The next chapter is up! Enjoy :)
Galen found himself wandering towards the jail cells right outside city limits where he knew the humans were being held.
He knocked on the front door and they allowed him inside. Then he requested to see the human prisoners. Afterwards, they walked him down the hall, passing a few cells as they went.
Before they came to a stop at one door on the right. They opened the door and allowed him in.
Galen went inside and saw the two men sitting down off to the side. But noted that the human woman known as Kristin was not in there with them.
For some reason, a small part of him was concerned and a little worried on where she may be.
"What do you want?" Pete asks.
"I just came to ask a few questions." Galen stated.
Pete snorted, "Feel free to do so. Apparently, we have all the time in the world in here."
The chimp either didn't catch on to the hint of sarcasm or chose to ignore it. He nodded then knelt down in front of the two astronauts.
"Where is your friend? The female?" Was the first question her asked.
"From what we heard, they put her in another cell. They said something about keeping us separate." Alan said.
Well, at least now he knew she was still within the vicinity. He will pay her a visit once he was done asking the two men some questions first.
"Everything, I saw in that book was true, wasn't it?" He inquired.
"We told you it was." Alan said, as a matter of fact.
Galen sighs, "Ugh, it's so hard to believe..."
"You could say that again." Pete said, cutting him off.
"It's just that I was taught to believe humans eh...uhhh? Well...it's just...so...Where...where you come from are all humans as intelligent as you are?" He asks.
Pete smiled, "Right now, I think they were all twice as smart."
Finally, Alan decided to break the silence.
"Galen, are there any humans in this world that have built anything? Machines?" He pushed.
Alan was a bit disappointed when Galen said no.
Then he asked about where Urko got the bomb. And Galen told him from Zaius's study. Though he was unsure why he would ask. Even Pete asked why it matters.
That's when Alan started going on about an elaborate story about getting ahold of one of those bombs and getting someone to tell them about the ones who made it and how these people could possibly help them get back if he could just get ahold of that magnetic disc on the ship and have them run it through a computer.
Of course, Pete just looked at him like he's nut and stated that he was out of his mind.
While Galen asks what a computer was.
But Alan wasn't put off. He went on.
"And maybe those humans that made that grenade, are still here on Earth. And they may have the knowledge to..."
"To what? Build a spaceship and a computer?" Pete said, cutting him off.
"Yeah! Maybe." Alan argued back.
"What is a computer?" Galen asked again.
Then Alan sat back down and addressed Galen once more. He asked him if he wanted to see their world. Of course, the young chimp's eyes lit up at the idea.
Galen toyed back and forth with the notion, indecisive with his answer.
Then Alan asked him to help them get out of there and that's when the mood changed drastically.
Galen gave him an incredulous look.
"Certainly not! Just because I find you two interesting to talk to doesn't mean that I am going to commit treason!" He blurted out while standing up.
"I'm sorry, but I would like to talk to you more later about it Perhaps, come back later tonight?" He added.
Pete sighs, "Be our guests."
"Thank you." Galen said with a smile.
Then he went to the door and peaked through the small opening.
"Open up." He asked the guard on the other side of the door.
Then he looked back to the two men.
"I am sorry." He said, with sympathy.
They gave him a brief nod.
He gave them one last look as the door opened to allow him out.
Once he was gone, Pete looked over at Alan.
He sighs, "Nice try."
Once the door closed with the two astronauts locked back in, Galen turned to the guard again.
"I would like to see the female." He stated.
The guard eyed him for a couple moments, then gestured for the chimp to follow him.
They only walked down about ten more feet, before they came to a stop in front of one of the doors on the left. He put the keys in and unlocked it then opened the door for him.
Right before Galen was about to walk in, the guard spoke.
"Be careful with this one. She attacked at least one of the guards earlier when she was brought in here." He warned.
Galen's eyes widened slightly. She did? That was both surprising and unbelievable. If the guards were to be attacked in any way, he would have thought it would've been one or both of the astronauts.
He knew from the brief times talking with her that she had a fiery spirit and a smart mouth. But he didn't think it would equate to her being violent.
Still, he likes to think she wouldn't attack him.
Regardless, Galen nodded at the guard, then he proceeded to walk into her cell. The guard closed the door behind him, leaving the young chimp alone with the human woman.
Galen was barely across the room when he saw her lift her head up and look at him.
