The next chapter is here! Enjoy :)

Galen and Noelle stayed in the hut, relaxing.

It was just nice to sit down again inside somewhere. So, they were taking advantage of it while they could. They were already good on supplies. So, they sat in the comfy chairs and just started chatting.

They even looked through the selection of books that were there in the hut, despite the fact it was only a small handful of them.

The pair also had their own books still on them that they were currently reading through. The only time they ever really had to read, was when they sat down to camp around nighttime.

At this moment, they were talking about other possibilities on where Alan and Pete could be. If they were anywhere around this area or have stumbled into another area of the district.

At some point, Noelle asked Galen where they could go after they do reunite with their lost friends. Like do they continue on in this district or try and return to the one they were previously in and more familiar with?

"I'm still not sure yet, as far as districts go. There are quite a few positive and negative outcomes in regard to both districts. We could travel back to the district we came from because we are more familiar with the landscape there. But then, that is where more of the danger is. Like Urko, his men, and Zaius, along with the rest of the council.

Here, this district is bigger, with probably more places to hide out and move about freely. But we are still rather unfamiliar with the territory here. We still have yet to see most of it. At the most, we only maybe traveled through a small portion of it." Galen explained.

"Let's not forget the fact that Urko is here with his men hunting us. It seems quite clear, that no matter where we go, he's there. So, in a way, it almost doesn't make a difference what district we are in. Because he apparently has no issues crossing over districts to try and get to us." Noelle added.

"Perhaps, but I still like to think that we can go somewhere far where he may not be able to follow. When we do find our friends, they can always give us suggestions as well. They may even already have ideas on what move we should make next." He told her.

Galen did always find that he and his friends always came up with more efficient ideas when they put their heads together.

Because of this, he really does believe they can think of something better when the time comes. A solution that can be safer for all of them. Somewhere they can settle peacefully and not worry about getting caught or arrested.

"We can only hope so." She says.

He was silent for a moment, before speaking again.

"In your honest opinion, you think we have a better chance here in this district or if we were to go back to the other district?" Galen inquires.

"Honestly, I don't know. I don't know the other district like you, Alan, and Pete do. Because when it all comes down to it, I really haven't been here all that long to make any deductions on the area you are from." She answered truthfully.

Galen nodded, "Fair enough."

"Like you said. They may be able to give us better ideas when we find them." Noelle said.

The pair continued chatting back and forth about it a little longer, before moving onto other topics.

Meanwhile with Alan & Pete...

The two men were still navigating the main road.

It was only matter of time before they reached their destination. They felt they weren't too far off now. All they had to do, was look for that road on the right that led off of the main road they were on.

About twenty minutes later into the ride, Pete called out to Alan, alerting him of something ahead.

"Alan! I think I see the road that leads off of this one about several meters ahead!" Pete says, pointing ahead and slightly to the right.

Alan turned his attention that way to see where Pete was pointing. It took several moments, then he started to see it too. It really wasn't that far off at all.

He knew, once they turned down that road, Corsca Village was only a few miles down it on the left. At least, that is what the map stated. He hopes this was in fact the right road they were supposed to go down.

They didn't want to make any more wrong turns.

"I see it. We'll head over to it as we get closer." Alan replied.

"Fingers crossed it's the right road." Pete says.

"Right. Before we turn onto it though, I'll pull out the map again to be certain." Alan told him.

"Think we'll be lucky enough to at least get a room once we hit this place?" Pete inquired.

"We should, we never really had problems before finding somewhere to stay when we visit villages." Alan countered.

"Or more food for that matter." Pete joked.

A small smirk appeared on the older man's face.

"Exactly." Alan said.

It took them about another ten-twelve minutes before they came upon the road in question.

Alan and Pete stopped their horses, while Alan reached into his pack to pull the map out. He unfolded the large piece of paper and studied it closely. He found the tiny village Locknar on the map and traced back the route they took.

The road they took, went straight for many miles. Only branching off on the left two times. But the men knew those two roads they passed on the left didn't lead to Corsca Village.

Mainly because the villagers told them it would be on the road that leads off to the right and the fact that the map stated the same thing.

By the looks of it, this was the road they are supposed to take down to Corsca Village. It wasn't too far down from where this main road meets the road on the right either.

