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Barrie stood up, feeling how unsteady his legs were. They were shaking from adrenaline and fear, a potent combination. But he also felt a strength in them that he didn’t know he had. He clutched the hook in his hands. Rain pelted his face, soaking his clothes and hair.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
“No, he got a taste of me!” Captain Hook screamed. “He wants the rest.”
Barrie stared down at the pirate, who no longer seemed so terrifying. Everything suddenly made sense as all the pieces clicked into place in his head.
“Is that how you lost your hand?” Barrie asked, raising his voice to be heard over the storm.
“That’s all he got,” Hook cried out, brandishing his bloody stump. He clutched it closer to his chest, shivering from fear. “But he won’t stop until he’s got the rest.”
Suddenly, Barrie realized something amazing—he’d just solved his first real mystery. And not just any mystery, but the mystery of Captain Hook and his missing hand. He was just like the kid detectives in his books. He’d solved a case that even real historians couldn’t solve. He felt satisfaction course through him, but then a rush of fear snapped him out of it.
Barrie fixed his eyes on Captain Hook, who continued to grovel in the shadows, cowering back from the water. Hook was afraid of the ticking and the water, but as soon as that creature left, the pirate captain would recover—and he’d probably be even angrier than before.
Barrie felt afraid, but solving that mystery had given him a boost of courage. He fixed his eyes on the dark water. He knew that he had only one choice—and one way out.
He stepped onto the plank.
It wobbled under his feet. Below him, the waves frothed and churned angrily. The dark creature continued to circle.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Barrie took a deep breath, inching out to the end of the plank. He waited for the next pass—tick-tock—then he tossed the rusty old hook into the water to distract it.
The creature thrashed in the waves, darting after the hook.
“Noooooooo—” Captain Hook screamed.
Barrie dove into the ocean, feeling the sharp sting of cold water envelop him. Right then, a huge wave slammed into him. The riptide caught his body, sucking him downward. He felt himself sinking further and further. He struggled to breathe but choked on more briny water.
White stars danced in front of his vision. He started to lose consciousness. His lungs were running out of oxygen.
This is it, he thought. I’m going to drown.
Barrie sank deeper into the black water. It choked him and clogged up his throat.
Panic gripped his heart and squeezed it tight. His body went rigid with fear. The water was opaque, almost black. Anything could be lurking down there—including that shadowy creature with the razor-sharp teeth. The hook had distracted it…
But for how long?
He gulped for oxygen, but only swallowed more salt water. It filled his lungs, bloating them. He couldn’t tell which way was up. He thrashed around helplessly and started to black out, but then lightning pulsed overhead and helped to orient him.
He swam toward the light, fighting against the churning water, pumping his arms and struggling toward the surface. He swam harder and kicked his feet, propelling himself upward.
Right when his lungs were burning and starting to convulse, he burst through the surface and gulped down air, which tasted sweeter than any candy. He flailed around until he spotted the lights along the shoreline, and then he swam for it.
Waves slapped at his face. He sputtered but had no choice but to keep swimming. The only other option was to drown.
* * *
He glanced back. Behind him, the Jolly Roger continued to sail away, off toward that strange place from the map.
The place where you never grow up.
The ship bobbed and crested the waves, cutting through them like they were butter. Candlelight flickered in the captain’s cabin. He could see Captain Hook’s silhouette framed in the window.
Barrie felt
