A Tale That Could Not Be

Pan and two of his men led the girls into the jungle, its tangles of vines, ferns, thick foliage, and moss-covered branches shrouding the light. There wasn’t enough of it for any grass to grow thus the ground was mostly muddy. The sound of waves crashing into the rocky shore was quickly drowned out by the voices of the jungle’s denizens. Animals of all sorts could be heard amid the nearly suffocating humidity but due to the amount of greenery all around, few creatures were ever seen.

Goldilocks fanned her face with her hand and was already panting. “I’m not used to this heat… Where I come from the sky is grey and it rains most of the time and there’s no bloody time for hot days. I’d strip down to knickers if it weren’t for some of our company…”

“At least you don’t have to carry all your hair,” Rapunzel complained. “It’s hot against my body but I’m not letting it drag behind me in this muck…”

“Then cut the damned thing!”

“No! I can’t… I was told not to…”

Pan glanced back at the girls and raised an eyebrow. “Are you having thoughts of leaving me? You could take your chances, I suppose, but you won’t go far in this jungle. I can guarantee you that, hahahaha!”

Selvina’s reply was a frown, not because she had nothing to say but because she was too hot to even speak. Her skirt, which she immediately regretted putting on that day, was stuck to her body and made disgusting slurping sounds when she pulled it off to allow her skin to breathe. She too wanted to strip down to her underwear but was mindful of the fact that two of Pan’s cronies were among them and worst of all Pan himself. She was comfortable enough around the girls but there was no way she was going to give those despicable men something to look at. She wiped the sweat off her brow, took a deep breath, and just kept walking, no matter how uncomfortable she felt.

Overheard, a trio of monkeys ran along a branch that spanned over the narrow trail they followed. The last one paused and looked down at them for a moment before hollering loudly, battering its hands against the branch and making a ruckus. One of Pan’s men pulled out a flintlock pistol from the holster at his side and fired a shot in the monkey’s direction. His shot missed but caused the monkey to flee. The deafening bang of the shot, however, echoed for many long seconds and the jungle became eerily quiet.

Pan turned around, looked at the shooter, and then jammed his knife into one of his eyes before he could react. The man howled in agony and brought his hands up against his bleeding eye socket as Pan continued walking. “Next time I’ll sink the knife deeper. Thanks to you everything in this jungle now knows we’re here.”

Selvina, her heart pounding, hurried to keep up with Pan, the other girls mimicking her. She hadn’t even seen his arm move before blood had gushed out of the man’s eye socket. She had no intention of testing the limits of his speed as she already knew they vastly surpassed hers.

Why didn’t I take gym class more seriously? she thought to herself as she watched Pan slice through thick foliage with his wicked blade. The only person she thought could hold his own against Pan was Sinbad. Hook was tough as nails but was nowhere near as fast and agile as his quartermaster. On the other hand, both of them had fought Pan at the same time and been defeated. Was anyone capable of stopping him?

The sounds of the jungle soon resumed minus the howling monkey. A snake slithered across the path and Selvina’s spine crawled as she nearly stepped on it. Snow White actually bent down and picked it up, holding it close like a treasured friend. She gave Selvina, who looked at her in disgust, a smile before putting it down and letting it slither away.

“It was just a young boa,” the white-haired young woman said. “It meant no harm.”

“I hate snakes,” was Selvina’s reply. “They’re revolting.”

“They’re just animals.”

“I know but still…I don’t like them…”

There was whimpering behind them as the man with the bleeding eye struggled to keep up, one hand on his wincing face. Blood leaked down the side of his cheek and he breathed heavily, either from exertion or fear or a mix of both. The other man was beside him, helping him walk straight, and urging him to keep quiet.

Selvina watched them for a moment and nearly bumped into Pan when she looked ahead again. He was standing at the edge of a cliff where a mighty river raged below with his hands on his hips and one foot tapping the ground.

“This used to go farther in,” he said to no one in particular. “It looks like a landslide took half this hill away. You’re all going to have to climb down I suppose.”

Selvina looked down the dirt cliff and her eyes bulged at the sight of the drop of what she estimated to be over a hundred feet below. “How do you expect us to do that?”

“With your hands and feet of course! How else?”

“I’m not the best at climbing…”

“Aye, me neither,” said Goldilocks. “You say this woman we’re off to see likes blondes well then if you don’t want us to die then I say you find another way down.”

Selvina felt the tension in the air rise and watched as Pan slowly hovered to Goldilocks and tapped her nose with his knife. “You would do best to watch who you order around, Goldy. She does indeed like blondes but she won’t care if you come missing an arm or a leg.” He glanced at the injured man standing behind the girls and then chuckled. “Or an eye!”

Goldilocks pursed her lips and frowned but said nothing. Selvina admired her bravery but she had no doubt that had she said something that Pan would have followed through with his threat. He lacked any sense of empathy and would most likely take delight in inflicting pain upon the defiant Goldilocks.

