Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews! You guys keep me going! Yay! I apologize if this chapter is too long; I just got really excited with this story. It is soooooooooo much fun to write!
Chapter Twelve
After finding the shoe, the two parties split up. Jack's party was to search the part of the island that had been explored last time. Englehorn's party would strike out for the undiscovered part.
Before the parties split, Ann gave Clytie a quick hug. "Be careful," she said. "This place is so dangerous."
Clytie nodded. "I will. You, too." Then she turned to follow Englehorn, who was watching her carefully. Although she felt safe being so close to him, she was a bit disturbed by the fact that they were going to search the places on the island where no one had been before. It was a daunting--and frightening--task.
The jungles of the island seemed to swallow up the rescuers as they slowly advanced, keeping their eyes opened for any further sign of David.
Clytie's green eyes were wide as she scanned the jungle around her. Everything was big and wild and foreign. Huge insects buzzed around the party. The brush moved on occasion, inhabited by creatures Clytie didn't even want to think about. She kept her right hand close to the pistol on her hip. She hoped she didn't have to use it, but she was ready just in case.
"Clytie… How are you?" asked a quiet voice from beside her.
She looked up into Jake Atkins' gray eyes. "Fine, Jake," she answered, looking away from him.
"I feel safer walking with you," he said lightly. "I've seen you shoot a gun before. You're better than me." He chuckled. "Heck, you're better than David… But we won't tell him that, will we?"
Clytie caught herself smiling. "No. We won't." Then she frowned. "Jake… You know I'm a good shot. You know I can handle things. Why, then, did you find it necessary to come along?"
Jake was quiet for a moment.
Englehorn glanced back at the two of them, his face unreadable.
Clytie gave him a quick smile.
"Clytie… I'm sorry," Jake said suddenly. "I should never have come. Bringing Carl along nearly got you killed. It was… stupid of me."
"It's all right, Jake. You just overreacted."
Her godfather frowned. "I still don't fully approve of your… closeness to the captain, though," he whispered.
Clytie narrowed her eyes. "I don't care," she replied quietly. "That man saved my life. And he is…" Her eyes softened. "He is the best man I have ever met. He's certainly not perfect, but he's strong and brave and… He understands me, takes care of me, protects me…" She glanced sharply at Jake. "You think he's not good enough for me, but sometimes I wonder if I'm good enough for him."
Jake was silent.
Walking ahead of them, Englehorn smiled. He had heard every word she said.
(LINE)
In Jack's party, everyone was quiet. Ann walked close to Jack, holding tightly to his arm. She felt a bit nauseated at being back on Skull Island. Little about the place had changed. The natives had not come out of hiding (fortunately), and Kong was gone… but… Everything else was the same.
"Ann, are you okay?" Jack whispered.
She nodded quickly. "Yes, Jack. It's just… We're here," she whispered.
"Jack," Darby called suddenly. "I think we should stop."
Jack stopped walking, and everyone followed suit. "What is it, Darby?" he asked.
Darby drew his rifle from the holster on his back. "I think we're being followed," he said quietly. "I think we should draw our weapons."
A feeling of dread washed over Jack. He nodded. "Good idea." He called to the rest of the party, "Did you hear that? We need to get our guns out."
Soon, everyone in the party was holding their guns. "All right," said Jack. "Let's keep moving… but slowly."
The party advanced cautiously through the lush, twisted jungle.
"I can't believe we're doing this again," Bruce muttered, adjusting his grip on his Tommy gun. He walked just behind Ann and Jack. "I should have stayed on the boat."
Jack threw him an annoyed glance. "Get a hold of yourself, Bruce," he whispered. "It's too late to go back now."
(LINE)
"Let's stop here for a rest," Englehorn called to his party as they reached the edge of a clearing in the jungle. They had walked for over a mile, he was sure, and had found no sign of David Seaborne other than that shoe. He shook his head. This was not turning out to be an easy mission.
Clytie moved to stand beside him, her eyes on the clearing. It was beautiful, green and luscious--a fertile plain surrounded on all sides by jungle. But she knew that the beauty hid the danger. The thought gave her cold chills.
"We'll find your brother, Clytie." Englehorn came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "I won't leave until we know what happened to him."
Clytie reached to place her hands on top of his. "Thank-you," she whispered.
"You're welcome," he whispered in reply. Then he slid his hands from her shoulders and turned to the rest of the party. "Five minutes and we're heading out again," he said. "So get your rest now."
Clytie, with her back to the others, frowned as she peered at the clearing ahead. What was that moving in the distance? She narrowed her eyes, concentrating. Her fingers clasped the holt of her pistol. "Uhm… I think there's something out there…" she said, keeping her voice low. "I think it's coming toward us."
The captain turned to look.
As soon as he did, the shapes on the horizon became clear.
Englehorn cursed. "Everyone, get up and draw your weapons."
Clytie whipped her pistol from its holster and cocked it.
