The Monkey King-Chapter 1

We were having such a good time on that ship. My best friend Amy and I were going to summer camp, and we were very excited. We couldn’t wait to see the “haunted island”. It was what all of the legends were based on and what older people told children to scare them.
Temporarily all of the other kids were talking about it because we were supposed to pass the island on our ship. Everyone was so excited, but personally, I didn’t believe a word of it.
In the middle of Amy’s sentence, the ship started to sway swiftly and I felt it go down… down. I started to feel sick. Something was wrong. The sailors ran in and hurried us out. They put us in a line, where they started to pack the kids into lifeboats. My heart was beating rapidly, and my ice cold hands started to shake as water began to pour into the ship. As more people got on, there was less and less room. There were too many people ahead of me waiting to get onto the lifeboats, and I had to do something. If I waited, there would be no more room for me. My eyes darted across the deck, and I panicked. My brain was not functioning well. There was no way that I could think of to get out of the boat. It was getting too crowded and I was getting pushed. I was pressured. The ship was sinking quicker and quicker, and I didn’t have time to think of anything else. I looked over the railing at the deep shade of blue water and hesitating for only a fraction of a moment, I jumped.
Water filled my throat, my wet hair wrapped around my head as I kicked to try to get to the surface of the water. I was doomed! What was I thinking? I couldn’t get to the lifeboat! I couldn’t even see the lifeboat! I stopped struggling because I knew nothing could save me now. I closed my eyes as I felt all the air being squeezed out of me.
My eyes popped open and my hand jerked away from the smooth wet skin of a big fish. It could only be a dolphin! The large fish swam underneath me and scooped my body onto its back. It started swimming towards land. As the dolphin broke through the water I gasped for air. “Maybe not all was lost; maybe I still have a chance.” That was the last thought that ran through my heavy head as my blurred vision suddenly transformed into pitch blackness.
~
I felt the warm sun beat down on me and heard the hard waves slapping the sand. “Was it all a dream?” I didn’t dare open my eyes for I knew the answer. I realized that I had to look sometime, so slowly I opened one eye. I groaned, but I was not surprised, I was expecting this. All around me was a vast blanket of sand and further along, a dark forbidding forest. Lucky for me I also spotted some fruit trees in the distance. My situation was bad, but at least I didn’t have to worry about food. I suddenly turned around remembering the dolphin that had saved my life. It was long gone.
I sat down to think my situation over. Could this really be happening to me? Just some time ago I was going to go to camp with my best friend and now I was all alone, lost track of the time, and had no idea where I was or how I would get back home. An unexpected growl from my stomach interrupted my thoughts. I decided that if I was lucky enough to have survived the sinking of the ship, I wouldn’t let myself die from hunger since I was at a place where it was impossible not to find food. I walked into a thick forest, and immediately spotted some berries. It was so quiet that I unknowingly started tiptoeing. I was curious about what lay beyond those dark edges of the forest so I started walking further and further. Suddenly a bright color protruded from between the trees and I instantly recognized it as one of the lifeboats. A spark of hope lit up inside of me and I darted back the way I came from.
As I ran, the branches caught in my tangled hair. The leaves brushed against my dirt smudged skin. I was tired enough that I believed I would drop down right then. My legs couldn’t hold me anymore, but this was my only chance. This was my last chance.
I ran with all of my leftover strength but as I struggled to reach the shore, something inside of me knew that I wouldn’t make it in time. I reached the shore to see an overturned lifeboat floating away. That is if you could call it a lifeboat. All of the air from it was gone and all that I could see on the surface of it was a rip. I was shocked at this, trying to consider myself lucky for surviving, grieving for the people in the lost lifeboat, and after I conquered my disappointment of not being saved after all, I realized that this was it. I was alone. I was stranded on a haunted island. As much as I tried to calm myself I couldn’t help thinking of the legends. I believed them now.
