Monkey

The ship pitched and rolled, tossed around by the great waves. Foamy seawater crashed over the sides of the old wooden ship, drenching the crew. They rushed about, shouting and trying to keep the sails under control while the rain fell around them like bullets.

The only one who wasn't frantically scurrying around and grabbing at the ropes was the captain. He stood at the bow and squinted out onto the horizon, scanning for something, anything.

In this kind of weather, he didn't dare take out the delicate old map, but instead stared out through the downpour and tried to see the shadow of an island he knew probably wasn't there every time lightning tumbled down from the heavens.

With one hand on the smooth railing, and the other in his pocket, the captain's mind started racing. What if he'd put his crew in danger for nothing? What if the treasure didn't exist? What if the ship was heading the wrong direction? What if the ship never made it back to land?

"CAPTAIN!" the first mate roared from his spot manning the main sail. Captain Rune turned, worried eyes widening when he saw his crew- his friends- running around like roaches and choking on the salty water that threatened to sweep them off the ship, and he sprang into action.

Rune vaulted over the railing and landed with a splash on the main deck.

"Johnson! Help First Mate Buckley with the main sail! Pointer! I want buckets and mops! Get this water off of my ship!"

The two men saluted and stumbled off to do their jobs, while a huge wave slammed into the side of the ship, throwing Rune off balance and sending him sliding into the railing.

The rain pounded his back as he doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach. When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring into the swirling ocean, deep and angry, looking as though it could swallow him whole.

Frozen in fear, Captain Rune felt something grab him by the back of his shirt and yank him forcefully away from the edge of the boat.

He turned and saw First Mate Buckley glaring down at him, his face blurred by the mist and rain.

"Buckley-"

"Move it, Captain! We've got a problem!"

The captain was shoved over to the other side of the ship, where the crew were all gathered, staring down at a gaping hole in the hull, the wood smashed in right on the words painted there.

"Must've been some coral or some'n under the water, sir. We're takin' on a lotta water!" yelled Pointer.

"Coral..." Rune muttered. He spun suddenly and pushed his way back to the center of the deck and pointed.

"LAND!"

Everyone turned and breathed sighs of relief when they saw the huge dark shadow on the horizon.

"Cap, that still doesn't solve anything. All our gear is on this ship. Our food, clothes, drinks. Plus, that thing is way too far to swim to." Buckley said, coming up beside Rune.

But the captain simply grinned. "Always the pessimist, First Mate. We absolutely can swim there, and when we find the treasure, we'll have enough gold to buy four ships and all the food you could ever eat!"

Buckley looked doubtful, but Rune was already sprinting to the side of the ship.

"Abandon ship!" he cried joyfully and leaped over the railing into the frigid water, mind swirling with visions of jewels and luxury.

The others looked at the first mate for a sign, a signal that their captain hadn't gone nuts, but Buckley just shrugged, so they all drew in deep breaths and took running leaps into the sea.

The crew dragged their feet in the sand and collapsed, one by one, onto the beach, wet and sore.

Even Captain Rune kneeled in the warm golden sand and rested, head in hands, eyes shut, just taking in the warmth, trying to forget the feeling of joy he'd had at the prospect of jumping off that ship, to forget what he'd seen.

But some images were burned under his eyelids, a horrific slideshow playing behind his eyes. Sailors screaming as the ship sank on top of them, dragging them into the deep, shouts cutting off suddenly as the water swallowed them. The horrible creaks of the wood as the boat crumbled into huge chunks, crushing some, impaling others. Some of the others had just given up on the swim over. Tired and haunted by the hollow echoes of their comrades, they sank beneath the waves, into the darkness.

Only a few made it to the island. Rune, Buckley, Tomcat, Fuller, and Georgio.

Tears leaked from the corners of the captain's eyes as wails and cries of the others danced an awful waltz in his mind.

"What have I done?" he murmured, digging his hands into the sand.

Rune stood, eyes wild, and turned to the others, who were sitting in a tight circle, talking in hushed tones.

"Captain," Fuller said when he approached them.

The others turned and all forced smiles.

"God must be smiling on us," said Georgio, the most religious of the crewmates.

