2 years. 24 months. 104 weeks. 730 days. 17,520 hours.

That's how long Clarke has been alone. Not that she's been counting or anything.

The Earths last survivor.

The death wave had destroyed everything within its path. Forests, plants, animals…people.

Only small patches of life now existed on the desolate planet. Tiny havens, untouched by the wreckage, that provided Clarke with the sustenance needed to live.

She had awoken in the darkness of Becca's Laboratory, head pounding from the impact of collapsing to the floor. Her face and hands littered with the raised, purple pustules of radiation burns. Her lungs burned with each breath as they desperately struggled for oxygen. Clarke had no idea how she had survived Praimfaya, the only answer laying within the blackened blood now coursing through her veins. She was the last surviving Nightblood and the last inhabitant of planet earth.

She had spent the first few months searching for other survivors. Hoping, praying, that one day she would find someone. Anyone. Just to stop her feeling so helplessly alone. But her searches were fruitless. She had found no-one. Not one single survivor in even the remotest reaches of the lands she had come to call home.

During her fifth month of isolation she finally managed to fix the radio that had gotten destroyed during the death wave. Her only means of communication with anyone inside the bunker or on the Ark.

Clarke had no clue whether anyone had even made it to the Ark. Whether she had managed to engage the satellites in time. For all she knew she could have been too late. She could have failed her friends, left them without the ability to access the Ark, left them without oxygen. She tried to keep those thoughts at bay. She needed to believe that it had worked. That her friends were up there, on the Ark, Alive. That there was a possibility that they could come back to the earth in five years, and she wouldn't be alone anymore. She couldn't be alone forever.

The radio had been her main priority besides searching for other survivors and with the dwindling possibility of anyone being out there other than herself, she knew the radio was the only option for a small piece of social interaction.

Her attempts to contact anyone had gone unanswered for 3 months. Radio silence from both the bunker and the Ark. Her hopes had diminished to almost nothing and she prepared herself for the lifelong isolation that stretched out ahead of her.

Until, day 245. A glimmer of hope in the otherwise darkened world. Her radio buzzed to life. Octavia's voice bursting into the silence of the earth around her. The bunker was safe. Everyone was alive. Clarke wasn't alone.

Her talks with the survivors of the bunker took place daily. The small slice of social interaction she could look forward to at the end of every day. Clarke was sure that it kept her from going completely insane. But a nagging worry still ebbed at her consciousness as she lay in bed at night. The Ark was still unresponsive. The bunker had heard nothing from them either and Clarke's hope for their survival began to chip away.

Her first year after Praimfaya was soon over. She had survived. Only 4 years remained until she could be reunited with the people she loved.

The second year flew by just as quickly. Her body had adapted well to the new terrain, muscles strengthened by her daily tasks. She had refined her hunting technique, becoming silently stealthy in her movements in order to capture the rare animals that still remained on earth. Her foraging skills had also improved, the sparse vegetation making it imperative to be able to spot edible berries and nuts from a distance to save time.

Clarke continued to speak with the bunker daily. Her mother and Kane were still together and living happily. Octavia had begun a relationship with Niylah 3 months ago, Clarke had nearly died from laughter when Octavia had asked for her blessing. She couldn't be happier for them. And yet, she still felt the bitter sting of loneliness whenever Octavia would gush about her new found love. The radio conversations were easing her loneliness less and less as each day passed. She missed human connection. Face to face interaction. She missed hugging her family and friends. She missed being touched. The feel of skin to skin contact. She missed friendship and romance. But above all else, as she lay alone at night, with nothing but her thoughts, she missed Lexa. The past two years had done nothing to quell the sting of that loss. Her heart was still utterly broken, into a thousand different pieces and worse still, she had nothing but time now to keep reliving that moment over and over again in her mind.

She attempted to radio the Ark everyday still, but she was yet to hear anything back. Her hopes of their survival was virtually non existent and yet she couldn't bring herself to miss a daily attempt at possibly hearing from them.

