“Well then, Boy. If your ‘men’ aren’t dead, they’ll surely be far from coming
                        for you.”
                        Nibs narrowed his eyes at the white-haired captain who was trailing the point
                        of his longsword down the Boy’s throat.
                        “Oh, don’t look at me like that, Boy – I’m the one in power here.” Hook
                        twisted the blade briefly, and Nibs felt a thin trickle of warmth along his
                        collarbone.
                        Only a flesh wound, not even deep…He consoled himself as he began to
                        panic. Peter will come for me, he thought. It’s silly to think he’ll be here any
                        minute – he never turns up until the very last moment possible.
                        Hook watched the boy’s contemplating face, before turning to Mason. “Take
                        our young squaddy here below deck. No doubt we’ll find a use for him later.”
                        Mullins slashed at the roped, freeing Nibs momentarily, and Mason picked the
                        squirming child up for the second time that day. Nibs shrieked to nobody
                        through the thick hand that clamped his mouth shut.

                        ***

                        Peter studied the underground cavern, the Boys, Billy and Riio sitting
                        comfortably on the floor. Youth was hopping freely from one thick root to
                        another, along four that had been pulled from the walls to make benches at
                        the side of the room.
                        “As good as new!” Peter said out loud. He was right – apart from the
                        blackened soil beneath the new straw on the floor, which wasn’t noticeable
                        unless you were looking for it, they couldn’t see even the smallest trace of a
                        past fire.
                        The table was still black, but two new legs had been installed, though one
                        was longer than the other and Tootles kept leaning on it, making it rock back
                        and forth.
                        At least it will stop them putting their elbows on the table, Riio concluded.
                        The bearskin had been sheared off at the burnt edge, so the boys could see
                        through about three inches in height into Peter’s room, but it certainly looked
                        better. The new roots that were pulled out covered the most charred section,
                        though the Boys weren’t bothered about this as much as a newcomer would
                        be. Peter sat down by the table and beckoned them to sit with him.
                        “Now that the cavern is done, back to the Nibs business. Ideas? No –
                        Tootles, leave the glue where it is.”
                        “I think we should swoop down and just attack them the way we normally
                        do.”
                        “I think we should steal Long Tom and bomb them…”
                        “I think we should steal Short Tom and demand Nibs as the ransom…and
                        some chocolate too!”
                        Peter banged on the new-old table to get their attention. “This isn’t working,
                        Boys! Hey…BOYS!”
                        They fell silent. Peter paced the length of floor that was slightly darker than
                        the rest. Abruptly he span round and fixed his eyes on Slightly.
                        “Second in Command – what do you think, Boy?”
                        “I…I…err…I’m slightly…”
                        “There’s nobody in the crow’s nest.” Said Billy quietly. “That’s my spot. If you
                        flew to the highest point, where they can’t see through the sails. Keep as
                        high as you can. The men all look out from the edges so if you stay about
                        the clouds and then drop onto the mast and slide down, they won’t spot
                        you.”
                        Slightly stared at him. Could it be true? Was Billy turning his back on the
                        pirates? Would he become a Lost Boy?
                        “Peter, will you and the Boys take me back to my ship?”
                        Slightly’s hopes shattered in an instant. Peter hesitated.
                        “Are you sure? You can stay here…the offer still stands. You…”
                        “Take me back.”
                        Billy sighed. That must have been the hardest thing he had ever had to say.

                        ***

                        The Boys flew softly over the fluffy grey clouds that lit silver in patches where
                        the lightning flashed and thunder rolled below them. Billy was rigid with fear,
                        his weight hanging between Big Twin and Curly, with Little Twin and Tootles
                        clinging to his legs to give him extra support. Slightly was ahead talking to
                        Peter and Riio.
                        “Isn’t all this slightly dangerous? I mean, Nibs might get it in the neck if we
                        slightly mess up, or if we can’t fly away…what’s the backup plan?”
                        “There is none.”
                        “That can’t be it, Peter!”
                        “It is.”
                        Peter was set on invading the Jolly Rodger – he’d done it before by night,
                        he’d do it again by night. First for Riio, now for Nibs.
                        “There it is!”
                        They dropped Billy into the crow’s nest and alighted one by one at the top of
                        the mast, hidden by the rustling sails. Then they slid down the mast one by
                        one, as the next settled in their place. Billy climbed down the rigging next to
                        them.
                        “I’ve got to get back to my cabin before anyone realises I was missing. I just
                        hope they didn’t notice before.”
                        Riio understood perfectly, and she nodded at him. Peter copied her, since he
                        assumed she must know more about his circumstances than he did. When
                        Billy had left, Peter and Riio signalled for the boys to split up quietly and
                        search the deck. There was practically no need, for a few seconds later the
                        twins gave a low owl hoot by a pile of crates – Nibs was asleep, tied up,
                        beside them.

