Chapter 8

The little girl

The next day, there was an awkward silence between Kit and Don Karnage as they meandered through the soggy foliage. Though the rain had stopped, the sky over the jungle was still densely cloaked with gray clouds.

Karnage wiped his brow for the umpteenth time that morning, but it was no use. The air was still, hot, and direly humid. Even if the trees were not dripping with warm water, he would have been less soaked if someone had sprayed him with a fire hose. Kit kept a step or two behind him, constantly pulling at collar and sleeves of his sweater.

It was their fourth day in the jungle, although it already seemed like weeks had passed. With no map or supplies, every step they took was burdened with uncertainty of what lie ahead. From time to time, Kit checked his compass and routed them vaguely West, where at least they knew they would eventually come to the coast and the towns along it. It was unspokenly agreed that any delusions they might have had about finding the fabled golden stronghold were all but gone.

Karnage felt hardly better than he did the day before; thought they spent most of the day at rest inside the cave, it did little to rejuvenate them, especially when sprung against such sweltering weather. Not to mention, they had not eaten in almost two whole days. Karnage hated being hungry. There had rarely been a time in his entire life when he did not have enough, if not more than plenty, to eat.

Every so often, he took a covert glance behind him to check on the boy's progress. He saw Kit was slowing down; for however feeble the pirate grew as they trudged forward, Kit was smaller and weaker, and struggling all the more.

Karnage stopped for a moment so Kit could catch up, and searched the bushes and treetops above for any kind of fruit, but there were only leaves. Even mangos would have looked good to him about then.

Beside him, Kit fell to his knees in the wet, leafy soil, taking deep breaths.

Hesitating for a moment, Karnage broke the silence that had lasted for hours already. "Come… come on, boy. The trees have to stop somewhere."

"I just… need a minute," panted Kit.

Karnage hesitated again, then took Kit by the shoulder to help him rise. "Come on, we cannot stay here."

The cub staggered forward and wiped the sweat from his eyes. "It's impossible. This whole place is impossible. It was so cold last night, and now this…"

They suddenly heard a wolf howl echo in the distance; it was faint and possibly far away, but enough to make their fur on their necks tingle.

"H'okay ― l-let us not panic."

"Yeah… panic bad..." Kit's heart began to pound, dreading to even imagine trying to outrun a pack of wolves. "They… they wouldn't come down this far into the jungle anyway." There was a long, uncertain pause. "Would they?"

"Ehm… no, of course not," Karnage answered. "But… you would not be happening to tell what direction it came from?"

Kit pointed to their left. "Uh, tha-that way, I think."

Thus, the captain started off in the opposite direction. "Then we go this way now, yes?"

Kit nodded and followed, with a bit more rush in his step.


Music and laughter rattled the thin wooden walls of Louie's restaurant, where happy-go-lucky pilots from all over the Pacific crowded in for a jolly time.

In the last couple of days, the news of the air pirates kidnaping a twelve-year-old boy spread to every pilot with a radio. All were asked and agreed to report any sightings of the pirates, notably their command ship, the Iron Vulture. But it was in their show of camaraderie that something became surprisingly apparent: far and wide, the Iron Vulture was nowhere to be seen.

The rumors had spread like a wildfire on dry brush...

"... shot down over Hounsland, I hear!..."

"... dumb mutts plowed themselves right into Mount Neverest!..."

"... saw it with his own eyes, he did! A thousand-foot fireball! Fuel tanks must've blown!..."

"... scattered wreckage all the way from Timbuktu to Timbukthree! Gonna go see it for myself tomorrow!..."

The reports were as inconsistent as they were numerous, but nobody seemed to mind... except for perhaps the only two somber faces on the entire island. Baloo and Rebecca sat at a table at the far side of the restaurant, within the old beached ruins of the seafaring galleon Louie had converted into a dining area.

"Everyone seems so happy," Rebecca said. "Ironic."

"Uh-huh," muttered Baloo.

"And all those stories... it's just unbelievable."

"Uh-huh."

She sighed, looking out the window at the docks, where the Sea Duck was being attended to. "How long does it take them to put gas in the plane?"

"'Bout ten minutes," Baloo replied. "You want somethin' to eat while we're here?"

"I'm all right. Do you?"

"Nah, I ain't hungry much." He grinned, despite himself. "Think that's the first time I've ever said that here."

Louie emerged from the jovial crowd and joined them at their table. "Sorry folks," he frowned. "I've asked every cat in the joint. Ain't nobody seen hide nor hair of them sky pirates all week."

"Yeah, we kinda figured," Baloo replied; he was absently watching a pilot at the bar explain to his neighbors how big of a wave the Iron Vulture must have made when it slammed into the ocean and sank for good.

"Try to ignore them, Baloo," Rebecca said. "They don't know what they're talking about."

"An' that ain't no lie!" said Louie. "Them tales are taller than a giraffe on stilts."

"I just don't get it," sighed Baloo, slouching over their table. "I couldn't go a week without running into those mangey pirates, an' when I wasn't even lookin' for 'em."

"Well, everyone's on the lookout for ya, cuz."

"I bet," Rebecca drawled. "They look concerned."

"Aw, now don't look at it like that," said Louie. "We all feel bad about Kit's missin', you know that. Heck, most of the folk around this place are as fond of that boy as they are ol' Baloo here. It's just that for the the pilots, no pirates is the best news they've heard in a long time."

"Well, maybe," said Rebecca.

"Hey, how about I get you two a few of my spectacular speckled banana burritos? Made 'em fresh today with my own two feet!"

"I'll... pass," Rebecca cringed.

"Maybe some other time," said Baloo.

"Well... look, folks. If there's anything I can do, anything at all, you don't be shy."

"All I wanna know is where those flyin' rats are, Louie," said Baloo. "That's all."

"I wish I could tell ya, Fuzzy. I really do."


Meanwhile, far away somewhere in the frozen mountains of Northern Thembria:

"It-t's all y-your f-fault," Mad Dog chattered, as he swung a pickaxe into a clump of ice.

"Dar, it is n-not!" Dumptruck argued.

On the slopes of an snow-capped mountaintop sat the Iron Vulture, its engines frozen stiff after a brief venture into a Thembrian snowstorm.

"Oh y-yeah? Wh-who's the one that read the m-map ups-s-side d-down?"

Most of the pirates were on the outside flight deck, chipping and shoveling the ice away.

Dumptruck manned a wide snow-shovel and was carelessly heaving big piles of slush behind his back, to the chagrin of some of the other crew. "Ow! Hey, watch it fatso!"

"Well it w-wasn't me who read the map w-wrong," Mad Dog griped.

"How d-do you know?"

"B-because, stupid, I can't read!"

"Will you two shaddup!" Ratchet hollered. "We gotta get outta here bef-fore all the g-gears freeze over!"

The last four days aboard the Vulture had been chaotic, with hardly anyone taking Dumptruck's leadership seriously. Trying to thaw the ship from the mountain was the first time the crew had come together in a relatively organized fashion since Karnage was lost, and that was likely only because they were faced with the only alternative of freezing.

"I d-don't wanna be c-captain no more," Dumptruck sulked. "I want der captain to b-be der captain again!"

"Aw, shadd-up!" Ratchet and Mad Dog cried.


Slowly but steadily, the gray clouds scattered and the sun flooded down over the jungle, pouring bright rays through the branches of the shadowy trees. By the afternoon, the air was none cooler, but had dried considerably.

As for Kit and Karnage, they had finally found a way to make the time on their trek pass faster, by doing something radically different since they landed in the jungle… not arguing. At least, not as much.

"You stole a plane?" Karnage asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't steal it," Kit replied. "Well... not exactly, anyway. I just wanted to show 'em that I could fly. I told ya, the whole flight school thing was just a big hoax. I didn't wanna go home without proving I could do it."

"But you did steal it! Trust me, I am a pirate. I know my stealing."

Kit shrugged. "It's not like I kept it."

"So, what else have you stolen lately?"

"Nothing. I thought we were talkin' about planes?"

"Sure, sure." Karnage looked straight ahead and absently smirked.

"What's that look for?"

"I am thinking of that one phrase… 'a bird by any other name… flocks with the same feathers.'"

Kit stopped in his tracks, bewildered, but then shook his head and moved on. "No, don't think I even wanna know."


It wasn't long before the sound of running water brought them to a stream, one that was relatively quiet now, but had evidently been like a raging river during the storm, sweeping everything in its path away. Its black, silt banks were steep and several feet wide, clean of loose stones, wood, or other debris. It was almost as if someone took a bulldozer and plowed deeply its path through the jungle.

The two took it as an opportunity to quench their thirst and rinse off a bit. Karnage wrenched his boots off to let his feet soak. Coming down from the icy mountains, the water was cold, refreshing, and very welcome.

Kit knelt close to the bank and observed his distorted reflection in the rippling stream... it was not a flattering image; tired, weak, and dirty. It was a picture reminiscent of his vagabond past, looking into the rain puddles on deserted city streets. If it was any consolation, though ― and it was for him ― Karnage didn't exactly look like he'd make the cover of Harper's Brassiere either.

