The next chapter is up! Enjoy :)
It took the pair a little over twenty minutes to make it through the woods to reach the outskirts of Central City.
Some outdoor torches were lit in various areas around the city.
"We'll use the woods to circle around part of the city to get to the area my parents' home is located at. They are only a couple blocks into the city from the woods. So, we won't have to go very far at all. Follow me." Galen tells her.
Hanna followed Galen closely as they continued through the woods just beyond the tree line that surrounded the city.
Around ten minutes later, he stopped and quietly told her this is the area and gestured to one path in between a couple homes. Then he grasped her hand and quietly led her between the homes and onto a small walking path that had more homes on either side of the path.
As they walked through the quiet streets, they were lucky so far as not having to duck behind anything. The very few people they saw so far that were still out and about were some humans who didn't pay the pair much mind as they went about their business. They continued down the path until he had her turn a corner with him on the left.
Before they did though, she had him stop, then Hanna peeked her head around the corner and looked around for any signs of gorilla guards out and about. She did see one. But he was much further down the path and walking away from them in the opposite direction. Galen saw this too and they waited a few moments before quietly rounding the corner and continuing on.
There were a couple side streets off of this path. So, the couple had to stop before each one and peer around the corner to check for more guards. Once they were clear, they moved on.
After a few more minutes, they stopped at the front door of one home that was a little further away from most of the other dwellings on the path. They saw light filtering through a couple of the windows not far from the door. Galen knew this meant that his parents were still awake.
He reached up and knocked on the door.
No one answered at first, so, he knocked again, a little louder. A few moments later, someone finally came to the door and opened it. Though instead of it being one of his parents, it was actually their servant, Loomis.
The young man's eyes widened in surprise.
"Galen!? How are you here!? We heard you were dead!" Loomis whispered pretty loudly, clearly surprised.
Galen quickly put a finger to his lips, shushing him.
"I'll explain as soon as you let us in." The young chimp quickly said.
Loomis nodded, then stepped aside to let him in along with the young woman that was with him.
The servant quickly looked around outside before quickly closing the door. Then he turned his attention back to Galen.
"Where's mother and father?" Galen asks him.
"They're out back in the garden sitting at the table. They're...very upset, believing you to be dead. A trooper came to the door a few hours ago and informed them that you died while they pursued you and the young woman. That you fell through a hole in the earth with the woman and the chief of security. They have been out there ever since, grieving." Loomis stated sadly.
Galen felt a pang in his heart at hearing this. But knew this would've occurred and his parents would've been notified either way. It's just too bad that he couldn't make it to them before one of the troopers did. But unfortunately, he had to wait for the cover of darkness before coming here.
"I understand. We'll go to the garden now and I'll talk to them." He told the servant.
Loomis nodded, then he walked ahead of the pair, and they followed him to the back door that led out to the garden.
As soon as Loomis opened the door for them to let them, Galen could clearly hear his mother weeping. His gaze went to the table and saw her sitting there, crying into a handkerchief while his father sat right next to her with an arm around her shoulders trying to comfort her.
The sight practically brought tears to Galen's eyes.
"Mother, Father." He called out.
The older couple quickly looked up and couldn't believe their eyes. Their son was standing there in the doorway with a young woman standing next to him.
"Galen!" His mother cried out with tears still in her eyes.
Then she quickly got up and rounded the table and rushed towards him. She got there within seconds and threw her arms around him, crying into his shoulder.
Galen couldn't stop a couple tears from leaving his own eyes as he tightly embraced her back.
"I'm sorry, mother. I know what they told you and father. But they were wrong. I survived the fall." He softly said, as he held her.
His father came over too, and Galen saw the unshed tears in his own eyes. He too then wrapped his arms partially around Galen and his wife.
Hanna had a soft smile on her face and was happy to see Galen reunited with his parents. It was clear they went through the ringer thinking the worst of what happened to their son.
Even Loomis gave Galen a couple pats on the back and was glad that he was ok.
It felt like hours, before either of them pulled back from the small group hug. By the time they all did though, all three chimps sported huge smiles.
"How did you survive, son?" His father Yalu asked.
"Let's move back to the table. I promise I'll explain everything." Galen told them.
The older pair was fine with that. Before they did though, their gaze turned to the very petite young human woman standing to Galen's left.
"It's true then, you were traveling with a new companion, this young woman." His mother pointed out as she stared at Hanna.
