Stowed Away

Rated K+ for minor violence and brief language.

Foreword

I love both King Kong films I am actually very surprised that after the most recent one there aren't like a million Jimmy back story stories here. I know I for one was intrigued by the character and his mysterious and barely mentioned past, and the idea for a story hasn't left my brain since I saw the movie in theaters.

So here you have it—my version of how Jimmy came to be a part of the Venture crew, featuring chloroform induced flashbacks of his childhood. The whole story is ten chapters long, and you can expect regular updates.

Ooh…except for now. Chapter I's kinda teaserish, as I will not be able to post for…oh, I dunno…like two weeks. I'm taking a personal vacation from life, work, etc. So enjoy the story as it is so far, and I will come back with Chapter II ASAP.

Chapter I: Stowaway

Sometime in December of 1929…

A feral growling coming from below deck was loud enough to drown out even the pounding of the sea. It was distracting everyone from their duties on board, even the ship's usually stoic captain.

"What is that damned noise?" Englehorn growled in frustration as he looked up from his maps.

His newly promoted first mate, Mr. Hayes, merely shrugged. "Restless animals, I suppose."

Englehorn growled again in response. It had been a frustrating journey for all since their departure from southern America. They had been to the very bottom of the continent to acquire the rare black cats and prime apes that resided in the dense jungles there. It was dangerous and illegal work, capturing and selling these animals, but times were hard, in the States as well as the rest of the world, and Englehorn and his crew found themselves doing what they needed to do to survive.

What had been especially trying about this particular job was that the Bronx Zoo in New York City, with its usually thriving collection of exotic animals, had only purchased one of their three cats and none of the half a dozen monkeys. The stock crashing even affected the zoos—no one could afford to entertain themselves anymore, let alone fend for their families.

The USS Venture had just departed from the city and headed for Europe, hoping that the zoos in London would be more willing to pay for their products. But if the noise kept up the way it was, the crew would go crazy before they'd even crossed the Atlantic.

"The creatures didn't make this much noise before," the captain commented in his deep, German accent.

Hayes just shrugged his wide shoulders again. "Maybe they miss their friend."

Englehorn looked up at him. "You know as well as I do, Hayes, that these are nothing more than dumb animals. Whatever is wrong with them they've been at it for two days now. And if the noise doesn't cease soon we will be forced to throw them overboard."

"Aye, captain," Hayes said, getting the hint. He turned on his heel and left the cabin, hoping to find why the animals had been so distressed since the ship had departed from New York. He would be damned if they were forced to throw the creatures overboard. There was supposed to be a big payoff for this particular cargo. Then the ship could afford more than their handful of crew members to keep the ship running.

Once on deck, he was quick to approach the small Oriental man that was mopping the floor and humming merrily to himself, seemingly oblivious to the sound coming from below.

"Hey, Choy!"

The bewildered Choy looked up from his work and smiled at the first mate. "Morning, Mr. Hayes," he said brightly in his heavily accented English.

Not wanting to waste time with pleasantries, Hayes quickly got to the point. "Choy, do you have any idea what's wrong below deck?"

The Asian looked thoughtful for a moment, listening intently to the noise. "They sound hungry."

"Well have they been fed?"

"Sure they have, skipper. I bring them food yesterday, Lumpy bring them breakfast this morning."

"And where is Lumpy now?"

"Kitchen, sir."

Hayes nodded his thanks.

In the kitchen Lumpy looked a little more crazed than usual as he stirred at something in his giant pot. It was obvious the man hadn't gotten any sleep these past two nights. None of them had. Another crew member, known simply as Mickey, stared sleepily into his breakfast. Mickey, with his tall stature and shaved head, was a tough guy that so far no one had dared to cross. Hayes didn't want to know what would happen if this guy got really mad, and the way he was looking into his bowl, it seemed the man was on the verge of taking his frustrations out on his meal.

"Lumpy, what'd you give those animals this morning?"

Lumpy sighed at the first mate and grumbled something that sounded like, "same thing I do every mornin'. I swear we take care of them damn things better than we take care of ourselves. Then I told 'em to shut the hell up. My guess is they didn' listen."

So if they weren't hungry, what was the matter with them?

"Come on," Hayes commanded. "We're going to check this out."

Lumpy nodded and straightened up to follow Hayes out the door. "Let's go, Mick. Maybe there'll finally be some excitement 'round here."

The three descended to the lower cargo deck where the animals were kept. Hayes went first, followed by Lumpy and Mickey. The noise was even worse down here—the monkeys were practically shrieking at the growling jaguars in the cage across from them.

Lumpy examined the monkeys' cage first. "I left ther damn fruit right here. Must've eaten the bowl too."

But Hayes shook his head as his mind went over scenarios in his head. He could come to only one conclusion. "They didn't even get their bowl," he said in a hushed tone. "Someone took it when you left."

Lumpy nodded his head. "Then the monkeys got ticked, an' the cats got ticked 'cause of the monkeys."

Mickey thought hard about this. "You don't think…?"

Hayes merely nodded, already knowing without saying anything what the other was indeed thinking. Stowaway. Someone had snuck on board while they were docked in New York, and now said intruder was surviving on rations that were barely enough to keep their live cargo alive to begin with. This could not be tolerated.

Cracking his knuckles, Hayes moved forward between the cages, motioning for Lumpy and Mickey to spread out and look as well. While the others took the two sides, Hayes moved straight down the middle, peering casually into the many empty, barely kempt cages. He had been on the Venture for a few years now working under Englehorn and had surprisingly never encountered a stowaway before. He just assumed no one was dumb enough to hole up with a bunch of vulgar, smelly animals.