They searched the surrounding trees for any sign of fruit, but all they saw were leaves, vines, and more leaves. Even the birds, though they could be heard, were nowhere to be seen.

Kit looked over towards a nearby fern and sighed. "How'd you like a salad?"

"Well, perhaps with little blue cheese and ― " Karnage stopped and shuddered once he realized what Kit meant. "Yech! Shut up, will you?"

"Okay, real idea. We follow this water and see where it goes, prob'ly to a river or lake. Then we could try to catch some fish."

"You might not have noticed, my boy, but I seem to have forgotten my fishing pole. You?"

"We'll think of somethin'," Kit scowled. "I'm starving!" Suddenly, a sound caught his attention. "Hey, you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I dunno, maybe a hurt animal, or… wait a minute…"

"What?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was someone crying."

Karnage perked his left ear and listened. "I do not hear anything."

"Shh." Kit stood up, took a few steps downstream, trying to zero in on the sound. "Yeah… someone's over there! Come on!"

Karnage groaned and reluctantly pulled his boots back on, despite the protests of his aching arches. So much for resting.

Kit plowed across the waist-deep water and through a few bushes, taking sharp glances from side to side. "Hello? Is anyone ― oh my gosh!"

Tucked in between a tree and mossy boulder, as if hiding, sat a tiny tiger cub, a little girl. Her sobbing quelled as soon as she looked up to see Kit, but her wide, teary eyes shone with alarm.

"Oh my gosh," Kit said again. By his judgment, she could not have been more than four or five years old. Her black, shoulder-length hair was all but a straggled mess, and she wore only a light-brown tunic, damp and muddy.

Kit faltered a moment, having no idea what to say or do. She seemed more shocked than scared at the sight of the stranger. He slowly leaned down to her eye level. "Um… hey there. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

As much as he expected, she did not understand what he was saying, but his tone seemed comforting to her, and she began to calm down.

Then Karnage trampled beside him, ranting under his breath. "I am telling you, boy, you are hearing thi ― what is that?" he asked, pointing at the girl as if he had just seen a strange creature from another planet. She stared at the pirate and shrank back; now she was frightened.

Kit shot him a look. "What does it look like? Keep your voice down, you're scarin' her."

"But, but ― how ― what ― where ― !"

Kit shushed him and turned back to the cub; listening to their banter, she grew more confused than fearful. He took a careful step towards her and held out his hand. "Hey, it's okay, don't be scared. Can you come out of there?"

He waited patiently as the little girl gave him a long, thoughtful stare, deciding whether these two strangers were friend or foe. She slowly stood up and took an unsure step from her hiding place, but seemed reluctant to go any further. She kept her back against the bolder and her hands behind her back.

Kit knelt down in front of her and smiled. "There, you see? Everything's fine."

"Of course, just hunkitty-dory," Karnage grumbled, crossing his arms. "Where could she have come from?"

"I don't know. Looks like she's been through a typhoon, if ya ask me." Kit placed his hand on her shoulder and looked her over for injuries. "Oh, man… I bet you got swept up in all that water somehow, didn't you? You don't look hurt, though."

"But now what? What are we supposed to be doing with her?"

"I don't think we got any choice, do you?" She finally let Kit take her by the hands; he noticed she was not trembling. "She's as lost as we are. We gotta keep her with us."

Karnage shuddered at the thought. "Oh no we don't!"

"Then what do you think we should do? Just leave her here to die?"

In the pirate captain world, moral choices were simple to make; one did not do anything one's piratical self did not want to do, period. Karnage very much did not want the young girl tagging along, wanted her far away from him, and it ticked him off a great deal that he didn't quite have the heart to demand he get his way this time. "Bah, fine, but I am not doing any sitting on her, understand?"

Kit took a few seconds to let that one sink in. And to think up to that point he thought he could decipher anything Karnage said. "What?"

"What what? 'Baby-sitting' is your fooligan expression. Don't ask me to make sense out of it."

The girl looked up at Karnage curiously as Kit led her away. "Come on, kid, let's try to find your home. And don't worry, you're not the only one here that doesn't understand English."


They decided the best way to go would be to follow the water trail upstream, figuring that if the natives knew the girl had been swept away, they would be most likely be searching downstream. Hopefully, they thought, it would not be that long of a hike before they found somebody.

"The natives I met were pretty friendly people," Kit told Karnage, who was following behind the two kids, trying to ignore that the little girl would not stop looking back at him. "I bet they'll give us plenty to eat."

Though it sounded like refreshing news, Karnage couldn't help but frown. He was reminded that until they found the girl's village ― if they found it ― she was yet another mouth to feed, and overall, just more of a burden than they needed. But, despite himself, he had to admit she was not that much trouble. He thought it was strange that she didn't speak, but at least she didn't cry or make annoying noises. He also had to admit that Kit was doing well with her, speaking with her even though she could not understand.

"You spend a lot of time with these tiny terror types?" he asked.

"Me? Nuh-uh," replied Kit. "Just Miz Cunningham's girl, sometimes."

"Ah yes… the little yellow dust ball with the doll you ripped apart."

Kit groaned inwardly. "You always remember the best parts about everything, don't you." He noticed the cub was getting winded and sweaty, though she kept up without complaint. He tried not to go too fast for her, but her legs were much shorter, and had to work double-time to keep up. "I think we better stop for a minute. She's gettin' tired."

"Her tired?" Karnage found the nearest log and plopped down. Kit joined him, and gestured for the little girl to sit in the spot between them, but she seemed reluctant. She stared at Karnage, as if she was unsure to approach him.

"It's okay," Kit told her. "He won't bite."

"Oh yes I wi-ill," the pirate said, giving the girl a mean snarl that brandished his pointy canines.

For a moment, she knitted her eyebrows at him… then giggled… then tried to make the same face he was making.

Kit looked at him smugly. "Whaddaya got to say about that, Mister Big Bad Wolf?"

Karnage rested his chin in his palm and sulked as the girl climbed up between them. "Go find a poisonous snake to play with, will you boy?"

Kit only laughed. "Hey, at least she's not scared. She really trusts us."

"Goody," Karnage muttered. Out of the corner of his eye he could see that she was still watching him, as if he was the most curious creature she had ever seen. He knew a handsome face like his was only natural to marvel at, but this was too odd. "Why must she keep looking at me like that?"

"Maybe she's tryin' to figure you out," Kit said.

"Figure what out?" Karnage pointed toward the distance. "Look, girl! There is jungle over there! Very interesting!"

She reached up and squeezed his nose.

"Hey!" he yelped, and knocked her hand away. "What do you think that is, a bicycle horn?"

"Come to think of it," Kit snickered.

"Quiet boy," Karnage ordered, and shook his finger at them both. "That is the problem with you childlike children. All the dum-dum things you do! And ― " He froze when he noticed the little girl shaking her own finger at him. "Will you stop that!"

Although the girl did not as much flinch from his tone, it made Kit mad. "Aw, quit being such a grouch, already. She likes you! For some reason."

Karnage glared down at her, stuck out his tongue and blew her a raspberry.

"Oh yeah, you're a model of maturity," Kit said dryly.

The girl paused in thought for a moment, looked up at the captain with a grin, and replied with a raspberry of her own.

Karnage sighed and looked up at the sky. "Give me stren ― mangos!"

Kit jolted, almost falling backwards. "Wha'?"

"Up there!" Karnage exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Lookitty look!"

Kit and the cub looked up to where he was pointing, and sure enough, overhead were mangos growing in the trees, amidst blossoms of pink flowers. It was the best sight he'd seen in days. "All right!"

Practically giddy, Karnage raced to the nearest tree. "I never thought I would be so glad to see any of those putrid-tasting persimmons!"

"Yeah! Gimme a lift?"

"What, you think I am standing here for my health? Yes, go!"

Karnage knelt down and Kit hopped up on top of his shoulders, and then sprang to the nearest bough, and from there he had quite a bit of climbing to do. The trees were too tall and clustered to see their tops from ground level, and the fruit did not start growing until at least three stories high. Most of the branches were fairly slender, so he took his time, making sure one was not going to break from under his feet. After a few minutes, he had scaled his way to a thicker branch, where he scooted towards a cluster of mangos and flowers at the end.

"Make sure to give her one," he called down.

"I know, I know, just let me have them!"

Kit plucked a ripe, tender reddish-brown mango and threw it down…

*splat*

… a little too hard. Seething, Karnage wiped the sticky orange pulp from his face and shook his fist at him. "Not like that, you baboon!"

"Sor-ree!" Kit picked a couple more and simply let them drop down. "Catch 'em this time!"

Karnage did, and handed one to the little girl. "Here, and do not be wanting me to peel it for you."

With a flick of her fingers, she extended her small but sharp claws, and, before Karnage knew it, had sliced her mango into neat sections.

He caught a few more and turned his nose up at her. "Well I can do that too. I just don't want to, is all."

"There, that oughtta be plenty for us." Kit wiped his hands on his sleeves, and took a good look around the tree. He could finally see some of birds they had been hearing from the ground, though they were just quick blurs of yellow, red, and orange randomly flashing by. The thickness of branches and leaves surrounding him would not allow for much of a view.

Then he heard Karnage from below, "While you are up there, boy, you better get some for yourself!"

