Splash!
Moan...
"Get up!" A harsh voice commanded.
That scene was repeated three more times as the Monkees were awoken from their drugged sleep.
Groggily, they managed to raise their heads up as water dripped off their faces. Looking around, the Monkees saw they were sitting in the middle of a large open-air amphitheater. In front of each of them sat a wide-brimmed hat sitting on top of a small sack. Several feet behind that was a small curtained stage around which was a group of rough-looking men wearing camouflage uniforms. At their feet were dogs on leashes that were glaring silently at the four Monkees.
"What's going on?" Mike asked, "What happened?" He tried to move, then realized his hands were tied behind him to the other side of a stake. Micky, Peter and Davy were also tied to their own stakes next to his.
"Hey, let us go!" Micky demanded of the men standing in front of him.
The men just laughed at that. Suddenly Howard appeared from the behind the curtained stage. He was also wearing camouflage and a smug smile on his face.
"Oh goody, you're up!" Howard exclaimed, "Now the show can begin!"
"What show?" Davy demanded, "What's going on, Howard?"
"You'll find out soon enough!" Howard laughed and ducked back behind the curtain.
A few seconds later, loud music was blaring from the loudspeakers around the amphitheater. Howard's voice then announced:
"Hey, boys and girls! What time is it? It's time for Captain Crocodile!" He exclaimed.
At that, none other than Captain Crocodile, wearing his red and white jumpsuit and bowler hat, bounded onto the stage. The four Monkees could only look at each other in complete shock as the music cut off.
"Well, hello there Monkees!" Captain Crocodile shouted happily, "Glad you could make it!" Then the Captain put his thumbs in his ears, wiggled his fingers and made a whooping sound, just as he did when he had his own kiddy TV show. When the Monkees failed to respond, the Captain's smile took on a sinister look.
"Ah, I see you remember me. I know that look." He said with a chuckle. "That's the same reaction I got from all the other TV stations after I was fired and tried to find another job."
"What do you want with us, Crocodile?" Mike demanded, managing to stand up, though he was still tied to his stake.
"That's Captain Crocodile to you, Nishwash!" The Captain shouted at Mike, as Howard joined him back on the stage. "And you'll shut up and listen to me!"
The Captain jumped off the stage and walked closer to his captives.
"What do I want with you?" He asked, "What do I want with the four men who ruined my career, made me a laughing stock in the TV industry?"
"We didn't ruin you!" Peter protested, "You tried to ruin us!"
"We were no threat to you!" Davy added. "We were offered a job..."
"SHUT UP!" The Captain shouted at them, "You were trying to ease me out, steal my audience with that noise you call music!"
"No, we weren't..." Micky tired to explain as he managed to stand up as well.
"You and that brat Pinter!" The Captain continued over Micky. "He tried to act oh so mature in his big office with little furniture." He chuckled, "I'll get him too, after you four have done a little something for me."
"And what's that?" Mike asked slowly.
"Why, be the stars in my new TV show!" The Captain replied with a smile.
Captain Crocodile walked over to a billboard near the stage. He pulled the cloth off the billboard to show a large map of the island, with the north and south parts marked with an X. Between the two X's was a dashed line. The ex-kiddy show host picked up a pointer and slapped it against the billboard.
"See this?" He asked, "It's a map of Boring Boring. Right now we are here in the south part of the island." He pointed to the X. "You four boys are going to race from here across the island to the northern part." He traced the route with his pointer. "All the time being pursued by these gentlemen and their dogs."
"No we're not!" Micky told him, aghast.
The Captain just smirked and continued. "Of course you are." He said in a silky voice, "You would not only disappoint me, but these gentlemen too. Not to mention the rich patrons who financed this whole scheme for me."
"Patrons?" Peter asked.
"Oh yes, my friend." The Captain replied, "While spending time in a sanitarium, I hit upon the idea of a show without a script or plot...where anything can happen. A fellow inmate had a rich father with rich friends, they liked my idea and so now..." He gestured grandly around him, "I was able to buy this defunct resort, hire these men, and of course rig this whole island with cameras to follow your every move."
"You're crazy!" Mike said.
"Oh yes, crazy like a fox!" The Captain retorted, "Everything that has happened, from the time you set foot on this island, was for the amusement of my wonderful patrons...and me!"
"So Judy was in on this too?" Micky asked.
"Oh yes, dear Judy had long bristled working under little Junior Pinter." The Captain replied, "It was easy to bring her aboard, along with Howie." He indicated his partner.
"What did we ever do to you, Howard?" Davy asked him.
"Not only did you ruin the Captain's career and life, but mine as well!" Howard shot back, "Nobody wanted me either! I ended up homeless!"
"Now that we're all up to date, let me go over the rules once again." The Captain said.
"We're not going to cooperate!" Mike shouted at him.
"Oh yes you are!" The Captain shouted back, and pointed at the men in camouflage. "These men will not hesitate to rip each of you apart piece by piece until you cooperate."
"So...what happens when we reach the north shore?" Peter asked, swallowing.
"There will be a motorized boat waiting for you, full of fuel, and you can leave the island and go back to your lives on the mainland." The Captain replied. "But to get there, you'll have to cross some dangerous territory. In front of each of you, you will see a hat and a sack. In each sack is a map, food, water, a compass and a knife."
"How nice of you." Mike said dryly.
"Well, I do want to give you four a chance to make it." The Captain replied with an evil grin, "It wouldn't be good television if you four died before making it half-way across the island."
The four Monkees said nothing. The Captain walked over to stage and picked up a knife. He then began to walk over to his four captives while the men in camouflage and Howard filed out of the amphitheater on either side of the stage.
Walking behind his captives, the Captain spoke one last time. "You have four minutes to cut yourselves loose, gather your sacks and get out of here." He said, venom in his voice. "Starting now." He slammed the knife into the stake just above Mike's bonds. "Welcome to reality television!"
With a maniacal laugh, Captain Crocodile walked away with the others, leaving the Monkees alone.
Mike immediately began to work his ropes back and forth against the knife, praying it was sharp enough. Behind the Monkees, through a gated doorway underneath the stands, the camouflaged men had gathered with their dogs. The dogs, sensing a chase, began to growl and bark.
"Hurry, Mike!" Peter told him.
"I am, Peter, I am!" Mike replied, as the last of the ropes fell away.
Quickly, Mike pulled the knife out of the stake and began to cut his friends loose.
"You have one minute left, Monkees!" The voice of Captain Crocodile said over the loudspeaker.
Mike now had all his friends free and they quickly put on their hats and grabbed their sacks. They ran behind the stage, through an open gate, and out into the jungle beyond. Behind them, the men and their dogs came out of the gate and began to run after them.