"Hey mute!" Carver shouted from the edge of the forest. He gazed around and then spotted a figure in the flowing creek. The figure was a girl with long black hair that is held back in a bun on top of her head with various strands sticking out. She was wearing dirty jeans that are soaked toward the knee along with a black tanktop. She was bare foot and she could see her bare feet from the clear water. The girl was staring at the water, her hands extended out toward the water. Then, she leaned down and grabbed a bass right out of the water. The bass was squirming in her hands, but the girl ignored it. It was her dinner tonight. She walked toward Carver and the fish was slowly flapping in her hands.

"You gonna share that?" The man asked the girl which caused her to raise a brow at him.

She walked past him, stopping at a tree stump where a bag was resting. The fish is now completely dead and she places it inside the bag, causing Carver to groan at the sight.

"Your bag is gonna smell like shit," he complained but she did not answer him, only stared at him with an unamused expression.

He sighed in annoyance from her silence and looked toward the forest. "I'm going to head back; maybe you can grab some more fish. I'll make sure we don't leave you."

She nodded her head and used signed language to say "thank you". Craver only knew that sign and he nodded his head. The girl placed her bookbag onto her back and walked back into the water. She groaned from the cold water against her damp jeans but stared down at the water, waiting for a fish to swim by. As she was waiting, she felt as though she was being watched but figured it was just an animal in the forest. Probably a deer or a bear that was hungry. Her blue eyes focused into the water once she saw a pair of fish swimming toward her. She stood completely still and then crouched down, but her foot slipped on a rock causing her to fall right into the water. She caught herself on her hands but she was soaking from head to her bare feet. The fish swam away from the splash causing her to slap her hands into the water in annoyance.

In the distance she could swear that she heard laughing, like hysterical laughing with strange animal sounds combined. She stood up, but it difficult to walk because her clothes were weighing her down. She shook her head, causing her long black hair to fall from its bun and hang heavily at her chest. Once she reached the shore, she began to ring out the water from her shirt and her hair. She put her tennis shoes on despite her feet still being damp. Then, she put her hoodie over her chest, leaving the hood up over her head. The sun was causing her clothes to feel extremely stiff.

Well, at least she has ONE fish for dinner. At least no one saw her fall into the water like a clumsy bear.

She began her walk back toward the trucks, following the dirt path. She was snapping her fingers, hoping the sound would keep wild animals away from her path. Carver was right; her bag was beginning to smell like wet fish. Then, a sudden gun shot when off causing her to nearly fall back onto the soil, it sounded like it was just feet away from her. She kept her blue eyes on the path, and in front of her where two large, dark…creatures.

She stayed on the ground due to the size of the creatures and she saw Carver pointing a gun at them. The girl took a step forward but made sure she was quiet not to scare the animals.

"Stay back!" Carver shouted toward the two creatures, despite the fact that one of them was already injured.

That is when the girl ran over to the creatures. Carver had his finger on the trigger until she ran in between him and the creatures. It seemed that time itself stopped because she peered over her shoulder to look at the creatures. They were apes. Creatures that her parents told her about and warned her about. They were a myth only because humans did not want to admit that they existed. They were feared due to their growing intelligence. Yet, she and the chimpanzee made eye contact. She only saw fear in those blue eyes and that look reminded her of herself. She stared at the gun and then grabbed it her hands causing Craver to groan in annoyance.

"MUTE! LET GO! HEY! GUYS! HEY!" He shouted at her but she refused to let the gun down. They struggled in their attempt for dominance but he finally pushed her away, knocking her to the ground.

The chimpanzee then screamed so loudly it caused the girl and Craver to cover their ears. Once the cry died down, Craver pointed the gun at the apes but the girl stopped in between them. She had one hand outstretched toward Craver, keeping her dark blue eyes on him.

His hand was shaking as he stared at her. "Get out of the way. THEY WILL KILL YOU!" He shouted at her but she did not budge. She only shook her head but he refused to lower his gun.

From behind Carver she could see the group running over with guns in their hands and they all stopped upon seeing the apes. She gazed over her shoulder to see one chimp had a large scar across his chest and was standing in front of the wounded one, protecting it.

"Jesus Craver," Malcolm mumbled as he walked over to them. "What the hell happened?!"

"I…I shot it," Craver replied, keeping his finger on the trigger. "It was gonna attack me…"

His comment made the mute gaze over at him with anger in her blue hues. She was making her signs too fast for even her to understand. Then, everyone gazed up toward the hill once they heard screeching and the trees began to shake. Craver grabbed the black headed girl's arm to drag her away from the apes, and towards the group. The apes appeared from every direction, it was completely overwhelming. A large chimpanzee stood on top of a tree truck and his demeanor was of complete authority. His eyes were like knives, ready to pierce them in their hearts. If his eyes didn't pierce them, the spears the other apes have will.

She couldn't take her eyes off the apes; there are at least eighty of them, perhaps even more. Every in the group stood completely still. Craver kept his grip on the girl's arm, gently pulling her into the group.

"LEAVE!" The leader shouted and every human's skin crawled. It…SPOKE.

The girl nicknamed mute, signed to the group, "Impossible…." Of course, no one saw her sign because their eyes were on the ape that spoke. However, some apes noticed her sign because one or two pointed at her.

"Okay, yeah….we're going," Malcolm mumbled, keeping his arms close to his girlfriend and his only son.

"GO!" It shouted again, and this time everyone moved. Their feet couldn't move fast enough for them.