Road to Rhohas – Chapter 1

Acknowledgements:

Warm thanks to Gryph for allowing crossover from his stories of "Escape from Tomorrow" and "The Interrogation" as well as providing a patient and insightful beta-read to improve this humble tale.

Special acknowledgment to Athaia and her comprehensive series, "Hunted" for providing the brilliant monetary system for this AU as well as some useful ideas for these characters.

Lyrics to "The Kids are Alright" were written by Peter Townshend & Dennis Blandfor.

Summary:

Sequel to the produced PotA television drama, "The Interrogation", original story and script written by Richard Collins. Other characters who appear in the series are included either by reference or appearance. The story plotlines and descriptions adhere to canon for the television series only.

Sequel to original work, "Standing Still", Part Two of the Series "Travels and Tribulations."

Comments, observations, suggestions, questions are all welcomed. Stories should be shared, and your thoughts can shape a tale into a direction not previously imagined!

Chapter One

The combined sounds of ragged breath syncopated with his pounding heart strobed in his ears like a tortured symphony. The slap-slap-slap of worn leather on unforgiving stone and clip-clippity-clip of half a dozen horses added layers of sound that enveloped him like a scherzo gone horribly wrong. His mouth was dry from sucking air into his collapsing lungs, and he tasted metal in the back of his throat. His muscles burned from too little oxygen.

But his eyes remained locked on the blond head in front of him. The man dodged rocks and boulders which tossed in an obstacle course that slowed their flight but also protected them. Even with flagging muscles, he could have generated more speed, but he held back. The loping footfalls of the chimpanzee made him want to frantically grab his hand and yank him along the narrow path.

Suddenly, the trail opened into a widened canyon, steep walls rising beyond what he could see. They had to move faster… faster…

And as they ran, the hammering in his ears exploded in his head. The sky spun into the ground and the ground into the sky until it whirled in a dizzying cacophony that slammed sound into light and light into pain. He stumbled to the ground with a scream, ten fingers clutching his dark hair.

"Not now!" he heard his own voice shout against the spinning vortex that struck without warning.

Hearing him fall, the man in front skid to a stop and ran back. He reached for him as the first blast of the rifle joined the melody. The man dropped his eyes perplexed by the red, ever widening circle covering his chest. He dropped to his knees as the second bullet struck throwing him backwards on top of his bent legs, his arms flung out to his sides.

A different scream tore through the other man's throat.

The chimpanzee reached him then and tugged at his arms to pull him up. More sounds of earsplitting metal projectiles ripping through narrow barrels triggered by furred fingers echoed through the rocks. The ape danced to the music of an adagio; his shoulders slowly tossed back and then his body doubled over in slow motion. The crimson droplets that spewed from his stomach and chest sprayed the man's face.

No more sound emerged from his lips torn open in a grim rictus. Pianissimo. Rest. A demand for silence…

…Except for the quiet step-step-step of hard leather boots, descended from the white beast that carried him here, moving deliberately. Bowed legs strode triumphantly across the stone stopping in front of the man.

The world continued to spin as the gorilla, tall helmet accentuating his shaggy head proclaiming his rank, black leather vest and gloves declaring his duty as soldier—always a soldier—approached him. He stopped in front of the human beginning a pas-de-deux of torment that jerked around him, fast, then slow then fast again. His breaths dragged in, each more painful than the last as he watched red pools spread beneath his fallen friends.

Harsh, guttural sounds reached him. Laughter, of a sort.

"Burke. You bring them to me," the gorilla snorted. "They always come back for you."

Pete startled awake with a shudder. He was just able to throw his arm across his mouth to keep the scream locked in his throat. He rolled to his side and realized he had to move quickly as he stumbled into the nearby trees to vomit what little he had chewed down for dinner. Breathing became a labored task he had to make himself complete. He leaned his forehead against a tree and gripped it with both hands. The world spun whether his eyes were open or closed.

He heard an awkward push through the brush and grit his teeth trying not to yell.

Which one is it this time?

"Pete?"

Galen.

"Do you need help?"

At least he has the decency not to say, "How are you?"

"No, Galen. Thanks. I just need a minute… alone, please."

"You'll call, if you need me?"

Thank god he gives me a choice.

"Yeah, got you on speed dial."

