As they were being dragged down the Mountain, the Captain managed to grab a hold of a tree. Howard was somehow still attached to him and was also saved. The three remaining men swept by him, but the Captain made no effort to help them. The force of the avalanche however, was still trying to pull Howard down. Since he was still tied to the Captain, the Captain was being pulled down too. He could feel his hands losing their grip on the tree.
"Captain, help!" Howard shouted.
"Help yourself, moron!" The Captain shouted back, "You're pulling me with you!"
"Pull me up, Captain!" Howard replied.
Instead the Captain pulled a knife out of his pocket.
"What are you doing, Captain?" Howard screamed.
"I'm going to give you the cut I promised, Howie." The Captain smiled, as he began to cut the rope attaching him to Howard.
"NO, CAPTAIN!" Howard shouted in terror.
But the Captain cut the rope and with a scream Howard was dragged away by the avalanche and out of sight.
"Survival of the fittest, Howie." The Captain said, putting away the knife. Now that he didn't have Howard pulling him down, he was able to get a better grip on the tree and waited until the avalanche had passed.
The Monkees pulled themselves out from under the overhang and looked around. Smoke and ash still hung heavily in the air but there was no sign of further avalanches. Mike, Peter, Davy and Micky looked at each other, not saying a word. What was there to say? This turn of events was so sudden, they were in shock.
"Let's go." Mike said finally, then looked at Davy. "Want us to carry you?"
"No, I think I can walk...with help." Davy replied, coughing.
Mike and Micky each took one of Davy's arms and helped him along, while Peter led the way.
Finally, they were able to descend down the Mountain, passed the flattened trees and down to a plain. Mount Boring Boring still rumbled behind them. As they made their way through the land, the trees cleared and the ground became a sandy beach. More importantly, sitting on the edge of the beach, as promised, was a small motorboat!
"A boat! A boat!" Peter shouted, raising his hands in triumph.
"Take it easy Peter." Micky said, "Even though the Captain is dead, he could still have his traps set."
Mount Boring Boring rumbled again, sending more and more smoke and ash into the sky. Pieces of rock fell around them and onto the beach. Mike picked up one of the rocks and threw it onto the beach in front of them. He picked up another rock and did it again.
"What are you doing, Mike?" Davy asked.
"Checking for landmines." Mike replied, picking up another rock. "I saw this in a war movie once."
While Micky held Davy up, Peter and Mike threw rocks onto the beach where they would have to walk to get to the boat. To their amazement, there were no explosions.
"I guess it's safe..." Mike said to the others, "But lets be careful. Only walk where we threw the rocks."
So the four men quietly and on tip-toe made their way across the sand and over to the boat. There wasn't much to it; just a wooden boat with an outboard motor attached to the back. Mike pushed it out a little ways into the shallows.
"Stand back." He told the other three. Then, while standing outside the boat in the water, Mike pulled the ripcord to start the motor, then jumped away. The Motor sputtered then stopped. Mike waded back over to the boat, pulled the cord again, and jumped back in case the motor exploded. This time the motor roared to life and Mike held onto the boat to make sure it didn't zoom away.
"Is it safe, Mike?" Peter called to him.
"Yeah, the boat looks seaworthy and the motor didn't blow up on us, so come on!" Mike called back.
Micky picked up the still-drowsy Davy and carried him over to the boat, with Peter a step behind them.
Mount Boring Boring belched more rocks and ash into the sky, with some rocks landing on the beach again. This time, as a fair-sized rock hit the beach, the sand exploded!
The four Monkees looked at each other. So the beach had been sowed with landmines! It had only been by the greatest of luck that they had not stepped on one. Without a word, the Monkees climbed inside the boat. Peter and Micky put Davy between them on the single bench in the front, while Mike sat on the small bench next to the motor. He powered the motor up as far as it would go and the boat roared away. The Monkees were finally free of Boring Boring Island.
As the island began to recede behind them, the four men began to relax.
"It's over, guys." Peter said smiling, "We did it. We survived Captain Crocodile's TV show."
"But the Captain didn't. How ironic that he died on his own TV show." Mike replied, glancing back at the island. "In front of the cameras that he loved."
"Well, hello there you meddling Monkees!" Came the voice of Captain Crocodile.
The voice so startled them, the Monkees jumped up and nearly capsized the boat.
"Where...where is he?" Peter asked, hugging Davy and Micky.
The Monkees looked all around, but they were the only ones in the boat, and there was nobody else around them, not a boat in sight.
"So I see at least one of you has managed to survive my reality TV show." The Captain's voice continued. "But the show is now reaching its end. Time for the grand finale!"
Micky looked under the front bench and saw a small tape recorder and speaker.
"It's coming from here!" He shouted.
"Must've been on a timer to activate once we had started the motor." Mike replied.
"Did you really think I would let any of you boys live to tell anyone about this?" The Captain's voice mocked, "Now it is game over, Monkees...and you lose! HA HA HA!"
It was then that Peter noticed the water gathering at his feet. Looking at the bow, he saw water coming in between the wooden planks where the sides met the bottom.
"There's water coming in!" Peter exclaimed, pointing at the bow.
"By now I assume you've noticed the water coming into the boat via the wooden slats I neglected to caulk." The Captain's voice continued. "Do any of you know how to swim?"
"Turn us around, Mike!" Micky shouted to him. "Head back to shore!"
"Don't think you'll make it back to shore." The Captain's voice spoke once again, obviously anticipating what the Monkees might do. "I've arranged for you to meet some denizens of the deep!"
It was then they finally noticed the red water trailing them. It was coming from a box hidden behind the propeller. There was a breeze and the Monkees could now smell it. It was blood.
Mike turned the rudder and powered the motor to high, sending the boat back toward the island. The water began to come in faster and soon everyone was ankle-deep in the bloody water.
"Hurry, Mike!" Davy exclaimed, as he saw a fin in the water. "Sharks are coming!"
"I've got it cranked to the max!" Mike shouted back.
Other shark fins joined the first as the Monkees' boat sank lower and lower into the water, still far from shore.
"Goodbye, Monkees!" The voice of Captain Crocodile shouted.