by Titan Books
Burke stared after Zon. “Well,” he said, “we lost one. We’ll need all the help we can get, against those Dragoons.”
Virdon nodded toward the garrison, indicating Perdix who was still inside. “We only need one,” he said. “Are you ready?”
“No,” said Burke, “but that never stopped me before.”
“I wish that someone was around to wish us well,” said Virdon. “We’re not doing this for any great cause, secret security reason, or scientific mission. We’re doing it so that we can get out of this town alive.”
“That’s not a bad reason at all,” said Burke. “My dad in New Jersey used to look at me and say, ‘Son,’ he’d say—I think he’d forgotten what my name was—‘when the going gets tough, and the tough get going, what will you do?’ I always figured that I’d be left standing all by myself.”
Virdon gave a low laugh. Then he reached for the door knob, turned it, and both men burst into the garrison.
The gorilla guard inside jumped to his feet as he heard the loud crash of the door. Burke and Virdon stumbled across the threshold and stopped, with the guard’s rifle pointed at them. “Take him,” said Burke, and the two men jumped the gorilla and wrestled the ape to the ground.
Burke held the gorilla with an armlock; the man’s free hand was clamped over the ape’s mouth. Virdon pulled the rifle from the gorilla’s grasp.
“Take it easy, Perdix,” said Virdon. “We just want to talk.”
The gorilla tried to say something, muffled by Burke’s hand. “No yelling, okay?” asked Burke. “Let’s be sensible.”
The gorilla nodded. Burke released his hold on the ape’s mouth. Virdon stood ready with the rifle, in case the gorilla decided after all to shout for help.
The ape was frightened and confused. “I… I’m not Perdix,” he said. There was a sudden, tense silence in the room.
His words hit Burke and Virdon like sledgehammers. The whole careful scheme had already hit a large snag. This was the kind of accident that made disasters out of sure things. Burke and Virdon looked at one another. Something had to be done; they had to act quickly, and they had the ape guard to consider. Before they could decide, the sound of a rifle bolt turned them.
A uniformed gorilla stepped out of the anteroom, summoned by the scuffling sounds. Burke and Virdon knew immediately that this armed ape was the gorilla they had come to see. Perdix trained his rifle on Virdon and Burke. “Were you looking for me?” he asked sourly.
The gorilla guard retrieved his rifle from Virdon and stood behind the two astronauts. No one answered Perdix. Virdon and Burke wore defeated expressions. They had walked into a lions’ den, and the lions had been more than ready for them.
8
Flames licked up into the air from the torches that circled the clearing in the forest. The Dragoon leader stood on a tall stump—the podium of the Dragoons’ meeting place. Around him, the murmur of many ape voices sounded like the constant babbling of a fresh running stream. The Dragoon leader allowed the informal gathering to continue, until he felt that the time was right to assume control. He raised both hands over his head. Two masked Dragoons on either side of him raised their rifles over their heads as a symbolic gesture. The motion caught the attention of the apes in the clearing. “As leader of the high council,” he said in a deep, resonant voice, “I now call the Dragoons to order.”
The murmur subsided. Around the sweet-smelling clearing had gathered twelve apes—four chimpanzees, two orangutans, and six gorillas. All of them wore their fierce masks. Several of the apes carried blazing torches, the others held rifles. They were seated in a semi-circle before the Dragoon leader, Galen sitting nervously beside the masked Sestus.
The Dragoon leader paused, creating an atmosphere of importance and drama. “If no one objects at this time,” he said, “we will not list the grievances the humans voiced concerning our last raid. The matter has been taken care of for us. It seems those complaining humans are now dead!”
There was a roar of laughter from the apes; Galen found the whole matter sickening, and he wished more than anything else to get away. He steeled himself with the knowledge that he was helping to end the Dragoons’ unchallenged reign of fear. The delighted ovation from the audience continued. Galen realized that he had a part to play; he forced an unconvincing laugh himself.
As the sound of the laughter subsided, the Dragoon leader raised his arms again, taking control of the meeting. He paused and looked among his listeners. They knew that he was about to speak seriously to them. “I understand that we have a new prospect who wishes to join our ranks,” he said. “Will he please stand?”