Probably only a good three to four miles down it on the left.

"According to the map, this is the right road. And the village is only around three to four miles down on the left. It shouldn't take us that much longer to get down there and find it." Alan told Pete.

"Good to know. Let's go then." Pete said.

Alan folded the map back up and placed it back in his pack.

Then the two men flicked the reins and got the horses going again as they headed down the road, leaving the main road behind them. If they continue riding hard, they should be there within the next half hour to forty minutes.

Back with Galen & Noelle...

The pair were still chilling in the hut they were staying in.

Galen had just finished telling Noelle a very funny story that happened with Galen when he was a kid. One that apparently involved a tutor he disliked and a girl he had a crush on at the time.

"So, wait, she dared you to do it, and you just went along with it to impress her?" Noelle inquired with laughter in her voice.

"Pretty much. Though what I didn't count on, was getting caught. I was in a great deal of trouble for it afterwards too. My parents were not happy with me in the least. They actually had me write a letter of apology to the tutor when it was all said and done. And I hated the fact that I had to apologize to him because he really was a crabby old chimp." Galen explained.

"Perhaps, but then I'd be crabby too if someone drew all over my face with tar while I dozed off in my chair. Could you blame him for being upset?" Noelle teased.

"Trust me when I say, it was an improvement and my classmates agreed on it with me that it was." Galen stated.

"Of course they would. What kid wouldn't? Though I still can't believe you were able to nab some tar from some nearby workers on the way to class." She retorted.

"Not like they were paying much attention. They were all too busy chatting with one another." He told her.

"Really starting to feel bad for your parents. They must have a lot of premature gray hairs from you." She joked.

Galen just smirked, "Yes, that's what father reminds me just about every time I saw him."

"Just you wait. When you have kids, they'll probably do the same to you." Noelle continued teasing him.

"Sadly, I don't doubt it. But at least, I'll have a good idea and somewhat know what to expect." He joked.

"Keep telling yourself that. A lot of unexpected things can happen when it comes to kids. You just never know when they could surprise you. Trust me, I know. Because I worked with kids." Noelle reminded him.

"Well, at least it was good practice for when you have your own." He teased.

"Yeah, thanks for the reminder. Can only pray the house will still be standing afterwards." She quipped.

A smirk appeared on his face, "Think they'll take more after you or me?"

He watched as her cheeks turned slightly pink, and it just made his smirk widened.

Afterwards, Noelle quickly composed herself.

"I think either way, we'd be screwed." She said.

Her reply made him chuckle.

Noelle couldn't help but laugh a little herself. It may not have been something on the forefront of their minds considering the situation they were in now between traveling and being on the run.

But she knew it was something that she always wanted at some point in life. She recalls Galen mentioning it was something he eventually wanted too.

But again, that was something very far ahead into the future and not something to really think about right now. Not to mention, they still haven't been together long enough to think about what could be in their future.

All they knew, was that when and if this journey ends, they would love to stay together, and continue to let their relationship grow. By then, they will have all the time in the world to keep taking it further and lead more normal lives.

"Joking aside, you do eventually want them, right? Children I mean." He asks.

"Of course, I do. Do you?" She says.

Galen was silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Yes, I really would. Before I ever found myself on this journey, I know it's something I eventually wanted in life. Find someone and have a family." He told her.

She gives him a small smile.

"Think that is what many of us strive for in life." Noelle says.

A smile appears on his face as well.

While they may not have known each other long. They knew they really loved one another. Galen knew, he would eventually love to have a family with Noelle, when the time is right.

Noelle knew it's what she wanted with Galen too.

But first, they need to find some place safe to live peacefully. Where they will not have to run anymore.

With Alan & Pete...

They have had their horses at a steady gallop now for some time.

But as they continued down the road, the two men noticed the woods were starting to thin out, mainly on the left side. It's been that way now for the last few minutes. Hopefully it means they are almost there.

Ten minutes later, they finally bypassed the trees and saw a huge clearing on the left, that was more like an open field.

Within this open field a little further down, was a decent size village. They knew that this had to be Corsca. There was a slightly smaller road not that far ahead of them that led off the one they were on and led to the village.

