Notes:

So that was a while :/ Sorry guys for the hiatus, uni got super busy and I was buried in deadlines. But since I've still been getting readers and feedback on this story, I will be starting up again so a sincere thank you to anyone who has joined or stuck with this fic :) Hopefully, I will be able to update more frequently but no promises.
WARNINGS: Minor character death at the start and descriptions of violence at the start and end.
UPDATE NOTE: I have made minor changes due to typos and tweaked the end of the chapter to make things a bit clearer but otherwise no major changes.

2017

Mama, Amber signs, shock and joy making her hands shake.

It had all gone so wrong so quickly. Mommy was gone. Auntie Kate was gone. Evie and Danny were gone, taken by the bad men. But now she's found Mama! And the baby! And Big Poppa! Amber's head fizzes, swinging between happiness and sadness.

Mommy was gone. The other bad men had set the house on fire and the fire had swallowed Mommy up with it. She remembers it all in flashes – the bad men at the windows, the smoke burning her throat, Mommy pushing them out of the window, Mommy pushing Evie out as the basement fell on them, Mommy gone, disappearing into the flames, the smoke, the ashes. The bad man running towards them ... the red stain blossoming on his chest, going so still as he fell, a puppet with its strings cut. Danny holding the gun, his mouth big and angry, screaming at them to go. Evie laughing and crying, whispering about ashes and snow. And the cold ... the burning of it on their faces, making Amber's face red and sore. Trying to find Auntie Kate's house ...

Auntie Kate is gone. They'd walked a long time in those woods to find her house, always avoiding roads. Just as Amber thought that they would be walking in those cold, cold woods forever, they'd saw the dim light leaking out of the boarded windows of her house, silhouetted against the dark.

Auntie Kate let them in but she didn't want them there. She said that Uncle John was dead and that she didn't have enough food and supplies for all of them. She yelled, telling them to call someone, the police, anyone else to find help because she couldn't help them. Danny had shouted then, his face going dark and scary, telling her how Mommy had died, how they'd walked for so long just to find her, how they had no one left to take care of them and that she was just as bad as Daddy. Amber had watched his lips, fast and angry, as they spat out horrible things like the B-word and the F-bomb, getting up in Auntie Kate's face. Watched as Auntie Kate's hard face had suddenly crumbled, tears flowing down her face.

"Okay," she'd whispered finally, looking ashamed of herself. "Okay. I'm sorry."

It's been a long time since Auntie Kate took them away in her car. A year Evie thought. Auntie Kate had told them that it would be better if they kept moving so that they could find more food and maybe find somewhere safe. They kept driving, continuously scavenging for food and fuel. Always going somewhere while also going nowhere.

Then something changed. Evie told her that there was a man on the radio saying that there was a place called Austin where everything was safe and that they'd found a cure. After that Auntie Kate started saying that they needed to get across the border to America so that they could go to Austin. Danny didn't like it, saying that it was too good to be true, but since it was Auntie Kate's car, he'd had to suck it up, sulking in his seat. Meanwhile, Evie never said a word, staring into space, her eyes continuously red and wet. Amber wanted to believe so badly that Austin was a safe place, that everything was behind them and that nothing would hurt them again.

But deep down she'd known there was more to come.

She'd just wanted to pee. She'd tried to hold it, tried to wait until they reached the border but she couldn't do it. She begged and she begged Auntie Kate until she finally gave up, rolling her eyes and swinging the car to the side of the road, snapping that she'd better be quick. Amber had thrown open the door, deliberately not waiting for Auntie Kate to tell her to stay where she could see her. It wasn't like she could hear Auntie Kate anyway – her hearing aids had died a long time ago and they rarely found the batteries. Besides, she didn't care if it was the "apo-cal-ypse" or whatever the word was, no one was watching her pee.

She'd stomped into the bushes, irritated and embarrassed. Auntie Kate assumed she was so helpless all the time like she was unable to do anything herself. Even if she was deaf, it didn't mean she was stupid.

