Night had fallen when Gareth burst through the entrance of the holding cell wing, heart thudding and hands clenched in anger. This heretic was going to pay for ruining his son's life and future and sending him with a human that killed the young ape's best friend. He stormed passed the doors leading to a collection of a few cells containing only a couple criminals. Julius's cell was sitting at the end, the only one where a voice could be heard.

Gareth slowed and stopped before the door, listening. It sounded like deep moans from a wounded animal were coming from the other side of the wood. He froze, the sounds were echoing off the walls in a grating way that drilled into his soul.

He looked up at the gorilla guard and spoke softly, but sternly, "Leave us, make sure no one comes this way."

The gorilla nodded, and left to stand at the entrance of the hallway. Gareth waited until he was out of earshot and pulled a ring of keys from his pocket that he collected at the entrance. The door opened and what he saw behind it was something that chilled him to his core.

Julius was in the corner, his head in his huge hands. He looked up when Gareth approached and the chimpanzee could see the anguish in the orangutan's wide face.

"Don't- Don't tell me, not… not Brutus too."

Gareth shook his head, "If it were, you'd be on your way to an execution right now."

Julius sighed shakily in relief, but then he looked up again, "then why are you here?"

Gareth drew back, he'd been so angry coming to see Julius that he never actually considered what he was going to say. The berating he had planned died a fraction when he saw the ape's pitiful state.

Gareth pulled himself together, he was the chimpanzee representative after all.

"I just want to know why, why did you send Brutus out there with a dangerous human?"

"Jayda."

Gareth was taken aback, "what?"

"Her name is Jayda, and she's not dangerous."

The chimpanzee felt white hot anger shoot up his neck.

"A young chimpanzee is dead because of that creature!" He raised his voice, "Ape shall not kill ape, but humans are not part of that! They are savages, animals! How else do you explain that? How else could Ziro have gotten killed?"

Julius's eyes narrowed and he rose from his spot where he'd been sitting.

"Have you ever seen a human Gareth? Really seen one that's not behind a cage? That human wouldn't hurt a soul. Not if they hadn't tried to hurt her first!"

Julius's voice became low and dangerous, "She's been through more at the hands of apes than we can ever know. And Ziro knew that, he saw a creature that needed help and he helped her despite his doubts. He trusted Brutus."

At the mention of Brutus's name, Gareth clenched his powerful fists.

"What do I care about the wellbeing of a single human, Where is my son? What happened to Brutus?"

Julius's expression faltered and he looked to be debating with himself before deciding to speak again.

"Brutus and Ziro found Jayda injured in the woods and they brought her to my home. I took charge caring for her and offering my advice, and they both decided to take her back to the home where she'd come from."

"And where is that?" Gareth roared.

"The human knows, she is their map."

The idiocy of that statement nearly sent Gareth into a murderous rage, but he took a moment to calm himself, he was the chimpanzee representative after all.

"You are a fool. how could you let them go off alone like that?"

"I have been saying this to them from the beginning. I would offer all of my help and advice, And I would go with them if they asked," he glared at the wall as though he could see through it.

Gareth turned away, absorbing this new information, while beginning to pick at the hair on his arm. The thought that his son was capable of betraying everything he'd been tought was ludicrous, and yet…

He continued to pace the cell with the same intensity as his wife's office. If it was true that Brutus was the mastermind in this, he was in more than a little trouble if he came back. Heresy wasn't a light sentence, and even Julius was looking at another few years before being properly banished. Gareth's mind raced with ways that he could possibly save Brutus from the same fate.

—

The sun dawned and rose high as the day grew unusually warm for autumn. The strange trio had reached the thinning trees next to a drop off that sloped steeply downward into a dry valley. Franklin's knees ached from climbing rocks and knotted stumps and his mouth was dry. They'd been eating nothing but fruit and dried meat for the last two days and he was aching for something warm and hearty. The water had also begun to run low in their waterskins.

He looked up to see the sweat beading on the back of Brutus's neck and clinging to his dark fur. Suddenly, Franklin's toes were throbbing when he hit them on an invisible root and he let out a small gasp. Both Jayda and Brutus turned to look back at him.

"You alright?" Brutus asked.

Franklin nodded, flexing his toes to make sure they were all working.

"Get down," Jayda suddenly hissed, dropping into the undergrowth.