I was thinking over what I would do next when suddenly a leopard hurdled out of no where. I took a quick step back, trying to run, but my feet were glued to the ground. Suddenly the leopard spoke. I screamed. “Have you never seen a leopard before?” I was taken aback, too surprised and angry at the leopard’s attitude. “When the King said that help was on its way, I was expecting something more than a pathetic human girl. Who knows? You’re probably a spy for them!” the leopard continued not caring about the horror stricken look on my face. He ordered me to follow him, and I had no choice but to do so. Inside of my head, the little voices were calm, and to my own surprise it felt right with the leopard. The voices in my head now exploded in choruses of “Follow Him”. I felt as if I had no choice but to do so.
I was so absorbed in my own thoughts; thinking if this could really be happening to me, that when the leopard stopped in his tracks, I nearly bumped into him. I looked over his shoulder, but all I could see was a dark cave.
A low growl came from the cave as the leopard assured the thing in there, that it was only him with a “pathetic little girl”. As a dark shadow came out and as the sun shone on her stripes, I realized that she was a tiger. “Is she the help that we have all been awaiting, Lex?” the creature asked. “I did as the king had said. I went to the beach and brought the first foreign thing that I saw come onto the shore. She is it, although I don’t know how she can help us much. But don’t worry yourself, Lea, we are going to go to the king and he must have some answers.” The two cats’ faces seemed so serious that I had enough sense not to interrupt their conversation although I so longed to know what they were talking about.
Then the tiger, Lea, said to me in a gentle voice, so Lex would not hear that she believed I could do it. I asked what I was expected to do and she just said to wait and to be patient and that the King would soon tell me everything. Out of no where it suddenly hit me. I understood everything. The “King” was most likely a human, just like me, and would be able to help me get back home. Was it possible? Lex was already unhappy with me, that I dared not to speak. But if there could be talking animals, a world which I thought was possible only in my dreams and stories; couldn’t the King be a human?
As we went along the idea seemed more and more possible to me. We passed streams of water, and lots of fresh fruit, and even though my mouth watered for delicious apples and I could feel the cold water running down my dry throat, I didn’t even think of stopping, too eager to get to the King. My future was now in his hands. I began to believe that the King was not an animal even further. When we got to an opening in yet another cave, all the possibilities of the King not being a human were erased completely from my mind. I was disappointed greatly when out of the cave came a strong lion; head held high, and mane blowing in the wind. His golden fur gleamed in the sun, and from the sight of him, I felt more reassured than I would if it were a real person. He had something calm about him. Twinkles in his determined eyes, made all of the hopelessness in me go away. He whispered to Lex and Lea that he wanted to talk to me alone. My heart skipped a beat at the thought of being by myself with a lion, but my feet did not listen to my alarmed mind. After all, I was not at home anymore. It seemed that here anything was possible. I followed the lion back into his cave.
“As you must have already heard, we have all been waiting for you.” The King said to me. I told him that I only wanted to go home, and he was furious at the thought. I looked at his face, and even in the dim light I could see the worry. Goosebumps prickled up my spine as the king whispered into my ear all of the dreadful events that had been happening on his Island. I was terrified of what he told me, and could not believe when he told me that a monkey that wanted to be King was behind all of it.
As the King hurried me out of his cave, I quietly started sobbing; remembering that all the monkeys could do back home was jump around and eat bananas. At the idea of this, I became conscious of the fact that I may never get home and see my family again. The thought of never getting home was still piercing my sorrowful heart when Lex and Lea came up to where I was sitting. I saw Lea flash a smile at me while Lex, in his usual tone, ordered me to get myself together because we had to get moving.
I walked with Lex and Lea to the sandy beach where Lex had first found me. After her eyes darted from side to side she whispered in such a silent voice that at first all I could see was the opening and closing of her mouth. I had to lean closer to the two cats to hear the words that they were trying to tell me. Lea started off by saying that they all counted on me and if I gave up all would be lost. Following this she said that she did not want to frighten me, but that this was not a game, many lives depended on me. With only a hint of sarcasm Lex added that I should never give my true identity to the other side, it would work to my advantage. He growled that no matter what happened I should still believe in myself, “pathetic little girl”. He had to keep his tough appearance, but I saw through him and softly promised myself that I would never forget the words of these wise cats.
