When Haley woke up a second time, she felt even worse. Every muscle, every bone, every joint - her body screamed for her not to move. Consequently, she woke quickly and with a full awareness of what happened before she blacked out. The pounding in her shoulder was all she needed to remember that Koba, her mate, had come to kill her and had shot her with one of the human weapons. Along with the pain, she felt a tightness wrapped around the area, which filled her with an unease when she saw not a single person looming over her to finish bandaging her up. Studying the patch up, the material was still lose, and the rest of the roll dangled over the side of the bed. Haley, for the life of her, could not think what stopped them, but with operation tools still full of blood on the bedside table and a needleless IV abandoned beside the bed, she knew it had to have been something urgent. Haley's loathing of doctors ran deep, so she didn't exactly mind them not being there, but as every inch of her frame vibrated with pain, she really wished they would have, at least, doused her with painkillers. Doctors - unexpectedly, Haley felt her mind turning a mile a minute again, her eyes growing wide as the memory of a loud crack rang in her ears. Ellie.
If the crack hadn't been a memory, Haley likely wouldn't have been able to hear it over the incessant ringing and screaming in her ears, and as the sound seemed to grow louder, it was a wonder how she could even think. However, she couldn't be bothered about the annoying sound as worry swelled inside of her. One of the last things that she remembers seeing was the sight of Ellie's small figure crashing against the wall before not moving at all.
What happened to her? Was she alright? Did she survive? - Haley's mind whirred with these questions as she slowly forced her body back up, biting into her cheek to try and distract her nerves from their protests. Blood thundered under the skin where Koba had budded her temple with the back of the gun and she did her best to ignore it when she moved her legs over the side of the withered mattress. Stiffly, she searched her surroundings. She looked for any sign or clue that Ellie had been there, tending to her wounds, but she couldn't find anything. She looked and looked and looked, but fear only festered.
Soon enough, with the pain, the pounding in her head, the lack of hope, and the loud noises in her ears, unbearable frustration begun to boil in Haley to the point where she couldn't help but snap.
"Damn it," Haley cursed, jiggling her pinky in her ear, "I'm trying to think."
With everything jumbled together, it felt as if her own body was against her having at least one shred of good news, and when Haley noticed that the crashes and yells of chaos weren't going away, the dread grew heavier inside of her. She was starting to realize the truth and she wished she hadn't. Desperate for it to work now, Haley tilted her head, hissing from compressing her burns in the crook of her neck, and hit herself upside the head, as if expecting the sound to fall out of her ear. Of course, it didn't. If anything, trying to clear up her ears, the roaring got worse. Unwillingly, Haley accepted the sound wasn't in her head at all. It had to have been real, she knew and felt her dark brown eyes shift to the exit at the other end of the room.
Haley barely registered the pain as she creaked to her feet and tied another white sheet around her chest. With all her focus and eyes glued to the doorknob, she slowly limped towards the door in complete silence. The exit loomed like the gates to hell, and yet she approached it willingly, and eventually, held its handle in her small hand.
It was completely different to when she opened the door before; the waft of outside air that hit her body was hot and filthy and smelled sickeningly of iron. The air itself seemed lit in an orange glow, flickering in the cornea of Haley's brown eyes. It was like fire itself was nipping at her skin in contrast to the freezing medical room behind her, and as if they had been frozen by the cold, Haley felt the warmth jolt pain back to every one of her nerve. She quickly locked her burnt arm to her side as a reflex, and just in time before she was thrown back by a fierce blow. Haley only realized she had been holding her breath when the wind was knocked out of her by an explosion down the hall, sending her crashing back onto the tiled floor as echoing screams echoed through the building. For a moment, it was like she had woken from another sleep, with the world spinning and her ears ringing, but she knew better thanks to the chilling voices cutting through the deafening noise.
Coughing oxygen back into her lungs, Haley slowly rose onto her one arm, momentarily grateful that Koba shot her in her already-burnt shoulder instead of leaving her completely immobile. But when her eyes fell on the figure in the doorway, the grateful swell inside of her deflated with a nauseating drop. Bright blood stained his dark grey fur and framed his dead, empty stare, his body laying perfectly still on the scorched floor. He was battered and scarred from head to toe, and the wounds were stretched painfully by the strap of a gun that was wrapped around his chest. Seeing the vile weapon stick out under him, making him lay at an uncomfortable angle, Haley wished that she was actually still dreaming, but life wasn't as kind.
