Here be chapter 5 ^^ Virtual cookies to those who have been reviewing. Your feedback is what keeps me motivated to finish this fic. Plus GI and DT are too great to not finish a fic for ^^
Anywho, enough babbling. Enjoy!
Walking into camp, Gilligan was met with disappointment at finding dinner wasn't finished. In fact, it wasn't even cooking. As he looked around, he noticed no one was there. Shrugging, he walked over to a papaya tree and plucked a ripe fruit before going to the table to cut it open. Taking out his knife, Gilligan sat down and began to peel and cut his snack, eating pieces as he went.
Eventually finishing his papaya, Gilligan cleaned his knife off, then got up. Deciding to look for the others, he headed off towards the beach. It took him a little while to get to the beach, mostly because he stopped every few feet it seemed to look at an interesting rock or shell. Walking along the beach, Gilligan checked the ground for neat looking shells and checked around for any sign of his friends.
Picking this time to look around at everything but the ground, Gilligan never noticed the old black revolver in the sand until his foot caught on it, effectively tripping the danger prone first mate. Stumbling over the gun and his own feet, Gilligan face planted in the sand. Sitting up and spitting out a mouthful of sand, Gilligan brushed the front of his shirt off before brushing the sand from his face. Once he was as clean as he was going to get, he turned around to see what he had tripped over.
Staring at the gun, Gilligan sat still for a moment before slowly reaching out and picking up the old weapon. Standing up, he carefully turned it over in his hands. "Hey, it's a real live gun and it's got real live bullets. Boy, the Skipper is going to be happy I found this. Now we can scare away those nasty headhunters. I better go find him." Heading off into the jungle, Gilligan kept a firm grip on the gun, not even noticing he had his finger on the trigger.
Walking for awhile, Gilligan frowned and smacked his lips together. "Man I'm thirsty. Gotta find some water." looking around, he noticed some familiar landmarks he recognized as some of the ones near a small fresh water stream he had found a few months earlier. Grinning to himself, he hurried in the direction he knew the stream was. In typical Gilligan fashion, it wasn't long before his foot found a fallen branch from a tree overhead. Struggling to keep his balance, Gilligan grabbed for the first thing his hand found, all the while unknowingly squeezing the trigger on the gun.
With a loud bang, a bullet whizzed out of the barrel and flew straight ahead, hitting a tree and ricocheting off to land somewhere in the dense vegetation. Sitting next to the tree that had the unfortunate luck to be in the line of fire, Callahan jumped when the wood splintered next to his head. Acting on instinct, he ducked down, pulling Andy down with him.
Pulling out his own gun, Callahan noticed he was missing one. Frowning, he realized he must have lost it somewhere between there and the dusty trail in the west. "Andy, stay here." Mr. Callahan whispered. Without waiting for an answer, Callahan started to belly crawl through the vegetation, his senses on high alert for their would-be-assassin.
Startled by the bang, Gilligan jumped and dropped the gun. He looked down at it, looking as though it had just bitten him. Calming his pounding heart, Gilligan let out a breath before bending over to retrieve the weapon. "I better be careful before I hurt another tree." Deciding it was safer to not hold the gun, Gilligan stuck it in his belt, making a makeshift holster. Once sure it wouldn't fall out of his belt, Gilligan started walking again.
Seeing a figure dressed in red white and blue approaching, Callahan braced himself, finger on the trigger of his remaining gun. Realizing the person had yet to see him despite walking right towards him, Callahan held his breath and waited. Before he knew it, the stranger was right on top of him. Literally. Letting out a pained yelp as the young man put weight on Callahan's hand, the wagon master noticed a blur of red and blue jump and move away in a hurry. Knowing his position had been given away, he got to his feet, finger still on the trigger.
Recovering from his most recent fright, Gilligan looked at the source of the yelp and immediately put his hands up in surrender. While he wasn't the most intelligent person on the planet, he certainly knew what to do when someone had a gun pointed at him.
Callahan stared at Gilligan, slack jawed. Getting over his shock, the older man grinned and put his gun away before hurrying over to Gilligan. "Dusty, little pal!" Mistaking Gilligan for his missing friend, the wagon master pulled him into a tight hug.
Confused more than ever, Gilligan pushed the wagon mater away and gave him a weird look. "Do I know you?"
Callahan looked at the young man, finally noticing his short hair and unusual clothing. "Dusty, you cut your hair and changed your clothes."
"Huh?" Looking at himself, Gilligan saw his clothes were exactly the same as usual, save for some dirt smudges from his fall in the sand earlier. "I always wear these clothes and they're not dusty. Just dirty."
Callahan gave him a strange look, but before he could say anything, Andy came up, having heard Dusty's name. "Mr. Callahan, I heard you say Dusty's name. Did you find him?"
