The next chapter is up! Enjoy :)
The pair was wet and exhausted as they trekked through the woods looking for a place to settle down for the night.
The only thing they had going for them was that it was warm out. Otherwise, they would've been cold, wet, and miserable. Though as soon as that thought hit them, they started to hear a rumble in the sky over them.
Not five minutes later, it started raining; hard.
"You gotta be kidding me." Galen grumbled.
For some reason, Noelle couldn't find it in her to be annoyed or mad though. She was just still happy that they were still alive. At least the rain won't kill them.
"Look at it this way, Galen. You'll be extra clean for a while." She said, with a small smirk as it continued to downpour on them.
In truth, she liked walking through the rain on hot summer nights. She found it to be refreshing on her heated body.
The chimp just shifted his gaze to her, giving her the stink eye. Noelle couldn't help but silently chuckle a little at the look he was giving her. He looked like a pissed off cat, that was just shoved into a sink filled with water for its bath.
He snorted, "If that's the case, I hope this means I won't hear any complaints from you for a long while about me smelling bad."
"Ehh, at least not for another day or so." She teased.
As much as the chimp tried to stay annoyed at the young woman, he just couldn't. The playful smirk on her drenched face was rather contagious and he too couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his face.
Then there was a bright flash followed by a particularly loud clap of thunder that had Noelle flinching and covering her ears. While Galen let out a startled yelp.
"We still need to find shelter somewhere. Being out while it's thundering is not safe. Don't fancy being electrocuted after just almost drowning not an hour or two earlier." He said, over the downpour.
"I know, but where can we go? We are in the middle of the woods in the middle of nowhere." She said.
To make matters worse, the wind started to pick up. It made the rain pelt them a little harder and they had to shield their faces from it with one of their hands.
Noelle stumbled on a small, slippery rock as they continued on.
Galen saw her stumble and reached out to grab her arm. He didn't let go, he held onto her arm as they picked up the pace going through the dark woods.
Between the heavy rain and it now being early nighttime, it was getting difficult to see.
They must've been walking hastily through the woods, when one of them swore they saw a clearing not too far off from their position.
"Look! Is that a clearing up ahead through those trees?" She said loudly to Galen over the strong winds.
He followed her outstretched arm as she pointed ahead and to the right.
Galen squinted his eyes and stared hard through the deluge. It took several seconds, but he did see that there were less trees that way. Which can only mean two things, it was just an open field, or there could be a village or even a home over there.
He truly hoped it was the latter and not some open field.
"Let's head over there." Galen told her.
He still had ahold of Noelle's left arm and started leading her over there. She didn't object and quickened her pace to keep up with him as he pulled her through the storm.
It took them several more minutes, but they eventually got there.
When they broke the tree line, they looked ahead and around. It was still pretty difficult to see through the thick downpour. But several meters to the left, they saw a very large, dark object.
They eventually saw that it wasn't a clutter of trees, it had a boxy shape to it, like a house.
"It looks like possibly either someone's dwellings or a barn. Let's go." Galen partly shouted to her over the roaring wind.
Instead of walking, they ran the rest of the way. Thunder was still clapping above them, mixing in with the loud sound of the wind, and rain.
When they got there, they realized it was a barn. They walked around it, trying to find the door. Which they eventually found on the right side.
Galen grabbed the door to open it. At first, he had a hard time getting it open. Noelle went to help him, and with a hard tug, the dilapidated wooden door opened.
It didn't open all the way as it dragged across the ground. They opened it just enough to squeeze inside.
Once they were inside the barn, they closed the door. A door that they noticed was missing a couple planks and was hanging slightly off the hinge.
When they got it closed enough, they back away with a sigh of relief.
It was nice to get out of that nasty storm. They were lucky to find this place and actually have a roof over their heads even if that roof was a bit leaky.
The pair couldn't see much in there, it was quite dark.
Noelle pulled her sack off her back and started rummaging through it. She was glad that she remembered she had a plastic Ziploc bag in there and she had her iPhone and air pods in it so, they wouldn't get wet, if she somehow found herself in the water again.
She pulled her phone out, which was thankfully still dry, thanks to the tough plastic bag.