Not that everyone acted like it. Daddy and Danny had made her feel like that sometimes ...

Snapping out of her strop, she'd realised how long she must have taken. Preparing for telling off from Auntie Kate, she'd walked back, gradually stopping as she realised something was ... wrong.

No one was in the car.

Creeping towards it, Amber had looked around anxiously, trying to find Auntie Kate, Evie and Danny. There had been a funny feeling in her belly and she was breathing really fast even though she wasn't sure why. Then, just as she was persuading herself not to be scared, to go find her family and quit being such a baby, she saw the bad men. She had known they were bad men because of the big guns they were swinging casually about in their arms. Directly at Auntie Kate's, Danny's and Evie's heads.

Without even thinking about it, she'd thrown herself to her knees, trying her hardest to slow her heaving chest and not breathe too loud. Peeping over the bushes, she'd seen her family on their knees, the men standing over them, waving their arms around angrily. In front of Auntie Kate's car, there was a big van, the men's van, blocking the car off from the road. There'd been something written on it, something familiar ... But as she'd tried to have a closer look, one of the men had looked her way and she'd had to duck her head down, shoving it between her knees, praying they hadn't seen her.

Curled up in the bushes, she'd stayed as still as she could, not daring to even peek her head out. She'd stayed like that for what seemed like hours, clutching her leaf necklace for comfort, too frightened to move. But then, she'd suddenly seen Daddy in her head, saw the words he would tell her every time the kids at school were mean to her – Don't be afraid of them. Remember, they're just kids as well. If they scare you, if they hurt you, you can scare them, you can hurt them. You can be just as scary as they are ...

Amber had sucked in a breath. She wasn't afraid. They hadn't seen her which meant that they didn't know she was there. She could watch them, sneak up on them, maybe even hurt them.

She was the scary one now.

She'd opened her eyes and slowly peered around the bush. It had gotten dark and the men were now lit up only by their van's headlights, leaning upon the bumper. They'd both been eating something, occasionally kicking out at Evie and Danny, who were on their knees in front of them, hands tied behind their back. Evie was rocking back and forth, her head bowed and Danny was shaking. Auntie Kate was nowhere to be seen. Only a puddle of something wet glittering on the floor was where she had been.

Amber had swallowed nervously. Auntie Kate was gone. It was up to her now. She had to be scarier than the bad men.

Don't be afraid ...

Getting on her hands and knees, she'd crawled towards the van, constantly stopping to see if the men had reacted to any noise she may have made. She could feel herself breathing way too fast and she desperately tried to slow it, terrified that the men would hear her.

Seeing that the men were still eating, Amber had crawled faster, scrambling up to the side of the van. There she could see Evie and Danny clearer. Both had been crying, mouths opening and shutting like dying goldfish out of water. Shaking off the bad feeling skittering all over her, Amber had scooted back, shuffling towards the back of the van. Keeping her eyes on the men, she'd edged back until her foot abruptly hit something soft.

Amber's mouth had fallen open in shock and she was sure that she had made a sound but the men didn't notice, still circling Evie and Danny. Taking a deep breath, inch by inch she'd made herself turn around.

From the ground Auntie Kate's face had stared back up at her, her eyes open but empty and dull like a doll's eyes. A big red hole punched in her forehead.

Amber had had to bite down on her knuckle to stop herself from crying. The bad men had killed Auntie Kate, killed her and then dumped her off the side of the road like garbage. And would kill Evie and Danny if she didn't stop them.

Feeling red hot with anger, Amber had bolted up, creeping towards the back of the van. The brake lights had beamed into her eyes and she'd had to squint to make out the writing on the back doors.

ZOO DE GRANBY

Amber's eyes had grown big. That was the zoo Mama came from! Cautiously trying one of the handles, she'd been surprised when it immediately swung open, revealing two pairs of eyes staring back at her. Mama, Big Poppa and the baby, its little head snuffling against Mama's chest.

