Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (17 page)

“You’ve been a saint already, Armando,” Stevie told him.

“No, no, a real saint can work miracles, and Armando has none of those.”

“A man like you is a miracle,” Cornelius said. “We will be grateful forever.”

“I am grateful to you,” Armando said. “It has been a privilege to know you. I hate those who wish to tamper with destiny, which is the unalterable will of God. If it is God’s will that man destroy his fine civilization, and dominion over the earth pass to the apes, then that is God’s will; and no man has the right to change that. Dear friends, you must go. Now, before the police come.” He reached up to his collar and took a medal on a silver chain from around his neck. “Wait. Take this. For the baby.” He put the medal around the infant chimpanzee’s neck and fastened the clasp.

“But what?” Zira asked.

“It is a medal of St. Francis of Assisi, and it has been blessed by the cardinal himself. Armando has no miracles, but perhaps St Francis has.”

“Who is he?” Cornelius asked.

“He was a very holy man who loved animals,” Armando told them. “And some of us believe he can work miracles to this day. I know this is superstitious nonsense to you, but for Armando, leave the medal on the child. Please.”

“We will, Armando,” Zira said. “Always. It will never be taken off him. I promise you that.” She turned away, then suddenly looked back. “Armando? I would like to say goodbye to Heloise.”

The circus master frowned. “There is little time—but of course.”

They watched as Zira, carrying her child, went into the infirmary where Heloise cared for her own baby chimpanzee. Then Armando and Cornelius were busy again, gathering the things they would need on the road, and Stephanie brought the car around.

They did not have to wait long before Zira joined them.

It was night, and the oil derricks stood above them like giants. The grey bird pumps pecked endlessly at the ground, bringing up oil for the power plants just visible in the distance. The ground was covered with blowing dry dust.

Lewis stopped the station wagon at the edge of the oil field. “This is as far as I can take you,” he said. “We have to get back to the labs and clean up Stevie’s car.” He switched on the interior lights of the car and held out a map. “Can you read this, Cornelius?”

“I am familiar with maps,” Cornelius said. “If the conventions are explained—yes. Certainly. I could have drawn this.”

“OK,” Lewis said. “This is the oil field. It goes on that way to a bluff overlooking the sea. There’s a small bay right here, about two miles, just beyond an abandoned oil refinery. The bay’s crowded with wrecks. Old ships, brought in and beached. It’s not deep enough to use for a harbor.”

“Yes, I see,” Cornelius said. “Zira, wrap that baby up well. It’s chilly out there, and we have a long way to walk.”

“I used to play here when I was a kid,” Lewis mused. “Anyway, there are some old ships there, intact enough to give you good shelter. You can hide in them for the next month—”

“A month?” Zira protested.

“At least,” Lewis told her. “I’m still hoping we can get you out of here and past the search, so you can go with Armando. I’ll bring you more food when it’s safe.”

Cornelius nodded, and got out of the car. He shouldered the backpack from the trunk, and looked to Zira. “Ready?”

“Yes.”

He turned to Lewis. “They’ll kill the baby if they find us?” he asked.

“I’m afraid so. Yes,” Lewis said. His voice sounded as if the words had been torn from him with hot pincers.

“Then—give us a chance to kill ourselves. Please.”

Lewis hesitated, then nodded. He took a pistol from his pocket. “Do you know how to use this?”

Cornelius nodded, then laughed bitterly. “That was one portion of your technology which we never lost. Please, Lewis.”

“All right.” He handed Cornelius the weapon.

“You’re the second human I’ve kissed,” Zira said. She put her muzzle to his lips. “Colonel Taylor was the first.”

“And you’re my first,” Cornelius told Stevie. He kissed her. “Goodbye.”

“Till we meet . . .” Lewis said. “Not goodbye.”

“Come on, Zira. Don’t dawdle,” Cornelius said. He moved briskly away, his voice harsh to mask his emotion.

They paused at the edge of the ridge and looked across the bay toward Los Angeles. The lights were very bright, glittering slightly in a haze rising from the sea. The waves pounded on the coast below, marching endlessly from the west.

They were so close to the city lights that they could not see many stars, but they had never seen city illuminations before. They stood looking for a long time.

“Brighter than the stars,” Cornelius said. “Beautiful.”

“From here,” Zira agreed. “I think it wouldn’t be so pleasant if we were there.”

