Here we are again … I'm embarking on a new journey of a fanfiction story. This time, we're going with a post-apocalyptic vibe. I recently watched The 100 on Netflix. I'd been intrigued to write a story based off that show/series of novels. I decided to write it for NaNoWriMo. I'm starting almost halfway through the month, but I'm determined to, at least, get something going. But, here I am in June and I'm still working on it. I hope to have the story finished by the end of my summer.
We'll be heading back to the ground to find out what's happening with the prisoners on the ground. What will happen with Edward, Bella, and crew? Thanks for reading!
Chapter Seven: On The Ground … at Mount Weather
Edward
"Alice, you need to grow up," I hissed, gently guiding her away from the bank of elevators. I wanted to rip into her, scream at her for awful behavior. "You're having this temper tantrum because I asked Bella to be the other person to know the security code? Really?"
"You're my brother. My blood!" she snapped, glaring at me. "She's nothing but an entitled little cunt."
My anger flared as I pinned her with an angry glower. "I am your brother, but we're still strangers," I snapped back. "All I know about you is that you are technologically brilliant, but you have anger management problems, attacking your birth mother on the promenade and throwing the world's biggest temper tantrum because I wouldn't share the security codes with you."
"But, you trust that bitch," Alice sneered, narrowing her ice-blue eyes. "She's just like her dictator father. Fucking bitch."
"That bitch sewed up your leg after you were attacked by that the water snake after you impulsively jumped into the river. That bitch lost her family, her father, in the most cruel way," I explained. "Yes, we're family, but I've known Bella for most of my life. I've known you for a minute and we met while you were in jail. Excuse me for not trusting you …"
"Like I told the bitch, when we get back to the drop ship, I think I'm going to join Jacob," she muttered. "Now, I want to get the fuck out of here. I don't want to see your face. It's clear you're like them, your parents. Close-minded and incapable of loving a byproduct of your mother's rape."
"I'm not arguing with you," I huffed, pinching my nose. "I'm also not like my parents, Alice. I just don't know you. I want to, but your anger issues, along with your lack of impulse control make it really, really difficult. I care about you, and I'll worry about you if you leave."
"Yeah, I'll make it easier for you," Alice huffed. "Don't worry. Don't care. Just like I won't worry or care about you." She turned on her heel, stomping back toward the elevator.
Hearing that from my sister, made my heart shatter a bit. Even though we didn't know each other, I loved my sister. I cared about her, and I didn't want her to be hurt. If she went out on her own, she would be … hurt, or worse … killed. I couldn't afford to lose any more family. I'd already forfeited my relationship with my parents by coming down to the surface. Now, my sister?
"Edward?" Bella called softly. She walked over to me, slipping her tiny hand into mine. "Are you okay?"
I shook my head, looking at Bella. Her skin was pink, slightly sunburnt from walking around in the sun. Her hair was curled over her shoulders, pulled back into a low ponytail. She had some tendrils framing her heart-shaped face. Her dark brows were furrowed as she nibbled on her lower lip. I wanted to nibble on that lip. What are you talking about, Cullen? How had I never noticed how beautiful Bella was?
"You can talk to me, you know?" she urged. "But, after we get off this floor. You're the only one with the security code."
"Right," I chuckled, squeezing her hand. I opened the tablet, finding the code. We walked back to the elevator where I punched in the code. We all got onto the lift. My sister stood on the opposite side of the elevator, scowling angrily. "Where are we going?"
"The garage," Lauren answered. "Emmett radioed that they're ready to go. We may not get very far since they are solar vehicles."
"How many are there?" Bella asked.
"We'll find out when we get to the garage," Alice growled. "You all talk too fucking much."
The doors opened to the garage. Three solar vehicles were parked outside in the waning sunlight. All of our finds had been placed in the rear of the vehicles. Emmett was checking the batteries, but his brows were furrowed. "Can we leave?" I asked.
"The batteries are …" Emmett began, looking at the computer screen, "at less than twenty-five percent. We need to give them at least eight hours in the sunlight to get them all fully charged. We can start them and move them to the outside right now. We would barely get a mile away if we left now."
"Well, it looks like we're staying here tonight," Bella said. "We can take real showers and sleep on actual mattresses."
"Do they have shampoo? Clean clothes?" Lauren asked.
"The clothes that are here are either medical scrubs or military camo," Emmett said, gesturing to a supply closet. It held everything needed to clothe everyone at the drop ship. There were also coats, boots, underwear, and socks. In addition to that, there was an endless supply of scrubs. "We also have walkies to communicate with each other." He handed out a walkie-talkie to everyone, except Jacob. He was pouting at the far end of the garage.
"Okay, if we're staying, we're going to turn things on," Bella explained, clipping the walkie to the waist of her pants. "Not the entire complex. Just enough for the showers and a few of the dorm rooms. We're also going to find shampoo, soap, and laundry facilities."
"While we're here, I'm going to try to get in touch with the Ark," Lauren said. "After a long, hot shower."
"Alice, I know you hate my guts, but I want to check your injury," Bella said, arching a brow. "With the situation how I stitched you up, the wound wasn't really disinfected."
Alice shot Bella scowl, but she nodded. She was favoring her injured leg, despite her anger toward me and Bella.
Handing Bella the tablet, she went back to the command center with Lauren to turn on the power to the complex. It took about an hour to get everything turned on. We began working on emptying out the bodies on the medical floor. The bodies practically fell apart as we loaded them onto crates and brought them to the incinerator to cremate them. Most of us stood in the boiler room, saying prayers and goodbyes to the people who'd lost their lives.
