Disclaimer: I own no rights whatsoever to the titles and trademarks herein.
A/N: Now that that's settled. My apologies for taking so long with this latest update. I wanted to give more people a chance to respond to my challenge at the end of the last chapter. That and I've been busy adjusting to my first year of college.. I hope you find this chapter worth the long wait.
Sawyer Fan – No guess? Where's your courage? And don't worry too much about Sawyer. We'll check back in with him soon.
LotRseer3350 – Right on the nose with your guess. The story of the Jungle Book holds a special place in my heart. I was in my high school's production of the stage version. I played Rudyard Kipling's priest.
Anyway, on with our adventure.
The young man that had stared into the eyes of the tiger was no more than a young boy, about sixteen years old. Long, black, unruly hair hung far down the young boy's back in wild strands. It nearly blended in with the boy's dirt-colored skin, which was completely bare except for the loin cloth covering the odd youth's nakedness. The equally black eyes held something more animal than human.
As Quatermain studied his mysterious rescuer, the animal eyes studied him back. Their silent evaluation of each other lasted several moments before it was interrupted by Rodney Skinner's harsh voice.
"So what's this all about?"
The boy jerked back, taken by surprise. He turned around in several widening circles trying to identify the source of the obnoxious voice.
"He's quite insane," added the voice, causing the boy to jump back again.
"He can't see you," said Quatermain.
Now the boy was looking from Quatermain to the direction the voice was coming from, his wild eyes filled with bedevilment.
"You can't see me either," responded the disembodied voice. "What's it matter to him?"
"He doesn't know what to think of you," said Quatermain. "He hasn't seen anything like you before."
"Don't you mean he hasn't not seen..."
"Shut up, Skinner!" snapped Quatermain.
Skinner muttered to himself as a clump of earth flew up from the ground. The boy jumped back in more fear and confusion as the clump of earth began to take the form of a man's face. More clumps of dirt formed into arms and legs. Skinners coat and pack then flew up from their hiding place alongside the ground and completed the vision.
"Now he'll be able to recognize your form more clearly," said Quatermain.
"Really?" snapped the invisible man. "Maybe he'd recognize your form more clearly if you rubbed some mud in your face, too."
"Shut up, Skinner," repeated Quatermain.
The boy now stepped closer to the two strangers, still evaluating them with ancient eyes.
"You see," said Skinner. "I'm human. Just like you. Well, sort of."
"My name is Alan Quatermain," said the explorer. He extended a hand. The boy stepped back from it and then grunted and bared his teeth. Quatermain thumped a hand to his chest.
"Quat-er-main," he grunted slowly. "Quat-er-main."
"He can't understand a thing you're saying."
Quatermain ignored him and continued to thump his chest.
"Quat-er-main. Quat-er-main." He motioned towards Skinner. "Skin-ner." He thumped his chest again. "Quat-er-main."
The boy straightened his own back and then thudded his chest.
"Mow-g-li."
"What was that?" asked Skinner in shock.
"Mow-g-li. Mowgli," replied the visitor.
"Well," said Quatermain. "This is progress."
> > > > > >
Dr. Jekyll had immediately fallen asleep after the exhausting force of Mr. Hyde had left him. His dreams were filled with terrors. He saw visions of the ugly creatures that had surrounded him in his claustrophobic holding cell. He saw visions of the great white whale, Moby Dick, attempting to crush his frail body with his mighty, grinding teeth. He saw visions more terrifying than the others. Visions of the hulking Mr. Hyde mocking him, calling him a coward, telling him what a fool and what a failure he had become.
When Jekyll awoke from his terrors to observe Captain Nemo to his side, he was afraid that this might merely be another vision. His eyes were wide and bloodshot as he stared at the image of his friend. Finally, Nemo nodded, pleasantly but gravely, as if indicating to Jekyll that he was really there.
Jekyll still had to ask the question.
"Is it really you?"
