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            The man was ancient. He was outrageously skinny with brown leathery skin, but Jesus! was he hairy. His black and gray afro-hair seemed to overwhelm his entire head. His eyes barely peeked from under the squirrel's nest. His appearance was really not a frightening one, but what caused me to jump back was his laugh. I just never expected a man of his stature to make a sound quite like that one without loosing an ear or something. I readied myself to run for my life, but his wrinkled hand shot out from nowhere and held my arm with a vice-like grip. Not your typical old-timer.

            "Oh, no miss," his voice was scratchy, but steady for an antique. "Somebody wants a word with ya'. Someone that's been watin' a very long time."

            The trek through the jungle was colorful but not very eventful. However, it did give me a chance to think. So far I had established that I was hungry, I was confused, and that my feet were burning like hell. There were all sorts of twigs and roots on the narrow path we were walking on, and I seemed to be stepping on every sharp little edge. I looked behind us and grimaced when I saw little drops of blood dotting the ground. I slowed a bit, but apparently the man was in a hurry. My efforts granted me a sharp tug on the arm, and I stumbled through a pile of bramble. More pain shot up through my leg. "Fuck!" The man looked back at me with a stern expression. "Sorry," I added, though I wasn't really sorry at all.

Every step I took, the pain was becoming more unbearable. I almost wanted to cut my own feet off. 'Think of something else. Yea…that's it.' I thought, 'Deaden the pain. Hm…shoes…'

            That's what I needed… some shoes. A memory came to mind, and I smiled inwardly a bit. Once I made a pair of flip-flop sandals completely out of duck tape and my dad went crazy! He made a pair of his own and we wore them everywhere together for a month before they finally fell apart. Caroline always thought I was crazy…

            The memory was funny for about a second, then I realized where I was and the pain only worsened. I couldn't tell, though, if it was the pain in my feet that was killing me or something entirely different. We came upon a small stream and began to wade across, but my efforts were marred. I hadn't been watching where I stepped. I slipped on some bright yellow algae and landed with a crunch onto my side. The sharp rocks dug into me and cut my arm. I didn't have any time to brace myself and my unprotected head bounced off a large stepping stone. Deliriously, I looked up. There was my father, "Get out of here Bea!" He shouted with his brow furrowed. His eyes glistened and something that looked suspiciously like a tear glided it's way down his cheek, dribbling off the end of his long nose. Suddenly, Nibs appeared next to him, shaking with joy.

            "At least ya get to go back…" The freckles next to his eyes crinkled as he grinned. I looked up into his happy face and a fiery anger shot it's way through my body. My eyes started to burn as I reached my hands up. I wanted to wipe that grin off of his face…permanently.

            A loud SMACK brought me back to the present and my eyes were no longer burning, but my cheek was. I blinked and opened my eyes to the blurred image of a very concerned old man. He was hovering over me, just as my father and Nibs had done just seconds before. His wrinkles deepened as he examined my face with apprehension. "Tis' worse than I thought," he muttered while looking into my eyes. The world before me dimmed again, but the man shook me before it completely faded out. Without a word he put his leathery arms under my own and tried to pick me up, but I crumbled. Water splashed all around me as my vision went black

The air smelled of salt and the gull's coos rode their way on the wind. Clip-Clop, Clip-Clop. My boots clicked as I made my way to the deck railing. The sight of the floor below me made me scowl with delight. Hoards upon hoards of dirty, smelly men were ambling around, working odd jobs here and there, and some weren't doing anything at all. Somehow the sight made me swell with pride. Soon this would be mine…

            Clip-Clop, Clip-Clop. The footsteps stopped next to me. A breeze ruffled my short black hair into my eyes and the sounds of 'Yo ho, Yo ho, a pirates life for me!' wafted past my ears. "Detestable song." I looked up to my left. A tall broad shouldered man with long, perfectly ringletted hair was also scowling at the deck below. "Brainless gits, the lot of them." His voice was slippery like ice, but his eyes, they were ice…most of the time. "Yes, someday this…prize will be yours," he said most distastefully.

