salute [james conrad] 1

Chapter 22

Charlotte leans up against a tree as James crouches down to look at a pile of mushrooms on a dried up tree bark.

"There's water close by" He mutters to himself.

Brooks scoffs, holding his arms out in desperation.

"Are you lost? Which way?" He questions as he stares at James.

James looks up from the dried tree log and stares in front of him, looking for the river that they handy been able to find in over an hour.

It was safe to say that they were lost.

"Hang on." James mutters, as his vision shifts around the jungle, trying to find any kind of indication that the river is that way.

The crickets in the jungle are crazy, or as Hank might say, the giant ants that live in the trees. The leaves make a cracking noise as the wind passes them.

Then there's a defening roar.

Charlotte looks around the jungle, not moving from her position as she tries to identify who's roar it is.

Then she stands up straight and walks to James, her arms crossed over her chest.

"James, you're not going to find anything from here. We have to go to higher grounds" She mutters as she stares back at the team.

James stares ahead of him, taking her comment into consideration, and then nods, turning back to look at the rest of the team.

"You guys stay here. Charlotte and I are going to higher ground to find the river"

Charlotte nods to everyone, who are seeming to be settling in, sitting on the ground or on tree roots around them. She stares at all of them, nodding when she makes eye contact with Hank, and then turns around, starting to walk behind James.

"Wait! I'm coming too!" There's a shout. Charlotte turns around, pausing briefly to look behind her.

Mason is there, ushering over the jungle roots as she tries to catch up with the duo as quickly as she can.

____

Charlotte grunts as her hand slips on a rock.

"You alright?" James asks, as he climbs up the rocks besides her.

Charlotte nods, pursing her lips before lurching herself upwards once again

"Yeah. I'm fine" She manages to grunt out.

Her foot snatches on a rock, and she lurches herself forward once more, heaving herself up into the top of the mountain.

She stands up straight, watching around her as she waits for James and Masono as she catches her breath.

It's now night, and there's fog all around, making it hard to see even a few meters in front of them.

Charlotte sighs, thinking that this was all for nothing.

James climbs up the rock, and then Mason comes next, both joining Charlotte as they look over the mountain, trying to find the river below them.

Then there's a fog clearing, and Charlotte catches the river.

"There" She says, pointing at the river with her index finger.

"The boat must be around that end" James adds as he looks at the final bend the river takes before disappearing around another mountain.

Charlotte looks at the ground, trying to think of a plan that can get the team to the boat, while besides her, Mason is taking pictures of the scenery around them, the flash shining each time she clicks the button.

Then Mason's camera stops clicking, and they are left with silence.

Charlotte looks up from the ground and looks at Mason with confusion, only to find her staring in fear in front of her.

Charlotte slowly turns around, her eyes widening as she sees the gorilla's silhouette emerge from the fog around them.

She takes in a shaky breath, watching as Kong steps even closer to them.

She takes a step back, reaching for James hand, while Mason is clutching her camera with all her might.

They stand still, not moving a muscle. Their eyes opened wide. Like deers in headlights.

And then besides her, she sees Mason step forward slowly, and reach out to touch Kong's nose with her hand.

Charlotte takes in a breath, trying to hold herself back, and watches as Mason touches Kong softly.

Then something happens, Kong stays there. He breaths out, causing the both of their hairs to wave slightly.

Charlotte smiles, the tears of joy over coming her as she takes a step forward, and makes eye contact with Kong.

She nods, smiling at him before reaching out to touch the skin besides Mason's hand.

Then she smiles, looking back at James with a smile, which he returns as he stares at Kong, his eyes shiny with tears.

Mason pulls back first, slowly backing away.

But Charlotte stays there.

Her eyes make contacts with Kongs, and then she finds him doing something she had never seen before.

He pushes her hand, motioning for her to pet him.

She chuckles, and starts to move her hand sideways, watching as Kong stares around.

Then she pats his skin softly and steps back, looking at him with a smile, a tear trailing slowly down her cheek as she watches Kong stand straight once again, taking a look at the three of them, and slowly back away once again into the darkness behind him.

Then there's a loud explosion.

Charlotte gasps as she looks to her left, and watches as a series of explosions sound, rumbling the ground.

"Son of a bitch" she mutters under her breath.

"What?" James asks, turning around to look at her.

"Packard. That little shit. I'm going to kill him" she tells him as she turns to look at another explosion.

She takes as step back when she hears Kong's roar.

"We have to go. Now" She says, already climbing down the steep rock and rushing towards where they had left the civilians.

The ground rumbles with each new explosion, and the hairs on he back of her neck stand straight every time she hears Kong roar.

She grabs the gun from her back, not caring if James and Mason are behind her, and starts to run.

And over the dense jungle noise and the loud explosions, she finds herself thinking about one person, and one person only.