Pretty girl, Mama signs back. She reaches out her arm and Amber rushes to the cage, pushing up as hard as she can against the cage bars so she can hug Mama. Mama's arm wraps around her and Amber wants to bury her head and cry into Mama's chest. She reminds her of Mommy.

Pulling back a little, Amber sniffs. I knew you were alive! she says. They had told me that you'd been put down but I knew it wasn't true!

Mama nods. Locked us up in small cage. Keeper gone. Bad men took us.

Amber stares at Mama dumbly, shocked at how good Mama is signing. She's signing like a person! Amber thinks, not sure what that means or how it happened.

Mama pauses, listening to something outside. We heard shouting, she says. Big bang. Gun.

Amber gulps and her bottom lip wobbles from the effort not to cry. That was my Aunt, she says, trying to stop her hands from shaking. They killed my Aunt. They have Evie and Danny too!

Mama's eyes widen and Big Poppa growls. You must hurry! Mama signs urgently. They come soon. Too much noise. Need to let us out!

How? Amber asks, frantically searching for a lock or key to open the cage.

There, Mama says, pointing to the top and bottom corners of the cage. Metal locks. Can't reach.

Amber drops to the floor, sliding the metal bolts off the bottom locks as fast as she can. Not caring how much noise she is making now, she stretches up onto her tippy toes and tries jumping up to the top locks. She can't reach them. Shoving his big arm through the bars, Big Poppa points for her to climb onto it and she clambers on, her legs wobbling. Just managing to keep her balance, she works at the top bolts, sighing in relief when they come loose. Suddenly Amber's foot slides off Poppa's arm and she feels herself let out a squeal in her chest as she tips back. Big Poppa swiftly drops his arm, managing to catch her with it just before she hits the floor.

She gets up just as the men run to the doors. They are shouting at each other, at her, and one of them raises their gun. Amber doesn't even have time to scream before she feels the BOOM behind her, the impact hitting her back and shaking the whole van. A solid mass of black fur hurtles past her and now it's the men who don't have time to scream. Big Poppa is on them before either of them can properly raise their guns.

They wait for a while. There is the occasional BANG against the van and it rocks gently to the side before thumping back down. Mama holds Amber, lightly stroking her hair. The baby looks up at Amber, winding her golden curls into his tiny fingers.

At some point it stops, it must have stopped, and Mama gently nudges Amber out of the van. She ignores the shiny wet splashes on the van, gingerly stepping over parts of what used to be the men. And that's how she finds Evie and Danny, both being rocked like the children they are in Big Poppa's arms.

I miss Mama and Poppa, Eve mused, the thought suddenly popping into her head as she plucked some berries from the bush and dropped them into her basket. She wasn't sure why she was thinking of them today of all days. It wasn't that she didn't think of them at all – Sugriva was constantly going to remind her of them – but at that moment it just … hurt. It really hurt. But then maybe she shouldn't have been so surprised. Being surrounded by children would remind you of your adoptive parents.

Her parents. Of course, they were her parents. They had taken care of them for four years, protecting them from raiders, thieves, kidnappers, keeping them fed and warm. She, Amber and Danny would have died a long time ago without them, that she was certain. Not that Danny would have ever admitted it. To him, Mama, Big Poppa, Sugriva – and then eventually Travis – were all risks, preventing them from getting anywhere safe, somewhere with other humans. Of course, conveniently overlooking the fact that most fellow humans they had run into had tried to kill them.

Danny believed that Mama, Big Poppa and Sugriva were a problem even when they'd rescued them from the guys that had killed Aunt Kate. When the dust had settled and Big Poppa had killed - though torn apart was probably a better word - the men, Danny had argued that they should take the van (and yes, Danny knew how to drive, Dad had made him practise by their house in preparation for the catastrophe he'd unintentionally predicted) and cross the border. When Amber had asked about Mama, Danny got hysterical, shouting that they were dangerous and wild animals, waving his hands at the bodies of the men as if to prove his point. Eve had wanted to slap him for that – they had saved them from the men who'd attacked them, who'd talked about selling them and who'd killed Aunt Kate for trying to protect them, and they were the animals?!

