“Oh, it’s for lost boys like you who don’t want to grow up,” Captain Hook snarled. “Just follow the second star to the right and straight on till morning.”
“But I have to go home!” Barrie pleaded. He wriggled his hands, trying to escape. One of his wrists slipped free from the ropes. “My parents will miss me. Even my sister. They’ll look for me—”
“Silly boy, soon enough they’ll forget all about you,” Hook said. “You’re the one who didn’t want to grow up, remember? When we get there, you can walk the plank. Let it be a lesson to all the scurvy brats not to mess with Captain Hook.”
“But sir, you got what you wanted—I brought the hook back,” Barrie said, feeling tears prick his eyes. “You can let me go. I swear, I won’t tell anyone you kidnapped me. You can get away—”
“What I wanted, blithering idiot, was revenge!” Captain Hook yelled.
“Wait, that’s right,” Barrie said, thinking fast. “You said I wasn’t the first kid to play a childish prank on you. Who was the other kid? Did he get away?”
“Oh, I’ll still find him and make him pay,” Captain Hook ranted. “Thinks he can play a prank on Captain Hook?”
While he continued ranting about the kid who’d gotten away, Barrie wriggled his wrist, getting it free from the ropes. Then he reached for the hook, snagging it from the desk. He used it to saw at the ropes at his ankles, cutting himself free from the chair.
The ropes hit the floor with a thud, drawing the pirate’s attention.
“Come back, thief!” Captain Hook screamed. But Barrie didn’t wait.
He leaped up and darted for the door. His sweaty hands slipped on the doorknob. A dagger whipped by his head, hitting the door by his ear.
Thunk.
But he finally got the doorknob to twist. The heavy door squeaked open. He bolted through it, slamming it shut behind him. He heard the pirate’s heavy body slam into the door as the ship rocked dramatically, throwing them around.
Barrie staggered back to his feet and ran for the stairs. He bolted to the upper deck. The turbulent skies had started spitting rain. It hit the ship and stung his face. The white sails were unfurled, whipping in the strong winds.
His eyes fixed on the marina in the distance, fading away behind them. The ship was moving fast. He didn’t have much time before they left the safety of the bay. Out in the storm, the open ocean would be far more dangerous.
Barrie ran down the ship’s deck, looking for a life raft or escape boat—or anything that could help him get to safety. He was running past the plank when suddenly something snagged his neck, jerking him back.
“Got you, blasted kid!” Captain Hook hissed in his ear. He held Barrie by the neck. His grip was iron-tight.
Barrie was trapped. There was no way to escape now. Then, suddenly, that dark shadow swam past the ship, cutting through the water and circling by them.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
The ticking noise echoed out of the waves.
That was when the strangest thing happened—Captain Hook released his grip on Barrie’s neck. The dark shadow in the water made another pass by the ship.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
The pirate cowered back from the water. “No, he wants the rest of me!” Captain Hook whined, sounding petrified. “Get him away from me! Help me, I’ll do anything!”
Barrie felt confused, then it dawned on him. He remembered how Hook had vanished from the library when he heard the ticking of the clock on the wall. He was terrified of that sound.
And probably for good reason.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Barrie fixed his eyes on the water, where the dark shadow circled the ship, hunting for its prey. Suddenly, razor-sharp teeth broke through the surface, gnashing at the air.
Hook yelped and cowered back. “No…please…don’t let him get me!”
The fierce pirate captain—the one who had been terrorizing Barrie ever since that fateful trip to the museum—now looked like nothing more than a scared little kid.
“Wait, you’re afraid of it, aren’t you?” Barrie said. “Whatever is down there?”