                        Hook lay slumbering lightly in his cabin, but woke with a start when he heard
                        a bird sound. It’s only nature, he thought to himself. Suddenly he sat up.
                        Animals avoid the Jolly Rodger like the plague! Why the devil would an owl be
                        hanging around? Hook threw himself out of the hammock and stared out of
                        the window. A cluster of shapes was around the Lost Boy he had captured.
                        Crates, he thought again. Then one of the ‘crates’ moved.
                        “Bah!” He said. Hook slipped out of his domain and headed off to wake his
                        men.

                        “Nibs!” They poked him and he mumbled loudly as he woke. “Shhhh…do you
                        want the pirates out here?” Curly warned him as the Twins unknotted the
                        ropes binding him. As Nibs stood up, four lanterns shed their light on the
                        Boys and Girl, and they froze, seeing that every single man aboard the ship
                        was before them, behind them and on either side.
                        Peter groaned. He should have realised that leaving the Lost Boy in an open
                        space was a well-known pirate ploy.
                        “Can’t run, Boyos,” gloated Mullins. He nodded and the pirates swung down
                        their blades as though they were going to carve the Lost Boys in two, but
                        they clashed at the top, sealing a silver roof over the Boys so that they could
                        not move outwards because of the pirates, and they could not fly upwards
                        without getting cut to ribbons, or worse. Smee ran up and threw a net over
                        them, missing only the other pirates, and then tied it at the bottom. They
                        could not move an inch. They were trapped.
                        Hook sneered at them from his place by Long Tom.
                        “No time for Plan B, is there lads?”
                        “What do you want from us, Captain Codfish?” Peter thrashed along with his
                        Boys. Hook stepped closer and peered at him through the net.
                        “I want to do a bit of negotiating, Boy. First, we will make sure that you can’t
                        escape. Not that you would want to escape – I have learnt over the years
                        that you, my dear boy, are a masochist. Do you know the meaning of that
                        word? It is somebody who wants to get hurt; finds danger and pain
                        pleasurable – this is what your aim seems to be when you come flitting
                        around my ship – we try and kill you, yet you come back for more…you
                        seem…to like it.”
                        Peter bit his lip – some of this was true, he realised. He wanted the danger.
                        He thrived on the prospect of getting hurt. Now that Hook had voiced this, it
                        seemed sickening.
                        His mind was whipped elsewhere as he felt himself picked up and tied to
                        something behind him, as were the others.
                        “Now where was I? Ah yes…the girl. We wish to take back what you have
                        stolen.”
                        “We didn’t steal her in the first place – you stole her from us, and we stole
                        her back!”
                        “So you admit that you stole her?”
                        “NO!”
                        The pirates kept their mouths shut for the sake of their posts and lives.
                        Hook paced slowly up and down the line-up of Lost Boys, take three paces,
                        then turning on his heel and coming back. Peter watched him with narrowed
                        eyes. There was a pregnant silence hanging in the air, carrying the feeling of
                        giving up and wrapping it tightly around the captives’ necks.
                        Hook looked up sharply, making them all jump, and stared into Peter’s eyes
                        for about ten seconds. It was obvious his main focuses were Peter and Riio.
                        “Trust me, Boy – the girl made a better pirate than she ever could a Lost
                        Boy.”
                        “I wasn’t a Lost Boy, Hook. I was a Lost Girl and a MOTHER.”
                        “You’re too young to be a Mother, my dear girl.”
                        “She’s too young to be a pirate – she’s too young to have her so-called
                        shipmates force themselves on her…”
                        Hook went white with horror. “You know about that? She told you – and you
                        understand what it means?”
                        “Just because I’m a child it doesn’t mean I don’t learn. I wouldn’t let her near
                        your men any more than you would.”
                        “A lifetime that never ends of looking after a group of childish boys not much
                        younger than herself is no task for a young woman of her strength and
                        intelligence. She would do better here with me, don’t you agree?”
