Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:43:15 -0400
From: Tinnean <tinneantoo@embarqmail.com>
Subject: Stick With Me, Kid Part 6

Notes: In order to prevent the spread of syphilis, before a marriage
license was issued, a blood test was required, with a three-day waiting
period for the results. Maryland was the only state on the East coast where
this wasn't the law, so couples in a hurry to tie the knot went there.
Tarzan the Ape Man, with Johnny Weissmuller, appeared on the silver screen
in 1932.

Stick With Me, Kid
Part 6

Carl Denham's POV

For a supposedly smart fella, it had taken me a long time to realize what
was what.

We were making our way through the almost impenetrable undergrowth of the
tropical forest after helping the little Kong free himself from
quicksand. Johnny was slightly ahead of me, and I was able to study him
without being observed myself.

I'd always been considered a man's man. Aside from taking risks that had
gotten me labeled a lunatic while I was behind the camera, I fished the
deep sea sports fish, hunted big game in Africa, went to bare-knuckle
boxing matches where blood flowed as freely as the punches thrown, and
could knock back bootleg hooch with the best of 'em. And I chased skirts,
even though catching them always turned out to be more trouble than it was
worth.

Then I'd met John Smith. He was blond and blue-eyed, saved from being too
pretty by a broken nose. I didn't think he was much above seventeen,
although I later learned he was actually older than that by a few
years. Under the shabby clothes he wore he was so scrawny he looked as if a
good breeze would blow him over. Once I'd seen to it that he had some
square meals under his belt, he began to put on muscle, and he lost that
hungry look.

He'd reminded me a bit of Ann Darrow, when I'd first found her. Ann
Driscoll, she was now, having married Jack Driscoll, the Venture's first
mate, the day after King Kong escaped and then fell from the Empire State
Building. She and Jack had driven down to Maryland, where there was no
three day waiting period.

I read about it in the Daily News.

I'd convinced myself I'd taken Johnny to bed that first time simply because
of the resemblance to Ann, even though I'd never had any desire to sleep
with her. And then I'd convinced myself that if he didn't come with me on
the Venture, Big Louie, who ran the rackets on the Eastside, would see
about outfitting him with cement overshoes for helping me.

Johnny shared my cabin on the Venture, and my berth. When we were around
any of the men, I treated him casually, like a pal. When we were alone
together, I treated him pretty much the same.

I didn't know much about him, and I never asked about his past, or about
how he had gotten that broken nose. I figured if there was anything I
needed to know, he'd tell me. I failed to take into account the way he'd
been forced to live since the Depression hit the country.

All I knew was he was a good kid who let me fuck him whenever I wanted to,
and I found I wanted to a lot. I remembered how surprised he'd been the
first time I'd made love to him, and he'd come apart in my hands, and how
cock-of-the-walk that had made me feel.

Every time afterwards, I always made sure he climaxed, but once we were
done, I'd roll over and fall asleep. I never held him, rarely kissed him,
and he never complained about it. He never asked for anything, and he never
expected anything.

On a couple of occasions when I'd had nightmares of that time on Skull
Island, I'd wakened to him holding me, stroking my back and murmuring
soothing words in my ear, but as soon as he knew I was awake, he'd let me
go. I'd wanted to stay in his arms, but I'd turned away from him, saying
gruffly, "Sorry I woke you up. Go on back to sleep, kid."

I called him 'kid' because I couldn't bring myself to call him any of the
meaningless pet names I'd have used for a woman.

I kept telling myself I couldn't be in love with another man, but the
deeper we sailed into the South Seas, the more I searched for excuses to
touch him or hold him.

I thought he was happy; I knew I was.

The night after we'd sailed out of Dakang, things changed.  He was edgy and
distracted, and I'd spent a long time making love to him, trying to show
him by the actions of my body that he needed me. He'd moaned and shivered
and filled my hand with his seed. I'd whispered impassioned phrases against
his hair, but his only response was the slow, steady sigh of his breathing
as he slipped into sleep.

Johnny became more and more distant after that. We shared the same berth,
but we may as well have been on opposite ends of the ship. Sometimes I'd
feel his eyes on me, but when I turned to glance in his direction, he'd be
watching the horizon, or the dolphins playing in the Venture's wake. I was
always too late to catch him watching me.

Cold fingers clutched my gut as it dawned on me that I could be losing
him. I'd never been in a situation like this before, and I didn't know how
to react, so I withdrew.

The Skipper would gaze from one of us to the other. His lips would clamp
down on the stem of his pipe, and he would shake his head, but he didn't
offer advice.

