The Lost Experiment

Chapter 11 Mutation

The next morning we were all gathered by the river, most of the council on horses. Caesar was pacing around the grouping carrying a gun had taken from one of the men last night. I knew he wasn't planning on following us or leading us. I had already spoken to Blue, I had told him that he would have to lead the colony to our new home. I would make sure Caesar came back to him.

~"Caesar there is no need to go after them. Why do this? Why risk more than we have already lost?"~ I signed to him.

~"They took my wife."~

"Revenge solves nothing, leave while we still can. They'll be back in greater numbers. Please Caesar," I begged.

~"Caesar, you're not going after them?"~ Maurice asked shocked.

"Not them, him," Caesar corrected

~"Caesar, you're our leader, we can't leave without you!"~ Maurice continued.

"You must, the soldiers will be back soon." I just stared at Caesar, this was complete madness. 

~"Father!"~ Blue and his brother Cornelius cried. They had already lost one parent, they couldn't lose another.

Everyone was milling around us, getting ready to leave. "Me staying gives you your best chance to get out of the woods. The soldiers will come after me." He started to walk off and I looked at Maurice a he turned to Rocket and I could feel Luca looking at me as well. I followed after Caesar as he rode off, I would not let him die. I followed after him on my two legs, my shoulder still sore from last night. The bullets had gone clean through.

I was able to keep pace with Caesar's horse, having lived in the woods my whole life. I knew Maurice, Rocket, and Luca where following. One of the horses whined and Caesar turned to face us. "I must do this alone." Caesar was too stubborn.

~"The soldiers camp is always movings. My guard thinks they know where it is. Let me take you,"~ Luca signed.

~"You need me to back you up,"~ Rocket signed.

"No," Caesar stated.

~"I know what it's like to lose a loved one,"~ Rocket signed.

"I may not make it back," Caesar said.

"That's why I coming," I said as Maurice signed the same thing. "I won't let my brothers lose another parent. You're the only one who has acted as a father to me other than Maurice. I won't let you die, your sons need you."

Caesar finally relented and Rocket pulled me onto his horse with him. I curled into his warmth as the air was turning cold around us. Winter would be coming soon, not the best time to travel. Luca led us for a few miles to the camp but it seemed that no one was here.

~"Guards think soldiers here...always fires burning."~ Luca signed.

~"No one here,"~ Rocket signed.

~"Search the area,"~ Caesar ordered. I slid off of Rocket's horse to have a look. Caesar separated from us and almost instantly a human male approached us. He was carrying wood. He looked at us unsure and we did the same to him. I noticed the gun tucked in the back of his pants.

"We don't mean any harm," I said standing in front of my family.

"I'm just going to put this down," the man said lowering his body so he could drop the wood.

"We're not interested in you. Where is the Colonel?" I asked.

The man ignored me and dropped the wood, pulling his gun, before anyone could react there was gunfire. Caesar had shot him.

~"What's he doing out here alone?"~ Maurice asked.

~"Maybe he's a deserter?"~ Luca suggested.

"He wasn't here alone," I said smelling the area.

"Look around. Take what you can," Caesar ordered. We split off and searched the buildings.  Suddenly we heard movement in one of the buildings. Everyone was a little jumpy after having a gun pointed at them, nervous that this could be someone else that wanted to kill them. Caesar kicked the door into the building to see no one there. I went in first, moving around him. A shelf had been knocked over, my guess someone small had tried to reach something up high.

I could hear Caesar's heavy breathing behind me as I moved through the cabin. In the back room of the cabin, we found a little girl. She was hiding on her bed in the shadows, Caesar had his gun pointed at her. Maurice lowered his gun and Caesar left with the others to search the cabin. I looked over at Maurice, we couldn't leave her here.

I saw her toy on the floor and picked it up. I held it out to her waiting for her to take it. Her toy was a small white doll. She took it from me and looked at me and Maurice. I think she was curious. She tried to say something but only grunting sounds came from her throat. I looked back at Maurice, she couldn't speak. The virus had mutated again.

Maurice cooed at her and stroked the doll, she didn't seem afraid. Soon after we both left the room to find Caesar. ~"Something wrong with her, she can't speak,"! Maurice told him. Everyone moved back to their horses ready to move on.

"Come," Caesar said as the little girl came to stand by the dead body of her carer. She had no reaction. She just held her doll and looked at him.

~"She'll die out here alone,"~ Maurice said looking at Caesar.

"We cannot take her Maurice," Caesar said from his horse. He couldn't e serious, he was going to leave a child alone in the woods, but I guess he had left me when I was a child but I wasn't human. I had the voices of several animals in my head telling what to do and not to do to help me survive. She was human, she was frail. She wouldn't survive on her own.

~"I understand...But I cannot leave her,"~ Maurice signed.

"I won't leave her either Caesar," I said looking at him. He looked away and back to the others who gathering back around. We left the site with the girl on Maurice's horse and I still rode with Rocket. We traveled for days using my sense of smell to track the humans. We ended up riding along a beach and I wished we could have stayed to swim but Caesar wanted to keep moving and it was getting dark.

The next night we found the humans and Winter was with them. Caesar, Rocket, and Luca went into the camp to talk to him. I stayed with Maurice and the girl. I watched them, unable to see what they were signing, but I saw them try to keep Winter quiet when some humans walked by the tent and it didn't go well.

They came back about 30 minutes later without Winter and with no information about the Colonel. I had been hunting while they were gone and caught a small deer. We were having dinner. After our meal, I played the guitar I had found at the cabin and sang, "Please come close, for I long for you to hear

Hear the sound
That will rid you of your fears
In a land, where no water can be found
In a place, where there is no fertile ground
Longing for, yearning not to be forgotten
In an age, when the music is forgotten
In an age, when the music is forgotten

In the truth (in the truth)
Speaks of great and mighty things
Teaching us (teaching us)
What the peace of heaven brings
We must give (we must give)
We must give to all the others to those in need (those in need)
Who we fear to call our brothers

Reaching out (reaching out)
So that we are not forgotten
In a time (in a time)
When the music is forgotten
In a time (in a time)
When the music is forgotten

If we stand on a hill and do not touch
How can we do good?
If we wash our hands of all our friends
What change can really come?
If we hide our fears and don't draw near
Have we really lived?
Or are we all just standing here
Hoping there is grace?

In a dream (in a dream)
That I had not long ago
Visions of (visions of)
a city made of gold
And a sound (and a sound)
That I never heard before
Such a sound (such a sound)
Saturating to the core
Such a sound (such a sound)
One that cannot be forgotten

[x4]
In a time (in a time)
When the music's not forgotten."