“Oi, captain!” cried the uninjured crony as he whipped out his pistol. He aimed it at the top branches of a tree that stood at the edge of the cliff. “It’s him again!”

Pan and the girls looked up the tree to see a nearly naked man with a wiry and toned body perched on a branch looking down at them. He had a well-defined chin, long, brown hair, and piercing blue eyes. In his hands he held a spear with a stone head and his teeth were clenched in anger as he stared down at Pan.

The orange-haired pirate captain laughed at the wild man. “Ah, Tarzan! I was wondering when I’d see you again. You do like to try and save the poor defenseless women I bring on this island, don’t you? You always fail, though, but I admire your determination.” He glanced at his crony, gave him a nod, and then watched with pleasure at his man fired his pistol.

Tarzan had already left the branch, however, and the shot hit nothing. The man in the leather loincloth landed directly in front of the shooter and was quick in plunging his spear into the man’s chest. The man with the injured eye unsheathed his cutlass but Tarzan, keeping his body low and walking on his feet and knuckles like an ape, sped around behind him and swept his spear at the back of his legs. The thunderous strike brought the man down to his knees where Tarzan thrust his spear through the back of his neck. He then leapt into the foliage and was gone from sight.

Pan hovered a few feet in the air, his knife at the ready and a grin on his face. He glanced about, searching for Tarzan as the girls huddled together, backing toward the tree and wondering what to do.

Like a cannonball, Tarzan exploded out of the jungle, his spear leading the way, directly toward Pan. The smaller man swung aside and slashed with his blade as the other streaked by. He scored a cut across Tarzan’s ribs and then dove in for a stab. Tarzan landed on his feet and immediately rolled aside before coming up and sweeping his spear wide. The swinging weapon forced Pan to cease his dive and pause.

“You not welcome here,” Tarzan said in a deep voice with a halting accent. “You know this.”

Peter Pan laughed. “Says who?”

“I say! I, Tarzan, King of the Jungle!”

“King? Haha! You think you’re king here? We all know that’s not you, Tarzan. The real king here is a bit bigger, and hairier too.”

“You still not welcome here…”

“You say that every time and every time we fight I end up beating you just before you die and you run off like an injured deer. You do not own this island, Tarzan, and I can come here all I want and there isn’t a damned thing you can do!”

Tarzan apparently had heard enough and charged ahead with a loud cry of rage. He jabbed his spear forward with great power but Pan was quick enough to dodge it. He flew higher into the air, laughing all the while, and Tarzan altered the grip on his weapon. The wild man took his aim and then launched his spear with amazing speed and accuracy.

Even so, Pan dodged it.

“Now you have no weapon!” the hovering man said before laughing hysterically. “Whatever shall you do?”

Selvina felt the sweat on her body go cold when Tarzan, fire in his eyes, turned toward them. As fast as Pan was, he reacted too late to what Tarzan did next. He lunged ahead, grabbed Snow White by the waist, and then disappeared into the jungle within the blink of an eye. Pan sped off after him and for a few confusing moments the four remaining young women stood together and wondered what to do as the bodies of the two dead cronies lay covered in blood nearby.

Pan was back before any plan of escape could be formulated but he returned alone. His face was red with anger and the girls worried he’d lash out at them. “Oh well, it’s no matter. He can have the damned whore. I can still get plenty of fairies with the four of you.” He turned his eyes on them and the girls remained perfectly still, frozen under his gaze. Snarling, he jabbed his knife toward the cliff. “DESCEND!”

The girls did as they were told, wordlessly fumbling for hand and footholds as they slowly climbed down the dirt cliff. Pan hovered just beside them, descending through the air at the same rate they climbed in case any of them lost their footing and fell. Selvina felt a strange kind of comfort knowing that he would be there to break her fall if she let go but knew that he would only be saving her for his own selfish reasons. Still, it made the climb down a little easier.

Once back on level ground, Pan followed the river and the girls followed him. It took them deep into the jungle once again where the terrain grew increasingly uneven. After an hour the girls could no longer keep moving and stopped after Rapunzel collapsed on the ground. She turned out to be fine but just exhausted and in need of a rest. Pan wasn’t pleased about it but he gave them a few minutes of rest anyhow. There was a small stream nearby where the girls drank their fill under the watchful eyes of their captor.

“We have to get through this part of the jungle fast,” Pan said as they resumed walking. “There are large beasts living here and I’d rather not lose another one of you.”

“How touching,” Goldilocks mumbled.

They eventually approached a huge wall of rock that was covered in green moss but Pan didn’t slow down. Amidst the thick underbrush lining the base of the wall was a hidden path that he led them into. Brushing aside a huge leaf from her face, Selvina gasped in awe as she noticed that the path led them through the rock wall and into a canyon with steep cliffs rising up to their left and right. Everything was layered in green and a small waterfall cascaded down the left side of the canyon, tumbling over the rocks and moss and splashing into a shallow pool that then snaked its way across the canyon path and followed it into the jungle for a while where it eventually curved out of sight. High above the top of the canyon, perhaps a hundred feet, trees rose up into the sky, their vines and branches dangling over the canyon, sheltering it from the sun.