She then tapped the screen, making it light up. Then she went into her settings and tapped the flashlight symbol. The little light appeared right away.
Galen found it fascinating, that this phone of hers even had a light. It was like it really had everything you could think of.
Noelle pointed it to their surroundings and looked around the area. They saw some very old and scraggily hay in some areas, along with a few stalls. There was also a hayloft above them with a very old rickety wooden ladder that had seen better days and was either missing a couple rungs or a couple were broken.
It was clearly a barn. But it definitely looked like it had seen better days. There were also no animals present.
"Looks abandoned." She said.
"I agree. Otherwise, there would have been upkeep to it and there would've been animals in those stalls." Galen replied.
"Well, at least it beats having to ask the owners if we can stay here the night." Noelle stated.
"Yes, and most importantly, we're not getting wet anymore and don't have to worry about getting struck by lightning." Galen says.
"Or blown away by that wind." She added.
An amused grin appeared on his face.
"Yes, you're so little, it looked like that if I didn't have a grasp on your arm, you would've been blown away." He teased.
"Haha, funny how even as an adult, I'm still the butt of every short joke." Noelle retorted with a roll of her eyes.
Galen chuckled, "So, I take it you got it a lot then in the past?"
"You have no idea. Was called everything from shrimp to small fry to midget. All throughout my school years since day one in kindergarten just about up to junior high." She replied.
He didn't know what she meant by junior high but speculated it may have to do with continued schooling. Alan and Pete told him a little about the education system in their time.
It still both intrigued and baffled him that humans were highly educated in those days and how far down the rung they have come since then.
Nowadays, just about all humans don't know how to read or write, let alone create advanced tech, machinery, and medicine.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I got teased for a little while myself as a child by some of the other children." He told her.
"Really? Why is that?" Noelle asks.
"Let's find a place in here to relax and get comfortable first. Then we'll continue our conversation." Galen replied.
"Fair enough. Really do want to sit down right about now. Still a bit wiped out from that 'joyride' down the river." She says.
He nodded, then the two of them searched for a suitable place to sit and eventually lay down to sleep.
Noelle was still utilizing the flashlight on her phone and was shining it around to see what area looked the most comfortable. After a couple more minutes, they found one fairly large stall that still had a decent amount of dead hay and loose soil in it.
"How about here?" She asks, as she shifts her gaze to the chimp next to her.
He looked around briefly before turning to her with a nod.
"Yes. This will work." Galen said.
They walked in and sat down near a corner where the most hay was.
Then they leaned back against the wall to relax. It really was nice to finally sit inside a dry place and the ground was fairly soft too from the slight layer of dead hay and soft soil.
"I never really did thank you, did I?" Galen suddenly said, out of the blue as they sat next to each other.
Noelle opened her eyes and shifted her gaze to him.
"Thank me, for what?" She inquires.
He gave her a small smile, "For saving my life. I sure I would've drowned if not for you."
Noelle gave him a small smile back, "You're welcome. Though, you don't really need to thank me. I just did what any decent human being would've done."
"Still, I wouldn't have blamed you for not wanting to jump in. You could've easily been killed as well. Yet, you still came in after me anyway." Galen says.
"Like I said, it was the right thing to do." She repeated.
There was a brief moment of silence between them, before either of them spoke again.
"Are you hungry at all? I still believe I have food in my pack. I'm fairly certain I didn't lose anything in the river." He told her.
"Same here. And sure, thanks." Noelle replied.
Galen leaned forward slightly and shrugged his pack off. Then he opened the top and started rifling through it. He grimaced when his hand came in contact with his blanket, which was still quite wet.
Then his hand came in contact with his waterskin, then some of the food right next to it. He pulled both items out.
Galen gave her a couple pieces of fruits and vegetables and then kept a few pieces for himself. It wasn't much, but it was something and at least they had some food to put in their stomachs for the night.
Noelle slid her sack off of her shoulders and pulled her water bottle out.
As she did, her hand bumped another object inside her sack. Noelle reached in again and pulled it out. Then set it on her lap. It was her book.