And so she powered through. Living each day just to survive, because at that moment she had nothing more to live for than the day she would finally be reunited with those that she loved. Clarke's life was about nothing more than surviving, and she was no longer sure that she deserved any better than that.

Day 731 had begun like any other. Clarke awoke from her evening of broken, unrested sleep and dressed in the same clothes she had worn since the Nuclear fallout. She had found a closet filled with a variety of different clothing in Becca's lab days after she had awoken, some pieces that fit her comfortably she had changed into so that she could escape the restrictive heat of the hazmat suit. During her travels over the last 2 years she had returned to Polis and found her old armour, she now knew that there were no longer any human threats to need protecting from, but the wild beasts she had come across on her hunts had proven her armour still useful.

It was still early morning and sunlight had just begun to stream inside the cave she had adapted as her home. Her first couple weeks were spent inside Becca's lab and the adjoining bunker, but she had felt entirely out of place and found her soul screaming for the serenity the woods could provide her. The cave she had found was large, and she had managed to fashion a comfortable bed, a table and chair. She kept warm with a small fire pit placed near to the entrance of her home that doubled as a place to cook her daily kills.

Clarke clipped her shoulder guard into place and walked to the small table near her bedside, running her fingers over the familiar fabric of the black coat that rested there, folded neatly. Another item she had found on her return to Polis, abandoned within the rubble that lay around the bunker. Lexa's coat. It lay now, next to Clarke each night, alongside the faded drawing she held so dear, the photograph she had kept of them both from the Mountain men and, of course, the flame. She had found the flame carefully hidden inside the pocket of Lexa's coat, in the same beat up tin box she had carried it around in for weeks. Clarke had no idea who had placed it there before the death wave, but her heart silently thanked them each night for allowing her to still carry the remaining piece of Lexa with her. The thought made her feel just slightly less alone.

Her heart had begged for her body to reunite with the flame, she was a nightblood now and she knew that it would enable her to see Lexa whenever she wished. But her head had won out in time, knowing that carrying Lexa with her everyday and being unable to truly be with her would only lengthen her current pain and suffering. She settled instead for surrounding herself with Lexa's things, her dreams reuniting them every night in a thousand different scenarios.

She reached for the brown wooden handle of the small dagger laying carefully next to the coat on the table. Her only other possession of Lexa's, something she could keep with her all day as a constant reminder of the girl she had loved and lost. Placing the dagger in the sheath at her waist she set out into the woods to forage for her daily meal.

The forest had almost entirely transformed since Praimfaya. Pine trees virtually eradicated from the high level of radiation still soaking the land. Larger oak trees remained and the oversized Pines that had survived now held a striking red tinge to their hanging leaves. Fallen trees had ceased to decay in some of the most highly affected areas, a constant reminder of the smaller forms of life that had been wiped out within the dense radiation zones.

Luckily for Clarke, much of the vegetation that provided edible fruit had survived. She made her way through the thick undergrowth near the small lake around 2 miles from her home. The plant life here had seemed to fair the best and Clarke found that most of the animals in the surrounding forest flocked here throughout the day for their own daily feed. That also meant that she could hunt and forage within a small radius, conserving her energy for bigger prey should she ever need it. The lake was still abundant with fish and Clarke's skill of catching them had grown exponentially, though she still favoured hunting on dry land.

She worked to place small snare traps around the perimeter of the lake, hoping to make her hunt as easy as possible. Once she was satisfied with the amount she had placed she set out to forage the fruit, seeds and nuts she would need to provide her with nutrients for the day. Stopping only when the pouch at her waist was nearly spilling over she walked towards the lake to fill the couple water skins she had, to save her having to make the journey here again today. Placing the water skins and pouch of berries inside the satchel she had bought with her she walked towards the snares. Clarke found a large rabbit caught in one snare near the edge of the lake, his ears twitching to the sounds around him, awaiting any predators. She soothed her hand along his fur to ease his panic, removing the snare from his legs and cradling him into her arms. Clarke always hated doing this, she had never gotten used to taking life in any form, but she understood that this killing was crucial to her survival. Had it always been necessary for her survival? For the survival of her people? She wasn't sure anymore. The faces of the lives she had taken still haunted her dreams and she knew they always would. The rabbit in her arms relaxed with her soothing touch and she reached for the dagger at her waist.

