Chapter 11 #2
“I said ‘or not.’” He sighed. “Would you prefer I dropped you into a war between men and orcs with no guide, no warning, no explanation of how any of this worked?” He gestured with his hook to the scene in front of them.
“No breaking character? Let you watch the slaughter of entire villages as we set our armies forth through the countryside? You’re new to this game of villainy.
I am not. I’m trying to ease you into this.
I am trying my best to be mindful of your emotions. ”
She stared at the young boy as one of the pirates walked onto the plank behind him. He had nowhere to go. Nowhere to escape to. If Peter Pan didn’t save him now, there was no chance of survival.
The pirate drew his sword from his belt.
Peter Pan would save him.
Peter Pan had to save him.
That was how these stories worked.
Wasn’t it?
The pirate slashed at the boy with his sword, forcing him to either be sliced open, or jump backward and off the plank into the water.
The boy tried to split the difference and lean backwards instead. He slipped. Wailing in fear, he hung there for a split second—
And then fell.
Sasha ran forward to the railing, leaning over, her heart in her throat. She prayed to see no break in the water—expected to see Peter sailing up into the sky, having caught the boy.
For a moment, that reality played itself out in her mind.
But the sight that greeted her over the railing was anything but a last minute rescue.
Pirates cheered and shouted.
The surface of the ocean was a spray of foam and crimson and the flash of crocodile tail and teeth.
Vhmmmmmm—SNAP!
She knew the boy hadn’t been dead when he’d felt the crocodile teeth bite into him. Not like the mermaid. Not this time.
No.
No, she couldn’t do this. She just couldn’t.
Turning from the railing she took a few staggering, broken steps away from the scene and laced her fingers into her hair.
Hook came up beside her, placing his hand on her back. “Breathe.”
Panic quickly overwhelmed her.
They aren’t real. They aren’t real. Just characters in a book. Just NPCs in a video game. You kill them all the time, don’t you? She was shaking.
Was she going to pass out? Holy shit, she might actually pass out.
The world was doing that…fuzzy tunnel vision thing.
Her hands and feet were starting to tingle.
The sound of shouting children and laughing pirates, the splashing of people being thrown to crocodiles all sounded far away. It was easy to ignore it, to pretend it was just a movie or a summer game being played a mile away through a field.
Strong arms circled her. Pulled her against a chest that smelled of roses and old books. A voice, close to her ear, urged her quietly back to reality.“Breathe, Sasha. With me. In.” She felt the chest beside her expand.
Pulling in a shuddering breath, she felt things start to snap back into place. Groaning, she lowered her head.
“There you are. Almost lost you for a moment.” Hook loosened his arms around her, before turning her chin up to look at him with the crook of a finger. “This is precisely why we’re starting small, do you see?”
Nodding, she didn’t trust herself to form words.
She understood. Shooting pixels on a screen was one thing.
Watching people die in an experience that was, for all intents and purposes, entirely real?
Very different. Even if they didn’t have a soul behind them—if souls were real.
The jury was apparently still out on that.
“Good. Now.” He took a step back away from her. “Pick the next one to die.”
“Oh, come on.” She shot him a glare again. She figured she’d be doing that a lot. “Are you serious?”
“Very. And do it eyes open this time, hm?” He gestured at the array of children. “And go on. Double time. We don’t have all day.”
Taking in a deep breath, she held it for a second, before letting it out in a rush.
Great. Fantastic. Awesome. Cringing, she picked one of the older children that time, having learned from her mistake.
When he was walked to his death, she didn’t rush to the railing to watch the crocodile eat his next meal.
“Again.” Hook was watching her with a smile on his face that wasn’t cruel, or sick. Or even sadistic. It wasn’t even amused. She couldn’t put a name to the expression at first—and when it hit her, it didn’t make any sense at all.
Fondness.
He was smiling at her fondly.
When she picked a third child, who went to his death the same as the first two, Sasha had stopped bothering to try to wipe her tears away.
Sidney was sitting on a small barrel by one of the masts, her head in her hands, weeping uncontrollably. She hadn’t looked up since the executions had started. Sasha didn’t blame her—and in fact, kind of wished she could join her.
But she wasn’t so lucky.
Hook pulled out his pocket watch. “Again.”
And a fourth.
Sasha felt as though she was going to have a mental breakdown. The air was feeling too close again. She focused on keeping her breathing slow and regular and deep. She didn’t know how many more of these she could put up with before she started screaming and pulling her hair out.
But it seemed she was at least spared more of that pain. It was time to switch to some new kind of torment.
Captain Hook snapped his pocket watch shut and tucked it into his pocket before casting her the fakest beatific smile she’d ever seen in her life.
“Now, Mr. Smee. I have had a change of heart. I think it is quite bad luck to have a woman on board, and this Miss Wendy will just have to go. Time for her to walk the plank. Bring her here.”
Sidney shot up to her feet. “Fuck you!”
Sasha moved to stand between Hook and her twin. “No.”
“Mr. Smee, mutiny is not tolerated aboard this ship.” Hook walked toward them slowly, lowering his tone. The other pirates had fallen deathly silent as they stood to watch. “Either she walks the plank…or you do.”
Hook’s left eye began to glow purple, and Vile’s voice overtook Hook’s. “Do you think I care which one of you dies? Entertaining for me, either way.”
Sasha felt as though ice water ran down her spine. Suddenly, it all clicked into place. She wasn’t safe from him. Not at all. He’d only let her be the one who lived for as long as she was obediently on his side.
The purple in his eye faded. He was Hook once more. “Do you want to die, Mr. Smee? Shall I throw you both overboard?”
“N—no.” She was shaking. She couldn’t die to that crocodile. She couldn’t. She just couldn’t.
“Sash—” Sidney grabbed her arm from behind her. “Please—”
“Then move aside.” Hook stood inches in front of her, staring down at her and through her, calling her bluff.
Swallowing the rock in her throat, she did as she was told. She stood aside.
She was a coward. A complete coward.
Hook grabbed Sidney by the upper arm. Sidney screamed and fought, but Hook was twice her size and likely aided by whatever strength Vile had backing him up. The pirates began to cheer again, loudly celebrating what would be the most momentous death they’d had likely in a long time.
BLAM!
Hook froze.
Sidney froze.
The gunshot echoed off the nearby ridges of the mountains.
Hook turned to look at Sasha.
She’d stolen a blackpowder pistol from one of the pirates and shot Hook in the back as he’d walked away with Sidney. With “Wendy.”
Smoke curled from the barrel.
A crimson hole started to form in Hook’s chest as he stared at her, stunned, his mouth agog. He dropped to his knees.
Sasha lowered the gun. “At least it isn’t the crocodile this time.”
Hook smirked and touched the blood on his chest. “Bad form, Mr. Smee. Bad form…” He fell flat to the deck. Dead.
Silence hung in the air as the pirates stared at her.
The crow of a great bird filled the air as Peter Pan swooped low and landed on the yardarm of the ship. “I’ve come to save the—” He stopped. “Am I late?”
If she had a second bullet in the gun, she’d probably shoot him just out of frustration. Lucky for him, that wasn’t how blackpowder pistols worked and she knew it.
Sasha dropped the gun on the deck next to Hook’s corpse with a clatter.
Sidney walked up to her, hugging her tight for a second in a silent “thank you” before saying the thing they were both feeling. “I think I fucking hate this story now. Can we go?”
Sasha let out a breath. “Yeah. I think we can.”
The End