Spring Cleaning

"Alan, it has to be done."

"I know, Pete," Alan hissed back a bit more tersely than he intended.

"We can't just hope the problem will go away," Pete insisted.

"The risk…"

"Risk? Hell, risk is everywhere. It's all around us," Pete gestured broadly as they walked along the dirt trail. The sun beat down through the trees whose limbs provided scattered shade as they trudged through the woods. Both men were damp with sweat across their faces and soaking into their clothes. The heat radiated up from the ground burning through the soles of their weathered shoes.

"Wherever we go there's a troop of Urko's soldiers hoping to be the ones that gun us down. And ignoring it puts us at greater risk. It leaves a trail. Could lead the gorillas right to us."

"All right. I know…"

"We tried it your way…"

"Pete, let it go!" Alan's exasperation bled through as he came close to pulling rank. The two astronauts had been trapped in a world out of nightmare for months. Their exploratory mission to Alpha Centauri was hijacked by a time warp that flung them more than a thousand years into the future where mankind had blown itself apart and their simian cousins had risen and taken over. Unfortunately for Colonel Alan Virdon and Major Peter Burke, the apes intended to keep the truth that humans once ruled the world a secret punishable by death for any who thought to disclose it. Instead of welcoming the knowledge and opportunity to learn from the past brought by the marooned astronauts, the apes in power wanted Virdon and Burke, living, breathing proof challenging the lie to be studied, dissected, and destroyed. And so, they ran. And ran some more.

"Am I missing something?" a voice called out from behind them.

Pete glanced back to see Galen, their simian companion, trailing a few yards behind them, panting from the heat as he tried to keep up with the human's longer strides.

"Just Alan being stubborn," Pete turned and walked backwards for several steps to speak directly to the chimpanzee before turning back to join his commander.

"And Pete being… Pete," Alan retorted looking back over his shoulder.

"Oh, nothing then," Galen said with a smile. He drew his paw across his face wiping the sweat from his eyes.

"Nothing that's gonna be something if we don't do something soon," the dark-haired man uttered as he readjusted the straps of his backpack.

"Are you done?" the older man dropped his usual calm demeanor with the edge evident in his voice.

"Almost. Tonight."

"Fine. Tonight."

"Or tomorrow…"

Alan raised an eyebrow.

Pete ran his hand through his dark, wavy hair as he glanced at Alan. "I don't like it any more than you do, but we gotta, Al…"

Alan reached over and pat his companion on his back. "It's your operation, my friend."

"Fair enough. 'Uneasy is the head that wears the crown'," Pete sighed as he said it. Alan glanced over to see the pinched look on his junior officer's face.

"It's gotta be done," the commander spoke solemnly while not even trying to hide his grin.

"Oh, shut up…"

Galen was a little surprised that Alan went along when Pete indicated that they needed to stop for the day. He had pointed out a thin creek running near the road and insisted that they follow it. When they arrived at a pond over a half mile into the woods, he called for a stop. Glancing up at the sun, the chimpanzee noted out loud that there were a few hours of daylight left.

"Yeah, but this is a good spot to camp. Off the road, water supply, bound to be some edibles growing near the water," Pete argued.

"We could easily make another few miles," Galen pointed out.

"You have a date? Meeting a nice female chimp another few miles down the road at the next bend in Nowhere?"

"No," Galen shook his head with a withering look, "I don't have a date."

"Besides, it's hot. Be nice to swim," the human scratched at his dark curls relishing the idea of floating in the cool water.

"Nice for whom?" the chimpanzee scowled, his detestation of water well known.

Galen couldn't help but observe Alan's notable quiet. From the beginning, Virdon took the leadership role of their trio and generally made even those day-to-day decisions for the group. Two humans who fell from the skies claiming to be from a time over a millennia ago when humans ruled the world and apes were just one of a myriad of lower species. And Galen, a young chimpanzee who was pressed into their ranks when he prevented their murder by Urko, a gorilla who led the Security Forces of the known ape world and wanted the astronauts killed on general principle. Zaius, the orangutan who led the government as Chair of the High Council preferred that Virdon and Burke be contained, studied, and then killed. It was just a matter of order. Now that Galen knew the truth of human/ape history, he was declared a heretic, a renegade and his death warrant lay next to those of his friends.

As Galen understood it, Colonel Virdon was Major Burke's commanding officer although with the way the younger human challenged and argued with him at every turn, command structure seemed a little different in the human world than the ape. But Pete's loyalty and respect were never in question, and in the end, when a decision had to be made, he deferred to Alan's judgment even if he howled about it… endlessly. Galen had come to suspect that Alan's patience gave Pete room to express himself freely and that the outspoken man probably had a bruise or two on his military record in their previous lives.

He shrugged. Perhaps Alan just didn't feel like arguing with Pete today. And in fairness, for all the reasons Pete gave, it was an ideal campsite, even if it was a little too close to the water. He dropped his pack to the ground near a tree, and asked, "Who's cooking tonight?"

Galen raised an eyebrow when Alan cocked his head at Pete, his hands on his hips, an innocent grin on his face.