"Yes, Ma'am. My name is Hanna. And it is very nice to meet you and your husband." Hanna informed her in a curt manner.
"You as well. Please, let us all sit. We want to hear what has occurred." Ann said, as her gaze swept back and forth between Galen and Hanna.
The four of them, plus, their servant all went and sat around the large wooden table by the garden.
"I think, it may be best to start from the beginning." Galen said.
"Good idea. How did you meet the young woman here, with you? We both heard about your friends Burke and Virdon being killed. But that you managed to escaped. What happened after that?" Yalu inquired.
"Well, after their passing, I was kind of wandering aimlessly through the countryside for the next few weeks. Then when I was traveling down a dirt path in the woods, Hanna came running out and collided with me. We both crashed to the ground, and I was a little stunned at what just happened.
Before either of us could say anything, she ran off again and went and hid in a bush on the other side of the path by the tree line. Not long after, some gorilla guards came riding out and asked me if I saw a young woman running by here. Seeing how scared she was when she bumped into me, I...lied and told them I hadn't. Afterwards, they rode off to continue looking for her. Once they were all far enough away, I approached her hiding spot and told her they were gone and that it was safe to come out. She was quite banged up and clearly lost, so, I told her she can come with me." He began explaining.
"Are you an astronaut too? When they started reporting you a few months back, they stated you were another alien human." Ann told her.
Hanna shook her head, "No, I'm not an astronaut. But I am from...a different time. Just like Galen's friends, Alan and Pete. HowI got here...is a bit of a mystery and hard to explain. But I am from the past."
"And you both have been traveling together now for the last several months." Yalu surmised.
"Yes, father. And we've been to many different places around the district. But somewhere along the way, Hanna and I started thinking. We were trying to figure out if there was somewhere safe her and I can go. Somewhere safe where we would no longer be hunted. The issue is, I don't know any of the surrounding districts here very well and if there were any settlements within them that would be safe and far enough removed from Urko and Zaius.
Then yesterday, we stumbled upon Concordia Village and ran into your old friend Lario. He provided us with food and let us use the guestroom to spend the night in. Last night, while we were talking of traveling and safe places to go, that is when Lario mentioned a settlement some miles from here called Akron. He says you know of it and have been there before yourself besides him.
Lario did provide us with a map he made, showing us how to get there from here. Something we were very grateful for. We were about to head out of Concordia this morning to start traveling to Akron. When suddenly, Urko and some of his men showed up in Concordia looking for us. Unfortunately, he spotted us when we tried to run. From there he pursued us as we ran out of the village and into the woods.
He chased us for some time until we made it to this very rocky and uneven hill surrounded by thick clusters of trees with a very narrow path. Too narrow for horses to get through. Hanna and I started going up the hill. Urko and his men stopped their horses and had to dismount to continue further.
Urko was in the lead and had a head start up the hill after us as his men lagged behind. We eventually made it to the top of the hill where it cleared of trees, and we began running again. Urko made it to the top shortly after and chased us. Hanna and I didn't make it too far before she tripped and fell. I stopped to help her. At the same time, Urko was just about upon us. He got within five feet of us, when suddenly, the ground beneath us caved and we all fell through it.
We fell for some time, until we hit water. When we broke the surface, we realized we fell into some underground lake in a cavern or cave. From there Hanna and I struggled to get ashore to some embankment several yards away. Luckily, we were able to make it to shore. But Urko...wasn't so lucky." Galen said.
He really didn't want to lie to his parents. But he feels he cannot get himself to tell them that he was the one who killed Urko. He didn't want to, be he had no choice. He was about to kill Hanna and Galen had to stop him.
"He drowned then, when he landed in the water." Yalu speculated.
It was the only plausible answer. Seeing as apes cannot swim well at all. They figured their son was lucky because the young woman with him helped him get ashore.
"Yes." Galen replied.
Hanna didn't say anything to that. She can understand why he wouldn't want to tell his parents the truth. How can anyone explain to their parents that the reason someone was dead was because they killed that person? Even if it was technically in self-defense to save another. Hell, she had done it a few times to save fellow soldiers during combat.
"Well, while it is unfortunate for Urko. We are still glad to see you're alive and well." His mother said.
"Yes, because hearing the news about your death devastated us more than you could ever imagine." His father added.
"And I'm truly sorry for scaring you the way I did. Both of you." Galen says, in a soft tone.
His mother gave him a soft smile, as she reached across the table and grasped his hand in hers, giving it a small squeeze.