They all gave half-nods and a thick silence fell over the group, broken only by the sounds of birds and monkeys from the jungle beyond the beach.

Finally the captain spoke in a dangerous, low tone. "We must be getting on now. The treasure is here, and we've gotta find it."

Buckley looked up in surprise. "The-the treasure?" he asked, voice trembling.

Rune met his first mate's gaze. "The treasure."

Tomcat smiled. "You can't be serious."

The captain grinned daringly. "Oh, I'm serious."

Fuller surged to his feet. "Captain, with all due respect, thanks to you most of our crew is dead! And now you expect us to go chasing some imaginary treasure just because you fancy it?!"

His words shocked the others, who froze and stared at him in awe.

Rune bit his lip. "Yes. The crew is dead because of me. I know that, okay? B-but finding the treasure would make it right. It would make it... worth it! Worth everything that I've- that we've been through!"

The others glared at him.

"No, sir." That was Georgio, fire tipping his words. He pronounced each syllable in a way that made everyone aware that no one would change his mind.

"I won't go, Cap. I'm sorry, but this is too much." Buckley said, refusing to meet Rune's eyes.

"Me either." said Tomcat.

"Yeah, this is too much." Fuller said at the same time.

Rune set his jaw. "Fine."

And with just that one word, he set off.

Rune could feel the others' stares on the back of his neck, and he could practically see the looks being exchanged behind him, but he forced himself to go on, into the thick jungle.

When he stepped off the sand onto the dewy grass, it was like there was a magical barrier separating two different worlds.

The beach was sunny and hot, the sand soft beneath his boots. And the jungle was dark, humid, and he couldn't take two steps without a vine smacking him in the face.

But Rune trudged on, fueled by nothing except stubbornness and a determination to prove the others wrong. His lip peaked in a snarl, and his boots fell heavily on the grass, alerting any animals that were around of his presence. Wherever he walked, he heard tiny things scurrying away, which made him feel... powerful, in a way. The jungle seemed to move around him, growing, trapping him in a cage of dark leaves.

He almost screamed when something landed on his shoulder, but sighed in relief when he reached up to slap it away and felt leaves beneath his fingers.

This jungle's already doing things to my brain, he thought bitterly, flicking the tiny branch away.

Rune looked up from his boots, where his gaze was trained before, and studied the parts of the jungle that weren't shrouded in shadows.

Sunlight punctured the roof of dark leaves in several places, sending shafts of gold down to the grass below. Here, sprouts fought for the warmth of the sunlight and vines twisted towards the light, itching for the energy it provided.

Tree trunks were thick and dark, the bottom quarters mostly covered by climbing plants and tall ferns, and the areas just below the leafy canopy, where light made its way through the cracks between the leaves, were honey brown, bleached by years of sun.

Rune could hear animals running about all around him, but saw nothing. Chirps and crackles of twigs were his only way of knowing what was there.

With a sudden screech, something leapt at him from behind. Rune turned and raised his arm to shield his face. The monkey screamed with rage and grabbed him by the ears.

"What the-" he started, but the monkey started pulling his head this way and that way, till he was dizzy. He felt something sharp jab his neck.

Returning to his senses, he grabbed desperately at the tilting world, trying to find the furry demon on his head.

"What do you want?" he yelled, finally grabbing the monkey and pulling it off his head. "I don't have any bananas!" (His knowledge of monkeys was limited.)

The thing squirmed in his hands, hissing and baring its teeth.

Rune sighed and said, "This island is crazy. Everything must be guarding the treasure."

Something hit him. "Monkey," he said seriously to the little rat-creature. "I need you to show me where the treasure is."

The primate stopped floundering to give him a perplexed look.

The captain sighed. "I. Need. You. To. Show. Me. The. TREASURE!"

The monkey squeaked in response.

"Ugh," said Rune, and put the monkey on the closet branch he could see.

Now it was nearly dark, and the little light that made it to the underbrush was fading fast.

Rune sprinted towards the only landmark he had: the setting sun, just barely visible through the roof of the jungle.

Tripping over himself and shredding his legs on the low-growing thorn bushes, he stumbled blindly through the trees, making the most amount of noise possible.

