𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑴𝑬𝑹𝑪𝑬𝑵𝑨𝑹𝒀 - James Conrad

twelve

12|death

"This is the edge of the island." Conrad stated as he put Dorothy down, looking out at the man ship wrecks. "Dorothy, get up on those rocks and fire a flare. With any luck, Brooks will see it. We'll buy you time."

"Don't die." Dorothy kissed his cheek and took the flare gun off him before running in the opposite direction towards the rocks. She painfully climbed up the rock, wincing ever time she used her left arm. She could hear Kong's roars in the background along with the skull crawler screeching.

She raised the flare gun into the air and fired, her eyes never leaving the fight happening before her.

"Fight." She whispered, watching as Kong became trapped in the chains of the ship wrecks. Her heart skipped a beat when gun fire echoed through the open space, the boat coming towards them with Brooks firing the guns at the skull crawler.

Dorothy placed another flare into the gun and used her many years in the military to shoot it straight into the skull crawlers face. It exploded causing the creature to fall over, temporarily stopping it from attacking the group.

The fight continued, this time Kong was winning until he flung the skull crawler straight into the rock Dorothy was stood on. The force caused her to fall backwards.

They were right about dieing because in those few seconds you fall, it is as if you are falling back in time, reliving your past. All her mistakes and all her achievements playing like a broken record.

Her back hit the water, knocking the remaining air out her lung. She could feel her stitches ripping open as her mind when blank.

Dorothy took her last breath, a smile on her lips as she thought about how ironic it was she died this way.

The hand of death reached into the water, pulling her out and holding her tightly in its grasp.

"Dorothy!" A familiar British voice called out to her through the blurry vision of light. She sat up coughing, the water leaving her lungs as strong arms held her close.

"Kissing a woman unconscious, I thought you Brits were more civil than that." Her voice croaked as she spoke, smiling to the worried man before her. "What the hell happened? Is this hell?"

"You're alive. Kong saved you." Conrad explained as he pushed the wet strands of hair off her face. She glanced at the beast watching her carefully from the distance and bowed her head gratefully to it.

"Thank you." Dorothy wrapped her arms around the man, holding him close as the exhaustion hit her. She felt his arms hold her close, stroking her hair as she broke down in his embrace.

He helped her to her feet, her legs shaking as he lifted her up and carried her back to the boat.

"Dorothy!" Mason hugged her friend after Conrad had sat her down on the boat. "Are you okay?"

"Never almost die. It's not fun." The doctor chuckled darkly, leaning her head on the photographers shoulder. "I just want to go home."

"This place will change." Conrad stated after they had been sailing for hours. "Word will get out. It always does."

"Well, it's not coming from us." Mason reassured him, throwing her jacket over the shivering woman beside her. "Not after what we have all been through."

"I better be getting paid thousands after having to live through that." Dorothy joked, coughing as she could still feel the water in her lungs.

"You still look like a beach model." The photographer laughed, snapping a quick photo of the woman as they heard the distant sound of helicopters.

Conrad helped Dorothy on the helicopter first, cleaning her up as they flew back to safety. She awkwardly joked about how they should all go back to the uncharted island for a holiday.

~•~

"I've always loved the sunset." Dorothy hummed as she joined Conrad at the bow of the main ship. "Something about it seems so settling and calming."

"It shows the end of one day, the restart of life as you have another day." Conrad grabbed her hand as she sat beside him, leaving her head on his shoulder.

"I'm leaving the military." She announced, watching the sun set behind the horizon. "For once I want to settle down, I've traveled enough and seen far too much."

"What do you plan to do?" He asked her curiously.

"I have no idea." They went quiet after that, laying back against the cold ship floor to watch the stars dance in the sky.