Lost & Found- James Conrad

Chapter 3

Hank led us around the village and towards an old rusted ship. "As far as I can tell, this ship washed up about ten years before I did," said Hank. We slowly walked inside the wreckage.

As we entered the ship I decided I should warn the group. "This is all hallowed ground to them, so if you like your hands don't touch anything." The group gasped quietly as they saw the inside of the ship. They all curiously looked at the different images on the rocks. I looked away from the one that was beside Kong's. Hank decided to give the group a rundown of the history.

"The way they tell it, for thousands of years the people on this island lived in fear. It's hell of a long time to be scared. And then one day the damndest thing happened. Some of the things they were afraid of, started protecting against things that were eating them. But nothing lasts forever, I guess." The group looked at the picture of Kong. "And this is we're they honor the last of their saviors. That's Kong. He's king around here. He's god to these people. Kong is a pretty good king. Keeps to himself mostly. This is his home. We are just guests here. But you don't go into someone's house and start dropping bombs unless you're picking a fight." The group shifted awkwardly.

"Was Kong the one who killed your friend?" Asked Mason. I shifted uncomfortably. Hank noticed my reaction.

"No, one of them did." Hank gestured to another painting. "Kong is god on this island but the devils live below us." Conrad was immediately interested.

"And what are they called?" Hank looked at the Iwis watching the interaction.

"The Iwis won't speak their name. But we call'em Skull Crawlers." The group looked back at me. I shrugged. Mason was totally confused.

"Why?" Hank was shocked by her question.

"Cause it sounds neat." I laughed. "I made that name up. I'm trying to scare you." Mason was quick to respond.

"I'm fine calling them that." She looked to Conrad. "Are you fine calling it that?"

"Yes. It's very good." Hank decided just to move on from the topic.

"I never said the name out loud before." I scoffed loudly, drawing the attention away from Hank. "It sounds stupid now that I say it, just.... you call them whatever you want. Big lizard things. Nasty. They come from the vents. Deep down. That's why Kong got so mad. Cause the bombs woke up a bunch of them. I tell you what, you're lucky he's out there or you would not have made it this far. Crafty bastards. Neat as hell. He can handle them as long as he gets to them when they're still small. You don't wanna wake the big one." Hank looked directly at me. I finally decided to tell the group my secret.

"You don't want to mess with the big one because it will do everything to protect me." The group stared.

"What do you mean?" Conrad asked.

"Look at the rocks right next to Kong's picture." I gestured to the rocks with a painting of a human standing between Kong and the Skull Crawlers. "That picture represents me. Fifteen years ago when I crashed on this island, my mother was killed by the skull crawlers. I decided that I wanted to see if the creatures could be trained. I found one of the vents and eventually found Alpha. Instead of eating me like the other Skull Crawler did to my mother, it bowed to me. It took me in and helped me survive this long. The Iwis treat me like a queen because I can control the Skull Crawlers and Kong. When you guys were dropping the bombs I was riding on the back of one of the Skull Crawlers." The group looked at me blankly. Hank came over and rubbed my back. "You better hope none of your bombs caused the Skull Crawlers to go savage again. If any of the creatures hear an extremely loud noise or see a bright flash of light, it's game over." Hank decided to continue on with his lesson.

"Kong is the last of his kind but he's still growing. And you better hope he does because the Iwis say that once Kong goes, then the big one comes up." Conrad crossed closer to Hank and I.

"Listen, there's a refuelling team coming to the north end of the island in three days."

"You should come with us," said Mason. Hank looked at me.

"At the north end of the island?" Conrad smiled.

"We're going to get out of here." I looked at him in shock.

"In three days?" I asked. Conrad looked at me and smiled.

"Yes." Hank began to laugh and pat Conrad's cheek until it wiped his smile off his face.

"We can't get to the north end of the island in three days. It's impossible. That's it, no way!" Hank thought for a moment then looked at me. I smirked. "At least not on foot."