Neverland

Chapter Ten

The map weaves through the trees in a complicated pattern. Branches and thorns scratch at me, but none draw blood. Soon, I am out of the Black Jungle and flying past the Dark Ridge. The lighting is almost the same between these two places. If anything, the Black Jungle is darker.

Up ahead, I spot the crystalised waterfalls. I despise this place most of all, but I am unable to change the area for reasons unknown.

The map flutters like a bird and flaps down to the ground. Why did the magic stop? There is nothing here but water, grass, and stone.

"Work!" I shout. I am tempted to throw the map in the water. Instead, I pocket it in case of further use. I may try to use it again.

In the distance, conch shells are sounding. Those conch shells are only used in an emergency, if my Lost Boys are too weak to hold out on their own. They better have a good reason for bringing me back to camp. I fly at great speed, accelerating through the clouds.

At the camp, the boys are in panic. Some are shouting at each other, others are gathering weapons. I can tell something is wrong. I catch one boy, Hugo, by his arm. He looks at me, startled and fearful.

"What's going on, Hugo?" I demand. He wrenches his arm from my grasp.

"He's back, Pan," he says.

"Who? Who's back?" I ask, though I know the answer.

"We're making preparations," Hugo explains. "Hook's back. He wants to meet you on Mermaid Beach."

Charles once told me how time travels between both of our worlds. Every day in Neverland is a month in the real world. Hook has been gone for thirty-six days. He must be about twenty-one now.

Is my own brother dead? Has it been so long that the Pan line is now extinct? I never got to say goodbye to my brother. Nor my parents, come to think of it.

Charles and Hugo fly with me to Mermaid Beach, both armed with bows and spears. I, on the other hand, carry my sword.

The Jolly Roger is docked at the beach. The lettering is bright and gold. The sails are white and full. Hook and his men are waiting on the sand. Mermaids pop up ever so often, trying to get a look at what's going on.

Hook certainly looks more different than I last saw him, as Lyam Johnson. His dark hair is thicker, his eyes seem more sharp than before. Growing up changes things. In place of his right hand, is a shiny, silver hook. Hook is dressed in black, as dark as the Black Jungle. He wears a single gold earring in his left ear.

"My, my. You don't look the slightest bit different," Hook taunts. "Still a young boy dressed in such a beautiful green." I pause, then slap my hands together.

"Is that what we're here for?" I ask. "To play games?" Hook gives me a half smile.

"Oh, you know me so well," he says. "But not today, Pan. No, I've come to you with a trade." He gestures behind him. A wooden cage. Inside, there is a girl, about the same age as me.

"What do I have that you would want?" I ask. Hook's eyes darken.

"The map."

My blood runs cold. Automatically, my hand goes to my pouch where I have the map rolled up.

"I have far more further use of that map than you do," Hook insists. "The girl for the map."

"Why would I want a girl?" I say. "You know I don't trust them. What happens if I refuse?" Samuel, James, and the rest of Hook's crew pull out these strange items. They are long, with one end pointed, all the color of wood. I laugh at the sight of these, though for some reason they bring an uneasy remembrance to me.

"Is this your new form of magic?" I say. "Brilliant, really."

Oh, these things? I'm surprised you have forgotten." Hook spreads his hands. "These are called guns. Fascinating things, really." Found them in London, with this girl here." He jerks his thumb to the imprisoned girl. Girls cannot be trusted.

"And what do they do?" I ask.

"Are you asking for a demonstration?" Hook inquires. He makes a motion to Samuel. Samuel smiles and there is an ear-shattering explosion. On my left, Charles is bloody and unmoving, dead.

"Now I know you don't kill more than necessary," Hook says. "And that's a weakness." He extends his hand to me. "Girl for a map, or I swear I'll kill her, and the other Lost Boy." Half his men train the gun on the girl, the other on Hugo. Both are so terrified they do not speak. I really can't have all my Lost Boys be killed, and I've already lost quite a few.

"All right." I put the map in Hook's palm. The captain's crew shoves the cage to me. I take hold on the top of it.

"But you should know," I say to Hook. "I rarely trust anyone.  This girl must be of some use since you brought her to Neverland. As for the map, I will take back what is mine." With a wave of my hand, the map disappears and reappears in my palm. Hugo, the girl, and I are consumed by blue smoke, and Hook and his men vanish.