The next chapter is posted! Enjoy :)
Hanna woke up the next morning to the sun peeking through the trees.
She also heard some movement next to her and saw it was Galen. He too was just waking up. His eyes slowly open and he sat up with a small yawn. He then reached for his water canteen that was laying by his pack next to him, he uncapped it and took a sip from it.
Hanna sat up to and did a small stretch, arching her back.
Galen shifted his gaze to her and smiled.
"Good morning. How'd you sleep?" He asks.
"Pretty good. Surprisingly, the ground feels more comfortable than some of the bunks we had to sleep on while I was in the service. Those things were almost always hard as rocks." She joked.
"So, you're saying it's probably a good thing that you didn't sleep on one of these boulders here?" He teased.
"Yep, otherwise, I probably would be in a rather crabby mood." Hanna replied.
"So, you're saying I... what's that phrase again one of my friends used a few times...oh right. So, you're saying I dodged a bullet there then?" Galen said, in a teasing tone.
She smirked, "Yep."
"Phew. That's a relief." He said, while pretending to swipe his forehead.
She let out a small, quiet chuckle while shaking her head.
He really was very animated and funny at times. Which is nice because it helps distract her from the current situation, she found herself in. Plus, she can't say she knew too many people back home that had such a humorous streak. Her and Jason tended to be the only ones with the humor and flare for theatrics at times. Probably why they always got along well as friends growing up.
Thinking about him, did make her feel a pang of sadness in her heart. Especially, when it doesn't seem like she will ever see him again.
"You thirsty?" Galen asks, handing her his canteen.
She was broken from her thoughts, when her gaze shifted to Galen and his outstretched hand with the water canteen in it.
"Yeah, thanks." Hanna said and took the canteen.
She took a few sips before handing it back to the chimp.
"You know, all the talking we did yesterday afternoon and last night, I forgot to ask. What is that necklace around your neck with the flat pieces of metal on them?" Galen asks.
Hanna briefly looked down, then she grasped them and lifted them up.
"Oh, these. I guess I forgot to mention to you las nigh that they give you these when you're in the service. They're called dog tags." She told him.
He gave her a bit of a funny look.
"Don't mean to come off as rude in anyway. But that's an awfully strange name for tags. Seeing as humans where them and not dogs." Galen said.
She let out a small chuckle again at his response.
"It's just what they have always called them. Because just like tags you would find on a pet dog, these tags that I wear have my info on them. They have my full name, the branch of service I served under, serial number, and blood type. Some have a person's religious preference on theirs too. But I don't have that on mine because I don't have a religious preference." Hanna explained as she held them up and out to him a little.
Galen scooted a little closer and carefully lifted up the small plates, looking at them. He could make out the indented writing on them. He saw her name along with a series of numbers, a few letters that said USMC, and something that said A POS.
"Interesting. At least now if you ever fall and hit your head and forget who you are, just need to show you these." He teased.
Hanna rolled her eyes, "Haha, very funny, furball."
"Hey now, I'm not that hairy." He joked.
She snorted, "Could've fooled me."
Galen just gave her an amused grin.
"Anyways, you hungry? I'll pull out some food for us." He offered.
"Please." She said with a small nod.
He pulled his pack over, reached in and pulled out this thin little sack. Then he opened it and started pulling various things out of it and handing some to her.
It still both amazed and puzzled her how different the fruits and vegetables look here. Though the vegetables he gave her looked pretty familiar to her.
"Are these turnips?" She asks, holding one up.
"Yes, they are. And those fruits you have there are corso fruits. They have a bit of a tangy taste to them." Galen told her.
He then pulled out some for himself and started eating.
Hanna being starved as she was, started eating as well. They both sat in silence for a couple minutes just eating and putting food in their stomachs. Funny, how when she served, she got used to eating smaller portions or rations. But ever since she got out four years ago and started eating normal size portions of food, now she finds herself getting hungry a little more easily than she used to.
When she bit into the fruit, she noted the tangy flavor Galen told her about. The flavor can only be described as tasting similar to nectarines and almost just as juicy.
"So, I recall you mentioning to me yesterday that you're from a place called Central City. Was that where you were headed, before I bumped into you?" She asks.
Galen contemplated on telling her the truth. But he still felt like it was too soon. Hanna did only get here just yesterday and in a very odd and unusual way, that most would consider, shouldn't have been possible.
He wanted her to adjust more first before saying anything. Who he really was and why he was out here to begin with.
