Anthony sniffed the air. In all his days hunting humans, he knew a powerful smell came from them, especially when they were stressed. A gorilla's sense of smell wasn't that much stronger than a human's, but they had such a powerful aura that it couldn't be missed. He recalled coming across a herd of them many years ago, they'd gotten into a fruit orchard of one of the orangutan families in the city. He also remembered how they scattered when he and his calvary came riding through the trees.

Those who wouldn't be scared away were shot, and those who would run would come back, that's what his father taught him. He took those words to mean that the only good human was a dead human.

He thought of those apes who sought to protect the vermin and he concluded that he just couldn't understand them. What good were these disgusting, stupid animals to begin with? None that he could tell– they weren't even cute enough to be a pet. All they could do was destroy ape crops and kill each other.

Anthony tightened his grip on the wooden spear he carried. There were other gorillas spread out in the woods as well, every one with clear instructions– Kill the human, find the young chimpanzees. He wasn't sure what Brutus was thinking, or Ziro for that matter. He'd served under Gareth, Brutus's father for years now and he knew Brutus since he was just a little ape. Anthony couldn't fathom that the son of the chimpanzee representative would just go off and leave with the human– at least before yesterday.

He couldn't bring himself to believe that Brutus would do what he saw, but he knew how much time the young chimpanzee spent around Julius. A flash of anger flared in his chest as he thought of the orangutan. He hated to think that an ape as accomplished as that could fall so far and take the youth with him.

Movement from up ahead made him pause and crouch low into the foliage. A lone deer emerged from the trees, grazing in the undergrowth.

Anthony fingered the gun that was slung across his back, but he had to remember that he had limited ammunition. He had his spear, but the gun was better for long range shots. He thought about hunting the deer to have meat for a few meals, but shooting the gun was loud enough to scare away his query.

He let go of the gun and sighed, straightening up and scaring the buck away. He scanned the woods and suddenly, he spotted something. Peeking out from the side of a drop below the trees was something that looked out of place. He swung down and landed at the mouth of an overhang made by the tree roots.

It was a clever place, he wouldn't have seen it if it wasn't for the handle of a makeshift cot sticking out like a sore thumb. Signs of a few apes that'd spent the night were left on the ground and even a few bundles of supplies.

Looking around, he realized that he'd been here not two hours before, he'd made a circle. He realized too that the trail leaving the overhang was fresh, too fresh. He'd been so close, and yet he wasn't observant enough to see what was literally right under his nose.

He gripped his spear and studied the tracks that lead off into the underground, and smiled. He loved the hunt, but he was also sad for Brutus and Ziro, they'd have to see him kill the human.

—

Franklin was following behind Ziro, who was following behind Jayda, who was following Brutus. They formed a single line snaking efficiently through the woods. Jayda looked around, trying to spot something she recognized. She wasn't sure what side of the waterfall they were on or if there'd be signs of the human group she'd been traveling with.

She wondered where they were now, possibly looking for her, or maybe they'd forgotten. That last thought suddenly made her feel incredibly lonely. She was shocked at herself, lonely? Just two days before she'd been craving aloneness and wishing that they'd leave her alone. She wondered what had changed.

Perhaps they were the closest thing to a family that she'd had since her parent's deaths. They were silent and little more aware than the deer and other animals that inhabited the forest, but somehow they'd given her someone to be around and they seemed to care in their own primitive way.

She thought of her present company she traveled with. Apes had killed her family, hunted her group, and yet these three plus Julius were risking more than she understood.

She was grateful that they chose to stick by her, but she was also worried. There was always a seed of doubt in her mind that they had something else planned. It was a small seed, but it was present nonetheless.

"How far is it to the waterfall?" Franklin said, breathing heavily.

The group was climbing a rise out of a small valley where they could look back and see a drop they had just hiked down.

Ziro answered, "not too much further, just remember to breathe."

Jayda looked back and saw that Franklin's face was shiny from sweat and he was lagging behind. She slowed her pace and Brutus soon was far ahead.

