“There was no time to get you, general,” Zaius said calmly.
The gorilla snorted his contempt. “No, but now there is time to go hunting all through the night, all over Ape City, all over the countryside!”
Zaius did not answer, and Bill heard Urko’s engine rev up and then the jeep race off. In a moment, the vehicle carrying Zaius also started up, turning around to follow the gorilla general. Bill had started to creep out of the culvert when he heard a truck arriving. It stopped a short distance down the road and he heard a sergeant ordering his men out.
They’ll find the sentry! Bill thought.
“Disembark and deploy! Get off, come on! Spread out!” The gorilla sergeant was ordering his men into position along the road. “Zuira, take your squad that way! The rest of you follow me!”
Bill heard the clatter of hobnailed boots on the roadbed overhead, then the swish and crunch as they moved off into the thistles and tall grass.
Another truck arrived with a squeak of brakes. The sergeant called out to them, “Ranko, fan out over there. Search every inch of those-fields away from the road. We’ll take the lakeshore. Get moving!”
Bill edged to the end of the culvert, peering cautiously through the weeds and thistles. He could see the line of gorilla soldiers threshing through the brush to his left and more soldiers coming along the road toward him. In moments, they would march into this strip of brush fronting the beach and find him.
* * *
Jeff ran down the slope and caught himself handily on a tree. Looking back, he saw Nova coming and snagged her with one arm. They stood in the darkness beneath the shade and looked down the wooded slope toward the beach, and across the moonlit lake to the far shore. Beyond that shone the lights of Ape City, and both he and Nova stared in wonder at the splendor of their illumination.
Then they heard the sound of distant sirens and the rumble of heavy engines. Jeff soon made out lights along the shore, those perhaps of parked trucks and the smaller lights of search parties.
“I wonder what—or who—they are seeking,” he muttered. “From the looks of it, though, it must be something they want very badly.”
Jeff tugged at Nova’s arm. “Come on, Nova, let’s go down to the shore. I want a better look.” She resisted, her eyes wide and frightened. “Come on, baby,” Jeff insisted, “all the searchers are way over there, across the lake. Maybe we can get a better view or hear something down below.”
Nova finally let him pull her away from the tree and they half ran, half climbed down the side of the thickly forested hill.
* * *
Bill lay flat in the grass, for once grateful for the camouflaging qualities of his dark furs and dirty body. The line of apes had just passed along, down from the road, but had missed the culvert. He had crawled out behind them and now lay at the edge of the sand, barely concealed, watching them bend over the figure of the, sentry he had downed.
“Dead!” snapped the sergeant. “That cursed humanoid has killed one of us!” The other gorillas growled and the sergeant called for silence. “Nutark, go back to the truck and radio the Lake Patrol to get along here. Warka, you and Trebo take this body up to the truck.”
“Where do we search now?” a gorilla soldier asked.
“Farther along the shore. Get moving!”
Bill waited until the soldiers had trudged away and were lost in the gloom; then he crept out silently and slipped, eel-like into the cool water, keeping low until he had enough depth to submerge. Finally, he took a deep breath and slipped quietly beneath the placid surface.
Far up the lake, a pair of patrol boats came around a point of land, their searchlights skimming the surface of the water.
* * *
Jeff crouched in the reeds at the edge of the lake. Nova was huddled near him. She couldn’t seem to get her eyes off the lights of Ape City, and the wonder of it had blinded her twice, causing her to fall noisily to the ground.
The black astronaut peered out at the two boats that were patrolling the opposite shore. Then he saw another one coming down from an anchorage farther up the lake; it came fast and passed up the closer two to patrol the lake’s entire opposite shore.
Suddenly Jeff stiffened. He reached out and grabbed Nova’s shoulder, pressing her warningly. She seemed to shrink, to blend into the reeds and wild growth near the water’s edge. They heard more rustling and Nova gripped his arm tightly.