"No, I wasn't on my way back. I'm more or less a traveler these days. I spend most of my time traveling through the district and seeing other places. Been on the road now for a while." Galen said.
He felt bad for lying to her. But he keeps telling himself, he will eventually tell her the truth when he felt he was ready and the right time.
As Hanna sat there listening to his response, she can't help but feel he wasn't telling her everything. She was trained to read body language at one point. There were times his eyes were a bit shifty as he mentioned certain things, and he would briefly look away as he answered her.
Usually when people do this, it means they're not being completely honest.
It bugged her a little and made her feel a little disappointed because she likes to think in time, that she could come to trust Galen. From the conversations they have had so far yesterday and the fact he directed those gorillas away from her yesterday instead of giving away her position she likes to believe he is a good a person.
Now, she's wondering if she should point it out now to him or wait and see where this all leads.
"Really? How long have you been traveling for then?" Hanna inquires.
"I want to say, at least a year now." He tells her.
There was more engagement there with the eye contact, which would indicate he was being truthful there.
"Must be having a very good time with your travels. Because that's a long time to be away from home." She says, trying to gage him.
"Well, not always. But...it has its perks, and I have learned a lot of new things along the way." He tells her.
Hanna can almost believe that answer. But it almost sounded like a half-truth one.
The more questions she has asked him, the more she feels she needs to confront him and get some honest answers out of him. Because she's unsure if she can keep traveling with this chimp if she can't feel she can fully trust him.
Once they finished eating, he started to pack up. Though by packing up, all he needed to pack with the blanket he lent her.
Hanna gave him the blanket back and he folded it up and semi-rolled it before sticking it back in his bag. Then he shouldered his pack, and put the strap connected to his canteen over his shoulder.
"Alright then, you ready to go?" He asks.
"Almost, just one more thing." She says as she stands with him.
"What's that?" Galen inquires.
"I need the truth from you, Galen." Hanna says.
The chimp was a bit taken aback by her response.
"What? What do you mean?" He says, a little confused, but also a little nervous.
She sighs, "Galen I could tell by the answers to the questions I asked you were either dishonest or a half truth. If we are to be traveling together, I need to know if I can trust you. I need you to tell me everything."
As she said this, she did see a somewhat sad look appear on his face and his gaze averted to the ground.
He then slowly lifted his gaze back up to her face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lie. I just...didn't want to scare or overwhelm you anymore than you already are from finding yourself here. Plus, I felt I wasn't ready to tell you everything yet." Galen says.
Hanna nodded, "I understand. But I am here now and I'm well aware nothing can change that. And while it's hard, I accept that. But please, tell me what's really going on and why you're out here."
"Alright, but let's start walking back to the road. I'll explain everything I can as we walk." He told her.
She approached him, then stopped beside him, she had her gaze on him the entire time. Then she made a slight gesture of her head to get going.
The pair then began walking back together through the woods.
"It started roughly a year ago. I was living in Central City at the time. I was in with a high council member interviewing for an assistant position under him. It wasn't long during our chat; his servant came in with a written message for him that came from a small village around thirty miles away from the city.
As he read the message, he became rigid and mentioned something about how something's not possible. I asked him what was wrong, and he gave me the message to read. I read over the message and was surprised by what it said. It talked of these humans that supposedly crash landed here in some odd-looking thing called a ship.
I thought it was the strangest message ever and almost written it off as pure fantasy or a joke. For we always believed humans weren't capable of building such things. That they were only farmers, laborers, or servants under us. But the councilman whose name is Zaius confirmed and insisted it was true. Then started explaining that these humans were different and unlike the humans of this time. That they were more intelligent and had greater capabilities closer to our own. He said they were called 'astronauts'." Galen explained.
She listened intently as Galen explained his whole story to her. From the time he met these two astronauts that he learned were named Alan and Pete to how he became intrigued and fascinated by how different they were and how different their time was. To their plotted assassination as they left the jailhouse to him saving them while putting himself in danger and trouble.
As a result, the gorilla he tackled in an effort to save them was killed when the gun went off as they wrestled on the ground. That's when the other gorilla troops came out and saw him, standing over the dead gorilla with the gun in hand. They arrested him for it and put him in a cell. It only got worse when they found a book among his possessions that he nabbed earlier off of a dead man that was caring for the astronauts during the time of their capture.
That book they found on him, plus, him accidentally killing the gorilla, had him sentenced to death.
What he didn't count on, was the two astronauts coming to his aide and saving him. They used a bomb they nabbed from Zaius's office to blow up the cell door. Then they pulled him out and hey high tailed it out of there and into the woods.