“We will always be with you.” Lea’s words were lost in the breeze as she and Lex disappeared into the forest. The ends of their tails, one striped and one spotted, was the last glimpse I saw of my two caring friends.
Now, I was alone again. So what if Lex was a little ironic, he was still better to have around than being alone. My heart dropped as I realized that I did not know where I was to start.
I was already beginning to feel desperate when out of no where came a shrieking cry. I wasted no time as I followed the high pitched wail to free the victim that the other side had captured. I went only because of one reason. The cry could not be mistaken for anybody’s but Lea’s. I started sprinting and I could not help thinking of what those evil monkeys were doing to her.
Too distracted by her cry, I ran straight into their trap. I felt myself being pushed to the ground; all tied up with ropes I was thrust into a dark truck. Tears flooded my face as I thought of all the creatures that depended on me and I let them down. The King had even told me that they had a voice changing coyote named Sam on their side.
A clear image of Lex and Lea’s smiling and comforting faces had formed in my mind. I tried to hold onto it as it slowly slipped away. The image gave me a moment of happiness and determination, and even while disappointment was trying to leak into me, the undesirable want for helping my friends and going home was woven too tight and would not let even a drop seep in.
I was taken out of the truck and shoved into a dark dungeon. I heard a deep voice that I assumed to be the King’s. The coyote that had caught me, replied that they had just caught another one. It was just then that I realized that they still didn’t know who I was. My heart instantly fell as I also took in the fact that they must have seen me with Lea, how else would they have made Sam sound like her?
Questions raced through my mind as I tried to stay calm. Did they also capture Lea? Was there any way to get out? Would I ever go back to my home and be the normal worry free child I had been what seemed years ago now? I was afraid, but somehow I calmed myself. I paced around the small dark room trying to search the corners of my head for any detail that would help me in my grand escape. I jumped as I heard the clanging of chains and sound of keys unlocking the locks. A plan of escape formed in my brain. It wasn’t professional at all but it was my best try to slip out when he unlocked my door. The heavy footsteps were getting closer and I thought that I could feel the ground shaking. I got in my position, but when the door screeched open, I could not move. I stood as still as stone, my mouth hanging to the floor.
I could not believe my eyes. Instead of the tiny monkey I was expecting there stood a giant sized gorilla. I could see the evil in its eyes before it said anything. I immediately knew who it was by the little golden crown on its head.
He had a grin on his face. A grin that indicated some kind of wicked secret he had. I looked at all of the gold he had on him. Rings, bracelets, necklaces, even his clothes were trimmed with golden thread. As I observed each of those luxuries, I knew how many poor animals he had robbed. With each glimpse of him, I felt hatred grow inside of me just as a fire grew when being fed.
I had enough of him and his fiendish ways. I ran, threw myself hard at him and started biting, kicking, and hitting as hard as I could. It was useless. He was too strong. I was just about to give up when I was joined by what seemed like a blur of stripes and spots. Lex’s strong voice sounded up about all of the commotion. He yelled at me and Lea to run and that he would soon join us. I ran with Lea, Lex following soon after us. We ran until we were completely out of our breaths. We started walking as I blurted out that I had failed them. Lea’s gentle voice calmed me once again. With comforting words she reassured me that it was not over yet, that I still had a chance.
We walked over to the King’s cave for a time which seemed like forever. By the time we got there it was dusk. The King took me to the cave and lay me down on the soft straw. He explained to me their new plan and I immediately agreed to help. I knew that I had no choice, but even if I did, I would have wanted to help. As my eyes slowly shut, I knew that we would win this no matter what it took. The King whispered to me that everything would be fine and that I would soon be on my way home. The pleasant dream that took me to sleep was of me with my family at my old home.