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On the platform one of the chimpanzee Senators was asking Urko a question. "What have you up your sleeve this time, General?"
Urko flashed a slow and almost sweet smile. "Well, Senator Leska, just wait a few minutes. Then I'll have no secrets!"
He laughed as the Senator moved away to sit down, his face reflecting his discomfort.
The gorilla general noticed the orange fur and pale-peach uniform of a council Elder and realized it was Dr. Zaius. Graciously he reached down to take the orangutan's elbow and lift him to the platform.
"Doctor Zaius! How good of you to come," he smiled in a mock-friendly manner.
Old Thadeus, also of the Supreme Council, spoke before Zaius. "Going to surprise us, are you, general? My old eyes have seen a lot of things, and it's been many years since anything could shock the likes of me!"
"Well, Dr. Thadeus, I just might be able to do that," Urko answered, smiling again.
Zaius had meanwhile shaken off the gorilla's assisting hand and was glaring up at him. But before he could speak, the bemedaled and beribboned warrior bowed and gestured toward the first row of seats.
"Yours is the seat of honor, sir. After all, you are our leader!" the general acknowledged with a sly grin.
"You'll learn, Urko---if you live long enough!---that true leadership cannot ever be taken. It must be earned!"
Urko's eyes darkened, flashing with hate, but he kept himself under control. After all, in a few moments, everything would change.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JyMkqMjX4
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Steve, Dan, Mark, Fitzhugh, Valerie, Barry, and Betty broke free from the cover of the railroad train and ran quickly to the wall of the hangar. They were in shadow, hidden from the bleachers by the opened hangar doors. Listening carefully, they then gestured Betty to come forward. She ran like a gazelle, leaping over some low boxes, and joined them in the shadow.
Mark put a finger to his lips and reached for a side door to the hangar, opening it carefully. The low door opened into a small anteroom built inside the hangar, and the room contained only a table and some chairs.
A deck of cards sat, stacked after a recent game, in the center of the table. "The plane must be at the other end today," Steve whispered as the other six slipped quietly through the room and out into the hangar proper, keeping behind the newly built airplane parts that were meant to become Urko's air force someday.
At the opposite end of the long hangar was a room similar to the small one they had just left. Inside it, they heard someone singing softly and rather off-key.
".....Hear that big engine purr.....Like thunder, wild for sure.....Feel the wind in your fur....Rushing past, strong and pure.....Oh, the air is so fair....And the ground's full of care....There's no glory down there....So I'll rise---I'll dare.....Let the sky be my throne....Let the clouds be my lair.....I'm a king all alone.....In the cold, roaring air....Wings like fire, eyes that glare.....Steel and fury everywhere.....Earth's a cage I cannot wear.....So I'll spend all my life in the air....The sky is mine now.....Let 'em tremble below....."
Steve glanced at Mark, who nodded and knocked briskly upon the door. “Wing Commander Brutus?”
Brutus's sing-song voice came from inside. "Yes? What is it?"
"A good luck gift from General Urko."
"Oh, come in! It's open."
Steve and Mark opened the door and saw the ape, his back turned, in his heavy new flying suit standing before a full-length mirror. He was totally absorbed in his reflection as he combed the fur on his head. Then he put down the comb and tied his long, white flying scarf around his neck in different ways. The two men moved to keep out of the way of the mirror so that they wouldn't be seen, but advanced stealthily.
"Just leave it on my bunk," Brutus told them, still not looking around.
Steve glanced at the bed, reached down and snatched up a blanket. Mark jumped at the gorilla just as he was starting to turn.
"Hey, who are----?"
Steve threw the blanket over the gorilla's head and Mark snatched up a bottle of hair tonic and brought it down hard on the blanketed skull. The gorilla groaned and went limp.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIZ1Cx8xhGW
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Murmurs began in the bleachers the moment the two truckloads of humanoids were brought out.
"Look! Humanoids!"
"What'll they do with 'em?"
"Who cares? They're filthy pests anyway!"
