Twisted
Disclaimer: I do not own Kong, or any of the characters. Plain and Simple.
Quick Summary: My version of the newest movie with a couple twists.
Author's Note: Ah! I got side-tracked with another story--sorry. But this is it! Last chapter!
Chapter Ten: Carl, You Wrote Nine-Grand
Alex swung the door open and stepped into the hall, pulling the limping first mate after her. "You think you can make it up the steps?" She asked Hayes.
"I imagine so,"
The young captain brought him up the steps, one at a time. It was squishy, but they finally made it to the top the sun was peeking over the horizon, casting a yellow glow over the water.
"Watch out, the deck is... slick..." Alex looked down, expecting to see the water-coated deck, but instead, there was a gaping hole. It was hard to think she had missed it in the dark. What if she had taken a wrong step? Alex didn't want to even think about it.
"What is that?" Hayes asked.
"A hole... so that's where they put him!"
"Who?"
"That cretin Denham is bringing that gorilla back."
"And you haven't seen this before?"
"No,"
"How long has it been since I was brought here?"
Alex looked at her friend and gulped. "A couple days,"
"And you haven't noticed this? Where have you been?"
"Um, with you?"
"Right, Al, a couple days? How would you live? And Denham did that?" He pointed to her face.
Alex's hand rushed to her face, momentarily forgetting her injury. "...Yes, and remember I told you what happened! I was down in the cages for a day, then I had to sneak out, and I didn't come up until it was dark, anyway. I never saw it! I'm surprised I didn't fall!"
Hayes, nudged her around the hole and out to the front of the ship, where he held onto the railing with his good hand.
"Are you good?" Alex asked, her hand lightly brushing his shoulder.
"Yeah, I think,"
"I'm going to go see how Preston's doing, okay?"
"I'm not a child, Alex, I'll be fine."
Alex raised an eyebrow, and then headed to the wheel house where Preston was. Hayes looked after her; it was hard for him to imagine that she used to be the little girl that she was. Somewhere beneath that tough sea-weathered cover that she put up, he knew that the little compassionate, loving girl that he knew was still there.
"Preston!" Alex called.
She stepped into the small cabin and walked behind Preston, checking all the gauges and meters. "Where are we headed?"
"Back to New York... Times Square," he said with a determined tone in his voice.
"Really?"
"Yes,"
"Then I would turn a little bit more west before we hit Newfoundland."
\K/\K/\K/\K/\K/\K/\K/
A month later, they pulled into the harbor near New York City. Many of the sailors told their captain that if they were "going on any more adventures, to count them out". Alex rolled her eyes at this, did they think that she planned on getting half her crew killed and more than half of the rest injured? Most certainly not.
Then she got the invitation to go see the giant monkey herself; the first showing and everything. The whole crew did. She smiled at the small shiny card. Carl Denham owed her; big time. He owed her a whopping four grand, plus the original fee; and that didn't make up for the injury, mutiny, and the destruction of her ship.
Of course she was going to go.
She treated Hayes and Jimmy to a small shopping spree, because they all needed new clothes. She even bought Jimmy a new book, since his was lost, quite possibly forever.
Alex paid Carl a visit to get her money, and she got it. Five thousand for her services, another thousand for leaving early, two more thousand for bringing Kong on her ship, and he even gave her another generous thousand for the damage; a total of nine thousand dollars. She sent some of it back to her family in the West. She spread most of it among the crew; the ones who had died she sent the money to his family. She did not include the film crew.
In the end, she had only had a thousand to herself after shopping. The next night was the big show, too.
\K/\K/\K/\K/\K/\K/\K/
"Alexandra," Hayes gasped.
"Don't call me that!" scolded Alex, her hands moving to her hips.
"You look... stunning, Captain!" exclaimed Jimmy, coming out of the bathroom of her apartment.
"Yes, you do," breathed Hayes.
She wore a slim light blue dress with shimmering embroidery. A simple silver necklace and matching bracelets and light blue shoes completed the outfit. Alex never liked gold, and she had never gotten her ears pierced. It was very plain, but elegant. Her light brown hair hung around her shoulders in extremely loose curls, and was adorned by a single silver hair pin.
Hayes wore a black tux, and without a sailor's hat, he looked and felt awkward. Jimmy, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. His tux was a little more causal than Hayes', and it fit Jimmy perfectly.
He popped the collar of the white undershirt and smiled. "Are we ready?"
Alex rolled her eyes. "Yes," she said, laughing.
The threesome walked down the street, amazed at the crowds of people flocking to the theater in Times Square. In truth, they felt a little under-dressed.
Entering the closest door into the theater, they found themselves in the presence of many famous people. Carl Denham was on the far side of the room with the men from Universal Studios getting his picture taken. They saw Preston on the upper level and waved; he invited them up.
"I'd never think to see you here after what happened." he said, shaking their hands.
"Likewise, Preston, I thought you were smart enough to get away from Denham." Alex commented with a grin.
"I was, but I want to be there when this thing blows up in his face."
"What makes you so sure it'll be tonight?"
"It's opening night, and I don't know how that giant animal's going to react to all these people. My best bet would be on tonight."
"I'm glad I came!" exclaimed Jimmy, "I didn't--don't like Carl."
Alex grinned at Jimmy and offered an arm to each of her dates. "Shall we?"
"Let's!" Jimmy beamed.
"Enjoy the show," Preston opened the door to the auditorium so they could enter.
The three sailors found seats near the back and sat while a river of elegantly dressed people flooded into the room, chatting loudly about the show. When everybody had found their seats, Carl Denham walked on the stage, nodding and thanking everyone in the spotlight.
"This is boring," whispered Jimmy in Alex's ear. She put a hand up to shush him as the curtain opened.
There, under the bright lights of the stage, was the giant ape that had changed her life. Gasps of wonder and awe filled the room. Denham reassured the crowd that the gorilla was harmless and the chains were solid chrome-steel. Hayes gripped the arms of his chair; something was definitely wrong here. He lied, saying that Bruce Baxter had saved Ann, and that he never mentioned once the Venture or her crew. It was as if all the lives and risks that the adventure had taken didn't matter.
Then Carl started the play. As soon as Alex saw the look on Kong's face, she knew that Preston was right. This was a disaster. She ushered Hayes and Jimmy out of the theater just in time. Less than a minute later, a giant mob of people poured out of the theater, followed by King Kong, Carl Denham's uncontainable eighth wonder.
Alex, Jimmy, and Hayes watched the scene on the Empire State Building from the roof of her apartment.
"All that for nothing," muttered Hayes, "we brought that monkey back so he could kill himself at the cost of more than ten human lives."
"You got that right, and I hope Carl suffers for this." Alex said.
She was right, a week later, Carl was thrown in jail for damage to public property, not paying his bills, and running from the police.
THE END
Any final opinions? Questions? Suggestions? Feel absolutely free to put in a final review...
Kara Tezla