"Uhhh," Pete brushed his hand across his mouth, "Oh, ok. I cooked last night. Al, maybe it's your turn."

"Whatever you say," he shrugged as he removed his own pack and tossed it next to Galen's. The chimpanzee's face twitched. These two were up to something. He took a step, paused, then started again as he moved into the trees.

"I'll see what I can find for Alan to cook," he announced. He glanced back over his shoulder just in time to see the two share a look and a quiet exchange of words. He trusted his friends with his life, but they were definitely up to something…

When Galen returned to the campsite with a generous supply of nuts, berries, bay laurel leaves for flavoring and the fortunate find of wild growing squash, a fire pit had been prepared. A shirtless Pete squatted next to the wood rapidly rubbing a stick pressed against a flatter piece of wood and surrounded by dried leaves to ignite the fire. His wet hair was slicked back against his head, the ends still dripped from his obvious trek into the pond. Galen shuddered at the thought. Alan leaned against the tree next the packs, one arm resting on a raised knee, his eyes closed.

The undetected chimpanzee paused before entering the clearing. He watched his human friends for a moment thankful for a quiet moment in their endless struggle to survive and smiled. Since he had to be on the run, this pair made the road a little easier. He felt a little sentimental tug at his lip, then loudly cleared his throat and pushed into the clearing.

"Oh, hey, Galen. Looks like you found a neighborhood market out there," Pete glanced up briefly before returning his focus to the task as firestarter. Alan stirred at the sound of voices, stretched then jumped up to help the chimp with the armload of provisions.

"Let me take some of that," the blond man offered as they brought the food stuffs near Pete's stubbornly unlit wood teepee.

"I have to admit that you selected a good spot for the night," the chimp pat the young astronaut's back after depositing his supplies on the ground.

"Would I steer you wrong?" Pete squinted up with a grin. "Aha!" he shouted as a trail of smoke seeped between the tinder. "I'm on fire!"

Alan rolled his eyes. "Get ready for it, Galen. He's gonna be unbearable the rest of the day."

"Or maybe, you should listen to me," he said winking one brown eye knowingly in Alan's direction. "The stars are aligned in my favor."

"How can you tell?" Galen looked up at the blue sky, a puzzled look on his face.

The fire burned steadily warming a potful of squash, foxtail grass and nuts. Alan leaned over the pot sprinkling in the bay leaves he had cut up. Galen sat near the fire enjoying the aroma. Pete jumped up from his spot near the packs, tugged off his shoes and began digging in his pack. He yanked out a thick bar of soap and three pairs of thin shorts they had retained after their escape from their near-miss lifetime banding at a fishing work village on the Pacific coast. Galen watched curiously as Alan straightened, brushing his hands clean of the leaves.

The young human pulled off his trousers and fluidly stepped into the shorts, grabbed his shirt and pants from the ground and approached the other two with what Galen could only describe as an all too familiar Burke-smirk.

"I'm on a roll. We have another hour of daylight. It's warm. It's secluded. It's laundry day." He tossed a pair of shorts in Alan's face and laid the other on Galen's shoulder. "C'mon, I'll do the scrubbing since it's my idea."

Galen chirped anxiously in response. The hackles rose at his neck. He was not as comfortable disrobing as his human companions. Pete said once that they got used to it spending time in something called locker rooms. The chimpanzee didn't think he would ever "get used to it."

"Come on, let's go," Pete waved them toward the water as he carried his clothes and tossed them with the bar of soap at the edge of the pond and waited there, hands on his hips. Alan shrugged.

"He's not gonna take no for an answer tonight. He's full of himself."

"He's full of something," Galen uttered as he warily pushed himself from the ground and took a few cautious steps toward the water. Alan paused behind him to remove his shoes and pull his shirt over his head. He donned the shorts before Galen even had his shoes off.

"Here," the man came up beside the chimp gently pulling him within a few feet of the water and helped him balance as he pulled his pants down and stepped out of them. He eyed Pete who glanced at his own feet giving Galen what little privacy was available. As the chimp began to pull his shirt over his head, he felt Alan wrap his hands around one arm and under his armpit and detected the obvious slap of Pete's running feet coming to join him.

With a growl, he flung the blond human using his superior strength and heard him skid several feet away with a groan. He whipped off his shirt in time to see Pete lunge for him but was easily able to shove him down. Not only did the chimp have the muscle advantage, he easily outweighed him by at least 50 pounds.

"Galen, it's just a bath!" Pete exclaimed as he jumped back to his feet and circled behind him to block him from running away from the pond.

The chimpanzee tensed, his eyes darting between the two as Alan slowly pushed himself off the ground. These humans had taught him several defensive moves over the last few months, and he intended to use them all to stay out of the cursed water.

"Galen, be reasonable! It's for you own good," Alan spoke softly.