Galen eyed the book that he could make out through the flashlight on the iPhone. She had placed the light face up between the outer part of their hiked-up legs between themselves.
"You had a book in there." He stated.
Then he read the title.
"A swift guide to Butterflies of North America." He read aloud.
"It's my field guidebook on butterflies in this country. Has just about every single species of butterflies labeled in there. Complete with some beautiful photos of many of the different species." She explained.
He tilted his head, "May I?" He asks.
"Sure. Though, it may not be in the best shape after getting drenched by being in the water." She warned him.
Galen nodded and carefully took it as she offered it to him with her free hand.
The pages were indeed still a bit wet, but he was very careful going through the pages. He skimmed some of the passages and became intrigued with the very sharp and crisp colored photos in the book.
The pictures showed a wide variety of beautiful and brightly colored butterflies.
"Looks like a very fascinating read and very informative of the native butterfly species here. I'm fairly certain I saw a couple of these butterflies around here." He says, pointing to the name and pictures of a couple different butterflies.
"A Veined Blue Gossamerwing and a Acmon Blue Gossamerwing. Yeah, judging by the tiny map in the corner of their picture, it shows their range to be around these parts." Noelle stated, as she eyed the pictures.
"The names are different than what some of our scientists call them though. I can't really recall the names we call them. But I just remember they are different than what they are labeled in this book." Galen says.
He flipped through the book a little longer, before closing it and handing it back to Noelle.
She took it back and put it back in her sack. Then leaned back again against the wooden wall behind her. They could still hear the storm raging outside, the wind and rain batted hard against the top and sides of the barn.
Some of the rain was coming in through some holes in the roof.
But at least the area they were in, it was completely dry with no leaks over them. The barn may have been old and decrepit, but it was doing its job at keeping them out of the elements.
Every now and then, they would still hear claps of thunder over them. Some of it was still quite loud.
"Hopefully, this storm will be passing over soon." Galen said.
"Yeah, maybe a little hard to sleep with all that noise." Noelle replied.
She felt funny saying that though, seeing as she always slept with a white noise machine on right next to her on her nightstand.
She doesn't feel it may be the pounding rain that would keep her up. But the thunder. Some of the strikes were quite loud. As much as she never really minded thunderstorms, she really didn't like them when they came in the middle of the night and woke her up and kept her up for the duration until the past.
"I can recall a time, where I actually used to be afraid of thunderstorms as a small child. The loud booming noises frightened me, and I was always scared that our house would get struck by lightning and catch fire." Galen said.
A small smile came to her face.
"Sounds like you had quite the vivid imagination as a kid. But I can understand your fear. I was afraid of the thunder too when I was a little kid. I always had sensitive ears and would have to always jam my fingers in them whenever there was a particularly loud clap of thunder. I would leave my bedroom and go stay with my parents in their room." Noelle told him.
"Well, look at that. Something we actually had in common." He said with an amused grin.
"Yeah, shocker there." She replied.
His grin widened, "You weren't wrong though. I did have quite imagination as a child. The crazy stories I'd tell my parents either had them laughing or shaking their heads with how ridiculous they came out.
My father especially would always say the same after I was done telling my wild stories. It kind of went something like this. 'Oh, come now, Galen. When are you going to grow up?'" Galen said in a deep rumbly tone, imitating his father in a teasing way.
A grin split Noelle's face and she started to chuckle at the ridiculous voice he used.
His own smile grew bigger when he saw and heard her laugh. It was a rather nice one and had a pleasant sound to it. Something, he wouldn't mind hearing again.
"You think that is funny? You should hear my impression of one of my old tutors. I swear he always sounded like he gargled gravel before coming into teach." Galen told her.
"Alright class, first thing on our agenda today is no funny business, and I want you to pull out your slates and chalk and write down I will follow every class rule about ten times before we start." He said, in a deep guttural, gravelly voice.
Noelle couldn't hold it in anymore, between the voice and the hand gestures, she started laughing.
"What!? No! No way did he really sound like that!" She said between laughs.
"I swear it is true. Trust me when I say, you cannot make this stuff up." He swore.
"If you say so." Noelle replied.
