Peter Pan: The Boy without Feeling By: V. Sinclair (All characters originally owned by J.M. Barrie)
Chapter 1 Better for Hook

Twas a dark and winterous night aboard The Jolly Roger, and the frosty biting winds were only requited by the dismal atmosphere plaguing the sky. All of the ships▓ crew was below deck drunken, asleep, or lingering amongst an incoherent state in-between. All except one Captain James Hook, whom was leaning against the low wall of the deck, staring out at the sea. For he had not moved from his position but once that evening to relocate to his cabin discarding his coat and hat, only to emerge clutching a bottle of rum. What a pitiful sight he was; he who commonly possessed the disposition of a debonair gentlemen, (in a sense that complimented his villainous ways, so to speak) was presently that of a melancholy man in lament of his own existence.

As he gazed wearily at the moonlit ocean, his mind was enveloped with memories of his past. From Eton to piracy had been a far journey that he was not necessarily proud of, and living with this wretched reminder constantly bore ill on his soul. As the gently shifting waters below cast a silvery glow, the captain released a heavy discontented sigh. He then, tilting his head back, finished off the bottle of rum he had confiscated hours earlier. Now even though he was overwhelmed with his reminiscing and hollow self, you must not be quick to judge the captain; for as malicious a man he is, he is still only human. We all have our moments of weakness and remorse, so to condemn James Hook for feeling what is only natural, is unfair. Although, our dear captain is not solely a mess of unwillingness and broken-hearted emotions; oh no, he is indeed a clever fearsome man, but we shall see more of that later. For now let us digress, and observe the current events.

The night dragged on for an eternity; the taunting remnants of years long ago had the captain in a cynical mood more so tonight than any other he could recall. He was becoming undeniably tired, but had not the intention to sleep. How could he? For a moment he glanced below at the sea, and contemplated jumping over the deck; plunging deep into the treacherous waters and not attempting to resurface, but these thoughts were quickly dismissed, as he assured himself the act would be cowardice. After an hour or so of an attempt at convincing himself that this sorrowful mood was all brought about due to his excessive drinking, he closed his eyes and whispered to himself, ⌠Better, perhaps, for Hook that he had never been born.■ Then he decided to succumb to having some much-needed rest.

With this being said, he broke his stare of the sea, and lifted his head to behold a very strange sight. In front of him was a boy floating in the air. He was a boy whom could be estimated occupied the age of 14, had dirty blonde hair, was holding a sword in-hand, and for an unknown reason was entirely nude. At this indescribable incident, Hook raised the bottle of rum close in his sight observing to make sure he had not drank something which would cause hallucinations; surely he had not consumed enough rum to be so disoriented between false illusions and reality. He looked back at the boy to see if he was still there. He was, and now smiling.

Before any reaction could be carried out, the boy responded to the captain▓s earlier mention of never being born. ⌠Better perhaps, for me as well!■ he announced laughing arrogantly. And with those words he thrust the sword in his hand downward with force enough to cut through bone; which in fact, it did just that. The sword cut straight through the captain▓s wrist, separating him from his right hand. His hand that had been holding onto an emptied bottle, dropped lifelessly to the deck with a loud crash as the bottle shattered. Hook▓s eyes closed tight and his previously confused expression contorted in pain, and he roared in agony as he fell to his knees, and held firmly his bleeding wrist with his left hand.

Just as quickly as his eyes had shut, they opened fixated on the gruesome wound that was draining a great deal of blood. Gasping for air through clenched teeth, and heart pumping hard enough to burst, the boy stole Hook▓s attention. ⌠Oh Captain Hook!■ he shouted. The captain▓s gaze jolted quickly to the boy▓s location, and noticed he was holding Hook▓s severed hand in his own. Now at this time the crew was all rushing up to the deck to discover the source of the shattering glass and howl of pain. They came to examine a horrid sight indeed; they▓re fearsome captain kneeling at the mercy of a young floating boy, bleeding profusely from the wrist, and being taunted with his own severed hand. None said a word. ⌠You don▓t really need this right?■ the boy asked mockingly. And with that he let go of the hand letting it fall downward into the sea, but just before hitting the water, Captain James Hook and his crew saw a monstrous beast of a crocodile emerge from the ocean. It was 3 times the size of an ordinary crocodile, and teeth sharper than the swords with which the pirates were equipped. It plunged directly upward from the water and wholly swallowed Hook▓s hand.

At that moment the boy in the sky looked accomplished as could be, and waved farewell to the captain and his crew. ⌠By the way, I▓m Peter,■ He snickered, ⌠Pan.■ Then he glided away into the night air leaving our dear James Hook a drunken, angry, bloody amputee with just one other reason to loath his unacceptable life. Now let us pause at this moment to overlook the preceding events. James Hook was observing the sea; sulking in his self-disappointment, and mysterious Peter Pan appears in his presence unannounced to bestow upon him the brutal removal of his right hand for no conceivable reason. Does this seem just? Being educated about the disastrous behavior of young Peter, do you still think him perfectly wonderful? If not then perhaps you would at the very least sympathize with the poor captain, whom was harming no one (which keep in mind is something pirates rarely do) and was cursed to being without his right hand. Now you have a glimpse of the true nature of Peter Pan.