Disclaimer: The usual. I don't own anything.
It was the next day, when Abby approached Jaha again. He was in the council meeting room going through the map they had of the location they landed.
"We need to talk." Abby demanded as soon as she entered.
Thelonious Jaha gave a frustrated sigh. "Abby. We talked about this already." He answered her.
"All the injured had been treated and there's no emergency anymore." She pointed out. "I've held my end of the deal. It's your turn now." She stated.
"We still haven't secured our landing site yet. We need to build a perimeter. We need all the guards here." Jaha pointed out. He needed to secure his people's safety.
"Fine. I'll go. Whoever is willing to volunteer can join me. We will get the kids back here and then we can secure it better." Abby was adamant to get to her daughter.
Before Jaha spoke, Kane interrupted him. "Abby's right Jaha." Jaha turned to look at him. "We need those kids here with us if we are to survive. They have been here longer. They know the ground better than us. They can give us more insight on securing the perimeter and any grounder tactics."
Jaha pondered that advise for a moment. Then coming to a decision, he looks at Abby. "Very well. You can take a small crew with you. Only those who volunteer to help. Rest are needed to unload the station and setup the perimeter." He decided.
"Thank you." Abby will reply gratefully with tears in her eyes. She was going to get to see her daughter again.
"I'll come with you." Kane offered. Before Abby could accept, Jaha intervened. "Absolutely not."
Kane looked at Jaha in confusion. "You are needed here. If Abby left, you and I need to maintain order in the station. You cannot volunteer." Jaha stated. It wasn't a discussion. It was an order.
"Jaha's right." Abby agreed and Kane deflated from arguing his side. "You are needed here. I'll ask for volunteers. We'll be ok." Abby told him and stepped out of the room.
- 100 -
It didn't take Abby too long to find people to volunteer to go with her. Some volunteered because they were grateful to her or wanted to be on her side if there are sides to be taken. Some did because their kids were in the dropship. Overall, she had about twenty people willing to come with her to the dropship.
Abby didn't waste any time. She immediately took off in the direction of the dropship. They had a location based on their communications with the dropship when they were in the Ark. Using the direction of the sun and the location they were able to identify where the Alpha station landed, she had a general direction towards where she needs to go.
They moved through the woods, tripping over a few times in the branches and vines, not used to walking through them. But there were no injuries. They made good ground and came across a river. They needed to cross it to get to the other side.
"We need to find a way across." Abby told them.
She started to walk around to find a place where they can go across. A short while later, they found the waterfall where the river is flowing from. The stones were shallow to walk across and Abby took the lead to cross it.
"It's beautiful." Someone said in the group. "We can admire the nature when we have the time. Right now, we need to get to the dropship." Abby replied back with urgency. They followed her across without saying anymore.
Soon, they heard noises in the bushes up ahead. Abby and her group paused.
"Take cover." She whispered to them and they all hid behind the trees with their guns raised.
They waited for whatever is approaching them. They didn't have to wait long.
Finn and his team came through the bushes. "Don't shoot." Abby yelled out to her group, which made Finn and others pause.
"Are you from the Ark?" Abby asked Finn when she saw him in the lead of the team.
"Yes." He answered back.
"Where's Clarke?" Abby asked quickly. Finn's confusion cleared when he realized who she was.
"You're Abby Griffin." He said, looking for confirmation. Abby nodded with tears in her eyes. "Clarke is alive. She sent us to find the survivors." He explained.
"Let's go." Abby dragged him along by his arm as she rushed forward. Finn followed her closely.
"What happened?" Abby asked as they walked together.
"The grounders attacked." Abby paused mid-step to look at him. Then she realized that Finn said Clarke was still alive. She carried on walking.
"Did many survive?" Abby asked him. Finn nodded. "Thanks to your daughter. She had them board the dropship and launch the rockets to kill the grounders attacking." He summarized.
"Oh my god." Abby exclaimed. Her daughter, the kind gentle soul who helped her work as a doctor had been forced to kill people. It made her feel sick, what her daughter had to go through.
"Clarke's ok. She was looking after the injured. She sent us to find you all and bring you back." Finn informed her of his mission.
"We actually wanted to do the same. I was coming to bring all of you to the Alpha station." Abby stated.
"Where did you land?" Finn asked her. He didn't have an exact location where the station landed. He was following the smoke in a general direction.
"A bit further across the river." Abby told him. Finn paused when he heard that. Abby turned around to look at him.
"Across the river? Closer to Mount Weather?" Finn asked to confirm.
"I believe so. Didn't check the map but the mountain looked closer." Abby replied back.
"The grounders won't like that. That area is forbidden. They attacked us when we crossed into that area." Finn explained and resumed his walking.
