Mere Phantasy Read online

  That picture. It looked older than a picture taken nowadays. It was maybe from around the 1900s. But how was Zane in that photo if he was only just seventeen?

  I stopped thinking and realized then I had to quit wasting my energy on thinking about impossible things. I had to figure out if there was any way to get out of here. Besides, I didn’t even know anything about Zane or that picture, and he could’ve stolen it like he had my necklace for all I knew.

  Maybe if I told Hook I would work for him, he wouldn’t keep me suffering down here like I was worthless. Like he said, I was his one link to Peter. He wouldn’t kill me no matter what I did. He thought I had answers he needed, and I was the worm that could finally catch his fish. I could buy my freedom with answers. Assuming, of course, I could lie efficiently.

  A loud creaking rang across the hull as the cell door opened suddenly, scaring me from my thoughts. Oh man, Hook can read minds, I thought. Great.

  I had no time to move or do much before the pirate found Zane and me. Glaring at us, he grabbed me by my arm and sent a swift kick into Zane’s side.

  He woke up flailing, yelling in protest. “What the bloody—Aye!” He tried to scoot away, but the man just took him as well, dragging both of us up on deck behind him. My leg throbbed with pain whenever I put weight on it, stumbling clumsily along, but I didn’t even bother trying to fight.

  Hook was waiting for us, and I tried not to let myself be scared of him. I just had to think of him as a stubborn, grumpy old guy who was keeping me to do his dirty work. Thinking of him that way made it a lot easier for me to handle the situation.

  “Who’s this?” Hook asked, looking at Zane, who’d been kicking and punching his captor with all his might, trying to get away, but he was still too intoxicated to do much damage. I just sighed in annoyance, feeling used to the whole process by now.

  “I found him down in the lockup, Cap’n,” the pirate said.

  I had to wipe away the spit that landed on my forehead when he spoke.

  Hook smiled, bringing a rusted spyglass to his eye and gazing out over the open sea. “Great, bring them both to my cabin and make them at home. I shall be in there in a moment.”

  The pirate yanked us over to the double doors, the ones I’d seen days before and been so terrified to enter. But now I just sort of felt nothing.

  I was sat in a chair and told to stay put. Gross Pirate Dude Number Three took the still struggling Zane by the arm and his longish hair over to another chair. He grimaced in pain as he was thrown into the seat and forced to sit until the man had safely wrapped a rope around him to keep him in place. Zane glared at the guy and kicked his legs fiercely until they too were tied down. I watched as the pirate stepped back to admire his work and then left, slamming the door fiercely, only leaving his musty scent behind.

  Zane looked a lot less intimidating now that he was tied up. I gave him a cocky smile, crossing my legs dramatically to make my own freedom very apparent.

  For a few minutes, he tried to get free. As soon as he realized he couldn’t, he stopped and hung his head. I just remained quiet, the self-righteous grin never leaving my face. Whatever was coming to him, he deserved. My leg hurt, and he didn’t even have a scratch on him—he beat me up and then got to celebrate himself into a peaceful slumber.

  The least he could have done was say sorry, but with the way he was glaring at me, that didn’t seem likely.

  “When I get out of here, you’re dead,” he hissed.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Well, we might both be dead after this. So don’t bother.” I knew he was surprised at how I talked. Maybe he thought I was still weak and vulnerable. I mean, I was, but I didn’t want him to know that. And just to prove it, I lifted my necklace from my pocket and dangled it in front of my face.

  “Why, you little b—” He started, but he was cut off by the noise of someone outside the room.

  The doors opened, and Hook walked into the cabin.

  Zane glared at me, but my attention wasn’t on him anymore. It was on the captain.

  He had on a tall hat with a shredded feather sticking out from the back. It was like he picked clothing out of the dumpster but still wore it to seem more “dignified.”

  “How long have you been in the hold of my ship?” Hook growled out the question and smacked his only fist down on the wooden desk. It was hard not to cower, but I managed not to shake too much.

