(Chapter 4: War at a personal level)
That night, when mostly everyone at the encampment fell asleep, Jane and Professor Porter were one of the last few people that remained awake, the others being a hunter and Percy Isaacs.
Professor Porter would start for the exit of his tent, but upon emerging to the outside, he would let out a gasp that would have been a scream had it not been for somebody covering his mouth.
"I come in peace." A familiar voice said on the outside, Jane's eyes lit up when Professor Porter and Tarzan would make their appearance.
"Come Jane, I show you home." The ape-man said, stretching his arm out, lending her his hand.
Now Jane was hesitant at first, but she reluctantly accepted it, knowing that a journey into the Congo jungle would have its consequences if Percy or Jacob found them out.
"Y-you're not going to hurt us, are you?" Professor Porter asked, although he respected Tarzan, he feared his power.
"No, I hurt not those that not hurt me." Tarzan replied as he continued to guide the father and daughter duo towards the tree line, unbeknownst to the ape-man, somebody would overhear Professor Porter starting to scream from moments ago.
Peeking through his tent was Percy Isaacs, seeing their enemy lead friendlies into the jungle raised suspicion. The Englishman would leave his tent and approach the hunter that was now taking aim at Tarzan.
"Lower the rifle, Clayton, I'm willing to give this Tarzan a chance. Maybe he isn't as bad as I thought he would be. I'm afraid that my services aren't needed as once thought." Percy reprimanded the hunter, who looked confused.
"Sir, he's brought us nothing but trouble…" Clayton gasped, questioning this decision.
"I know, but he seems neutral. If we leave him alone, he seems to not mess with us. We may retaliate if this camp is ever attacked, I just hope that the erratic fool, Jacob Dupont doesn't do anything irrational." Percy replied, Clayton sighed and now aimed his gun towards the ground.
"This best not backfire." Clayton growled; Percy shook his head.
"If you're feeling doubtful, then you can follow them into the jungle and keep a close eye on what they do with Tarzan. Should the wild man attack them, you have my permission to kill him, but if he leaves them alone, I implore you that you hold your fire." Percy sighed, he wasn't going to argue with Clayton, giving in to the hunter's desire to pursue them.
"Thank you…" Clayton said, slowly starting to follow the three of them, keeping his distance at first, but picking up the pace once they entered the jungle itself.
It took around five minutes before the three of them began to speak again, so far there was only the tropical and dense shrubbery and foliage of the jungle.
"I show you my home, you show me yours?" Tarzan asked, turning his head to face Jane as the three of them came to a stop.
Jane smiled and turned to her father who excitedly nodded his head.
"Of course." she said sweetly.
Just then, the sound of rustling leaves was heard and the three stood on edge, Tarzan tried to make himself bigger than he really was by changing his posture up as he did his best to protect the father and daughter duo. They followed the sound; it was coming from behind them. The sound grew closer and soon enough, the leaves of the bushes at their front began to shift and rustle around. Tarzan's eyes narrowed and he began to bare his teeth in an intimidating snarl.
Emerging from the shrubbery was a tall, toned man. The hair on his head was slicked back and he also had facial hair in the form of a mustache, brown leather bands were wrapped around his wrists and a strap complete with bullets was thrown over his shoulder and hung diagonally down across his torso. A red tie was wrapped around his neck. On his legs were brown cargo pants and brown riding boots that could be buttoned up. He was aiming towards Tarzan with a sinister smile, Tarzan yelled at the poacher, but Jane jumped out at his front to the surprise of both.
"Jane, what are you doing out here with him!?" Clayton asked, gobsmacked at why she had complete trust in this savage man.
"He's showing me his home, Clayton!" Jane nagged, Clayton would roll his eyes and growl in disappointment before facing her again.
"Lower the gun, lower the damned gun!" Professor Porter barked; Clayton was hesitant but did as was told.
"My apologies, but when you two go wandering into the jungle, it scares the blazes out of me…" The poacher said, halfheartedly apologizing. He would lower his rifle and stare at Tarzan in the eyes, the ape-man showing disdain, continuing to growl at him. Clayton sighed and nodded his head as a form of respect, calming Tarzan down for the time being.
Now that both parties seemed to agree that there would be no ill will between the two of them, Jane would stand next to Clayton and pat his shoulder with a nervous smile.
"Tarzan, meet Clayton. Clayton, meet Tarzan!" She said worriedly.
