Valmanwei: You are certainly entitled to your own opinion, but based on the numbers this story receives, I'd say it's not trash.
Silentmayhem: You'll just have to wait and see.
YeTianshi: Unless Clarke and Maynard can eventually come to some sort of understanding, you're probably right. As for Lexa, I doubt the two of them will ever come to terms. Lexa is just so philosophically opposed to Maynard.
Almost done with season 2!
(Dead Zone. John Murphy)
"It sure would be nice to have some sign that we're not just marching to our own deaths," Murphy commented darkly.
The desert was freezing cold at night. Murphy found himself rubbing his nose repeatedly to clear the runny snot building up in the icy wind.
Sand by He Is Legend no longer fueled his steps forward. Murphy was running on fumes now. He had no more enthusiasm, but he continued on anyway knowing there wasn't much else he could do at this point.
"We're not," Jaha responded after a brief silence.
"Hey," The man walking next to Murphy spoke. "Tell me if you know this one."
"Not again please," Murphy groaned.
The guy, whose name Murphy had probably learned but couldn't remember, thought it was hilarious to fill their time with cheesy jokes. Murphy hated them, and they definitely weren't funny.
"A grounder and a reaper walk into a bar," The man continued on anyway. "The bartender looks at the grounder and says, 'we don't serve your kind around here'. The reaper gets up and leaves."
The guy started laughing at his own joke. No one else was laughing.
"You get it?" He asked, squeezing his eyes tightly together with a big grin on his face. "Reapers eat grounders."
"I will take Jaha's staff and beat you to death with it," Murphy threatened totally serious.
"John," Jaha admonished.
Murphy grumbled and shook his head.
"How about this one?" The guy asked. "An arker, grounder, and a mountain man all walk into a bar. The arker says, 'I'll take some moonshine.' The grounder says, 'I'll take some too.'"
He started laughing out loud, like he wouldn't be able to finish the punchline because the joke was so funny.
"The mountain man," He managed to wheeze out. "He says-"
Boom!
With a bright flash and a thick cloud of smoke, the man was ripped into a million tiny pieces. The force of the blast knocked Murphy to the ground along with everyone else. Blood spattered his face and clothes. Nice.
Murphy groaned as he pushed himself to sit upright. At least he wouldn't have to listen to anymore shitty jokes.
The guy's boot fell down to the Earth with a plop. That was morbid. Seconds later, his arm hit the ground, still bloody and shredded from the blast.
The woman with them, Murphy couldn't remember her name either, screamed and crawled backwards.
Boom!
She disappeared in a similar hail of smoke. Murphy crept back uneasily, then stopped. If he moved, he could step on one of those bombs too.
"No one move!" Jaha ordered, recognizing the problem as well. "We're in the middle of a minefield."
"Guess we got that sign," Murphy quipped to himself.
(Mount Weather Territory, Grounder Camp. Maynard Draiman.)
"What if we're wrong?" Clarke asked. "And cutting the power doesn't disengage the locks?"
"Then we blow the door down," I replied. "Akio and Chuck are comin' with a tank. We've been over this already Clarke."
I sat in Lexa's special Commander tent, going over battle plans with the two women. It was fairly obvious that Clarke was exhausted. She needed a break from the constant preparation. Even Lexa was resting.
She lay on a cot with a furry blanket, her eyes closed lazily.
"You need to rest Clarke," Lexa spoke from her position on the cot.
"What if Elena can't make it?" Clarke continued on regardless of Lexa and I's words. "We'll need to blow the door manually."
"Plans don't last very long in battle," Lexa said. "Tiring yourself with questions already asked and answered is a waste of energy."
"People died for this Lexa," Clarke replied, turning her head to face the Commander.
"And who's fault was that?" I asked, scraping a whetstone down the length of Lucille's blade.
It was necessary to keep your tools prepared for battle at all times. Lucille was no exception. While she could hold an edge better than most other blades, she still dulled with use.
"This has to work," Clarke said lowly, ignoring my comment.
That was one thing that had certainly improved. Now, Clarke didn't openly confront me at every opportunity. Instead, she settled for ignoring me, pretending that I wasn't there. Her new attitude was much easier on my mind.
"You're doing what I did when I first took command," Lexa said standing from the cot. "We can't move forward, and it's giving you too much time to think. Once Bellamy shuts down the acid fog and the battle begins, everything will be clear."
"What if he can't?" Clarke asked. "What if it was too dangerous and I sent him in there anyway?"
"Too late for that," I interjected. "Ya made a decision Clarke. Now, ya gotta stick with it till the end."
"But what if it's me who gets him killed?" Clarke questioned, rounding on me.
"Ya got all those people killed in TonDC," I replied calmly. "Didn't seem to be that big a deal."
"I have to live with that decision every day from now on," Clarke said. "There's nothing I can do about it now."
"Clarke," Lexa interrupted us. "You asked what if it's you that gets Bellamy killed."
Lexa paused for a moment to face Clarke again. She met the blonde's eyes with a stony expression.
"That is what it means to be a leader," Lexa said. "The truth is, we must look into the eyes of our warriors and say, 'go die for me'."
"If only it were that easy," Clarke returned.
I fundamentally disagreed with Lexa's words, but for once in my life, I didn't voice my disagreement.
"Can we please just get back to the plan?" Clarke requested.
"No," Lexa answered coldly.
I snorted lightly. Lexa sent me a derisive glare. I just shook my head and continued sharpening my sword.
"You could be a leader your people look to Clarke," Lexa said. "Pour their hopes and dreams into. Someone they would fight and die for."
That sounded like idolatry to me. In my mind, there was no one you could put complete trust in apart from yourself. If someone asked me to die for them, I wouldn't, not even Raven. I would die for my love of Raven, but not Raven herself.
Lexa seemed to think that a good leader should be someone people could throw their full trust upon. In my mind, a good leader was someone who guided his followers to the proper cause worth dying for, then died alongside them.
"I never asked for that," Clarke said after a moment's hesitation. "I'm just trying to keep us alive."
Clarke turned from Lexa again, while I sat uncomfortably watching the two women.
"Could you give us a moment Maynard?" Lexa requested.
And it was a request, like she was permitting me to decline. I suspected that with anyone else, Lexa would order compliance.
"Alright," I nodded slightly, respecting her wishes.
This was a private moment for Lexa. She wanted to share her words with no one but Clarke.
I eyed Lucille's blade for a moment, then sheathed her. I took up my whetstone and exited the tent.
Campfires burned periodically around the camp. Most of the grounder warriors either stood guard at the edges of the camp, or sat at fires, warming their hands. Raven sat at one of the campfires alongside Octavia. The two discussed something in hushed tones while Raven cleaned her new rifle.
