Curse of the Lost Girl

A Grim Reaper is sent after the Lost Boys Crew as they attack other vessels along the coast of the American colonies.

 

“Come on, come on!”

He beckoned her

She took his hand as the curtains furled

Frost lightly kissed her face

Stars as diamonds in her eyes

His face, his grin!

She saw nothing more

Neither he nor she thought or even said

Never to leave once in Neverland

Ships on the Atlantic are being attacked in mid-sea by a crew called the Lost Boys and a captain named Peter Pan! At first people on the waters only suffer thefts and the use of their 'fairy dust', but now small girls are being kidnapped from the American colonies. These actions summon a Grim Reaper who exists to maintain the balance of power on the ocean waters, and his only method of doing that is to destroy the source of trouble.

 

 

Full General Plot: 

 

People had begun to fear the tales of a deep blue ship that appears from the depths of glittering white clouds. Each night that ship comes forth into the harbor of a coastal town, goods and children alike vanish without a trace.

 

Marcus is a treasure hunter whose reputation is growing. During a short bout in Spain he's approached by a fourteen-year-old boy who wants to hire him to find his sister, Ana, and heal their heartbroken family. Marcus agrees for the payment of a seashell exquisitely carved into the shape of a star. It is also a way for him to prove himself to Ana should he be able to find her.

 

Before leaving Spain Marcus investigates the rumors of the infamous 'Lost Boys Crew' and their reputation of kidnapping children from coastal towns in the American colonies. Based on those rumors he hitches a ride on a merchant ship that doubles as a transport vessel for Spanish immigrants. Just when the trip is about to end in the port harbors of Virginia their ship is indeed attacked at night by a vessel drifting from a cloud of glittering white dust. Luckily for Marcus and the job he has taken, it's the Lost Boys Crew launching an attack.

 

Marcus jumps in to help defend the ship, but the situation is complicated by the arrival of a third party, a black-haired young man who promptly proceeds to slaughter each member of the Lost Boys Crew until they are forced to retreat on their ship, the Starcatcher. Marcus manages to stow away on the Starcatcher and remain hidden despite clashing with the young man who also jumped aboard. Arlen is the Reaper of the Seas, a killer dispatched by the pirates when the Lost Boys Crew begin to disturb their trade by summoning legal authority to the waters. Marcus manages to convince him to stop the killing long enough to find out where the Lost Boys Crew have their base, otherwise Arlen won't be fulfilling his task to massacre every last member.

 

The Starcatcher takes the crew--along with Marcus and Arlen--to a tropical island they call Neverland. Marcus and Arlen follow the remnants of the Crew into a thick forest of massive trees and enormous green growth, where they have a little village of treehouses populated by children and others of the Lost Boys Crew, who are somehow seen as young boys and girls as well. The children's strange behavior alert Marcus and Arlen into wearing face masks to prevent inhalation of the 'fairy dust' spread throughout the village.

 

Once he secures a promise to only target adults, Marcus leaves Arlen to study the girls of the village, searching for one of the right age and race. He locates Ana Gonzales, the lost sister he's been hired to find, who is forced to play the role of an expressionless Indian princess called Tiger Lily. Basically, however, she's just the head cook, from skinning the dead animals hunted by the boys to serving the dishes at the almost nightly feasts. At night Marcus wakes her and gains the girl's trust with the seashell star, but Ana refuses to leave without the Mermaid Princess, a young girl that she's named Rocio.

 

Together Marcus and Ana leave the village and make it to Mermaid Cove, dodging the hunt launched by the Lost Boys Crew. One by one the leaders (adults) of the village are vanishing into thin air, killed by Arlen who they assume to be a pirate serving Captain Hook. Just when they find Rocio, who cannot walk even if her legs weren't bound, Marcus and Ana are captured by the Lost Boys Crew. The two of them are taken back to the village with Marcus in the role of another pirate loyal to Captain Hook, while Ana is seen as a captive that they free but force to return to the village. When Ana resists they assume that she's been cursed by Marcus, and sprinkles the girl the white fairy dust to cure her. From then on Ana falls completely into her role as the silent Indian princess, too far deep in a delusional state.

