Kong: Skull Island- Beneath the Surface

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

There is no light. The hair on the back of her neck stands on end. Something's crawling on the rock wall behind her. She's sure of it. Her fingers slowly move to the machete tucked into her belt. Gently she grips the handle and draws it out in front of her. She lets out of breath of air. Concentrates. Listens. The skittering of insect-like feet echoes off the cave walls....closer....and closer. Yet she waits.

She knows if she acts too soon she might miss and that will get her killed. No, she must wait. Finally the skittering noise is right behind her. Every fiber of her being tenses. She clenched her jaw. With a primal grunt of fury she twists her body and brings the machete blade down hard where she hears the noise. A high pitched screeching envelopes the air. She keeps slicing. Finally the screeching stops.

Breathing heavily, she listens. When she hears nothing. She takes out her flashlight and turns it on for just a second. She has to conserve the battery. She frowned at what she saw. Another giant centipede.

Stretching her arm out she turns on the flashlight once more. Her dirty forearm would appear, to a stranger, to be the handiwork of an angry cat--tiny cuts decorate her skin. But to Mason Weaver, this is her ultimate plan for survival. A map. In all the time she's been wandering down here she's been recording where she's been and her arm so that she's never lost. As she has ventured further she has used her "map" to memorize which parts belong to which monsters. She's particularly anxious to be out of giant centipede territory.

Using her pocket knife she adds another corridor to the map she's been making. The blade penetrates her skin just deep enough to leave a mark, not deep enough to cause major injury. Though the action still makes her wince at the sting. She etched the letter C on top of the new corridor for centipede. She nods and smiles slightly. Every little step is an accomplishment here. C. What a letter. An ache constricts her chest. Conrad. James Conrad. She wonders what he is doing now. Probably doesn't even know she is in the mess she is in. She smirks. He'd probably have that adorable disapproving frown he always did when he heard of her latest venture. Part of her wished he knew where she was now. But that was impossible. This mission was a giant secret. Not even her closest family knew of her location.

And she let it in for a second. The fear. The dark. The possible monsters at every turn. The longing to be in his arms safe with the smell of British cologne, pizza, and beer. Safety. And then it was over. She shakes her head. If she lets the fear in she knows: it will consume her. She has to keep moving. Places like this can mess with one's mind. She has to be careful not to let it control hers.

How had things gone so miserably?

Oh right.

People's idiocy.

Corey and Jing--her newfound coworkers after Skull Island--had arranged a local American-sympathizer to guide Mason. His name was Hyun-Gi. Their destination was the 죽음의 동굴--death caves. Locals wouldn't dare approach the death caves for fear they would be cursed by the beasts within. Luckily Hyun-Gi was a skeptical farmer who didn't believe such myths. Hyun-Gi had had a weather worn face with tanned skin and crinkled eyes. He had treated Mason with the same cranky tenderness a grandfather treats his grandchild with. In fact he had given Mason the very machete that was now saving her life. Right now Mason could use his gruff, sarcastic company. The quiet, damp caves were vastly lonely.

Former head of monarch Bill Randa believed these caves might be similar to the underground pockets found on skull island. Mason brushes her fingers across her camera lens carefully. The photos she has on her film not only confirms Randa and Corey's theory but reveals a much more terrifying fact. A fact she hopes to be able to share...if she survives.

Hyun-Gi was the first to perish. But not by the claw or fang of a monster. No it was the Russian militia sent to take the information away from Mason--soon after Mason and her friends had made it off the island the Russian's satellite had discovered the island. Now knowing what Corey, Mason, James, Jing and the rest of Monarch knew, the Russians had been keeping a close eye on that particular organization. Corey had told Mason at the airport that this mission had been kept quiet enough that the Russians shouldn't know she was coming.

Oh how wrong he had been.

They shot Hyun-Gi in the knees. Mason was able to escape but barely. Mason could only assume they tortured him for information for they quickly found her and the death caves the next day. They had told her that Hyun-Gi was now dead and that she is was next. Mason had had no choice but to run into the caves to avoid being peppered by bullets. Unfortunately the Russians didn't care if she was alive or dead and set charges to the cave entrance. Mason still remembers hearing the rocks crash down and the last ray of sunlight vanish.

But that was three days ago.

Using her hands as feelers, Mason continues forward. The silence goes on forever. The darkness is eternal. Yet she pushes onward. She has to get her camera back to Corey and the others. The world needs to know what she discovered.

No matter the cost.