Peter Pan

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. The stories had been know for a long time of people being taken from the cabin and into the darkness. Despite the stories every year for decades someone would light a candle and everytime it happened, they disappeared into the dark. It was a simple story "In order to get to Neverland, you have to light a candle so Peter Pan knows you want to come. Once lit, he will come and take you to Neverland to live forever." A children's story with an untold truth.

In 1991 the son and daughter of the governor disappeared along with several kids. Afterwards the cabin in the woods was sealed by high fence and barbed wires. Thirty-two years later and a group of friends have found a way through the fence and made their way to the cabin in the woods. As they walked through the woods they could see signs telling them to turn back. The group of teenagers use their lights and navigate the overgrown path to the cabin.

"There it is!" The head of the group shouts. He was a boy by the name of Alex. He and his boyfriend Jason convinced a few other friends they should have fun and sneak in. They wanted to light the candle and see if the stories were true, that the rumors of a young boy stealing whoever lights the candle would happen. The group of twelve friends walk into the creeky old cabin. Despite its age, the cabin seemed to be untouched.

Alex puts a lantern down to give minor light to the whole cabin. The rest use their lights and look at all of the walls. There are names carved into them and what appears to be dried blood. "Oh this is so creepy!" Jason says giddily. Alex turns music on from his phone and everyone grabs beer from their backpacks.

"Come on, let's light the candle and see if we get taken!" One of the girls in the group suggests. "I don't know guys, lots of kids and adults have died here, maybe we shouldn't do this." Jonathon says

Jason and Alex go to the window by the candle. "Come on, we came this far." Jason and Alex look at one another. "Ready?" They ask in unision. They both pull out a lighter and light the candle together. A few moments pass and nothing happens.

"See? There is nothing to be scared of." Alex says. The yellow flame turns to black and green and a small pressure wave erupts from the candle. The pressure wave causes everyone to fall down. Alex and Jason get up first and ask everyone if they are alright. They look around the room and nothing seems off.

Alex grabs his phone from his pocket to see what time it is. The time hasn't changed. It is still 11pm but his singal was completely gone. "Guys, anyone have signal? Mine is gone." Everyone checks their phone to see if there is signal. None of them had any. The group of friends were starting to get nervous.

"It's been ages since a visitor has come from this little cabin." A voice says from the window sill. The group of friends look and see someone roughly their age sitting there on the sill holding the candle. He was wearing dark brown leather pants, long leather boots and a dark green tunic. The boy had dirty blond hair and green eyes. "I'm so glad there are kids who want to play with me. I've been bored lately." The boy says as he hops off the sill. He puts the candle back down.

He points a finger and traces the group. "All of you are under 18 right?" He asks. Jonathon raises his hand. "I'm 18, the rest are 17." He says. The boy in green puts a hand to his chin and taps it with his fingers. "I appreciate that honesty. It's good to know my fun isn't going to be ruined all that much." He snaps his fingers and Jonathon is blown into bits all over the cabin. Blood sprays all over everyone in the room.

They all scream in unison over the murder of their friend. The boy who did it chuckles. "Sorry, Neverland has one rule, no adults." He says with a demonic smile.

"Who are you?" Jason demands! The boy puts a hand to his chest. "My apologies, where are my manners. I'm Peter. Peter Pan." There is a collective gasp among the friends. Peter Pan is supposed to be a good person but this guy murdered their friend.

"What do you want? The Peter Pan we grew up on didn't murder people?" Alex asks. Peter Pan laughs lightly. "The story little James went back and told your world was very toned down. It's true I and my lost boys fought against Captain Hook who lives on the only island here that allows adults. I didn't just cut his hand off and feed it to a crocodile, I didn't knock him overboard into the water, no. I killed him in the most delightfully violent way possible." He says with a wicked smirk. Pan sighs. "That was ages ago though. Lately all I get to do it is play games with whoever happens to come here. Hope you guys are ready! I've been bored!" Peter Pan says.

The questions in their heads was what kind of game would they be playing. If this kid is a murderer than what will happen to them in the game? Alex being the brave one asked if they could just go home. They didn't want to play. Peter Pan chuckles and points to the candle. "Sorry, you lit the candle. That means you all asked for this game. There are different items and totems scattered across the earth that bring anyone who uses them to me, and depending on which item is used, depends on the game. This is one of my favorites. Think of it like tag, hide and seek, and capture the flag all in one. First things first, who lit the candle?" Peter Pan asks.

Alex and Jason raise their hands shakily. Peter tsks tsks them. "Oh you shouldn't have done that. Now the game will be harder for you all. Once the game starts I will transport you all to the other side of the island. You will have until dawn to make it back to the cabin and blow the candle out. To be clear, only the one who lit the candle can put the flame out. Since two of you lit it, both of you have to put the candle out. If even one of you two should get caught by me or my lost boys, you all lose."

