Chapter 8 – No More

No matter how hard she tried, Leah was always trapped under the suspicious hawk eye watch of Captain Hook. She felt as if somehow, Hook knew that she was going to try to free Peter from his dark prison. Unfortunately, it would take her a few weeks before the right opportunity to put her plan into motion would present itself, and until then, she was forced to bear his gaze while maintaining the productiveness of her chores. Aboard the Jolly Roger, the atmosphere was that of a bright and jovial party of a group of people would had just watched their favorite sports team win a championship – sharply contrasting with the dark and looming mood of the sky around them. Leah inwardly sneered at the crew as they laughed and joked about as they continued with their daily chores, while she made her way over to one of the small boats perched against the large hull of the ship. She was off to the land again to retrieve more water for Peter.

Peter.

Leah's heart broke ever time she thought about him hanging from the ceiling of the dungeon only decks below. He was getting worse and worse by every long day that passed. His physical strength was drained; almost to the point where he could barely hold his head up long enough to drink water. But her biggest concern was his emotional state. She could tell he was beginning to fade. The bright green eyes she had met on her first day in Neverland, that were filled with laughter and mischief, were now dull and devoid of their previous luster.

She stepped lightly in the tiny boat that was rocking heavily in the violent sea and lurched forward as the ship made its way to land. Once there, she felt the incredibly strong urge to praise the solid ground on which she stood, feeling the happiest she felt in a long time to actually be on ground that didn't sway beneath her. She sighed and turned her face to the darkened sky, which at that precise moment decided to unleash its torrent of water. Blinking the water out of her eyes, Leah began her walk into the deepest part of the woods to the river at its heart.

The journey took longer than she hand remembered it to be. The path seemed to be rockier and the woods were becoming darker and darker, even with the darkness that the storm created. Stopping at a high cliff that reached beyond the tops of the trees, Leah realized she was lost. Either way she looked the path was endless and the woods ominous, and for the first time in years, she became stricken with panic. Above her the sky thundered and flashed as the rain began to pour harder. Quickly searching around her she spotted a small cave about five feet above her. She hesitated for a fraction of a second until the sky thundered again, then she awkwardly scrambled into the small opening.

Resting against the cool wall, Leah breathed in the damp air. They wouldn't come looking for her. They probably thought that it was better that she become lost in the storm. And even if there were a remote chance that the Captain would send someone to look for her, it wouldn't be until the storm was over. She closed her eyes and listened to the wind howl through the cave, along with the wind there was also the distinct dripping noise of leak somewhere deeper in the crevice.

It was hours into the storm and the rain still looked like it wouldn't clear up. Crouched against the cave wall, Leah was cold and wet, her arms wrapped around her knees in an attempt to maintain any body heat that she still had. She clenched her teeth together to keep them from chattering, but she knew that it was a futile attempt. Another clap of lighting filled the small cave with light, sending a flurry of eerie shadows all around her. But one shadow in the depth of the cave caught her eye, causing her to stand and squint into the darkness. She held her breath and strained her ears for any noise that seemed out of place in the cave. And there! She heard it, small and almost inaudible but it was distinct – the sound of sniffling and chattering teeth.

"Hello?" She called into the darkness, stepping forward deeper into the fissure. The lighting lit up the cave again as the rain began to fall harder, casting some light on the small face that appeared.

-

The rain had finally let up by the time Leah made her way back to the small boat that was still tethered on the beach. Hook's burly pirates were lounging on the sand enjoying a midday, or midmorning, which ever she couldn't tell for the sky seemed to be forever dark to her, meal. At least now she knew why this continuous darkness covered the day sky.

As she placed her buckets of water in the small vessel, the pirates finally looked up from their gorging to notice her presence on the beach. But that's all they really did. They stared at her for a few moments before going back to their meal. Leah huffed at their incompetence in manner and was contemplating rowing back to the Jolly Roger herself when the smallest of the three pirates slowly stood, dusted himself off then walked over to her. He looked her up and down before sniffing and motioned with his hand for her to climb in. Once she was settled, he pushed the boat off the beach and hopped in himself. It took them ten minutes to reach the ship – riding through unstable waves the entire way. She was not on the ship more than a few seconds when a panicked Smee came rushing up to her.

"Miss Leah, come quickly!" He puffed out, placing his hand on her back he urgently lead her towards the stairs to the dungeon deck. His demeanor rattled her; her mind was running over many scenarios that could have taken place on the ship in her absence, each one worse than the one before.

