10 more days. After today, I only have to be here for 10 more days. I almost don't want to go; I can't imagine living back at my house. However, I can't imagine surviving here either. I can't live forever without being discovered. It's impossible.

I grin, quickly getting out of bed. Marcus is the only one who is still sleeping in my tent. I haven't seen that boy in a while, I almost managed to forget he existed. He could even still be acting as Keaton's lackey for all I know.

Grabbing a bunch of grapes off the table, as well as a few other things that are still left, I turn to head to the beach. I haven't been there in a while, and though I still worry about the mermaids, I've missed the water. It's like looking out into hope. One day I won't be here anymore. One day soon.

I walk for about half an hour, until I reach the shores. Devin is not here yet; perhaps since I left him he has found a more efficient method to cleaning than karting down the clothing. It takes longer to move the fabrics than it does to actually clean them.

Lying down on the beach, my hands find their way into the warm sand. It's more dirt than sand, and the rough texture is probably doing my clothing more harm than good, but it's calming. I stare up at the sky and notice a bird fly overhead. A flash of black, dark as the night, fly by.

It could be ten minutes, or an hour that I lie on the ground. It feels like an eternity, and one that is peaceful. That is, until I hear rustling through the trees. I scramble off the ground, moving into the trees, so that I can watch the path and the beach at the same time. Waiting.

Alex and Harry walk out to the beach, sitting down. Now I feel stupid. Why is it that whenever I hear a sound I assume the worst? Going from reckless to cautious may be safer, but it's awfully more annoying. I miss the days of attacking tigers, and starting fights.

It hasn't been the same since the hunt.

I walk over to them.

"Put that thing down," Alex mutters, "you look like an idiot."

Oh bite me.

I lower my arm, noticing my dagger. I don't even remember drawing it out to begin with. "Sorry, old habit."

"Heard you're on call." Harry says, patting the sand next to him, grinning. "Indians are causing quite a bit of trouble aren't they?"

That's not why I'm on call though. As much as the Indians are a pain, I'm on call because of the bet. Did I tell them about that? Should I?

"What's the deal with the Natives anyway?" I ask.

I decide not to. It's not like I love keeping secrets or anything, but there are things I'd rather not put out in the world. Alex might sabotage the bet just to spite me. Then again, he might just help me win so he can be rid of my face.

Alex shrugs. "All the questions. You never give up do you?"

"If I don't get answers, I could die." I furrow my brow, frustrated. "They attacked me during the Game, no shit I have questions."

He rolls his eyes. Typical. "Way back in the day, our biggest threats were the mermaids, the pirates, and the Indians. The mermaids agreed to a settlement, who knows what Pan did to win them over. The pirates are long gone, but they traded free passage off of here for basically obeying every command that came out of Pan's mouth. More like servants than pirates honestly. The Indians didn't come as easy. In fact, they didn't really come at all."

"How'd he make them take a deal?" I ask.

"Threat of violence." Alex says. "The Indians aren't afraid to fight us boys, but they are afraid of Pan. Then some idiot during the Game killed one of the Indian kids-"

Was that Johnny?

"Mind you he didn't do it on bloody purpose." Harry cuts in. "Oscar was the one who set the forest on fire. Didn't blow over quite well. Don't know what's worse, death by fire, or swimming with the mermaids."

Doesn't matter if they think he died because of the fire. They also think I didn't kill Samuel, so I don't trust their judgements all that much.

"You obviously haven't met a mermaid," Alex cuts in.

I have met a mermaid, but I'd prefer drowning than suffering in the heat that I could feel tickling Samuel's neck. Mermaids are awful, but fire is worse. Mermaids can't destroy the island and everything in it in one breath.

"I thought that the mermaids made a deal with Pan, why would they kill a boy?" I ask.

"Just because there's a deal doesn't mean you can go around insulting them." Alex says. "Oscar was a plunter and an ass, nasty combination. He probably went in the water and poked the bear. We're lucky they left his body on the shore, or else we'd have no clue he died."

"Well, we know Samuel died, and his body was never recovered." I tell them.

I mean, I never told anyone Samuel died, so who did?

"James saw him die, that's how we know." Harry's voice is quieter. "Spooked the guy. Watched his body burn, nothing scared him more in his life, apparently."

"James says that about everything." Alex counters, pursing his lips tightly together.

There's a rustling in the trees behind us, and I stand up, pulling out my dagger. Alex pulls my leg, and I crash on to the ground.

"Relax." He rolls his eyes.

Pan strolls out of the forest, like he owns the place. He very well might, but his attitude is awfully annoying. The perfect posture, perfect hair, crooked grin; he pretends his island is a utopia with him at the center piece. Sometimes I pretend that too. Sometimes I even think it's true.