            I returned my gaze to the gritty men and an arm rested on my shoulder. I felt cold steel near my collarbone. An iota of resentment worked it's way into my thoughts. He didn't know what he had. He never would, until it was mine. His arm left my shoulders, but my chin was caught by a sharp point. "I'm sure you have better things to do." The icy eyes bored their way into mine. "Go back to your studies, and help that blundering sister of yours."

            Highly annoyed, I stalked down the stairs to the cabin and slammed the door behind me. A black curly head popped up from its hunched position at a desk ten feet in front of me. "Oh Jack! You'll never believe it!" A little voice squeaked. "I've found it! Or at least I think I have! Peter Pan's-

"Shut up Morgan." My voice was sharp and cold.  I loathed that name. My life had always been filled with Peter Pan. Even my studies, or lack there of, were centered on that flighty character. What is the best way to kill Pan? Where is Pan's hideout? Why does Pan fly? I was sick of the bloody bird. That was it. I had to end it. My father would no longer thrust his obsession onto my sister and I.

Fuming, I kicked a stool into the desk and it fell backwards with a loud thump. My sister whimpered as an inkwell crashed, staining the floorboards black. I spun around and faced a wall sized mirror. My boots were tall and black, with brown breeches tucked into the tops of them. My thin white shirt was flowing and somewhat feminine. I looked into my own eyes…they were scarlet.

A stifling and foul smell woke me from my slumber. The room around me looked blurry and out of focus so I attempted to sit up. I ,immediately, regretted my decision. My head was hammered with pain, and I heard myself whimper. The sound was somewhat familiar, yet I couldn't think at the moment. Thinking was far too painful. "Ah, that might not be the smartest thing to do right now, Bea. You've been bedridden for nearly two days," a scratchy voice cooed from beside me.

            Two days?! Slightly raving, I responded, "Dad?"  

            A hearty chuckle emanated from my side. "Oh, Bea, I have been called many things, but that particular name will never be one, I'm afraid." Of course it hadn't been my father. The voice was too old-sounding. Where was I? My mind flitted back to the dream I had just had. The stench of the ambling men lingered in my nose, and I was suddenly fearful. I turned my head to the left and my vision cleared. There was the old-timer, sitting in a very battered rocking chair. His eyes settled cheerfully on me.

            "You're not a….a….pirate, are you?" I stuttered. I was delirious, but even I could tell how stupid the words sounded coming from my mouth. Pirates? What was this, some Johnny Depp movie?

            The man's eyes darkened and with a steady voice he said, "I would never stoop to such a dishonorable position." He must have noticed my look of relief. "Fear not m'lady. Pirates have not been seen in these parts for many a year, and I am more than a match for old Hook and his dogs!" He drew himself up proudly, puffing out his chest. I had to laugh a little bit. What an absurd little man, even he chuckled some more. "Ah, you might not think so, but I had to carry you all the way back here! And you are not the smallest package to bear!" Insults! My look of distain made him grin a little more as he stood up. Slowly, I followed suit and my head did not hurt as much. "Sit back down there, Bea. You've had a rough few days." I sat back down on the lumpy, straw mattress. The man walked over to a steaming cauldron set into the stony wall. Apparently, I was in a cave of sorts. He walked back over to me with a steaming earthenware bowl.

            "What is it?"

            "Aye, if I told you, you probably wouldn't touch it! You need your strength young lady." I looked down into the bubbling liquid. It was bright green and smelled suspiciously like something Nibs would cook. Ah, well. Soup's on. After all, I hadn't eaten for about two days. This would at least cure the racking hunger-pains in my stomach. I took the thick bowl, surprisingly cool to the touch, and sipped from it. It tasted like bananas. Banana soup? Where the heck was I….the soup had managed to clear my muddled mind. I stopped slurping for a moment.

            "Sir, um…whoareyou, whereamI, and howdoyouknowmyname?" I spoke rapidly, even for me. The man only chortled.

            "You're quite quick of the tongue, young one." He sighed. "I suppose you deserve some answers, but alas I am not able to give you all of those you ask." Before I could press further, he held up a hand and stopped me. "In time…in time." Again, he sighed. "I'm just an old man trapped on an island of the juvenile. You may call me Lee. At the moment, you reside in my dwelling. A little cave set high enough as to be away from danger, but close enough to the important places. As for my knowledge of your name, I might be old, Bea, but I'm very far from being deaf and dumb. Your young water-dwelling friend has quite a loud, squeaky tone." My fondness for the mer-boy lowered even further.

