Darling Ellie

Chapter 31

Peter

I looked back across the camp when I heard my name. It was Ellie's voice, but she was gone.

"Ellie?" I whispered in confusion.

I heard my name again. Ellie was screaming my name.

"Peter!" She screamed from the forest.

I ran to the tree line.

"Ellie!" I roared into the forest.

Everything fell eerily silent.

"Ellie!" I broke into a run through the forest crashing through foliage and scaring away anything in my path.

"Ellie!" I slowed down, turning in a circle screaming her name.

She was gone. I'd heard fear in her voice, more than I ever had before. The Lost boys came crashing through the forest behind me.

"What is it, Pan?" Felix asked coming to a halt at my side.

"Ellie's gone...she...she's in trouble. I have to find her!" The boys all stood ready for orders.

I thought hard about what kind of danger she could be in. My eyes combing the lost boys. My heart skipped a beat as I realised who was missing.

"Where's Daniel?" No one answered. "Where is he!"

"I haven't seen him since we returned from the trip Pan...this morning." Alex who had led Daniel's seeker training remarked.

"Spread out over the whole island. Find them, bring Ellie back!" The boys split off into groups all heading in different directions.

I ran with Felix, extending my hearing to every corner of Neverland. Trying to separate the sounds of the lost boys from any sign of Ellie. Wherever Daniel had taken her it was well hidden. But Peter Pan never fails. I couldn't fail her.

We had been looking for almost two hours. I was growing more afraid by the minute. We were deep in the forest close to the cliffs surrounding mermaid lagoon. We were about to turn around when I heard it. Terrified screams pierced my ears as I fell to my knees. I held my head, it ached from hearing the screams. I was writhing on the ground when shadow appeared. He flew down to me clearly also in pain.

"W-where...is it...coming...from." Shadow pointed through the forest in the direction of the cliffs.

What was in the cliffs? He tried to speak to me, but I couldn't hear. Ellie's screams blocked everything out. My heart felt like it was being ripped from my chest.

It was the same feeling as when she first arrived, I was drawn to her. My heart searching for her. That's how I would find her. I stood and ran as best as I could.

"Shadow...signal the...closest group." I heaved.

The pain in my chest and head making it difficult to talk. He flew straight up to search. The group to find us was David, Roy, and Billy. They fell in line with Felix following me. The screaming in my head stopped as we reached the end of the cliff. Instead, I could hear it faintly from below us. The amplified noise of Neverland allowed the boys to hear it too.

"Where could she be?" Roy asked.

I was trying to think.

"The cave!" Billy shouted in realisation. "On a scouting trip a few weeks ago, it was just me and Daniel. We found a cave in these cliffs.... Daniel found a cave in these cliffs. This way."

Billy ran off along the cliff edge. Turning towards the drop he stepped down and disappeared. I sprinted after him, finding a path carved into the earth. It was steep and hooked around the edge of the cliff before tunnelling in. I pushed past Billy. The pull in my chest alleviating slightly, we were getting close. Ellie's screams were getting louder. I could actually make out what she was saying.

"Stop!" She screamed in pain.

"Please don't do this." She begged. "Stop!"

I found a wooden door at the end of the tunnel illuminated by a single torch. I kicked the door in.

The scene before me made me so angry that my magic exploded, throwing Daniel against a wall rendering him unconscious.

Blood was splattered across the ground, ripped fabric which was clearly Ellie's dress lay discarded next to her. He had been holding her down, getting ready for the unimaginable. The boys ran to apprehend Daniel while I ran to Ellie.

She had rolled over facing another wall of the cave. She was covered in fresh cuts and bruises. Her nearly naked body seemed frail and weak, shaking. I turned her over holding her in my arms. She stared at the ceiling in shock, tears still falling. A large blanket appeared in my hand which I used to cover her. Tears ran down my face. With one hand I moved the hair out of her eyes, matted with blood and dirt. My hands were shaking as I held them close to her face.

She looked awful. I knew she would have felt worse. I cradled her in my arms picking her up. She was so light. Strangely light.

"Take him to the cage." I commanded not even looking at Daniel's unconscious form.

I walked back through the forest to camp. Ellie laying limp in my arms. The boys were assembled in the middle of camp, waiting for my return. Joseph stood at the head of the group. When he saw me, he fell to his knees, face slack and mouth agape. The sight of his injured friend shocking his system. I knew my eyes were red, still filled with tears. I kept walking to my cabin. Anthony and Stephen were at Joseph side but seemed unable to console him as they were still trying to wrap their heads around what they were seeing. Some boys shrunk back in horror, a couple heaved at the sight of the bloodied girl, and some stepped forward to offer assistance if I needed it.

I turned back to the boys once I reached the cabin, "An atrocity has been committed against one of our own, by one of our own. His name shall no longer be spoken. He is no longer a lost boy!"

I threw the door open with my magic, slamming it again behind me. I walked through the cabin to the bathroom, I couldn't let my body be overtaken by my sadness yet. I had to help Ellie first.

She was shivering, her eyes unfocused. I sat on the cold floor with her. She began talking, very quickly.

"I trusted him I trusted him make it stop make it go away I can't live like this make it stop make him stop...stop, stop, stop." I held Ellie's chin and forced her to look at me.

"He's gone, I'm here. Focus on me." She burst into tears pulling her arms out from under the wraps of the blanket she held me tightly.

Thanking me for saving her. I turned on the shower so that I could wash the blood off her. I knew she was in no state to clean herself so, fully dressed, I moved to sit under the running water. Still holding her tightly with one arm, I used a soft cloth to clean the blood from her body. Watching it run down the drain.

I ran my fingers gently through her hair washing out the tangles, blood, and dirt. Only once she was clean did I allow myself to cry. I held her tightly in my arms, face pressed into her hair and cried.

Cried at her pain. Cried at what had been done to her. Cried at the damage inflicted her innocent, happy spirit.

Would she ever be the same? Will she always hurt because of this? Is this all my fault?

When the tears stopped flowing and we both fell silent I turned off the shower. I used magic to dry us both and clothe Ellie. The clothes which I summoned would normally fit her perfectly but now they sagged, hanging too loose on her thin, tiny frame.

What had he done to her? I lifted her again carrying her back into the bedroom.

I pulled back the covers and tucked her in. She fell asleep before her head even hit the pillow. I fell to my knees beside the bed, letting sadness and grief rip through me.