It was a few minutes before Clarke emerged from the tent. She sent me a small nod, much to my surprise. I didn't think her gesture came from Lexa's words, rather, I thought it came from her own thoughts. She seemed to regret her decision at TonDC, but I couldn't be sure.
"You may enter," Lexa's call came from within the tent.
I rolled my eyes, "You may enter," I grumbled to myself.
I pushed aside the tent flap, once again standing inside the Commander's tent. Lexa stood across the table of maps and battle plans, staring at me with calculating eyes. My expression was much the same.
"You seem bothered by something Maynard," Lexa spoke after a while.
"I'm bothered by a lot of things," I replied with a small shrug as I walked slowly around the circumference of the tent.
"I mean the bombing," Lexa said. "You disagree with my decision."
"Yeah," I nodded idly. "Don't mean there's anythin' I can do about it."
Lexa narrowed her eyes slightly. She stayed silent for a moment, then spoke again.
"I want to know what you think," She said.
"I think yer leadin' improperly," I responded, coming to a stop and facing Lexa.
"How do you mean?" Lexa asked curiously.
"Well," I paused for a moment to collect my thoughts. "Ya said that a good leader is someone their people would die for."
Lexa eyed me with a dubious expression, but I continued on anyway.
"I wonder if yer people would be willin' to die for ya if they knew what happened at TonDC?" I questioned rhetorically.
"That's exactly why I could never tell them," Lexa said.
"What if they knew ya were lyin' to them?" I asked.
Lexa said nothing.
"Does a good leader tell the truth, or does a good leader lie?" I questioned deeper.
"A good leader knows when each is necessary," Lexa answered.
"See, I'd say, that anyone who doesn't tell the truth is afraid of it," I argued. "They're afraid of what it might tell them about themselves."
"I'm not afraid of the truth," Lexa asserted.
"Didn't say ya were," I responded.
"But you implied it," Lexa said.
I nodded slightly to myself. She was probably right about that.
"Life's complicated Lexa," I continued. "There are no optimal decisions, only tradeoffs. That's where value comes in. What do you view to be more valuable? Looks to me, like you valued yer war over the lives of yer people."
"The Mountain has slaughtered and imprisoned my people for generations," Lexa returned. "Just because I made a decision that cost lives doesn't mean that I won't save lives in the end."
"Maybe," I said thoughtfully. "But is it worth it?"
"Of course it's worth it," Lexa answered. "I saved lives."
"But what did it cost you?" I pointed directly to her. "Not yer people, not yer goals, you personally. Think about it."
(Mount Weather. Bellamy Blake.)
Bellamy tapped Lovejoy's card to the sensor. It beeped three times in rapid succession, then flashed a red light. It didn't take his card. Bellamy tried again. It still didn't work.
"Bellamy come in," Skylar spoke to him though his earpiece.
"I'm a little busy here Skylar," He returned, walking away from the door rapidly.
"You missed check-in," Skylar said. "Did you find the source of the acid fog yet?"
"I'm making my way there now," Bellamy answered, winding his way through a maintenance section of the mountain. "It's taking longer than I thought."
"I don't know enough to crack it on this end," Skylar said. "You've got to give me something to work with."
"Just wait," Bellamy replied. "I'll find something."
He approached a second door, hoping that this one would allow him entry.
The same red light and three beeps came from the sensor.
"Something's wrong," Bellamy said, thinking aloud.
"What?" Skylar asked.
"My keycard's not working," Bellamy answered.
"That's not good," Skylar radioed.
No shit it wasn't good. Without his card, Bellamy lost access to all the rooms he needed to enter. Plus, it meant that the mountain men might be onto him.
"I need to find another way in," Bellamy said. "I'll call you back."
"Stay right there!" A call came from the other side of the room.
There were two guards aiming guns directly at him. Oh great.
"Hands in the air!" One of them ordered.
Bellamy looked to the ground for a moment. It didn't take him long to decide what to do.
He sprinted off as fast as he could. The two guards had a few barriers to their progress, so Bellamy would have a slight head start.
He climbed a set of stairs in front of him. His hat fell off as he ran, but that was the least of his worries now.
Once at the top, Bellamy dashed along a narrow catwalk, searching for a safe side passage he could duck down. The two guards were hot on his tail though.
Bellamy headed down a main passageway with a concrete floor in full view of the guards. He turned on what extra speed he had, frantically trying to escape.
Luck was on Bellamy's side. He came to a fork in the path. Bellamy picked the left one, hoping that both guards would go right. If they were smart though, one would take each path.
Bellamy sprinted back towards the stairs and jumped down them quickly as possible. A voice spoke above him.
"Checking in," It said. "Go back down to base level."
Well that was just great. Bellamy was on the base level.
He dashed off again, searching for anyplace to hide.
"You're surrounded!" Another voice shouted. "There's no way out."
Bellamy stopped briefly behind a corner, checking the various lines of sight from his position. They could come at him from anywhere still. He was still out in the open.
A voice spoke over a radio just behind him. One man was coming towards him, but the other was nowhere near. That was good.
Bellamy jumped out from behind the corner suddenly, planting a powerful punch to the man's head. He stumbled backwards, dazed from the blow, and landed on a nearby set of stairs. Bellamy socked him in the face. The guard went down without another sound.
The voice on the other end of the radio continued speaking, but Bellamy ignored that guy. He just wanted the man's keycard. He stole it from his pocket, then took the man's gun as well.
Bellamy turned and escaped the maintenance room using his newfound keycard. The sensor beeped and showed green.
Bellamy sighed in relief at the sight. That was way too close for comfort. He couldn't let anything like that happen ever again.
(Mount Weather Territory, Grounder Camp. Lexa.)
In all honesty, Lexa wasn't sure what to think of Maynard's opinions. In her mind, her decisions were necessary. She didn't understand why Maynard didn't agree.
There was no doubt that Maynard was unbelievably intelligent. Lexa had seen firsthand evidence of that in her discussions with him. Yet, he came to vastly different conclusions than she did. It seemed that Maynard was overcomplicating the problem at hand. Sometimes, a vast intellect did more harm than good. There was a time to deeply investigate issues and a time not to investigate.
Maynard certainly wasn't going to fill the role that Han had left. Han was smart, but at his heart, he was a man who didn't perform his best until he stood on the battlefield. Maynard didn't consider the role of Osleya the same way Han did. In fact, it seemed he barely cared. He was far more interested in working on his own projects.
Lexa had hoped that Maynard would be more amenable to her plans. She had hoped that he would be willing to follow her. It looked like the opposite was true. Maynard would not bow before anyone. Lexa could respect that, but when he held such sway with her people, especially those in Trikru, it posed a problem for her. If she wasn't careful, Maynard could take her power, rendering her a figurehead ruler.
She needed to spend more time thinking about this problem. For the moment, she was more concerned that Maynard or one of the others would reveal her decision to let the missile hit TonDC. Lexa knew Clarke wouldn't tell anyone. Clarke was complicit in making that decision. And, from what she had seen, Maynard and Raven certainly weren't afraid to confront Clarke.