Nemo nodded again. Jekyll was aware that tears were forming in his eyes. It had only been days, but it seemed more like years, more like centuries, since he had seen another human being. Since he had seen any living creature other than the terrible monsters.
"How long have you been here?" asked Jekyll. "How did they catch you?" Then a more terrible question formed in his mind. "And Mina? What has happened to Mina?"
Nemo answered none of the questions. He merely continued to study his surroundings.
"Now what?" asked Jekyll.
"We must notify the others of our location," said Nemo. "If only I could communicate with the Nautilus..."
"Is that possible?"
"I'd need something to build with," said Nemo. "An object that could produce sound waves. Something to amplify our transmit the waves. I'd need certain bits of clockwork and iron..."
There was a loud screech as the door of the cell was opened. Jekyll's eyes widened as he beheld the spectacle of the hunchback, escorted by two of the gray-skinned monsters that had visited him earlier.
"Ma-a-aaaaaaster wiiiiiiii-s-s-shesssss tooooo speeeee-eee-akkkk w-i-i-i-ttttth youuuuuuuuu."
"I won't go," whispered Jekyll.
"Ma-a-aaaaaaster iiinsissstss," said the hunchback.
"I won't go!" cried Jekyll, much more forcefully this time. He felt something a venomous feeling rising up from within him. Something more hideous than mere anger or vengeance. The spirit of Edward Hyde.
The feeling was soon diminished by a look in Captain Nemo's eyes.
"Don't resist," he said calmly. "It might be easier to just go."
Jekyll took a deep breath and forced his body to go limp as the creatures loosened his shackles and escorted him from the room.
Nemo watched the creatures leave, carrying Jekyll with them, and expected to hear the door screech shut behind them. Instead, the hunchback returned. For a moment he just looked at Nemo. Then, the hunchback reached towards Nemo's shackles and loosened them. Nemo studied the hunchback, unsure of his intentions. He then began to rub his sore wrists.
"Thank you," he said. The hunchback nodded in acknowledgement. Nemo began to stretch his arms and legs, groaning at the stiffness.
"Aaaarrreee yooooou h-h-huuuurrrrrt?"
"What did you just say?" asked Nemo.
"Aaaarrreee yooooou h-h-huuuurrrrrt?"
"No," said Nemo. "No, I'm not. Not too badly. Thank you."
"Ma-a-aaaaaaster wi-i-isss-sh-essss foooooooorrrr youuuuuu t-t-t-oooo bbbbbeeeeee ccccc-o-o-o-mmmmm-ffff-orrrr-t-t-tttabbbb-le."
The hunchback turned and began to move towards the doorway to the cell.
"And who is your master?" asked Nemo.
But the hunchback kept moving. Ignoring him.
As if...
It's as if, thought Nemo, he didn't even hear me.
And then Nemo heard the sound of the door screeching and slamming.
> > > > > >
Quatermain had tried to communicate more with the wild boy, Mowgli. He had shown him various objects and had slowly and painstakingly pronounced their names allowed.
Kni-ve. Com-pass. Band-dage-es. When the boy was able to pronounce the names himself, Quatermain began to demonstrate the items, even handing them over to the boy in order to let him try the devices for himself. The boy seemed intrigued by the tools, but his mind could not comprehend them or their purposes. The only item that seemed to attract his attention was a thick book with crude sketches of various animals littering its yellowed pages. The boy would point wildly at various pictures and grunt syllables and words of his own. Words completely unfamiliar to Quatermain and Skinner.
Quatermain tried his best to communicate the idea that he and Skinner were lost. Mowgli, the wild boy, just gazed at him uncomprehendingly. Quatermain calmly continued to try to communicate, through words, gestures, and occasional drawing in the dirt, his message, with Skinner the whole time, in his usual optimistic manner, telling Quatermain in so many words. Suddenly, Mowgli leapt from position he had been in, sitting on his knees with his hands on the ground in front of him, his brown arms suspending his weight. He bounded off into the foliage beyond.
