Chapter 6 - The Island

It was only the early afternoon, but the sky seemed to be getting darker with every passing moment. Dark clouds were rolling in quickly, and a distant rumbling noise could be heard.

"It seems Englehorn was right," May grumbled miserably, it wasn't that she hated thunderstorms. She just wasn't so sure she was prepared for that kind of thing, at least not out on a small old boat that was floating in the middle of the ocean.

There was a soft knock at the door.

May jumped, startled by the sudden noise. She had been lost in her thoughts.

She got up steadily, opening the door with a soft click, "What is it Preston?" She asked, slightly confused.

"Oh um, sorry to bother you, I just uh... Dehnam said that he wanted to talk to you about something," He said nervously, he obviously wasn't use to getting any attention from girls, "Something about tomorrow's scene I think."

"Tomorrow?" She raised an eyebrow, looking out the small window at the slowly brewing storm, "Dehnam really will do anything for his films." May muttered in a sigh, "I'll be there in ten."

"Alright, well goodbye for now Ms. Beaulieu," He gave her a nervous smile.

She nodded; as he began to back down the hall, too annoyed to tell him for the hundredth time that her name was May.

May walked back into the room, pulling out a long black dress that she had received from Thomas a couple years back. She loved it so much, that she decided to pack it in her luggage, even though she knew they were most likely going to end up on some old dirty ship.

She pulled on a thin jacket and decided that she was ready to go to the galley.

As she crept down the creaky hallway, she prayed silently that Lumpy had made something to eat. She hadn't eaten much in the last couple of days.

She walked over to the door of the galley, which was already open the slightest bit, but stopped when she heard angry voices on the other side.

"...someone were to tell you this ship is headed for Singapore, what would you say?" She recognized the deep voice as Mr. Hayes'.

"I would say they were full of it, Mr. Hayes, we turned south-west last night."

May peered through the small space, what exactly were they talking about?

"Gentleman please, We're not looking for trouble," She saw Dehnam plead calmly.

May looked away quickly, as Dehnams eye almost caught hers. She pressed her ear close to the open door.

Suddenly another voice joined in, one that she definitely recognized, "No, you're looking for something else."

Jimmy.

"Yes ...we are," He paused, "We're gonna find Skull Island! We're gonna find it, film it and show it to the world. For twenty five cents you get to see the last blank space on the map!" Dehnam responded enthusiastically.

May froze, feeling slightly sick to her stomach. Skull Island? He had to be kidding; they were going to Singapore, that's what he had told her.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Seven years ago, me and Mr. Hayes, we were working our passage on a Norwegian baroque." Lumpy told Dehnam, in a slightly eerie voice, "We picked up a castaway, found him in the water, he'd been drifting for days."

"His ship had run aground on an island, way West of Sumatra. An island hidden in fog. He spoke of a huge wall, built so long ago - no one knew who had made it ... A wall a hundred foot high...as strong today as it was, ages ago." Mr. Hayes continued.

"Why did they build it?" Preston asked in a frightened whisper, much to Carl's dismay.

"The castaway, he spoke of a creature, neither beast nor man, but something monstrous living behind that wall," Lumpy answered.

"Sure, sure boys, a lion or a tiger. A man-eater, that's how all these stories start." Dehnam laughed off, although you could hear a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"What else did he say?" Preston continued, ignoring Carl's rant.

"Nothing, we found him the next morning, he'd stuck a knife through his heart." Hayes stated simply.

There was an abrupt silence. May gripped the wall for support.

"Sorry fellas'! Monsters belong in B movies!" She heard Carl get up to leave.

May shifted closer to the door, wanting to hear more.

"If you find this place," Hayes interrupted his exit, "If you go ashore with your friends and your cameras... you won't come back, just so long as you understand that."

She peaked through the door, watching for Dehnam's response, but instead she found her eyes meeting with someone else's.

May backed away from the door, she had heard enough. She turned around and walked quickly back to her room, not waiting to hear another word.

"You'll have to do better then that, boys," Dehnam laughed as he walked out of the galley, Preston following closely behind, "Now where the devil is May?" He mumbled as he walked farther from the room.

A deep feeling of regret haunted Jimmy's mind as he followed Hayes outside of the galley. He had known for a few days now of the real destination of the Venture. But he had been too afraid to tell May, he didn't want to dampen her cheerful spirit.

But now she knew, he had seen her standing right outside of the door and it was most likely that she had heard every single word that they had said. The look on her face had explained it all. She looked confused, frustrated- hurt.

He loathed Dehnam for making it unaware to her. It made it seem like no big deal, but from what he heard from Mr. Hayes, the place they were going was dangerous. If anything bad happened to May, he would never let him forget.

Just the thought of it made Jimmy cringe.

He stopped walking, falling behind from the other two ahead.

"Jimmy?" The voice brought him from his thoughts.

He looked up to Mr. Hayes, who had stopped at the end of the hallway.

"Sorry Mr. Hayes," He looked down to the ground, "I...I'll be right back."

He gave the young teen a questioning look, "Alright then, I expect you up deck soon though; we need to prepare for the rough weather."

Jimmy nodded hurriedly, changing directions and rushing back down the hallway.

His heartbeat picked up, nervousness getting the better of him. That last look she had given him in the galley had made his chest ache, although he wasn't so sure why. Now his worried mind was imagining the worst possible scenario. He couldn't lose her, he needed her. She was his best friend.

Jimmy stopped abruptly when he recognized the door to her room. He took a deep breath and knocked softly three times.

There was a soft knock at the door. May's hand slipped and her camera fell from her hands.

"Dammit," She cursed, bending down to carefully retrieve her camera, "I'm busy!" She yelled out harshly.

The room remained silent as she investigated every side of the camera, checking for any scratches or cracks.

