Second Star to the Fright (Disney Chills 3)

Just then, the ship rocked violently as another wave hit it. Barrie fell to his knees. Panicked, he tried to stand up.

Thump. Thump.

His eyes fell on a pair of black boots as they stepped into view.

Barrie looked up to see Captain Hook’s shadowy figure stretch over him. He raised his sword overhead, then brought it down.

“Caught you, scurvy brat!”

Then everything went black.

Barrie woke up with a start—and he was surprised to still be alive.

Where am I? he thought in a daze.

It took a minute for him to recognize his surroundings and for everything to come back to him. The last thing he remembered was Captain Hook’s sword swinging down at him.

Then blackness.

The pirate must have knocked him unconscious with the blunt end of that sword. That was the only reason Barrie was still alive. The room was dark, but outside the ship, the storm continued to rage. Bolts of lightning pulsed, lighting up the room at uneven intervals.

When the next one hit, he scanned the area. He was in the captain’s cabin, sitting in a tall-backed wooden chair.

In the next flash of lightning, he spotted the rusty hook. It lay on the desk in front of him, nestled back in the velvet-lined box. It rested on top of an old maritime map that depicted an unfamiliar world, marked with strange locations.

Mermaid Lagoon. Skull Rock. Hangman’s Tree.

Barrie scanned the map, but none of the places looked familiar. Then the cabin fell dark again. He tried to get up—but his arms wouldn’t move. He looked down. He was bound to the chair by scratchy, thick rope. He struggled against it, but the ropes held him in place.

Suddenly, the ship swayed and rocked on the wav

es. His eyes darted to the window. Fear surged through him. They’d set sail, heading for the open ocean. He could still make out the marina behind them, but it was growing smaller.

Panic seized Barrie’s heart. Not only were his chances of escaping getting dimmer with each passing second, but he was also deathly afraid of the ocean. It had been his greatest fear for as long as he could remember, ever since Rita had made him watch that stupid old killer shark movie when he was a little kid.

“No, let me go!” Barrie yelled, struggling against the ropes, even though it was hopeless. They wouldn’t budge.

That’s when he heard footsteps behind him. Thump. Thump.

He tried to look back, but he couldn’t turn his head enough. The rope held him fast. The next pulse of lightning lit up the cabin—casting a long shadow over him.

Captain Hook.

The pirate paced in the shadows. His heavy footfalls echoed in the cabin.

“Wh-where are you taking me?” Barrie stammered. “Please, let me go—”

The violent rocking of the ship in the storm cut him off, making his stomach lurch. Bile flooded his throat, singeing it and making his mouth taste sour.

He jerked his gaze to the window. They were moving fast, but the marina was still visible. That meant he still had a chance to escape. But the further away they got, the less likely it was that he could make it back. Had Michael and John seen the ship set sail? Had the guard? Maybe someone was coming after him.

“We’re going to a special place with a special name,” Captain Hook said, still pacing in the shadows. Suddenly, a dagger arced down, stabbing the map and impaling the desk. Barrie jerked his head back.

The dagger had speared two words—Never Land. It looked like the dagger that had been jammed into his front door.

“Wh-what’s that…place?” Barrie choked out.

Nothing about it looked friendly. Even the names of the places looked ominous.