╔══════════════════╗

INDIANA JONES
xvi. BOOBY TRAP

╚══════════════════╝

PAST
UNKNOWN

CREEPY WAS THE FIRST adjective that popped into Indiana Jones' mind when she carefully observed her surroundings. Being unexpectedly thrown into an outlandish and unidentifiable realm was a perturbing and terrifying experience. However, all Indiana could really think about were the chills that scurried down her back and the Goosebumps that had emerged all over her body, despite how warm and mildly humid it was outside. It wasn't as though Indiana felt threatened or genuinely terrified, she was just anxious because she really had no idea what to expect from a place that gave her weird vibes from the moment she popped in. After all, her mission was to snatch Pandora's Box from an unknown location in an unknown realm, all while avoiding someone whose name Indiana Jones had already forgotten.

Similar to the circumstances back her home, the Enchanted Forest, the time of day was night, which did nothing but naturally add to Indiana's uncomfortable feeling. On top of that, she was annoyed because all she had to observe her environment was the pale light of the full moon in the sky that was being covered by the tall trees that surrounded her.  From what she could notice was that Indiana was in some kind of rain forest-like atmosphere. She had spent plenty of time around nature, but what was really off-putting was that she was clueless as to what lied within this forest. Keep in mind... she was in a realm that was new to her. Indiana didn't have time to research or anything. All she had were the weapons she owned and the clothes on her back.

This wasn't the Enchanted Forest — Indiana could tell, and that wasn't because she literally watched Rumplestiltskin send her through the portal without warning. The girl scowled at the thought of the man. She still couldn't believe she gave consent to doing his dirty work. Indiana made a mental note to punch that man as hard as she could when she returned. That would come after Rumplestiltskin told her everything she needed to know about her biological family, the Jones family.

Indiana's head suddenly snapped to her right when she heard the sound of a twig breaking under the weight of something. It was a loud, cracking sound that could've echoed throughout the eerily quiet atmosphere. The girl shook her head, immediately brushing it off as she would have back in the Enchanted Forest. She practically forced her brain to think it was a deer, rather than thinking it was a potential predator that could scalp her with the blink of an eye.

However, once the girl glanced straight ahead again, she noticed a pair of eyes staring at her. It would've been hard for the naked eye to notice, but once you saw it, you couldn't miss it. Especially when one eye was brown like dirt and the other was a bright shade of electric blue. As Indiana locked her blue-green eyes on them, she found herself suddenly frozen on the ground.

Her knees hugged her chest, considering she'd barely moved since she was dropped off in the unnamed realm. Indiana watched as the eyes began to move and soon enough, a body emerged, revealing a boy. Though Indiana couldn't see much of him, she could see the silhouette of a spear in his hands.

Before Indiana could react so much as to grab her weapon, the boy threw her off guard when he cupped his hands around his mouth and made a bird noise. The girl furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but that confusion morphed into fear when she heard the shrubbery moving all around her, along with noisy footsteps. Within the next minute, there were boys surrounding her. They were hiding in trees or standing up from bushes. It was as though they were conducting a mission to search for an intruder, in which the intruder was Indiana Jones.

The girl continuously opened and closed her mouth, suddenly unable to form words as she asked herself, 'What did I get myself into?"

She wondered how many boys were around her exactly. 50? 100? 200? She was sure that perhaps there was a girl in the midst of all the testosterone in the air, but then again, this was a realm she'd never been to. For all Indiana knew, girls were myths in this land.

As the girl thought to herself, she kept a hard stare on the boy who called all of his little friends over. They were all quiet, almost like they were waiting for something or someone. After a few seconds, Indiana could hear someone making their way toward her. She looked slightly to the left of the boy with heterochromia, spotting a figure taking a few steps toward her. The moon's light shot through the leaves, showing nothing prominent of his face besides a pair of green eyes.

Indiana couldn't help but feel a strange sense of familiarity radiating between them. She wondered if she'd met him in the past. Could it be possible that she was still in the same realm – that Rumplestiltskin was simply screwing around with her head? Though it was a possibility, Indiana didn't have time to process other theories, for the boy had begun to speak to her.

"What's a girl doing here?"

It was as though Indiana was experiencing déjà vu. She knew this boy. She could've bet her life on it. She recognized him from that night 8 years ago. It was the night Indiana told Aunt Lucy about her friend, the Shadow Man. It was the night she noticed Rumplestiltskin angrily speaking to him. It was also the night a boy with bright green eyes said those exact words to her for the first time.

"You..." Indiana trailed off, genuinely surprised. "I've seen you before... But... how do you still look the same after eight years?"

Indiana could just barely make out the sight of his lips twitching into a smirk. "Indiana Jones, welcome," he greeted, giving the girl strange vibes.

When he didn't continue to speak, Indiana decided to reply. "That's it? Well, that was a lame welcoming," Indiana admitted cockily. She was still sitting comfortably on the ground. "If you were trying to give me a scare by getting all of your friends to stare at me for a little while, you'll have to do better than that."

When no one made a sound, Indiana clicked her tongue.

"Gee, tough crowd."

The boy looked back at her. He raised his hand, causing Indiana to feel a tight grip around her throat as she levitated above the ground. "Scared now?" he questioned in amusement. To be honest, Indiana was scared, but that didn't mean she wouldn't let him know that. Indiana gave him a charming smile.

"Well, considering I just flew in here through a portal created by one of the most terrifying beings in all the realms, not really. Plus, I'm not really scared of you," Indiana casually responded. She acted as though she was rather comfortable, but in reality, she wanted him to loosen the grip on her neck. "The view's quite nice up here, actually. Say, how many guys are out here? 50? 100?"

The boy sharply dropped his arm, causing Indiana to fall onto the ground with a thud and a slight groan. He walked closer to her. "You should be very scared, girl," the boy viciously told her, his voice sounding like poison.

"And you should look out," Indiana told him. With that, she swung her leg and kicked him from below. This caused him to stumble a bit as she jumped up while bolting off in the opposite direction. The next thing she knew, she had set off a booby trap and she was swept up in a net. Indiana grunted as she swung around in the net, trying to break herself free.

The boys all around her proceeded to laugh as the lead boy walked forward. "I had a feeling you would try something like that, darling," the boy said in amusement. "You almost had me there, though, so I'll give you a little credit. Boys, let's put her in the cage."

"Let me out!" Indiana demanded, naturally disliking being stuck in a net. She tried to break free while the boys moved her net from the tree. "Just who do you think you are?"

The boy looked up at her with a sinisterly smirk. "Peter. Peter Pan."