  Zane ignored him and stared at the wall. This scenario reminded me of the plenty of times I’d sat in the police station, interrogated for my work, when I wished I could tell them I had to get rid of the nightmares. Now I couldn’t escape them even if I painted or tried to run, because the nightmare was right in front of me. I was just glad his attention wasn’t on me. I was too weak to be snarky anymore, so instead, I opted for staying silent.

  As I came back into the conversation, Hook had taken two large steps toward Zane, releasing him from his bonds, and picked him up by his shirt collar. “HOW LONG?” The wind from his bellow blew Zane’s bangs back. The sight of Hook’s rancid mouth so close to Zane’s nose made me cringe. I knew that breath was nasty.

  “’Few weeks,” Zane said through gritted teeth.

  Hook threw him back down into his chair, the floor shuddering with the impact. “You’re lying.”

  Zane glared defiantly at him. Popcorn, anyone? I could enjoy this. I wasn’t Hook’s main focus this time, and relief was all I could feel at the moment.

  “We don’t allow rats on this ship,” he spat. I thought it was ironic he said that because there were many rats on his ship. In fact, they’d tried to eat me. I let out a small, involuntary snort at the thought. Hook’s beady eyes flicked to mine. “Do you have something to say?” His eyes narrowed, and he hissed, “Miss Rose?”

  I shook my head and slumped down in my chair, not meeting his stare.

  “I’m quite certain you had something to do with his hiding, so I suggest you keep your comments to yourself.” Hook growled out the last few words in a snarl.

  I felt my chest tighten. “I didn’t do anything! He beat me up down there. I didn’t know he was there until—”

  “No need for your excuses.”

  I clamped my mouth shut and slid back down in my seat once again.

  The captain pressed his rugged hook into a crack in the wood of his desk. “I don’t like rats very much. So you must understand, I have to scare off any pests that might linger, uninvited, because we don’t need any more thinking they too may come aboard. So how, you may ask, do I do that?” Hook stepped back around his desk and sat down, shuffled some papers all professional-like, and then declared with a snarl-like giggle, “I get rid of them.”

  Eleven

  Zane abruptly burst into laughter.

  Was he absolutely insane? What was he doing?

  Hook’s eyes narrowed into slits.

  Zane’s cheeks were flushed as he bent over, winded. “You really are ludicrous. You could’ve killed me five minutes ago, easily. But no, you had to throw this whole show together. Your acting is entertaining, but very petty, Hook.”

  Hook didn’t reply, just watched Zane steadily, his mustache twitching. It made me cringe. Hook was a ticking bomb, silent for the meantime, but I bet he could kill without the slightest warning. Zane was testing him, and that made me fear he could take out his anger on him… or me. I did not need to be in the crossfire.

  Hook brought a hand up to his beard, dancing his fingers across it with a smile. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, boy. I have a feeling you’ll be begging me for mercy soon.” He shoved his feet up on his desk noisily and knocked a broken clock, pieces of glass missing from its face, off a pile of books. It landed face down on the deck next to Zane’s pointed shoes with a loud thwack. A laugh bubbled from the captain’s throat. “Foolish boy. But it was a good shot at bravery. I’ll give you that.”

  Before I could blink, Hook sat forward, yanking a sharp letter opener out of a fancy vase, and threw it right
at Zane. If he hadn’t moved just in time, it would’ve pierced his heart. Instead, the pointed tip embedded itself into a spot just under Zane’s collarbone. He cried out in pain, dropping his head.

  My heart lodged itself in my throat as I watched, frozen in place.

  Hook stood and stalked over to Zane. “Don’t you ever,” he spat, “speak to me in such a manner again.” He stopped briefly and then smiled. “Now that I think of it, you probably won’t have the chance.”

  I felt my fingers itch with numbness as Hook reached over and ripped the envelope opener from Zane’s shoulder. He cried out again, trying to suppress his gasps of pain, before he glared at Hook. Blood began to drip from his wound onto his pale, bare chest. I was definitely going to puke if I looked at it much longer, so I turned and swallowed down the bile in my throat.

