And soon after Chapter 001, Chapter 002 came up.
Don't get customed to this upload speed, please.
This is just a small treat for the five people that have already followed this story shortly after I launched the first chapter.
Much love to the ones that are getting the update of this right now 3

We will get a little bit more in-depth sight on our beloved girls this short chapter.
Generous Griffin and Humble Heda.

Let It Go (It's Long, Long Gone)

Chapter OO2

Lexa let the warm water run over her face, hands trying to rub off the last dirt and blood stains. She let the shampoo wash itself out of the dark brown locks and into the shower drain. It had been months since she had a proper shower, all the water reserved for cleaning inside her Sanctuary went out to the elderly and the younger children first.

She would pass on any chance of cleaning herself if others were in more need of staying clean and healthy.

Abby had told her that due to them having to stay in this house for a longer period of time than planned, Raven had made a pump inside the house that was connected to the water resevoir outside so they could manually pump water through to the shower and toilet.

She had been warned not to drink any of it though, since the showering water mostly contained of rainwater and poorly cleaned water they picked up at ponds every now and then. They had separated water cans for consuming only stored down in the basement.

The green eyed brunette made her shower session quick and was getting dressed in a pair of fresh clothes that Abby had given her within twenty minutes. She pulled the shirt over her head and came face to face with herself in the mirror and a cold shiver ran down her spine.

Lexa was a born leader, a survivor and one of the hand full of women that made it into the SEAL teams.
She wasn't a runner, or a hider, and yet she caught herself hiding from the blonde girl that saved her for the night. She caught herself residing in a warm home like a coward, while she let her platoon and family die - while her brother and sister where still somewhere out there in Silver Spring.

With a soft sigh she grasped the dog-tags from the sink and let her eyes gaze down at them. She pushed down the up welling emotions and left the bathroom, taking a quick glance around the hallway to see if anyone was there, she noticed it was empty and slowly made her way to her assigned room. Clarke's room, nevertheless. The blonde that had blindly trusted her enough to share a room with her - a complete stranger.

Lexa let herself in, closing the door behind her with closed eyes - resting her back against it.

"What's up with you?" A hoarse but curious voice suddenly asked, almost causing the brunette to jump. She opened her eyes and saw the blonde turning around to face her.

Clarke eyed her up and down, she didn't want to show pity for the brunette by her battered up face and scarred arms - but it was hard. The woman looked small, nothing like a Navy. But the fierce green eyes that were focused on her gave Lexa away when Clarke silently doubted her.

The blonde sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at the girl standing by the door of the bedroom. "I'll take you to your family tomorrow if you want me to." Clarke offered, Lexa's eyes not leaving up the loyal blue ones of the girl in front of her.

Lexa shook her head and walked over to the bed slowly, sitting down next to Clarke. "You don't need to. You are sharing your house, clothes and supplies with me already. I don't want to be the one that forces you to go out there. I'll be alright." She insisted.

Blue eyes gazed towards the girl beside her. "Where will you be going after you find your family?" She asks quietly, she didn't want to pry too much but her curiosity took over.

Lexa shrugged. "My sanctuary down in DC got overrun by God knows who. I build it up from scratch after my leave from the Navy left me here with a wrecked country. I left for a day, making sure that my brother and sister got out safe to check on the Maryland borders further up North but they stranded on the 29, just below Silver Spring. They would make their way to the rent-a-car a couple of miles up so I assume they are close to where we are. I got nothing to return to, so when I find them we will just keep heading up North." She said softly, her voice wavered at the mentioning of Polis but she wouldn't let it break her, she had to stay strong a little bit longer.

Clarke clenched her jaw, looking at Lexa. The girl was probably around her same age, maybe a year or two older. Hearing her talk about a sanctuary that she had set up as a safe place for people, gave her more trust in her.

"The dog tags, who did they belong to?" Clarke murmurs, eyes casting down to the tags clenched tightly in the brunettes hand.

"Soldiers, some marines, air force, seals." Lexa replied, letting her eyes drop to the tags as well. She slowly let her thumb run over some of the tags.

"They were nearby when it all went down, offered help at the evacuation stations and patrol offices that had been set up across town. They were all on leave with their families." She smiles sadly at the memories of the strangers and friends that had become her family in the three years that had passed.

"They got left behind as well when the army retreated after losing contact with their bases. We made the sanctuary. They were family. My people." She whispered.

"I'm sorry." Clarke replies in a whisper, gently laying her hand on Lexa's shoulder and giving it a soft squeeze. Lexa seemed like a born leader, someone people could look up to in a time of need. She seemed like the person that would put all above all to keep her people safe, and hearing she had failed in that broke Clarke's heart.

"It came from within. All fences and gates were fine.. there had been a lot of trouble lately. We ran fine since day one, only more people seeking safety with us and doing their fair share of maintaining the community. But the last few months were empty, supply runs were a waste of gasoline, hunting never brought up enough meat to feed the whole sanctuary. We began to run out of ammunition, water and medicine. They started to riot against my leadership." Lexa shrugged. "And I guess that one day without their leader was enough to lead to a massacre." She added quietly.

"You have been emotionally broken, and then made approximately a three hour walk to get up here. All by yourself and without weapons? You didn't even have a coat on you and it was practically freezing today." Clarke says, brows furrowing worriedly.

The brunette however didn't seem impressed by the task and just shrugged. "I have a knife on me. It should keep me safe long enough."

"Did you eat anything the last couple of months?" The blonde prodded, Lexa gritting her teeth but withheld herself from lashing out. This girl and her family were giving her safety and she needed to appreciate that.