The apes followed and they noticed the human wriggling into an opening next to a fallen tree. The apes followed suit, finding similar spaces to occupy. Franklin found himself pressed into the space between a boulder and a tree root a few feet off the invisible trail they'd been following. His heart pounded in his ears and his mouth had gone quite dry.

After a moment, both apes could hear what caused the alarm. Something bigger than them was moving through the trees at a steady pace.

Franklin risked a peek around the boulder and immediately slipped back down. A large chimpanzee, taller and broader than any other he'd seen in his short life, was carrying a large spear and a traveling pack. His origin was unclear, as Franklin hadn't seen him in his city before, nor did the little chimp know of any towns close by.

His shoulders trembled and breathing came in shallow gasps and he forced himself to try to breathe normally. The space he'd wedged himself into was extremely uncomfortable and he was sure his arm would lose couldn't see Brutus or Jayda, his vision obscured by the waist-high ferns.

The new chimpanzee stopped below them about fifty yards away from the edge of the ridge they'd been traveling along. Franklin guessed he was listening, watching carefully for any sign of movement.

Suddenly, a loud thud followed by the sounds of upset birds made him jump. A deep hmp came from somewhere to his left and the sound of something being ripped from the dirt.

A flash of memory appeared in Franklin's mind, horribly vivid. He could see his brother's body disappear into the ferns and hear himself screaming. For a terrible moment he thought he'd screamed aloud, but he discovered that it was only in his head. He clenched his teeth and focused on staying perfectly still.

Heavy footsteps moved away and Franklin let out a long, silent breath. He waited a few more minutes in the stump until the birds began to twitter in the trees again. Slowly, he peeked up over the ferns and was met by Jayda's frightened gaze.

"That was too close, if I were a snake I could've bitten him," her voice was low and it shook.

"Why would you want to bite him?" Franklin asked, getting to his feet, trembling.

"It's just something my parents said sometimes, what I mean is that it was way too close for comfort," she said, stroking the ends of her hair nervously.

Franklin looked around, noticing a distinct absence of the third member of their company.

"Where's-?"

Suddenly, Brutus appeared in the branches of a thick and gnarled tree, dropping down to land softly onto the undergrowth.

"There's a city nearby," he said.

"What?" Jayda and Franklin said together.

Brutus pointed in the direction of the valley, "I saw signs of a road ahead. It looks like a busy one too."

Jayda looked shaken, "I don't remember an ape city being this close."

The trio looked at one another before Franklin chose to ask the obvious question, "Do we go?"

Brutus's jaw clenched and his eyes casted around for an answer. They all were tired of hiking through the woods, but they weren't sure how welcome the three of them would be even if the human didn't speak. Jayda fidgeted, her eyes glazing the way they did when she seemed to be remembering something.

Brutus started a sentence with what seemed to be the hope he would have an idea when he finished, "I think… we should have a look from a distance."

—

Brutus, Jayda, and Franklin crept along the top of the slope, keeping in the large, shrubby bushes that grew there until they could see a collection of strange boxes arranged around the center of a circle. A white line snaked up their slope with another one leading deeper into the valley.

They drew even closer until they could see shapes moving between the boxy buildings the same color as the dusty rock. Soon they could make out individuals and noticed something very strange.

A large number of shapes were clearly apes going about their business, but they noticed a large number of humans. Brutus's heart leapt when he realized just how many humans there were. Then all three of them saw something that made their hearts sink. The humans were walking in a wretched manner with a large number of them limping and the rest being tugged along by thick leather leashes.

Brutus noticed Jayda's fists clench in the dirt, then a sound reached his ears that made him stiffen and wave the rest deeper into the bushes.

Hooves were pounding hard ground at a walk and there were other sounds too, like the noise of many feet trodding on a path. Brutus risked a look out of the bush and saw a group crossing the land, weaving through the trees.

They noticed a mounted rider followed by a flank of other apes, both gorilla and chimpanzee. Behind them Brutus feared what was to come, and he would be right. A line of humans followed sadly behind, each tied with a leash and marching quietly. Suddenly, he saw something he never expected, but dreadful.

A man and a child with red hair.

"I know those humans," Brutus said, his voice faint.

"What?" Franklin gasped.

"That man and the one with the red hair, I freed them from the lab."