"You promise we can go free if we get to the candle before dawn?" Jason asks. Peter Pan smirks. "Of course, I may not be the most well behaved boy, but I never go back on my word. Fair warning though, when I say captured, I do mean killed. The games aren't just for fun, they rejuvinate Neverland. With each death, the years the kid lived and would have lived get put into the lifespan of Neverland and so myself as well. Good luck." Peter Pan says. He snaps his fingers and the group of friends are transported to the other end of the island.

The group of friends gather together and talk about what they need to do to survive. Red lights in the sky distracts them. The number 100 is visible and begins to count backwards. They only have 100 seconds before the game starts. Jason and Alex were most important to the game since only they could put out the flame. The group of friends use the time they have and start running.

As the time ticks down the only thoughts in the friends heads are of regret. They always thought the stories were just stories but they were more than that. They were true. Everyone who ever lit the candle never came back. Were they going to be the same. Alex only desired to protect Jason but Peter Pan had the advantage. He was fast, magical and utterly ruthless.

The friends ran and when the red timer in the sky hit 0 they felt their hearts drop. A loud horn is sounded in the distance. The friends pick up the pace and run faster through the trees and vines. Howling and tribal noises can be heard as the lost boys close in on them. Peter Pan didn't believe in cheating but the group of friends started running before the timer hit zero. He may have forgotten to mention they couldn't run before then but it didn't matter now, they were even.

"Hurry! They're coming!" Alex yells. Russling sounds all around the them and soon screams of their friends begin to happen. They keep running even as two friends are taken down by the lost boys. They keep running even as wet bloody scream are heard.

"Hurry babe!" Alex screams! He grabs Jason's hand and pulls hard on him to run faster. As they run through the tree they hear a loud growl as Peter Pan tackles Jason to the ground. He slips from Alex's hand and tumbles to the dirt with Pan.

Alex acts on instinct and runs towards the two. He tackles Peter and yells for Jason to run. He runs with tears in his eyes. Jason hears the sounds of struggling as he gets away. He catches up to his remainging friends as they run towards the cabin.

They duck towards some rocks and go into a cave to hide. Once they settle in the dark cave they all allow themselves to feel their worry and pain. Jason silently cries because he doesn't know if Alex survived or not. If he died, they all are screwed.

As time passes and the noise dies down, the friends leave the cave and head to the cabin. If Alex survived he would have headed there. Jason looks at his phone, the time reads 5:45. It wouldn't be long before the sun peaked over the horizon.

As they get closer, one of the friends, Samantha shouts there is the cabin! As she steps forward the ground gives way and she falls into a pit of sharp sticks. Jason held his mouth and used his free hand to motion for everyone to keep going.

Jason starts following but is stopped by a hand grabbing him. He starts to shout but another hand clamps over his mouth. "Shhh, it's me." Alex says. Jason gasps and hugs his boyfriend tightly. "I can't believe you survived!" Jason says.

"I love you, I couldn't die without making sure you're ok. Come on, Pan is on his way!" Alex says. They start running and catch up with their friends. They go through the door of the cabin and get to the candle.

"Hurry! Blow the candle out! The sun is coming up!" One of the girls say.

Alex and Jason grab the candle and look each other in the eyes. They nod and blow together on the flame of the candle. It doesn't go out. They blow again and again but the flame won't extinguish. Jason yells and throws the candle to the floor. "Why won't it work?!"

Alex grabs Jason and hugs him. "Shhhh, it's ok." Alex pulls away and stabs Jason in the gut with a black dagger. Jason looks down at his bloody gut and back at Alex. "Why?" Jason asks. Alex smiles and he transforms into Peter Pan. Everyone in the cabin backs away to the walls to escape. The ones in front of the windows get pulled out by the lost boys. Their blood and screams shoot through the windows. The others scramble to the door for a futile attempt at escaping. Each of them gets ripped apart by the boys outside.

Peter Pan pulls the dagger out of Jason and stabs him in the back. He forces Jason closer to him as if he was hugging him. "You don't mind do you? I've never kissed another boy before. Your boyfriend Alex was a looker but you're more my type. Don't worry, you'll be playing with Alex again soon." Peter Pan says as he closes the distance and kisses Jason. Blood pours from their mouths as they kiss and Jason dies.

Pan drops the boy and as he falls to the floor, the candle flame burns out. Peter Pan picks up the candle and puts it on the window sill so another group of kids can light it and play.

The next night around a camp fire of dancing boys. Peter Pan welcomes his new friends, the two boys who lit the candle. In death they join the Lost Boys and serve Peter Pan until the end of the island. None who lit the candle ever escaped Neverland or its dark prince, Peter Pan.