"Vermin!"
"Roaches that walk on two legs!"
"What's Urko doing?"
The trucks trundled the huge wagon cages along the edge of the field towards its far end.
Only one door of the hangar had been opened, so the visitors couldn't see inside clearly. Zira stopped trying to peer into its dimness and sat back.
"Well, he's starting the demonstration," she said, sulking.
Cornelius looked around as he spoke quietly to his wife. "That's not a good sign, Zira! It must mean the Blue-Eyes and his friends didn't make it here in time to stop this!"
Zira sighed, her eyes blinking and her nose twitching. "Yes," she sighed. "I'm afraid so."24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyGhFVCoUvM
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Brutus struggled against the ropes that bound him to the chair. The blanket was still over his head, but the astronauts had left it somewhat loose so that he could breathe.
"Mummmmph!" he said in a muffled voice. "Murrph!"
Steve and Mark now closed the door of the closet where they'd stashed the gorilla pilot, and turned to gaze at Betty.
"Well, how do I look?" she said.
Fitzhugh stepped into the room, eyeing the surroundings like a man expecting a firing squad behind every door. His gaze landed on Betty, now fully suited in the oversized gorilla flight gear—goggles pushed up on her forehead, sleeves bunched comically at the wrists, boots a size and a half too big. He paused dramatically, folded his arms, and tilted his head with mock seriousness. “Well,” he said, his voice laced with cutting sarcasm, “if the goal was to look like a disgruntled gorilla on her way to a costume ball, then I’d say you've achieved something truly unforgettable.” He sniffed, turned slightly as if to shield himself from the sight, then added with a smirk, “But do try not to trip over your own feet while saving our lives, dear.”
"I think some pillows would help," Dan said and yanked two off the bunk, stuffed them into the oversized flight suit. "The pillows help all right," he said. "I think you really might fool them---if no one gets too close and you don't have to talk."
"I'll wrap this white scarf of his around my face," Betty said. "With the goggles on and my head down, well, maybe it'll work."
"We'll wait until you're in the air," Steve informed her. "Then we'll go to work."
Steve started to give Betty some further advice, but just then the filtered, tinny voice coming over the loudspeaker drowned him out.
".....Pilot, man your plane! Pilot, man your plane!"
"That's it, Betty," Mark said, slapping her on the shoulder. "Good luck!"
Betty wrapped the white scarf still tighter around her face. "I'll need it," she said.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWytAlkSgmy
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Urko had stepped to the lectern, which faced the audience sitting on the bleachers. His manner was haughty but restrained. All around him, on the high platform sat the most important members of the Council of Elders and of the simian Senate, as well as a sprinkling of high Ape Army officers.
The general bowed very slightly back toward Dr. Zaius, a mocking gesture that made the orangutan's golden eyebrows arch in anger.
Amplified by the speakers, Urko's voice bellowed out across the field. "Dr. Zaius, members of the Council of Elders, Senators, distinguished guests, may I welcome you here to Strategic Defense Headquarters. As you know, this is a unique experience, having guests at our humble training ground....." He paused to look around at the orangutan Elders. "But here we have been establishing a new order." Zaius's eyes grew darker still. "What you are about to see today is a symbol of that new order of things. What you will see will change the course of the history of apekind."
Urko raised his gloved hand, and the door of the hangar was pulled further to reveal the ME-262 in a dramatic display. The crowd gasped in surprise, but it was murmurs of puzzlement, not wonder, that rose from among the assembled dignitaries.
"It's fantastic! What is it?"
"Strange object. Looks rather fragile."
"Has wings, something like a bird, but they don't seem to move."
"Weird markings."
"What does it do?"
"Knowing General Urko, I'd say it was some kind of killing machine."
Zira shot a glance at the end of the field where the humanoids huddled in their cages. "Something to kill humanoids with, of course."
"Shush, Zira. Keep an eye out for Blue-Eyes or those other ones."
