Chapter 3: Creatures of the Deep
Up, up, and away they climbed. The higher they got, the more Jane had a bad feeling about the whole deal. Lilly was completely and utterly in awe of everything around her and carried none of the cares that her sister currently harbored. Everything was new to her. The night lights, the rooftops, and the evening air rushing against her face enchanted her as she flew farther away from her home and everything she knew. What was lying ahead called to her like the Pied Piper and she went gladly to meet it. The moonbeams cast its whitish light over her and her normally blonde hair looked like cascades of silver, rippling in the wind.
Peter looked over at her with a smile. He always enjoyed an enthusiastic new kid. Then he looked over at Jane. She was not as thrilled to be going to Neverland again and Peter didn't understand why. Her short brown hair twisted around her face, lashing her cheeks mercilessly as she flew and resembled her insides that were flip-flopping within her. He knew that she was nervous about something, but the actual reason for her anxiety was something he would never understand. He decided to ignore and was sure that once she was back in Neverland, that she would shed her cares and be able to have fun with him again.
A wall of resistance hit them all and then was burst apart as they passed by a certain point. It was then that they realized they were in the solar system. And as many times as Jane tried to explain it all to herself logically, she knew that she wasn't dreaming. Everything about Peter Pan defied science and reason in almost every possible way. How is it that they could fly? How could they breathe in space? How did Peter stay forever young? Jane shook her head to banish these thoughts then smiled in an almost embarrassed way. "Why was she worrying about these things?" should have been her biggest question. She knew that she had needed Peter to come back. Ten years was an awfully long time.
"So which way should we be heading?" Lilly shouted back to Peter and Jane who were trailing behind her.
"Second to the right and straight on 'till morning," came Peter's reply and Lilly seemed to shoot off even faster than before. Jane laughed then tried to catch up as Peter showed off to the girls with his masterful flying skills.
"You're so full of yourself, Peter," Jane teased as Peter looked back with an annoyed stare.
"Bet you couldn't catch me," he challenged and Jane gave a wolfish grin as she attempted to catch up to the best flyer there ever was. Lilly, who was feeling rather left out in all the action, decided that she was going to race along the other as well. And just as Jane was starting to get ahead, Peter grabbed onto her ankle and pulled her back.
"Hold on for this part," he advised, holding out his hand. Jane took it without hesitation for she remembered how turbulent the last bit of the trip to Neverland always was.
"Lilly! Grab my hand!" she called and Lilly soon met up with her and grasped her hand.
Peter gave an excited giggle. This was obviously his favorite part of the journey. He rocketed off into oblivion and a colossal rush hit the two girls at once as both held on for dear life to the hand(s) they were attached to. Once the sky had spit them out into a normal atmosphere, they loosened their grip and Jane massaged her crushed hand that Lilly had been gripping.
"You've got an iron grip, Lil. My hand will probably be sore until tomorrow," she joked and Lilly gave a grin as though she had accomplished something. Their attention was soon averted from each other to a loud boom that resounded throughout the morning air. Jane and Lilly were frozen still but Peter reacted almost instantly. He crashed into both of them and knocked them out of harm's way. Just a moment after they had been dislodged from their former position, a cannonball came tearing by not 5 feet from them.
"Get away!" Peter commanded and it took the others each a second to comprehend what had just happened and what was happening now. Jane nodded and called for Lilly to follow her. They made a mad dash for the cover of the jungle foliage that resided not far away from them and once under the protection of thick branches, they breathed again.
"What was that?" inquired Lilly as she struggled to catch her breath.
"A cannonball," responded Jane with a little bit of panting as well. "Hook must have seen us."
"Hook? That came from Hook?"
"I think so. Peter will explain to us later. Right now, we need to figure out what to do next."
"Let's watch!" suggested Lilly and Jane's eyes bulged. Was she insane!
"We'll be killed!"
"No we won't." she waved a hand of dismissal. "Peter will protect us."
"Peter's not God, Lilly. Besides, he doesn't need us distracting him."
"I'm going out and watching," said Lilly firmly and she rose above the jungle into plain sight to watch Peter and his daring fight with the pirates. The entire time, it just seemed like he was toying with the grubby old crew on the ship. He was laughing and doing tricks in the air as he confused their aim and Lilly watch in pure rapture. This was the most amazing act she had ever seen. The pirates never stood a chance!
Jane sat watching too but with a different kind of fascination; more nostalgic than captivated. Peter never changed.
"I want to get a better look," Lilly announced and dared to venture closer to the action that was going on before her. She was being pulled in closer and closer. She was so near them that she could hear their voices and understand their words.
"Lillian Margaret Parker! Get back here right now!" demanded Jane but her words fell on deaf ears. Her sister wasn't listening to anything but the sound of cannons and the shouts of buccaneers. As much as her sibling yelled for her to pull back, she pressed on because she was too curious to stop. Her first mistake was made.
"Up there! What is that?" a gruff, deep voice bellowed and several others responded with different suggestions. One pulled out a telescope and fixed his eyes upon Lilly.
"A girl!"
"Must have come with Pan."
"He's brought new ones again."
Lilly felt a pair of arms grab her around the waist to pull her away and she instantly suspected it was Jane.
"What does Jane know? Peter gets close enough to kiss them and he doesn't get hurt," thought Lilly angrily and she wriggled out of the person's grip. Her second mistake.
