The Ark was cold that day, bursts of bright lights flooding the room every so often. It seemed to be getting colder each day. Nora remembered when it remained a perfectly warm temperature, not too hot and not too cold.
But a chill had taken to the air in recent days.
She knew what it meant; their oxygen was depleting. Coldness was the first sign. Gwen had told her about her suspicions but the redhead had brushed it off weeks ago, claiming she was just talking nonsense. But turns out, the older woman was right.
She wrapped her arms around her middle, tugging on the sleeves of her fleece jacket. She would need to stop by the goodwill to see if any more clothes had been turned in for her to take back to the centre. Maybe she could finally get a new jacket, a warmer one.
If the Ark carried on getting colder, like it was, then she would definitely need it. So would Kyra and Jimmy.
Nora had already given the two children an extra blanket as they got colder in bed. She couldn't deny them anything. One look in their hopeful eyes and she was a goner. She imagined this is what it was like to have siblings or a child, to care and love for someone unconditionally that you would do anything to help them. She saw that love in her father, the way he used to go the extra mile to make her smile and happy, not caring what happened to him.
Swallowing back the tightness in her throat, she glanced up and stared out of the glass into space, leaning on the rail of the bridge. He had done everything to help her and she would do everything to help Kyra and Jimmy, and the rest of the kids in the centre. They all looked up to her and Gwen for guidance, love and care.
She couldn't disappoint them.
Dropping down, she dangled her combat clad legs over the side of the bridge. It was always one of her favourite spots and one of the quietest ones. People rarely used this route through Mecha, which Nora was grateful for.
Everyone buzzed around on the deck below her, a sea of greys and blues. Her arms wrapped around the rail that ran in front of her chest as she gazed down, watching them closely, wondering where they were going and what they were thinking. She spotted a few familiar faces, some smiling as they engaged in conversation. It was one of her favourite things to do, watch people, study them closely.
Hazel eyes caught sight of a familiar young girl, she was swept up into the arms of an older man, a woman stood next to him. She remembered the girl from her brief time spent in care, her name was Rose. She was saved from the children's centre when she was adopted by a couple who couldn't have children but wanted one dearly.
Nora wished all the children in the centre could have the same happy fate. But it was rare nowadays.
Another flash of light and she looked out the glass again, her eyes finding the stars. "Nora?"
Looking up, she saw the guards' uniform first and stilled. But her body relaxed when she saw the smiling, familiar face of Bellamy Blake. She copied his smile "You on duty?"
"Nah, just finished training. I've been shadowing another guard for a while too."
Her eyebrows rose, "Sounds like fun."
Breathing out a short laugh, the dark haired man shrugged and dropped down to sit beside her. His long legs slipped under the rail and dangled beside hers. "Not really. It's not what I want to do but it's a good job, I guess."
"Why did you pick it then?"
"My mom wanted the best for me."
Nodding slowly, Nora accepted his answer. "You'll make a great guard, I'm sure."
"That's the plan."
"You'll be one of the good guys."
A smile touched his lips; her words the cause. "Glad you've got faith in me. Some of these guards don't."
"How come?"
He made a face, readjusting the baton at his side. "Just Shumway making remarks and the others following him."
"Well Shumway is an ass. What does he know about being a good guard anyway?"
Bellamy made a gruff agreeable sound in the back of his throat. "What are you doing up here anyway?"
"I like to come here sometimes. It's quiet."
"There's only a few of these spots left on Mecha. Have you seen the one beside the canteen? It's a great spot for moon rises."
"You'll have to show me that one. It's been a while since I've seen a moon rise."
"It's a date." He nodded with a smile and then froze, stumbling over his words. "I didn't mean a date. I-I just meant I'd show you." Scratching the back of his neck, Bellamy made a face. "If you wanted to I-I mean?"
It was strange to see Bellamy as a stumbling, mumbling wreck. He'd always been the strong, sure guard in her eyes. "It's fine, Blake. I know what you meant." Not that she wouldn't want it to be a date. She'd never had one. There had been guys in her past, she was a young 20 year old. Even if she didn't think of herself as attractive, rather average looking in her eyes, there had still been interest.
"Cool."
Silence overtook the pair as Nora leaned over the railing, staring down at the people below again. Bellamy took the moment to stare at the redhead, his eyes scanning her. He wanted to know more about her, her history, what happened to her parents, what she wanted to do with her life here on the Ark… All he knew about her was that she lived and worked in the children's centre, she had a penchant for stealing and put others first. She was still a bit of a mystery.
The redhead turned to look back at him, a nervousness in her eyes. "I know we haven't known each other that long, but can I ask you a favour?"
"Sure?"
"Would you train me too?"
"Train you?"
"Yeah." Turning, she crossed her legs and faced him. "I want to learn. Figure it's about time I learn how to defend myself. Who better to learn from, than a guard?"
