Chapter Twenty-Five:
"Huh-huh-HUH-HUH-HURRRRRRRROAAAAAAWWAARRRR!!!"
With one black-furred fist, I obliterated the door to the changing room.
"HUUUURRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWEEERRRR!!!"
With the same fist, I lifted an entire clearance rack into the air and slung it into a display of shoes. I beat my chest, screaming like the primal beast I was supposed to be.
"HHHHRRRRRRROOOAAAAAAAWWWERRRR!!!"
You know, gorillas are naturally pretty gentle creatures. They like to eat. Sleep. Don't make much of a fuss.
"HUH-HUH-HHHHHHHRRRRRROOOAAAAAAAAAAWWWWRRRR!!!"
In case you didn't know, I'm not your natural gorilla.
I tore out of the store, one heavy, hairy arm clenching Cassie's body to mine. With the other, I was doing as much showy damage as possible.
Front display window? Gone. Movie poster? Obliterated. Mall directory? What mall directory? Oh, you mean the pile of rubble behind the monkey?
I barreled through the mall. It wasn't that crowded, since school was still in session. Mostly old folks, young couples, toddlers, and dropouts. It was enough.
"Help!"
"What is that thing?"
"It's a monkey, Mommy!"
"It is not, Trevor! It's a gorilla! Tell him it's a gorilla, Mom!"
"It's carrying a girl!"
"It's going to eat her!"
"HHHHRRRRRRROOOOOOAAAWWWWERRRR!!" I screamed, wrenching my vocal chords in bestial fury. I swung myself over the railing, and onto one of the modern art sculptures that ran from floor to ceiling in the bi- level mall. Bellowing all the way, I slid down and hit the ground hard.
"Oh, wow! Cool!"
"Did you see that thing move?"
"Call the police!"
"Call 9-1-1!"
"Call the National Guard!"
Yeah, call them all. Mr. Monkey is in the house.
Mall security came out. They stood in front of me as if they thought their presence would intimidate me.
Yeah, right. Bye, bye, hope your head doesn't hurt too much when you wake up.
Left! Right! Left! Left! Through the display. Over the stand. Try not to run anybody over unless they're directly in my way.
I went through the doors of the mall. Not out of them, but through them. The more drama, the better. The flying glass sang and hit the streets. My leather feet didn't even feel it. I bellowed again. Behind me, the inhabitants of the mall streamed out, gasping, pointing and shrieking. Perfect.
I hit the parking lot running. I leapt onto a car, and ran from Ford to Honda to Chevy to Toyota, swinging my monster-sized body in a berserk rampage. I was the gorilla. I was loose.
"HHHHRRRRRRROOOAAAAAAAWWWERRRR!!!"
That's when I heard the first of the sirens. I saw three police squad cars pull up. In the distance, I thought I could hear the wail of fire trucks.
Yeah, bring 'em on.
The Yeerk used Cassie's teeth to bite me, Cassie's feet and hands to kick and hit me. The gorilla didn't even feel it. It was used to dealing with enemies far worse than humans. With one hand, careful not to crush her, I kept her face buried in the thick, glossy fur on my shoulder. We wanted publicity for this stunt. News cameras would keep us alive. But the last thing we needed was for some newsperson to ID Cassie as the kidnapped girl.
Ax! I panted as I bounced up off the leather seat of a Ferrari, How much more time does Rachel have?
Twenty-three minutes, he supplied.
Okay, I said. Let's make this real.
I reached the water tower. I tightened my grip on Cassie's writhing body, and reached up the other arm. I closed it around the cold steel of the ladder that led to the top of the water tower.
I began to climb.
King Kong was in town.
"Huh-huh-HUH-HUH-HURRRRRRRROAAAAAAWWAARRRR!!!"
With one black-furred fist, I obliterated the door to the changing room.
"HUUUURRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWEEERRRR!!!"
With the same fist, I lifted an entire clearance rack into the air and slung it into a display of shoes. I beat my chest, screaming like the primal beast I was supposed to be.
"HHHHRRRRRRROOOAAAAAAAWWWERRRR!!!"
You know, gorillas are naturally pretty gentle creatures. They like to eat. Sleep. Don't make much of a fuss.
"HUH-HUH-HHHHHHHRRRRRROOOAAAAAAAAAAWWWWRRRR!!!"
In case you didn't know, I'm not your natural gorilla.
I tore out of the store, one heavy, hairy arm clenching Cassie's body to mine. With the other, I was doing as much showy damage as possible.
Front display window? Gone. Movie poster? Obliterated. Mall directory? What mall directory? Oh, you mean the pile of rubble behind the monkey?
I barreled through the mall. It wasn't that crowded, since school was still in session. Mostly old folks, young couples, toddlers, and dropouts. It was enough.
"Help!"
"What is that thing?"
"It's a monkey, Mommy!"
"It is not, Trevor! It's a gorilla! Tell him it's a gorilla, Mom!"
"It's carrying a girl!"
"It's going to eat her!"
"HHHHRRRRRRROOOOOOAAAWWWWERRRR!!" I screamed, wrenching my vocal chords in bestial fury. I swung myself over the railing, and onto one of the modern art sculptures that ran from floor to ceiling in the bi- level mall. Bellowing all the way, I slid down and hit the ground hard.
"Oh, wow! Cool!"
"Did you see that thing move?"
"Call the police!"
"Call 9-1-1!"
"Call the National Guard!"
Yeah, call them all. Mr. Monkey is in the house.
Mall security came out. They stood in front of me as if they thought their presence would intimidate me.
Yeah, right. Bye, bye, hope your head doesn't hurt too much when you wake up.
Left! Right! Left! Left! Through the display. Over the stand. Try not to run anybody over unless they're directly in my way.
I went through the doors of the mall. Not out of them, but through them. The more drama, the better. The flying glass sang and hit the streets. My leather feet didn't even feel it. I bellowed again. Behind me, the inhabitants of the mall streamed out, gasping, pointing and shrieking. Perfect.
I hit the parking lot running. I leapt onto a car, and ran from Ford to Honda to Chevy to Toyota, swinging my monster-sized body in a berserk rampage. I was the gorilla. I was loose.
"HHHHRRRRRRROOOAAAAAAAWWWERRRR!!!"
That's when I heard the first of the sirens. I saw three police squad cars pull up. In the distance, I thought I could hear the wail of fire trucks.
Yeah, bring 'em on.
The Yeerk used Cassie's teeth to bite me, Cassie's feet and hands to kick and hit me. The gorilla didn't even feel it. It was used to dealing with enemies far worse than humans. With one hand, careful not to crush her, I kept her face buried in the thick, glossy fur on my shoulder. We wanted publicity for this stunt. News cameras would keep us alive. But the last thing we needed was for some newsperson to ID Cassie as the kidnapped girl.
Ax! I panted as I bounced up off the leather seat of a Ferrari, How much more time does Rachel have?
Twenty-three minutes, he supplied.
Okay, I said. Let's make this real.
I reached the water tower. I tightened my grip on Cassie's writhing body, and reached up the other arm. I closed it around the cold steel of the ladder that led to the top of the water tower.
I began to climb.
King Kong was in town.