"We have no choice. Not like we can shift the entire station. All our supplies and personnel are there. We have to be on guard for any grounder retaliation." Abby said. They didn't have a choice on where they crash landed.
"I suppose not. Guess both of us have pissed off the grounders equally." Finn laughed at that and Abby smiled. She liked Finn.
"We're close." Finn informed her and quickened his pace. Abby followed him closely behind.
- 100 -
After a short while, Finn suddenly rushed forward into the clearing and then came to a sudden halt. Abby followed him into the clearing. She can see the wall they had, damaged and the gate was on the floor. What worried them both is the quietness in the camp. They couldn't hear anyone except the insect noises coming from the woods.
"Where's everyone?" Abby asked. Finn shook his head and moved inside. Abby followed him and the rest of them followed behind.
Finn went straight to the dropship. Abby followed him. The rest started to look around the camp for any signs of anyone around. Abby saw the med bay and the clothes, clean and dirty in strips. She saw the half-stocked medication tray in the corner with preserved liquids and dried leaves. The doctor in her was curious to find out what kind of medication they could be. But the mother in her was searching for her daughter.
"They're not here." Finn stated the obvious. "All the guns are gone." He said, exasperated.
"Where could they have gone?" Abby asked, hoping there was an explanation. She wondered if Clarke had come in search of them, and they missed each other. It was easy to get lost in the woods.
"There's only one explanation. Grounders." Finn bit in anger. "They must have taken the survivors for revenge."
It made sense. The grounders lost a lot of their people. They would be looking for revenge. But something still didn't sit right with Abby.
"If they came looking for revenge, why would they take them? Wouldn't they have killed them here?" She asked, hoping Finn was wrong.
Finn chuckled in anger. "They like to torture people to death. It's their way." He answered. Abby swallowed the bile that was forming in her mouth.
The others came back to report they found nothing but the burnt bodies outside the camp.
"We should go after them." Finn told Abby.
"Do you know where to go? Have you been there before?" Abby asked. She needed a lead towards her daughter.
"Not exactly. I remember when Bellamy pointed in the direction where the village is located." Finn answered her.
"Bellamy Blake? The one who shot Chancellor Jaha? He's still alive?" Abby asked confused. Last she heard, Bellamy had left the camp, nowhere to be found.
"Not anymore." Finn informed her. At Abby's curious gaze, he explained. "Bellamy died in the attack."
Abby didn't ask any more questions. She needed Finn to lead her to the grounder village, so she can get her daughter back.
"Let's go. We have no time to waste." Abby said and they started to exit the camp. Before they could, they heard people yelling and surrounding. Abby and others didn't get a chance to raise their weapons before they were surrounded by people in hazmat suits pointing their own rifles towards the group.
"Wait. We're friends." Someone in the hazmat suit spoke. Abby couldn't tell who it was because their faces were all protected.
One person walked forward towards them with his hands raised up. He came near Abby and Finn.
"My name is Emerson. I have been sent here to invite you back to our home." He spoke through the suit. His voice was garbled a bit, but Abby could hear him.
"Where's home?" Finn asked him standing next to her.
"The mountain. We live inside Mount Weather. We saw your ship crash and wanted to render assistance." He told them.
"Mount Weather?" Abby asked. They had a plan to go to Mount Weather for supplies. But they didn't know anyone survived in there. Not until now.
"Yes. It is the safest place to be, if you want to save yourself from grounders." He advised.
"The grounders attacked us because they thought we are with you." Finn replied back.
"They would have. They don't like outsiders. Anyone they see as threat. We need to get back to the mountain. This is the farthest we have come and we came for your people." He explained.
He then looked around the camp. "Where's the rest of them?" He asked.
"The grounders must have taken them." Finn answered, looking angry at the thought.
"We can help you rescue them." Emerson nodded. "But for now, we need to regroup back in the mountain." He said and signalled his people. They all put their guns down and started to move.
"I need to find my daughter." Abby said desperately.
"We will find her. For now, we are outnumbered if we attack a grounder village. We need to regroup and be better armed. Your people from your ship should be reaching the mountain by now. We have sent people to get to other ships that crashed. Once you have all your people, you can regroup and go find your daughter and others." He suggested. And it made sense. There's no point going into the village without proper support.
Abby had no choice but to listen to Emerson. She nodded and both Finn and Abby walked with him under their protection.
- 100 -
The walk to the mountain took longer as they followed a different route. Emerson and his people were going away from where the Alpha station landed, to a new area. Abby kept talking to Finn about the camp and finding out more and more on what went on there, since she didn't get to talk to her daughter about it. She found out about Clarke and Finn's romantic relationship and that Finn still had strong feelings for her daughter. She was glad that her daughter had someone on the ground who loved her.