"I know so, I was there after all. Used to flick spit balls at his back when he wasn't looking and had his nose to the large chalk board behind him. Use to keep score of how many I could land and stick on the back of his shirt." Galen said, with a large smirk and mischievous glint in his eyes.
The young woman started to laugh a little again.
"Ok, I think I get it. You were most likely the devil as a kid. Can't imagine what it would've been like if I had you in my classroom as a student. Probably would've ended up throwing you out the window." She teased.
"Nope, I'm sure I would've been an angel in your class. Because unlike most of my tutors, you seem like you would be a fun tutor and not a boring one with no sense of humor whatsoever. Would've probably brought you an apple or two every now and then as well." Galen teased.
"Yeah, apples with worms in them maybe." She retorted.
"No, never worms." He assured her.
"Well, thanks." Noelle said.
"Probably some beetles or maggots here and there, but never worms." Galen playfully added.
"You really make me want to start checking the food you give me to eat before I actually eat it." She quipped.
The chimp rubbed his chin, pretending to be deep in thought.
"Well, I don't know about bugs, but that one apple I did give you, I'm certain it was the same one I rubbed under my pits after you stated how smelly I was earlier. Was hoping the sweet scent of the apple would somewhat hide some of the 'odor' I was giving off." He joked.
"You better be joking, otherwise next body of water we come across, I may just drown your furry ass myself." She playfully threatened.
"Again, with the insults. My bottom is not that 'furry' as you so put it." He said, feigning hurt.
"I find that hard to believe since about ninety-five percent of your body is covered in fur." Noelle pointed out.
"Oh, and how would you know that? Unless you saw me unclothed, which you didn't." He countered.
"I've seen apes from my time. Each species was quite the hairy lot. I doubt it has changed all that much since then." She replied.
"Perhaps not, but the females didn't seem to mind my overt hairiness. In fact, I think it's one of the many qualities they found attractive about me." Galen said with a wide smirk.
"And how many of these females were blind or desperate?" Noelle joked.
"Hah! None, thank you very much!" He fired back.
"Yeah, and how many of them were you actually brave enough to talk to without chickening out and running away?" She countered.
"I have talked to all of them without the need to run away. And they were quite taken by my words and me." Galen replied, still not backing down at what seemed like a little game they unknowingly started.
"Or they couldn't get a word in and tell you to buzz off when they had the chance and were probably relieved once you left after chewing their ear off." Noelle quipped.
He arched an eye ridge at her. While she just gave him a look back.
"You really are a hard one to crack, aren't you? And quite stubborn might I add." Galen stated.
"Just about as much as you claim to be a stud with the ladies." Noelle piped back, with a smirk.
He eventually shifted his gaze away with a small huff.
"Well, it usually works." He muttered under his breath.
She just chuckled at his last remark. He really was quite animated at times, and something told her he had a tendency to be quite a ham or have a flare for theatrics.
"Sure, it does." She said sweetly while patting his shoulder.
His gaze shifted back to the young woman sitting beside him.
"Anyone ever tell you that you can be quite the pain at times?" He inquired.
"All the time. But thanks for reminding me." She said, with a teasing smirk.
At that, Galen laughed a little at her witty remark and the look she gave him.
'Something tells me, she can be quite the little firecracker when she wants to be. Probably doesn't take any guff from anyone either.' He thought.
The more he talked with Noelle and got to know her since they rescued her, the more he found her to be rather amusing and fun to talk to. She certainly seemed to be good company, that's for sure.
"You're welcome. And for that, I will be sure to remind you as much as possible. That way you never forget." Galen joked.
"And this is why I don't see how you could be popular with the ladies. Because it seems like you sure as hell don't know how to compliment them." She teased.
"Only you, because you're an exception." He teased back.
Noelle considered it lucky if she met other people in her time that had half the sense of humor she did. Yet, here was this 'ape' who seemed to have just that. He certainly was the complete opposite of the gorillas she first ran into upon arriving here, that's for sure.
"Gee, now I feel special." She sarcastically replied.
"I wouldn't say that too loud around here. Most people around these parts may perceive the meaning of 'special' a little differently than you do." Galen joked.
It took a moment to click, but when it did, her mouth dropped open a little.