Ziro was looking at her with a strange expression, like she'd done something he wasn't expecting.

"Did you do that for him?" He asked so the others couldn't hear.

She nodded.

"Huh."

—

Ziro watched the human curiously as they continued but at a slower pace. The fact that she noticed Franklin struggling showed something in there that he hadn't considered before. Everything she'd done before showed self preservation, but this was his witness that she could care for something other than her own survival.

He checked on Franklin again. He was looking slightly better but he knew that he couldn't handle this traveling as well as the rest of them. He'd spent most of his time in the city. Sure, he'd been in the forest before, but never this deep and never overnight.

He looked back to talk to him again, "You can do this, just be aware of your-"

His blood turned to ice, behind them on the rise was the hulking figure of a gorilla and on closer look he could see it was Anthony with his rifle drawn.

"Get down!" He shouted, leaping over and shoving Franklin's head down into the undergrowth.

A shot rang out and his heart stopped when he saw the human falling and rolling down the incline, but a small explosion and the sound of ricochet told him that Anthony had missed. He watched in horror as the Gorilla aimed his spear and threw it with only the force that an ape of his size could muster.

"Jayda! Move!"

The human wasted no time in rolling out of the way, but the spear impaled itself in the dirt about three yards short.

Jayda scrambled to his feet and started climbing the incline, but another shot from the gorilla hit just above her hand, causing her to fall back again.

The speed at which Anthony retrieved his spear shocked all of them and Ziro saw the gorilla's eye lock onto the human. Brutus could only watch in horror as the gorilla drew back and prepared to throw the spear once again. He didn't have time to see Jayda diving into the undergrowth.

"Leave her be!" Ziro cried, pushing Franklin down again and rushing forward.

The flash of something large and wooden whistled past Franklin's head and he turned just in time to see the thick shaft of the gorilla's spear pierce his brother's chest.

A cold feeling spread quickly through Ziro's limbs and he looked down at his chest. Blood was seeping slowly out of the wound and he was falling faster than he ever imagined.

—

Brutus' whole body turned to ice and Franklin screamed. Ziro staggered and he looked at Brutus before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell back into the undergrowth.

-

Julius leaned against his cell, a deep weight had suddenly fallen in his heart. He knew something was very wrong, but he couldn't tell what it was.

"By the lawgiver, let them be alright," He whispered.

–

Jayda felt the earth shift sideways. Ziro was gone, she'd felt it. The sound seemed to have disappeared from the world and she saw Franklin screaming, but she couldn't hear anything.

Ziro, the one who doubted her the most, yet he'd shown the most faith in the end. The one that sacrificed himself instead of her. Just like her mother, her father, her silent mother… now Ziro.

Something snapped inside her chest and a hot feeling spread to the end of her shaking fingers- which curled around the end of the spear Ziro had dropped. She turned to see the shadow of the gorilla that still stood at the top of the rise, daring to look surprised after what he'd just done.

Jayda's jaw set and she sprung with the fire of rage burning under her skin. The gorilla reeled back in surprise, but Jayda did not hesitate. She brought the spear up and thrust the tip deep into his abdomen.

He let out a howl that shook the trees. With little effort, the gorilla reached down and broke the end of the spear before he pulled out the tip. The spear's end, now splintered, was still in her grip. Blood seeped freely from the wound in the gorilla's belly and he stumbled, his mistake evident.

Still filled with a livid fire, Jayda lunged again and stabbed the splintered end of the spear into the same place in his belly. blood sprayed onto her arms and she felt it land on her face, the large drops leaving streaks of crimson. The gorilla cried out again, but he was losing too much blood to react more and he dropped to his knees. He looked into Jayda's wild eyes.

"Not…kill…ape," the words fell from his treacherous lips.

"I am not ape," She said in a harsh whisper.

The gorilla's eyes widened for one moment and then he was gone, his expression left staring blankly at the canopy of the trees above. Jayda couldn't move, her hands frozen to the shaft of the spear.