Poor Aunt Kate. They'd never been close and she'd never really wanted to take them but at the moment it meant the most, she had done everything she possibly could for them. For that alone, Eve mourned her.

Though Danny had tried saying that bringing Mama, Big Poppa and Sugriva would stop them from crossing the border, Eve had reasoned that everyone except him could hide in the cage so that Danny could pretend that he was one of those guys and drive straight through, not stopping for anything. When Danny had bit back that if they were checked at the border by soldiers they would be fucked, Eve had snapped that even if the soldiers checked them without Mama, Poppa and Sugriva, they would still see a fifteen-year-old boy in the driver's seat so they would be fucked anyway so why not just plough straight through? He didn't have an answer for that.

In the end, it had worked. The soldiers at the border hadn't even tried to stop them, waving them through. Looking back, Eve had realised it was probably because the soldiers had seen that van and the men before. Knew who they were working for.

Unexpectedly she felt a sticky hand reach into hers, scooping up the berries she'd just picked. Twisting around, Eve turned just in time to see Cloud slapping his palm onto his mouth, gulping the berries before she could stop him.

"Cloud!" she scolded. "I just picked those!"

Cloud grinned sheepishly. Was hungry, he signed, throwing up his hands cheekily.

"You're always hungry!" Eve said in mock frustration. She swatted at him playfully and he jumped back, laughing. "Now go and actually pick some of them instead of eating them."

Snickering, Cloud scampered off into the field. "I wouldn't laugh if I were you," she called after him. "You're picking my share too!"

Straightening up, Eve scooped up her woven basket, frowning at the lack of berries rolling about in there. She couldn't complain – this was her fault after all. She'd been getting restless in the Village, longing to get out, to explore. Not that she didn't appreciate teaching with Maurice - she loved the kids and their bubbly crazy energy and weird little quirks. But she wanted out, to go out in the open where no walls were enclosing her. She'd asked to go out on hunting or supplies trips but Caesar gently rebuffed her, saying that she was needed in the Village and that it would not be good for Sky if she was gone for too long. While she admitted he had point on the last part, it was still infuriating for her to be cooped up in the Village for months. Travis got to go. Sugriva got to go. Everyone else in the troop got to go. So why not her?

Because they still don't trust you, a voice whispered in her head. Scowling, she shrugged off the thought and plodded her way through the field, spotting Yolanda and Olive.

So instead of asking Caesar if she could go out, Eve thought she'd be clever and tell Maurice all about the wonders of field trips and how great they'd been when she was in school. Unfortunately, it had worked too well as Maurice then decided that they should take the children to the growing fields where the apes grew their fruit and vegetables. It wasn't too far from the village and the children could learn about plants and farming. For some reason, Caesar approved of this plan so now she and Maurice were left to supervise more than a hundred children running around the fields, along with anyone else that was bored enough to watch the chaos.

Yes Evelyn, she thought as she made her way to Yolanda and Olive, this was a great plan.

Crouching down to Yolanda and Olive's level, she looked over the sisters' heads, both crowned with pretty daisies. They were weaving baskets, threading the grass stalks and knotting them together. "How's it going?" Eve asked.

Yolanda smirked. It's going okay, she signed clumsily. Would have hated to miss the fun.

Eve chuckled. "Would have appreciated it being a little less 'fun'." As if on cue Bear zipped through the grass, Autumn hot on his tail, squealing happily. Thank God Sugriva and Travis roped Luca into this as well, she thought, watching Luca getting accosted by Bear, Autumn and a few dozen other kids in the distance. They'll keep everyone safe.