Then, there was Octavia, Lincoln, and Roan. Lexa was fairly confident that Lincoln wouldn't say a word. He had been raised to know that protest against Heda's commands was futile. Roan was an outcast. No one would listen to him, not only because he was a Furlan, but also because he was banished from his clan. People didn't listen to anyone who had been banished.
Octavia on the other hand, Lexa was less sure of. From what little she had seen of her, Octavia was passionate and idealistic. She would be tougher to silence.
Silencing Maynard or Raven would be similarly difficult. However, Lexa still couldn't tell if Maynard planned on revealing her actions or if he would remain silent, content to watch out for his few friends and allow Lexa to do as she wished. Lexa didn't know much about Raven at all, though she was a force to be reckoned with if she had a gun in her hands.
Her mind made up, Lexa stood from the desk in her tent. She exited, searching for Octavia. Ryder, Clarke's personal bodyguard, provided by Lexa of course, joined the Commander.
Lexa didn't have to go far. Octavia stood facing Clarke but with her back to Lexa. She seemed perturbed in her discussion.
Octavia turned, as if feeling Lexa's presence. Her eyes were cold, yet quite obviously angry. She took a few aggressive steps towards Lexa.
"Commander," Octavia greeted deferentially.
So she could control that anger. Interesting.
"Octavia," Lexa replied with a slight nod of recognition.
"It's time for the southernmost guard post rotation," Ryder said. "You should relieve them."
"Indra expects me on a scouting mission with Lincoln," Octavia said.
"And now you're needed at the guard post," Ryder said.
Lexa allowed the two to speak, but she maintained her eyes on Clarke. The blonde glanced at the ground, trying to hide a thoughtful expression. Her blue eyes flicked back up to Ryder suspiciously.
"Indra will join you shortly," Ryder said.
Lexa turned her attention back to Octavia and nodded once, signaling that Octavia should comply with the order.
Octavia did so, walking slowly away from the rest of them. She looked back with a wary glance in their direction but said nothing and continued on.
Lexa's eyes roved around the camp in search of the others she had her attention on. Maynard, Raven, and Roan sat together around a campfire next to a small tent. The two men were smoking something or other, probably one of those strange Furlan substances, tobacco or something.
"She won't say anything," Clarke assured Lexa quietly.
"You can't be sure of that," Lexa returned, setting her eyes on Clarke's face. "Too many people know Clarke.
"You worry about your people," Clarke said. "I'll worry about mine."
She too left, searching for some other place to be. Lexa watched her go, considering her options.
It seemed that Octavia was likely to speak out. Now was the time for Lexa to consider her options for silencing the sky girl. Only one seemed reasonable. It would ensure that Octavia couldn't say anything.
"Kill her," Lexa ordered to Ryder as she walked past him back towards her tent.
Unfortunately, the same would not be an option for Maynard or Roan. Even for Raven it seemed difficult. Roan was a highly trained warrior and Maynard was the Osleya for a reason, plus both of them were Furlan. It was no easy task to kill a Furlan.
From what Lexa noticed, Raven was capable herself, nowhere near her warriors in hand-to-hand combat, but with a rifle in her hands, she was as deadly as any of them. Then, there was the additional consideration of witnesses. Raven made sure to remain in sight of others at all times, and Lexa doubted she could convince her to go stand guard.
She would have to leave her concerns about those three up to chance.
(Mount Weather, Bellamy Blake.)
The door opened to reveal Vincent, Maya's father. He had a suspicious look on his face, probably due to the task of keeping enemies of the state in hiding. All this reminded Bellamy of World War Two history with the Nazis and the Jews.
"Vincent I need your help," Bellamy whispered.
The man gestured for him to enter, then quickly closed the door after him.
"It's all over the radio," Vincent said. "They know about you. Anyone see you come here?"
"No," Bellamy replied, still out of breath from his earlier escape from the guards. "I've been keeping to the vents and unmonitored halls."
"Vincent," A man's voice spoke from behind Bellamy.
His head whipped around. The voice belonged to a guard. Bellamy immediately drew his pistol and aimed it directly at the man. He could be a threat to their survival.
"It's okay," Vincent said, placing a hand on Bellamy's arm. "Lee's with us."
"Dante was like a father to me," The man, Lee, said. "Some of us don't agree with Cage's agenda."
"Where's Jasper, Monty, and Maya?" Bellamy asked, still suspicious.
"They're okay," Vincent answered. "Thanks to Lee, we moved them to a wing that's already been searched."
"Isn't that a risk?" Bellamy asked, lowering his gun.
"We had no choice," Vincent said. "They've gone public with what happened on level five. They're saying you killed ten soldiers. I don't know how much longer we can keep this shell game going."
Bellamy exhaled, now satisfied that Lee wasn't a threat. He placed his pistol back in its holster.
"Did you take out the acid fog yet?" Vincent asked.
"No," Bellamy answered. "That's why I'm here. I'm going to need another route."
"Way ahead of you," Vincent said. "You can get there through the retrofit zones."
Vincent took a folded paper from atop a filing cabinet and placed it on the counter. Opening it revealed a diagram of the mountain's different ventilation passageways.
"There're no cameras there, no patrols," Vincent continued. "We used some to move the kids. That's your other route."
Vincent stepped away from the counter for a moment and reached into one of the cabinets. He pulled out a metal canister with a valve attached.
"You're also going to need this. An acetylene torch," Vincent put the torch on the counter.
Bellamy picked up the torch in one hand while Vincent continued explaining.
"Go to the northwest corridor," He said. "Good luck."
Bellamy nodded quickly, "Thank you."
(Mount Weather Territory, Grounder Camp. Clarke Griffin.)
As she wandered through the camp, Clarke felt aimless. She made a grave error in her decision to comply with Lexa's plan. Clarke told herself she had to do it to save Bellamy. She told herself it was Maynard's fault. Yet, deep down, Clarke knew she had no excuses. That blood was on her hands.
She considered Lexa's concern with Octavia and the others. Lexa thought they would talk, but Clarke knew better.
Octavia wouldn't do anything to put Bellamy in danger. Maynard would prefer natural punishment to settle in, rather than inflict it himself. Raven would agree with Maynard for the time being, but likely would change her mind, only it would be too late by that point.
Clarke spied Indra sitting at a campfire alongside two other grounders. That was odd. She remembered Lexa ordering Octavia to take up a guard position with Indra, but Indra was right here.
Clarke walked straight up to the Trikru leader.
"Indra, aren't you supposed to be on watch?" Clarke asked, jumping straight in to the question at hand.
"I don't stand post," Indra replied confused.
"Well, where's Octavia?" Clarke asked.