"Yeah, but he's acting stranger than usual. I think something's wrong with him." Callahan replied, keeping a close eye on his 'little pal'.
Noticing the strange outfit 'Dusty' was wearing, Andy frowned, then realized something. "Mr. Callahan, his clothes are different. Which means there's other people here."
"Other people? Yeah, there's six others here. There's the Skipper, Mary Ann, Ginger, Mr. and Mrs. Howell, and the Professor." Gilligan said, counting off each of his friends on his fingers. "And you guys make lets see...six, seven...eight and nine." The first mate smiled, adding the two strangers and himself to his finger count. It was then that it dawned on him. "Hey, you weren't on the Minnow when we got shipwrecked. That means you can rescue us! Oh boy! I gotta tell the others." Excited about the idea of getting rescued at last, Gilligan turned and started to run, only to turn around and go back. "Wait here." Turning again, he sped off into the jungle.
"Dusty, wait!" Callahan and Andy called at the same time. Together, the two ran after Gilligan, but soon lost sight of him.
"This is just great. There's something wrong with Dusty and he's taken off and now we've lost him. Again. I swear one of these days I'm gonna hogtie that boy and glue his feet to the ground." Callahan said, exasperated.
Andy looked at him, then shook his head. "We need to find him. I'm afraid he may have a head injury."
"Then let's not waste anymore time. Let's go." Callahan replied before he lead the way into the jungle.
Meanwhile...
The Skipper stopped and wiped the sweat from his forehead. They had been searching for nearly three hours now without a single trace of their ill friend. Sitting on a fallen log, Ginger put her leg over her knee and began to rub her sore foot. Sitting next to her, Mary Ann sighed, her feet aching as well. Having just enough room on the log for two more people, the Howells made themselves right at home in the vacant seats. Walking over to the Skipper, the Professor put a hand on the captain's shoulder. "Don't worry, Skipper. We'll find Gilligan."
The Skipper looked at him with worried eyes. "I sure hope so. I'm worried about him."
"We all are, Skipper. But the Professor's right. We'll find him." Mary Ann said, standing up and going over to her friend.
"I am willing to offer a generous reward for any information leading to the lad's whereabouts." Mr. Howell said, holding up a thick wad of cash.
"Mr. Howell, you don't need to bribe us with money to find Gilligan." Mary Ann said with a frown.
"Oh I wasn't bribing any of you. I was hoping the boy would hear and turn himself in." Mr. Howell said, laughing at a joke only he got. When no one else laughed or even smiled, he got quiet and seemed to pout a bit as he pocketed the money.
"We'll find him. There's only so many places one can go on an island this small. It's only a matter of time before we cross paths with Gilligan." The Professor said, his arms crossed. Catching a glimpse of something moving in the bushes off to his left, the Professor frowned slightly and watched the area carefully.
Hiding in the bushes, Dusty sat on his haunches, watching the six castaways talking. Unfortunately, he was also hunched over an ant mound. Feeling their home was being invaded by a giant creature out to eat them, the ants went on the attack.
Dusty remained completely unaware of them, that is until one found a way into his boot. Feeling a bite, he rubbed his boot in an attempt to use it to scratch his leg. When his hand made contact with his boot and pants, several ants hitched a ride and got to work on biting and stinging the danger prone scout. Feeling what could only be described as hundreds of tiny burning needles poking him, Dusty looked down and immediately jumped up with a yelp. He began brushing and smacking the vicious insects off himself, even going so far as to strip down to his long johns. Even those didn't last long with the ants still biting and stinging.
And unfortunately for Dusty, when he began to strip, everyone, women included, got quite an eyeful. It took all three women a moment to register what was going on. When they realized what was going on, they immediately covered their eyes and turned away with a shocked squeal. Mr. Howell quickly covered his wife's eyes with his hand, frowning at the young man.
"Have you no shame, boy? There are ladies present!" Thurston yelled, flabbergasted.
Having completely forgotten they were there when the ants began their full assault, Dusty jumped and looked at them. Realizing he was standing in nothing but his birthday suit now, a large leaf covering him, in front of strangers and women, his face turned beet red with embarrassment. Grabbing his ant infested clothes, he turned and bolted into the jungle, ants still biting at his arms and legs. The men watched him go, still stunned from 'Gilligan's' strange behavior.
Remembering the lagoon he'd spotted earlier, Dusty immediately headed there, dropping his clothes along the way due the biting ants being too painful to carry anymore. Running at full speed, it wasn't long before he reached the waters edge. Without a second thought, he jumped into the water. What ants weren't washed off by the force of the water were soon drowned and either floated away or sank. Sighing, Dusty knew he'd gotten himself into some trouble now. Not only was he lost, but he was naked as a jaybird now. "This is so embarrassing..." He mumbled. "I gotta find some clothes now."
