Planet of the Apes: Broken Chain

Ch.6

The Hunt

Pov:Malek

The sun shone on my face in my room, greeting me to a new day of duties. The day of the Hunt.

The hunt was something that happened about every three months, and sooner in cases of emergency. This was one of those emergencies. Humans had been caught scavenging one of our main fields of food. Corn. And it is expected to see them a couple of hours after the sun rises.

I made quick work of the breakfast of my own and left for the city square for the meet up. It was packed full of soldiers on horseback and much more on foot transporting equipment, guns, knives, Taxidermy, skinners…

Now seeing this no longer made me feel right… Almost as if we were hunting apes.

"Ape shall not kill Ape!"

That was our cherished command given to us by the Lawgiver. And yet I see that in man now…

What am I going to do?

I was left by myself in my own thoughts within the crowd of gorillas. A few chimps and orangutans were there for assistance, but I paid no attention to those around me.

After everyone had gathered, one ape went forward to address the crowd.

"Make way for General Ursus!"

Father arrived on his prized horse, and a rifle strapped to his back. His helm seemed to glimmer in the morning sun.

"Alright! Let's move out to the staging area like we practiced! Any retainers and other non combative Jobs will stay in the camp! I expect to be done by sun down, so no lagging behind!"

After his quick speech, his horse walked ahead of the troop. All officers under father's command started shouting new orders.

"Everyone, form a marching formation!"

"Civilians keep in the middle of the line! We cannot guarantee your protection outside it!"

"You!"

My attention was drawn to the ape in front of me, a Sargent by the looks of him.

"Yes, Sir?!"

"Get to your post! Those humans aren't gonna wait for us!"

"Yes, Sir!"

I obeyed like everyone else and took my place in the line.

"Company! March!"

And like that, we were off to the hunt. For some like me, it was a first. I was the only one that hoped it was my last.

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It was about three hours before we made it to the base camp, and it took twenty minutes to set up everything. I was on tent duty this time around, a tradition for the newcomers.

"Make sure you hammer those pegs good! A strong gust of wind would blow this all away otherwise!"

Yeah, we're trying!

The sun was starting to beat harder the more it rose up… Yet it made me think of some of the late night ramblings of the man we found in the forbidden zone. It was the last time I was in a "camp."

What did Robert say? That the sun was billions of miles away? And that any closer we would burn up?

It was enough to keep my mind off of what was ahead. The blood I would shed.

"Attention!"

The hammer in my hand made its last strike. I turned quickly to the sound of the command. My body stood still, feeling the same fear I felt when I went through basic.

Our eyes laid hold of an officer I didn't recognize, and beside him was my father.

All of us stood at attention as they walked by.

"The General has a few words for you newcomers."

Father stopped right in front of us, his face was unchanged from what I know. Not like the night before.

"Apes, I expect you to follow the traditions passed down from our ancestors! Despite the urgency, this is still going to be done like all the other hunts! Kill indiscriminately, and vindictively! They are lower than beasts of the field! Do I make myself clear?!"

"Yes Sir!"

All of us shouted this… But I didn't feel it.

"Good! Now all of you get ready! Humans are already in the Field! We will strike in ten minutes!"

"Yes Sir!"

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I can do this… I can do this.

My rifle was aimed through the tall grass that hid our group. Humans were walking about it with no urgency. They don't know. They didn't know what we were about to do and many of them were feasting upon the field of corn. Our officer raised his hand to give the signal to open fire. Ever closer to the event, all held their breath.

No turning back… Just have to miss among the stream of fire.

The hand fell, we all pulled the trigger. Bullets flew and struck all over the place, and the humans went running. Only a few fell, and relief went through me. My shots had missed.

"Steady Apes! This is part of the operation! Follow me to the next line!"

Next line?

Some went to collect the bodies from the field while the rest of us followed our leader. We went on a hidden trail that led to a river that was used for irrigation for the field.

As we got into position, more shots could be heard in the distance.

"Steady! The second line is leading them here!"

Our guns were aimed at the river to block escape, and sure enough the humans ran for it.

"Fire!"

Another wave of bullets left out guns and the men and women dropped like flies… Even the young ones.

"Good job everyone! Let's go collect the stragglers!"

I obeyed, putting my feelings on hold. I charged into the water to the other side and slipped on a rock and landed on the ground. Before I could rise, my eyes caught wind of something on my face. It felt different than the water, it had an aroma of metal. Iron!

My hand rushed to check my face, and as I removed it, I saw blood! Mine?!

Believing it to be so, I checked my head for fractures or cuts only to find none. Only after a few moments did I realize it was not my own. In dred, I looked down to see that it was not in fact my blood, but man blood! A man's blood! And his face was drained of life, with his eyes rolled back, and his mouth agape from his final moments in this world. And as I looked in horror, I saw Robert in that moment.

There was nothing I could do to contain my next action as I yelled in terror.

And standing by was my squad leader, he rushed over to check me. After a few moments of looking me over, he laughed.

"Good, it's not yours! Probably won't be the last time something like that would happen! Stick around here you'll find yourself seeping in the stuff!"

The ape then got up and shouted to our group.

"Alright, let's gather the carcasses for the usual groups. Scientists get first pick! Then the taxidermists! If you want a trophy, stick around! We got plenty!"

As he walked off, I continued to stare at the dead man… Now knowing who the monsters were.

"Hey, you want that one?"

A hand gripped my shoulder and I turned to the sight of an Orangutan. He looked somewhat heavy, and was definitely older than me.

