Captain James Hook and the Siege of Neverland Read Online Free

a pattern of speech.   I turned back to where the noise was coming from and saw the same shelled creature stare back at me with curious eyes.   It winked and scuttled away into the forest.  
    I walked over to where the creature stood and knelt down at the divide between the beach and the forest.   There, I found a narrow stick with a feather at one end and a barb at the other.  
    “Captain?” Jukes called out.   “What are you doing?”
    “I found an arrow,” I answered.   “Pan once told be about a tribe that lives here.”
    “What did he say?” Starkey asked.
    “Not much,” I said.   “Just that they are here and that he plays with them.”
    “Like he does with us?” Jukes asked.
    “Most likely,” I said.   “We can’t be sure, but we can be wary.”
    Once we secured our equipment, we broke into our formation.   As scout, Cecco strode out across the beach ahead of us.   Starkey and Smee flanked me on either side while Noodler covered our tracks, making sure we weren’t followed.   I stormed the center with Billy Jukes at my heel.  
    We walked nearly half the length of the beach when Cecco’s head perked up.   He sprinted to a spot several yards away, dropped to his knees and cried, “Yo ho!”   Starkey and Smee arched their paths to meet up with the Italian.   Smee swooped in beside Cecco and Starkey watched as the two men dug into the wet sand like dogs.  
    “What have we here?” Jukes said.   We walked up to where the men huddled and I heard a familiar crunching.   I puzzled over how I knew this sound until I saw the nest.   Just as I remembered from my childhood, these eggs were round, thick, darkly spotted, and never truly alone.   My heart quickened and my wrist began to throb in time with my pulse.   It was too late for me to tell them to leave the nest alone, so many eggs were already cracked and broken.   I just stood there, watching.  
    “With the right vinegar we could pickle the lot of these,” Smee said.   He slurped the meat out of one egg and put two more in his vest.  
    I searched the dark curtain of trees and two words escaped my thoughts.   “She’s here.”
    “Who is here?” Starkey asked.   I looked at Starkey for a few moments in silence as Smee and Cecco continued to pocket more eggs.  
    “Their mother,” Jukes said.   “The croc.”
    The men stopped as realization washed over their faces.  
    “That’s not possible,” Noodler said as he walked up to the group.  
    “There is no such thing as the impossible anymore,” I told him.
    “We flew here,” Starkey said.
    “My point exactly,” I said.   “You’re telling me that the flight of a ship is easier to believe than any other path between worlds?”
    “I’m not sure I believe any of this,” Starkey said.   “At least not on the surface.”
    “You are a wise and well learned man, Mr. Starkey,” I said.   “But we are here and so is she, so let us contend with the reality of what is before us and save supposition for another time.”
    “Even if these are croc eggs, there is no evidence that these eggs are from the same crocodile,” Starkey pressed.
    “It’s her,” Jukes said.
    “And you intend to prove this?” Starkey asked.
    “Let us hope we never have to,” I said.  
    The air warmed as we retook our positions and cut into the heart of the Crescent Wood.   Cecco darted out ahead, weaving soundlessly between branches.   Starkey and Smee split to either side and Noodler lagged behind.   The dark forest broke into bright grassy clearings, then became tight again after only a few steps.   Gnarled trunks twisted into one another, locking at their highest point into a knot of branches.   Steam rose from the damp earth and seeped into my shoes.  
    Billy Jukes looked to see that each man was far enough away before saying what I knew was on his mind.
    “You knew she’d be here.”
    “It is what I told the Admiral,” I said.   “There’s a cave behind the