The next chapter is up! Enjoy :)
They rode for some time. Until it started getting dark.
They pulled up at this small campsite where they were met by a couple other gorillas. Noelle was still tied up on the horse she was on, nervous as hell when they came in.
The two new gorillas greeted their comrades than shifted their gaze to the young woman, as one of them pulled her off the horse.
"What's with the human?" One of them inquired.
"She was found at the lake a few miles south of here. It was the strangest thing; she just came up out of the lake." One of them explained.
The two new gorillas gave them confused looks.
"Don't concern yourselves with it. Let's just settle in for the night here in camp. Then we'll take her to Central City in the morning." The leader stated.
"Where do you want her now, Sir?" One of them asked.
The leader thought about it, then he went to grab something out of one of the sidesaddles on his horse.
It was rope. He then tossed it to one of his comrades.
"Tie her to one of the trees. Loop the rope around her already bound wrists and attached her that way." He instructed.
Noelle just stood there glaring at them through glassy eyes.
"Fuck you, I refused to let you tie me to a fucking tree like a dog." She spat.
The leader glared back at her, clearly unamused by her insolent and impertinent words.
"If you don't shut that smart mouth of yours, you will be knocked out, dragged to a tree and tied up that way." He threatened.
"And I love to see you try and attempt to knock me out, if my hands weren't restrained." Noelle snapped.
"Enough! Get her out of my sight and tie her to that tree over there! And if she won't shut up, teach her a lesson!" He angrily ordered a couple of his comrades that were on either side of the petite young woman.
The guards each grabbed an arm and started to haul her off.
Noelle refused to make it easy for these assholes though. Going as far as digging her heels into the ground and dropping herself down to the ground, so they would have to stop each time and hall her deadweight back up.
"C'mon! Move it!" One of them snapped, getting irritated with her antics.
"Up yours you ugly ass baboons." Noelle snapped at them.
Meanwhile in the woods nearby...
"Are we close to somewhere we can stop for the night yet? I'm pretty bushed." Pete groaned.
"Almost, lets just..."
"Shh!" Galen said, cutting Alan off.
They looked at him, wondering what was up.
"What's wrong?" Alan whispers to him.
"I see something up ahead to the left. It looks like a clearing and I think I see the faint light of a fire." Galen replied back in a whisper.
The chimp pointed ahead to the area in question. His human friends followed his outstretched arm and peered through the foliage in the dark.
After a few moments, they too saw what looked like a clearing through the trees and the familiar orange, flickering glow of a fire.
"Who do you think it is?" Pete whispered.
Though, they really didn't have to whisper, they were still far enough to speak at normal volume. But then, it was probably still better not to take any chances.
Alan found himself heading that way through the dark.
"Alan, what are you doing!? It could be gorillas!" Pete harshly whispered.
But for some reason, the older man ignored his friend and kept pushing forward very quietly through the woods.
Pete and Galen shared a look, most likely thinking the same thing. That this wasn't a very good idea and that this could mean trouble for all of them.
They reluctantly began to follow their friend towards the lit clearing.
When they got within fifteen-twenty feet of it, they heard someone yelling, and they sounded pretty pissed.
"I swear, if you don't shut up, you're going to get quite the thrashing!" One of the guards handling her said.
"Really? Do you cowards always tie up people you beat up? Too afraid to see if they will fight back?" Noelle snapped back.
The three friends rapidly looked between each other in surprise, at hearing a woman's voice.
It piqued their interest and they quickly headed over to some bushes near where the yelling was coming from. Though as they peered through the bushes and from behind a couple trees, shock appeared on their faces when they saw a gorilla guard lift up his arm and strike a very petite woman in front of him.
Noelle lifted up her bound hands to beside the side of her face, trying to block the hit.
While she was able to block the hit, it still sent her sprawling to the ground. Then the other guard with him, reached down, and yanked her back up by her long, dark brown hair.
Noelle hissed and gritted her teeth as he hauled her up in such a manner.
Then he started dragging her back towards one of the trees. Actually, one of the ones the friends were partially hidden behind. They ended up having to quickly and quietly move away from it as one of the guards came over to it with a rope.
The one guard had one end and was using it to tie it around Noelle's already bound hands. While the other went around the tree with the other end and tied it off.
When they were satisfied that she was tied up well enough, they started to walk away.
Noelle flipped them a double bird with both hands with her bound wrists as they walked away from her. Something that the three friends saw from behind another couple bushes and trees.
The two human men saw some amusement in the gesture. While Galen was just baffled by what the gesture meant. Though he could assume it was nothing pleasant.
They also got a better look at her. She clearly didn't dress like the other humans here, nor did she act like any of them.
The two astronauts were starting to believe that she was possibly form another time like them. Though, they were unsure how it is she got here if that's the case.
Pete noted she was wearing sneakers. That was pretty much a giveaway that she mustn't be from this time. Plus, what human in this time period knew what flipping off someone means.
"Galen, you may have to use your knife and cut her loose." Alan whispered.
