Stick With Me Kid

Warning: Character deaths, but again, no one we'll really miss. Note: The wingspan of the Spirit of St. Louis was 46'. The wingspan of the largest pterosaur was 39'. However, on Skull Island, a pterodactyl with a wingspan greater than Lucky Lindy's plane was definitely possible.

Stick With Me, Kid Part 15

The sun beat down on us throughout the rest of that day, unforgiving and relentless.

Charley dropped a line in the water and caught one of those fish whose flesh would supply us with moisture.

Mr. Denham dropped a line in the water and caught seaweed.

The Skipper sat at the tiller, consulted his compass and pointed out a direction, and Jimmy and I rowed. He flinched when he gripped the oars, and I wondered why my palms didn't hurt as much as his seemed to.

Hildy sat in what shade my body could afford her. As the youngest and fairest-skinned of us all, she was in the most danger of sunburn.

Eventually the sun set, and the air grew cooler. The Skipper dropped a weather anchor so we wouldn't drift too far off course.

Jimmy yanked at the seat of his canvas pants, muttering under his breath. It had been ripped by the dinosaur he and Hildy had encountered. He tucked the loose material into his belt, but it kept slipping free. The tail of his shirt concealed his ass for the most part, but he would send dismayed glances toward Hildy and blush.

Finally, Charley laughed and removed some of the thorns he'd threaded through the pocket of his tunic. "On your hands and knees please, Jimmy."

Without questioning the Chinaman, Jimmy did as he was ordered, and Charley used the thorns to fasten the seat of his pants closed.

Jimmy let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Charley. It was gettin' a little drafty back there."

"Just be careful how you sit."

"I will!" He sounded surprised, as if that possibility had never occurred to him.

I would have smiled, but I had something else on my mind. My palms had become itchy. While the others were busy with various tasks, I unwrapped the makeshift bandages from my hands and stared at them. I blinked uneasily but said nothing.

We ate the raw flesh of the bird, which Charley had minced with the seaweed my lover had caught, managed to swallow pieces of the fish he had filleted for the liquid, and prepared to bed down for the night.

"I'm a little scared, Johnny," Hildy confided in a small voice. I reached for her, and she nestled in my arms. The moon began its slow climb in the sky.

"We're going to be fine, honey." I hoped. "I wish I knew a bedtime story I could tell you."

"That's oke. No one's ever told me a bedtime story anyway."

Out of the night came a low voice. "Once upon a time, Hildy, there was a prince, who was all alone in the world. The little prince had no one to take care of him, so he took care of himself. He went from town to town, looking for a job, but no one was hiring out-of-work royalty.

"Did I mention the prince had blond hair and blue eyes?"

"Mr. Denham..."

"Shhh, kid. I'm just getting warmed up!"

"It's about you, Johnny! You have blond hair and blue eyes!"

"So do you, honey."

"I can't be a prince!" she said logically. "I'm not a boy!"

"Just because he has blond hair and blue eyes doesn't mean..."

Mr. Denham cleared his throat. "If I may continue?" He waited a second, then went on. "Johnny... I mean the little prince was very hungry..."

"That tears it!"

My lover smiled at me with such affection that I couldn't say another word, and I listened in bemusement as he wove the story of our first meeting into a tale suitable for a little girl, even if she had never had the opportunity to be a little girl, to hear.

It had been a long day after a long night, and before he had gotten very far into the story, she was drowsing against my side. A stray moonbeam caressed her face, and her brow furrowed as it shone on her eyelids. I moved her so the light was no longer in her face, and she sighed and slipped deeper into sleep.

I looked up at the moon. It hung high in the sky, like a shiny silver dollar, seeming to light a path across the waves. If we followed it, would it take us safely home?

"We'll take turns keeping watch," the Skipper said. "I'll take the first watch. Carl, I'll wake you in a couple of hours. Then Chi, Johnny, and Jimmy. I suggest you get some sleep now. Your turn will come around sooner than you'd believe."