A small tractor was hitched to the tailskid of the ME-262. It started to move forward, driven by a gorilla in army coveralls. The plane was moved out of the hangar and crossed the field in front of the bleachers. As the tractor stopped in front of the crowd, the gorilla driver jumped down to disengage the catch that would free the plane.
The crowd continued to murmur. Urko only waited silently, arrogantly, watching the visitors as much as he was watching the progress of the planes' preparation.
"I have such a terrible premonition," Zira whispered to her spouse.
He patted her hand, then held it tightly in his.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSovUBIURJ
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Steve and Mark were watching through the crack of the door that led into the hangar. A jeep sat waiting with its motor running; Betty walking across to it. The driver was a gorilla corporal, who fortunately sat with eyes straight ahead: he knew he was going to be under the direct gaze of not only his own sergeant but of General Urko himself.
"I think she's going to make it!" Mark whispered.
"She's certainly walking like one of the big apes," Steve said. "As soon as the jeep starts outside, I think we'd better go to the train." Steve grinned at his partner. "I think we've got a good chance!"
Betty climbed into the jeep and waved the driver on.
The two men turned and walked back through the building toward the other exit and the railroad train where the others were waiting.
Brutus was struggling, half-suffocated by the blanket. He'd given up cursing, discovering that that was nothing but a good way to run out of air. The ropes were tight and his struggles had brought blood to the wrinkled black skin of one hand.
But at last the hand came free of the rope.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhP1cTNnPSP
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The jeep drove across the field without haste, Urko turned from watching the arrival of his pilot, and addressed the crowd.
"I am about to give the order to begin this momentous demonstration. At the conclusion of this unique display of my new weapon, I believe Dr. Zaius will have an important announcement."
Urko turned to look at the Elder, but the old orangutan sat with his head bowed, his face unreadable. The general smirked and turned to watch the pilot climb out of the jeep and mount the short ladder leading up to the cockpit. He saw the mechanic slid the canopy back and salute the pilot. He watched as the uniformed figure of his chief---and only---pilot climbed into the cockpit and slid the canopy closed.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD82Xu2xqky
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Both of Brutus's hands were now free. He wiggled and wrenched until the ropes fell from around his body, then pulled the blanket from his head and shoulders and leaned down to untie his feet.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEHZtmDXSA
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Dan ran up to the side of the locomotive, peeked quickly into its cab, then ducked back and gestured for Barry to follow. As the kid, small and wiry, his ever-present wide-eyed curiosity barely held in check, ran from the protection of a pile of crates and stood with his back flat against the tender of the engine, Dan held up one finger.
Barry nodded, made a gesture pantomiming going around; then he ducked around the end of the tender, stepped over the connection to the freight cars, and came up on the cab from the opposite side. Glancing up at the cab, he saw the figure of a middle-aged gorilla in overalls lounging sleepily on the engineer's seat.
The two castaways jumped into the cab at almost the identical moment. Dan accurately swung the piece of lumber he carried, and the engineer fell to the floor with only a soft grunt. The man and the boy pulled him to one side, and Barry started studying the controls.
Dan glanced at Barry eyeing the controls and asked, half incredulous, "Wait a minute—don’t tell me you actually know how to run one of these things?"
"Well, lucky for us it's already running," Barry said, squinting at the gauges. "And I think it’s an old model—or like, a copy of one of those old-timey steam trains. My cousin Benny had this huge electric train setup—bridges, tunnels, everything—and he was totally obsessed with old freight trains. I used to read his train magazines sometimes, so... uh... maybe I can remember how this thing works..."
Dan half swung out of the cab and looked down the tracks toward the factory. "There are a lot of workers over at the edge of the field, watching," he said. "They must have shut the factory down for the big event."
Barry shot Dan a quick grin. “Easy—we’ll just bust it back open!”
He reached up and pulled down a long lever. The engine slowly started to move, just barely taking up the looseness in the connections between the cars behind them.
"That's it!" Barry said with a grin. "Now let's toss in some more fuel and get this baby movin'!"