Selvina couldn’t lie to herself and deny the jungle’s beauty. Had she arrived to this island under different circumstances she might have enjoyed journeying through it. As gorgeous as the land around her was it did nothing to ease her need to be far away from it.

Goldilocks gasped and pointed up at one of the branches stretching over the canyon. “Look! It’s a huge, black, jungle cat!”

“A panther,” Selvina said as she eyed the feline high above. It looked down at them with only mild interest as it lay sprawled on a branch. Before long it started to lick its paws, bored with the sight of the girls, and Pan urged the women to move faster.

They trailed the canyon for a distance before a loud undulating cry echoed all around them, bouncing across the canyon walls and making it seem like it came from everywhere. Pan cursed and glanced about fervently, the hand gripping his knife as white as bone. “He’s back!”

Tarzan returned as quickly as he had left, skillfully sliding down the side of the canyon with a new spear in his hand. His bare feet glided down the smooth rock and moss of the cliffs at breakneck speed and when they reached the bottom they launched Tarzan toward Pan. The hovering man shot up toward the sky but this time Tarzan went after him. Still running toward Pan, he jabbed his spear into the ground several feet ahead of him and held it tightly as he lifted his legs and leaned into it. The spear bent heavily but held strong and then flung Tarzan toward the rapidly rising pirate captain. Pan, caught by surprise, paused only for a moment before attempting to rise higher. Tarzan reached out, grabbed him by the ankle, and gripped him tightly as he descended to the ground. Pan tried to rise despite the full grown man hanging on to him and failed miserably. Tarzan landed softly and then swung Pan down with all his might.

As sickening as the sound was, Selvina took great delight in hearing it. Pan slammed into the rocky ground with a loud thud and crack before Tarzan picked him up by the ankle and threw him against the canyon wall. Pan crashed into it with terrible force so powerful that he lost grip on his knife. Selvina and the other girls chanced a hopeful smile as Tarzan kept up his attack. He fetched his spear and then stood up straight as he walked toward Pan’s crumpled body.

“Not welcome!” he cried as he raised his spear, its point aimed for Pan’s chest.

Do it, Selvina thought darkly. She had never imagined ever wishing for someone to die but Pan was an exception. He had caused enough pain already and didn’t deserve to live. The world would be a better place without him.

Tarzan’s spear dove toward Pan’s chest in a blur.

And was abruptly stopped when Pan’s hands shot up and grabbed it.

His purple eyes opened and flared with fury as they glared at the wild man. Tarzan tugged on his spear but Pan held on and was lifted up with it. Once on his feet, Pan let go of the weapon, delivered a swift kick into Tarzan’s abdomen, sidestepped, and then jabbed him in the skull with a closed fist. Tarzan was only dazed and barely damaged but within the brief moment it took him to regain his bearings Pan had retrieved his knife and sunk it into his chest.

“No!” Goldilocks cried out.

Pan flashed her a furious glare just as Tarzan leapt back. Dropping his spear, he ran to the nearest canyon wall and climbed up to the top as quickly as any ape or monkey could. Once again, he was gone within seconds. Pan didn’t even bother chasing him. Instead, he stomped over to Goldilocks and grabbed her face in one hand, squeezing her cheeks together painfully. Red with rage, he reached up with his knife and in one quick motion sliced her left ear off. Goldilocks screamed but he still held her cheeks pressed together and the sound came out muffled. Tears streamed down her face and just as Selvina and Wendy acted against Pan he shoved Goldilocks away and pointed his knife at both would-be heroes.

“I dare you to act against me,” he hissed. Gone were his random laughs or childish attitude. The true villainous self of Pan was revealed and it was terrifying. Selvina and Wendy raised their hands in submission before hurrying to tend to Goldilocks. Rapunzel watched on in horror, the arms carrying her long hair trembling visibly.

“Know that Tarzan is probably dead by now,” he said to the girls through clenched teeth. “Snow White is now lost to us. You are lucky, Goldilocks, that I did not take more than your ear for that! Now get up, all of you, and let’s keep moving!” Without another word he turned and stormed away. Rapunzel glanced at Selvina and Wendy getting Goldilocks to her feet before hurrying to catch up to Pan.

“The bastard was almost dead,” Goldilocks whispered as she put a hand to her bleeding ear. “We were so close to being rid of him…”

“Quiet,” Wendy warned. “He’ll hear you.”

“At this point I don’t bloody care anymore…”

“Stop that, Goldilocks. It’s not over. We can still get out of this.”

“That’s a load of bullocks and you know it, Wendy.”

Wendy glanced at Selvina for support. She struggled to say something encouraging…

…but no words came.