Chapter Fourteen
Deep in the jungles of Skull Island, Darby Galyon and Bruce Baxter crouched in a cleft in a rock wall. Darby's green eyes were wide as he clutched his rifle and peered into the darkness. He expected some kind of freakishly large animal to attack them at any time. Bruce's expectations were quite similar.
"It can't get much worse than this, can it?" Bruce spoke up sharply. "Not only did we manage to lose our packs in that stinking river, but we're also left with only one gun."
"Well, look at it this way, Bruce," Darby cheerfully replied. "At least I'm the one with the gun. That should be some small comfort to you."
Bruce glared at him.
Darby smiled.
Suddenly, there was a clap of thunder.
"Heck, no! Not a storm, too!" Bruce whined.
Then, it started to rain--heavily.
The two men were quiet for awhile. Then Darby said, "At least we're dry under here. And at least nothing's come after us… yet…"
"If you say 'at least' one more time--" Bruce threatened.
"What are you gonna do, lad?" Darby asked with a smile. "I'm the one with the gun, remember?"
Bruce rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, scooting as far away from Darby as possible.
Darby sighed and shook his head. "You might as well get used to me, Mr. Baxter. Who knows how long we'll be stuck out here together." When Bruce didn't reply, he said quietly, "I'll bet the captain and Clytie'll be mounting a rescue mission to save us." He swallowed, feeling his throat start to tighten. "At least, I hope so… I've got a girl waiting for me back home."
Bruce glanced at the Irish sailor, feeling a bit guilty at having been so rude. "I, uhm, I hope they find us, too. Then you can get back to your girl, and I can get back to my acting."
Darby flashed him a smile. "That's right, Mr. Baxter. That's the way to think."
(LINE)
"There it is," Carl whispered quietly as Wilson rowed the small boat that they had stolen to shore. "Skull Island."
Wilson grunted in reply, a bit miffed at having to row the lifeboat by himself. The movie producer just sat there in the bow, staring out at the island with a mad light in his eyes, keeping his hands close to his crates of equipment. Wilson shook his head. The man was crazy. But he did pay well. And this little expedition was going to give him a chance to get back at the captain…
(LINE)
The rescue party came to a halt by a large, wild river, swollen with rainwater. The sun was rising on Skull Island, but the rain clouds blocked much of its light, giving the jungle and river an eerie look.
"They can't have gotten much farther than this, Captain," Jimmy remarked, eyeing the river with worry.
"I agree," the captain replied. He raised his voice and said, "Comb the riverbank. There should be some sign of them around here somewhere."
The group spread across the riverbank, looking for any sign that Darby and the others had passed through this area.
Englehorn found himself approached by David Seaborne. "What is it, Mr. Seaborne?" he asked.
"Well, first of all, I'd like to thank you for coming out here for my sake," David said politely. He pulled his coat tighter, shivering a bit in the chilly rain.
"You're welcome," Englehorn replied. His eyes wandered to the river. Actually, it was for your sister that I came, Mr. Seaborne.
"And also… I'd like to talk with you about my sister," the young man added.
The captain glanced sharply at him. "What about your sister?"
"Well… I'd like to know exactly what your intentions toward her are, sir," David said frankly.
Englehorn raised his eyebrows. "I don't know if now is the time for that, Mr. Seaborne. We are in the middle of a search, in case you hadn't noticed."
"I have noticed," David said quietly. "But now is the time. And, you can call me David, by the way."
Englehorn stood akimbo and studied David carefully. "All right, David, if you must know… I have very strong feelings toward your sister. I care very deeply for her. She is a… very special woman. And I assure you, I would never hurt her."
David looked askance at the ship's captain. "You don't seem like the sort of man who would… fall so hard for a woman."
The captain frowned at David. "You are being very forward, Mr. Seaborne," he said, his voice low.
"Am I?" David shot back. "Clytie happens to be my sister, in case you hadn't noticed, Captain. Her well being is important to me. And I can tell by the way she looks at you that she is halfway to being in love with you, if she's not there already. If you're not going to return her affections, or if you're not good enough for her, I want you out of her life." His hazel eyes were stormy with strong emotion.
Englehorn walked to stand closer to the young archaeologist. "Do you really think that I don't return her affection?"
"You just don't seem like the kind of man who… would…" David replied, backing down a bit.
