Gazda climbed off of the body, and using his knife, commenced to remove the black hide. The night ape’s flesh continued to knit along fading purple seams as he worked, but he only paused from time to time to shudder as sundered nerves re-grew and blazed anew with pain. There was a final cracking sound from his face as the jawbone twisted back into shape, but the itching remained.
There was still much to repair, and he couldn’t return to the tribe until he was healed or they would learn his secret, if secret it was, and be amazed, frightened or threatened.
He was swooning and exhausted, and his breath was coming raggedly. He needed more blood, but he wanted this panther’s skin. It would show the others what he had learned.
Gazda would not be caught unaware again, and he would hone his hunting skills until all the jungle trembled when he roared.
CHAPTER 17 – A Great Killer
Gazda made good on his word, and ever after, he was hunting.
From that first great kill, he had the panther’s skin as trophy; but being dead flesh, the hide would soon draw flies and decay like any lifeless thing in the jungle. Unless...
...he remembered the pile of hides in the tree-nest. These had been dried and prepared in a way that he did not understand, but the notion fed the desire to preserve his prize.
So back at the tree-nest he copied the dried skins of Fur-nose by scraping the flesh and blood from inside the hide and laying it flat on the boards outside the door to dry.
The night ape examined the two skins that Fur-nose had kept flat within the looped sticks, but after a couple of attempts to repeat the procedure, Gazda had given up with plans to try another time. His panther skin was beginning to smell in the jungle heat so would not tolerate much delay.
While he waited for the hide to dry, Gazda studied the coverings on Fur-nose’s corpse. It was evident to him that the strange creature had hidden his naked skin. He wore a bag made of fur on his head, and he had disguised his limbs behind the strange woven material.
The thought of wearing the prized panther skin in a similar fashion thrilled the night ape.
So Gazda searched the lair and found other coverings of similar shape and construction to the rotten things draped upon the skeleton, and after much struggle, he discovered how some of the dusty garments were worn.
Standing there clothed in Fur-nose’s baggy tunic and pants, Gazda briefly considered wearing them with his panther skin while on the hunt. However, after moving on all fours while wrapped in the confining clothes he rejected the idea. They felt like they were smothering him and he was even briefly panic-stricken when the material clung to his arms and throat, restricting the movements necessary to draw his long knife!
So he tore the coverings off and threw them aside, to stand naked before the corpse of Fur-nose.
The strange garments did not suit Gazda’s requirements, but they inspired him to find the means for covering his body—not out of shame—but in celebration. He was a night ape and a great hunter as Fur-nose seemed to have been.
And night apes covered their skins.
Gazda was too impatient to let the panther hide dry completely, so he took it up and carefully cut a narrow piece from it. This he used as a rough covering for his loins by wrapping it through the belt that held his long knife. From the rest of the big pelt, he made a long mantle that closed at his throat by twisting together the fur that had covered the beast’s forelegs.
That garment fell back over his shoulders like a cape that would keep the sun off his back if he hunted outside the forest, or when the tribe gathered around the Grooming Rock. At night it would hide his pale skin from his enemies and his prey.
He did another thing too. Gazda used the skin from the dead beast’s tail and twisted it into a fuzzy loop that ran around his head to keep his hair away from his eyes. He had been reckless to let it hang into his face before—so reckless, yet this the black panther had taught him too.
In time the uncured leather would begin to stink and grow hard as it rotted, but Gazda had no regrets for the rank odor hid his true scent, and might strike fear into the hearts of other carnivores.
And he could always find another beast to skin.
The panther had taught Gazda more than the dangers of sleeping while on the hunt. The creature’s black fur stood out in stark contrast to his own pale coloration, a handicap that made stealth almost impossible for the night ape in the dark jungle shadows.
Which reminded him of something. One day while skirting a stream, he had been shocked to see a knobby log on the bank open its eyes and slide into the water. A crocodile had been lying there made indistinguishable from its surroundings by the dark brown mud that covered it.
A lethal piece of wood.
Remembering this, Gazda saw the sense in the crocodile’s choice, and he decided to cover his own body with mud, at least those parts that protruded from beneath the panther skin.
He was pleased to find that unlike the rotting hide at his waist and upon his back, the mud hid the night ape’s flesh, and disguised his scent with a neutral smell.
He came to think of the slippery addition as his “mud-skin.”
The apes in Goro’s tribe did not know what to think of these developments.
When Gazda returned with black panther fur at his waist and its skin draped over his back, some found it hard to believe that he had slain the beast by himself. No group of hunting blackbacks had ever dared such formidable prey, so how could one skinny freak accomplish the feat.
Other than the hide, there was no proof that there had ever been a panther, and since there were no scars on his body save the mysterious one across his brow—well, this made them doubt the more, for how could any ape kill a black panther and come away without scars?
Of the mud covering his own skin? The apes generally regarded this as proof that Gazda had finally gone crazy.
