The next chapter is here! Enjoy :)
Galen and Noelle have been traveling for the last few days now.
Within that time, they seem to have been getting closer to one another. Though, no one has still mentioned the brief kissed they shared with one another back in Quenton those several nights back.
She still wanted to bring it up but was still too anxious. A part of her was hoping he would possibly bring it up. Yet, it still didn't change the fact that he would still sometimes hold her hand or there were a couple times they woke up a couple mornings holding onto each other in a rather affectionate embrace.
Instead of saying anything about it though, things would just get a little awkward between them and one of them would just say something rather random or they would just start quietly packing their stuff.
It's almost like, neither of them knew what to say about it or why they kept waking up together like that when they know they didn't fall asleep like that. Nor the fact that neither of them admitted that they in fact enjoyed it.
When someone wanted to say something to the other, they would become busy talking about all kinds of other topics seems like they still never run out of things to talk about either.
Galen also never ceases to make her laugh either. He was also very sweet at times to her as well.
It was a little sad, if it had been a different place and time, and he were human, she probably would've asked him out on a date a long time ago.
At the same time, there were things Galen wanted to talk with her about as well. But he still wasn't sure how to address such a topic with her. He maybe comes off as a flirt, but that didn't mean he wasn't nervous about expressing how he was starting to slowly feel for Noelle.
It seems like no matter how many times he tries to convince himself that it's wrong to feel the way he does, because she's a human and not an ape, the more he questions if it is truly wrong at all.
He also believes that it is too soon, and these feelings seem to have come on rather quickly, which made him question if what he feels is real or something else entirely.
Galen tries to keep reminding himself they did only after all meet about a couple weeks prior.
But what he didn't know, is that sometimes, that can be all it takes to form a bond with someone that could eventually turn into something more. If more time was needed, then they had all the time in the world to see where this leads.
They were currently traveling down the road on the horse; at this time, it was starting to get dark. So, that meant they would have to find another camping spot for the night soon.
The pair also noticed that the woods seemed less dense around here with more breaks in the tree line and into the woods.
"I know it's getting dark, but can we try and keep an eye out for any nearby streams or rivers? I'm actually pretty thirsty and I ran out of water in both my water bottle and waterskin. How about you?" She asks.
"Last I checked, my was pretty empty as well. So, yes, we can keep an eye out. I'll also listen to see if I hear running water nearby." He replied.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"How quickly I forget that your hearing is much better than a human." She said.
A smirk appeared on his face.
"That's not that only thing I'm better at." He stated.
Her small smile turned into an amused grin.
"Well, I can tell you right now, it's definitely not your horrible singing. I heard you the other day when you were down by the river filling your waterskin and splashing some water on your face.
I almost came running because it sounded like you were being attacked by a wild animal. Was surprised to see you were fine and were not in any danger." She joked.
Galen's cheeks turned bright pink in embarrassment as he sharply turned to face her.
"Hey!" He blurted out.
Then he heard Noelle laugh as she sat behind him on the horse.
"What!? I'm sorry! But it's true! Singing is definitely not your strong suit! I almost thought it sounded like you were choking at one point!" She said between laughs.
"Oh? And I suppose, you can do better?" He quips.
Her laughter died down, but she still had a smirk on her face.
"I like to think so, since I had voice lessons since I was a kid." Noelle told him.
Galen was surprised to hear that.
He's gotten to know a lot about her these last couple weeks since they met. Though she never once mentioned that. He was pretty surprised to hear it.
"Really? Well, I'll hold you to it. When we find a spot for camp, I'd like to see this for myself." He said.
Who says I want to?" She inquires.
"You mean you can't?" He teased.
"Like I said, better than you. I practically had to shove my air pods in and turn on the music to drown out your horrible screechy voice. I thought you were choking when you tried hitting those low notes." Noelle stated.
"Well, then show me. Though I'll be sure to have my blanket out, just in case I need to stuff the ends in my ears." Galen joked.
She arched a brow and gave him a look.
"Fine. When we set up camp, I will." She said, accepting the challenge.
They continued to chat and joke with each other for the next couple hours after it got dark.
At one point when they stopped for a few minutes, that's when Galen came to a slight stop.