'Yu gonplei ste odon.' she whispered as she quickly moved the blade across the animals neck. It was a quick death, for that she was thankful. Her soul was still highly attuned to suffering of any kind, but daily hunts had helped her to hone her technique to make the whole experience less painful, for the animals at least.

Tying the rabbit to the satchel she cleaned her blade in the tall grass surrounding the lake and placed it back into its sheath at her side.

She found peace in the slow walk back to her cave, the sunlight breaking through the canopy above her, illuminating the shadows of the forest floor. Her mind wandered to the people locked away in a far off bunker or in a space tethered Ark, bound to spend the next 4 years without feeling the warmth of sunlight on their skin or the gentle breeze flowing through their hair. The majority of her life had been spent in those exact circumstances and yet she wasn't sure if she would cope without the intricacies of the earth now. They had become a part of her, a meaning to each day, a reason to live. And she knew a large part of that was because all of those little details made her feel infinitesimally closer to Lexa. To the ground that had shaped the person she had become before Clarke knew her. To the land that Lexa loved. And losing that would feel like losing the commander all over again.

Arriving back at the cave, Clarke made quick work of skinning and filleting the rabbit she had captured. She placed the meat on a flat stone near the fireplace, covering it with clean cloth to keep it fresh until later that day. The berries she had foraged remained in the pouch she had placed them into and she settled them on the table where her main meal would be eaten.

Clarke's only other task for the day was to radio the bunker and to, once again, attempt contact with the Ark. She loved her talks with the bunker, they gave her the hope and optimism she needed to keep going each day. But her mood would be dampened each time as she attempted to radio the Ark, constantly met with nothing but the dull crackle of the silent airwaves.

She reached for the radio that rested on the small table next to her bedside, and walked over to the larger dinner table, sinking down into her handmade chair. Turning the dial to switch the radio into the on position, she raised the mouth piece and pressed down on the button that would allow the bunker to hear her.

'Earth to bunker, do you copy?' Clarke released the button and awaited the response she had come to expect from a member of the bunker survivors.

'Bunker to Earth, copy that. How's everything going Clarke?' Octavia's voice floated into the cave, steady and smooth, and Clarke felt her entire being noticeably relax.

'Hey O, everything's fine up here, same as yesterday and the day before that! Any news from down there?' Clarke felt her loneliness dissipate just slightly at the small human interaction.

'We had an outbreak of some sort of virus down here, Abby's swamped with patients right now, or she'd be here. Everything's okay though, your mom has it under control and from what i've seen it's not life threatening.' Clarke's heart sank at the knowledge that she would not be able to speak with her mother that day, but she knew the health of her people was far more important at that moment.

'Okay, well stay safe and make sure my mom knows that everything's alright up here okay?' She heard Octavia mumble her agreement and continued onto the daily question she dreaded asking.

'Have you heard from the Ark?' Clarke noticed Octavia's sigh of disappointment and she had her answer before the other girl could even reply.

'Still nothing Clarke. We have people manning the radio at all hours, sending out radio signals every 2 hours but we've had no response. I'm not sure there's anyone out there listening Clarke, I mean when do we give up and accept that?' Octavia sounded more defeated than Clarke had ever known her to be and it struck her to her very core. Octavia was always the optimistic one, pulling Clarke out of her various periods of despair and anguish. If Octavia was truly losing hope, maybe there was no hope after all.

'Octavia, We can't give up on them. I can't give up on them. They needed me, I need to know that I managed to help them on time. I need to know that I didn't fail them, O. I couldn't live with that. We need to keep trying, they will answer, they have to.' Even as the words spilled from Clarke's mouth she knew she didn't believe them. She was trying to convince Octavia of a truth that even she didn't think would come true. But, she knew she needed to try. It was right what she had said, she wouldn't survive if she knew that she had failed her friends.