“Yes.” He took her hand. “Let’s go.”

They went along the top of the bluff until they reached the sheltered bay. As Lewis had told them, there were a number of abandoned boats, mostly fishing craft, beached in the shallow water. One large old tramp steamer stood out from among the others, and Cornelius pointed to it. “We can hide in that.”

They threaded their way down the bluff. Oil tanks stood on the sky line above them, each marked by winking red lights.

“Who lives in those?” Zira asked.

“No one. It’s where they store the food for their machines. This whole vast mechanical civilization depends on—” he paused. “Quiet!” he whispered.

“Is there someone out there?” Zira whispered.

“I don’t know. I thought I heard someone,” Cornelius said. “I don’t hear them now. Let’s go.” They crept on toward the abandoned ships. Oil had seeped from the ground near them, and made the way slippery. They reached the beach, and soft sand made the going even harder.

Then they came over a slight rise, and saw the fire.

“We’ve checked out just about every place that
ever
had apes,” Larry Bates told Hasslein. “Nothing. It wasn’t such a good idea after all.”

“But where, then?” Hasslein demanded. “They must have had help. Widen the perimeter of search. Assume that someone met them and took them out of the camp.”

“Who?” Amalfi demanded.

“Assume anyone who left, and see what you get from that,” Hasslein said. “Start with that Dr. Stephanie Branton. She came up to the camp gates, ran into the road block, and turned around. Her car was searched—but suppose it wasn’t searched very well? Make the assumption she took the apes away with her, and trace her movements.”

“Right, sir,” Amalfi said. He went out of the office.

“You’ll get them, sooner or later,” Bates said.

“Yes.” Hasslein’s snarl was savage. “That’s what I’m afraid of. Later. Later we’ll do something about the population explosion. Later we’ll do something about nuclear weapons. We think we’ve got all the time in the world—but how much time has the world got? How can we buy it more?” Hasslein waved expansively. “Someone’s got to care NOW!”

“Yes, sir,” Bates said woodenly.

“Yes, sir. Dr. Hasslein’s fanatical again. Stark raving mad. Bates, do you know that twenty-five years ago they told me that
later
they were going to do something about Mongolism in children?”

“Sir?”

“Forget it. Find those apes.” His voice dropped dangerously low, and he snarled ferally. “Find them, Bates. And tell me where they are.”

It wasn’t a very large fire, because Zeke didn’t want it seen by anyone. He huddled close to it and watched his stew bubble. It was already cooked, but Mulligan got more flavor the longer it simmered, and Zeke wasn’t in any hurry to eat. He’d had a sandwich for lunch, and there was half a bottle of wine left to drink after the stew. With what he’d drunk before, that was plenty.

Zeke was sure he wasn’t a drunk. He liked to drink, and he liked the warm feeling wine gave him, but he didn’t wipe himself out. He ate well, and he was willing to work when he couldn’t find any other way to get a meal.

He was thinking about the wine when he saw the chimpanzees.

“Jee-sus Christ!” he shouted. “What’re you?”

They looked back at him, two chimpanzees wearing human clothing, one carrying a baby wrapped in a blanket, the other wearing a knapsack on his back and carrying a revolver in his belt.

“We won’t hurt you,” Cornelius said.

“Great God Almighty! I’ll never drink another drop,” Zeke shouted. He leaped to his feet to run away, but he slipped in the sand. He scrambled up and slipped again.

“If he gets away he’ll tell—” Zira said.

“Please! Stay!” Cornelius shouted.

“I won’t tell nothing! I swear, I won’t ever say nothing to nobody!” This time he made it to his feet. He looked at Cornelius, his eyes staring at the gun. “I promise, nothing, nothing—”

“I told you, we won’t hurt you,” Cornelius said.

“Yeah! Sure!” Zeke shouted. When the chimpanzee did nothing, did not reach for the gun, came no closer, Zeke ran past him and scrambled up the bluff.

“Should you let him go?” Zira asked.

“How could I stop him?”

“You’re stronger than he is,” she said.

“And suppose I hurt him? As I did that boy? No, I can’t do it,” he told her. “He promised he’d say nothing. Now let’s find a place to hide.” He led her down to the water’s edge, and across planking to the carcass of the freighter.

They clambered aboard the decaying ship. “Even like this, it is magnificent,” Cornelius said. “We never built anything like this. All this, all of it, they have it now,” he said. “Why would they take any chances? You’d think they’d work and work and work to keep it . . .”