"We'll go when we hear the blast of Betty's turbines," Dan said.
"Check!"24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTzErIHLx3
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General Urko picked up a walkie-talkie from the hands of one of his officers, depressed the "Talk" button, and spoke. "All right, Wing Commander Brutus. Start your engine."
The general watched with pride; but the moments passed and the plane didn't start. He threw an angry glance at the chimpanzee scientist Zeno, and was about to repeat his order when the aircraft's jets started to whine and the flames crackled unevenly in the exhausts. With a sudden whoomph, one engine coughed, then caught, belching a burst of smoke and heat. The other followed a second later with a shrill screech, the two turbines now spooling up in a staggering crescendo. The entire plane shuddered as the ME-262's Jumo engines roared to life, first in bursts and hiccups, then finally settling into a steady, throaty howl that vibrated the ground beneath the general’s boots. A rising shriek built behind the flames, like the scream of some mechanical beast waking from a long slumber.
The shriek of the twin engines wavered—just for a second—then dropped into a choking cough. One after the other, the turbines sputtered violently, belching out a final puff of black smoke and flame. A sharp, metallic clunk echoed from deep within the fuselage, followed by sudden silence. The whine of the spooling turbines spun down with a hollow, dying moan, like air escaping from a sealed tomb. In a heartbeat, the monstrous roar that had filled the air was gone, replaced only by the faint ticking of cooling metal and the stunned silence of those watching.
Urko glared at Zeno. "What's wrong, Dr. Zeno?"
The chimpanzee spread his hands. "Patience, general. Sometimes it takes a while. It's a very ancient device---not fully understood, you see---and...."
"All right," the gorilla commander growled, looking back at the plane.
Zeno bit his lip. The snubs he'd received from the other chimpanzees, who were now aware that he had been cooperating with the gorillas, had sealed his fate. His future was at the mercy of the ambitions of General Urko, and depended on the success of the quirky air vehicle.
The ME 262's jets spooled up with a shrill, high-pitched whine, growing louder as the turbines strained for life. For a moment, it sounded like the aircraft would take off—then came a heavy WHUMP from one of the nacelles. The whine faltered, coughing harshly like a dying animal. The other engine backfired with a stuttering CRACK-CRACK-CRACK, flames licking briefly from the exhaust before both turbines choked in unison. A grinding clank echoed from inside the cowling, followed by a final wheeze as the jets sputtered out and fell silent. The silence that followed was almost louder than the sound that had come before.
Urko grumbled and started to step down from the platform. "I'm going to find out, personally, what's wrong!"24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPa1AYMkM8
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Brutus staggered uncertainly across the room. He'd been tied up too long. The closet door hung askew behind him. The angry gorilla pilot slapped open the control of the intercom and shouted into the microphone. "This is Brutus! Stop the demonstration!"
Then the bellowing gorilla saw that the wires of the mechanism had been torn loose.
"Bah!" he exploded, and lurched toward the door. "I must warn General Urko!"24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWRSVYqKXoh
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As Urko's foot touched ground, the plane whined again. Its engine caught, sputtered, but then was suddenly loud. The crowd gasped at the noise and at the sudden burst of glowing exhaust flames licking from the jet intakes, signaling the ME-262’s engines roaring to life, ready to tear down the runway.
Urko grinned and stepped back onto the platform.
In the train cab, Barry laughed. In the train cab, Barry laughed. “There she goes!” he shouted, eyes wide with excitement. “Whoa, she’s really gonna fly!”
Dan made a fierce combat grimace. "You'd better get back there, son, and get set. We're about to start ourselves!"
Barry gave the black aviator a wave and dropped down out of the locomotive's cab to the gravel next to the track. Then he started trotting back along the length of the train.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pyh48SOVo
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The ME-262 was moving down the tarmac. It taxied to the end, not far from the cages of the humanoids who were cowering in fear of the strange, noisy machine. Then the revived warplane swung into the wind and the jets whined more loudly than before. At last, it started to move swiftly down the airfield.