"With Lincoln," Indra answered like it was obvious. "Scouting the mountain."
That wasn't good.
Lexa's order to put Octavia in that position had deliberately been made to put her in danger. That was not okay in Clarke's book. She wouldn't let her friend die.
Clarke immediately started off towards the southern watch position, where Octavia would be standing guard.
"Where are you going?" A gruff voice spoke behind her.
Clarke turned back, glancing over her shoulder. The man standing behind her was Roan. Clarke didn't know him very well, but she could recognize him easily thanks to his long hair and large neck tattoos. Also, she knew that Roan was aware of her decision to leave TonDC to the missile strike.
"For a walk," Clarke replied vaguely. "Need to clear my head."
She turned and walked away from the man.
"You sure this doesn't have anything to do with Octavia?" Roan asked.
Clarke stopped in her tracks. He definitely knew something was up.
"She's on watch isn't she?" Roan asked.
"How do you know that?" Clarke asked in return, spinning to face the Furlan.
"Maynard heard the three of you talking," Roan explained simply. "He told me. I saw you talking to Indra. I came to see what was happening."
Damn Maynard and his sonar ears. Of course, he overheard them talking.
"I'm going to check on her," Clarke opened up finally. "Indra said she's supposed to be on a scouting mission with Lincoln. It can't be good that she was ordered to take a different post so suddenly."
Roan nodded slowly. He appeared to consider something for a few moments.
"Alright then," He said. "Let's go."
Without another word to her, Roan walked straight past Clarke in the direction of Octavia's post. They remained totally silent for their walk out.
Just a few minutes later, Clarke spotted Ryder priming a shot with his bow directly at Octavia. Clarke drew her gun, but Roan walked right up to Ryder.
The Furlan grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against a nearby tree. Clarke was frankly shocked at the display of strength. He had lifted the much bigger Ryder like it was nothing.
Octavia turned in surprise at the sound. Clarke managed to hide herself, and thankfully, Roan had already hidden Ryder behind the tree. Octavia snorted and shook her head.
"What the hell are you doing?" Roan hissed quietly.
"The Commander ordered me," Ryder replied. "I'm doing my duty."
"This is not okay," Clarke said. "Come on." She jerked a hand in Roan's direction. "We need to bring this to Lexa."
"She ordered him to do it," Roan said. "We need to take him out now before he's back under her protection."
"No," Clarke said. "Let's at least try to resolve this without killing anybody."
Roan grumbled something, then smacked Ryder against the tree again. His head went limp, lolling to the side.
"Roan!" Clarke hissed.
"Relax," He returned. "I just knocked him out."
Roan tossed Ryder over his shoulder and made his way back towards the camp. Clarke shook her head in indignation, then followed without another word.
They walked straight back to camp, earning a few odd glances. Most of those were directed at Roan, who was holding a man on his back. Clarke ignored them and plowed straight for Lexa's tent.
She entered angrily with Roan just behind her. Roan dumped Ryder unceremoniously on the floor.
"You told him to kill Octavia?" Clarke asked in disbelief. "I told you she's not a problem."
To Clarke's surprise though, Lexa stared at Roan, not Clarke or even Ryder's unconscious form. She looked almost livid that he dared to step foot in her tent.
"Get out," Lexa pronounced the two words clearly and coldly.
Clarke glanced back and forth between them, unsure of what was going on. Some bad blood lay there evidently. Clarke wasn't sure why, but it very obviously was causing problems.
"Not until I'm sure you won't try to kill Octavia again," Roan replied stonily.
Lexa stood from her chair and marched straight up to Roan. She had to look up to meet his eyes, but she didn't seem the least bit afraid. Roan seemed equally self-confident.
"The only reason I didn't order a similar attack on you is because I couldn't be bothered to carry it out myself," Lexa said lowly.
"You should've tried," Roan responded with a smirk. "Then, we'd finally get to see which one of us is better."
"I don't need that question answered," Lexa spat.
"Hey!" Clarke spoke loudly to cut through the low argument. "Is there something I should know about?"
"Nothing of note," Roan answered, still staring at Lexa.
He turned his back with a humph and stalked out of the tent. Lexa's eyes smoldered a trail in his wake.
"What was that about?" Clarke asked.
"Old feuds," Lexa responded off-handedly.
Then, Clarke seemed to realize what had just happened. Lexa's argument with Roan had distracted her from the fact that the Commander had just tried to kill one of her friends.
"Lexa," Clarke said. "You just tried to kill Octavia."
"Yes," Lexa replied shortly.
"You can't just kill everyone you don't trust," Clarke said.
"Yes I can," Lexa said.
"Well I won't let you," Clarke returned. It seemed like a feeble argument, but it was all she could come up with in the moment.
"You were willing to let her die two days ago," Lexa said. "Nothing has changed."
"You're wrong," Clarke said. "I have. I can't do this anymore."
She turned to follow Roan out of the tent.
"Octavia is a threat," Lexa said, stopping Clarke. "If you weren't so close to her, you'd see that."
"It's because I'm close to her that I know she's loyal," Clarke said. "Her brother is more important to her than anyone. She would never endanger his life."
"And you're willing to risk everything on that?" Lexa questioned. "On your feelings?"
"Yes," Clarke answered. "You say having feelings makes me weak, but you're weak for hiding from them. I might be a hypocrite Lexa, but you're a liar."
Lexa's eyes flicked sharply in her direction, as if she recognized a criticism.
"You felt something for Gustus," Clarke continued. "You're still haunted by Costia. You want everyone to think you're above it all, but I see right through you."
Lexa stood in silence for a moment, eyeing Clarke dangerously.
"Get out," Lexa hissed the two words the same way she had when she ordered Roan out earlier.
"Two hundred fifty people died in that village," Clarke said. "I know you felt for them."
Lexa said nothing, but she maintained seemingly emotionless eye contact.
"You let them burn," Clarke said.
Lexa swallowed hard, "Not everyone," she said. "Not you."
Clarke stepped back slightly. She wasn't sure what to say to that. Clarke had expected Lexa to throw her argument back in her face, telling her that she let the people burn just as much as Lexa did. What she hadn't expected was for Lexa to say that she hadn't let Clarke burn.
Awkward silence held between them for a few moments. Clarke deliberated what to say while Lexa met her eyes with the most genuine expression Clarke had ever witnessed on the grounder leader's face.
"Well if you care about me, then trust me," Clarke said finally. "Octavia's not a threat."
Lexa stayed silent for a few moments. She blinked, trying to clear the early stages of tears from her eyes. Clarke had never seen her show this much emotion before.
"I can't do that," Lexa said.
"I can't sacrifice my people anymore," Clarke said. "If you do anything to hurt Octavia or anyone else, I'll tell everyone we knew about the missile."
With that threat on the table, Clarke exited the tent. She breathed a deep breath. Things were getting serious.