"Oh, gee, thanks." Kit spotted a few more mangos right overhead, and climbed a bit higher. On his way, though, something in the distance caught his eye. He could just barely make it out through all the clutter around him; it looked like some sort of stone wall. "What in the world…?"

Back on the ground, Karnage and the native cub were already well into their meal. The little girl sat cross-legged by the captain's feet, making smaller bite-sized slices out of hers, with all the skill and diligence of a craftsman at his trade. Despite her age, she was obviously no novice at the finer points of mango preparation. Karnage, on the other hand, simply took big, hungry bites out of his, not even taking the time to carry them back to his sitting spot. "I still hate these things," he grumbled between gulps.

Kit kept climbing for a better view of what he had seen. It wasn't until he glanced down that he was reminded of the caution of his height… the ground below him had disappeared from sight.

After a few moments, Karnage realized he had not heard anything from above. "Boy? Where are you?"

Kit could scarcely hear him. "I'm checkin' something out, hold on!" A bird suddenly darted by his face, startling him enough to make him lose his footing. He had to grab onto the nearest branch with both hands to save himself.

Karnage heard him yelp, but could only see some leaves falling out of the tree. "Boy! Now what?"

"I'm… I'm okay! I just slipped!"

"Well stop it!"

At his angry tone, Kit shook his head at how awkwardly parental he sounded. "O-kay! Sheesh."

Once he was safe on a sturdy bough, he picked a nearby mango and took a couple bites, then started moving out toward the edge. A breeze was blowing; although it was not very strong, it was enough to keep him careful. With so many leaves rustling in his ears, and branches swaying all around, it was like negotiating a way through a sort of turning, twisting, arboreal kaleidoscope. He often took his dexterity for granted, but this time, the thought of slipping again and breaking every bone in his body helped to curb that.

With the wealth of trees, he still could not get a clear view of what he had spotted, but could see a little more of it. It was some sort of wall… or at least, what was left of it. He could see large cracks in it, and it had probably been abandoned long ago; he remembered Tyler mentioning how the ancient Felocians had cities all throughout the jungle, though they had all been reduced to rubble by now. Before he started his climb back down, he polished off the rest of his mango.

Karnage had gorged down three of them, which were quite more than he would ever want to eat again in his lifetime. He let Kit be and went back to the log to have a seat; he did not have to look to know the girl had gotten up and followed him like a shadow. She climbed up beside him, still munching away.

"Follow me if you want… but touch my nose again and lose your hand, you sticky-fingered stinkbug."

She gave him a puzzled look, as if seriously trying to understand what he was saying. She offered one of her last mango slices up to him.

"No, you eat that. Look, do you not know you should be scared of me? I am a mean, vicious pirate! I could be doing horrible things to you!"

She leaned forward, looking at the front of his coat. With fascination, she pointed at one of his brass buttons, which though tarnished by now, still had a moderate shine. "Ouro?"

Karnage just groaned. "You know, people like you take all the fun out of being the bad guy."

When she reached for his button, he pushed her arm away. "No, no touching." Then after a beat, something dawned on him. "Uno momento, what did you say?"

Suddenly he heard a branch snap, followed by a soft thud; then, Kit moaning, "Oww."

"I hear somebody fall-ing," Karnage said, hardly concealing a melody of I-told-you-so in his voice.

"Aw, I'm fine." Kit joined them, hands on his backside; he chose not to sit down. "Landing gear didn't drop."

Turning back to the little girl, Karnage gestured at his button. "Here, what do you call this?"

"She talked to you?" Kit asked.

"Ouro," the girl repeated, then added, "Bri'hante."

"Oro brillante," Karnage said, mostly to himself. "Huh."

"What, is that Spanish?"

"No, but close. She says 'shiny gold.'"

"You mean you can understand each other? Well ask her something, then!"

"Like what? Where the nearest playground is?"

"Like, uh… ask her if she fell in the water!"

"We know that."

"Just do it. See if she understands. Wait, ask what her name is!"

"What am I looking like," snapped Karnage, "a two-way radio?" Kit folded his arms and waited. At length, Karnage gave up and asked her in Spanish, but she gave him that same confused look again.

"Well, it was worth a shot," said Kit . "Guess what, though, when I was up in that tree, I saw somethin' we should take a look at… could be an old village."

"A village?"

"Yeah. Well, I don't know what it is, really. C'mon, it's right this way!"


As they drew closer to the structures Kit had seen, Karnage surveyed the trees, fairly puzzled. "I am hearing something wrong."

"I don't hear anything," Kit said.

"That is what is wrong… I am hearing nothing!"

Kit listened, and realized he was right. The sounds of all the birds, insects, and animals they had heard constantly throughout the jungle had grown distant. "Huh."

Though Kit was not bothered by it, Karnage was somewhat spooked. The jungle was too quiet… ghostly, even. The little girl, trailing close in his footsteps, also pondered the trees, seemingly just as bewildered at the silence. If she wasn't familiar with it, he thought, then something was definitely suspicious.

"I am not liking this detour of yours, boy."

"Aw, come on. Who knows, there might be some of her family over there!"

Eventually, they stood in front of the ruins of a stone edifice, made of weathered, square blocks of granite, each one as tall as Kit. It was only perhaps two stories tall, with its crumbled top edge blending into the trees. Leafy vines poured down over its sides like still waterfalls, draping most of it from view.

"My my, look what we have come all this way to find," said Karnage.

"Yeah! But... what do you think it could be?"

"A wall. I have always wanted to see one."

Kit ignored his sarcasm and began walking along its length. "Look at the size of these bricks... can you imagine how big it used to be?"

"Can you imagine how much I do not care?"

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Kit pulled back a bundle of vines, where a few rays of sunlight shone through; he revealed a decaying archway, which stretched as high up as the ruins itself. At its height, rest of the structure apparently vanished in the centuries, although one could search around the area and find chunks and pieces of the fallen wall barely poking out from the soil and foliage... remnants of a civilization long swallowed by the earth and forgotten by time.

Just as he was about to walk through to the other side, he stepped on something sharp and metallic that made his foot smart. "Yeowch, what'n...?" It was a rusted can of baked beans, the top cut open but still attached. If anything, it was an indication that they were not the only recent visitors. Kit scooped it up with his toes and kicked it aside, then went on.

The little girl, watching him, walked over to the can and picked it up. By the way she examined it, it was evident she had never seen one before. She folded open the top and gave the inside a good sniff, prompting her with a sour-looking face.

"Hey, lookit this!" Kit called from up ahead.

Karnage, however, had his attention elsewhere. He kept scanning the quiet surroundings, looking for any clue he could find. It was becoming a frustrating paradox... the more he observed, the more he knew something was wrong, yet he could not spot a single substantial hint as to what it was. The flora high above him even looked different, somehow... almost as if a light, gray fog had stilled within the branches and faded out the normally deep evergreen colors.

"This place is giving me the jeeping heepers..." A tugging on his pant leg snapped him out of it. "What do you want?"

The girl held up the can to him, as if certain he would know what to do with it. Karnage took it and read the faded label, and tossed it away with a shudder; in his experience, spending so much time in the confined quarters of an airship with three dozen slobs did much to make baked beans a potent contraband.

"Boy?" He was none too pleased to notice that reckless reptile had disappeared; he'd much rather give his tail-section a swift kick before having to pull it out of danger again. He asked the girl, "So, where did the other half-pint hairball run off to?" To assist in the translation, he made a gesture at about Kit's height.

She realized what he meant and pointed where Kit had gone, and followed Karnage as he ducked through the vines to find him, quietly pronouncing to herself, "Bo... bo-ee..."

Crossing the wall, it was as if he had just stepped into a different world. The jungle, overpowering as it ever was, ceased to be jungle as much as the remains of an apocalypse. Everywhere, giant tree trunks stood thriving over decayed, ancient buildings. Some were barely intact, and others were but large piles of rubble settling in a grave of lush overgrowth. Fallen towers stretched over the ground like the bones of great giants.

Karnage stood there for a long moment, in the shadows of the ruins, mouth half-gaping. The destruction he once tried to rain down upon Cape Suzette with the lightning gun paled in comparison to such awesome devastation set before him.

"Did you see this?" a voice said from his right.

Karnage turned and exhaled sharply. Next to him lay a piece of a gigantic statue, a lion's head. On its side it was just taller than himself, sculpted from solid granite, and preserved in enough detail to make out the figure's braided mane, lordly frown, and bold, vigilant eyes that seemed alive, that one might expect them to blink at any moment.

Then Kit's head suddenly poked up from behind it. "Pretty neat, huh?"

"Get down from there before you fall down."

"Yes, mother." Instead of complying, Kit stood on his toes, taking a good look at their surroundings. "Wow... the stuff that musta been here."

"Blown to a thousand kingdoms coming," Karnage mused. He wasn't as much impressed about what once stood there as what it must have taken to bring it all down. After all, he could always use a few ideas to knock down a cliff gun or twelve.

While Kit and Karnage spoke, the little girl tuned the two out and studied the lion's sculpted face, tilting her head to the side to see it upright. The figure was vaguely familiar to her... perhaps someone she had seen in her thoughts or dreams... and not pleasant ones, either. She began to back away, as if realizing for the first time that she should not be there.

