Kong

And on that day, He was born. From his mother’s womb, thrust forth into the world, King Kong took his first breath. His first, and regarding his initial life, his last. 

The tribe’s numbers had been growing for quite some time. Normally, this was good. But the island didn’t have an unlimited supply of food. The fruit trees were late in their bloom, and the wild boars had significantly improved their hiding skills. The apes needed to make a sacrifice in order to keep themselves alive. 

So they took Kong from his mother. Being just born, his life was pure. The volcano needed purity to ensure that food would be plentiful. 

Lifted on furry hands and rough backs, the newborn was carried up the rocky mountain. His mother screamed for her son, but she was too weak from the birth to give much resistance to the robbery. 

Her child was lifted atop the volcano, and, rising above the mob, tossed into the cataclysmic flames.

But upon reaching his fiery tomb, Kong’s skin merged with the lava. Once cooled, it was now the color and consistency of stone. His eyes burst into flames, but quickly subsided. They had turned obsidian from the intense heat. His teeth burned and took on a reddish-yellow tint. His body rapidly grew, the lava and warmth tacking on years to his age. And from the fire, Kong arose. Bigger and badder than before. But he knew that he could never return to the volcano-- it would demand his life. Nothing is allowed to leave the pit twice.

His body, now well over seven feet, leapt out of the volcano. The muscles in Kong’s legs were pulled tight, and his arms had no problem in vaulting him over the edge of the cliff. His appearance had rapidly aged, and so too had his mind. He was not angry with his tribe, because he understood that they had only sacrificed him in order to keep them alive. 

He ran down the mountain, eager to reach his tribe. When he found them, they were frozen in shock. How could Kong have survived? Kong walked forward, and searched the crowd for his mother. Upon finding her weeping in the trees, he grabbed her by the shoulders. She turned to him. 

Her brown eyes met his black ones, and she shook her head. He was no longer her son, he was the volcano’s child now. She turned around, and left. 

And after seeing Kong’s own mother desert him, the other apes realized that he no longer belonged in their tribe. They growled and hooted at him. Kong stared at his former tribe, refusing to flee. Soon enough, the alpha male-- leader of the tribe, stormed out of the crowd. He pointed at Kong, then at the volcano. He wanted the monstrosity to leave and never return. 

The stone ape stepped forward, refusing to flee. The alpha mirrored his steps. They clashed, using teeth and fists to hurt one another. The rest of the apes watched. They knew that they should not interfere. After a week of days and a week of nights, Kong brought the alpha to his knees. He stood triumphantly, shining his obsidian eyes towards his new subjects. 

Kong had become King Kong, and commanded everyone to do his bidding. He had twenty apes go fishing with their bare hands. They ended up with cut, battered hands from dashing them against the rough sand and stone, and no fish. He had ten more apes use rocks to hunt boar. No boar were killed, but two of the tribe were hit with rocks and had to rest for a week. The rest of the apes were told to attend to King Kong. Feed him the measly food that was left, fan him with leaves, and stand around him so that his eyes were never caught by the sun. 

This continued on for some time, until one day, a great boom flooded the island. The apes looked to the volcano, which began to spew fire and smoke and death. This had never happened before, and they saw it as the gods punishing them instead of rewarding them with food. Some prayed, but many went to King Kong. They wanted his help. 

Immediately, Kong saw that his time had come. He had enjoyed his second chance at life, but he knew that it must come to an end. It was time to leave the tribe yet again. 

King Kong ascended the volcanic mountain, and looked into the mouth of fire. He waved goodbye to his subjects, who were both happy and sad that he was leaving. The ape of stone with obsidian eyes leapt into the volcano.

As he sank into the pit, the fire subsided. The smoke stopped billowing out. Kong dropped to the bottom of the lava. The heat started to burn away at his stone skin. It melted the stone and cut down the black eyes. Kong disappeared into the lava pit, and became one with the volcano. The eruption ceased.