(Mount Weather. Bellamy Blake.)
Bellamy shut down the torch and pushed the vent cover aside as he climbed into the strange new room. Different signs on the walls indicated that it was designed for chemical storage. He was definitely in the right place if he was looking for the acid fog.
He climbed out of the vent, landing on the floor quietly. Bellamy drew his gun and held it down by his side, prepared for any confrontation that might occur. The last thing he wanted right now was to run into another guard.
There didn't appear to be anyone around, but Bellamy walked slowly and quietly anyway. He rested his finger just on the trigger guard as he walked.
Literally every storage container or metal vat had either the words 'caution', 'danger', or 'highly flammable'. That was a good sign.
Bellamy finally spotted what he was looking for, a set of double doors with heavy duty locks. A panel sat in the wall next to the door, indicating that a code was required for entry. Those were the main doors into this facility.
Glass spilled across the floor as Bellamy shattered a box housing a large fire ax. The ax would be a good enough tool to do what he wanted.
Bellamy broke the panel off the wall with a spark of electricity, then jammed the ax through the bars in the door. That would make entry a little more complicated. Hopefully the Mountain Men didn't have breaching rounds.
"Come in Skylar, I made it," Bellamy radioed. "I hope you have a plan."
"Still working on that," Skylar returned. "Give us something to go on. What do you see?"
Obviously she was working with someone else, probably Wick.
"A huge steel vat," Bellamy said. "It looks like a submarine. Some other tanks with chemical formulas. Warning labels. A bunch of pipes going into the wall. A monitor."
"Oh, go to the monitor," A female voice came over the radio. Definitely not Wick then.
"Hello to you too," Bellamy commented.
"Don't mind Elena," Skylar radioed. "She's not really helping."
"Hey Bellamy," A male voice said. "How's my boy Monty doing." That was Wick.
"Fine, but I don't know for how long," Bellamy answered as he walked to the monitor as Elena had suggested.
"Great, pleasantries over," Wick said. "But, if that monitor is a control panel, we can use it to kill this thing. Look for a pH scale."
"Right," Bellamy acknowledged. "It has a scale but uh…"
Not being a scientifically minded man, Bellamy didn't know exactly what was going on with the panel. There was a pH scale that currently lay at zero. If Bellamy remembered correctly, zero was the most acidic an acid could get, while fourteen was the opposite, an extremely basic compound. What confused him were all the other labels.
"There's some other stuff here," Bellamy continued. "S-three, V-two, O-five, H-two, S-two, O-seven."
Bellamy grumbled to himself in frustration. Some people just made things way too complicated.
"Can I just blow this thing?" Bellamy asked.
"No," Wick said. "They'll know their defenses are down. They'll send a tech to fix it or reroute it, or pull out a weapon we don't even know about."
"Plus," Skylar's voice came suddenly. "You'd probably melt your face off."
Bellamy sighed in annoyance. Things were never so simple as the movies made them out to be.
"Look," Skylar said. "Everyone loves a good explosion, but we've got to think our way through this one. We can do this."
Bellamy hoped for everyone's sake that they could.
(Dead Zone, John Murphy.)
After hours of pain, they'd finally crossed the minefield. They'd faced a sandstorm, then hours with bent backs, meticulously planting their footsteps. One man in their crew had almost gotten exploded. Murphy forgot his name too.
"Another test passed," Jaha said dramatically as he eyed a yellow diamond shaped sign with the words 'Warning Mines'. "We made it. Come on."
Jaha urged them onwards toward where he spied a reflection of light in the sky. The entire day, they'd seen it just at the other side of the minefield, calling them. It had to be the City of Light, or as Murphy had taken to calling it, the COL. What else could it be?
The four men sprinted off towards the final dune standing between them and the COL. They climbed like frantic rats in a maze, determined to reach the top.
Finally, they made it. Murphy peeked over the top of the dune to glimpse the COL for the first time. He was unbelievably excited. All the work and pain had finally come to fruition.
What he saw though, was no city. It was a vast field of solar panels.
"What?" Murphy asked to no one in particular. "Are you kidding me? This is it?"
Jaha and the others joined him moments later with heavy breath. They too stood and stared.
"This is what we crossed a desert to find?" Murphy questioned.
"It can't be," Jaha said.
"Well guess what," Murphy said. "Your enlightened society isn't a city. It's nothing."
"I flew down from space," Jaha said, still breathing heavily. "I defied death. It was all for a reason. It has to be."
Murphy was beginning to wonder if Jaha still had all his mental faculties together. The guy was ranting about how all his actions had to have some grand purpose, when maybe there was none. Maybe they were all pointless and useless.
(Mount Weather Territory, Grounder Camp. Raven Reyes.)
Raven sighed contentedly as she leaned up against Maynard's chest. The time they spent in the camp currently was filled with waiting. Bellamy needed to shut down the acid fog for the army to proceed, and they needed the tank to blow the doors down.
She knew she should probably be back at camp Jaha helping Skylar and Wick figure out the acid fog problem, but there was so much else going on, that she couldn't. First, she didn't want to leave Maynard out here alone.
Maynard could definitely handle himself, but she still felt deeply concerned for him, especially when he was surrounded by so many people who despised him. Maynard was a Furlan, thus drawing the ire of many grounders, but furthermore, he pissed Clarke and Lexa off to no end. Two of the alliance's three leaders could turn on the other one at anytime they wished, and Raven didn't trust Clarke and Lexa not to turn on Maynard.
A call came from the edges of the camp. It was loud, but not panicked. Raven couldn't understand the Trigedasleng.
"He says the tank's here," Maynard came to Raven's rescue.
He grunted and stood, leaving Raven on the ground. Raven followed him to her feet. They walked together to the edge of the tented region of camp where Raven glimpsed the tank for the first time.
It was pretty much the most badass thing Raven had ever seen in her life. The metal constructing it was thick and painted a tannish color. Raven had expected the rumble of an engine but heard no such sound. Instead, there was a faint whining sound as the tank rolled to a stop. It sounded like Skylar and Wick had converted the tank entirely to electric power.
Raven recognized Charles's head poking out of the hatch. Akio must've been the one driving the tank.
A crowd slowly gathered around them, watching as the driving rocket rolled up to camp.
"Hope we're not late," Charles said with a slight smirk as the tank powered down.
"Just about on time," Maynard returned.
The two Furlan climbed from the tank, hopping to the ground. Maynard shook hands with each of them, clapping them on the back gratefully.
"Elena still hangin' out with Skylar?" He asked.
"Skylar's the only reason Elena's not here now," Akio answered with a small smile.
Raven smiled too. Skylar always had trouble finding decent relationships. The redhead was like a magnet for bad relationships, but it seemed she might have finally found a decent one.
"How long until we go in?" Charles asked.
