When we reached Arkadia, it was complete chaos. The whole ship was in flames. People were scattered, screaming and searching the smoke for their loved ones. Bellamy and I pushed through them. "Octavia!" I shouted.

"She was in medical," Clarke said. I started toward the far side of the ship, but Bellamy grabbed my arm. He tugged me toward the door. Ilian emerged from the flaming wreckage. In one arm he held Niylah, and in the other, Octavia. Bellamy and I rushed toward him.

As Bellamy took Octavia, I grabbed Ilian's arm. "Thank you." He gave me a grim look before disappearing into the chaos. I dropped down next to the Blakes. I ran my fingers over Octavia's hair. Bellamy put one arm around me, pulling the three of us together for a moment.

"It was Ilian," Octavia wheezed. "I tried to stop him."

There was a loud creak. We looked up as a piece of the ship collapsed, crushing everything beneath it. I pressed my face into Bellamy's neck, cradling Octavia between us. I couldn't watch my home burn anymore.

OoOoO

I made a lap around the wreckage to make sure we hadn't missed anyone. It was a disaster. There would be no safety from praimfaya in Arkadia when the fire died out. I turned the corner, around the back, and found Mr. Carpenter. He was kneeling in front of the back entrance. The Library was just around the corner.

"We're trying to clear the area while we assess the damage," I told him hesitantly. "You should go meet up with the others."

"He's really gone," he whispered. I knelt down next to him. "Everything I had left of him is gone."

"Your son?" I asked.

He nodded. This close I could see the tears that slowly spilled over his face. "I kept everything. Heller's drawings, his favorite books. He was gone, but I always had a piece of him with me."

"The library always felt like a second home to me. Maybe some of it survived?" The library's central location had been one of my reason's for accepting the job there back on the Ark. It had been right below the control center, now it was down the hall from the server room. But, maybe some of the books had survived. Lawrence put his arm around me. I lay my head on his shoulder and we sat in silence for a moment, watching the flames.

"I worked so hard to keep the library running," he said. "I poured everything I had into it. How will they remember now? We'll be doomed to repeat our pasts unless we remember."

"We remember," I reminded him. "You and I have read every book in that library a dozen times. That's why we're Council members."

"Former," he corrected.

"That's your own fault." I shook my head disapprovingly. "There are more libraries. I mean, some books had to survive the bombs, right?"

"I suppose if they were kept under the right conditions," he mused. I recognized the look in his eyes. He was thinking ahead, planning. Getting lost in books he hadn't even opened.

"When this is over, and we beat the radiation, we'll find another library," I promised. "And Heller isn't gone, he's right here." I tapped Mr. Carpenter's head. "As long as you remember, he's always with you."

OoOoO

We met in Kane's office the next morning to discuss the damages. It hadn't been quite as bad as I'd thought at first. Life support was down, but we weren't sleeping on blankets under the stars. At least we had shelter if the black rain came.

"The library was hit pretty bad," I told everyone. "Two shelves survived with minimal damage. Lawrence is looking through the others to see if we can save anything else."

"It's a good thing we had most of the books scanned into the system," Kane said. I frowned. I wanted to say that reading books on a tablet didn't hold a candle to reading books on paper, but I kept my mouth shut.

"So we have no running water, most of our history is gone, and half our people lost their homes," Bellamy summed up. "Is there any good news?"

"You forgot the heat doesn't work," I added. "Though, it is spring, so that won't be an issue for a while."

"No one died, that's what matters," Kane told us.

The door opened and Clarke walked in. "Forget about the Ark, we need to focus on getting those barrels of hydrazine to Raven."

Bellamy sighed. I had the feeling we were about to get some more bad news. "It isn't going to be a easy trip."

Roan leaned on the table. "I sent Echo and my army back to Polis to keep the peace, it won't be easy now that everyone knows praimfaya is coming. Half of them deserted on the way. With the end coming, they want to be home. I don't blame them."

"Do you blame them for burning Trikru villages to the ground along the way?" Bellamy asked bitterly.

"That's funny coming from you," Roan said raising an eyebrow.

I took a deep breath. "So, the forest is a warzone, great. Just means we'll have to be twice as careful. It'll be fine, we'll keep an eye out for grounders, and everything will be fine." Bellamy gave me a skeptical look. We all knew better than to believe everything would ever go so smooth.

"I can't spare many guards to protect you," Kane said.

"My security detail will come with us," Roan told him. "We're all in this together now, right?" He glanced at me.

