Captain

Below deck, sweat drips down my face like dew on the morning grass. I whisper in his ear when a rhythmic:

tick-tock tick-tock tick

rings outside the cabin walls. He begins shaking.

I freeze and look him in the eye. At that moment, I see him reliving it. The moment his hand was cut off and fed to a crocodile while I watched the flying kid and his PRECIOUS fairy getaway. His once agile hand is now a hook that all of Neverland fears and has earned him the name Hook, Captain Hook.

To many, I am his goofy sidekick. The goof with a big nose, white sideburns, and a floppy red hat. Little do they know I’m the man behind the mask. The key to my brother’s success. My name’s Richard, but people call me Smee.

The ticking grows distant, and my brother resumes his character. I continued whispering in his ear what needed to be said to the crew and how to carry himself. Otherwise, his words and demands would not elicit fear in the crew or our enemies. Because of me, he will never be known as Marshall but will live forever as Captain Hook.

He stomps up the stairs with a furrowed brow as the wind billows his black hair behind him and yells: “You BAFFOONS!! Have you gone blind? Do you NOT SEE Peter Pan,” he spits the name, “with some miscreants flying above us. Fire the canons and shoot them from the sky. NOW, you fools!”

One canon is shot, followed by another, until one of Peter Pan’s accomplices cascades like a waterfall from the sky. But the child doesn’t land in the water like my idiot brother believes. In fact, he is caught by a child with a bow in her hair as they fly to the mainland. While the crew cheers in celebration, I rush for my telescope.

I see Peter Pan and the three children land safely in the woods through its lens. I know that’s where Peter Pan and his Lost Boys gather and the exact location of the tree they sleep in. That’s where we need to attack and defeat Peter Pan for good. To do that we need to lure them into a trap! But how?

Before I finish my thought, I hear silence on deck. As I remove my eye from the telescope, I don’t see a single person move. Then I listen to it:

tick-tock tick-tock tick.

It echoes around us. I see the terror in Marshall’s eyes as he begins shuttering and then bursts into a tormented scream. He runs around the deck, trying to escape the ticking crocodile, but it’s no use. Until the crocodile is dead,there is no end. So, I set a plan in motion to kill the crocodile and avenge my brother by killing Peter Pan.

Many underestimate the boy, but I know he is more clever than he appears. To kill him, I will need to lure him to our ship with something or someone he cannot resist. As I pet my chin, I fold my arm across my white and blue striped shirt. A smirk peels across my face with a brilliant idea…..SOMEONE will do nicely. Yes, someone indeed!

I’m the only one who saw the girl save the falling boy, and I know Peter Pan and his Lost Boys need a mother figure. Who else would fit that role but a doting 13-year-old girl? My heart beats with excitement. Yes, oh yes, she will do nicely. But how will she be captured, and what will I do once Peter Pan arrives? Then it comes to me; I know exactly what needs to be done and how to make Marshall look like a brilliant captain.

I shake my brother awake with the crew asleep and all the lights out. Startled, he leaps from his bed and falls onto the floor of the captain’s quarters. I help him to his feet and straighten his nightgown. Then I light a candle, pull up a chair, and tell him my plan for his revenge into the early morning hours. Exhausted from our conversation, he sleeps into the following evening.

However, I continue my daily duties and tell the crew the captain is unwell and needs his rest. I carry buckets of hot water to the captain’s quarters throughout the day. Each trip I pretend is a struggle as I place both hands on the bucket handle and pant with each step. I allow water to splash out of the buckets and hear mockery from the crew. Little do they know I can lift buckets of water triple this size without effort, but I let them believe my charade while I care for my brother.

The next day, at first light, I wake the crew and gather them on deck, where the captain awaits their arrival, ready to tell them his devious plan. With a smirk of the devil on his face, he begins describing the details. His voice is just above a whisper. “Alright, men, it’s time to prove your worth, if you have any at all. Peter Pan,” he says with spite, “has brought some new recruits to Neverland. One is a young girl, and she’s like a mother to him. And a mother will do anything to protect her cubs. We’ll lure her to Skull Island. The Lost Boys will insist she doesn’t go alone. Once inside the cave, we trap them and use her to trick Peter Pan. He’ll come to rescue them. At that moment, as he’s just about to free them, I attack! Then, oh then, my friends.” He laughs maniacally while twisting his mustache with his hook. “I kill Peter Pan!” The crew cheers. “Wait, my friends, there’s more.”

A crew member bellows, “What’s better than killing Pan?”