"Get back, Clytie!" Englehorn grabbed her by the arm and jerked her to stand behind him.
"I was wondering where they were…" Preston muttered as he watched the natives advance.
The captain signaled for the rest of the men to move forward, but he kept Clytie behind him.
"Eric--"
"Stay back, Clytie!" he ordered.
"I'm a good shot!" she protested.
"You'll have to shoot from behind me," he replied. Then he glanced back and flashed her a crooked smile. "Just make sure you don't shoot me."
Clytie glared at him, then smiled. She couldn't help but smile at him, albeit unwillingly. "Yes, sir, Captain," she muttered.
"At my signal, we'll fire our guns to try and scare them off," Englehorn announced. "But if they keep coming, we'll shoot them. Understood?"
Everyone assured him that they did.
The Skull Island natives continued to run toward them. Clytie could make them out clearly by now. These were all men, scantily clad and heavily armed with crude weapons. They were dark and sinewy and appeared to be very angry.
"Fire your weapons!" Englehorn shouted
There was an explosion of sound as the various guns went off. Clytie pointed her pistol at the sky and squeezed the trigger once, twice, three times…
At first, the natives slowed down, crouching in the high grass, and some even retreated back into the jungle.
One of the crewman gave a victory cry.
Jimmy shook his head and turned to the captain. "This isn't it, is it, Captain? It's not gonna be that easy…"
His words proved true. Suddenly, from behind there was a horrendous screech. A native man, armed with a dagger, came out of the jungle behind the rescue party, leaping at Clytie.
Clytie screamed and turned around, leveling her gun at him. She pulled the trigger just in time, and the man fell dead at her feet.
Englehorn, shaken by almost losing Clytie (again), spun around and grabbed hold of her. "Stay close to me!" he whispered in her ear. Out loud, he called, "Follow me! Into the jungle!"
The small group followed him as he ran at an angle into the jungle at a spot no natives had emerged from. As they ran, natives armed with daggers, spears, and clubs flooded the clearing from both sides.
Englehorn led his group to safety in the trees, still hanging on to Clytie, then yelled, "Turn and fire!"
As the rest of the party fired at the natives, Clytie managed to slip her arm out from under Englehorn's and fire her own pistol. Her fingers trembled a bit, but her aim was good, and she managed to drop a few of the violent warriors who were rushing toward the rescue party.
Englehorn shifted his grip on Clytie and sheathed his pistol, reaching into his bag for his Tommy gun. "Jimmy! How many of them do you see?" he called before sending a burst of fire into the rushing ranks of warriors.
"I counted about fifteen back there!" Jimmy replied. "But I'm sure it's at least twice that now!"
"Probably more!" Preston added cheerfully. He didn't have much combat experience, but he had no qualms about fighting for his life.
"Surely they can't overpower us!" Jake exclaimed. "We have far superior weapons!"
"Yes, but they have numbers, Mr. Atkins," the captain replied grimly. "And they know the terrain."
(LINE)
Darby glanced over his shoulder, then instantly wished that he hadn't. It would be much easier to die without knowing what was killing you. "Jack! There's a giant lizard thing!" he hollered. "It's coming after us!"
At his yell, the rest of the party turned around--and they started yelling as well, for there, in the jungle behind them, stood a giant lizard, taller than a man and at least three times longer. At first, it just watched them, its head tilted to the side. Then, it took a step forward and lunged at the party.
"Run!" Bruce cried. And he took off, running past everyone else.
One of the crewmen turned around to fire his machine gun at the creature. At first, the bullets slowed it down, but the lizard kept coming.
Jack grabbed Ann by the hand and started running, motioning for everyone to follow, which they did with no hesitance. "Here we go again," he muttered, turning to take a shot at the creature with his gun.
"What is that thing?" Darby cried, catching up to Jack and Ann.
"It's a dinosaur," Jack explained quickly.
Darby started to reply, but Ann cut the young sailor off. "Just run, Darby!"
(LINE)
At first, things were starting to look up for Captain Englehorn and his party. Superior weapons were winning out over superior numbers. Not a single member of the rescue party had been injured, and at least twenty natives had fallen in the clearing. It wasn't long before the gunfire ceased.
Clytie felt the captain's hold loosen on her, and she took a tentative step away from him, peering into the clearing. "Is that all?" she whispered.
"It can't be," Preston replied quietly. "It's never that easy here. There's no way we escaped with that few casualties, not a single injury."
"Maybe it's different this time," Jimmy spoke up.
Suddenly, there was a loud crashing sound from deeper in the jungle, then a pounding sound, and the earth shook.
"You spoke too soon," Englehorn said to Jimmy. He looked past his men. The trees were swaying. Something very large was moving toward them. The captain moved closer to Clytie. "We need to get out of here," he announced. "I don't want to have to face whatever that thing is."
"No objections here!" Jake exclaimed. His long, thin face was pale.
