Lydia
Lydia's lungs burned in her chest as she pushed forward through Muir Wood forest, apes she once called her friends in hot pursuit of her as the bright flames eating at the Ape Village reached for the dark sky above. Screeches that had previously been of no concern to her now made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and her heart tremble violently in fear.
She supposed it was a good thing that the fire had made it difficult for them to mobilize a proper tracking unit. Otherwise, she wouldn't stand a chance at hiding.
How had things gone so wrong? And so quickly, too?
That morning everything had been wonderful, and seeing Orion connect so well with Alex had sparked a flame of hope inside Lydia's chest that maybe, one day, apes and humans could learn to coexist. That maybe, she could let go of her mistrust against her own kind.
But that flame had been put out now. Stamped by the heavy boot that was betrayal before that tiny flame had a chance to take hold.
And now, she was running for her life.
She jumped across a small stream cutting through the forest floor, years of prowling through rough terrain working to her advantage. The forest floor was soft beneath the soles of her boots, even as her feet pounded into the soil as she ran. The dogs stayed by her side, even if they could run much faster than her and were frightened out of their mind. They would never leave her behind.
It didn't take long until she came by a tree she knew was hollowed out at the base. She had often used it to store game in the days before Caesar began assigning an ape to go with her on her hunts to carry what she couldn't. This was the first place she had been able to think of when she had darted out of the village.
If it was good enough to conceal fresh kills from bears and cougars, it would be good enough to hide her from a horde of angry, evolved apes.
At least, she hoped it was.
The human woman quickly slid down the slope beside the hollowed tree and pushed herself backwards into her hiding place. It was moist and Lydia felt damp dirt cover her hands when she pushed against it.
Blaze and Storm squeezed into the tight space with her obediently, but Lydia had to hold Blaze's muzzle shut when he began to whimper as a group of apes passed their hiding spot hurriedly. The poor creature didn't know what was going on any more than Lydia did.
She felt how the cold emanating from the moist ground slowly went through her deerskin pants the longer she sat there. It was a struggle not to pant as several more groups of apes passed by, each unit sound less determined than the last. Less riled-up.
Her body stayed tense, however, keeping ready in the event that she would suddenly be met with the feral, screeching face of an ape.
Luckily, as time passed, it seemed like the hunters gave up the pursuit and disappeared from the part of the forest where Lydia was hiding, their hoots growing weaker and weaker before finally leaving the forest in complete quietness once again.
Even so, it took several more hours before Lydia felt safe enough to leave her cramped hiding spot, emerging from her tiny hovel with her clothes partially covered in dirt and grime from the rotting insides of the tree. Her legs were stiff from being held in the same, uncomfortable position for so long and the entire back of her pants felt soaked from sitting on the cold, damp ground.
It didn't make it better that she hadn't slept at all and it now appeared to be the wee hours of morning.
The dogs and her backpack, which she hadn't had time to drop off at the hut when they got back, hadn't fared much better than her clothes. Storm shook herself, as if aware that she looked a right mess, and spread the dirt and leaves covering her fur all around her. Blaze seemed largely unbothered the state his fur was in and seemed more concerned with staying close to Lydia, whimpering.
She didn't blame him – being chased by creatures you trusted with your life tended to do that to you.
She released a heavy, trembling sigh as she looked at her surroundings. It was, indeed, very early morning, the sun's rays not even peeking above the horizon yet and instead only leaving a hint of light reflecting against the clouds above.
I've been sitting here longer than I realized… Lydia thought, furrowing her brow. The leaves and blades of grass around her were still covered in dew and all was quiet around her as she stood in the middle of the forest.
This was odd. Usually, the forest would be teeming with life at this hour and echoes of birdsong would be sounding between the giant trees.
Now, it was as if every living being had abandoned the forest in search of something better.
Lydia concluded that the events of last night had probably scared away the wildlife. Angry apes and the scent of smoke in the air would probably prompt animals, big and small, to get the hell away as fast as legs and wings could carry them.
Well, no sense in staying here, Lydia thought, yet she had no idea where she should be going. The ape village was her home. Had been for years now. It was where her family was.
And now it was all gone. She had been forced to leave her home, and with it, her family…
A lump formed in her throat as she thought about Orion and Roy. She had left them behind! Again! Just like she had done five years ago when the apes had first rejected her…
And what was worse, this time, she had left them in a place she knew wasn't safe. Apes or not, she wouldn't put it past Koba to take advantage of this situation now that he had taken command and somehow lay blame on her mate and son as well. The bonobo had never liked her and, as per definition, hadn't liked Orion and Roy either. True, he had begun to come to terms with Lydia's presence in recent years, but the arrival of Malcolm and his group had destroyed any and all progress on their non-existent relation.
Malcolm….
No more than twelve hours ago, she had laughed and joked with him and his group. Helped them achieve their goal and finally felt comfortable enough to let her guard down.
She had finally felt that she had met some humans she could trust, after so many years.
And yet now, the mere name of the man made her seethe with rage as she snuck quietly through the woods. If they hadn't come to the forest, none of this would have happened! Lydia would still be with her family and Caesar would still be alive.
Caesar…
A pang of sadness tore through Lydia's chest. The look on his face as he fell from the ledge had etched itself into her mind. As had Cornelia's distraught screams. Cornelius' frightened cries.
And Blue Eyes' howls of rage and despair.
The human woman fought the urge to let out a loud sob, refusing to let the tears forming in her eyes fall as she decided what to do.
She was going to find Malcolm. She was going to get answers.
And if she didn't like what she heard…
Lydia didn't dare finish that thought and decided instead to focus on the trail ahead. She would go in the direction of their jeep. If they hadn't left the forest yet, they were sure to go there once they deemed it safe enough.
