Under Normal Circumstances

Tooth and Nail

Slivko.

They were bee lining it right for us but so was that thing. Noticing the predicament, Conrad set to luring it after him and away from the Ploat, which both luckily and sadly worked. I slowed down so we could pick them up while Houston desperately tried to reload the machine gun. San came down and her and I began helping the men onto the Ploat. It was strange sensation, like I was two people at once. One was pumping with adrenaline and was only thinking of the next move to stay alive. The other just had the same thought over and over: Slivko is still alive, He's still alive.

We pulled up Hank followed by Reles who both scrambled over to help Houston with the machine gun. I was trying to watch what I was doing, keep an eye on Conrad, and one on Slivko. Right when I was sure I was about to watch Conrad die, the now familiar roar of Kong filled the air. San and I had just pulled Mills aboard then and we all sort of froze as the skull crawler turned to face the source. Kong, looking a little worse for wear, emerged onto the scene. Conrad seized the moment of distraction and started booking it back toward the Ploat. Slivko had paused to look as well and was still staring.

"Slivko!" I barked.

He snapped his head back around to look at me.

"Get on the boat!" I ordered, hand outstretched to help him.

He obeyed and grabbed my hand, sending a bolt of electricity to my heart. He was really there, he was really alive.

"Where's Conrad going?" I asked, noticing him change directions.

"Mason is on the ridge," Slivko replied, pointing it out to us.

Kong and the Skull crawler were getting closer to us as they fought and I instinctively grabbed Slivko's arm.

He turned from the nearing violence to me and looked me square in the eye as he grabbed my shoulders, blocking the horrifying scene.

"Maybelle," He began, his brown eyes full of remorse below his worried brows. "Before anything happens, I am so sorry I left you. Please forgive me, I'm so sorry, I never should have-"

I cut off his rambling attempt at what I'm sure he thought could be his last words. We didn't have time for so many, we needed to get it together and survive. So I put my hands on either side of his face and pulled him in, pressing my lips to his. It wasn't a passionate kiss like you see in movies, it was solid and still, but I think it said everything I needed it to say. It wasn't quick either, even though our situation was urgent. It needed to be long enough to remember, just in case. I had to make sure I knew how his lips felt and how he tasted. Just in case.

I finally pulled away and we both took a deep, much needed breath as he looked so deeply in my eyes I though he might be able to read my mind. I hoped he found whatever he was looking for in them before everything started going wrong.

"He ain't getting up!" Mills yelled.

We turned our attention and saw the Skull crawler pinning down Kong who appeared to be caught in the chains of some wrecked ships in the lagoon. Reles and Hank finally got the machine gun ready again and began firing at it to distract it and give Kong a chance. It stopped just before delivering a death blow to the giant primate and turned to us. Satisfied that Kong was firmly tied down, it turned to us again. The bullets weren't effective enough against it, it was probably like firing a BB gun at a rhino. But without it holding him down, Kong began to struggle against the chains with a herculean effort. Still, it was approaching us too quickly, it would be on top of us before he was free for sure. Everyone who could get their hands on a gun was firing at the monster, hoping for a miracle.