Jeff put his mouth close to her ear and whispered, “I hear it! It must be an ape patrol! Quick! Follow me! We’ll slip back and get up in one of those trees!”
However, Nova was more experienced than Jeff at moving quietly, and she quickly led him back through the reeds and into the underbrush of the forest. Jeff boosted her up into the crotch of a tree and waved her to climb higher, which she did. Jeff jumped up at a lower limb, but missed his grasp in the intense darkness. He fell back from the big sprawling tree and crouched, alarmed at the noise he had made, even, though it was not loud. In the night and in his state of anxiety, the sound had seemed like dropping a load of glass.
Jeff peered around and noticed a single dark figure emerging from the bushes at the edge of the lake. The being started to move stealthily and steadily along the shore, then angled up toward the trees on the slope above. Jeff was uncertain whether the figure was aware of his and Nova’s presence or not, but he had to do something.
Quickly reconnoitering the shoreline, he saw only the one figure moving toward him. It’s an ape soldier, Jeff thought. I’m going to have to take care of him.
Quickly, he felt around under the tree for a rock or a fallen limb to use as a weapon. He found a stone about the size of a baseball and gripped it tightly in his hand. Slipping close to the tree trunk, he gave Nova a quick look and a wave, then watched with one eye from in back of the tree trunk as the dark figure moved closer.
Jeff saw the figure stop and look behind at the patrol boats now quartering the lake and at the distant searchlights and swift movement of the truck headlights. Then the figure moved again, climbing steadily up the slope—precisely toward the tree behind which Jeff was hidden.
The black fugitive took another grip on the stone and readied himself for combat. The figure, even less distinct now because the moon was obscured by a cloud, moved steadily closer. When the mysterious being had come close to the tree, Jeff leaped out, brandishing the stone and bringing it down hard at the head of the figure.
The stranger dodged, and the two grappled desperately, their feet sliding on the slope and their bodies straining.
Almost at once Jeff knew that something was wrong—not only was the stranger soaking wet, but his clothing was the fur and skins of a humanoid, not the leather-bound ape uniform he had expected.
“Bill?”
“Jeff! Is that you?”
The two astronauts gaped at each other in the dark, then started to laugh, but then quickly choked off their hilarity, cautioning each other to keep quiet.
“Bill, what are you doing creeping up—”
“You old goat, I heard something up here and I—”
“What happened to you?” Jeff asked in a fierce whisper, gripping Bill’s arms. “The blasted apes took you away and—”
“No time for that now,” Bill said. He pointed at the patrol boats, which were now circling closer to their side of the lake. “They’re right behind me. They’ll soon figure out where I went. C’mon, let’s go!”
He started climbing the hill.
“Wait!” Jeff ran over to the tree. “Come on down,” he whispered urgently.
There was a scraping noise, and Nova slipped down, held on to the bottom limb for a moment and then dropped lightly to the ground.
“It’s Nova!” Bill exclaimed softly.
He hugged the girl briefly; then Jeff pulled them apart.
“Which way?” Bill asked Nova. “Which way?”
Nova started up the slope, gesturing for them to follow. The two astronauts gave a last look at the lake, with its bustling
patrol boats and lakeshore lights, then followed her up the hill.
* * *
Zira sat nervously in her chair, twitching and picking at its fabric. Her nose wrinkled anxiously as she watched the round television screen where a simian newscaster was giving the news.
“…The forest fire which has been plaguing outlying Bacra is now under control, according to authorities. But there is, as yet, no estimate of the damage to this valuable watershed…”
Cornelius entered from their small kitchen, crossed the apartment in his hurried shuffling gait, and handed a steaming mug to his wife.
“Anything more on Blue-Eyes?”
Zira took the mug and looked up at him sadly. “No, just the initial report to all citizens to be on the watch. Oh, Cornelius, I wonder if we did the right thing?”
Her husband looked around quickly, his face twitching with nervousness. “Yes, Zira, but let’s watch the news. Maybe there will be something diverting on.”
