eyes of the forest - a kingdom of the planet of the apes story

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙸𝚇

Your bare feet pad softly as you walk across the beach, your toes enjoying the feeling of the warm sand between them. You keep your gaze to the ground, aware of a pair of forest green eyes watching you intently. You really wish he'd stop staring at you, you know humans are new to him but it's starting to make you uncomfortable.

Meanwhile Raka rambles on, oblivious to the way Noa watches your form as you walk ahead of them. "The main problem is the lack of fur, that's why they're always cold. No protection from the cold, no protection from the sun. I do not know, how humans survived for so long." He laughs and shakes his head as Noa just grunts, half listening to his rant.

The three of you come to a halt as you approach a bridge with long x shaped figures sticking out of the sand with sticks and some sort of leather stretched across it. The sight sends a chill up your spine, the statues looking like a warning for anyone coming near.

You grimace, looking out at the bridge and knowing you don't have a choice but to cross it. You share a glance with Noa, who wears your same worried expression but steps onto the bridge nonetheless.

He grips his staff tightly, cautiously creeping forward as his eyes scan his surroundings. You glance back at Raka who senses your unease and gives you a reassuring nod. The seagulls above you caw and sporadically fly from one post to the next as they watch you, and in the moment you feel less like a human watching seagulls and more like a carcass looking up at the vultures about to tear into you.

You suddenly run into Noa's back, his coarse fur brushing your arms as you wonder why he's stopped. "Go back." He says lowly, and you see that same gorilla in the masked apes clan on a horse at the end of the bridge. You begin backing up, Raka putting a protective hand on your shoulder as he guides you back off the bridge, but another ape blocks you on both sides.

Noa cries out, an ape having made its way up from under the bridge and tackling him. "Noa!" Raka yells and makes his way to them. You want to help, do something, but ultimately you know you're useless against the apes. You stand frozen, unable to move and hoping that Noa and Raka will be able to fend them off.

Your thoughts are interrupted as large strong arms wrap around you from behind, you let out a shriek as you try and escape the masked ape that has you in its hold. You kick your legs up on a post and push as hard as you can, sending you and the ape backwards. The ape falls into the water, pulling you with him as you grab onto a net hanging off the bridge.

"y/n!" Raka yells to you. "Hold on!" The large orangutan quickly waddles over to you as he grabs the net you're clutching onto. The freezing cold water of the rapids shake you all around, the icy depths reaching up and trying to force you under.

You wrap the netting tighter around your hands so that it digs into your skin, fearing what would happen if you somehow let go. "Hold on!" Raka calls out as he tries to pull the net up. A horrible tearing noise sounds and before you know it you're moving down the river, the net ripping under the force of the rapids.

"y/n, i'm coming!" Raka slides into the water, his large hand grabbing onto your arm and he brings you in front of him, pushing your back to raise you up so you can cling onto the side of the bridge. You catch a glimpse of Noa who seems to be losing his own battle, another ape pinning him to the ground and you see the blood dripping from Noa's face.

Raka lets out a cry as the net breaks once more, unable to handle the orangutans weight. The rust colored ape drifts away from you before he grabs onto a measly rope of net that is still somehow hanging onto the bridge.

"Raka!" You yell out, your voice hoarse from all the water you swallowed. You stretch your arm out to him, trying to reach him and he does the same but you know it's no use. Even if you could grab onto him there's no way you could pull his weight up. But still you tried your hardest, wishing your arm would somehow magically grow and you could save your simian friend.

"Raka...!" His name leaves your mouth as more of a sob than a yell and you feel your eyes stinging, not only from the salt water spray but also from the sight in front of you. Large heavy footsteps sound from the bridge as the gorilla stands tall in front of you, holding a knife and looking down at Raka with disdain.

"Together, strong." Raka gasps out, barely managing to keep his head above the violent water. The gorilla leans down, and with a malicious smirk he slices the thin rope connecting to Raka, and you watch sadly as your friend gets pulled into the rapids.

Tears stream down your face and you look away, unable to get the image of his death out of your mind. A large rough hand grips your arm and suddenly you're being pulled onto the bridge like you weigh nothing.

"Aww, do not cry, little girl. We have something special planned for you." The gorilla says sinisterly as he looms over you, his hand still gripping your arm. You glance at Noa who has his teeth bared while two apes hold him back and another binds his wrists with rope.

The gorilla drags you behind him, tying your wrists as well, the knot painfully tight and digging into your skin. The apes mount their horses again and begin to drag you and Noa behind them, your ropes attached to one of the saddles. You limp every now and then, the wound in your thigh irritated from the salt water and reopened and bleeding. You glance at Noa, who's already looking at you with a sad and scared expression, both of you fearing the worst in where they're taking you.

word count: 1067
i was so sad when raka died, he was a great character :(
but also yay, two chapters in one day !!

- raine