"I'm not going to let these people die here." —Marcus Kane, "The Calm"
In the three weeks since they started the blockade of Mount Weather, they had since abandoned the effort. With the City of Light dismantled — primarily thanks to Raven, Sinclair, and Monty — Jaha was his old self and had alerted them of the nuclear wave that was heading their way. The 'death wave' as he called it would arrive at Arkadia in a month. 96% of Earth would be uninhabitable. They decided that they had more important concerns than Ontari in Mount Weather.
Their first thought was to improve Arkadia's exterior to allow Skaikru to inhabit there. But they ruled that out in a Council decision, deciding that all of them — including members of the Coalition — would need to find a place to stay. They could of course take Mount Weather from Ontari, but they didn't want to risk the lives. Their best choice was finding a spot in the 4% of Earth that would still be habitable after the wave hit.
They had all members of the Engineering, Mechanical, Chemistry, Agro, and Environment and Resources departments working on the issue. They all had state-of-the-art computers and could devote all of their resources to the problem. Bennett was the leader of the "project" as head of Environment and Resources and he was doing a remarkable job.
Kane walked down the hallway — faster than he had been able to weeks earlier — and went through the open door of E and R. It was packed with people all staring at the same massive screen. The last of Bennett's tests was finishing and they would know if they had a chance of moving to a new location or if they would be forced back in the Ice Nation Civil War.
They didn't even notice that Kane had arrived, save for the people in the back. Macallan van Dijk and Lori Matossi stepped aside to let Kane through and the others did too when they saw him. Within a minute, he was between Bennett and Sinclair, watching the number on the screen creep toward 100%.
The screen went black for a moment before it loaded with the results. Kane's eyes widened.
Of the 510,100,000 km² available, they had 20,404,000 km² to work with. Most of the "pockets of survivability" as they were calling them were in the ocean. But they had about 35% to work with on land, which left them with 7,141,400 km². Unfortunately, a lot of that was in other countries. But, there were two spots in what used to be North America. One was deep in Ice Nation territory, the other was where the Baja California Peninsula used to be.
Kane shared a look with Bennett and Sinclair. They all knew which one they would go for and it wouldn't be the one in the always warm weather.
Bennett turned toward the group surrounding him and, pointing at the spot to the North, said, "There it is, that's our only chance. Start mapping routes there and packing. We need to leave soon."
As the workers began to walk back to their work stations in their respective departments, Kane turned to Bennett and Sinclair and said, "Council meeting in 15 minutes."
The Council chamber was full for the first time in a long time. All six Councillors plus the Chancellor were there, of course, but so were Clarke, Monty, Raven, Eleanor Nelson (head of Agro and enormously pregnant), Jaha, Roan, Lexa, and Indra. The room was tense because the conversation would be life or death.
Bennett opened the discussion by telling everyone what they had found. He brought the map up on the projector and pointed to the triangle of habitable land. "This is where we're going. It's in what used to be the state of Michigan in the USA. It's located in the northern portion of the lower peninsula. The three cities that mark the points are historically called Cheboygan, Grayling, and Traverse City—"
"They're Chebo, Gray, and Traver now," Roan interrupted, studying the map.
Bennett nodded. "Good to know. Anyway, it's a good chunk of land so we'll all be comfortable there. I suggest we move as soon as possible so we can be settled by the time the death wave comes."
"I agree," Lexa said, nodding. Roan nodded too.
There was a breath of silence. Sinclair took over, "It'll take us a full day of driving to get there, but we'll need to recharge the batteries so we'll say two or three days as we'll only get about 7 hours of driving out of it—"
"Actually, if we increase the capacity of the solar panels mounted to the rover," Raven interrupted, "we'll be able to increase their output by 40 percent, making them last a full 9.8 hours before needing a recharge."
"But do we have enough solar panels for all of the vehicles we have?" Scanlan asked. "At my last count, we had six rovers and at least 8 other vehicles."
Sinclair nodded. "We'll have enough, we'll have to build some makeshift ones, but they'll still be able to hold the same amount of amps."
"How many people can each vehicle transport?" Eleanor asked, taking notes for the departments working on the project.
"The six rovers can hold 12 uncomfortably, the five vans will take 20, the three pickups can hold six in the cab and about 10 in the beds." Sinclair replied.
"So that's 220 people per trip," Kane said, thinking.
Jaha interrupted, "We have to prepare ourselves for the likely scenario that we can't save everyone. We have 512 people — they should be our first priority."
"And what about the members of the Coalition?" Indra asked, anger flaring on her face. "We have over 10,000 people."
"They'll have a month to make their own way to Michigan," Jaha said simply.
"We're not leaving them behind!" Kane yelled suddenly. All eyes turned to him. "They're our people too, they're making it if we do."
Indra nodded in approval. The tense moment passed and Jaha remained silent.
"We need to talk about the wounded," Kane began.
"No need," Abby said grimly. "Liza Warren died yesterday morning and Robert Hill won't last until tomorrow. The rest have been discharged."
There was a moment's silence for the dead, but when they continued, they acted as if they hadn't heard the status of those in Medical. Kane turned to Eleanor and asked, "Will you be able to handle the move?"