Looking around to make sure no one followed, Dusty made his way to shore. Finding a leaf large enough to wrap around himself, he looked around again. "Gotta find some clothes. Maybe those people have extra clothes. I'll just find those weird houses again and see if I can find any." Trying to figure out what way to go, Dusty put a hand over his eyes and stuck his finger out. Moving his arm back and forth, he stopped randomly. Opening his eyes, Dusty nodded to himself and started walking in the direction his hand had stopped.
Meanwhile...
Crashing through the trees and leaves, Gilligan suddenly tripped and fell onto a patch of moss and sand. Spitting some moss out of his mouth, he sat up and looked to see what he'd tripped over. Laying all over the ground was a cowboy outfit complete with chaps, boots, and a hat. There was even a gun belt laying nearby. Standing up, he noticed the ants crawling over the clothing. Shaking the items, the ants flew off in every direction.
"A monkey must've taken these from that crate I found." Gilligan said to himself. Seeing the outfit was about his size, he grinned and slipped the clothes on over his own before placing the hat on his head. Putting the chaps on, he suddenly remembered the gun he found earlier. Pulling it out of his belt, Gilligan looked it over and realized the gun was similar to the ones in the holster he found with the clothes. Pulling one of the guns out, after struggling with it, he held it up and saw it was empty.
Putting the still loaded gun into the holster, Gilligan held the unloaded gun like he was going to shoot someone. Pulling the trigger, he imitated the sound of a gunshot. "Bang!" From there on, he ended up caught in a game of Cowboys and Indians. Ducking behind trees and under bushes, he imagined he was in the Wild West, fighting hostile Native Americans, saving damsels in distress and ending up a hero. Eventually his game came to an end with him being the victor in his mind. With a grin, Gilligan headed back to the huts to put the outfit into the crate.
In the Skipper and Gilligan's hut, Dusty rummaged through the crews closet, pulling out a red rugby shirt and a pair of light blue bell bottoms. Finding a pair of white sneakers, he grabbed them along with a pair of socks. Putting the shirt and pants on, Dusty then slipped a sock onto each foot before looking at the sneakers. He frowned a little, wondering how to put them on. Eventually he figured it out, right down to tying the laces. Standing up, Dusty looked down at himself and wiggled his toes in the sneakers, finding they felt strange on his feet.
Not having much choice at the moment though, he ignored the odd feeling of the strange clothes. Noticing a white sailor cap, he picked it up and examined it before placing it on his head. Looking in the small mirror next to the closet, the young scout gave himself an odd look. "Boy, these clothes sure are funny looking. If Mr. Callahan saw me now, he'd laugh at me." With a sigh, Dusty stepped away from the mirror, wondering if his friends would ever find him. As he thought about his friends and life on the plains, Dusty never noticed the young man wearing his clothes walk past the hut.
Going to the supply hut, Gilligan opened the door and walked inside. Going over to a beaten up crate marked "COSTUMES" in large bold letters, he took off the lid, then proceeded to strip down to his own clothes, tossing the cowboy outfit into the crate. Remembering the loaded gun, he took it out of the holster and sat it on the stand near the far wall before putting the lid back on the crate and walking out. In all his excitement, he completely forgot about meeting the two strange men and finding his friends to tell them about a possible rescue.
Walking out of the supply hut, Gilligan hummed a tune to himself as he headed back to the other huts. At the same time, Dusty was walking towards the door, planning to leave. Just as he reached the exit, Gilligan walked past. Stopping suddenly, Gilligan gave a confused look before backing up to the door.
Not knowing what else to do, Dusty immediately began to copy the first mate's every move. Standing still, Gilligan watched what he thought was his reflection.
Raising a hand, the first mate watched as 'his reflection' mirrored him. Making a face, Gilligan watched with amusement as Dusty mimicked him. The entire performance seemed to go on forever, Dusty somehow managing to mimic Gilligan's every move. But even good acting must com to an end. When Gilligan side stepped out of the doorway, Dusty ended up going the wrong way and bumped into the door frame. Stepping back, he rubbed his forehead and nose before noticing Gilligan staring at him, wide eyed and slack jawed.
Regaining some of his senses, Gilligan stepped back before turning and running off into the jungle for the umpteenth time that day, all the while yelling, "Skipper!"
Startled by Gilligan's sudden dash and yell, Dusty ran from the hut going the opposite way, yelling, "Mr. Callahan!"
And there is the end to chapter 5. Dusty and Gilligan have finally met, but will the Skipper and the others believe him? And will Dusty ever find Mr. Callahan and Andy? And what about Betsy, Lulu and the Brookhavens?
Oh and Kiwi wants to say thanks to those who've given him yum yums. He's a very happy birdie now, albeit a little confused about what species he is...he's barking like a dog as I type this while José , one of my cockatiels, is whistling. I swear one of these days I'm gonna find out what he's whistling by making a 'Name That Tune' video .