Against all odds (Reg Slivko - Thomas Mann Fic)

"Sorry, babe"

Slivko dragged Meg through the woods following his mates. He had no idea where they were going; the only thing he was sure of was that he would not let her go until they were safe.

Meg was trying to keep up with Reg. She knew he was doing it to keep her safe, but keeping up with him was hard; each step of Reg was about three small steps of Meg. She was trying to do her best but didn't know how much she was going too held.

The sun rose between the treetops. Time was running out, if they did not get to the exfil site at the right time, they would be stuck in that island for who knows how long.

"This is the edge of the island," said Conrad, stopping.

The mist, like a theater curtain, rose to reveal the scene of the final act. Small crags rose from the water here and there, making it impossible to see the open sea. To their left, a few stranded and rusted boats did not augur a happy ending.

Meg stopped at the same time as Reg and took the short break to take a breath. Reg was holding her hand so hard, she was beginning to lose sensation in her fingers.

"Weaver, get up on those rocks and fire a flare. With any luck, Brooks will see it. We'll buy you time." Said Conrad and Weaver turned on her heels right away. "This way!" said the tracer, indicating the direction in which they should go.

They took a big turnaround one of the crags and met the ocean again.

"Come on. Every second count" said Conrad and got into the water.

The water was freezing and reached Meg's waist. The hairs on her arm stood on end each time the water splashed on her back. With Reg still holding her by the hand, it became harder to walk in the water. She had tried to let go of him several times, but Reg, in reflex, grabbed her harder and harder.

"Cole! Come on, man," said Mills. "We gotta fall back"

Meg turned to see what was happening. Cole had not gotten into the water, he was standing on the shore and he was looking at them with an expression that Meg could not identify.

"Go live your life," said Cole. "Get out of here". He smiled to one side and took two grenades from his belt.

"COLE! NO!" Slivko and Mills said at the same time. They both tried to run towards him, but the water made them move like in slow motion.

Meg saw Cole take the safety off the grenades, and turn his back on them. A few meters away the Skull-crawler was approaching at great speed. When she understood what was about to happen, she pulled Reg with all her strength, while Conrad stopped Mills.

Meg looked away when the creature came face to face with Cole. She did not see what happened, but the sound of an explosion in the distance followed by the snarl of that beast told her that Cole's plan had failed.

She felt her heart clench in her chest, making her whole body ache. If she had strength left, it had vanished at that precise moment. But before she could give herself up, Reg was pulling her back, pushing her to follow that race against time.

The skull-crawler was on their heels. It did not give them a little advantage, no chance to catch their breath. Meg was beginning to feel the lack of oxygen when, from the top of some cliffs, Kong jumped and crushed the head of the skull-crawler with a rock.

The lizard shook its head as if trying to wake up from the blow and gave a grunt that sounded like a war cry.

"Come on! GO!" Reg said and pulled her back.

They kept advancing while, behind them, Kong and the giant lizard got entangled in an epic battle. Meg could hear the grunts of the beasts and the thumps they gave in the water and the crags around them. Every so often, in a reflex act, she turned to make sure they were moving away from danger. The fight was even.

Then, Weaver's flare shot through the air with red sparks. Now it only remained to wait for Brooks to see them and get the message.

Kong and the lizard were still immersed in the battle. Both creatures seemed indestructible. But then, with a quick movement of his tail, the skull-crawler whipped the gorilla and made him fly through the air. Kong crashed into the rusted ships and was trapped in the rubble. The lizard only had to press Kong's neck between his teeth and the gorilla would go down in history.

Meg looked horrified at the scene. She had the impulse to take out the gun she was carrying, but she knew it would be useless.

Then, as if responding to her prayers, the boat piloted by San and Brooks appeared on the scene. It had a machine gun embedded in the bow, from where Brooks fired point-blank. The bullets ran through the body of the lizard from the back to the head. They probably would not kill it, but at least, they would distract it so that Kong could stand up.

"Come on! Go!" said Conrad and everyone got on the boat once it was close enough.

As they climbed, the skull-crawler who had left Kong, now concentrated his attention on them and was approaching at great speed. Brooks' machine gun stopped firing. There was nothing to impede the path of the skull-crawler to them.

While Marlow tried to make the weapon work again, Mills and Reles had begun firing their rifles at the creature. Slivko, instead, pulled Meg away from the danger. But she pulled harder and finally managed to break free of his grip. He was going to take her hand again, but she pushed him with all her strength.

Slivko slammed his back against the railing of the boat and shook his head. He seemed to be in a trance. He passed his eyes from the skull-crawler that was approaching at full speed, to Reles and Mills shooting at it, and then to Meg. She was standing in front of him, breathing hard, and with a look in her eyes that he had never seen before. It was reckless, but at the same time, it seemed to contain, with all its strength, the tears.

"Shoot that damn thing!" said Meg pointing at the Skull-crawler.

Her voice sounded strong at first, but she could barely finish the sentence. It did not sound like an order, but rather like a plea.

Reg shook his head. His M-16 was hanging uselessly over his shoulder. It was as if he had forgotten what it was used for.

Megan took her gun.

"I'll do it then!" said she and turned to face the monster.

Slivko jumped over her, took the gun from her hand, and threw it overboard.

"Are you out of your mind?!" said the girl in shock.

"Sorry, babe," said Reg with that stupid smile of him on his face; then took his M16 and started firing at the beast.

She stood there watching him. Didn't know if wanted to go and punch him or hug him.

The muscles in Reg's arms tensed at the force he was making to keep the rifle shoulder-high. His body shook with each shot of the weapon, but his feet did not move from the place. He was well planted.

Watching him, Meg felt a heat running through her body. She had to shake her head and shoulders to get rid of the pleasant but inopportune sensation.

The Skull-crawler was only a few meters away when a propeller, of one of the stranded ships, embedded itself in its back and made it let out a scream of pain. The propeller, thrown by Kong, was entangled in a chain; like a fishhook to a fishing rod. The gorilla began to pull from it, dragging the lizard towards him. When Kong had the skull-crawler within reach, he began to hit it with such fury that the slimy skin of the lizard rose up in several places. But the skull-crawler was not going to give up so easily. It tangled his tongue hard in Kong's arm and they started a dangerous tugging. Finally, the gorilla pulled so hard that he managed to extract the whole digestive system of the lizard. The skull-crawler lay against the cliffs like an empty sack.

The crew of the ship celebrated the triumph of Kong. Reg turned to Meg, picked her up and squeezed her tightly. Her ribs ached but she did not care. Finally, the nightmare was over.

In the distance, the sound of the helicopters indicated that they had reached the exfill site in time.

Megan slipped out of Reg's arms and hit him on the shoulder.

"Never call me "babe" again!"

Slivko laughed out loud and then kissed her hard, pressing and biting her lip.