A very short but important chapter. Happy Readings.
While keeping an eye out for the others with the binoculars within his hands, Bad Ape perked up when he heard strange noises in the distance. Curiously, he had set the binoculars down to a moment and glanced behind him, letting his gaze rise up toward the distant sky. Aside from the scampering sounds of the little ones, heading for safety, Bad Ape swore he could hear the sounds of ominous rumbling in the distance.
"Hear that?" Bad Ape asked one of the older apes behind him.
One of them-Spear-stopped for a moment and listened as well and his brows rose significantly in worry. Turning to the others he quickly signed at them and then at the little ones, urging them to move faster.
Bad Ape did not understand what it was or what Spear had said to them all, but it was enough to cause the air to go tense all around them. Joining quickly with the others, Bad Ape too assisted in guiding the little ones to safety and urging them on.
"Go, go, go!" Bad Ape ushered the little ones on as the rumbling sounds became louder and louder.
Just a few seconds after, there was a shout from within the compound, followed by the sounds of missiles firing off into the sky. Bad Ape flinched at the loud noise and quickly reeled himself around to see what was going on. All of a sudden, he saw fire erupting from within the bad place, followed by several more things raining down from the sky, causing more flames to rise in a horrendous boom.
As the alarms sounded off, Bad Ape had snapped his head backward and brought his binoculars up toward his eyes. A jolt of fear ran down his spine as the terrifying source of the rumbling came into focus.
The dark forms of helicopters in the distance.
…
Up on the top of the buildings, Caesar watched the human soldiers scurry about, shouting wildly at each other as the sirens assaulted his ears. Making his way along the edge of the snow-covered rooftop, Caesar had paused a moment as he reached the Colonel's watchtower. He observed as frantic soldiers shouted and banged at the man's door, yelling up at the tower for the Colonel. They were obviously distressed and seeking the Colonel out to guide them, lead them on through this battle that was happening. Looking up at the tower, Caesar couldn't help but think to himself.
Was the Colonel abandoning his people?
Taking notice of the of the railing, which the Colonel usually heads on out to greet his soldiers, Caesar could see that one of the windows were opened, leading inside. It looks like he would need to climb the flag that hung right underneath the railing to get to it.
It was now or never.
Before the man could join his soldiers, it was the only moment that Caesar was going to be given at a chance for his revenge.
The time had come. Caesar gauged the distance between the roof's edge and the flag that hung right under the window above. Backing up to get a running start, he took a deep breath, mustered all of his remaining strength and vigor, and launched himself off the rooftop toward the tower.
…
"Rocket? What happened to Koba?" Tinker signed fearfully at her mate and noticing the unconscious bonobo.
The petite female then paused and noticed that someone else was missing.
"Rocket? Where is Caesar?" she asked.
"Father, what happened?" Ash asked as well, along with many others.
"No time!" Rocket grunted as he strained against Koba' heavy body. "Must go! Now!"
All of a sudden there was a violent rumble and the frozen earth shook around them, nearly causing them all to falter. Many of the apes reacted in dismay but it only meant that what Caesar had told them was true. That the other humans were coming to fight with the ones here. Dirt rained down from above and Rocket feared for the structural integrity of the passage that they were all in. It felt like an earthquake, but the battle-scarred chimpanzee knew better. They were shockwaves from large explosions from above.
More explosions shook the tunnels, which were crammed with apes of all shapes and sizes, slowing their progress toward the waiting ladder at the other end. More of the ceiling began to give way, adding to Rocket's fear that the tunnels might soon collapse on top of them in the human's war. Despite the conflict being waged on the surface, there was no safety to be found down here; they needed to keep moving and catch up with the rest of the others that had gone ahead, as well as the children.
Grunting, Rocket took notice of Grey and Andy and approached them quickly with Koba.
"Grey! Andy!" Rocket barked, grabbing the two chimp's attention before handing Koba off to them.
The two chimps had many questions as to why Rocket was handing an unconscious Koba off to them but Rocket held out his hand to stop them from asking any questions.
"No time for answers! I must go on ahead and see what is going on!" He explained quickly. "Watch after, Koba!"
He then went on over to where Tinker and Ash were, letting them know that he was going on ahead to assess what was going on. There Rocket had asked his eldest to keep an eye over their family and urged them to hurry through the tunnels after him. Knowing what he must do, Tinker placed a gentle hand upon her mate's shoulder to which Rocket held for a quick moment before taking off.
Gripping his rifle, Rocket then moved forward, pushing his way through the bodies of the other apes. It was a tight squeeze, but he kept shoving forward, desperate to reach the surface. For all he knew, the children, Maurice and the others could be trapped in the middle of the war-or if worse case, had already been blown apart by the explosions. Shaking that horrible thought away, Rocket continued onward, barking at the other apes and signing at them to let him through.
…
Lowering the binoculars downward, Bad Ape could see masses of bodies of soldiers, dressed in all white, approaching them. From behind the soldiers, he could make out several lights that erupted into the sky, all sailing through the air, heading right toward the bad place. With that horrific realization, Bad Ape quickly let go of his binoculars.
"Down! Down! Down!" Bad Ape shouted as he turned around to the others.
Quickly thinking, Bad Ape then stopped a few of the little ones from progressing any further. Then, just ahead he saw a couple of them that were still out in the open. Fearing for their lives, he threw his body protectively over the two little ones in front of him as missiles bombarded into the human zoo, right behind the wall. He watched in horror as entire sections of the interior of the compound erupted into flames as they were blown apart.
With the little apes underneath him screaming in fear, Bad Ape suddenly felt strong grips latching onto his ankles and yanking him backwards, along with the children. Once pulled away, Bad Ape turned around to see the wild eyes of both Spear and Winter, whom turned their heads back and forth at the sudden attack from all sides.