"What happened Smee?" She was finally able to ask him as they neared the bottom of the steps. But he didn't answer her. He only shook his head, his eyes focusing on the floor. When they reached the door she knew something wasn't right. The pirates that usually guarded the door with a surely manner, looked shaken, their eyes shifting around nervously as if waiting for something to jump out of the darkness and attack them. Even the usual stale scent that clogged the air had changed. Nothing fit. And the longer she stood in front of the door, the louder her heart began to pound in her ears.

Suddenly the heavy door flew open, startling the four that stood before its frame. There, silhouetted by the firelight, was Hook. And to Leah's horror, in his hand he once again carried his prized leather whip. When she looked up he was staring at her, his eyes burning with an intensity that alarmed her. At that moment all she wanted to do was turn and run back up the stairs, anywhere away from this madman. But she couldn't. No, she wouldn't – not without Peter.

Hook continued to stare at her before his eyes flitted over the pirates and Smee. The air prickled with the heavy silence that only ended when the Captain finally continued on his path up the stairs and into the waning day. Even though his physical presence had left, the tension that he brought remained in the small space, suffocating Leah.

"What has he done?" Her voice was soft, almost inaudible, and shaken. She looked around her at the three men, who merely turned away from her, ashamed of what they knew that she did not. Leah turned her attention on Smee, who, without looking at her, ushered her through the door and shut it behind him as he left. Placing the buckets of water that she almost had forgotten she was carrying on the floor, she waited a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the darkened lighting. But when they finally did, she begged to whomever there was up above, that she could not see.

Surveying the room around her, Leah felt her heart tighten and a large lump form in her throat. She could not believe that one man could do this.

The walls looked like a slaughter house – splattered with blood that, from the looks of things, had come from all directions. The wall to her right, where Tootles small skunk skin was hung, was now adorned with three new blood saturated pelts; two raccoons and a bear. Even worse, by the look of the room, it seemed that Hook had not only killed three more of the lost boys, but had made Peter watch the horrible murders.

Leah's hand shot to her mouth to prevent from vomiting as she quickly turned away from the sight. She couldn't wrap her mind around what had taken place in this room after she had left.

This was the storm.

She shook her head to try relieving her mind of the vicious imaged that began to flood her. She couldn't even imagine what pain and suffering Peter was going through as he watched his lost boys killed before him, knowing that there was nothing he could do to save them.

Peter!

She suddenly realized that she had not seen him when she first walked into the room. Quickly she turned around again and spotted him.

Peter was not hanging from the ceiling as she had last seen him, but rather slumped against the far wall, his back to her. From what she could she, Hook had released his hatred once again upon Peter, who's back was covered with fresh wounds and blood that had begun to pool beneath him.

Cautiously she walked over to him, be weary to avoid blood pools on the floor. As she kneeled next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, she became aware that he was not only awake but also shaking violently. The skin that trembled beneath her fingers was ice cold and seemingly lifeless.

"Peter?" He gave no reaction to her hesitant call. "Peter, its me. Leah." This time from the depths of his throat arose a choking sound as he curled tighter into his fetal position on the hard wood floor. She got up off her knees and grabbed one of the linens she had brought in earlier that day, throwing it over his shivering form, not bothering to tend to his back immediately. She sat next to him until his shivering ceased, occupying herself by rubbing lazy circles with her hand over his shoulder. Suddenly he sat up, his hands clutched to his chest, his back to her.

"Peter?"

"I thought it was all just a terrible dream that I would eventually wake up from." He turned around to face her, his eyes red rimmed, tear tracks leaving lines down his dirty cheeks. But what he clutched to his chest made her breath hitch as she could see in his eyes that this had hurt most. "But suddenly, I know I'm not sleeping." Fresh tears began to pour from his eyes as he held his hands out to her, presenting to her what he held so close. "Please. Give her a proper burial."

In his outstretched hands was the crumpled lifeless form of his dear companion, Tinkerbell.

-

We apologize profusely for taking this long to update. And because of this Glade and I have decided to put the story on hiatus and complete it before putting up more chapters. We thank everyone who has supported us from the beginning and hope that you will remain supporters when we return somewhere around May or June (we're going to try for earlier but who knows) with the completed story. Thank you all again and keep enjoying the story we have written so far.

-Star and Glade

2-20-05