"Galen, you jerk!" Noelle said, then lightly punched his arm, which made him chuckle and lightly flinch.
"What? I hear some may find that attractive in others." He continued teasing her.
Then he yelped when she flicked his nose.
"Keep talking, buddy. There are plenty of other body parts for me to hit." Noelle playfully threatened.
"Ok, ok, I give." He said, holding up his hands in surrender.
"Good, because next smart retort from you, and I was going to nail you over the head with my bag." She told him.
"Such a violent little thing you are. You know, they say there are plenty of other healthier outlets for venting your frustrations and anger." Galen said.
"Really? I haven't noticed." Was her response, dripping with sarcasm.
"Don't worry, I'm sure I can give you a few examples if you like." He teased.
"I doubt they would be good examples, so, no." Noelle told him.
"Alright, then. Be that way." He replied.
There were a few moments of silence, when Galen reached between them and picked up her iPhone from the hay covered ground.
Within the short time Noelle showed him how her iPhone works, he was quick to realize it was rather easy to learn how to utilize. He went to her iTunes Library and tapped on one of her playlists.
He lightly scrolled through a few songs before handing her the phone.
"You can pick something. After all, you're way more familiar with this music than me." Galen said.
Noelle took her phone. She instead went to some of her newest downloads and tapped on one of her newest songs that was one of her favorites. Not a moment after, the soft tunes of the song started to flow from the phone's small speakers.
She went running Paper ticket in hand A pair of iron wings Took her to another land Took her to another land
Ooh, there's a thick fog hanging Ohh, ooh, there's a black dog howling In my garden
He went running Green bottle in hand Slumped in his kitchen Took him to another land Took him to another land
Ooh, there's a thick fog hanging Ooh, ooh, there's a black dog howling In my garden
~Instrumental Break~
I went running From faith and fear But it came coming Did you think I wouldn't find you here Did you think I wouldn't find you here
You silly little girl You silly little girl You silly little girl
"Pretty, though a tad depressing." Galen said.
"Perhaps, but I find it to be more beautiful than depressing." Noelle replied.
She went to say something else but ended up stifling a yawn instead.
Galen saw this too.
"I think we should try to get some sleep." He told her.
Noelle couldn't help but agree with him. She then moved forward away from the wall and began to lay down on the hay and dirt covered ground. Her clothes were still damp which made it a tad hard to get comfortable.
Galen laid down next to her.
The pair found themselves facing each other. There was silence between them for several moments. Until Noelle spoke up.
"Do you think...they will be able to find us?" Noelle asked.
Galen was silent for a moment before answering.
"I like to believe they will. We've never failed each other before. Don't believe there is a reason to now." He told her.
While something like this has never happened before during their journey, he always had faith in Alan and Pete. The three of them always seemed to show up in the nick of time to save the other.
There was no reason to doubt them.
"You think they will find us, before...those gorillas find us first?" Noelle hesitantly asked.
Galen could tell she was a bit worried about Urko and his troops getting to them.
Without thinking, he slowly reached up and grasped her hand that was resting between them on the ground and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Even if Alan and Pete don't find us right away, I believe Urko, and his men will find it difficult to do so. Especially, since it would take them a few days to get around the river. It does stretch many miles both north and south along its embankment." Galen assured her.
"Where...are we going to go in the meantime?" Noelle asks.
He was silent for a moment before answering.
"Wherever we can. It's not like we ever had a set course on this journey to begin with. We just walk and see where the road takes us." He told her.
"Fair enough." She replied.
Galen gave her a small smile.
"Good night, Noelle." He said.
"Good night." She says.
Exhaustion made its presence known once more and a few minutes later, they fell asleep.
Galen still had ahold of Noelle's hand as they slept through the night with the storm raging on outside the old, abandoned barn they took up shelter within. They maybe didn't know what would happen tomorrow. But for now, they will sleep on it.
I don't own the song or the lyrics. The song is called 'Black Dog' by Sophie Morgan.
It appears that even though they have been separated, they are trying to remain in high spirits while growing a little closer with each other. Perhaps this new challenge in their journey will be the start of something new between them.
Until Next Time ;)