Chapter Three: Sky People


A/N: Hey everyone! As always, thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows, it means a lot. Now Bellamy will be coming in during chapter 5 - next chapter is pretty much dedicated to the Mount Weather residents because there's going to be a big revelation involving Nessa's death and why Jacinta doesn't like Carl Emerson. Any guesses until then are welcome ;) But until then, please let me know what you think of this chapter!


Jacinta looked around the infirmary at the Sky People who had shown up to willingly donate their blood for future treatments. She was so relieved that Maya had recovered so quickly, but despite her dad's claims, she was greatly troubled by the possibility that Maya's 'accident' hadn't been an accident at all. So when she saw Cage and Dante in the medical supply unit, she offered some mundane excuse to Dr Tsing and strode over to stand just outside the door.

"I've got to hand it to you." Cage sounded thrilled, and Jacinta dared to peep through the transparent plastic to see her dad's wide grin. "We're getting the most effective treatments we've ever had, and it's all because you asked nicely."

Dante stepped forward and grabbed Cage by the back of the neck. Jacinta restrained a gasp. Her grandpa had always been so warm and paternal, so patient and tolerant of her constant questioning. Yet she could tell by how tense his frame was that he was pissed, and it was to do with her dad.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Dante asked, so quietly that Jacinta had to lean closer just to hear. "Tell me you weren't behind the breach that almost killed Maya."

Jacinta's stomach lurched and a lump caught in her throat. So she wasn't the only one who suspicious. She hated feeling as though her dad could have been responsible for something so terrible, wanted to blame it all on Dr Tsing who she'd never liked. But Jacinta had to begrudgingly admit to herself that the doctor would never have the gumption to go against Dante…unless someone else with a good deal of power was backing her.

"I wasn't." Cage sounded indignant, and Jacinta really did want to believe him. "Dad, I wouldn't…I wouldn't do that."

"I love you, Cage." Dante's voice was low and threatening. Jacinta didn't ever think she'd heard her grandpa sound so intimidating. "Our family have held the office of presidency since the bombs. But if I find out you're lying, Mount Weather will see its first female and youngest President. Am I making myself clear?"

Jacinta swallowed hard as she realised what Dante meant. Cage was next in line to the presidency after him, but the thought that he might be skipped entirely, that the role would fall to her…it made her feel lightheaded, as though the burden of the role was already a physical thing sitting on her shoulders. She pushed herself away from the plastic wall, her hands shaking.

The severity of the situation was very clear to her now. Dante had never threatened Cage like that before, to her knowledge. Licking her dry lips, she headed back over to the beds to see a young medical assistant was taking notes on the Sky People. When he turned to look at her, she groaned inaudibly.

"Oh hey, Jacey." Taran Brant offered her a charming smile. He was a popular, easy-going guy that everyone around their age liked. Jacinta didn't dislike him exactly, but she marvelled at his ability to act as though they'd never slept together six months before. "How's Maya doing?"

"She's a lot better than she was." Jacinta stuffed her hands into her pockets. She was still awkward around Taran. She'd thought they were getting themselves into a relationship. Apparently, she'd been wrong, and having sex a few times had just been passing fun. He was almost twenty now and only had a year or so left before he would qualify as a doctor.

Stop thinking about Taran!

"We're having a movie night at the common room on Level 2." Taran continued to take notes, offering Jacinta a glance. "7pm tonight, wanna come?"

"No thanks." Jacinta shook her head, trying to sound disinterested without being rude. She liked her own little girls' night sessions when it came to movies, with Maya and a select few others. Besides, 'movie nights' with Taran had been how everything had started. She didn't want to repeat the same mistakes.

Glancing back towards the medical supply unit, Jacinta turned and headed for the infirmary door, thinking about what she had just overheard. Perhaps the situation was worse than she had initially anticipated.


Cage watched with his arms folded over his chest as Keenan Mykulak woke up outside Mount Weather. Dr Tsing had convinced him that they needed this experiment, and while he knew that she was right, there was something rather disturbing about it. Perhaps it was because his wife Nessa had died walking out into the sunlight years before. Maybe it was that Keenan was only a few years older than Jacinta. Nonetheless, he held his tongue as Keenan got up and observed her surroundings.