Marshall becomes enraged as he rises to the tips of his toes, “SILENCE!” The crew mutes their whispers while I pretend to cower in the corner. He calms himself and proceeds in a condescending but friendly tone. “Friends, friends. Yes, Peter Pan is the enemy, but there is one other. One responsible for the monstrosity I have become. One that haunts me day after day and must be destroyed….the ticking crocodile! When Peter Pan appears, the crocodile follows. Not only will we be rid of one enemy, but TWO! YES, victory will be ours!” He walks up the stairs into the captain’s quarters.

I roll my eyes at his dramatized delivery; what a fool! He went off book, saying more than he should have. Why does the crew respond to that?! I feel my anger rise, ready to escape. I take a breath and begin delegating tasks for the mission.

The day passes, and the night begins to fall. Around the ship, crew members are preparing for the mission's first stage. It’s a simple but essential step: convincing the girl Peter Pan is in danger. I gather the crew for the mission and row to the beach.

It’s midnight, me and three men are cloaked by the forest. We walk until we see the light on the horizon. In front of us, at the center of the forest, is a tree with a trunk four men wide and taller than the Jolly Roger, but the branches are bare. Below the lowest branch a snore echoes, it’s the entrance to the Lost Boys’ bunker. I turn to the pirates behind me, “Alright, men, this is it. Prepare the items.”

We tie a string around the ticking clock and lower it into the bunker with a note attached reading: “If the girl isn’t at Skull Island by the time I ring Peter Pan will meet his doom”. The alarm will ring in four hours. Only four hours until I achieve the first step of my plan. This trap is set and we return to the water to begin the second stage.

It’s an hour until we arrive at Skull Island. Finally, the boat is floating offshore. I gather the materials and step into the water while the other men stay in the rowboat as lookouts. Immediately, my whole body shivers from its chill, but I don’t allow it to deter me from my mission. The water sloshes around me while I walk to the shore. I emerge from the water, noticing that nothing but rock surrounds me, and I am swallowed into the cave’s darkness.

I follow the cave to its deepest depths until I reach an incline to hide behind and begin setting up the next stage of our attack. I remove two long ropes, several pistols, and two knives from my satchel. I set up a hunter’s trap with the rope. Then, I lay the remaining rope, the pistols, and knives behind the incline. It’s ready. I signal the men to get into position, ready to attack.

Time passes slowly, and I wonder if she will come; is she as important to Peter Pan as I initially thought? Then I see a shadow cast behind us on the cave wall, followed by a timid voice gently asking, “Hello? Is anyone there?”

She cautiously steps into the cave with several of the Lost Boys with her. I knew they wouldn’t let her come alone. Together, they slowly walk forward. Careful with each step until they step into the trap and shout with surprise as they sway from above. I signal the men to grab the weapons and rope as we run towards them. Shouting in victory.

The girl remains still while a kid dressed as a fox squirms beneath the rope. Her face is whirling with anger, but her voice remains calm.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

I’m standing beneath them and chuckle. “Oh, don’t you know? We’re long lost friends of Peter’s.” As I speak, my voice returns to its naturally husky tone, and my goofy façade wipes away. Allowing the vengeance and venom to permeate from my soul. I see the girl’s body stiffen.

“You left the note. What do you want with Peter?”

“What’s your name?”

“I won’t tell you my name unless you tell me yours.”

 “They call me Smee. Now, girl, what’s your name?”

“Wendy. Wendy Darling. You still haven’t answered my question. WHAT do you want with Peter?”

I pace in a circle beneath her, knife behind my back. I know I need to play her into my hand. With a conniving grin on my face, I look towards her. “Your friend Peter has taken something very dear from our captain. We’re just trying to get it back. Can you help us?”

“You threatened Peter’s life if we didn’t come here today and now have us dangling from a cave. Why would we help you?”

She’s driving my last nerve; she’s more clever than I thought. I lurch towards her with rage in my eyes beneath a furrowed brow. “First of all, MISSY, only you were supposed to come! NOT your little friends! So, using “we” is not accurate. Second, if you help us you and your friends will be free to go. AND I give you my word that Captain Hook will never harm Peter Pan again.”

“How can I trust you?”

I soften my voice and sweeten my tone. “My dear. The word of a pirate is sacred and must be honored at all costs.”

“Okay, I’ll help you.”

Stupid girl. I throw my arms up in celebration, “Delightful!” I slash the rope with my knife to release them from the trap. They tumble to the ground. “One tiny thing before we let you go. You and your friends need to return with us to the ship, but you must be tied up. Just in case we’re seen.” She looks at me suspiciously. “You don’t want people thinking you’re working for us, do you?”

