Gazda slumped against the tree trunk, and Ooso’s expression softened. She reached out as the night ape did the same, and the pair brushed palms in friendship.
“If Gazda changes again,” she said, with the beginning of a smile. “He warns Ooso first.”
“Gazda will never change,” the night ape said, puffing up, but feeling relief at his friend’s acceptance as she crept into the shadows where they embraced. “Gazda is Ooso’s friend forever.”
And soon, the pair of them was grooming each other on their perch, overlooking the tribe in the long grass. The little she-ape also seemed relieved to be his friend again.
Gazda’s mind kept going back to the pond, but he could feel Ooso’s body relaxing at his side. He would never talk to her about it again.
Then he wondered if perhaps old Baho would know something about apes changing.
Ooso cooed soothingly, turning on the branch so that Gazda could pick loose hairs from between her shoulders.
Relaxing as he groomed her, Gazda had just begun to frame a question he might ask the former silverback when the branch under him shook so hard that he lost his balance and fell.
Ooso whistled shrilly, and shrieked.
But Gazda had just managed to grab the end of a long slim branch that grew below them. His fingers slid on the slender limb, and he had just got a grip with both hands, when the tree shook again, and the branch vibrated wildly.
As he kicked and struggled to reach up for a better hold, Gazda realized the other apes were shrieking as they bolted out of the clearing, and into the trees.
Still holding tight to the swinging branch and trying to climb, he saw with some relief that Ooso had not fallen. She clung to their original perch above him—her eyes wide in terror, staring down not at Gazda, but at something below him. As bark shredded from the quivering branch in his hands the night ape looked down between his feet.
Magnuh!
Like a mountain of stone, the great bull elephant stood so tall that his head was just ten feet below Gazda. The rough gray skin on the mammoth skull was covered with pulverized bark from where the giant had rammed the tree in which the night ape had been perched with Ooso.
On both sides of this titanic forehead, great ears bigger than Goro flapped, and snapped in the air. The beast’s red eyes glared upward from the hard flesh just behind a pair of gargantuan white fangs. These curved outward to either side and ripped bark from the tree with their sharp points.
Gazda saw the great red mouth full of crushing teeth open, and the mass of flesh over it suddenly come alive. Just as old Baho had warned, a long, flexible arm shot upward from the face, and grabbed for the night ape’s legs.
He shrieked, and kicked at the thorny, gray trunk as a weird two-fingered hand at the end slid off his pale leg where it had tried to grab him. The action caused the branch on which Gazda hung to flex and drop him lower, before jouncing him upward...
...only to dangle him lower again!
Eeda screamed and challenged Magnuh from a tree across the open space before she leapt from her perch, and began swinging through the forest that circled the grassy clearing, heading toward Gazda.
The short, spiky hairs on the bull elephant’s mighty trunk scratched Gazda’s legs as the monster tried to catch him in its muscular coils.
But the night ape kicked to swing his feet away from the beast as the trunk lashed upward at him, bruising his calves.
The other apes shouted, and taunted the monster from the safety of distant trees as Gazda bounced at the end of his slender tether.
Magnuh trumpeted his rage and rammed his mighty tusks into the tree again, shaking the pillar-like trunk, and causing Gazda’s hands to slide farther down the limb.
The trees came alive with screaming apes as the tribe moved around the clearing. The braver blackbacks were roaring challenges, and Goro, too, had come closer, drawn by the bull elephant’s wrath.
The king of the apes beat his chest and bellowed his rage at the behemoth.
Gazda’s heart was drumming and his lungs were heaving as he bobbed just above the giant beast’s head.
The night ape could hear his mother’s noisy approach. She was a creature of wrath herself, and Gazda feared that her passions would drive her to death in his defense. Magnuh’s small eyes blazed for such an opportunity. He wanted blood, and Eeda’s desire to protect her son had no limits.
But then Gazda’s concern was dispelled by mere chance, for Magnuh rammed the tree again stripping great sheets of bark from it, the branch in Gazda’s hands snapped and he fell.
The intensity of the elephant’s hatred was such that his eye had shifted from its prize for a single second, and in that moment Gazda landed full upon the monster’s head.
Skin crawling at the touch of Magnuh’s bristly flesh, Gazda crouched and coiled every muscle—a life of jungle living had made them like steel.
He sprang away from the beast, just as its trunk swung up to throttle him.
And so powerful was Gazda’s leap, and so well-timed, that he hurtled in an arc, flying from his tree to the next, where he caught a high branch and scrambled upward, just as his mother arrived at the same tree.
She swept him into her arms, and holding fast to their perch, they scolded and screamed at Magnuh. Gazda’s hair was still on end, and his heart raced. He searched for any sign of Ooso, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the little she-ape on the tree across from him where she had climbed higher during the attack.
Robbed of his prize, mighty Magnuh went mad, tearing at the trees and ripping up the very soil with his enormous tusks, pounding and crushing the berry bushes and grasses in the clearing until there was nothing left alive.
And as he raged, Magnuh turned his burning red eyes back up into the canopy where they searched for Gazda.
Gazda would remember this attack for its savagery, but he would also credit it for the recovery of his courage. He had first escaped the leopard that killed Poomak, and now to thwart the raging giant below. What in the jungle could defeat the night ape after that?
The beast’s fury had brought him back to life as it had tried to snuff him out and Gazda would show his gratitude by plotting revenge upon the monster for it was plain that the bull elephant had focused his spite directly at him.
In the months and years that followed Gazda sought out Magnuh whenever the beast’s wandering brought him near the tribe, and always from high above would the night ape throw stones and sticks, and he would spit and scold the beast so that it could never rest within the green jungle, or calm its raging hatred in Goro’s land.
But a victory was not to be, for as Gazda looked for Magnuh, so did it seem that the elephant kept a special interest in the night ape, and on more than one occasion would a large round stone be hurled to crack against the side of a tree very near where Gazda was perched.
Such random attacks were never successful, but they were always answered by Gazda’s angry scolding, and by a continuation of their grudge.
While this animosity festered it was given some relief by the roaming habits of Goro’s tribe and the elephant herd’s migrations to the grasslands on the eastern plateau. This had the effect of both lessening the intensity of the feud and increasing its inherent danger for neither creature could predict their next meeting.
1903
Nine years of age.
CHAPTER 9 – Special Son
By the time Gazda had reached the age of nine, he was tall enough to look his mother in the eye if she could be coaxed to stand erect. It was an uncomfortable position for the powerfully built apes to maintain for long, so her son had caused some friction when he had begun adopting the stance as it suited his purpose.
Not wishing to alienate himself further from the group, he had been forced to compromise and only stood that way when an equal footing with his adoptive tribe was required; because upon all fours, Gazda’s head barely reached the elbows of his much larger blackback contemporaries.
The blackbac
ks thought him bold for grandstanding in such a fashion, since standing upright among the anthropoids was primarily done during bull-ape threat displays or in challenges for leadership. This had already led to several misunderstandings with adolescents that were primed for a fight, so Gazda used caution when assuming the position.
At nine or ten the adolescent apes were mostly grown, but Gazda lagged behind his peers in this, and was dwarfed by most of the others. His slow-witted but good-natured friend, Kagoon, had grown into a creature of solid muscle, slightly taller than Gazda when on all fours, and easily four times his mass.
Ooso was growing too, but was still small by female ape standards, though she was twice Gazda’s body weight.
So, the night ape took great pleasure in seeing eye to eye with his mother, which put him at just over four feet in height. He was also getting heavier, with ridges of swelling muscle beneath his pale skin—the direct result of his active and vigorous lifestyle—and diet.
Gazda was now far too old to take any food from his mother, so he had begun to depend upon the hunting skills that he had played at as an infant, but that he was now secretly perfecting.
No more scooting up and down the sleeping trees snatching up frogs and rodents and sucking the blood out of them while the tribe rested. His needs now required bigger game, and bigger game demanded better hunting skills.
The vegetation, grubs, fruit and nuts that formed the staple of the ape diet had never appealed to Gazda, though he had gone through the motions in an effort to fit in. Indeed, he had acquired a taste for many plants and nuts—even certain grubs—but he’d long ago discovered that he could not stomach swallowing solid food once he’d chewed it up.
This had been an alarming condition that several of the youngest apes were quick to capitalize upon. They gathered around him as he foraged, waiting to share the pre-chewed “snacks” he threw their way. Eeda did not approve of this behavior if she caught him doing it, but since he continued to grow and mature despite the bad habit, she tended to look the other way.
But as Gazda grew so did his appetite, and the tribe of apes did not hunt together often enough to suit his needs.
So he hunted alone. The night ape moved from catching frogs, lizards and rodents to tracking and killing monkeys, small forest antelopes, bushpigs and birds.
In most cases, he would kill the creatures as the other apes did, by ripping them to pieces with his powerful jaws and hands, but instead of swallowing the dripping hunks, Gazda chewed the bloody flesh until his thirst was satisfied and his hunger diminished.
The solid meat did not agree with him, so he spat it out. Hunting to the night ape was about the blood; the blood was the life.
Eeda had long known that her son desired fresh meat far more than the other apes, and had seen him drink the blood while butchering his small kills; while at other times, he brought the meat back to share with the tribe already drained of the nourishing fluid. Eeda did not condone his strange behavior, but she had grown used to her adopted son’s peculiarities. He was not like other apes.
So, by his ninth year, Gazda was hunting, always hunting, to feed his unquenchable thirst.
He hunted most often at night because he had learned that his physical abilities were multiplied many times after sundown, when he was also mentally much more alert.
A weakness came upon him during the day as though some illness arrived with the sunlight. It was an inconsistent condition because his nocturnal strength surged briefly at sun up, and again when the blazing orb was directly overhead. Then, for a short period, its rays could draw him from his daytime stupor, only to desert him again soon after, to the usual weakness that dragged at his limbs until the sun set.