It was only when the crew gathered on the deck and demanded an explanation
for Hildy Peterson's presence aboard the Venture that I learned what was
behind Johnny's behavior toward me.

It turned out that Johnny had brought the little girl whose father had been
killed in a suspicious fire on the ship. I thought she'd be better off in
Dakang, and he'd thought otherwise. He'd been afraid that when I learned
he'd gone against my wishes, I'd kick him off at the first available port.

He'd been wrong.

We got that misunderstanding straightened out, and the physical side of our
friendship resumed. Things were going well.

And then the men mutinied. Dutch told us we were going to be put off the
ship, and we'd have to row to Skull Island, which wasn't more than half a
mile away. The Skipper had been distressed. We weren't supposed to be
anywhere near Skull Island.

I hadn't been worried. Well, not *too* worried. I figured the natives would
welcome us, and eventually we'd find a way to return to civilization. If
the Venture found Skull Island, so could other ships.

But... "Where's Johnny?"

"We's keepin' your Nancy-boy, Denham. Mebbe we'll let ya have 'im back. If
ya still wants 'im when we's done with 'im." Red was a mucker, a nasty
piece of goods, and I knew if he got his mitts on the kid, he'd hurt him
and enjoy every minute of it.

I'd gone after him, not the brightest move I'd ever made, and earned myself
a blow to the head and a nagging headache. The Skipper and Jimmy had to
lower me, half-conscious, to the lifeboat..

Careful hands took me from the wireless operator's hold. "It's all right,
Mr. Denham. I've got you." It was Johnny. He was there and unhurt, and I
sagged against him in relief.

****

In spite of the heat, Johnny hadn't rolled up the sleeves of the shirt he
wore tucked in his trousers. They afforded some small protection from the
brush, where the leaves could often inflict painful cuts. If the toss-up
was between sweating or bleeding from a wound that might become infected,
there was no contest.

The shirt clung damply to his back, and from time to time he'd push his
hair up off his neck. I loved the way it curled, and the way it felt
against my fingers when I made love to him, but I wondered why he didn't
cut it. It was obviously uncomfortable.

He turned his head to smile at me, and I caught my breath. His blue eyes
were unguarded, and for the first time they didn't have that wary tension
lurking at their back; he looked like the kid I always called him.

"We're going to need another bath by the time we get back," Johnny groused
good-naturedly. He ran a sleeve over his forehead to mop the sweat that was
beading at his hairline.

"Maybe the Skipper and Charley will find water closer to camp, a stream, a
pond, something."

"As long as it's not like the one we left." He stopped abruptly, and I
nearly stepped on his heels. "Did you hear anything, Mr. Denham?"

"Not a thing, kid." I'd been too distracted by my thoughts. "Y'know
something? I'm glad we were able to get things sorted out between us. We
have gotten them sorted once and for all, haven't we? You're not going to
leave me, are you?"

"There was never a chance of that, Mr. Denham. You're stuck with me for as
long as you want me."

"Guess I'll have you forever then." A warm feeling settled in my chest. It
took me a little while to figure out what it was. I was happy.

Oh, sure, I'd been happy before, when I'd got good footage of an action
sequence in the can, or when a film of mine made money, but not happy like
this. I wondered if I was going soft. And then I decided I didn't care.

Johnny unscrewed the cap from the canteen and took a swallow. He pulled a
face. "We're going to need water that's drinkable."  He passed it to
me. "Other than that pool we nearly got cooked in, we haven't found
anything in this direction."

"Well, we did find King Kong's son. Listen, kid." I waited until he was
looking at me. "I wouldn't mention seeing Little Kong in front of
Helstrom. His nerves aren't too steady right now, and I got the impression
he never believed there actually was a King Kong."

He made a rude sound. "Doesn't he read the newspapers?"

"Even if he did, I doubt he'd take their word for it."

"You mean he thinks Kong was simply a myth? Well, a myth ith ath good ath a
mile," Johnny lisped, deliberately keeping his expression bland. I gave him
a disbelieving look, and he burst out laughing. "Sorry."

I liked hearing him laugh, and I laughed softly myself. "Rascal!" I tugged
a lock of his hair, and it all fell loose from the slender vine that kept
it confined. I finger-combed it back from his face, then ran a thumb over
his cheekbone.

He blushed a little and bumped his shoulder against mine. "He must think
you're a dope."

I snorted. "Helstrom doesn't have a high opinion of anyone's intelligence,
except, maybe his own."

