CHAPTER FIVE

RESCUE

Commotion outside the cell signaled dinner. The brief jingle of keys, and two guns pointed in Pete's direction accompanied a third gorilla with a plate of "food". It was tossed in his direction, and the guard growled and grunted as he backed toward the door again. Pete watched him go, silently, and glanced at the metal platter. He wasn't quiet sure what he was being served, but he was hungry and by now knew the importance of food. He picked up one of the wafers and took a small bite. Yep, tasted just like cardboard...

The door closed, and the one leading to the cell next to his squeaked as it was pulled open. "It's about time."

Pete snickered to himself.

The gorillas grunted at her as well, and her metal plate clattered on the floor. "Hey!"

"Quiet human!"

The door to her cell slammed, and they walked to the next, pulling that door open. "Hey."

Silence.

"Hey! Human!"

"What, is he asleep?"

"I'm not sure."

Just give him his food and leave him."

"Human!"

Pete flipped the cardboard over and over between his fingers. Suddenly, he wasn't as hungry as he'd thought he was. Somewhere in a far corner of his mind, he was listening to the commotion in the other cell. Closer to home, he was pondering just what he wouldn't give for a Big Mac right now...

"Guess he's not hungry," one of the guards snickered.

"Do you want to answer to Chief Urko for disobeying the orders to make sure they ate?"

The snickering stopped. Pete glanced up, toward the door, becoming more interested. "Human! Get up!"

Pause. Then, the voice of the girl, much more weak and scared than she had been moments ago, "Jonathan...?"

Pete set aside the platter and pulled himself to his feet, walking to the bars on the door. He heard shuffling, and the cell door squeaked as they opened it more, but he couldn't see no matter how he craned his head. Suddenly, there was excited grunting from the gorillas, and Pete tensed just slightly. "Call Tharo in here! I want this human taken to the medical center immediately!"

"But Parus, there's no..."

"Do as I say! And send someone to alert the doctors so that they will be ready." Parus was the highest ranking guard, and the one with the keys. Pete knew that. And he sounded almost panicked.

"But..."

More shuffling and grunting, then Parus's threatening voice, "We will do everything we can to keep this human alive and healthy until Urko arrives. Do you understand me?"

Pete was starting to get a clue as to what was going on. "Jonathan?" the girl asked again, a little stronger this time but still very afraid. "Quiet human!"

"What happened?" Pete demanded. There was no way he could keep silent any longer, even though he knew he would probably get yelled at. Not probably... he'd almost definitely get yelled at.

But to his surprise, he was ignored. The gorillas were backing away from the cell. "Do as I say!" Parus didn't seem too pleased with their retreat.

One of the guards left, the other remained with Parus, shifting back and forth as he eyed the cell. "You will go and alert the doctors! Now!"

The gorilla nodded with his entire body and shifted toward the door. In a matter of seconds, there were three gorillas to take his place. "You will carry him out of here."

They exchanged glances. "But... Parus..." Their superstition was evident. He's gotta be dead...

"Jonathan!" The girl in the next cell was frantic.

Pete felt compassion for the girl, deep down inside - really deep down inside - but there was nothing he could do till Alan and Galen got there. In the meantime, he realized that if he was still trying to be a human from this time he had better keep his mouth shut. No human would try to speak to an ape without being spoken to first. Yeah, and no human would try to slit his master's throat in public either...

"Jonathan!"

Pete's eyes followed as Parus walked to her cell and banged on the bars with the butt of his rifle. "I said quiet!" He clearly did not like the loss of control...

"What's happened to him!"

Parus turned back to the gorillas. "Now! Carry him out!"

Galen tipped his head as he watched the jail from the shadowed crevice between the houses across the street. "What's happening?" He glanced back at his human friend. "Alan, look. Something's happening..."

Alan could see the blurry forms of gorillas, but he couldn't quite see much more over Galen's shoulder. "Can you see what they are doing?"

From the door of the jail came three gorillas. One was standing on either side of a limp, dark-haired human, draped between them, and the other was standing behind with a gun. Galen stiffened. "Oh, tell me that's not Pete..." His worry nearly choked him.

