Chapter 9
That night, Lucy did not sleep well. As she lay restlessly in her bed she dreamt she was standing aboard the Jolly Rodger with Nibs. They were looking at the night sky filled with a hundred shining stars. Nibs was telling her about the constellations but when she looked at him it was no longer Nibs standing there but Peter. He turned to her with a look of disgust plastered on to his usually beautiful and youthful face. "How dare you betray me like that" he said. But it wasn't Peter's voice that came from that cursed mouth, it was her fathers. Peter started to walk towards her slowly as though he was a zombie his arms outstretched as if to strangle her. His lips formed one word over and over again "Traitor, traitor, traitor, traitor…"
Lucy woke dripping in sweat and shivering with fear. The nightmares were back again. Of course, they had never really gone away but since she had turned into Tiger Lily she had thought they were getting better. This was it this was the day she would have to make her final decision Hook or Pan.
Lucy sat down by the lake watching the gentle ripples in the water and listening to the soothing sound of the wind. Her head was throbbing with confusion. What was she going to do? She wished she had someone to talk to. Anyone to help her out. But she was alone the way she had always been. She thought that when her father came to collect her things would be different and for a while, they had were but it hadn't lasted long and now she felt more lonely than ever.
Suddenly there was a rustling from the woods next to the lake. Lucy stood up hastily drawing Tiger Lily's dagger from her belt. Cursing and swearing, Gale appeared from the undergrowth. He was covered in mud and foliage, and he didn't look to happy about it. "Gale! What are you doing here?" Lucy asked lowering her dagger, pleased to see a familiar face.
"Came to see you, of course," he answered. "Had to take a long trek through those ruddy woods to get here. Ran in to three bears on the way, they're all dead now of course but…"
"Did my father send you?" Lucy interrupted, beginning to remember how annoying she had found Gale.
"No, I came myself." Gale replied.
"Why are you here Gale?" asked Lucy suspiciously.
"I wanted to see how you were getting on." Gale said, offended that she would question him.
"Well I'm fine," Lucy said irritably. "How's everybody on the ship?"
"Everyone's fine, we had a competition the other day, which I won, and…" Gale started before Lucy interrupted again.
"What about Nibs is he OK?"
Lucy could tell instantly by the look on Gale's face that there was something he didn't want to tell her.
"I didn't come here to talk about Nibs, I came to talk about you," he said.
"Why? What happened to Nibs? Tell me!" Lucy protested. Panic building up through her entire body.
"It doesn't matter. Don't worry about him now. Just worry about what you have to do. You have a decision to make Lucy and I know you'll make the right one!" Gale soothed.
"What do mean?" Lucy asked. But Gale just kissed her briefly on the cheek and disappeared into the woods. Lucy called after him, but he had already disappeared.
Angrily, she whipped the tears from her cheeks. She couldn't get upset, not today. Collecting herself together she began to walk back to the camp.