"It's alright, son. You're here now, and that is what matters." She replied.
"Yes, but unfortunately, we cannot stay. While Urko is no longer here to hunt us, we can't risk being seen alive by Zaius and the rest of the council." He tells them.
"Because of this, we need your help. Can you...please show us the way to Akron?" Hanna asks.
"Yes, we can. Though you wouldn't have to go there specifically to be safe. There are other settlements that are closer but still far enough remove from the high council that you can also go to. And I know quite a few of them." Yalu told them.
The pair was silent for a moment. They shared a look, before Galen slowly shifts his gaze back to his parents.
"The fact that it is so far removed is not the only reason we feel Akron is a good choice. There's...another reason as well. And it's the only one Lario told us of that would be safe and accepting of us." Galen says.
"Why wouldn't any place be accepting of you and your friend?" Yalu inquired.
"That's just it, father. Hanna is not my friend. We're in fact...together." Galen finally got out.
He then slowly reached over and grasped one of Hanna's hands that were resting on top of the table and held it in his.
His parents were quite surprised by his answer and the fact he was pretty open about it when he gently grasped the human woman's hand and held it.
"I know, it comes to quite a bit of a shock. But we really do care about each other and love each other very much. And this is why we would like to go to Akron. Because your friend said, it was a settlement accepting of such couples like ourselves." Hanna added.
His parents were quiet a moment longer, before either of them finally spoke.
"We don't have a problem with it, Galen. You follow your own heart and path." His mother Ann said.
"There are very few far and between settlements that are accepting of interspecies couples. But Akron is still your best bet if that is the case." He father said, then paused.
"We will take you there." Yalu added, with a small nod.
Now it was both Galen and Hanna's turned to be surprised. Here they thought his father was just going to give them directions and they be on their way. Instead, he was offering to take them.
"I think I still remember the way there, Sir. Even if it's been a while since I last took you there." Loomis said, chiming in.
"I can still sit with you up front on the carriage and direct you, Loomis. Either way, we'll get there." Yalu says.
Galen gave him a slightly confused look.
"But father, Lario told me there were no main roads up here that go down that far. He said, Hanna and I would have to take some foot paths there for a good portion of the journey before we do hit a main road that would lead us there." Galen replied.
"That is true for the most part. But there is one road that leads straight to the coast. From there we can take the carriage down the coastline on the beach until we hit one of the main roads that can take us there. I've done it before. Loomis drove me down in the carriage at least a couple times using that route, and we never hit an issue." His father told him.
"Really? And how long did it take you to get there that way?" Hanna asks.
"Between stopping at night to rest the horse and going through the sand...I want to say two and a half days or so." Yalu calculated.
"Well, that would save us a lot of time at least. Seeing as it is one hundred miles away and it would be a good four to five days walk for us." Galen stated.
"And it would be safer." Hanna added.
"When did you want to leave?" His mother asked.
"As soon as possible. The longer we stay here in Central City, the more dangerous it becomes for us." Galen told her.
He knows his parents wished he could stay with them longer here at their home. But even they knew he was right. That it wasn't safe for him to be here. Not with the high council being situated right here in the city too.
"Well, we better start packing some provisions then." Yalu said.
Once he finished saying that the older chimp stood up from the table and started heading for the door. Ann got up too to follow her husband.
"I'll help you, Sir." Loomis says, as he gets up to go with them.
Galen and Hanna shared a smile, as they too get up to follow his parents and their servant back inside the house.
"You say it's around two days, dear? So, we really don't have to pack a lot, yes?" Ann asks her husband.
"Just enough to get us through a couple days. Then we can always restock in Akron for the trip back." Yalu replied.
Then he turns to his servant.
"Loomis, can you please get the empty food sacks out of the pantry?" Yalu asks him.
"Of course, Sir." Loomis says, then heads for the pantry in the kitchen.
"We'll start getting out the food then." Ann says.
She, her husband, Galen, and Hanna enter the kitchen.
The older couple started grabbing food out of the cabinets and food bins. Galen went to assist them. Hanna went to help too, though she stayed with Galen because he knew where everything was, and she didn't. Between the four of them, they pulled out many various types of food within a few minutes and placed it all on the kitchen table.
Loomis came over with a few empty sacks and started handing some of them out to everyone. He kept and started helping them all fill the sacks with all the food.
"Alright, this should do. Loomis, help me take them out to the carriage, we'll throw them on top, as usual." Yalu says.