Or he was teasing them, though, his darker coloration was more agreeable to the anthropoid sensibilities, and they only ever questioned the disguise when Gazda added decorative flourishes to it.
Sometimes he drew fish “scales” or etched the jagged hash marks of “fur” on his muddy limbs. Those symbols invited appreciative glances and much interest, for the apes enjoyed good riddles—unlike the complaints that were caused when he upset the blackbacks by outlining the bones on his arms, legs and chest after applying a fresh layer of mud.
The male apes saw such artistic endeavors as a threat to tribal peace and security, and eventually there was such an uproar that Goro would have banned the practice had Gazda not started leaving for days at a time to test his camouflage in the wild.
Time continued to pass for creatures that were unaware of its passage, except perhaps for dimly noting the waxing and waning of the moon. Instead, the conditions of life dictated the terms and so the young were born and the lucky ones grew to adulthood only to have young of their own should fortune smile.
These adults matured and evolved to suit their natures, ever seeking some pinnacle within the group, and to preserve its elevation. Females rose in stature through the broader hierarchy, and in the tighter embrace of motherhood brought many new members to the fold; as their male counterparts swelled in size and prowess to protect the tribe while gaining skills and courage to one day challenge their massive leader.
Within this milieu Gazda matured, and learned the ways of hunting, yes from the actions of the bull apes, but he also learned by watching and mimicking the behaviors of other successful animal hunters.
Like an ape he moved at speed through the high canopy as stealthy as a black panther on a scent, and closer still he came to resemble the snake, patiently slithering inch by inch until he was in striking range—while at other times he came as an eagle knifing down with irresistible force.
Then also did he employ their methods and with his own fangs or claws tore at the throats of his prey, or with his long knife punctured skulls or chests of those he would consume—the unsuspecting. Still at other tim
es like the apes and like the snake did Gazda grapple with creatures of the jungle and with his strength alone crush out their life, or hold them as he drank it down.
All as time progressed unmarked except when action played in the hot red space between life and death, until another year and more came and passed. And there, at the end of this did Gazda, taller now and much, much stronger, stand with a foot upon the broken chest of another unlucky creature and beating his own breast until the medallion upon it jumped at each fierce strike; he gave his mighty bull-ape cry.
This while in his racing heart were the words: “I am Gazda of the Apes. A great hunter and killer!”
1907
Thirteen years of age.
CHAPTER 18 – Seeds of Ambition
And while the night ape hunted, life in the tribe continued along its unremarkable course. Goro was king, and none would challenge him. Old Baho grew older and the hair atop his head was thinner, but he showed his loyalty, and shared sentry duties with the blackbacks.
Baho also shared his wisdom with the young, and told them that strength in one meant strength in all. The tribe was carried on the backs of all its members, blackback, she-ape, and infant, and all had to honor the king, for it was upon the silverback’s shoulders that the tribe was borne.
These apes of Goro’s tribe were slow to reproduce with the females birthing offspring no more than every five to six years. The many seasons since Gazda’s adoption had produced a comparative “stasis” in terms of numbers, with the total apes now 61. The young had replaced the old, and the cautious filled the space left by the reckless. But this tribe of apes did not breed quickly, and that fact was responsible for their dwindling numbers at that time, and was what led to their eventual extinction.
Calamitous loss of numbers had taken its toll upon the species in the past, as it had on other offshoots of other species. Drought, earthquake and fire presented changes too rapid for the intelligent apes to breed or evolve their way past, and so often as was the case, the most successful tribes maintained at best the status quo. They clung to existence along the coast of a dark continent that would one day forget them, as it had a myriad other kinds.
In times long past, lands like Goro’s had bordered other territories ruled by apes of his kind, but slowly those anthropoids had been replaced by the ruthless and rugged chimpanzee bands, and by loose collections of gorilla groups.
And that was nothing compared to the damage caused by the approach of human beings. As their numbers grew, so did their rapacious need for territory and resources like those found within the borders of Goro’s land. In time, that tide would become too powerful for any group of beasts to turn.
It could be argued that the only chance for Goro’s apes once lay in the cunning of Omag and the aging queens, for in their talk was the development of foresight, and the treasured knowledge of cause and effect and of desires fulfilled—facets of sentience that were powerful tools inherent to the tribe, but that needed exercising to develop as true survival skills.
Skills that admittedly did not guarantee survival, for at one time the whole world had eavesdropped upon many such cunning anthropoid species, and must have buzzed with the whispers of ambitious apes that are now forever gone.
So here Omag, Oluza and Akaki flattered young Ulok who was fast growing in size and strength. Years older than Gazda, he had been a blackback for some seasons now, and had quickly fought his way up through the tribal hierarchy.
The cynical apes within the tribe said that Ulok’s climb had been accomplished with his brawn and Sip-sip’s brain; though there were no challengers prepared to utter such a contentious thing to this growing forest giant.
