The Boy Who Could Fly

chapter thirteen

After spending all night kicking rats out of her cell, Aimee couldn't be more relieved when she saw the sun peek up over the horizon through the brig's small, round window. The daylight may not stave off the rats, but at least it wouldn't be dark anymore.

Aimee's growling stomach was a constant reminder that she hadn't eaten before she left. If she had been smart, she would have taken food with her. Not that the pirates would have let her keep it anyway. She had hoped that she would be able to ignore her hunger by distracting herself, but sitting in a cell all night long with nothing to do didn't exactly help.

She caught a lucky break when she heard someone walking down the stairs. Aimee waited as she listened to her person's boots thump on the stairs. It was Katherine, carrying a metal tray with a single biscuit on it. It didn't look appetizing in the least, but Aimee still wanted to eat it. Katherine came over to Aimee's cell and tossed the food at her. Thankfully, Aimee caught it.

"Morning, darling. Sleep well?" Katherine grinned slightly. "The rats keep you company?"

Aimee just glared in response, finding the willpower in her not to eat the biscuit. Not yet, not while Katherine was here.

"As much as I'd like to just leave, you gotta talk to me." Katherine crossed her arms, placing her weight on one of her legs. "So talk. Tell me why you're here."

"I'm here because you took me and stuck me in here," Aimee answered, not sure where this sudden wit had come from. Maybe the books paid off after all.

Katherine leaned a little closer to the bars. "Funny. You know what I meant." Aimee had to admit, she was intimidating. Her eyes showed a level of determination that Aimee had never seen. While Katherine's expression was guarded, there was a fair amount of hurt and bitterness in her eyes as well. What had happened to make her this way?

"I'm waiting, darling," Katherine said impatiently.

Aimee didn't want to talk, but that certainly wouldn't help her case. She settled for picking and choosing the information, hoping to leave out anything that could be used against her or her friends. "I'm from New York. I came here with someone. Maybe you've heard of him. His name is-"

"I know who he is," Katherine cut her off, waving her hand in the air. "You don't have to tell me. But why did he bring you here?"

Aimee shrugged. "I saw him in my house. He couldn't leave me."

"So he brought you here, to Neverland." Katherine sighed, rolling her eyes a bit. "With the amount of girls he brings, he might as well tell every person in New York who he is."

Aimee couldn't help herself. "He brings a lot of girls?"

"Oh, yeah. It's like a new one every couple weeks." She studied Aimee, a smirk slowly growing on her face. "He gets bored easily. Once his lady friends lose his interest and he gets to know them, he brings another."

Jack hadn't told Aimee this. She knew Katherine was saying it to get under her skin and hurt her, but what if it was true? Just how often did Jack bring new people to the island? He made it seem like she and her siblings were the first ones in a long time. "What does he do with them when he gets bored?" She asked hesitantly.

Katherine shrugged. "The lucky ones are taken back home. Some of them have gone to the Brookies. Some of them wound up over here. Many of them weren't seen again."

There couldn't be that many girls. Aimee had a hard time believing it. But then again, Mush had told her that time passed differently in Neverland. Who knows just how long Jack had been living there and bringing people with him?

Her grin still growing, Katherine studied Aimee's expression. "I'm telling the truth, darling. I would say you can ask him yourself, but I don't know if you'll get the chance to talk to him again."

"You're not going to kill me, are you?" Aimee asked slowly.

Katherine laughed. "We haven't decided on that yet. I'll get back to you on that." She was obviously having quite a field day messing with Aimee's emotions. With that, she nodded. "I'll see you soon, darling. And I hope you'll be more prepared to talk next time. You'll be speaking with the captain of the ship." Katherine gave her one last grin before turning and leaving Aimee alone once again.

Once Aimee could no longer hear her steps on the stairs, she grabbed the biscuit and took a bite out of it. It was dry, tasteless, and hard. But at least it was something to eat. She wouldn't be able to withstand much of this without energy.

Once she finished the bread, Aimee sat down, spending the next several hours brainstorming over what to say to Katherine's father, if anything at all. She came to the conclusion that she would tell him exactly what she told Katherine. They didn't have to know about her siblings or about the fact that she had grown very attached to Jack. All she would say was what she had said to Katherine. And she hoped that she wouldn't be able to be persuaded to say more.