Emily's POV

I lay awake, staring at the roof of my hut, zoning out my surroundings as the voices in my head spoke louder.

"Why would you even bother trying to escape..."

"You know you will be Pan's prisoner forever..."

"Look at what you've done! Murdering Connor without a second thought!..."

I quickly rolled on my side, covering my hands over my ears to try and block out the voices that began speaking over the top of each other, each one getting louder. Closing my eyes tightly, I hoped they would fade away but it only made it worse. There were so many of them, so many people yelling at me.

"His blood still stains the ground where you ended his life!"

"You don't know what it's like to be human!"

"Don't worry Emily, you will soon become just like Pan."

"Shut up!" I shouted as loudly as I could.

I quickly rolled on my back keeping my eyes closed not wanting to open them with thought of facing several angry people around me. I sat up, trying to back away from the mixture of shouting until my hand slipped back then causing my stomach to drop as I slipped off my bed and onto the hard bamboo floor. I froze as I felt grass between my fingers and quickly opened my eyes in confusion to see the jungle now surrounding me. I was no longer in my hut; I had no idea where I was. There were no guided paths, nothing but tall trees with vines draping down from the branches while ferns and other vegetation brushed against my skin. I hesitantly stood to my feet taking slow cautious steps through the jungle, each foot breaking the branches beneath my feet. The voices were slowly fading out to the point that they were nothing but a whisper that moved through the trees.

I was officially beginning to lose my mind...

I walked slowly through the jungle but stopped short when my eyes caught notice of my hand. I looked down, my face instantly falling as I held a tight grip on the blade I had used to stab Connor. What was once silver and shining, was now covered in a crimson red, the blood coating my fingertips up to my elbow as if someone had coated my arms in dark thick red paint. My tight grip began to shake violently as I let go of the blade, watching it drop to the undergrowth, staining its bright green moss with a dark shade of red. Even though I had dropped the dagger I could still feel a warm liquid running down my arms. I looked down and that familiar feeling turned through my stomach as I stepped backwards, holding my coated red arms away from my body as blood began dripping down my arms and off my fingertips, now staining my clothes and the ground at my feet.

I lifted my head to look away from the horrific sight only to regret my decision. My skin ran cold and I felt faint upon seeing all of the boys now lying spread around the ground in front of me. Blood had flown out of them all, their eyes trailing off into the distance as their lifeless bodies lay still, spread across the jungle floor. I took slow steps, walking past each boy as they lay still, covered in blood with no life left inside of their bodies. There wasn't a sound I could hear apart from my raspy breathing, which began to make my throat turn dry. The jungle itself felt dead, it was completely silent...and that silence was eating me alive.

I felt a familiar burning sensation fill my eyes as I walked past Ben, then Ethan, and eventually Will. I stopped staring down at Will's lifeless body, his eyes closed and his clothes stained. I see his body blurring before I blinked allowing the tears I was holding back to fall freely from my eyes. I had killed my best friends…

Was this what my mind was trying to do to me?

Punish me?

Or was it a warning of what I was going to become.

I turned in a full circle. Lost in thought, I had already confused myself of what direction I was originally facing to get away from countless dead bodies but they were surrounding me. The jungle looked the same as it always did, giving me no direction and no path to follow. I moved to take a step behind me but froze as I felt a warm presence blocking me from moving back.

"Are you lost, love?" Pan's voice whispered closely in my ear.

I turned around and took a couple of steps away from him but stumbled over my own feet as I stared at Pan's horrific appearance. He too stood with blood covered arms hanging by his sides, his piercing green eyes shining brightly as they refused to blink. Breathing wasn't an option at this point as I watched his lips turning into the darkest shade of red as blood began to drip out of his mouth as a smirk spread across his face. I stared at his blood covered arms and froze still as I realised…they were just like mine, a perfect mirror.

We both stood in silence, examining each other, Pan completely calm, while I was falling apart. Both of our blood stained skin linked with each other as if Pan and I were the ones that did this to the boys. By the time I was pulled out of my thoughts I looked up only to see that Pan had vanished from my sight as not for a moment later I felt an arm snake around me as a firm grip forced me to turn around and face a pair of dilated green eyes. I was in no state to move in Pan's grip, I only stood still, staring down at the boys around us which caused a chuckle to escape Pan's lips as he seemed pleased that for once I wasn't fighting against him.

"We have to stop meeting like this...you know how hard it is for me." He growled causing a frown to fall over my face as I moved my face away from Pan's avoiding his gaze.

I just wanted this nightmare to end…

Pan's blood stained hand grazed my cheek making me flinch was it rubbed against my skin. His other hand trailed down my arm at a slow pace until he reached my blood covered hand, interlocking our fingers together.

"You and I...we're the same now." Pan said softly letting his words linger in my head.

My eyes scanned the boy's dead bodies that lay around us allowing me to snap out of the trance that Pan had inflicted on me as my eyes now narrowed at him.

