Caesar's Pearl 2 Chapter 3
Early the next morning before a large percentage of the village was up and about Blue Eyes and Ash left the confines of the village to go fishing down at the river. These two juveniles had been close friends since infancy. Not only was being born in the same exact year an important factor, but their fathers were close. This mutual brotherhood seemed to be passed on to their children.
Once the two males reached the river they immediately went to their favorite spot. Shallow rapids spread out into the middle of the river downstream, the deeper calm water at the outside of the bend. This selected spot was one of their favorites and brought about some of the best results. They'd come here multiple times and always return to the tribe with something to show for it.
Blue Eyes and Ash were side by side together in the shallows looking at the water patiently waiting for any trout to get within their sights. The fish camouflaged well blending in with the rocks so it was hard to get them, but the satisfaction when eating one was worth the effort in the long run.
Blue Eyes had his spear poised arm raised searching for a target within range. He was perfectly still so he wouldn't startle the fish with any sudden movements. This needed to be done quietly and neatly.
Suddenly Ash threw his hand out thumping Blue Eyes in the chest breaking his concentration on purpose.
Screeching in indignation, Blue Eyes signed "Ash!"
He then shoved at his friend and Ash playfully pushed back.
Ash laughed good-naturedly, signing "Hey, no big deal. You'll just have to pick another one."
Scowling Blue Eyes went to do that continued to do so. Eventually he and Ash both caught some.
In the end, by the time the duo headed back to the village, Blue Eyes and Ash had caught two fish for their families. Blue Eyes mood lightened somewhat after that. The fish were hanging by their gills on some vines tied onto their spears.
Grinning, Ash teased "The bear wouldn't get me Blue Eyes. I'm quick."
"Shut up, Ash," signed Blue Eyes, punching his friend lightly in the shoulder, smiling.
Following the path from the river the two adolescent apes was almost home. It wouldn't be long before they came across the gates. They'd just turned a corner around a large tree when they suddenly stopped in their tracks.
There in front of them was a creature they'd only seen in pictures carved in stone, heard about in stories from Maurice and other adults.
A human.
Clearly male, skin the color of pale wet sand, mostly bald accept for a patch of hair on top its head. The face was similar to apes, but carried substantial differences in its features. If those similarities were anything to go by the expression on the humans face along with its body language the human was certainly revealed to be scared, very scared.
The human male, Carver, had his arms outstretched palms out. They were trembling with outright fear.
"Oh god," he breathed, slowly moving his arms in a subtle manner to the gun on his belt concealed by his jacket. "It's okay." He then whipped the automatic handgun from its holster pointing it directly at the apes.
The two young apes stiffened recognizing the device for what it was. There was a picture just like it carved with the pictures Maurice used to teach. This was a gun a weapon used by humans to kill apes.
Blue Eyes held his spear aloft defensively hissing. Ash hooted softly instinctively inching away slowly step by step to get around the threat.
Big mistake.
"Freeze," shouted Carver, his finger pulled the trigger.
Then thunder struck, Ash's agonized shriek residing.
In the village the sound registered to the apes disrupting the sanctity of their peaceful everyday morning.
At once Caesar's eyes snapped open with him sitting up in bed. Panting heavily dread filled inside the pit of his stomach. He'd know the sound of a gunshot anywhere having heard it repeatedly one too many times. There was only one thing that could've caused that.
A gun meant humans.
Bolting out of bed Caesar ran out of the oak tree. Other apes came out of their own homes. They all looked to Caesar when he revealed himself. He could decipher from the faces of belonging to the adults they came to the same conclusion.
Before Caesar could issue an order a loud screech originated from the canyon below making him still in terror. A distress call alerting the tribe to danger, but this wasn't from any ordinary ape.
The ape sounding the alarm was his own son!
Blue Eyes crouched protectively in front of Ash positioned behind a tree shielding them from the human. He continuously screeched and hissed snarling at the human aggressively warning him to keep his distance baring his teeth and gums while at the same time calling for help. All this time the human still had his gun trained on them.
"Stay! Help," yelled Carver, turning his head repeatedly watching for his compatriots. "No! Hey! Over here!"