"... prob'ly earthquakes. A big one to do all this, I'd say."

"I would agree..." The thought crossed Karnage's mind that perhaps having his secret hideaway inside a volcano was not the most comforting thing in the world.

"Hey, where's the girl?" asked Kit.

Karnage checked his feet, surprised that she wasn't there waiting to be stepped on. He looked at Kit and shrugged. "She went vamoose!"

"Aw, great. Why'd she wander off all the sudden?" After taking a brief scan for her, Kit jumped off the statue and started off. "Come on, she's probably chasin' a butterfly somewhere."

"Butterfly...?" Yet again, the captain noted how there were no bugs around, not even those pesky mosquitoes. As Kit walked one way, calling for the girl, Karnage went a different direction, not looking for her as much as to investigate his initial mystery; they were surrounded by the practically phantasmal remains of a doomed city, but that was not what made the area so creepy.

Here and there, molted feathers lay on the ground in sporadic patches, yet there were no signs of birds. And there was that same odd discoloration in the trees... he squinted to see their high boughs as he walked... it wasn't a fog... perhaps some type of material? He couldn't quite tell, but maybe if he found a way to climb ― "Oof!"

He suddenly tripped head-over-heals and bit the dust... literally. He spat out the grime with an angry, feral growl... previous experiences with a certain young protege on his ship told him that he had just found the girl. She was sitting up behind him, blinking and dazed, wondering what just hit her. She had simply been walking along one of the ancient buildings, slowly, her eyes lowered in thought.

Karnage got up and glowered over her. "And just what do you have to say for yourself, you snotty sneak?"

She ducked her head down, knowing she was being scolded. "Rhama," she explained, her eyes full of utmost seriousness. "Eu... vi Rhama."

"That's no excuse!" Karnage barked. "Whatever you said."

She sighed and looked away, repeating in a whisper, "Rhama..."

"Oh, never mind." It was aggravating. Where was the point in chewing someone out when they didn't even know what you were yelling?

The old edifice they were nearest to remained half intact, with one wall broken into a slope, to which the stone blocks made a makeshift staircase into the trees. "Stay putting," he ordered the girl, pointing to a spot on the ground. She understood and complied, and watched him as he began climbing.

In another area, Kit continued his search for the cub. "Little girl! Where'd you go?"

He came to a broad stairway that led into an underground structure; warm air and the bitter smell of sulfur rose from underneath. It was a scent he knew well from living on Pirate Island; it was one smell he never missed, too.

"Yech... she didn't go down there, did she?" Kit took a few steps down, and bent over to see what was inside. "Hello?"

Faded glyphs were etched on the walls, divided by large cracks where tree roots had pushed through ages ago like wooden pythons. Puddles of steamy water seeped through the floor, turning the room into a viable sauna. There was not anything worthwhile to walk in for, except he spotted something incredibly strange toward the back... roundish, soft, white, at twice his own height and even wider than that, he swore it looked like the biggest marshmallow he had ever imagined...

On Karnage's part, he discovered that there was some sort of fabric in the trees... as he got closer, he began to see shreds of it softly floating in the breeze.

'Rags?' he thought, 'No, of course not... perhaps those gatos put nets in the trees...?'

He reached the top of the wall and peeled back a branch ― and shuddered at the ghastly sight. Skeletons and dried, shriveled corpses of unfortunate birds and monkeys were tangled in straggly clumps of silk, suspended in the branches like netherworldly fruit waiting to be plucked by the grim reaper. Then the realization struck him, sending a cold chill down his spine and a hard swallow down his throat ― they stretched everywhere he could see, coating the leaves and branches in filmy gray ― spider webs.

There was something curiously beautiful about the object Kit stood before... it was no marshmallow, for sure. It was soft and white, like a cloud, and polished like a pearl. He gently caressed it with his fingertips... it was moist and stuck to him like wet cotton candy. "Ew, yuck..."

He pulled his hand away, tearing it open... hundreds of small black spiders suddenly spilled out on his hand and at his feet! He screamed and jumped back, shaking his arm as if it had caught on fire. Spiders were flung on the ceiling and walls, some into the water puddles... but more hatchlings oozed from the sac as its tear grew wider, hundreds upon thousands, spreading across the floor like a deadly, tingling oil spill.

Kit backpedaled in transfixed terror... from behind the sac crawled a horde of fist-sized tarantulas... more came in from the entrance, from the cracks in the wall, from anywhere and everywhere, crawling on the ceiling.

Kit ran. "Captaaaaaaaaaain!"

"Boy!" Karnage met him nearby, the little girl right behind him.

"We gotta get outta here!"

"So nice of you to notice!" Karnage threw his finger up at the vast canopy of branches overhead. More tarantulas, hundreds in number, were descending on their silky threads. The sky was falling in slow motion.

"What'll we do!"

"Run!" Karnage yelled. "A lot!"

Kit grabbed the girl by her arm and all three took off, retracing their path back from the way they came.

Karnage felt a *thump* pelt his head. He swiped at it as if he was trying to brain himself, splattering a gooey mess of green spider guts and hairy legs all over his forehead and hand. The spiders were jumping at them!

Up ahead was the wall and broken archway they had crossed before... they were almost there. But the spiders began to fall around them like living ash spewing from a furious, diabolical volcano, and they would not stop coming; from all sides, they were crawling blurs swarming on the ruins like a black shadow engulfing the jungle.

One landed on the little girl's shoulder. Karnage saw it and immediately swatted it off, but not before she let out a sharp cry. Kit had a tight grip on her arm; he was dragging her before he suddenly noticed she had stumbled. Every other step was accompanied by a sickening crunch that pricked his foot ― he just couldn't look down. He slowed to help her get running again, but in his panic, he could not keep from moving. "Ohmigosh, what happened?!"

"Move, boy! Go!"

"She's hurt! Help!"

"I am seeing that!" Karnage promptly snatched her up by her tunic and tucked her under his arm like a football, and beelined for the way out…


The chaotic blend of animal chatter and bird calls resounded to their ears like a chorus of heavenly angels, singing of their safety from a close brush with hell. Karnage's chest burned fiercely for air as he finally slowed, near the same stream they found the girl by. He had practically forgotten he had her in his arms, but her stifled whimpers soon reminded him that their bleak situation had not improved much.

"Is... is she okay?" Kit asked between gasps.

Karnage did not answer. He shook a little... maybe from the horror still fresh in his mind, maybe from anger, maybe both. He put the girl down, then snapped back towards Kit and roughly grabbed him by the collar, glaring at him eye-to-eye. "Sense of adventure, boy?!"

"But I ― I didn't know!"

"That's just it, you ― ! You ― !" Just before he lost his head completely, Karnage pushed him aside and stormed away, leaving Kit to tend to the girl.

"I'm sorry," Kit said, but Karnage turned a deaf ear, kicking a fat, fallen branch into the water.

The little girl was in a lot of pain; she held her left shoulder, tears pouring down her cheeks. The spider had bitten her squarely on the base of her neck. There was already an ugly lump swelling underneath her fur where the fangs had sank in.

"It's gonna be okay," said Kit. He led her to the stream and sat her down, then cupped some of the cold water in his hand and poured it over her wound... when he touched too close to it, even gently, she let out a blood-curdling 'rreeow!' that made him jerk back. With her crying, he sat down beside her haplessly and miserably, having not a single idea what to do for her.

Karnage knelt down beside them with an aloe leaf in his hand. "Here, hold her still, boy." Then he looked at the girl sternly, "You bite me and I bite you back, comprende?"

He held the leaf over her wound, and squeezed out all the gel inside. The girl drew an intense breath as the drops touched down, grabbing onto Kit's arms tightly, but she had stopped crying. Kit didn't want to say anything, lest Karnage start to act like a crank again, but he thought that if the girl was feeling even a little better, it likely wasn't because the leaf was that soothing. It was not easy to explain how one could ever trust Don Karnage, but sometimes it made all the sense in the world.

"It's gotta hurt, but I think she'll be okay," said Kit. But something in Karnage's frown told him otherwise. Doubt. Like he knew something. "Uh... won't she?"

Karnage reached down and stretched his one remaining coattail out, and ripped it the tip off with his teeth.

Kit looked at him as if he had suddenly gone bonkers. "What are you doing?"

"Shush," Karnage replied. He dipped the cloth in the stream and applied it over the girl's shoulder. She squirmed, but allowed him to do it. "Now make use of your useless self and see that this stays on her like this."

"Yeah, good idea. And... thanks."

"Thanks nothing," he said. "You were doing everything all wrong, is all. And I am sick of hearing her snivel!"

"Right."

Karnage let them alone and sat down at the stream's bank, then collapsed altogether on his back.

After a moment, Kit turned to him, "I meant it, ya know. You did good."

Karnage felt his cheeks warm. "Yes, well, don't get used to it. That is the last nice thing I am doing forever!"


Another hour had come and gone. The three had continued upstream again as they originally planned, but they did not get far before they took another rest. It was the little girl... she was able to keep up on her own for awhile, though stiffly, but the effects of the poison inside her were settling in. She was sweating a lot, and it was not from the warm air... she was also growing sleepy, every so often stumbling from her wooziness.