"As long as it takes for Bellamy to shut down the fog," Raven answered. "Camp Jaha will send up a flare when it's done."
"So what do we do until then?" Akio asked.
"Wait," Maynard replied. "I've been arguin' with Clarke and Lexa most of the time, but even that gets borin' after a while."
Raven rolled her eyes and shook her head. Maynard could occasionally get way too involved. It wasn't necessarily that he tried to be involved, but rather he was drug in against his will.
They spoke for a few more minutes before Charles and Akio left to get something to eat. Both men were hungry after the hours of travel time in the tank.
It didn't take long before Maynard and Raven were enveloped in another conversation, this time with Roan.
He explained how, the previous night, Lexa tried to have Octavia killed, but Roan and Clarke thwarted her plan. Roan said he didn't think Lexa had spoken to Clarke, and that the Commander likely wouldn't try to kill Octavia a second time. He stressed though, that they needed to keep a close watch on the ones close to them, as Lexa could put them in danger as well.
"She doesn't trust them," Roan said. "She's worried they'll reveal information about the missile."
"I still think we should," Raven interjected.
"We can't," Maynard asserted. "Not without turnin' everyone against each other. If we do that, then Lexa loses her credibility and the clans break the alliance. Then, we don't stand a chance against Mount Weather. Besides, I reckon we should let those chickens come home to roost on their own."
"What do you mean?" Roan asked.
"Lexa lied to everyone outright," Maynard explained. "People find out about that sorta thing. They'll turn on her naturally. But that might not be a good thing."
"You're thinking about after we fight the mountain men," Raven realized. "If they all turn on each other, we'll be the first ones to go. We're the weakest, and we have the most technology. We'll be a prime target for every clan."
"Exactly,' Maynard returned. "Lexa needs to remain in charge to keep the clans under control, but also to keep us safe. She's decided that we're worth protectin' and I'd like to keep it that way."
"What happens when she turns on you?" Roan asked. "She'll wipe your camp off the face of the Earth."
"That's why we need to be good diplomats for right now," Maynard replied. "We can't outright accuse her of anythin'. Let's keep our cards close to the vest and see what happens."
(Camp Jaha, Engineering. Skylar Artinakis.)
Skylar stood alongside Wick, who had taken the radio from her. Bellamy read out the different functions on the control monitor to them while Skylar and Wick told him which functions they would need to use for the process of shutting down the acid fog.
Elena stood right by Skylar, leaning strangely close as if she was having trouble hearing the radio. Skylar knew Elena was just trying to get closer to her for the moment. She certainly didn't mind that.
"Level Indicator?" Bellamy asked.
"No," Wick replied.
Skylar took the radio from Wick.
"Do you see an actuator anywhere?" She asked.
Wick made a confused glance while Elena pretended to know what Skylar was talking about.
"One must be controlling the valves," Skylar explained to Wick.
He nodded and shrugged, accepting her correctness.
"I have no idea what that is," Bellamy said.
"Norms," Wick huffed sarcastically as he took the radio back from Skylar. "What else?"
"Internal pressure sensor?" Bellamy asked.
"Nope," Wick said.
"Set, point, and alarm," Bellamy said.
"Let's avoid that one," Wick radioed quickly.
"Maintenance and cleaning?" Bellamy asked.
Wick made to radio back to Bellamy, but Skylar stopped him. It seemed logical to assume that they could control the pH level from inside the maintenance function.
"Hang on," Skylar stopped him. "The protective oxide film would have to be restored in tanks this old. They need to be cleaned."
"And neutralized," Wick caught on to Skylar's argument.
"Bellamy," Wick radioed. "Go to that subdirectory. See if there's anything there that says passivation."
There were a few seconds of silence. Elena looked to Skylar with a questioning glance, asking her to explain what was going on. Skylar mouthed for Elena to wait just a moment before she answered.
"I got it," Bellamy radioed. "It says aqueous solution hydroxide bath."
"That's a base," Wick replied. "That'll neutralize the acid. Select that."
Another few seconds later, and Bellamy radioed.
"It's doing something," He said.
Skylar clenched her fist in excited anticipation, Wick smirked, and Elena stepped away from the table, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. Skylar took the radio from Wick.
"You should be able to hear the pump," She said.
"I can hear it," Bellamy said.
As he radioed, Skylar could hear the pumps too. There was a gentle whirring sound in the background.
"Needle's moving," Bellamy updated them. "The pH is rising."
Skylar smiled happily.
"It's working," Wick radioed.
They waited a few tense moments. Skylar met Elena's eyes with an excited smile. Elena looked equally excited, even though she didn't know exactly what was going on. The Furlan had enough information to understand the events.
"Passivation successful," Bellamy radioed.
"Yes!" Skylar cheered.
Wick pounded the table, but Skylar paid him no mind. Elena swooped the redhead up in an excited embrace. It felt so right for Elena to hold her.
"Alright, send the flare," Bellamy said.
"On it," Wick replied.
He walked straight for the door. Then, he stopped and turned back with a hand on the wall.
"It'll probably take a while to send the flare if you know what I mean," Wick said with a small smirk.
He winked, then left Engineering.
Skylar broke away from Elena briefly, looking up slightly to meet her eyes. Elena was about an inch taller and wore taller shoes than Skylar did, plus she didn't have to stand awkwardly to accommodate a bad knee.
Elena leaned over and kissed Skylar on the lips. She felt a fire envelope her as Elena held her tightly against her. Skylar responded vigorously, truly enjoying the moment.
Elena pressed her backwards against the cabinets on the wall. The Furlan grabbed Skylar by her wrists and pressed them against the wall above her head as they continued making out.
She broke away long enough to lift Skylar's shirt off her body. Elena planted kisses up her stomach and along her neck. Skylar sighed with pleasure as things continued. She really wanted Elena. She wanted her bad.
(Mount Weather Territory, Grounder Camp. Lexa.)
It was only an hour ago that Clarke had left Lexa's tent, threatening that if she harmed Octavia that the information about the missile would be revealed. In that hour Lexa mostly sat, thinking. She'd left with Clarke, willing to save her from the fire. Why?
Lexa thought, at first, it was because Clarke was a strong leader, one her people needed to survive. But they had Maynard. They didn't need both to live. Sure, Clarke trusted Lexa and got along with her a great deal better than Maynard did, but there was something else to it.
Lexa finally realized what it was. She had feelings for Clarke.
So often, Lexa repressed her own feelings. When Clarke had called her a liar and said she was hiding from her emotions, it sounded eerily similar to Maynard's accusations last night. If one person gave you advice, you should take it under consideration, but if two people gave you the seem piece of advice at different times and of their own accord, there might just be something to that advice.
What struck her though was why it was Clarke she had feelings for. Lexa thought she had worked that out too. Maynard was too calm, too patient, willing to let his plans coalesce rather than forcing them to come together. Clarke was similar to Maynard in many ways, but she was more fiery, more passionate, and more urgent.
