Isle of the Ape

by Jason Halstead

  Chapter 16

  Patrina moved through the manor house as quietly as she could. Light filtered in through broken windows and small holes in the walls, allowing her to see properly again. It was dim and sporadic, keeping it dark and confusing. She'd barely managed to muffle her shriek when she'd almost stepped on the desiccated rat corpses when she rounded a corner.

  She made it past the rats but stood still when she almost walked into a massive webbing that stretched across the hallway. She drew her sword in her off hand and tried to sweep it aside, only to be surprised at how strong the cobwebs were. She used her sword like a machete and chopped through it, and then cried out when the spider that had made the webs emerged from beneath the shadows of a cabinet.

  Two more spiders crawled out of hiding, each large enough to give her father's hunting hounds pause. Her sword was coated in the sticky webbing, making it of little use, save as a club. She tossed it at the closest spider and used the distraction to back up and grab her axe in both hands. The awkward back step sent a bolt of pain from her knee up to her hip and drew a ragged gasp from her lips.

  The brown and yellow spotted spiders scurried towards her. She swept her axe across and scooped the first spider so that it went {R1flying into a wall. It bounced off and twitched, and then regained its feet and started towards her again.

  She brought the axe back and smashed the second spider into the wooden floor, cutting it almost in half with her blade. Juice splattered across the floor and made her lip curl up in disgust. The next spider ran across it on eight legs, uncaring of its brother's fate. The spider latched onto her boot and tried to drive its fangs into her, only to be foiled by the metal plates sewn into her boots.

  Patrina kicked with her foot but the spider hung on. She tried to balance on her injured knee but it screamed its disapproval and started to buckle again. She jammed her other foot into the ground to steady herself, squashing the spider on her boot in the process.

  The first spider was dragging one of its legs. It slowed it down enough for Patrina to jab the spike tipping her axe into it and pin it against the floor. The spider's legs twitched while it tried to pull itself free. She leaned on the axe handle and waited until it stop moving before she picked it up and swung her axe to send the dead spider {R1flying into a wall.

  She balanced on her good leg and swung her foot from her knee a few times, grimacing at the pain each movement caused. She sighed and started forward, only to stop when she saw there were several more webs beyond the first one she'd started to cut down. And spiders. She saw dozens of spiders crawling from holes in the walls and ceiling and from under and behind furniture.

  Patrina forced herself to breathe and glanced behind her. Maybe if she could clear out the rubble that had caved in the hallway the snake had been in, she might find another way out. She turned back and saw the spiders were moving faster and getting closer. She raised her axe and glanced at the glistening fluid on her boot. That meant the spiders were probably poisonous.

  The wall and ceiling exploded next to her. Patrina cried out and fell away, twisting her knee in the process. Broken timber showered the room, striking her without doing any damage but obscuring her vision. The spiders retreated from the new threat.

  Patrina blinked through the dust and glaring sunlight. Something blocked the light, letting her see better. She cried out as the wall broke inwards again, and then she felt herself grabbed by the foot and ripped out of the estate, smashing her against the floor and wall along the way. Her armor managed to take the brunt of the impacts but she was still winded and wondered if her leg was going to be torn off at the hip.

  When the world stopped spinning, Patrina heard her name being shouted. It sounded familiar, but more important was the very large black face, with even larger teeth bared, less than a foot from her. The ape's nostrils flared as it sniffed her, and then a moment later the airflow reversed with an enormous sneeze.

  Patrina's brain caught up a moment later. She was covered in ape snot and every joint in her body felt like it had been pulled out of socket. She looked up—no, she was looking down at the ground—and saw that her axe was still in her hand. How had she managed that? She hadn't even tried to keep her grip on it.

  "Trina!" Alto's words drifted through her mucus-covered haze. She twisted in the ape's hand as best she could and saw him waving from the top of a tower. Not the top floor, the very top. The roof. He was twenty feet off the ground. How was she supposed to get to him?

  Patrina lost sight of him as she was jerked through the air again. She felt her back popping from the shaking and knew it was a matter of time, probably seconds, before one of the pops was permanent. She was swung forward and bent at her waist, using her momentum and swinging the axe up to hack into the forearm of the ape holding her.

  Patrina flew through the air and landed on the ground, rolling as she went. Air blasted from her mouth and she could taste a mix of blood and dirt. She rolled just enough to twist her head and look up. The ape was grunting and screeching while it held its injured arm. Another one slammed its hands on the ground and rushed towards her. Patrina stared up as it raised both fists and was about to crush her. Her body wasn't ready to move again yet.