He led her below to the cabins. There was a stateroom which had once belonged to the old ship’s captain. Tramps had been using it, but they had kept it neat, and there were blankets. “That man we frightened away must have stayed here,” Cornelius said.

“Do we dare stay?” Zira asked.

“Where can we go? Lewis said he would meet us here. Without Lewis we can’t escape. There is no place to go.”

“But that man—”

“May not say anything,” Cornelius said. “Go to sleep. I’ll keep watch.”

Dawn showed them the entire bay. It was shallow and stagnant, with small patches of oil and dead fish. Zira found a protected spot that could not be seen from the land, and brought the blanket-wrapped baby out to nurse in the warming sun. She waved at the dirty water below. “Did Lewis really play here?” she wondered.

“It must have been cleaner then.”

“It stinks of man. Human stench.”

“That’s oil,” Cornelius said. “And dead fish.”

“Is that what man wants oil for? To kill fish?” The baby made happy sounds as she cradled it.

“You don’t like humans, do you?” Cornelius asked.

“We’ve met hundreds here, and only three we can trust.” She continued to pet the baby. “I don’t like that cabin, Cornelius. I think there are fleas in there.”

He shrugged. “I’ll see if I can find a better place.” He moved off through the ship graveyard, hoping for a nicer cabin. The human smell
had
been very strong in the one they were using now.

“How long have you had this man in custody?” Hasslein demanded.

“He was picked up about 2:30 this morning,” the deputy sheriff said. He looked at his notebook. “Drunk and disorderly. Suspect was taken to the county lockup to sleep it off. He was babbling about talking apes waving guns at him. The desk sergeant wrote it up, and the lieutenant noticed it coming on duty this morning.”

“Idiot,” Hasslein growled. “Almost nine hours you’ve had him!” He turned to Zeke. “Where did you see them?” he demanded.

“I didn’t see anything, sir,” Zeke said. “Honest, sir, I got too much wine last night, and—well, that’s all there was to it.”

“Nonsense,” Hasslein snapped. “You saw two chimpanzees, one carrying a baby chimpanzee or else very pregnant. Both animals could talk, and probably spoke to you. Haven’t you been reading the newspapers?”

Zeke looked surprised. “I haven’t been following them for a while—”

“He’s a common drunk,” the deputy said. “We get him about twice a year. I doubt Zeke
can
read—”

“I most certainly can!”

“Anyway, he generally doesn’t know what’s going on in the world. Zeke, we keep trying to tell you, those apes you saw were real,” the deputy said. He saw a copy of
Time
and grabbed it. “Look. Right here, see, that’s their pictures on the cover.”

“I’ll be damned,” Zeke said.

“So. You admit you saw them?” Hasslein said triumphantly.

“Well—”

“Where?” Hasslein demanded. “Where? WHERE?”

“Don’t shout at me. I promised I wouldn’t tell.”

“Promised whom?”

“Uh—them, cap’n. The ape had a gun in his belt, and they was talking about not letting me go—so I promised I wouldn’t tell about them.”

“But you already have,” Hasslein insisted. He got silence. “Do you know who I am?”

“No, Cap’n.”

“I am the chief science advisor to the President of the United States.”

“Well, smell you!”

The deputy choked back laughter. “Zeke, what he means is he can have you put away for a long time. In some awful place, too, I expect.”

“He can?”

“Sure.”

“Oh.” Zeke thought about it for a while. “It was by Point Doom,” he said. “You know, that old ship graveyard? I been living on one of them ships for a few weeks now. Like a fool, I came ashore to cook my dinner. Didn’t want to smoke up the ship. Besides, they’re all over oil. And I saw those chimpanzees, just like you said. One of ’em was carrying a baby, and the other had on a knapsack, regular backpack thing, and he had a gun in his belt.”

“Thank you,” Hasslein said. “You may release this man, deputy. And get me your superiors. I will want the police to seal off that area.” He stood and put on his lightweight topcoat. It thumped hard against the desk as he did, and Hasslein put his hand into the pocket to check on the automatic.

As the deputy led the old wino out, Hasslein nodded grimly to himself. The baby chimp was already born. That changed everything—and made the threat to the human race even greater.

“Get me my driver,” Hasslein snapped to the Marine outside his door. “And a squad of your Marines. With a sergeant.”