"How are we going to do so? There are no less than seven gorillas and not far from her position or ours for that matter." Galen whispered back.
"We may have to wait until most of them are asleep first, then make a move." Pete whispered.
Alan and Galen couldn't help but agree. That maybe their only option. Seeing as it was three of them against seven armed gorillas.
Meanwhile, Noelle was shifting her gaze back and forth between the gorillas and her bound wrists. She kept twisting and turning them to see if she can work them out of the binds.
But all it seemed to be doing was creating rope burn and making her small wrists chafe.
Noelle was surprised they could wrap the rather bulky rope around her small wrists so effectively. She would've thought she'd be able to squeeze at least one of her bony wrists out.
It must've been another hour before majority of the gorillas started to lay down near the fire while pulling out blankets.
In the end, six gorillas were now laying down trying to get some sleep. This left one gorilla up to be on guard. Luckily, he wasn't close to her at all.
He sat on the other side of the small camp, not far from the others. He would slowly scan the surroundings in a sweep a few times every few minutes or so as he sat on a rotted log by the fire.
Despite her futile attempts, Noelle still kept trying to wriggle free of her bindings.
'Really wish I had bought my large, sharp utility pocketknife with me on the way out of the house earlier.' She thought.
She didn't have to think about it for long, when she suddenly saw the rope tied around the tree trunk suddenly go slack and started sliding down the trunk.
Noelle was baffled at what was going on and why the rope suddenly gave way and started falling down. Though, she wouldn't wait around trying to figure it out, if it meant she could leave now.
She took a few slow steps towards the nearby bushes. Her gaze kept shifting back and forth to the guard and the bushes that marked her freedom.
The young woman had taken one more slow step in between the bushes and paused to look at the guard one more time to make sure she wasn't looking.
Suddenly, she felt a hand quickly wrap around her mouth and lower jaw and another hand grip her bicep. Then with a rough tug, they pulled her back into the bushes.
Her hands were still bound together as she struggled in their grip.
"Quiet, we're here to help." Someone whispered into her ear as they stood behind her.
Then she saw two human men appear before her.
This is when the one holding her, lowered their hand away from her mouth and released her.
"Galen, can you cut the ropes from around her wrists?" Alan requested.
"Right." He said.
The chimp moved around the petite woman while pulling his knife back out to cut her wrists free.
Noelle saw movement out of the corner of her eye as the third person in the group came around to her right side. She shifted her gaze to them and did a doubletake when she saw it wasn't another human man. But a chimp!
Seeing as she seemed a bit startled by his appearance, he quickly put a finger to his lips in a shushing moment.
"No, no, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm the one who cut you lose from the tree. Now, I need to cut the ropes holding your wrist together." Galen told her quietly.
She eyed him for a moment, then nodded.
Galen then came closer and started cutting away at the ropes around her wrists, careful not to cut her.
After a few seconds, he got through one piece of rope and started to unravel it. He went to cut away at another part, when a loud voice broke through the air.
"The prisoner, she's gone!" The one awake guard quickly yelled to alert and awaken the others.
"No time, let's go!" Alan said, hastily.
The small group started to take off and headed further into the woods.
They had a good head start on the gorillas, who were busy looking around the area, all while trying to pack everything away so they can get to their horses quickly to go search for the missing woman.
"She couldn't have gotten far. Let's go!" The leader said.
They took the horses and started heading out.
Though luckily for the group of friends, they were going in the opposite direction of where they were running. It is a little harder for the horses to get through the way they were taking.
Alan, Pete, Galen, and Noelle ran as fast as they could through the foliage. They could only hope to not stumble and fall as they ran through the woods in the dark.
Galen actually kept a hand on her bicep as they ran so, she wouldn't fall, seeing as he didn't completely finish cutting through her bindings in time before the guard saw she was missing and alerted the others.
The group gradually began to slow down a little as they put more distance between themselves and the gorilla guards.
They then eventually came to a stop as they hit another small clearing, a river in this clearing stopped them from going further. It was a pretty wide river too by the looks of it.
"You think we should risk it?" Pete contemplated.
Galen's head snapped in Pete and Alan's direction.
"Risk what?" He inquired.
"I'm not sure, Pete. We don't know how deep that river is, and Galen is not exactly a very good swimmer." Alan informed him.
"You're right! I'm not! So, it's out of the question!" Galen hastily replied.
"You think they will find us if we don't find a way to get around it?" Noelle asked.
"Hard to say, I'm not sure their horses can get through the foliage. We weren't exactly running through a narrow path or road." Alan replied.
"Maybe we can just follow the river, continue in the opposite direction of where they rode." Pete suggested.
"They could be our only solution, if your friend really can't swim." Noelle said.
Growing up near the ocean, she was a strong swimmer and could probably cross this river, and possibly the human men with her could do it too.
But if their chimp friend cannot swim, it's not worth endangering his life. Especially, since he was the one to cut her free from that tree back at the camp to begin with.
"Before we make any decision though, can you please finish cutting these bindings off?" She asked, holding up her bound wrists.