Koba and his merry band of assholes were here too, further out in the field, but only to make sure the evil human wasn't up to any mischief. To the side of them, Rama, Eshu, Blue Eyes, Ash, and their friends were playfighting, with the chimpanzee Fox occasionally stealing glances at Koba to make sure he was paying attention. Fox was a big fan of Koba's and tried convincing everyone that he was his father Ray, the young orangutan, had told her. Though he'd tried being polite about it, it was obvious to Eve that Fox was a mean little bully, jealous of Blue Eyes' and Koba's relationship. So, she was extremely disappointed when Rama and Eshu immediately became friends with him, apparently emulating Fox's admiration of Koba. It wasn't that she wasn't happy with them finally settling in and making friends; it was more because it confirmed their hatred of her. While their relationship was … strained (probably because of him) she'd hoped that they would look past what had happened in the labs and realise she meant them no harm.

But no. Eve sighed. At least everyone else in the troop had been loyal.

As she stared off into the distance, Eve caught Olive looking at Yolanda slyly, grinning. "What?" Eve said suspiciously.

You don't know? Olive signed slyly, raising her brow.

Yolanda slapped her sister's arm crossly. "It's nothing …" she muttered aloud.

"Nothing?" Eve asked, taking Olive's bait. "It doesn't sound like nothing."

Stone likes her! Olive giggled, jumping back as Yolanda threw her poisonous look.

"Stone!" Eve trilled in disbelief. Realising how loud her voice was, she looked round to see if anyone had noticed. They hadn't. "Stone?" she said more quietly, her tone amused and sceptical.

"Doesn't mean … I like him!" Yolanda spat, stabbing viciously at the ground with a grass stalk.

He's been all over her! Olive crowed. Posing in front of her, showing off his muscles!

Eve snorted. It was weird to think of Stone fawning over Yolanda. She knew nothing about him apart from the fact he hated her guts – or at least hated her guts because Koba hated her guts. She was unable to imagine him having a personality, something that made him more than just an extension of Koba.

"He could be nice," Eve said, trying to put a positive spin on it. "I mean, he could be a great person excluding the fact, you know, that he's a member of Koba's Anti Human Brigade …"

No, Yolanda signed bluntly. I wouldn't give him a chance if he begged me. It would be disrespectful to you.

Eve bowed her head awkwardly, touched by Yolanda's friendship. "Not everyone is going to like me you know," she said quietly. "You can't make them. Neither can I."

Their problem, Yolanda said simply, not ours. Olive nodded in agreement and they both returned to their weaving.

Mumbling something about finding Bad Ape and Sky, Eve walked on, leaving them to it. Excluding Travis and Bad Ape, they were truly her closest friends in the world. She just hoped that they weren't going to be punished for it someday.

As she made her way to the edge of the field, Bear and Autumn charged at her out of the blue, shouting and pointing at something in the bushes. "Sn-ak! Sn-ak!" Bear babbled, both him and Autumn running up and cowering into Eve's legs.

Automatically on high alert, Eve pushed them behind her, searching the ground. She instantly caught sight of the snake's long body slithering through the grass, its red and blue scales shimmering in the sun. "It's okay," she reassured them in a gentle voice, trying to keep them calm. "We're just gonna move back and I'll -"

Suddenly, Luna burst through the grass, bounding towards them. Seeing the snake, she skidded on the spot and promptly snatched the snake in her mouth, shaking it viciously before flinging up and away into the sky.

Oh. Problem solved.

"Good girl ...?" Eve said, questioning whether the poor snake had actually deserved that. Luna huffed, like it was her due, and trotted off. Guess that's where Ape and Sky are.

Checking to see if Bear and Autumn were okay, she followed Luna to Bad Ape and Sky. Bad Ape was sat on the grass with Sky laid out across his lap, the little girl dozing in the sun. Nuzzling her head into Sky's, Luna gave her a quick kiss before disappearing into the tall grass. Bad Ape was humming to Sky, rocking her in his lap slightly. He gazed down on her adoringly, his face tender and sad. He was the only one Eve could leave Sky with without her throwing a tantrum.

"Hey," Eve said quietly, not wanting to break the moment. Making sure not to disturb Sky, she sat soundlessly beside them, crossing her legs. "How has she been?"

Bad Ape smiled sweetly at her. "She okay," he said, stroking Sky's head. "She sleep."

"Thank you for this. I don't know what I would have done without you with all the kids running around."