"You don't know what kind of man I am," the captain snapped. Then he took a deep breath and a step back. "I admire greatly your protectiveness of your sister." He smiled briefly. "I'm a bit protective of her myself." Then he frowned again. "But listen well, Mr. Seaborne, I will do nothing to harm your sister in any way. It doesn't matter what kind of man you think I am; I care for her. And if I have to, I will prove that to you."
David smiled suddenly. "All right. How about we make a deal?"
Englehorn looked at him sideways. He was a bit wary of deals with Americans these days. "What kind of deal?"
"How about… You prove to me that you really care for my sister, and--and I won't mind you dating her," David said quickly. "And this relationship between you and her better be the serious kind, not some fling. Believe me. I know my sister. She's--she's not the kind of girl who would want anything less than everything. She's a good girl, Captain Englehorn."
Englehorn hesitated. Was he ready for something like this? He thought of Clytie... Yes, she was certainly a good girl. A good kisser as well… "All right. It's a deal." He held out his hand.
David grinned broadly as he shook the captain's hand. "This makes me feel a lot better, sir," he said.
"Well how do you think I feel about it?" said a voice from beside them.
Both men turned and exclaimed, "Clytie!"
She stood in the rain, one hand on her hip, the other carrying a pack, her expression unreadable. "Well?"
"Did you hear all of that, Clytie?" David asked sheepishly.
She nodded, looking back and forth between the two men. Finally, she settled her green eyes on Englehorn. "Uhm… I found this beside the river. It's one of their packs." She held up the pack she was carrying.
Englehorn quickly took it from her. "Good work, Clytie. Where exactly did you find it?"
Clytie pointed close to the river. "Over there." Her expression was suddenly worried. "I think… I think maybe they crossed the river."
The captain put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll find them." He looked searchingly into her eyes, wondering what her feelings were about the conversation she had just heard between him and her brother.
Slowly, a smile spread across her face. "All right," she whispered. "I trust you." If her brother hadn't been standing right there, she would have kissed the man. Instead, she just walked past him, brushing agains his arm and pausing to whisper in his ear, "I still trust you, Captain, even if you and my brother did make deals over me like I'm some kind of horse."
(LINE)
"Look, Carl. There are their boats." As he and Carl got out of their boat, Wilson pointed to the two rowboats the rescue parties had used to get to Skull Island.
"Excellent, Joe!" Carl exclaimed, hopping to the ground. "We can definitely do something with that!" He began to unload his film equipment, while his eyes darted around for any signs of danger.
Wilson immediately began checking his weapons. Two pistols, two rifles, and a knife in each boot… He smiled, looking up at the sky and letting the rain run down his face. I hope the island hasn't finished you yet, Captain Englehorn, because that's one thing I'd really like to do. And there will be no stopping me once I get the chance…
(LINE)
It wasn't long before the rain slacked off, and the sun began to shine in the sky over Skull Island.
Englehorn, Clytie, David, Jack, Ann, and Preston met together by the rushing river to discuss the party's next move.
"We need to cross that river," Jack said. "If Darby and the others are on the other side, then we need to get to them."
"I agree," said the captain. "But there's a problem with that. That river is not going to be easy to cross."
They all turned to look at the river. It was flooding over its banks from the rain, and portions of it were rapids.
"I had Jimmy measure the depth," Englehorn said. "At its lowest point, it is four feet deep, and at its deepest, it is more than ten. And that is only at the edges. Who knows how deep it is out in the middle?"
"Could we… construct a raft?" Preston suggested.
"Out of what?" David replied. "What kind of supplies do we have?"
"Not the right kind to make a raft." Englehorn sighed with exasperation. "And that would take too much time."
"We're not going to have to swim across… Are we?" Ann spoke up.
"I hope not, Miss Darrow," the captain replied. He looked around at the jungle, searching for inspiration. Then, it hit him. "There are plenty of trees around here."
"So we are going to make a raft?" asked Preston.
Englehorn shook his head. "No. We're going to make a bridge."
(A/N: Even though I'm not the best writer out there, and my work certainly isn't perfect (it's hard to do a King Kong sequel justice), I'm still loving writing this! Yay! Thanks for all your kind and helpful reviews! If you guys weren't reviewing, I might not have the strength to write! Thanks! M)