Getting back up quickly, Bad Ape eyed the oncoming human soldiers once more and couldn't help but whimper to himself.
What were they going to do now?
…
Pulling himself up and over onto the railing, Caesar landed with finesse, ignoring the booming thunder of noise, sounding off behind him. Advancing cautiously through the Colonel's watchtower, Caesar kept his senses keen and clear as he knew better than to proceed rashly when his quarry might well be waiting with a loaded firearm.
It was odd though, the area that Caesar was traversing in looked like a storm had come through it. With disheveled papers and boxes strewn about, along with many other various things. Much different from when he was here a couple of nights ago.
What had happened here?
Approaching the table that the Colonel always found himself looming over, Caesar saw that there was the canteen that the man had with him earlier. Its content now spilled over the table, stinking it up with the residue from within. As he eyed the pool of liquid, Caesar noticed a picture of a little boy, sitting within the alcoholic contents. Picking up the photo, Caesar observed the picture for a mere moment before quietly placing it back down upon the table.
Making his way to one side of the opened entrance way into the back area, Caesar peered inside the room, which appeared to be the Colonel's private sleeping quarters. And within the darkness, illuminated by the faintest of the orange glow of a lantern, Caesar saw its occupant…
And his target.
The Colonel was sprawled on his stomach on a cot. His head drooped forward, while a flailing hand groped for the bottle containing alcohol that was just out of reach. Spotting the the Colonel's firearm just beside the bedside, Caesar approached the weapon and claimed it, lifting the gun slowly so that it was aimed right at the man's head.
Pitiless golden-green eyes glared down at the Colonel as Caesar recalled all of the innocent blood on this man's hands. All of the friends and loved ones he had taken from Caesar: Cornelia, Blue Eyes, Percy and Luca. Not to mention the countless other lives, apes and humans, that had been needlessly destroyed by the Colonel's genocidal madness.
The chimpanzee's face was as hard as granite as he prepared to finish off the Colonel once and for all. But before Caesar could pull the trigger, the human had finally lifted his head from the cot. Caesar paused, face strewn in rage that was bursting from within, wanting the Colonel to look him in the eyes, so that he would know who was sending him to his grave.
To Caesar's surprise though, when the Colonel had finally met his gaze, he was taken aback slightly when he noticed the fresh blood that was oozing down from the man's nose. The Colonel's bloodshot blue eyes were wide and unfocused, like some wounded animal. The man opened his mouth as though to speak, but nothing emerged except meaningless incoherent gasps and grunts.
Face slightly relaxing in shock, Caesar let his gaze wander around, trying to see what was going on. He then noticed an object on the floor, hidden just beneath the cot that the Colonel was on and recognized it immediately.
The girl's rag doll.
Flecks of fresh blood stained the doll, which the Colonel had carried away from Caesar's own cage, hours ago.
But why would-
Then it all suddenly made sense to Caesar. The burning of various other infected people's things during their travels and the murders of the ones who could not speak. The doll the little child had been holding onto for who knows how long, must have infected the Colonel and turned him into what he was now.
So distracted was Caesar in the sudden revelation that he was surprised when the Colonel had taken his hand that was holding the gun and guided the barrel right to his own head, cocking the hammer to the weapon. The man then closed his eyes, resigning himself to his fate, as if he wished to be taken away from whatever had happened to him.
Breath hitching up from within Caesar, he angrily pressed the barrel of the handgun upon the man's sweaty brow as images of his deceased wife, son and countless other apes came rushing back to him. All laying within the pools of their own blood, needlessly murdered in this conflict between man and ape. Caesar then reached out with his other hand and slowly pried the Colonel's own fingers away from the gun, readying himself for the inevitable.
It was now or never and the man was going to pay for all that he had done.
With his muscles strained and finger on the trigger of the firearm, Caesar tried to pull it with all of his might. To end the man's life and be done with it. To have his revenge and end all the torment that his people had gone through… but the longer he tried to force his body to do the deed. To end the man's life, who had taken everything from him. Caesar found himself…
Unable to do so.
Slowly, Caesar's stony expression softened and his strained muscles relaxing as he felt a terrible weight slide off from his shoulders. Lowering the gun down, Caesar instead simply stared down at the man.
The Colonel gaped at Caesar helplessly, confused as to why the ape leader did not go through with what he had wanted so badly. Caesar himself was just as stunned and confused by his own actions, choosing not to take his revenge and end the man's life. But, For the first time since his family had been murdered, Caesar's own heart was no longer at war with his conscious.
He need not do this. Not anymore.
Caesar lowered himself, placing the gun on top of a small table and looked at what was once the man who did terrible things to him and his apes, now straining with much difficulty to even produce a single word. Meeting each other's gaze, Caesar stared long and hard at the Colonel, pitying him.
The Colonel was not a monster nor a man anymore. He was but just a sick and sad animal, unable to even form coherent words or communicate any longer. Of all of the savage punishments that Caesar had meted out to the Colonel in his vengeful imaginings, the possibility that the Colonel himself might fall victim to the very thing he feared the most had never crossed his mind. This was something that was much worse than death for the man, and Caesar himself could see it within the Colonel's very own fearful eyes.
Caesar wondered how the Colonel must feel now?
Standing back up slowly and leaving the gun by the man's side, Caesar kept his pitying gaze upon the Colonel as he backed away. The ape leader could see that the man was losing himself again, whose eyes quickly wandered over to the gun that was placed by his side. The Colonel-in what state of conscious he had left-reached for the weapon and slowly aimed the barrel at himself.
Standing right outside of the entrance way to the open area, Caesar kept his gaze upon the man and watched the Colonel to his very last moments. Right until the sound of gunfire erupted around the both of them.