Good Morning, Gorillas (3 page)

As he wrote, Jack heard Annie laughing. But then he heard high shrieks.

He caught his breath.
A leopard?
he wondered.

Carrying his notebook, Jack hurried in the direction of the noise. He found Annie and the small gorilla perched in two trees.

“What’s wrong?” said Jack, standing beneath the trees.

“Nothing!” called Annie. “We’re just playing.”

The small gorilla screeched again. Then she scratched her head and hiccuped.

Annie screeched, too. She scratched
her
head and hiccuped.

While they played, Jack studied the gorilla a bit more.

He noticed she was about the size of a three-year-old kid. Her fingers looked like human fingers. They even had fingernails! He made a new list:

Jack heard the tree leaves shaking. He looked up. Annie and the gorilla had both climbed higher.

“Hey, come down, Annie!” Jack called. “You might fall. Plus, it’s getting dark.”

Jack looked around. Light was fading quickly from the forest.
Is night falling?
he wondered.
Or is a storm coming?

The small gorilla screeched again and climbed even higher.

“Hey, Bu-bu! Where you going?” said Annie. She climbed even higher, too.

“That’s enough, Annie. Come down
now
!” said Jack. “I’m serious.”

To his relief, the gorilla settled on a branch. Annie did the same.

The gorilla broke off a piece of tree bark. She nibbled it like a candy bar.

Annie broke off a piece of bark. She nibbled it like a candy bar, too.

The gorilla threw down her bark. She grabbed a tree branch and swung to another tree.

“Don’t try it, Annie!” shouted Jack.

But his warning came too late.

Annie threw down her bark. She grabbed a tree branch and
tried
to swing to another tree.

Annie didn’t swing like a gorilla. She fell from the tree—and crashed down to the ground near Jack.

“Annie!” he cried.

Jack knelt beside Annie. She was gasping for breath.

The gorilla bounded down the tree and over to Annie. She bit her lower lip as if she were worried.

“Are you okay?” Jack asked Annie.

“Yes—” Annie panted, “just—got the breath—knocked out of me—”

“Wiggle your arms and your legs,” said Jack.

Annie wiggled her arms and her legs.

“Good, nothing’s broken,” said Jack.

Just then, he felt a drop of water hit his arm. The mist had turned to rain.

“Uh-oh,” said Jack. He threw his notebook into his pack.

“I better get our umbrella and flashlight,” he said. “I left them near that tree that looked like a chair.”

“I’ll come, too,” said Annie. She started to sit up.

“No, no, catch your breath,” said Jack. “It’s not far. I’ll be right back.”

He took off his jacket and draped it over her. “This’ll help you stay dry,” he said. He pulled on his pack and stood up.

The gorilla screeched.

“Stay with Annie!” said Jack.

Then he dashed back through the cloud forest. He looked for the fat tree with the wide limbs padded with moss.

As he peered through the growing darkness, Jack saw
many
fat trees. He saw
many
limbs padded with moss.

Soon he could hardly see trees at all. He realized that both a storm
and
night had come to the forest.

Forget the umbrella and flashlight,
he thought. It was more important to get back to Annie before it was too dark. They could wait together for daylight.

As Jack started back to Annie, he could hardly see. He didn’t know which way to go.

“Annie! Bu-bu!” he shouted. He felt silly shouting, “Bu-bu.” But he didn’t know what else to call the small gorilla.

Jack put out his hands. He moved slowly through the dark, rainy forest. He kept calling for Annie and Bu-bu. He listened for them. But he couldn’t hear anything above the loud patter of the rain.

“Ahh!” he shouted. He had run into something that felt like a ball of spiderwebs!

As he jumped back, he slipped and fell in the mud. He crawled over to a tree and huddled between two of its giant roots.

I’ll just wait here until morning,
he thought.
Then I’ll find Annie. Or she’ll find me.

As rain dripped all around him, Jack wondered if leopards came out at night. He quickly pushed the thought away. He tried to think about morning and finding Annie and going home.

He was
really
ready to go home.

Why did Morgan even send us to the cloud forest?
he wondered. He tried to remember the secret rhyme.

“To find a special magic … ,”
he whispered. He couldn’t remember the rest. He felt tired and miserable. He took his backpack off and rested his head on it. He closed his eyes.

“To find a special magic … ,”
he mumbled.

But he couldn’t find the magic. He couldn’t even find the words that finished the rhyme. Worst of all, he couldn’t find Annie.

Their fun adventure in the cloud forest had turned into a nightmare.

Jack felt something tugging on his sleeve. He opened his eyes.

Bu-bu.
The small gorilla was staring at him in the dawn light.

Jack stood up. His arms and legs felt stiff and achy. His wet clothes stuck to his skin.

He looked around the cloud forest. Misty sunlight shined through the tree branches.

“Where’s Annie?” he asked the small gorilla.

Bu-bu waved her arms. Then she bounded off between the trees. Jack pulled on his pack and followed.

As the small gorilla led him through the cloud forest, her head bobbed above the leafy plants. Finally, she stopped before a row of shrubs.

Jack took a few steps forward and peered over the shrubs.

“Oh, man,” he whispered.

Large dark figures were sleeping in an open, grassy area
—gorillas!
There were at least ten of them. Some slept on their backs. Some slept on their bellies.

The gorillas were all sizes. The smallest was a baby sleeping in its mother’s arms. The biggest was a giant with black and silver fur.

Jack pulled the book out of his pack. He found a chapter on gorillas and read:

“Shy and gentle giants,”
Jack repeated. That sounded good.

He peered over the shrubs again. Bu-bu waved at him. She was standing at the far edge of the clearing. She pointed to something in the tall grass.

Annie was fast asleep in the grass!

Jack didn’t know what to do. If he called her name, the gorillas would wake up. He had only one choice. He had to sneak over to her.

Jack put his book in his pack. He pushed past the shrubs and stepped into the clearing. His heart was pounding. He thought of the words from the book
—shy and gentle giants.

As he started toward Annie, he heard a grunt. The giant gorilla with silver fur opened his eyes. When the gorilla saw Jack, he sat up.

Jack stopped in his tracks.

The gorilla just glared.
This
giant did not seem shy or gentle at all.

Jack saw a stick lying on the ground. He picked it up—just in case.

Jack’s stick made the gorilla growl. He stood up. He was
very
tall and
very
wide.

Jack dropped his stick.

Bu-bu ran and hid behind a tree.

The silverback growled again. His long, shaggy arms touched the ground. His fingers curled under. Walking on his knuckles, he stepped toward Jack.

Jack stepped back.

The gorilla stepped forward.

Jack stepped back again.

The gorilla kept stepping forward. Jack kept stepping back until he had stepped out of the clearing.

But the silverback kept coming. Jack stumbled back through the brush until he came to a thick wall of plants.

The gorilla kept coming. Jack couldn’t move back anymore.

“Uh … hi,” he said nervously. He held up his hand. “I come in—”

Before Jack could say “peace,” the giant gorilla went crazy. He hooted and leaped to his feet.

Jack crouched down in a panic.

The gorilla kept hooting. He grabbed a tree limb. He shook it wildly. He ripped leaves from branches.

He gnashed his teeth. He cupped his hands. He beat his chest.

WRAAGH!
he roared.
WRAAGH!

The gorilla dropped on all fours. He charged back and forth past Jack. Then he threw himself on his belly. He began bashing the ground with his palms. He bashed and bashed and bashed.

Jack scrambled on his hands and knees over to a tree. He hid behind the trunk, hugging his head.

He waited for the maniac gorilla to find him and tear him to pieces.