Kristin was sitting against the back wall with her knees tucked up to her chest. She was resting her head on top of her arms that were sitting on top of her knees, surprisingly her wrists were still bound together, when she heard the door open.
She heard the guard warn someone about her attacking one of those assholes earlier. But that's all she heard. Then the door closed, and she heard someone coming towards her.
And that is when she lifted her head off of her arms and looked up to see who it was.
Kristin was surprised to see it was Galen. He stood there and watched as his eyes widened a little and his mouth parted somewhat as he took in her appearance.
Her eyes were a bit bloodshot and her cheeks a little damp. He also saw the area around her lower cheek and jaw were red and there was a smear of blood on the corner of her mouth.
"What do you want?" She asked, barely above a whisper.
Galen approached her and slowly knelt down in front of her.
"What happened?" He asked, concerned.
She was silent for a moment, before finally answering.
"Ask one of your friends outside." She spat.
He slowly balled his fists in anger.
'Those brutish bastards! Striking a small female like this. And while her hands are still bound.' He angrily thought.
"I'm so sorry. But...why did you attack them?" He asks, wanting to know why it happened.
"Because one of those perverted bastards grabbed my chest. That's why." She grounded out.
As she said this, a small, stray tear left her eye and rolled down her sore cheek.
His nails were digging into his palms now as his anger really started to boil over. It was bad enough that they hit her. But they sexually harassed her too and touched her without consent.
Disgusting.
"I am sorry, Kristin." He said, in a soft, gentle tone.
She didn't say anything. Just gave him a sad look. Then turned her gaze away from him and looked to the other corner, trying not to let him see her break down.
"Here." He said.
Then he reached behind him and pulled something out from his side and brought it out front.
She gasped and pressed herself into the wall when she saw he held a large knife. He quickly realized why she was suddenly afraid.
"No, no, don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to cut the rope binding your wrists." He assured her.
Kristin eyed him. While he has been civil with her thus far, she was still unsure if she could fully trust him. But the bindings were tight and uncomfortable.
She gave him a brief nod, then held up her bound wrist.
He gently grasped one of her hands and wrists. Then he brought the knife down on the thin rope and started to saw away at it. The sharp blade cut into it in a matter of seconds.
She instantly felt relief once the tight rope loosened and started sliding off.
Galen carefully unwrapped the rope and took them off her thin, tiny wrists. He frowned when he noticed that the skin on her wrists were red and raw from the rope.
Kristin slowly pulled her hands back and started to lightly rub her wrists.
"I'll be right back; I will get something to treat the cut on your face." He told her, as he stood up and put his knife back in the holder connected to his waist band.
She didn't say anything as he quickly went to the door at the front of the small cell.
"Open up." He said, while banging on it.
Not a few moments later, the guard came and unlocked the door.
"I need a cloth with some water to treat her injury." Was the first thing Galen said to the guard once the door swung open.
"Injury?" The guard questioned.
"Yes, one of your guards struck her and she's bleeding. Now, stop dawdling and tell me where I can get what I need to treat it." He snapped, impatiently.
The guard arched an eye ridge, "Why do you care? She's just some lousy human. And she deserved it for attacking them."
"Are you going to tell me where to get them or not!?" Galen snapped sharply.
"Fine, the medical quarters are back down the hall, take the short hall on the left and it's the first door on the right. You happy now?" The guard quipped.
The chimp narrowed his eyes.
"Hardly." He grounded out.
Then he walked back down the hall and headed toward the medical quarters.
Kristin still sat up against the wall. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess in her mind right now. She almost didn't know what to think about this peculiar chimp.
He just seemed...different from the rest.
She couldn't harp on it for long when she heard the door to her cell open again. She looked up to see that Galen had in fact come back and he was carrying some supplies.
He stopped and knelt down in front of her, setting the supplies down.
One of the things he set down, was a small bowl filled with water. There was a cloth in his other hand. And he started to dip it in the water.
He squeezed some of the excess out before turning his attention back to the young woman sitting before him.
"May I?" He asked, while gesturing to the wet cloth in hand.
There was a small moment of silence before she nodded.
Galen leaned in and started to carefully wipe away some of the dried-up blood that had dribbled from her cut lip and down her chin. Once it was cleaned, he used the cloth to very lightly dab at the cut.
