* * * * *
It began with a series of large bubbles hitting the surface. Isolated bubblings, initially. But, then they began to converge. Sort of like the bubbles in a tea kettle slowly coming to boil.
The contingent of sailors in the second raft paddled portside, then starboard, in an effort to maintain their equilibrium. Yet, ultimately, they still wound up capsizing. Even worse, only two of the sailors managed to surface, before being dragged back under with a scream. And, the raft containing Alika Herrera and Ash Phillips was going to be next, any second!
Unless...
"Alika! Put on your snorkeling mask and dive overboard. Quick! If this is what I think it is,..."
The seven-foot tall Polynesian was way ahead of him and cannon-balled into the water. A moment later, _she_ rose to the surface. Taranga of Kapu Hiva Cursed guardian of the soma'loa tree.
Ash had to admit; she was even more beautiful than the Ishimura autobiography had described. Voluptuously round breasts. Raven-black hair falling halfway to her waist. And, skin the same golden-brown as the sweetest honey!
"So!" she exclaimed: "Once more, menehunes come to my island seeking to steal what is not theirs.* And, according to what I mystically gleaned from the little seamen I just swallowed, you are the son of Professor Howard Phillips. Leader of the previous menehunes!"
"But, not your enemy!!" Ash hastened to add: "We are not here for the soma'loa fruit. We're simply here for Le Bec-de-bardiche Giserne Chinois."
"You mean, the Golden Dagger-axe of Hsia Jie?" the hundred foot-tall mermaid retorted: "Oh, yes! I remember it well. Painfully so! That accursed Hospitaller became the first menehune to escape my stomach because of it. But, I assure you, he will be the last. And, no matter what pantheon they come from, no fellow goddess..."
"Don't you mean, 'demoness?' " Ash defiantly interrupted.
"...will suffer that same fate," Taranga concluded (ignoring his taunt): "The dagger-axe stays here. And, now, so will everyone of you!!!"
Yet, just as she began reaching down for Ash, with her enormous right hand, Alika sprang up out of the water. Now, one hundred feet tall, himself! And, with the element of surprise momentarily on his side, he dragged _her_ back under. His left arm around her throat. And, his right hand wielding a Bowie knife just as proportionately enlarged as his face mask.
[For some reason they could never explain, whatever Alika wore on his person gigantized with him. Yet, just the opposite was true with his sister, Kaikala!]
The ensuing battle churned up the water twice as roughly as before. Through some miracle, however, Ash's raft managed to stay upright. But, he was--quite understandably--too preoccupied to focus his undivided attention on that battle. Only Captain Ross, aboard the Razorfish, witnessed the whole thing from atop the conning tower. Through his binoculars, he saw a giant pair of dungaree-clad legs entangled with an equally huge fish tail.
Then, they rolled over. Revealing the upper torso of a giant man and woman trying to kill each other. The former, with a knife. The latter, with suddenly shark-like teeth!
Then, they repeated the cycle. In the prccess, the water started to turn red. And, that, in turn,...
...is when the Aitu Ai-Kanaka began to climb aboard.
"Skipper!" screamed the executive officer.
Ross hurriedly activated the P.A. system.
"General quarters! All hands on deck! Repel boarders! Repeat: repel boarders!"
The crew of the Razorfish had been briefed on what they might encounter if any number of them set foot on the island. And, naturally, most of them had been skeptical. But, that skepticism was gone, now.
Flamethrowers, bayonet-tipped Garand rifles, and Colt M-1911's went up against the claws and fangs of monstrosities that looked equal parts fish, frog, horse, and ape. And, there was a great many casualties on both sides! But, it was the last-second addition of flare-ignited Molotov cocktails (plus the throwing of hand grenades in the water) that turned the tables. Driving the sub's inhuman invaders back to shore.
As for the fight between Alika and Taranga?
In the end, the former's Bowie knife (which had been blessed by the same naval chaplain who had blessed the ammunition of the sub's firearms) took its toll on the latter's regnenerative capabilties. The mer-giantess broke off her attack and swam off to her hidden lair.
"Senor Phillips! Tu eres bien?"
The second-generation archeologist nodded.
"What about the dragonship?" he now asked: "Were you able to spot it during the fracas?"
The Chilean-born giant grinned: "There was no need. Look what I found braided into her hair!"
The knife-severed locks that he let fall atop Ash's raft looked more like black seaweed! But, sure enough; there was no mistake about what was tangled up within them. The sunlight glinting off the solid gold likeness of Chi Yue was almost blinding.
tbc
Giantess World
Author's Chapter Notes:
ISLAND OF KAPU HIVA
(MARCH 16, 1943)
(MARCH 16, 1943)
Chapter End Notes:
*Menehunes: genuine Polynesian term for "little people" (in the folkloric sense).
Aitu ai-kanaka: "Spirits Who Eat Men." My own improvised term, based on two other genuine Polynesian words.
"Tu eres bien?" From the Spanish: literally; "You are well?" More loosely; "Are you alright?"
Chi Yue: ancient Chinese god of war.
Aitu ai-kanaka: "Spirits Who Eat Men." My own improvised term, based on two other genuine Polynesian words.
"Tu eres bien?" From the Spanish: literally; "You are well?" More loosely; "Are you alright?"
Chi Yue: ancient Chinese god of war.