Subterranean

"Looks and smells fresh, no pun intended," she said.

"Do you think it's from a human or an ape?" Tilly asked.

"Could be either. We better move fast, no telling how close they are."

They quickened their pace a little through the tunnel, seeing that water was up to their ankles now. Pretty soon, that lukewarm water came up to their thighs and eventually reached their waists. Wana's cape and backpack were wet.

The savage, deafening roars of apes shattered the silence, reverberating throughout the passageway. They seemed to be right behind them but Wana saw no one when she turned around.

The passageway became wider until it was a calm, silent river. She heard the roars again, and when she glanced around this time, she saw four apes coming after them.

"C'mon, we're going to have to swim," Wana said, floating with the lantern until she reached a log towards the middle of the river. She held onto it and placed the light on top. The other two got to the log.

"Push it," Wana said. "I want to keep the lantern as long as I can." They obeyed, and they were soon flowing slowly down the river. She looked back and saw the apes swimming quickly after them. "Push faster!"

The trio pushed the log with every ounce of strength they had left, but Wana noticed the ferocious creatures were simply yards away from them now. The log drifted faster downstream now, and was soon out of the apes's reach. The current grew stronger, sucking the three of them towards a wide opening ahead at a breakneck speed. The exit! Wana thought excitedly, feeling the fierce winds blow her hair back. They held onto the log tightly as they got closer to the natural white light at the end of the tunnel.

The log hit a rock in the river, causing quite a jolt, and the lantern slipped out of the Queen's hand. It landed in the water. But it didn't matter now, they were almost out of here. She turned around and saw the four apes floating behind them helplessly.

Suddenly, Wana thought about the raging waters and put two and two together. But by then, it was much too late. They shot out of the tunnel like missiles. Fortunately, the drop from the waterfall wasn't that high, and the trio survived. The apes fell into the lagoon after them and also lived to tell the tale.

Both parties swam to the shore. Wana welcomed the heat and humidity outside after a temporary absence from it. The apes stared at them with hostility, their hands curled into tight fists. Wana stood her ground, returning an intimidating look. When one of them approached her, she took off her backpack and cape and handed them to Tilly.

With just her helmet on now, she stood in a fighting stance on the warm sand with her feet apart and her hands raised in the air before her. The ape charged at her but wasn't able to bring her down. They locked hands for a moment, wrestling, one of them trying to win the power fight. She kicked his wet, hairy calf with her foot. He lost his balance and fell, and she squatted over him, pinning his neck to the sand with her huge, muscular thigh. He tried to throw her off of him but she wouldn't budge.

"I could crush his neck if I wanted to," she said, looking into the ape's frightened eyes. He started whimpering and crying when she applied more pressure onto his neck. When she felt he had been humiliated enough, she got off of him.

The other apes helped him up, looking at her for a moment, before running away scared.

"I've got a kingdom to find and regroup with," she said, looking at the sun with a smile. They started walking towards a lush, green valley.

THE END