Once that happened, he along with the astronauts were declared fugitives and ordered hunted down, and then brought back into custody where they would await execution.
When Hanna asked him why the astronauts were arrested in the first place, he explained to her how the hierarchy here works between apes and humans.
The more he told her about it all, the more disturbing it sounded.
"So, because they were more intelligent than most, they viewed them as a threat to their society and way of living?" She surmised.
"Yes, you see majority of apes are unaware of this world's deep past. Most don't know that humans were once the dominant species here. Because from a young age we are taught to believe that apes have always ruled the world since the very beginning and that humans were always beneath us. They came up with this because the high council didn't want the rest of ape society to know the truth." Galen explained.
"And why is it that they don't want apes to know the truth? What happened with humans over the last few centuries leading up to now?" Hanna questioned.
"According to what Alan and Pete told me they heard from Zaius when they confronted him in his office right before they saved me from jail, he explained to them how humans became a very advanced civilization at one time. But with these advancements it was believed they all turned on each other, war broke out and they all destroyed each other along with this world.
It's because of this, Zaius and the others feared what Alan and Pete can do here in this time with the humans here. Because they were just as intelligent as these humans of the past. Zaius, Urko, and the council believed if Alan and Pete were to spread their ideals and intelligence to the other humans, that they may become more self-aware of what they are truly capable of.
That it would start making them defiant and rise up to challenge the apes and in doing so, another war would break out. It's because of all this, it is why Zaius, Urko and the other council members were determined to have them found and killed. Before they can spread such ideas. They referred to it and them as an infection. And just like any infection, they wanted to get rid of it. Or in this case them. And once they freed me and I went along with them, that automatically put a target on myself." He told her.
Hanna could barely wrap her mind around what Galen has been telling her. This whole ape society, how humans of the past destroyed themselves. It sure as hell was a lot to take in.
"Damn, sounds like a lot happened within these last few centuries, that's for sure." She replied.
"Yes. And as I said earlier, I'm sorry, I lied and didn't tell you the truth from the start. But as I said, you only found yourself in this world just yesterday, which would be a lot to take in for anyone. Telling you this on top of that probably wouldn't have helped the situation of how you came to be here. Was only trying not to scare you or overwhelm you." Galen admitted.
"I understand, and I appreciate your consideration for my mental state of mind upon coming here. I could also see, it's a little hard for you to talk about. So, I thank you for taking the time to explain it all to me." Hanna says.
"You're welcome. And I can understand after all this if you still don't fully trust me. I wouldn't blame you. If I found myself in some strange unknown world amongst strangers, I'd have a hard time trusting them too." He tells her.
Hanna nodded, "Yes, it is hard, giving where I currently am right now. But if it does mean anything...I would still like to stay with you. If that is alright."
He shifted his gaze to her and gave her a warm smile.
"I would like that too. Being alone...it's not a very pleasant feeling." Galen admits.
She returns the smile, albeit it's a sad one.
"Yeah, being alone...can sometimes feel like the worst feeling in the world." She replied.
Hanna knew all too well what it's like to be alone and being unwanted. But then another question suddenly came to mind.
"You still haven't explained, what did happen to Alan and Pete? Where are they now?" She asks.
Just like last night when she first asked where his friends were, the same sad look appeared on his face.
"Please...understand. I'm just not ready to talk about that." He says in a quiet tone.
There was sadness and guilt in his eyes. That she can clearly see. Because of this she felt bad for asking and won't press him further for it.
"I'm sorry, Galen." Hanna says.
"It's alright. Perhaps, someday I will. Just...not now." He said.
She nodded, "That's fine."
The two talked about some lighter topics afterwards.
Galen mainly asked her a little more about what her time was like. If the technology was a little more advanced in her time than his friends. Whom she learned they were from the year 1980.
Hanna told him there was only about a forty-four-year difference between 1980 and 2024. But they have made vast improvements in technology, science, and medicine. She found it amusing that he was such a very curious person when it came to all these different things. But she didn't mind at all that he was asking her just about anything and everything that was about this other time she was from.
Galen had told her that he knew a little about cars, trains, planes, submarines and even rocket ships. Because Alan and Pete told him a lot of stories about things from their time. He even mentioned that they told him what computers and phones were.
When he mentioned phones, that is when Hanna decided, perhaps she could show him her iPhone.
"We have come very far in advancing our computers and phones. In fact, I have a phone with me." She says.