I nodded once. "Sounds like we've got our plan. Let's get going, the sooner we get that rocket fuel to Raven, the sooner we're all safe." Everyone nodded their agreement and headed for the door.

Bellamy touched my arm as I was leaving. "I'm going to check on Octavia before we go, I'll meet you at the rover."

"I've got to grab my backpack, but I'll stop and say goodbye to her too." We parted ways in the hall, and Roan was immediately by my side. I kept walking, hoping he'd take the hint. He didn't.

He stuck with me as I walked around the corner and down the hall to my room. I opened the door and gave him an annoyed look before motioning for him to come inside. "Echo told me what you did," he said. "That you were willing to take a bullet for me."

"I was trying to stop a war," I said with a shrug. "I'd do it for anyone."

"I believe that." He nodded. "But I wanted to thank you anyway, Maia."

I sat down, crossing my legs underneath me. "You don't have to thank me, I made a promise. I try not to break those."

He sat down next to me. "I'm sorry about what I said." I raised an eyebrow. "But you have to understand that I did what I thought was best for my people. I had pressure on me to retaliate against Skaikru. Echo's information was good, but not complete."

I frowned. "You should have come to me."

"What would you have done?" He countered.

"If Azgeda had broken the treaty? Stabbed you in the neck probably," I said serious. Roan laughed, a rare sound, and soon I joined in. "I mean, I would have felt bad about it after I realized I was wrong. But, you're right. This is a shoot first, ask questions later type of world."

"From now on, I swear that I'll hear you out first. Your word is good, Maia. I trust you."

I smiled softly. "Thanks, Roan." I stood up and grabbed my backpack. "While we're making promises here, you think you might give Bellamy a break? I really don't want to deal with the two of you at each other's throats."

"No promises."

I shook my head with a sigh. "Didn't figure."

OoOoO

As I rounded the corner to the infirmary, I came face to face with Bellamy. He looked devastated. I grabbed his arm. "Hey, Bell, are you okay?"

He didn't respond, just shook me off lightly. "I'll meet you at the rover." I frowned as he walked away, but didn't try to stop him.

I went into the infirmary and found Octavia on her side, back to the door. "You feeling better?" I asked, drumming my fingers lightly over her arm.

She glanced up, eyes cold. "Shouldn't you be with my brother?"

"Okay, forgive me for coming to check on you, I'll leave you alone." I'd put up with Octavia's attitude for far too long. I wasn't going to waste what little time we had left playing therapist.

As I turned away, she grabbed my wrist sharply. "Stop apologizing for him, and stop apologizing for me. We've both made our choices. Now pick a side." She let me go and rolled back over.

I shook my head and turned away. If Octavia wanted to issue ultimatums in her last remaining days on Earth, then that was her prerogative. But she was right, I'd been playing peacemaker between the Blakes for half my life. I was over it.

OoOoO

When I made it outside, everyone was mostly loaded up. It was an overcast day, which felt like a bad omen. I tapped my fingers on my chest, where my necklace had once been and my new scar was. I walked up to the cargo truck and hopped into the back. Roan gave me a knowing look. "You look pissed," he noted.

"You could say that. I hope this goes well, because I am not in the mood." I paused. "Then again, I wouldn't mind kicking someone's ass."

Monty walked over and leaned on the back of the truck. "Keep them from doing anything too crazy out there, alright?"

"Them who?" I asked, dangling my legs over the back end of the truck. "Clarke and Bellamy or Azgeda?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Both."

I laughed and leaned down to hug him. "Keep an eye on things here, okay? And watch out for Octavia, she's not in a great place right now."

"I can't believe we just got you back, and you're already running off again." Monty shook his head. "Be careful out there."

"As soon as this is over, you're going to see so much of me you'll wish the world was ending all over again."

"Please don't say that," he warned. "One apocalypse at a time."

I laughed and waved as he walked away. I swung my legs back up into the truck and slid over to lean against the side. "You know it's bad when I'm the bar for levelheadedness." Roan raised an eyebrow. "I haven't always had a reputation for keeping the peace. It's a long story."

Roan crossed his arms and leaned back. "It's a long drive."

I sighed. "Well, in that case. We can start at the beginning."

OoOoO

We'd been driving for an hour or so when the truck came too a halt. I hopped up and grabbed my radio. "Why are we stopping?"

"Trikru checkpoint, stay where you are," Bellamy answered. Roan and his four guards crouched, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

I motioned for them to sit back down. "Don't do anything rash, we're not trying to kill anyone today."