Eleanor smiled and replied, "Of course, I'm nearly eight months pregnant, but I can still manage."
"Well, if she can do it, any of us can do it," Raven commented.
Kane nodded. "We should start moving by the end of the week—"
"That's only four days, Kane," Monty interrupted. "How are we going to pack up the essential systems that fast?"
"We won't," Jaha replied. "The essential systems will have to be transported by trailer, which we'll have to fix up. So those working on them will have to remain behind until the last shipment starts."
Kane was vaguely reminded of the Chancellor Jaha used to be and he was glad that he wasn't brainwashed anymore. He said, "That's right. All essential personnel will have to remain until the end, likely a few days before the death wave hits."
"You want us to risk our lives for some machines?" Clarke asked, speaking for the first time in the meeting.
"You're not staying," Abby said, giving her daughter a look.
"What do you mean I'm not staying?" Clarke said, frowning. She seemed hurt that she wasn't deemed "essential personnel."
"You'll be going to Michigan with several of the Guard," Kane said. "Your responsibility will be keeping the peace while things are set up."
Reluctantly, she nodded. Bellamy, seated next to her, squeezed her hand. She looked at him, but didn't smile.
"We'll need time to discuss who's leaving on the different convoys," Bennett said.
"Of course," Kane nodded. He looked at the three Grounders in the room. "But, I believe that the Coalition should leave on the first convoy. How long will it take you to get there by horse?"
Lexa considered if for a moment and replied, "A week or a week and a half."
"You should leave by Saturday," Bennett advised, checking his chart. "The acid rain will arrive within the week. We'll provide you with protective coverings."
"Thank you," Lexa replied. She rose to leave, Roan and Indra followed.
Eleanor stood up to and said, "I should get these notes back to the workers. We have a lot to prepare."
She left, followed by the rest of those working on the project: Monty, Raven, and Jaha (a former engineer). That left Clarke and the Council. As the Coalition Ambassador, she should be involved in all decisions for the foreseeable future.
"We have a list of all of our people," Sinclair said, looking down at his tablet. "There are certain departments that need to leave on the first convoy. I would suggest Agro, Engineering, Environment and Resources, nearly all of the Medical department, Chemistry, the teachers, and the children. We need the mechanics here to repair anything that might go wrong. I would suggest sending one on each convoy."
"We only have three mechanics," Kane said, glancing down at his own list. "I want Raven here to decide what needs to be put in the trailer. Mel and Robert will suffice."
"So how many people does that put on the first convoy?" Abby asked.
"Seven guards, three from Agro, two from Engineering save for Sinclair, three from E and R, two mechanics save for Raven, four doctors, three chemists, four teachers, and twenty-one children," Sinclair replied.
"That's only 49," Bennett said. "We have plenty more room."
"Remember the 14 drivers and parents of the children," Abby pointed out. Bennett nodded.
"So 93," Bennett said. "We have room for 127 more people."
"We should do a sign-up sheet," Clarke suggested. "Those who want to go first can. They should know that they'll be establishing our camp."
"That's smart. We'll give them a choice," Kane nodded. He glanced around the table. "Anything else?" No one spoke. "Let's get to work then."
"You're not coming on the first convoy, are you?" Abby asked that night as they packed up the essentials in their apartment.
"I'm needed here," Kane said, zipping his rucksack. He turned to her. "I'll feel a lot better if you're on the first convoy."
She was silent for a moment, but nodded.
He frowned and stepped toward her, pulling her into his arms. "What's wrong?"
Her face pressed against his t-shirt, she whispered, "What happens if Ontari attacks?"
"Then we fight her off," he replied.
She shook her head. "It won't be that simple. She has a massive army, if our guards and all of the Coalition leaves, we'll be virtually defenseless."
"This place will look like a ghost town, there's not need to attack it," he reasoned. He didn't want her to worry, not when he had thousands of miles to travel. "And the convoys won't be going near Mount Weather, we have nothing to worry about."
"I hope you're right," she muttered.
The first convoy was packed and ready to go by Saturday afternoon, but they decided to wait until Sunday morning to leave. Those who were leaving loved ones decided to spent their night following dinner in their homes. Kane found himself on the couch of his home sandwiched between Abby, Benja, and Clarke.
An old movie was on the screen, but they were barely watching it. Benja had his arms wrapped tight around one of Kane's — he still didn't like that Kane was being 'left behind.' Even Clarke stated that she wished he was coming. Abby, silent the whole time, held Kane's hand, her eyes gazing unfocused at the screen.
At last, it was time to go to bed and Clarke and Benja went to their rooms. Abby took Kane by the hand to theirs. She shut the door behind them and pulled him against her. He kissed her slowly, holding her to him by her hips. She sank into his embrace and ran her fingers through his soft hair.
They took it slow that night, mapping each other's skin with their lips. Kane spent a lot of time kissing her stomach, wondering if he would ever hold the child within. He didn't want to tell Abby that he shared her worries about Ontari and her army. He wouldn't do anything to cause her more stress. Their baby was too important.