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LORD Darrow rushes up the slope to the statue... He hits the stone veneer with his stick - once, twice, on the third blow, the remainder of the "Buddha" shell suddenly crumbles away and falls in a heap on the ground. Exposed for the first time in nearly 800 years is the statue of a frightening animal... an ape-like creature -face snarling with fearsome rage... bristled fur ... taloned hands. It sits atop a pile of real human stulls, integrated into the bronze work. At the base of the statue - panels of heiroglyphic-type inscription. An ancient piece of frightening art... it sends the group into stunned silence. The old man’s eyes blaze with obsessive intensity. Lord Darrow (creepy): "Behold... the Beast God ... Kong!" Mr Ginting backs away, trembling. Lord Darrow (continuing): "Worshipped by a savage race... Talak e a Kong’, the Cult of the Beast God - until now a myth... a superstition." Ann (reading slowly): "Pulau Tengkorak" - The Island of the Skull... Denham (interrupts briskly): "Kong is a myth, nothing but a native superstition, Miss Darrow. All we’re going to find on this island are some primitive people in grass skirts." Ann is leading everyone into the tunnel. It is man-made. A steadily increasing group of Skull Island natives are emerging from the thick undergrowth between the ruins. Denham’s small party is becoming surrounded. The natives have their weapons poised... a tense moment, it could go either way. Denham offers his hand to the lead native, who raises a knife... Denham blanches... fingers tighten... The native produces a leather gourd and stabs it - milky liquid flows out. He takes a mouthful and offers it to Denham, who drinks a mouthful and passes it to the sailors, relieved at this gesture of friendliness. At daybreak, when they regain their senses, they hear the drums start... The ritualistic sounds are getting louder and louder. The natives start chanting: "KONG ... KONG ... KONG" Ann (regaining consciousness): "I look like a bride ... Is it my wedding?" KURT: "It’s a sacrificial ceremony. They’re gonna kill you." Ann looks at him ... horrified. "I heard them saying... they’ll first lock you in dungeon and lock it, the vile monster will first see that his meal has been delivered and then turn to get firewood. When the monster is back in 15 minutes, he will cook and eat you. The lock is an advanced coded one: it has four top/bottom spikes in a drum, arranged in a square and invisible. You can put your two hands into the drum, feel two of the spikes (adjacent or diagonal), determine their orientation and change it as you wish. If all four spikes end up the same direction (up or down), the lock opens and you can escape. If not, the drum rotates quickly for one minute so that you do not know which spikes you have touched, and then stops, and you can try again." Ann is roughly hoisted onto the altar. Her hands are tied securely to two ornately carved pillars. Tears flood into her eyes. Natives start turning a huge wheel and the altar starts to climb the slope towards the top of the wall, moving on tracks like a primitive cable car. As the alter reaches the top of the wall, for the first time, we get a glimpse of the other side... The wall falls away vertically into a rocky surface that leads into the dense, tangled jungle. Something very big is moving towards the rocks, breathing heavily... it stops in front of her - Kong, a 25-foot silver black gorilla. Kong beats his chest... and Ann screams; the strength suddenly drains out of her legs and she slumps between the pillars. Kong roars at her, and turns abruptly back to the jungle, to fetch the firewood. Can she escape? (Write at Mind Games, The Tribune, or aditya@tribunemail.com) |