I leaned around the cover to look at what was going on. Clarke was kneeling next to someone on the side of the road. A kid wandered along the side of our truck. I looked down at him. He started toward me. "Bellamy, clear the road, now." I tried to shoo the kid away, but he walked closer, curious.

Behind me I motioned for Roan and his men to backup, but they weren't quick enough. As soon as the kid's eyes moved past me and saw the truck full of Azgeda he ran screaming. "Go, go, go!" I shouted into the radio.

I swung back into the truck, almost losing my balance, as the truck started moving. Arrows flew overhead. Roan pulled me out of the way as one flew past my shoulder. "Thanks. Just recovered from the last one, not interested in a repeat." I groaned. "Can we not go one day without getting shot at?"

OoOoO

After a while we stopped again. "For fucks sake," I groaned. I hopped out of the truck and walked around to the front. A river blocked out path. "How did no one think to warn us about a river?"

Roan walked up next to me. "Ice melt," he said. "I'll find a crossing upstream."

"I'll go with you," I offered.

"Wait, take the rover, you'll cover ground quicker," Clarke suggested. "Bellamy, go with them, the rest of us will stay here and guard the fuel."

Bellamy and Roan looked at each other with contempt. I rolled my eyes. "I know how to drive the rover, it's fine."

"No, I'm going with you," Bellamy said quickly. He opened the door, and got in the driver's seat. I gave Clarke a look, as I got in the back.

The ride downstream was surprisingly quiet. But the silence wasn't exactly comfortable. It felt like Bellamy and Roan were giving each other the silent treatment. I leaned between the seats to look out the windshield. "This looks good, best we're going to get at least."

Bellamy pulled out his radio. "Clarke, we found a crossing. Over." There was silence from the other end. "Cargo one, do you read me? Over. Clarke, come in."

"Bell, turn around, something's wrong." He nodded and whipped the rover around. We returned to the same spot we'd left, but the cargo truck was gone. I jumped out the back and looked around for signs of where they'd gone.

Bellamy tried to radio Clarke again, while I walked along the shore. "Guys, over here! There's something in the water," I called back to them. Bellamy and Roan ran over and splashed through the water to retrieve what was floating. I knew it was a body before they got it to shore. It was wrapped in the cover from the truck.

We all paused for a moment, before pulling back the canvas. Finally I reached down and grabbed it. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw it wasn't Clarke. It was one of Roan's men. "Trikru did this."

"They wanted a ride to Polis, right?" I remembered. "They must have headed that way. One of ours must be alive, they would've needed someone to drive the truck."

We sprinted back to the rover and Bellamy wasted no time in hitting the gas. We flew through the trees. I held on to the backs of the seats, afraid if I let go I'd go sliding out the back door. "We have to intercept them before they reach Polis," Roan said. "If they get that fuel, they'll make bombs. They'll kill everyone."

"You mean they'll kill Ice Nation," Bellamy corrected. "All you care about is your own people."

"Bellamy, stop," I protested. "Now is not the time."

"Why are you defending him, Maia?" Bellamy asked, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. "He almost had you killed."

"So did you," Roan countered. "She was almost gutted because you gave her up."

Bellamy looked at me sharply. "You told him about that?" He asked incredulously.

"Yes, but I didn't realize I was giving him ammunition," I defended. "Roan."

"He started it."

Bellamy opened his mouth, but I leaned between the seats and put a hand over both of their mouths. "The next person to open their mouth is going to get punched in it. I am not in the mood."

Up ahead, a body lay in the middle of the road. I pulled my hands back. Bellamy stopped the rover and started to get out. "Wait," Roan said.

"They left a body, we need to move it and see if we can find their trail," Bellamy said as if Roan were dumb.

"Trikru burn their dead," Roan noted. "They're still here."

Bellamy looked outside skeptical. "He's right," I admitted. "This seems off, why would they leave him in the middle of the road like that? They have the whole truck to carry him."

Before anyone could say anyone else, someone jumped on the truck. In a few moments Trikru surrounded us. I moved to the back to hold the door shut. Bellamy pointed his gun out the window. "I don't want to shoot you, just tell me where Clarke is."

"Give us the king!" The grounder shouted back.

"The truck isn't here," Roan said suddenly. "Everyone does what's best for their people." I glanced over my shoulder at him. "My men took it."

No one said anything for a moment, and then Bellamy hit the gas. "Hold on!" He shouted as he whipped the rover around, slinging grounders off as we went.

I let go of the door and fell back onto the floor with a groan. "This day just keeps getting better and better."