"Malcolm, I think one of us should stand guard tonight."

With the sun set, Muir Woods was finally clouded in the night's eerie shadow. The captivating green grass and leaves were turned to a nauseating, greyish shade and the high treetops were completely blackened out into a mystery, the trees' dark bark becoming nothing more than raven lines in the distance. From the skies, only three patches of fire's light could be seen fighting to stay alive: one hidden between tall buildings and skyscrapers, another dimming out next to a waterfall and clouded in the rough water's mist, and, the last, a weak flicker of orange light between the thickly-packed trees.

Huddled together next to feeble tents and between the few bags they could stuff in the back of their car that was still abandoned in the road a klick away, the group of humans sat around a small campfire in the middle of the forest with fear and hope of what the next day could hold. Not a single one of them felt hungry, dread hanging too heavy in their empty stomachs, but still they took unenthusiastic bites from the rations they had brought along, just to collect their strength.

"With what? They took our guns." Foster quipped as he poked at the fire, his half-eaten bowl of food long-since given away to Alex, Malcolm's son. Alex did pointed out how Foster was the biggest of the group, more like a giant than anything, so he needed more food for it to do him any good, but he merely got the fact that he was young and growing thrown back at him. Foster didn't seem to care that Alex was already fifteen and pretty much pass puberty.

"If they wanted us dead, we would already be dead." Malcolm intervened, still trying his best to rationalize with the few soldiers on their team.

"Maybe they're just taking their time." Carver interrupted, however, "They killed off half of the planet already." Immediately, the others paused in their movements, confusion emanating from each one of them, but the pause of silence didn't last long before Ellie finally spoke up against his words, wanting to explain their confusion after seeing his inability to notice what it was for.

"Come on." She scoffed, "You can't honestly blame the apes."

"Who the hell else am I going to blame?" He snapped back, oblivious to the rustling above them that was caused by his words.

High above their heads, crouched low on a branch, a pair of curious eyes was lit in the campfire's orange light and watching them in secret from behind the small opening in a bushel of leaves, moving from one speaker to the next slowly and listening to every single word inventively, hoping to see how humans are supposed to act. Gulping with an odd sense of alarm at the angry man's words, Haley hid farther behind her cover and tightened her hand around the leverage above her, fighting the urge to yell at him for what he said. He continued talking about how it was called the Simian Flu, somehow thinking that was evidence for his point, but this only allowed Haley's fury to grow. Still, she was almost grateful, because, hidden behind her rage, she was able to ignore a guilt that had been plaguing her mind – guilt for leaving the village to go watch the humans. Shaking her head at the inner-conflict, she leaned closer to the conversation below and poked her head over the green cloud in front of her to literally clear the air and hear better, unknowingly placing her face in the campfire's light. Although, anger only boiled stronger inside of her as she watched him continue to fight to dignify his hatred, using the losses of everyone around him to stand by his claim, and felt more than pleased when he got shot down by the others every time. So everyone lost a bit of their lives with this flu, she thought, mothers, children, and the ability to see reason.

"Right… I'm the asshole." Were the last words she caught before she saw the cruel wan stand and stomp off, once again resisting her urge to yell – this time to agree with him about him being an asshole.

Sighing to herself, Haley sat down on the branch beneath her feet, slipping her legs out of their perch, and found herself even more bewildered than before. Skimming over the group, she looked for and wondered what exactly made humans human, because, so far, she saw no difference to them when comparing them to the apes she lives with – they were torn between outlooks but banned together because of their species.

Nonetheless, her thoughts were stolen when her gaze met a pair of bright green orbs, her entire body flinching back in shock. Glancing left and right, Haley desperately looked for something else that the woman could be staring at, but nothing soothed her pounding heart.

"Are you okay?" Malcolm whispered to Ellie, concern flooding him when he saw her staring wide-eyed into open air, her face contorted in deep concentration. Like all the others who still sat there, he couldn't help but follow her directions as she shakily pointed up into the trees, and felt his mouth grow dry as soon as he spotted the human face that was watching them, only its cheeks, nose, and forehead ominously lit by their campfire.

Immediately, Haley sprang up from her comfortable spot and spun to leave, her fear now confirmed that she had been seen, but alas, she didn't have the chance.

"Wait!" Ellie called quickly, surprised, just like Haley, that she actually stopped, "You can come down, you know."

The nagging guilt only grew inside Haley when she was tempted by the offer, prompting her to glance at the camp behind her, confliction written all over her face – what harm could it do, she reasoned, she needed to know where she belonged the most anyway. And so, swallowing her inner blame, she climbed down the tall tree and hesitantly walked over the campsite and into the light, her steps slow and her legs heavy.

Immediately, the group studied her strange appearance, pausing at the marks on her skin, the dreads of blonde hair that was amateurishly cut to her shoulders, the leather wrapped around her waist and around what looked like a ripped pair of pajama shorts, and at the leather shapes that covered her front and back, loosely tied together at her sides and shoulders by thick thread. Only when they saw her step back again, shifting uncomfortably under their stares, did they finally snap out of it.

"Did Caesar send you? Is there a problem?" Malcolm spoke unsurely, glancing to the others for more possibilities, but, seeming just as unsure as him, Haley shook her head, barely noticeable with how small it was, but then quickly, as if thinking humans wouldn't understand her without her speaking every single word aloud, she added, "N-no…"

"Oh." He hummed, even more confused than before, but as the silence threatened to return, he decided to change the subject and simply cleared his throat before he motioned to himself and everyone around him, "Well, I'm Malcom; this is my son, Alex—"

'The quiet and unsure one—' Haley found herself thinking when she looked to the drawn-back young man, '—Blue Eyes.'

