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Alaska wakes up to the sound of someone grunting and breathing hard. She gets up with the help of her wooden crutch. She makes her way slowly outside. She finds Ruog the alligator training with his wooden staff. This was her first time witnessing his amazing skills with the staff.
Ruog's movements were fluid and precise as he struck the training dummy repeatedly with his wooden staff. The impact of each blow sent reverberations through the staff, echoing throughout the training area. Alaska watched in awe as Ruog effortlessly switched between wide, sweeping moves and quick, precise jabs. Although Rugo was a hefty alligator, he was quick and light on his feet. His movements and strikes were as fast as lightning. It was clear that he was totally in control of the wooden staff, using it as an extension of his own body.
Ruog puts down his staff, sits down on the ground, and closes his eyes. He finishes his session with deep breathing exercises. Alaska stayed silent for a couple of minutes. Alaska tries to make her way over to Ruog and compliments him on his staff skills but due to the terrain and her leg still not being fully healed she holds on to her crutch at a distance. “That was very impressive, mister…”
“As I said before, there is no need to call me mister.”
“Oh, sorry. Ruog. You train very hard. I can see that.”
“Shouldn’t you be inside resting? Your leg isn’t fully healed yet, child.”
“Look, I won’t call you mister if you don’t call me child. I’m not that small.” Alaska pouts.
Ruog opens one eye to look at her, “It has nothing to do with your size. It’s your experience. You are young, naïve, and impatient. So, you are a child.”
“Then…” Alaska stares at his wooden staff, “Teach me how to not be a child. Show me how to use that. I should learn how to defend myself.”
“No.” Ruog now opens both eyes, gets up from the ground, and picks up his staff. “Besides, as I said before, your leg isn’t fully healed yet. The only thing you should be doing is resting.”
“Look, I’m tired of resting. I need to find my friends.”
“That’s like the hundredth time you said that.” Ruog, with staff in hand, walks past Alaska and then looks back, “Ever since you mentioned your friends, I’ve been returning each day to the same place where I found you, near the riverbank. I have found no signs of any other human out there.”
Alaska looks down after Ruog says that.
Ruog coughs after seeing the expression on her face. “But perhaps they are still looking for you. Rest assured tomorrow I’ll return to that same spot for you and keep my eyes peeled for them.”
“Yeah, uh, thank you Ruog.” Alaska with a melancholy face looks up at the sun. It was slowly setting on the horizon. She wonders if her friends are searching for her. Alaska also wonders if they are alright.
Ruog puts his staff away inside the hut and then returns outside. He notices Alaska lost in thought as she looks at the sun setting. “What if…”
“What? What if your friends forgot about you?” Ruog takes a deep breath. “Judging by what you have already told me, I doubt that someone that came all the way from another world with you could all of a sudden forget you like that.”
“So, you do believe that I come from another world? Ha,” Alaska smiles and looks at Ruog in his eyes. “I thought you said you didn’t believe me.” She comes to realize that although Ruog was a big intimidating-looking alligator creature, he had a kind and gentle personality.
“No. I did not say that. I said that if that person traveled from another world with you, there is no way they would just forget you like that. I never said anything about believing that you are from another world.”
Alaska chuckles and then pauses for a second. “You know, when I first met you, my heart almost stopped. I was so afraid. But now, I think you’re a cool guy. I mean, you didn’t have to help me, yet you did.”
“And this ‘cool’ in your tribe means cold, right?”
“Back in my world, not tribe, ‘cool’ means like you’re an awesome person. It’s a compliment.” Alaska places her crutch down and slowly lowers her body down to a tree stump. She sits there and looks at her leg.
Ruog leans on the door of his wooden hut. “Ah, thank you.”
“I… Never had a father growing up. He passed away when I was young. I just have faint memories of him.”
“I’m sorry you had to face that. That is very difficult. Growing up without guidance.”
“Do not feel bad. My mother took care of me. She’s done a great job at it. Because of my father not being in the picture, I grew up feeling like I needed to be in control, always. I don’t want anyone making decisions for me.”
“You rely on yourself, rather than look for others for help.” Ruog looks up at the clouds, they turn purple and pink due to the sun setting. “My son grew up with me training him every day. You could say he relied on me to guide him.”
“That must have been great. Father and son together.” Alaska’s eyes sparkle but she notices Ruog’s face had sorrow in it. Her expression became confused.
“It was great in the beginning when he was young. But slowly my son abandoned my guidance. He became someone I no longer recognized. He was not the same person anymore. My son was like a stranger to my eyes.”
