Chapter 13: Weakness

? Perspective:

The skin on my back started out just barely numb as my knees began to bruise from pushing deeper and deeper into the surface of the floor. Trying to counteract the thrashes I gritted my teeth and held my breath. But every time the coarse leather struck my back the wind was knocked out of me and I screamed until my throat gave out. They had forced me to remove my shirt from my body and get down on my knees, chaining my wrists to the pole so that I was unable to flee. I attempted to hold my tears in but a few escaped and streamed down my cheeks, falling from my chin to the floor. It was rare of me to ever cry, especially in front of others. I never showed emotions such as this to continue the facade that I was fearless—brave even. Not to mention it was always important that I be tough to inspire the Lost Boys that felt like they were never capable of being strong like grown men, yet still, have the heart and curiosity of young boys.

The numbness had now slowly grown into an itchy, burning sensation. I could feel my skin start to pucker as pieces of it began to split. My body shook as he continued to lash at me. It was now that the muscles in my body began to spasm. It seemed to be that the more I shuddered the quicker he would lash at me. One hit after another he continued to wound me without ceasing. The sudden urge to writhe in pain made it nearly impossible to hold in my shouts.

"Hand me that flask" his husky voice roared. For a slight moment, the whipping had stopped and I sat on my knees breathing heavily. From behind me, I could hear the clanking sound of something metal. In desperation, I tried with all my might to inch closer toward the pole to have it as something to latch onto. But before I could latch on my back seared in pain, feeling as though it was being scorched by the flames of a burning campfire. My screams of agony echoed for what seemed would be miles as my whole body collapsed onto the floor. A flask of alcohol had been thrown onto my fresh wounds, making them sting and froth. It was as if someone took a piece of sandpaper and sanded away at my completely open wounds. Feeling liquid drip down my back I was sure that it couldn't have just been the alcohol.

"That's enough…" he grimaced. His footsteps walked in the opposite direction of me as I laid on the floor shaking and shivering. My faint breaths were quick and staggered. The tears that I had fought so hard to hold in had now finally seen the light of day. My muscles slowly ceased to vibrate as I began to breathe slower, heavier breaths. The stinging wounds on my back now only seemed to ache. My external wounds, however, weren't the only thing that ached. My inner being ached to know that I would never be able to escape from this living hell.

Hannah's Perspective:

"What do you mean you won't tell me?" I grimaced as Brett spoke. My voice was harsh as he shook his head. "We had a deal." Strolling through a path in the forest Brett held his hands up in defense.

"Hey, watch it. Yes, we had a deal…But I can't talk about her. Not until you get to know her first." My muscles began to tense up. I immediately shot him a distasteful glare and scoffed. Of course, he wouldn't tell me what I actually wanted to know. That would be too easy.

"Why would you care if I got to know her? Why would I want to get to know her?" I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Why would I want to get to know her? It's pretty obvious that neither of us has any interest in being acquaintances, let alone friends. Plus, anyone that just appears out of nowhere at such an odd time has something up their sleeve.

"Not my choice—Pan's orders." His yellow eyes met mine as I turned my head away from him.

"Of course it is…" I sighed, rolling my eyes at the thought of me being so naive, thinking that Brett was actually trying to help me.

"But anything else I'd be just ecstatic to fill you in on" he offered. Looking ahead of me I dropped my head and sighed. Why should I even bother trusting him? He's just one big ticking time bomb waiting to destroy my life more than it has been. But then again, even the most unsuspicious people can turn you into a laughing stock. The thought of Julian made me want to beat the snot out of him, then beat the snot out of myself for being so gullible. What was the point in caring who to trust anymore? Who knows if anything he's told me is even credible? Though there was one thing that he kept a secret from me besides that girl.

"What's the deal with all of those names carved into that tree at camp?" Brett's eyes widened slightly but quickly relaxed. He seemed to ponder over the correct things to say.

"Something you're gonna discover fairly quickly here, darling,—" he paused as he turned his head to look me in the eyes. "—Is that Neverland isn't how it seems in the storybooks." The corner of his mouth tugged into a slight grin, while his eyes grew slightly dark. "This place has its secrets, as well do the people who inhabit it. Right now Pan and your 'friends' are trying to shield you from the realities of this place. Neverland is a dark, cold world. My guess is that maybe with you not knowing all of its horrors that you'll possibly bring them hope…" Brett trailed off as he looked above into the trees. "That, or you're just a pawn for the pirates…" he smirked with dark eyes.

His unsettling remarks only made me more curious. "Are you telling me that Captain Hook is real?" Brett chuckled and nodded his head.

"Why? Are you scared?" He mocked with a snarky grin. His yellow eyes caught a speckle of sunlight and reflected his rotten personality into the air. I scoffed and returned a joking glare.

"No way in hell am I afraid of some old man flouncing around in a pirate hat with a hook for a hand." I rolled my eyes walked leisurely ahead of Brett.

"You should be" his voice rang through the air. I stopped walking and hesitantly turned to look at him. He had stopped in his tracks staring straight at me. "You think he's some kind of boogie man or something? He's the realist part about Neverland. He'll gut you in front of his crew in less than a second." Rolling my eyes I shook my head, turning back around and continuing to walk the trail. I could tell by the expression of irritation on Brett's face that he was getting frustrated.

