A World of Another Kind

Chapter 17 The Way to Victory

     Narrated by Aubrey

     Sitting around the campfire at night, we were startled by a rustle coming from the shrubs. "Who's there?" Hook demanded sternly, jumping to his feet and getting into defense mode. "Show yourself!" We all instantly thought it was either Pan or the Lost Boys.

     "Relax, it's just me, Tiger Lily," said a familiar voice, and the light of our campfire revealed her.

     "What are you doing here?" Hook questioned.

     "I am here to warn you," she began, her voice sounding serious. "It's Pan; you are all in grave danger. Because Pan knows that you all intend to go back to Skull Rock, I heard that he has planned to have Skull Rock guarded at all times, and if you ever venture there again, it will be a death trap you will blindly walk into."

     "We aren't afraid," I responded. "Besides, we have magic. And because the prophecy tells that we will defeat Pan, then that must indicate we won't get killed before we defeat Pan. Because the elixir is located somewhere in Skull Rock, we must go back. The future depends on it, and we won't let fear or Pan's threats stop us."

     "Such courage and strength you two have," Tiger Lily remarked. "I knew you wouldn't be afraid. You are true warriors; I can see why you were the destined ones. I will be honored to fight beside you."

     "Me too; you two are not alone in this," Hook added.

     "Oh, and there's something else you must know," Tiger Lily said, turning a grim gaze directly toward Hook. "Pan plans to find your ship and burn it. You must sail far away, somewhere safe, because it's the only way to protect your crew and ship."

     Hook's expression grew grave, and he responded angrily, "That bloody bastard!" Then he glanced at us, his expression changing into concern. "I will not let Pan drive me away from you two, for I am no coward. I will fight if I must, but I will not run away."

     "Hook, but your crew; sailing to a safe place is the only way to protect them," I said to him. "I agree with Tiger Lily that you must go. It's your responsibility as captain to make sure your crew is safe, but staying here puts you all at risk, and I don't want you staying for our sake. We will be okay, Hook. I promise you. Besides, this is our battle to fight alone, and we will win it just as prophesied. So please don't worry about us; it's you who we are worried about. Promise, Hook, you will leave with your crew; at least do it for us. We don't ever want to lose you."

     Hook looked touched, and he replied with a warm grin, "How did you two get to be so wise? Well, I guess I cannot disregard what you all have to say. You are right, I must protect my crew at all costs, so I will leave tomorrow morning. But I will be back soon."

     "You must leave now," Tiger Lily insisted. "The sooner, the better."

     "Aye, I suppose you are right," Hook replied. "I will go wake up the crew now. Thank you, Tiger Lily, for warning us. I don't know what we would do without you."

     Tiger Lily blushed and replied with a smile, "It's the least I can do. I should be thanking you all."

     Soon, we said our farewells to Hook and his crew, then they set out for sea. I gazed out at the calm sea and watched the Jolly Roger sail away in the moonlight.

     Dawn broke. Kaylee and I woke up to a delicious smell and saw Tiger Lily cooking quail eggs over the campfire. "Good morning," she greeted as we approached her. "Hope you are hungry."

     We nodded, and the three of us ate breakfast while we discussed about when to go back to Skull Rock. We made up our minds to go late tonight when Pan's cave guards would likely be less alert, being tired, or perhaps asleep. We knew the only challenge would be to find the elixir's location; it could be somewhere where we least expected. "I think Tinkerbell might be able to help us," said Tiger Lily. "I recall she knows of a spell that is capable of tracking down the object you seek most by using another object that belongs to the person who owns the object you seek. And all you would have to do is put the Tracking Spell on that object to find the desired object. We would need one of Pan's belongings to put the spell on, and all we would have to do is follow it to wherever it leads us. It's that easy. I can't believe I didn't think about this before, or I would have mentioned it sooner."