The fact that I was flying would have seemed more amazing if it weren't for the fact that I was trying to balance holding onto my iPod as well as Peter – no way was I going to lose my one possession from home, but no way was I planning on dying either. I'm sure he was joyous over the fact that in order to make sure I wouldn't fall to my death that I had rolled myself into him. My front was facing his as I held onto his waist with my left arm while my right wound around his side and under his arm so that my hand was on his left shoulder. Not to mention that my face was buried into his chest and I was trying not to scream anytime he took a dip, turn, or did a loop.
"What, not having fun, princess?" he asked mockingly. Arrogant prick. I had no response, being this high up terrified me. Climbing trees was never an issue for me, but anytime I went on a plane I had to take medicine to knock me out before takeoff. Being that high in open air was a terrifying concept for me.
Finally after what seemed like an eternity, we landed by a large tree. He let go of me, and I stumbled away from him in order to regain my balance. It wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't wobble away while he gazed on enjoying every minute of it. "Do you feel better now that I don't?" I asked him accusingly. It was obvious he only did this because of the music thing.
"It certainly helps," he admitted. The laughter was still in his eyes as he walked over to the tree and pulled on a branch I hadn't noticed. The branch was a lever that had opened up a small doorway in the tree. "Ladies first," he said gesturing for me to go into the tree.
Biting back a comment about someone not being able to take a joke, I walked back over to the tree. Looking inside I saw the last thing I expected: stairs. I leaned back out to ask Peter about it, but he gave me a hard look. "Walk," he ordered.
I turned back around and walked down onto the stairs. It was dark and I couldn't see anything, so I took each step carefully. The stillness made me painfully aware of the breathing I could hear right behind me, a constant reminder of why I was here in the first place. Well look at it this way. It's either going to be their secret hideout or a jail cell. You get to sleep in one of those places.
After about 5 minutes of walking, I reached the bottom of the stairs. Then all that was in front of me was a panel. "A little help," I said after I couldn't figure out how to open it. Peter's throaty chuckle graced my ears as he leaned forward and brushed his hand over mine, finding the latch instantly and pushing the door open slightly. Through the doorway, I could see some light peering through.
Walking into the room, I realized it wasn't a jail cell. It was a bedroom for sure, but we weren't in a tree anymore either. Looking around, it seemed like we were in a dirt cave. The walls, floor, and ceiling were made of hard compact dirt. Torches were located a few places around the room. In one corner there was a large bed with lots of homemade blankets and pillows on it. In the opposite corner there was what looked to be a lounging chair carved from an old large tree trunk with a small bookcase located next to it.
"What do you think?" Peter's voice came from right behind my head. I was so focused on taking the small room in that I hadn't heard him come up behind me.
"Well, it's not the jail cell I expected to be taken to," I said jokingly. I hoped that if I tried to be teasing that maybe he'd let me off the hook.
"Now why would you have needed to be taken to any sort of a cell?" he asked. I could tell he was trying to get me to trap myself into a confession, so there went the hope of him forgetting.
"Look, I really am sorry about the volume mishap. Are you going to hold a grudge against me for that? For Christ's sake, you brought me to an island that I thought up until today had been a made up story, as well as you for that matter." I knew it was pointless, but trying to reason with him was the only strategy that I could think of at this time. "This thing," I said, holding up my iPod, "is the only thing that I have right now to ground myself in reality, to remind me about anything. If it makes you feel any better, it will eventually run out of battery power, and I won't be able to use it anymore. I'd give it another two or three days at most."
"You people actually buy something that will be of no good to you after a few days?" he asked, forgetting for a minute about the argument.
"Not exactly. If I were home I would be able to plug it into a charger. After a few hours of charging it's good as new," I explained knowing full well he wouldn't understand any of that explanation.
Peter nodded thoughtfully as he mulled the information over. "Fine. You can keep your contraption until it no longer works," he said. I was about to thank him, but then he added, "if you pass a little test first." The grin on his face would put the Cheshire Cat to shame.