The ape chirped with dismay as he saw a long, raw scrape covering Alan's entire forearm. He turned in his direction as the stockier man took several steps toward him. Pete took advantage of Galen's distraction and sprang toward him, but Galen was expecting that, grabbed his nemesis by both arms and flung him through the air toward the water. He heard a satisfying thud and splash. His back to the water, the chimpanzee quickly turned toward the approaching blond, both hands out and ready to respond.

"It's been a while and the musky smell is starting to leave a trail," Alan tried to be reasonable.

Galen opened his mouth to respond but he saw Alan's hazel eyes suddenly grow wide yelling, "Pete!" as he looked past him and began to run. The chimp took a risk and looked over his shoulder. He gasped as he saw Pete laid out, unmoving, face down in the water. Without thought, he ran to his friend his feet splashing into the pond and knelt beside him, the water covering his lower legs. He gently turned Pete onto his lap. Mud mixed with blood at his nose and above his eye. He lay unmoving in his arms.

"Oh, Pete. I'm so sorry," Galen whispered as he scooped water from the pond to clear the bloodied, brown clots from his still face as Alan skidded beside them.

"Is he breathing?" Alan laid a hand on the younger man's chest.

"NOW ALAN!" Pete shouted as his eyes flew open and rolled the unsuspecting chimp into the water. His fellow astronaut hesitated only a moment and dragged the chimp deeper into the pond as Pete scrambled to the shore, grabbed the soap, and splashed back into the water.

Galen flailed and screamed as the humans held him on his back scrubbing mercilessly as he kicked and slapped and snapped at them.

"You're getting soap in my eyes!" he wailed piteously.

Muscles aching and eyes stinging from the soap in their eyes, Alan and Pete released Galen once he was thoroughly cleaned from the crown of his head to the tips of his toes. The chimp pushed against them as he splashed out of the pond comically lifting his feet as far above the water as he could and still achieve long strides to the nearby shore. He looked back at his bloodied friends who remained standing in the water. Pete held one arm across his thin waist, the other elbow braced by his fist and stifled his laughter with his hand.

"I should have you both shot!" he yelled back at them as he began to shake each limb and twist his torso to send water droplets flying.

The humans shared a chagrined look but showed no remorse.

"We're sorry, Galen, but it had to be done…," Pete offered an apology holding out his hand. He caught sight of the red tinged streak on the back of his hand and touched his face with a startled, 'Ow…! Hey, I'm bleeding…"

Alan lifted and pointed to his damaged arm with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, you're bleeding…" Pete's brown eyes widened.

"Good! And you will get no apologies from me!" the chimp yelled from the shore as he stomped to the fire to expedite the drying process.

The sun set with a majestic panorama of golds, reds, and oranges that glimmered off the still pond water. Stars slowly appeared as darkness spread over the woods. Three friends, an unusual trio of two humans and a chimpanzee sat around a dancing fire.

A soft breeze ruffled hair and fur bringing a cooling kiss from the heat of the day. The peaceful sound of frogs and cicadas entertained with soothing night music. Dinner was filling for a change, water plentiful. As promised, their clothes, a mix of tan, gray and green trousers with blue, orange, and green shirts were dutifully washed and hung drying with a gentle flapping sound on branches nearby.

Normally, it would have been a night with laughter and conversation, but all voices were stilled. Galen, the chimpanzee sat slightly apart from the humans, his arms crossed over his blanket draped on his lap. He refused to speak to his companions and sat with his back angled toward them.

Alan Virdon, his blond hair shimmering in the moonlight, sat on a log and whittled absently at a stick with his knife. Wood chips gathered at his bare feet. A blanket rested on his shoulders falling down his back, its ends pulled into his lap. A pained look caused by more than the angry red abrasion on his left arm was accentuated by the light of the fire as he glanced at Galen from time to time. He tried to make small talk, but the chimp only grunted in return.

Pete Burke, wearing just the thin, roughhewn shorts taken months ago from another place far from here leaned forward on his crossed legs. Only his pale skin stood out in the darkness; his black hair and brown eyes disappeared in the shadows. He alternately moved a damp cloth between his bruised nose and lacerated eyebrow wondering, but hesitant to ask his chimpanzee friend if he had seen feverfew or chamomile for his headache growing nearby and thinking it was amazing what they had learned about folk remedies when there was no drug store available on the corner.

Pete straightened suddenly drawing the attention of the others by the fire. All grew tense ready to react together to whatever danger threatened.

"What is it?" Alan whispered.

"Do you hear something?" Galen wondered as he had not, and his sensitive ears typically gave them the warnings they depended upon to survive.

"Yeah," Pete murmured, looking around nervously. He suddenly took an exaggerated deep breath as if smelling fresh flowers. He couldn't hold in his dimpled grin any longer. "I heard someone say, 'same time next week.'"

Alan and Galen communicated silently with a quick look over the fire and both descended upon Pete before he had a chance to move. Pete had height on Galen, but both outweighed him, and they overpowered him swiftly. Alan had an iron grip around his forearms and Galen's strong hands easily ensnared him just below the knees and despite Pete's valiant struggles, within seconds they heaved him into the pond with a resounding splash that startled the frogs and the cicadas into silence.