They reached an open field once they walked out of the forest. The field seemed to go on for miles and the mountain was closer now to them. They walked a short distance from the trees to where they found a metal door at the base of the hill. Emerson walked to it, while the rest waited behind him looking for any threats. Abby and her people stood back, observing it.
"Once we are inside, you need to go through quarantine process." Emerson informed them.
"I understand." Abby replied. She did. It was safety precautions to prevent any unknown germs infecting a closed environment.
One by one Abby's group followed Emerson through the door, followed by the rest of the guards in the hazmat suits. Once inside, Emerson led them to the area marked as quarantine zone. He left with the rest of the guards, leaving them behind in the room.
"Good morning." A cheerful woman came through one of the other doors. She was in a hazmat suit as well.
"We will take you through the quarantine process, before you can join the rest of your people." She told them.
"They're here?" Abby asked surprised.
"Yes. They arrived a while ago." The woman, presumably a doctor answered Abby's question.
Abby visibly relaxed, hearing that. It would mean that the place was safer for her people.
The doctor took them through the quarantine process. They were given private shower rooms where they shed their clothes and had a chemical bath to get rid of any dangerous elements. They were given a change of clothes that fit them. After that, they were given shots and blood samples were taken by capable doctors. Seeing Abby accepting all their requests put the rest of the group at ease, since she was the medical doctor who would know if anything was wrong. The process seemed to be normal medical behaviour.
- 100 -
Once they were cleared, Emerson, now without the hazmat suit approached them.
"Follow me." He said and took them to an elevator.
"How big is the complex?" Abby asked him.
"There's many floors underground. Mostly quarters for those living here. Some laboratory floors and life support system are down below." He answered.
"Are you using nuclear power to run this complex?" Someone from the group asked. They must have been working in the power station in the Ark.
"We have a dam next to us with turbine engines that generates power for us. In case of emergency, we also have a backup generator." He answered the person who asked it. Everyone was excited to hear about the place that survived the wars.
The lift stopped and Emerson opened the doors, letting everyone out. Once they were out, he closed it behind him and led them through the corridor to an open mess hall.
Abby immediately saw the familiar faces. They were mostly there sitting and chatting excited in a dining area as if it was from a movie. Abby took everything in as she looked around, seeing a lot of happy faces. She realized her people were happy to be there.
She found Jaha and Kane at the corner of the room in a dining table with other council members. She walked towards them and saw Kane notice her. He immediately got up from his chair and walked towards her, getting the attention of the rest of the table members. She reached them all quickly.
"Abby. Did you find Clarke?" Kane asked her. Abby couldn't prevent that sob that broke out of her.
She started crying and Kane pulled her into his embrace. She took console from his closeness for a moment.
"I'm sorry." He whispered in her ear. Abby shook her head, realizing she gave the wrong impression.
"She's not dead." She answered through her tears. Kane looked confused.
"The camp was attacked by the grounders, but Clarke survived. So, did most of the kids. But they were captured by the grounders and taken prisoners." Abby explained.
She looked at Jaha who was watching her and listening. "Because we didn't act fast enough." She added, unable to avoid the accusation in her voice. Jaha didn't look shaken by the accusation she was throwing at him.
"We acted as soon as we could." Jaha answered her, in a calm voice. "It wasn't fast enough and now my daughter is in danger, because of you." Abby tried to lash out, but Kane held her strong.
"Ah, you have returned." A voice from behind spoke and Abby turned to look at the person.
She saw an old gentleman, neatly dressed and giving a friendly smile.
"My name is Dante Wallace. I am the President here." He introduced himself.
"Abby Griffin. Chief Medical Officer." Abby introduced herself and shook the hand Dante offered her.
"Abby. I'm grateful for your arrival. I sent my best guard to get you and your children back when I heard you had left." He looked at her with sympathy. "Emerson told me what happened."
"Emerson said you will help find my daughter." Abby told him. She wanted to get on that as soon as she could.
"Yes. We will as soon as we can. You just arrived and you must be exhausted after your landing. Take the night off and rest. Gain back your energy. I will send people to look for them first thing in the morning." Dante assured her.
"I would like to join the team." Kane volunteered. Dante looked up from Abby towards Kane when he heard that.
"I will send my people first. If we have more information, we can send you along." He answered, non-committing. Kane was concerned, but he didn't argue with their host.
"What about the other crash sites?" Jaha asked Dante for the first time since he approached them.
"There were multiple crash sites over a hundred square miles. If there were survivors, we will bring them in, too. You have my word. We need to be careful around the grounders." Dante promised him. Jaha seemed satisfied with that.