I heard the voice through layers of sleep. "Wake up, Skipper, everyone! Wake up!"

"Wassamatta..." I mumbled sleepily and peeled open an eyelid. The sky was lightening with the dawn. I'd already stood my watch, and it had taken me a while to fall back to sleep. I wasn't happy being awakened before it was time to start the new day.

"Look!" There was shock and disbelief in Jimmy's eyes. I shot up, abruptly wide awake. "Jesus, look!" A large, amorphous shape was drifting toward us, rolling with the waves that slapped it. "Skipper!"

"I see it, Jimmy." Captain Englehorn's voice was choked with emotion. "I do believe that's the Venture!" He rubbed his upper lip hard. "I never thought I'd see her again!"

"We've gotta get outta the way!" The Venture was bearing down on us, and we were in danger of being sliced in two by her.

The others quickly moved aside and gave us room to work. The Skipper hoisted the anchor, Jimmy and I unshipped the oars, and with seconds to spare, we managed to avoid her bow and row to the ship's starboard side.

"She's barely making enough knots to keep her steady, and she's moving like there's no hand at the wheel!"

"What do you make of it, Skipper?"

Captain Englehorn knew the old steamer better than any of us. "I don't know, Carl. There were a dozen men on board with Dutch. There's no logical reason for this." His gaze was thoughtful. We sat tensely, waiting for him to come to a decision. He took out his pipe and prepared it. "We'll have to board her. We don't have a choice, not if we want to survive." Loose lines dangled from the number 4 lifeboat davit. "Odd. These should have been brought back up as soon as we were away." He gestured toward them. "Jimmy?"

"Got it, Skipper." He caught a line and secured the bow of the lifeboat, while the Skipper did the same with the stern. "I'm volunteerin' to climb up there and reconnoiter."

The Skipper nodded. "Ten minutes, Jimmy. Keep low, and for god's sake be careful!"

"I owe 'em, Skipper." He touched his head, reminding us of the blow he had taken. Captain Englehorn frowned at him. "I'll be careful."

I shivered. The ship appearing so unexpectedly, her abandoned appearance... I had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

The day before, Jimmy had returned my shiv. I passed it back to him. "It may come in handy."

"Thanks, Smitty." He tucked it in his belt and jumped up to close his hands around the line, but as soon as they took his weight, he gave a muffled cry and let go.

"What's wrong?"

Jimmy swore in a dull monotone. "My hands are too sore. I'm sorry, Skipper, I'll..." He reached for the line again.

"No, I'll do it." But I didn't want to.

"Johnny, your hands have to be as bad as Jimmy's."

There was enough light for him to see, but I placed my palms under my lover's. "Feel them, Mr. Denham."

"What the...? Not even a callus!"

"I know." I lowered my voice. "I realized last night... Don't ask me to explain it, I can't, but remember Little Kong's wound healed quickly too."

"The water?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"But why haven't Jimmy's hands healed? He drank it. Everyone's drunk it!"

"Maybe it's just taking longer." I looked up, gauging the distance I'd have to climb.

"But..."

"You and I were the only ones who actually had our hands in that pool." My hands were sweating.

"But..."

"I don't know, Carl, all right?" I snapped.

His eyes widened. "You're scared! Johnny, let someone else go."

"Who? The Skipper? Charley? Hildy?" I dried my hands on my pants.

"Me."

"No. Jimmy," I started to ask for my shiv back.

"Listen, Johnny..."

"No, you listen, Denham! I'm going. Why do you always have to hog the glory?"

He opened his mouth to say something further, then shut it, and I turned to reach for the line, feeling as if I'd just hammered the last nail in my coffin.

"Johnny!" Hildy looked from Mr. Denham back to me, then hugged my waist briefly. "Please be careful!"

"I'll be back before you can miss me, honey."

"Don't take any dumb chances, kid." My lover's eyes were cool, but his hands clenched as if it were only by sheer force of will that he prevented himself from grabbing me and shaking me. Or kissing me. "Black really isn't my color."

"I won't." I mouthed, "I love you," then licked my lips and forced a smile. "Oke, here goes nothing."

"Ten minutes, Mr. Smith. If you can't start the winch, there should be a rope ladder in the aft stowage compartment, near the forward cargo hatch."

I nodded, took hold of the line and started to climb up, hand over hand.

By the time I reached the top, I was out of breath and wringing with sweat, and the muscles in my arms ached.

I peered over the rail cautiously. At this time of the morning, there should have been some activity, seamen gathered amidships, swapping tales of gals in every port or complaining as they were wont to do of the lack of amenities, waiting for the call to breakfast.

There was no one anywhere.

Streaks of red were splashed across the deck, and the odor of rotting flesh hung in the air. The smell clogged my nostrils, and I covered my nose and breathed shallowly through my mouth.

On the port side, the number 5 lifeboat was gone, and number 7 hung at an angle, its launch obviously unsuccessful.

What had happened here? And how long ago had it happened?

"Johnny! What do you see?"

Sticking out from under a half-opened hatch cover appeared to be a bundle of rags. Near the ladder that led up to the wheelhouse was a seaman's cap. Off to the side was a shoe.

I couldn't let them bring Hildy up here to see this. I dropped my hand from my face and looked down. "It's oke. Just give me a couple of minutes."

Bracing my hands on the rail, I swung my legs over it and landed lightly on the wooden planking.

I crossed to the hatch cover. Rats scuttled away from it, and I swallowed convulsively. The bundle of rags proved to be a blood-soaked, torn shirt; it covered what was left of a man's torso. Under the right nipple was a tattoo of a native girl in a hula skirt. Splintered ribs gleamed whitely, and I was sure if I studied them carefully, I'd be able to see tiny teeth marks. I shoved the hatch cover off and gingerly picked up the remains, holding it away from my body. I bit down hard on my back teeth to keep from vomiting, carried it to the port rail, and threw it over the side.

It didn't get any better. The shoe had a foot and part of an ankle in it, and in the dried blood that surrounded it on the deck were paw prints from the ship's cats. I'd heard that they were opportunistic feeders.

I approached the seaman's cap from a different angle, and I was able to see that the head was still under it. In spite of the ravaged features, I recognized Dutch.

After I dropped it into the ocean, I leaned further over the rail and threw up. By the time I was done emptying my stomach, tears were streaming down my cheeks, and my nose was running. I wiped a sleeve over my face and incautiously sniffed hard.

I could taste decay in the back of my throat, and it was touch and go whether I would spew again.

"Johnny! JOHNNY! What's going on up there? Goddamn it, if you don't answer me, I'm coming up there right now!"

I went back to the starboard rail. My lover had a length of the line around his hips. A foot was against the Venture's hull, and he was about to start climbing.

"Hang on, Carl," I called to him. I threw the switch, and the winch began to raise the lifeboat. Soon it was halfway up. "You'll be aboard in a minute."

"No, he won't, Nancy-boy!"

I started to wheel around, but a hard hand shoved me against the rail, an erection rubbed against the crease of my ass, and a harsh breath panted in my ear while he nuzzled it. "Sweet."

I recognized that voice. Red. Where could he have been hiding?

And how had I not realized he was there? He smelled of piss and shit, as if his sphincters had both let loose at some point, and he'd never bothered to clean up the mess.

He had one arm around my torso, imprisoning both my arms, while his other hand held a boathook to my throat.

"Johnny!" There was desperation in my lover's voice.

"Yer friends ain't gonna help ya!" Red lashed out with the boathook, and it fouled the cables, causing the lines at one end to continue raising the lifeboat while the others stopped. The tension rapidly became too great. The line snapped, and they all spilled into the ocean.

There were shouts from below. "Charley!" "Where's Hildy?" "Oh, fuck! There's that shark!"

"That's gonna keep 'em busy!" The son of a bitch was enjoying it!

"What's that?" There was a huge splash, and suddenly it became very quiet.

//Thud. Thud.// The lifeboat hitting the side of the Venture.