Omag and his cohorts would crowd around and spoil the younger ape, grooming his thick fur and his ego, if his crippled mentor did find himself distracted and flinching from time to time, as sudden sounds caused him to recollect his bad luck with falling stones.
On occasion, Omag sat center to his little cadre with the aging queens acting as his handmaidens, cautiously grooming him. Gingerly grooming him, for his diseased flesh was too sensitive for such interaction, but there were times when the build-up of flaking skin, dried pus and the proliferation of scabs became too itchy and frustrating for him to ignore. Only then, could he bare the social exchange, and submit to a careful going-over by the old she-apes.
Secretly, the crippled ape also enjoyed the respite from random missile fire that attended such rare events for they never seemed to find him when he was surrounded by other apes. This cessation had not been his intention, but a bonus, since Omag had accepted the center position in part, with the hope that his attendants might absorb some of the falling objects that came his way.
The old queen Oluza was especially good at grooming Omag, and could discern which scabs were most ready to part from the damaged skin, though she was encouraged in her expertise by an affection for the tasty morsels.
As was tradition, Ulok also joined in to groom his mentor, though his participation was often prompted by his desire for Oluza, who despite his mother Akaki’s objections had several times initiated mating rituals with the amorous young male.
Omag’s sensitive skin and prickly nature kept him from overindulging in grooming, so he switched off with Ulok if he detected the young blackback’s attention beginning to wander.
The crippled ape was most impressed with the young blackback’s progress and he often imagined the day that Ulok would challenge Goro’s power. This excitement was only ever overcast by anxiety and doubts produced by Eeda’s night ape son, who was forever doing strange and unpredictable things.
Like the shining fang that Gazda had brought back from the jungle. That silver barb had made the skinny foundling into a formidable hunter—of panthers so he had claimed—though he had only ever shown a large black animal skin to prove it.
While Omag had a hard time believing such a thing was possible, he knew that the night ape had been an able hunter of meat before the addition of the fang, and so, some of the more gullible apes were willing to accept that Gazda “might” have killed the panther.
It didn’t help that the night ape also boasted about that victory at every opportunity.
While that lethal tool, and Gazda’s strange behavior—which continued to include his wearing the black animal skin and covering his pale flesh with mud—might be signs that he was crazy by ape standards, it signified something more to Omag.
His behavior meant Gazda could become a powerful challenger to any silverback if he ever grew larger and stronger, and had he the interest.
Ulok had been a wise choice, of that Omag was certain, for there were no blackbacks close to him in size and might, but even he might succumb to the shining tooth should Gazda ever make the challenge.
So, Omag hoped that the night ape’s boastful nature and reckless behavior would lead to his undoing, for it was clear that Eeda’s freak believed the new shining fang held more answers than wit and might.
Omag knew something of the silver tooth, for he had seen similar weapons in the hands of the bone-faced apes whose females he preyed upon. They also carried long, shining fangs, and from his place of hiding there had he once schooled himself in their power.
One sunset, while awaiting females by the river, Omag had seen a group of bone-faces come to their lair behind the sticks bearing a dead lion. The creature had been hanging by its legs from a thick pole carried by bone-faced males.
The crippled ape had decided to abandon his hunt after a great crowd of bone-faces came out of the lair and made a menacing display around the lion; but what most prompted Omag’s retreat had been the bone-faced ape that stepped back with a long stick upon which was fixed a shining fang, and with it he repeatedly stabbed the dead lion through and through.
Omag would never forget that lesson, and was much more cautious when he took the next bone-faced female for his meal.
But always thereafter did he watch for such fangs in the bone-faces’ hands, as he had now come to
watch the one in the night ape’s.
He would never discount Gazda’s weapon, for in fact, he coveted it, wondering how he might get it for himself, or where he might acquire such a thing of his own.
A clever gleam appeared in the crippled ape’s eye whenever he thought of the power he would wield with a shining fang of his own. Not even Goro could stand before him so armed.
In this time, Eeda had continued to refuse the attentions of the males, and rebuked any that attempted to mate with her. The blackbacks even complained to Goro but he told them to pursue females that were willing to have them.
He believed that Eeda would mate again once her focus on her adopted son was ended, and already the silverback could see that the night ape required little of her time.
Gazda was now much stronger and more muscular and was growing up to be a hunter unparalleled within the tribe. His skills had provided meat to the blackbacks, she-apes and their infants, and this rich diet was reflected in the thick and glossy coats of all who had received it.
The night ape had never lived on the same cycle as the tribe, being a thing like the moon, and as he had aged, his hunting often kept him away. His mother still complained about this habit, though she rarely went looking for him after nightfall anymore.
Sadly, though Gazda had cunning and skill, Goro still judged him to be crazy since he continued to cover his pale skin with mud and traipse about the jungle with a panther skin over his back. A skin from a panther similar to the others that he claimed to have killed on his own, a tale that Goro doubted, despite the shining fang that the night ape always carried at his waist.
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