Anger was not a happy emotion. Therefore, she was not thinking happy thoughts. She felt off balance and unstable and then realized, she was falling. She started plummeting from the sky toward the blue sea and looked up to see Peter flying above her. He dove down after her as a very loud scream was let loose by the small girl falling faster and faster. He held out his arms, ready to grab hold of her and swoop back up, but it was time for Lilly to pay for her mistakes. She hit the water with a sickeningly loud splash, flat on her back, and completely emptied of breath because of her shrieks. The water was icy cold and murky. When she opened her eyes to look around, they stung so badly that she felt she might cry. She frantically tried to claw her way up to the surface but Lilly had never learned how to swim properly so all her efforts were in vain. The greenish-blue water threatened to swallow her alive and she wished that she had listened to Jane when she was told to stay away from the pirate ship. Her lungs were desperate for air and she involuntarily inhaled a breath of pure saltwater. She was lost for sure and she knew it. As she sunk deeper and deeper into the dark depths of the water, a strange noise came. It sounded like a dolphin calling out under the water. The aquatic singing was joined by several other creatures like it and Lilly panicked. Thinking it might be a predator looking for a meal, she felt her chest aching in an attempt to cry, but with no oxygen to fill her lungs, she could do nothing but writhe underwater in her own pity.
The singing grew louder and Lilly was having trouble keeping her head about things. She was starting to lose consciousness when felt a fin stroke her arm. She jumped and felt panic build up so greatly that she thought she might explode. When she opened her eyes for a moment she saw the most amazing thing. A mermaid was floating there next to her. She looked around her and the water was scattered with mermaids swimming closer. The one next to her spun Lilly around to face her again then cupped her cheeks with her webbed hands and brought her lips to Lilly's.
Lilly was appalled! What was this creature doing? How much more vile could this be? As she struggled to be free of the mermaid's hold, she felt something wonderful: air. The mermaid was forcing air into Lilly's lungs. Once she had them half full of air and half full with water, she was finally able to cough up the unwanted liquid. The mermaid backed away for a moment as Lilly expelled the water, and then blew air into Lilly one more time before she wrapped her scaly arms around her and threw her up with tremendous force.
The girl emerged from the water and shot about 10 feet into the air. Just as she was about to fall back into the water, someone caught her. She looked up and Jane was holding her tightly with tears streaming down her face.
"Don't you ever do that again, Lilly! I told you to stay away," Jane reprimanded and then hugged her sister and told her how happy she was to see her alive. "You were under for so long that I thought you were dead."
Lilly was too tired and shocked to speak. She felt like she had been running for miles and miles from an angry bull named Death and all her energy had been drained. She glanced over toward the pirate ship and spied Peter approaching from that direction.
"We need to get her somewhere safe to rest," Jane hollered and Peter nodded.
"Let's head back to the hiding place. I'm starving anyway!" said Peter and he lead them into the jungle again. Lilly felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier and she fought off sleep as best she could until it consumed her in a dreamless rest.
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Jane looked down at Lilly who was sleeping in her arms and felt another rush of relief. They hadn't been in Neverland 5 minutes and Lilly had already come close to getting killed. Lilly was not always the most levelheaded person and Jane was very glad to have accompanied her sister and Peter on their new adventure or else she would have never seen her sister again. It was time for her to be the big sister and keep Lilly safe for now. She worried that Neverland held even more new terrors that would put her frail sister in danger, though. Something deadly could be around any corner. A part of her didn't mind the danger because she had Peter around. Although another part told her that Peter wasn't responsible enough to keep them safe.
"Peter has never been very dependable. His bad memory could erase us from his mind right when we needed him most," she thought fearfully. She couldn't take that chance. She had to take Lilly home and soon.
They reached a new hideout that Peter had constructed and gently pushed away the branches and bushes that guarded the door and kept it virtually invisible to those who didn't already know where it was. Inside was rather cozy but smaller than the tree house that Peter had previously occupied. It was all one room and the only items that seemed the least bit modern was the wooden table in the middle of the place and fur-skin bed in the corner. She placed Lilly on the bed and Lilly slept motionlessly and peacefully.
Peter left the two for a short time and came back with food for them to eat. For most of the meal, Jane sat in silence and glanced over at her still snoozing sister. Peter gave her a questioning look when they were finished as if to inquire about her silence.
"Peter?"
"What is it?"
"Peter, when is the soonest Lilly and I may leave?"
"What? Leave!" shouted Peter. "Why do you want to leave? You just arrived!"
"I know that. But Lilly's already been on too much danger for her or me to handle. We never should have come. She might die if we push our luck any longer," answered Jane calmly.
"Lilly will be fine! I'll make sure that she'll never be harmed."
"You couldn't keep her safe when she fell into the ocean today."
"Then we'll be more careful!"
"Peter!" Jane yelled, finally losing her patience. "I cannot risky my sister's life. She's already seen enough horror on her life and I don't want her having anymore near-death experiences."
Peter backed off with his eyes downcast. "Go then. I'll take you back tomorrow."
"We can't wait until tomorrow. By then, Lilly might already be dead."
"You wish to leave today?" asked Peter in disbelief. Jane nodded. Peter's face turned from shock to anger very quickly as he glared at Jane intensely.
"I'm sorry, Peter. I would stay if I could but Lilly needs me and needs to be back at home."
"But your father…" Peter started and then trailed off.
"We've been able to handle him before so we can keep on living with him."
"He hurts Lilly. And he hurts you." They both sat in silence for a moment and then Peter broke it with a firm "No. I won't let you leave."
"Peter, I'm not going to argue about this again."
"You're safer here than back there. Lilly will learn to be careful and to take care of herself," protested Peter and Jane rubbed her temples with an exasperated sigh. She closed her eyes and wished that this could all be a dream. She wished to wake up and find herself back in her house in London. But when she opened her eyes, she saw nothing but Peter's pleading eyes that hinted anger.
"I do want to stay but-"
"Please, don't leave me, Jane."
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A/N: There you go, a little itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, microscopic sweet moment between Jane and Peter. I'm a little torn between who should go with Peter though. What do you guys think?
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