"That's got to be it, Al! We're almost there!" Pete called over to him.

"I know, let's keep going! Right before we enter the village, we'll dismount and walk the horses in!" Alan called back.

The two former astronauts raised down the road towards the end.

They got there within another seven minutes, before turning onto the road to the left. The road stretched about a football field length down to the entrance of the village. Which really wasn't that far at all.

It took several minutes before they crossed majority of it. Then when they got within yards of the outskirts of the town, they slowed the horses down and dismounted. Then they grabbed the reins and started walking the horses the rest of the way.

It only took them maybe five minutes to get to the outer entrance and enter the fairly large and pretty lively place.

When they did, there were a lot of villagers out and about. Both apes and humans. Every now and then they would get passing glances by others. But the two men paid them no mind.

They wanted to start asking if anyone hear saw their friends. But there were a lot of people here and they doubt they could ask them all.

"I say we find some of the food stands here and ask any of the ones running the stands if they saw Galen and Noelle. Because those would be the places they would hit to restock their food supplies. So, if anyone saw them, it would be the vendors." Alan surmised.

"Yeah, I agree. Let's go find the stands and scope them out then." Pete replied.

Before moving on, Alan stopped a human man that was walking by them.

"Excuse me, Sir. But where are the food stands located in this village?" Alan asks, politely.

"Most of them are situated in the village square. Just continue down this road, and the first right will lead you to the center." The man instructed, pointing down the path and directing them to where they need to go.

"Thank you, Sir." Alan says.

"You're welcome." The man replied.

Then they moved on and followed the directions given to them.

It didn't take too long to make it down the road and get to the first road that turned right off the one they were on. Once they got to that little intersection, they could actually see the large square further down from where they were standing.

Alan and Pete ventured down the road, tugging the horses along next to them.

There were even more people within the square, making it look rather busy. Hopefully, at least one of these vendors had seen a chimp with a human woman at one of their stands.

"Well, buddy. Where would you like to start?" Pete questioned.

Alan looked around briefly, then pointed to what appeared to be a decent size food stand off to the far left of the square.

"We'll start over there and work our way around. We'll pick up some more food at the same time for ourselves and throw them in our packs." He instructed.

They headed over to the stand in question, dodging a few people and circling around a couple groups on the way.

When they got there, they started looking at the selection of food there. Then started collected some for themselves. This stand was rather crowded. They hope they can get the attention of the two people running them, which happened to be a couple chimps, one male and one female.

The owners were a bit busy themselves, talking with customers, while pulling out some extra stock from some weaved baskets beneath the table and places the goods on the table to fill in the empty spaces.

At one point, one of the chimps did move closer to where Alan and Pete were standing in front of one of the tables.

"Excuse me, we have a question for you." Pete asked, as the chimp got close enough.

He shifted his gaze from what he was doing to see two human men standing in front of him.

"Yes?" He asks.

"We just want to know if you have seen someone were looking for. A chimp travelling with a human woman. By any chance, did they come here?" Alan asked.

The chimp's gaze shifted back and forth between the two men.

"No, I don't believe so. But maybe my wife has." He says.

Then he shifts his gaze to the female chimp a few feet down, sorting some vegetables.

"Zinnia, can you come here for a moment, please." He calls to her.

The female chimp turns her attention to her husband standing several feet down at the next table.

She drops what she's doing and heads down to him to see what he wants.

"Yes, you need something?" She asks.

"These two men are looking for a couple people. I haven't seen such a pair. Maybe you have though." He says.

She shifts her gaze to a pair of human men.

"What do these people look like? Are they regulars here?" She inquires.

"No, they would be travelers. A couple friends of ours. A chimp travelling with a human woman. It would've just been them. A male chimp with a young woman with long brown hair and rather petite. They most likely would've came here to restock food supplies." Pete informs her.

The female chimp thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

"Come to think of it, there was such a pair that did come to our stand, only several hours earlier. They asked if there were any spare rooms or vacant huts here. I told them there was possibly one vacant guest hut they could utilize. It's just down that road there. The hut in question would be the last one on the left, right before the road ends before the tree line." She pointed out.

Alan and Pete became excited at hearing the news. They were here. Galen and Noelle were actually here, and now, they knew where they were.