Alaska wonders what had happened to Ruog’s son. She wanted to know more. But at the same time, she didn’t want to be rude.
Ruog continues. “Simply having someone there to guide you in life is good. But if you refuse to accept that guidance knowing that it comes from a good heart then you do not cherish what you have. My son did not value my teachings, even though I begged him to change his ways.” A tear came to Ruog’s eye, he quickly wiped it away. He then coughs one more time to clear his throat. “It is getting cold; you should come inside and rest like I told you.”
Alaska snapped out of her deep thoughts about Ruog’s son. She picked up her crutch and went back inside the hut. She knew that eventually, Ruog would feel comfortable enough to open up to her. It would just take some time. She desperately wanted to know about Ruog’s past.
“Now, help me find the cure to this illness.” Karaee looks at you seriously. You look at Inkagi all confused.
“How in the world will we be able to do that? I’m not a scientist or anything.”
“Well actually, our people already know how to cure Zonda. It is simple yet complicated. Our land used to be filled with a flower known as the Helx flower. The Helx flower’s strange yellow leaves can be used to make the cure.”
“So let me guess. You want us to find it, right?” You say quickly.
“To get to the point, yes. But at the same time, no. You see it is very difficult to find this flower, but our wise elders have said that they can also grow within the harsh environment of a volcano,” Karaee looks down to the ground with a sad expression on her face, “Many have tried and failed. Some never came back home. The volcano was their resting place now. However, I see something special in you. Maybe you could be the one to help our people. Why, out of all the days you two appear on the anniversary of this illness?”
Inkagi saw it as a suicide mission. To go deep within a volcano to look for a plant that may or may not be there.
You saw no other way out of the situation you were in. It was either to be killed or go on a mission to save the apes infected with Zonda. “Okay. We'll do it.” After you said that Inkagi looks at you with wide eyes. His mouth was half open, shocked by your response. He knew just as much as you did, that there was no other way.
“But what about your father the king? He has no reason to listen to us and to let us go on this mission. He will not trust us.” Inkagi quickly states.
Karaee finally spoke. “Listen carefully to what I say. If you do what I tell you, I promise you, King Soren, my father, will listen to your request.”
“King Soren.” You said softly after finally hearing the king’s name. You think back to the giant intimidating gorilla that gave orders to the ape army when you were captured. You remembered how transfixed you were with his powerful authoritative demeanor. You gulp thinking of what a leader like that would do to you if he disagreed with your request. Your heart almost skips a beat just thinking about even standing in front of such a king.
“So did you get all that?”
“Huh?” You snap out of your train of thought realizing that Karaee was trying to explain to you everything you needed to do to get her father to trust you with the mission. You kindly ask her to go through it again.
Although you were nervous about the next day, you and Inkagi fell asleep due to how exhausted you both were. You and Inkagi woke up to a familiar sound. Karaee was outside the hut door arguing with the guard that was standing watch over your cell.
“King Soren demands that you give them food and water.”
“What? Why would I do such a thing for this human scum?”
“If the humans die now, the king will not have any entertainment later. He wants to watch them be eaten whole by the Acaer. Just think of it as their last meal.” Karaee had a serious face on. “Besides, you wouldn’t want to disobey my father’s orders, would you?”
The guard quickly scrambles and takes the food and water from Karaee’s hands. He busts into the hut and kicks you and Inkagi to wake both of you up. He then proceeds to untie both of your hands so you can eat. “Enjoy your last meal ohee-lum!” You had no idea what ‘ohee-lum’ even meant. So, you pay no mind and begin to eat.
After you finish eating you only remain in your cell a little while longer then suddenly two army apes come bursting into the hut with a spear in hand and remove you from your cell. They order you to walk. They follow behind you as you and Inkagi follow two other army apes in front.
As you walk toward the center of the village you notice the ape people looking again at you, but this time you notice them saying ohee-lum when they see you. “That word again.” You said to yourself as you kept walking forward. You had a feeling that it was bad because every time it was said by one of them, they would look at you in disgust.
You notice a grand palace now in front of you. You thought to yourself, that must be where King Soren is. You walk up large stairs, obviously made for apes. As you made your way to the top of the palace stairs you started to get tired. Once at the top, you enter a long hall, the walls ornamented with glistening stones and ape hieroglyphics. You think to yourself, this must be their language.