'I don't know Clarke. I want them to be alive more than anyone, you know that. My only family is up there for gods sake! But, I can't keep living in false hope. Everyday when we hear nothing my heart is crushed, it's just so fucking painful. Neither of us can get closure from this if we keep waiting for a day that will never come. I know you're hurting but, we need to let go at some point.' Clarke could hear the tears in Octavia's voice. She could hear the pain and suffering that the girl in the bunker was living with everyday, and she understood because she was living with it too. Still, a part of her clung to that last desperate slither of hope like her whole life depended on it.

'I know, O. I know we need to move on eventually, but i'm not ready for that right now. I still have hope, and yeah maybe it's the smallest fucking piece of hope known to man, but it's there and I can't give up on them until it's gone. Just, please, hold out for a little longer, they'll come through, I know they will.' Clarke voice was pleading and she knew deep down that whatever Octavia decided she would still continue to attempt contact with the Ark. But she couldn't bare to see Octavia so broken and hopeless. Clarke knew this was something they needed to continue with together, for the sanity of them both.

She heard Octavia sigh and then;

'Okay, Clarke. You win. We'll continue to try to make contact with the Ark but, we need to agree to revisit this conversation in 2 months. We need a cutoff to how long we're going to keep doing this or we'll both go insane.' Clarke vocalised her agreement, she could work with that. At least she now had 2 months to get used to the idea that she may have failed her friends, that she might never see them again.

Their conversation flowed to an end and both girls said quick goodbyes before the radio went silent once again.

Clarke knew that now was the time for her to radio the Ark and a cold shiver ran down her spine. She prayed to every deity she knew that today would be the day. That today she would finally hear a response after 2 long years. She positioned the mouth piece in her hand again and pressed the button.

'Earth to Ark station, do you copy?' Her voice shook with trepidation as the noiseless crackles emitted from the speaker. Silence enveloped her as her heart pounded within the tight confines of her chest.

'Earth to Ark station, come in, please.' She pleaded into the emptiness of the cave for any sign that Octavia was wrong.

Silence.

She let out a choked sob as the radio microphone fell from her hand. The pain in her chest increasing ten fold. Octavia was right, they couldn't continue like this, the pain was unbearable.

Her mind was numb as she left the radio untouched on top of the large table, moving mechanically to the fire where she set about preparing the meal she so desperately needed.

The menial task helped to quiet her racing thoughts as she focused her mind on cooking the meat steadily over the open flame.

Until… there it was.

The sound of faint crackles emanating from the abandoned radio, that would have gone unheard had Clarke not been unconsciously listening out for them for the past 2 years.

Her head snapped up at the sound, her body rushing towards the radio, scrambling to pick up the microphone haphazardly strewn across the floor.

Silence enveloped the cave again and Clarke swore she was going crazy. Her isolated mind playing cruel tricks on her.

But there it was again, unmistakable this time.

The distant sound of a crackling, broken voice. Clarke couldn't make out what was being said but she knew she wasn't insane.

There was a voice on the other end of the radio, that wasn't Octavia, and that thought alone filled her entire being with warmth and hope she hadn't felt in years.

Her hand trembled on the radio as she adjusted the frequency to get a better signal.

'Earth to Ark station. Is someone out there? Please, tell me you can hear me!' Clarke's voice shook into the radio, pleading with renewed fervour.

The crackling sounded again and Clarke worked the frequency again, stopping as the unmistakable lilt of Raven's voice fluttered into the cave like a rare bird.

Clarke couldn't stop the sob that escaped her lips. They were alive. She hadn't failed them.

'Raven? Raven, do you hear me?' Clarke's voice shook with her tears

'C..rke, … tho…t.. y.. we.. de.d, Do y.. co..y?' Raven's voice broke through the airwaves, her message becoming tangled and unclear with the failing signal.

Clarke adjusted the frequency again

'Raven? You're breaking up, what did you say? Are you guys okay?' Clarke awaited a response, her hand gripping tightly to the radio, afraid that this would all slip away from her any second.

