As the days went by, Bellamy and I continued preparing for our first venture outside. We managed to fill all four of the oxygen tanks and pack the jeep with a couple days worth of rations. When we weren't preparing for our trip, Bellamy was reading any and all anatomy literature he could find while I continued perfecting our map. We began to fall into a daily routine. It wasn't much but it brought us both some comfort. After fighting to survive each day, it was a relief to have some down time alone with each other.
However, our brief time in domestic bliss was over. The day of our first run was here. Bellamy and I had breakfast together in the kitchen as we ran through our packing list one last time. We had no idea what we were facing outside, but we would survive as long as we were together.
"We packed the flashlights, right?" Bellamy asked, shaking me from my thoughts.
"Yes. Although, I really don't think we'll need them."
"Can't be too careful, right?" I nodded in response. "Ready to go?" He held his hand out for me.
"Let's do this" I walked over and took his hand, placing a kiss on his cheek. We walked together to the garage and started putting on the protective suits. I pulled the bodysuit up over my arms and secured the seal up the front. As I was reaching for my helmet, Bellamy placed his hand on my wrist.
"Wait. One more for the road" He smiled as he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around my waist. He kissed my deeply, melting my heart. I pushed myself closer to him and put my arms around my neck. He lowered his hands down to my thighs and started to lift me up.
"Bell." I whispered as I pulled away from his kiss. He sighed and leaned his forehead against mine. "We can finish this later." I teased.
"You're right." He slowly put me down and placed one more kiss on my forehead. We both grabbed our helmets and secured them on top of our suits. I grabbed my oxygen tank and connected it to my suit, testing the seal before hopping in the jeep. Bellamy hit the button to open the garage before hopping in the driver's seat.
"Ready?" He asked.
"Ready." Bellamy started the engine and pulled out of the garage.
As we pulled onto the trail, the sun was blinding. The most jarring sight was the amount of ash piled on the ground. The wind was blowing so strongly that it shook the sides of the jeep. Along with the wind came clouds of ash and smoke. Ahead of us, we could see small fires fires still burning in the forrest. We started moving towards the forrest. As we expected, the water near the lab was completely dried up. It was a sad sight, but it would ultimately help us get to Polis easier.
We made it through the woods dodging small piles of blowing debris. We were about three hours into our trip and the heat was sweltering. I could feel the sweat dripping down my face. I looked over at Bellamy and the edges of his helmet were beginning to fog up. He could feel my gaze and met my eyes.
"Are you alright?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing. The edges of your helmet are starting to fog."
"My god, they are. It's so hot, I honestly don't know how much longer I can stand it."
"Well we've made good progress so far. According to my sketches, we should be about halfway through the deadzone; maybe a little less." I marked our current location on the map along with the time it took us to get there.
"Alright, then I'm turning back." Bellamy turned the jeep around and started back towards the lab.
"You know, I was really hoping we'd see at least some salvageable plants out here. I know we have plenty rations, but I thought we would see at least something harvestable." I wondered if the planet would heal enough by the time we'd all come out of the bunker.
"Yeah. I haven't seen any animals either. I guess nothing survived the blast." Bellamy let out a sigh as his eyes searched the ground in front of us.
"The planet survived before. There has to be a way for it to survive again." I hoped what I was saying was true. If not, we wouldn't survive very long outside of the bunker. The tears started welling up in my eyes as I thought about all the damage caused by humans. This was such a beautiful planet and I couldn't fathom the idea of living in space once again.
"Well, there is a bright side to all of this destruction. It looks like our path will be much clearer. It might not take us quite as long to map out our route." Bellamy looked over at me and I couldn't hide my sadness from him. "Don't lose hope yet, Clarke." He put his hand on mine. "We can get through this
"I know. I just want to have a life with our family after the bunker. Seeing all this destruction, it seems like that might not happen." I took a minute to calm myself down. "Anyway, looking at our progress today, we might be able to make it to Polis in a month." I couldn't hide the excitement in my voice. While I was enjoying my time alone with Bellamy, I yearned to see my mother and all our people.
"I hope you're right. I really miss Octavia."
"Me too." I couldn't help but smile at Bellamy's love for his family. I knew he would be a great father to our child. Bellamy was loyal to a fault and protective of those he loved. I couldn't imagine going through this without him.
"In the meantime, let's get the hell out of this heat. I feel like I'm melting." He pulled me from my thoughts.
"Agreed." Bellamy sped up a little and we continued back towards the lab. With our first trip a success, we were both hopeful about the next few months. Bellamy and I both decided that going out into this heat for two days in a row likely wasn't healthy for the baby. Tomorrow, Bellamy would make the first solo run.
