Return to the Island

Can't Fly!

"Alice, what's wrong? We've been trying this all morning!" Pinocchio looked at her with worry, after catching her for the umpteenth time. He set her down gently on the ground.

"I-I don't know! I keep thinking happy thoughts, but I can't seem to get off the ground!" whimpered Alice.

"Are you sure they're happy thoughts? If they really are, then you could fly," Peter said.

"Oh, Peter!" Wendy scolded as Alice took off through the forest, crying.

"But it's true! Maybe she's doesn't even have happy thoughts," Peter responded.

"Peter! She does! But now she's so upset at not being able to fly that she can't think of happy thoughts. We should find her, and try again tomorrow," said Wendy as she went off in the direction her friend took.
"Alright, groups of two or three, holler when you've found her! I'll think of something to cheer her up!" Peter ordered before following Wendy through the trees.
"Aye aye, sir!" replied the chorus of voices, before they too rushed into the trees, shouting Alice's name.

Alice kept running until a peculiar sound made her stop. It sounded like someone was crying, or at least attempting to cry. She followed the sound to a small clearing where someone was hunching over a stump. It was from them that the crying sounds came. "Um, excuse me, are you alright?" Alice asked the person. She shrieked and jumped back when the mourner looked at her. It was Captain Hook!

"Oh, woe is me, I will never look upon my mother's face again!" cried Hook, showing her a quick glance of a picture of his mother. Though Alice got a quick glance, she thought his mother looked absolutely horrid; two hooks, a mustache much like Hook's, her white hair in a messy bun, and a mole on her right cheek.

"You've been trying to get back to your mother? But why didn't you go to her instead of kidnapping Wendy?" Alice inquired. Though her feelings were all over the place, she knew how to keep a cool head.

"Because Peter Pan has my treasure!" Hook replied.

"Couldn't you have traded Wendy for the treasure?"
"Uh, I thought about that, but Pan would think it funny to come back and steal it after the trade," grumbled Hook.

"Oh, I see, guess you two aren't that different after all," muttered Alice.
"Say what? Oh, don't worry about it. Listen, I have a proposition for you."
"What is it?" Alice eyed him suspiciously.

"I was passing by, and I saw your whole ordeal. You help me get my treasure, I'll take you to Wonderland, and back home, if you'd like," Hook blurted.

"Just your treasure, nothing else? No revenge on Peter, or anything like that?" Alice asked.

"If I could go to my mother with at least one accomplishment, that would be enough. In case you hadn't noticed, my last attempt to kill Pan didn't go as planned," grumbled Hook.

"So, I find your treasure for you, then you'll take me to Wonderland and back home?"

"Yes, all you have to do is blow this whistle when you find the treasure, me and my boys will come right away," said Hook, handing her a shiny whistle.

"You promise that you and your men will not touch Peter or any of his friends if they show up?" Alice asked.

"I promise that not a single man of my crew, myself included, will touch Peter or his friends if you blow that whistle, cross my heart," Hook said solemnly, raising his hook and placing his hand over his heart. "Now, my dear, if you'll excuse me, I must be off to prepare my crew for treasure gathering and our departure. Good day." And he slunk back into the shadows of the forest, leaving Alice alone with the whistle.

"Well, it's worth a try. I'll try flying again, and if it still doesn't work, I'll give this a try, and I'll do it when Peter and the others are away," reasoned Alice, placing the whistle in her skirt pocket. She then looked around, "Oh dear, I'm lost. Well, if I just start walking, I'll run into someone soon." With that said, she walked off in what she thought a good direction, which was a good direction indeed, for it was getting her further and further away from two pairs of evil-looking eyes that were peering at her from the shadows.

"You sure this will work?" asked a voice that belonged to one pair of eyes as soon as she was out of range.

"More so than my last idea. Besides, I have you to help with my back-up plan, Shere Khan," replied Hook, glancing down at the tiger.

"Ah yes, which I need to get underway if it needs to work," remarked Khan as he stealthily moved through the trees.

"A good idea, my friend, a good idea," said Hook, as he moved off in the opposite direction.