KISS is property of KISS.  For fan entertainment only.  No 
infringement intended.


Chapter 11 ( by Kismet)

When Gene announced what had happened and where he was 
going, he found he was not going to be able to leave 
Shannon or Misha behind.  They pointed out that more 
searchers meant finding Peter sooner and insisted on going 
with him.  Knowing argument would just waste time he 
agreed. So an hour after the KISS conference had broken up 
Gene, Shannon, Misha, and an oarsman were headed around the 
islands towards Peter's island.  Unfortunately they hit one 
of the thick fog banks and had to slow, which disturbed all 
of them.

Disaster hit without any warning.  One minute they were 
headed through the fog.  The next the raft was tossed into 
the air.  They hit the water and surfaced.  Shannon and 
Misha found each other and a couple of the packs that were 
luckily waterproof and buoyant so they could use them to 
keep afloat, but there was no sign of Gene or the oarsman.  
Picking a direction at random, they swam in hope of getting 
out of the fog and catching sight of an island.

What they found instead was the sound of surf on beach.  
Heading for the sound, they landed on an island.  The fog 
still hung around them.  There were no recognizable 
landmarks.  But they did spot where something had been drug 
onto the beach and a trail through the woods. Footprints 
ran beside the drag marks in the sand.  So someone was 
here.  Maybe Gene or the oarsman had made it ashore.

Shannon and Misha saw the markings on the trail that the 
person used. Then they came to a cave near a waterfall.   
They entered it cautiously and heard a voice say, "Kismet 
is that you?" oming from inside the cave. 

Shannon said to Misha, "I think that was Gene." 

Misha replied "Yeah I think it was too, and it's coming 
from that way." She shone her light in the direction of 
the voice. Heading in the direction the voice came from,
they discovered Gene. 

Gene asked again, "Kismet is that you?" 

"Gene it's us" they said in unison. Shannon and Misha 
ran towards Gene. 

Gene tried to sit up but couldn't because of the pain he was in. 
Gene looked terrible.  He had a cut on his forehead and a 
bandage on his left leg.  A crudely tanned skin covered his private 
parts. 

"Gene what happened?" asked Misha. 

"And who is Kismet?" asked Shannon. 

"Thank goodness you're okay," Gene said weakly.

Just then it started to rain. It was a bad thunderstorm 
that no one knew was approaching until it was too late. The thunder 
echoed through out the cave. Misha jumped at the sound. 

Gene smiled at Misha and painfully sat up and reached out 
for her hand. 

"What happened?" asked Shannon who moved behind Gene to steady 
him. 

"Thanks Shannon. I'm not really sure what happened.  I woke up 
on the beach with some kind of nasty bite on my leg. By the way, 
how did you two find me anyway?" Gene asked. 

Misha answered, "We followed your trail."

"Trail?" he asked, puzzled.

"If you didn't make the trail who did?" 

Just then another clash of thunder and a flash of lighting 
made them all jump.  Turning, the ladies were surprised to 
find they were not alone with Gene.

There stood Kismet with a fresh kill in one hand and a 
spear in the other hand, growling at the two girls.

Kismet stood five foot two and 1/2 inches tall, hair long 
brown dirty and matted. Her bronze skin was covered with 
skins from some the animals that she killed for food. 

Her hazel eyes became accustomed to the darkness of 
the cave. Gene reassured Kismet that the girls meant no 
harm to her. 

Kismet moved towards where she kept her "kills" before 
she started to cook them. Then she went to get the firewood 
and more skins for the girls' bed. She knew about the 
thunderstorm and how long such storms lasted on the 
island. It would be days before they would be able to
leave the cave.
 
"Gene who is she?" whispered Misha, who was getting a little 
nervous about Kismet. 

"That is Kismet.  That's the only word she's said to me.  
She found me on the beach half-drowned. She dragged me 
in here and bandaged my leg," Gene said. 

Shannon asked, "Can she talk? Can she understand 
English?" 

Gene nodded.  "I think so. Whatever she wants you girls 
do, just do it, okay?" 

Both girls nodded. 

Kismet returned with the firewood and then started a fire 
to cook the food and warm the cave. Then she pointed to 
Misha to undo the bandage from Gene's leg.

Misha did it and Shannon held Gene down. Kismet then took 
a stone from the fire to place on Gene's leg where he got 
bit. 

Gene kicked the leg out.  Misha held his foot so he couldn't 
kick again. 

Kismet tried again.  She held Gene's calf and placed the 
hot stone just above his ankle. Slowly the pain eased up 
and then Gene relaxed and fell asleep.

*    *    *    *

Gene woke up to the smell of food cooking on the fire. "How 
long was I out?" he asked. 

"About thirty minutes. Kismet started the fire fifteen
minutes ago," answered Misha, who moved closer 
to Gene to keep him warm. 

Gene smiled knowing the real reason why she moved closer to him. 
"Where is Shannon?" asked Gene, sitting up this time without pain. 

"She is up there," Misha said, pointing towards the front of the cave. 

"Why?" he asked 

"For some fresh air she has this thing about caves. A boy scared 
the hell of her when she was on a field trip as a little girl," 
Misha answered.  

"I understand," Gene said with sympathy.


*    *    *    *

Shannon sat in the entrance of the cave looking out towards 
the camp hoping everyone was okay. They had told Mark and Tim 
that they would let them know when they reached Peter's 
island. Mark and Tim said okay. That was  hours ago. She knew they
had to be aware something had happened by now.