"So he thought he was pulling a fast one on you?"

"Yeah. That was a sizable poker pot we were playing for, and I'd called his
hand. If he wanted to stay in the game, he had to ante up."

"Do you think there really is a treasure here on Skull Island?"

I didn't even have to give that much thought. "Fat chance, kid. Sounded
like he was just desperate to get away from Dakang, and he was willing to
bet the lure of an adventure that resulted in fantastic wealth would be all
that it would take to get me interested." I shrugged ruefully. "He might
have a point."

"Why?" Johnny demanded hotly. "Because you went to Skull Island the last
time? It wasn't your fault, the way it turned out! You didn't twist
anyone's arm to go on that voyage, Carl. They all went of their own free
will."

"A lot of them died." I was touched that he'd stick up for me so fiercely.

He shrugged in turn. "We're all going to die. You can't save everyone,
Mr. Denham. I'm goofy for you, but even I don't see you as god."

I couldn't catch my breath. "What did you say?"

"Huh?" For a second he looked puzzled. "I said even I don't see you as..."

"No, no. Before that."

"We're all going to die?" His gaze darted away from mine, but I knew he was
watching me from the corner of his eyes. I shook my head. "You can't save
everyone?" he offered.

"Johnny." My tone was exasperated. "Are you deliberately trying to give the
impression you're a dim bulb?"

His shoulders slumped. "I'm goofy for you?" Clearly he was hoping I wasn't
familiar with the current slang.

"That's the one." I tipped his face up, but he refused to meet my eyes. I
sighed. "Johnny. Johnny!" Finally, reluctantly, he raised his eyes. "So,
you love me?"

"I didn't mean to say that; it just slipped out, honest." He held himself
stiffly now, as if he expected a blow.

"But you love me, don't you?" My hands closed around his upper arms, and I
pulled him up onto his toes.

He looked miserable. "Carl..." I could see the hesitancy in those blue
eyes.

"Call me Mr. Denham." It had taken a while, but I'd finally caught on. His
'Mr. Denham' was equal to any skirt's 'darling' or 'sweetheart'. My mouth
hovered just above his, and his breath warmed my lips with tiny, excited
puffs. And then my lips were on his, brushing over them until he opened
with a helpless moan, and I slid my tongue into his mouth and tasted
Johnny.

****

When I finished kissing him, there was a dazed look in his eyes, and I
wondered if his legs felt as boneless as mine, if his mouth tingled and
felt as puffy. I propped him up against a tree.

I traced a finger over his lips. They were slick and moist from my kiss. I
brought my finger to my mouth and licked it.

Johnny's blue eyes darkened, and he took my hand and brought it to his
mouth. His lips parted, and his tongue came out to curl around my finger
and draw it into his mouth to suckle it lightly. I groaned and pulled it
away, and kissed him again.

Finally I straightened and shook my head. "Much as I'd enjoy more
distractions like this, if we don't get going, we're going to wind up
spending the night out here!"

"That would be oke with me."

"Whatever I suggest would be oke with you, kid." In spite of the fact that
I'd so recently jacked off while I'd brought him to climax with my mouth
and hand, my prick was hard, and I could feel the matching hardness in his
trousers pushing against my thigh. I knew my grin had to reveal how smug
and satisfied I was.

"Well, it would."

I wanted to drag him into my arms, but I knew if I touched him, I wouldn't
be able to prevent myself from taking him to the jungle floor, and we
really would wind up spending the night in the jungle. I picked up my
rifle, pulled out the compass the Skipper had given me and took a
bearing. "That way, kid," I pointed, and we began walking west. "We'll have
to spell the Skipper and Charley tomorrow, and keep an eye on Helstrom so
they can have some time alone."

"They're good men, and I like them a lot. Too bad that shark wasn't around
when Dutch tossed Helstrom overboard, though."

"Johnny! One would think you weren't fond of Captain Helstrom."

"One would be correct." He was serious.

I took another bearing. "We need to go in that direction to get the
bananas. From there the path will be a couple of degrees northwest, and
that will get us back to the camp in about an hour."

Johnny's footsteps slowed. "Wait a second. I'm *positive* I heard something
that time!"

"No. As a matter of fact, it's... " I was about to say it was too quiet. My
words were cut off as Johnny let out a yelp and was abruptly lifted off the
ground. Long, thick fingers covered in white fur were encircling his body,
and he shoved at them to no avail.