"Clayton…" Tarzan said, Clayton remained silent as he stared down the wild man. There was something strange about him, as he looked into the face of the ape-man, something inside of him was telling him that he looked rather…familiar…
"Good to see you…Tarzan, apologies for the way I initially acted. Please understand that I'm highly paranoid of what has been happening recently around the encampment." Clayton spoke with a friendly smile slowly creeping onto his face, Tarzan was silent.
"He struggles to speak English, Clayton." Professor Porter spoke.
"I can see that…If we are going to be spending time with him, it would be best that we teach him." Clayton replied.
"I agree, I agree." Professor Porter replied.
"Excellent, I shall start setting up a camp in a portion of the jungle where I've hunted before. Jane, and professor, consider it your safehouse if you are going to be going in and out of the jungle." Clayton explained before starting for the brush again, he would stop and turn to Tarzan with another look of suspicion, still finding the ape-man untrustworthy…
"Don't…hurt…them…" Clayton warned in a threatening tone before cocking his rifle, finally disappearing into the brush, leaving the three back to what they were doing.
The weeks that transpired would be relatively peaceful, including the Tublat-Kerchak war that had been raging deeper in the depths of the Congo Jungle. During that time, Tarzan would be given English lessons by Professor Porter and Jane as a reward for him showing them around the jungle. Also during this time, Clayton would be constructing a smaller camp with the help of a few rogue Belgian and English troops who followed closely to him instead of the other two respective leaders.
Unbeknownst to all parties involved, Kerchak would be on patrol to see if any of Tublat's forces had crossed the boundary into his territory. During one of his walk-abouts, the alpha ape would discover Clayton's camp, it was encroaching on his territory…upon seeing the camp amidst all of the torn down bamboo trees, his eyes would narrow and his teeth would be bared, letting out an enraged growl before storming off, Tarzan would no doubt have to answer for this…
Right now, Jane was showing off a film projector, sliding various images of the world beyond the jungle to Tarzan, who stared at the screen in wonder, going on all fours and approaching it with a look of curiosity. Clayton sat unamused next to Professor Porter who had a look of pride on his face as his daughter and Tarzan continued to bond further and further.
The Sphinx in Egypt, a musclebound man striking a pose with his arms behind his back, Tartarian architecture in Europe and America with all the castle-like structures, then a castle in Romania, followed by an image of a man and a woman dancing, Jane paused the slideshow there and looked towards Tarzan with a longing expression.
The gorgeous muscles that demonstrated his masculine strength and power, his long hair, and his sexy jawline. Every thing about Tarzan was outright perfect for her! It didn't seem strange at all to her that this man had been raised by gorillas and probably didn't completely understand aspects of human love, but she would be proven wrong when Tarzan suddenly took her hand and began to dance! Mimicking that of the image that had been projected onto the screen that Professor Porter had helped her set up, she squealed playfully and giggled as Tarzan swung her around, she could feel the strength those arms had in them and she allowed to be thrown around, the ape-man being as delicate as he could with a matching smile of burning love.
Having enough of this, Clayton would abruptly switch the image on the screen to the next one, which displayed the planets of the Solar System. The newfound couple abruptly stopped dancing to stare at the screen, Jane giggled as Tarzan stared in dumbfounded, childlike wonder. His jaw dropped and his eyes slightly widened at the sight of Saturn and its large rings.
That night, Professor Porter would lead the two of them to the top of a nearby hill with a telescope. Jane would demonstrate how to use the device, and Tarzan mimicked her movements.
In the night sky was a shooting star, a streak of green light zooming through the white specks in the dark sky in a blink or you'll miss it moment. The ape-man gasped in awe, starting to grow curious of what was beyond the skies above, remembering the images of life outside of Africa being shown to him by Jane during the slideshow earlier that morning, he wondered if there was something beyond the scale of the world they lived on. Jane couldn't help but laugh, it was adorable seeing a grown stud of a man act so curious and childlike.
When the three got back to their camp, Clayton was no longer there. Tired from their trek back to the camp, Jane and Professor Porter would succumb to exhaustion and fall asleep in the chairs that had been set up. Tarzan examined her and noticed that the longer they spent time with each other, the more she began to take on a 'tribal' appearance, only wearing a white blouse and a brown skirt which went down to her knees, her hair no longer stylized and flowing freely down over her shoulders.
