Ivy ( rise of the planet of the apes )

Chapter Sixteen

My mouth gaped open as if I was looking at it for the first time all over again. The ape camp was, to put it in one word, extraordinary. The entire camp was made completely out of leaves and wood, but somehow it looked unbreakable. The smallest of details caught my eye, and I knew Caesar and his family had put their hearts and souls into building their home in these woods. It made me wish I'd came here sooner.

Each ape, orangutan, gorilla and monkey seemed busy with their own designated jobs. It was like clockwork, and I couldn't help but just be completely mesmerized by it. My entire life, the only 'intelligent' ape I knew was Caesar and yet here there were hundreds of them, all in one place as they formed their own civilization.

"We going or not?", Jace said next to me. I broke out of my trance and diverted my attention back to a grinning Jace. I was in the process of carrying him out to breakfast when I'd completely forgotten about him. I smiled, rolling my eyes at him.

"I don't know. Depends how hungry I am", I grinned, helping him take a seat on one of the stools which an orangutan set down for Jace. I looked up to thank the orangutan, frowning when I did.

"Maurice?", I whispered, my eyes widening at the realisation. He chuckled, nodding in confirmation. I laughed, hugging him around his neck and giggling when he lifted me off of the ground when he wrapped his big fluffy arms around me.

"You've grown", I commented, patting his arm once he set me down. He shook his head, smiling.

"So have you, little Ivy", he signed, patting my head and taking a seat down in front of me. I sat down beside Jace and picked up a plate for both me and him. I picked out a bunch of grapes and handed them to Jace before picking up an apple for myself.

"You remember Jace, don't you?", I asked Maurice, offering him some fruit from the plate. He also took an apple, nodding as he did so.

"The boy who helped us escape", Maurice recalled correctly. "Is he feeling better?"

"Much better", Jace replied to Maurice's signing with his own. Caesar chose that moment to sit with us three, joining us for breakfast. I grinned at him and he smiled back at me.

"He knows how to sign?", Maurice asked in surprise. I nodded, taking a bite out of my crunchy apple.

"Yeah, I taught him and Mia. You know what with Holly and all, they kind of had to", I explained. Maurice nodded, rocking himself back and forth.

"Where did you find Holly from?", Caesar asked, clearly curious of how I'd managed to come across an ape such as herself.

"She got left behind the day of the breakout", I told him, chuckling as I began remembering the events. I explained her story, or what little I actually knew of it, to Caesar and Maurice. Caesar in particular seemed a little troubled now that he knew Holly was left behind by him, perhaps even a little upset about it. Who's child she was and where exactly she came from, even Maurice and Caesar didn't know. Caesar said how none of the apes who escaped with him mentioned forgetting a baby ape behind by accident.

"I think I know who she is", Maurice signed suddenly, his eyes widened with shock. I frowned in confusion. What does he mean?

His eyes darted to my right, widening even more, before looking straight at the ground and refusing to make eye contact.

"Maurice?", I asked, now more than a little worried. Caesar lay his hand on Maurice's shoulder in question, but he just lifted his finger up to his lips, telling us to hush. I turned to look at Jace when my eyes met with Holly instead. She ran over on all fours and skidded to a halt in front of me and Jace. I smiled at her in greeting when she grinned at us and put both her hands on Jace's cheeks before yanking him in for a hug.