Sometime in the coldest months of 1905

Dear Mrs. Darling,

I have taken the liberty of writing to you, my dear, because your children mention you quite often and I feel as though it is only right for you to know the story. It has been many a month since your children first set foot on this wretched island. I must admit though that it was a surprise to see Wendy amongst those barbaric boys. I wonder if there is a possibility that things will change. Things have stayed the same on this cursed place for far too long.

You see Mrs. Darling, I came upon this island long ago, when I was a wee young lad, no bigger than your oldest boy, John I believe his name was? I am sorry to say we met under less than desirable circumstances, but alas, I digress. As I was saying, because of my youthful naivety I leapt at the chance to get away from responsibilities in order to adventure. When that boy first sauntered through the window, crowing and smiling just so, it took but a simple explanation of who he was and where he lived to convince me. Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. No sooner had he finished weaving his tale of adventure than I had jumped off my bed and into the fairy dust.

There were a group of boys already in the air, flying in circles and whooping about. It did not take long for us to reach Neverland, and immediately we were off having fun. Yes, at first it was a dream come true, no bedtime, no bathtime, no adults telling us what to do. I made a fast friend with a lad a little younger than I by the name of William Smee. He was a portly, stout lad, and was eager to follow me even when Peter demanded all the attention.

The island was ours to explore, back then we slept on the treetops or suspended between them in hammocks, but the one place we were not allowed in was Skull Rock. Peter warned us of the dangers that lurked inside the cave, describing a beast who slayed those who wandered in.

I was never one to fear a dangerous creature and so I sneaked off in the middle of the night and stole some fairy dust in order to fly there. When I arrived I knew that Peter spoke the truth about the dangerous beast, for the waters that flowed inside the cave were as red and thick as blood, the metallic odor confirmed that indeed it was blood. I ventured in, full of curiosity, and was horrified at the sight. On one of the ledges were a pile of bodies, and the blood that pooled around their bodies served to partly fill the pools below with it. Even this did not discourage me, I approached them and recognized their attire as that of Lost Boys. They had similar outfits to ours and wore all forms of animal hides.

I tried to run away when I heard the beast approach but my only hiding spot was amongst the corpses of my fellow Lost Boys. I lay amongst the rotting bodies and waited for the beast to show itself, but instead of a beast I found a familiar figure instead. It was Peter. At first I believe that he had come to slay the beast that had been killing his Lost Boys, but instead he peeled off his clothes and sank into the pools of blood.

Madame, I will spare you the details of his actions within the bloody waters, as no lady must have those images in her head. But rest assured that they were horrible things that no normal boy would be capable of doing. I waited among those corpses until he left in the wee light of morning to wash off in the clean waters. Then I followed him as far as I could without being spotted. I lost him soon after reaching Mermaid Lagoon. It was only then that I saw the fear in the eyes of the mermaids when they saw Peter. I found myself back in the spot in which we camped out with a newfound fear in my heart.

Over the next few nights I formulated a plan to run away from Pan, before he killed us too. I suggested we play Hide and Seek and as soon the boys ran to hide, I pulled Smee to the side and had him gather supplies to last us a few weeks at least. I knew that I would not be successful in convincing any of the other boys, they were much too enchanted with the charm that Peter seeped out of every pore.

Over the years, Lost Boys mysteriously disappeared and new ones would take their place, and Smee and I found ourselves aging too. You see Mrs. Darling, it was not the island that kept the inhabitants young, in fact the island kept no one young. The eternal youth that Pan so often gloated about came from bathing in the blood of the innocent boys he would lure into this horrible island. Once he grew bored of that particular batch of Lost Boys, he would murder them all for their blood, after all that was his ultimate goal, their companionship was just a perk.

It is my hope that Peter has grown tired of these foolish games he plays, for I have not the strength to continue these battles for much longer. Frankly Mrs. Darling, this demon boy has taken too much from me. He has taken my innocence, my hand, and my past, present and future, in short this beastly little boy, has taken my life, and I do not know if my pride can take much more. Let us hope that your lovely Wendy can convince him to grow up and to take us all back home.

Sincerely yours,

Capt. James Hook

Sometime in the cold months of 1905

Dear Mrs. Darling,

I realize that you will never receive these letters, for I know not where you reside, nor do I have the means to send it anyhow. But it is comforting to have someone to tell my woes to. Just the other day, I found myself running away from that dastardly horrid beast of a crocodile once more, my ghost limb aches even now just at the thought of the best chasing after me.

I suppose now would be a good time as any to update you on the events that have transpired in the weeks since I have last written. Your children are reprehensibly devious, I thought you should know, were I younger and freer in spirit, I would have recruited them to join my crew without much trouble, fiercely brave and determined as they are. But alas I am much too old now, not capture their attention in anything but a bad light. I had enraptured the mind of your young Wendy, I beg your pardon for that, but it was only for a moment and not enough to get her to turn on Pan. She was aboard my ship for a single night. I had convinced her that Peter could not feel for her what she felt for him until he grew up, something he could not do on the isle.

I had hoped that she held on to these hopes once she returned to his lair but alas she has ignored her heart for the time being and is content with merely playing Mother to the little beasts, but I have high hopes that she will find a way to his heart and perhaps change all of our fates. I am sure that Pan wormed his way into her mind and spun tales of the wretched sort of things that would happen back home and convinced her that staying was the better alternative.

Your boys have made friends with the savages and are becoming wilder and more agile at killing I must confess. I must imagine that these news must be upsetting to read Madame, and for that I must ask forgiveness. I hope for the sake of your children, and for me own crew of course, that these Lost Boys keep his attention for a longer than the others. It is rare when any Lost Boy last more than a year, and these have been around for at least that long. Mrs. Darling, I implore of you that you pray that he is entertained, for all our sakes.

Sincerely yours,

Capt. James Hook

Sometime in the first warm month of 1905

Dearest Mrs. Darling,

I am afraid that I have no good news. Mr. Smee was taken captive by the savage little beasts and I am afraid that your youngest son, Michael, put a hatchet through his head. Mind you, I do not blame the boy, I recall me-self when Pan riled us for a game, and he could get the best of us to turn against one another. The boy was just playing a game, and I would bet me right hand that it was either his life or the life of me first mate.

It has been two weeks since then and since I last saw your children alive and, well, though it pains me to say, five days since I saw their corpses on top of the now massive pile that is made of up Lost Boys.

I suspected something was wrong when the jungle was too quiet and when no Lost Boys played near Mermaid Lagoon or even tried to incite a fight with me. I made the journey to Skull Rock and sure enough the bodies were there. My sincerest condolences on your loss Madame. I tried to take their bodies, give them a proper burial, but I barely escaped with me life. That blasted boy saw me and damn near ran me through with me own sword.

There will be no more letters after this, I must regrettably inform you. With your children, has died the last shred of hope that I, or anyone, could ever dream to be free of that wretched boy and this despicable island. Now, I have not even the company of me oldest friend. Madame, I am far too old to keep playing his games, and I am afraid that I no longer hope for anything but the end. But I will not give him the pleasure of killing me. He has taken too much, this I will take me-self.

After writing this letter I shall take me own life, along with that of me crew. I happen to have about me a dastardly terrible poison that I had one day hoped to use against Pan but it seems that instead we shall consume it. I will slip it into the rum, no need for the crew to panic about impending doom, and we shall slip into the arms of death without being any the wiser.

Thank you Madame for being the audience of an aging and half-mad Captain, one could not ask for better.

Sincerely and forever yours,

Capt. James Hook