  Hook mimicked Zane’s pain. “Oh my, maybe I should keep my mouth shut.” He chuckled. “Now, back to the problem I was addressing…” He wrapped a large curl of his hair around his fingers. “It’s time to exterminate the rats on my ship.”

  Swallowing, I spoke up shakily. “Why am I here again?” I said it tentatively because I didn't want to offend Hook. It seemed to be a tense situation, and I didn’t necessarily want to be impaled by an envelope opener, too.

  “You’re here to examine what happens to people who don’t follow the rules.” He smiled at Zane, who was wincing at the pain and sight of his wound. Hook tapped his hook to his lips, clearly thinking. “I’m not one to kill unfairly. Now that’s just bad form. But I’m always happy to watch a bloody duel!” His eyes glittered. “So I think you, boy, will fight my best pirate.”

  I let out a quiet, exasperated breath. How did Hook think the fight would be fair when he’d just sliced into Zane’s shoulder? Actually, that was probably the point here, hiding behind his good “morals” when he was actually just setting up Zane’s easy death.

  Zane glared through his bangs. “What? I can’t fight you? Are you too pansy to fight a kid like me?”

  Anger sparked on Hook’s face. “I’m not afraid of you. Or anyone for that matter.”

  “Then why’re you shooting me off to fight one of your minions? If you aren’t scared of me, that is.”

  Hook shuddered, pure anger turning into a sly smile when he got ahold of himself. “Now, boy, if you’d really like to die such a horrible death, I could probably spare some of my precious time to kill you correctly.”

  Was this really happening right now?

  “Oh, wouldn’t that just bless us all?” Zane asked sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

  I couldn’t take this anymore. “How’s fighting a wounded opponent fair? He’ll die if he can’t defend himself.”

  Hook dragged his gaze to me, jaw clenched. “It’s the point, Miss Rose. He’ll accommodate you in order for you to be able see once and for all what I am truly”—he licked his lips—“capable of.”

  My throat tightened with worry. I should’ve just kept my stupid mouth shut.

  Hook snapped his fingers, and almost instantly, pirates had their hold on my arms again, beginning to carry me outside. I kicked, trying to fight a battle I couldn’t win. “Hey! Let me go. Let me go!”

  My head smacked into the main mast of the Jolly Roger as the pirates began tying me to it. The greasy hair over my eyes made it hard for me to see what was going on, but I could make out just enough to understand what Hook was doing. He was going to make me watch him kill this kid.

  Part of me thought, Hey, good riddance. This boy was a dogmatic psychopath like the rest of them and probably had it coming. But another part of me knew the truth. Zane was probably just as innocent as me, and Hook had no real reason to kill him other than to intimidate me and get back at Zane for sneaking onto the ship. But I was already plenty scared of him; he didn’t need to kill anyone to convince me further.

  The wound in my leg burned with infection, and my eyes constantly watered from the pain. My head buzzed with the noises of a creaking ship and pirates all giddy with the thought of the upcoming fight.

  Suddenly, hands tightly gripped my neck. “Watch carefully, dear,” Hook said into my ear. “Wouldn’t want something like this to happen to you if you were to…” He dug his hook into my ribcage as a warning. “Break the rules.”

  With a swift brush of the hair from my face, no doubt so I could see properly, Hook spun back around. It was like this was all a big show to him. Hook was about to kill someone for his own enjoyment, and for no reason other than to be spiteful.

  The pirates pummeled Zane with rotten foods, liquor, and other stuff I couldn’t identify. They booed and crowed in preparation for the slaughter about to take place. Two men shoved Zane to the deck and another tossed a rusted sword at him, which hit his head. Liquid of various kinds dripped from Zane’s bangs into his eyes and blood dribbled from his shoulder still. Though there was constant noise and chatter around us, I made eye contact with Zane through his mass of stringy, sodden hair. And looking at him, I realized something that shamed me to the core.

  Zane looked scared.