Cage wanted to believe that it would work. The blood they had used from the Sky People so far had already had incredible results. Maya had healed extremely quickly from her radiation burns. If only Dante wasn't on his case. It had been difficult for Cage to lie to his father, but he had known that there was no other option. Dante wasn't ready to accept how important this experimentation was. But if Cage could produce viable results, he was sure that Dante would come around to it. He watched the screen as Keenan started to blister as rain fell from the sky.

"Four minute, ten seconds." Dr Tsing sounded as though she was impressed, as though Keenan was a scientific experiment rather than a Mount Weather resident they had just sacrificed. She looked down at her clipboard and wrote down some notes. "We're making progress."

Cage had never actually seen Nessa's death, only her marred body in the aftermath. Was this what it had been like for his wife? He shoved aside his personal connection to what was happening. He was chief of security. He couldn't afford to let attachment and past experience cloud his judgement. Only when Keenan's cries ascended into screams, he shook his head slowly.

"She's in pain, I'm bringing her in."

"Do you trust her not to talk?" Dr Tsing turned to look at Cage as he picked up a walkie talkie, her eyes wide. In the momentary silence, Keenan's desperate sobs resonated through the room. Cage had to admit that she was right – Keenan would likely let word slip to Dante about what was going on, and then the President would carry out on his threat. Dr Tsing's shoulders relaxed as Cage reluctantly put the walkie-talkie down. "Might as well get a full reading."

"The blood of the 47 could be a permanent solution, that's what you said." Cage's jaw was clenched, his hands balled into fists. He was not a man devoid of mercy, and what they were putting Keenan through was not easy to him to accept.

Dr Tsing turned away from him, looking back at the screen. "Science takes time, Cage. There are dead ends and blind alleys on the path to every breakthrough."

"You call that a blind alley?" Cage walked over, pointing to Keenan on the screen, who was hunched over in pain. "She's one of us."

"No, of course not." Dr Tsing sounded scandalised. "I call that a sacrifice for the greater good."

She examined Keenan's body with a detached professionalism. Cage knew that she was a doctor, that she was doing this for the greater good, but sometimes he doubted Dr Tsing. Sometimes he doubted that she really felt anything at all.


"You rejected a movie date with Taran?" Maya asked slyly over a bag of corn chips, her mischievous grin causing Jacinta to nudge her in the ribs. Maya was one of the few who knew exactly what had ended up happening between Taran and Jacinta. Although Jacinta knew she had made a stupid decision, Maya had never judged her for it.

"I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice." Jacinta shook her head slowly. Besides, she found that Maya was a lot better company than Taran. Maya didn't attempt to sling her arm around Jacinta's shoulders when Jacinta just wanted to watch a movie in peace. Both of them had bigger problems than squabbling over which 90-year-old movie they were going to screen in any case. The boys always went for Armageddon, while the girls insisted upon an ancient sappy romance called The Notebook.

"I wasn't in the mood for a movie," Maya murmured, glancing around them as if worried they would be overheard from where they were sprawled on Jacinta's bed. "There's a lot on my mind with the Sky People and everything, you know?"

"Do you mean Jasper?" Jacinta inquired, feigning innocence. It had not escaped her notice that Maya had become very close with a particular member of the Sky People. It didn't bother Jacinta – Jasper seemed like a sweet guy. She couldn't help but smirk as Maya's cheeks flushed red.

"I'm just worried about them. You've seen the Harvest Chamber now, you know what's going to happen to them."

Jacinta mulled over this quietly. The Sky People were just kids. Now that Maya had interacted with them and talked about them, Jacinta was even more reluctant to see them go through what the Grounders had been through in that Harvest Chamber. She rubbed her friend's shoulder when she saw that Maya's eyes were welling with tears. She had always been the more emotional of the two girls.

"We can figure something out." Normally she wouldn't have said such a thing, but after hearing the conversation between Cage and Dante, she knew that even her grandfather was suspicious. He didn't want people suffering for their benefit. She got that from him, apparently, but it seemed like Cage had missed out on that particular gene.

"You want to help them too?" Maya glanced at her incredulously, as she had expected that Jacinta would chastise her.

"Of course." Jacinta said, then blurted out words she knew that she would later regret. "We need to show them."


