The consequences were real. The screams were deafening.
But why did it come to this?
Why was Rusty seemingly on the side of the vacationers to begin with?
Katmandu did have a point and made it convincingly well…after all, they are pirates! And what do pirates do? Well, rape, plunder, pillage, kill…anything they damn well please!
Does anything matter though when even pirates make mistakes?
Mistakes? Pirates can make mistakes?
Before Rusty and Katmandu made it into the housing unit for the captives, there obviously was a power struggle throughout the journey that originated from Katmandu’s house. Dyane was witness to pieces of it just prior to finding and entering the camp where her husband was.
That power struggle was a bit more than just the fact that Rusty’s husband and Katmandu’s brother, Captain Blackeye Bones, had died from injuries sustained by Jim Stowe, leader of the vacationers.
What else were they screaming about?
They were screaming about the fact that they had made a huge blunder in their plunder.
The yacht that they overtook was the wrong one.
The wrong one?
Oh yes.
The pirate plan was premeditated. They knew what they were out on the sea to do that particular day. And they executed the plan well. However, one thing got in the way.
The yacht that they were supposed to overtake and hijack was suppose to have two billionaire investors on it, none other than world traveler Cathleen Brassell-Jenkins and her husband Ron, and Bruce Griswold with his wife JoAnn. Both were huge profile couples in the world of business: Cathleen in the health field started as a lactation consultant and specialist who developed an extraordinary technique to help birthing mothers and their newborns; and JoAnn in the hospitality arena who made her fortune revolutionizing techniques for producing mass quantities of food safely in a sterile environment that was exponentially more successful than the current standards of the day. Both women than parlayed their small fortunes into massive riches utilizing their intelligence and savvy in the investment markets. The information that the pirates had obtained put the two billionaires on that exact boat coming out of that key at that exact time on that particular day.
The only issue was that the information was wrong. Fortunately for them, the wealthy couples and their party had delayed their pleasure trip for two weeks because of unforeseen circumstances, opening up the boat for Jim Stowe and his vacation group. The pirates, even though well recognized for their superb reputation in recognizance, never received that updated information.
So, instead of kidnapping two of the wealthiest people in the world with the potential for a huge money making ransom, the pirates were left with a group of average to above average income every day commoners just out for the trip, and adventure, of their lives. And boy, did they get just that…
That all added in to the passion and intensity of the confrontation between Rusty and Katmandu.
In simple terms after the loss of her husband, Rusty was all about releasing them. There were no plausible explanations to hold them, keep them, or ransom them. Moreover, she certainly didn’t want to kill them.
Katmandu, after the loss of his brother, had a much different take on it. He not only wanted, but desired, revenge and death to them. He obsessed with pain, suffering, and slaughter. He turned into a one vision pirate out of control. And there was no one who was going to stop him.
Though, Rusty made it her mission to…
Katmandu did make his move. The consequences were real, and the screams were deafening.
It proved to be his last move.
In a flurry of moves reminiscent of a long boring game of chess going nowhere and then trading pieces in a passionate show of action, the scene shifted into utter chaos.
Katmandu had held his sword high above the dying Jim Stowe. His wife Dyane was blanketed on top of him, emotional from the fact of just seeing him moments earlier after being apart since the hijacking of their rented yacht.
With one split second, Katmandu lowered his sword feverishly into the lower gut of Jim Stowe, just missing Dyane by an inch or two. There was no doubt the result. Gurgling between blood and air, Stowe gasped his last breath and grabbed hold of Dyane’s arm and whispered “I love you” through the gurgles.
She lost it.
Instead of being frozen with the shock of what just happened to her longtime spouse and life partner, upon hearing the final words from Jim, she did a one eighty roll before Katmandu could pull the sword from Jim, and flipped herself up onto her feet. In one continuous motion, she kneed the hostile pirate in his crown jewels making him double over gasping for breath. She then reached over and grabbed the sword from her husband’s belly and shoved it into his neck and throat area as she shook with horror.
All of this before Rusty could grab the gun from Briggs and shoot him…which was Rusty’s intention if he had made such a foolish move.
He made the move, Rusty made the move, but Dyane beat Rusty for the kill.
Dyane then collapsed.
There was pandemonium.
Screams, jumping, running all about were all prevalent. There were even some hushes and some ‘oh my God’ mumblings.
What a way to start the day?
Jewel sprinted over and hugged her mother Rusty so hard that Rusty nearly fell over. Jewel’s terror was obvious.
Alan rushed in to help Dyane, who was lying on the floor partially on top of Katmandu. Summer raced over as well. Dyane was unconscious.