"Why'd we stop?" Noelle asked.
"I think I can hear running water. Just ahead, several meters down on the left not far from the road." He replied.
Noelle sat and listened, straining her ears in the process. But she didn't really hear anything.
"I don't hear anything. But if you say so." She said.
Galen urged the horse forward again and they continued down the dirt road.
When they got closer and the sound grew louder to him, he stopped the horse once more. There was a steep hill that led down the side of the road they were on. It must've gone down a good twenty feet or so.
He thought it maybe too steep for the horse to travel down. At least not without possibly slipping on the loose gravel that dotted the steep hill on the way down.
He also noted there was a cluster of large boulders several yards to the right down there. That seems to be where the sound of water was coming from.
"I still hear it. I believe the water is behind that cluster of boulders down there. Only problem is, it may be too steep to bring the horse down. We could run the risk of her slipping on the loose rocks and gravel and injuring herself on the way down. So, we'll have to dismount and make our way down ourselves to fill the waterskins." Galen informed her.
Noelle was silent for a moment, before speaking.
"You stay here with the horse. I'll grab the waterskins and go down myself to fill them and then come back up." She told him.
He turned to look at her.
"No, Noelle. It's not safe to go down on your own. It wouldn't take much for you to lose your footing and slip. Then you'll go tumbling the rest of the way down. We should go together." Galen said.
"It'll be ok, you stay with the horse. I'll be careful." She assured him.
Galen sighed, still reluctant to agree to her request.
Then he felt her grasp one of his hands and give it a gentle squeeze. He squeezed her hand back and ran his thumb over her knuckles.
"I'll be quick, I promise." She assures him again.
He was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright." He finally said.
Then Galen helped her down from the horse.
Noelle reached into their packs that were tied to the horse's side saddle pouches and pulled out both her waterskin and his. She then shouldered them by their straps ansd took a couple steps towards the edge of the road and stopped.
She contemplated bringing her iPhone and utilizing the flashlight setting on it.
But it wasn't too dark that she couldn't see anything. While the moon wasn't completely full, it still shed enough light that she could see the bottom and the boulders.
So, she carefully started to make her way down the steep hill.
Noelle kept her knees bent as she carefully made her way down because it was a little too steep to stand straight up and walk down. She also tried being mindful of any loose gravel dotting the steep hill.
It took her around five minutes to make it down completely. Then she started to make her way over to the cluster of boulders several yards away to her right.
After another five minutes of walking, she made it to the boulders and started to walk around them. Once she did make it to the other side, she saw a shallow stream that started behind the boulders and stretched out further into the woods.
Noelle walked up to the water's edge and stopped. She then pulled the waterskins off from around her shoulder and started to uncap them.
As she was doing this, she did notice that not far from her position, there was another small hill off to the right and up ahead. There was also a narrow path that led up the hill.
She didn't think much of it though.
Noelle then squatted down and put one of the waterskins into the stream and started to fill it.
As she was filling it up, she thought she heard movement to her left. As she listened, it sounded like it was getting closer to her position and towards her. Not only that, but there was a source of light coming from behind her too.
At first, she thought it was Galen. That he decided to follow her down and was utilizing the flashlight setting.
Until she remembered something. One being that she doesn't recall showing Galen how to use the flashlight setting, and two, this light didn't look like the beam of a flashlight.
The movement behind her became louder and a little more rapid.
Her heart started pumping as she quickly stood up and whirled around to face whoever it was. Though when she did this, she was met with not one but what looked to be at least three gorillas in front of her.
One was holding a lit torch, and he had this nasty scar going down his left eye and said eye was milky white, like he was blink in that eye. He also had this disturbing smirk on his face as he eyed her.
Noelle went to back up, only to be met with someone grabbing her from behind.
As they went to wrap their arms around her torso though, she shifted her lower half aside and brought her fist down into their crotch. The one behind her let out a pained grunt when she did this and quickly let go of her.
She then whirled around and kicked him in the face, hard, sending him straight into the shallow stream.
Noelle then turned to face the others. Who were sadly blocking her exit. While she had some fighting skills from her years of kickboxing, she was still a little unsure she could take the other three that were now quickly moving in on her.
"What do you want!?" She snapped.