"Have either of you healed yet from that damn fight?" Pan asks. He's talking to Alex and Harry, not me.

Alex turns his head away, but Harry answers. "We are doing just fine. Probably could do a Hunt tonight."

"It's settled then." Pan says. "Tonight, after dinner."

He then turns to me and nods, gesturing for me to follow him out. I quickly mutter goodbye to the two on the beach and follow him out. He says nothing to me, so I say nothing back. It seems the best way to do things around here. We trail through the forest for quite a while before stopping in a clearing.

"Alright," he says, turning to me. "I want you to show me what you are made of."

I scoff. "What?"

"I'm trying to get to your secret." He says, as if it were obvious.

I roll my eyes, but pull out my dagger none the less. I throw it in the air, letting it spin around once before I catch it. I finally begin to understand why I've seen other boys do it before a fight. They are getting used to the weight. The dagger is not an accessory to my fight, it is an extension of my limb. I lose it, I lose my life.

That, and fighting is like a party trick in the same way that twirling the dagger around is. I love fighting, not just for fun but when I know I'm going to win. There's no doubt in my mind I'll lose to Pan, but everything seems more fun when he's around. He carries an aura of joy, which is odd for such a sick boy.

"Is that how you get to people's secrets?" I ask. "By fighting with them?"

He shrugs, but pulls out a dagger from his own belt.

I strike at him first, raising my dagger in a slicing motion at his stomach. He grabs my arm and brings his dagger towards me. I flip underneath his grip, twisting his arm. Getting up, I bring the dagger up towards his neck, as he lets me go. Our blades hit each other, and we both step back.

It's like a dance, like they used to do in a ballroom. Barely touching, pulling forward and backward, smiling. Secret intentions in our eyes. I've never been ballroom dancing, but if it's anything like this I'd love it.

I move forward, this time aiming for a stab, but his blade stops mine at the hilt. The tip rests on the hilt of my dagger, not even an inch away from my fingers. My foot flies up to knock him backwards but he grabs it with his free hand. I use his weight to counter my own as I flip myself backwards through the air. I don't quite land on my feet. One foot hits the ground, but the other comes up short and my knee slams down instead.

It's painful, but at least it looked cool. I mean, if I had landed properly it would've been sick as hell. All the same, I'm impressed with myself. Not sure that I pulled that off on my own though, but Pan wouldn't help me, right?

He moves forward, but I grab the elbow that holds his dagger. He tosses it into the other hand, shoving me back. He pins me against a tree, and holds the dagger up to my neck.

"You may be good." He says. "But I'm better."

I flip my blade around in my hand, shoving the hilt into his stomach, sending him flying back a few feet. He falls on to his back, and begins to get up, but I put my foot on his stomach. He pushes against me, struggling, and then glaring up at me.

"You may be better." I tell him. "But I'm not boastful."

He chucks the dagger aside and grabs hold of my foot. He shoves it once, then twice as I don't budge. The third time he pulls full force and I slam down on to the ground, my torso landing on his legs..

I don't feel the pain, but I hear the heavy sound I make as I land on him. I roll off of him, making sure nothing came out of my body in the fall, as I see Pan's foot on my chest.

"I may be boastful," he says. "But I'm still better."

He lifts his foot off me and helps me up. An odd gesture; everything about him is odd today. I can't put him together. He's like several puzzles mixed together. What pieces even belong together?

It's on days like today that I don't mind Neverland entirely. That I don't hate him entirely either. He's at a weird spot now, between enemy and friend. I wouldn't trust him with my life, but there's a little part of me that thinks I should.

"You take a good punch."

The compliment nearly knocks me back off my feet. I notice the way his eyes gleam. I hadn't noticed before.

Quickly breaking eye-contact, I dust myself off, tucking my dagger back in my cloak. "I didn't always."

I didn't. Should I be terrified or thrilled that I couldn't do this months ago? When I first came here, I was so very bad at fighting. I'm better now, nowhere near the best, but I worked hard at it. Firing arrows until my fingers bleed, and it's payed off.

He nods. "I can tell.

laying a hand on me, we are quickly sent back to the camp.

The more we move like this, the less in burns, and the less dizzy I feel after.

I turn to say something to him, but he vanished along with the rest of the woods. I wonder why he sent me back, yet chose to stay behind.

He always seems to be doing things I don't understand. Maybe I'll find out his secret before the deadline.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, this may have originally been twice the length, and a lot more shit went down. However, I thought it would make more sense to separate them into two parts, so the next little bit will be up Saturday. So soon, and it'll be so good.

Who knows, maybe I'll be in a really good mood and posted in soon. Comments tend to do that. What do you think about Charlie's change of opinion towards Pan, or the Native boy Johnny may or may not have killed. Who knows? (I know)

Anyway, enjoy the beginning of fall, and I'll see you Saturday.