The chimpanzee's acute hearing detected when the nightmare had begun. Pete's whimpers and moans started quietly then moved deep into his throat. He listened. Waited. Watched as Burke jerked awake then stumbled away from their campsite, disappearing in the trees. Galen lay in place for a moment, listening still and followed when the sounds and smells of distress carried on the night breeze.

The chimpanzee patted his hands together as he considered the pinched look darkening the face of his friend hugging the tree for support. Do I go, do I stay? How do you know which he accepts this time?

"All right, Pete." Galen turned to leave as his human companion pressed his face against the trunk of the tree but was otherwise still.

"Oh, Galen. Wait," Pete spoke softly, his eyes still closed.

"Yes," the chimp turned backed, hopeful. He wanted to help.

"Since you're up, would you mind bringing me the canteen? Left it by my bedroll. I could use a drink but I kinda need this tree to keep standing right now," Pete admitted.

"Head spinning again?"

"Like a top."

"Of course. Whatever you need." The ape picked his way through the scrub back into the open glen.

And that's the problem, Pete gently banged his head against the tree. I need a fucking babysitter for every damn thing.

He felt the chimp's return as he pressed the waterskin into his hand. The young human turned to lean his back against the tree. He unstoppered the canteen by feel, swished, and spit out the first draught to clear his mouth then allowed the cool water to pour into his throat. Galen's presence lingered. Pete dropped his arm to his side, the canteen squeezed tightly in his grasp. Pressing his head firmly against the tree with his eyes pinched shut gave small relief from the incessant vertigo that roiled inside.

"Would you like to move back by the fire?" Galen offered quietly.

"Not much of a fire right now," Pete countered.

"Okay. By the blackened embers then."

"Ha! Galen, listen to you getting a comeback line in."

"What?"

"Yeah," the man opened one brown eye as he asked, "would you mind giving me a hand back to the blackened embers?"

Galen jumped a little too fast for Pete's comfort increasing his frustration that he needed the help but allowed the chimp to guide him back to his bedroll. The human curled on the ground; his face buried in one arm, the fingers of his other hand touching the waterskin assuring himself it was nearby.

"Thanks, Galen. I'm good," Pete uttered when he realized that his friend continued to hover over him.

Galen tapped his hands together and squiggled his nose biting back a retort. You're a long way from good, my friend.

"Call me if you need anything, Pete."

"Need a king-size bed with massaging mattress. Otherwise, I'm good. Sorry I woke you…," his voice faded off. The chimp watched his friend for a moment, his body tense even in sleep.

Galen glanced toward their other companion's sleeping form. Alan lifted his head. So not sleeping. They exchanged a look. He had heard most everything. On their journey away from Central City after Burke's capture and rescue, it had become a tacit agreement to let the chimp handle Burke.

Because of the torture he endured in between.

Although it tore at him, the older man knew that Galen was less likely to set off the anger and frustration that erupted in Pete when Alan got involved. The trauma of Pete's torture under the hand of Wanda, a chimpanzee, in the name of science, she claimed, remained fresh. And mostly unspoken. He was given to her by Zaius, the Chair of the High Council of the Ape State about a fortnight passed. She held him over four days to break him, extract information from him, control him. When she failed, he was taken in turn by Urko, Security Chief and Supreme Commander of all ape forces. He planned to excise his brain turning him into a lobotomized shell, but his friends pulled him out. It was a near thing.

They had hidden in the home of Galen's parents for almost a week as Pete's body and mind took tentative steps toward recovery. Injuries marred his flesh. Nightmares rocked his sleep. And sometimes when not asleep. Ann, Galen's mother, had been the lifeline that pulled him back to a place of … functioning. Her son did what he could to continue what she had started. And Alan, his best friend, tried to respect his need to heal at his own pace by keeping his distance. The man who used a barrage of words as a shield to keep others at a distance used silence as the armor to keep himself locked inside. This was their fourth night back on the run sleeping on hard ground. He joked with his friends, did his share of the work needed for basic survival, even concentrated on physical conditioning, and fighting drills to get back what he lost from the beatings and deprivation of food and sleep. But Pete spoke little of his ordeal. Obviously, recovery was an on-going mission.