A shifting in the undergrowth made her whip her head around, Brutus was staring in horror at the bloody scene. She became hyper aware of the blood staining her arms and cooling on her face. Her breath was ragged, and she looked past Brutus to see Ziro's lifeless form laying in the undergrowth.

She felt the heat travel up to her face and tears began to flow hot and free. Her throat clenched and her ragged breath turned to sobs and she sank to the ground. The forest was still and quiet, mocking the turmoil in her chest. She'd just killed a living being, stolen that life- whatever he'd done. A cold tentacle slithered around her throat and into her chest, spreading over her skin. No wonder Brutus' father was afraid, she'd proven she was a monster.

Suddenly, something warm surrounded her shoulders. Fingers were unclasping her hands from the spear and she found she could let go. She looked up and she could make out an ape's face through her tears.

"Ziro, he killed Ziro," she said hoarsely.

The arm around her stiffened and she heard an intake of breath from somewhere nearby. But it seemed that now she'd actually spoken, there was an entire dam of twenty years of words that shattered. She began to blabber uncontrollably with a stream of unrecognizable words that tumbled out without rhythm or reason.

"Jayda, calm down," Brutus' voice broke.

She trailed off back into silence and tried to regain control of her breathing.

Brutus slowly let go, "I'll be right back."

When he was gone, she pulled her knees to her chest and rocked. Something she hadn't done in years, but the pain she was feeling seemed to call back every painful memory she'd forgotten about- or didn't let herself remember.

Running, she had to keep running, her lungs were going to give out, but her father kept tugging on her arm. Gunshots from behind, whizzing projectiles exploded part of a log next to her. She looked back to see a human running behind them, suddenly, their chest was gushing blood and they fell. She turned back forward in time to see her father duck, a bullet whizzing above his head, shredding the leaves. He looked back, eyes wide, then his head turned to look at something next to them. A human woman was cowering in the entrance to a cave, beckoning to them.

Her father crouched and dragged both of them to the mouth of the narrow crevice and they ducked inside, breathing hard.

Gunshots were heard, growing fainter, and he turned to see the human who saved them.

(Thank you) he mouthed.

She looked on with confusion, but was eyeing her particularly. She reached out and stroked Jayda's head as a calming gesture. Sounds of apes were coming closer. Her father looked from the woman to herself, and with tears in his eyes, he hugged Jayda tightly, kissing the top of her head and cheeks, smearing them with tears. He guided her hand to the woman and she nodded to him. He stood and ran from the cave, drawing the rest of the apes in the wrong direction. They waited hours, but he never came back.

Jayda drew breath as she came out of the memories and she looked up again and saw Brutus' form by Ziro's body. She couldn't see Franklin, but heard his sobs coming from behind Brutus. Hearing his pain, she realized she wasn't alone in her grief. She'd been through loss before, she knew a piece of what he must've been feeling.

She stood, painfully aware of her appearance, but she knew she was needed, they needed to share their grief. Together, it was a lighter burden. She'd known what it was to grieve alone, she wouldn't wish it on another.

She approached Ziro's body and saw his eyes were staring off at something far away, the spear the gorilla threw was sticking out of his chest. Brutus was hugging a sobbing Franklin, she knelt and slowly moved closer to them. She sat close to Ziro's head, and touched his face. He was still warm, but there was no life under his skin. Gently, she closed his eyes, wishing that they could've seen something different in his last moments than betrayal.

"I'm sorry," the words felt empty, but she felt like she should say something.

Brutus looked around and Franklin's face lifted off the chimp's shoulder. Jayda kept her face downcast, she felt she couldn't look them in the eye. She waited, desperately wishing they'd say something, but also hoping they wouldn't acknowledge her.

Then, she felt a body slam into her, it was Franklin.

For a moment she thought he was attacking her, angry at her for his brother's death, but then she realized that he was crying into her shoulder. She hesitated, then slowly wrapped her arms around the young ape.

"Ziro believed you were good, he didn't know it, but he did," Franklin whispered.

"I hope so," she whispered, the heavy weight of guilt gnawing at her stomach.