While the two were sleeping, Tarzan, having gained basic knowledge of how to use the projector, began another slideshow out of curiosity. The Eiffel tower, a boxer striking a fighting stance, the statue of liberty, a walrus, a steam locomotive, the Mona Lisa, Shakespeare, and lastly, a man proposing marriage to a woman with a bouquet of flowers. Tarzan remembered the image of the same couple dancing in another set of pictures, maybe it was time for him to do the same.
The next morning, Tarzan swung into the camp abruptly, holding a clutch of flowers that he had grabbed from the jungle floor. Unfortunately, he would end up bumping right into Jane, which destroyed them to his dismay.
"Jane!" He exclaimed with surprise.
"Tarzan! Where have you been?" She asked, Clayton heard what was going on and emerged from his tent.
"I was just…uhhh…" Tarzan went to say, looking down at all of the petals laying on the ground at their feet, Jane noticed this as well as the stem in his hand and she gasped with a look of joy on her face.
"Is he seriously wanting to marry her? " Thought Clayton, who stormed towards the two of them, as he made his approach, he could feel pounding vibrations within the ground as if something was coming their way. The poacher couldn't pinpoint the exact location, but the bamboo trees and leaves above them all began to rustle, Tarzan and Jane mistook it for a gentle breeze.
"Y-you want to marry me!?" Jane asked, tears of joy starting to build up in her eyes. Now Tarzan had learned some English, but he didn't understand what 'marry' or 'marriage' meant, his face shifted around in confusion as Jane embraced him.
"I guess I d…" Tarzan wouldn't be allowed to finish as Clayton abruptly interrupted the sentimental moment between him and his love interest, aiming towards him.
"Jacob Dupont will not allow this, I command you to step ba…" Now Clayton would be halted, as a loud roar was heard as the rustling of the trees reached peak intensity, Kerchak came bursting through the shadows, charging towards the couple while pounding his chest. The male gorilla slammed into Tarzan with brute force! Knocking him into Jane and Clayton.
Kerchak attempted to rush past the ape-man, but Tarzan would grab hold of his legs and jump on his back, fastening his arms around his neck in a choke to restrain him as best as he could, grunting and straining against Kerchak's power.
"Go! Go back to the other camp!" Tarzan cried out as he was thrown off Kerchak, smashing against a tree with a thud and a grunt of pain.
Kerchak turned towards Tarzan and pounded one fist against his chest before roaring at the ape-man who stood up and brushed off the pain, taking the hit.
"Stay out of this, Tarzan! You've created more trouble and I'm going to end it before it gets out of hand!" Kerchak bellowed before turning his attention back to Clayton, Jane, and Professor Porter, snarling hatefully at the three.
Before the gorilla could charge again, Tarzan was already on his back, bringing him down once more, locking him into a second chokehold, pressing the ape's face into the ground.
"I said go!" Tarzan growled through his gritted teeth, Jane and Professor Porter were hesitant but forced away by Clayton who stared with rage towards the ape and the ape-man who were wrestling for control, this wouldn't be the last time they would cross paths…
Right when it seemed that Kerchak was fading, he would bite down on to Tarzan's forearm, albeit gently to not hurt his foster son too much. Tarzan growled in pain, leaving him vulnerable for the ape to grab him and hurl him off!
"Tarzan, what are you doing!?" Kerchak roared as he backhanded his son in the gut, launching him against another tree that caused him to collapse on all fours, coughing, spittle flying all over the ground as he stared up at the ape, holding his stomach with one arm, snarling at him.
"They should be left alone!" The ape-man growled as he slowly started to stand up.
"WE should be left alone!" Kerchak boomed, pounding the ground out of anger.
"They don't deserve your wrath…" Tarzan growled as he was finally back to a vertical base.
"YOU don't deserve to live with our kind if you're going to help them out!" Kerchak snapped back, Tarzan would take this to heart and rushed towards his father with a cry of rage, only to run into another vicious backhand that would knock him out.
When Jane, Professor Porter, and Clayton arrived back at the large encampment, they would be greeted by Jacob Dupont as well as several soldiers.
"You three, where the hell have you been!?" Jacob screamed furiously.
"In the jungle, learning about the wildlife." Jane quickly replied, looking towards the ground, to which Jacob noticed.
"Lies…" Jacob growled, preparing to backhand Jane, but his arm was caught by Clayton.