“Cornelius, I don’t want to be diverted. Well, oh, all right…”
Cornelius sank into his favorite chair and reached out to pat Zira comfortably. The screen suddenly showed a photograph of Naarthrok, the current sensation in the small but growing simian film industry.
“…Everyone’s favorite, Naarthrok, has announced his next cinema project will be Zantar of the Humanoids, from the best-selling book about an ape raised by a band of primitive humanoids to become the greatest of their tribe. In an interview today, Citizen Naarthrok said he hopes that this will be just as great a success as his popular An Ape for All Reasons, last season’s hit. He anticipates no trouble working with humanoids and says that their trainer has done remarkable work in preparing the tribe of beasts for the job… In other news, crop failure in Wambo Province has brought new difficulties in—”
The newscaster hesitated, glanced offscreen, then took a sheet of paper handed to him.
“Here is a late report just handed me,” he said. “Everything possible is being done to apprehend the escaped humanoid beast reported earlier. General Urko, of the Gorilla Army, has given his personal assurance that the beast will be captured.”
Zira’s hand trembled and she sloshed her hot drink onto the floor near her chair. Cornelius grabbed for the mug, but tried to keep watching the screen.
“…Meanwhile,” the broadcaster continued, “all non-essential simians are ordered to remain indoors. The curfew imposed on Ape City by Doctor Zaius remains in effect!”
“Oh, dear!” Zira sighed.
“…And that is the news for tonight. Stay tuned for an inspirational message from the Council of Elders. The title of tonight is ‘The Need for a United Apedom.’”
Music was beginning when Cornelius jumped up to turn off the set. He stood for a time, his back to Zira. Finally he turned, his worried eyes meeting those of his wife.
Zira was pulling at her fingers and her nose was twitching involuntarily. “Oh, Cornelius… do you think we did the right thing in letting Blue-Eyes go? I keep asking myself that question over and over. Maybe he is dangerous, maybe he will cause some harm to someone. I just can’t help thinking that it will be our fault if he does.”
Cornelius knelt by his wife’s chair and took her hands in his, stroking the fine fur on the back of them. “We did the right thing, Zira. There is no use going over and over it. We did what we had to do—the only thing we could do.”
But he looked worried, so worried that Zira broke out of her own frenetic state and put a hand to his face, petting him, looking deeply into the familiar face.
“Even though they are only animals,” she said softly, “humanoids have the same rights to live as we do.”
Cornelius looked at his wife, sighing. “You feel that way. I feel that way. But General Urko and his gorilla gang don’t think so. And neither does Doctor Zaius, though I suspect he has different reasons…” The chimpanzee scientist bit at his lip for a moment. “But killing for the sake of killing is wrong, Zira. Wrong. Whether Urko does it… or Blue-Eyes…”
The two scientists looked into each other’s eyes with renewed worry while their hot drinks cooled and the searching troops rumbled through the night in jeeps, tanks, boats, and armored cars.
* * *
The wind stirred the tall, dry grasses on the ridge, making them rustle and scrape together. Bill crept along on his belly, keeping his head low until he could see down the steep ridge at the prison stockade in the valley below. He studied it for a second or two, then motioned to Jeff and Nova to join him.
The black astronaut and the mute humanoid came up fast, bending low, below the tops of the yellow-brown grass. Jeff rested on his elbows a foot or so away and Nova wriggled in between the two men.
“Looks like we lost them,” Jeff muttered, looking around carefully.
“I sure hope so,” Bill said with feeling.
They were silent for several minutes, studying the layout of the military post below. Wagon cages were lined up just inside the high stone walls of the compound and two of the Gorilla Army troop-transport trucks were parked nearby, empty of their hairy passengers.
“This must be where they keep the humans they are going to use in their terrible war games,” Bill said, his voice tight with suppressed anger.
Jeff nodded his head. “They’re doomed for sure if we leave them there.”
The white man looked at his partner. “Well, then, let’s do something about that.”