No…I didn't want this to happen.

"I don't want to be a psychotic killer...I d-don't want to become like you."

Pan pulled his face away from my neck now facing me with sharp, angered eyes. His face was stiff, his hands gripping tightly around mine as he tried to contain himself before speaking up.

"Emily, you don't have to be psychotic to become a killer." Pan said; his eyes remaining locked onto mine as he exhaled softly looking around at some of the boys. "Yet, sometimes it's hard to control what goes on inside your head..." He paused until his eyes trailed back to meet mine, "...sometimes you can even surprise yourself." Pan muttered as his eyes narrowed.

Pan looked deep inside my eyes as if trying to search for something.

"I don't want to kill." I whispered as a tear rolled down my check.

Pan leaned his face so close mine that I could feel his hot breath against my lips. He reached his hand to my cheek and rubbed his thumb across my face, smudging more blood across my skin. His hand moved down my check and under my chin, forcing me to look at him.

"Oh, but you will."

My eyes slowly open to try and adjust against to the night to then focus on the line of bamboo bars. I lifted my head up from against the bars instantly feeling the strain on my neck. My body ached from being twisted inside this small space. It had been a day since I have been in this cage. One day since I murdered Connor. And one day since I've had any contact with anyone besides Pan, who only comes to make sure I'm still alive.

Pan sure chose this punishment carefully.

He knew that I would end up tearing myself apart.

It was working...

I couldn't help but feel as if I was getting torn up from the inside as the voices remained lingering inside my head and not just in my nightmares. They screamed at me, reminding me of what I had done and filled my head with more unwanted thoughts and questions.

If I was ever going to see Oliver again...or how Will, Ben and Ethan would react to what I did to Connor. Perhaps they didn't know. I hoped they didn't know.

My clothes were still stained with blood along with my hands and my face. Pan didn't let me go back to campus; instead he let me be living proof to remind myself of what I did. I'm to spend my days locked in this cage until Pan says I can come out. I didn't refuse and I didn't fight against Pan. I wanted this...I had to have some way to remind myself that what I did was wrong and make sure I don't turn myself into a monster.

"Come here."

My head shot up as I watched Pan stand in front of my cage. He leaned against the sides of the bamboo frame, tilting his head slightly to the side as he scanned over me. I shuffled closer to Pan until I was sitting right in front of him with my legs hanging off the edge of the cage. I wasn't sure why I was doing as he asked; I wasn't sure why I was letting myself do what he wanted. Maybe it was my own punishment for myself. Pan seemed to think it was rather amusing that I was finally listening to his instructions without fighting back. He enjoyed it.

Pan's eyes never left mine as he quickly grabbed a firm hold of my waist before pulling me close to him until he was standing with my legs around his waist. I glared at Pan causing his lips to curl into a smirk.

"I hope you enjoyed last night's nightmares." He teased while lifting an eyebrow.

I tried to take a calm breath to control the anger inside me but that didn't seem possible as I watched his eyes stare down at my lips.

"P-Pan, stop."

He hummed before looking at me with a fake look of confusion, 'Why? You seemed to enjoy killing all the boys. You weren't scared were you?" Pan teased as he let out a low chuckle. "I did help you out but it seemed you wanted to kill most of them yourself, was that right?"

I tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to escape my eyes. I couldn't cry in front of Pan.

"No…I will never become like you." I said sternly.

Pan only chuckled at this as he met my eyes.

"I'm sure your next nightmare will tell me otherwise."

With that said Pan then pushed me away from his embrace and quickly closed the cage door. He looked up at me with a face full of frustration as he gnarled down against his bottom lip.

"Be grateful that this cage is the only thing that's holding me back right now." Pan spoke angrily before vanishing out of sight and into the night.

What the hell just happened?

Pan left me out of breath as I sat up and grabbed my hands to my face before looking down at my feet, noticing that a bowl of water and a towel were placed inside my cage as well as a fresh pair of clothes. I sighed with relief as I dipped my hands into the warm water and washed the blood and dirt off my face before wetting the towel and running it along my arms and legs where the blood was now dried to my skin.

The smell of blood made my stomach turn but I forced myself to drain the towel back into the water and run it down my skin. I looked around the open space where my cage was hanging in the middle of the jungle. I couldn't see anybody against the darkness except the tall shadows of trees. Even still I felt like I had all eyes on me, especially Pans.

Once I decided it was safe I stripped out of my old clothes and quickly put on the new ones that Pan had left for me. It felt warm and clean to be in new clothes and I could already feel myself wanting to drift to sleep. I felt beyond exhausted from everything that had happened in the last two days, except my mind was fully wake. I couldn't stop thinking about what Pan had just done. But worst of all I continued to replay Connors death in my mind. I curled my knees to my chest and leaned my head down on my elbows.

"You caused the only person who ever wanted a family!, who ever wanted to be loved or cared for!" I yelled, glaring daggers at Connor, "The only person who ever wanted a brother…to run away and become lost all over again..."