They came running up the hill behind Carver. The moment the group the shot rang out they ran to see what was wrong. The adult human males Malcolm, Foster, and Kemp, had their guns ready and fully loaded with Ellie and Alexander in the rear. When they got close enough all their eyes went wide with shock seeing what was freaking Carver out so much.
"I-I shot him," said Carver, "I shot him."
The humans were in shock, too stunned at the sight of actual apes in front of them to do or say anything. Neither did they get the chance.
Emerging from the trees barreling down the slope to the ridge swinging in the trees and on the ground barreled a whole hunting party of apes coming to Blue Eyes and Ash's aide.
The humans divided their guns torn between keeping them aimed at Blue Eyes and Ash or the new onslaught.
Rocket dropped from a branch putting him in the crossfire to protect the two teenagers. His spear held threateningly he kept backing away until he reached his son.
Immediately, when he saw Ash was the one hurt, Rocket almost completely lost it. He instantly dropped to his knees taking Ash's stunned form in is arms.
Visibly shaken, enraged, a furiously hooting Rocket signed "They shot Ash! Shot my son!"
Rocket's aggressive body language told he was about to launch himself at the humans any second. The only thing preventing him from following through with it was his primal instinct was his son lying injured in his arms.
Caesar wasn't taking any chances. Any rashness from Rocket could put them all in jeopardy.
"Rocket, wait," ordered Caesar, firm.
Incredibly reluctant Rocket complied holding his son against his chest. Willow had her free hand on his shoulder keeping him there.
The two sides were at a standoff.
Hooting at the other apes to do stay put Caesar locked eyes with Malcolm the human leader.
The two sized each other up.
Malcolm made the first move.
"We don't mean any harm," he stated.
"They're apes, man. You think they understand what you're saying," whispered Carver.
"They look like just apes to you," retorted Malcolm. Malcolm relaxed his posture lowering his weapon signaling he wasn't a threat.
This garnered scared reactions from his family.
"Dad," said Alex.
"Malcolm, what are you doing," said Ellie, panicking.
"It's okay," assured Malcolm. "Put your guns down."
"You can't be serious," said Foster.
"Do it," ordered Malcolm, not once breaking eye contact with Caesar.
Against their better judgment they did.
Silence followed and then…
"Go," boomed Caesar.
"Holy shit," breathed Carver, a sentiment shared by the rest of them.
Caesar jumped from his perch on a tree trunk intimidating the humans to back away at such close proximity to him.
"Okay," eased Malcolm. "Okay, we're going."
"Go," roared Koba.
Another ape speaking after the other was too much for the humans to take especially when the rest of the apes started to shriek and roar too.
The humans turned and fled, but the youngest human, Alexander, accidentally dropped his satchel in the foliage off the ridge. He desperately went to retrieve it, but the adults pulled him along forcing him to leave the bag behind. Especially when the apes charged making them run faster. The apes chased the intruders off their land.
Caesar had his arms spread out to prevent them from pursuing further.
Maurice picked up the bag the young male dropped along with the book that fell from its folds. He handed the bag to Caesar. Holding it by the strap he stared at it intently for a moment before handing it back to the orangutan.
"Koba," said Caesar, summoning the bonobo to him. "Follow!"
Koba did as commanded with his closest friends Stone and Grey following. They needed answers and tracking the humans to the place they called home was the only way to get them.
Everyone returned to the safety of the village. The whole Ape Colony was working themselves into a frenzy. The children were confused. They'd heard the gunshot, but have not lived long enough to know what it entailed. The apes that could remember were understandably afraid both for themselves and their loved ones. The majority of them didn't have any good experiences with humans. They didn't wish for their offspring to suffer the same horrors they did.
Caesar was doing his best to pacify those in his charge. Needless to say it wasn't any easy task, but he managed to neutralize them. Well for the time being at least.
Hours later in the early evening Koba and his scouts came back to the village to report their findings. They brought with them ill tidings. The human city wasn't as empty as had previously been assumed.
On a stone platform in front of where the ape's three most absolute laws were carved for all to see Caesar's most trusted apes were gathered Willow, Blue Eyes, and Ash counted in their number. On this platform Caesar's symbol which was a stylized diamond enclosed in a circle was carved. It represented his old home, all he held dear to his heart there, and how far they've evolved.
