War Technicalities [UNDER REVISION]

A Mending Heart

[Unrevised. 5 Years Old. Prepare for inconsistencies with previous chapters.]

Having seen Haley disappear into one of the silent corners of the giant hollow, no one had spoken to her since Ash's arrival. And on the other end, the young chimp still craved to ask if his assumption was correct: if he was right in thinking that Haley accepting Koba as her mate wasn't so "accepting" after all. Then again, it might've been her distance that stopped him, or it could've been the story Blue Eyes had told him which frightened Ash into silence. In the hand-speech Blue Eyes and him were taught as children, he was told that, a few hours ago, in a fit of sorrow and rage, Haley had leapt through the trees after the other humans and tried to stop them from escaping. Allegedly, one of those very humans had killed Caesar, their king, and as their leader's closest friend, Haley reacted with a taboo towards her own species. After all, "ape no kill apes" is one of the apes' most treasured laws, right alongside "knowledge is power" and "apes together strong." So, imagining a human chasing after another and bludgering him to death was haunting. But that's what Haley did, splodges of crimson still stuck to her cheeks from bashing against Kemp's face, and her fingers still a faint shade of red, even after she tried cleaning them with the freezing water that dripped from the hollow's roof.

Ash was no stranger to death - in fact, no one in their village was - but what happened the previous night was different. He could recall the young apes that didn't make it through their first night of life and the elders who always had to sit down to rest but just couldn't get up one day. But never did any ape kill another living creature with their own hands if it wasn't for food, like what the human, Carver, did to Caesar, or like what Haley did to Kemp. He wondered what this change would bring them as he curled up into a tighter ball against the dirt wall in trepidation and shuddered at the memory of Koba's warrior cry. Like the rest of the troop, Ash was ready to follow Koba's demands without question, but after the strange wave of determined force dwindled inside him, his senses cleared and he calmed, growing more and more hesitant to leave their hiding spot and to do as asked, like a mindless animal. And the possible truth between Haley and Koba only made his hesitance grow.

She was his friend.

Suddenly, as if purposefully snuffing out the silence, the ground shook the three troop members into action. The walls, the floor, and the roof all rumbled viciously, dislodging small lumps of damp dirt from the ceiling. Foster gave an annoyed groan when he was woken by one of those very lumps crashing onto his head, but as soon as the warning sound reached his ears, he quickly padded down his shaved head and sat up the best he could, grabbing his clip knife from his pocket for protection. Despite their apish instincts, Blue Eyes and Ash kept as quiet as forest mice and glued their startled gazes to the morning sunlight shining through the entrance, praying it wasn't the troop looking for Foster, or maybe even looking for Haley. The fact that they knew apes wouldn't make such a sound didn't seem to matter to their anxiety.

Haley actually reacted in a combination of the three's. Slowly, carefully, silently, she pulled her arrow from its quiver and aimed it into the unknown ahead, her heart thundering loudly. It was the same arrow she had tried to shoot Foster with, and she was relieved she had taken a moment to retrieve it. Having finally calmed down, Haley managed to push her pain and anger aside for now, and so, she didn't feel the familiar crave for blood bubble in her throat when she recognized the man-made rumble. All she could think about was the fact that her deceased friend's son was with her, in danger, and maybe even stalked by the very person who shot his father. "Stay here." she whispered, glaring at each one of them in warning, and stealthily crouch-walked outside. Trying as best she could, she dodged the long roots that poked out of every surface, afraid it will somehow sound like an air horn if touched.

Haley couldn't recall a single time when she had ever creeped as silently as then, other than when she and Caesar used to play hide and scare, their own little invention. But of course, she cut her train of memory short, knowing no good would come of reminiscing. Left and right, Haley peeked outside to see if the rumbling was as close to them as it felt inside, but, for a moment, she got lost in the morning sunlight that peeked out from behind the tall trees. Last night, she hadn't even realized how far she chased the men, but in the daylight, she clearly recognized the area: it was close to the city. But other than that, she sighed in slight relief, the danger still a ways off. She crawled out.