King Kong: The Legend of Skull Island [Wattys 2017]

Chapter 2

2005

10 years later, Kong had matured. Ever since the day he was chosen, he did his best to rule the island as fairly and just as possible. But being a king wasn't all he did. He also trained to become a warrior, and often hunted along with a group of other warriors. His closest friend was one of those warriors. His name was Gorosaurus. They started out as rivals when they were young, but eventually their hatred for each other grew into friendship. Currently, they were taking a break from the hunt, sitting up in the branch of a large tree, watching the sun set over the water. Gorosaurus could tell something was wrong with Kong. He wasn't acting like himself.
"Is something wrong?" He asked. "You've been acting weird all day."
"No, I'm fine." Kong said. "It's just that... now that I've 'matured', the elders of the tribe are pressuring me to get a wife. They keep telling me that a king needs a queen in order to rule properly."
"Okay." Gorosaurus said. "So what's the problem? There are a lot of hot girls all over the island."
Kong chuckled. "Believe me, I know that. The elders have been sending them to my bedchamber nearly every night now." He said.
"Lucky!" Gorosaurus laughed, nudging Kong in the arm with his elbow. Kong rolled his eyes and shoved his elbow away before continuing.
"But while they may be hot," he said, "I wouldn't want to marry any of them. I have to love someone before I can marry them."
"Eh, I still think you're wasting an opportunity." Gorosaurus said. He shrugged, but then something caught his eye. Something was approaching on the horizon. It looked like a boat, but that was impossible. No boats could make it past the intense storms and weather, no matter how strongly they were built. But as the object got closer, Gorosaurus could see that it was definitely a boat. Kong saw it too.
"What a strange looking boat..." He muttered.
"How did it get past the storms?" Gorosaurus asked.
"I don't know, but I'm gonna send a few people to check it out." Kong said. He jumped down from the tree and made his way back to the village. This boat was of extreme interest to him.

The captain was amazed his boat had survived the storms and intense conditions around the island. He breathed a sigh of relief. They were on a steady path to Skull Island now. He nodded and went to notify the crew and passengers. There weren't many, only a few really. Among them were two important individuals. One of them was Hana, a young journalist student looking to do a report on the mythical island for her class. She was a bit short, but her excitement and eagerness more than made up for her stature. Her blonde bob cut was covered by a black headband, and she wore a white button-up shirt with a tan vest and cargo shorts. She was fresh out of high school, and was determined to make her report a good one. Seeing as she was so young, her protection was first priority. The other important individual was Godzilla, a famous Kaiju from Japan. He had just finished fighting a large number of other Kaiju during an event recently labelled as the Final Wars. He had been hired as a bodyguard against the legendary King Kong, if he even existed at all. There were also supposedly other monsters and beasts that lived on the island, from giant spiders to vicious creatures with exposed skulls. They'd need someone to protect them, and Godzilla was seemingly the best choice.
"We'll be approaching Skull Island soon." The captain said. "Gather your things and get ready to leave the boat."
"Aye aye, captain!" Hana said, saluting as she stood up on her tip toes. The captain chuckled at her enthusiasm before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. The crew dispersed, but Godzilla and Hana stayed. They had been talking and conversing quite a bit, and struck up a bit of a friendship of sort.
"You seem excited." Godzilla smirked.
"Of course I am!" Hana exclaimed. "I've never been so far away from America before. I imagine you've been all over the world."
"Not exactly." Godzilla said. "I've never been here, at least."
"So you know most of the Kaiju from Japan, right?" Hana asked. She was taking the opportunity to practice her interviewing skills on Godzilla. He was happy to oblige.
"Yeah, I'm even friends with a few of them." He said.
"What about Mothra?" Hana asked. "I've heard you two are very close."
"Yeah, she's one of my best friends, but she gets on my nerves a lot." Godzilla explained.
"Are you two dating?" Hana asked.
Godzilla blushed and cleared his throat. "Uh... no. We're not dating, and I doubt we ever will."
"Are you sure?" Hana asked, continuing to pry. She seemed to be asking questions more for personal reasons than for practice. Godzilla furrowed his brow and crossed his arms.
"You ask a lot of questions, kid." He said.
"Well, I am a future journalist." Hana replied.
Godzilla rolled his eyes. "Look, when we get to the island, just stay close." He said. "I don't want any humans getting hurt on my watch."
Hana nodded and stared out the window. She smiled. Skull Island was just ahead.