The crowd gasped at its great speed; then, as the plane lifted gracefully into the blue sky, in unison, they said: "Ahhhhh....!"
"It's awesome!"
"By the Lawgiver! What a sight!"
"This could mean the end of conventional warfare!"
"Look at that thing go!"
Old Thadeus, the Elder, looked at his crony, Dr. Zaius with wide eyes. "Never...never in all my days....!"
The grizzled orangutan leader was dumbfounded.
Senator Pastorius glowered at the speck that was climbing against the clouds. "Why, it's against the laws of nature! If the ape was meant to fly, he'd have been born with wings."
Urko heard him and his self-satisfied smirk grew broader. "Well, Senator, we may not have been born with wings, but we have surely found them!" Then the gorilla commander took the walkie-talkie from his junior officer again and pressed the "Talk" button. "Release the humanoids!" he ordered.
Zira watched in growing fear as she saw the gorilla guards at the end of the airfield throw open the door of the wagon cages and begin to prod the fear-frozen humanoids out onto the smooth tarmac of the airfield. She could hear the guards shouting.
"Out! Get out!"
"Out, you dumb humanoids! Move!"
Zira buried her face, on her husband's shoulder. "I can't bear to watch this!"
General Urko looked up at the circling dot of the air vehicle. He lifted the walkie-talkie and spoke. "General Urko to Wing Commander Brutus. Make your approach!"
The gorilla general heard Brutus's voice say, "I can't." But the voice was from behind him.
Urko spun around.
"What---what're you doing here?" He stared up at the tiny spot in the sky. "Then who---?"
"Sir, I was beaten up and...."
"It's going to hit us!"
Urko turned at the panicked voice of one of the chimpanzee Senators and saw the plane diving down at them, growing larger at an incredible rate. For a moment Urko's eyes were fixed, motionless, on it.
The voices around Urko rose to a babble of fear.
"Look out!"
"Look out!"
"But why is he....?" Urko was watching the diving plane; his whole world had caved in. "Who---?"
The plane's turbines now drowned out even the screams. Urko dove to the ground behind the platform, joining most of his audience, as the ME-262 flashed low overhead, just missing the top of the bleachers. It roared again into the sky, its engine a deep-throated scream.
Urko shook his fist at the plane. "By the nostrils of Grabthar, I'll have your head for this---whoever you are!"
Zira huddled into Cornelius's arms on the bleachers, gave a quick smile. "It must be Blue-Eyes!"
The plane circled, readying itself for another dive, but the distinguished visitors began to run.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ntAkO37pI
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The heavy wheels of the train had started to move. Barry had pulled the control lever back as far as it would go, then locked it into position. Dan scooped up more coal and heaved it into the furnace.
The train gathered speed. Steve, standing by on the flatcar, gripped the controls of the big crane and swung its arm sideways. As the boom creaked into motion, he released the cable, letting the massive hook drop. With a clang, the iron hook smashed into a crate labeled MACHINE PARTS and, catching hold, yanked it up into the air, the chains rattling as the load swayed above the moving train.
The blond aviator could see that the engine was now passing the hangar, and he swung the crane almost like a bat. The heavy crate on its hook flew out, through the open doors of the hangar, and crashed into a stack of completed tail assemblies. Then the hook, crate, and some smashed airplane parts were hauled back as the train passed. They snagged on the corner of the hangar, just as Steve hoped, ripping into the light metal building with a vicious, ear-splitting noise. The building sagged, then buckled as the crane, driven by the big locomotive, began tearing out the side of the structure. Steve heard airplane parts inside toppling and collapsing even over the racket of the tearing metal wall. The noise nearly deafened him.
A ball of fire suddenly exploded up through the falling hangar roof.
"The fuel supply!" Steve cried happily.
Cracks, pops, thuds, and metallic screams resounded as the building burst into flames.
