Elements of the Mountains

Hike

It doesn't take James and Marlow long to find where we are going to dock the boat. Once we dock we go ashore and start hiking along the river. After hiking for about 45 minutes, we stop to rest by a stream. We are all tired and weak since we haven't actually eaten since we left the village. Which, yes, was only a couple of hours ago, but with everything that's happened, we have no energy left to give. I sit with Slivko and Weaver, while Marlow fills his cantin and James looks around, "their flare was only two klicks north. They should be here soon."

"Unless they were eaten by something that's bigger than us," Weaver mutters, messing with her camera.

Before long we hear wood cracking and breaking in the forest. We can't really see who or what is making the noise, until the men emerge from the wood line. Slivko jumps up, happy to see his team again, "holy shit!"

"Slivko!" One of the men calls out as Slivko runs towards him, hugging the man who called out to him.

Randa walks over to Brooks, who shakes his hand, "I thought you were crazy."

Randa shakes his head, "I wish I had been."

Packard and I met, next to James, "what's your count?" James extends a hand.

"What you see is what I got," Packard looks around after shaking James' hand.

"We lost one, too," I nod.

"Good to see you, fellas!" Marlow walks over to the three of us.

"Who the hell is this?"  Packard slightly tilts his head.

I shrug, "we picked up a hitchhiker."

"Lieutenant Hank Marlow," Marlow glances around a bit, "of the 45th Pursuit Squadron of the 15th."

Packard chuckles, "you've been here since World War II?"

"Yes, sir. I miss the parade?"

"I'll be damned. Snap to, Lieutenant," the two salute each other.

"We're gonna get him home, sir," James nods and gestures up the river, "if we follow this river... we'll make it to the boat and we'll make it to the north shore in time."

"That sounds good. But we're not leaving yet," James and I almost tilt our heads toward Packard, "still got a man out there."

I shake my head, "who is still out there?"

"Chapman. He's with the downed Sea Stallion just west of here."

"West?!" Marlow shakes his head, "we can't go west! That's where the skull things live. We have an old saying here. 'East is best, west is worst!' that's why we say it!" He shrugs, "you know, southwest... we could talk about that. But you're gonna need a lot more guns if you're gonna go west."

"Guys," Weaver stands, "I think that we should listen to Marlow."

I nod, "I agree with, Mason." I look over to James and shake my head, "I'm sorry, I know you don't leave a man behind but do you even know if Chapman is alive."

"We have no reason to believe he's not," Packard shrugs.

"This is crazy."

"Hey. your job is finding lost men, right? That's why you two were hired. So, why don't you do your job, we go in, find Chapman in a few hours and then make it to the North side of the island." Packard chuckles, "or... should you just admit, the only reason you're here, is because Conrad here, wouldn't come without you and you have done nothing more than hold back your team."

I take a step toward Packard, but James stops me, "okay. sir. But if we reach that position and he's not there, we don't send out a search party. We're back here by nightfall, understood? In 24 hours, we have to be on the other side of this island."

"Roger that. Hear you loud and clear. All right, you heard the man. Moving out in 10."

James turns me around, "what were you thinking? Were you going to hit a Commanding Officer in front of his men?" James whispers.

"No," I shake my head, "I just..."

"Just what?"

I sigh, "I just don't want to feel like a burden to this team." I shake my head again, "I wasn't going to do anything other than give him some extra sass."

James sighs, "you aren't a burden to this team. If you were you would have ended up like Nieves already and I'd be running around like Marlow."

We look over to Marlow, who is talking with the soldiers, "this is a good group of boys. We're all gonna die together out here. You're a good group of boys to die with, I'll tell you that much. You shouldn't have come here."

We get ready to go and James looks over to me, "don't forget to tell me this is a bad idea."

I roll my eyes, as I step away, "this is a bad idea."

We hike for a few hours before coming across a field of bones. Weaver takes the opportunity and takes a few photos. These bones are huge and stand far over everyone's heads. We walk across the field, until we come to a pit. "Yeah, you smell that?" Marlow stops beside me. "That's death."

"What the hell is this place?" One of the soldiers asks.

"This is what's left of Kong's parents."

I shake my head, "I've been to enough mass graves to know one when I see it."

Weaver nods, "I know the feeling. I've photographed more than I'd ever care to remember."

"The crash site's just on the other side of this valley." Packard gestures over the valley, "we'll cross through and make it to the highest point west."

Marlow shakes his head, "this place is a real no-no, sir."

"We need to be going to the north side right now," one of the remaining scientists protests.

Packard nods, "and you're welcome to do that, my man. By yourself. I'm not leaving Jack out there. Now, who's with me?"

James looks out over the field, "we can make it."

"You're mighty right, we can make it. Now, stay sharp. Keep an eye out."

"I've only been here 28 years." Marlow shrugs, "what do I know?"