Apes Chapter 21

 

Episode 5

21

The City held a secured and fortified section named the Fortress. It was designated as the last stand position in case of rioting or major disaster. It was well guarded to house over a thousand inhabitants and an outer perimeter was formed with the barricades and high wall. The Enforcers have gathered there at a hundred strong with a third of them inside the fortress. They were heavily armed with rifles including the M500 among the elites. There were some armed with whatever they could get from the Enforcement Offices or made their own.

John ‘McCabe’ Anderson was a huge figure standing at over six feet with an upbringing that includes fistfights from teens to his Enforcer days. He was the Fortress Champion for ten years in a row. He stood there with his overall unzipped to his waist but his sweaty arms held the four feet halberd as if It was an extension of his body. The halberd was bloodied from the blood of the servants he slewed. He felt the thumb of every creature he killed. His bounty stood at twelve. They were besieged by the servants and had taken cover on the high walls in the Fortress.

“Give me my thirteen,” McCabe called out to his aide. The aide was a junior officer named Junior by all although his real name was Peter Drew. The younger officer in his uniform was assisting in disposing of the dead bodies which were pilling them in the dumpster.

“Coming, Sir.” Junior took out his dagger and cut the thumb off the chimpanzee. It does not matter which one for McCabe was not particular on that.

“Here, Sir.” Junior tossed the thumb over. He saw McCabe ignored the other while he wrestled with the ape with his halberd. They were struggling then until another officer sneaked in from the right side and blew ape’s head with the M500 rifle.

“Yabba!’ McCabe hollered out before he wiped the remains of the ape’s flesh off his face. “I like that.”

It was not all madness there, for another officer was taking the rifle he held for a good workout. She was using the standard rifle and taking her aim very carefully with the last five shots all headshots.

“Hey Mary Stars, that is your new record. A full load with all headshots.” Officer Stars lowered the rifle to reload it. She was not an elite officer but she was making the grades. Three years was the qualifying time for her test but this riot had delayed her test. She reloaded the file and then reached for the water bottle. She took a gulp and then it was back at her shooting. Her targets were the ones at the rear of the front servants. She somehow knew those were the leaders and it was important to take them out.

“Hey, they are retreating.” The call was heard. It was a relief then for officers then.

Not all was relief by it. Lord Caesar was the most uncomfortable one having being dragged there with his portable breathing apparatus. He looked at the other four and held his grim expression. He heard shots being fired out there and he fingered his sidearm. It was an old relic but it held five solid exploding rounds.

“Officer, what is happening out there?” Lord Caesar asked the Enforcer there.

“The City mobs are making a rush at the south wall. We just stopped them.” The Officer replied. “You are a lucky chap to be here. In your condition, we would have tossed you over but the Colonel order was never to be questioned.”

Caesar knew he was powerless then. He needed to work on his back up plan.

So were the words of Astrid as the leader but it found that the authority was questioned then by the bull. They have congregated once more as part of the Pack Movement soon after Astrid was ostracised. Astrid returned to the meeting and stated the defense as the ousted leader.

I protest on my … rejection as the leader. It was I who started the movement and secured this revolution.

Absurd! Without us, your movement would have been dead a long time ago. We have taken over the City and annihilate the owners. They have been our masters for too long.

It was the Bull who replied to Astrid.

Be patience. We have won a battle but the war remains to be there.

Astrid to control the situation.

Astrid, you do not understand. The Movement has voted you out. You are no more the leader. Since you asked of Jesty, that one had died in the fight. Now leave.

Astrid was angry then but it knew that it was no more the leader. The Bull was then. It turned to walk out but then it stopped.

To the victor belong the responsibilities but to me, freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you.

Astrid quoted from the ancient quote of Al Bernstein but added in the words of one other Jean-Paul Sarte. It then turned to look at the Bull.

You can steal but you cannot preserve it.

The Bull charged at Astrid and they both wrestled on the ground. The Bull was joined in by two others who had remained in the dark corner. They grabbed Astrid’s limbs and tossed the chimpanzee across the unit. They then rushed over to grab the ex-leader once more to toss it once over at the wall. It landed in a confused heap. It tried to get up but the chimpanzee was too dazed to move. It was then held by the lower left limb and tossed again to the other side of the wall. Astrid hit it once more with its left shoulder and fell to the ground. Everything happened too fast.

Don’t ever question my leadership.

It was the bull standing over Astrid. The bull then slammed Astrid's face to the floor.

We are no more servants but warriors now.

Warriors they were but the odds were overwhelming than at the Outpost. A distance away among the rubble, they were stopped and had to secure a stand. They did well, with the good place shots there. It was a collapsed rubble. Bernice leaned on the wall reloading the rifle while Juanico kept watching at the opening.

“I say we are in the clear for now.” Juanico wiped at the blood that came from the cut on her left shoulder. It was a chimpanzee who bit her there and was given the dagger in between the eyes for dessert. Bernice looked around the place they were holed in. The whole floor was strewn with dead or wounded bodies of both servants and officers. The dead were hauled there to feast on. A wounded ape was dragging its limbs to get up but its effort was stopped by the sharpened blade into the back of the neck.

“We need to get out,” Bernice muttered.

“Where to, Bitch?” Juanico asked. She was the one who did the kill and was skewering the meat for a meal. The officer was coated in blood and had the left arm held in a tourniquet then while the rifle was slung across the chest. She saw ab abandoned cruiser.

“The City?”

It was on Lance's mind than to return to the City. He was on the far side of the Outpost, watching intensely outside the opening there with the other named Leroy laying out his killing tools on the flooring for a count then.

“I think I lost a blade to that ape I cut.” Leroy lamented the loss of his blade. “It was not mine for long but I liked it.”

Lances ignored the elderly man while he watched at the scene in the yard. The dead bodies were there and what was revolting was the feeding by the chimpanzees on the bodies. It was known from his stay with Uncle Lanceston that the chimpanzees were meat eaters but not the gorillas. He saw the two cruisers there and so was the makeshift junk driven by Leroy. The vehicles should be able to fetch six of them but there were more of them. He accessed his options and reckoned they might not make it out alive in the next attack. He counted there were close to two dozen servants out there.

‘You could flip a coin.” Leroy read his mind. “I have one. Just give it back to me when you are done. It’s an ancient coin.”

Lances looked at it. It held the same face on both sides.

“Just select Heads you win. You will win it all.”

 “Colonel, you will need the other cities to help us here.” Emperor Caesar looked at the Colonel when they met in the Fortress. “Get them now.”

The Colonel looked at the one the once’s regarded as the Senate, their leader. There were the others; Lady Cleop, Brutus, Anthony, and the unspeaking silent one named Octavia. There were once his idols of the new World but he was uncertain then. Nevertheless, as trained military personnel he had made allowance for errors and how to counter it.

“I have. I will let you know when they arrived.”