"We tried to make peace…with Tarzan." Clayton revealed with regret in his voice before walking away, not wanting to be part of what was going to come next. Jane's chest grew tight as her heart rate spiked, pounding violently as she started to sweat nervously, her body heating up. She watched as Jacob's facial expressions went from shock to confusion, to plain rage.
"WHAT!?" Jacob roared, getting the attention of everyone, Belgian troops and British troops emerging from their respective tents to investigate the commotion of the infuriated Jacob Dupont.
"Clayton, you were given direct orders to kill Tarzan if you ever seen him!" Jacob barked.
"As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Dupont, I can still kill him with the amount of time that you've set up for me to be here…" Clayton said, trying to remain calm.
"You went against my orders! Do you remember who is paying you!?" Jacob screamed, his face turning blood red, stomping his foot out of his crazed mania.
"Yes, you hired me…However you didn't set a direct deadline of when my service time shall expire, but if you keep behaving like this, I'll leave and let you struggle ever more!" Clayton began to raise his voice, gripping his rifle tighter in his arms.
"You leave and consider all of that money I promised to pay you burnt to cinders!"
"Like hell I need your bloody pay…"
Jacob was stunned into silence as Clayton was approached by Percy Isaacs, a man who also didn't agree with his decisions. The Belgian let out a growl of anger before facing the crowd that was forming outside of the tents.
"Fine! Stroke Percy's cock if you desire, William Cecil Clayton…" Jacob began before facing the Belgian troops that were forever loyal to his cause, whatever it may be.
"As for those who wish to destroy Tarzan, the one who has been making our lives a living hell for many moons at this point. We shall set another example!" Jacob continued before pointing his ornamental saber towards the tree line of the jungle.
"Tarzan and his gang of animals can only hide in that jungle for so long! It is time we quit sending in squadron after squadron to their deaths, it is time we all take initiative. From this moment, moving forward, we tear down that entire jungle!" Jacob finished with an eruption of cheers from British troops and Belgian troops alike, all of them taking up melee weaponry such as machetes or knives, ready to start hacking away at all the trees they could.
"Kerchak, I can explain!" Tarzan cried out as he approached the gorilla den to the sound of all of his family hooting and hollering amongst themselves, judging by the looks of their faces, they were panicking while others were angry. It had been a few hours since he had been knocked out, the sun was starting to set.
"Go ahead, Tarzan! Tell us why you've decided to bring more problems to our jungle!" Kerchak commanded, pounding his fists into the ground while baring his teeth angrily. All eyes now shifted over to Tarzan who paused for a moment, looking around at all who seemed to be disappointed in him.
"Jane, I've met a lovely human lady named Jane. I saved her life on more than one occasion-" Tarzan began, some of the gorillas started to murmur amongst themselves.
"I give it two weeks tops, and that's bein' generous." Terk said while standing next to Tantor.
"Unfortunately, this time around, she wasn't alone. A hunter by the name of Clayton has come along with them, our first encounter was rough, but I think we can squash any quarrels." Tarzan finished, the ape family grew into an uproar of fury, Kala seemed unnerved and distressed, causing her to back away into the shadows with a look of shock.
"You heard him, a hunter! He's allowing poachers to enter the jungle to cause untold amounts of damage!" Kerchak roared.
"I won't allow it, Kerchak. If Clayton tries to kill any of us, I shall swiftly kill him before any damage is done!" Tarzan fired back.
"Then why did I have to come and save you!? He was aiming that weapon right at your head!" Kerchak roared.
Tarzan had nothing to say, he stood there, his gaze shifting to the jungle floor.
"Face it, your love for humanity has brought us more problems. Now we will soon have two threats upon us, and if I'm being honest, I am unsure if we will be able to handle it!" Kerchak bellowed before motioning Tarzan to approach him.
"If you choose to side with the human scum, then you no longer have sovereignty in this jungle. Do you understand, son?" Kerchak asked, strangely calm as he stared Tarzan right in the eyes, nearly nose to nose with the ape-man.
"I will find a way, Kerchak. How dare you even threaten me with this? The jungle will always be my home." Tarzan growled.
"Your love for a human proves me otherwise…"
Tarzan sighed and shook his head, facing the ground before leaving the gorilla den, Kala's face shifted into a look of sorrow as she watched him take a walk of shame into the darkness of the coming night.
"TRAITOR!" Kerchak roared, harassing his own son.
