Chapter 2
The following morning, Clarke and Madi were in the training room. Clarke was exhausted. She had returned to their room last night, barely able to keep her eyes open but had lain awake until morning without ever getting any sleep. Their easy life had a taken a turn towards danger and she just wasn't used to it anymore. It's funny how peace allows you the time to rest.
"Good Madi," Clarke told her. "Now raise the shield a little higher and try that again."
Madi raised the small shield up so that it protected her chest and advanced on Clarke with the sword in her right hand. The girl took several steps which to the untrained eye merely looked like a disorganized mess but which was in fact a very precise pattern that Clarke had taught her to maneuver around more easily. A few more carefully placed steps and Madi swung out with her sword. Clarke met Madi's sword with a swing of her own, the blades clashing together. Madi retreated only a step before swinging the sword at Clarke again, this time from the opposite direction. Clarke blocked with her own shield and swung around to get behind Madi. Madi twisted quickly, knowing this move all too well, getting her sword up in front of her as Clarke aimed for her unprotected arm. Madi sprang forward, jabbing her sword towards Clarke's abdomen. Clarke lifted her sword arm, turned slightly and caught the sword between her arm and waist. She slammed her shield down on the sword, causing Madi to lose her grip and drop her sword.
"Ugh, I am never going to beat you!" Madi said, exasperated.
Clarke smiled at her pouting. "I've had a little more practice than you have. And I'm certain there will come a day when you will surpass me."
"You taught her how to fight?" Octavia asked from the sidelines. Clarke glanced over at her and Gaia standing behind her, not having been aware that they had been watched. She hated that. She'd gotten sloppy in those years of safety without an enemy.
Clarke nodded as she picked up Madi's sword and handed it to her. "This world is a cruel place; you need to be able to defend yourself."
Madi went over to the wall of weapons to hang up her sword and shield. Gaia approached her slowly, frowning slightly.
"I don't understand how this is possible," Gaia said. "Only a nightblida could have survived Praimfaya and Luna was the last of her kind. Where did you come from?"
"My parents hid me from the conclave," Madi said. "No one knew about me but them. They kept me hidden away so no one would ever find out."
"The girl under the floor," Octavia whispered. Madi looked at her. "I know a little about that."
Madi nodded. "Clarke told me all about you Octavia. About how you fought in the conclave and won but that you didn't let Skaikru take the bunker alone. That members of all the clans survived because of you." Madi's voice held a hint of awe.
"Did she?" Octavia looked at Clarke out of the corner of her eye.
"I was never really good at fairy tales," Clarke said as way of explanation.
"If she is the only true nightblida left in this world, then she is the one true commander and should bear the fleim-"Gaia began.
"No!" Clarke said fiercely, coming to stand before Madi protectively. "No. The time of the commanders and the fleim is over. It ended the day that Praimfaya wiped out the world."
"But Praimfaya did not wipe out everyone. There are those who were meant to live on even after the world ended and we thought they were all in this bunker. But she survived out there, among fire and death. If she were not meant for something greater, something bigger, then she" Gaia nodded at Madi "would have been lost along with everyone else."
"Clarke is a nightblida too though," Madi told her.
"Clarke was made a nightblida through science. You were born for this!" Gaia placed a hand on Madi's shoulder.
Clarke shook her head, angrily. "You can't seriously be considering making her the next commander!" Clarke turned to Octavia. "You really want to turn over your leadership to a little girl?"
Octavia shrugged slightly. "Someone has to lead them when I am gone. Why not someone who was meant to do it from the beginning?"
"This is insane!" Clarke exclaimed. "I'm not going to let you put the fleim-"
"Let me?" Octavia said in a cold, controlled manner. "You don't have the authority to 'let me' do anything. You are not in charge anymore Clarke. No one is going to ask how high when you say jump this time. A lot has changed in 6 years."
Clarke met Octavia's eyes, not shrinking away from her dark stare. "A lot does change in 6 years," she agreed. "But that doesn't change the fact that I am not letting you control Madi. Madi didn't survive the death wave because she was chosen. She survived because her parents kept her hidden, to keep her safe. Very much like you Octavia."
Anger flared in Octavia's eyes. "I was kept hidden because my mother didn't want to face the consequences of breaking the law. I wasn't hidden so that I would safe. I was hidden so that she would stay safe!"
Clarke grabbed Madi's hand. "Come on Madi, let's go." They started to walk towards the door when Octavia's voice rang out, clear and controlled. As well as chilling.
"You are Wonkru, or you are the enemy of Wonkru! Remember that Clarke. Choose wisely."