"Nooo!" I tramped down heavily on Red's foot and elbowed his gut, and jerked free of him.

"Oh, no, ya don't!" he snarled as I backed away. There was madness in his eyes. "You ain't goin' nowheres!" He swung the hook, and I jumped out of the way, but not in time. It caught my shirt and tore it across. "Ya look good in red, Johnny, but Red's gonna look even better in you!" He cackled at his pun.

I stared down at my diaphragm. A line of blood had formed and was seeping through the rip in the shirt. As I watched, the stain grew larger, and it started to hurt. I pressed my hands over it, trying to stop the bleeding. "If you... if you kill me, you won't be able to fuck me."

Keeping my eyes fixed on his, because I didn't dare risk a glance behind me, I took a step backward; I just had to trust that there was nothing I would stumble on.

"Think I ain't never fucked a dead body before? Ain't as much fun as a live one that's wrigglin' under you, but sometimes ya jus' need somethin' ta poke yer prick inta, know what I mean, Nancy-boy? Or mebbe ya don't, seein's how you like ta get poked."

I swallowed down bile, and continued my careful retreat.

"I saw youse once, saw you on yer belly, an' him stickin' it inta you! Denham's prick was all slick an' shiny, slidin' in an' out of yer hole. Ya got a real sweet-lookin' hole, ya know that?"

I felt violated at the thought that he'd been spying on us, and we'd never even known.

"After we put yer friends off in the boat, I went after you. I was gonna roger you good, boy, was gonna let you know what it felt like ta have a real man plowin' yer back passage! I figgered you'd be below, in that cabin you was a'ways sneakin' off to with the landlubber. You let him fuck you. Why wouldn't you let me?" He sounded almost forlorn.

//Thud. Thud. Gone. Gone.//

I slipped a hand into my pocket unobtrusively. I'd been too distracted to get my shiv back from Jimmy, but I had something else: the red stone. My fingers closed around it.

"I was lookin' for ya." His eyes became crafty. "That's why they din't fin' me."

"Who didn't find you, Red?"

"Those flyin' critters. I saw 'em through a porthole. I heared the men hollerin'. An' then the hollers turned ta screams." And now his vision was turned inward as if he were reliving that moment. "I stayed hid outta sight. I ain't dumb, y' know. But I could see... Sweet jeezus, I could see!" His color turned muddy. "One tore Eddie to pieces. 'Nother one got Billy round the middle, the claws went right through him, an' it carried him off. An' Snitch... It opened his belly an' started feedin', an' he weren't even dead yet."

"What about the others?"

"All gone." He giggled, the madness back. "Din't matter, I wasn't gonna share you with 'em anyways. A'ways wanted me a boy o' my own. Now I got you." He rubbed his crotch, then started to undo his trousers. "Yer gonna be good ta Red, ain'tcha, kid?"

"I told you not to call me that!" I had circled back around to the lifeboat station. "Stay where you are, Red, or I'll kill you, I swear it!"

//Thud. Thud.//

"With what, kid? Bad words? I'm so scared!" he mocked. "Yer a Nancy-boy. You ain't got the guts."

"Try me."

"Oh, I'm gonna, Johnny. I'm gonna make you beg and scream and..." His face flushed and spittle dripped from his lips.

My stomach heaved, and I forced myself to shut out his words. I'd kill Red first, and then... I wouldn't let myself think beyond that point. I eased my hand from my pocket, my fingers curled around the stone, about to draw my arm back and let it fly.

But abruptly it was Red who screamed, his eyes fastened on something behind me. His eyes opened so wide I could see the whites surrounding them.

A large, furred hand reached past me to seize the seaman around the waist. Red was screaming nonstop as he was raised high in the air, and the boathook dropped from his hand, forgotten.

I staggered out of the way, stunned to see it was really Little Kong.

The young animal inhaled, and his nose wrinkled in distaste. With casual indifference, he tossed Red over his shoulder. Red's screams were cut off with shocking suddenness.