The sight was so unnatural that Haley was sure she wouldn't have recognized the ape if it hadn't been for the birthmark labeling his upper lip and brow with nude speckles. "Ash," Haley whispered, as if worried the people who set off the bomb would hear her, but she got no response anyway. Panicking, she forced her own aching body back to life and commanded it to crawl, but in her stroke of impulse, her weight shifted onto her bleeding shoulder and raw arm and sent her crashing back down with a pitched yelp.
"Ash," she repeated in a desperate growl, this time just to get her body moving again, and pulled her way across the floor with her elbow. The closer she got to Ash, the larger his wounds seemed to become and the more haunting his empty gaze grew. Not risking gentleness, Haley gave him a rough shove to his shoulder as soon as she could react, just to get him to respond, but he didn't.
"Come on, you giant lug," she growled again, lifting herself back off the floor more carefully to loom over her friend. She patted his face, but again, no reaction. Steadily, Haley's hope began to fade, thought she kept repeating, "He can't be dead" under her shaking breath to convince herself otherwise.
But then, in a single twitch, Haley felt her heart soar. Her brown eyes snapped down to the blood-covered chest in front of her and watched it rise and fall briefly, every lift and fall diminishing her panic. His breathing was weak and uneven, but he was, indeed, breathing. Yet, he still didn't move.
"Ash?" Haley called more carefully again, her voice barely heard over the ruckus outside, but again, she got nothing. Once more, frustration bubbled inside of her. She couldn't see any other option - CPR would do nothing for him, and neither would patching his wounds. He was terrified, and Haley could not blame him. Finally clearheaded, she saw the slight tremble in him and could hear the distinct sound of bombs and popping guns outside - he was petrified at the sight of man's true power. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get rid of the growing burn in them. This, whatever was going on, the apes should not have been put through it - none of it. It was unjust and cruel, as people who wanted nothing but to live in peace. Haley tightened her firsts in anger; somehow, she already knew how all this happened, making the wound in her shoulder thunder with the memory of how Koba had pushed her own hair inside. "Ash!" Haley snapped under the increased anger and finally slapped the poor ape back to reality, making him shoot up in alarm and hoot around furiously in bewilderment. Until his attention froze on the young woman next to him and he fell perfectly quiet.
"Oh thank God," Haley sighed in relief and slouched as a giant weight lifted off of her, not noticing the ape's look of disbelief.
Ash, however, inched forward with a breathy gibber, trying to make her look at him again. He wasn't sure if he was trying to get her attention or if he simply wanted to study her face again, to make sure it was truly his friend who had been confirmed dead when the sun was only slightly higher in the sky. She had been dead earlier - he was sure of it - the elders had said so. Blue Eyes and him had started grieving, even if it was interrupted with battle soon after. Maybe it wasn't her after all, he thought as his eyes fell of the misshapen side of her face, the skin dark and pulled like the bark of a tree. But, of course, Ash wasn't a fool and knew she was there, right there, sitting in front of him. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to sign and ask how that was even possible, because the mere attempt to do so made the raw skin on his arms sting beneath his singed fur. He almost forgot what had happened. He was after a human earlier. He could feel that something was wrong, but didn't want to go back to face Koba - and when he opened the strange human entrance, fire spread with a force that he could not understand. It was like the sun itself roared with fury. Ash had always thought the sun was beautiful, but maybe he was wrong.
"No move." Haley signed hastily, interrupting his rambling thoughts, but Ash wasn't sure if he understood her right. It seemed like their bark-like exterior kept Haley's fingers from moving separately, and seeing them stuck in position made Ash's middle feel strange, like drinking cold water on an empty stomach. "Gun," She signed again, but this time, without asking anything, she leaned over and carefully pulled the strap from around his chest before moving it around her own, "Stay and heal."
Ash didn't protest: he wanted nothing more than to get rid of the unexpectedly heavy human weapon, but when he realized her intentions, he reached to take it back. He didn't have the chance and only grabbed a breeze. Slow and weak from the earlier blow, Ash could do nothing but grunt and screech for Haley to stay there while she pulled herself up by the door frame and wobbled her way down the hall, supporting her weight against the wall. She wasn't dead, like he had thought, but soon, she might be.
Haley could feel her heart pounding in her throat with every painful step that she took. She knew this was not the best idea, but she had to see what was going on - she needed to go help. She needs to find Luca, Rocket, Maurice - Caesar. Haley felt her heart stop at the idea of finding her old friend's body, bleeding out from a wound caused by her own species. "Please, no," She pled pointlessly and hurried on her way, leaning more and more against the wall as the incessant swaying of the world became worse. Slowly but surely, as adrenaline drained from her once more, Haley found the world blur in response to the growing torture across her skin. Her joints grew stiff and heavy. All she could do was focus on the terrifying screams and screeches down the last hall, hoping it wouldn't lead her astray. Both thankfully and regrettably, it didn't.
Haley only noticed that daytime had passed when she flinched away from the bright glow of fire outside and the blinding pops of white from dozens of guns. It was like the doorway was a portal to an entirely different realm, with the building tinted a light blue of sorts inside, as opposed to the blood-stained battle ahead. Haley's horrified, wide eyes moved from one face to the other in the chaos quickly and could barely make out which was human and which was ape, with each face covered in blood and mud. It had to have been a nightmare - there was no way such a gruesome sight could form so unexpectedly. It couldn't be real, she tried convincing herself, but still she craved to stop it. To break the species way from each other and stop them from this foolish danger. She couldn't take it, but she couldn't tear her eyes away either. "Stop!" She finally yelled despite the burnt corner of her lips and threw herself outside, knowing her shaky legs would betray her otherwise.
But she was barely able to make it two feet before another explosion erupted directly in front of her and sent her stumbling back. She was about to block her face from the fire when she noticed there was none.
Haley barely saw the army tank in her double vision before its main gun shifted directly on her with a metallic whir and she bolted back inside the building, just in time for another hole to form in the sidewalk where she had stood. Haley was about to curse the humans for firing at her, but as soon as she heard the angry screeches of a couple of apes, she changed her plan. Instead, she quickly tore the gun from her body and tossed it aside, barely hissing when her shoulder protested. She'd rather go through a bit of pain than have apes mistake her for the other side again - she won't get lucky twice. She could feel herself slowly becoming weaker, urging her to stay rested against the wall for longer. Nevertheless, using her last bit of effort, she ignored the temptation and rather lowered down the stairs outside and scraped a pool of dirt from the sidewalk to smear it across the one side of her face and across her chest and arm, hiding her pale skin the best she could.
Clawing at the side of the building, Haley hoisted herself back up and continued down the street, keeping to the shadows. She had no idea who she was looking for or what she was expecting, but with every flinch and duck she gave in the face or sound of danger, the less likely it seemed that she'd be able to make anyone out of the chaos. And as the pointless journey continued on, her body grew weaker, her legs heavier, and her consciousness harder to maintain pass her pulsating burns. "Please," She begged and coughed lightly at the scratching in her throat, but soon enough, she was jerked back. Despite feeling her heart stop at the hint of danger, her head turned without hurry to see what had pulled her back. Seeing the roll of bandages caught on a bush, Haley wondered how it didn't get caught sooner, but she didn't dwell on the thought and carefully reached back to pull it free. With each frail pull, she felt her strength drop, but even then, it wouldn't come loose.
She wanted to go back and get it unstuck, but her own body wouldn't listen, making her simply whimper in disdain before slumping against the brick fence next to her. It was almost insulting, how the battle carried on beside her while she felt herself becoming worse by the second, as if she didn't even exist. Everything hurt - it was awful, but the world didn't care. It had no reason to. Then again, the world must have stopped caring a long time ago, as it drowned under the blood of many. Being run by humans for so long, Haley couldn't blame the world for abandoning them. Haley chuckled softly, seeing the planet running away in front of her and leaving humanity right where they were, allowing them to fall through space like those old cartoons her sister enjoyed so much. Haley felt her mind growing fuzzy again.
As if he sensed her vulnerability, one ape finally saw Haley's figure skulking in the dark and growled as he hoisted his weapon atop his shoulder. He had been watching the battle from the sidelines, horror-struck at what had become of the village's "warning," but even an ape can only avoid the violence for so long.
Haley's mouth grew drier than the Gobi desert itself when her little hallucination was clouded over by a large silhouette and swallowed to get rid of the terrified lump in her throat, but it didn't work. She painted her face in filth and earth and she hid herself from the fire's light the best that she could, but even if she knew that was plenty and all she was able to do, she silently wished she had done better to camouflage herself. Never has she felt as terrified by the sight of two giant ape feet as when they stepped into her line of sight. And when she heard the lock of a gun, the terror grew worse. Carefully, as if not to startle her enemy into killing her sooner, she rose her head to look him in the eye, but there really was no point, she realized as she stared up at nothing but a blurred blob and the clear barrel of a rifle between her eyes. For a moment, the memory of Koba aiming a gun at her flashed in front of her eyes, but this was not then. Without known cause or explanation, the dark circle of death lowered from her face to floor by her feet with a distinct tremble, leaving her to stare at the blurred shape in bewilderment. She could see the ape move and gibber hesitantly, clearly trying to say or gesture something, but Haley's eyes only narrowed and she kept still, not daring to move. Her entire figure was petrified with worry - she was almost killed by apes a few hours ago, so she was justifiably jumpy.
Somehow, the atmosphere felt strange and grew terrifyingly calm compared to the destruction a few steps away, but maybe that was why Haley jolted in alarm when the ape's large hand wrapped around her unharmed shoulder, its weight nearly making her legs give out. Haley wanted to slip away, the memory of Koba's attack growing clearer and more powerful, but she couldn't risk a run. Not in her state - she'd probably just collapse. And as his other palm blocked her vision, she strangely felt no need to move away. Haley stood motionless as the giant, rubbery hand rubbed against her face and felt as if it was not just rubbing the dirt away, but her fear, too. She was starting to understand the gorilla's behavior, and when he pulled his hand away and leaned closer to clarify what he was seeing, all her fear vanished. "Luca!" She gasped in bliss, the sound of her voice apparently making the large gorilla rear back and drop his gun in shock. The distraught wrinkles littering his face and his wide green eyes was all she needed to see to feel assurance squish whatever anguish still lurked inside of her. He was no danger to her, he was glad she was alive. Just his presence was a flood of unexpected hope - maybe that was why he was leader of the gorilla guard.
Luca's hand burned where the rifle used to touch his thick skin - he had almost shot Haley. He had the chance to shoot Haley. Haley was standing in front of him. Haley was alive. The tightness that has been clawing deep inside of Luca's chest since he heard she was dead grew even more severe, but it was different now - it wasn't unbearable. The pain was almost pleasant, like when the women would pour liquid over his cuts or burns. Haley is alive, he repeated, watching the hairless woman with keen, focused eyes. When he had recognized the shape of the human - he watched Haley enough to know it - he was afraid he was wrong and cleaned her face to be sure, but now he was just afraid to look away, scared she was an illusion all-together. When he heard Haley was dead, the world grew blurry and strange and Luca thought he might be sick, so hallucinating wouldn't be so strange. Rocket ate odd fruit from the forest once and he was talking about seeing unfamiliar faces all around him for the whole day. Had he eaten some odd fruit? With a heavy throat at the thought of this all being fake, Luca hooted at Haley again, limping forward on his hind legs.
Haley's heart hurt, seeing the disbelief on Luca's face and the hesitant joy lurking below, knowing what Koba must have done, but she was too happy to see Luca to dwell. In a small yelp, Haley's theory of not being able to move was confirmed as she tried moving closer to Luca but simply collapsed against him instead. He was barely in time to catch her, but he did - that was all that mattered to Haley when her body was swallowed up by a blissful cold. Haley had no idea how Luca managed it, but his fur always seemed to be the perfect temperate, and she's never been more grateful than when his arms gingerly wrapped around her and froze some of her aching nerves. She wanted to give him a giant hug in thanks, but her hands simply twitched at her sides.
'Of course he would be the one to see me in the chaos - he's always watching over me.' Haley thought with a faint chuckle and felt her heart swell with warmth that was like lava compared to his touch. But, as soon as she realized what she said, Haley stiffened and blinked - he what?
"Luca," A familiar grunt interrupted, forcing Haley's head to maneuver to the other side, though she didn't get off of the cool chest below her. He smells like bark and rain, Haley thought despite everything and steadily felt some of the strength returning to her body. "What happened?" Caesar continued in sign, his face contorted in a disgusted frown, but still he didn't seem to notice Haley's presence peeking out from behind Luca's thick arm, "Where Koba?" Haley's body gave a chill at the name like it's never done before. Whatever she felt for Koba, Haley was starting to realize it was morphing into nothing but true terror.
Luca huffed very softly, like he was trying to allow Haley to sleep, and threw a single arm up at the skyscraper across the street, where dozens of other apes were collecting and climbing. The dark crinkles on Caesar's face grew more pronounced as he turned to gaze back out onto the diminishing crowd, seeing the apes climbing up the side of the building and watch a single black spot in the lead. None of this was what Caesar wanted. This killing was not what he started, nor did he supply the troop with guns, even if it gave them an advantage, but he had a hunch who did. Caesar felt his blood boil and bared his canines in an angry growl. Koba might be grieving his mate - as everyone was - but this was not-
Abruptly, the white shape against Luca's chest processed and made Caesar's glower fall before he snapped his head back to the shape. There she was, watching him in complete silence and with half-lidded, tired eyes. For just a moment, Caesar thought that maybe Luca was carrying around Haley's corpse, but he knew better as soon as those all-too-familiar brown orbs moved to follow his movements. "Haley," He grunted out hoarsely, and predictably, Maurice practically materialized next to him, carrying himself over to Haley as quickly as he could for an orangutan on the ground. Despite Maurice pushing pass Caesar and prodding Haley to make sure she was real, the ape king never broke his eyes away from her own. He, too, seemed to think she was going to disappear. How was this possible? She was alive - the humans must have been careless and failed to kill her. He barely registered the bandage on her shoulder to know that they, in fact, tried doing the opposite. Nothing made sense, but a single, significant look of sorrow swept the clouds from Caesar mind. The knowing look on Haley's face said everything that Caesar needed to know, as if she spoke the truth to him in hand speech.
Koba - it was Koba - this was all Koba. Somehow, this clarified more than just how Haley was alive. Now, the state of the war had a cause as well.
Suddenly, rage exploded inside of Caesar to an extent that he's never felt before. Koba's not only tricked the entire troop, but him, too, by means of faking the death of his oldest friend. And, by studying Haley from her bleeding forehead to her bruised skin, he knew Koba was trying to make her death a reality. Without saying anything, Caesar threw his body around and sped after Koba.
"Caesar!" Haley screamed as loud as she could when she realized what she had done, but by that time, he was already reaching the second story of the building, "Come back!"
Maurice gibbered in a rush to grab her attention, but Haley didn't have to see him sign to know what his apologetic look was for. "Yes, go!" She barked, panicked, "Go, I'll be fine!" She caught Rocket approaching with a look of shock that was comical by this point, "Get Rocket and stop him - calm him." Haley didn't care if Caesar attacked Koba: only, she didn't want him to act rash. She, of all people, knew how dangerous that is. The orangutan nodded and rushed off. Haley felt her heart hammering furiously by the time she saw them moving up the side of the structure, already seeing the other reaching it's top with Caesar close behind. Haley was happy for Rocket and Maurice that the building was under construction and shorter, making it easier to climb, but seeing Caesar climb with the same fury, her happiness dulled. Thanks to the height, Haley couldn't be sure anymore if it was her friend or not, but seeing something move over the top, she held her breath in fear of an immediate crash or boom - she should have known it wouldn't.