I heard silence and only silence.

I opened my eyes which I hadn't noticed I had slowed and looked down with horror to see Connor lying completely still underneath me. Dark blood covered in a circle around his body and I let go of the blade that was stuck fully into his chest. Blood covered his whole body; his clothes stained red and soaked through with the crimson red. My blood covered hands began to shake as looked down at Connor's horrific body.

I...I k-killed him.

Tears rolled down my face as I continued to repeat that moment on an endless loop.

Connor's dead…and it's all my fault.

Last night.

Pan's POV

"I told you that I would get rid of the boy."

"No you didn't, the girl did." The shadow replied as its eyes grew larger. "Did you ask the boy how he was brought here?"

I curled my fists.

"Just an old enemy that left a boy to do his own dirty work."

"Did he retrieve what he stole from you?" The shadow asked adding a certain edge to his voice.

"No. The dust was only used to knock her out. Looks like Connor couldn't figure out the rest."

"There will be more from where he came from. They will be coming soon. You must prepare the boys and make sure they obey you so you can lead them." The Shadow warned in a serious tone.

"Don't worry; they're going to get the punishment they deserve for breaking my rules." I spat.

The shadow looked towards me in acceptance and flew off.

Trust me when I say that those boys are going to be in for a real treat. I'm going to push them to the breaking point, I'll push them to the point that they will want to break each other.

Earlier this morning…

Will's POV

I nudged Ben who was snoring on my shoulder.

"Y-yeah, w-what is it." Ben mumbled still half asleep.

"Pan's back." Ethan said from my other side.

Ben's head lifted off my shoulder and we all stood up as Pan walked through the skull gate and into the training area. He looked furious. No one has gotten that close to escaping off the island in a long time. Once the boys noticed, they quickly formed a group. Ethan, Ben and I joined them staying towards the back of the group. I wanted to know where Emily was and if she was safe, I wanted to find her and make sure she was safe with me but by the look on Pan's face I don't think I would be getting anywhere near her.

Pan stood in front of the large oak tree, his eyes sharp and his face was dead serious. Every boy was silent, soaking up the intense silence that Pan was giving us as he looked over us with gleaming eyes. We all knew that we were going to be punished; there was no doubt about it. What we were more concerned about was what the punishment was going to be.

"I'd like you to all know that Connor died yesterday for entering my hut and stealing a valuable weapon. He also believed that he could escape off the island, without a trace." Pan spoke loudly making sure that every boy could hear.

"Listen up boys because I'm only going to say this once." Pan yelled.

Everyone remained silent, not daring to speak a word.

"You will have six days to prepare for your punishment. You won't be told what it is until I say so."

"We're in deep shit man." Ben panicked from my side causing Ethan and I to nudge him in the ribs.

"Shut up you'll piss the beast off even more." I whisper yelled back to Ben who grabbed hold of his side.

"Forget about the tournaments and the trials. What you boys will be put through is going to be nothing compared to that."

Shit.

We barely made it out of that alive; I can't even begin to imagine what Pan's planning on making us do.

"I suggest you use your time wisely if you value your life." Pan finished with a cold stare.

He walked over to Felix and they began to talk allowing everyone else to soon break the silence as they spoke among themselves in groups. Some were concerned of what Pan was going to make us do, while others wanted to start preparing straight away. I turned to Ethan and Ben only to see Ben panting with his hands on top of his head.

"I'm so not ready for this. I can't die now!" Ben said frantically, "I'm too young."

I chuckled, "It's not like we'll be growing old any time soon."

"Ben you just took down Felix and you're the best swordsman on the island." Ethan tried to encourage Ben to calm him down.

I only scoffed as I remembered how the fight played out.

"I don't know if kicking someone in the balls counts as a sword skill." I mentioned under my breath to then look up to see Ben glaring at me with an annoyed expression.

"Yeah Will, that's the confidence he needs." Ethan said blankly.

Ben shook his head, "Nope that's it. Forget a sword I'm going to find a shovel." Ben said as he turned around and began to walk in the opposite direction.

"What, why?" Ethan asked.

"To dig my grave." Ben said dramatically.

Ethan and I rolled our eyes.

"I'll get our weapons to prepare, and you go dig up Ben from the ground." I said to Ethan who laughed and nodded.

Emily I hope that you're safe out there...

Pan's POV

As I left I noticed Will's helpless expression. I knew he wanted to go after Emily, I could feel his need from the other side of the training area.

If only he knew what was coming.

If only he knew that soon enough he was going to be more separated from Emily then he has ever been before. They're going to hate each other. I'm going to break them apart before the punishment even begins. Don't you worry Will, you will see Emily soon enough, except you won't be so happy when she breaks your precious heart. I grinned as I made my way back to campus and headed for Emily's cage.

The real game is about to begin...

Hey everyone!

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- C