Rusty just stood there holding Jewel. She was speechless. Briggs was tongue tied too. In front of them lied the hulking figure of Katmandu bleeding out from a late, but heroic, stab from his own sword by the hands of his last victim’s wife.
Jewel had lost total control. Between sobs she was alternating screaming and catching her breath. None of what she said could be made out, but she was muffling something into her mother’s body every time she buried her face into a different body part. She was hyperventilating, yet Rusty did little to calm her down. She held Jewel, but she herself just stood there mesmerized.
It was an unnecessary turn of events. No one had to die. But now, there were pirates running everywhere tracking down the group of vacationers who just flipped out with the violence that occurred as they awoke from their dreams and/or nightmares.
As stated before, what a way to start a day…
•••
Caleb and Dylan had fallen asleep for an hour or so next to the mine once again. After watching Dyane go off into the darkness, both yielded on any plans to catch her or find her in the thicket. They were way too exhausted to go anywhere as it was. So they both decided to sit tight and wait until dawn before making that supreme decision about what they would do next.
Strangely, they heard all of the commotion in the distance around dawn and beyond. They couldn’t make out any words or ideas and such, but they heard the buzz from as far away as they were. Their curiosity peaked as the daylight was becoming closer to one hundred percent.
“So what do you think? Can we finally leave this shithole?” Dylan asked.
“About time you asked. I was waiting on you!” Caleb remarked sarcastically. “So what do you want to do with this mine?”
“Blow it up? Please? Please?” Dylan reacted childishly.
There was no doubt that either had had their fill of this situation, this island, and this vacation. There was an aire of slap happiness and a distinct odor of frustration and sarcasm. Both were honestly hoping that neither would say anything to piss the other off. Fortunate for both of them, each also checked their sensitivity at the entrance to the island.
“So blow it up! What the hell are you waiting for?” challenged Caleb.
“Really? Can I? Can I?” the childish act continued from Dylan.
“Look just do it. Don’t be an ass about it. Just do it…” Caleb snapped.
“And then what?” Dylan went on.
“And then what?” Caleb repeated with irritation.
“Yeah. And then what?” Dylan echoed Caleb.
“And then I pick up your arms and your legs and carry all your pieces back to camp so Mandy can bury you in the sand. You dumb ass…you have no idea how powerful that thing is…”
“Can we see? Please? Please?” Dylan childishly questioned with a huge grin and wide eyes.
“What the hell is this…Ren and Stimpy meet Pee Wee Herman? Because this sure ain’t Family Guy! Stewie would have kicked your ass by now. Shit, Kenny would have killed you in South Park by now…dude, shut the fuck up!”
Caleb gave him the death stare following his verbal tirade. Dylan paused to reflect on Caleb’s level of aggravation.
Sheepishly, Dylan looked up at Caleb. With those innocent young eyes, he crossed eye beams with Caleb.
“Sorry, man” he apologized quietly. “I didn’t mean to piss you off…really.”
“Okay.”
“But…” he said and paused…staying quiet for almost ten seconds…
“Can I still blow it up? Please? Please?” he went on in his best Pee Wee Herman impersonation.
Caleb looked at him unamused. Dylan laughed anyway. He was trying to keep from going insane. So was Caleb, but it was very understandable how patience had run out and bare nerves were beginning to show.
Caleb managed a dry smile.
“Dude, do what you want. Me? I don’t need to see that thing blow up.”
Okay Caleb, seriously, what do you want to do? Head back top camp? Go looking for Dyane? Both? Neither?” Dylan asked in a calm serious tone.
“Actually both. But before we do, what do you say we find their stash of speed boats so we can go back to camp with something to give them.”
Dylan nodded in agreement.
Both got up and stretched their limbs, shaking off any remnants of their exhaustive hour of sleep. They heard more disturbances from the general direction of the village and camp, and that got them moving.
“I hope all that noise isn’t signaling that something’s wrong…” Dylan said.
“Oh no…I’m sure it’s their celebration that they got off of the island…and without us…” Caleb replied dryly.
Dylan chuckled as Caleb shook his head.
“What? What?” Dylan asked.
“What? What? How about I can’t figure out if you’re playing with me or if you are really that stupid!”
Dylan calmed down after initially being insulted.
“Man, I’m sorry…really I am. I was just playing and dealing with everything…I guess that’s my way of staying sane…” said Dylan.
Both guys started walking away from the tremendous mine. They were quietly talking to each other and forging ahead when without any warning; Dylan reached down, picked up a rock, and fired it at the mine. Mind you, they were only about forty feet away from the mine…
when…
“BOOM!”