Sadie ran down the sidewalk and hailed a cab just as Kong burst out of the Theatre.

"I need to get to the De Luxe Theater fast!" she ordered.

The cab driver looked at the huge ape in front of him. "Do it yourself, lady! I didn't sign on for this!"

The cab driver practically dove out of the car and ran off. Sadie groaned and rolled her eyes as she moved over to the driver's seat. She looked at Kong and saw him get hit by cars that were swerving in their attempts to avoid him. He tossed several cars out of his way and then picked up several women with blonde hair.

He was looking for Ann.

Sadie floored the gas pedal and drove to the De Luxe Theater a few blocks from where she lived. She tried her best to avoid cars and panicking pedestrians, but at least four cars were scratched in some way as she sped down the road.

Sadie pulled up to the theater just as Ann was coming out the doors.

"Sadie?" Ann exclaimed at the sight of the girl. "What's going on?"

"Kong escaped from the theater, and he's on a rampage in the city. You're the only one who can calm him down."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I've seen the way he acts around you."

The two of them bolted back to the cab and Sadie drove down the road following the screaming people. She swerved to a stop once the gorilla was in sight.

Sadie looked at Ann. "Go."

Ann exited the car, and Sadie watched as she slowly approached Kong. She touched his fur, and then he gently lifted her up in his hand. It was so amazing for her to see the special connection they had with her own eyes.

Kong let out a short roar and walked off with Ann in tow.

Sadie smiled a little at the unlikely friendship. Her smile disappeared as a series of tanks from the army drove past her looking for Kong. She got out of the cab and looked after them. If they hit Kong, Ann could get killed from either the bullets or the fall.

Sadie got back in the cab and drove down the streets looking for the two of them. Surprisingly, it took her a few minutes of driving until she found Kong running down the roads, crashing into cars along the way.

He soon took to the rooftops and began flying across them in order to evade the tanks and machine guns.

Sadie followed them in the cab until she found herself in front of the Empire State Building.

She exited the car once more and tried to get into the building but was stopped by men from the army who had surrounded it.

All she could do was crane her neck in an attempt to see what was happening at the top.

Planes started to circle the top of the building. She could hear Kong roaring fiercely at them, but she could barely make out anything from her position.

What she could make out was Kong standing on the very top of the Empire State Building, beating his chest and roaring at the planes as if making a challenge.

The planes circled the top and fired at Kong. He hit one of them and it came crashing back down to the ground.

Jack came up behind her and tried to get forward, but a policeman stopped him. "Nobody past this point!"

Jack didn't listen and roughly pushed past the man.

"You can't go in there!"

"Jack!" Sadie called.

He pushed through the crowd of army men and ran inside the building. He must've gotten into the elevator because he never came back out.

Sadie heard a loud scream from above her, and she thought she could make out Kong catching Ann before she fell to the hard ground.

The planes hit him again and he roared in pain. He climbed back up to the top again as the planes circled back around. He stood up on his hind legs and beat his chest triumphantly in a final stand. More bullets were fired at him and she could see him sink down.

There was a moment of silence. The planes weren't around and Kong was quiet.

Then more bullets hit him in the back and Sadie could hear him squeal which hurt her ears, and not because it was loud.

There were another few brief seconds of silence. Then Kong slid off the top of the building and began to fall.

Everyone on the ground screamed and tried to run out of the way before Kong fell on top of them.

He landed on the pavement with a thunderous crash.

Sadie put her hand to her mouth as she looked at the dead animal. Immediately, soldiers, reporters, and photographers swarmed the body.

"Boys, how about a photo?" one of them asked the soldiers.

The soldiers all posed in front of Kong's dead body. That infuriated Sadie. They would never pose in front of a human body. Kong may have been an animal, but why couldn't they show that same respect?

"That's it, folks!" a policeman shouted. "Show's over. Step back!"

Carl fought his way through the crowd and looked at what he had planned on giving him fame and fortune.

"Why'd he do that?" one of the reporters asked. "Climb up there and get himself cornered. The ape must have known what was coming."

"He's just a dumb animal," another answered. "Didn't know nothing."

"You know nothing," Sadie told him.

"Excuse me?"

"Were you there on that island with him? No, you weren't. That means you don't know anything about that animal."

"What does it matter? Airplanes got him."

"It wasn't the airplanes," Carl said. "It was beauty killed the beast."

Sadie looked over and saw Ann and Jack coming out of the Empire State Building. She fought her way through the reporters and went over to them.

"Ann!" she called.

She got closer to the woman and saw tear stains resting on her cheeks. Ann ran over to her and collapsed into her arms, crying her heart out.

Sadie rubbed comforting circles on her back as her friend cried. She couldn't even begin to understand how she felt.

She lost track of how long they stood there hugging in the middle of the street.

Sadie went back home and tiredly walked through the door.

"Sadie," her mother said to her. "I think you have some explaining to do."

Sadie let out a small laugh as she shut the door. "Take a seat." The two of them sat at the dining room table. "The first thing you should know is that none of this is Daddy's fault."

"I always love stories that start that way."

"It wasn't. It was my own selfish and stupid behavior."

For what felt like hours, Sadie told her mother everything that happened to her on the island. Her mother was about ready to faint a couple times when she got to the seriously life-threatening parts, but listened to everything she had to say. She explained how she and her father finally repaired their relationship after all that time, and how much she had enjoyed getting to be on the ocean and how she had learned how to maneuver the ship.

"I met someone," she said quietly as she began to finish her story. "And I fell in love with him."

"What was he like?"

"It's funny. I hated him at first. But then I got to know him more, and I saw how much we connected. I understand him and he understands me."

Her mother looked at her thoughtfully. "Sadie…I think we both know you belong on that ship with your father."

"But…if I go on that ship, I'll be leaving you just like Daddy did."

"No. Because you'll come back to see me. You're not leaving. You're just going away for a while. Sadie, I've haven't seen you talk so excitedly about something in years. You were never meant to stay in this little place forever. And if being out on the ocean with someone you love is where you're happiest, then you should be there. I'll be fine here, I promise."

"Really?"

"Really. Get your stuff together and go back to the harbor before you miss your chance."

Sadie smiled and hugged her mother tightly. Then she packed up as much as she could and quickly went to the docks, praying her father's ship was still there. To her relief, it was.

Englehorn turned around and saw his daughter standing a few feet away from him. She smiled broadly as she walked towards him.

"I couldn't stay away," she said.

"And your mother…?"

"She's fine with it. She's the one who encouraged me to go. If it's okay with you…I want to stay on the ship."

Englehorn laughed as he hugged his daughter. Neither of them had seen this coming.

"Sadie, there's something I wanted to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I heard about what happened with that ape."

"Kind of hard not to."

"It made me start to think. If I had just not captured it in the first place, several people would still be alive now. I know these are hard times and I need money, but it's not worth people's lives. From now on, the Venture is a cargo ship only. No more animal transport."

Sadie smiled again, and then took her bags and boarded the ship, quickly putting everything in the same cabin she had used before.

She went up onto the deck and went to the front of the ship. A small breeze kissed her cheeks that smelled of salty air.

"Sadie?" a quiet voice said behind her.

Sadie turned to find Jimmy looking at her.

"What are you doing here?"

"You didn't think I was just going to leave you, did you? How could I when…I love you?"

Jimmy gave her a small smile. "I love you too."

Sadie ran up to him and kissed him passionately. As various crew members passed by on the deck and on the docks below to prepare for other voyages, neither teenager noticed them.

It was an unlikely place to fall in love.

Sadie may have been unhappy about going on the trip before, but now she had never been more sure of a decision in her entire life.