"You, human. Now, come here!" The one with the torch snapped back at her.
The other two on either side of him came for her.
While she was afraid, her adrenaline started pumping and she still had enough sense to drop down into fighting position. This actually stopped the two incoming gorillas, and they eyed her with slight confusion and surprise.
It was unheard of for a female to know anything about fighting. Yet, this petite female had her hands up in what appeared to be a defensive position with her fists balled. She also had her legs spread and in a slight bend as she squared herself off.
What are you waiting for!? Get her!" The one with the torch barked.
They went for her.
Noelle kept her gaze on them and struck out to the one closest to her. As he came at her, she found her opening and quickly snapped her right leg out, nailing him in the stomach with a hard right kick.
The second one growled and raised his arm, intending to strike her. But she quickly ducked his incoming fist.
Apparently, these guys weren't really that fast. Which worked out for her. But sadly, it didn't last long. Because the one she kicked in the face, finally stumbled to his feet behind her.
He tackled her to the ground from behind, knocking the wind out of her.
"Tie her hands behind her!" The one with the torch ordered.
While the one who tackled her used his weight to keep her pinned, another gorilla came over with some thin rope.
He non too gently grabbed her wrists and pulled her arms behind her back. She hissed in discomfort from the rough handling.
No! Let me go!" She snapped, in a panicked tone.
"Shut up!" One of them said.
Then they roughly pulled her to her feet.
"Stop! Ga..." She was cut off, when one of them slapped her.
"I said, shut up, female!" The one with the torch barked.
"I don't know, Devo, this one maybe too much of a fighter. Might disinterest potential buyers." One of them said.
Her eyes widened when she heard them say buyers.
"What!? No!? Fucking forget it, you assholes! I'm not going anywhere with you freaks!" She spat.
The one with the torch grabbed her around the neck roughly and pulled her in closer.
"Someone will take her. None have ever refused any of the beautiful human females we take in. And this one is no exception." He said, as his good eye roved over her face and body.
Her eyes widened in terror. This only made his smirk widen.
Then he quickly shifted his gaze to the others.
"Let's go!" He ordered them.
Then they started to move. Two of them were on either side of her, hauling her along.
"No! GALEN!" She screamed.
Galen was looking around, when he heard Noelle scream.
GALEN!" She screamed again.
His head whipped around in alarm.
"NOELLE!" He shouted.
Then he quickly got off of the horse and started down the steep hill.
As he struggled to make his way down the steep hill, he saw what looked like several gorillas' ride pass the boulders and were headed up another hill to the right. One of them had a torch in hand.
It was with the little light coming from the torch he saw a smaller person on one of the horses with the gorilla struggling.
"GALEN!" She screamed again, as they took her away.
"NOELLE!" He shouted again, eyes filled with fear.
They started to ascend up the hill with her.
"NO! STOP!" He yelled at them.
But they kept going.
At some point, Galen made the mistake of picking up speed down the steep hill. Unfortunately, his foot hit a patch of gravel and he lost his footing and slipped. He fell to the ground hard and started tumbling down.
A few pained grunts left him as he pinwheeled down the steep hill.
On the way down, his head hit a small rock and he saw stars. By the time he came to an abrupt stop at the bottom, he was knocked out.
Meanwhile, the gorillas were rushing down the narrow path after they cleared the small hill. She continued to struggle, even as tears started leaving her eyes. But it was just no use. Her hands were tied, and the gorilla she was with had a tight grip on her smaller form.
She let out a small sob, when she couldn't break free and she was scared for Galen.
Before they made it up the hill, she swore she saw him coming down the steep hill after her. Not only that but she believed she saw him stumble, fall, and take a tumble down the hill trying to get to her.
She was scared he was badly hurt and very worried for him.
Noelle didn't even want to know where these bastards were taking her. But she was afraid that she may never see Galen again and that he won't be able to find her.
Thinking this, made her sob even more.
Sorry, if the chapter seems kind of short. I do try to keep the word count for each chapter no less than 3,000 words. But sometimes come up a little short. I'll try to make the next one a little longer.
Looks like poor Noelle was kidnapped by traffickers. Will Galen be able to find her?
Until Next Time ;)