Chapter 3: Hooked

"Help!"

Wendy didn't know why she cried out, or who could possibly hear her. But as the sun stretched over the ocean, the realization hit Wendy like a stone.

Tinkerbell was gone.

And it was her fault. If only she hadn't left Hangman's Tree, Tinkerbell wouldn't have followed. She and Tinkerbell never would have bickered. And the white fish never would have…

Sickened, Wendy clenched her stomach. If only she had stayed away from the ocean as Peter wished.

Peter.

Panic throbbed in her throat as Wendy stared at the water dragging her skirt back and forth. She only could imagine Peter's fury. That Wendy had disobeyed his orders alone would anger Peter, but the added danger for Tinkerbell would surely find her banished from Neverland forever.

The thought frightened Wendy. And for a moment she was indecisive.

The indecisiveness folded under horror.

"Shame on you." Accusingly, Wendy frowned at her reflection. "Shame on you, Wendy Darling. That you would even consider…"

Resolutely picking up her nightgown, Wendy turned toward the shore. "I must find Peter." she murmured, feet sinking into the moving sand. "I must tell him. Then everything will be all right. Everything will be all – ouch! Ouch! Oh!"

Wendy grabbed her shoulder. It was stinging. Reflexively, she jerked away but the pain increased. Twisting Wendy searched her shoulder for the source of pain.

Embedded in the flesh was a hook. The barbed ends poked grotesquely through her skin, pulling taught with every movement.

A fishing line, dotted with her blood, was attached to the hook. Feeling faint, Wendy grasped the transparent line. Immediately, the line was yanked from her grip.

Wendy looked up. At the end of the line was a pirate. A pirate with a dour face and scabrous eyes. The pirate stared at her. And Wendy stared back, full of recognition.

"Shark."

The pirate accepted Wendy's recollection without return. Without breaking gaze, Shark braced against the side of his longboat. Then, the pirate pulled the line.

"Oh! Oh!"

Wendy tried to resist. She cringed as the hook snarled deeper, tugging at the flesh under her skin.

Frantically Wendy grappled for the line, winding it around her palm and trying to plant her feet in the shifting sand. Shark stood, bearing his incisors. Swiftly he wrenched the line from Wendy's grasp, making the girl cry out as the hook turned.

Twice, Wendy tried tearing away with one fast movement, like pulling out a loose tooth. But the thought of ripping her own skin was unbearable. Helpless, Wendy gave into Shark's pull.

Saltwater licked her shoulder as the pirate dragged her closer, leaned over the longboat, and squeezed her neck in his fist.

Shark threw Wendy into the longboat. When she rose, he struck her down easily as a ragdoll. She cried to the beach for help.

"Quiet!" Shark ripped out a hook as long as his hand. Gruffly, he clenched Wendy's cheeks and angled the hook at the corner of her mouth. "Or I'll make ye be quiet. Like I did to yer merman."

Wendy's heart fluttered. "Merman…Brine? You – "

Suddenly, the long hook pricked into her hidden kiss. And Wendy realized exactly how Shark planned to keep her quiet. He was going to thread the hook through her lips.

Frantically she struggled. But Shark pressed closer, squeezing her jaw between his fingers. His breath was cold. "No one will hear ye now…"

"Wanna bet!?"

Shark turned, one hand at Wendy's throat. But no sooner did his chest lift did Peter Pan flash across the skyline.

Shark cursed.

And the longboat capsized.

Even in the shallows, the ocean was disorienting. Wendy rolled underwater, feeling wildly for upright. Something dark darted beneath her. She swallowed water as Shark's arms coiled around her waist like whips. The hook in Wendy's shoulder screamed as Shark jerked, diving deeper.

Shark knifed through the ocean, Wendy pinned to his chest. Casting sharp glances above for Peter Pan, the pirate weaved through dark waves of seaweed, swimming for the Jolly Roger.

A spear of white bubbles exploded over the pirate's head. As Peter emerged, Shark kicked, spinning onto his back, and reaching for a knife to hold to the girl's throat. But Peter was faster. Swerving unpredictably, the boy jackknifed to the left, knocking the blade from Shark's hand. He veered to the right, leaving a bruise on the pirate's cheekbone. Then Peter pounced.

The fight was fierce, but in moments Wendy felt Peter's shoulder against her stomach as he lifted her through the water. Shark's growl was primordial as his fingers slipped from Wendy's waist.

But even as the children burst into the open air, Shark's wrist tugged. The fishing line was still snarled around his forearm.

Wendy screamed as she and Peter lurched backwards. Her shoulder was on fire. It felt like her skin and muscle were being shred from the bone. Startled Peter hugged Wendy closer and propelled upward with all his might.

"AH!" Wendy dug her forehead into Peter's neck. Tears poured from her eyes, trickling down his collar bone. "The hook! Peter the hook!"

"Hook?" Bewildered Peter scanned the ocean for the pirate captain. "Where?" he asked as Shark sliced through the water. Again Peter tried to fly away. Again the children lurched down. Peter dipped quickly to catch Wendy as she slipped down his chest. "Wendy? Wendy? Where is he?"

Then Peter noticed the blood. Bright red blood, sliding down Wendy's elbow and falling into the ocean where the pirate held a transparent line attached to…

Peter flicked out his dagger.

"NO!" Shark barked, yanking the fishing line with all his strength. Wendy's eyes fluttered. The pain was overwhelming. "DON'T YE DARE! GIVE ME THE GIRL!"

Peter raised the dagger.

"GIVE HER OVER YE FLYING RAT!

Wendy's head dropped as she lost consciousness. Peter could still feel the tears on Wendy's cheeks.

"GIVE ME THE GIRL!"

Peter let his dagger fall.

"NO! GIVE ME THE GIRL!" Shark shouted as the fishing line spiraled down from the sky and the children disappeared. "GIVE ME THE GIRL IF YE EVER WANT TO SEE YER FAIRY AGAIN!"