  Okay. I wasn’t any hero and never had been. In fact, the shadows were always ten times easier to stick to than to be out in the open, trying to mess things up and “save everyone.” But I had to do something. I couldn’t let Hook kill a boy who was once a son and someone people loved. It didn’t matter how big of a loser I’d become or how much Zane had come against me… I still had a heart. A heart that knew what was right, and killing innocent people was not.

  “Stop!” I cried out.

  Ugly faces turned my way, the entire main deck becoming silent. Not only did they realize my mistake, but they knew I did as well.

  Hook, who’d been toying with his hook and swishing his sword around for show, stopped and looked at me. “Don’t mind her, gentlemen.” He went back to stretching and admiring his footwork. “She’s just a girl.”

  Just a girl rang in my ears. Usually, insults didn’t get to me. I could take a jab at how overweight I used to be or even a bit of pushing around if people really felt like it. But not once would I let anyone downgrade me for being “just a girl.”

  I was anything but that. I’d spent my entire life trying to prove I was a regular kid living in Chicago with a grumpy father and no social life, while at the same time being haunted by murderous nightmares and unusual dreams that took over my entire life every single day. No, I wasn’t just some girl who was going to let men, or anyone, push her around for not understanding everything they threw at her. And I was most definitely not going to sit there while they tried to label me as such. They had no idea what I’d been through.

  My mother used to think I was strong. She swore by it, despite what everyone else said. And for years, I’d listened to them instead.

  But my mother never lied.

  My face grew hot, and I spat out each word like a disciplining parent. “I said stop!”

  The crowd’s mumbling rippled around us, obviously shocked I’d spoken out against their captain—twice.

  Hook raised an eyebrow at me. “So the girl has something to say? That’s quite unusual, wouldn’t you all agree?” He burst into laughter, and my head swam with anger.

  Zane looked up at me and spit smashed rotten tomato out of his mouth. Though I was furious with Hook, I didn’t know what I could do to help Zane. I was tied to a mast three times wider than my body, and I had no way of undoing the rope. How was I supposed to help him when I couldn’t even help myself?

  A pirate stepped forward and hoisted Zane onto his feet. “Get up, boy!”

  Nasty remarks came from all around the battle area.

  “Are you gonna go home to yer mommy, boy?”

  “He don’t stand a floggin’ chance!”

  I had to close my eyes to distance myself from the comments. All this noise was giving me a headache. I couldn't think straight. My anger, fear, and confusion were all mixing with the pain in my body, and I didn’t know how much longer I could take it.

 
Hook was now three feet from the slouched Zane, who was holding his gut weakly. He was stumbling, which I assumed was from blood loss and his current hangover, and his eyes kept flashing around like he was searching for something. Maybe he was trying to find the last bit of hope that was slowly slipping away. I wanted to help him, just do something to prove not only those around us wrong, but myself, too. He looked so worthless out there, so messed up, and if I wasn’t so stupid and weak, I might’ve been able to save him. I pulled at my binds again, but there was no use.

  The captain moved forward and pushed Zane with the arch of his hook. “Pity, I thought I’d have more game than this hunk of meat! You bark more than you’re able to bite, boy.”

  The pirates erupted in laughter, cognizant of their place. No one would dare defy the captain, even if his jokes were pathetic.

  “Hook, stop! This isn’t fair!” I tried to turn his attention from Zane.

  Hook flashed me an evil grin. “Life isn’t fair, deary.”

  That was it. I’d had enough. If I had to literally throw myself in front of Zane to save him, I would. The ropes weren’t too tight against my arms, so I began to thrash and loosen their grip around my wrists. When they were a little freer, I began to inch them up as close as I could to the knot that held my bonds in place. Was this really happening? This was really happening, folks.

  As Hook circled Zane, the injured boy stumbled here and there, a grimace on his face. He looked even paler than before, if that were possible. In the light of day, I noticed how handsome he actually was, and the hair I’d thought to be almost black appeared to be a naturally highlighted dark brown, one that glistened like a smooth penny when the sun hit it. He was just misunderstood and messed up. He didn’t deserve to die like this. Right?

  My fingers scrambled to reach the knot of the rope holding me down. It was only a few inches away now.