"And if you think he'd go easy on you because you're a girl—" Brett paused as his voice grew instantly dark. It was then that I felt a rush of air, breathing down my neck. Turning my head I was startled when I saw Brett standing only inches behind me. "You're mistaken." With a peculiar amount of intentness, his eyes were locked with mine. After a few moments, he broke eye contact and walked ahead of me. For a few seconds, all I could do was stare at the ground, trying to understand what the big deal was. "You coming blondie?" Brett hollered when I realized he had walked far ahead of me.

"What is it with you Lost Boys and nicknames?" I grumbled. Exhaling a heavy breath I jogged to catch up to Brett. At this point, there was a question at the back of my head that was just dying to reach the surface. "What happened to those boys on the tree? I know they went missing, but how?" I asked as my tone of voice became more sincere and genuine. With raised brows, Brett looked me in the eyes as another sly smile crept across his face.

"You want to know the real reason why?" He questioned with his familiar and slightly sarcastic tone of voice. I silently nodded my head, disregarding the sarcasm in his question. A part of my inner being had a suspicious feeling that everything he was telling me was complete and utter bull crap, but at the same time, what if it wasn't? What if there was a slim chance that he was actually telling me the truth? Brett continued to leisurely stroll beside me as his voice started.

"Hook got to them." He glanced at the sky and clouds above as I listened.

"What do you mean 'got to them'?" I continued looking at Brett as his eyes didn't leave the sky.

"He got in their heads. And once Hook gets in there, it's a real battle to get him out…" He scanned the clouds and the trees, almost as if he was searching for something that wasn't there. "One by one Hook has captured Lost Boys and gotten into their heads. They lose their ability to think for themselves—he controls them; their minds, their thoughts, their decisions, their actions…" Brett trailed off as his eyes left the sky. "The hard part is that we can't save them…"

My thoughts were scattered and I felt my heart sink deep into my chest. I remember that boy in the forest, chasing after me with a dead expression. What was his name…gosh what was his name?

"One thing that really screws you up is when you watch it happen to your best friend…" Brett's face softened as he looked to me. "I watched it happen to mine…"

Brett's Perspective:

The foul odor of the man grabbing a hold of my hair made my eyes burn. He pushed me further toward the ground on my knees. Beside me, Daniel was being shoved toward the ground on his knees as well. The two pirates stood behind our backs as the pale blue-eyed menace himself stood before us.

"Who's up first?" He grinned maniacally, his rotten teeth peeking from behind his pale lips. Neither one of us spoke until Daniel shouted aloud.

"Pan! Felix! Someone—"

"Looks like we have a volunteer!" Hook grimaced as he grabbed a hold of Daniel's shirt and threw him forward to the ground. Hook reached his one good hand into his coat pocket and pulled out a sparkling dark purple vial. Daniel attempted to crawl back on his hands but was stopped when the back of his head bumped into the tree behind him."You won't be doing much talking after this…" Uncapping the vial, Hook threw some of the contents of the vial near Daniel's face. Daniel's eyes were filled with horror as he was doused in the shimmering powder. But only seconds later his pupils dilated and I watched as his eyes went cold and lifeless. His trademark vibrant green eyes were now pale and dopey. His heavy breathing had slowed and his face was left expressionless. Hook held a crooked smile as he glanced over towards me. I struggled as the crew member still had a grip on me.

"Looks like you're up next" he smirked, his pale blue eyes locked with mine. I attempted to inch back but I was held firmly in my place. Hook took a step towards me but suddenly stopped. I could tell that the wheels were turning in his mind; plotting. "On second thought…I have a better idea…" Hook turned towards Daniel who still lay against the tree. Looking him dead in his eyes, Hook pointed behind himself at me.

"Kill him."

My heart sank and my eyes widened. Daniel turned his head as his cold eyes fell upon me. Within a few seconds, Daniel stood up. The pirates removed themselves from behind me as Daniel darted in my direction. Fear filled my entire being as Daniel landed on top of me, attempted to wrap his hands around my neck. I tossed him off of me momentarily before attempting to stand up. But he pulled me back to the ground and threw his fist into my jaw. I covered my face with my forearms in defense before punching him back. He fell to the ground before bouncing back up. Landing a punch into my cheek he pinned me down.

"Daniel! It's me!" I exclaimed desperately. But it was as if he couldn't hear me. His eyes were stern and emotionless. Seconds passed before his hands wrapped around my neck, crushing and squeezing out any ounce of oxygen I had left. I struggled and began to gag. All I could see before my vision started to blur was Daniel's dark eyes as he was suffocating me.

Without warning, Daniel was thrown off of me onto the ground beside me. While it took a moment to regain my vision I could hear the words "Daniel! It's me! It's—" before hearing a loud thud. My vision focusing, I found Lea on the ground with her nose dripping blood. She stood up quickly, ducking as Daniel threw another punch. To the best of my ability, I stood up from the ground and witnessed Lea draw an arrow back to her cheek, aiming directly at Daniel.

