Return to Skull Island
CHAPTER ONE
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A/N: This is my first King Kong fic, so any suggestions would be extremely appreciated. Let me know if anyone seems ooc, if I'm forgetting anything plot-wise, etc.
There will be characters other than Englehorn included in later chapters (Jimmy will definitely be involved, and Jack, Carl, and Anne may make appearances). There shouldn't be any OCs (besides a generic crewmember in this chapter).
I'll shut up now and let you read…
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The roaring of the bonfire and the crashing of waves mingled, becoming background music for the wild chanting of the Skull Island natives. They clasped hands and danced crazily around the flames, their voices adding to the harmony of ocean and fire.
Though no speaker of English could understand the rhythmic syllables of the chant, that person could have easily seen that something was happening. He would not have understood, but the night sky seemed to pull in toward the ritual in answer, and the clouds swirled away without a wind to pull them.
The chanting escalated to a raging crescendo. The clouds became a storm.
The natives of Skull Island were not happy that someone had stolen their god.
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Captain Englehorn was thrown against the wheel of the ship as a wave slammed into his ship. He winced as his chest hit the hard wood. He could feel the Venture list dangerously under his feet, the floor sloping to a ridiculously steep angle.
As it had with each blow of the unnatural storm, the ship righted itself again.
Englehorn was weary beyond belief. The storm had been raging at full force for nearly two days and showed no signs of letting up. He had given up trying to keep the ship on course and had spent most of the two days trying to simply keep the ship upright. This normally simple task became increasingly more difficult as his mind and body grew more and more tired.
He could almost hear Lumpy's voice. "This is no normal storm, Captain. It's witchery, I'm sure. It came up much too fast and it's been goin' for too long. I'm tellin' you…"
Englehorn was not a superstitious man, but he was starting to believe that something was going on. After all, they hadn't been too far from Skull Island when the storm had started.
"Captain!" It was a new crew member, enlisted shortly after the Kong fiasco. Englehorn's exhausted mind could not fathom his name.
"Yes?" he asked.
"There've been some malfunctions below," the crew member reported. Englehorn wondered how the man sounded so pert. Perhaps, unlike Englehorn, he had managed to sleep a bit despite the raging tempest.
Englehorn blinked to bring his mind back to the present. It wandered when he was tired. "What—what kind of malfunctions?" he asked.
"We're not entirely sure," the crew member said. "But everything down there is drenched. We're practically bailing water out of the machinery. We've managed to keep it going for the last two days, but…"
"Alright," Englehorn said resignedly. "Do what you can. If you can't make it work, just make sure it doesn't explode."
The man hesitated a moment, unsure if Englehorn was sarcastic. Englehorn stared at him.
"Yes, sir," the crew member said.
The ship lurched suddenly, and the crew member staggered into Englehorn. The captain lost his balance and fell against the wall as the crew member grabbed onto the wheel for support. Englehorn righted himself with monumental effort, bracing himself by pressing one hand against the wall. The fall had, if nothing else, cleared his mind slightly.
"Wait," he said. The crew member spun around. "Take the wheel. I want to look at this myself."
Englehorn had only made it a few feet across the deck Jimmy yell the words that gave him a terrible sense of déjà vu: "Wall! Wall ahead!"
He turned to Jimmy in the crow's nest, then to find something to grab hold of, and then back to the wheel to see the nameless crew member looking hopelessly lost, then to the wall of rock that had reared up in front of them.
He froze. In that moment, the ship crashed full speed into Skull Island.
He flew across the slick deck, slamming into the short wall that went around the edge of his ship. Everything faded away.
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Englehorn awoke slowly. The first thing he noticed was that something was poking into his back. As he came closer and closer to consciousness, he became more aware of the pain in his shoulder and head.
Opening his eyes, he saw the nameless crewmember's head wavering in front of a backdrop of stars.
"Captain?" the crew member asked.
Englehorn grunted and sat up slightly, wincing with the effort. He was lying on the dark rocks of the shore (which explained the thing poking his back), not far from the wall. There were a few other members of his crew sitting or draped over the nearby rocks. He could see his ship wallowing in the churning water.
He looked again at the stars. He hadn't seen stars for more than two days.
The crew member was looking at him, apparently wondering if he should break the silence. Englehorn turned his attention from the miraculously clear sky and decided to save him the effort.
"What happened?" he asked. Under the stress of the recent events, his accent was stronger than usual. "Where is the rest of the crew? How badly is the ship damaged? And what the hell is your name?" The crew member seemed slightly stunned by the barrage of questions and didn't answer right away.
"Miller, sir," the crew member said finally. "What happened? I couldn't steer away from the wall in time and we hit it. The ship is pretty badly damaged and everyone that isn't injured is working to repair the ship. Some people went to look for materials to repair it with."
Englehorn stared at him speechlessly for a moment. "They went beyond the wall?" he finally asked.
The crew member—Miller—nodded.
"Who went?" Englehorn pressed. "Didn't anyone tell you how dangerous it is? What about Jimmy? Did he tell you?"
Miller shook his head. "Sir, no one told me anything. I just stayed with you after I dragged you off of the ship. I think Jimmy went with everyone else, though."
Englehorn wondered for a moment if he should thank the crew member for saving him, but there were more pressing matters at hand. "Has there been any activity on the island? Any fires?" He sat up fully. This new problem made the throbbing in his shoulder seem inconsequential.
"Not that I know of," Miller said. "And, sir, if you're okay now, I think they need me to help with repairs.
"Is that all you know?" Englehorn asked.
Miller nodded.
"Then go," he replied. "Fix my ship."
As the crewmember scurried away, Englehorn heard the unmistakable beat of drums. He stood up slowly and turned toward the wall. The island behind it had begun to glow with the eerie flickering light of many fires.
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