"I always kept one can of dry beans and a bottle of water with me. I lasted a week on those. We had elderly and children with us. They needed it more than I did." She sighed and hung the dog-tags back around her neck.

With that, Clarke got up from the bed. "I'll go fetch you something to eat and drink. Come down in a few and I'll make sure you are safe to go tomorrow as well."

Not leaving any room for Lexa to reply, she left the room and headed downstairs.

Lexa silently went downstairs in a couple of minute as the kind stranger had requested and was met by an arguing group of people in the living room. They hadn't noticed her yet and she was glad, because the argument was about her.

"She isn't a threat!" Clarke protested but the man she remembered to be Bellamy was completely off the road - too far out of his lane.

"You literally picked her up from the street! How could you possibly know?" He yelled back at the blonde who took a threatening step closer to him.

"She will be leaving tomorrow morning, Bellamy. Trust Clarke, she got this." Octavia cut in, Lexa recalling her looks from before. Raven was just standing at the side, arms crossed and looking annoyed - like this wasn't the first argument she had witnessed between her friends.

"And you are giving her our supplies for when she is on her way!" He growled back, prodding a finger into the blondes chest to address his statement.

Clarke didn't do anything about the finger, but the annoyed look on her now stoic face showed her friends that she clearly wasn't taking this talk from them.
"Supplies that I gathered. Supplies that I had to risk my life for." The blonde spat out, her voice didn't show anger, but it addressed that she was superior in this house.

It actually caused goosebumps on Lexa's skin.

"My father is dying, Bellamy. Instead of spending my days with him, I am running around gathering supplies to keep us all alive. To keep him alive." Clarke said, her voice now softer - almost making her sound like a normal girl that hadn't been through Hell and back.

"I am sharing my portion of the supplies with her, same with the shower time that she used. I am sharing my room with her and I will be leading her out into town tomorrow so she can find her family. You don't have anything to do with her, so stop being scared. She is a Navy SEAL for Christs sake and you are accusing her of being disloyal. She is staying, and there is no further discussion to that." Clarke said, her voice strong enough to actually put a point behind the argument. The man knowing there was no point going further, he retreated to the stairs.

Lexa stepped aside for him to barge up the stairs, but that didn't go without the cold glare she got from him first.

The three girls in the living room now all looked into Lexa's direction, causing her to awkwardly walk up to them. "I didn't mean to cause fights. I can leave, Clarke." She offered genuinely, she didn't want to be a burden to them.

Raven shook her head. "Bellamy is just easily angered. How many people are you looking for?" She asked.

"Two. My brother and sister." Lexa replied honestly, eyes looking up at Raven.

The girl nodded. "I'll be sharing my part of the supplies as well." She said quietly. Clarke had made herself clear, and even though she wasn't forced to help - she know what it was like to roam around hopeless for a chance to find your family and survive after that.

"Me too." Octavia chimed in from the side, giving an approving nod to the blonde across from them.

"We'll get packing." Raven said, urging Octavia with her out of the room and down to the basement.

Lexa watched them go before awkwardly looking up at Clarke.

"I have poorly made dinner at the table." The blonde said softly. "It's some steak, beans, peaches and water." She added, motioning for the table were an actual plate was set for the brunette.

"Steak?" Lexa asked confused, she hadn't seen cows or any wildlife for herself in ages.

"Not an actual steak. Octavia and Bellamy go hunting from time to time. They found a deer recently, enough to feed us all for the night." Clarke replied curtly, ushering for the brunette to sit down and eat.

Lexa nodded and sat down, she hadn't eaten a proper meal like this for months and she couldn't resist and dug in. Until she realized that there were empty plates with food strains from everyone that had eaten, but one was missing. She looked up at Clarke who was looking down at her with an amused smile before she took a seat across from her.

"Did you give up your dinner for me?" Lexa frowns, chewing till her mouth was empty and swallowing.

The blonde across from her nodded. "We have strict rules about sharing and proportions here to make sure we don't run out of supplies. Everyone has 15 minutes to shower, and three meals a day. I decided to drop my shower time and my food for this evening."

"You shouldn't have." Lexa says, guilt in her voice. Clarke simply shrugged. "You haven't eaten properly for months, so eat up. Raven and Octavia are packing a food for you and your family that you can take along on your travels."

The brunette shook her head. "Why are you so generous? Is there a catch to this?" She asked suspicious, green eyes meeting blue once again and they were as loyal as earlier that night.

"My people,"

"My responsibility." Both woman said softly at the same time, eyes locked still.

Clarke nodded weakly with a sad smile. "I was in New York after my leave, but my mother had urged my friends and I to gather their families and fly over here as an early christmas celebration. But from the airport on, it all went to hell. Over the course of months, Bellamy and Octavia lost their parents - Raven had always been on her own, even before this." She mumbled. "I tried to keep everyone safe, but I left my friends to become orphans. And now my father is sick and all the hospitals in the area are empty or wrecked. We got nothing to cure him. We first thought it was the virus, but he just became sicker - we are still unsure to what it is today." The blonde said, strongly rubbing her hands over her face.

"Being unsure whether your family will make it or not, is nerve wrenching. And when you told me that you were looking for your brother and sister, I didn't want to let you go on your own without any security. They all understand, but Bellamy is over-protective."

Lexa was watching Clarke carefully as the girl spoke, blue eyes cast down at the table in sadness as she continued her story.

"So please, eat up. I'll meet you upstairs when you're done." The blonde said and stood up, marching out of the room already but a soft voice calling her name made her turn around.

"Yes?" She asked Lexa.

The brunette looked at her silently for a second, then smiling weakly. "Thank you."

The blonde smiles back just as weak and nods, then jogging up the stairs.