"I don't know what we're gonna do," Kit said, having her sit down against a tree. "She's gettin' sicker... maybe we better carry her. We'll make better time that way, too."

"We?" Karnage asked. "Which one of us is we?"

"Well... I was thinking the one who's the biggest and strongest."

"Ah! Well, when you think of it that way... think again."

"Aw, come on, will ya?"

"No. Your baggage, boy."

"Look, it makes more sense for you to do it."

"No."

"She's twenty pounds! She wouldn't slow you down at all!"

"I said ― !" Karnage stopped suddenly and sniffed. "What is that smell?"

Kit covered his nose. "Yeah, I noticed that. I wasn't gonna say anything 'cause I thought it mighta been those mangos gettin' to you."

"No, I already ― *cough* never mind about the mangos!"

"It is pretty awful... smells like a dead gorilla bird." Kit followed the ugly scent a ways and rounded a bush. "Ew... gross."

"What is it?"

"Looks like a wild pig... or it used to be."

It was a boar's carcass, or more aptly, what was left of it. It was torn in half, with most of its flesh stripped from the bone, entrails left, lying in a patch of dirt moistened and stained from its own blood. It had not been dead for long. Black crows cawed overhead, perched in the trees and leering at what fleshy pieces still clung to the bones, but, oddly enough, they kept their distance from it.

"Looks like something had a nice ham dinner," Kit cringed. "Wonder how come those buzzards up there aren't chowin' down on what's left?"

They watched as one crow began to descend from branch to branch, cautiously, towards the carcass. Just as it got close, a low growling noise from nearby scared it back up to its high perch.

Alarmed, Kit and Karnage began to back away.

"H'okay... that I am not liking the sound of."

"Me neither. I'm beginnin' to think the birds got the right idea."

Only after a few steps, the ferns to their side began to shake, in a sequential rustle that proved something was running low on the ground, circling them. Kit and Karnage froze, only their eyes darting back and forth. Kit's heart pounded... he remembered that growl. It was another varan.

Then the jungle grew still again; the rustling had ceased. It only left them with the infernal terror that they were being watched... a stalker was waiting for them to make their move. Sweat falling from his brow, Karnage absently felt for his cutlass several times before he realized it was not there.

Kit backed up against him, looking from side to side. "Wh-where is it?"

"I don't know," Karnage replied. They kept their voices to a whisper. "Do not move."

Not moving was one thing Kit was having no trouble doing, except for his feet... they were getting antsy for flight. He glanced back at the little girl from a short distance; she had fallen asleep where she sat. "The girl... we gotta grab her and make a run for it."

Karnage, crouching down to scan the bushes from below, gritted his teeth. "I am tired of running, boy."

"You got any better ideas?"

"I am thinking, quiet."

Kit took a breath, gathering his mettle. "We can't just stand here..."

Though Karnage did not look at him, Kit could see anger shining in his eyes... far more anger than fright. He did hate having to run, and would have been happier to beat the creature's brains out instead. Kit thought the same, for that matter, but, having already been stared down by a varan, felt more compelled to swallow his pride and run for his life. "You saw one of these things... if we try to fight it, we're lizard food."

Karnage glanced at him slyly. "One of us, perhaps..."

"Maybe, but ― wait, what?"

"Nothing. I am thinking with my mouth open, is all."

"Never mind, just listen for a minute. When I count to three, we'll make a quick break for it. I'll grab the girl and we'll leave this thing eating our dust. Agreed?"

Karnage nodded.

"Okay... one... two... three!"

Kit took off, but only got as far as a few paces before he realized he was running alone. "Hey! What are you standing there for?!"

Karnage frowned, miffed at his tone. "What? You did not say on three!"

"What the heck did you think I meant!"

"One, two, three, and then run! You said nothing about one, two, and running on ― !"

"Will you just get your tail in gear!"

"Boy, look out!"

Kit never saw it coming. In the blur of a split-second, the green of the fern beside him suddenly became a lunging maw of sharp teeth, coming right at his head, but then something broadsided him, hard. Before his eyes the world spun around; his footing was gone and he was flying, rolling, and skidding over the ground.

For a moment everything he heard and saw was but a haze; he came to with a piercing cry ringing in his ears. It was the little girl, screaming. Groggily, he sat up and looked back at what she was screaming at. "Wha'...? Holy propwash!"

Karnage had knocked Kit out of the way, only to be pounced on himself! He clenched his hands around the ghastly lizard's throat to keep it from chomping off his head, but it soon pushed and pinned him against a tree, its jaws snapping and inching toward his face. Karnage's arms were shaking, growing weaker. "I hate to be the needy nuisance, boy, but will you do something already!"

"Hold on! I'm coming!"

Mere inches from Karnage's nose, the varan let out a belch-sounding roar; its foul breath made his fur bristle. "Quick-ly," he grunted, practically turning green.

Kit picked up a large rock nearby and, with a running start, bashed it into the side of the beast's skull, but only stunning it. Kit wound back and struck it again, this time forcing it to roll off Karnage, who gasped for air.

Kit grabbed him by the hand to help him stand. "Are you okay?"

"Of course," he coughed. "Who doesn't like staring at lizard tonsils!"

Just as they darted toward the little girl, a second varan suddenly sprang from the bushes, blocking their way. They skidded to an abrupt halt.

"Cripes, there's two of 'em!"

Behind them, the first lizard was beginning to collect itself, squirming back on its stomach. The second varan stepped towards them, glancing to and fro at either one as if deciding who to attack. Then it stopped... and turned toward the little girl. She screamed again, and tried to claw her way up the tree she was near, but her aching shoulder and grogginess made her slip off and she fell on her back. The creature began trotting towards her.

"The girl!" Kit cried. "No!"

"Oh no you don't!" Karnage made a diving lunge at the beast, grabbing it by its tail with both arms. The creature roared, spun, rolled, and thrashed itself about, sending the pirate for a ride of the likes of being tied to a propeller! "I haaaaaate lizaaaaards!"

Not long after Kit had the chance to grab the cub, the creature was finally able to fling Karnage off, sending him flying over their heads. He hit the ground with a most ungraceful tumble into a thick fern.

"Captain!" Kit held onto the girl and rushed over. "Are you all right?"

"M'fne," his muffled voice groaned from inside the plant. He poked his head out and spat away leaves from his mouth. "Why did you let me do that?"

"I don't know!"

Anxiously, the little girl tugged on Kit's arm as she saw the two lizards starting to stalk them. "Dra-dragaos!" she cried. It wasn't a hard translation, she called them dragons, and presently the name struck Kit and Karnage as terribly appropriate.

"They're coming! We gotta pull chocks now!"

"Well do not be standing there like lumps sitting on a dog! Move it!"

"C'mon, kid! Up!" Kit lifted the girl and sped off while trying to put her over his shoulder.

Karnage pushed himself out of the fern and caught up with the two cubs, taking a quick second to hurl a stone at one of the varans. "Take that, you ― !" To his chagrin, the beast caught it in its mouth without losing a beat. " ― never mind!"

Stumbling as he ran, Kit was wearing out fast with the girl on his shoulder. Karnage was right at his heels, urging him to speed up. "Faster, boy!"

"I-I can't!" he grunted.

"Oh, give her to me, you slow-poking sloth!"

Karnage grabbed the girl with one arm and with the other gave Kit a heavy shove forward.

Varans ran close to the ground, like snakes with legs. Amidst the thick jungle, it was easy not to see them, but you could hear them, cutting through bushes, plowing through branches, and breathing... they panted through their mouths, louder and louder the more they ran.

"Hey!" Kit glanced to his side, and suddenly cut to his left. "Let's lose 'em here!" He led them to a cliff that dropped down into a murky swamp.

"What are you doing, boy?"

"Come on, jump in! I bet those things can't swim!"

"What, swim...?" After just a quick scan of the swamp, Karnage realized something terribly wrong. "No, boy, don't ― !"

Kit took a step back for a boost, and leapt ― but was suddenly snagged mid-leap by the collar by Karnage, who yanked him back behind him.

"Ack!" he coughed, holding his throat. "That hurt! What's the idea?!"

"You do not jump in that water!" yelled Karnage.

"Why not? They're coming!"

The little girl, looking over his shoulder, tugged on Karnage's ear and pointed behind them. The sounds were getting nearer... the shaking in the foliage was drawing closer, faster.

She clamped onto his arm and shoulder with all fours, digging her nails into his shirt.

"Ow! Watch the claws, girl!" yelped Karnage. "The claws!" He reached up to grab a vine that hung from an overhead tree. "Here, hold onto this" he said, handing it to Kit. "When I tell you, jump! But don't let go!"

"Wha'? Oh, right, much better plan. Let's go swinging on vines!"

"For once in your life, do as I say!"

"But ― !"

Karnage clamped his fingers over Kit's mouth. "Shut up and trust me, will you?"

Kit was about to utter another protest, but nodded instead.

The varans snaked out from around the trees, slowing as they came into view, then stopping, watching them. They seemed to realize their prey were stuck at a dead end, and afraid. The scariest part was, in their leery gazes, they seemed to enjoy it.

