Road to Rhohas – Chapter 8

Many felt the pressure in the air, the rumble of the ground, even the tickle of their nose before their eyes looked to the pillar of flame against the darkness of the night. Billows of gray smoke rose into the sky blanketing the stars like a cloud. Rather than consume its fuel and weaken, the fire sent its burning scraps outward to fall upon the roofs of wooden shacks and ignite grasses serving as new food to satisfy its hunger. Several glowing pieces sought out the long wooden troughs with scarred, weakened gouges that caught like tinder.

Once their eyes were drawn to the flame, those with wings and hooves, claws and padded feet had the sense to run away. Those that boasted a higher intelligence were drawn to it.

In the forest along the river, a black bear was shaken back into his world of agony. His body quivered with the desire to flee but now new dangers moved near him. Noisy things threatened. First, he must chase them from his territory. He struggled to his feet…

The gorilla, Meelar, stared, mouth slack, at the bright glow coming from the mines. It's too soon… too soon… it's too soon… The words immobilized him. He saw but did not understand. It's too soon…

It's too big…

Troopers tumbled from their tents; eyes fogged with sleep, calling out to one another. Voices pieced together sights and sounds and finally stared at the sky.

Meelar blinked, then remembered, he had a task once the explosion came. He slung his rifle back over his shoulder and lumbered to the picket lines where the horses whinnied in distress and fought against their tethers. He snatched a saddle and forced the nearest beast to don its weight. Jamming the bit into its mouth took longer as it raised its head against him. The horse willingly carried him away from the flames toward the town. He galloped the distance in minutes going directly to the quarters of his supreme commander. He banged on the door until it flew open. The face of an angry silverback gorilla growled menacingly from the darkness within.

"Chief Urko! There's been an explosion at the mines!"

The chimpanzee, Kaykos, dabbed her eyes. She pulled the full bucket from the well outside her home as she began her ritual by filling a tub with scented water. After cleansing the flesh of her human patients, she would wrap them in linen blankets and lay them to rest to return to their families.

She had known from her first examination that this end was coming. Gabin, whom she had delivered, entered the world with a demanding cry announcing his presence, yet he left in an empty silence, his living self seeping away when the deep claw wounds were left untreated for hours. She would wash those grievous hurts a final time.

After she bound him inside the blanket, she would carry him a short distance to a small cave sheltered behind a wall of flowering vines which she nurtured. She suspected the underground river that fed her well must flow beneath it because it remained perpetually cool, providing a quiet sanctuary for the earthly flesh to wait for the final farewell. As she had done too many times before, she, alone, would carry his weight to the cave, the burden light for her strong simian arms. Even as sorrow began to fill her empathetic spirit, she beseeched the gods of the earth and sky to accept Gabin's soul; she believed with all her heart that each living thing sparked with a force determined to find a new path to walk.

Turning from the well, a gentle but anxious paw pressed against her leg. A face bounded by gray fur, his eyes banded in black, sought her.

"Not now, Wisake. We must care for Gabin." She pushed around the raccoon, but he followed and pawed at her heels. "What?" She looked down at him, irritation mingling with the sadness in her eyes. Then she felt the earth tremble. Her head jerked up as a great shaft of light pierced the sky. She swallowed down the fear that wanted to take her. "Find a safe place, Sake," she murmured.

She pushed into her cabin and walked through the curtained wall that hid the cot where Gabin lay. She poured the water from the bucket into the partially filled tub next to the exterior wall. She pulled back the linen and looked down at the too-still face. She rested one hand across his cold forehead and whispered, "Gabin, your journey must wait. I must tend to the living." She covered him and left the room. Grabbing her medical bag, she secured the familiar strap to her shoulder. She ran to her stables and pulled Reggis from the open stall. She didn't need to free the others; all her stalls were open for them to come and go as they please.

The horse quivered from the sounds and smells that filled the air but calmed under the chimpanzee's familiar touch. She spoke gentle words to soothe him as he accepted the bridle and saddle that she placed on him. Despite his desire to flee from the flames that danced in the sky in front of them, Reggis allowed her on his back and carried her to the mines.

The chimpanzee, Gressa, pulled her robe tight against the chill despite the heat of the air. She stood with her husband, Osmur as he dressed with painstaking slowness. She could see the troubled thoughts in his eyes. Trousers, shirt, vest, boots and finally, he reached toward, paused, then pulled the prefect collar from the stand and draped it over his head.