It started to rain even harder.  Kismet came with some skins for 
Shannon to cover up with. Shannon was surprise and said 
"thank you" as she pulled the skins closer to her.  This puzzled her.
Why was Kismet doing this? 

Kismet returned to Gene and Misha. 

When Gene's stomach growled loudly and Misha giggled.  Kismet 
growled at the noise until Gene explained to Kismet 
what the noise was. She tested the meat to see if it was 
done, then she handed Misha and Gene some meat and fruit to 
eat. 

"Thanks" Gene said with a smile. 

"Thank you, Misha said as Shannon appeared before them. 
Kismet handed Shan the same. 

Shannon thanked her as she moved towards Gene and Misha. 

They ate in silence and then it was time for bed. 

Kismet gave them some heavier skins for blankets and pillows. 
The fire died out and Kismet fell asleep fast. 

Gene laid on his back. On his right was Misha and Shannon on 
his left. Both girls smiled as they curled up to Gene and 
lay their heads on his chest. Gene just smiled.

The next day came and it was still raining so hard that it was not 
safe to go outside. 

Shannon stretched and yawned and looked over towards Kismet who 
was busy starting the fire again. Shannon went to the cave's 
entrance. 

Kismet followed her there and sat on the opposite side of her. 

Shannon noticed Kismet and asked, "Can you talk?" 

Kismet looked at her, puzzled.

*    *    *    *
Gene woke up and wondered if he just had a very bad dream.  But 
then he saw Misha. "Hey beautiful" 

Misha stirred and opened her eyes.  "Morning to you too." 

Gene said, "How's does my leg look down there?" as he 
pointed to the bite. 

"It's swollen but it's not bad," Misha replied.

"Good.  Maybe I can try to walk on it," he said. Gene 
tried to get up from the cave's floor and stand on his own 
weight. 

Misha watched him. "Well?" 

"It's okay now.  For the real test: walking on it," Gene said 
with a smile. 

Misha had a big smile on her face for the deerskin that was over his 
private parts had slipped off and Gene was now baring all 
to her. 

"You like what you're seeing?" he said teasingly. 

"Oh I do," Misha replied as she got to her feet. 

Gene's grabbed the tanned skin and wrapped it around himself, 
and then slowly walked to the entrance of the cave. There 
Shannon and Kismet were sitting.  

Kismet got up and went outside in the storm. 

"Where did she go?" asked Misha when she came behind Gene. 

Shannon shrugged her shoulders "How are you feeling?" asked 
Shannon. 

"Better," Gene said as he walked towards the opening.

Kismet returned with some tanned skins for Gene to 
wear. 

"I don't wanna know" said Gene with a smile. 

Kismet pushed him gently towards the back to put the skins on.
 
"How old are you ?" asked Gene when he was in the back with 
her. 

Kismet stared at him 

"Like  this," Gene said, showing her with his hands. "5-1" 
Gene said, pointing to himself. 

Kismet now understood what Gene was saying before she showed him 
2-0, pointing to herself. 

"How long have you been here on this island?" asked Gene.

Kismet just shook her head and handed Gene the tanned skin. 

"Where do I put this"  asked Gene, holding up the skin. 

Kismet showed him how the skin went.

 
Gene put the new tanned skin on, providing more secure 
coverage. 

Kismet went back to the fire and started it up again.  She 
cooked some meat.  

Gene went back to the Misha and Shannon.  "hHy girls. 
Kismet is cooking lunch.  Come on."  He noticed their looks.
"Don't laugh 'cause you might be wearing one of these soon." 
 
Misha and Shannon looked at each other and said in unison, "Okay 
Gene."  They got up and followed Gene back into the cave. 

Gene told the girls that Kismet was 20 years old and don't 
know how long she had been on the island. 

Kismet went towards the front of the cave.

Gene stopped her and asked where she was going. 

Kismet just smiled 

"Oh, bathroom break," Gene chuckled 

"I'll go with her, Shannon said. 

Kismet nodded and started towards the front again. 

They came back soaking wet. 

"What happened to you?" Misha asked as she went to 
Shannon and helped her out her wet clothes. 

"It's pouring out there.  The bathroom is outside, down, 
then turn right.  There are 2 trees crossing each other 
like an X.  That's the bathroom. So watch your step," 
Shannon said as she sat down near the fire. 

"X marks the spot" Gene said with a smile. 

Kismet retrieved two tanned skins one for Shannon to sit 
on and one for herself. 

"How did you know that it was a bathroom break?" Misha asked.

Gene replied, "That's easy.  My daughter does that to me every 
time she has to go in public." Gene stretched out.

Kismet went to get some dry skins for Shannon to wear. It was 
now dark outside. 

"My turn to visit the bathroom now," Gene said as he was heading 
towards the front of the cave. He spotted Kismet and asked, "Can 
you show me the way to the bathroom at night?" 

Kismet's eyes widened and she shook her head no. "No go, no go, 
Beast" she said. 

"Okay, Kismet, where do I go at night?" Gene asked. 

Kismet showed him where it was safe to go to the bathroom at night. 

The girls settled down for the night and Gene did the same when 
he came back. 

Kismet stayed up to watch the fire for she knew something 
bad was out there.