"It seems that we will have a storm tonight," Kala spoke under her breath.

Brook turned to her. A few days have passed and she was thankful that Tarzan was teaching her his language little by little. Although, she wasn't able to understand what Kala said. Tarzan crouched next to her, turning to his mother.

"My mother said that there will be a storm tonight," he translated to Brook.

She blinked, looking up at the blue sky. It was free of clouds. She turned to him, "There are no clouds in sight, how did she know?"

He smiled, "This has happened before. Which means Tarzan and troop must move to shelter."

"I see," Brook looked down at her hands. Tarzan rubbed his nose against her cheek and walked on all fours to the front of the troop. He pounded his chest and hooted to them. He nodded his head to his left, having the other gorillas grab their infants and walk in that direction.

Tarzan is the leader, meaning he has to lead them to shelter. It was a wrong choice when she walked beside him the last time they traveled, so she walked next to Kala who smiled at her. Because her hair draws attention to the other gorillas, they would distractedly play with her hair. And because Tarzan liked how his family welcomed her, they lost track of directions almost ending up in the leopard territory.

"Tree."

Brook looked to Kala who nodded atop of them. She repeated again and pointed at the tree. Now realizing what she was doing, she beamed.

"Twree," Brook tried.

"Tree." Kala patiently hoots.

"Tree," Brook tried again.

Kala smiled nodding at her. The girl is fast to learn about them. Kala was worried at first that the girl would not be able to survive the law of the jungle. She was able to survive this far with Tarzan around. She worries that there will be a day when her son is not around at the moment and the girl would get hurt.

Kala continued teaching the girl other words that they can see around them. Tarzan peaked back to see his mother talking to his Flame. He smiled at them, focusing back to find shelter.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Kala's prediction came true as Tarzan walked faster as the sky clouded. The gorillas grabbed their infants in front of them as the wind started the blow harshly at them. The trees and leaves rustled with the wind.

Brook had her blue scarf strapped to her waist, so it wouldn't fall off. She raised an arm to cover her eyes slightly to find Tarzan. Kala grabbed her wrist and guided her to the troop. Brook was thankful that she didn't have much in her suitcase as she carried it.

"We're almost there!" Tarzan called out to the group.

Brook looked up, spotting a small cave. It was big enough for the troop to fit in. She smiled at Kala who walked in front of her. Brook spotted Tarzan guiding his family to the cave as he stood outside.

She walked up to him and stood next to him. He turned to her, checking if she didn't have any sort of injuries.

"Go inside, Tarzan will be there," he spoke.

Brook shook her head, "I'll stay here with you. Don't worry about me."

The air grew harshly as there were small branches falling off the trees. The rain started to pour heavily as the hill created a mudslide. Big enough to fill the river.

Because of the rain, the gorillas ran inside to shelter. But with the harsh wind, it made one of the infants slip from its mother's grasp.

The infant screamed, catching the couple's attention. Tarzan didn't hesitate to run after him. Brook subconsciously dropped her suitcase in the cave and ran after them.

The pouring rain was stabbing her skin repeatedly, making her wince slightly at the pain. She spotted Tarzan looking up at a tree where the infant cried on top of a branch. Tarzan hoots, encouraging him to calm down as he started climbing up.

What Tarzan didn't realize was that the mudslide have captured several trees, almost capturing the one he climbed on. Brook seemed to notice this and screamed, "Tarzan! You have to get out of there!"

But with the lightning striking the sky, the harsh winds breaking everything, and the echoing pouring rain, Tarzan wasn't able to hear his beloved.

He smiled as he grabbed the infant to his chest. He cautiously climbed down. He finally saw his beloved in front of her running towards him and grabbing the infant.

"We must go," she spoke. He nodded and looked back at the tree catching up to her.

Tarzan tried his best to shield her from the weather but it became impossible as the sky showered the land, giving no trace of what was in front of them. Tarzan looked around, hoping to find a glimpse of the troop but he lost trace of them.

The wind blew harder at them, making Tarzan grab Brook's hand so she wouldn't fly off.

"I can't see a thing!" Brook spoke loudly for him to hear.

Tarzan frowned as he also couldn't see anything either. He tightened his grip on her hand as he trusted his instincts and walk forward.

Brook made sure to use one of the scarfs endings and cover the infant as she held it to her chest. She has never seen a storm this intimidating in her life.

Brook squinted her eyes to follow Tarzan, but she would sometimes trip over the small branches they would stumble into.

One of the branches, however, was close to falling on the mudslide and tipped as it fell. It snapped, the roots whipping it around Brook's ankle. It startled the girl, thinking it was a snake, and screamed.

Tarzan whipped his head to his beloved and his eyes widened as the tree fell into the mud, dragging the girl with it.

"Brook!"

Tarzan launched himself to grab her outstretched hand when a final pull took her and the infant to the slide. He fell to the ground as he ran to the edge. His heart sunk as he frantically looked around, trying to find the familiar red hair but nothing. He grunts and runs with the slide's current.

Some of the trees fell over as he passed them. He has to see her again. He must see her again.

He ignored the stinging pain as the rain stabbed his arms and back. He stopped when he thought he heard a cry below him. He waited until he heard it again. He looked down seeing his Flame holding onto the roots of one of the trees as the infant cried in her arms.

"Brook!"

Published: March 7, 2022

Word Count: 1158