And Lydia would be there, waiting.
Roy
Roy had only been able to look on, almost as if in a trance, as his once-home lay as simmering ashes at his feet, the village having been reduced to nothing more than charred, skeletal structures. Most had made it out of the village in time, save for a few ape children who had gotten lost in the flames and their mothers, who had rushed in to try and save their offspring.
The stench of their scorched remains, no matter how few and how scattered, still permeated the air and had made Roy want to vomit.
It hadn't brought him much relief to have been forcibly removed from the scene, however, as Koba had ordered them to the city to wage war against the humans. Roy had refused, as had Maurice, Rocket and several others. It was not what Caesar would have wanted, even if a human had killed him.
Which Roy seriously doubted. Something just wasn't right about this whole situation.
How had Blue Eyes found a gun, but not the weapon's wielder? To Roy's knowledge, there was no ledge on the cliffside where the gun was found that a human could get to and from so easily that they could just disappear instantly afterwards. Even Lydia, who knew the area and was as swift as humans come, would have found it difficult to get out of such a place. Especially without being seen.
And why would they leave the gun in the first place? Surely, such a weapon would be essential if the culprit was discovered? Even if the person had a smaller spare weapon, a simple handgun would not deter a horde of enraged apes once attention had been drawn.
Furthermore, it seemed too much of a coincidence that the gun had been left for Blue Eyes to find, Caesar's easily influenced son, who had been nursing a growing suspicion of the humans ever since the apes first encountered them. The grief-stricken adolescent was not going to ask any of these questions, though, Roy was sure of that much.
And neither were the majority of the other apes, from the looks of it. They had suffered enough abuse and humiliation at the hands of humans in the past to believe any information Koba fed them. Roy supposed he couldn't blame them, really. He had been subject to human cruelty as well, having pretty much grown up as a test subject in a lab and then an improvised military facility, until Lydia had broken him out of there.
Lydia…
Oh, how he hoped she had managed to escape. If he found out that they had captured and killed her…
Perhaps it would give me the strength to break out of these chains, the large ape male mused, rattling the metal that bound him to the inside of the bus Koba had chosen as prison for Caesar's most loyal supporters. Those who refused to wage war in the name of their fallen king, reasoning that Caesar would not approve of such an act. Especially not when it came to killing defenceless humans, cowering and whimpering on the floor as the apes stood above them with bared fangs.
Roy had managed to intervene in several such incidents before Koba had rounded up the apes still loyal to the Ape King and chained them up. Even Orion had been imprisoned.
What was worse, he had been placed in front of Maurice, at the other end of the bus from where Roy had been chained, leaving the worried father with no way to offer comfort to his distressed son. He had to trust Maurice with that task as he himself sat in the back of the vehicle, playing the events of the last twelve hours over again and again in his mind.
Lydia had to be alright. She was smart and could move through the forest like no other.
But even if she had survived and was out there, somewhere, she would be alone with Blaze and Storm, facing not only the predators that roamed the forest, but also apes who intended to kill her – searched for her with that sole purpose.
And where would she go? Roy was confident she wasn't going to leave them behind, she was way too stubborn and loyal for that. Her family was everything to her, and Roy knew for a fact that her biggest fear was losing them – like she had her first one so long ago. As for Orion and Roy, the big male chimpanzee had no idea what Koba and his lackeys intended to do with them once the humans had been rounded up and war broke out in earnest. Had the bonobo become such a wretched being that he would break the most sacred of Ape Law and kill those who opposed him?
Had he, perhaps, already done it?
Roy had his suspicions. Especially with how quick the bonobo had been to seize control of the apes after Caesar had plummeted down into the abys. He had been defying Caesar's every decision for almost a week now, and only one day prior, he had taunted and fought against the Ape King, scampering away in defeat and humiliation afterwards.
And now, after all that, he was the first to take up arms and demand vengeance in his name last night?
He might be Caesar's second in command, but the king's death didn't mean that the council had been disbanded. And both Rocket, Luca and Maurice, who were all chained up and branded as traitors, had been in that council!
This wasn't right.
And yet, there was nothing Roy could do but hope against hope that someone among the apes that remained free would see through this farce and convince the rest to stand up against Koba's cruel reign.
Hopefully soon, before Lydia decided to take matters into her own hands, as was her custom, or before Koba began murdering those who opposed him until there would be none left to do so.
Roy let out a low, frustrated growl, drawing the attention of Rocket sitting in front of him. The older ape turned and shot Roy a look of hopeful determination, sticking his chin out.
"We can only wait and see, Roy." Rockets signed with difficulty due to the chains around his wrists. "Keep courage. We might need it soon. And your son needs your strength now."
Roy gave a curt nod before looking out the window. Outside, apes armed with guns were still rounding up humans and herding them into the fenced areas just beside the bus. Among them were several frightened children, clinging to any adult they could find, their eyes wide and fearful. Many of the adults were bleeding through their clothes, either from having fallen and scraped their skin against the ground or from wounds inflicted by their captors.
We were supposed to be better than them, Roy thought sadly, but we are just as cruel. Just as vindictive. Just as primitive… Perhaps we really are the animals they think we are…
The thought made bile rise in the back of the ape's throat and he had to swallow hard to keep it down.
No. He was not like this. Maybe in the past, before he met Lydia, before he knew the love a human such as her could give, he would have joined these apes outside without hesitation. But he knew better now. Knew that humans were capable of kindness, compassion and love.
And these apes should know that too, after having lived side by side with such a human for years.
The chimp put his forehead against the cool, dirty glass of the window, closing his tired, green eyes in contemplation.
If only Caesar was still alive…
