Lily restocked the supplies that Slightly had brought her that evening and prepared to close up the medic's tent. She had loved working and living in Neverland for the past few days. Usually she only bandaged up people's minor cuts, but it was far more fulfilling than cleaning rooms at the hospital.
Lily completed her checklist and then stepped out and secured the lock on the canvas door. It was already getting dark and sometimes it was difficult to see as she made her way through the forest to the tiny cabin Slightly had built for her. She had told him she'd be fine sleeping in the underground treehouse with the other boys, but Slightly had insisted that it wouldn't be respectable.
Lily walked through a row of trees and saw her cabin come into view. She took a few more steps and then halted. Something was off. There was too much energy in the air. As her eyes adjusted, she could see the outlines of five boys standing in front of her cabin. She could recognize those boys anywhere. They haunted her dreams.
"Hey Tiger, we found your hideout," said Drake, the oldest of the group.
Lily tensed as her former gang members closed in around her. They were poised to fight and almost all of them had knives. She knew she'd have to act fast if she wanted to stay alive. One of them lunged at her, so she crouched down and swung her leg around, knocking him off his feet. She jumped back up and took advantage of the break in their line, running past them and heading towards the jungle.
She was fast and she knew her way through the trees, but they were gaining on her. She heard someone breathing heavily right behind her. He dove for her and grabbed her ankle, causing her to fall forward. She braced for the impact, but the ground absorbed her. She was encased for a few moments, and then she shot back up into the air. She had fallen on the trampoline moss.
Lily heard shouts of surprise and saw that two of the gang members were also in the moss. She spun around and kicked one while they were in the air, sending him sailing into a zebra tree. She fell down into the moss again, and the other boy punched her in the shoulder as she shot up, but she used the momentum to propel herself over the next patch of moss. She continued to jump from patch to patch until she reached the end of the moss and rolled into a thicket of rum berry bushes. Ignoring the thorns and branches, she crawled into the most dense part of the bushes and waited, hoping she was concealed well enough. A few seconds later, she heard her pursuers run by. She counted to three, then got to her feet and ran towards the cliffs.
Lily remembered there was a cove behind one of the waterfalls that she thought would make a good hiding place. She hoped to be able to hide there until morning, but then she'd have to leave Neverland. The thought filled her with sadness. She had loved working there, and she especially didn't want to leave Slightly, but she couldn't put them all in danger by staying.
She was momentarily distracted by thoughts of Slightly, and she didn't notice that someone was coming at her from the left until he had already jumped on her and pinned her to the ground.
"This is where it ends, Tiger," Drake whispered, smiling triumphantly down at her.
Lily struggled against him, but he held her fast. "You don't have to do this! You're not murderers!"
Drake laughed. "But if we let you get away with what you did, no one will take us seriously."
Lily groaned. "The police will take you very seriously. Murder is far more offensive than petty theft."
"They'll have to catch us first."
Lily heard footsteps coming closer as the rest of the gang converged on them and assisted Drake in holding her down. Drake pulled out his knife and held it to her throat.
"Sorry Tiger, but we've got to protect our reputation."
At that moment, a deafening screech ripped through the air. Drake drew his knife back, but the gang still kept their hold on Lily. The ground shook as a monstrous creature came into view. Lily recognized it as the Buffalostrich Rex, but she'd never seen him act so angry before. He was rearing back and snapping his massive jaws. It was dark, but Lily thought she saw Slightly riding on the animal's back.
At the sight of it, the gang released Lily and scattered in fear. The Buffalostrich Rex roared in anger, stomping around and nearly trampling a few of the boys. The creature stooped down and caught Drake's jacket in its teeth, lifting him up and throwing him several meters out of its path. The Buffalostrich Rex then corralled the boys and chased them back through the jungle.
Lily sat up and took deep breaths, trying to process what had just happened. She looked down and saw she had a large gash on her leg, probably from one of the boys' knives.
A few minutes later the Buffalostrich Rex came trotting back towards her. She tensed, but the animal was much more docile this time. The creature stopped in front of Lily, and Slightly slid down from its back and ran towards her.
"Lily! Are you alright? Oh! You're bleeding!" Slightly ripped off a piece of his shirt and wrapped it around Lily's calf. "I learned this from watching a very skilled medic," he remarked, a little playfulness evident in his stressed tone. He ran his hands over Lily's arms and face, checking for more injuries.
Lily finally found her voice. "Slightly, How did you...?" She trailed off, not sure how to express what she had seen.
Slightly sat down next to her. "Tink told me there were some intruders over by your cabin, so I went over to check it out and saw them chasing you. I figured they were from your gang, so I went to get Lamar," he explained, gesturing towards the Buffalostrich Rex. "He'll do anything for a cream puff."
Lily swallowed. "So, are they gone?"
"Yes. They couldn't get to the exit fast enough." Slightly looked sideways at her. "I don't think they'll be back."
Lily shook her head. "You can never be sure. I'll have to leave tomorrow. Maybe I should consider leaving the country."
Slightly grabbed her hand. "Please don't leave, Lily. I'm quite positive Lamar scared them so badly that they won't set foot in here again, but even if they do, I will make sure they don't hurt you. You have to believe that Neverland will be the safest place in the world for you."
Lily stared at him and saw the sincerity in his eyes. She suddenly knew that she belonged in Neverland with Slightly, with this boy that would do anything to protect her. She pulled him towards her and gave him something that was long overdue.
At first he stiffened at her kiss, but then he leaned in and wrapped his arms around her. When she pulled away, he looked back at her in amazement.
"Wow," he exclaimed. "That was way better than I imagined it would be."
Lily laughed and kissed him again until the Buffalostrich Rex nuzzled its furry head between them. With Slightly holding her and a creature with massive teeth just inches from her face, she'd never felt more safe.