"No, take him…"

"You sure? You sound depressed about it."

"No, I mean it."

The ape wasted no time cleaning the body from the blood and started to do work on it.

"You know, I'm a taxidermist who does work for the human exhibit at the academy. One of the things I like to do for the people who go through is to see what the man's last face was like. Do you know what it was like?"

I turned to him so fast, ready to shout at his ignorance… Only to remember my own a few days prior. Instead, I told him the truth.

"Fear, fear for his life."

"I see. Well it's a shame then."

"Shame?"

"Yes… That's what everyone says. The hatred for these creatures always runs so deep."

It was then that the taxidermist looked both ways before speaking to me in a hushed tone so that none of the apes close by would hear.

"Somehow, I think you look like the sort that doesn't go blabbing every little thing you hear. So I'll let you in on a little theory I have… The whole man being inherently evil is a shame."

What?!

He held up his hands in defense to an attack he assumed would happen.

"Now before you scream 'heretic', hear me out. Whatever have these humans done, aside from eating from our crops. Do not the bugs do so, and not the birds? Why do they not face the same condemnation as man then? They are just like any animal scavenging for food…

"It's sad really when you think about it. Having been in my field as long as I have, you start to see that they're no different than us… From face structure that is. They can crack a smile, get really angry, and even cry. Do monsters do that? Now I'm not saying they are exactly like us, but they hardly seem like the monsters they're made out to be."

…

"Then why do you do it?"

"Somebody is going to, might as well be me to give some care into it. One ape can't change this on their own."

I was the only one right now, and I couldn't do anything to stop this massacre. If I had Robert and Uncle… No, not even then.

I didn't say anything and the orangutan sighed before talking again.

"Well, shove that into the back of your mind. Pretend I didn't say anything. That's what everyone does."

He then turned to walk away, but my question stopped him.

"What's your name?"

"Dr. Aulis. Come by sometime if you want to see the results."

I'd rather not…

"Hey! Help bring the unwanted bodies to the pile!"

It was my squad leader again, I looked behind me to see him and a few others carrying bodies of the once living humans.

Begrudgingly, I went for a nearby corpse and lifted it up over my shoulder. Its smell was putrid, flies were already seeking to land on it.

I booked out all thoughts as we were led to a pile of bodies stacked for burning. I knew this because they were pouring gasoline on the remains. I placed mine on it before they lit it up.

The smell was just as awful as it was before, only in vehement force.

The leader stood nearby as he looked at the same flames I did.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

There was nothing I could say in the face of this horror. Only that I wondered that had I not known, would I feel the same?

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A couple hour after this, I was given the go ahead to head home with my group. On the way back, I wondered how many more days like this I would have to endure? It pained me to no end, and my heart physically was taking a toll on the amount of stress it gave.

As these feelings went through me, I noticed a wagon full of humans. I looked on and saw the pain in their eyes for the first time. Caged, and not knowing what was going to become of them. Out of all of this, I took note of one man among them.

He was injured in a way I didn't see, but he was being watched over by a woman. Only, the sight of him seemed familiar. Not that I had met him before, but he seemed unusual. His skin was not as dark as the rest of the humans. It meant he had less time in the sun. He was burnt, as was shown by the red patches on his skin.

What does it remind me of?

Then it clicked in my mind, and I sprung into action.

"Squad leader, do you mind if I talk with that driver?"

The Gorilla looked at me baffled but answered, "Alright, but don't slow us down. We got to guard the group."

I went as fast as I could to talk to the chimp on the reigns.

"Hey, driver!"

"Yeah?"

"Where are these humans going?"

"These have been reserved for the research wing of the academy. We got one back there in need of surgery, so holding me up might decrease his odds."

"Right, sorry. I'm in charge of the security there, so I was just wondering if that's where they're going. The one who's injured is a variant."

The driver turned to look back at the man, "You sure? They all look the same to me, but you'd know best… Yes, they'll be there."

"Good, and sorry for the hold up."

He nodded and went on his way. As the driver's cart passed, I saw the man of interest once more. His eyes peaked open to reveal his eyes. A deep blue.

It made me wonder.

Is this another like Robert?!

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It was well past lunch when my role in this mission was done. And I was struggling to walk after having walked and ran for most of the day. The last thing I was going to do was to check in with Robert. I was just outside the place when I heard a shout.

"NO!"

I ignored my tired body and ran for the holding room for the humans. And to my shock, my Uncle, Dr. Zira, Zeb, a guard that was on duty, and opposite to them was Ebar, and some random gorilla I hadn't met before.

Zeb shouted at Ebar with fury, "You idiot! The Doctor here gave you a chance to prove yourself and you go and throw it away!"

"Like as if I care, I got my approval last night! I'm joining the army whether you like it or not! So why not celebrate by doing my new job and make fewer mouths to feed!"

At hearing his tone, I could only assume one thing, but I had to be sure.

I rushed to uncle, in a whispered yell.

"Uncle! Where is Robert!"

"We're about to find out. He's been hidden this entire time. The guard over there hadn't seen Robert before and didn't know he was missing."

Uuughh! I should have seen this coming!

I rushed past my Uncle and faced him like an ape.

"Where is Red!"

He didn't recoil, instead he smiled, "Dead most likely! Threw him to the beast last night! Unless of course he killed her instead! You know how wild animals are!"

Instead of retorting back, I ran to the isolation room that held the brute of a human.

"Wait! Don't just open it!"

I didn't care who asked, I opened the door without hesitation and saw a sight that appalled me. Even despite what I had seen that day.

End Chapter