Surviving

Chapter 7

Koba was silent on the way back to his treehouse. You were dying to ask him about what had happened between him and Caesar but with a look at his scowling features, you chose, wisely, to keep your curiosity under check.

As it was, you waited only until you were both back in the treehouse you shared with him before you let your frustration boil over.

"What was that?" you asked him, sharply. He ignored you, pretending to busy himself with what you assumed were his weapons, hidden in a dark corner at the back of the hut.

You tried again, growing increasingly angrier the longer he ignored you. "What is your problem?" He refused to respond. "Why do you hate me?!" you finally yelled, fed up with his treatment of you. Warm and almost caring one day and icy cold cruelty the next. This, at least, finally got a reaction from him.

"Should not be here" he hissed, spinning to face you "Are not ape. Do not know ape ways"

Your eyes widened in shock. "Excuse me? You were the one to bring me here!" you huffed incredulously. "I was just FINE on my own!" You crossed your arms, glaring daggers at him. He huffed mockingly at you, his face twisted into that sneer you hated so much.

"Lies" he muttered, turning away from you dismissively.

"What?" you growled. He turned back, still sneering.

"Lies" he said, louder this time. "Not fine. Never fine. Is lie" his mouth twisted into a horrible parody of a smirk. "Koba sees. Koba knows"

"What do you mean?" you asked, caught off guard by his words. He scowled at your lack of understanding, then moved closer to you, getting up in your space aggressively and forcing you to back off slightly.

"Are. Not. Fine" he growled, emphasising each word angrily. You blinked at him in shock. He grinned, maliciously happy to have caught you off guard. "Family dead. Humans dead. Blame yourself" he paused for a second, searching your face for something. He must have found it in your slack-jawed expression as his grin got impossibly wider. "Wish to join them" he hissed smugly.

"What?" you breathed. How could he know that simply from looking at you? It wasn't possible. He continued to watch you, unblinking. It seemed that his one good eye was able to see much more than most people could with two. It's cold calculating gaze was unsettling to say the least. "That-that's not true" you spluttered indignantly, but it sounded weak even to your ears. He just huffed again, not even bothering to reply to your obvious lie.

"Its not true!" you said again, louder. He turned away from you, dismissively. "Its not!" you yelled, reaching out a hand to grab his shoulder. As soon as you hand made contact with him, he exploded. You barely had time to process his reaction before you were up against the wall of his hut, branches digging painfully into your back, Koba's canines only millimetres away from your jugular. You remained frozen like that for a while, the only sound Koba's heavy breathing and your involuntary whimper of fear.

"Do. Not. Touch" Koba growled in your face, his eye flashing murder. You let out a noise of agreement, barely daring to nod. He huffed angrily at you then finally stepped away. You stood, pressed against the wall, shaking uncontrollably. Caesar's rage couldn't compare to Koba's. The terrifying sight of his unhinged, awfully scarred face so close to your own was enough to cause anyone to have a panic attack, and you, having stared down cougars and the king of apes himself, were reduced to nothing more than whimpering prey in the sights of his anger. Koba offered no explanation for his sudden attack, simply sending a scathing look in the direction of your shaking form and heading out into the deepening twilight.

It took you a long time before you were calm enough to move from you position against the wall. Hands still shaking and heart pounding fit to burst, you made you way over to where your backpack had been placed against the nest. Digging through it you pulled out first the dogtags, holding them tightly against your chest as you heartbeat began to slow. Once you were somewhat calmer, you reached into the bag again and pulled out your sketchpad. It had become something of a ritual over the years to draw away your emotions. There was nothing like drawing to calm you down, you had found. Taking out the pencil you took a seat against the corner of the nest, looking out over the trees as the sun began to set, bathing the forest in gold. It was breathtakingly beautiful in the way only a sunset could be. A time of day in which time seemed to slow, sunlight moving like treacle across the leave until, in increments, so slow you couldn't see the change until it was gone, the golden tide receded and the ash-grey of the night was left in its place.

Staring out across the dusk lit forest you began to sketch the way your life had suddenly changed. First you sketched the cougar, immortalising its fiery eye in graphite and paper. Then you began to sketch the apes, their village. Outside fires were being lit for cooking and sticks glowed in a path leading down from the treehouses, a rustic reminiscent of a runway or escape strip-lighting, but you were unaware. Finally you sketched out Blue eyes, his tiny frame and clutching hands. His fragility and yet his strength, his drive to survive. The fires had dimmed by the time you set down your sketchbook, huddling against the side of the nest and closing your eyes. If Koba had returned to the treehouse that night, you would not have known, so deep in sleep as you were.

For the first time in three years, your dreams were peaceful.