            "Oh well, that answers it all!" I said curtly. I was rapidly loosing my patience, and that didn't happen very often. I was an amazingly patient person…okay maybe not, but I had deserved a little slack, didn't I? The past two days had been hell! I fell out of the damn sky! Then fell into some rancid blue goo…then fell down a hill, and then fell into a very horrid situation involving some rude elves and a peeping-tom merboy. I was incredibly sick of the falling.

            "Calm yourself, madam! Everything will be revealed…in time…," he said rather nervously. His eyes roved over my head to the entrance of the cave. "But first, I have things to show you." I finished my soup and stood up slowly. I felt miraculously better, those crazy bananas. The man walked to the craggily mouth of the cave and beckoned for me to follow. I walked cautiously to the edge and peered out.

We were very high up. I could see over the tops of the trees, trees which had very weird colors. Here and there, there were trees with bright pink, and blue leaves. Even the green trees were glowing neon. My eyes had to adjust to the colors for a few seconds, before I could fully take it in. Once I stopped blinking I gasped. It was beautiful! The bright blue of the ocean, the  colorful foliage of the island, and the sun! The sun! I can't really explain it, but the best way would to would be to picture a coloring book; how suns are drawn as a circle with some lines around it. This sun was sort of like that only the little sun rays were sweeping orange and yellow tendrils working their way into every place of darkness.  Maybe it even had a face, but I couldn't bring my eyes to look directly at the floating ball of fire.

            If I squinted I could even see the sea off in the horizon, but straight ahead was a sight that wasn't a very pleasant one. Even from leagues away I could see the violent, bright streaks of lightening striking the dark and turbulent waters. It was a small storm, but something felt very ominous about it. The muscles of my brow contracted as I squinted, trying to get a closer look. "So you see it as well, but do you feel it?" Lee's voice sounded very serious, and I nodded. I glanced at him. He was also squinting, but with a very troubled expression on his face. "Yes, something is coming. Something that I know not about." I was confused again.

            "But it's just a storm. No big deal. Some lightening, thunder, but that's it. Rain isn't that horrible, is it?"

            Lee looked at me seriously, "It never rains here." This only puzzled me further, but before I could ask another question Lee jumped off the edge and whizzed through the green and blue leaves below. "LEE!" I screamed. Suicide is not cool! "LEEEEEEE!"

            "BEA! JUST JUMP!" His voice rang up to me as if out of a bullhorn. It takes a lot for someone to yell over my screams. Caroline used to tell me every time I screamed it was like being attacked by banshees. "You're going to ruin your vocal chords, you know." She would say. How logical, but this was far beyond any sort of Caroline-logic. Jump? How could I? "JUST DO IT BEA!" Rang up again, as if the old man had read my mind. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and walked off the edge.

            Falling through the air is a pretty cool experience. That's why I was so fond of diving, but this was far from diving. There was no safe, chlorine-tinted pool waiting below me. So instead of dropping into cool H2O, I was instead smacked by leaves and twigs and fell some more hitting the occasional branch; until I fell into something rather spongy and bounced up again, and then again, and again until the bouncing subsided.

Finally, I opened my eyes and found myself on a very tangled bed of leaves and branches. They seemed to be interwoven together, creating a small, rather springy net. I breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down again looking into the greenness above me. "See, almost like flying…" Lee grabbed my wrist and jerked me up. I didn't have any time to rest. "This way, hurry it up now." We jogged through the bouncy netting and reached a large tree trunk. I looked through a small gap in the tangle of branches and gulped. We were still at least 30 feet above the floor of the jungle. I hugged the bough, but Lee grabbed my shirt and we trudged out, but rather bouncily, until we reached a large opening in the netting. Steadily, a strange sound made it's way up to the treetops. Laughter and singing. I looked at Lee, who looked at me, and then I looked down.

