The Creature

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XI

One strange action or reaction by Kong that will probably never be understood by me occurred in a late afternoon thunderstorm. The weather had been particularly hot that day and all day long I noticed the build up of huge banks of clouds. The clouds would start off as white large fluffy clouds to the southwest and as they approached directly south they would have high vertical development. They would be in groups of four or five and they would move on and after an hour or so a new group would move in and pass along.

As the daylight hours dwindled the clouds moved closer to my area of the world and I sat on the porch and watched them approaching. Just as the light began to fail flashes of lightning appeared way off in the distance and a light rain splattered on the roof of the cabin and tinkled down the aluminum gutters and into my rain barrel.

It was with the onset of the rain that Kong arrived at the cabin and he picked a spot near the rain barrel and crouched there. He stared straight ahead and my talking did not evoke any response from him. He refused the apples I held out to him. I put the palm of my hand against his forehead to see if he was warm but he was not. The pressure of my hand did not budge him from his crouching and staring. Not only was his reaction strange but it was strange since Kong did not appear at the cabin in wet weather.

A great gust of wind flapped the tar paper of the cabin roof and bent the large trees. Lightning split the air and a round of thunder peeled across the landscape. Kong leaped to his feet and jumped up and down like an Indian dancing in a second rate movie. The rain started in earnest, beating colored leaves to the ground while lightning flashed again lighting the darkness and exposing Kong's dance.

Kong rushed toward the underbrush and with a snap of his wrist broke off a five foot cherry tree at its base. He started whipping the ground and the larger trees. I moved up on the porch for the force of his blows were echoing through the darkness and I didn't want to he hit with such force. Kong continued the whipping with one hand and then two hands until the storm subsided and the local lightening and thunder had moved on. When he whipped with one hand he would hit his chest or pound his thigh with the other or put the unoccupied hand in motion as if to keep his balance. This display lasted about twenty five minutes in all.

When he finally threw what was left of his switch down he went to the rain barrel and put his head up to the overflowing water and slurped huge slurps. I turned the cabin porch light on and went around to the front of the cabin to see him. I could only see him by indirect light because a direct light would cause him to seek the shadows unless it hit him by accident.

Kong put his head and body into a crouching position as I approached. Water was dripping from his hair sending out glints of reflected light. I approached cautiously since this head bent crouch was a new position for me. As I got closer Kong's posture changed to one of challenge, eyes front, arms out from his sides, fingers extended and knees bent. He looked like a gunfighter without side arms.

When I finally confronted him I could see fear in his eyes. While this was going on the clouds had cleared and a three quarter moon lit the yard. Away in the distance heat lightning flashed. Kong presented a rather fearful image. He flashed his teeth which seemed enormous under the circumstances. He stood there crouched, eyes wide and staring, and teeth flashing. A hissing sound came forth with each flash of teeth. I stood and watched this for a few minutes and then I backed off. Walking backwards without breaking the stare down between us I made my way to the porch steps and clambered up.

Kong relaxed from his hunch position, took another large slurp of rainwater and made for the underbrush. His exit was swift and as the large frame entered the brush area it made no sound. I waited a few minutes then walked over to the same underbrush and walked in. The noise of twigs and snapping brush that I made must have disturbed everything around.

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