War Technicalities [UNDER REVISION]

Alice Hunsiker

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

It was like driving into a memory - a slow, old, and broken down memory. The city was torn down and physically rotten: covered with moss and vines, but Haley's brown eyes followed the streets in habit. Haley's head turned in sync with Caesar's directions before Malcolm could even process them. When Haley had realized where they were going, she had no real reaction. She didn't know if she should feel excited or anxious, if she should remember the pain or joy she experienced there – so she found herself feeling neither and kept a vacant stare. Maybe that was why the drive to Pacific Heights felt so slow and dragged out; it was almost as if her mind wanted to keep her memories at bay for as long as possible. Yet, it was no help. The farther they went and the more the past resurfaced, the tighter Haley's chest felt, compelling her to rub it gently. But, with the city in a state of disrepair, her memories were fuzzy. She saw a ghost of her former self walking down the street to school, walking around the corner to the store, and quickly jogging to the park nearby, but it was flickering like the image on an old television set. And no matter from what angle Haley looked, it was always her back – nothing more. Then, with a sudden pang to her heart, Haley realized it wasn't her she was seeing. Haley was never healthy enough to move around that much.

It was Alice Hunsiker, her sister.

Haley was born as a sickly child. When her mother gave birth to her, Haley didn't move or cry - she was like a corpse. She barely breathed. Her parents were terrified at the idea of their child not surviving the night, but luckily she was spared by numerous injections and by spending the first year of her life in the hospital. Nevertheless, her state never really improved that much until many, many years later, which justified her to be caged in her house throughout her childhood, and which scheduled numerous trips to back to the hospital before she could even speak her first word. Alice, on the other hand, never had this problem, even if they were identical twins. Alice was screaming with life next to Haley when they took their first breath. Because of this, jealousy burned in Haley whenever she watched her sister run out of the house. But, now, as far as Haley knew, she was the only Hunsiker alive - everyone else was dead by the Simian Flu. The irony was not lost on Haley that she was the one to survive, and neither was the guilt whenever she thinks back on how much she hated Alice before she watched the young girl die right in front of her.

All those nauseating memories came rushing back when they arrived and she gazed, emotionlessly, up at her old house. The others climbed out of the Jeep behind her, but she didn't even notice. Malcolm helped Caesar out of the vehicle and quickly grew aware that she was clearly distracted, but before he had the chance to change this, Caesar stopped him with a grunt. Caesar, too, had noticed her blatant stare, but he, on the other hand, knew her reasons and knew to leave her be. Thus, he motioned to the neighboring home - his home - and did his best to move towards it with his own strength, just to ease the amount of trouble for Malcolm. Behind them, Alex and Ash helped Foster on his way, too. Before they all left the forest, Haley and the two apes remembered the man back under the bole with simultaneous, startled gasps and helped Malcolm place him in the Jeep with Caesar. By the time they were driving again, the vehicle was practically ripping at its seams. Ellie was horrified at the sight of his bleeding leg, and even more so when Haley confessed to the fact that the wound was inflicted by her arrow, but the doctor didn't say anything in response. She seemed more proud of Haley's patchwork that anything else. Foster, on the other hand, did say one thing before he hushed, "I'm just lucky she missed her target." Haley glared at him for his jab at her aim, but it quickly faded when she saw the significant look he was giving her. Just then, she recalled something: the reason the skin on her hands were sticky and hard. She unconsciously must have suppressed the fact that she killed Kemp, but Foster clearly hadn't, and yet, he told her without words that he won't say anything, 'Just take that jab as a gift in return to me keeping my mouth shut.'