 

Once he's left alone Marcus breaks free. He searches the village for Ana but first comes across David, a young boy who was kidnapped by the Crew and has only been pretending to take part so they don't use the fairy dust on him. The boy pleads with Marcus to help free a girl named Wendy, but all they find in the treehouse is the skeleton of a girl who once wore a pale blue dress and hair ribbon. Silver-blue mushrooms continue to grow from her bones, fed by the water and meals brought by the Three Fairies. The fairy dust so often used by the village is nothing more than the dry residue left behind by the mushrooms.

 

At last Marcus rescues a drugged, docile Ana and runs back to Mermaid Cove while pursued by the Lost Boys. While Marcus is occupied with Rocio Ana wanders off to follow a trail of fairy dust, but David follows her so Marcus is able to catch up easily. They come upon a half-submerged cavern of silver-blue mushrooms growing from the corpses of (presumably) young women laid to rest near the water.

 

They get the scare of their lives when Arlen appears, having followed them to the mushroom cavern. It takes a while, but Marcus manages to convince Arlen to help them because he needs both arms to carry Rocio while David helps steer Ana in the right direction. They manage to get as far as the Starcatcher that Arlen has emptied of all its crew members. However Peter Pan and most of the village boys arrive to stop them from sailing off on the ship. A fight breaks out, and Marcus is unable to stop Arlen from slaughtering the adults in front of the children. So far Arlen has restrained himself due to the fact that Marcus was once a Reaper of the Seas before he made a career change, but no more.

 

Marcus shuts Ana, Rocio, and David in the captain's quarters for their own safety. As the mushroom hallucinogens drive Peter Pan and the adults into a wilder frenzy, Marcus fights them and Arlen at the same time. Too many people have been killed already, and the children are going into a terrified madness at the bloody sight. Marcus manages to throw down the Lost Boys into the cargo hold and trap them there, forcing Arlen to pursue him and him alone.

 

Though younger and newer at the job, Arlen remains unhampered by the need to protect anyone. He overpowers Marcus until a desperate move is employed, and Marcus heaves a sack full of fairy dust into Arlen's face. The young Reaper is able to overcome the effects until they wear off, but only if he stays still and does nothing until that happens. It gives Marcus enough time to grab the terrified children before they drown themselves in the sea and gather them onto the ship.

 

A newly printed pamphlet announces the capture of the Lost Boys Crew, who were mysteriously delivered to the authorities of the American colonies. A number of doctors struggled to care for the Crew members that are now going through withdrawal from the fairy dust, which is actually a undiscovered, heavily hallucinogenic drug. One night the Crew members are all found dead with their throats cut open.

 

Some of the missing children have been returned to their families with all memory of their ordeal wiped out by the same drug. A ship has also been dispatched to investigate a map to a tropical island where bodies of other children, mostly girls, lie unburied. In Spain Marcus delivers Ana to her overjoyed parents and younger brother, who also takes in Rocio until her own parents can be found.

 

While walking away from the Gonzales home, Marcus doesn't seem to notice someone in the shadows slowly drawing a sword.

 

 

 

 

Reaper of the Seas- A mysterious figure who has existed for the past hundred or so years, destroying anything that threatens the balance of power on the seven seas. He has no scruples as to the age, gender, or social status of his human targets. While the Reaper is targeted by the law, the pirates in turn hold him in high regard.

 

It's likely that the title is passed on from one person to another, as the current Reaper is not even twenty years of age.

 

 

Marcus- A freelance treasure hunter who likes to chase after legends and other such stories. He has a reputation of being able to go anywhere, find anything, which is why he's hired to find the lost daughter of Spanish immigrants. Marcus is a confident, laidback young man who likes to enjoy himself and take his time. His weapon is a pair of customized pistols he can also use as clubs.

 

Marcus briefly served time as the Reaper of the Seas, apprentice to Arlen's predecessor, until he found that lifestyle too confining. While disliked for 'abandoning' his duty, Marcus is acknowledged as one too dangerous to force into it.

 

 

Arlen- At least eighteen years old, silent and generally expressionless, Arlen is the current 'Reaper of the Seas', and he thinks of little else besides his duty. His hunt of the Lost Boys Crew leads him to an island full of exotic flowers and creatures.

 

Arlen has a pistol and various other weapons hidden on his body, but he mainly uses the sword that's heavier than it looks.