"Thank you very much." Alan said.

"Welcome." The female chimp replied.

Before the husband and wife could say anymore, a couple customers came over and started asking them questions about some of the fruits and vegetables, asking if they had these specific ones in stock.

At that time, Alan and Pete decided to leave. They headed down the road that was pointed out to them and stayed on the lookout for the last hut on the left.

With Galen & Noelle...

"After here, did the map say what the next closest village was from this location?" Noelle asks.

"I believe it was a place called Matner Village. Let me get out the map and doublecheck it." Galen replied.

He went to get up and walk to the beds where their packs were sitting on the floor.

When suddenly, the pair heard a knock on their door. They paused and shared a look, wondering who it could be. Perhaps, it was more travelers looking to see if this hut was vacant.

No one moved for a moment, then Galen approached the front door. He stood there at first, then he hesitantly reached up for the handle and started to slowly pull the door open.

When he did, he saw the last people he would've thought to see. His eyes widened in surprise before the shock quickly dissipated.

"Alan! Pete!" He said, excitedly.

Upon hearing their names, Noelle shot up from her seat and rushed to the front door and came to a quick stop next to Galen. A large smile split her face when she saw the two smiling men standing right outside the door.

"Guys! You're here!" She said.

They quickly allowed the men in and shut the door behind them.

Not a moment after the door closed, they all quickly shared hugs with one another, happy to see each other again. Now, they were finally all here and back together once more.

"So glad you two are alright! We were so scared when we saw you getting swept downstream! How'd did you make it out!?" Pete asked.

"We got lucky. There was a tree that was laying on the ground on the bank. Half of it was in the river. I pulled Galen and myself towards the tree. Then when we got there, we grabbed onto it and pulled ourselves ashore." Noelle told them.

"Was it...the tree we found your bracelet on? We found what we believed to be your tracks there." Alan inquired.

"Yes, that was it. I put it there in hopes you would find it. So, you would know we were alive and made it out." She replied.

Alan then reached into his leather pouch tied around his waist and pulled something out of it and held it out to her.

"Well, congratulations, it worked." He said, as he held out her bracelet to her.

Noelle smiled and took it back. She then placed it back on her wrist.

"Thanks, for hanging onto it for me." She says.

"You're welcome. And we're really glad your both ok and that we finally found you. Took a lot of time and ground cover. But in the end, we managed." Alan told her.

"Well, how about we all sit down and talk about it. What places did you find yourselves at and where did you go from there?" Galen inquired.

They all headed for the table in the very tiny kitchen. Then they all took up the four wooden seats there and started exchanging stories.

Alan and Pete told them how they found themselves in Ansel, where they got their first lead on them. Then explained how one of the apes there was nice enough to lend them a pair of horses for their journey.

Galen and Noelle were extremely grateful to find out that Delilah and Fangor kept their word and informed Alan and Pete of their whereabouts. It was also nice that Mecca lent them a couple of his horses to use.

Then the two men told them how they were also able to obtain a map and while it did end up being very useful, they still somehow manage to take a wrong turn when they got to the point in the main road where it split three ways.

"Yeah, I think genius here read the map wrong. Instead of going down the road to the left like we originally should've, we goofed and ended up going down the one in the center." Pete retorted, while giving Alan a sideways glance.

"Hey, don't sweat. I think we got turned around a couple times too, and we were lent a map also while back in Ansel." Noelle stated.

"Yeah, but not nearly as bad as you two." Galen joked.

"Like I said, Alan here doesn't know how to read a map properly." Pete repeated, pointing a thumb in Alan's direction.

Alan just shook his head.

"And yet, something tells me if you were in charge of the map, you two still would've been lost, Pete. Probably would've led yourselves into the next district for all you know." Noelle teased.

"Hey now, I'm not that bad at navigating." He said.

Alan coughed into his closed fist, to mask a chuckle, while Pete just gave him a slightly dirty look.

This had Galen and Noelle chuckling a little.

"Still, in the end, we're all back together, and couldn't be happier. We were worried because we know Urko has managed to cross the river with some of his men and are here looking for all of us." Galen informed them.

"Yeah, we know. We heard, unfortunately. It's sadly not all that surprising. Given how persistent Urko is." Pete stated.