Karnage pulled down a second vine for himself, and wrapped it around his free hand. He didn't have to worry about holding onto the girl... she couldn't have been scraped off his arm with a spatula.

Kit backed up to the very edge of the cliff, knocking loose leaves and dirt into the cloudy green water below. "What now?"

"Wait," Karnage said.

"For what?"

"For them to pounce!"

"That's your plan?"

The larger of the two lizards belted out another roar, and both began charging.

"They're coming! We gotta jump!" cried Kit.

"Wait for it, boy..." said Karnage.

"We don't have time!"

"Now! Swing!"

As they leapt, the varans lunged after them, snapping their jaws at their feet. The beasts stumbled off the edge and belly-flopped into the water.

"It worked!" said Kit.

"Of course it did! I thought of it, no? Now swing back to the edge! Hurry!"

Though Kit and Karnage had dodged them for the moment, they were now dangling over the swamp like worms on hooks. Trembling, the little girl stared at the giant reptiles splashing around below. Then one of them looked up, locking eyes with her. She gasped and shot up to Karnage's shoulder, wrapping her arms around his head.

"Girl! Stop that! I can't see!"

"Don't let her fall ― hey!" One of the varans suddenly sprang up and bit onto the end of Kit's vine, jerking it widely around before it fell back in the water. Kit went spinning in circles. "Whoooah!"

Karnage, meanwhile, was having to wrestle the little girl off his face. "Let ― go!"

He finally pushed her away, but she lost her balance and rolled down his back, shrieking. With his free hand, he snatched her by the ankle just in time. She grabbed onto his pant leg, with more fierce a grip than ever before.

"Yeeeow! The claws, girl! Mercy with the claws!"

"Was all this part of your plan too?" grunted Kit.

"Yes!" Karnage spat angrily. "So there!"

Suddenly there was a great commotion below... the varans were yelping, writhing around in the water, which had begun to churn violently.

"Holy cow, what's going on?!" Kit shouted.

It was all a graphic blur white splashes, twisting varan bodies, and scores of tiny teeth, fins, and fish tails thrashing amidst pooling red blood.

"Hold tight, boy!" yelled Karnage. He began to rock back and forth until he had enough momentum to swing back onto the cliff. He let go and tumbled to the ground, the little girl tumbling right along with him.

"I... need... a vacation," he moaned. He sat up, and with a relieved 'yip!' literally plucked the girl's hands from his leg.

She was breathing hard, and coughing so much she was practically suffocating herself.

Karnage patted her back. "Hey, no! You are safe now! So... stop that!"

She sank limply into his arms, which put him in a most awkward situation. "No no no, you stay awake, or else! Boy, get over her and take the girl!" Then he realized, Kit wasn't with them. "Boy?"

Kit still clung onto his vine, stilly watching the chaos in the water. He looked scared out of his wits. The varans were, by now, torn into several pieces, with the swamp water darkened by their blood throughout. The remains of their scaly, green corpses wiggled from underneath as piranhas devoured them from the inside out.

"Boy!"

Kit snapped out of it and looked up at them.

"Get over here this minu-ette!" ordered Karnage.

Kit took another glance down, squeezing onto the vine with a cramping, vice-like grip. To think that would have been him down there... But then he thought of the little girl; she looked as if she were in trouble. With a breath and a hard swallow, he began rocking on vine and eventually swung back to the cliff.

"What ― is she okay?" he asked.

"She needs water," Karnage said.

"Come on, we better get her back to the stream." Kit reached for her, but was distracted at the sounds of the splashing behind them.

"Ignore it, will you?" said Karnage. "They cannot hurt you from here."

"Sorry." Kit tried to shrug it off as he reached for the girl again. "Um... thanks for not letting me jump in there. I never even thought ― how did you know?"

Karnage could have mentioned the tell-tale danger that Kit never noticed ― old bones strewn against the swamp's reeds. Instead, he said, "Please, boy. Never ever question the always clever!"


The sun was dragging about slowly across the sky that day, so it seemed; at least, slower than it had been. After giving the little girl cool water from the stream, they again followed it upward, stopping frequently for more drink for her. By their surroundings, tree after tree, bush after bush, rock after rock, it was hard to tell if they were even gaining ground or just moving in big circles. Still, they pressed on.

Kit walked a ways ahead of the other two now, although, not exactly by his own choosing. When he glanced back and didn't see Karnage, as if he was trying to hide, he grew frustrated. "Will you knock that off?"

"No!" Karnage's voice retorted from behind.

"Look, I told you, no one's ever gonna know. My lips are sealed! I promise!"

"They better be," Karnage grumbled. He stepped out into view, very reluctantly carrying the little girl on his shoulders. There was a big wet area around his chest and sleeve where he apparently rinsed himself recently. "For this I became a pirate!"

It had not been pleasant being so close to a child so ill, for him or the girl. She was asleep now, but not long before, she had suddenly threw up on his coat, and he mindlessly dropped her out of shock and disgust. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt; Kit's head broke her fall.

"Hey, I think I hear something," said Kit. He stopped and listened, then jumped on a nearby rock to see if he could notice anything.

"Like what?"

Amidst all the birds chirping, breezes, and other familiar noises of the jungle, he thought he heard voices. Faint, shouting voices, like people calling out a name. "Oh my gosh, I think we're getting close! This way! Come on, hurry!"

Kit bolted off the rock and ran through the foliage, hollering: "Over here!"

Karnage quickened his pace and followed. The girl was getting jostled around like a bumpy carriage ride, but still she was sound asleep.

Then, as far as Kit was concerned at the moment, there was the most welcome sight he had seen in a long time: a group of Felocian natives who were searching for the girl. They were five men: two tigers, one lion, and two panthers, dressed in leather leggings and beaded jewelry around their necks. Three carried spears, the lion and one of the panthers carried bows and arrows. It was apparent by the look on their faces that to see a foreign boy approaching them was most surprising.

"Oh man, am I glad to see you guys!" Kit panted. Then with one big breath: "Listen! We've been lost for days and we found your little girl and she got bit by a spider and she's really sick and she needs help now!"

They were all speechless, looking at each other with much confusion.

Then Karnage came around, with the girl. One of the tiger's face lit up like the sun, and he instantly dropped his spear and ran toward them. Karnage recoiled, not knowing what the native was about to do. But the Felocian hardly even looked at him as he lifted his daughter up and cupped her in his arms.

The others drew around, talking at once. After kissing the girl many times, the tiger examined the lump at the base of her neck, with a worried frown. The others looked at Kit and Karnage, and waited for them to say something.

"It was a spider," Kit tried to explain. He made various spider-like hand gestures to help. "Big ugly thing with lotsa legs..."

"And fangs!" Karnage added.

"Yeah." Kit pointed to his neck with two fingers to demonstrate that she had been bitten.

The group seemed to understand what the two were saying, and after a few brief words among each other, the father and three others rushed off in the opposite direction with the little girl. The lion, who was the only one left, looked at the two foreigners and smiled. He placed his hand on Karnage's shoulder, bowing his head slightly, and began speaking in a tongue they did not understand, though through their language barrier it still seemed like a good sign. Then he gestured for them to follow him.


Soon they were at the threshold of a Felocian village, much larger than the one Kit and Baloo had previously visited some days before. It was built upon a hill, with shelters stringing around the shallow slopes in circles. Unlike Pigmees or other cultures that lived in such forested and forgotten territories, Felocians were not nomads. Though they had simple dwellings, most would not be what one would consider a 'hut'; some were made of logs, others of stone and mortar; homes at the base of the hill were raised on stilts of split tree trunks. For an environment as unpredictable as a roulette wheel, they were built with the intention of staying put for a long time.

The most noticeable part about the village was that the whole place seemed to be in an uproar, with everyone gathering around a particular cabin. The lion that had guided them gestured for them to stay put for a moment, then he rushed into the crowd.

The lion came back out with another person, who looked remarkably "modern" for a Felocian native. He was a cougar, donning glasses with premature wrinkles under his eyes, a faded pair of navy-blue trousers, and a necklace made of varan teeth hung around his bare chest. The lion pointed to Kit and Karnage and went back into the crowd, and the cougar approached them, studying them as he came. "Hello," he said.

"You speak English?" asked Kit.

"I am Rupo. And you are...?"

"Uh, my name's Kit," he replied. It was surprising, if not relieving, that this person not only spoke English, but was able to speak it well. "And this is my, uh... my..." He hesitated.

"I am Don Karrrnage," said the captain. Although in all his weariness and tattered appearance, his rolling r's did not exactly lend him the kind of flare he would have preferred.

"I see." Rupo shoved his glasses up closer to his eyes. "You must, uh, please forgive me if I seem surprised. We seldom see many foreigners who look like... well..." He was looking at Karnage and his torn attire, but he caught himself before he said anything rude and turned to Kit. "Well, we certainly do not see many foreign children. You are not explorers, are you?"

"No," Kit said.

"Yes!" Karnage answered, at the same time. He glared down at Kit. "Why else would we be around here?"

"Oh... uh, yeah."