Lexa liked that urgency. It was one of the things that attracted her to Clarke. The blonde didn't spend more time than was necessary contemplating an issue. She picked a solution and made it work. Lexa liked that stubbornness. It made Clarke strong.
It had taken her a while to get control of her emotions enough to send for Clarke. She wanted to talk things out with her.
Lexa stood by the table looking over maps, but not really seeing them, when Clarke entered.
"You sent for me?" She asked.
Lexa looked her up and down. Clarke really was pretty. She was perfectly built in all the right places.
"Yes," Lexa replied. "Octavia has nothing to fear from me."
Lexa looked away, dropping her eyes to the maps again. She remained silent for a moment, collecting her thoughts again.
"I do trust you Clarke," Lexa said.
"I know how hard that is for you," Clarke said, taking a step closer.
Lexa became even more aware of Clarke's presence. She could practically feel Clarke against her arm. Lexa looked up, meeting Clarke's eyes. She turned towards her, stepping even closer.
"You think our ways are harsh," Lexa said. "But it's how we survive."
"Maybe life should be about more than just surviving," Clarke posed.
She snapped her eyes away from Lexa's slightly awkwardly.
"Don't we deserve better than that?" Clarke asked.
Silence held for a long moment while Lexa, once again, stared at Clarke.
"Maybe we do," Lexa said.
There was a longer silence while Lexa and Clarke stared each other in the eyes. Lexa dipped down, throwing caution and formality to the winds.
She kissed Clarke, and Clarke kissed back. They held the position for some time, tenderly pushing their lips against each other. Finally, Clarke broke away.
"I'm sorry," She said awkwardly. "I'm not ready to be with anyone."
Lexa met Clarke's eyes sadly. She wished Clarke was, but she would respect her wishes, nonetheless.
"Not yet," Clarke added.
Shouts came from outside.
"The signal!" She heard a man say. "Heda come quick!"
They dashed outside, searching for what all the hubbub was about.
Lexa looked to the sky. A red light flashed through the gray clouds leaving a trail of smoke in its wake.
"Bellamy did it," Clarke whispered.
"You were right to have faith in him," Lexa replied.
She looked down and met Clarke's eyes determinedly.
"Now we fight," Lexa said.
Clarke nodded slightly while Lexa dashed off to the edge of the small hill overlooking their encampment. The warriors below stared up at her.
"Sound the horn!" Lexa ordered.
Two men blew their war horns, signaling it was time for the fight. They cheered and roared in excitement.
"To war!" Lexa cried.
The shouts only grew louder.
(Mount Weather. Bellamy Blake.)
With a sigh of relief, Bellamy turned away from the monitor. They'd actually managed to shut down the acid fog. He turned away from the screen taking up his acetylene torch as he prepared to walk out.
That's when Bellamy spotted a dial on the side of the tank, covered in dust. He leaned in closer, interested to inspect his own handiwork. After rubbing away the grime, shock settled in. The dial displayed pH level, and the needle rested on zero.
That didn't make sense. Did it not work?
Bellamy walked back over to the monitor quickly. The dial there still said the pH was seven. He engaged his radio immediately.
"Skylar, we've got a problem," Bellamy said.
No response.
"Damn it," Bellamy spoke more frustrated now. "Where are you? I don't think the acid fog is down. Get word to Clarke and Maynard, we have to stop the army."
Still nothing.
"Skylar!" Bellamy shouted, hoping that she had accidently bumped one of the dials or something.
Nothing.
"Skylar what's going on?" Bellamy asked, his mind frantically scrambling for answers.
The mountain men couldn't possibly know he was here. Or could they?
As Bellamy shouted into the radio, the dial on the monitor then dropped to zero rapidly.
"No," Bellamy whispered to himself.
If he didn't work fast to figure something out on his own, their entire army would be toast, and his friends along with it. Octavia would die in a cloud of fog melting her skin away.
"No, no, no," Bellamy started pacing back and forth, trying to think of anything to shut down the fog.
Then, the alarms started blaring. It was just like earlier, they were onto him again.
Men banged against the door. Bellamy was glad in that moment that he'd taken the time to reinforce it.
He looked around frantically. Bellamy's options were running out. There wasn't much he could do at this point.
Then, a familiar sign caught his eye. Against a metal tank labeled, 'Oxygen, refrigerated liquid' was another sign, 'FLAMMABLE'. Oxygen was highly combustible. Bellamy knew that.
He looked down to the acetylene torch in his hand. A plan began to formulate. Bellamy didn't figure he'd make it through this alive, but that was okay. He's volunteered for this because they needed an inside man to win. Bellamy was perfectly okay with self-sacrifice. He hoped he'd live, but it didn't seem probable.
The door broke with a loud slam.
"Drop your weapon!" A guard shouted.
Bellamy ran straight for the oxygen tank, thankful that the guards hadn't spotted him yet. He ducked behind it, drew his pistol, and began to count the number of times feet fell against the floor.
One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six. Bellamy lost track after that. He couldn't be sure if the other sounds were steps or men dropping to the ground. There were at least six of them though, Bellamy was sure of that. He only had twelve shots in his pistol. Great.
"On my lead," A calm voice said. "He's armed. Don't be a hero."
They were organized too. Perfect.
"Show yourself!" A man ordered. "Hands first!"
His mind quickly ran through his options. There weren't many. But there was one extremely dangerous option.
Bellamy lit the torch and set it down next to the oxygen tank. Hopefully no one would find it and turn it off. Then, with a deep breath, Bellamy dashed across the room to the vent he'd come into the room through.
Shots peppered the area around him as Bellamy jumped inside the vent.
He began to crawl as quickly as he possibly could. Once a safeish distance inside, Bellamy drew his gun and aimed for the tank. Bellamy took two quick shots as two of the guards leaned down to take shots at him.
The tank didn't break open.
"Fuck it," Bellamy said to himself.
He dumped the entire mag into the tank, hoping to bust a hole in it. The gun clicked empty multiple times as Bellamy kept jamming the trigger.
Quickly, Bellamy gave up and turned around, running for his life. If he'd managed to put a hole in the tank, then he'd need to get the hell out of dodge. If he hadn't, then he was just fucked.
Bellamy heard clangs in the vent behind him as a man followed him inside. He was lucky it was windy enough in here to prevent the man from just shooting him in the ass.
Everything around Bellamy started shaking. Loud creaks and bangs echoed from the walls. Something sounded off. Maybe he had managed to hit the tank.
Bellamy pushed himself faster. A scream came from behind him, then a hot burning sensation.
"Oh shit!" Bellamy swore.
He tumbled out the end of the vent as the explosion grazed his hair and clothes.
It took only seconds for the fire to burn out. Bellamy breathed a sigh of relief as he swatted at the singed patches of clothes.