"And this is my wife, Ellie." He said, happy to see the wild girl following his every move.

'The one that keeps staring and tries to reason with those that can't be reasoned with—' She kept wondering to herself, brief amusement prickling to life inside of her, '—Maurice maybe?'

"And then we have Foster," Malcolm didn't stop, not thinking anything of it when Haley's eyes lingered on his wife, "and Kemp. And the one who walked off earlier is Carver."

'The dark-skinned man,' Haley thought when she studied the larger gentleman, 'the one that is less intimidating than he seems and always acts like the protector – like Luca.' Haley compared one human after the other to the apes back home, almost scared by the similarities, 'And then the one that focused on preparing for an attack rather than eating, who listened to the others rather than joining the argument – like Rocket. And then Carver—'

Haley's jaw clenched when the attributes of the infuriating man matched perfectly with her own mate, never taking the time to compare Malcolm with Caesar. "Haley." She finally forced out, direction her eyes back onto him and away from the direction where Carver disappeared, "My name, it's Haley."

"Nice to meet you, Haley." He chuckled and moved to shake her hand, but only to halt when he saw her jump back at the sudden movement – though, he couldn't help but note how shocked she seemed by her own actions, too. Still, none of this could compare to the shock and disbelief that soon followed.

"Haley," Ellie intervened and immediately grabbed Haley's undivided and surprised attention, "Haley Hunsiker?"

Haley wasn't sure if it was because she finally heard her name being said by the woman or if it was simply her memories flooding back at that coincidental moment, or maybe even because she now knew the woman's name, but her face fell into astonishment when she finally remembered why she felt as if she knew Ellie. Face growing pale in disbelief, Haley gaped at her in silence, unmoving, and unwittingly gave Ellie all the confirmation she needed that the wild girl she met in the woods was indeed the Haley Hunsiker.

"So that's why you kept staring." Haley hummed an hour later, glaring at the campfire as she sat on a large stone beside Ellie, a single leg perched on it with her, "and also why I couldn't recognize you – by the time you arrived, all the doctors looked the same to me."

"And I can't blame you for feeling that way: you spent most of your time in the hospital, and I say that even thought I got my doctorate and showed up when you spent less time there." Ellie agreed solemnly, eyes watching the others on her team as they got the camp ready for the night's rest, "When the flu broke out, I was worried it affected you, given your history with catching diseases so easily."

Haley simply shook her head, "I haven't been sick since then."

"Your immune system must have gotten very strong after fighting non-stop for so long." Ellie theorized, but dismissed the subject quickly, "How old are you now, anyway?" she asked with sincere interest, "The last I saw you, you were eight- nine-"

"Eleven." Haley corrected with a faint chuckle, "And I don't really know. I think twenty-one, but I can't be sure – it's been too long since it really mattered."

"I suppose." Ellie nodded, but felt her worry for her old patient only amplify - after all, she had Malcolm, just as Alex did, but if Haley's alone, exactly how long has she been like that? Ellie, of course, didn't know that Haley has been anything but alone since two years ago.

"I never got the chance –" Haley broke the quiet, her chin burying deeper into her knee in front of her as her nerves fought against her words, "—I never had the chance to thank you, so… thank you. I think you were the most patient doctor there; you never seemed to get annoyed when my babysitter walked me back into the office with the same issue as the previous week, the drugs not working like it was supposed to."

For a moment, Ellie paused, a flattered smile growing on her lips, but eventually she added, "You're welcome."

Back at the apes' village, the colony was doing nothing different from the humans, everyone getting ready for sleep while Caesar pushed his tired body up the steps of the tree and into his home, an exhausted but joyous smile gracing his lips when he saw Cornelia pull her heavy eyelids open to welcome him home. Carefully, he laid himself down beside her and perched himself heavily on a single elbow so he could loom over her and pet his son, the young ape still asleep on her chest. For a while, he could just adore the site before him, but the raspy breath that tickled his ears quickly forced a frown to his face. "You sound sick. Are you okay?" He signed, but despite his worry, the day's pent-up anxiety deflated as he lay next to her.

"Just need rest." She signed with a reassuring smile, careful not to wake Cornelius from where she kept him in place with her other hand, but even if she saw Caesar relax at her words, a knowing feeling left her uneasy. "You worry about the humans…"She added with loving pity, her heart reaching out for the wise ape, "…and about Haley."

For a moment, Caesar stiffened, but it soon passed as his face pulled into a glower, the worried wrinkles returning to his skin. "She defends the humans around the apes." He explained, his expression softening slightly.

"You do, too." Cornelia pointed out, "What makes it different?"

"She's human – she forgets." He tried to explained, but somehow he felt as if every single word he said was a lied, causing his body to tense as he pulled his hand away from Cornelius, and who other to voice what he unknowingly thought than the ape who knew him best of all.

"What makes ape ape?" Cornelia asked, her everlasting and reassuring smile faltering as sympathy for her human friend increased, "Haley more ape than some here."

Sighing at the thought, somehow not able to deny Cornelia's claim, Caesar maneuvered his arm out beneath him and got ready to lay down, just in time to glimpse through a crack in the wall and see Haley walking back into the village, Luca walking with her from where he must have been guarding the entrance. In deep thought, Caesar laid down and wondered if anyone else thought the same as his wife or if his friend's life will get worse in the days to come – with all his heart, he hoped it was the first.

To make up for yesterday's silence, I give you this long-ass part, lmao. It was going to be short, but let's just think of it as the universe gifting you with more.