She chirped, the forlorn sound loud in the stillness of their bedroom. His brown eyes found her, lost as he sought a guide through the dense quagmire enveloping them. Gressa schooled her expression to one of determination and took the two steps that brought him into her arms. Osmur buried his face into the shoulder of his beloved wife and held her close. He needed the reminder that above all things, he would protect her from harm.

"You are the one they need, my love," she stated into his ear.

He squeezed, then released her. "Then it's best that I be on my way," his voice was firm. Gressa followed outside. He took the reins of his jittery horse held by their human servant, the one who had awakened them to warn of the explosion. As he mounted, Gressa remembered her own duties.

"Darshan, quickly gather the females. Include the older boys and girls. We must fill the wagons with food and supplies for injuries. Lead the males to the mines now. The rest of us will follow." Her orders were succinct. The dark human was hard to see in the blackness of the night, but his eyes, though wide with apprehension, were clear as his head nodded understanding.

"Yes, Mistress." He spun and was gone.

Osmur sat on his black horse and looked down at his wife. She smiled at him, reassurance neither of them felt. He nodded briskly, tugged the horse's head around and rode away.

The orangutan, Judan, seethed. Heavy breath hissed between his grit teeth. One of the troopers, stationed near the cage, rankled him further when he heard him scoff. Unfortunately, the gorilla held himself at attention with his eyes focused on the receding backs of Urko, Osmur, and the remaining troopers as they rode or marched out of Rhohas toward the mine, leaving the Assistant Prefect no justifiable opportunity to accost him. The second guard, on the other hand, cut him a look with a derisive grin.

"You have something to say?" the orangutan snapped.

"Not a thing, yer assistantship," the gorilla drawled causing his partner to snort again.

Judan stood in place allowing his anger to stir. He had been summoned by a human to report to the Prefect's office less than an hour ago. The fool hadn't waited to tell him the reason for the summons, leaving immediately after the word was delivered. Judan didn't have the funds, nor the inclination if he was honest, to own any humans himself, and this reminded him that they were more trouble than the status. He walked blind into the volatile situation.

The town square was full of activity when Judan arrived. The troopers who had night duty over the town had gathered nearby. The recognizable white steed of Chief Urko and the black horse of Prefect Osmur jerked at their reins held by a trooper outside the prefect's office.

"What is happening?" Judan asked the trooper as he approached the door to the prefecture.

"The mines," the gorilla shrugged in response. When it was clear no additional information was forthcoming, Judan scowled and stomped to the office entrance.

The orangutan was reaching for the door when it swung open. He had to jump back to avoid the barreling figure of Chief Urko who was shouting orders as soon as he emerged.

"Prepare to move out!" The gorilla, in full uniform, including his inscripted helmet, rifle draped over his back, shoved past him with no recognition of his presence. His troopers, who had been milling about, lined up immediately, most on foot, a few mounted. Judan could stomach the affront from the Central City legend, but the corresponding slight from Osmur chafed. The prefect had mounted his horse before glancing down at his assistant for the first time.

"Ensure the women send the supplies to the mines," he growled at the orangutan.

"I will supervise the delivery myself, Prefect," Judan offered, still unaware of what incident at the mines had prompted such attention.

"Mind your place, Judan," Osmur snapped warningly. "You will remain here."

"Yes, Prefect." He glanced toward Urko for his reaction and was relieved to see that the security chief had turned his horse and was trotting toward the main body of his gathered soldiers. The prefect yanked the reins of his mount and quickly came even with the departing gorilla. The night-duty troopers followed on foot; their horses were stabled at their camp near the garrison as their relief rode in and the off-duty troopers rode back. One of the remaining guards later told Judan that Urko had sent Meelar, his trooper who was somehow designated the mine liaison for no competent reason Judan could discern, back to the camp to advise Ullic and Balden to send all available City and garrison troopers ahead. It seemed everyone would be serving Urko but him.

Judan's snout twitched in agitation. Only the pair of troopers guarding the prisoners stayed behind. They had wisely diverted their attention away from him and his humiliation as he turned their way once more. The last two humans in the cage remained still. Neither appeared to be aware of the activity, but Kaykos, the veterinarian had given them something to drink for pain. They may have slept through it all. Best for all concerned. He refused to be judged by humans and would have considered beating them himself had they witnessed the interaction. Or, more likely, had them beaten. Doing it himself felt unseemly.