  Bucky crashed into the ape above her and sent the female crashing into a wing of the estate. He roared at the female ape he'd displaced and then turned back to the one that was still shouting and carrying on. The male ape turned back to Patrina and snarled at her. He grunted and punched the ground near her several times, making it clear that he could kill her if he wanted to.

  Patrina gathered her axe up and jammed the shaft into the ground. She used her weapon to climb to one knee and started to rise when Bucky grabbed her and squeezed tightly, crushing her axe against her. Patrina grunted and fought the darkness that pressed at the edges of her vision.

  When her sight returned, Patrina saw Alto waving and shouting. He was halfway over the parapet of the tower and about to risk breaking his legs if he fell. That was Alto, ready to risk everything to help her. She shook her head. "This is my rescue," she mumbled. "I'm here to save you." It didn't matter to her that her voice was so quiet no one could hear her.

  Bucky lifted her up in the air, leaving her stomach behind until it caught up with her. She saw Namitus in the tower and the jungle over the walls beyond the castle. She blinked and then realized that Bucky was threatening to throw her into the ground hard enough to make sure she'd never be a pest again. It worked. Alto backed away from the edge of the tower.

  Patrina looked over at Bucky and frowned. He looked savage and vicious, but he wasn't acting like a stupid animal. Winter, her unicorn that Alto had found for her, was her first experience with an animal as intelligent as a person. She wondered if Bucky was like that, too. Winter could understand her—could Bucky?

  "Bucky, put me down," Patrina said as loudly as his squeezing fist would allow. "Nobody needs to get hurt."

  The ape roared at her, making her gag and swoon with his fetid breath. Negotiations, it seemed, were not an option.

  "Let her go and I won't fight you," Alto shouted from across the courtyard.

  Patrina shook her head. He couldn't do that! He couldn't give up; that would mean they'd lost. "No, Al—"

  Bucky's roar overpowered her and left her with a ringing in her ears and pain throbbing in her head. Bucky lowered her and spun away, confusing her. A moment later, she saw the gate of the castle and groaned when Bucky ducked to fit through the inner and outer gatehouses of the bailey. Once through the gates, she was lifted back up and vertical again, though it did little to help her sense of balance.

  She fought her nausea and looked around, taking in as many sights as she could, especially those of the castle that Bucky left behind. He took her down the overgrown road that curved down the mountainside, his stride eating up the distance as fast as a horse could run. In minutes, he pushed into the jungle, swatting aside trees with his free hand and stopping occasionally to sniff the air.

  Pa
trina considered trying to talk to the ape again. She wasn't sure if he understood her or not, but she suspected he might have. He seemed to have made sense of what Alto'd said to him. The giant monkey had roared her into silence every time she'd spoken, too. She didn't know how he could understand them, but she was sure he must.

  "Please don't hurt him," Patrina risked saying. "I—"

  Bucky shook her, though not as severely as the female ape that had first captured her. It made her bite her tongue hard enough to draw blood. She kept her mouth shut after that.

  The ape moved through the forest, stopping on hills and in clearings to sniff and search about. She was sweating and miserable in his grip but he made no move to let her go or even loosen his hold on her. The minutes turned into an hour and more while he wandered around the island. The sun was dipping low in the west when he finally stepped out of the jungle and started up a rise towards the ruined city on the southwestern coast. Patrina stared beyond it, hopeful that her people would see her. More likely they'd see Bucky and it would terrify them, but it might get their attention, at least.

  With the small village still a mile or more in the distance, Bucky stopped and sniffed the air again. He turned slowly, grunting softly and staring at the trees. Patrina gasped when Carson stepped out from a small copse of orange trees with an arrow fitted to his bow.

  "Put her down, Bucky," Carson called out.

  Bucky snarled and hooted at him. He raised Patrina again as though her survival was a bargaining piece.

  Carson held his ground and raised his bow to point at Bucky's face. "You know this probably won't kill you, but it'll hurt for days, maybe weeks. Put her down, now!"

  Bucky kicked dirt at Carson, forcing the hunter to turn away and shield his eyes from the grass and dirt that the giant ape's toes had torn up. Patrina cried out as Bucky all but tossed her onto the ground. She rolled against {missing word?}, her arms swinging out and stopping her. She looked up and saw the ape running back through the tall grass and heading for the jungle.

  A moment later, Carson was kneeling at her side. "Are you hurt?"

  Patrina turned and stared up at him. She blinked and opened her mouth. Instead of speaking, the darkness she'd been fighting for hours slipped through her lowered defenses and claimed her.