"It okay."

They sat in silence for a while, watching the trees of the forest in front of them sway in the breeze. Sky stirred in her sleep, giving a little whine, and Bad Ape rocked her more firmly. She settled.

"You're so good at this stuff," Eve said, more than a little envious. After all, it wasn't only the nightmares that were keeping her awake. "How do you do it?" she asked, suddenly feeling inadequate. "How do you get to her to sleep just like that? It takes me forever to do that. It's like she knows I'm not the one who should be doing this. It makes me wonder ... if she remembers ... anything. Remembers ... her mother."

Bad Ape frowned. "She too young," he said, oddly being the one to give comfort for once. He paused, his face crumpling. "I ... had ... child ... once," he whispered finally.

Eve breathed in sharply. Ape had a child? All those long months in their cell together and he'd never mentioned it once. She had to take a few seconds to absorb it. "You had a child? You never told me that."

Bad Ape shook his head. "Sad. Very sad ..." He trailed off, tears filling his eyes.

Eve faltered. "What happened?" she said, not sure if she should be asking.

Bad Ape's head drooped slightly. "Bad human go to old home. Bad humans kill the humans in zoo. Kill apes. Kill ... child. But not me. But not me." He sniffled, voice wobbling, deliberately avoiding Eve's gaze.

Hesitantly Eve put her hand on Ape's shoulder, letting it rest there when he didn't shrug it off. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely, practically feeling the grief radiating off him. "Did they have a name? Your child?"

Bad Ape blinked. "Humans call him Little Ape. So, we call him Little Ape."

We. Bad Ape and his mate. Eve bit her lip and looked away, blinking away the sting in her eyes.

"Have you ever thought of doing a memorial or something for him?" Eve suggested tentatively.

"Memorial?" Ape asked, confused.

"Like a plaque or a stone with his name on it. Humans used to do it for when someone they loved died."

"Why do that?" Bad Ape said, genuinely bewildered by the idea.

"To remember them. So that you can visit it and think about them."

Ape considered it. "Sounds ... good," he said eventually. He perked up. "But where we put it?"

"We can ask Caesar," Eve said encouragingly. "This is our home now. I'm sure he'll let us put one up."

Bad Ape nodded excitedly, happy with the idea. He stopped for a second. "Maybe we do one for Amber?" he said hopefully.

Ouch. Eve winced and sucked in a breath. It still stung to hear her name aloud. "That would be nice," she managed through the grief weighing down her chest, forcing a smile for Ape to show he hadn't hurt her feelings.

Bad Ape looked like he was going to say something else when a chilling scream echoed through the field. Silence fell and, for a few heartbeats, they could only hear the rustling of the trees and grass. Then - the sound of a growl and a pained hiss rose up out of the trees. Closer this time.

Eve stiffened and got up slowly, scanning the trees. "Shit," she breathed.

Bad Ape jumped up, hugging Sky to his chest. "What is it?" he yelped.

"Cougar. I think." Eve kept her eye on the forest. "Ape, take Sky and warn the others. We need to get the kids out of here."

"Eve - "

"Ape, it's fine! It probably won't come anywhere near us but I'm not going to take that chance with the kids out there. Go!"

Staring at her reluctantly, Bad Ape scampered off, jostling Sky awake. Eve could hear her crying as they ran.

Eve watched the treeline, keeping her back to the field. She listened, straining to hear anything other than the trees. Then, just as she thought it had gone away the cougar leapt out of the trees, skidding to a halt in front of her, throwing up a cloud of dirt. The cougar was smaller than normal – young – and littered with cuts and bruises. Two large yellow-green eyes glared at her out of its swollen, bloody face and it hissed, baring its blood-streaked teeth at her.

Stand your ground, Eve told herself. It's like Dad said – act like prey and you'll end up as prey. Straightening up to her full height, she stared it right back in the eye. The cougar wavered under her stare but didn't move, repeatedly whipping its head round to the trees behind it. Something's frightened it, Eve thought. Something in the forest attacked it. It's afraid. It just needs to be scared off. She knew she couldn't rely on the warriors to come any time soon - no matter how quick Bad Ape might have been, their priority would be getting the children away, not saving some suicidal human. She would have to deal with this herself.