The bag dropped from the adolescent human male was opened its contents spread out for the council to see. Only one of these objects captured the interest of the apes. It was a book with many drawings inside one after another. Page after page each image was more telling than the last.
Maurice flipped through them all intently learning what he could.
"The plague almost ended them," informed Maurice, reading the story that was there to tell. "The boy told the story in the pictures."
"Must attack them now! Before they attack us," grunted Koba, signing angrily.
Maurice objected "We don't know how many there are. How many guns they have?"
Koba scoffed waving aside Maurice's inquiries dismissing them despite how logical they were.
"Or why they came up here," signed Luca, adding in his say.
One particular drawing caught Maurice's eyes.
Grunting to grab Caesar's attention Maurice showed his leader the sketch of a beautiful human woman's face and an old photograph of the exact woman hugging the same boy from before only a lot younger. Maurice figured out what that all meant as did Caesar judging by the sad solemn stare he had on his face looking at it. It was like he was recollecting a memory long since forgotten. Next to all of horrible pictures drawn in the in there together there could be only one explanation as to the woman's fate. The boy's mother had died of the plague succumbing to the sickness like so many of her kind before her.
On the page next to that one held the singular face of another younger female. A flash of recognition went through Caesar when he saw her though he didn't know why.
"They shot your son, Rocket," persisted Koba, undeterred, thinking that because his son had been shot by one of the humans Rocket would be more inclined to his point of view. He was clearly taking unfair advantage of Rockets instincts as a father to persuade him. "Don't you want to fight?"
"I follow Caesar," signed Rocket, decisive, disappointing the bonobo.
Shaking his head, speaking out loud, Blue Eyes said "Koba's right!"
"They almost killed you, Ash," exclaimed Blue Eyes, signing furiously at Ash while his gaze was locked on Rocket, pointing profusely at Ash's wound.
Arguing broke out amongst the council at Blue Eye's outburst each person wanting their own opinions to be heard above everyone else's. The one between Rocket and Blue Eyes became especially heated.
Caesar and Maurice were the only two that didn't participate.
Caesar hadn't spoken or signed a word once since this meeting began his façade an emotionless mask. Now as the ensuring argument reached its height he finally intervened.
"No," bellowed Caesar.
The arguing came to abrupt halt even conversations held by apes surrounding the council stopped. The authority laced in his voice unquestionably powerful.
Slowly, careful in making sure all got the message, Caesar signed "If we go to war, we could lose all we've built." The next part he said out loud emphasizing its grave importance gently reminding them all they had to lose should a war arise. "Home. Family. Future." He paused allowing what he was saying to fully sink in satisfied it was hitting home seeing a few of their heads bowed in shame for contemplating it. "I will decide by morning."
With that the meeting was adjourned.
For a time Maurice stayed in his own shelter looking at the pictures. There was one that caught his interest. Upon closer inspection he had to show Caesar. Maurice caught him as he was heading up into his family dwelling for the night.
"What is it, Maurice," asked Caesar.
Holding up the book, Maurice signed "There's something you need to see."
Maurice then opened the book to the page he was looking for. Leaning in closer to a torch for better lighting Caesar saw what got his friend so anxious.
There on a piece of paper was a well drawn out sketch of a human with a canine beside them. The human didn't catch their interest unlike the dog beside said person. The drawing was clearly of a border collie. As Caesar peered closer at the sketch he started to see what Maurice had saw. The similarities between the two were so similar. Although Ranger had been just a puppy when he'd last seen him the markings on the canines coat were exactly the same.
Could it be, after all this time? And if Ranger was alive…Caesar focused more on the human's face in the drawing, but a helmet and goggles obscured it. It could be a man or a woman under there for all he knew. This could simply be a different dog too. There were thousands out there before the plague hit.
"Do you think…," asked Maurice, leaving the question hanging. He needn't talk any further.
Now Caesar had even more of a reason to go down into the human city.
It is decided.
Authors Note:
I don't know about you guys, but I think a certain reunion is well in order. Don't you think? ;)