"Daniel, don't make me hurt you!" she shouted as she shut her eyes in fear of releasing the arrow. Fear built up inside of me as Daniel ran towards her.

"Lea don't!" I shouted.

At that moment my heart stopped. Lea released her arrow. It flew through the air, burrowing its way into Daniel's shoulder, making him fall to his knees. Lea's eyes were wide as well were mine. Daniel breathed heavily for a moment and paused. Quickly exchanging an unsure glance with Lea I stepped back. Daniel brought his hands up to his shoulders, wrapping his fingers around the wooden arrow. My stomach flipped as he pulled the arrow out of his shoulder. Throwing the blood-soaked arrow to the ground he stood up from his knees. The forest was silent except for the heavy breathing of the three of us. Daniel looked up at both Lea and me before bolting in the opposite direction of the forest. It wasn't until now that I realized that Hook and his crew members were long gone.

"Brett what the hell is wrong with Daniel?! He nearly killed you!" Lea exclaimed as her breathing became heavy. I stood silently with my eyes wide in shock. Hook controlled my best friend like a marionette doll…

My best friend tried to kill me…

Hannah's Perspective:

"I'm…sorry…" was all I could think to say. Brett sighed before continuing to walk again. "Is he one of the ones that…passed?" I asked, trying to make sense of everything. He shook his head slightly and chuckled.

"No…No, he's alive. I see him around once in a while. After all, who knows what' he's gotten into since then. It's been eight months since it happened." I furrowed my brows in confusion. However, I dismissed it, figuring he probably didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"Do you mind me asking what happened to the two boys that—"

"Died? Eh, they're long stories…I don't know that you have time for them." Brett turned to me. Shaking my head and shrugging my shoulders I replied.

"I've got time." Seemingly surprised, Brett shrugged his shoulders as he sat down on a nearby tree stump. Following suit I sat beside him on another tree stump, my back hunched over on my knees. Swallowing the lump in his throat Brett began to speak.

"It all started…with a Lost Boy named Gail…"

Pan's Perspective:

I sat on my bed with my back against the wall, scraping two daggers across each other repeatedly. I was relatively relaxed until I heard a knock at the door.

"Yeah, um, I'm kinda busy. Leave me alone" I called out. However, to my dismay the knocking continued, this time louder and more persistent. I groaned.

"Can't you tell I'm busy? Go away!" I shouted louder this time. There was a momentary pause before the perpetrator opened the door. My eyes not leaving the knives I scraped together I rolled my eyes and allowed my voice to grow dark. I slowly stood up from my bed.

"For the love god, how incompetent do you have to be to—"

As my gaze left my reflection revealed in the blades I found myself looking upon a cloaked figure standing in the doorway. Closing the door behind them they pulled their hood back, revealing their identity. Though it was never a mystery who was behind the emerald green cloak.

"Lea?" My eyes widened as I quickly approached her, wrapping my arms and embracing her. I held her close to me, being as the last time I had seen her was almost two months ago.

"God, it feels like it's been forever…" I spoke quietly, still embracing her. She squeezed me tightly.

"I know…" she said, a small smile forming upon her lips. I pulled away from her, my gaze meeting her eyes. They were glassy and bland, holding a sort of uneasiness within them.

"You're not supposed to visit for another few weeks…" I spoke aloud in question. She nodded slightly and her smile gradually faded. "That can only mean…" I trailed off before taking a small step away from her. I brought my hand up to my forehead and sighed. Lea's somber expression made me feel ill. Which reminds me…

I strolled over to my potion cabinet and selected the familiar light blue vial from the shelf containing another twenty or so bottles of it. I uncapped the bottle, throwing the cork on the floor. Bringing the vial to my lips I downed the cold liquid until the vial was empty. As I swallowed I felt the familiar pressure against my chest. My eyelids struggled for a moment to stay open. My breathing became heavy until my whole world appeared to turn gray again. The anxiety in the pit of my stomach vanished.

"I take it you haven't been able to control your emotions yet…" Lea spoke softly. "I know how that goes…" Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her gaze fall to the ground as I stared at the bottles in my cabinet.

"They're a liability to me now. Without them…it's bad." I turned towards her and sighed. "What brings you here off the normal schedule?" I questioned. She looked back up to me and shook her head.

"I saw something," she said. "Something I can't get my mind off of." Her fingers rubbed her temples as she rested her eyes. I eyed her quizzically, eager to understand what she meant. I approached my bed and sat on the edge, my forearms resting on my knees. Raising my eyebrows I patted the spot beside me. One step at a time she slowly approached and sat beside me on my met. Her breathing consisted of deep, long breaths. She sat staring at her hands folded in her lap, picking at her nails.

"Peter…" Lea spoke, her voice drowned in fear. I turned my head and fixated my eyes upon her.

"They know our weakness."

A.N:

—

Hello everyone! Long time no see! I know it's been a while and I apologize. But now that school has been in session for a few months I hope I'll be able to get back into the mode of writing regularly. Anyway, what do you guys think? Is Brett being sincere? And who do you think "? POV" is? Leave your thoughts and comments below cause I enjoy reading them! I'll see you in the next update!

-Agm3