The assistant prefect briefly considered seeking out 'the women' to find out what supplies they were gathering and why but decided to settle on the perfect's final words. Remain here. He twisted on his heel and petulantly stomped into the prefect's personal office, throwing himself into the chimpanzee's wooden desk chair and slamming his boots onto his desk with his arms crossed against his chest.

The human, Alan Virdon, stared at the tortured ground at the edge of the river, and bit hard at his lip as his throat constricted. Even in the dim starlight, he didn't need tracking skills to see the area where Burke had paced back and forth or the indentions where his palms and knees hit the soft ground near the drying remains of his stomach contents. As he scooped dirt over the incriminating signs of human presence, he silently prayed to his God and whatever other gods would listen—let there be a hell for apes and let Wanda burn in it. For eternity.

It didn't appear that Pete's efforts to clear his head had any success and in fact, backfired badly. He worried that Pete may have passed out for a time based on the upper body shape that lay next to the water and the gouged areas where he must have dug his hands in the mud. Only the single tracks of human feet running west, and the absence of ape prints, gave Alan any consolation that a gorilla patrol had not been a part of whatever Pete went through. Virdon looked west along the riverbank. The gorillas didn't need to find him. He knew his junior officer well enough to suspect he was heading straight for every gorilla in the area to act on his conviction to help free the human prisoners.

"What do you think happened?" Galen asked gently, stirring Alan out of his thoughts. The chimpanzee hovered near the forest line, his fingers hooked in the straps of both his and Burke's packs on his back. He kept a healthy distance from the water. Most apes tended to have a natural fear of any deep enough to wade in, mostly due to their inability to do anything other than sink.

The colonel clicked his tongue against his teeth as he stood, wiping the damp dirt against his trousers. He avoided worrying Galen with everything he guessed by responding, "I had hoped we could go stow our gear before taking on the rescue operation but it appears that my command skills are failing." Or Pete's marginal ability to control his impulses had been further degraded by Wanda's manipulation of his mind, another thought he kept private. "Looks like Burke took off on his own—again. Now, not only do we have to save the prisoners, but we may have to save Pete, too." A darker thought pushed its way into Virdon's consciousness. Damn you to hell, Wanda. And if I get the chance, I may send you there myself.

"We can try to come up with a plan while we—" A distant sound almost immediately followed by another interrupted. "Thunder?" Alan wondered.

"I don't think so." The chimpanzee waved at the clear sky. "What's that?" Galen spun a half-circle to peer into the woods. The underbrush rustled as a large shape moved in their direction. "Pete? Is that you?" he asked hopefully. The chimp glanced back to see the consternation on his human companion's face and said as he disappeared into the woods. "I'll get him—"

"No, Galen, he didn't go that way—." Alan leaned down to retrieve the rudimentary spears he had tossed to the ground as he examined the area then took quick steps after him. The ominous growl and Galen's yelp sounded simultaneously. Alan's eyes widened. He ran forward into the brush just as Galen tore back out of the trees a few feet away from him.

"Something big!" the chimp shouted as the black bear came onto the beach and raised itself on its hind legs.

"Galen, get down!" Alan shouted. The chimp ducked, his arms covering his head as the bear swung one great paw at the space where his face had been. The bear dropped, his jaws snapping at the frightened ape as he tried to scoot away. The bear rose on its back legs once more as the paw struck again, knocking the chimp to the ground causing him to cry out from the claws digging into his flesh.

"Alan!" Galen yelled out as he continued to roll attempting to escape the attack. The human dropped one of the spears so he could wield the other and moved to face the enraged creature with his own shouts. He jabbed at the bear, staying out of its reach while the chimp continued his scramble to get clear.

"Go on now! Go on!" Virdon yelled, but the bear continued to lunge forward. Alan could see it favored one leg and the knowledge that he was fighting an injured animal—an injured bear—caused his senses to heighten even as a cold hand squeezed his heart. Each action became calculated and controlled, observing every movement, hearing each sound, planning his next action. He stepped away from where Galen lay clutching at his side, enticing the beast to follow him. The growls intensified as the Texas boy dodged the bites and swings of the animal. Alan knew his meager weapon would be crushed in the jaws of the bear and would do nominal damage to its tough hide. He tried to find the injured area of its leg thinking a jab of pain might allow them to get away from its pursuit, but he couldn't see anything on the black fur. His analytical brain reminded him dried blood would look black in the night.