"What! Where?" He didn't really need an answer. He could see. But he didn't like what he was seeing. "We have to do something now. If that's Pete..." He trailed off.

Galen didn't really need an ending to that statement either. He could guess. But he didn't like what he was guessing.

There were three gorillas remaining, and they all shifted as the three with the human passed. "Querus, Raca, get in here and disinfect this cell!" The guard at the door had to be the one in charge. "Atan, you come stand right here!" He was making his orders perfectly clear, lest any one of them misunderstand.

Galen squinted into the darkness, and whined quietly. "Oh... Alan, I can't tell..."

Alan suddenly realized that he was grinding his teeth and stopped. It couldn't be Pete; it just couldn't be. They'd come too far to have this happen. "Can you see what's going on?" He silently prayed that it wasn't Pete.

Galen whimpered again. "I... Not very clearly..." He looked up, and cursed the thick clouds overhead.

"Damn it..."

"There are three of them... and they're carrying a human with dark hair. He looks unconscious. It could be Pete, I don't know." His eyes darted back and forth between the small group and the jail. They were growing further apart.

"They're going into the city," Alan observed.

Galen whimpered slightly in agreement. "But what does that mean?"

"It means they're not taking him away from the city to shoot him..."

That, Galen supposed, was supposed to comfort him. And in a way, it did. But there were so many other possibilities... and he was far more interested in the human that could be Pete than he was in the jail. "If he's still alive now..." Galen whined.

"Can you tell?"

"Well... he's not bleeding as far as I can tell..."

Alan stared after them, chewing on his bottom lip. No blood, that was a good sign, but if there were internal injuries then it could be more dangerous. He could have a concussion; it only took one good blow to the head and Alan was well aware that the gorillas weren't exactly gentle with their human prisoners. "We'll have to split up."

Galen looked back at him. "Split up?" He hadn't thought he could get any more worried until Alan said that.

"We'll have to," Alan stated. "It's the only way." He looked back to the jail. "There aren't many guards left and I can take the one posted outside the door. You follow the gorilla's and find out if that's Pete or not." He paused, seeing Galen's worried face in the shadows. "Look, Galen, I know its risky... but there isn't any other way to be two places at once."

Galen whined quietly. "And what if it is Pete, Alan? What can I do?"

Alan studied him for a moment, and shook his head. "I don't know. But either way, he won't get any worse for wherever they're taking him, and I've got to get into the jail. Just keep an eye on him and keep out of sight. I'll meet up with you..."

A few more soft noises escaped the chimp, but he didn't speak. Instead, he nodded, and slipped out from between the buildings, still keeping to the shadows as he followed the human. Alan watched him go, then crept out from the hiding spot. He was careful to stay in the deep shadows that engulfed the side of the buildings as he approached.

The guard at the door was shifting nervously. Alan noticed his uneasiness instantly, and tensed as he crouched, ready to run. The gorilla's eyes wandered up and down the street, but primarily lingered on the retreating figures carrying the human. Suddenly, he straightened, and tilted his head. Alan took a breath. Galen had been seen...

In one quick movement, he sprinted towards the guard, full tilt, catching his waist and throwing him back with all his weight. So much for subtlety... The gorilla had lost his grip on the gun, but he was more intent on wrestling his way out of the hold of his attacker than he was on grabbing it again. Alan noticed it immediately. True, his ape fist could easily break a human's neck, but Alan didn't intend to give him the chance. With a quick roll to one side, Alan's hand closed around the barrel of the gun.

The guard grunted and doubled over as it hit his stomach, and fell face-down as it cracked against the back of his skull. He didn't make another sound, and didn't move. Alan wiped his face, smearing the tiny beads of sweat that had appeared. He didn't bother to check to see if the gorilla was unconscious or dead, knowing it made very little difference for the time being.

He shouldered the rifle as he looked carefully into the jail. There was only one gorilla in his line of sight/fire, but he guessed the others were inside the cell he was turned to. None of them noticed him, but he remained ready all the same. Suddenly, a woman's voice echoed off the walls. "Where the hell did you take him!"

