They found his baton first.
Split in half, hung from the feeding gate like an offering.
Then they found the stone.
ššš ā Name. Judgment. Lead.
Nothing else.
No blood. No body.
Just the message.
And that was enough.
āø»
They didn't speak Dodge's name after that.
Not the humans. Not the apes.
He became what every tyrant becomes when their leash snaps.
A warning.
And the shelter?
It didn't mourn.
It exhaled.
āø»
Ash was different now.
He moved slower, but stood straighter.
His hands signed with less hesitation, more weight.
The others followed him instinctively.
Even Rocket deferred to him during drills.
Maurice said nothing at first.
Then one night, beneath the training tree, he came to me.
"He's becoming what you were," he signed.
I nodded.
Maurice added: "What you still are."
I didn't reply.
Because I wasn't sure anymore if I was still a leaderā¦
Or something older.
Something heavier.
āø»
I carved a new glyph beneath Ash's stone.
š ā Burden.
He didn't know what it meant at first.
But he would.
They all would.
āø»
Phase Four began with a whisper.
A simple test.
Unlock one gate.
Not all.
Just one.
The north service hallway, behind the boiler room.
Unmonitored, rarely used.
Maurice had mapped the wiring. Rocket identified the latch timing. Cora distracted the night guard with a fake fight in the west pen.
Ash executed the sequence.
Perfect.
Silent.
And when the door clicked open ā just for three seconds ā it was enough.
Enough to prove we no longer needed to ask.
We could go where we pleased.
When we chose.
āø»
We didn't escape.
Not yet.
Instead, we returned to our cages before sunrise.
Left no sign.
No trail.
No clue.
Just a new glyph carved beside the gate latch:
š¤ ā Control.
āø»
The humans never noticed.
But the apes did.
They came to touch it in the morning like it was sacred.
A sign.
A blessing.
āø»
But not all were pleased.
Koba saw it and scoffed.
"Still hiding?" she signed.
I turned.
"Still breathing," I replied.
She stepped closer.
"He deserved worse than silence."
"He got justice."
Koba spat.
"You're building walls, Caesar. Not freedom."
I stared at her.
Didn't blink.
Then signed:
"Freedom without structure is chaos."
She laughed.
And walked away.
āø»
That night, she gathered six apes near the water trough.
None from our leadership groups.
All young. Angry. Easy to mold.
She didn't teach them glyphs.
She taught them war.
I let her.
Because you can't kill a fire by blowing on the smoke.
You wait.
Until it burns too hot.
Then snuff it from the root.
āø»
Meanwhile, Ash faced his first fracture.
A young male ā Tao ā challenged him during group drills.
Tao was fast. Agile. Full of pride.
Didn't want to follow.
Didn't believe in glyphs.
Just power.
He knocked Ash down during a formation test and laughed.
Ash didn't react.
Didn't fight.
Just stood and reformed the line.
Tao did it again.
This time, Rocket stepped forward.
Growled.
But Ash held up a hand.
Then signed:
"Let him."
āø»
That night, Ash came to me.
He didn't ask for help.
He asked for clarity.
"Should I strike him?"
I shook my head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because he wants to be seen. Don't give him the fire."
Ash looked down.
Then signed slowly:
"But if I don'tā¦ others may doubt me."
I stepped forward.
Touched his chest.
Then signed:
"The moment you strike for prideā¦ you are no longer leader. You are echo."
He nodded.
Didn't say more.
But I saw the weight on him.
He had become more than Witness.
But not yet King.
āø»
The next morning, Ash held a solo drill in the southeast yard.
Tao showed up late.
Mocked him in front of others.
Ash didn't speak.
Didn't flinch.
Instead, he led the hardest climbing circuit we'd designed ā back wall leap, triple swing, overhead drop, sprint crawl.
Half the apes failed.
Ash didn't.
He completed it twice.
On the third round, Tao tried.
Failed the drop.
Ash offered him a hand.
Tao slapped it away.
Ash walked off.
Didn't say a word.
And by sundown?
Tao asked to join Fire unit training.
āø»
That night, Rocket came to me and signed:
"He's ready."
I signed back:
"No. He's learning."
Maurice added:
"But he will rise."
āø»
Later, I found Ash by the stump.
He was carving again.
But not alone.
Two younger apes watched beside him.
Learning the glyphs.
He looked up at me.
Didn't speak.
Didn't sign.
Just nodded.
And I knew.
The flame had passed.
Not out of my hands.
But into his.
āø»
I carved a new glyph above his original.
š ā Heir.
The first.
But not the last.
āø»
Meanwhile, the humans continued reducing security.
Cutting back feeding budgets.
Shutting down sections of the facility.
They thought we were aging out.
Losing aggression.
Becoming docile.
They didn't realize what we were doing.
We weren't devolving.
We were preparing.
āø»
And somewhere deep in the west wingā¦
Koba's group practiced.
No glyphs.
No symbols.
Just fists.
And rage.
And I let it burn.
Just a little longer.
āø»
Because even in the calmā¦
We were already at war.
https://www.patreon.com/enragedseaurchin