As careful and gentle he tried to be, she flinched a little when he pressed a little harder than he wanted.
"Sorry." He told her.
"It's fine." She quietly said.
When the rest of the blood was finally cleared away, he could see the cut better.
Thankfully, it was smaller than he thought it be and didn't look too bad.
He gently pats it dry with the one end of the cloth that wasn't wet.
Then he pulled out this small vial and uncorked it. He tilted it onto the clean cloth until some came out then afterwards, he pressed the cloth again to her cut.
Whatever it was, it smelled funny.
He held it there for a few seconds, dabbing it on. Before finally pulling it away.
"What's that smell?" She asked while wrinkling her nose.
"It was medicine. It will help prevent infection." He stated.
"One of the ingredients is oils from one of the scent glands in a skunk." He added, with a mischievous look in his eyes and a smirk.
She arched a brow and gave him a look.
"I can only hope your joking. Otherwise, I may take that vial, open it and douse you with it." Kristin retorted.
"I rather you not. Might send everyone running, especially the ladies. And I'm sure there are a couple that quite fancy me and don't want me smelling like skunk." He teased.
A small lopsided smirk appeared on her face.
"Ladies, huh? What ladies? And which one of them did you pay to ask you out?" She joked.
"Hah! We're awfully sassy today, aren't we? Or is this just another way of you saying thank you?" He inquires with a smirk.
Her smile grew a little bigger.
"Thank you." She says.
His own smirk widens, "You're welcome."
There was another brief moment of silence before either of them spoken.
"Why did you come here though?" She asks, her curiosity getting the better of her wondering why this chimp came to see her.
"I had some questions, for your friends. I was very curious about the book and inquired if it did in fact tell the truth. Though it still completely baffles me that it is.
Because it goes against everything I have ever known and learned about growing up. About us and about humans. We were always told that humans were beneath us and unimportant.
Yet, that book tells otherwise. And so do your friends. They told me a lot about your world and how much smarter humans are there. It all surprisingly sounds very fascinating and interesting." He told her.
"It is. And we miss it very much." She said, with a sad look.
Galen could clearly see she was missing her home.
But unfortunately, there really was nothing he could do to help her or the others. Even though Pete and Alan asked him to help, he told them he couldn't. Not without risking treason.
He opened his mouth to say something when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye on the ground next to where she was sitting.
His eyes shifted to the object in question, and he saw it was small, flat, and rectangular.
"What's that?" He asks curiously.
Kristin follows his line of sight and pales.
'Shit! I forgot to put it back in my side pocket when I was looking at it earlier!' She thought.
She picked it up and put it between her stomach and hiked up knees.
"Nothing. I don't want to talk about it." She said.
He tilted his head and scrunched his nose.
"Is it...something you brought with you from your time?" He inquired.
Kristin grasped her knees nervously.
"Please...Galen. Don't tell anyone I have it. I don't want it to be taken away." She says, eyes pleading.
He saw fear in her eyes at the thought of others finding out about the strange object that was in her possession.
As much as he would like to share about this possible find, he didn't want to hurt her by having others pry it away from her and take it. She has already endured so much while stuck here in this cell as it was.
"Alright, I give you, my word." He assured her.
Kristin was still reluctant to trust him.
But those warm brown eyes seem to hold sincerity within them. And he really has been nothing but kind to her. Even if he was a smartass at times.
"Thanks." She said.
"Is there...anything you could tell me? About your world I mean? One of your friends mentioned something about machines and something called a computer. Is the technology really that great?" He asks.
"Yes, yes, it is. We were getting more advanced every day. Making things more effective and useful to both people in various professions and for everyday things." She says.
They chatted about it for about fifteen minutes.
But unfortunately, he couldn't stay much longer. The guards only gave you so much time for a visit. And he knew it was up when the guard banged on the door and told him 'Times up' through the door.
"I'll try and be back tonight. See how you're faring and to talk more." Galen told her.
"Sure. See you later." Kristin replied.
He gathered up the supplies he brought in and stood up.
"Goodbye." He said, with a small nod.
Then he headed for the door.
"Open up." He said, and the door opened.
Galen left and she was shut in yet again.
She can only hope that he will keep his word about not telling anyone about her iPhone. But most of all, she hopes Pete and Alan are alright and if there was some way to find a way out of here.
Until Next Time ;)