by Bob Bannon
Jonah watched and tried to stay calm. He had panicked the last time he had tried to change into Devlin. He wanted to see how long he could stay conscious of the change.
His forearm thickened just as his hand did, but it also lengthened considerably. It was now covered in crisscrossing black hair that was still weaving itself this way and that and was moving toward his bicep which seemed to blow up like a balloon. It was weird that he couldn’t feel any of it. It was like he was watching all of this happen to somebody else.
He heard a loud pop in his shoulder, right next to his ear, and that was when he let go. He didn’t know how far he could go or if it would somehow damage him if he was still conscious when his head began to change. He simply surrendered himself to it the way he let himself go when he saw Devlin’s red hand.
The rest of Jonah’s body melted into a puddle of wet sand, except there was one massive hairy arm reaching out of the mass. The mass around the arm roiled and bubbled and shifted.
Adam’s hand flexed and then slapped the floor with a bang. The shape of his sloped, caveman head emerged from the sand as more and more detail of it filled in. It almost looked like he was climbing out of the puddle of sand, but it was the sand that was creating him. As more and more of his body formed, his head was lifted from the ground.
Just as it had happened with Devlin, the change only took a moment to fully complete.
Adam, the Ape-Man, stood in the center of the room with his large shoulders drooped, his enormous arms almost down to the floor. He was covered in black coarse hair. He wore denim jeans that were ripped off at the thighs, like a giant pair of cut-off shorts. His bare feet had the same talon-like nails as his hands.
His hair was a shaggy black mane that stopped at his shoulders. His face was a cross between a monkey and a man, but his face seemed to be the smoothest part of him, with no hair on it at all except for his thick eyes brows, which met in the middle of his sloped head. His jaw protruded out, and he smacked his lips together as if to see if they were working. The next thing he did was open his bright green eyes that were sunk very far back under his brow.
He looked around, and then lightly scratched under his left arm with his right hand. He knew exactly where he was and what he was supposed to do. He looked down at the notebook, and he knew what the words meant, but he didn’t need to be told. He hated the words, so he hated the notebook, and smacked it away. It skittered across the room underneath the punching bag.
Adam knew what words meant, but he didn’t specifically know if he could read. The Professor had made him write in the notebook the night Adam went for the blanket. He didn’t like how the pen felt in his hand. He couldn’t hold it the way the Professor wanted him to.
Just then, he looked up and saw an image on the television screen. It was him - his big, bulky hairy body. He didn’t like it. He smacked his lips together twice and then issued a grunting growl from deep in his throat.
Adam moved in a quick hobbling way, he used his arms like another pair of legs the way apes do. He could move upright, but it was faster if he used his hands too. It was instinctual for him to keep his sharp nails out of the way, only partially balling up his fists to move on his knuckles.
He was to the television in a flash. He almost picked up the camera and threw it across the room, but he knew Jonah had done this and he knew he needed it. So, instead of smashing the camera, he roughly pulled the plug from the television and the screen snapped to black.
That’s when he smelled Grouchy. It made him laugh. He moved over to the front of the cage and the raccoon went wild again. Adam knew the raccoon didn’t like him, but Grouchy fascinated Adam. He liked to watch him move around the warehouse and pick up different objects and bits of food. Adam could see very well in the dark. He thought he could probably see better than most people, but he could never be sure, he didn’t know anyone to ask about it.
Grouchy hissed and was causing a commotion in the pet carrier. Adam picked up one of his big hands and slapped it down on the top of the carrier. All sound from inside stopped immediately.
It was Adam who manifested that night after Jonah had talked to Athena Stapleton. When Jonah was vulnerable, it was easy to take over. Devlin had forced his way out once, but that was hard to do. It had been easy for Adam this time because Jonah had called for him.
The night Jonah had talked to Athena Stapleton, Adam waited until Jonah had tripped and fallen into some bushes. Jonah was so scared by what was happening and the information he’d just received, he didn’t even notice the change.
It was Adam’s job to get Jonah home safe, and the others agreed that ‘home’ now meant the tree-house, which meant Adam had to get the last of Jonah’s belongings from the warehouse.
Adam took to the trees that lined the streets of Colton and swung and leaped until he had reached the woods. He liked climbing, it was one of his favorite things to do. He liked carrying stuff too, like the lumber and things that were used in constructing the tree-house for Jonah. He preferred to carry things under one arm so he could travel through the trees.
He had everything Jonah owned under one arm and was ready to leave the warehouse that night when he saw Grouchy eating a cracker in the corner of the warehouse. He didn’t want to leave him behind and figured Jonah wouldn’t mind. He knew Jonah had fed the raccoon several times.
Adam tried to grab the animal, but each time he caught it, it scratched and bit. The one thing Adam actually liked about his body was that his skin seemed impervious to minor wounds. He had run through thick brush and climbed through several sharp twigs and branches and nothing ever seemed to hurt. But he couldn’t manage the frantic animal and carry everything else.
He was on his way back to the tree-house, flying from rooftop to rooftop, when he spotted the pet carrier in an alley. He continued to the tree-house and dropped all of Jonah’s things in a heap. He knew Angelo had more for him to do to complete the house, but he didn’t like holding the tools in his cumbersome hands anyway, so he took off again to get the pet carrier.
Once he got back to the warehouse, he dropped the carrier and searched for Grouchy. He found him against a far corner, but the raccoon took off, darting along one wall and then under the stairs. He couldn’t get under the stairs so he slapped and clawed at the ground and that seemed enough to get the raccoon moving again, but it darted for its nest.
Adam jumped over the stairs, intending to block the raccoon’s path, but he overshot and landed on top of the nest, smashing it to pieces. Grouchy lowered his front paws and raised his tail and let out a fierce hiss and a few barks.
Adam was sorry about what he had done, but he was also close enough now that he reached out and scooped Grouchy up. The raccoon clawed and bit and spat and barked. Adam almost didn’t make it to the carrier without dropping him. He then dropped Grouchy into the up-turned carrier, just a bit too hard.
Adam pushed the carrier over toward the nest and scooped up some of the remains and then dropped them into the carrier. He thought maybe that would make Grouchy feel more at home. He slammed the carrier shut, then put it under one arm and made his way back to the tree-house.
He put Grouchy’s carrier on a table by the door and tried to think if he could procrastinate any more before getting back to work on the house. He’d spent many nights putting the house together since the night he took all the lumber. He didn’t mind climbing the tree and digging into it with his nails to make perfect indentations to place the first wood planks, but holding the hammer he had found in the home improvement store was irritating, as was trying to maneuver the nails into place. When he was done with them, he took the hammer and the remaining nails out into the woods and buried them, stamping on the ground to make sure they would never be seen again.
So here he was with the pet carrier again. Jonah didn’t want Grouchy in his new house, but he didn’t say take him back to the warehouse, so Adam picked up the pet carrier and walked out the door. He put the pet carrier under one arm and jumped o
ver the railing, hitting the ground with a loud thud. He felt the raccoon bounce in the carrier.
He walked over to the big rocks next to the stream and opened the pet carrier, then unceremoniously dumped the raccoon out of it. Grouchy fell in a heap of old newspaper, the raccoon spun on him and barked. Adam rolled his eyes and tossed the empty pet carrier towards the boulders and then climbed up on the big rocks. Grouchy, watched, barked one more time, then turned and ran into the woods.
Adam sat on the rocks and watched Grouchy run. He looked up towards the tree-house and thought about going back, but he wanted to be out for a while. He stood up and jumped to the nearest tree past the boulders and landed on the trunk, digging both the nails on his hands and the nails on his toes deep into the tree.
He climbed up to the nearest branch and then launched himself at another tree. He caught a large branch on that tree and swung up under it to a branch on another tree much higher up. From there, he dug in again and climbed until he was well above the canopy.
He looked around and could see the highway into town, but in all other directions he could see only trees in a gentle snowfall in the afternoon light. He could see all the way to both sets of bluffs to the North and to the South. On the South bluff, still very far away, he could see smoke coming from the chimney of the ranger’s station. It was an exceptionally clear day.
Adam had discovered the station when returning from Masonville with a load of lumber. He had stayed well away from that area since. He had caused enough trouble with his break-ins and knew they would search the woods too thoroughly if a park ranger spotted him.
He loved the view from here, and he loved the crisp, clean smell of the air. It was cold, but he hardly noticed it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his large, flat nose when the next wind blew through.
Adam knew where he wanted to go next. He turned to his right and launched himself at a lower branch two trees over. He caught that and swung to another tree, and then another. He climbed up again, feeling his nails dig into the wood. He reached another branch and then launched himself at another tree. Here, he climbed down to a branch and sat down. He smacked his lips together and gently scratched his chest.
He looked down to the foot of a tree just a few yards away. The creek was thinner here than over by the tree-house and the woods gave way to a thicket of bushes in a small clearing. Adam sat patiently and waited.
In a few moments, a fox appeared out of a hole at the base of the tree he was watching. She was followed by two pups, who wrestled for position getting out of the hole. The mother fox went to the stream and drank. The two pups followed until the one trailing behind dove on top of the pup ahead and the two began wrestling again.
Adam was fascinated. He wanted to know what their red fur would feel like. He wondered if they would like being petted. He sat on his branch and saw all of this perfectly. He wondered if the foxes could see him as well.
The two pups eventually made it to the stream and drank. It looked like the mother was going to wait for them and then take off into the woods, probably to hunt for food.
Adam had found the foxes while he wandered through the woods as he was doing now the night he buried the hammer and nails. He had jumped to the ground after seeing them at the creek, but he had frightened them and they ran back into their hole. Adam had waited for them for a long time to come back out. He rolled around on the ground in the clearing and splashed in the stream to let them know he just wanted to play, but they never reappeared.
Now, the mother had caught his scent. She stopped and her ears went up in points. Her head swung from side to side trying to determine where Adam was. She instinctively stepped in front of the pups, who didn’t seem to register the scent.
Adam knew he’d been found out. He slid slowly down the trunk of the tree and tried to stay as low as he could, which wasn’t easy, for his size. He kept his head down and offered the palm of his hand. He hoped the fox would see he meant no harm.
She darted at the hole even faster than the first time she had seen him. The pups, now aware of his presence, followed on her heels. In a quick gesture, Adam rolled to his side, off his shoulder and upright again. If he made the move again, he’d be right next to the hole, but he stopped himself. He wanted to pet the foxes and play with them, but it wasn’t right to block them from their home to do it. So he let them go. He knew they would not come back out until he was long gone.
He went to the stream and scooped out a handful of water and drank it, then took another. He jumped across the stream onto a tree and headed back to the tree-house. At least he got to see the foxes again.
He swung through the trees jumping from one to the other, taking his time. As he neared the tree-house he climbed higher and began swinging from stronger branches. He instinctively knew which ones would support his weight and when he would just have to jump and catch himself on the trunk instead of a branch.
When he got to the tree next to the house he climbed up high and jumped to the branches above the roof. He would never attempt to land on the roof or the patio. He wasn’t sure the wood would hold if he jumped on it. Instead, he grabbed hold of the trunk and used his nails to maneuver down and around the tree where he would end just where the ladder hung. From there he could step around the ladder and onto the patio. He took one last look around and walked inside.
He sat down on the floor in the middle of the room and the change took over almost immediately. Once again, it started with his hand, but his body became the wet sand much more rapidly than it had when Adam manifested from Jonah, and it built itself up even more rapidly back to Jonah.
XX
When it was done, Jonah stood there stock still for a moment. He was waiting for pain. He had overcome the headache pain, and the hand pain was monumentally less than that, but right now nothing hurt. He waited for it another moment before he moved. It was true, there was no pain.
He flexed and opened both hands, not able to believe he had overcome it in such a short time. But then he wondered what he had done right. Was there some trick to it? He’d have to practice more.
The pet carrier wasn’t there, at least Adam got the message. But when he looked at the floor, he saw that the notebook wasn’t there either. And the television was off.
He found his tablet and looked at the clock. Either it took Adam an hour and a half to get the pet carrier outside, or he had taken some time for himself. Jonah suddenly remembered the few dreams he had when it felt like he was running through the forest and swinging through branches. He wondered if that was somehow Adam asking to be set free, or if that was just a remnant of something Adam had already done. He’d have to remember those dreams in the future and try to figure out which one it was.
The video camera was disconnected from the television. With nothing plugged-in the power on the television eventually turned off. He plugged the camera back in and turned on the television. He pressed the rewind button and watched the numbers dial back to all zeroes. That’s when he noticed the notebook was under the punching bag.
Jonah sat down on the floor with the camera on his lap and stretched over to retrieve the notebook. Maybe Adam had left him a message in return. He flipped through some pages, but there was nothing new. He turned his attention back to the television and pushed play on the recorder.
He watched as his hand changed. He mostly watched his face. He could see the scared look on it. He almost laughed because he looked exactly the way he felt. But then his face changed. It was almost peaceful. He remembered when he decided to let the change go and stop thinking about it. That must have been when his expression changed.
Then his body folded into so much sand. It actually caved in on itself. Jonah’s stomach rumbled and he felt a little sick. It was disturbing to watch, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of it. He watched the massive hand and forearm sticking out of the roiling, churning sand that looked like a puddle of mud. And then the hand slapped the floor hard. It jolted Jonah so much he instinct
ively scooted away from the television when it happened.
He watched as Adam, the Ape-Man, formed out of the sand. The sand built up around him, forming the other arm first, then his head, then his torso. For a moment it did look like Adam was climbing out of the sand.
When the transformation was complete, Adam blinked his eyes. Light green eyes set deep back in his face that Jonah could see even over the television. He looked exactly like his picture. He was kind of a caveman, but he was kind of an ape at the same time. He had long arms like an ape and his head kind of looked like a gorilla’s head, but there was something almost human in the slope of his forehead. He was almost terrifying to see, standing there in real life and not on paper. He was something out of a movie or an animated museum exhibit. But then he smacked his lips and scratched himself in his arm pit like a gorilla would do and Jonah almost laughed again.
Then Adam looked down at the notebook. With a loud snort, he swung at the notebook on the floor and it flew to the corner where Jonah had found it. He hadn’t really taken the time to read it, Jonah realized. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to leave notes for Adam. He knew Adam could write, because he had left Jonah a note about the electric blanket. Jonah remembered the Professor saying Adam didn’t like the notebook. Maybe that was a bad idea. Adam obviously knew what his instructions were, since the pet carrier was gone.
Those deep-set green eyes turned toward the television and then settled on the camera. The Ape-Man looked both sad and angry all of a sudden. He made a hasty move toward the camera that made Jonah back away from the television again, almost like Adam might come roaring through it. But Adam’s big, clawed hand grabbed the camera by the lens. He held it for a moment. Jonah wondered if he was thinking of smashing it. Then the image cut to black. That must have been when Adam pulled the cord from the camera.
Jonah realized he hadn’t gotten sick watching the video most likely because he had nothing in his stomach. He had bought food earlier, but he hadn’t eaten. He hadn’t even stayed at Eric’s for breakfast this morning.