Steve jumped out of the crane cab and down onto the bed of the flatcar. Running to the edge, he looked ahead to see Barry and Dan clinging to the grab handles on the side of the locomotive, both of them staring back at him with wide eyes. Beyond them, rushing closer by the second, loomed the closed door of the aircraft factory.
Without hesitation, Steve leapt. Dan followed a heartbeat later, with Barry right behind him, all three scrambling to get clear as the train thundered forward.
They fell hard in the gravel and dirt, and rolled, stopping against some piles of military equipment. Another explosion rang out and Steve looked back to see that the crane had overturned a small tank of oil, which split and was ignited by flying, flaming refuse from the hangar.
The three castaways scrambled to their feet just in time to see the locomotive knock in the wide factory door. Then they heard the train hit something very solid inside---probably another train---and the whole long, hurtling monster buckled. The crane swung, gathering up debris as it moved, and smashed into the side of the factory. A great, hollow boom came from inside the factory, and the train was kicked off its tracks. The crane had by now toppled into the building with a strident, metallic shriek. A second explosion within the factory broke every window in the base and knocked Steve, Dan and Barry off their feet.
They got up again and started running back toward the barracks, where Fitzhugh had left the laser drill. Two more, but smaller explosions clouted their backs. Finally, at the door of the deserted barracks they paused to look toward the hangar and factory.
The hangar was a flaming wreck. Steve could see the blackened, twisted remains of melting parts and a great smoky, flaming heap in the center. Nothing inside had survived. In the car park, several vehicles had caught fire from falling debris, and a series of rattling explosions told them gas tanks and storage tanks were going up.
Fitzhugh flung open the barracks door with a dramatic flourish and stepped outside, shielding his eyes against the glow. The hangar, now a roaring inferno, sent gouts of flame and black smoke into the sky, silhouetting the twisted remains of girders and collapsing sheet metal. He took in the spectacle with a wide-eyed, almost theatrical nod of approval. “Well,” he said dryly, hands on his hips, “I daresay that’s the end of their little air force ambitions. Unless they plan to build the next one out of charcoal and wishful thinking.”
Barry came running up, face flushed with excitement and soot smudged across his cheek. He threw his arms in the air and called out, breathless but triumphant: “Betty’s got the plane! And me, Steve, and Dan—we smashed all their parts! Probably wrecked their plans and blueprints too!”
Fitzhugh cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Valerie! My trick screwdriver—it’s in the upstairs barracks, top bunk, under the mattress! Fetch it, will you, my dear?”
Steve, already scanning the compound for vehicles, snapped, “Make sure she’s quick about it, Fitz! We’ve got to snag ourselves a truck and get out of here—fast!”
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Gorillas were sprinting toward a burning truck at the far end of the long line of military vehicles, their rifles clutched in confusion. All seven castaways—Steve, Dan, Mark, Valerie, Betty, Fitzhugh, and Barry—could hear an officer bellowing frantic orders over the rising crackle of flames and the chaos of shouting soldiers.
"Move those trucks out! Fast! Duras, Zarn, get those tanks moving over there! Take that squad over to the jeeps! Get some men and keep those civilians outta here!"
Steve swung up into the cab of the truck and slid behind the wheel, jaw set with determination. Dan and Mark leapt into the back, helping Betty and Valerie scramble up after them. Fitzhugh, panting and clutching his trick screwdriver like a weapon, pushed Barry up onto the tailgate before hauling himself in. Steve started the engine with a growl of gears; they were the first to move out. The truck roared past frightened apes who barely registered the human figure at the wheel, too distracted by the smoke and confusion. With a sharp turn, Steve wheeled them out onto the edge of the airfield, tires spitting dust and cinders.
Scattered figures still stood here and there on the field; and at the end of the airstrip, near the wagon-cages, huddled the group of humanoids. Steve brought the truck to a halt before them and Mark jumped down. He ran a few steps toward the frightened humanoids, raising his arms in what he hoped looked like a reassuring gesture. "You’ve got to get out of here—now!" he called. "This whole place is coming apart! Run—get into the trees and keep going! Don’t stop for anything!" The humanoids stared at him, wide-eyed and unmoving, and Mark stepped closer, urgently waving his arms. "Don’t wait for someone to tell you twice! Move!"