Quatermain stared off into the brush in confusion. Skinner opened his mouth to voice some sort of glib remark when the boy reappeared, waving his hand towards his person, obviously motioning for Quatermain and Skinner to follow him.
Skinner had been against following the boy into the jungle.
"Do we no who this is?" asked Skinner. "What this is? Can we trust him?"
Quatermain kept silencing Skinner, determined not to lose Mowgli's lead. The boy moved swiftly on both hands and feet, all four barely touching the dirt and leaves below. He moved swiftly, never hesitating to consider direction. He seemed to know exactly where he was moving. He moved as easily as Quatermain would have through his tiny village back in Kenya.
Mowgli led Skinner and Quatermain into a small cave. Inside, they were completely shielded from the howling jungle wind outside. Night had fallen.
As soon as the two Englishmen were comfortable seated, Mowgli disappeared into the black darkness outside.
"So, what is he?" asked Skinner. "What is he doing here?"
"He's a human boy," said Quatermain. "Human as you or I. Obviously Indian."
"Indian? Like one of those chaps Columbus happened upon?"
"No, you bloody fool. Like an actual native of the country India. No sign of family. He must have been orphaned."
"How did he get here?" asked Skinner.
"I can't imagine. I'd rather not question that," said Quatermain.
"He acts as if he's never seen another human being before."
"He probably hasn't."
"What, was he raised by monkeys?"
"No. Wolves, more likely."
"What do you mean wolves?" questioned Skinner.
"I've seen enough animals to know what their tendencies are. This boys movement and sound patterns are closer to canus than to ape. If he was raised by any type of animal, it was definitely the wolf."
"If he has so many tendencies of a wolf, why aren't you worried he might try and eat us? There is such a thing as cannibals, you know."
Quatermain just laughed at Skinner. Their strange host returned, his arms filled with various plants and fruits. He dropped them and then began to gather the items into three piles.
"There's your answer," said Quatermain. He looked at his host and slowly pronounced, "Thank you."
The boy repeated the words and then swiftly peeled a banana and removed a huge chunk of it with his teeth. Quatermain eagerly did the same. Skinner remained untrusting and skeptical, but finally he joined in the feast as well.
Quatermain started up another speech lesson. Mowgli began to share stories of his own. Through a combination of grunts, gestures, and drawings in the style Quatermain had shown him, he began to inform his guests about Baloo, the gray bear; Akela, the leader of the wolf pack; Tabaqui, the foolish jackal; Bagheera, the wise old panther; and, finally, Kaa and Shere-Khan, the python and the tiger that Quatermain and Skinner had already encountered. He also tried to tell some story about a mysterious red flower. It was now the boy who was receiving uncomprehending gazes.
When Quatermain felt a shiver and noticed Skinner was experiencing some discomfort as well, he backed out of the cave, communicating to his host as clearly as he could that he would return and was not attempting to desert or be ungrateful towards his rescuer.
In moments, Quatermain returned with a bundle of wood, which he soon used to start bright flames of fire. Mowgli danced excitedly around the fire, pointing and shouting, "The red flower! The red flower!"
After Mowgli had settled down, Quatermain took several minutes to inquire about Dr. Jekyll, Tom Sawyer, Captain Nemo, and Mina Harker. Mowgli, through motions and the few words he could pronounce, affirmed that he had seen Mina and Nemo.
"Where?" asked Quatermain excitedly. "In the morning, can you show us where you saw them?"
Mowgli nodded. He then moved to a corner of the cave, rolled into a ball much like a dog would, and soon was snoring. Before falling asleep, Quatermain told Skinner, "I think we found our guide."
A/N: That's it for now. Let me know what you think, and I will try to update again as soon as possible, if I can find time between homework. I'll try to feature Tom Sawyer in the next chapter.