Chapter 40

Mors switched off the radio and peered through his spyglass at the destruction of the homunculi breeding field.

"Excellent. " He exalted. "They can't make anymore monsters for weeks if not months."

"What if poison drifts or lingers?" Asked Tarzan.

"It won't. That Venusian toxin kills whatever it settles on then dies along with its victim. It did what it was supposed to do then it will disappear. Totenkopf won't know what hit his abominations."

"How long will Brinken sleep?"

The geneticist was given a shot, through a hidden hypodermic needle, that put him to sleep.

"About a day." Answered Mors. "He will not be raising any alarms."

Their course took them back outdoors, employing a rocky track to a chosen entrance point in the volcano's side. Entering the complex across the homunculi breeding fields was ruled out as there would be too much attention there.

The explosion of the super zeppelin had woken up every bird on the island and probably every land animal too. Flocks of birds dotted the sky, flying this way and that to cope with the sudden disrupting sound, shock wave, heat and smoke from the aerial catastrophe. A herd of eohippi galloped past the two League members, there was nothing pursuing the little horses, it was the fright and panic that resulted from the fiery thunder.

It took a while for the animal kingdom to settle down; the birds gradually flew back to their trees. Tarzan realised then, that the general faunal chaos had blinded his instincts, he and Mors had just walked into danger.

A clifface to their left had several large holes on or near ground level.

Tarzan turned around to Mors. "Captain, watch out."

Mors drew his pistol just in time to see a large grey ape leave the hole nearest to him and charge with snarling fangs. A pistol shot put a bullet in its head, the ape dropped immediately.

Instantly many other fierce apes ambulated on their feet and knuckles out of the little caves giving a snarling reception to the two travelers. Most approached Tarzan, only two moved towards Mors.

"Captain don't use the gun again." Advised Tarzan.

"What then?" He asked as he backed off slowly. Both his simian antagonists were approaching at the same speed he was backing off. Mors could easily take one out with the pistol, but if he did that, the other could pounce before the second shot.

Tarzan could not answer the question, a bull ape leapt from a high cave in order to land on top of him. A quick side step coupled with a well-timed upward blow knocked the descending stunt ape out just before he hit the ground. Without conscious bracing the fall was injurious for the jumping attacker, he did not get up.

All other apes who approached Tarzan seemed about to pounce simultaneously when the jungle lord beat out a bizarre mixture of earsplitting vocal sounds and exaggerated gestures, including beating his chest. Mors recognised some sounds borrowed from the Zinj ape they had encountered before, were incorporated into the primordial message. A heavy answering growl emitted from the caves. A gorilla, slightly larger than the others walked out into the light, beat its own chest as furiously as it snarled. Tarzan drew his knife.

Mors realised that the jungle lord just issued a challenge to the tribal leader, who accepted with a relishing bloodlust. Both simians that moved on the luftpirate withdrew and turned away to see the contest, as did the other apes.

The ape chieftain stood erect at seven feet then walked tall to the ready human. The fangs were for tearing through the skin and biting out internal organs while the hand would grapple then pound bones to pieces. Tarzan darted aside while seizing the nearest limb that reached for him; a firm push in on the furry arm upset the simian's balance for an instant which Tarzan used to slash its leg at the hamstring.

A growl of pain had the chieftain swing his grabbed arm Tarzan's way. Not only did the jungle lord lose his grip, but the swing clipped him on the face, knocking him backward. This moment of vulnerability was seized upon by the giant ape, he would have been on top of his challenger had not the few required steps been hampered by his injury. Tarzan slammed both feet forward against the simian stomach, to knock him back to a fall. Both antagonists got to their feet, Tarzan's new nose bleed seemed to heighten his enemy's blood lust.

Eye contact was locked, the ape nostrils flared and fangs bared, eager for that blood. Tarzan backed off a little, his antagonist stepped forward to maintain proximity only to have his cut hamstring send a wave of pain through him as it tripped him up. The opportunity was not lost on the jungle lord, he slashed his knife, cutting the simian's ear, who then stood up in abject pain, raising both arms upward to feel the new wound. This was Tarzan's chance, he lunged forward and stabbed at the unguarded chest. In his hurry, Tarzan missed the heart, sinking the blade only half deep, below the crucial organ. Withdrawing the blade, he tried to step back but not before a simian arm hit down and whacked the knife hand; the weapon was dropped and the shocked hand went numb.

Unable to find where the knife dropped or to re-establish any feeling in his right hand, Tarzan saw, in his foe's eyes, a double resolve to bodily rip him apart and bite out all his insides.

An insane snarl preceded the next attack. A move forward to close the small distance between him and his challenger resulted in a heavy trip due to the hamstring injury, he fell flat on his face giving Tarzan a new opportunity, he jumped on the simian back and wrapped his right arm around the throat. Ferocious panic overtook the Zinj chieftain, he jumped up to try and shake off the grappler. Tarzan held firm, he tried to press the windpipe but the ape's roaring gyrations barely allowed him to maintain his hold.

Hairy arms tried futilely to reach back and seize him. Tarzan used the steady moment to press his left arm against the ape's neck and together with the right arm to form a vice. The simian tried to fall on his back, hoping to crush his deadly piggy backer. Tarzan braced his legs against the ground, preventing the backward fall, his vice like grip was not only maintained but tightened.

Mors was close enough to hear the ape vertebrae crack. The held simian tried one more time to jump aside and shake Tarzan off but his cut hamstring limited his movement ending him up on his stomach and crushing arms pressing on his neck even tighter until the sound of the spine snapping was heard by both League members.

Tarzan got up from the corpse of his antagonist and beat his own chest while his ululating yell reverberated throughout the ape dens. Lord Greystoke stood tall among the squatting Zinj simians; Mors could see that they recognised him as their leader. Once again Tarzan was Lord of the Apes.