Hooked

When they had started out that day, they had not expected to find Greg and Tamara so easily. They also did not expect to find them in the state that they currently in.

Ariel had slapped a hand to her mouth in shock and gripped tightly to Killian’s jacket as they stared at what remained of their bodies on the forest floor. He had turned to protectively pull her to his front, blocker her view of the horrifying scene before them.

It didn’t take the rest of the group to figure out that Henry was there, and that the only plausible explanation was that Pan had Henry. If the situation had been serious before, it was even worse now. The need to find Henry as soon as possible was even greater.

Neil led the way as they moved as quickly as they could through the dense forest. They did not stop for breaks; time was limited at this point. There was no way of telling how long they had to find Henry. They had no idea if it was too late or if there was still a chance that they could rescue the young boy. All they had was hope, and even that was dwindling.

They weren’t sure how long they were walking for, but Ariel was tired, not used to using her longs so much and for so long. They ached and it took all her energy to keep from falling too far behind. Hook was in front of her, making sure the path was clear for her, knowing that this situation was putting a strain on her. She was grateful for his help, making sure she didn’t trip or fall.

Before they knew it, it was dark again. But they had no time to make camp, no time to sleep, no time to rest. Neil was sure they were almost there, was sure they should be there soon.

Ariel wasn’t sure how much help she would be when they got there. She felt so tired and weak. Killian was trying to stay back with her, but she felt like she was moving too slow and told him to try and keep up with group. She knew Neverland… she was from here, though she may not be as familiar with the area as the rest of the group.

In the darkness, she could barely see in front of her, but she followed the sounds of the group’s footsteps, only stumbling a bit. It didn’t take her long to realize that the footsteps she heard, that she had been following were her own. She stopped suddenly and listened to the forest around her, suddenly frightened by its overpowering silence.

She looked around her, but it was useless. She couldn’t see a damn thing. She could no longer hear the others. How had she gotten separated?

“Killian?” she called out. She waited, but heard no response, no footsteps heading in her direction. She felt her eyes watering as she realized she was alone and lost. What was she supposed to do now? When would they realize she was missing?

Would they even notice? She wasn’t exactly close with the others, with the exception of Killian. They were focused on finding Henry, anyway. She could only hope that Killian would eventually realize she had fallen behind.

She sat down wearily where she stood, pulling her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and listened, hoping for anyone to come back to her.

---

Ariel awoke, sprawled out on the forest floor. She hadn’t even realized she had fallen asleep, but it was still dark out. She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes and listening carefully for any sounds of approaching footsteps.

There was nothing… except… she could hear something in the distance. She stood up slowly, careful to not make much noise. She walked slowly in the direction of the sound until finally she realized what it was she was hearing: singing.

She continued to follow the sound until she came to a clearing. It was lighter here, the moon shining above, and illuminating the water of a small cove. She could smell the salt from the water, and new that ocean fed this small body of water. There was a cave that probably would lead anyone straight to the ocean. In the center of the water was a large rock, and atop it sat a mermaid, singing a song in a language that Ariel had once known.

Her feet carried her to the edge of the water and when she stopped moving the mermaid stopped singing and turned to her. Ariel did not know this mermaid, but the mermaid seemed to recognize her.

“Ariel,” she said in a hypnotic voice. “I heard you were back in Neverland.”

“How do you know me?”

“Who hasn’t heard of the mermaid who grew legs,” she answered. “The ocean is in your eyes.”

Ariel looked away, back at the forest. She heard a splash, and when she looked at the rock she saw that the mermaid had jumped into the water. It was swimming toward her, toward the edge of the small pool. Ariel could only imagine how deep it was.

The mermaid resurfaced and Ariel took a step back as it rested its arms on the rocky edge of the pool. It looked at Ariel with interest before smiling.

“Want to come for a swim?” the mermaid questioned.

“I can’t,” Ariel answered immediately, thinking about how she had almost drowned not so long ago.

“Of course you can,” the mermaid responded. “I can help you.”

As Ariel inspected the mermaid cautiously, the mermaid began singing again. Ariel took a hesitant step forward. The mermaid’s arm reached out toward Ariel and before she could grab onto it, a sword came out of nowhere, slashing at the mermaid’s arm. The mermaid let out a screech and quickly dove down into the pool, the water darkened by blood.

Ariel turned in shock to find a worried Killian. Before she could say anything, he had pulled her to him, hugging her close.

“Are you alright, sweetheart?” he questioned, face pressed against her hair. She nodded slightly against his chest.

“She was going to kill me wasn’t she?” Ariel asked, voice filled with sadness. She should have known her own kind would be against her… she wasn’t exactly their kind anymore anyway.

“Most important thing is that you’re safe now,” he replied. They pulled away from each other, and Killian looked closely at her face. “I was worried when I realized you weren’t with us anymore.”

“Where’s everyone else?”

“Heading to Pan’s hideout,” he answered. “I imagine they found it by now.”

“Do you think they’ll be okay?” she questioned, worried for everyone else now that she knew she wasn’t lost and alone.

“Hard to tell,” Killian said, looking back at the forest. “Pan isn’t exactly your average boy, as you know.”

“So what now? Should we try and find them so that we can help.”

“I think you need to rest,” he said, starting to walk them away from the pool. “They’ll be fine without us. They’ve got the queen and the crocodile on their side, at the very least.”

Ariel nodded her head and followed Killian to the edge of the forest, where he had her sit down. He took her pack from her and took out the thin blanket she had packed and wrapped it around her shoulders before sitting beside her. They leaned back against a large tree and Ariel curled against Killian.

Despite her worry for the others, exhaustion overcame her and she fell asleep easily. Killian watched as her eyes shut, hoping that everyone else would be fine. There was still the difficult issue of figuring out how to get out of Neverland, especially since they had only had the one magic bean to get here.

He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but he was sure there must be something they could do to get away from this godforsaken island when their mission was complete.