I woke up to pain, darkness and the smell of burnt flesh. I couldn't move. There was dirt everywhere, on my face, in my mouth, under my clothes. I didn't dare open my eyes. Something heavy was pressing on my wounded thigh, a rock maybe, or perhaps it was the beam I had kicked. My entire leg was numb and I wondered if the pressure was what had kept me from bleeding out.

I couldn't hear anything except my own harsh breathing and the sound of my heart hammering in my chest. No screams, no voices, no footsteps…nothing. It was as if the whole camp was deserted.

I could feel the weight of my bow and quiver on my back, and the familiar shape of my dagger on my hip. I drew courage from the presence of my weapons. At least, I wasn't completely defenseless.

I had to get out of there. I had to find my friends, to make sure they were alive.

I pushed against the dirt, whimpering as pain reverberated in my bones, and managed to shift it enough to give me some space, although it wasn't much. I slipped off my shirt with some difficulty, leaving me in a simple tank top, and put it over my head, so I wouldn't suffocate on loose earth.

Next, I had to free my leg. I dug through the dirt until I grasped what seemed to be the beam, and I pushed. I couldn't help the scream that tore from my mouth. My leg, who had been numb just a second ago, was now in burning agony. I could feel blood flow from the wound again. With a whimper, I pushed the beam the rest of the way.

I had to go back the way I came from. That was the closest path to the surface. Turning around wasn't easy, but my longing for fresh air and freedom was stronger than anything. I clawed, and pushed, and fought my way through the earth. I was almost there, I could feel the air on my face and-

A hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. I screamed, terror flooding through my system. The hand tugged as I cried out, trying to break free, but it was relentless. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I felt the wind on my skin. I was pulled the rest of the way by strong arms, and I kicked and screamed, desperate to free myself. The shirt was torn from my face, but the light was too much for my eyes and I couldn't see much more than blurry shapes.

'Let me go!' I yelled, my voice rough from unused and stale air. I aimed a punch at the person holding me, but he or she evaded easily.

'Y/N! Damn it, it's me!'

I froze. I knew that voice.

'Bellamy?'

My eyes finally adjusted to the light and I saw Bellamy's face, bloody and beaten. His eyes were wild, a storm of emotions I couldn't decipher raging in them. His hand brushed the dirt of my eyes, my cheeks, my hair. I couldn't move, could barely breathe. Bellamy. Bellamy was here.

His eyes slid from my face to my body, his frown deepening as he took in each cut and bruise. When they finally settled on my thigh, however, he swore.

'Is she alright?'

My head snapped up, and I noticed there were other people there. Finn was one of them, looking almost as battered as Bellamy, as well as two men wearing guard's uniform. That's when I remembered the Ark had fallen from the sky. I had assumed it was accidental.

'She's hurt,' Bellamy told them. 'I'm taking her to Dr. Griffin.'

Clarke's mother was alive? She was supposed to be on the dropship that crashed days earlier, along with my father.

Bellamy pulled me up, securing an arm around my waist. I found I could walk, if not very fast. The guards came along, guns held tightly between their hands. I couldn't help but gasp as I saw the camp. All our hard work, the product of our tears and our sweat, was gone. No tents, no cabins, no laughing teenagers. There was only ash and dust, broken skeletons scattered around the ground.

'Where are the others?' I asked.

'I don't know,' Bellamy answered with a frown. 'Finn and I weren't inside the dropship. I thought they'd be here.'

What had happened? Raven's plan had worked, I had seen it with my own eyes. And if some of the Grounders had survived, there wouldn't have been enough of them to hurt our friends. So where were they?

I was pulled from my thoughts by the sound of footsteps coming towards us. I raised my head, looking at the newcomer. And my heart stopped.

'Dad?'

The man looked at me and I sobbed as I recognized my father. He didn't hesitate. In two steps, he had his arms wrapped around me and was saying my name over and over again.

'You were dead,' I protested, my voice breaking pitifully. 'I saw the wreckage.'

'No, Y/N,' he replied, pulling away slightly so he could look me in the eyes. 'I was never in the dropship.'

'I was so scared,' I said and for a second, I felt like a child again, desperate for my father's comfort. He pulled me back in his arms, one of his hands stroking my hair as I cried. I don't know how long we stayed like this. Finally, I felt sane enough to pull away and offered my father a watery smile.

I had him back. My father, the most important person in my life, was alive and on the ground, with me. The world suddenly didn't seem so scary.

'Wait here,' My father told us and without any explanation, he disappeared back inside the dropship. I exchanged a puzzled look with Bellamy and Finn, wondering what was happening.

We had our answer when my father came out again. He wasn't alone.

'It was awful,' Murphy was saying as he limped out of the dropship, an arm over my father's shoulder. 'It was awful. There were hundreds of them. If it wasn't for Raven… Ungh. I don't know what happened.'

Once again, I was surprised at just how much I hated Murphy. My blood was boiling, and I didn't even want to think about what Bellamy was feeling. His face was completely blank but there was fury in his eyes.

'Bellamy,' Murphy stammered. 'You're, uh…you're alive.'

Before any of us could react, Bellamy was yelling and had launched at Murphy. He shoved him to the ground, his hands around his throat.

'You murdering son of a bitch!' Bellamy shouted.

'Stop!' My father yelled as Bellamy punched Murphy repeatedly.

'This is for Raven!'

A guard stepped up and shocked Bellamy with his stun baton. Bellamy collapsed, gasping at the pain and I saw red. Shoving the guard away, I fell to my knees besides Bellamy. I ignored the pain in my leg and helped him sit up.

'Place him under arrest,' I heard my father order.