"Right." Loomis replied.
"Shouldn't I help?" Galen asked.
"No, stay here. You and her only come out when we get into the carriage and leave." His father told him.
There was a total of four fairly large sacks filled with food. Yalu took two and Loomis took the other two. They both exited through a side door to the home that Ann opened up for them. Then the two males lightly tossed the sacks up top.
Afterwards Loomis reached underneath in a little storage compartment and pulled out some thin ropes they keep to tie things down on top of the carriage. He stepped up onto the driver's seat and then onto the roof of the carriage and started tying the sacks down.
Inside the home, they waited for the servant to finish tying everything down.
Ann packed a couple things to take with her during the trip. She also packed some blankets they would need for when they were to settle down at night to sleep and water canteens. This will also be the first time in a while she was traveling beyond the city.
She walked out of the bedroom carrying a travel bag with the blankets in them and a couple other essentials and brought it out to the living room to wait with the others.
Not long after, Loomis came back in and informed everyone that everything was ready. He also hitched up the horse too. So, they were good to go.
Afterwards, everyone quietly went through the side door out to the carriage parked right outside the home. Yalu and Loomis headed out first, followed by Ann. Her husband and servant went to sit up in the driver's seat. While Ann opened the door to the carriage and ushered her son and Hanna inside. She was the last one in.
"Galen pull the curtains closed on the window behind you." His mother instructed.
He complied and turned around to close it, while his mother turned and closed the curtains on the window behind her. This way, no one can see inside. They all sat down. Ann put the travel bag down by her feet.
"Everyone settled in?" Yalu lightly called inside from the driver's seat.
"Yes, dear. We're ready." His wife replied.
Not long after, Loomis flicked the reins and got the carriage going.
They pulled out onto the wide dirt path in front of the home and turned left onto it. Because it was nighttime, they had to walk the horse and carriage through the city. As they turned onto a couple roads, they did pass a couple gorilla guards walking about. All the guards did was nod at the councilman as he rode past them.
It took a few minutes to get through the city streets to get to a back road that would lead them through the woods towards the coast.
Once they did clear the city though and got onto the bac road, Loomis brought the horse to a trot. The carriage began to move faster as they went. The more distance they put between them and Central City, the better.
Galen carefully peeked through the curtain behind him. He peered out for a few moments before closing the curtain and turning to face his mother and Hanna.
"Looks like we cleared the city and are now traveling down a back road through the woods." Galen told them.
"Good, and at this pace, we should be at the coast in a few short hours." Ann said.
"Sounds good. Been a while since we seen the beach." Hanna says.
Galen was sitting right next to her. He turned his gaze to her with a small smile.
"I think what you really miss is splashing me and trying to get me as wet as possible." He joked.
She couldn't stop the amused grin from appearing on her face.
"No, I really do miss it. Seeing as I grew up near the water and all. Getting you wet is just a bonus." Hanna replied with a wide grin.
Ann found her response pretty amusing. It seems, this woman is just as witty and humorous as her son. Probably why he was so taken with her.
Now, that they were on this little journey to Akron, it gave the older female chimp plenty of time to talk to Hanna and get to know her herself. She was very curious about the young woman that captured her son's interest and heart.
"So, Hanna. Where are you from?" Ann asks.
The young woman shifted her attention to the older woman sitting across from them.
"I'm originally from a town called Belmar. It's a very beachy town near the water." Hanna replied.
"Interesting, and in your time, is it around here or another part of the world?" His mother asked.
"It's way across country on the east coast. So, it's well over two-thousand, eight-hundred miles away from here." She says.
"That is very far. Take months to get there by horse or carriage." Ann said.
"Yeah, it would. Though it would make for quite the trip." Hanna lightly teased.
His mother chuckled a little at that.
"Indeed, it would. Though as much as Yalu likes to travel, I still doubt he would go that far. Though who knows, Lario maybe crazy enough to attempt it." Ann joked.
Galen chuckled, "Yes, with him, I can believe it too. Probably make a ton of friends on the way."
"Just a ton?" Hanna questioned, in a joking manner.
Everyone shared a small laugh there.
"No, you're right. Probably make friends with more than half the continent." Galen added, with some laughter in his voice.
The three of them continued to converse and joke with one another.
They all had a reason to be very happy and in high spirits right now. Because they were finally headed to somewhere they will be safe and the best part was, they were lucky enough to catch a ride there instead of walking the whole way.
Until Next Time ;)