The wait was agonizing, only growing worse as the street grew quieter and quieter. Haley could almost hear the commotion atop the building from how quiet it had gotten, but every time she thought she truly heard something, she found it was nothing but sizzling wood or a rustling bush. Sure enough, Haley was starting to feel her agonizing fear return when light begun to return to the sky in a purplish hue. Feeling Luca's arm tighten around her, she knew she wasn't the only one who was growing impatient. It was excruciating to just stand there, wondering what was happening - it was like fate was trying to replace her fading pain with something deeper. Because of this, Haley still couldn't bring herself to release Luca where her hands eventually found themselves clutching the tussles of fur on his stomach, but she knew she had to. She was sure she could stand now, and forcing him to stay there was just cruel. Thus, she rose her head to see him watching the building with great dread and opened her mouth to usher him away, but as a terrifying shake erupted across the city, Haley was stopped.
Both Luca and Haley stumbled as the ground shook beneath their feet in a deafening boom.
"What's going on!?" Haley yelled instinctively, retightening her grip on the silverback to keep herself composed. Her support didn't last long, however, when Luca fell from his unnatural upright pose and crashed onto his front knuckles, forcing Haley to let go. Luca might have been embarrassed by how unstable he was - walls aren't supposed to fall so easily, let alone in front of those they were supposed to impress - but the location of the echoing sound quickly dawned on them both and stole their focus back to the skyscraper in terrified awe. Haley barely had time to take in the building before another explosion erupted underground and she felt a scream of horror leave her lips, seeing the building finally start to crumble on its half-built frame and its enormous size start to fall apart. Haley and Luca stepped back on instinct, their hearts beating quicker with each passing second that the building seemed to grow larger. They stood in their spots for a while, apparently unable to process what was happening, but finally, Haley shot up in attention - Luca wouldn't be able to comprehend what was happening. She barely could.
"Move!" She screamed suddenly, shoving Luca on his shoulder to get him to move farther down the street from the battle's old destruction, "Move, Luca, move!" For a long moment, it looked like Luca was too petrified, like Ash had been, but eventually, her desperate demands rang clear and he did as told, running on his four arms as fast as he could. Haley immediately followed, feeling the bandage tear free of the bush with insulting ease. All too soon, she could see them being enveloped by a shadow as the building fell towards them, but she did her best to ignore it and just keep running as fast as she could on her aching legs. That is, until finally-
"Ash!" Haley gasped suddenly and stopped, spinning back around. She nearly gagged at the sight of the old makeshift hospital being swallow by the same shadow as them. Just a few steps away, Luca was barking to get her to keep moving, but the sound was nothing but a haze as panic fueled Haley's muscles. She just couldn't bring herself to keep going with the memory of Ash's injuries embroidered in her brain. "He's still in there!" She yelled to herself, since Luca would have no idea who she was talking about, and before she could think it through, she ran for it. She ran as fast as she could, basically leaping through the air on her strong legs. She felt the scabs of her burns tear back open on her thigh and the darkness growing more pronounced above her head, but she kept going. The filthy structure was growing closer ahead, just as the one above her did. She was going to make it - she was so close. She wasn't even sure what she thought she would be able to accomplish - yell from outside for Ash to run? - but she had to try.
Without warning, the ground shook again and Haley stumbled on her way. She managed to somehow keep running, the wind like fire against the wound on her face, but already she could see the shadow growing larger more quickly, while the shape in the distance looked like it was standing still now. 'No, no, no, no,' Haley screamed internally. She wasn't going to make it - it was too far - the building was falling too fast. "Come on! Ash!" She screamed the same words she had told the chimp earlier, as if pleading for the universe to just help her this once, but she knew there was no chance for help, so she just kept racing for the structure. She was sure she could make it - she lied to herself with skill - but finally, the danger was too close and her legs stopped without her guide. Gasping for breath, she gazed up at the wall only a few feet above, paling at the terrible fate ahead. She didn't move anymore - there was nothing she could do.
Without warning, a large weight crashed into her side. Haley could almost fell her ribs snap under pure power as she was locked in a single, hulking arm. She barely had time to blink before she was yanked away and tackled to the ground by the perpetrator, nor did she have time to glimpse who it was before the building finally collided with the street and the earth shook one last time.
Yay! Another Chapter! Thank you again, my beautiful Beta! ^^ She truly saves me with all her help.
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