Lost Boy, Stolen Memories

Chapter 11

Hook's POV

All goes well for the first portion of the journey. But as we get nearer to Neverland, dark, ominous clouds roll in and the winds pick up. Before long there are immense waves crashing over the deck. This isn't just any old storm, I soon realize.

"Mermaids," I mutter to myself, "just bloody perfect."

I take a sip of brandy from my flask to prepare myself for the struggle that's ahead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pan's POV

A massive crash startles me from my reverie. The ship feels like it's on the brink of going out of control. I almost want to go check what's going on, but I decide to sit quietly and listen. It doesn't take much to put two and two together and figure out what's going on.

Hook is swearing loudly above me. The only word he articulates besides curses is "mermaids." So, those scaley little creatures are giving the captain a bit of trouble, eh? You would think that after such a long time at sea, that Killian would have figured out how to tame them. At the very least he should be capable of ignoring them.

No matter, I never had any intention of working alongside him anyway. And with Rumple trapped inside Pandora's box, there isn't much we could do anyway.

I enter the cabin again. I find Erin laying on the bed, staring longingly at the ceiling. There is a pale green cast to her face and she looks like she is trying hard not to vomit again.

"I see someone's a bit seasick," I say, tilting my head in mock concern.

She eyes me distastefully.

"Don't fret, Erin," I tell her, "Soon, seasickness will be the least of your worries. You'd better pray that you don't get airsick as well."

"Wha-?" she breaks off, thinking better of it. She's probably thinking about the threat I made earlier.

I scoop her up with ease and carry her up onto the deck. We are instantly soaked by a mixture of saltwater and rain. Jagged bolts of lightning illuminate the sky. I drop Erin onto the deck, using no care whatsoever.

"What are you doing up here?" Hook shouts, "It isn't safe up here!"

"No, it isn't! Which is why I have to go even higher!" I reply, pulling out my pipe and pixie dust.

Hook's eyes narrow, but if he leaves the wheel, the ship will go spiraling into the mermaids' control.

I blow a few quick notes on my pipe, the tune I use to summon my shadow. Then I turn to Erin and sprinkle a bit of my pixie dust onto her. By the time I'm finished, my shadow has arrived. I nod towards Erin, who has started to hover, and he grasps her by the wrist and begins flying into the storm.

I prepare to follow, when Hook yells, "What about our deal?!"

"You should know better than anyone that I take promises very lightly," I appear in front of the wheel, so that we are face to face.

He has a look of fury on his face, no doubt thinking of Liam, his brother.

I laugh bitterly, "You should have known that I wouldn't keep my promise. I don't grant anyone favors, no matter what they've done for me. And I'll take care of the Dark One all on my own, I don't need the assistance of a one handed pirate with a drinking problem."

He lunges towards me with his hook, but I'm already taking off into the night.

"This isn't over!" he screams after me. He might be right, but it will be me who decides when it is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erin's POV

I wish I could do something to escape from Peter, but I can't find the strength and all I want is to get of this damned ship.

I listen to Hook arguing with Peter. Actually, I wouldn't call it an argument. It consists of Hook yelling at Peter to stop him from leaving, Peter countering with snappy comments just to rub it in that Hook can't do a thing to stop him.

Peter sprinkles some powder on me that makes me feel as light as air. Then the shadowy figure appears, with glowing slits as eyes. It grasps my arm and yanks me upwards towards the storm. I acknowledge with a dull pang that it must be Peter's shadow.

I think of the multiple occasions when I dismissed Peter's shadowlessness as nothing and curse myself for it. If I had mentioned it to him, would I be in this situation right now? No, if I'd mentioned it, this only would've come to pass earlier. This was inevitable, bound to happen as soon as Peter regained his memories.

I am roused from my remorseful thoughts as the shadow yanks me higher into the storm, dodging lightning bolts as we go.

Then we burst through the clouds and for the briefest moment, I feel a deep feeling of serenity. Gliding above the storm, stars twinkling overhead, is the best feeling in the world. I yearn for more time to enjoy it, but reality jerks me away.

Peter breaks through the clouds as well. I hadn't realized his absence until it was gone. I feel another burst of anger towards him. Since I know that I can do nothing to hurt him, I dare to ask another question, "Is Wendy real? Or is that another part my world got wrong?"

Peter says nothing, but his shadow loosens his grip. Before I know it, I'm in free fall.

Screams tear from my throat, I can't stop them even if I try. Half of me is telling me to calm down, that Peter said he wouldn't let me die before showing me off to his lost boys like a trophy. The other half is much more panicked, and overbearing. It insists that I never could have imagined this from Peter yesterday, so who knows what he's capable of?

I pass through the clouds again. It was much more enjoyable the first time around. I keep falling at an ever-increasing speed. As I'm getting closer to the ocean, the part of me telling me to calm down gets softer and softer. Then a new side surfaces. This one tells me to relax, death is probably better than the fate I have ahead of me.

Just as I close my eyes and accept that I'm going to die, two things happen. First, a horrible thought pops into my head: my parents won't have a clue what's happened to me. Second, something grabs me. The hands are surprisingly solid considering they belong to a shadow.

My body wants to continue falling, so the sudden tug upwards jars me. I'm almost positive my shoulder is dislocated. But I don't feel any pain. I'm only capable of feeling a mix of relief and dread.

I open my eyes, which were previously scrunched shut, and see that my toes are just under the ocean's surface.