Chapter 30

  Cacophony - Max

  The next morning, Max awoke from the same strange dream. It felt like he had spent the entire night throwing the white stick to Link and Link throwing back to him. Max wondered again what this long stick was, what it might mean, but he didn't have much time to think about it as Conquest was yelling at everyone.

  "Come up, move, let's go."

  And in just a moment, Max was walking down the path. The path widened as they traveled down it. This thick forest now seemed to be thinning, as if someone had gone through and pulled out large parts of it. There was evidence of trees having been cut down, and Max began to hear a cacophony of sounds, and then he saw what was causing it. Horses and elephants were being tied to trees and being forced to drag them down. Max saw beavers tied up, being led around by other guerrillas, and it didn't take Max long to guess what they were there for as he saw them cutting into trees and trimming off branches.

  Max was both amazed at the work and horrified at the abuse. The guerrillas were cruel, and yet the animals obeyed. He would occasionally watch a gorilla reach into a pouch and get something on his hands, and he knew what it was, the ointment. Whatever power it held, it was horrific because it seemed to control not just elephants, but almost any animal. Max was glad he was walking because the shiver it sent down him might have been noticeable otherwise. The power that these guerrillas were using was something beyond natural. Max was sure of it.

  Max saw long-neck birds with ropes tied around their feet and knots around their necks being released to gather some kind of fruit or berries. And Max knew immediately why, because there were baskets of the fruit. Once the birds had some of the berries, the gorillas would pull them down and either shake them or use their hands on their throats to force the berries out of their mouths and into the sacks.

  The birds were ragged, the feathers missing. And as they walked, Max started noticing that he was walking more than just the grass that had been beaten down, but also that he could tell he was walking on the bodies of dead animals. Occasionally, he could feel a crunch, and he knew that his weight had broken the bones of these poor, poor creatures.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Max was confused. Why were the guerrillas gathering all this wood? Why were they gathering the berries?

  But, once again, it was Link who asked the question. "Why are you having those birds gather their berries? Don't you eat them?"

  "Not a chance." Bond replied, "Those berries are poisonous to everyone, but those birds,"

  "Quiet," yelled Conquest, who stopped, turned around, and charged Bond, knocking him to the ground.

  Conquest stood over the gorilla and whispered something so quietly that Max, even with his sensitive ears, could not hear.

  A moment later, Conquest was back in the lead position, and Bond didn't say another word.

  As the day went on, Max noticed a strange look come across Bond's face. His jaw was set, and his eyes focused seemingly on nothing. Max guessed that Bond was angry or upset, but there seemed to be more; something was wrong.

  Max also noticed that a presence was growing around them. When they passed, the work that was going on would stop, and the guerrillas started following, coming in behind them. Soon, there was a parade of beaten, enslaved, and tired animals being led by angry guerrillas following them.

  The few times Max was able to look back, he saw that some of the animals were just cut loose and left. Max could see that they were being left to die. Others were pulling the logs or carrying baskets of berries.

  Max didn't know what was going on, but he had a feeling that everyone was coming together, that whatever was going to happen was going to happen soon. And perhaps when Conquest, their leader, got back to their base, as Max had heard them call the place they were heading, the attack on the Forest of Animals might actually begin.

  As the day drew on, Max couldn’t look around anymore since he was supposed to act like nothing around him mattered, but he felt and heard the presence of a crowd coming in around him.

  Link asked, “Why is everyone we pass following us?” but no one answered him.

  Max guessed that whatever the gorillas were planning was about to happen. Max kept his ears open to get more answers, but other than the growing sound of tormented animals, he didn’t hear anything.

  Finally, a complaint from Conquest that they were not going to make it back to camp before nightfall broke the silence.

  As night fell, Max was able to look around more. The area was filled with all kinds of animals, and the small stream, which they had to cross, barely had enough water to satisfy the animals able to reach it. Some animals would not see the morning because the gorillas did not even allow them to drink.

  Max hoped he would be able to sleep. He knew tomorrow the gorillas might begin the attack on his home. Thoughts of destruction filled Max as he fell into an unnaturally sound sleep.