He gave her a quizzical look, while wrinkling his nose.
"I don't see how that can be. Seeing as I was told phones generally sit on tables or walls and have a cord attached to them. Last I checked, you weren't carrying such a thing with you." Galen teased.
She smirked, then she reached into that little black pouch she has attacked to her side and opened it. Then he watched her pull something quite small and compact out and showed it to him.
It was rectangular and flat. It also had a screen on it.
"This is a phone from my time period. It's called an iPhone. We have long since made advancements where they no longer need cords and have made them smaller so that they can be taken with us wherever we go." Hanna stated.
He eyed her, then eyed the small phone. His curiosity was now peaked.
"But where are the number buttons?" Galen asks.
"I'll show you how it works." She said.
Then he watched with interest how she pressed this small circle at the button of the screen. He watched as the screen lit up and there was a picture on it. There were also numbers on it.
Galen then saw how she simply just tapped on the screen, and it suddenly changed. Something that blew his mind a little.
"How did you do that? Don't tell me that flat see through surface is a button." He said, filled with intrigue.
"Yea, in a way it is. It's something called a touch screen. You touch it with your finger, and it reacts. Here, tap one of these little squares here." She said, pointing to a couple different color squares at the bottom.
He was a little hesitant at first, but then he reached up and gently pressed his fingertip to one of the green squares. Then watched how it reacted to his touch and changed the image on the screen.
"Wow, that's actually very neat." Galen says.
"Yeah, and as I said before, we have come a very long way with tech in our time. Our phones here just don't make calls, but it has other multiple uses on it as well that it can do." Hanna shared.
She swore she saw his eyes light up with clear interest and some excitement.
"Really? Like what? Can you show me, please?" He asks, clearly excited.
Hanna must've spent the next twenty minutes to a half hour showing Galen all the different apps and icons on her iPhone. Each one intriguing him more than he last. He especially, was enamored with the camera setting on the phone.
At first, when Hanna took a picture of him, he was a little unnerved to see himself on the small screen. But after the initial shock wore off, he found it all to be incredibly amazing.
Though what came next with the recording setting on her camera really cracked Hanna up.
"So, apart from taking pictures, you see this red circle here? This is for recording. It's like a moving picture I point the screen where I want to point it and I press this record button here. Unlike a picture, a recording also records sound, so you can talk during the recording, and it will pick it up." She explained.
His eyes widened a little, "No way! That you have to show me!"
Hanna chuckled a little and held up the phone in front of her.
"Ok, I'll do a recording of you. Feel free to say whatever you want. I'm tapping it now, so, go ahead and start." She tells him.
Then she holds the phone up in front of her as they continued walking down the side of the dirt road.
"Uh, hello. My name is Galen. I'm a big traveler, my favorite fruit is opers, and the females think me very handsome." He said with a smirk in a proud tone and ended it by primping up the hair around his face with his chest puffed out.
Hanna started cracking up over his response.
"Wow, Galen! Anyone tell you you're a total ham!?" She said between laughs, as she stopped the recording.
He started to laugh a little too.
"Yes, Alan and Pete told me plenty of times. Apparently, I can be quite dramatic when I want to be. At least according to them." Galen teased.
"I can believe it." She said, with laughter still in her voice.
"Did you get all that on your phone?" He asks.
"Yeah, here." She says, then she presses the button and shows him the recording.
"Uh, hello. My name is Galen. I'm a big traveler, my favorite fruit is opers, and the females think me very handsome."
"Hahahahaha!" Hanna laughs.
"Wow, Galen! Anyone tell you you're a total ham!?" She says.
Then the video cut out shortly after that remark.
Galen started laughing, he found the whole thing neat and hilarious. The moving images were so clear as she recorded him walking beside her and as he spoke. He also thought it funny when he saw himself primping his face hair and puffing up his chest in the video after his response.
"That is both funny and amazing! They really have come a long way with tech, haven't they?" He inquired.
"Yeah, we have. Though my favorite one on here is this one." Hanna says, as she points to this small red square with an odd symbol on it.
"What does that one do?" Galen asks.
She smiles, then taps it.
He watches the screen change again and saw more words and these odd pictures on the screen. She tapped on some of these words. Then a few moments later, something happened.
Sparkling angel, I believe
You are my saviour in my time of need
Blinded by faith, I couldn't hear
All the whispers, the warning's so clear
I see the angels
I'll lead them to your door
There's no escape now
No mercy no more
No remorse 'cause I still remember
The smile when you tore me apart
Hanna watched as his mouth parted and his eyes widen as heard the music playing.