He was surprised to see Galen on his feet with the second spear in his hand taking baby-steps in his direction. "Just stay back!" he called out and then added, "Galen, stay back," realizing the chimp may not recognize he was talking to him. "I don't want it coming after you!" The chimp stopped but held the spear tightly.

Alan turned his head in his companion's direction, taking his eyes away from the beast for a split second. His foot slipped in the mud as he continued to retreat from the bear's aggression, causing him to fall to one knee.

"Shit!" he shouted as both the bear and chimpanzee moved forward.

Feeling the assault from two sides, the bear raised itself to its full height to call out its dominance. Virdon spied the open flap of skin on the animal's chest. He tightened his hold on the spear and lunged forward, aiming the point for the exposed wound. He caught the edge feeling the tip catch in the hide as the bear screeched and tried to wrap its huge arm around him. He kept pushing until the wood plunged inside the battered flesh.

The bear yanked away with a wrenching sound that carried through the forest for miles. Virdon ducked under its huge body as it lowered itself. Any hope that the beast would turn away was short-lived when its huge jaws snapped inches from the human's waist. Galen suddenly stood next to him. Alan pulled the spear from the chimp's hand simultaneously shoving Galen behind him. At his current position, he saw the break in the fur on the beast's shoulder. He thrust the spear into the hole with all his strength. A blood curdling wail accompanied the next five to six staggered steps taken by the bear before it lumbered to a halt and fell to its side, one spear protruding from its shoulder, the other its chest.

Alan froze in place, dragging deep breaths into his lungs. He was vaguely aware that Galen gripped his arm as he twittered deep guttural sounds. The bear continued to keen as it clacked its jaws in a useless effort to end its pain. The man grimaced taking cautious steps forward. He carefully pulled the spear from the damaged shoulder, located the puncture streaming fresh blood on its chest and then drove the spear forward into the lesion. He felt Galen add his greater strength to the push and could feel the internal flesh give way. They both let go and stepped back, watching as the animal succumbed. It released a final breath and was still.

Alan quickly adjusted his attention to his ape companion. "How badly are you hurt?"

"Like our friend the bear, our hide is tough. Minor cuts." He lifted his shirt to reveal two long lacerations along his ribs. "More panic than blood. And you?"

"More his blood than mine," the human lifted his chin toward the bear.

They had barely processed the end of the struggle when Galen's nose lifted into the air, turning his head to find the source.

"Alan, something is burning—"

When he found the river, some part of his training kicked in as the words 'false trail' fought its way out of the blackness. Pete came to edge of the rock bank, found the crude ladder rails, thrust the explosive sticks into the back of his shirt secured by the rope tied around his waist, dropped to his stomach, and lowered himself onto the first rung. With the dizziness rising in his head, he found he could maneuver with greater efficiency if he kept his eyes closed and found the next step by feel. Once his foot crunched onto the tiny stones forming the bank, he opened his eyes and walked into the moving water. It was cold. He stood there, his chest heaving, trying to stay awake. Trying to think of what should happen next.

Find someone…

The frightening aspect of an angry silverback gorilla pushed its way into his face. Pete jerked away, spinning in the water, and swatted with his hand murmuring, "No! Not you! Never you—."

A chimpanzee—there was a chimp—but not the female with glasses perched on her nose who made him shudder as much from the cold of the river as the fear that twisted his gut when she began to whisper in his ear.

"No…, no…, no…," his voice trailed off as he mucked through the ankle-deep water, "but there is someone. I need to find him. He took me away from you— away from you both—," he uttered as his feet turned and moved with the steady wind that carried the smoke. It blew from the west, so he allowed it to push him east, staying in the river, his feet never completely breaking the surface. It slowed him down, but he stumbled when he lifted his legs too high. He needed to go faster.

"I have to find him— find him—find him—," Pete began to whisper with each breath, setting a cadence allowing his muscle memory to take over. Once he no longer attempted to guide his own feet, he jogged effortlessly through the moving water. As he spoke aloud, a face formed behind his eyes. Blond hair. Blond hair with light eyes. Sometimes they looked stormy gray, sometimes as vivid as a clear summer sky. His wife said it was the color of the clothes. Always loved him in his dress blues. Blue eyes. Blond hair. The Colonel. His Colonel. Virdon. Alan. Al. He had to find him. Damn, he's gonna be madder than a nest of hornets and all coming up my ass.