 

 

Lost Boys Crew- Originally a group of young boys that disappeared when they were eight to thirteen years of age. They sail a blue ship called the Starcatcher that attacks other vessels along the American coast. Each possesses a love of adventure and a reckless desire to chase after any sign of it. Crew members have a tendency to require constant replacement.

 

The Lost Boys Crew does not kill, but they do steal, play pranks, occasionally attack ships, and have a penchant for kidnapping children. None of them remembers the homes or families they once had. The success of their plans grows to the point where the authorities tighten security on the waters, disturbing the pirates' trade.

 

The crew possesses 'fairy dust', a glittering white dust that often envelops the ship, causing people to become drowsy and/or see hallucinations.

 

 

Neverland- A tropical island of massive trees, rivers, and hidden coves, all of which the Lost Boys Crew call home. There is a certain area where a large amount of silver-blue mushrooms grow.

 

 

David Lucas- 10. The son of a bookstore owner who enjoys adventure stories. One night he's approached by Peter Pan, captain of the Lost Boys Crew, and is lured onto their ship the Starcatcher. David is set to work as the cabin boy. He gradually comes to notice that the Lost Boys Crew is constantly losing crew members that 'fly away to Neverland' and must just as constantly replace them.

 

Wendy- A girl locked in the main treehouse on Neverland, a place only Peter Pan and the Three Fairies are allowed to enter. David speaks to her through the closed door and she asks for his help in getting home. Wendy acts brave but sometimes shows that she is straining to keep up her strength.

 

Wendy's real name is Wilhemina Robbins, daughter to a blacksmith, and by now a middle-aged woman. Years ago when she was truly a young girl, she met and fell in love with the current Peter Pan. They ran away together when her family opposed the relationship, but within months Wendy was more or less forgotten by Peter; he never cared much for her as long as Wendy fulfills her 'mother' role towards the younger members of the crew.

 

Wendy is supposedly the dead girl in the pale blue dress. Whether David was hallucinating about her voice or whether Wendy was a ghost, it remains unknown.

 

Peter Pan- Captain of the Starcatcher and leader of the Lost Boys Crew. Actually a grown man, Peter has a boastful, devil-may-care personality that does not take the serious things in life seriously. He regards the Reaper's hunt of him and his crew as a game of tag, labeling Arlen the new Captain Hook while Marcus and Lanette are part of his pirate crew.

 

With the short attention span of a child, Peter Pan does care for the people he considers important to him, but that sense of caring usually grows thin after a couple of months, or until something more interesting catches his attention.

 

Tinker Bell- A frowning blond girl at least twelve. Tinker Bell is in charge of the fairy dust, which she jealously hoards unless instructed to give it out by Peter. She scowls whenever Wendy is mentioned.

 

Tiger Lily (Ana Gonzales)- 15. The daughter of Spanish immigrants who was kidnapped a year ago by the Lost Boys Crew. Peter Pan designated Ana as Tiger Lily, an Indian princess who was about to be killed by Captain Hook. As per her role, Ana is forbidden to speak or show emotion, and must act as the ship's cook. She helps out David when she can.

 

 

The Mermaid Princess- A pale young girl of Nordic descent. She does not possess the ability to walk or speak English, and has her legs bound to bolster the fantasy that she is a mermaid. When they're alone Ana/Tiger Lily teaches her to speak Spanish and calls the girl 'Rocio', or Dewdrop.

 

The Three Fairies- Three young women aboard the Starcatcher. Though the world sees them as kidnapped victims, Jane, Margaret, and Moira left their homes of their own free will. Each felt bored, stifled, or impatient with their families and desired freedom. The Fairies generally take care of Wendy and help Tinker Bell with the fairy dust.

 

Jane is the oldest at twenty-five, a bossy and practical girl who draws satisfaction from hard work. Twenty-year-old Margaret is shy but cheerful and loves to play; she is the one who spends the most time with Wendy to keep her company. Moira is the smallest, fourteen years old, fearful and timid; she stays near Tiger Lily for comfort and friendship.

Captain Hook- A wizened old man who lies in chains in the prison hold of the Starcatcher. Starvation and lack of any attention has left him very weak.

 

His name is unknown, but his identity is that of Peter Pan's father. Originally he was the captain of a small ship that transported goods along the American coast. He was a strict man until his son lost his temper during a rebellious phase.