Chapter 6: Hunted
Wendy ran.
Neverland caved around her. Roots upturned to cut her ankles. Sharp branches pulled her hair and clawed into her eyes. Mist warped the jungle into a crooked labyrinth, turning the girl in a whorl of confusion and fear. And just to be wicked, the clouds writhed like muscles and clenched over the moon.
Stumbling over rocks, only to stumble back up, Wendy ran mindlessly through the forest, repelled only by the screaming Indians. Thirstily the warriors crawled over Neverland, pursing the girl like wolves hunting a fawn.
Suddenly the toothy path disappeared. Unable to gather a single happy thought, Wendy fell.
Crack!
For a panicked moment, spurred by the hounding Indians, Wendy groveled across the rocky outcropping. Stitches in the rock pulled apart her bandages as she heaved feebly for safety. Then the outcropping dropped, depositing Wendy into a nettle garden. Tiny, wispy scratches colored her cheeks as she struggled to her feet and…
…stopped.
The moon littered pitiful rays across the island. Thin silver lines striated the outcropping and cast dim shadows on a little house. A little house that was broken with neglect, overgrown with lavender violets, and just Wendy's size.
Her house.
The house that Peter and his boys had built for her…on her first day in Neverland.
Wendy closed her eyes. Exhausted and heartbroken, she knelt before the little house.
She had been scared here too. Shot from the sky, the sun fading as she fell into the jaws of the earth. But then…Peter had come. And the certainty of Peter's hands as his arms folded into her body…the pause of his heartbeat as he pulled her too close…that had been the most frightening and most wonderful of all.
The memory was almost happy enough to lift Wendy from the evil earth. Eyes sparkling, Wendy tilted her head to the sky. And although only a sprinkle of salty stars braved the cloudy night, the sky was open.
The sky. The sky was the magic of Neverland. A kingdom of freedom where she could escape all of her troubles simply by holding Peter's hand and flying higher than the stars. But now…now…
Banished. She was banished. Peter Pan…had banished Wendy.
And Tinkerbell…Tinkerbell was…
Wendy blinked. What had the Chief said?
The fairy cannot be found
Cannot be found. Wendy exhaled, amazed by the revelation. Tinkerbell was not dead. She was unfound. Could it…could it truly be?
Dazed, Wendy rose. Lavender petals clung to her nightgown as she started to walk through the night. Then, she started to run.
Then someone started running after her.
Wendy didn't realize she was being chased until she heard the panting. It was hollow and wet, like a hungry animal about to pounce and sink it's teeth into her neck –
"No!" Wendy covered her face as two hands shot from the darkness like snakes, seizing her nightgown. Twisting, Wendy spun as the attacker wrenched her to the ground.
"Tigerlily!"
"Stay down, stupid girl!" snarled the princess.
"Tigerlily, please!" Wendy pleaded, trying to roll away as Tigerlily grabbed her wrists. "Tigerlily! I know who can help! I know how to find Tinkerbell! I – "
"Silence!"
War cries exploded overhead, blowing the leaves off the trees.
Shoving Wendy down, the petite princess blew across the wooded path in three athletic strides.
"Braves!" she hollered notching an arrow as a pack of shrieking boys approached. Barely covered by shadows and underbrush, Wendy froze. Paralyzed she watched as Tigerlily appealed to the braves.
"The pale girl! She is near!"
Giddily, the braves screamed, stabbing their spears into the sky.
"To the north!" Tigerlily shouted, igniting the braves' uncontrollable zeal. "Back to Hangman's Tree! She's fled to Hangman's Tree! GO!"
Tigerlily ran several feet behind the braves before doubling back.
"I should not be doing this." Cursed the princess, shouldering her bow and sprinting across the forest to where Wendy lay. "I should – "
Tigerlily stopped. She turned, moving with the moonlight.
Wendy was gone.
A big growl rumbled in the little princess's throat. Balancing on all fours, Tigerlily inspected the forest floor. The lackluster forest obscured visual indications of the Wendy's route, forcing the princess to feel for impressions left in the earth.
But the princess , small and royal though she was, was a huntress. And before the moon could highlight it, Tigerlily found Wendy's trail.
"…no…" whispered the princess, eyes traveling down the empty trail. Misty fingers crawled over the path. Tigerlily stood, staring incomprehensively into the darkness after Wendy. "…are you mad?"
Twigs broke, snapping like broken shells. Braids slashing, Tigerlily notched an arrow and let it fly.
"Princess!"
The arrow sliced from Tigerlily's bow as two boys sprinted into the clearing.
"John! Black Antler! Look out!"
Recognizing the arrow's hum, Black Antler careened to the left, slamming into a tree as the arrow zipped through John's top hat.
"Princess!" John snatched off the top hat, applaud at the arrow sticking neatly through the cylindrical silk shell. "Good gracious, what a shot!"
"Where is she?" Black Antler demanded as Tigerlily pulled John to his feet. Wasting no time, the brave took Tigerlily's arm, beseeching her reputation as a hunter. Bruises smudged Black Antler's cheekbones, puffing under a broad scratch. he had suffered in his silence to keep Wendy safe. And the torture had skinned away his patience. "Where is Wendy?"
John's glasses flashed in the moonlight. "Did you find her?" he asked, "Is she all righ– "
"There is no time!" Tigerlily interrupted, pointing urgently into the black forest. "She ran! She went to go find the fairy! She went for help! Black Antler – she went east! East!"
Black Antler's eye dilated. "…no...Wendy."
"What?" John demanded, floundering through distorted branches and downturned underbrush as the two Indians sprinted ahead of him. "Where did Wendy go? I say, slow down! Where is my sister? What's east? What is east!?"
Black Antler's voice was masked by the lament of a savage, nameless creature howling at the moon. But when John heard the response, he lost hope.
"Mermaid lagoon."