Galen hated the look in Alan's eyes that only slipped out when Pete couldn't see. Hurt. Helpless. Hamstrung. Humans. He shook his head and rolled under his own blanket as Alan lowered himself back to the ground. They had been together now for almost a year and just when he thought he had them figured out, they reminded him that he understood very little about the confounding nature of their thoughts and emotions. Colonel Alan Virdon and Major Peter Burke, astronauts who left the planet to fly to other worlds around another sun, were caught in a time warp to be thrown over a millennium into the future where mankind had attacked itself to near extinction allowing simians to evolve and dominate the world using humans as chattel, slaves, and disposable labor. Two men who would willingly risk themselves to save the other but kept a chasm between them if it involved showing any kind of weakness, especially to each other.

Alan wanted to help Pete, was desperate to give him whatever he asked for, but refused to ask him what that might be. And Pete was desperate to hide any hint of vulnerability and refused to accept any suggestion of help implying he couldn't make it on his own. With Galen stuck in the middle. Not that either were letting him initiate any steps to bring them together. He felt more like the wall they had erected to keep themselves apart. As a result, two friends—true friends— grew apart when they needed to be together. Their simian friend could do nothing but watch it happen. The chimp would try again tomorrow to navigate a path where they might find that natural closeness once more. Failing that, he could at least keep them on the road to Rhohas, a town near the Borderlands where Osmur, his cousin by marriage, was the Prefect. They should arrive in two days. Maybe spending time with his family in a peaceful place away from the threats of Central City and the endless gorilla pursuit that hounded them would help.

Galen and Alan both jerked their eyes toward Pete as he slurred the word 'no' over and over again in his sleep. It had been a nightly occurrence since they left the City. Alan gave a quick sign to leave him alone. The chimp twitched his nose but lay back down. He sighed. They could all use a few days of peace.

Unaware of one another, the gorillas had left Central City a day after the fugitives and now camped two days ahead just outside the growing city of Rhohas, a typically quiet town in the northern Borderlands of the known territories. Five squads under his command, Chief of Security Urko stood on a hillside looking down upon the city in slumber. His full contingent of 30 troopers bivouacked out of sight of the town. They had arrived about an hour previous as the night approached the midnight hour. The town was dark; only the waning crescent of the moon provided any light to see the spread of wood frame buildings surrounding the stone structures of the Prefect's office and town jail.

Rhohas was tucked within a valley with hills surrounding the town proper. Large for a border town, a few dozen apes made their homes here including a small community of landowners and tenant farmers to keep them fed. Common shops sold the wares that were produced for the daily living needs of the population; however, the primary focus of the town was the final processing of the metals, gems, and rock pulled from the depths of the mines. Regular caravans of wagons brought the cut stones and partially cured metals to Central City to be dispersed through the lands. The work generated a solid profit of sembles, the square-shaped currency used throughout the state, making the town—and its ape inhabitants—rich by most Borderland standards. Central City coffers benefited as well allowing the town to function with a sense of flexibility and independence. When taxes and duties were paid, how the distant town functioned was of little consequence to the Council.

And then there was the human population. Over one hundred. More counting those enslaved at the mines. Urko's nose snorted with disgust. The gorilla gripped the pistol hung at his waist. Necessary to perform the back-breaking work of processing the mine products and breed replacements for the workers banded to the mine itself, Urko thought them worthy only of his need to slam them into the ground, cowering before their Masters.

The Security Chief knew a small garrison lay unseen to the west in between the mining center and the town, strategically placed to keep watch over both. Farther north ran a wide river ending the mapped region of this area and the natural barrier marking the Forbidden Zone that lay on the other side.

The gorilla breathed deeply, welcoming the cool air. He reveled in these moments. Planning his bold descent into the town shortly after the rise of the sun, he visualized the scene. They would go slightly out of their way so he could ride in from the east, the sun blinding the inhabitants as they nervously listened to the pounding hoofs and saw the glint of metal when his soldiers spread out taking over, letting fear begin its insidious hold. He would begin with the Prefect reminding him that he served at his pleasure and that of the Council.

A cousin to Galen, his assistant Bulta had reminded him. Galen. Traitor. Fool. Dead, if he caught him—when he caught him.

Urko's face hardened. If he could find a way to destroy this Prefect, he would. And with the rising of the sun, he would begin the steps to fulfill his purpose here: squash a rebellion of humans, real or imagined, it mattered not. Urko required a victory, and he would have it. He needed a loud proclamation of triumph guided by his heavy hand to counteract the recent fiasco of the escape of that damnable human.

