What remained of Polis loomed in the distance as the sun rose beyond the valley. Mounds of rubble and charred earth made up the once teeming city, an eerie, sick feeling settled into Bellamy's gut. Haunts of the past ran through his mind as he drove slowly through the narrow paths, recalling different moments around the city that was no more. Clarke grabbed his hand as they moved further and further into the ruins, hoping today was the day they would finally be reunited with their family.
They made the rest of the trip on foot, the rover not able to move any further as the ruins grew too close and dense for a path.
Bellamy looked at his watch as they arrived at the point where the hatch should be.
"They should be here soon." He stated, nervously.
It had been so long since he saw his sister this almost didn't feel real. He wouldn't believe he would see her again until he could hug her tight in his arms and see his own brown, angry eyes staring back at him.
"Are you nervous?" he asked, Clarke. She was pacing in front of him and stopped abruptly.
"Not nervous, just… ready." He said.
A low rumble came into earshot and the pair's eyes averted to the sky, it was the drop ship coming from the west, from home.
"Here goes nothing." Bellamy said. Clarke looked at him before they came into view of the drop ship and she grabbed his hand quickly giving it a tight squeeze before releasing it.
The drop ship was now directly above them and a long cable dropped from the hatch, Monty's face came into view, giving them a thumbs up. Bellamy grabbed the cable and clipped it to a twisted piece of rebar that jutted out of the huge slab of concrete that was blocking the hatch.
Clarke gave a thumbs up to Monty before moving out of the way.
The concrete slab began to shift and crumble slightly as the drop ship pulled it from its resting place.
As first the slab barely moved, only quaking slightly at the tug. "Give it all you got, Raven." Bellamy said over the radio.
"You don't have to tell me twice." She replied. The jets of the drop ship blasted backward, and in no time the slab grunted and slid out, leaving a gaping hole: the entrance to the bunker open for the first time in six years.
Clarke couldn't help herself, she ran towards the bunker entrance, disappearing into the ground. Bellamy ran after her as he saw the drop descend.
"Clarke, wait!" he shouted, grabbing her arm just before she started to turn the hatch.
"Bellamy, what? Our family is waiting!" she exclaimed.
"I just… what if they're not?" he asked, quietly. "What if they ran out of food years ago and there is no one left down there?"
Clarke was about to open her mouth to object, to say that it was a risk she would take a million times over it meant seeing her mother again, when she heard a bang. It started quietly, and then it grew to a roar.
There were people down there, alive, lots of them.
The hatch opened in last than a minute, a few forceful tugs from Clarke and Bellamy and the door swung open.
People began to flood out running towards the sunlight. They were all pale, drawn, skinny, but they were alive. The pair stood by the entrance waiting for faces they recognized. After about an hour, Jackson and Miller exited holding onto to each other, bearded and hesitant.
"Clarke? Bellamy?" Miller shouted, leaving Jackson's side to hug them both at the same time.
"Oh my god, I thought I'd never see you guys again. You did this? You got us out?"
Bellamy laughed, "It's good to see you too. And yeah, Raven and Monty are outside. We used the drop ship to move the concrete."
"Drop ship? You guys got it working again?" He asked, incredulously.
Bellamy paused briefly, "Uh, not exactly. It's a long story." He said, his eyes shifting to Clarke quickly.
"Have you seen my sister?" Bellamy inquired, changing the topic to a more pressing matter.
Miller diverted his eyes to Jackson, a worry line immediately creasing his forehead.
"Jackson, did you see my mom on the way out?" Clarke rushed in.
The same worried look appeared on Jackson's face. "Maybe we should head out and talk in a more quiet area." He suggested.
The four of them walked a bit, away from the rejoicing and glee that had taken place outside of the bunker as more and more people exited.
Miller and Jackson caught Bellamy and Clarke up on the last six years they endured. Octavia becoming Blood Reina. Eating human flesh to survive. The fighting pits. Abby succumbing to pills to cope. Kane trying to keep the peace, but ultimately getting thrown in jail.
"You are wonkru or the enermy of wonkru." Miller recited as he finished telling them what seemed like a tale about some horrible place that only existed in books.
The next several hours were painstakingly slow as they waited for everyone to exit the bunker. Small campfires started to pop up around the ruins as the sun started to dip below the horizon.
Bellamy locked eyes with Raven for the first time all day. They were both busy with so many things, saying hi to so many people, Bellamy had nearly forgotten entirely to say hello to his girlfriend.
"Hey," he said, simply, bringing her into a tight embrace. She felt different in his arms now.
"Hey!" she responded, more excited than him. "I can't believe we actually pulled it off. I mean I thought at least one thing would have gone wrong but it was perfect!" Bellamy was proud of Raven for pulling off the impressive feat and a week ago they would be jumping around in excitement together, but everything has changed.
"How was the trip down? No trouble, right?" she said, holding onto his waist.
Bellamy's guilt made his throat close slightly, and he felt hot, unsure of what to say, "Uh… yeah-"
A silence swept through the camp then, and he turned his head to see someone, flanked by three others, coming towards the center of the crowd.
She was pale, but dark. Her eyes were smeared red, her hair was jet-black and cut at shoulder length. She looked like a wraith; she looked like death had come in a female, lethal form. It was Octavia.