"Hey, guys!" Maya cheerily walked into the room where the 47 were bunking, a notepad in her hand. Jacinta followed warily. Unlike Maya, she'd had very little interaction with the Sky People since their arrival. She leaned in the doorway, watching as her friend crossed over to Monty and Jasper, showing them the words scrawled in permanent marker on the page. "Jasper, I'm so glad to see you're feeling better."

The boys' eyes widened, but they played along. "Thanks, I am. You look, um, rested."

"It's pizza day," Maya continued in that light tone. It was true – every week a lot of the youths raided the kitchens and made pizzas, which were then distributed around Mount Weather. Some of the more eager ones would even act as a pizza delivery service for people. "Who's hungry?"

Jasper and Monty followed Maya over to the door, and Jacinta raised her eyebrows coolly when they looked a bit surprised to see her. As they exited the dorm, she could hear Jasper talking to Maya in a low voice.

"Can we, uh, trust her? She's the President's granddaughter, isn't she?"

"How astute of you." Jacinta flashed a belittling smile over her shoulder. She led the way to the storage unit, punching in the code and looking around to make sure that they hadn't been followed. When it was clear that the corridor was deserted, she pulled open the door and they all filed in. Maya spun to face the boys, her eyes wide and tearful.

"We don't have much time, but we can talk freely here."

"What the hell is going on?" Jasper demanded, in a tone that Jacinta didn't like too much. Instead, she remained silent and let Maya do the talking. These were Maya's friends, not hers. Maya started crying and Jacinta reached over to rub her friend's arm, throwing Jasper a cautionary look as he stepped closer.

"Maya?"

"I'm sorry."

"What do you mean, it wasn't an accident?" Jasper inquired, referring to the words that had been written on the paper about the radiation leak.

Monty answered for her. "She means they exposed her to radiation on purpose. I'm betting it was to get you to agree to be her blood brother."

Maya nodded slowly, wiping away tears. Jacinta rubbed circles on her back. She didn't feel really too friendly towards these boys, although she understood that Maya had taken a particular liking to Jasper.

"I knew it," Monty stated. "Clarke was right."

"Monty, be quiet," Jasper said, his eyes landing on Jacinta. Jacinta didn't know a whole lot about Clarke – she had never met the girl, but she'd heard the story about her escape. She just rolled her eyes at Jasper's obvious suspicion of her. Jasper turned his attention back to Maya. "Did you know about this? Why would they do that to you?"

"Because the standard treatment sucks compared to you," Maya admitted. It was something Jacinta hadn't realised, and she glanced at her friend with raised eyebrows, before her friend continued. "Your blood is a lot more potent."

"That's what Dante said," Jasper muttered, causing a chill to run up Jacinta's spine.

"What's the standard treatment?" Monty asked, not quite understanding.

Maya's eyes flicked over to the vent at the back of the room. "Through there."

She turned and led the way through the darkness, skirting past dusty shelves. Jacinta swallowed hard. She knew what she would see if she followed. She knew what was in the Harvest Chamber, and she had no desire to see it again. Monty and Jasper peered curiously through the vent.

"Are those Grounders?" Jasper asked, sounding astonished.

"Wait a second. Why are you showing us this?" Monty turned to face Maya, his eyes narrowing in accusation.

"You're welcome…" Jacinta murmured under her breath. So much for gratitude. But when she looked to her friend, she saw that Maya was deeply troubled.

"Because I'm afraid that you're next," Maya confessed, tears welling in her eyes.


Dante was not entirely sure what Cage was planning, but he was no fool. His son had some kind of intention in leading him out through the door and into the bright sunlight. Both of them were wearing hazmat suits and gas masks to protect them from the elements. Dante's gaze raked over the mountains looming close, and the field of yellow flowers that stretched out before them.

"What are we doing out here?" He questioned of his son.

Cage turned to face him. "I told you to trust me."

"Son…" Dante cautioned as Cage reached up and peeled off the gas mask, sucking in a deep breath of air. He wasn't sure how the blood transfusion would work once they were outside Mount Weather. He had only been outside once, a long time ago now, before Cage had even been born.

"It worked." Cage looked at his dad, looking thrilled and nodding fervently. "It's okay. You had the same treatment I did. Go ahead."

Slowly, Dante pulled off the gas mask, body tensed for a few moments as he prepared for the onslaught of blisters…but nothing came. He strode forward, eyes filled with wonder as he breathed in outside air. It was fresh, unlike the air that was pumped through Mount Weather. The scent of flowers was on the light breeze, as well as that of the trees.

