I'm lucky I grabbed lunch before heading out to search for Pan, seeing as I've been looking for about three hours now yet have had less than any luck finding him. Not at the beach, not in his fort, not at the cages.

I've decided to head up to the falls now, which is a good hour's walk from here. If he's not there, when I find him, I'm going to kill him.

I whip out my dagger, playing with it between my fingers. I chuck it up into the air, and it spins around before I catch it on the way down. My arm brings it back and I snap it out, like I saw Harry do with his knife. The dagger flies through the air before it collides with a tree trunk. I jog forward, attempting to pull it out of the wood. It's in very deep, nearly to the hilt.

I twist it about until it comes out, knocking me off balance. I fall, landing on the ground.

Less than comfortable.

A sound, like a footstep, echoes out behind me. I turn my head in the direction, sweeping my feet out under me and crouching. I peek around the trees, but see nobody. The sound continues, so I move, closer to it, pulling out my dagger and peering out towards it from behind a tree.

It's Eric and Sam, Sam holding Eric, pulling forward. His feet scrape along the ground, trailing behind the two.

He's unconscious.

I dart towards them, holding out my dagger as a defense. I grab hold of Eric by his arm, latching the knife at his throat. Sam lets go of the boy, and I pull him tighter to me. Holding the dagger up against his skin, I crack my neck.

Sam cracks a frown at me. "Let him go."

"Where are your friends, huh?" I demand. "They hiding out in the trees? Looking for more people to ambush?"

"Put him down." He demands.

"I'm not going to hurt him. I slash his throat, he could bleed out, but if you lunge at me I wouldn't have the chance to dig deep enough." I drag the dagger across his neck, before holding the tip against the side of his neck. "Now, if I were to say, plunge it into his throat."

I stiffen my arm, and begins to turn white at the force. Sam flinches.

His friends aren't here, they would've attacked me by now.

"What do you want?" He spits.

I shrug. "What everybody wants. You to die."

"That's non-negotiable." He stands his ground.

"Then I'll make a compromise." I spit. "On your knees."

He doesn't move.

This may be awful, but Sam deserves this. He and Eric have killed people. Eric nearly killed me in fact.

I slide the dagger down slightly, letting Eric's skin crack open. A small cut, but the blood trickles down.

"I said, on your knees." I emphasis every syllable.

He gets down on his knees, glaring up at me.

"Your bow and arrows, get them off." I command. "Your sword too. In fact, the whole cloak needs to go, as well as the belt below it."

He begrudgingly follows my orders, knocking aside all the equipment. It clangs against the ground, and though he is weaponless, he uses his eyes as knives. He's fuming out the sides, threatening to boil over.

"Happy?" He rolls his eyes.

"Like I said, not while you are alive." I tell him.

"What do you want?"

"New compromise," I tell him. "A hostage for a hostage. I walk away with Eric, and he comes back to camp with me. I'll give you him when I get Felix."

He looks at me, before grinning. "Take him. Take him back to camp."

I pause. "You're tricking me."

There's no way he'd give up his friend that easily, right? I mean, I get he's not a great person, but from what I can tell, he genuinely cares about Eric. Why would he sacrifice his friend?

"No please," he smiles. "Take him back."

I smile. "He's dead-weight. Sick with that illness, right? That's why you want me to take him?"

He scoffs. "Sure, that's what it is."

"Or he's still unconscious from that fight?" I ask, thinking back on when Eric tried to stab me. "Got knocked over. I bet you he's dead."

Sam frowns, pulling at his hair with his hands, which are locked behind his head. "He's not dead. He's breathing."

"There's more than one way of being dead." I spit. "There's brain death, which there's more coming back from. Or maybe you hope he's in a coma. I hope he's in a coma too, that way you can watch as his blood courses through a body your little friend can never access. You'll waste your days hoping one day he'll wake up, when he won't."

Eric shifts in my grip, gravity taking over, but I shrug him up, making sure to firmly hold him.

