Hooked

Chapter Twenty Three

I ran, not thinking of my pain, until I saw the moon come out. When it did, I only slowed down to a walk, never stopping, wanting to get as far away from Hook as possible.

How could I ever miss him? He wanted me dead. Seems that everyone here wants that. Even myself.

But I can't do that to my family back in London. Back in the real world. They would be heartbroken.

I felt my legs grow numb, and the feeling was only spreading to my waist. Exhausted and sweating, I fell to my knees, and let out a wail of despair.

My body fell beneath me, and I found myself sprawled out on the warm sand. I licked my lips. They were cracked, dry, and felt like sandpaper.

I found myself clawing at the sand desperately, hoping to find water underneath the grains. I kept digging until all hope was lost, until I found that my hands touched something oddly cold in the scorching heat of the desert.

I was too tired to look at what it was, and I could hear a loud ringing in my ears, so I just gave in to fatigue, not thinking about Hook... or the fact that I could die in my sleep.

... Hook's POV ...

I just watched as she ran away from me, until she was nothing but a microscopic speck. I suppose that I should've ran after her, because I knew she would never want to return.

But I just couldn't pull myself to do it.

It would never be the same between us. Maybe I should just move on.

I turned around, to see a distant Wonderland, with its towers that cast long shadows on everything beneath them, and the forests surrounding it.

I took heavy steps, walking all the way to the tree line - which took a little more than an hour - making my final decision.

How did that saying go...? If you really love something, then let it go. If it returns, then it is your to keep. If it doesn't then it was never yours in the first place.

Why was I thinking of such sappy things? I was never like this before I captured that... girl.

I wielded my sword in my hand, and used it to cut the brush in front of me. I hacked my way through a little bit of the jungle, until a thin tree limb slashed across my cheek.

I looked upwards with a venom in my eyes, not bothering to touch the stinging wound. I saw nothing but leaves and a little bit of sun peaking out from above them. Funny thing is, the limb wasn't attached to any of the trees. It was thrown - like a spear - at me.

"Chessie?" I wondered out loud, the name cutting through the air.

I immediately turned around to see a tanned girl with raven black hair appear, kneeling on the high branch of a sturdy oak. She wore leather boots, black shorts, a small charcoal tank top, a leather jacket, and purple gloves that her limber fingers peeked through.

I sneered, "Why on earth are you showing yourself? You know how much trouble -"

Her smooth voice responded in a bittersweet tone, "Maybe I don't mind trouble. It always seems to find me anyway. What's the point of running from it? It's become a part of who I am. Besides, if I hadn't shown myself, you wouldn't have known it was me, would you? You don't know my voice well enough."

That was like a bullet to my heart. Because... I hadn't talked to her since she was five, and she just so happened to be my step-daughter.

...

Okay, so I know it's another short chapter, but how do you guys like my little plot twist? ;)
I will make the next chapter longer and full of Chessie and Hook's past.