter! Please Review! I might be updating chapter 2 later on. I'll keep you posted. :-)

Kacibubbles