//Thud. Thud.//

I swallowed heavily and forced myself to look over the side. I was almost overwhelmed by the pain.

The number 4 lifeboat dangled from the remaining cables, banging into the Venture's hull each time the ship rocked on the waves. It was empty. The water below was red.

A huge dorsal fin sliced through the water in a restless pattern.

Gone. I leaned my head on the rail and wept.

"No wonder that shark hangs around. We're always feeding it."

I began to shake. "Mr. Denham!"

"As ever was, kid."

I spun around, and he dropped the rifle he was carrying and caught me before I collapsed to the deck. His arms were strong around me. I buried my face against his neck and soaked the collar of his shirt with tears. A hand stroked soothingly up and down my spine while the other was buried in my hair.

"It's oke, Johnny. It's oke, kid."

It was oke. Mr. Denham was alive, and that was all that mattered.

"I thought I'd lost you." My voice cracked. I held my lover so tight that he grunted a protest.

"Ah, kid, didn't I tell you you'd never lose me?" He tipped my head back, and his hands smoothed over my cheeks and eyes. He kissed me chastely. "Your lips taste of tears."

His next kiss was not chaste at all.

Little Kong had clambered over the side of the Venture. He touched my hair gently, then began roaming over the deck. From time to time he would throw something overboard.

"The others?" I was almost afraid to ask.

"All safe."

"Thank god." I sagged against him, feeling as if Little Kong had stepped down off my shoulders. "Where are they?"

"The Skipper said something about wanting to make sure the Venture was secure."

"You should be helping him." I tightened my hold on him.

"I guess." He didn't seem inclined to move out of my arms.

"But... you're here."

"It's where you are, isn't it?" He rubbed his cheek against my hair. "Johnny, your shirt feels wet."

"So does yours. I thought you were all dead ducks! How did you get on the Venture? How did you get the rifle? Tell me what happened. I want to hear the whole story." I was giddy with relief.

"In a second. My shirt is wet and cold. Why is your shirt wet and hot?" He held me at arm's length, and his face turned pale. "Oh, my god, Johnny! I didn't see..." Carl Denham, the man who had faced down wild beasts, unfriendly natives, and King Kong, looked terrified. "All that blood! You shouldn't be standing up; lie down! What did that bastard do to you?"

"It's nothing, Mr. Denham. It's even stopped hurting," although I was afraid now that he'd brought my attention back to it, the pain would start again.

He yanked the shirt out of my pants, tearing it apart, and just stared. I looked down and gulped. There was no open wound, just a line of thickly scabbed skin. "The water again?"

"Must've been. That's all I can think of."

"That sounds... strange."

I started to laugh, I couldn't help it. We'd been marooned, run into dinosaurs, had become friends with a giant ape, and survived the volcanic destruction of Skull Island, and the only word my lover could find to describe it was 'strange'.

Mr. Denham scowled at me, but there was amusement in his eyes. It didn't last long, however. He reached out to touch the blood that covered the front of my shirt. "I wish he was alive so I could kill the son of a bitch all over again!" He pulled me back into his arms. "Jesus, kid, don't ever scare me like that again!"

"I promise. Now, tell me what happened? I thought when I heard Jimmy yell 'shark' that you were all dead."

"It was close," he conceded. "Little Kong got us out of the water in the nick of time."

"Wait a second! We've got to be leagues away from Skull Island! How did he get here?"

"The eruption must have uprooted the trees of Skull Island, Johnny," my lover said simply, as if that explained everything.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Denham, I don't follow you."

"Little Kong used one of them like a canoe and pulled himself onto it, and then he used a smaller tree for a paddle."

For a minute I didn't say anything, then, "That's... strange."

He burst into laughter and brushed his lips over mine.

"All right, go on."

Reluctantly he let me go and bent to retrieve his rifle. "After Little Kong dropped us on the after deck, we went down to see if we could get rifles from the weapons' cabinet. When we got there, we found the lock had been broken, but except for the ones Charley said he had taken, none of the rifles were missing."