Alan's eyebrows shot up. Man, that had to be one of the survivors. No human of this time would dare give that type of cheek to an ape... "If you do not quiet down, I am going to remove your tongue!" the supervising ape growled threateningly. His patience was clearly wearing very thin.

"Fuck you!" She certainly had a knack for knowing the wrong thing to say at any given time...

Alan found the trigger on the gun, fully expecting the gorilla to carry out his threat. But he seemed less interested in her than the work that was being performed in the cell. "Take that out back and burn it immediately, then report back."

Burn it. That was their solution to unknown diseases. It wasn't a bad idea, but it was a dead giveaway as to what had happened to the injured human. In short, they didn't know what was wrong with him. The two gorillas shuffled across the jail with the straw mat in tow between them, all too eager to rid themselves of the unknown germs, and Alan sucked his breath in as he turned to shield himself from their sight. They passed through the room to the back door of the jail building, safely avoiding the unconscious/dead gorilla out front.

"Don't move."

There was nothing - not even the shuffling sound of footsteps - to warn the gorilla of the impending threat. All of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, a barked order and a gun pointed in his direction. He froze, and his eyes widened as he realized that it was a human holding the gun.

"Hey! Alan! Over here!" Pete's hand was waving out the bars of one of the cell doors.

"Put down the gun, and unlock the door," Alan gestured with the gun. The guard hesitated, glancing first at the door and then at the gun. "Now!"

"What the hell is going on out there!", That girl's voice again. She was in the cell beside Pete, second from the door.

The guard's eyes were locked on Alan, and he moved very slowly, setting the gun on the floor and backing up toward the cell. "How much do you know?" Pete asked, his hands disappearing from the window as the door slowly opened.

"Not much," Alan admitted, gesturing toward the cell beside Pete's, "Now the girl." He made sure that the gun stayed trained on the guard at all times.

"The girl?", The challenge in her tone was unmistakable. "Oh no, the girl is staying right here."

Pete walked out of the cell, eyes darting around. "Who was that guy they drug out of here?" Alan asked.

"No idea," he answered, shaking his head. "I didn't get a chance to talk to him at all." He nodded to the cell where the girl was being held as the guard swung open the door.

"Now step back," Alan ordered.

The gorilla complied, but she made no effort to come out of the cell. "I have found out that Miss Overexcited in here is a civilian," Pete mumbled, taking a few steps toward the door upon realizing she wasn't going to come out on her own. "But we'll talk about that later..."

Alan didn't flinch. Jonesy had been civilian, too. But Alan had to admit that he'd been hoping for someone with military training. It would just make everything so much easier...

Pete pushed past, careful to stay out of Alan's line of fire, and to move as quickly as possible. He went into the cell, and blinked at the girl. She was standing in a far corner, arms firmly crossed over her chest. But it was her clothes more than her stance that struck him. She was in a thin-strapped top, shorts that barely covered her hips, and boots that came almost to her knees. "Now that is not federally regulated dress code..." He wasn't talking to her, or Alan for that matter, half as much as he was talking to himself. He had not expected this.

"I'm warning you..." she threatened. "Don't even think about touching me."

He took a few steps toward her, grabbed her upper arm, and pulled hard. "Come on, time to go." His voice was casual, but it wasn't a request.

She struggled, just as he'd expected. He didn't let go, as she should have expected if she had any brain. "Let go of me!"

Pete didn't let go, literally dragging her to the door of the cell.

"Let go or I'll scream!"

"Scream and you'll die."

"Pete, we don't have much time. Just grab the-", He was interrupted by her screaming. He had to admit that it startled him. So much that he nearly took the gun off its target. He braced, setting his jaw as Pete dragged a kicking, screaming girl out of the cell. Alan didn't allow himself time to get a good look at her before his eyes returned to the gorilla.

"Toss the keys over here and get in the cell," he ordered. "Pete!" He bent and picked up the guard's pistol from off the floor and tossed it to his friend. Pete caught it with his free hand, echoes of gun safety lessons ringing in his head... "Go!"

He briefly considered shooting the girl, but figured Alan probably wouldn't like that. Instead, he shoved her headlong into the wall by the door, grabbing up her wrist before she regained her balance. It was easier than trying to hold her arm and run. "Help!" She was still screaming like a maniac. "Somebody help me!"

