Chapter 20
Love and Violation: Part II
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Peter tore through the forest at a speed he hadn't recently thought himself capable of. He ignored the strain on his body, ignored the scrapes that he was receiving from branches as he speed past them. All that mattered was getting to Leah. He cursed loudly when his strength wavered and he plummeted to the forest floor. Tumbling through the dirt and fallen leaves, he desperately dug his hands into the ground, only able to stop when his back collided with a fallen tree trunk. All the wind knocked out of him, he gasped for air.
Get up. Get up! You have to keep going!
He yelled at himself, cursed as he pushed himself off the ground and took to the air once more.
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"It's Leah." Tiger Lily said, her eyes wide with fear. Peter was frozen to his spot inside the teepee, he waited, his breath held to hear if what Lily had said, meant something harmless.
At that moment, the Indian guard, Stealth as Panther, re-emerged into the teepee, the blood wiped off of his face. His face was solemn, but he looked straight at Peter as to convey something silently to him.
"Peter, Stealth as Panther was sent to watch over Leah, to protect her if anything should happen." Lily began to quickly explain, she knew that time was of the essence. "But somehow the pirates found him first." The guard bowed his head as if in apology. "They attacked him while Leah was out by the river. When he awoke, Leah was missing, and that was left was this." Tiger Lily held up a small cloth, crumpled and dirty. Cautiously she brought it to her nose and sniffed. Her expression told Peter enough.
"Temprin berry." Peter felt like his insides had turn to ice and his heart pounded erratically in his chest.
"Yes," Lily started, handing over the cloth for Peter to examine as well. "The dose doesn't smell too concentrated, but it is strong enough that it would have immobilized her immediately. Peter, temprin berry prevents muscle movement for up to a few hours, this dose," She explained as she grabbed the cloth out of his hand and waved it around. "Won't affect her heart. But if these are the same pirates from before…" She trailed off, and looking her right in the eye Peter knew why.
In an instant, Peter forgot about everything around him, all he knew was that he had to get to Leah as quickly as possible. He bolted for outside and immediately took to the skies, ignoring whatever it was that Lily was trying to shout at him.
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Peter made it to the beach quicker than he thought possible, but still not quick enough. He paused only for a moment to stare out across the water where the Jolly Roger waited hauntingly on the dimming horizon. Without a second thought he made a move towards the ship. But as he got closer to the waters edge, something called to him, a barely audible whisper, a feeling that caused him to look to his left back towards the forest.
Sitting there, abandoned high on the beach, was a small boat that the pirates used to get to and from their ship. His heart fluttered as a glimmer of hope found its way into his mind.
There was still time.
Launching himself off the ground, sand spraying in all directions, Peter dove back into the awaiting forest. Only a feeling guided his direction in the endless maze of the overgrown fauna. But even then all he kept encountering were dead ends. The forest was silent aside from the occasional scurry of an unseen animal. At the edge of a stream Peter stopped, his hands fisted atop his head, he circled, unsure of which way to go.
Every second that he wasted without finding her, without even knowing which way to go, became a second closer to losing her. Tears of frustration stung his eyes, blurring the silhouettes of the trees and plants around him. He didn't know what to do, didn't know which direction to go. He felt utterly helpless.
No…no…no…
Peter rubbed his eyes fiercely with his fist and cursed himself. He had to keep it together, he couldn't…wouldn't give up. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm himself down. In the silence of the forest he listened, ignoring the loud thudding of his heart in his ears, he tried to pinpoint a noise that was out of place. Time ticked passed, the forest stayed silent. And then…
There!
Peter's eyes snapped open. Ahead of him to the right came a noise, almost lost in the dense foliage, a deep, menacing laugh that could only belong to a pirate. He took off through the trees, only stopping when he made it to the rim of the small clearing.
He had found her.
Straight ahead across the clearing, she was there with the two pirates. But nothing was right. Tears streamed out of the corners of her eyes, quiet cries came from her gagged mouth. Above her the pirate laughed as his dirty hands continued to roam her. She cried again, but this time the pirate froze and caught her face violently with his hand.
"Callin' for 'im are you?" The pirate spit out at her.
Calling for him? Peter froze. Were they talking about…?
"Peter Pan ain't comin' to rescue you. And if he do it'll be too late." A sneer spread across the large man's face, but when her quiet cry came again, carrying Peter's name, the sneer fell with a hateful expression. Quick as a flash his hand came down on her, forcing her head into the cold earth, and a small stream of blood formed at the corner of her mouth.
At that moment, a heat like no other filled Peter's face, a rage like he never felt before consumed him and all he saw was red.
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Yes, short chapter. Come back Monday when we post Part III.
-Star and Glade
22-2-08