The Ape King

Epilogue 1: Project Adam

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He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He shouldn't be nervous, yet he was. Most of the hard work had been done and he had already laid all the ground work leading up to this moment. Yet he couldn't stop the odd feeling in his stomach. He could hear Liam, Tania, and Benny behind him. They were anxious as well. He took a moment to reflect on all that had happened.

•

Four years ago. It seemed so long ago when he had finally been able to get up and had limped for days to get to a city. He had left out a lot when he had seen Penny again two years ago. All that he had endured. Including tracking down his aunt. He had finally found her in New York. He still remembered the day he met her.

It was pouring rain but he couldn't wait any longer after obtaining her address. He had dug into who his parents were and researched for many weeks to find his aunt. He had shown up at her apartment, Soaking wet. He knocked and held his breath as the door opened. A woman that seemed to be in her late sixties opened the door and peered up at him through glasses. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

"Eraic?" She asked in wonder.

He noted that she had an Irish accent before he shook his head.

"No, ma'am. I am his son, Alsander." He spoke softly.

She put a hand to her mouth and ushered him inside. She had given him towels and a blanket to cover himself while she dried his clothes. After making sure he was comfortable, she sat across from him and stared in wonder at him.

"I'm sorry. It's just that you look just like him. Your da, I mean. Except for your eyes. Eraic had hazel eyes but not like that. Yours are like the sun." She paused as she looked into his eyes curiously.

"Anyway, I'm your aunt Niamh. I'm overjoyed your alive and well, Alsander. The last your da and mam spoke to me was to tell me they were on the run. Eraic didn't tell me me why but I knew it was bad. He told me if something ever happened to them, I'd be in charge of your inheritance until you came home." She paused to reign in her emotions.

"Days turned into weeks. Then months and years. I thought you all had died. Although I never gave up hope. Thirty-four years was a long time, child. If you wouldn't mind telling me, I'd like to know how you survived." She said the last part gently.

He had, in fact, been expecting that question since the moment he saw her. He gave her a nod and a pained smile.

"I believe we owe my superior genetics that credit. My father and mother did pass away due to illness but I did not. I was raised by apes and was lucky enough to have a second family. My ape mother-" He paused. It still caused him pain to think of her. "-her name was Asha and she called me Zane. I am here because I wanted to know my human family. Yours was the only name I could find. Why is that?"

Now it was her turn to give a pained smile.

"When your parents ran, men in suits came looking. I had a husband at the time and two small children. Your mam had family in England but they had disowned her when she eloped with your da. My husband and your uncle, Sean, he worked with the government. It was him that let those people know about Eraic and how much of a great scientist he was. He always had a lot of guilt about that. After he heard of them sniffing around, Sean set to work in hiding us. He changed our names and hid us in plain sight. After my children were grown and Sean passed, I changed my name back. I wanted to be sure that if you ever came looking, you'd find me. Those people from the lab....whoever they were, never came knocking. I figured they thought you and your parents had died too."