"My son isn't a traitor…" Kala thought to herself before starting to follow Tarzan, keeping herself hidden in the shade to make sure he didn't notice her.
After a while, she would catch him sitting near a cliffside in a clearing, staring up at the moon which was full. Tarzan admired the stars, contemplating whether he could experience what life was like beyond the limits of the world he thought he knew.
"Tarzan…?" Kala asked gently, approaching her son from behind.
"What is it, mother? I wouldn't approach, after all, I'm evidently a traitor…" Tarzan replied with a sigh.
"You aren't a traitor to me." Kala said sweetly, placing her hand on his shoulder and nudging her head into the back of his.
"I don't understand, humans are like us in many ways. I have been taught from birth to now that humans are to be feared, to not be trusted. However, Jane and her father proves me otherwise. There is good out there that we don't see…there are many things out there, that we don't see." Tarzan said, he couldn't understand why Kerchak couldn't see the good in humans. Kala believed that Tarzan couldn't see the unfortunate truth of the matter.
"Tarzan…I want you to come with me, I want to show you something…something that I should have showed you long ago." Kala said, a hint of worry and regret in her voice.
Curious, Tarzan turned around and nodded his head, wanting to discover this secret that his family had kept from him.
It took them around thirty minutes, but they would inevitably find a decent sized treehouse that had been molded on a clutch of trees that rose high over the jungle like some sort of tower. One could see for miles upon miles from the windows of this treehouse.
"A man-made structure?" Tarzan asked, Kala nodded her head.
"Not just any man-made structure." She sighed as she advanced towards the tree house, Tarzan followed after her, walking on his knuckles.
When the two made it to the treehouse, Tarzan entered while Kala stayed outside, she was wanting him to discover who he truly was himself.
Tarzan looked around, the wood that had constructed this old home was rotting and had several holes in it, cobwebs and dust bunnies littered the corners and the ground. Curtains that covered up the windows had been torn to shreds, others just barely hanging up. Furniture had been turned over and torn to shreds, the jungle seemed to start engulfing the home as leaves and shrubbery were growing from within. On a ruined makeshift bed, there was some human clothing, and on the floor near the bed was a circular object that Tarzan picked up and examined, wiping the dust off the front to reveal a grainy black and white image.
A beautiful woman, a man with a mustache and short hair, and an infant.
Tarzan's heart felt heavy, and he gently placed the picture on the bed before a single tear trailed down his cheek. His whole life, he had been a human. His whole life was a lie that was taught to him by his father, he could feel Kala's presence in the house now and without looking at her, he spoke.
"Is that me?" He asked.
There was a pause, a sigh was heard.
"Yes…" Kala replied softly.
"Forgive me mother, but why did Kerchak keep the truth concealed for so long…?"
"When you were found, Tublat was still one of us. Kerchak was softer in those days. Tublat had lost his son and daughter and had an unfortunate run in with the humans. Tublat found this home here and was the one responsible for taking the lives of your true family, Kerchak was the one who saved you. Tublat would be exiled under the agreement that they kept the reality of who you are in the shadows." Kala explained.
"Tublat…" Tarzan said.
"Yes, Tublat is the one who has caused all our problems. Don't think for a second that it is you." Kala said sweetly.
"Understand, that no matter who you really are. You will always be my son…" Kala continued as tears ran down her face, her voice shaky.
"I love you, mother…" Tarzan said softly as he crouched down and embraced the one that he had called his mother for so long.
The sentimental moment would unfortunately not last long, a loud boom rocked the treehouse, sounds of pieces of wood hitting against the floor were heard immediately afterwards as well as the sound of a gorilla roaring furiously, it belonged to that of an old one…old Tublat…
"TUBLA-" Tarzan went to scream but was knocked against the wall, which nearly broke open when his body smashed against it following a nasty backhand from the old one, Kala gasped, unable to defend herself as he knocked her to the ground.
"Leave my mother alone you son of a dog!" Tarzan screamed, charging Tublat and tackling him against the wall, the old gorilla thrashed and rolled around violently as Kala tried to squirm away, but Tublat would sink his teeth into Tarzan's arm, forcing a yell of pain from the ape-man before being slung off and thrown to the side like a sack of potatoes.
Little did Kala and Tarzan know that Tublat had taken Tarzan's birth home and turned it into his own personal lair, where he overseen operations as the war for territory between his family and Kerchak's family raged on, the mother and son duo had walked right into a trap that they never saw coming.