He coughed, clearing his lungs of the dust and burning sensation. Bellamy laughed to himself. He did it. He did it and he didn't even get himself killed.
(Mount Weather Territory, on the march. Octavia Blake.)
The march continued on. It was the best way to describe what was happening. It just kept going, and it would keep going until they reached the mountain.
Octavia could barely keep her anticipation in. All her training with Indra would finally come to use, as Octavia had a battle to fight, a real battle not a sparring match.
The tank whirred along behind her, clearing a large section out of the middle of their army. Akio was still the man piloting it, only now he seemed to have better control of the giant vehicle than when he first appeared at camp.
It was a sight to behold, all the grounder clans united together against the mountain along with the sky people. The even seemed so improbable, yet it was happening.
They even had a plan now. Clarke and Lexa would take the majority of the army straight to the front gate with the tank to knock the doors down. Wick, Skylar, and Elena would infiltrate the dam to shut down power inside Mount Weather. Bellamy would free the captive grounders and lead an insurrection inside. Finally, Maynard would lead a smaller force through the reaper tunnels to break into the mountain from below.
Indra was to be part of Maynard's force. Her instructor claimed it was because Lexa trusted her to act as Maynard's second in command, but Octavia thought it was because Lexa wanted someone she trusted to keep an eye on Maynard. All that being said, Octavia was quite confident that, though Indra would hold the formal position of second in command, she would not actually be the second in command. That honor would likely go to Roan, who joined Maynard's group.
Since Indra was to go with Maynard, Octavia would as well. She would follow her teacher and fight alongside her, learning what she could while also rescuing the grounders and delinquents from the mountain.
"Hey," A voice spoke from just behind her.
Octavia turned just as Clarke stepped up alongside her. Octavia didn't want to talk to Clarke, not after what she did to TonDC.
"What do you want?" Octavia questioned bluntly.
"I'm changing your mission," Clarke said. "You're not going to the mines with Maynard. I'm placing you in the rear guard, where you'll be safe."
The rear guard? Octavia couldn't believe the words coming out of Clarke's mouth. Who the hell did she think she was to order Octavia around like some chess piece?
"Like hell you are," Octavia responded. "I don't take orders from you. I take orders from Indra."
"I'm trying to protect you Octavia," Clarke pressed.
"Protect me," Octavia scoffed.
"One day, hopefully you'll understand what I did," Clarke said.
"Never," Octavia replied, sure of herself. "I'll fight this war with you now because I want our friends back, but after that we're done."
"Hey Clarke," The unmistakable voice of Maynard Draiman called.
He sidled up beside Octavia.
"Lexa wants to talk to ya," Maynard said.
Clarke simply walked off, barely able to acknowledge Maynard's presence. Octavia still couldn't believe how she was treating the Jew.
"What's that about?" Maynard asked.
"Clarke's trying to reassign me to the rear guard," Octavia answered flatly.
Maynard laughed out loud. It was a mirthless sound, borne of utter disrespect.
"That ain't happenin'," Maynard asserted. "Yer comin' with me. Ya can handle yerself well enough."
Octavia nodded slightly at the compliment.
"Don't let her get to ya okay?" Maynard continued. "She thinks she's doin' the right thing."
"She let all those people die," Octavia growled. "How could she do nothing about the missile."
"I honestly don't know," Maynard responded. "Just keep it under control. Ya can't throw down with her yet. Wait until we win alright?"
Octavia smirked slightly and nodded.
The war horn blew, and a battle cry went up from all the grounders around them. Octavia looked at them in surprise first, then she joined with them.
Octavia was just as much a grounder as any of them. She barely grew up on the Ark. These were her people.
She noticed a smirk and a chuckle from Maynard as he watched her join the others in their cry. Fuck it. This was war, and Octavia was going to kick some ass.
(Dead Zone. John Murphy.)
They spent hours wandering the solar farm. It was miles and miles of the same goddamn panels in every single direction. Murphy hated this place. It just pissed him off.
"What a joke," Murphy grumbled to himself.
"It doesn't make any sense," Jaha said, still deluding himself. "The rest of the world is broken, but these panels are intact."
Murphy didn't give a rat's ass about Jaha's theories. He was just angry, and he needed to vent that anger in whatever way possible.
"I can fix that," Murphy growled, picking up a rock from the ground.
He chucked it at the nearest solar panel. The rock sailed through the air and landed against the solar panel with a shattering sound.
"John," Jaha admonished.
He looked like he was going to say more but was interrupted by the appearance of an unexpected visitor.
A quadcopter drone lifted off a nearby tower and flew toward them. It looked like there was a camera fixed to the bottom of the drone. A light flashed on the camera, indicating it was running.
"What the hell?" Murphy questioned.
The drone turned around and floated lazily through the air towards the edge of the solar farm.
"Someone must be controlling the drone," Jaha said. "Don't lose sight of it."
With that, he dashed off after the hovering quadcopter. Murphy and the others ran after him.
The drone flew so slowly. If it wanted to it could easily outpace them. That meant that whoever was controlling it, had a reason for leaving it running so slowly. The pilot wanted them to keep up.
They chased after the drone right to the edge of a giant expanse of water. Murphy wasn't sure if it was the ocean or a lake, or some sort of bay. The drone hovered right over a small, rickety, wooden boat, like it was telling them, 'get in'.
Then, the drone sped off across the glassy water, disappearing over the horizon.
"Where's it going?" One man asked, Murphy couldn't remember his name either.
What a stupid question, none of them knew where it was going.
"Don't know," Jaha responded as he tossed his walking stick aside and ran towards the boat. "But we're going to follow it in this."
He placed his hands on the boat, preparing to push off.
"Tell me," Murphy said sarcastically. "What level of crazy is too much for you?"
This was insane. They were chasing after a drone they knew nothing about over an expanse of water that could cover hundreds of miles. They had no food or water left, and they were going to do it all in a tiny old wooden boat.
"We need a boat," Jaha said. "And a boat appears. This is our destiny. The City of Light is out there, and we are going to find it. Now get in the boat."
So sure of himself, Jaha pushed the boat into the still water.
Murphy rubbed his hand over the dry, cracked skin on his face.
"You heard the man," He said with a shrug.
The two other men joined Jaha in the boat, taking up the two oars. Nice of them to leave Murphy the task of pushing the boat to deeper water.
Murphy shoved the boat out, then hopped in after the others. They started rowing, setting off into the unknown sea before them.
Done guys. Wow, only a couple more to go in season 2.
Just a heads up now, before we jump into season 3, which I am super excited for, there are going to be a few original chapters filling the gap, an interlude if you will. There will probably be five or six of them, just to tie off some loose ends in the plot and to fully engage the Furlan side of the story. I'm quite excited for that.
Anyway, thanks for reading.