She concedes with a sigh, “I suppose not.”

We bind their hands with rope and lower them into the boat when I begin rowing back to the Jolly Roger. As I’m rowing, I see the men look at me in a way I’ve never seen. Their eyes are glazed in fear. They saw a glimpse of the real me. I know they’re uncertain if they should continue trusting the character I present them. Excellent! Everything is going according to plan.

Back on the Jolly Roger, Marshall is waiting for us on deck. Impatiently tapping his foot. I look at him and say in my high nasal voice with a slight stutter, “Look what we found, Captain!”

He hugs me to him. “Way to go Smee!”

“Where would you like ‘em Captain?”

“Tie them to the center mast!”

“Yes, Captain.”

At the center of the ship, crew members aggressively tie them to the mast. Wendy exclaims, “What are you doing?! This was NOT our agreement!”

I turn and hold the tip of my knife to the bottom of her chin, lean in close, and say, “You’re doing your part right now, deary. You and your little friends! See, Peter Pan can’t be without a motherly figure in his life, so once he notices you’re gone, he has no choice but to come find you. And when he does, we’ll be waiting.”

“You’re nothing but a slimy pirate!”

“Oh, thank you, deary! What kind words for you to say!”

On the other side of the deck, I’m whispering to Marshall.“Everything is in place. It’s only a matter of time before he and that dreadful crocodile arrive.”

“Should we do anything in the meantime?”

“No, now we wait.” He nods, and we walk separate ways.

The sun is nearly set when I hear:

caw caw

in the distance. I look around but don’t see anything.

caw caw

I grab my telescope and look towards the sky. It’s then that I see Peter Pan flying above us. I run to help Marshall prepare for the fight of his life. 

Peter Pan slides down the flag post and lands at the foot of the center mast. He has a knife in hand, prepared to save his friends. As he goes to cut the rope, he glances up to see Marshall waiting with a sword in hand, ready to fight. “Peter Pan! At long last. I believe we have some unfinished business to attend to.” He lunges at Peter Pan, but the boy dodges the attack.

They chase each other around the deck and up the masts. Constantly dodging the other’s attacks. Each one a skilled fighter, there is no end in sight. Until Peter Pan flies above the deck from sail to sail and cuts one loose. As it is floating to the deck below, I pause and hear:

tick-tock tick-tock tick.

Yes, it is here…

Frozen in fear, the falling sail enshrouds Marshall. Peter Pan swiftly flies from the mast and shoves him. Stumbling, he trips and begins flailing to escape the sail, but with no success.

tick-tock tick-tock tick

The haunting continues in the water below, but I seem to be the only one to hear it.

Without pause I run to help my brother and find his hook has escaped the sail. He crawls out with fury swimming in his eyes. I hand him my sword, and he charges like a stampede to the boy.

To make matters worse, Peter Pan is hovering over the edge of the deck. Taunting Marshall. Calling him an old man. Clucking at him like a chicken.

tick-tock tick-tock tick

Marshall lunges at him but misses. Quickly, he places one foot on the edge and tries again. No success. Peter Pan points and laughs at him hysterically.

tick-tock tick-tock tick

Marshall jumps onto the ledge. He checks his balance and slowly rises. Face to face with Peter Pan, he raises his sword and attacks one final time. His foot slips, and he wobbles; his arms quickly propel forward to catch him. In that moment, just as he begins to find his control, his body leans forward, and he falls into the sea below.

tick-tock tick-tock tick

tick-tock tick-tock tick

I hear a splash as his body hits the water, but I didn’t hear a scream. Just the sound of a ticking clock. I rush to the edge and see a floating hook. Next to it is the ticking crocodile lying in wait, surrounded by ruby-red water.

tick-tock tick-tock tick

Marshall is gone. Shock consumes me. I’m a statue. I look up to find Peter Pan staring back at me, awe-stricken. A sudden need to protect our captives overwhelms me. I must release them before the crew realizes he’s dead.

I run to help Peter Pan release Wendy and the others. The rowboat is lowered into the water to ensure they get to land safely. They are free.

With silence on the ship and the children on land, it hits me again. My brother is gone. But this time, it is not shock that greets my emotions. It is excitement for my sense of freedom. Pride for achieving my goal, a goal I ensured only I was aware of…I am now captain.

The Jolly Roger’s mine and I’ll run it as I always have. Only this time people will know who is in charge. No masks, no façade. I’ll finally be seen. No more Smee. Only CAPTAIN Richard.

tick-tock tick-tock tick