His face was pale, and his eyes were wide with shock. The young Kong had
him in his grip. He brought Johnny closer to his face... his mouth... those
teeth that looked like tombstones. I was positive Johnny was going to
become his dinner, and I worked the bolt of the rifle.

"Hold on, kid! I'm going to ..." I had the rifle to my shoulder, but before
I could shoot, Little Kong's lips seemed to wrinkle into a grin. He sat
down, still holding Johnny, and very carefully stroked the tip of one digit
over Johnny's hair. His touch looked surprisingly gentle as he took a lock
between two fingers and learned just how soft and thick it was.

Little Kong's nostrils flared, and he inhaled noisily, but he didn't bring
Johnny any closer to his mouth.

"Ugh! Banana breath!" Johnny continued to push at the fingers that held him
captive.

"Johnny," I called softly so as not to alarm the young animal, "it doesn't
look like he's going to hurt you. If it's oke with you, I don't want to
blow his brains out just yet."

"Just... just don't wait too long, Mr. Denham?"

"Not a chance, kid! I'm not losing you now!"

Little Kong seemed to become intrigued by Johnny's clothes, and he made a
pincer with thumb and forefinger. He tugged at Johnny's shirt, ripping it.

"Hey!" Johnny protested as the material tore apart, "I'm gonna need this!"

Little Kong uttered a tiny sound of wonder and moved the torn halves of the
shirt aside, touching Johnny's chest. I watched intently, ready to open
fire if I had to, as the pad of his forefinger explored the contours of
Johnny's torso, the hills and valleys of his chest and abdomen, and then
the young primate snagged his nail on the waist of the kid's trousers.

"Oh, no! This is the only pair of pants I have! I'm not going around naked
because you're curious!" Johnny fisted his hand and pounded at the nearest
finger as hard as he could. Little Kong flinched and whimpered and dropped
the kid the few feet to the ground, then brought that finger to his mouth.

"Johnny!" I had him in my arms and was dragging him away from the giant
ape.

"I'm all right. He didn't hurt me."

"Oh, christ, there's blood all over your shirt!" I was terrified, searching
for an injury. If he was wounded, there wasn't much I could do for him,
except maybe pray really hard. We hadn't thought to bring the first aid kit
with us.

Johnny stared down at himself in surprise. "I'm not hurt," he assured me
again. He opened his shirt to show me, and I ran my fingers over him in the
same manner as Little Kong.

"If it's not your blood, then..."

"... it must be his!"

As if realizing we were talking about him, the young animal looked at
us. He'd been nursing his hand to his chest and whimpering softly.

"Hey! He's pure white, Mr. Denham!"

"Yeah, kid. He must have found someplace to wash off all that slime."

"I just hope it wasn't that pond we found." Johnny stepped away from
me. "Oke, little fella, let me see." He held out his hand, reaching for
Little Kong's. He was reluctant to let Johnny touch him, no doubt believing
Johnny was the reason he was in pain. "I couldn't have hit him hard enough
to hurt him this badly, Carl! Something's wrong."

"All right, youngster," I said soothingly, leaning the rifle up against a
tree, "let me take a look at that." I was surprised when he let me take his
hand and turn it over. "Well, would you look at that? He's got a splinter!"

"D'you think he must have gotten it when he climbed out of the quicksand?"

"From that tree?" I was stroking the soft, pliable skin of his palm in as
calming a fashion as I could. "I wouldn't be surprised, kid." I met his
eyes. "This will have to come out."

He swallowed hard. "If you can hold him steady, I'll try to remove it."

"Sure thing." I held the finger in both arms and braced myself, watching
with interest as Johnny pulled his shirt the rest of the way out of his
trousers, then took his ever-present knife from his pocket, made a cut, and
began tearing off a wide strip. When he was done, he draped it over his
shoulder. "Can you distract him, Mr. Denham?"

"I can try." I began to sing softly. "'I fell in love with you first time I
looked into Them there eyes... '"

Johnny stared at me, and I felt myself blush. I wasn't much of a
troubadour. His lips twisted in a grin, but he didn't say anything, just
bent his head over the injury and set to work.

I wouldn't have been able to do much if Little Kong decided he was unhappy
about the way Johnny was digging into his finger, but the young animal
actually held still for it. Finally Johnny had the splinter worked free. It
was narrow but about the length of my hand.

"Geez, would you look at that, Mr. Denham? It's a tree trunk!" He tossed it
aside. The wound was bleeding sluggishly, and he uncapped a canteen and
poured some water over it, washing the blood out of the gash. Little Kong
flinched again but didn't pull away. "Good boy." Johnny carefully wound the
strip of material around it and tucked in the loose end.