Steve leaned out the truck window, cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting over the roar of flames and chaos, "Go! Get out of here—run! Run for the trees! If you stay, you'll be caught in the fire or worse! MOVE, NOW!"
Smoke stung Mark's eyes as he reached a middle-aged man who stood frozen, staring at the flames with blank terror. Without hesitation, Mark grabbed the man’s arm and yanked hard. "Come on, we don’t have time for this!" he barked, dragging the man backward by sheer muscle. The man stumbled, nearly fell, but Mark held him up with one arm and kept pulling. "You want to burn? Or do you want to live? Move—NOW!"
"Get away from the truck! Head for the trees—move it! Move!" Steve ordered once more.
But the humanoids just stared at them.
"They won't move!" Mark complained.
The middle-aged man stumbled as Mark released him, his eyes still wide with shock and confusion. For a moment, he just stood there, swaying slightly, as if trying to process what was happening. Then, with a glance back at the truck—and at the determination on Mark's face—something seemed to snap into place. He nodded once and began to run, slowly at first, then faster, waving to the others as he went.
And finally, the others began to stir.
Mark grinned fiercely, the adrenaline surging through him. "That's more like it!" he barked, clapping the man on the shoulder before spinning around to the others. He pantomimed broad, sweeping motions with his arms—go! move! run!—and then jabbed a thumb urgently toward the cover of the distant trees. “Get outta here—NOW!”
As a younger woman hesitated, frozen near the rear tire of the truck, Valerie rushed over, grabbed her hand, and helped her stumble clear. “You’re okay—just go!” Valerie urged, guiding her until she found her footing and darted off after the others.
Mark sprinted around the front of the truck, boots pounding the cracked tarmac, and swung himself back into the cab just as Valerie scrambled up behind him, slamming the door shut. Smoke from the burning hangar coiled across the field as Steve threw the truck into gear with a metallic grind and a growl from the engine.
The tires barked against the pavement, then caught—the vehicle surged forward, bouncing hard over a scorched patch of earth and veering away from the chaos. Steve angled it sharply toward the edge of the airfield, eyes locked on a narrow, dusty road that twisted away into the high, shadowed hills. Behind them, the airstrip shrank in the mirrors, fading into smoke and flame.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ36mNYq2tD
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Urko seemed to be coming out of his daze. The pressures of command, and of being required to make decisions, seemed to bring him around. He looked about and began snapping orders.
"Captain Sovak! See that those undamaged crates are moved. Major Adrian, get those trucks into some kind of order! You! Sergeant Tusk! Get some men and put out those fires in the barracks! Sergeant Garth, escort Dr. Zeno to safety! Lt. Zymak! Yes, you, lieutenant! See that the Elders and the Senators get an escort and transportation back to Ape City! Captain Kang, round up those humanoids and...."
Urko now noticed the empty wagon cages and saw the dust of the castaways' truck disappearing up the road. "After them!" the gorilla commander snapped. "Whoever is driving that truck might be responsible for the explosions!" He pointed at the truck. "After them, Kang!"
"Yes, sir!"
As Kang ran to muster a force from the scattered soldiers, he saw General Urko's own jeep take off in pursuit of the castaways. Kang bullied and slapped a number of dazed soldiers into two trucks and started off after his commander.
"Faster!" he snarled at his driver. "We can't let the general beat us to 'em!"
The truck filled with the escaping castaways was grinding slowly up the steep grade into Shadowhawk Pass, a narrow one-way cut through the hills. Behind it the general's jeep was kicking up a long plume of dust. And behind that came the two trucks of soldiers under Kang's commande.
Urko's tusks glinted in the sunlight as he saw where the castaways were headed. "Shadowhawk Pass! They can't go too fast through there! I've got them now!"