Oh no, he thought, as the images slowly caught up with him. Howls of pain rang through the darkening labyrinth of bark and leaves and vines.

Rune suddenly knew that he'd never make it out of that forest. He couldn't. If--when he found the treasure, he'd never be able to leave, never have the heart to go back home and face the families of those whose deaths he'd caused.

So he pressed on, tears glistening in the moonlight, blood leaving a trail behind him, pushing branches out of his way as he ran.

Abruptly, he burst from the foliage and tumbled off the sheer cliff into the silver water below with a splash and a searing pain in his back where he'd slapped against the water.

Rune almost wanted to just stay there, let the water take him away from all his troubles, but his stupid floating body pulled him to the surface.

He came up sputtering, gasping for breath, and freezing. He pulled himself up onto the dusty shore, and coughed and dripped cold water onto the grass.

Tears still slipping from his half-closed eyes, he straightened up-

-and gasped. A towering palace of gold and ivory, carved with red words and glowing in the darkness stood in front of him.

Rune gaped up at the great thing and walked towards it, through its huge door, and into the grand room, decorated with velvet and rubies and cushions.

Letting out a disbelieving laugh, Rune walked slowly over the golden ground, which was decorated with leopard skins and patterned rugs. He breathed in deeply; the air smelled expensive, like the perfume that he'd seen in markets that cost a thousand gold coins for one bottle.

"I'm going to be rich!" he cried, his voice bouncing around the high ceiling. All visions of death and destruction were gone now, replaced by reflections of gold and grandeur.

Rune spun around, stars in his eyes, laughing, and then he walked with his hand on the wall to a corner of the room, where a mahogany table stood, piled high with mashed potatoes, golden-brown chicken drumsticks, noodles, sweet rolls, corn, and deviled eggs.

The captain selected the finest drumstick he could find and settled himself in the center of the huge palace, gnawing on his chicken as he looked around the golden place like a kid in a candy store.

It was three days later when Tomcat, Fuller, Buckley, and Georgio finally decided to go find Rune. They followed his path of crushed leaves and broken twigs through the jungle, waving drywood that had washed up on shore as weapons.

Buckley was in the front of their group, carrying the one torch they had, and he was the first to spot the blood.

"There," he said, pointing at drops of dried red liquid. The others followed his light when he went on, and they all emerged, blinking, into sunlight at the edge of the cliff.

Surprised at the sight of their captain, they all leapt into the pool, and swam over to Rune, who was laying under a dead tree, shrouded in shadows, eating sand.

"Um, Cap?" Buckley asked, lowering his torch.

Rune's eyes lifted to the others, and his gaze slid right over them.

Fuller grabbed the first mate's torch and put it close to Rune's face. There was no recognition in his eyes, no light behind them. His stare was blank, his skin pale and tinged green, and his hands shook.

The crewmates stepped back slowly, scared by their captain's zombie-like state.

Suddenly, he pitched forward and landed face first in the sand.

Tomcat was the first to gather enough courage to walk over. He knelt by Rune's side and checked his pulse.

Tomcat turned, eyes wide. "Nothing. He's dead."

Georgio stepped forward and said in a trembling voice, "Look." He pointed at the back of the captain's neck, where there were puncture marks surrounded by a sickly green patch.

"What, you think he's a vampire or something?" Buckley asked.

Fuller, their resident animal expert, also kneeled beside Rune.

"No. It's a monkey bite."

Rune was still alive, though the others didn't know it. He was trapped inside his own skin, screaming, but his lips wouldn't work. Three hours before the others came, his magic palace had started to fade, and eventually it flickered to this reality, where he was eating sand instead of warm corn. He tried to stop, but he couldn't. After that, the pain started in his stomach, and then spread to the rest of his body, and then he lost control. He was paralyzed.

Rune was left there by the others, who knew that he'd want to be buried on a tropical island instead of back home in a gray city.

He cried in his last moments. (Apparently tears still worked when he was paralyzed.)

And then, after he'd really died, a monkey came and guarded his body. It's still there now, protecting the spirit of the one who was supposed to protect the spirits of many.