The guard was stalling. Alan cocked the gun, "Now!"

He stepped back into the cage and Alan slammed the door shut before taking off at a sprint out into the outer room where Pete was waiting. "Where's Galen!" The girl's screaming nearly drowned out the sound of his voice.

"Hopefully he's getting the hell out of here! Come on!"

Pete didn't have time to ask questions. The girl was still screaming, and as they struggled to pull her out of the front door, they could see the missing guards bounding down the street toward them. With a rough jerk, Pete pulled her in front of him, clapped one hand over her mouth, and shoved the pistol hard into the small of her back. "Shut your mouth!" he snarled.

She shut up. She wasn't so stupid after all...

Pete looked to Alan. His ears were still ringing, and he was well aware of the fact that all hell was going to come down on them in about ten seconds. "I'll find Galen. You two get out of here."

"I thought Galen was supposed to be with you!"

"He followed the human they took out of here because we didn't know if it was you!"

"The hospital then!", Pete answered, already backing away. "Try the hospital! I'll come back once I've... tied her to a tree or something."

He shoved the girl forward, hearing the shouts and gunshot behind him as the gorillas closed in. "Come on!" he yelled at the girl, grabbing her wrist again. It was too hard to run with her standing in front of him. But he kept his grip on the gun just in case. "Now!"

He took off at a sprint, picking her clear up off her feet a few times as she nearly stumbled.

Galen was crouched in the shadows. It was relatively safe there. He had considered walking through the front door of the medical center, and bluffing his way into some information... but Alan's warning not to be seen rang in his ears. The fact that his other "servant" was busy breaking humans out of jail was also heavy on his mind. If he was caught in the midst of all that, and wandering around the city in a time when he should be innocently asleep at the prefect's house in addition, he was going to be in very big trouble indeed.

"Galen!"

Galen cried out softly as he spun toward the harsh whisper, and nearly knocked Alan off his feet in the process. His eyes slid closed, and he breathed a huge sigh of relief as he realized there was no threat. "Alan, do not do that!" he hissed back.

"Sorry."

Galen regained his focus quickly. "Is Pete all right? And the survivors? I heard the gunshots..."

Alan shook his head, dismissing the concern, "Pete's fine and the one survivor who was still in the jail."

Galen nodded, and glanced back to the window just briefly. "Well, there are two humans here," he explained quietly. "Both seem to be seriously injured. They seem to think it's a plague of sorts..."

Alan shook his head. Generally speaking, the apes labeled everything they couldn't understand as a plague. "Are they alive?"

Galen sighed. "I don't really know," he admitted. "I can't see them." Alan peered briefly in through the window and realized that it was indeed only the outer office of the building. And there were no other windows on this wall. "But I could go inside and inquire..."

Alan shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "There's no time, and I don't want you standing in the middle of an audience when the guards come looking for your escaped humans..."

Galen glanced up and down the street. "Perhaps I could distract them, without being seen at all..." He paused for a moment on that thought, but then shook his head. "Oh, but I'm not certain we should bother. If they are as critically injured as they sound, we surely can't take them out of the hospital to run..."

"Mmm," Alan's eyes narrowed as he looked in through the window again at the gorilla and the chimpanzee doctor who were speaking in hushed tones. "All right," he agreed. "But make sure you stay out of sight and don't go far. I don't intend to be in there any longer than I absolutely have to."

Galen nodded in agreement. He didn't think it would be terribly difficult at all to distract them. Not with the commotion already in the streets as the gorillas searched for the escaped humans. He checked both ways down the street before running out and across the street. "Help!" he cried. "Oh, help! Humans!"

"What the hell is he doing!", Pete's voice, out of nowhere, made Alan jump. He glanced behind him as Pete crouched, out of breath. Sweat was beaded on his forehead.

"Distracting them... I think." He glanced back at the place where Galen had stood as the door to the hospital opened, and both the gorilla and the doctor stepped out. "Where's the girl?" he asked over his shoulder.

"She ain't goin' nowhere," Pete mumbled. The gorilla bounded across the street with gun in hand, toward a second echoing cry for help. The doctor remained near the door.