Just then, a plump tigress woman ran up to Karnage and, completely to his surprise, hugged him ― more like squeezed him ― so tight his feet left the ground and he couldn't breath.

"Madam!" Karnage choked. "Control *cough* yourself!"

She let him go and grabbed Kit by his face, planting a big kiss right between his eyes. He took a step backwards and blushed. "Gosh..."

The woman was weeping, but with tears of mirth. Her smile was weary, bearing the stress of a long, sleepless night, but there was a glow about her that shown of great grace. She clasped her hands together and spoke to them excitedly, then ducked back into the crowd.

"What was that all about?" Kit asked.

"That was Tinka's mother," replied Rupo. "She says her daughter will heal, and thanks you for saving her life."

"Tinka?"

"The little one you brought home."

"Tinka?" Karnage muttered. "Even her name is annoy ― " Kit abruptly elbowed him in the ribs. "*oof* I mean, Tinka, yes. Very cute."

"Is she gonna be all right?" asked Kit.

"I am sure," Rupo said. "The bite of the tree tarantula is dangerous, but we have the correct medicines." He tipped his head back at the scene behind them. "She is being treated now, and as you can see, we are all excited to see her back. We feared the worst for her."

The nearby villagers soon began to gather around the two strangers, and they all seemed quite delighted.

"Tell me, are you lost?" Rupo asked. It was more of a rhetorical question, given their ragged appearance.

"Well, ehm... perhaps a little," said Karnage.

"More like a lot," Kit corrected, prompting an indignant snort from his companion.

"Well, I think you are very welcome here," Rupo grinned. "Come, you look tired and hungry. You will be our guests, and we will help you!"


If there was one thing true about the Felocian natives, despite their modest lifestyle, they knew how to have a good time. They liked to eat together (plentifully), sing, and dance. They were simple pleasures, no doubt some that many in the more modern world might find uneventful, but unlike the folk of the big cities, the entire village was like one large family, and all enjoyed spending time with one another, simply for the sake of being together. They were a pleasant kind, efficient and self-sustaining, who had little to distrust in their lives but the natural dangers of the jungle.

Evening had faded into night with much music playing. Kit and Karnage had been well fed throughout the day, and their clothes had been washed for them earlier on. For the night, they were draped in warm woolen blankets and leis of bright yellow and orange flowers.

There was a big bonfire in the center of the village that everyone was gathered around, and hot food was served left and right. Kit and Karnage sat on a wide, cushy rug and next to Rupo, eating a dish of roasted chicken and mango. Karnage just had chicken.

They did not volunteer information about themselves. For all the Felocians knew, they were explorers from "the cities" who became lost during the last rainstorm. Even if the villagers had no clue as to what a sky pirate was, after facing such tough conditions in the jungle, Don Karnage was more than ready to accept a little hospitality and had no intention of having them knowing the truth of who he was. Kit did not want the matter to jeopardize their stay, either, so he was content to go along with the ruse.

Tinka's father walked up to them, carrying his daughter wrapped in a blanket. She was awake, although her eyes were still red and heavy; she would need much rest yet. She purred, warm and happy, knowing she was safe and at home.

Her father spoke something to Rupo, and knelt down next to Kit and Karnage, sitting the girl up on his knee.

"I think she has something to say," Rupo told them.

Kit smiled at her. "See? I told ya you'd be okay."

She smiled back, and then looked at Karnage. And kept looking at him.

"Well?" he asked impatiently.

She reached out and grabbed his nose.

While Kit laughed, Karnage pushed her hand away and groaned. "Yes, you are welcome."

Moments later, when Karnage wasn't looking, Rupo leaned over and said quietly, "Might I ask you a personal question, friend?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Is he your father?"

Kit eyebrows shot up wide open; if he had food in his mouth at the moment, he just might have choked. "Him? Does he look like my father?"

Rupo nodded and smiled. "Not to me, so I am thankful."

"Why?"

"For a moment I thought I needed new glasses," he laughed. When he thought about it, Kit couldn't help but laugh with him.

"What is so funny?" Karnage asked.

Kit shook his head and took another bite of chicken. "Nothin', Pa."

Next came an elderly lion to approach them, a smile cracking the deep wrinkles in his face, and though his aging body hobbled slowly with a walking staff, his gray eyes danced with a vigorous spirit. He raised his hand over Kit and Karnage and spoke lengthily, then broke into a chant, while the two watched in awkward silence until the old man was through and left them.

"That is our elder," said Rupo. "He is most wise, and well learned in the way of the shaman. He said that he prays Seren will bless you and make you walk unharmed through her people's land."

Rupo, as they learned, was an interpreter and mediator between the villagers and "the cities", a term he used for the world at large outside of old Felocian. He was born in the village, but had a craving for adventure and spent much of his early adulthood traveling the world, learning different languages and gaining an apt sense of other cultures, interests, and sciences, knowledge he now used to benefit his village when needed. He still traveled every once in a while to the towns outside the jungle, mostly to barter Felocian crafts for industrial goods, special foods, odd curios, and medicines (including the anti-venom given to the little girl). Traveling explorers, historians, and archeologists often found him quite useful when overcoming the language barriers, for the Felocians had far more a wealth of knowledge the jungle, its terrain and history, than any textbook published elsewhere.

While they ate, Kit was explaining to him about the ruins they came across earlier that day. "There was this awesome statue, too, of a guy's head. It was huge! Have you seen that before?"

Oddly, Rupo looked away, seemingly disinterested in discussing the statue. "I have lived in this land for forty-five years... there is not much I have not seen."

"It was Rhama, wasn't it? Your old king?"

"Our old king?" the cougar retorted, apparently offended. A few villagers within earshot, hearing his tone, suddenly stopped what they were doing and turned to look to see if anything was wrong. Kit was deeply embarrassed, but not at all sure of what he said to anger him.

Rupo spoke something to the villagers and they carried on with their merriment.

"I'm sorry, I guess," Kit said. "Did I say somethin' wrong?"

"No, I apologize. But we do not think well of such things here. Now that you have mentioned it, though, I am curious..." He bent down and gestured for Kit to come close, and said quietly in his ear, "Where has a foreigner so young heard of... 'our old king'?"

Kit looked back at Karnage, as if wanting him answer the question, but all Karnage had been paying attention to was his food and the people dancing around the bonfire... particularly one beautiful young lioness who he was certain couldn't take her eyes off him.

"Well... I've heard about him from someone else... someone who knows."

"I see," Rupo replied solemnly. He glanced at Karnage, then sat up straight again, sighing. "Why else would you be here."

Kit set his plate down, sensing something was wrong.

"Please, I must be honest," Rupo said. None of the other Felocians spoke English, so he spoke freely without worry a scene would be made. "We are grateful to you for saving one of our daughters, and for that, you are our friends. But only a fool would believe a young boy and a man dressed in a fancy blue coat are explorers. Lost, yes. Explorers, never."

Kit started. "Oh, well... uh, you see... he can explain it better than I can." He meant Karnage, of course, who was still oblivious to the conversation. Kit poked him hard in the arm to get his attention.

"Ow! What?"

"Will you answer him already?"

Rupo stood up. "I think it would be best if I had a talk with you both. Please, come with me."

He led them to his one-room cabin, and as he did, Kit briefly explained to Karnage what had just happened.

From the inside, Rupo's home was quite different from other Felocian dwellings; books were stacked along every wall ― old novels, atlases, even classical mythologies and Shakesbear plays. A framed doctoral degree hung crooked by a nail beside a large map of Alpacatan spread over the wall. Some book stacks were acting as makeshift furniture stands, where other items like clocks, radios, clothes, and board games were placed; all things he had collected from around the world. He had wicker chairs circled around a card table, where they all sat.

"You are in no danger here, as long as you are not a danger to us," the cougar began bluntly. "But I am worried that you are a great danger to your own selves. Just to look at you, you are lucky to have survived this long in this jungle! I do not know how you were lost, or who you are, or who you would pretend to be... but I do know only the horribly ignorant would dare venture into this land as unprepared."

Kit sank in his seat, growing ashamed. This was as bad as the time he got lectured by Baloo for staying out past midnight without telling anyone. Karnage, on the other hand, sat forward and glared at Rupo, as if ready to go toe-to-toe at any moment. He did not particularly like being called ignorant.

Rupo continued, "I wonder what reason would be so important that you would come so far in the first place."

Silence fell in the room as he waited for an answer. Kit wasn't about to speak up; he inwardly urged Karnage to say something, but all the wolf did was tap his claws on the table sternly, keeping unblinking, defiant eyes locked with Rupo's.

"Have you something to say?" said the cougar. The two looked almost ready to get up and go to blows. "Tell me, has it anything to do with Rhamastan, perhaps?"

"How'd you know that?" Kit wondered aloud.

"Let me tell you something, gato," Karnage snarled. "If it were not for our horribly ignorant selves, that troublesome little girl would be dead now!"

At that, Rupo slowly backed down. "Yes, I know. But ― "

Karnage wasn't finished: "And, further-more-so, you owe us! And that is all! We have nothing to explain. You just get us out of this lizard-ridden place of ill-repution, and we all forget any of this ever happened."