He nodded for me to release the finger and stepped back. Suddenly it seemed
to get dark. I realized it was Little Kong's hand descending on Johnny.

Time slowed to a crawl.

Johnny gasped as he tried desperately to backpedal out of the way. His feet
tangled in something, and he tripped and landed on his ass. I lunged for
the rifle. Maybe I owed King Kong something, but not the kid's life.

Little Kong picked him up and set him on his feet, then touched his hair
very gently.

"Well, I'll be." I was stunned. I cradled the rifle so the muzzle pointed
to the ground. "Like father, like son. Looks like Little Kong has a
weakness for blonds too! Say, I wonder how long he's been following us."

"What... ?" Johnny asked in confusion, then sucked in air as it dawned on
him. "All those times when it felt like we were being watched, when I heard
something, or I thought clouds were blocking out the sun..."

Little Kong angled his big body forward. His nose scrunched up as he
breathed in Johnny's scent. Johnny reached upward and absently scratched
under the young animal's chin. Little Kong's eyelids drooped, lowering to
half mast, his lips stretched wide, and he made little grunting sounds of
contentment.

"Johnny," I said quietly, "he likes that! He likes the way you're touching
him!" I chuckled softly. "Can't say I blame him. I like the way you touch
me too."

"Mr. Denham, this isn't a good time to flirt with me." He was turned away
from him, and I couldn't see the smile on his face, but I could hear it in
his voice.

"Johnny."

He glanced over his shoulder, a pale eyebrow arching toward his temple.

"Any time is a good time." I wanted to put the rifle down. I wanted to push
aside his hair and kiss the back of his neck, nuzzling the soft hair that
grew there. I wanted to lick the skin where neck and shoulder joined,
tasting the salt of his sweat, then blowing on it. I wanted to slide my
arms into the torn front of his shirt and rub my palms over his nipples. As
if he knew what I was thinking, his nipples became pebble-hard, and we both
shivered. "We have to be going now, Little Kong." I patted the young
animal's upper arm, and we backed away from him. "Don't take any wooden
nickels."

I could have sworn he looked crestfallen.

****

It took about another half hour, forty-five minutes to reach the stand of
banana trees. "You sure you can climb this, kid? It looks pretty high!"

He measured the height with his eyes, and he looked a little nervous, but
he just nodded. The canteens would have interfered with his climb, so he
pulled them off over his head and handed them to me, and I looped the
straps around my neck. He licked his lips, then pulled out that knife of
his and stuck it between his teeth. It took some careful maneuvering, but
he hitch-crawled his way to the top.

My chest began to hurt, and I realized I was holding my breath. I forced
myself to breathe, but my palms were clammy, and I cursed myself for
allowing the kid to make that climb.

There was a bunch of ripe bananas that he seemed to be working toward, and
I was relieved when he was finally close enough to it to grab the stem,
pull it to him, and start sawing it loose.

"Hey, Mr. Denham, how do we get this down on the ground without winding up
with mashed bananas?" Johnny called. He was about three quarters of the way
through.

Before I could answer, two things happened at once.

A spider that looked to be the size of Rin Tin Tin, that German Shepherd
dog, dashed out of the bunch of bananas where it had been hiding. Eight
spiny-haired legs propelled the thing toward Johnny, and my stomach roiled
as I was reminded of the spider in the ravine. Johnny's recoil was abrupt
and violent, and his knife went flying out of his hand.

At the same time, another tremor rocked the area, and he lost his grip on
the tree and fell.

"JOHNNY!"

He was going to die. I knew it. The fall was too great for there to be any
chance of survival. I refused to squeeze my eyes shut tight, as much as I
wanted to. I dropped the rifle and tried to place myself beneath him so I
could break his fall.

A huge palm appeared out of nowhere, and Johnny landed on it so hard the
breath was knocked out of him. Little Kong lowered him gently to the
ground, and I could see that Johnny was hovering on the verge of
consciousness, wheezing to take a breath.

I yanked him off the leathery cushion of Little Kong's palm and into my
arms. "Johnny!" I swore in a harsh, tight voice. "Kid, are you all right?"

"Geez, I didn't... didn't know you... you knew words like that!" he laughed
feebly. "I'm... I'm oke, Mr. Denham, just a little...little winded. Little
Kong saved me!"

"Yeah, it looks like he..." There was a sharp crack, and we both looked up
to see the bunch of bananas break free. I dragged him out of the way just
in time, and it hit the ground with a solid thud. Johnny shivered, and my
embrace tightened.