There was another knock at the door, this time a bit louder than before.

May stood up, placing her camera gently on the bed, before facing the door.

"What do you want?" She asked in an annoyed tone, as she swung the door open. "Oh..," She looked awkwardly to the curious face standing outside her room, "Jimmy."

"May," She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was worried, "Are... are you alright?"

She forced a smile, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be."

"Oh...well alright," He still looked unconvinced, "I just wanted to make sure..."

"Is that all?" She asked quickly, avoiding his gaze.

Jimmy nodded slowly, "I guess so."

"Alright well, I'll see you around," May attempted to close the door quickly, but Jimmy stuck his arm out before it could close.

"May?"

She cursed silently, "Yes?" She responded from behind the door.

"Can I... come in?" Jimmy asked hesitantly, "Just to talk?"

May was startled by this question, but felt that she couldn't refuse. She opened the door completely again, giving him a slightly happier smile, "Sure."

She moved to the side, letting him enter the room.

"Um...watch your step," She laughed nervously.

His eyes immediately widened at the amount of open suitcases that covered almost the entire floor. There were various books on the floor and camera cases lining the corners of the wall.

She looked at him innocently, "I'm kinda...well, unorganized," She chuckled.

Jimmy raised an eyebrow at her, "Really? I didn't notice." He gave her a crooked smile.

May walked over by her bed and began to clear everything off of it. After placing the cameras cases safely away from the bed, she jumped onto the edge, patting a spot beside her, "What did you wanna talk about?"

He made his way over slowly, "Oh, um well..." He scratched the back of his head, and looked as if he was thinking of something to say. Then he noticed something lying on the ground, "Is that a scrapbook?"

May followed his eyes to the ground, where there was a scrapbook she had been looking through earlier. She reached down and picked it up, placing it gently on her lap.

"Yeah," She said softly, "These are my favorites."

Jimmy sat down beside her, "Could I see them?" He asked, seemingly interested.

She looked up to him, giving him a surprised smile, "Of course... although I warn you, most of them probably aren't very good," She opened to the first page of the book, which displayed her name.

"I didn't know your last name was Beaulieu" He exclaimed, "May Beaulieu," He said dramatically, "Pretty name for a pretty girl." He gave her a cheeky grin.

May giggled, attempting not to blush, "Merci monsieur."

"Huh?" Jimmy asked, obviously not very aware of the French language.

"Never mind," She laughed, patting him on the shoulder, "Now do you want to see the photos or not?"

"Yes please," He grinned.

She turned the page slowly, revealing various photos of the tall New York skyscrapers. A lit up sign on Broadway, holding the name of a famous play. A man and woman wearing expensive clothing, laughing and holding hands as they walked down the busy street. A man sitting on the concrete stairs outside of a pub, exhaling smoke from his thick cigar.

Jimmy moved closer to her, his head hovering over her shoulder. He put his hand over hers, on the corner of the page, and he turned to the next page of photographs.

His hand traced a photo of the New York shore, the sunset in the distance. He turned his head slightly and watched her examining her own work, "They're beautiful." He said quietly into her ear, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She felt her cheeks burning as he moved her hand to turn the page once more.

Jimmy moved slowly through the pages of the scrapbook, looking at every detail of the photographs. Until he noticed a photograph of a young woman, who looked to be in about her mid-twenties, she had long brown hair and bright green eyes, she looked so familiar. But what confused him the most was the date on the photograph, 1914. May almost immediately noticed his curiosity.

"I... didn't take that one." She said in a small whisper.

"She..." He paused, wondering if he should pry any further, "Looks like you."

She laughed sadly, "You really think so? Well I guess that's only expected since she's my mother."

Just then, he realized there was small printing underneath the photograph, he squinted.

Marie Grace Beaulieu.

May turned that page again, revealing many more photographs of the young woman, this time there were also pictures of a man, who looked to be around the same age.

"This is my father," She told him calmly, a small distant smile creeping upon her face.

Jimmy remained silent, giving her time to continue. Thunder echoed throughout the room, making up for the silence that filled the small room.

"He joined the War in the spring of 1917; I was only two years old at the time." She paused, "My mother received the letter in June of the next year, but it wasn't for three more years that I found out he wasn't coming home."

May blinked away the tears that were forming the corners of her eyes, she needed to be strong. She had never told anyone other than Thomas about what had happened to her parents. For some reason though, she felt like she could trust Jimmy.

"Just three months shy of my eleventh birthday, my mother became sick. The doctor told us that it was nothing too serious, with plenty of rest she would be back on her feet in no time." Jimmy's hand intertwined with hers, "But she just kept getting worse. They didn't understand why, but it seemed like emotionally she didn't have the strength to get better." She took a moment to flip the page, revealing a photograph with the young man and woman, a small child was sitting on the woman's lap, "She was sick for so long. The doctors said she died of- of the sickness, but even in my naive eleven year old mind I knew the truth."

Jimmy's arm was now wrapped around her shoulder protectively. A fresh tear escaped her eye, slowly moving down her pale cheek. May rested her head on his shoulder, the smell of the sweet ocean air alerting her senses, the scent strong on his jacket.

"She waited so long for him to come back, and I was young, I never knew what to say to her." She continued quietly, "I told her that I loved her, that I would never leave her, but that never seemed to be enough."

Jimmy's free hand began to stroke her hair, giving her a strange sense of comfort. No one knew anything about her family, not even Thomas could get a word out of her. May never had any friends that she could tell secrets too. She never had a shoulder to cry on. No one to tell her it was going to be okay, that it wasn't her fault.

They sat in a comfortable silence for what seemed like hours. Her eyes had long dried and they were beginning to feel very heavy.

But she didn't dare move; and soon enough, sleep overpowered her.