The general almost smiled as he imagined what would come next. The stolen plane, the freed humanoids, the humiliated garrison—none of it mattered. Not really. Because Urko wasn’t just thinking of revenge, he was planning it. Terrible deaths. Public. Prolonged. Painful.
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"They're gaining on us," Mark said, leaning out of the truck to look back.
"And look ahead!" Steve shouted, shifting to a lower gear. "A wooden guard fence across the pass! And a devilish narrow pass beyond that!"
"The pass must've been made for scout jeeps or foot soldiers," Mark commented. "I think we're in trouble."
Steve heard the sound of the airplane engine and thrust his thumb up. "See what she's doing, willya?"
Mark looked out and found Betty's ME-262 banking around not far away. "I don't know what she's got in mind, but it looks like a bomb run commencing!"
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"Look, they're almost to the fence!" Urko exclaimed. "Faster, you humanoid-brain!"
"I'm going as fast as we dare on this road, sir," the driver huffed.
"What's that blasted air vehicle doing now?" Urko peered at the banking plane suspiciously. "Oh, no!"
The general saw the plane coming around behind, and suddenly he knew what was going to happen. But before he could think of how to escape or counter it, Betty swept low overhead, the captured jet’s engines screaming like wild beasts. With flawless precision, she fired the harpoon—its steel tip lancing downward into the engine block of Urko’s jeep with a shriek of tearing metal. The impact jolted the vehicle, the hood crumpling like paper. Urko cursed savagely, gripping the side of the jeep as it fishtailed. The surprised driver wrestled the wheel, trying to steer against the sudden drag and broken power—but the ruined machine had a mind of its own.
With a guttural sputter and a shriek of rubber, the jeep skidded sideways, veered sharply off the road, and flipped into a shallow ditch. Dust and debris exploded into the air as the vehicle tumbled, landing on its side with a crunch of twisted steel.
Inside the wreck, Urko’s furious growls echoed through the broken frame. The driver lay beneath him, unconscious, bleeding from the mouth, his helmet cracked, and one arm twisted at an unnatural angle. Smoke hissed from the ruined engine, and the acrid smell of scorched fuel filled the air. One wheel spun uselessly in the air, while the other had snapped free and lay several feet away in the dust. Urko tried to push himself up, but the crumpled roof pinned one leg, and a shard of the windshield had lodged in his shoulder pad. He bellowed in pain and rage just as two armored personnel carriers screeched to a halt behind the wreck.
Gorilla soldiers jumped out, weapons drawn at first, then wide-eyed at the sight. “Get him out!” one of them barked. Two rushed forwards, struggling to pry the twisted door open, while another grabbed Urko’s arm through the shattered window, trying to pull him free. “Careful!” another snapped. “You’ll rip his leg off!”
"Never mind me!" Urko roared, shoving away the soldier trying to bandage his shoulder. "Get after whoever stole that truck!" He pointed a trembling, blood-smeared finger toward the dust trail winding into the hills. "I want them caught—now! I want that truck stopped, and the thieves brought back in chains!"
"But we can't get by you, sir!" Captain Kang complained.
"Aaaarh---!" Urko's snarls frightened even the gorilla soldiers. "Hurry up, you fools!"24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvx0RWTvkf
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The fence across the pass broke under the force of the speeding truck. Its pieces fell under the wheels of the vehicle.
"Watch it, Steve!" Mark shouted.
The sides of the narrow pass scraped against the sides of the truck, jostling the passengers and making an awful racket.
"Good going, Betty!" Steve yelled in compliment.
"Watch where you're going!" Mark screamed.
The truck left thick brown clouds of dust behind and cut grooves into the dirt of the pass, but finally they were through it. Green hills split by a better road lay ahead and below Shadowhawk Pass.
"We made it!" Steve cried.
"Nothing but open road ahead!" Mark added.
The truck sped out of the Shadowspine Mountains toward freedom.
Betty's ME-262 zoomed by overhead and disappeared over the green hills beyond.