"I'm not a guard yet."
"Same difference." She waved it off, staring up at him with wide hazel eyes."Whatever you learn, you can teach me too."
"Who do you wanna defend yourself from?"
Her light eyes immediately flitted across his face before looking away and fiddling with the ends of her long flowing locks. "Just… in general, I guess."
"Is this about what happened in the canteen last time?" Nora went silent. Bellamy had cracked it in one. "Is that the reason?"
"I just wanna learn. I'm not doing much else with my spare time."
His dark eyes studied her close; her slim body coiling into itself as she avoided his stare. It was definitely the guy that had rattled her, but for some reason, he knew it went deeper than that. Maybe it was Shumway too, she had an obvious dislike for the older guard. "Okay."
Her head snapped up, eyes wide and mouth parted. "Really?"
"Sure."
A smile pulled her lips up. "Thanks. Didn't think you'd actually say yes."
"If it'll make you feel safer... and also keep Shumway off your mind."
The smile slipped from her face and she stilled. Nodding meekly, she went back to leaning over the railing, but instead looked up and out through the glass and into space. Her hazel eyes soon found the bright stars that seemed close enough to touch.
"What's the deal with you and Shumway, anyway? He knows you well?"
"You could say that." She mumbled. "He was responsible for floating my father when I was 13."
Bellamy thought it might have been something along the lines of that. Screwing his face up, he went to reach out to her but pulled back before he could. They weren't that close and he had already stuck his foot in his mouth. "Shit, I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's been 7 years. I still miss him; I just try to make Shumway's life a living hell whenever I get the chance."
Bellamy chuckled as she smirked at him. "What happened?"
Not moving from her spot as she leaned over the rails, she spoke softly and quietly, the smile slipping from her face. "My mom died when I was born, a complication during the birth. My dad raised me on his own but when I was 13, I was really sick... I think it was an allergic reaction to something. My dad thought I was going to die, I would probably have." Scoffing to herself, her eyes continued to scan the crowds. "He couldn't lose anyone else, not after my mother. So he stole medicine for me."
Sparing a look at Bellamy, she expected to see him looking at her scornfully but his eyes were full of sadness and sympathy for her, with a look of understanding washing over his face. "We had already reached our monthly quota, but there was no other option. He spoke to Abby, she gave it to him without question. On his way to back home, he was caught, searched and questioned by Shumway." Her light hazel eyes turned dark and cold. "He was new on the job, first couple years of being a guard but he had power and a lot of pull with the other older guards. Shumway sentenced him and then floated him the next day." Giving a small shrug, biting down on her lower lip. "Abby helped me, took me to see my dad before... he... um-"
Shaking her head, she moved on, sniffing back the tears, memories flooding her brain of the moment her father was sucked out into space mercilessly. He had shared a few parting words and hugs before he was gone and she was left alone. "She took me to her home, gave me medicine I needed and time to recover. I was sent to the children's centre after, no one was really allowed to adopt then. Ever since, Abby's always helped me and the centre. She felt so awful about it all, but my dad knew the risk. He did what he had to. Shumway always had it out for him. About a week after my dad had been floated, I saw Shumway for the first time and attacked him." Nora shrugged as if it were nothing before a wide smile appeared on her face. "You know that scar about his right eye?" She watched as Bellamy nodded, a small smirk playing on his lips. "I gave that to him. Sliced him open good. It didn't bring him back, but damn it felt good."
Bellamy chuckled beside her, leaning forward over the rails, mirroring her movements. "You didn't get arrested for that?"
"Of course I did. Shumway even tried to get me floated for it, at 13! But Abby stepped in again, blamed it on grief and got me pardoned. Since then Shumway makes sure to make my life a misery. He's cut short our rations before when food was low on his deck. Put a cap on our water allowance. Stopped the kids from having too many educational visits. I know he's just waiting for the first opportunity to float me."
The cadet's thoughts drifted to his mother, how she had always been close with the guards. It was the way he got to be a cadet so quickly. She had always been the one to guard them from the outside world and problems. If anything happened to his mother, he didn't know what he and Octavia would do next. How he would look after Octavia. She would be a greater risk. Possibly end up exposed and floated. But he still had them... for now.
The woman beside him didn't have her family. All she had was the kids in the centre.
Glancing to his side, he saw her small body and vowed to keep Shumway far away from her. Taking a risk, he leaned over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, giving a small squeeze. "It'll be harder for Shumway to get to you now with a cadet on your side." Sending the woman a wink and a cheeky grin, he saw a smile return to her lips.
"Thanks, Blake." She sniffed, leaning into his hold as they looked out over the rails to the sea of people below.
What they didn't see below was the cold, hard eyes of the guard who was the topic of their conversation. Shumway clenched his jaw as he spotted the pair sat on the dark shadows of the bridge above. He made sure to keep an eye on Bellamy Blake.
