She crouched low, keeping still and silent under the cover of the ferns. She cursed every pounding beat of her heart against her breast, worried that they would hear it. She wondered how good their hearing was. A cold sweat trickled down her forehead, loosening the otherwise vice-like grip she had on her pocket knife.

One of them got down from its horse. It was a big, black specimen, gnarled and covered in deep scars all over its body. Everything about it- from its physical appearance to its demeanor – seemed to indicate that it was the leader. Walking bow-legged on its hind legs, swinging its arms carelessly by it side, it approached the camp site. Sniffing intently, it would poke and prod at some of the pieces of scattered trash. It took a long drag off her dirty laundry, sneering menacingly at the scent. It took a deep breath and called out. "GO! FIND HER!"

Oh shit

It seemed hopeless now. The apes all burst outwards from their group and out into the forest. She crouched even lower as the hairy bodies darted all around her. At first she held out some hint of hope that they wouldn't notice her this early into their search. But it was only a matter of time before one of the dozens and dozens of apes caught the glint of her eyes under the shadow of the undergrowth.

An ungodly shriek rang through the air. Without even thinking, Amelia exploded from the ferns, brandishing the knife in her right hand. The ape saw the weapon, rushing backwards with many distressing yelps. Still not thinking, Amelia spun around, knife outstretched, as a trio of apes were heading for her. The swift motion of her assault stopped them in their charge. She knew that she was outnumbered, but they did seem to fear her – or the knife at any rate. She didn't let up. If they even twitched, she'd dart at them with the knife in a bluff charge. But with every second, more and more apes surrounded her. Though she kept up her defense, they eventually overwhelmed her.

One of them seized her by the wrist and tore the knife away. She tried pulling her arm out, but the ape was far too strong. The others leaped on top of her, their bodies forcing her face into the mud. She took in a mouthful of dirt and worms as she felt the apes pawing at her.

A low, deep bellow sounded off, and instantly Amelia felt the assault grind to a halt. The apes got off of her back, and she rolled over onto her back. She looked up and saw the sea of surrounding bodies part as a large orangutan with sagging cheek flaps and a bulbous throat sac under his chin. He was looking at the others with his beady eyes, waving his hands up in front of them. The others seemed to know exactly what he was saying. Amelia could at least tell that he was not happy with them for some reason. After a brief pause, he saves his hands again, and the others moved in again.

But this time, they hauled her to her feet and forced her hands behind her back. Within moments, she could feel the rough texture of rope as it was wrapped around her wrists. Once she was fully bound, a house was brought up and she was tied to its neck. At the very least, it was the horse of the orangutan that had apparently spared her. As he climbed up on top of the hoofed beast, he glanced at her briefly. His eyes now seemed sad, and full of regret. A quiet sigh escaped his nostrils and he looked away.

Meanwhile, the scarred and beaten individual she'd seen earlier swaggered up to her, staring her directly in the face through one grizzled eye, and one milky, un-seeing eye. His slack jaw hung low as he looked her up and down. It seemed as if he was savoring something in his gaze of her as his lips pulled back to reveal a grin of sharp, canine teeth. His protruding muzzle was just a few inches from her nose.

Eventually he seemed satisfied, or at least bored, with whatever he saw in her. He strode away to the front of the line. Within a few moments, the ape caravan was on the move. Some were on horses, but most remained on foot. She moved alongside the horse, which thankfully didn't move very quickly. The orangutan seemed to even keep the animal moving at a slow and steady pace intentionally. Unfortunately that was the extent of the comfort she felt during the journey. The ropes that bound her hands were rough, and brazed her skin with every step she took. Several pairs of eyes were fixated on her the whole time, with the occasional grunt, whoop, or shriek ringing out from the mob. They marched onwards for hours, the shadow of the forest growing darker and darker with each passing minute. A light trickle of rain sprinkled on Amelia's face as she trudged through the mud

A few hours and several miles later, they arrived at a great, arching gateway. Passing under the gate, Amelia saw several small huts and lean-tos, with many apes wandering about. Her appearance had an immediate effect on all of them. A vociferous display of excitement erupted throughout this crude-looking village. Past the primitive dwellings was an open space with a small pool of water, and a tall platform of rock. Behind it was a rock wall with actual words – English words – carved into the rock surface. Standing above the wall was a tall tree, with a spiral of wooden planks running up the trunks to an elaborate tree house nestled in the branches. The whole scene was lit by torch-light against the night.

They approached the rock platform. It was there that they all dismounted their horses. The scar-faced ape climbed up to the top and called out in a gruff voice, "Leave, now!" They followed his direction accordingly, disbanding into the village, though not before giving Amelia their final glances of suspicion and dislike. The orangutan got down from his horse and untied her from its neck. At first he could only look down toward her feet, but soon he looked back up at her.

He pulled on her ropes gently, nodding in a direction of the village behind the huge tree in the center. There was a pleading look in his eye, almost as if her were asking her permission. Seeing no other choice, Amelia conceded. He led her back around to the other side of the tree where there was a ring of very tall wooden poles, almost as large as tree trunks, On one side there was a series of steps leading up to the top of the poles. The orangutan led her up.

As they made their way up, four large gorillas shuffled toward them, snorting, grunting, and waving their hands around. The orangutan answered their waves with some of his own, and immediately they backed down. It was only then that Amelia realized that these apes were signing to each other to communicate.

When they were done signing, the orangutan put his hand on her shoulders. Taking a firm but controlled grip on them, he picked her up off of her feet and lowered her onto the other side of the poles. She plopped down into the mud on her feet. Looking around, it was clear that there was no door of any kind. There was nothing but an unending ring of wooden poles surrounding her at every turn. There was no way in or out except from above. And by the time she looked back up, the orangutan had gone.

Exhausted and defeated, Amelia collapsed on her rear end, not caring in the slightest about the wet mud staining her pants. It was evident now that – for whatever reason – she was their prisoner. And there was nothing she could do about it…..not until next week anyway…