Apes Chapter 24

 

24

The bull stood on the barricade looking then at the collapsed Fortress in Sector Five. To the bull, it was a victory of a sort to have toppled the fortress. He would have no resistance to his rule. He had conspired against the one named Astrid and won over the other leaders. Then with the City under their control, it was no more just the bull but the all-powerful new City warriors; King Napoleon warriors and it was King Napoleon.  

“We will rebuild this City to our liking.” Its first line of speech there was received with howling and screeching of joy by the assembled which numbered into the thousands. He turned to its clan members to give the command.

“I want the owners to be rounded up and made to work on rebuilding the structure. Gather all the weapons and stacked them hereunder guard by our kind.” Napoleon arranged his army then. The weapons included the seized M500 rifles and sidearm.

Napoleon….

Napoleon looked to the right side and saw the ape looking at him. He sneered at the silverback ape and turned back to watch the other members of his clan arranged the weapons.

Napoleon, we are equal in this victory. I want to know why the weapons are ….

Igor, you asked too much of me at times. I am trying to safe keep the weapons. Your… clan can go and hunt the remaining owners. I want them rounded up as soon as possible.

Napoleon, I demand respect for my role….

Shut up, Igor Just does your part.

With that Napoleon stepped away and watch the weapons being gathered while the ape crouched on its four limbs could not decide to attack or withdraw until another silverback approached it. The later nudged Igor and then they went off. Napoleon turned to watch the ape moved away. It then looked to the far wall and saw its two trusted guards there with the rifles. They were watching over Napoleon and if Igor made any deadly moves, they will shoot the ape. Napoleon sneered and then turned to watch the gathering once more.

It was then a commotion happened in the yard.

Three Enforcers or were dressed as one, armed with sidearm and rifles were launching an attack on the yard.

“Kill the servants and get some M500.” The apparent leader of the trio called out the orders while firing. It would have worked but one of the routines was marksmanship for the selected few. The three shots came almost simultaneously with precision to take down the trio in their run. They never made it to the pile of weapons.

 I want the perimeter enforced. This looks bad for us.

Napoleon looked at Igor who was at the far side of the yard with his clan. It was glaring at Napoleon and in its gorilla mind, the chimpanzee had failed. Failure was a sign of weakness.

The Colonel pulled over to the side and turned to watch the convoy that he had led out of the City. It was a pathetic gathering of survivors. Or in his opinion, a gathering of cowards.

They are all cowards for they were fleeing an enemy. He knew he was one but he will redeem himself soon. He will then train these groups of bastards to retake the City. He then needed was a new base of operation and weapons. He held those in his control. He counted besides the earlier six-armed cruisers and two transporters he then commandeered, there was an assortment of vehicles in the convoy from City from single-seaters to cargo transporters. He held a count of six hundred and eighteen survivors which included a hundred and fifty-five Enforcers. Most General Dixon men have joined him but a third decided to go back to their city.

“We are almost there, Colonel.” The officer seated behind him on the cruiser called out. That officer had been giving him directions to the new base. It was funny how they can read map coordinates but the war did not reach the atmosphere units where the relics stayed functional for years. It was good technology then but the war decimated resources and knowledge. As known to many, the City was making to do with salvaging the available materials and know-how.

“Get me there and then I will do the needed.”

There was nothing needed to be done at the new command base for it was still there; situated below in the deep canyon with its dome surface. The path to the lowered canyon was from the northern side with the trail cropped out of the stone walls and curled down to the canyon bottom. There was a dugout surrounding the dome measuring over a quarter-mile and the dome stood high at over two hundred feet but still below the surface. The canyon was over two-mile in length and a three-quarter-mile across at its widest. He had it hidden on the forbidden side of the abandoned city. He had it forbidden for any Enforcers or Border patrols to go there.

“How come we never see this place before?” The officer asked.

“It’s because it was not in the records. It’s a secret establishment and here we held the thing we need to get the City back.”

Part of the convoy stopped before the dome while the major part waited at the ground level below the plateau. The Colonel disembarked and walked to the entrance to the dome. He stood there and soon the doorway slid open to exit an Enforcer Officer.

“Colonel, we have been expecting you soon after we heard the riots in the City.” The officer saluted the Colonel.

“Are we ready?” The Colonel asked He got his reply with a nod from the Officer. “Activate the place. I want the Alpha Base up and running.”

If anything was ready, it wasn’t at the Solace for the place was an abandoned city of ancient times. There were a few towers left standing of the once-proud city. Most of the towers considering the ones standing were either in a state of collapse or near to it with bare walls and open holes in the flooring. It was rumored that the Enforcers then had collapsed the towers to avoid it being inhabited. There were some places where the collapsed debris had formed a barricade of three to four times the height of a man. The streets were covered with discarded metal pieces and smaller debris of the collapsed structure.

“Leroy, we need to find a …decent place to make our home.” Lances did not hesitate to make known his requirement. Leroy did not reply but he drove on past the crowded street to the inner part of the ancient city. It was no different inside there but soon they came to a standing ten levels tower that somehow looked better compared to the others.

“Welcome to the Tower of Solace. We shall seek shelter here. Don’t mess up the place. I do live here.”

The shelter was not what Astrid discovered back at the Research Centre where the owner was once there. There was no owner and worse to it, the place was swarming with chimpanzees tearing the consoles of its components. They seem to be venting their hatred towards it. It could be that they were told that was the place that gave them those routines to adhere to daily.

Astrid took leave and tried to find friends but there was no one willing to be with it. It was a lonely plight to be discarded as the leader then. It also found itself a target of shooting mark for the chimpanzee holding rifles.

Astrid, you are not wanted.