Burke. His skin crawled at the thought. The smirk of his face, the barbs of his words, his cursed refusal to bow. And when he had been caught—he had held his very life in his hands. He had the power to dictate his continued existence through an experimental surgery that would have cut out all the things that made Burke intolerable. Nothing would remain but the flesh which Urko could toy with at his leisure. Until Zaius interfered. Sent him to Wanda, the foolish female who claimed she could control him through dubious techniques outlined in a book—a book! She failed, of course.

And then Burke escaped—

A failure of security, a failure of the Security Chief. Judged by the City and the Council, blame unjustly fell squarely on his shoulders. Tongues wagged saying he allowed a human to best him!

Urko growled out loud. And Virdon had to have been behind it all. As-tro-nauts. Humans from another time. Acting as if they belonged with the apes, should be treated as equals living and working together. Virdon had said that to the High Council. The only equality Urko acknowledged was they could die from a bullet to the brain as easily as an ape. He squeezed the butt of his gun. He would personally end both of them one day. He was granted the manner of their executions. He had forced that promise from Zaius, Chair of the High Council. Another fool. Urko's mood settled as he considered it.

He would find them. Galen still had the protection of the Council due to the influence of his father, Yalu, though Urko pondered a way to circumvent that. But, Virdon—Burke. They would die at his hands. But not before they paid a heavy price and screamed for an end to their miserable lives. He might let Virdon go with a quicker hand. He was a danger but tried to find the way of compromise that could never be. But Burke—impudent, insolent, incorrigible—he would watch both Galen and Virdon through a dreadful death before him and then suffer until the end. Oh, he would suffer…

Urko chuckled out loud. He nodded to himself and turned to descend the hill into his camp. The troops would have his tent erected for him. He welcomed the sleep. He planned an exquisitely torturous day for the unsuspecting Prefect and whatever light- and dark-headed humans he could find to punish. Whether they acted upon them or not, Urko knew thoughts of insurrection lurked in the hearts of all human animals. They may not be Virdon and Burke, but it was an acceptable substitute—for now.

Pete woke just after dawn. He shivered from the dew that lay across their campsite. His mind sought to recall the dreams that pelted him in the night, but other than a black foreboding that settled just behind his eyes, the images were gone. At first, he thought it best that he couldn't remember, but the more they attacked from the shadows, the more he wished he could confront them head on. Put an end to it.

He reached for the canteen of water he kept close at hand and panicked when it wasn't there. He bolted up, looking frantically until he saw it on the other side of his bedroll. He remembered. Galen had brought it to him in the night. He clutched it for a moment, opened it, and took several deep swallows. His sensible brain told him that they currently had no shortage of water. His canteen was half-full. They could fill their containers at every passing stream. But his battered brain remembered insatiable thirst. Torturous thirst to be soothed only if he told her what she demanded—.

His mouth dried as his breaths quickened. He brought the canteen to his lips again. He glanced around the campsite. Galen and Al remained tucked within their blankets. Keeping the waterskin in his hand, he ventured into the trees to empty his bladder and grab just a few moments alone before his friends converged with the usual routine.

'How you feeling, Pete?'

'Let us know when you get tired, Pete.'

'If you want to talk about it, Pete.'

He was scowling before either of them lifted their heads off the ground. And his head hurt. When he returned, both Alan and Galen were up. Both eyed him as he returned but remained blissfully silent. He knelt to roll his bedroll and began stuffing it in his knapsack. He decided to stop their annoying questions before it could begin.

"So how much farther, Galen? To your cousin's town."

"Rhohas," Galen provided a name. "Not today, but if we keep a steady pace, by tomorrow. It's a nice place. Large for a border town. There's a mining center next to it."

"Uh, huh," the young astronaut shook his head, "so probably not so nice for the humans forced to work in it."

Galen opened his mouth to defend his cousin but closed it when he caught Alan's warning gaze. He didn't want to argue this morning either. He wandered to a pile of fruit set next to the dead fire and tucked several pieces in his arms. He handed a couple of pieces to Alan who accepted with a smile.

"Thanks, Galen. This area has been generous with plenty of wild growing fruit," he commented as he sat back and bit into the meaty flesh of a green colored fruit akin to an apple. Galen called it an aplure suggesting it likely mutated from that source.

"Yes, this is the growing season for several fruits and vegetables that can be found in the wild. We should have no problem finding plenty to eat on the way," he confirmed as he made his way to Pete and handed him the fruit.