Sestus urged Galen up, and Galen stood, trembling slightly but not willing to let the other apes know how afraid he was. He looked around the masked-ape audience, feeling even more nervous and apprehensive. Then he thought about Fauna, and the life she could expect to live under the shadow of these apes.
The Dragoon leader’s next two questions were a formality. Galen had been provided with the answers and coached. “Your name?” asked the Dragoon leader.
“I am Phoebus,” said Galen as evenly as he could manage.
The Dragoon leader looked around his audience again. “And is there anyone here who vouches for Phoebus?”
Sestus stood up next to Galen. “I vouch for him. I, Sestus!”
The Dragoon leader was evidently pleased. “Sestus,” he said. “Yes, good.” The masked leader turned again to Galen. “Are you, Phoebus, familiar with the goals of the Dragoons?”
Galen decided that this was a very strategic time to make a good impression. He cleared his throat and spoke loudly. “Yes!” he said, with vigor. “We must drive every human from our lands. We cannot rest until this has been done!”
There was applause and cheers from the apes.
“And the humans who refused?” asked the Dragoon leader.
“Death to them,” cried Galen with supreme enthusiasm. “Death to them all!”
There were more wild cheers and grunts from the apes. Galen had indeed won them over.
“It appears that Sestus has brought us a worthy prospect. Let us take the vote.”
Before the actual decision was made, though, one ape stood up in the crowd. “Wait,” he shouted, above the noise of the excited apes. “Before we go any further, I would like my say.” It was Macor, one of the three troublemakers, the gorilla who had seen Virdon and Burke only a short time before.
“Speak, Macor,” said the Dragoon leader.
Macor looked around. “It may mean nothing,” he said, suddenly-sorry he had brought attention to himself. “But then again, I would like to know what humans are doing on Sestus’ farm!”
There was a startled and confused murmur from the other apes. Galen was horrified; Sestus was perplexed and worried. The Dragoon leader raised his hands for silence.
“On my farm?” asked Sestus, still trying to understand what would make Macor say such a thing. “Humans?” He made a dismissing wave of one hand. “It’s impossible.”
“Two of them,” said Macor doggedly. “One with yellow hair. They were hiding near a cave, not more than an hour ago. I was witness to the whole scene.”
“You know me, fellow Dragoons!” cried Sestus, livid with rage. “I wouldn’t allow it.”
Krono the gorilla rose and addressed the gathering. “The one who attacked me,” he said solemnly. “He was a human with yellow hair.”
There were more whisperings from the apes. They had grown suspicious of Sestus. He turned and appealed to the Dragoon leader.
“You know my loyalty,” he said, bewildered. “I swear, I know nothing of these humans!”
The Dragoon leader nodded. He was satisfied with Sestus. “And you, Phoebus, a stranger in our midst, do you know anything of these humans?”
Galen was highly indignant. “Me? What would I know of humans on Sestus’ farm?”
The Dragoon leader stared down at him with a chilling look. “Yes,” he said slowly, “what w
ould you?” He gave a command to his followers. “We will go to this cave and find the humans!” he cried. All the apes in the clearing except Sestus and Phoebus joined in loud and frenzied cheers.
The noise continued, so loud and so vehement that the Dragoon leader could not stop it. The apes were getting themselves mentally ready to make a raid. Finally the leader signalled to his two subordinate officers; they moved among the crowd with their rifles, and soon the apes had almost settled down to docile attention. “Phoebus,” said the Dragoon leader in a loud voice, “Phoebus, you will have the honor of killing these humans!” There was another ovation, this time for Galen. He could only stand in place and smile uncertainly, his mind a mixture of doubt and fear.
* * *
As the sun touched the western horizon and became a shrinking scarlet globe, Virdon and Burke trotted along the rough road. Although they were out of breath from their run, they still tried to speak to each other between gasps. “Stop worrying,” said Virdon. “I tell you he’s convinced we’re telling the truth.”
“That’s a nice thing to believe,” said Burke. “I’m sure that you find it very comforting. The only thing that I want to know is, why is he pointing that rifle at our backs?”
Perdix rode on horseback a few yards behind the running astronauts, his rifle at the ready.