I'm getting under Sam's skin.

"So I'll bring him back to camp, and you'll never see him again." I say. "It's too bad the head is so fragile. How unfortunate. Hit the ground and one off angle and suddenly-"

"It wasn't a collision, it was magic!" He shouts. "You need protection from that idiot Pan. Can't do a single thing on your own without it. You're alive because of him, and who knows if Eric will ever wake up. So take him back to the camp all you want, but Felix isn't yours."

There's a lot for me to digest from that little spout of information. "First of all, I'm perfectly capable of handling myself. I certainly don't need Pan to fight my battles, as I'm sure you don't need Dominique to fight your own. I'm not just some lackey you know."

I don't have a second thing to add to this argument.

"Just take him, will you?" He asks. "I have better things to do with my day."

I bite my cheek. "You know, I get the feeling you are using reverse psychology on me, but I also get the feeling that you aren't smart enough to use it."

He bites his tongue, metaphorically and physically.

"Makes it easier on you if I take him. Saves you the trouble of disposing a body."

"I'm not disposing him." He screeches.

"Sure," I goad him. "He's just a prop to you people."

"I am not disposing of him." He bites his cheek hard.

"Then what were you doing?" I laugh.

He doesn't answer.

"Better idea." I tell him. "I bring him back to camp, and if Felix isn't on my doorstep by tomorrow I kill him."

"You wouldn't dare." His eyes are filled with rage.

"You think I wouldn't?"

Would I?

"Or I could kill him now," I tease, running the dagger along his skin. "It wouldn't even be hard. Just a little slip of my fingers."

He grins. "We'll bring Felix to you, we'll surrender, if you don't hurt him."

The sudden juxta-position throws me off. Sam only grins when he thinks he's getting the better of me. Why does he want to get Eric to the camp so bad?

"You want him to have medical attention." It hits me. "You aren't going to give us back Felix."

He stiffens.

"You think he's going to die if we don't help him." I tell him.

"Suddenly all smug for someone who took ten minutes to figure it out." He frowns.

I roll my eyes. "If he's got magic on him, he isn't waking up, not until you all surrender. Not until Felix is safe on camp grounds."

"If you think your precious camp is safe, then you're the fool." He tells me. "The conspiracy has got high friends in high places. You seriously think you wouldn't have an inside man? No one is safe. You don't take him back and I'll have you killed tomorrow."

"Yeah, you and what army?" I scoff. "It seems to me that somehow I've already managed to overpower you, despite being both outmanned and out-weaponed. You're friends in high places do you no good when Pan has control over the entire island. You think you can over power him, when he controls the weather, the forest, and the sun in the sky?"

"You sound like one of his preachers now." He spits. "Aren't you all buddy-buddy with Alex? He hates Pan more than anybody else here does, and he's the smartest boy here."

"I like to think I can make my own decisions." I tell him.

"You're blinded by your loyalty." He tells me.

"You're blinded by your stupidity." I tell him.

I'm many things, but loyal is none of them. I don't stick by those who don't provide me some sort of advantage. Pan keeps us safe, in a matter of speaking, and hasn't actively tried to kill me. Why would I listen to a word Sam says, when he has done nothing but try to trick me.

I grin. "You know what, I decided something."

"Oh yeah?" He asks. "And what's that?"

"No matter what I do," I tell him, "I'm not getting Felix back. Not from you anyway. You're nothing but a tool to Dominique."

"And you are nothing but a tool to Pan," he tells me. "Don't you see, that's what we all are?"

"He protects us." I say.

"Like he protected Jared?" Sam scoffs. "Like that other New? What's his name, Lyle?"

"Don't you put his name in your mouth!" I shout. "Don't sour the deceased to further your own agenda. Pan may not be perfect, but he's better than you lot. We are about to be at war with the Natives, but he hasn't killed one of them. Their blood is on your hands."

"All our blood is on his." He says.