                        “What – planning to plunder other ships when you will never leave this
                        island? Looking at maps of buried treasure that you will never find because
                        you will never leave this island? Think about it, Captain…your main aim is to
                        kill me and as long as I am alive, you will NEVER leave this island!” Peter spat
                        the last few words with venom he had never felt before, and Hook gazed in
                        shock.
                        Was this Peter Pan? The child he first encountered all those years before?
                        Peter had been here so long that a part of him had grown up – his logical
                        mind. The rest of him, his body, his imagination, clock, and heart were those
                        of a child – Peter’s childhood was everything and his heart was in Neverland
                        itself. He would remain a child forever but with a schizophrenic adult part of
                        him that would bite back on occasion. This occasion. Hook shook his head,
                        lost in these thoughts. He heard Mullins cry out and he snapped back to
                        reality.
                        “There’s evil in it! He’s bewitched the Cap’n with his words!”
                        “Mullins, shut yer trap!”
                        “Yes, Cap’n.”
                        Peter started again. “She loves these Boys, Hook – you can’t take that away
                        from her.”
                        “She loves the work aboard this ship, Boy…she somewhat loves Jukes, if I’m
                        not mistaken – you can’t that that away from her.”
                        “I bet you don’t even know her name.” Snarled Peter.
                        “Miss Riio,” Murmured the Captain in triumph. Peter faltered, and Riio took
                        the chance to step in.
                        “What about where I want to go? Isn’t it my choice as much as everyone
                        else’s?”
                        They looked at each other, and Hook nodded to his men. They untied the
                        Boys who stood around in awkward surprise. Peter and Riio were among
                        them, and Hook offered them all a seat.
                        “Dear girl, as a gentleman I give you the chance to have your say…pray,
                        speak.”
                        Riio opened a mouth, and stopped to think. Then she spoke.
                        “I love the Boys, I love the excitement. I want to be a child – I would have to
                        grow up on the ship. The Boys need a mother, and I can give them that. I
                        want to play games…I want to wake up and know there is no work to be
                        done and plenty of fun waiting…”
                        Peter smiled at her.
                        “But…on the ship…I love Billy. The work on the ship here is the only skill I
                        have ever been good at. It’s a type of fun to me because I’m good at it. Back
                        home girls of my age grow up fast, drinking, swearing, and looking after
                        themselves. I’m one of those girls. It’s what I’m used to.”
                        Peter’s face fell and Hook smiled in his place, raising an eyebrow in supposed
                        victory. His face fell once again as Riio added her last part.
                        “Or I could just go home. I need to go home. You all expect me to stay here
                        with you forever – I can’t do that. I miss my family and friends. I miss all the
                        stuff I used to do. If I joined one band of you, I’d end up making an enemy.
                        If I didn’t, I’d be stuck in the middle.”
                        Everyone was silent. What was to be done? Where would she go? Which was
                        fairest?
                        Peter sighed and gave his opinion.
                        “Riio, without mine and Hook’s feud what would Neverland be? We can’t stop
                        this because our fighting is the heart of Neverland. It is the source of most of
                        the stories back in your world. I’m afraid it’s a choice you have to make.”
                        “You’ll manage,” Said Slightly. “Others have.” Everyone turned to stare at
                        him. What on earth was he on about? Billy realised and looked away, praying
                        that Hook wouldn’t find out about the Pirate-lost boy friendship…
                        Slightly clamped his mouth shut, knowing that not only would he put his own
                        life in danger by blabbing, but also the other Boys’ and Billy too. Hook gave
                        him a suspicious look and turned back to his previous preoccupation.
                        Riio was torn three ways. She could join the pirates and be with Billy and the
                        work, she could join the Lost Boys again and be with Peter and the Boys, she
                        could go home and forget about it all, or she could go home after being
                        recognised as on one of the sides. She wanted the last option…but which
                        side? She could feel the eyes boring into her…
                        Choose.