Galen nodded and pulled his knife from his waist band. He gestured for her to come closer.
Noelle took a step closer to him and held up her hands. The chimp lightly gripped one of her small hands in his and used his other hand to carefully continue cutting through the rope.
After several more seconds, he was able to saw through another one. He then started to unwound it from around her small wrists.
When he was done removing it completely, he threw the cut rope into the river. Noelle lightly rubbed her sore and raw wrists, then her gaze went to the chimp still standing in front of her.
"Thanks." She said.
He nodded, "You're welcome."
Her gaze shifted from the chimp to the two men.
"While I'm very grateful that you all got me out of there, just who are you guys? And... why did you help me?" She asks.
"I think we should hold off the questions for now and keep moving. When we find a place that looks safe for us to stay, we'll answer any questions you have." Alan told her.
Noelle was silent for a moment, before answering.
"Fair enough, but could you all at least tell me your names?" She asks.
"I'm Alan Virdon. This here is my friend Pete Burke, and over there next to you, is Galen." Alan informed her.
"I'm Noelle Cosentino." She told them.
"Nice to meet you. If you're ready, we should start leaving here." Alan said.
"Ready when you are." Noelle replied.
The four of them headed off after introductions.
They didn't run this time though, they walked, following the river as they went. Hopefully, the gorillas won't find a way to this river. The clearing that followed the river was pretty narrow, but the gorilla troop just may be able to squeeze their horses through.
"Maybe if we're lucky, there will be a bridge that crosses this river. Would still feel a lot better if we were on the opposite side of the river from those gorillas." Pete said.
"I second that." Noelle piped in, as they continued walking.
Alan and Pete were walking in front. While Galen walked next to the young woman. Every now and then his gaze would shift to her, curious about her and what her story was.
He hopes they can find a place to settle in soon, because while she had questions for them, he, along with them also had a lot of questions for her.
Like if she truly is from another time like his friends, how did she get here? What time period was she from? These are the questions that seem to pop out the most to him in his mind.
The night seemed to drag on for them, the moon was now high in the sky, indicating it was quite late.
The group was starting to become exhausted and really wanted to stop and rest. But they wanted to find a good place to do so, that wasn't so out in the open.
Noelle was starting to tire and really just wanted to lie down at this point.
Not long after that thought left her, her foot hit a loose rock and she stumbled forward with a gasp, losing her footing. Before she could fall, she felt a pair of hands quickly grab her arms and pull her back.
Her light blue eyes shifted to Galen.
"Thanks." She said, thanking him for what had to be the second or third time that night.
He gave her a small smile, "You're welcome. Though I think I may have to start keeping count here. I believe, that was probably the third time I helped you tonight."
"Believe me when I say, it's not a habit for me. This just happens to be a very unusual day and night for me." Noelle said.
"So, you're saying it's not a common occurrence then?" He teased.
Noelle arched a dark brow at this chimp's playful attitude.
'How is it he seems very nice and pretty funny, yet those gorillas were the biggest dicks?' She wondered.
"No, it really is not. So, you can rest assure that I won't be needing anymore saving or help from now on." Noelle responded.
"Good to know. Because I spend enough time as it is, getting these two out of a scrape. More often than I like." Galen joked.
Alan and Pete shared a look before shifting their gaze behind them to the chimp.
"Really now, Galen? Funny, how you seem to forget the times we had to bail you out of trouble. Shall we share them? It's quite a lengthy list. Just about as long as our own." Pete retorted.
Noelle smirked and her eyes lit up in amusement as they outed the ape walking beside her.
His eyes widened briefly, and he awkwardly coughed into his hand.
"Wow, looks like they got your number down. Can't really talk your way out of that one, can you?" Noelle said, her turn to tease him now.
Galen rolled his eyes, "Still had to help them more than they helped me." He grumbled.
Noelle heard him grumble the words, and she couldn't help but chuckle.
"Hey, don't sweat it, you all had numerous turns at being the damsel in distress, nothing to fret over." She said, playfully patting his back.
The chimp's cheeks turned pink with embarrassment at her statement.
"I don't know about damsel, but Galen did put on a dress once and pretended to be a female chimp." Alan stated, with eyes filled with amusement.
"You will not bring that up again!" Galen blurted out.
A huge, amused grin split Noelle's face.
"Oh, so he likes to cross dress, that's interesting. Was there a matching brassiere and undies to go with it?" Noelle joked.
"Now look what you started, Alan." Galen whined.
Then a confused look appeared on his face.
"What's a brassiere?" He asks.
All three humans started to laugh at his question. This only frazzled and embarrassed Galen more.
"I really don't like you guys right now." Galen muttered.
"Ok, well, joking aside, I think I see a place up ahead we can spend that night at." Alan said, with laughter still in his voice.
He then gestured ahead of them to an area ahead that was surrounded by large boulders.
Relieved to finally be able to rest, the group quickly made their way over for the night to settle in and get some rest. Well, they had questions for their newest member of the group first though.
Until Next Time ;)