Pete accepted it but even the sight of it made his mouth fill uncomfortably. Heat flushed his cheeks, pressure pounded against his temples, and his stomach tumbled in ways he'd rather not encourage. He nodded and packed the fruit at the top of his bag.

"Not eating?" The chimpanzee leaned his head with a concerned twitch of his snout.

"Later, Galen." He glanced up but quickly ducked his face toward his pack. He wasn't sure he could keep the waves of rising nausea out of his expression and was in no mood to discuss his disagreeable bodily functions with anyone.

"There's plenty along the way, buddy," Alan joined in. "No need to stockpile." He gave a friendly half-smile trying to keep it light even as his own expression revealed his concern.

"Plenty, sure. I'll grab some of that, too. Later." Pete forced a grin as he closed the bag and rose to his feet. He grabbed his waterskin and took some deep swallows. It helped cool the flush of his face.

"You should try to take a few bites anyway, Pete. You dropped a lot of weight and need to pick up a few pounds," Alan pressed as he finished packing his own bag then stood. Galen grabbed at his hands as he felt the tensions rise.

Pete sucked in a couple of deep breaths reminding himself that his friend meant well, but he really needed him to stay out of his business before his business spewed all over the campsite. "I'll eat some on the way. Just need to wake up a little first."

"I wanted to get in some miles before we take break—if you're up to it," Alan spoke gently.

Damn it! Here it comes! "Look," the younger man ran his hand through his hair keeping his eyes firmly on the ground, "I don't need any special breaks. We stop when we stop. I am capable of walking and chewing at the same time."

Galen's warning chirps went unheeded as Alan crossed the camp and laid a hand on Pete's shoulder. The chimpanzee saw the muscles tense in his dark-haired friend. He squeezed his hands tightly questioning if he should intervene. His decision came too late.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." The blond-haired man smiled again, trying to avoid forcing the issue but wanting to make a point.

Pete's head jerked up, anger flooding his face as he dropped his shoulder to remove Alan's hand. "Virdon, I appreciate your concern but I'm a grown-ass man. I'll eat when I want to eat. My mother died a long time ago, and I sure as hell don't need you as my nursemaid!" Alan flinched taking a step back as Pete stomped away, grabbing the remaining waterskins. "I'll get the water so we can go." He left the camp without looking back.

Galen's heart pounded. He had only recently learned about Pete's loss of his mother when he was a kid—no, a child. Galen did not wish to use the common ape term for young humans. The man refused to talk about his family. Ever. They had been together almost a year, and he only learned of her death in an accident that seriously injured Pete by listening through a partially opened door at his parent's home. His own mother comforted Pete when his nightmares overwhelmed him, and he talked to her about that terrible loss. Galen didn't think the young astronaut even knew that he knew. To hear Pete speak of his mother in such a flippant manner concerned him. The flash on Alan's face told him that he wasn't alone.

Alan grimaced as Galen began to fold up his own blankets and pack the remaining food away. The colonel smacked his lips and attended to hiding any signs of the fire. When he finished, he glanced in the direction Pete had gone.

"I guess I could have handled that better," he acknowledged.

"You know that humans remain a mystery to me, and I am sometimes lost when it comes to the two of you," Galen spoke softly, "but I think—from what we know of Wanda's torture—she tried to take control of Pete. Tried to force him to follow her demands. And I think our friend needs to feel like he has not lost that control…," his voice tapered off.

Alan glanced at the chimpanzee, his blue eyes weary despite the earliness of the hour. Galen's heart thumped. He knew it wasn't just Pete that Alan was looking after. Alan shouldered the responsibility for the group whether they asked for it or not. And as his commanding officer, he held the major even tighter when it came to assuring his safety, and in his eyes, he had failed. Wanda had tortured and ripped apart Pete's body and mind for days before they rescued him. Galen thought Alan carried blame that wasn't his for those terrible days.

"Well, I'm the one who's lost," the human admitted. "I don't know how to help him, Galen."

"Just by being his friend, Alan. That's all."

"For someone who says he doesn't know humans very well, I think you're doing a damn fine job of telling me what's needed."

"What's needed now is to find Pete and begin our journey without another word about breakfast." Galen shouldered his pack, grabbed Pete's, and headed toward the nearby spring.

"Not another word," Alan promised. He did a quick look to make sure the site was clear of any traces of their passing and followed the ape to the spring.