"No, it isn't." I spit. "You've killed boys, to what, escape? You haven't exactly gotten any further, other than causing a scene. You aren't worth the time, or energy. If Pan wanted you dead, he'd have you dead."

"Not when he can't track us." He says. "We've bested him."

"You can hide all you want." I tell them. "But there is nowhere to run."

"How are you so blind? You are being used?"

"We are all being used!" I yell. "I'm being used by Pan to support his life style, to entertain him, sure. You are being used by Dominique, to kill and destroy and kidnap. Our leaders are the same, only mind has the dignity not to kidnap you and kill you, unlike your kind."

"Pan has killed far more people than we have." He tells me. "There are so many graves."

"Yes, and how many have you left behind?" I ask. "So far, we count two. Pan has been here hundreds of years, and you've been here what, five? Seems a little disproportionate if you ask me. How many more will die?"

"As many as needed." He spits.

"You are being hypocritical." I tell him.

"So are you." He answers.

That is fair enough. It feels odd to defend Pan. In times of war, things are becoming clearer. Pan has never directly killed anyone. The only lives I feel are directly on his hands are those of the Game. All the other deaths were the faults of the murderers or the victims. The Game was sick and twisted, and I still don't see why it needed to happen.

Alas, it did, and there's nothing I can do about it. Except move on.

I scoot closer to Sam's weapons. As carefully as I can, I pick them up. I sling his belt around my waist, holding the sword to me, and grab the bow and quiver. As Eric hits the ground, I quickly slide the dagger on to my belt and raise the bow and notch an arrow into place.

Hopefully he doesn't know I'm decent at best with this weapon.

"Alright, here's the deal." I tell him. "You grab Eric and walk in the other direction."

"He needs medical attention." He says. "Don't punish him for what I've done."

"You both did this." I spit. "Come back with Felix and then we will talk about healing him."

He looks at me, and I nod at Eric, stepping back.

Moving slowly, he mutters something under his breath as he turns to help Eric up. Then he's turned around, tackling me.

I buck him off, pulling out my dagger, when he charges at me again. The blade slices his cheek lightly, but he doesn't back down.

He throws himself at me again, and knock him straight backwards with a punch to the head. His body hits the ground, and he sits up I punch him hard and he falls back down. Head hits the ground, and he's unconscious.

Pity, it wasn't even a good fight.

I spit on him, before turning, and walking away.

"You took care of that well." A voice rings out from beside me.

I grin. "Really? I thought you would've told me about how I shouldn't throw myself into danger."

"But danger is all the fun." He points out, moving up next to me as we walk. "Danger is my middle name."

"Peter Danger Pan," I chuckle, meeting his eyes. "Seems a little odd."

He doesn't answer, but continues along beside me.

The long walk back to camp could take hours, especially since I was headed in the wrong direction for the past hour. Didn't even realise until I hit the lagoon that I had gone too far.

"I was looking for you earlier." I tell him. "I thought you would've known."

"I don't think I said I didn't know." Pan grins.

"Then why didn't you make you come to me?" I ask.

He scoffs. "I have things to do outside of simply talk to you."

This time I remain silent. He's being cheeky, teasing me. It's odd, but refreshing.

The forest is beautiful at this time of day. Recently, the sun has been setting a lot earlier than normal. I wouldn't imagine it to be after dinner, yet I watch the sun kiss the trees, casting a warm glow through the otherwise dark woods. It seems as though I'm constantly looking through green-tinted sunglasses; the island always appears dark and all encompassing. Now however, there is a soft yellow glow surrounding everything.

Pan's smile glows in the light, and the way it reflects off his hair brings out its blonde tones. Does he have blonde or brown hair? I never really thought much about it until now, but it seems to be both.

In this much lighting, you'd expect everyone's flaws to be even more obtrusive, but somehow even his skin looks clean.

Like it would be soft to the touch.

"What was it you wanted to ask me?"

I snap my eyes up to his. "Well, I wanted to..."

Does he know I was staring at him?

I can't believe I was staring at him.

"To what?"