Before you knew it you and Inkagi made it to the king’s throne room. Karaee was there next to him on her own smaller throne. She locks eyes with you and gives you a quick smile. You can also see another ape, next to the king. It was his queen. The queen also had blonde long silky hair just like Karaee, but you notice next to her was an empty small throne. That throne must be for Karaee’s brother Aruvi.
King Soren looked unimpressed. He looked annoyed with the fact that he had to bother to look at you and Inkagi. As if having humans in front of him was a repulsive thing to see. An ape with a spear in hand walks in front of you and Inkagi then turns around to face you. He begins to speak.
"These two humans have been found on our sacred land, uninvited and trespassing on our territory. Being human is deemed punishable by death and must be performed to the highest extent.” The voice of the large and muscular ape echoed throughout the king’s throne room. “Does the king authorize this decree?”
Just as King Soren was about to agree. You raise your voice at the top of your lungs. “In the name of Great Ape Uzal, I wish to climb his tower!”
Every ape present gasped. The apes began to murmur amongst each other. King Soren was in shock. He was hearing everyone speak at once. “Silence!” He demanded. He slams his fist on the throne armrest when he says it. “Now, how does the human know about the Tower of the Great Ape Uzal?” King Soren looks to his right in annoyance. He looks at his daughter. He raised his voice when he got to the end of his question. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with my daughter Karaee now, would it?”
In a modest and sophisticated manner, Karaee turns to her father the king. “I do not know what you mean father. It seems that these humans are familiar with our grand ape history.” Karaee is unfazed by her father’s ferocity. Unlike everyone else in the room, she isn’t afraid of him.
You gulp because you notice King Soren’s hand is gripping the armrest of his throne so tight that the stone is beginning to show cracks. You could see a vein on the side of his head bulging out and he began baring his teeth in anger.
King Soren was gnashing his teeth as he looked around the room and noticed all those present in the throne room were completely terrified of what he would do next. Noticing this he suddenly settled down. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath. “If these humans want to humiliate themselves, then so be it. In the fashion of our people’s tradition and our ways, I will honor it in memory of the Great Ape Uzal…. My father.”
Karaee explains to you last night that years ago her grandfather, King Uzal’s dying wish was to give trust and honor to anyone who could climb to the top of his constructed tower. But to get that opportunity someone must know of the tradition and request to climb the tower.
As the king stood up from his throne everyone bowed down, Inkagi then followed, and you suddenly noticed so you do the same. Karaee follows the king as well as the queen. Karaee smiles at her mother and her mother smiles back. She knows exactly what Karaee is up to.
Once the king exits the throne room, you are ordered to get up and follow. Once you get to the front of the village you notice it. At night it wasn’t as clear when you first entered the village but now you see the huge monolith-like tower made of slippery black granite. You touch the stone and realize that it would be almost impossible to climb. The tower was like a tree skinny almost resembling the width and height of a flagpole. You gulp and glance at Karaee. She was counting on you to do it. She nods her head slightly.
You think back to what she said last night to you while you sat in the holding cell. “This is the only way to get my people to trust you.”
“You can give up now ohee-lum.” King Soren raises his head to look at the top of the tower. “You not only have to climb it, but you must return to us one of the small blue stones that sit on top of the tower. The stone represents trust and honor to our people. Something that you will never have. If you cannot do it, we feed you to the Acaer. It’s as simple as that.” King Soren grunts and breathes out aggressively. “Servant! My scepter!” a royal servant comes forward, bends at the knee, and hands the king his golden scepter. King Soren grabs it firmly and uses it to point to the top of the tower then lowers the scepter to the ground.
The king’s authoritative voice echoes in your mind. But you do not let it rattle your confidence. Karaee told you that only one of you, you or Inkagi, needs to climb up and last night you both agreed that you would do it. But now that you know what the tower looks like, you begin to have second thoughts. You were very athletic back home but climbing up smooth granite was something you’ve never done before.
This was it. Everyone was looking. Karaee bites her lower lip hoping you can pull this off. It felt as if the whole village was surrounding the large tower. They all formed a huge circle around you wanting to see the human climb the tower. Everyone’s eyes were on you.
You could feel the heart in your chest pound vigorously. Your palms begin to sweat. You feel tenseness build up at the bottom of your stomach. You could not shake the thought that maybe Karaee’s plan will not work after all. Your focus now shifts from Karaee’s worried face to the top of the Tower of the Great Ape Uzal.
That’s when the gravity of the situation hits you hard. This was life or death.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrvzEXrjgH
