The old weapons depot, Caesar realized. Under the mountain.
The blaze finally reached it.
The colossal blast was almost immediately followed by a quiet rumbling that rapidly built in intensity. The ominous noise came from the snowy upper reaches of the mountain.
The solders turned toward the rumbling.
So did the apes.
A human voice cried out:
“AVALANCHE!”
Dislodged by the explosion, tons of packed snow and ice and rock streamed down the shattered slopes of the mountain, gaining speed and momentum at a terrifying pace. A billowing cloud of powder preceded a plunging wall of white that cascaded over everything in its path. Fractured slabs of ice the size of roofs knocked loose still more snow and boulders, feeding the avalanche as it came roaring down at the blasted canyon—and the wide frozen tundra beyond.
It’s heading our way. It will be here in moments.
The soldiers knew that, too. Forgetting all about the defenseless apes, they scrambled madly to get away from the avalanche. Soldiers leapt from their vehicles and ran frantically in all directions.
They don’t stand a chance, Caesar realized.
He saw another way. Acting on instinct, he hooted at his people, waving them on vigorously, as he did the unthinkable and charged at top speed toward the mountain and the avalanche.
His people followed him without any question. Moving en masse, hundreds of apes raced away from the outcropping and across the plain to the foothills beside the blazing canyon. They dashed at simian speed up the lower slopes of the mountain, despite the onslaught of snow and ice rampaging down to meet them.
* * *
Maurice worried about the others as he and Nova led the bulk of the children up the mountain. The first wave of the retreat had managed to make it across the expanse and into the hills before the fierce battle below had cut Maurice and his party off from the rest of the apes still stranded by the outcropping. Unable to turn back with so many helpless children in his custody, Maurice could only shudder at the gunfire and explosions he heard coming from the war being waged where his friends were. A gigantic fireball, climbing high into the sky, made him wonder if anyone was still alive on either side of the wall… if the wall itself was still standing. Along with the children, he stopped to gape at the rising smoke and flames.
And then they heard the rumbling.
Looking away from the smoke, Maurice saw a tidal wave of snow and ice, shaken loose by the blast, racing down toward them from high above the tree line. The deadly avalanche threatened to wipe him and the children from the face of the earth unless they got out of its path right away.
We have to do something. Now!
With only heartbeats to spare, his shrewd eyes seized on the soaring pines all around them. He took a deep breath to fill his voluminous throat pouch and bellowed at the top of his lungs. Dispensing with signing for once, Maurice leapt for the nearest tree, carrying Nova on his back. Instinct as well as intelligence spurred the other children to follow his example, the apes clambering up the trees as only apes could.
But could they climb fast enough?
* * *
Further down the mountain, Caesar and the other apes also launched themselves into the trees. They climbed as fast and as high as they could, rushing to get above the avalanche before it buried them alive.
It was a close race. Caesar was still scrambling up the side of a towering pine when the forefront of the avalanche struck, carrying a winter’s worth of snow and debris down the slope at the base of the pines. A rising tide of snow chased Caesar and the other apes all the way up to the very tops of the trees until there was nowhere else to climb, even as the monstrous avalanche continued on down to the burning remains of the camp, dumping tons of snow onto the inferno, and kept on going. It swept over the wide frozen waste, plowing over the army from the north. Vehicles, hardware, and fleeing soldiers vanished beneath the unstoppable cascade.
Nature can wipe us out at any minute, the Colonel had said.
But sometimes we help it along, Caesar thought.
The rising snow began to wash over him as he clung to the treetop with every last bit of his strength. Freezing powder buffeted his face, forcing him to squeeze his eyelids shut. The endless rumble of the avalanche thundered in his ears as he fought an elemental battle against the surging ice and cold. The force of the avalanche tried to tear him from his perch, but Caesar wrapped his arms and legs around the tree trunk, refusing to let go.
Apes belong in trees, he thought. It’s what we are made for.
For a moment, he flashed back to the first time he had ever climbed a tree, on that glorious day, nearly a lifetime ago, when Will and Caroline had first taken him to the forest and let him off his leash to climb… and climb… and climb… as high as he was able. Caesar sometimes thought his life had truly begun on that day, high in the treetops, with nothing but the sky above him.
It would be fitting if he died there as well.
The avalanche crashed against him like the end of the world. It seemed to go on forever, but then, almost as suddenly as it arrived, the tide ceased and a stunning silence replaced the roar and rumble of the cataclysm. Barely able to believe that the danger had truly passed, Caesar cautiously opened his eyes.
An opaque white haze blotted out the world and everything in it, so that Caesar seemed to be adrift in an endless cloud, not unlike the heaven imagined by the humans. For a moment he thought he was the only survivor. Then the floating powder began to disperse, clearing the air, and Caesar was able to see the breathtaking aftermath of the avalanche.
It was all gone: the camp, the enemy army, everything.
The entire canyon had been buried beneath a mountain of pristine white snow, which extended out onto the wide-open expanse beyond, where no trace of the northern forces could be seen. Caesar scanned the plain, searching for any surviving soldiers or vehicles, but beheld only endless white as far as his eyes could see.
It was as though neither the Colonel nor his enemies had ever been there.
Jubilant hoots and barks came from all around him and he was flooded with relief as he glimpsed countless other apes clinging to the treetops just above the crest of the snow. Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and bonobos… they gazed in unison at their leader, who had saved them all once again. A chorus of simian voices rose to hail Caesar, growing steadily louder and more exuberant. More voices answered from higher up the mountain, proclaiming that Maurice and the children had survived as well. The buried slopes rang with the triumph of the apes.
Caesar allowed himself a weary smile.
40
Caesar led his people down from the mountains in search of their new home, following the route charted by Blue Eyes before the war with the humans claimed his life. It pained Caesar that his firstborn had not lived to take part in the exodus, but he carried Blue Eyes’ memory with him on the trek.
Your dream will live on, Caesar silently promised his son. We will reach the haven you found for us.
Rocket served as their guide, having taken this journey with Blue Eyes before. Caesar was grateful that his old friend had survived their trials and could now keep them heading in the right direction. Without Rocket, they would have been lost. Bad Ape had appointed himself as Rocket’s new best friend and partner, which Rocket… tolerated.
The journey was a long one, taking them over the mountains and down the other side. Cold snowy wastes tested the apes’ endurance, as did the scorching sands of the trackless desert beyond. The blistering sun and stark, barren vistas made them pine for the cool green forests they had left behind. Caesar knew that many of his people were tempted to turn back at times, to risk returning to the forest the humans had driven them from, but they trusted Caesar, who trusted the hope Blue Eyes and Rocket had brought back to them before. The Colonel had sought to murder that hope, as he had murdered Blue Eyes and so many others, but ultimately he had only delayed the exodus, not halted it. The
apes would have their future, no matter how far they had to go.
And the humans?
Caesar could not help wondering whether they would find a cure to the mutated virus in time, or if this new plague would spread until all human voices were silenced. The question was a troubling one, with dire implications in either instance, but Caesar was in no hurry to discover the answer. Delivering his people to safety was challenge enough for the time being.
Let the humans deal with the plague. The apes would go on regardless.
The journey eventually took the apes past the edge of a vast wasteland that appeared to be completely devoid of life. The bleak, desolate vista chilled Caesar; even the brutal deserts they had traversed before had been home to plants and animals suited to that unforgiving environment—snakes, scorpions, cacti, and so forth—but nothing bloomed and scurried in this austere, forsaken landscape. Caesar sniffed the air, but smelled nothing living. Even the dry, dusty soil felt dead.
The decaying ruins of a forgotten nuclear power plant loomed in the distance. Its cracked cooling tower and breached containment dome were evidence of some long-ago catastrophe, no doubt resulting from the chaos that had accompanied the collapse of the humans’ civilization during the original plague. Caesar had heard tales of such disasters. Unsupervised, the humans’ dangerous technology had burned out of control, sometimes literally.
A large, rusted metal sign marked the border of the dead area surrounding the wrecked plant. Thick block letters spelled out an ominous warning:
FORBIDDEN ZONE
The sign troubled Caesar as he walked past it, Cornelius riding on his shoulders. He shot a worried look at Rocket, who shrugged and pointed at their actual destination: a tall desert volcano rising up in the distance.
* * *
A final steep climb up the black lava flows brought the apes to the crest of the dormant volcano. By the time they reached the top of the immense cinder cone, Caesar was on his last legs. With Cornelius still clinging to his back, he paused to catch his breath before stepping forward and gazing out over what lay before him. He gasped in wonder and relief.
A verdant green paradise was hidden within a deep crater more than a thousand feet across. Lush vegetation covered the gently sloping walls of the crater, which held a sparkling blue lake at its center. The crystalline waters looked like heaven after the apes’ long, thirsty trek across the desert, while the entire crater was everything Blue Eyes had promised and more: a haven, a sanctuary, where the apes could finally live free from fear.
Not an end, Caesar thought, but a beginning.
His people ran past him, eager to explore their new home and taste its water, but Caesar was too weak and tired to go on. He sat down on a mossy, sun-warmed rock to rest his legs and take in the beauty of the hidden refuge, which seemed a fitting reward for all the trials and hardships his people had endured to get here.
You were right, Blue Eyes. This was a risk worth taking.
Maurice waddled over and sat down beside him. Nova occupied her usual place upon his back; that she was the orangutan’s adopted daughter was taken for granted now, accepted by the entire tribe, who had not forgotten the girl’s part in rescuing their own children. Cornelius peeked curiously over his father’s shoulder at Nova, fascinated as ever by the human child. She smiled shyly at him, just as a rambunctious troop of excited little apes ran past, jabbering and jostling each other playfully. Despite the rigors of the climb, they still had plenty of energy left over to run and tumble and explore this glorious new playground.
Let them enjoy themselves, Caesar thought. They’ve earned this.
Both Nova and Cornelius eyed the other children with interest. Nova hopped off Maurice, eager to join in the fun. She looked back at Cornelius and held out her hand.
Somewhat more hesitantly, the young chimpanzee climbed off Caesar and down to the ground, where he looked uncertainly back at his father, clearly torn between joining the other children and staying with Caesar. Since their reunion after the avalanche, Cornelius had seldom ventured far from his father’s side. Caesar had understood and indulged him in this, but he knew that Cornelius could not cling to his side forever. His son needed to learn and grow and live free.
He smiled gently at Cornelius and nodded at Nova and the other children, encouraging him to go play. A pang stabbed Caesar’s heart as the little chimp succumbed to temptation and took Nova’s hand. Together they scurried off in search of fun and adventure.
Go, Caesar thought. Be brave… like your brother.
The two fathers remained behind on the rocks. They shared proud, paternal looks as they silently watched the children play together. That the little apes accepted Nova as one of their own pleased Caesar, who found the sight profoundly moving. He recalled the Colonel’s dire prophecy of a planet of apes where humans were nothing but beasts. Such a world might still come to pass if the mutated virus spread unabated, but seeing Nova and Cornelius playing together, hand in hand, gave Caesar hope for a better world than the one foreseen by the Colonel.
Who knows the future?
Maurice also gazed at the children in approval. Smiling, he turned to Caesar… and was startled when Caesar reeled and briefly lost his balance, almost toppling from the rock. Grimacing, Caesar righted himself as the sudden dizziness passed, if only for the moment. His hand was cupped to his side. Blood seeped through his fingers.
The wound from Preacher’s crossbow bolt had never had a chance to truly heal. Caesar suspected that he needed surgery, as he had after Koba had shot him years ago, but human surgeons like Ellie were in short supply these days, especially if you were an ape. Caesar was not surprised that the climb had torn open the wound again. The hot blood streaming from his side showed no sign of stopping, and he had little doubt that he was bleeding inside as well.
Maurice noticed the blood at last. His tranquil smile evaporated and a distraught expression came over his face as he grasped the truth. Caesar smiled sadly, confirming the orangutan’s fears. They shared a long, silent goodbye before Caesar finally spoke for the last time.
“Don’t worry… we are home now.”
Tears welled in Maurice’s eyes, but a look of contentment came over Caesar’s face. The carefree merriment of the children drew his gaze again. His throat tightened as he contemplated Cornelius; he regretted that he would not live to see his son grow to maturity. Cornelius had lost so much already.
Maurice grunted softly to get his attention. Caesar turned back toward his friend.
Your son will know who his father was, the ape signed. And what you did for us.
That would have to be enough, Caesar realized. His own eyes grew damp as he looked back at Cornelius. He knew he could count on Maurice and Rocket and Lake and Nova and all of his people to look after Cornelius in the days and years to come. His son would never be alone.
Apes together strong.
Darkness encroached on his vision, leaving only the memory of the idyllic landscape the apes had found at the end of their quest. The laughter of the children slowly faded as Caesar closed his eyes and drifted away.
No more war, Caesar thought. Only peace.
Peace for the apes.
Peace for Caesar.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Greg Cox is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous movie novelizations, including Godzilla, Man of Steel, The Dark Knight Rises, Ghost Rider, Daredevil, and the first three Underworld films. He has also written books and stories based on such popular series as Alias, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Farscape, The 4400, The Green Hornet, Iron Man, Leverage, The Librarians, Planet of the Apes, Riese: Kingdom Falling, Roswell, Star Trek, Terminator, Warehouse 13, Xena: Warrior Princess, The X-Files, X-Men, and Zorro.
He has received three Scribe Awards from the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers and lives in Oxford, Pennsylvania.
Visit him at:
www.gregcox-author.com
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I didn’t see the original Planet of the Apes when it first opened in 1968. I was only eight years old at the time and my parents judged it too intense for me. Ditto for the sequel, although I did manage to snag the Gold Key comic-book adaptation, which thoroughly freaked me out with its bleak, apocalyptic ending. But by the time Escape from the Planet of the Apes opened in 1970, I was allowed to catch up with the entire series by watching a triple feature of the first three movies all in one afternoon.
Been an Apes fan ever since.
So when Steve Saffel and the good folks at Titan Books offered me a chance to actually write an Apes novel, based on the upcoming movie, I jumped at the chance. Many thanks to Steve and the crew for thinking of me, to Cat Camacho for editing the manuscript into shape, and to Josh Izzo, Dylan Clark, and the rest of the crew at 20th Century Fox for providing me with everything I needed to write the book in a timely fashion. And a shout-out to Greg Keyes, my fellow “Apes” author, whose prequel to this story should have also seen print by now. Needless to say, we touched base with each other fairly often on matters of simian continuity.
I also want to thank my agent, Russ Galen, for handling the business end of things, and my girlfriend Karen for letting me lock myself in my office for hours on end, listening to Planet of the Apes soundtrack albums, even though we were in the process of house-hunting at the time.
And our cat, Sophie, just because.
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