This was what had caused him to nap for short periods of time during the day whenever the lethargy became overwhelming.
Early on, his mother’s protestations had prompted Gazda to explore the effects of daylight further and around his sixth year, he had climbed out of the eternal twilight of the jungle floor and into the highest branches of a kapok tree that pierced the thick canopy.
He had found it impossible to look directly at the sun in the blue sky—its brightness was blinding; and while he did not feel pain from the touch of its warm rays, he had noticed a “tightness” to his naked skin that grew more uncomfortable the longer he remained in the light.
Gazda had also been alarmed to feel the sun drain his strength to the point that he felt as though he would lose his grip on his high perch, and so he had beat a hasty retreat, only to find his vigor returning as the shadows darkened near the jungle floor.
In time the night ape had found that sleeping once or twice during the day was all he needed. He could still travel and interact as the tribe meandered from place to place, by either guessing the direction they would take so he could catch up after sleeping, or by swinging ahead to find some dark hollow where he could rest until they arrived.
And if he slept until sundown, he could quickly find their sleeping trees by employing his night time powers; that is, unless he awoke to find his mother Eeda somewhere nearby, guarding the entrance to his makeshift lair.
Then he would be delayed overtaking the group for his mother could not move through the forest as quickly as he—especially at night.
Gazda had happily discovered that despite his sun weakness, if he were rested, he could still match the brawn and agility of his peers during the day; however, at night his dexterity, speed and strength were multiplied many times those of the other apes his age.
And, the same thing occurred with his senses. Young Gazda had found the manifold jungle scents confusing, an indecipherable maze of odors and perfumes, until he had learned to control his enhanced olfactory powers. Then he could detect the subtlest smells in the forest, allowing him to track prey near or far, flawlessly discerning the old game trails from the new.
His vision was also amplified many times, and he could see perfectly in the darkest night or shadow, relying on heat, moon and stars to illuminate the gloom—cloaking all shapes in a flickering glow and locking the dusky forest into twilight.
Gazda’s superior hearing worked in tandem with his eyesight, employing sound to complete perfect pictures of the dark surround, as though the noises were turned to light within his head that shone on what he perceived.
The jungle sparkled with noise and color undetectable to the daylight creatures with which he lived, and as he grew to understand his senses, Gazda was better able to direct those powers to his will.
So, where the tribe would hide in their sleeping trees, the adopted night ape would fling himself through the high branches of a world defined by smell, sight and sound from which he felt no separation. He would marvel upon the jungle at that time, and wish his friends Ooso and Kagoon might share his special vision.
For to him a moth that was dull gray by day became a glorious thing at night, scintillating against the surrounding shining leaves on which it fed, as its wings and legs came together rhythmically to form a song for others of its kind.
He could see its curious light a hundred yards distant, though its dappled motes would flicker against his hands when he held them up, and to the night ape the melodious actions of the insect’s limbs created a subtle breeze that crossed the great space to caress his cheeks.
The moth became but one set of uncountable facets that Gazda could perceive as a whole, or with his powerful senses parse into a thousand fragments more. To the night ape, there were countless cues to speak of difference, or a million dazzling elements woven into a tapestry to which he was an integral part.
The jungle pulsed with life; its abundant elements throbbing to the beat of his heart and the restless sigh of a million leaves.
It took him years, but the night ape learned to master his magnificent senses and navigate this bedazzling space with the efficiency of a creature made for it.
In time, Gazda used these special abilities in concert with a growing knowledge of wood lore and hunting to track almo
st anything day or night, in any weather condition often following trails many days old by deducing information from the slightest of spoor.
This ability was doubted and mocked by the other apes at first until he stunned his naysayers into silence by leading them time and again to the very creatures he had described.
The anthropoids came to admire his prowess, and enjoyed the meat and fruits his skills provided them, while those who scoffed began to fear and distrust Gazda’s strength.
Being confident in his own powers, King Goro saw no threat, and instead considered the night ape’s abilities a welcome boon for the tribe. The silverback was pleased that the foundling could earn his keep, and he had long been impressed by Gazda’s spirit when faced with so many obstacles.
Others hated him for it. Omag refused to be convinced of the night ape’s hunting abilities, even when proof was presented to him. The crippled ape nurtured his envious thoughts and shared them with any other jealous or small-minded member of the tribe who would listen.
CHAPTER 10 – Omag’s Mischief
Gazda did not listen to any whispers since he was focused upon the competitive world of the adolescent blackbacks, a group to whom he now belonged despite his outlandish ways, diminutive size and unhealthy appearance.
He was dwarfed by his companions, but he could easily fight any of them to a draw during the day—even going so far as to defeat one outright at sunset.
That fact had caused an uproar and scandal among the rest of the tribe that briefly led to anarchy as several angry blackbacks crying foul chased the night ape into the trees where Gazda used the high branch to which he clung as a podium for touting his fighting prowess.
Both Goro and old Baho had been required to bring peace back to the group, with the king declaring an end to contests in the long shadows because they were dangerous, and too difficult to judge winner from loser.
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