Female Tarzan [1] •James Conrad•

~Chapter 6: Fox 1~

"I got a wife." Hank said. "Had a wife. Have a wife? Guess I don't know anymore. We got hitched right before I deployed. Got a telegram from her the day before I got shot down. She said we just had our baby boy. I got a son out there. Grown man I've never met."

"Yeah, she definitely thinks you're dead, man." Reg said from the top of the boat.

"Hey!" Conrad said, hitting above us.

"I'm just saying." Reg said.

"You don't know that." Conrad said. "You'd be surprised how long people wait."

"Ah, truth is, I don't expect them to be waiting." Hank said. "I'd be fine either way. I just want one last chance to see them. That'd be good enough for me."

"We're gonna get you home." Mason said.

"I believe you'll find them, Hank." I said. "You deserve to see them again, after everything you've been through."

"Thanks, Kala." He said.

"But what about you?" Mason asked me. "Are you coming with us?"

"I'm staying here." I said. "I can't leave. Kong is my family, these animals are my friends, the villagers are my people. I can't abandon them."

"But don't you wanna know if you have family out there?" Reg asked.

"I don't." I said, simply. "My parents died a long time ago. Kong is the only family I have left." No one said anything. I looked down at the ground.

"Fox 5, come back." I heard someone say. "Is there anyone out there?"

"Hey!" Reg sad. "This is Fox 5. We hear you. Yeah! We're on a boat. We're on a boat headed up north on a river."

"A boat?" The person asked. "Where'd y'all get a boat?"

"We-We met this, like, crazy Santa Claus, time-traveler guy from World War 2 and the island Princess." Reg explained. "You'll meet them."

"What kind of boat y'all got?" The person asked.

"It's more of, like, a plane than a boat, really." Reg said. "Let's call it a Ploat. We're on a ploat."

"We need their location, Slivko." Conrad said.

"Send up a flare so we can find you." Reg said.

"Roger that, Fox 5." Someone else said. Suddenly, we see a red light in the sky.

"There!" Nieves said, pointing in the direction of the light. Conrad started laughing.

"Yes!" Mason said.

"I repeat, we have a visual." Reg said. "2 klicks to our north."

"Roger that, Fox 5." The person said. "Fox 1 out."

"Can we fit everybody?" The person from before asked.

"Yes!" Reg said.

"We're going home!" Nieves said. Suddenly, he started screaming. I turned around to see one of the saw-bird flying him away.

"Get down!" Conrad shouted as he and Reg grabbed their guns. More birds showed up and joined in. The birds were trying to tear him apart.

"We can't save him." I said.

"What?!" Reg asked. "Why not?!"

"Those birds have razor sharp beaks!" I said. "They fly faster than you can run! Those things are gonna tear him apart. We can't save him."

"What the hell, man?" Reg said.

"He's gone." Conrad said. "Everybody, grab your gear. We have to keep moving. We'll go ashore, meet up with Packard."

"Oh, my god." Brooks said, walking away. I looked out at poor Nieves.

"Your fight is over." I said.

(Time Skip)

"Their flare was only 2 klicks north." Conrad said. "They should be here soon."

"Unless they were eaten by something that's bigger than us." Mason said.

"I know of almost every creature on this island." I said, from my spot on a rock. "If there's any more dangerous animals ahead, I'll let you know." Suddenly, we heard twigs snapping. I looked and saw more people coming.

"Oh!" Reg said, getting up. All of them were men. They were all happy to see Reg. But I was weary of them. I stood up, holding my hand over my knife that was in my pocket.

"Easy, Princess." Hank said from his spot on the ground.

"What's your count?" Conrad asked the leader.

"What you see is what I got." The leader said. Hank got up and we walked over to them.

"We lost one too." Conrad said.

"Good to see you, fellas!" Hank said.

"Who the hell is this?" The leader asked.

"We picked up a hitchhiker." Conrad said as all the men stared at me.

"Lieutenant Hank Marlow of the 45th Pursuit Squadron of the 15th." Hank said.

"You've been here since World War 2?" The leader asked.

"Yes, sir." Hank said. "I miss the parade?"

"I'll be damned." The leader said. "Snap to, Lieutenant." They saluted each other.

"We're gonna get him home, sir." Conrad said.

"And her?" The leader asked, pointing at me. "Who's she?"

"This is Kala." James said. "She knows the island. She's been here since birth."

"Really?" The leader asked. I nodded.

"You really shouldn't have come here." I said.

"You and me both." He said.

"If we follow this river, we'll make it to the boat, and we'll make it to the north shore in time." Conrad said.

"That sounds good." The leader said. "But we're not leaving yet. Still got a man out there, Conrad."

"Wait a second." Conrad said. "You got someone out there?"

"Chapman." The leader said. "He's with the downed Sea Stallion just West of here." Wait a second, did he just say West?

"West?!" Hank asked. "We can't go West! That's where those skull things live. You're gonna need a lot more guns if you're gonna go West. Tell them, Princess."

"I'm not allowed to go West." I said.

"Can you take us there?" The leader asked.

"Yes, but it's dangerous." I said. "West is their home. If we go there, we'll be dead in less than a minute."

"Guys. I think that we should listen to them." Mason said. "This is crazy."

"Hey." The leader said to Conrad. "Your job is finding lost men, right?"

"Okay, sir." Conrad said. "But if we reach that position and he's not there, we don't send out a search party. We're back here by nightfall, understood?"

"Roger that." The leader said, smiling. "Hear you loud and clear." But I didn't believe him. "Alright, you heard the man. Moving out in 10."

"This is a good group of boys." Hank said. "Right, Kala?" I nodded. "We're all gonna die together out there. You're a good group of boys to die with, I'll tell you that much." Hank laughed. "You shouldn't have come here." I walked away.

"Don't forget to tell me this is a bad idea." Conrad said, walking past me.

"This is a bad idea, Conrad." I said.