"I'd forgotten the smells."

Cage smiled at his father's positive reaction. "This is where we belong. You always told me that the surface was our true home, not some concrete coffin."

Dante plucked a yellow flower and inhaled its sweet scent. He remembered how his daughter-in-law had run out through that door, fifteen years before. By the time they had retrieved her, she had been too far gone for the standard treatment to work on her. Perhaps Cage had not seen the change in Nessa, but Dante had. The typically vibrant woman had become a shell.

"We have to go back now," Cage remarked after a peaceful silence. "We only have a few minutes. Come on."

Dante lowered the flower from his nose, disappointed. He wondered what Jacinta would have to say if she could see the outside world. She yearned for the outside as Nessa had, as Cage still did. Dante had hoped that his granddaughter's generation would call this world home, but at what cost?

"Dad?" Cage asked, glancing over his shoulder as Dante made no move to follow.

Dante looked hard at the younger man. "Don't play with me, son. What will it take to stay?"

"Bone marrow," Cage admitted, making no attempt to beat around the bush. "All that they have."

"They'll die so that we can finally live," Dante said softly. He turned back and inhaled from the flower one last time. What sort of legacy was he leaving behind if he chose to go down that path? It was too late for him and Cage. He had hoped Jacinta would be able to become President without blood on her hands.

"This is our world," Cage assured him, his tone vehement. "We deserve this."

"We are the keepers of history," Dante said sternly, glancing at him with hard blue eyes. "What we've done to the outsiders has corrupted our legacy. I can't go down that road any further."

"Dad…" Cage turned to him as Dante headed back towards the door. The older man turned to face his son as he stood in the doorway. "Dad! Please."

"The answer is no," Dante said firmly. He would not see Jacinta follow the same pattern that he and Cage had, trapping Grounders and bringing them in to meet a final fate. If there was another way, he would gladly take it. But although he wanted his granddaughter to see the ground for herself, he did not want her tainted by corruption.


"Heard you and Grandpa went outside today," Jacinta said sullenly as she spooned up another mouthful of soup. It was true that she did not agree with what was being done to the Grounders, what would be done to the Sky People if she and Maya didn't succeed in stopping it. But the knowledge that Dante and Cage had both been outside without her still stung.

Cage offered her a wan smile. "Maybe you can come next time."

"Yeah, whatever," Jacinta said with as much indifference as she could muster. She knew that Maya had taken the Sky People and they were going to Dante's office to look around. She had even given them her personal keycard, although she wasn't sure what would happen to her if they were discovered.

Cage frowned. "You've definitely had an attitude lately, Jacinta. Carl's picked up on it as well. You're rude towards him."

"I've always been rude to him," Jacinta said slowly as if speaking to a dim-witted person, raising her eyebrows. Whatever sort of reaction Cage had been expecting, it clearly wasn't this. His brow furrowed further, dark eyes searching her face. She pressed her lips together tightly.

"What's gotten into you, Jacey? What do you mean, you've always been rude to him?"

"What, you've only just noticed?" She laughed mirthlessly, scraping the soup bowl noisily before setting it down with a clunk. "I don't like him. I never have, and I never will. I don't see why there's a point in pretending otherwise."

Jacinta felt that she was being very daring. Usually she was quiet about such things, never choosing to bring them up. Perhaps it was her anger in relation to the situation with the Sky People, and the fact that she didn't just want to sit down and shut up about it anymore. She'd had enough of being silent. She was her father's daughter, but she was also her mother's – and Nessa never would have stood for what was happening.

"Well, why not?" Cage demanded.

"Because I'm trying to protect you, okay?!" Jacinta slammed her fist down on the table, before raking a hand through her hair and pushing herself to her feet. She had said too much. "I'm going to bed. I'm really tired."

"Jacinta, wait." Cage's tone was commanding. "What do you mean, protect me? You aren't the parent here, what could you possibly be trying to protect me from? Carl is my friend, he wouldn't ever do something stupid, if that's what you're trying to say."

It wasn't what she was trying to say, not at all.

"Forget it. I don't want to talk about it."

Dumping her bowl in the sink, Jacinta strode to her room, slamming the door shut. She screwed her eyes shut and behind her eyelids, a fifteen-year-old argument between Carl and Nessa played over again and again.