Virdon panted for breath. “He probably has some kind of gun fetish,” he said. “Look, he wants to nail those Dragoons as bad as we do. If we have a friend—he’s it.”
Perdix heard the faint sounds of their speech, although he couldn’t make out their words. He spoke up loudly. “If you humans have lied to me,” he said coldly, “I will execute you personally. It is within my right, and it is my duty.”’
Burke snorted. “You know, Alan, I hate to knock your friends. But for such a good buddy, Perdix gives me this slight feeling of insecurity. I don’t know. It’s probably not his fault. It’s probably just me. Just me, and his rifle, that’s all.”
The Dragoons went to their horses and mounted. They checked their masks and armed themselves with torches or rifles. Then they waited for the Dragoon leader to give the instructions to move out. They thundered out of the forest clearing, Galen riding among the leaders of the gang.
After a short time, Galen became aware of the sound of waves rolling in to a rocky beach, and the roar of the water as it broke upon the sea cliffs. They were getting close to the critical moment.
Galen was not aware of the lonely, still form of a young female chimpanzee standing on the edge of those cliffs. He was still too far away to see Fauna, as she began wandering along the edge of the steep escarpment, aimless, lonely, uncaring where she was going. Fauna was an important part of the puzzle that was slowly beginning to draw together, but Galen had underestimated both Fauna’s need for emotional support and her possible effect on all of their lives.
The Dragoons came pounding out of the woods, unaware of Fauna’s presence, unaware of anyone in the world except themselves. They yelled and gesticulated in the deepening gloom, until their mood had become an insane craving for blood.
And Virdon and Burke trotted on ahead of Perdix, bound for the same destination as the Dragoons—the cave. When they neared the vicinity, the two humans pulled up suddenly and looked off down the road.
“Keep going!” cried Perdix. ‘I’m not going to be played for one of your human tricks. As long as I’m riding behind you with this rifle, you’ll keep running.”
“Look,” said Burke, pointing.
Ahead of them, the Dragoons galloped toward the cave area.
“There are your Dragoons, Perdix,” said Virdon, winded from his long run. “Let’s see you do something about them.”
“Just the way we promised,” said Burke.
Perdix hesitated for a moment. Faced now with the awesome responsibility of confronting the almost autonomous Dragoons, Perdix was beginning to show some timidity. Still, he urged the humans on and the small party came closer to the masked vigilantes.
The Dragoons thundered into the small open area at the top of the sea cliffs. They reined in and jumped down from their horses. Two of the apes were assigned to hold the reins, while the others waited to hear the leader’s directions.
The leader dismounted and walked toward Macor. “Where did you see them?” asked the leader.
“I was on my horse, on my way to the meeting,” said Macor. “I was crossing that ridge, there.” He pointed across the wooded area to a bald spine of rock some distance away. “I could clearly see the humans here. They stood out against the bright sky. I know that there’s a secret cave right below us. I used to play there when I was younger.”
The Dragoon leader gestured, and three apes with rifles followed his pointing hand to the barely visible trail. They scrambled down the path toward the cave. Galen and Sestus waited to one side, neither sure how such a pleasant day had taken so bad a turn.
The three apes clambered down to the beach. After a moment, one of them found the narrow ledge that led back up to the concealed cave mouth. One ape waited outside, while the other two rushed in, ready for a battle. After a quiet moment, the apes emerged. They shouted up to their comrades.
“There’s no one in the cave,” called one. “It’s been occupied,” he said and held up some fruit. “Someone has been here very recently.”
The Dragoon leader looked off into the distance. Sestus and a couple of other apes followed his gaze. “They can’t be far,” said the leader, thinking. “They may still have Phoebus’ horse.” The leader shot Galen a distrustful look.
“There!” cried one of the apes.
The Dragoon leader jerked around and scrutinized the shadowy woods. Coming toward them on the road was a small group of figures. “It’s Perdix!” said Sestus worriedly. “And he has the humans!”
Perdix led the two astronauts into the middle of the scene. Galen tried to ignore Virdon and Burke, but they caught his worried, almost hopeless expression. “Ah,” said the Dragoon leader in a sinister welcome, “Perdix! You have saved us the trouble of hunting these humans down.”