His gaze slowly went from the iPhone to her.
"It plays music too?" He asks.
She nodded, still with a small smile on her face.
You took my heart
Deceived me right from the start
You showed me dreams
I wish they'd turn into real
You broke the promise
And made me realise
It was all just a lie (just a lie)
Sparkling angel, I couldn't see
Your dark intentions, your feelings for me
Fallen angel, tell me why
What is the reason? The thorn in your eye
The two of them just continued to listen to the song as they walked. Galen seemed to really like it. This song was one of her favorites by one of her favorite bands.
I see the angels
I'll lead them to your door
There's no escape now
No mercy no more
No remorse 'cause I still remember
The smile when you tore me apart
You took my heart
Deceived me right from the start
You showed me dreams
I wish they'd turn into real
You broke the promise
And made me realise
It was all just a lie
Could have been forever
Now we have reached the end
This world may have failed you
It doesn't give the reason why
You could have chosen a different path in life
The smile when you tore me apart
You took my heart
Deceived me right from the start
You showed me dreams
I wished they'd turn into real
You broke a promise
And made me realise
It was all just a lie
Could have been forever
Now we have reached the end
The song ended with a soft melody before coming to a stop and Hanna hit the pause button.
"It really is amazing. That phone really does do a lot." He says.
"Yeah. That's not the only song on here either. There are many. An iPhone can hold anywhere between a few hundred to a couple thousand songs. Though, I only have maybe a couple hundred on here." Hanna said.
He gave her an incredulous look.
"Only a couple hundred!? That's still a lot of music!" Galen blurted out.
"Perhaps, though I do have a question." She says.
"Yes?" He asks.
"I know you said that humans have destroyed themselves in the past with their technology. But don't apes have a high level of tech here to an extent? It's obvious the apes here have guns, which is a form of tech. But is there anything else?" Hanna inquires.
Galen shakes his head, "No, we are still not nearly as advanced as humans of old were. You saw the gorillas on horseback. Horses are our main mode of transportation here. There are no cars, buses, or trains. And while we do have boats, it's not something mainly utilized by apes. Though we may have humans utilize them because they do better with water than apes do. As far as communication goes, we send out messengers with handwritten letters as a form of long-distance communication. We also don't have what you call electricity. Everything is lit by candles and fires at night. Though we do have some advancements in medicine."
"Really? It's a little surprising. From what you described to me, the apes here are very intelligent just as humans used to be. One would think they would've accomplished more technological advancements." She replied.
"I think the high council worries anymore technological advances could cause us to become more destructive. Even when we found some remnants of hidden knowledge in some of these broken-down cities, the apes have destroyed it." He informed her.
"Really? There are still remnants of old cities still standing after all this time?" Hanna inquires, a bit surprised.
"Yes, though time has left them all in decrepit and dilapidated conditions." Galen said.
She shifts her gaze ahead as they continue walking.
"Makes me wonder what country or state we are in." Hanna pondered.
"According to my friends, Alan and Pete. This is the 'state' you would call California." He replied.
Her gaze quickly snapped back to him with a slightly surprised look.
"Seriously? This is California?" She questioned.
He nods, "Yes, though apes don't refer these areas as 'states'. We either call them districts or territories."
"And you and your friends have been to at least one of the cities here?" Hanna asks.
"We've been to at least two. The first one I believe was called San Fransisco the other one was Oakland. At least that is what Alan and Pete called them." Galen told her.
"I'm guessing, those cities have seen better days?" She joked.
He smirked, "Well, let's put it this way. If you like the smell of dust, debris, and mold, then it's the place for you to visit."
Hanna grimaced, "No thank you, I think I'll pass."
Galen chuckled a little at her response.
"I don't blame you. Not the most beautiful scene. Especially, when you run the risk of one of the buildings falling on you when theirs an earthquake." He says.
They continued chatting for the next few hours until they both spotted something in the distance off to the left side of the dirt road.
"Finally. Looks like we found a settlement." Galen said.
"Great, means we can get some more supplies." Hanna added.
"Well then, let's keep going. If I have to guess, we should be there in the next twenty to twenty-five minutes or so." He speculates.
With that in mind, the pair continued on towards the destination ahead.
I don't own the lyrics to the song in this chapter. The song is called 'Angels' by Within Temptation. A good song by an awesome band. One of my favorites. It also looks like Galen and Hanna finally found a settlement. Hopefully all goes smoothly.
Until Next Time ;)