THE ROMAN LEE SERIES
"CRIMSON ROWS"
Four
6:00AM
The human like screams were still unsettling although
he was growing accustomed to them. But
these were quite different. Unlike
anything he had ever heard before. Jonas
Paez looked out of his large glass window from the top floor. A troop of marauding chimpanzees had made a
surprising invasion during the early morning hours upon their neighbors. Small trees shook violently as branches
cracked loudly taking their bright green leaves with them as dark hairy bodies
fell to the ground. After a ferocious battle,
it had ended. Almost as if the entire
ecosystem waited on the outcome from the confrontation nothing moved in the
jungle until a winner was declared among its new residents. When it was over the sounds within the dense foliage
of the Amazon along its vast river resumed its harmonious symphony.
The two troops of chimps had been purchased from a
sanctuary back in Africa. They were
later shipped to Jonas when he first arrived some time ago, having been kept in
separate designed enclosures during their captivity. Careless attendants combined with their
problem-solving ability led to an almost easy predictable escape. Dr. Jonas Paez sometimes thought about the
impact they were having outside the perimeter.
Caution was a must now when taking the deliveries by
drone. He had caught the alpha male of
the troop staring at him one morning as he sipped coffee in his enclosed
balcony. The simian was standing atop a
branch high above the jungle floor.
Their climbing abilities were endless.
So was their adaptation to their new surroundings. Strangely neither
troop ventured far from the building and its grounds. They had decided to stay close. Although unable to collect a sample neither
troop appeared to display any signs of affliction.
They had tried to capture one of the smaller members with
a dart gun a while back. When they
missed, the alpha male attacked with blinding speed. The hunting guide had been dragged some
thirty yards. A few others pounced on
him tearing his genitals apart with their huge teeth. His left foot was
shredded as though he hadn’t worn any boots. The skin on his face folded over
on top of his bloody skull. The fatal attack
lasted less than three minutes. No one
contemplated a rescue as it was imminent suicide. The relentless viciousness of it all. It felt pointed and personal. Eventually, automatic weapons were brought in
and the reports of gunfire kept them at bay.
The new residents of his building seemed to be
adapting well. Dr. Jonas Paez wanted to
get an early start this morning. He was
expecting a shipment of much needed supplies later in the day. On top of this he needed to respond to some
emails that he had received yesterday but purposely neglected because he didn’t
have an answer.
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