"Find Felix," the words find me. "I figured if you let a small group of boys and I go, we could take them down."

"Small group?" He asks. "How small?"

"Well, the Hunt and I," I explain. "Apart from Robert and James that is. 6 boys."

Alex, Harry, Johnny, Keaton and Gregory. And myself. I count off the six of us in my head, just to make sure I did tell him the right amount.

"You could probably do it with three." He tells me.

"Honestly?" I ask. "Three on three?"

"Well, once you find them, I'll come find you." He says. "They're no match for me."

"Is anyone a match for you?" I ask.

He smirks. "Only a few. Why, worried someone will come and kill us all?"

"It was more so a sarcastic retort than an actual question." I elaborate.

He rolls his eyes before grinning, and jogging up ahead. "Let's play a game."

"You know, I never do know if I'm supposed to be frightened, or excited by that phrase." I deadpan.

"The rules are simple," he says. "You stand-"

"Shouldn't we head back to camp?" I scratch my neck, trying to keep my eyes off his. "It's beginning to get dark."

"All the better to play this game." He grins. "Back up, against that tree."

I roll my eyes, but listen, spotting the tree and firmly pressing my back into it. The bark clings to my cloak, and is solid against my hair. I lean up, looking at him as he slowly backs away.

"So, I'm going to shoot you." He tells me.

I exhale, suddenly out of breathe. "What?"

I move my head forward, but it gets slammed back against the bark by magic. It doesn't hurt so much as it is irritating.

"I shouldn't say shoot you." He tells me. "Shoot at you is more correct. I'll be hitting right above your head."

"Wouldn't you like to have a target?" I continue to exhale.

"There is one."

I feel a weight on my head, and I lift my hand up to my head, feeling around for the object. An apple.

"A little bit cliché aren't we?" The panic leaks into my voice.

He raises his arms as he aims a crossbow. Must've came from magic. Still completely terrifying.

"Come on now, have a little fun," he tells me.

"I believe I used nearly that exact phrase with you last night, and do let me apologize because this was not my intention." My voice cracks.

He shoots and I close my eyes. After a few seconds, I let my eyes crack open. I'm not dead. My feet move forward beneath me, and I turn around to spot the apple, with an arrow straight through it.

The laughter escapes my lips, a wave of shock and believe.

"You shot it!" I laugh.

"Surprised?" He questions.

I shake my head. "Not in the slightest."

He chuckles, and I turn around to look back at the apple, double-checking that I'm still alive.

I hear a thunk and watch as another arrow pierces the apple. I spin around, glaring at him.

"Not funny, you could've shot me that time." I say.

He cocks an eyebrow. "Was a little funny."

I raise my own bow, cocking an arrow before letting it fly at him. His fingers steal it out of the air, holding the wood in his hand, the tip an inch away from piercing his heart.

He looks up at me grinning. "You could've shot me that time."

"I thought..." I fluster to say the least. "I thought you would've teleported."

"I've got a few tricks up my sleeve." He tells me.

"A few tricks in your hands too."

He shrugs, stepping closer to me. The sun is setting behind him, and the glow darkens his features. He is nothing but a shadow, which almost makes me laugh because up until now, I wasn't quite sure if he even had one.

"Like I said," every syllable is emphasized as it passes from his lips to me. "Peter Pan never fails."

"I think I've got one," I smirk. "Peter Pan is an ass."

One of his eyes squints slightly, as he smiles. "Don't quite think that one will catch on."

"I have a quite a few more if you have the time." I tell him.

He sighs. "Unfortunately I don't."

His hand is on my shoulder and the familiar feeling of all my bones dislocating fills my body. I manage to keep my feet beneath me as I suddenly find myself on the outskirts of camp.

~~~~~~~

I like this, but it was long. I like it a lot. The Sun's Glow, is I think an important moment for Charlie, don't you?

What more would you from Charlie and Pan? Let me know in the comments below.

Enjoy the wind, and I'll see you Tuesday.