Perdix gave the leader a cold look. “And they have saved me the trouble of hunting you down.” He turned to the other Dragoons. “All of you, throw down your weapons!”
The Dragoons hesitated; they recognized Perdix as the emblem of authority, directly from General Urko of Central City. But there was a great distance between the village and Central City, a distance measured more accurately in custom and temperament than miles.
“Throw them down!” cried Perdix. He stared unblinkingly into the eyes of the Dragoon leader.
The leader looked back through his mask. The two apes seemed to engage in a battle of wills. “No!” said the Dragoon leader, finally and irrevocably defying the authority of Urko and the Supreme Council.
Perdix suddenly recognized the voice of the Dragoon leader. “Don’t be a fool, Zon!” he said, disappointed that his own deputy should be the leader of his enemies.
Zon, the leader of the Dragoons, ripped the mask from his face. His expression conveyed the hatred that the gorilla had fed for many years. There was also a terrible and frightening lust for the murder of Burke and Virdon.
“You are the fool, Perdix!” said Zon with an evil laugh. “A fool not to side with us! Turn your back. Let us kill these humans!”
“No,” said Perdix. “This killing and terrorizing will stop. This insane hatred will stop. Now throw down your weapons!”
Zon laughed again; Virdon thought that he heard a trace of psychopathic mania in the sound. “We have ten weapons to your one,” said the Dragoon leader. “Are you willing to die with these humans?”
Perdix leveled his own rifle at Zon’s chest. He spoke calmly, as though he were not actually near the brink of death. “Are you willing to die to kill me, Zon?” he asked.
The atmosphere had become unbearably tense. The Dragoons shuffled about uneasily, looking to Zon for leadership. Perdix held steady. Virdon and Burke glanced from one to t
he other; a bloodbath seemed almost inevitable.
Sestus cried out to Zon in an anguished tone of voice. “This has gone too far,” he pleaded.
“Shut up, Sestus,” said Zon, through clenched teeth. “We set out to do something, and we’re going to finish it.”
Sestus licked his lips. “I’m willing to shut up where the humans are concerned,” he said. “But now we’re endangering apes! We were formed to protect apes, not kill them!”
Zon gave Sestus a sharp look. “I’ll kill anyone, human or ape, who tries to stop us!”
Zon slowly aimed his rifle at Perdix’s chest and cocked the firing hammer back. The two gorillas stood that way for a maddening moment, their rifles pointed at each other.
Just out of sight along the bend of the sea cliff, Fauna wandered near the edge, involved in her own tumultuous thoughts. She did not hear the loud arguments of the Dragoons and Perdix; in her frame of mind, she might not have heard them if they had stood inches away from her. She stumbled at the brink of a cliff and slipped, grabbing blindly at some roots as she fell over the edge. She managed to catch something and did not fall to certain death below, but she was trapped. She knew that she couldn’t hold on indefinitely. Very soon, her grasp would weaken… She cried out for help. Her shrill scream was wordless, but it conveyed her alarm.
The cry came muffled by the trees and the sound of the sea. Burke and Virdon reacted immediately, recognizing the ape girl’s voice. Her scream echoed in the still air. “Fauna!” cried Burke. He bolted toward the sound. Zon jerked around, raising his rifle and taking aim at the dark-haired man. Sestus jumped in and knocked the Dragoon leader’s rifle away.
“No,” said Sestus. Zon glared at the chimpanzee in helpless rage.
Fauna still clung precariously to the roots that had broken her fall. She struggled vainly to climb back up the sheer face of the cliff. Burke was running rapidly toward her, shouting encouragement.
As the seconds passed, though, Fauna’s hands cramped and weakened; she lost her grip on the roots and fell. She landed in the turbulent water below; her fall had been eased by her catching the roots. She was not killed by the fall; Burke looked over the edge of the cliff and saw her thrashing, panic-stricken, in the white foam below. He knew that while death had spared her momentarily, it would claim Fauna very soon. Without a moment’s hesitation, without thinking about what might happen to him, Burke made a long, clean dive into the roaring, raging waves below. There might have been invisible rocks below the breaking surf; he might have dashed himself to instant death, but he never considered that possibility. All he knew was that Fauna had been swept under by a wave, and she had not surfaced again.
