An Awfully Big Adventure

Chapter 4: Unexpected Encounter at Mermaid Lagoon

When Harry awoke, he immediately rolled onto his side and vomited. Ugh, he wasn't sure he could even get up. He groaned and tried to pull himself upright and his vision started spinning. He stumbled sideways and caught himself on a tree. Good. Okay. Upright. Now what?

It was dark outside, but he could make out the lumped figures on the ground. He saw a slow stream of blood coming from a pile of what looked like perhaps six bodies, and came to a sudden awful realisation. Robert had never said anything about the others. He had said Hook and Pan wouldn't die, but he had never said if that was the norm in Neverland. Harry was starting to think not...and if that was the case, then...what had he just done?

Had he and his crew just killed a bunch of innocent children? Bloody hell, did he even have a crew anymore?

"Captain," a voice called from behind him and Harry whirled around.

His first mate was walking quickly up the beach to the trees where he was standing.

"Are any of the others around?"

"All dead, sir, but I found something interesting. You'll want to come have a look-see."

Harry gently pushed himself off of the tree. He seemed alright, so he followed Smee down to the water.

A small dinghy was pulled up on the sand and when Harry looked closer he saw three figures inside. They barely looked alive, and yet they looked...it was his old crew! The ones who had abandoned his exploring expedition. There were only three left, then. Harry shuddered to think what happened to the rest.

"Well? Let's help them out. These are some of my old crew, must've been floating around lost like me."

Smee shrugged and started to pull the bodies one by one off of the floor of the dinghy and onto the sand.

~*~

Louis was thinking about the new Hook again.

This bothered him particularly, because Louis didn't usually think of anything. Especially not anyone. The only things his mind was usually filled with were new ways to have fun and what he wanted to eat next. Well, until Wendy. She had been so new, and exciting that he did think of her quite a bit. She intrigued him more than just a passing fancy as most things were to him. Then again, when the new Hook appeared, he had started forgetting more about Wendy.

Either way, he didn't like how much Harry ⁠— Hook, he corrected himself ⁠— was occupying his thoughts. Louis knew he was somewhat selfish, but he liked it that way. He didn't need to be wasting time pondering something that wasn't amusing or edible.

~*~

Harry had recovered fairly quickly after Robert had saved him (most likely due to Neverland's help), but his new crew was still half dead. It had been maybe four days, and they were hardly able to sit up. They couldn't even keep down the watered-down gruel Harry had tried to give each of them. It was frustrating.

What, exactly, was the most feared pirate of Neverland supposed to do without a crew? What was intimidating about him now? Harry left the ship in an irritated huff. He decided to walk around the far half of the island, which he hadn't seen yet. He started out stalking through the forest to let out his frustration, but quickly stopped. He felt silly trying to be intimidating, even just to the little songbirds and squirrels. Harry had simply not been made to be an angry or scary person.