Angel Of Mercy

Angel Of Mercy Chapter 1

Maurice did not know if he were just getting old or if the winters were really getting harder each year. What he did know, however, was that without the mysterious packages of dried foods in the harsh wintertime, Apes like him might have died out years ago.

But where did these gifts come from? Maybe more importantly, who was sending them? Why were they so secretive about it?

At first, many Apes were against using the contents of the packages. Some feared the food was poisoned. Caesar had been about to test some of the food himself, but Maurice had grabbed it from his Leaders' hands and ate it without hesitation. Caesar had been furious, but it had turned out well in the end.

This was how Maurice fell into the habit of collecting the first packages of the season, and testing the first piece. And this was how he now found himself waiting, hidden in the trees on a cold winter's night.

Some Apes, Koba being the most vocal among them, still had their doubts. Maurice was determined to prove them, to prove Koba, wrong, once and for all.

So he waited ... and waited ... and waited some more. Just as he was about to give up, a tiny pinprick of light bobbed towards him through the forest.

The old Orangutan sat still, barely even breathing, as the figure came closer. It stopped just beneath the tree where Maurice waited. It was carrying a familiar-looking cloth-wrapped bundle in its arms. It was clad in dark fur, a hood obscuring its features. It stood still for a moment, turning its head this way and that, observing its surroundings.

Then, as the figure bent down, its hood fell away from its face. Maurice suppressed a gasp.

The figure was a human!

The big Orangutan almost held his breath as he watched the human carefully conceal the wrapped bundle underneath the tree. When its stood up again, its furs slid back, and Maurice could see it was a human female.

A human, living so close to the Ape colony! Maurice groaned inwardly, imagining the Apes' reactions when they knew. Especially Koba. He would be infuriated to know there was a human nearby. It wouldn't matter that she had never caused them one bit of harm. It wouldn't matter that she had been helping them with her gifts. Koba would want her driven out ... or dead!

Caesar would never permit that, of course. He would never condone her killing. So why was this thought of her dying now lodged in Maurice's head so firmly.

The human female seemed to sense Maurice's sudden anxiety. She stiffened, looking about her with a troubled expression.

"Hello," she croaked. Her voice sounded stiff, maybe from disuse. "Is ... is someone there?"

"Thank you."

The words slipped from the old Orangutan's mouth before he could stop them.

The effect on the human was startling. She tensed and gasped. With one more desperate frightened look that tore at Maurice's heart, the female turned on her heels and bolted for cover.

Maurice was mentally kicking himself even before the human ran away in terror. What had possessed him to try and speak out loud to this human female, anyway? It was not as if he, or most of the Apes, ever spoke out loud much, not even to one another. So, why had he done it?

And, was his voice really so terrifying? He had sooth many a frightened youngling and female with his voice many times. But, well, this one was a human after all, and human females seemed far more delicate than Ape females.

As Maurice silently descended the tree, he could not help but notice that the female was not making as quiet an exit as she had made her entrance.

And then, the sounds of her retreat stopped. There was a single cry, a small thud, and then nothing at all.

Maurice froze in the act of gathering up the female's gifts. What had happened? He waiter for what felt like an eternity, but still nothing.

Finally, not being able to stand not knowing, Maurice began to make his way towards the direction where the last sounds of the human had come.

And it did not take him long to find her. She lay sprawled on her back beneath one of the largest trees. A large limb lay on her chest. And Maurice could smell the faint scent of blood.

Cautiously, he approached, but she did not stir at all. Was she already dead?

It's my fault, the old Orangutan scolded himself even as he moved to examine her more closely. No, please don't be dead. I did not want you dead! It's all my fault!

Maurice groaned in mixed sympathy and terrible guilt. Knowing that he cannot just leave her there, helpless against any passing predator, he approached

the prone human female slowly. The way his luck was going, if he were not careful, he might just give the poor thing a heart attack. Could humans actually die of fright?

Maurice was relieved to see that she was not dead, but there was blood coming from her head. Not a lot, but still far too much for the apes' peace of mind. Sitting down beside her, he tried touching her face, rubbing her hands and arms, but nothing would wake her. Even after he gathered some leaves and pressed them to the wound on her head to try and stop the blood, she did not stir. She never even whimpered.

His first instinct was to take her home, his home. He immediately discarded that idea, however. Just imagining Koba's reaction was enough to make him think twice.

He kept on trying to wake her up, but with no luck. So, feeling that he absolutely cannot just leave her helpless, he very carefully picked her up, and began to

try and back track her movements to find her own home. If he could find it, he'd get her settled down, then decide what to do from there.

A/N:

This is for all of us who just can't get enough of our favorite Orangutan. More coming soon.