Surviving

Chapter 4

Time seemed to have frozen as he stared down at you, his breathing harsh and his lips pressed into a hard line. After what felt like forever, he pulled away from you with a snarl, turning his back contemptuously and crouching down next to his nest once more.
You stayed against the wall, legs shaking and heart beating erratically. The utter helplessness of you situation was beginning to sink in. You had no idea how to deal with something like this. He was right with what he had said, they weren't animals yet neither were they humans and that put you in a very precarious position. You had no idea how to act around them. They seemed able to make logical choices and had built their own society, formed a new civilisation if you were being honest, and yet their actions seemed to be dictated by some form of instinct you were not fully aware of and had no idea how to respond to.

You realised you were shaking uncontrollably, your breath coming fast and your eyes hazy as your panic threatened to overwhelm you. You took a gulping breath and willed yourself to calm down. When you had gotten yourself more or less under control, you straightened on shaky legs and headed for the door, eyes downcast. You had only made it a few steps when you felt a heavy hand on your arm, stopping you. You flinched violently.
With a noise of apology, Caesar backed away. His green eyes were regretful when they met your own and you could see that your involuntary action had hurt him deeply.
"I will not hurt you" he said, his voice earnest, "You must believe" You nodded, mutely, not meeting his eyes and he huffed a breath. His arm reached out to you again then stopped, conflicted. He dropped it back to his side with a noise of defeat. "Human can go" he huffed, turning away.
You watched the broad form of his back as he moved away, mind whirring as you reevaluated your concept of the apes and your position here. What stuck in your mind the most was how his face had looked when you flinched away from him. You were aware that even animals could feel emotion but what you had seen on his face had been so undeniably human. It had changed from shock, to hurt, to achingly human regret. That was the reason you found yourself moving in his direction instead of away from it.
As you drew closer to him, he seemed to sense it, looking up at you over his shoulder. He stood up, turning to face you and effectively blocking your view of whatever it was that he was occupied with in his nest. Curiosity burned through you but you knew better than to try and peer around him, instead you looked him directly in the eye as you raised a trembling hand slowly toward his face. You weren't sure exactly what the gesture meant but you were reasonably sure it had something to do with acceptance or trust and you were willing to do whatever it took to erase that look from Caesar's face. Your hand skimmed the fur on the side of his face. At first It was as wiry as you expected, but as your hand moved to the back of his head, the fur beneath the top layer of hair was surprising thick and soft. Your fingers dug into his fur almost subconsciously and his eyes flickered shut as you pulled his head down to meet yours.
You stayed together like that for a long time. The meditative mingling of your breath sending you into a trance as you felt a sense of calm you hadn't experienced before. The moment was broken as a thin, reedy cry came from the nest beside you. You jerked away from Caesar, you attention completely focused on the thing that had made the sound. A small, squalling bundle of fur was huddled in one corner of his nest. A tiny, baby ape, you realised. Caesar shifted beside you and, automatically, you stepped away from the nest, unsure of what protective instincts he may have. He saw your movement and smiled sadly. You hung your head. He chose not to bring attention to your gaffe, instead turning to the little ape in the nest.
"My son" he said, by way of explanation. You nodded but frowned down at the baby.
"He looks sick" you ventured finally. Caesar nodded, sadly.
"His mother is dead" he said, his face emotionless.
"How long?" You asked gently.
"Two months" he replied
"Two months?!" You repeated. "But he can't have survived that long without a mother!"
"We captured a female elk that had recently foaled" Caesar explained, "but it was killed two days ago by the cougar and it is not the right season to find another" he continued, bitterly. You could feel the anger and helplessness rolling off him in waves. He had just lost his mate and now it seemed he would lose his son as well.
With a heavy heart, you turned back to the fragile-looking infant in the nest, wracking you brains for a way to help him. It was a strange feeling for you. The desire to help those in need.
Without warning, the answer hit you like a thunderbolt.
"Baby formula!" you basically yelled into Caesar's ear. He simply blinked at you, confused and not a little shocked at your outburst. You turned on him excitedly. "Like powdered milk" you explained, your words falling over each other in your excitement. "You add water and it's like milk. It'll save him" Caesar still looked to be at a complete loss as to what you were talking about but at your last words, tentative hope seemed to wash over his face.
"Where?" He asked, simply.
"My hut" you replied, "it's about two hours walking distance from here. More or less"
Caesar was silent for a moment before coming to a decision and turning back to you.
"Go" he said.