Raising her voice, she shouted at it but it still refused to budge, constantly glancing at the treeline. Backing off slowly, she raised her hands, ready to clap them together to hopefully frighten it off. And right at that second – Oh shit, oh God no! - Luna sprinted into view, veering in front of Eve protectively. Snarling, she instantly coiled up like a spring and before Eve could even scream for her to stop, she hit the cougar with full force.

Everything went quickly. There was no time for thinking. Running towards them, Eve dropped to her knees and shoved her arms into the seething mass of fur, claws and snarling. Getting her arms around Luna's chest, she cried out as the cougar's teeth sank into her arm. Ignoring the pain, she yanked Luna off the cougar, throwing her none too gently away from it.

"Luna leave it!" she shrieked, throwing her arm up just in time to block the cougar from her throat, its teeth sinking into her forearm. She shunted it aside, the force scraping its teeth across and out of her flesh and knocking it flat on its back. Ignoring the pain of its claws slashing at her legs, she stamped her boots onto its windpipe and leg, trying to hold it still. Her hand fumbled desperately for the knife at her belt. Its young and injured but it's stronger than you, she thought. If you don't do something you are going to lose. That or you'll bleed out.

As if hearing her thoughts, the cougar made a nasty swipe at her legs, cutting through the tough material of her trousers. She cried out and stumbled but didn't fall, finally unsheathing her knife. Freed from her weight, the cougar coiled up like a spring, jumping right at her.

And into her knife.

Collapsing under the weight of the cougar, she choked as blood started pouring out of the wound in the cougar's neck where the blade had sunk into it, pouring directly into her face. Even then the cougar was still struggling and scratching at her so she yanked the knife out, wincing at the resulting splatter of blood in her face, and stabbed it frantically, thrusting the blade in any part of it she could reach. "Just die!" she hissed, her other arm struggling wildly to block the cougar's fangs from her face and throat.

Little by little, the cougar slowed down, its struggles not as violent and its claws and fangs not cutting as deep. Finally, finally, its body shuddered to stop on top of hers and it was still.

In a haze of adrenaline and pain, Eve allowed herself, at last, to drop the knife and push the cougar's body off of her. She examined the gashes on her arm, almost fascinated by the damage it had done. Oh well. Another few scars to add to the collection.

Vaguely, she heard the sound of horses and hooting in the distance. Oh, the calvary's here, she thought, her head dizzy. That would have been helpful a few minutes ago.

Turning listlessly, she met the stunned stare of Caesar and his warriors as they approached. Armed with spears and atop their horses, he and the other males were openly gaping at her, obviously shocked to find themselves unnecessary. Even Koba and company were staring, though she could have sworn she saw a hint of respect in his eye.

Looking back at them, Eve felt a tiny hint of satisfaction. Not such a weak little human now, am I?

Allowing herself a groan of pain, she stood up. "It's not as bad as it looks, its blood got in my face .." she started before noticing blood seeping through her jumper and down her legs. Touching her side, she found that the cougar had managed to get her ribs, clawing right down to the bone.

Oh no, that's way worse than I thought it was.

Travis rushed to her side immediately, catching her before she fell straight back down. She could hear other voices, the troop calling for her and someone – Caesar – shouting for the healers.

"Maurice?" Eve asked as she felt herself going faint. "Can we please never do that again?"

Notes:

So that's finally done! Poor Eve's got beaten the crap out of again and we look at more of Eve's past trauma :) But did someone deliberately drive that cougar into her or was it just an accident...?
And before anyone says it - yes, a human can fight off a cougar with their bare hands, although Eve technically cheated. If you look it up, you'll see at least one case where this happened which is indeed what inspired this chapter.
As always, stay safe, thanks for reading and please leave feedback if you want to see more!