Tarzan, desperate to stop old Tublat, grabbed hold of a shard of wood before plunging it into the meaty shoulder of the rival gorilla from behind as he pinned Kala against the wall. Tublat roared in pain before turning around and smashing Tarzan with another nasty backhand that knocked him to the floor.
Tublat grabbed hold of Kala again and once more did he pin her down, opening his maw to prepare to sink his teeth into her head, the bite force would undoubtedly crush her skull. The grizzled and old gorilla would see Tarzan coming from behind within his peripheral vision and as the ape-man tried for a punch, his arm would be caught and crushed by the immense grip strength. Tarzan yelped out a cry of anguish as he could feel the bones in his wrist and forearm start to crunch before he was launched through the wall, just barely hanging on over a ledge that would prevent him from falling several hundred feet to his death.
By the time he managed to get back on his feet, it had been too late, as he would see Kala laying limp with the incisors of Tublat deep in her temples.
"MOTHER!" Tarzan cried out, watching her motionless body slump after being killed by the enemy.
"Face it, Tarzan. You let your family lie to you your whole life, does that not enrage you!?" Tublat yelled, pounding his fists into the ground.
"At least my family loved and cared for me…unlike you…" Tarzan growled, his lips quivered, his heart heavy after seeing his mother he had grown to love die before him. Letting out a war cry, the ape-man would pound his chest and charge just to get knocked out cold by a single punch from Tublat.
"If you can't accept the things you cannot change, then you will never grow. As far as I'm concerned, you're still immature, still childish…" Tublat insulted the unconscious Tarzan before slipping away into the night.
When Tarzan came to, he would wake up in a different place than he remembered being at. Feeling cool liquids slosh over his beefy body, he would see a concerned Terk and Tantor looking down over him.
"T, you alright?" Terk asked softly, brushing her hand through his hair.
"I guess, what's going on? Where am I?" Tarzan asked as he sat up.
"We found you at a treehouse…we found Kala…at a treehouse…" Terk replied, just then, Tarzan began to remember what happened.
"Kala…KALA!" Tarzan cried out before suddenly bursting up and rushing out of the watering hole, running as fast as he could towards the gorilla den.
Up on the ridge, the body of the deceased Kala was seen. Tarzan's heart grew heavy again, a wave of emotions hitting him like a ton of bricks. Seeing all the gorilla's mourning her loss, children clinging to their mothers as their mothers wept, some of the children were crying too. The fathers and the males that chose to stay behind and watch over the den stood strong, but their heads hung low in defeat and despair.
The gorillas cleared the way for Tarzan to kneel beside his mother, slowly embracing her, knowing she would never do the same again. Knowing she couldn't feel the love being given to her would cause Tarzan to rear his head back and wail in agony into the night sky, which would be interrupted by a red hot Kerchak who burst through the shrubbery and brutishly knocked Tarzan away!
Kerchak rushed towards the downed Tarzan and went for a fatal blow with a hammer fist, but Tantor's trunk wrapped around his large wrist and tugged back, the alpha gorilla tried with his other hand, but Terk was there and restrained his other arm. Tears of frustration and sorrow were seen rushing down his face.
"YOU CAUSED THIS!" Kerchak howled, his voice breaking as he couldn't hold back the emotions of losing his beloved mate.
"Kerchak…I…" Tarzan was too broken and humiliated to speak, but it wouldn't matter.
"Tublat's forces are closing in, they are gaining ground!" Kerchak roared, trying to pull away from Terk and Tantor but he just couldn't break free from Tantor's grip.
Tarzan remained silent and allowed himself to get an ass chewing from the alpha, in his mind, he knew he deserved it.
"Not only is Tublat getting close to overtaking our land, and driving us out of our home, but your actions have caused the humans to get close." Kerchak growled, Tarzan had enough of the humans being demonized and felt that it was time for him to put his foot down.
"I have grown sick of you talking down humans! You must make a believer out of me, Kerchak. Show me the humans, give me the evidence that they are drawing near!" Tarzan boomed, Kerchak snarled and tried to rip himself away to no good.
"If your friends would let me go, perhaps I can show you the irreversible damage you've brought upon us…" Kerchak grumbled, causing Tantor and Terk to reluctantly release him.