Fear shone in Clarke's eyes but she refused to turn around and let Octavia see her weakness. She pulled Madi along to the door. What had happened to the innocent girl Clarke had met when they first set foot on Earth? The one that had screamed "We're back bitches!" into the wide unknown. She lost the person she loved, said the little voice in her head. You know a bit of what that feels like the little voice haunted her thoughts. Except yours came back.
"I'm giving you until night to come to your senses and realize that this is the best thing for all of us. You're lucky I'm giving you any time at all and that's only because you saved my life. Don't think this has anything to do with my brother's feelings for you. He doesn't have any say in any of this, I'm sure that was made perfectly clear earlier."
Clarke stood frozen for a moment, remembering how everyone had drawn their guns on Bellamy when he had only stepped in front of his sister. The way they had moved, almost as if in a hive mind, had terrified Clarke. What had gone on in that bunker to create that? Octavia moved swiftly across the room until she stood behind Clarke.
Octavia leaned forward and spoke right into Clarke's ear. "Night fall," she said quietly. "I do hope you make the right decision." She walked past Clarke out through the door with Gaia following her.
Clarke leaned against the doorframe and tried to catch her breath. Madi looked worried. Clarke placed a hand on Madi's arm for comfort.
"She doesn't seem like the Octavia you told me about," Madi said.
"She isn't," Clarke said. "I don't know who that person is anymore." It was true. They had had their problems with each other but the way she had threatened Bellamy and even Clarke, was not something she had ever expected. The cold chill of Octavia's voice still vibrated through Clarke's body. Clarke grabbed Madi's hand and pulled her along the corridor.
"We have to get out of here."
Clarke and Madi walked as calmly as Clarke could allow to not draw attention. On the way to their quarters, they passed the fighting pit. Light filtered down from the hole Diyoza and her crew had created to rescue the people trapped. Clarke again saw the blood stains on the wall, the weapons hung along the chain link and the finality of death that hung in the air. Bellamy hadn't noticed it at first, his joy for his sister too great, but Clarke hadn't been able to take her eyes off of the gruesome sight. The smell of fresh blood wafted out of the room, mixed with the odor of sweat and fear that hung stagnant in the pit. Clarke hurried past the open door, past the horror she couldn't even bring herself to imagine.
They reached their quarters quickly but Clarke was surprised that someone was already waiting for them there. Gaia. Clarke stopped suddenly, Madi almost running into her. Clarke held out a hand to keep Madi behind her.
"What are you doing here?" Clarke asked her.
"I've come to try to convince you of the right thing," Gaia said calmly.
"There's nothing you can say that will make me hand Madi over to you," Clarke said vehemently.
Gaia raised an eyebrow. "Why did you teach her to fight if you were not prepared for something like this?"
"I taught her to fight so that she could protect herself. The surface has changed. There are dangers out there that you don't even know of. Praimfaya may have wiped out life on most of the planet, but it also created new threats."
"Even more reason for her to become commander. She knows what lies ahead."
"Knowing what's out there and leading people are 2 different things. I won't force her into servitude just so you can do a job that there is no longer a need for."
Gaia moved closer, causing Clarke to shift slightly to keep Madi at her back with a quick exit out the door.
"As long as a true nightblida still walks this Earth, I will continue to do my duty," Gaia said, as she reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the box that contained the chip. She held it out towards them. "This is not a sign of evil. It is what keeps our people united. What makes us stronger."
"Your people seem pretty united right now," Clarke said, keeping her eyes on the chip.
"It took a lot of work for Octavia to get them there," Gaia said. She looked past Clarke to Madi. "She wouldn't need to do anything. They would follow her without question."
Gaia sprang forward without warning, the chip in her hand, muttering the words that would activate it. Clarke shoved Maddi out of the way, catching Gaia's outstretched arm with her left hand and bending it back behind her. Gaia kicked out, connecting with Clarke's upper thigh. Clarke grunted at the impact but kept her hold on Gaia's arm. Gaia reached around with her free hand to try to grab at Clarke's eyes when Clarke elbowed her in the face, a very audible crack emanating before Gaia hit the floor unconscious.
"Quick Madi, hand me those sheets!" Madi grabbed the sheet from her bunk and tossed it to Clarke. Clarke made quick work of shredding the sheets and tying up Gaia's hands and legs and then tying her to the bunk. They grabbed their meager belongings and Clarke shut the door behind them, hoping no one would go to look for them until night fall, when Octavia's ultimatum would need to be decided.