There was an annoyed, chittering sound, and the huge spider came scuttling
out of the mass of squashed bananas. Four sets of eyes reflected our images
malevolently, jaws opened and closed with evil intent, and the tips of it
fangs glistened with drops of venom.

Before it could launch itself at us, there was a thundering roar, and a
huge foot descended on it, flattening it with a sickening crunch.

Not satisfied with that, Little Kong put his entire weight on that foot and
twisted it a number of times.

"Holy smokes!" We sat there staring in reluctant fascination at his
actions.

"Yeah!"

Little Kong raised his foot and stared at the mess on his sole, his mobile
lips twisted in a grimace of distaste. He scraped his foot over a leafy
bush, clearing off the worst of spider ichor and guts. Johnny swallowed
hard. I couldn't blame him, it wasn't a pretty sight.

"He saved our lives just now!" I climbed to my feet and reached a hand down
to help Johnny up. I pulled him into my arms and held him.

"And he saved my life when I fell out of that tree." He pulled back to look
into my eyes. "You're shaking, Mr. Denham!"

"Yeah, kid. This time I am."

He burrowed against me, his head under my chin, and we stood there rocking
back and forth. "Do you think maybe he's trying to pay us back for saving
his life?"

"Could be, Johnny. Gorillas are smart from what I've learned of 'em, and
Little Kong's a mighty big gorilla. He'd be even smarter." I glanced over
at him. "Uh, oh!"

"Carl, what is it?"

Little Kong had picked up the rifle and was inspecting it curiously. He
studied it, peering into the barrel, and his nostrils wrinkled at the
telltale odor of gun powder that lingered around it.

Somehow he managed to get the rifle to fire. The bullet went whistling past
his ear. The explosion so close to his head irritated the young animal, and
he let out a roar that actually rivaled his old man's and snapped the
offending thing in two.

"Oh, no!" I groaned. "You big lummox!"

Johnny was leaning against me, laughing helplessly.

"It's not funny, you know!" I grumbled.

"I... I know, Mr. Denham, but..." He laughed harder. "The look on both your
faces!"

"I guess," I said grudgingly.

Little Kong plopped himself down with a grunt and stared at the broken
weapon, and I would have sworn the expression on his simian face was
aggrieved. He sniffed and offered the pieces to me.

I felt a reluctant grin start. "Well, it looks like now we're down to two
rifles, Johnny."

****

Johnny started going through the bunch of bananas, looking for some that
weren't too badly damaged.  He tossed one to Little Kong, who peeled it
with finesse and then gobbled it down in two bites.

Johnny offered one to me, and I shared it with him, carving off slices with
his knife, which I had found not too far off.

He took the knife back and had just cleaned it off and returned it to his
pocket when there was another tremor. They were coming closer together, it
seemed. As I turned to say something to that effect to Johnny, the ground
split open beneath me, and I started slipping and sliding down a steep
incline at an incredible rate of speed. Abruptly the bottom dropped out,
and I fell. I heard Johnny's desperate cry, and then a large hand scooped
me up and brought me back to the surface.

"Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck!" Johnny threw himself at me, hugging me as if he'd
never let go. "I thought you were a goner!

"Hey, kid, it's oke!" But my legs gave out from under me, and I sank to the
ground. He dropped to his knees beside me and held me fiercely, his body
flush against mine, absorbing the shudders that rippled through me. We
stared over the edge of the newly-formed sinkhole where we could see molten
rock. It surged, sullen and restless. "Oh, my god!"

My insides turned to water. If Little Kong hadn't caught me in time, I
would have gone into a pit of lava.

Suddenly, the young animal grabbed us up, one under each arm, and began
running. "What... what's going on, Carl?"

I was able to get a look around Little Kong's upper arm, and I
shuddered. "The... the ground's giving way, Johnny. It's just... just
falling in on itself!"

Little Kong tucked Johnny into the same arm with me and used his other hand
to drive himself forward at a faster rate. With a powerful bound of his
legs, he took to the trees, swinging through them like that Tarzan the Ape
Man. His muscles bunched and flowed, moving smoothly under his hide, and he
quickly outdistanced the danger. Once we reached the low-lying hills, he
dropped to the ground and seemed to follow a path that gradually took us
higher and higher up into the mountains.

Finally, winded, he came to a halt, and I stared up in awe. "Holy smokes,
kid! This is Skull Mountain! We're on Kong's mountain!"

tbc