Abruptly, they started to slide back from the top of the ridge when they saw a plume of dust on the road below. Waiting, they watched the cloud until it resolved itself as a jeep and driver with an officer in command. The vehicle came to a dusty halt before the gate, where two gorilla guards stood watch.
Bill and Jeff strained their ears to hear what was being said, and were helped by the natural bellowing voices of the gorilla soldiers.
“Sentries,” the officer shouted, “you’re both wanted for search detail.”
One of the gorilla guards relaxed from the posture of rigid attention he had been holding since the officer’s arrival. “But, sir, we’re the only guards here—”
“Don’t worry about those dumb beasts!” the officer growled. “They’re locked in for the night!”
Reluctantly, the guards climbed into the jeep, giving each other worried glances. The jeep made a fast turn and roared off in another cloud of dust.
Bill and Jeff looked at each other and broke out into wide grins.
“I was wondering how we were going to do it,” Jeff said happily, “and they hand it to us on a silver platter!”
“Well, let’s not get too reckless, buddy. We’ll approach the stockade as carefully as if it was fully guarded.”
Sliding back from the crest of the ridge for a moment, the three got to their feet.
“Besides,” Bill said, “they may have meant only the guards on duty outside!”
The two astronauts, along with a scared but willing Nova, skirted the hill and approached the stockade on a blind side, away from the gate. Bill and Jeff slipped around the corner of the stone wall to peer over at the gate; Nova kept hidden.
They noted that the gate was made of thick timbers, bound by metal bands and studded with great bolts. It was secured on the outside by a heavy steel bar laid horizontally across it, anchored in thick wooden brackets.
Bill now signaled to Jeff, just behind him, and they dashed to the gate to throw all their weight and strength into raising the heavy crossbeam. Their muscles bulged and strained and Jeff grunted, “Those damned gorillas must be awfully strong to handle a thing like this without help!”
“Shut up and lift!” Bill gasped.
The heavy steel bar slowly rose, then slipped suddenly out of their grasp and down again. But it was held now only by one of the brackets in the stone buttresses that flanked the gate. With a few more heaves, Jeff and Bill had slid the heavy bar free.
Their fingers quickly pried at the center crack between the two halves of the massive, gate, pulling a
t it with all their strength.
“Just a little more, Jeff,” Bill said, straining hard.
“We’ll make it!”
The doors creaked open enough to permit Bill to stick his head through. He spotted no one, and they shoved the gate open still more.
“Let’s go!” Jeff urged.
Nova ran up to them, looking inside with anxious fear. Then the three of them cautiously entered the compound.
“Those must be the quarters for the guards,” Jeff said, pointing at a barracks set into the wall of the prison.
“And that,” Bill said, pointing at a two-story stone structure with barred windows that ran across the back of the compound, “must be where the prisoners are!”
They sped across the hard-packed earth of the prison yard and up to the single door of the cell block. It was a steel door, well-reinforced, with a large keyhole but no handle or knob.
“It’s locked!” Jeff croaked, pushing at it.
He hooked a finger into the keyhole and pulled, but the door was solidly locked.
“Let’s find the keys!” Bill ordered, and they ran back to the barracks.
But their frantic searching produced nothing.
“They must have taken the keys with them,” Jeff said angrily, striking the fender of one of the trucks outside the barracks. “No wonder they didn’t mind walking off and leaving them here!”
Bill was meanwhile looking around the enclosure. He walked back to the prison door and eyed the keyhole a moment; then he said to Jeff, “Let’s find a chain, something that would go through that big keyhole. And a steel bar of some sort. I have an idea.” Several more minutes of searching produced a heavy tow chain from one of the trucks and a tire-changing tool from the other. Though not that large, together they were too big to go through the keyhole.
“We’ll look for something else!” Bill said and the search was resumed.
“Work fast! They might come back,” Jeff said, “or some new ones could come along!”
Planet of the Apes Omnibus 4 Page 9