            I nearly fell through the hole out of shock. There was a small city down there! Small huts crowded the clearing below, and even smaller inhabitants were darting between them. The houses were of all shapes and sizes with thatched roofs and adobe walls. They looked like something straight out of Mexico. Some were barely one story, others were nearly three or four! There was even one immediately below us that looked as if it were higher up than the other ones. Yes, it was. It was a crude Spanish tree house, and it was about ten feet below us.  I looked past the house and saw that some of the people were sitting in groups playing a grubby game that looked sort of like checkers. I remembered Khelo and Snatch…"Are these elves?" I asked with admiration.

            Lee chortled, "Don't be stupid Bea. These kids are very much human, and you'll be joining them very shortly." But how could that be? How could I not have noticed a city of kids?

            Apprehensively I responded, "Join them? Lee, to start I don't even know where I am. Secondly, I don't know who they are, and thirdly what if I don't even speak their language!"

            "Don't be absurd, Bea! Of course you know where you are. You know as sure as your standing here. You can see! Look around, but more importantly look inside yourself. You feel it…you know it."

Of course I did. It was there the whole time. This place was Neverland, a mysterious island I knew nothing about, yet when I was here I felt so whole. I didn't have time to notice it before, but something inside me had clicked into place. I was home, and I knew it, whether I would embrace that fact or not. I watched the kids below me dancing around with happy faces. Music found it's way to my ears.

"Is that The Beatles?"

"I'm not exactly sure what that is, but you'll find out soon enough won't ya'," he looked very happy about something, and I was kind of scared of his enthusiasm for a second. He made his way toward me…

"Wait…Lee…what are you doing…."

"Just remember Bea, you know where I am…if you need anything…"
            "Lee…" I inched away nervously, but he was surprisingly quicker than me. He launched himself at me and I was sent tumbling through the opening. I was falling yet again. "LEEEEEE" I screamed all the way down.

CRASH! POW! THUD!

I bashed through the thatched roof of the tree house and landed sprawled on my back. "Ughhhh" I groaned, the whole circumference of my head hurting now. And then I was nose to nose with a boy. He looked about my age, maybe a little older, and looked a little Hispanic. He had dark skin, but his hair was shaggy and bleached blonde. His brown eyes and mouth curved into a delighted scowl. "Good. I was kind of missing...," but his looked turned into one of confusion when he surveyed me. "Why are you wearing clothes?" He tugged on my pink tank top. I slapped his hand away and he looked very taken aback.

"I'm NOT A PIXIE!!!" I shouted. "Shit… I AM A HUMAN with PINK HAIR, got it?!! GOOD God, maybe I should just make a signboard or something!"

"OK! Wow," he stumbled back a little defensively as I scrambled into a standing position.

'Well, they speak English here, I guess.' Then he just looked at me puzzled as I brushed myself off.

 "Then why did you just fall through my roof?"

I sighed impatiently, "Do naked pixie's fall through your roof often, then?"

The joke was met with a stupid, quizzical look.

"Ain't none of your business…Let's just put it this way. I'm new here." That's all I could think of. What else was there to say? 'Hello, I'm new to Neverland and could I borrow some of that fairy dust stuff so I could fly instead of fall…' I looked at the kid again. He was a little taller than me and was wearing some dirty, baggy khaki shorts and a dirty once-white tank top. 'He looks able bodied enough,' I thought as I surveyed his muscular arms. He was attractive and if I wasn't in this current mood, he probably could have passed off as hot Could this kid be…? "Uh…so Peter…how's it goin?"

He just squinted at me, more confusion playing upon his face. "What are you talking about…" He seemed to come to a decision. "Let's just do this properly then." He stuck out his hand, "I'm Deryk." Oh, right. How could I be so stupid…I knew what Peter looked like…didn't I? I mean, I think I did…

            "What? Where's this Peter Pan kid…" He just stood there puzzled with his hand sticking out. "You know…come on! Peter Pan…" It was a simple question, but somehow it seemed to insult the boy.

            "What are you talking about…this isn't a theme park with fairies and magic." He snapped the words with spite.

            "What like Disney--" Before I could finish the sentence he had an run over to me and slapped a gritty hand over my mouth.

            "Don't do it! Don't say that word here…just don't do it…if you want to stay unhurt that is." I bit his hand. "OUCH! What was that for?"

            "Your hand was disgusting. Where do you put that thing…never mind…I don't want to know. So what's the deal with the big-bad 'D' word."