It took Kerchak everything in his power to keep himself from killing Tarzan, but he remembered that even though he was different and looked different, he was still his son.
"Come with me…" Kerchak growled, Tarzan followed his foster father into the treetops, allowing both of them to see for miles.
"Look there…" Kerchak advised, pointing North. Tarzan had to squint his eyes shut to see what had been happening, and upon closer inspection, the sight hit him like a ton of bricks.
The glows of the large encampment were seen, it used to be hidden by a dense patch of jungle, but now that patch was gone. Tarzan's jaw dropped and a gasp of worry was heard from him.
"They are going to tear down every inch of this jungle, soon we will have no place to hide, and we cannot afford to fight two wars for territory all at once, we don't have the numbers like we used to. If the humans reach us, we're as good as dead…" Kerchak warned.
"Kerchak, don't think like that." Tarzan pleaded just to hear a cynical laugh from his father.
"Sorry, Tarzan, but I can't help but see that the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to dim more and more by the day. I'm already sending out scouts to look for various locations deeper in the jungle to build another den…It's getting ugly out there, Tarzan."
Tarzan fell silent for a moment, and it would be Kerchak who would break it.
"You caused this, son. I can't have you betraying my trust any longer. I hope you realize that this is for your own good, but Tarzan…Leave this perimeter, and never return until I see you as trustworthy yet again." Kerchak instructed Tarzan, without uttering a word, to leap from the treetops and rush through the jungle, holding back tears as Kerchak watched him with a sigh.
A few hours would pass by, it would be midnight, the jungle had fell silent. Mostly everyone at the encampment would be asleep safe for Jacob who was doing a quick patrol around the tents to make sure nothing bad was happening. He looked to the tree line and admired the handiwork that the men done today, a damn near acre of land had been torn from the jungle by use of cannons. A sinister, satisfied grin would spread across his face before heading for his tent to rest for the night.
Sleep would arrive, but it wouldn't last long.
The sound of screaming and beastly growling was heard from outside of his tent, Jacob, Clayton, and Percy would all scramble awake with a few troops coming to their aid.
"There! I see it the-AAGH!" A troop screamed before being taken down by something unseen, the hearts within all whom were awake were hammering against their chest, their heads on swivels. Gunfire was heard, Clayton heard something moving within the brush and opened fire out of instinct.
"What the hell is going on!?" Jacob screamed, most of the troops had filed out of their tents and begun to investigate what was happening.
"Do you see that in the distance?" Percy asked as he approached Jacob, standing beside him. The Belgian squinted his eyes as he looked into the direction where Percy was pointing and would see the silhouette of a muscular stud standing up on a ridge, his body illuminated by the moon's light.
"Tarzan…" Jacob growled as Clayton approached the men from behind, standing between them.
"TARZAN!" Jacob screamed at the top of his lungs, pointing his ornamental saber towards the ape-man's silhouette as two other silhouettes joined him on the ridge, two mane-less male lions had been sent to attack the camp, undoubtedly under the control of Tarzan.
Hundreds of troops stared into the distance at the silhouette of Tarzan and his lion allies as he knelt to do something with what the lions brought him. Everyone was appalled to see what Tarzan would do next.
Tarzan would rise back up, in each hand was a disembodied head of two soldiers that the lions dragged out of their tents. As soon as he put the heads on display, Tarzan's signature yell was heard, followed by the lions roaring. The Congo jungle wasn't going down without a fight…
Jacob turned towards all the troops that had rallied up behind him, especially the Belgian soldiers that had been with him in that same location since the day they arrived.
"Men! Rest as well as you can, when everyone awakens tomorrow from their slumber, the Congo shall burn!" He screamed, his voice echoing into the night…
A/N: Hello everyone! It has been a while since this story has last been updated and honestly, I haven't really had the time to work on it. I have begun to start taking steps outside of FanFiction to write some original works as I officially begin my journey as an author. Not only has my journey writing my original works cut into the time to write this story or any other piece of FanFiction, also I have a new job that takes away time.
I am certainly going to finish this story, and continue writing works on this site, but understand that they won't come out as frequently as they used to in the past. When this story finishes, it will probably be a little while before another story comes out.
For those of you that have been following me on this site since the beginning, I would like to sincerely thank you for the patience you've had as you watched me grow. Stay tuned for the next chapter of Tarzan: The Story Re-Told, it's about to get real ;)- KaijuCrazy02