'Stay back,' I said darkly to the guards.

'Y/N, move aside.'

I shot my father a glare and he recoiled.

'You don't understand,' Finn said. 'Murphy murdered two of our people. He shot another one. He tried to hang Bellamy, took Y/N captive!'

'I don't care. You are not animals. There are rules. Laws. You are not in control here anymore.'

'Dad,' I said, trying to placate him, 'we've been living alone on a hostile planet with savages trying to kill us for weeks. Rules weren't a priority, and it's going to take some time for us to get used to them again. Bellamy made a mistake, but I'll vouch for him. The woods are dangerous, you'd be putting him and everyone else in danger by keeping him handcuffed. Please.'

My father considered it, looking at Bellamy, Murphy and me in turns. He finally nodded, but he didn't look pleased.

Two other guards came out of the dropship, carrying a stretcher. Raven was lying on it, unconscious. She looked half-dead, her skin pale, her clothes stained with blood.

'She's lost a lot of blood,' Dr. Griffin said as she came out of the dropship. 'It's a miracle that she's still alive. There's no one else in there.'

My last remaining hope fell. Clarke, Jasper, Amara…my friends were gone. Had Grounders taken them captive? It didn't make sense, but it was the only explanation I had.

'Where's Octavia?' I asked Bellamy, remembering I hadn't seen the younger Blake in the battle.

'She was injured,' he answered me, jaw clenching. 'The Grounder, Lincoln, he took her away, to a place she could get help.'

I took his hand, holding it tightly just like I'd done when she went missing. It seemed like such a long time ago. Dr. Griffin approached us, a kind smile on her face.

'Hello, Y/N,' she said. 'Remember me?'

'Dr. Griffin,' I replied. 'Of course.'

'Call me Abby. Why don't you sit down so I can take a look at that leg?'

Bellamy helped me to a boulder, and I winced as Abby widened the cut in my jeans so she could examine the wound. She cleaned the blood and dirt with water, frowning.

'Did you stitch this up?' she asked.

'Clarke did it. They tore during the battle.'

Abby hummed, but her eyes were sad and distant. No doubt she was thinking about her daughter. I felt I should have spoken to her, if only to bring her some comfort, but what was I supposed to say? She disinfected the wound and stitched it back up, bandaging it as well for good measure. She then went back to take care of Raven. Finn, a crease between his brows, approached us.

'We're leaving,' he said.

'What?' Bellamy asked. 'This is where they'll come back.'

'I don't think they're coming back. The Grounders took them, and you know that,' Finn insisted as he crouched in front of us. 'Look. We go with Kane senior to Alpha Station. We get reinforcements, weapons. Then we find our friends.'

'My dad won't let us leave,' I whispered.

'And how many more of us will be dead by then?' Bellamy added.

Finn had no answer. He looked at Raven, worry evident in his eyes.

'Abby says Raven needs surgery or she's gonna die,' he told us. 'It's time to go.'

And sure enough, mere minutes later, my father announced it was time to leave. We had to reach Alpha Station before nightfall. I insisted on walking there instead of being carried by a stretcher, and Abby agreed as long as I had help. I didn't even need to ask Bellamy: he already had an arm around my waist, supporting my weight as I hobbled along the path.

Finally, after hours of trekking through the woods, the forest ended. And I froze.

It's funny how much bigger objects seem from the outside. I had been to Alpha Station more times than I could count, but it always seemed narrow from the inside. Now, as I stared at the station, standing on the ground in a huge arch, I was in complete awe.

There were hundreds of people inside. I recognized a few faces, colleagues of my father mostly. I searched for my grandmother's face but she was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she was inside.

Two of the guards suddenly stopped me and Bellamy, and seized him. I frowned, looking at my father. He sent me an apologetic glance.

'It's just until we clear the situation,' he told me.

'But I told you-'

'Y/N,' Bellamy interrupted me. 'It's alright. I'll see you later.'

They took him away and I rounded on my father, furious.

'Who the hell do you think you are?' I snarled. 'You've been here for a day, you don't get to make the rules.'

'I'm the Vice-Chancellor. It's my responsibility to-'

'This isn't the Ark, Dad!' I interrupted him. 'The rules don't apply here. Grandma knows this, she always said our society would have to be different on Earth. And you agreed with her! Where is she?'

My father didn't reply. His expression shifted from irritation to grief as soon as I mentioned my grandmother. My heart started hammering in my chest. I didn't need to ask. She was dead, his eyes said it as well as any word.

'Did she suffer?' I asked, my voice shaking.

'No.'

It was a lie. But I was grateful for it. I expected to be heartbroken, to cry and scream. But I was strangely numb. Maybe I had already lost too many people. Maybe I just didn't care anymore.

But mostly, I was happy she didn't have to see what a mess Earth was. It would have broken her heart, to see humans fighting humans.

'I brought the tree down,' my father continued. 'We can plant it tomorrow, if you want.'

I nodded. It would be a nice gesture. She didn't have a grave, the tree would have to suffice. I started walking away from him, needing to be alone, but he stopped me. He seemed vulnerable.

'I swore to myself things would be better between us if I ever made to the ground,' he said. 'We both made mistakes, but you're my daughter and I love you. I want to fix it.'

'Then you shouldn't arrest my friends.'

He sighed, and I felt guilty. He was trying to make it right. The least I could do was meet him halfway.

'I missed you,' I said. 'And I want us to reconcile as much as you do. But I'm not a child. This won't work if you treat me like one.'

He nodded, but I wondered if he really understood. I guessed it didn't really matter. Not yet, anyways. I had other priorities: saving my friends.