Warm brown eyes with a gentle smile flitted through his mind. A chimpanzee. A soft hand against his arm. A caring look that spread from his eyes across his face that reached out toward him. Furred, crooked fingers tapping his chest. That's the right one. Not the other one. Galen. Alan won't tear me a new one as long as Galen is there.

He needed them. Needed to find them. To save—someone. Wanda, the bad chimpanzee, wanted their names, but he didn't know their names. Urko didn't care. They would die because of him if they didn't stop him. He felt the heavy weight of something thudding against his back inside his shirt as he ran. Sticks. Three of them. Dynamite. He didn't think the apes called it that anymore. He couldn't remember why, but he needed the explosives to save…humans, it was humans. Al will know—

"Find him—, find him—." The words allowed him to hold the pain that cascaded through him in a place of tolerance and kept him jogging at an even pace as he left the stony, elevated bank coming to the shoreline flush with dry ground where the trees thickened. An ear-splitting howl jerked him to a halt.

"Alan…? Galen…?" he breathed the names through a constricted throat as terror gripped him at both shoulders and tried to hold him back from whatever danger announced its presence. His entire body trembled. What good am I if my friends are lost?

He ran onto the dry land and forced his legs to move at racing speed toward that inhuman sound. Above all others, he had to help his friends—

"What now!?" Alan yanked one of the spears from the bleeding chest of the black bear when he heard Galen's distressed chirp and followed his outstretched arm west along the river. A dark figure moved rapidly in their direction. The chimp pulled the second spear, although he wasn't sure he could stab anyone with it. The figure was alone, and the gait could only be human, so Alan made no move to hide. He liked the odds. They waited.

"Pete?" Galen was the first to hurry toward the man when he skidded to a stop a few feet from them. His clothes were dark with sludge, his face and hair plastered with mud.

"You're ok…?" Pete breathlessly announced somewhere between a statement and a question. Although his face was splotched with drying mud, sloughing off from the sweat as he ran, the relief on his familiar features quieted the initial explosion Virdon had planned when he found his junior officer.

"Where have you been?" he demanded that much of an answer.

"I'm sorry, Alan— I tried to tell you before. Urko's goons. Gonna blow up the mines. The shacks of the miners. Kill the humans and then blame 'em—" Pete heard the adrenaline-fueled words gushing out, although it all sounded so far away as the roaring in his ears throbbed.

"That was the sound we heard? And the burning?" Galen moved next to his friend.

"I guess. I blew up the explosives before they could blow up the miners," a somewhat contrite Burke confessed. His grin looked more like a grimace as his eyes sought out his commander. The colonel, his face an unexpressive mask, deliberately positioned the flat end of the spear to the ground, his hand wrapped around the shaft, holding it upright. The bear's blood coursed from the tip along the wood in dark rivulets.

"Oh, brought these," Pete tugged at the explosive sticks and removed them from beneath his shirt tendering them out to Virdon like an offering. His blue eyes widened.

"And the blasting wire?" the colonel asked.

"Oh. Here, Galen." He handed the sticks to the startled chimp. Pete attempted to lift his left arm, but after it refused, he dug in his pouch removing the requested wire with his right hand. He took a step toward Alan to give it him. After a short hesitation, Virdon took it.

"And you have a plan? To rescue the humans in the square with this?" Alan waved the wire toward the sticks in Galen's hands.

"Trayus and Phyn," Galen supplied the names his cousin Gressa gave him.

Pete rubbed at his hammering head which Alan misinterpreted as a stall.

"Wuz hopin' you did," the younger man admitted truthfully, his words beginning to slur.

"Just breaking them out is a worthless trade," Galen interjected with a shake of his head as he pressed the explosives into Alan's free hand as well forcing him to press them against his chest to hold them in place. "Urko will simply choose different humans to kill. He won't depart with anything less than a victory he can present to the Council and proclaim through the streets of Central City. And we can't let him destroy Osmur and Gressa in the process."

The warm liquid flowing down the spear shaft pooled in the folds of Virdon's thumb. Alan's eyes narrowed as he glanced at his hand. He looked back at the dead creature, its body a black mass behind them.

"I think I must be losing my mind, but I have an idea," Alan declared.