"How'd they get caught so soon and from so far away?" Franklin asked no one in particular.

"They might have been following us," Jayda said, missing the rhetorical nature of the question.

She looked from Brutus to the group of humans that have moved on below, "What's the plan?"

The apes stared at her, she looked expectantly at each of them in turn.

"Brutus, you didn't leave me behind so I doubt we're just going to leave them there. I know you have to be thinking something," she said.

Brutus picked at the fur on his arm, looking down at the apes tugging at the human's chains. It was hard to tell from up so high, but he almost imagined he could see tears falling down the man's face.

"Franklin, how much money do we have?" He asked.

"Not enough, my father pays almost triple to scare humans away from our orchards," Franklin shook his head, "I can't imagine how much it would be to actually buy both of them."

Brutus caught Jayda's worried look before an idea popped into existence in his head, "Is there enough for a leash?"

—

"No matter what, we will make it back to this side of the city," Brutus said, "if we get seperated, we'll meet on the top of the ridge."

The leash was rough against Jayda's skin, just walking was rubbing it raw. Brutus's uneven gait made it hard to keep the rope from tugging and he looked back apologetically.

They'd found an outcropping of rocks at the top of the edge that led into a small cavern in which they hid the majority of their packs besides what could be considered valuable. They hoped that somehow, they'd be able to bribe someone into letting the man and child go.

Traveling on the road into the valley was altogether different than the soft, cool earth of the forest floor. The sun's heat radiated from the dirt and stone, reminding them of their empty waterskins.

upon drawing closer to the city, they realized the buildings went right up to the edge of the steep incline of the valley, some were even built on the side of the rocky hill.

Franklin and Brutus, coming from a primarily flat, humid area couldn't help but be impressed by the tall walls of the dry valley. Even more impressive, every house was made from stone and mortar and was clustered close to its neighbors. The young apes stared in awe at the beautiful, earthy stone.

Jayda felt her jaw clench as they drew closer, they were within earshot of the nearest apes and their human captives. She wondered if they understood the concept of freedom. The cleanest humans seemed to be owned by the wealthier apes, and they didn't have the same look in their eyes as the ones dressed in rags who had ribs poking through their skin.

She jumped when she accidentally brushed Brutus's arm, not realizing that she'd sped up to walk closer to him. She slowed a bit and found Franklin behind hugging close to her as well.

The kinship of their experience as strangers was causing their trio to knit together as they slipped into the city. There were no guards at the gates, but each of them felt a prickle on the back of their necks as if they were being watched. Apes and their human companions were buffeting the trio like a boat on a choppy sea. They had to stick to one another just to avoid bumping into the people around them.

"There must be a place where they keep those humans in here somewhere," Franklin muttered so the others could hear him.

Brutus nodded, "let's start looking in the center."

Finding the center if the city was proving more difficult than they initially planned. No roads seemed to lead straight and they crossed with other paths and soon they were hopelessly lost in the labyrinth of buildings.

"I have to stop," Franklin breathed, finding an empty stretch of wall in an alley and leaning against it.

They paused, catching their breath.

"If it was this hard for us to come this far, it must've been slower for the line of humans to make it," Brutus painted.

"I'm sure they've been here before," Franklin pointed out, "we, on the other hand, need help."

They looked around, trying to see the ridges of the valley to try to give them some sense of direction. However, the buildings rose so high that they couldn't see over them. A horrible sense of dread fell over all of them. Jayda turned, wincing at the raw skin around her neck.

She wondered if either Brutus or Franklin would be able to climb up to get some sense of direction. Looking closely, The sides of the stone buildings were smoothed with what seemed to be special mud. It didn't seem like the chimpanzee's would be able to find purchase on the surface.

"Hey! You two!" The gruff voice made all three of them whip around.

An orangutan with an official looking tunic and sash with a sparkling patch was standing at the end of the alley. Franklin and Brutus froze, but Jayda noticed their hands trembling ever so slightly.

"Yes?" Brutus said in the most professional voice he could muster.

"Where's the license for that human?"

Jayda's stomach dropped and apparently so had the others. The two apes mouthed for a second before Brutus decided to say something.

"We, uh, were just on our way to get one when we got lost, someone told us the office was next to where the other humans were being kept."

Franklin nodded, "my brother here has a horrible sense of direction, and, well…" He shot Jayda an apologetic look for a fraction of a second, "this one's not much better."