"Why are you living inside the mountain? Why not live outside?" Kane asked him.
"It's not survivable for us." Dante answered cryptically.
"I don't understand. The Grounders seem to have managed. There's a lot of them." One of the council members mentioned.
"It was through natural selection. The Grounders who couldn't survive in the radiation didn't. Those who could pass on their DNA. For better or for worse, we never went through that process." Dante explained.
"Well, neither did we. How did we survive?" Jaha asked him.
"Solar radiation." Abby answered him. Dante looked at her, impressed.
"Very good. Your DNA ran through the same gauntlet as the Grounders. Only because radiation levels in space are even higher, your ability to metabolize that radiation is even stronger. Truth be told, our scientists were blown away by the efficiency of your systems." Dante told her.
"Still doesn't explain why you are at conflict with the grounders." Kane pointed out.
"Very observant." Dante commented. "When we realized that the ground is survivable, we tried to go out. But soon, we realized that we cannot survive outside on our own. We became curious as to why the grounders survived. We tried to reach out to them, but the people we sent were killed." Dante explained.
"Sounds familiar. Our people were attacked after they landed too." Jaha told Dante.
"Yes. Grounders are a violent people and they have been trying to kill us when they find us outside. We have some defence mechanisms that prevents them from attacking us, which is why we have survived so far." Dante explained to the table.
"Which is where you come in. I hope you would be able to help us more in your capable skills." Dante said to Abby, once again focusing on her.
"Me? What can I do to help?" Abby asked him confused.
"We are looking for a solution that could cure us from being affected by the radiation in the surface. If you could work with our doctor here, maybe we can find a way to cure everyone and move to the surface where we belong." Dante requested Abby.
"I'm not sure what I can do, but I will help in any way I can." Abby assured him. Dante smiled brightly when he heard that.
"Thank you." He put his hand up and signalled someone. A pretty lady came to the table. "Dr. Abby Griffin, this is Dr. Lorelei Tsing. Our chief doctor. I'm confident that she can provide you with whatever you need." Dante nodded at who smiled at Abby pleasantly.
"I'm great to have you onboard Dr. Griffin." Tsing greeted Abby.
"Please. Call me Abby. We can meet tomorrow and go through what medical records you have. It will help me understand the situation more." Abby told her in doctor mode.
"Of course. I will come find you at breakfast tomorrow." Tsing said and walked away.
"Now that it's done, let's eat dinner and get some rest." Dante told everyone, clapping his hand in excitement. Everyone stood up from the table and moved to the area where food was being served.
- 100 -
Bellamy is disoriented when he woke up. Last thing he remembered was hanging upside down with his blood being drained from him. He realized he wasn't at the lab or the cage. Instead, he was in a soft bed in a room with white walls and bright light. He squeezed his eyes to clear the blurry vision and the brightness bombarding him.
His body was still very weak from the blood drain. He couldn't move much. He tried to lift his arm and it was a struggle. He didn't think he could get up, let alone attempt an escape. Whoever it was, they wanted him weak.
He turned his head around to look around the room. It was a room where everything is white. From the door to the walls to the bed frame to the bedsheets and pillows. There was a table and chair that was white as well. The table contained a see-through jug and a plastic see-through cup.
Bellamy didn't know how long he was in that way. Soon, the only door to the room buzzed and opened. Bellamy stiffened and looked at the person entering the room. It was a lady. Short with dark skin and a smile that is supposed to be friendly, but Bellamy could tell that there was something sinister underneath.
"You're awake." She exclaimed when she saw his eyes opened.
"We were worried we took too much, but you are healing nicely." She said as she came near and inspected the bandages in Bellamy's body where they stuck the needles in.
"Why are you… doing this?" Bellamy asked, his voice hoarse.
She looked at him. "Are you thirsty? Let me get you some water." The lady said and walked to the table. She filled the cup with water and brought it to Bellamy. "Here. Drink up." Bellamy did as he was told because he was thirsty and needed water.
Once he was finished, the lady walked back to the table to place the cup and return again.
"When we found you first, we thought you were just a grounder." She explained. "Imagine our surprise when we tested your blood and realized the potential you carried. You, people from the sky have a higher immunity to radiation than the grounders have. Your blood is special." She said in wonder.
Bellamy listened without replying. He had nothing to say anyway.
"We didn't want to dry you out. We want to preserve you. We need to make you healthy again, so your body will produce more blood." She informed him.
"You're crazy, lady." Bellamy bit out, sounding stronger than before.
"That's , thank you." She replied politely as if she was having a conversation with a colleague.
With that, she left the room with Bellamy locked inside. He didn't see a way out, unless he finds some weakness.