'Cl..ke? Do you c..py?' The radio went silent for a second and then, like a blue sky on a hot summers day, Raven's voice filtered through the radio, clear and unending.

'Clarke? Do you read me? Come in Clarke'

Clarke's laughter mixed with the sobs wrenching from her throat, a wide beam encompassing her face as she stared at the radio with astonishment and relief.

'Raven, oh my god, you're alive! We've been radioing you for the past 2 years, we thought… we thought you were…' Clarke sobbed into the microphone. They were alive.

'Clarke, god, we thought you were dead. I'm so sorry we didn't wait for you, we should have waited.' Raven's voice was thick with emotion of her own and Clarke wished she could reach through to grasp the girl in a tight embrace.

'No, don't, you guys did what you had to! I told you to leave me behind Raven, that was my decision. And, i'm okay, I survived. And… and… you guys survived too. Fuck, Raven you have no idea how good it is to finally know that you're all okay. You are all okay, right?' Clarke's heart still pounded in her chest at the thought.

'Yeah we're fine. You did it Clarke, the signal to the Ark came through right on time and we all survived. Only problem is, the Ark's communication system was busted so we had no way of contacting the bunker and we had no clue that you were alive at all. We tried to fix it, but it was so messed up that we had to focus on other stuff first, like the farm station. I'm sorry Clarke, If we had known you were alive, we would have tried harder to get it working sooner. But we're okay Clarke, all of us.' Clarke let out a heavy sigh of relief. She hadn't failed them. They were okay.

'Hey princess.' The deep boom of Bellamy's voice flooded through the empty space around her and Clarke couldn't help the eye roll she let loose at the old nickname.

'Bellamy, God, I never thought i'd say this, but it's good to hear your voice!' She heard the soft chuckles from the other side of the radio and her heart warmed.

'Are the others there? I miss you guys, how are Echo and Emori coping up there?' Clarke enquired enthusiastically, her mind now racing with questions for the people she hadn't spoken to in 2 years.

'Actually Princess, there's something we need to tell you. I mean, there's a reason we've suddenly been able to make contact with you. Are you sitting down?' Bellamy's voice was serious, but laced with an underlying excitement that Clarke didn't recognise.

'Bellamy, what are you talking about? What's going on? Are you guys not okay?' The panic in Clarke's voice was undeniable, but she couldn't help the worry she felt suddenly racing through her body.

'No! We're fine Clarke, great even. God, why are you such an ass Blake?! Just, go sit over there and let me explain it to her. Fucking idiot!' Clarke heard the annoyance in Raven's tone aimed at the dark haired boy and despite her panic, she chuckled internally at their bickering.

'Raven, what's going on? C'mon, you guys are freaking me out!' Clarke sighed exasperatedly into the microphone.

'We're okay Clarke, It's just that… well… we received some interference on the Ark system's sonar devices. Everything started going off like crazy, so we rushed over to the viewing deck to see what the hell was going on, you know? Only, when we looked out the window… Clarke… It was unreal. I mean… you're not gonna believe it Clarke but… well… we aren't exactly on the Ark right now.' Raven's voice faded on the end of the radio and Clarke's mind reeled with what she was saying. What the hell did Raven mean they weren't on the Ark? Where the fuck were they? They couldn't be on Earth right? It was too radiation soaked for them to survive here.

'What the fuck do you mean Raven? If you aren't on the Ark then where the hell are you? On Earth?' The radio crackled as she awaited Raven's response.

'No, we aren't on Earth Clarke, I mean… not technically. We'd be dead within minutes if we were down there!' Raven still hadn't answered her question and Clarke was becoming increasingly frustrated with the brunette.

'Yeah, I know that Raven! Which is why i'm asking where the hell you are? What do you mean you aren't 'technically' on Earth?! If you aren't on the Ark, and you're not on Earth where are you?' A cold sweat had begun to travel down Clarke's back, she had a really bad feeling about where this conversation was headed, but nothing could have ever prepared her for Raven's next words.

'Clarke… there's another Earth…'