            He was looking at his hands with a sort of offended look on his face. "'D' word…oh yea, well firstly…I'm Deryk." He stuck out his hand again.

            Folding my arms, I answered. "And I'm Bea…answer my question, Deryk. I'm getting impatient."

            He look affronted, "Geez, slightly bitchy now aren't we?" I glared at him, "Calm down…no big deal." He reached over and grabbed my arm and tugged. I didn't budge. "Come on…I gotta show you something." Reluctantly, I let him lead me over to a dirty windowsill and I peered down. The sight was hardly as impressive as the one Lee had shown me earlier, but nonetheless interesting. There were a whole bunch of kids, more than I expected, gathered around something that I couldn't see. Below the tree house seemed to be the town plaza. "Welcome to the Ciudad de Jovénes." I turned around and leaned on the railing, facing the guy behind me.

            "What's that supposed to mean?"

            "Oh, it's Spanish. City of the Young. It's not much, but it's fun, and about that D-Disney thing...," he stuttered the word, as if it were unnatural. "Just don't mention it around the kids. We're kind of trapped here. About six or seven years ago, we were all on this thing called 'The D-Disney Cruise Line' and we kinda…never made it home..." His words drifted off and I looked at him, his features weren't very happy now. He looked out the window, but I was sure he wasn't really seeing anything…It dawned on me…

            "Ohhh, the ship!! I remember! That was so long ago though. How did you all make it here? I thought there wasn't even any survivors," I asked, excited now. If they had all survived the disappearance then…Kalea might be here somwhere…

            "I'm not really sure myself. We just all kind of woke up here. Some of us in the lifeboats, some of us in the wreckage, and a lot of us just washed up onshore. We were all accounted for…that is, except our parents."

            Without thinking, I asked, "What happened to them?"
            "They died."

            I immediately regretted my choice of words. How stupid could I be. "Oh God! That's horrible, I'm really sorry."

            He shook his head, "It's no big deal, we can't remember much. This place does that to you…after a while you just sort of…forget. Well that's what my brother, Julio, told me anyway. He used to live here with me." Deryk looked around his now slightly demolished hut.

            I noticed his eyes lingering on the damage. "Eh…sorry about the roof thing. So…where's he? Your brother, I mean"

            "Dead." The answer was short and blunt, but it left me reeling.

            I shook my head, not knowing what to say. I settled on, "I'm so stupid."

            "No big deal," he said. "It's gotta happen sooner or later. I've got...," he counted on his fingers, "about four more years…"

Confused again and morbidly curious I asked, "What do you mean…you've got four more years…"

"That's just it…I've got four more years 'till I die," he said unenthusiastically.

"You mean…you know when you're gonna die?" I said looking into his deep brown eyes.

"Well, yea. Everyone here does. You just don't make it past 18. That's just the way it is."

"But why?"

"I don't know! I never really thought about it. It just happens. You turn 18 and you die. It just happens!" He didn't seem like he wanted to discuss it any further, so I turned back to look out the window. The kids were still gathered below us, but the edge of the hut blocked out the full scene. I could hear some kids shouting, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. I sighed…'So that means I have only three years and to weeks…that's it…this is fucked up!' I thought with a detached sadness.

"It's not so bad…you just learn to take advantage of the time you have...," I heard him walk behind me. The shouts got louder and my interest peaked a little. I leaned over the railing, trying to see the rest of the group below me. A head rested on my shoulder. "What are you looking at…," Deryk whispered into my ear…

'Ew. What is he doing?' I thought as I squirmed against his back. I leaned further into the railing….

Snap

The railing cracked beneath me and I lurched foreword. Deryk grabbed me around a particular sensitive area just below my shoulders…" WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" I squealed.

"Trying to save your life!"

I squirmed some more…'ugh…I'd rather fall'. He was nice looking and everything, but ew. I had just met him! And he was going through some major grief issues. Finally, he couldn't hold my wriggling body any more and I dropped. The wind whistling in my ears, and I waited as the ground below came closer and closer…

Whoooshh…

The blurred scenery around me started to move in the opposite direction…up. I found myself in the arms of another boy. At first I thought, 'UGH! Another PERVY boy from the Ciudad!' But I looked down…this time the ground was falling away from me…I was flying. 

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