"Thankfully, this district is twice the size of the one we came from. And he and his men are not very familiar with the layout of this district." Noelle added.

"We can believe it. Since we've been here, we maybe only saw a couple of his men once on one of the roads we were traveling on and that's it." Alan told them.

"Question is now, what should we do now that we are all together again? We just keep moving on?" Pete questioned.

"Well, originally, we planned on staying here for about a week. We agreed to it because we'd figure it would possibly give you more of a chance to catch up with us and hopefully find us. Assuming you were on the right route. Which thankfully, you two were." Galen replied.

"We can still stay here for a while. Think we all earned this break after being separated so long and on the road majority of the time." Alan suggested.

"You don't have to tell me twice. Can't wait to be able to sleep in a bed again and there are a couple nice ones in here." Pete said.

"Yeah, except there are only two. So, you're going to have to share one with Alan, Pete." Noelle says, with an amused grin.

"Oh boy, fingers crossed he doesn't elbow me in his sleep. He already did that once when we had to share a bed once in a spare room at someone's home in a village, we were all in one time." Alan says.

Galen chuckled, "Yes, I remember that. You woke up with quite a start. It startled me out of sleep, that's for sure. Even funnier when you picked up your pillow and nailed Pete good for it."

Pete snorted, "Yeah, good times." He retorted.

Noelle laughed a little at hearing that.

"Really? Kind of wish I was there to see that fiasco at bedsharing." She teased.

"More like bed hogging. Which is what this one here did. Hence why he got elbowed in the ribs." Pete stated.

"At least you two didn't have to share a bed again after that. Well, until now that is. You two take one, Noelle and I will take the other." Galen told them.

"Since when are you the lucky one that gets to sleep next to the pretty girl?" Pete joked.

The pair were quiet for a moment and shared a brief glance with one another. Something that Alan and Pete didn't miss.

"Uhh, did we miss something?" Pete implied, though uncertain.

"While it's true, a lot has happened with us like it has with you on this journey. Other things...have happened as well." Galen implied.

The two men were silent for a moment, then exchanged a couple looks.

"Wait, are you two telling us, you're what...together now? As in...involved?" Pete slowly dishes out.

"Ding, ding, ding. We got a winner." Noelle joked, nervously.

"Damn, we really did miss a lot while we were all separated. Didn't we?" Pete replied, still surprised at what he just heard.

"Perhaps, but we're happy for you two. More importantly, we're happy you're alive and we found you both." Alan said.

While the two men found it a little odd. Seeing as Galen was an ape and Noelle a human, they were still their friends. If this is what made them happy, they will support them.

"Thanks, guys. We're very happy to have found you both again too. Was kind of worried we wouldn't be able to. Seeing how large this territory really is." Noelle tells them.

"Yeah, no kidding. Can't tell you how many times we were told how much bigger this district is than the last one we were in. It's supposedly one of the biggest ones around." Pete stated.

"Let's just hope we don't get separated like that again. Don't think we've ever been separated for that long before." Galen said.

"Well, as long as we don't take anymore joyrides down the river, I think we'll be good." Noelle says.

"Yes, we now know we need to be extra careful around these larger river systems because we have seen just how turbulent the currents can be." Alan added.

"Don't remind me." Galen muttered.

The four spent majority of the day catching up and chatting about their own separate adventures on the road within this district.

Alan and Pete brought up how they found themselves in the tiny village of Locknar. This is where they not only got their latest lead on where the pair went but were told what they did there for the village.

"So, wait, you guys raided a gorilla guard outpost and grabbed some bombs and blew up this cavern?" Pete inquired.

"Yeah, though to do so, we had to lure the gorillas out. Unfortunately, that meant lighting a mill several miles down the road on fire. That we had plenty of time to grab everything we need.

We were fortunate enough to remain unseen by any of these gorilla guards, both in the village and at the cavern. In the end, we were just glad it was destroyed, and we got all the kids out unharmed and back to their families." Noelle explained.

"Yes, though we did have some close call while trying to get them out. That cavern was a complete death trap." Galen added.

"It's a good thing you did destroy it then. It's no place for innocent children to be." Alan said.