"You okay?"

Pete nodded, and wiped his forehead. "They ain't gonna be distracted for very long. The whole city's wakin' up..." He looked to the door, and the female doctor who was still standing there, looking into the darkness where the gorilla had vanished.

"Still got that gun?"

Pete checked his makeshift belt and withdrew the pistol, handing it to Alan. "Right behind you," he assured.

Alan took off, toward the door. He was on the doctor before she had a chance to realize she was under attack, and he dragged her through the already-open door. "Don't scream," he ordered, pushing her back against the wall with the gun pointed in her direction. She stared in wide-eyed fear and horror, but she didn't scream.

Pete was already through the doors of the closed off room. It didn't take him very long to find what he was looking for. Within ten seconds, he'd confirmed that one of the humans had a pulse, and the other didn't. But it was the one who was still breathing that posed the problem. "Alan..." he called loudly.

"What'd you find?"

Pete glanced toward the door, but realized that Alan wasn't coming. "I think you'd better come'n look at this..."

Alan glanced back and forth from the door to the doctor, keeping the gun trained at her chest. "In there," he gestured, urging her toward the other room.

She moved quickly and obediently, and he lowered the gun as he realized she was shaking like a leaf. She wasn't going anywhere; she was scared to death of him. Inside the room, Alan glanced around. He saw the human that he'd mistaken for Pete, but walked toward Pete instead.

The human lying near him was still dressed in the clothes he had arrived in, and they, unlike the girl's and the other male human's clothing, looked to be government issued. They weren't NASA, but perhaps something close to it. Alan didn't immediately recognize the seal. On the pocket of his shirt, there was a very simple badge: Richard Naiton - Pilot.

Alan's stomach tied into a knot, almost instantly. "No..."

"He's alive..." Pete mumbled, checking his pulse again just to be sure. "But he's definitely comatose. And if we try'n drag him outta here, with or without his IV, we might kill him and ourselves in the process..."

Alan's eyes ran over the primitive equipment he was attached to and he took in a deep breath. Make the call, Virdon... You've only got a few seconds... He turned to the doctor, who was huddled in a corner of the room. "Has he been awake at all?"

She shook her head vigorously and he looked back to Pete. "We've gotta leave him," Alan concluded. "It could be anything: internal bleeding, severe concussion, spinal cord injury..."

"Hopefully, for his sake, he'll never wake up," Pete concluded. "Let's get the hell out of here." He'd give the guy a moment of silence later. Right now, he was more than a little worried about Galen and anxious to get as far away from this enclosed area as possible.

Alan nodded and shot one more look at the doctor as he followed Pete out of the building. He wasn't worried about her screaming. She wouldn't be the first. He was much more worried about finding Galen. This whole rescue attempt was far too risky...

Pete's eyes scanned once he was back in the safety of the shadows, between the buildings. The street was slowly flooding with apes roused out of their sleep by the cries and the gunshot. This had to be the least covert operation they'd ever done. But once they found Galen, they could be out of here, and forget it ever happened. Oh yeah... except for the gagged and bound girl on the edge of the city...

"See Galen anywhere?" Alan was looking, but he didn't recognize any of the apes in the hellish crowed that surround them.

"Uh uh..."

"We are very much running out of time." Once again, both humans jumped in surprise at the unexpected voice. This time, it was coming from above them.

"Galen! Get down here!"

Galen had kept close to the hospital. He'd wanted to be able to see when they emerged. And the safest place to hide, he'd found, was on the rooftop. Still, he was extremely anxious. Torches were being lit, and a city-wide search was organizing. They needed to be out of here five minutes ago...

He knew his human friends would have a much harder time traveling by rooftop than he would. He'd expected to return to the ground, and did so with ease, turning to Alan for their next move. Alan looked behind them, at the alley that ran between the buildings, and he pointed. "Could it be that easy?"

"One way to find out..." Pete shrugged.

Alan took off, Pete and Galen a half step behind. Even though they weren't out of danger Alan felt a small amount of comfort in the fact that they were all together once again. There was still the girl to worry about, but the three of them, at least, were safe... Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered again where and how Pete had left her...