Kong (A James Conrad Love Story)

In the Trees

We stopped for the night near a lagoon about ten klicks from the Iwi village. The sun was setting, and I watched from afar as they set up camp. Conrad was doing most of the work, everyone else having no clue whatsoever. I mean, Slivko had succeeded in lighting the fire, only to also set fire to the dry grass surrounding the pit. It was lucky we were near water.

I had tried to argue against them sleeping on the ground, but of course, they didn't listen. They had all laughed at my suggestion of sleeping in the trees. I figured they could hold their own for the most part, as long as the skull crawlers waited until dawn. We were in the heart of the island, in one of the most densely populated areas of the entire place. I wasn't willing to risk my life, so I set up camp in the boughs of an old pine tree. There were a lot fewer animals that could climb up here to get me.

The tree ants started calling again. I listened, having figured out some of their noises in my time here. I knew the calls for Kong, skull crawlers, and all clears. They were my little early warning system. Although not so little, since each of them probably was the size of a leopard. They were sounding the all clear, and it rang across the valley in a symphony of noise. I closed my eyes and leaned back, enjoying the peace. It was rare that I was able to or willing to sleep outside. But with all the ammunition just a few meters away, I felt safe enough. And I was at least not going to be the first to be eaten, with everyone else on the ground.

I heard a quiet voice just below my tree. "Wells?" It was Conrad, his gun and rucksack on the ground next to him. I rolled over in my comfy branch and frowned grumpily at him.

"What?"

"Do you mind if I come up?" I sighed and waved him up. He left his stuff at the base of the tree and clambered up, surprisingly agile. In a minute he was sitting on a branch opposite mine, staring at me. "I was just going to stay up here to keep watch."

I said quietly, knowing that he would hear me, "And so that you're less likely to die." He nodded in acknowledgment. It was a reasonable idea. Too bad nobody else was that smart.

"I've been in worse situations than this." I could tell just from his face. That much skill didn't come without experience. I could practically see the wars in his eyes, the near death experiences, the nightmares. If I had nightmares, I was almost certain he had them in abundance.

"Tell me about the world."

He turned to me. "How long have you been here?" I could tell what he was thinking. That how could a mere kid survive this planet without dying for ten years? I asked myself that question rather frequently.

I said softly, "Ten years." Ten years of hoping and praying for a miracle to come. And now that it was here, I could hardly believe what my eyes were telling me.

"The world has changed. And perhaps, not for the better."

"Then maybe I'd rather not hear about it."

"One good thing, though. The United States got a man to the moon." My eyes raised to the moon, mostly full. It looked like a chandelier hanging in the cloudless sky.

"I was ten when Sputnik went up. Space was the final frontier. When I was little, I wanted to be the first woman in space. I could name every constellation in the Northern Hemisphere."

"I was never one for stargazing."

"Now, how does that not surprise me?" I laid back again, tracing the constellations with my fingers.

"Orion, Andromeda, Draco. Aquarius, Cygnus, the Little Dipper. I've forgotten the rest by now."

"Time is not a pleasant enemy."

"No." I turned to him and said quietly, "It's not."