He was quite appalled when he heard the gorillas in Locknar were taking children from their families and forcing them to work in this cavern, only to die a horrible and premature death. It bothered him, because he was a parent himself and couldn't imagine what he would do if his son was taken in such a manner.

They chatted all the way up to dinner time. Then they pulled out food to eat right there at the table.

It was clear to Galen and Noelle that Alan and Pete picked up some more food while here before they came upon this hut and found them. Seeing as they pulled out quite a bit of it and placed them on the table.

At some point, Noelle teased Pete for having such a large pile of food in front of him.

His excuse was he was just very hungry. Then he made a joke about how having a nice cold beer with his meal would've made it more completely.

For some reason hearing that quip about alcohol, made Galen remember how Noelle had too much wine back in Ansel during their harvest festival and became quite drunk.

It was amusing watching her face turn red when he started telling Alan and Pete all about it.

"She claims she can be socially awkward around crowds and new people. But after her third cup of wine, she certainly wasn't socially awkward anymore." Galen joked.

"Oh, shut up, I wasn't that bad." She quipped.

The two men could barely contain their laughter though when the story was relayed to them.

"Can't hold your wine, huh, Noelle?" Pete teased, around a mouthful of food.

Noelle just scowled at him.

"I can hold it just fine. And I wasn't drunk. At the most, I was just a little buzzed." She said, trying to defend herself.

"Yes, and that is why you tripped over your feet a little and needed help walking back to the inn." Galen teased.

"I didn't trip over anything. Stop making shit up, Galen." Noelle retorted.

"Please, I couldn't make up half the stuff you were blurting out in a drunken rant to some of our new friends at the table during the festival." He stated.

"Really? And what stuff was that?" Pete asked, interested in hearing more.

Galen went to open his mouth, but Noelle beat him to it.

"Nothing you need to know, Pete. Galen don't even think about sharing anymore on the topic. Or you won't be sleeping on the floor, I'll make you sleep outside with the horses." She threatened.

He quickly shut his mouth then.

Alan and Pete got a good chuckle out of that statement. The two of them definitely seemed to bicker like an old married couple that's for sure. They can see why they would be taken with each other.

"Good thing you were smart and didn't say anymore, Galen. Because usually when a woman threatens you with something like that, they mean it." Pete informed him.

"Yes, sadly, I can believe it." Galen replied.

When they finished eating dinner, they brought their conversation back to the main living area.

Alan and Pete sat on the ends of the beds while Galen and Noelle took up the comfy chairs as they chatted on. More stories and laughs were exchanged during this time.

It eventually dragged on into the night and soon, before the group knew it, it was time to turn in for the night.

At least both the beds were big enough to hold two people each. So, they didn't have to worry about being on top of each other while they slept. The beds were quite comfortable too.

"Ok, you two, remember now if you're going to be sharing a bed, keep your hands to yourself." Pete teased the pair.

"Nope, we're going to be obnoxiously loud and make you guys uncomfortable." Noelle sarcastically replied.

"Please don't. Really don't want to have to give up this comfortable bed and sleep outside with the horses because you guys can't keep it down." Pete said.

"Pete, knock it off, and get your head out of the gutter." Alan said, while shaking his head, and getting ready to lay down.

"Exactly. And what we do, is our own business." Galen added.

"Understood." Pete said, as he went to lay down.

"Still think I should sleep with a pillow over my head, just in case." Pete muttered under his breath.

"One pillow wouldn't be enough, Pete." Noelle joked, clearing hearing what he said.

She chuckled a little when she heard him grumble and pull the covers over his head.

Galen just smiled and shook his head.

Then the pair laid down together. Noelle scooted in close to Galen and curled into his front as they lay on their sides. While he wrapped an arm around her and held her close.

Noelle tilted her head up a little and placed a small kiss on the bottom of his chin.

"Night." She whispered.

Galen titled his head down and placed a small kiss on her lips.

"Good night." He whispered back against her lips after he pulled back from the brief kiss.

Then settled in and feel asleep not long after.

The whole group of friends fell asleep rather quickly. All of them were quite exhausted from their travels. But they were all very relieved and happy to find one another again after being separated for a little over two months.

Now, they can continue their journey as a group once more.

Until Next Time ;)