At the end of the row Hayes found himself meeting up once again with Lumpy and Mickey, both of whom shook their heads. They'd found as much as he did. There was only one place left to check… All three men turned to their right towards the furthest part of the room, the corner where a cage held the largest and most dangerous animals. Currently it was empty—or it was supposed to be empty.

In the far corner of the small enclose, hidden in the shadows, was a figure laying on its side with its back to them. It was, as Hayes had expected, a bum. The small person was wearing a baggy and fraying coat and pants to match. But in the shadows it was hard to tell exactly who the stowaway was.

Lumpy was the first to step forward. "Hey, fella," he said loudly. When he received no response he called out again, this time lightly kicking the figure in the back.

The bum surprised them all when he suddenly shot up and backed quickly away. If his reaction wasn't enough to shock them, his appearance was. The stowaway was indefinitely a he, though he was just a boy—a short but lanky boy. His dirty blonde hair was as wild as the wide blue eyes that stared up at Hayes and the others from the shadows.

"Kid," Lumpy said, breaking the stunned silence. "Just what in the hell do you think you're doin' down here…" He took a step into the cage as the boy inched further away with his back pressed into the corner. "Come on, now. You don't belong there—"

He reached for the boy to try to entice him out of the small space, and was met with what sounded like a low growl and a kick to the crotch.

Lumpy gasped and immediately doubled over, his non squinted eye bulging in surprise and pain.

While he was incapacitated and Hayes and Mickey were staring at their now injured companion, the young stowaway dashed out of the cage. But the sailors were not easily distracted for long. Mickey didn't hesitate to lash out, grasping the kid's right arm tightly in his fist.

The boy suddenly stopped, his knees buckling as he let out an agonizing cry. The three were shocked by the sudden outburst, but Mickey did not release his grip on the stowaway's arm.

"Ease up, Mick," Hayes said after seeing how badly the boy was hurting.

Mickey looked slightly disappointed but did as he was instructed and reached for the kid's collar to haul him up off the ground. The boy twisted and struggled, acting much like the caged animals did when they did not want to be captured. "Hey," Mickey yelled, frustrated with the stowaway's actions. "You shouldn't have been down here in the first place, if ya didn't want to get caught…"

Whatever was left of Mickey's threat was cut off suddenly by his scream of pain. When his hand had come too close to the boy's mouth, the boy didn't hesitate to bite down on it. Mickey immediately released his captive and cradled his injured hand, much as Lumpy was still hunched over in pain with his hands between his legs.

The boy took one last look at them before he turned, stumbling slightly as he dashed down the lane and around a corner. Hayes didn't hesitate as he took off running in the other direction. He knew the kid was heading for the exit, only he was taking the long way. Hayes knew the labyrinth of cages like the back of his hand and took a shorter route, and stood at the stars leading above, waiting for the kid.

Sure enough, barely a second after Hayes had arrived, the young stowaway came barreling around a corner, his injured arm tucked close to his chest. He stopped short, his eyes wide as he realized there was a large, dangerous looking black man blocking his exit. The boy took a step back, his eyes now darting back and forth as he searched frantically for another way out.

Hayes, not wanting the kid to freak out and run away again, took a small step down and said with the most gentle voice he could muster, "easy, kid. No one's going to hurt you."

The boy suddenly stiffened and looked up at Hayes, making eye contact for the first time. The two were engaged in an intense staring contest for a few seconds as Hayes looked the stowaway over in the light. The kid was pale, unnaturally so, and Hayes frowned as he noticed bruises around his eye and on his neck that Hayes hadn't been able to see before in the shadows. The boy's lip was split too, right down the middle, and the front of his tattered shirt was stained with drops of blood. Hayes felt his hard expression soften when he saw the battered state the stowaway was in.

The boy seemed to realize Hayes was telling the truth that he wasn't going to hurt him. He relaxed a little, his wide, wild eyes never leaving Hayes' as he parted his dry lips to say something. He'd barely gotten a squeak out, however, when a shadowed figure suddenly appeared beside him. He didn't even get a second to react before Mickey slammed a heavy chloroform bottle against the side of his head.

Hayes watched as the boy's eyes rolled into his head and his body tipped over, falling into a crumpled heap at Mickey's feet. Hayes glared at his ship mate.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Mickey gently placed the still intact bottle of chemicals in the crate where it belonged, nursing his bitten hand as he did so. "What? The little bastard bit me! He deserved this," he said, nodding to the prone figure on the ground. "Shouldn't have been on the ship anyway. Now I've probably got rabies or somethin'…"

Hayes glared at the man, who suddenly cowered under his superior officer's scrutinizing gaze. He had nothing to say after that.

A scuffling sound came from down the way and Hayes looked up just as Lumpy came waddling forward, still hunched over with his hand between his legs.

"You alright, sailor?" Hayes said, nodding to him.

"Oh yeah," Lumpy rasped in an unusually high pitched growl. "I'm jus' peachy."

"Good," Hayes said. He crouched down to examine the boy's newest head wound. There was no blood, but a bruised lump was already forming on his temple. Hayes glared up at Mickey.

"What," Mickey said, indifferent to what he'd done. "Is he dead or something? Not like it matters. Captain'll probably have him thrown overboard anyway. We're too far out to bring him back."

Hayes straightened up with the unconscious stowaway held limply in his arms. "No one's throwing anybody over board."

"Well, what in the hell are we going to do?" Mickey called to Hayes' back as the man started up the stairs.

Hayes didn't stop his progression to look Mickey in the eye as he muttered honestly, "I don't know."

See you in two weeks :)