"It sounds as if the attack was so sudden they had no opportunity to arm themselves."

"Attack?"

Before I could answer, "Johnny!" Hildy ran across the deck, leaving a trail of wet footprints. She was oblivious to the blood that covered parts of the deck.

"Hi, honey." I dropped down to a knee, and held out my arms to her. She skidded to a halt and stared in dismay at my bloody shirt front. I glanced down at it ruefully. "I'm all right, I promise you, Hildy." I opened the shirt to show her the rapidly healing wound, now just a line of pink scar tissue.

"You're really oke, Johnny?"

"I'm really oke."

"Good thing. I don't think I can stand much more excitement," my lover muttered just loudly enough for me to hear.

"I was so worried about you, Johnny."

"We all were." Crossing the deck were the Skipper and Jimmy, toting rifles, and Charley with his cleaver, all dripping wet, but all looking like they meant business.

I felt a tide of color rise in my cheeks. "Thank you."

My lover smiled at me, then turned to the other men. "Anything, Skipper?"

He shook his head, his expression grim. "All we could find were..." His eyes went to Hildy, and his lips tightened under his moustache. I had a feeling I knew what they had found. I just had no idea how they'd prevented the little girl from seeing it.

"Could I talk to you privately, Captain Englehorn?" My eyes were on Hildy too.

"Charley, how about preparing us a hot breakfast?"

The Chinaman had caught the interchange. "Of course, honorable one. Hildy, would you care to help me? And I think, perhaps, it might be a good idea for you to change into one of Carl Denham's dry shirts?"

"Oke, Charley." She paused. "But you could just have said you didn't want me to hear how come everyone got torn to pieces."

We watched her walk away beside Charley, busily assuring him that she was very self-reliant.

"When she grows up, she's gonna be a handful!" Jimmy mused.

"What do you mean, 'when she grows up'?"

"We'll have to fight 'em off with brick bats, kid."

"Who, Carl?"

"The young men who'll be lined up around the street wanting to keep company with her."

I noticed that Jimmy's brows snapped together in a frown, and my brow elevated in turn.

"All right, Mr. Smith. Now that Hildy's gone, what can you tell us that happened to the men who were left behind on this ship?"

I turned back to the Skipper. "According to Red, there were no survivors." I explained about the attack. "It sounded like pterodactyls or some kind of flying dinosaur."

"Is it possible they could fly all that distance to the Venture, Carl?"

"You didn't see their wingspans, Skipper. I'll bet they were bigger than the Spirit of St. Louis!"

"And if they attacked the morning the crew marooned us, the Venture would have been close enough to Skull Island. I think," I hedged.

"For what purpose?" The Skipper worried the stem of his pipe, searching the skies as if he expected the creatures to suddenly appear for another assault.

"Maybe they didn't like the Venture sailing into their territory," my lover shrugged. "Maybe the constant quakes made them irritable. Most likely we'll never know."

"Well, there's one thing I do know. That's one smart monkey, Smitty, lemme tell you! Just as that shark was gonna have us for breakfast, he came paddlin' up, cool as you please, and bashed it over the head with a tree!"

Little Kong was back with us, and his lips curled into a proud grin.

Mr. Denham saw my confusion and laughed. "Remember I told you he used a smaller tree for a paddle? He hit the shark with his 'paddle'."

Captain Englehorn joined in our laughter, then sobered and gazed around at each of us. He cleared his throat. "We're safe. We've survived. But we have a great deal to do. Jimmy, get hopping on the wireless. Contact the nearest land, and see if they can give you some coordinates. We're clear off the big chart. We'll need predictions for the weather as well. It's not monsoon season, but the instability of those volcanic chains may have thrown normal weather patterns off kilter. I'll go down to the engine room and see about getting up a full head of steam. The sooner I have the Venture under control, the happier I'll be. Carl, Johnny, I'm afraid swabbing the deck is going to be your responsibility."

By nightfall, the Venture was once again in shipshape condition, and we were steaming for Honolulu.

tbc