"Come on. Let's move." Englehorn slipped an arm around Clytie's shoulder and carried his machine gun with the other hand. "Back into the clearing."
The small party advanced into the clearing, and the captain led them across to the other side.
Clytie glanced over her shoulder. Emerging from the jungle was a gigantic reptile. She barely bit back a scream as she turned from the terrifying sight. "Eric… behind us!"
"I know. Keep moving."
One of the crewmen, a man named Maxwell, turned around and panicked, freezing where he stood.
Jimmy grabbed him by the arm and tried to drag him away, but the man refused to be led. "Captain! Maxwell!" Jimmy hollered.
Englehorn and Clytie turned around. Maxwell was just standing there, staring up at the huge creature that was nearing him, ignoring Jimmy, who was tugging on his arm.
"Maxwell!" the captain shouted. "Come on!"
Maxwell still remained frozen to the ground, and the dinosaur kept coming.
"Run! That's an order!" Englehorn yelled.
Maxwell just shook his head slowly.
"Jimmy! Get out of there!" the captain cried.
Jimmy gave one last jerk on Maxwell's arm, then turned and ran. The giant reptile stood looking sideways at Maxwell for a moment, then opened its jaws, bent down, and grabbed him up.
Clytie felt a rush of adrenaline wash over her after seeing the man get eaten and started screaming and trying to turn around. She cocked her pistol, and would have started firing at the creature, but Englehorn fairly lifted her off of her feet and ran, pinning her arms to her sides.
"Clytie! It's no use! Bullets won't stop something like that!" he whispered to her as he half dragged her into the jungle.
Finally, she gave up trying to fight the dinosaur and just ran alongside the captain, letting him lead her.
Englehorn led the group into a tight spot between the trees, too tight for the big reptile to get through, and signaled for them to stop and rest. He was worried about Clytie, sure that she had never seen anyone killed so violently before. "Sit down," he said quietly, leading her to the base of a large tree.
Clytie sank down, leaning against the tree trunk. She still felt like fighting that dinosaur. Her blood was rushing through her veins, her breath coming quickly.
Englehorn studied her carefully. "I think there's a bit of berserker in you, Clytie Seaborne," he said sternly. "You need to learn how to stay calm in dangerous situations like that, do you hear me?"
She took a deep breath and let it out, trying to release the tension in her body. "I'm sorry, Eric," she whispered. "I don't know what came over me. Once upon a time, you congratulated me for remaining calm, but now…" She laughed grimly. "I wasn't very calm, was I?"
To her surprise, he smiled at her. "You're a fighter, Clytie. You just need to learn how to control that fighting instinct." Then he frowned, thinking of Maxwell.
"I never should have brought you and your crew out here," Clytie said softly, reaching for his hand. She knew that he must be thinking about his crew member.
Before he could answer, Preston spoke up. "Is everyone all right?"
"Everyone but Maxwell," Englehorn replied, looking around. Clytie fancied she heard a touch of bitterness in his voice, and she winced. He glanced quickly at her. "It's not your fault, Clytie. We're here to save your brother. All of these men knew what they would be getting into. Maxwell was here last time."
They were all quiet for awhile, taking sips of water from their canteens, checking their ammunition, reloading their guns if necessary.
Clytie sat quietly under at the tree, watching the captain. What had she done? You've put this man in danger--that's what you've done, Clytie. You should have just brought your little boat out here and looked for David alone.
(LINE)
In the hold of the Venture, Carl was picking the lock to the cage that held him. Across the hold, Wilson watched eagerly. "Hurry up, Carl!" the big man prodded, shaking the bars of his cage. Then he winced and reached to touch his shoulder where his captain had shot him. Just thinking about that incident made his blood boil. Englehorn was going to pay…
"Aha! I got it!" Carl exclaimed.
Wilson grinned. "Get over here and get me out, pal!" he called. "We've got some work to do!"
(LINE)
David Seaborne sat alone in his cave, as usual. This day was turning out to be the same as any other day-- a couple of near death experiences, finding barely enough food, getting horrendously dirty. He leaned his head back against the cool cave wall and sighed, closing his eyes. The first thing he saw in his mind was his sister's face. His eyes flew opened. Clytie…
Suddenly, unexplainably, he felt that she was near. Then he heard it--shouts, gunfire, and a couple of very feminine screams. David leaped to his feet and limped to the mouth of the cave (darn those natives for stealing his shoe!). He peered out at the jungle below, searching for any sign of people other than those blasted pagans! At first, he sincerely hoped that his sister had finally come to rescue him, as he had never doubted that she would. Then, a cold shiver of dread shook his frame. "Clytie, don't be a fool," he muttered. "You don't want to come to this place…" He paused for a moment, looking out at the jungle. Then he knew what he had to do. If his sister had come to save him, he would probably have to save her.
He limped deeper into his cave. "If there's one thing we Seabornes have in common, it's that damnable stubborn streak," he mumbled to himself as he gathered up some supplies for a rescue mission of his own.