"Calm down," Kit hissed at him.

"No, I understand," Rupo replied, finally easing back in his chair. "And I will guide you far away from this place, back to your world."

"I don't understand," Kit said. "We didn't say anything about Rhamastan... how did you know?"

"There are few people who would brave the deep jungle to dig up bones and statues... or study old ruins for the sake of learning. You think you are the only ones to come searching for the lost city? I meet several each year... people who know nothing true about what they seek. They hear tales of riches, shining white stones, and hidden golden cities, and that is enough for them.

"Many times they come with pieces of paper that they claim is a map said to tell where the gates of Rhamastan are... they had only bought them from con artists at the marketplace. It is hard to reason with them... in truth, even the authentic scrolls found lead to nothing more than horrific traps. Such was part of Rhama's design. It is hard for them to believe! I tell you, honestly, it saddens me. They will never find anything, and they never leave this land alive. And now, here comes along a mere child, who would share their fate! How should I feel about that?"

"Uno momento," Karnage cut in. "This mere child has spent more time on treasure hunts than... than... than he has spent at school!"

"Uh, thanks... I think," Kit replied.

"Then perhaps it's all the more reason to fear for you," said the cougar. "I do not want to argue... only to save you. Curse Rhama, but he was no fool... to think he has been dead thousands of years and still causes misery."

Kit and Karnage looked at each other, in a way which they silently conferred with one another about what exactly Rupo knew about the fabled golden city.

Kit turned back to him and asked, "Then... you know it's real? Rhamastan's really here somewhere?"

Rupo rubbed his brow, shaking his head wearily. Then he got out of his chair and walked over to a map hanging on his wall. "Listen to me, and do not concern yourself over it. I could speak many words about how Rhamastan is but a death trap, and should you even to dream of stumbling upon it by some cosmic chance... I mean no offense when I tell you that it is most certain you would be eaten by varans long before then. So, please, if we may move forward, we have much to do tomorrow morning." He pointed to a dot on the map near the coast of Aplacatan. "I will guide you as far as this town, Tresierras. From there, you may get transportation to the big city, and I trust you will be able to contact whomever you must to take you to your home."

Rupo looked back to see if his guests were listening... they weren't, only whispering amongst themselves. Rupo cleared his throat to give them a hint.

"Sorry," Kit said, "It's just... even if we're going back home, we've come so far already. Can't you tell us why you guys are so... well..."

"Up-tighter than shrunk underwear," Karnage offered.

"Well, why so upset about it?" asked Kit. "And why do you 'curse the name of Rhama'? Wasn't he a big part of your history?"

"Our history," Rupo said quietly, as if to himself. He sat down in his chair again. "No one heeds our history but us. Would you be any different? You know, there are eleven tribes left in old Felocia, scattered through the jungle and mountains. Since the days of our ancestors who were there to witness it, the account of the fall of Felocia has been passed down from generation to generation, father to son, mother to daughter, through words alone, never written. All eleven tribes hold the same account to this day, word for word, of how the last king brought his people to demise for his own greed and pride. It is more than a story, but something felt in our very spirit.

"The king Rhama raised a military... his army conquered the jungle, dominated the beasts like champions and protected the people from outside invaders... in myth. In reality, they marauded through the land, assimilated village after village, charging who they would as forced labor to build his cities. The ruins you saw earlier today were of the watchtower of Sin Rha'Utek. Once a scribe had described the citadel being so magnificent that its towers stood tall as the mountains, and its walls shined like the white moon... but the ground was stained red from the enslaved builders.

"At the end, he engineered his own kingdom's suicide, starting a war for war's sake and sacrificing his subjects' lives by the hundreds of thousands. My people treasure the height our ancestor's reached, and would again grow our numbers and rebuild the kingdom, but that hope is dim. We have no honor for Rhama. His memory is a fireside tale children tell to frighten each other. He was no more than a wretched devil, who ruled by slavery and terror, who deceived people to believe he was a very god! I do not doubt he believed this claim himself... he was brilliant in what he schemed. No ordinary person would have realized such a place as Rha'amastan..."

"Then you know it's here, somewhere?" Kit asked.

"I dare say I know more of the legend of Rhamastan than any book or report written in your land. I know of the shining stone, and of the gold. But I do not know where it is at, that is the truth. As I said, our history was passed down by word of mouth, and its location was erased from this tradition long ago, so that it would stay lost forever."

"But... why? The king may have been a big creep, but he's dead now. He doesn't deserve to keep all his treasure hidden."

Rupo's green eyes flickered like a dancing flame. "You speak of treasure. Do you know for certain what lies beneath these mountains?"

"Well..."

Rupo didn't wait for an answer before he turned to Karange. "Do you, sir?"

"Ehm, well... I might," Karnage replied. In truth, he was as clueless as Kit, but there was no reason to admit that.

"No, Rhamastan is a tomb, nothing more," Rupo said quietly. "Before Rhama it was known simply as the Ancient Cave, a sacred grave of their forefathers. It is death there, do listen to me. It is lost in translation, I know, but we of this land have always felt this truth in our hearts with urgency and sincerity. Rest assured that wherever it is, whatever is inside, it was conjured by an evil mind, and among other things you must consider that he must have foreseen that many might try to trespass. So, I would implore you, seek your fancies of treasure elsewhere."

After a pause, as to change the subject altogether, Rupo pointed to one of his clocks sitting on a copy of Oliver's Twists. "The time is late. The village will be quieting soon, and we three have a long day ahead of us." Then he smiled, "Four days lost in the jungle. I should guess you are anxious to see your loved ones again."

"Well I for one am just giddy with goosebumps," Karnage drawled. He tipped a glance at Kit, who deliberately avoided his eye contact at that moment.


Kit and Karnage were accommodated their own cabin to sleep. It was just one small room with nothing in it but a black wood-burning stove, an oil lamp, and two hammocks, one hung above the other like bunk beds; they had blankets already on them, waiting to be unfolded.

"I get the top!" Kit called, and started to make a reach for it, but Karnage apparently had other plans, as he pulled him away.

"I think not. Besides, you are used to being closest to the ground."

"Come on, I bet you can't even get up there without falling out."

"Oh no?"

To Kit's chagrin, Karnage jumped right into the middle of the top hammock and, without any sort of hassle, fell limply and snugly into its cradling curve. Like most of the materials the Felocians crafted, the hammocks were made for comfort; their fabric was soft, thick, and cushy, and stretched a little ways to compensate for loungers of varying shapes and sizes.

"No one likes a show off," Kit frowned. He was even less enthused when he saw that the sagging bottom of the top hammock left him little comfort room to sleep under. Still, it was unspeakably better than braving another night in the open wilderness.

Kit climbed into the bottom hammock, inadvertently brushing his head against Karnage's underside. He let out a small, complainative groan, but fell into the hammock just as quickly and comfortably as Karnage did. As he got settled, he looked up to a view that wasn't exceedingly pleasant. "Gee, isn't this swell."

"Shut up and go to sleep, boy."

"Just do me a favor and remember not to roll over. I don't have room for you down here."

"Bo-oy..."

"Yeah yeah. G'night."

Karnage mumbled something as he yawned... which, for him, was close enough to saying 'good night' back.

They laid there, in the soft glow of the oil lamp, listening to the lull of the crickets and frogs outside. By now, all the village were in their own homes, preparing for sleep. And as far as Karnage was concerned, after all they had put up with, sleep seemed like a very, very pleasant idea...

"Captain?"

... until Kit spoke up again.

"Grmm... what is it?"

"I still wanna find it."

Karnage groaned, annoyed. "I told you before, I do not know where it is. Go look for it yourself if you have to!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Their 'toiletries.' What are you talking about?"

"The gold!"

"Oh."

"We're so close, I just know it... too close. All we've got to show after four stinkin' days knocking our brains out are mosquito bites and holes in our clothes. I've got plenty of music to face when I get home as it is... I don't want to go back empty-handed."

"Boy..."

"Do you?"

"No, of course not. But we have no map anymore."

"Yeah, that's true." But then, something dawned on Kit. "Wait a minute, yes we do!"

"We do? Where?"

"Remember, when you stole that gold case, there was a map of the country with it, and they already had the location marked on it! I still remember the directions it had from the city!"

"But that is on the Iron Vulture."

"I know, but Rupo's got the exact same map hanging on his wall!"

Karnage leaned over on his elbow, peering down over his hammock at the boy. "And you can remember the latitudeness?"

"And longitudeness," Kit chuckled. With no small hint of pride, he recited what he heard Bagheera utter privately to Tyler: "Due east, about forty miles, inside of a canyon. We get that map, and we're back in business! So, whaddaya say? We still in this thing?"

"Well I have heard no fat ladies singing," Karnage replied. Then he paused, thinking. "But it's useless, for now. The gato was right... we are unprepared."

"Yeah, you're right. So what are we gonna do?"

"We let him take us to the city, and then we get what we need."

"Yeah, but we got no money." Then Kit realized what a dumb and pointless statement that was to make to the world's most infamous crook. "You're gonna steal stuff, aren't you."

He heard Karnage clasp his hands in delight. "Oh, my boy, we are going to have a pirate's field day! Yes-no?"