The orangutan stared at them for enough time that Franklin was terrified he'd made a mistake. Suddenly, the orangutan began to laugh.

"I have to say, that's one I haven't heard before," he said, still chuckling.

He approached and reached for the end of the leash that Brutus was still gripping tightly. Brutus backed up, Jayda right behind them.

The orangutan's brows furrowed, "No license, no proof that the human belongs to you. We don't even know if it's been treated for disease."

"I told you, we're on our way to the office when we got lost," Brutus said firmly.

The orangutan glared, "A likely story, considering both of you are at the furthest point you could be from the market itself."

The orangutan began making a grab for the end of the leash, but Brutus kept holding it out of his reach.

"If you could give us directions, I promise we'll get her registered as soon as we get there," Franklin said, trying to step in between them.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that," the orangutan snapped, "and unless you want me to arrest the both of you, you will hand that human over to me."

—

Franklin wasn't sure what madness overcame him that next moment, but for all he knew, he had grabbed the leash from Brutus and was now sprinting down the street with the human in tow. Brutus was following hastily, after using the orangutan's momentary confusion to push him aside and followed the young ape and human back into the busy street.

They dodged between couples, Skirted around corners, and frightened similarly leashed humans into a frenzy, causing their masters to yell, beat, or similarly try to get their humans back into little trio finally found a crowd that couldn't be pushed through and so they attempted to melt unnoticed into the bustle. Franklin could slip between apes and humans more easily than Jayda who was bumping into angry persons. Franklin noticed when he glanced back and handed the leash back to Brutus.

Jayda clenched and unclenched her hands as the trio were buffeted by bodies all around. Strange smells wafted from stalls and buildings like spicy smoke and something sweetly bitter.

A hearty liquid in a large pot in one of the stalls smelled particularly appealing. Upon passing it, Jayda realized it was a kind of medicine with a strange female orangutan dressed in loose robes slowly stirring it with a smile that made the vendor next to her shiver.

Then, behind her she heard a voice call out to the orangutan. Jayda glanced back to see a chimpanzee making his way through the crowd and stopping at the female's side.

"Delphi! Did you hear the rumors going around?"

This made Jayda pause and Brutus, who was still holding her leash, stopped too. Curiosity for news overtook them and they grabbed Franklin before he wandered too far ahead.

They made their way back until they spotted the chimpanzee leaning next to the orangutan, talking animatedly to her. Jayda noticed the chimpanzee was wearing a fine necklace of glittering stones that caught the light in a way that Brutus's didn't. She thought that this must be an ape from a noble position in such a large city. She also noticed that no human was following him.

"Apes say many things, only some of which are true," the orangutan, Delphi, said sagely.

Franklin and Brutus pretended to be interested in the vendor's wares next to Delphi's booth, leaving Jayda to stare around like the other humans, watching for the orangutan that almost arrested them.

"But this one comes from my cousin from above the valley, he says that some strange travelers have been spotted next to the forbidden canyon," the chimpanzee said earnestly, "many are well armed."

"They say an old hermit lives in those rocks, one that has strange magic about them, but who knows?" The orangutan laughed, "Maybe it's my cousin who finally learned that no one appreciated his poetry."

Brutus and Franklin glanced uncomfortably at one another and the chimpanzee looked frustrated, "I'm serious, what if this means another attack? and what's more, he found some wild humans with a strange look, surely there must be signs of dangerous men again."

"If there are, we'll know soon enough. Do not worry with speculation too much young Sirius," Delphi shook her head, making her yellow-orange fur around her face dance and the robes shake, "If you continue to, perhaps seeing the humans themselves will ease your mind. You will see that they are quite dull."

The chimpanzee nodded glumly and bid her farewell. The little trio looked at one another and nodded, leaving the frustrated vendor without buying anything and following the chimpanzee as close as they dared.

They pushed their way to the other side and looked back, scanning the crowd for any sign of the orangutan pursuing them. A loud clang made them jump and suddenly they heard a voice like thunder from the clouds. The words it was saying were hard to make out, but they found that the crowd began to change direction and move the opposite way.

"I have a hunch what that's about," Brutus said, leading the others along the edge of the crowd by the walls of the buildings, keeping the chimpanzee the orangutan had called Sirius within their sight.