Jacob, Alice and Quil decided not to attend the ad hoc memorial service because they were more interested in getting sleep. Bella stood next to me, clutching my hand in a death grip. She was also crying, seemingly crying over the news about her father, crying about the loss of her family and the hatred she was dealing with from Jacob and Alice. I slid my arm around her waist, curling her to my side. She melted against me, gripping my shirt.
We went back up to the living quarters. Lauren went into the kitchen to see if there were any pots and pans to cook the rabbits we'd hunted on our way in. She began to cook more of her rabbit stew before taking a set of medical scrubs to change into after she'd showered.
I found Bella, walking toward me with wet hair and wearing a pair of tight-fitting camo pants with a tank top and a jacket. She was reading off one of the tablets. She blinked up, smiling at me. "There's a seed bank in here. Filled with everything we'd ever need to grow crops. It's on the same level as the garage. The level below, there's a hydroponic garden … this place has everything we need to survive the winter. It's just around the corner … if I had to hazard a guess, we're in late September, early October. The leaves are changing, and the water was really cold when Paul and Alice jumped in with the water snake."
"Do you ever relax?" I asked her, arching a brow at her.
She pursed her lips, looking momentarily lost. "If I relax, I focus on …" she trailed off and wiped at her face. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm a mess."
"You're a mess who found this place with Emmett," I said, giving her a crooked grin. "You're the farthest thing from a mess, Princess."
She shot me a scowl. "Don't call me that." Her face softened when she saw that I was using it as a term of endearment. "Sorry …" She put the tablet down. "I just …" She looked at me, giving me a shaky smile. "I truly am a mess."
"We all have our moments. Hell, I'm still beating myself up for putting you in the prison," I frowned, shoving my hands into my pocket. "I should have walked away."
"But, you didn't. You helped solve the problem. We're on the ground," she said. "Is it perfect? No. But, we're on the ground and we have a future." Standing on her tip toes, she kissed my cheek. "Thank you, Edward." She pressed her hand against my chest. "Make use of those showers."
I laughed, nodding. "Got it. Where are they at?"
She gave me directions. I picked up some fresh clothes, finding soap and shampoo in the showers. The water was hot, and the overall feeling of gross was washed down the pipes. I even took the time to shave, using one of the razors in the toiletry pack I'd picked up. Walking out of the showers, I felt so much better.
Everyone was in the cafeteria, eating dinner that Lauren had made. Jacob, Alice and Quil were sitting separately, eating their stew with scowls on their faces, talking secretively.
"Do we have the keys to the rovers?" Mike asked, looking over his shoulder.
"They're locked in the garage," Emmett answered. "With Edward's help, I was able to reset the safe with a different code. We're the only ones that know the code."
"I'm assuming you're going to be our head of security?" Bella teased.
"I am the one with the gun," I chuckled, sipping some water.
"We should take inventory of what's in here," Bella muttered.
"Not yet. We need to get everyone here and then we can get things set up," Lauren grinned. "We're nine people. We've got ninety more people at the drop ship site. Divide and conquer."
"We can also put people in jobs for which they're best suited," Emmett nodded. "I'd love to work with Rose in the mechanic's shop. Bella, you're going to be the head of medical. You're the only one who's a trained healer."
"I just needed to take the test and then I'd be a full-fledged doctor," Bella blushed.
"As far as we're concerned, you're the doctor," Mike said.
"Speaking of doctoring, I have to check on Alice's injury," Bella explained, standing up. "I'll help with dishes after I do that." She gave me a grimace, walking to Alice's table.
xx MWMA xx
Bella
"Alice, I need to check your injury," I said.
She gave me a look, but stood up to follow me to the medical bay. I asked her to remove her pants and I had her lay down. I gently prodded the wound, checking for any swelling, warmth, or oozing. "You'll have a scar, Alice."
"Shocker," Alice grumped.
"I know you got the short end of the stick," I said, looking up at her. "Sent to another family with your parentage hidden from you. Then, you were forced into the prison ward because you couldn't understand why you couldn't live with your real mom and dad after hacking into the Ark database. Your dad was a rapist. Your mom? She could barely function because she was raped. Her choice was taken away. I get why you're pissed, but you're free now. This attitude? Not necessary."
"Edward trusts you," Alice sneered. "That's such bullshit."
"I've known Edward for as long as I could remember," I spat. "He's a couple years older than me, but I've known him my whole life. We didn't have the best relationship, but I know him. He's a good man, an honest man. All he knows about you is your prison record and your impulsive nature. Do you blame him for not trusting you?" Alice tried to get up. "No, you'll listen to me. We're beating a dead horse. You need to prove yourself. Then, you can earn that trust."
"Am I done?" she asked, looking down at her leg.
"Yes, but you can't get that wet," I said.
"How the fuck am I supposed to shower if I can't get this wet?" she asked.
"I think I saw something …" I grumped, walking to the storage closet. I found some waterproof bandaging. I gave it to Alice. "Cover your leg with this."
"Do I have to?"
"You don't have to, but if you get the injury wet, you could get an infection and then I'd have to amputate," I said simply. "I don't know if I have any anesthetic or a functioning bone saw. The pain … worse than what you felt with that water snake attack." With wide eyes, Alice took the bandaging, scurrying out of the medical bay.
After cleaning up the medical waste, I helped with dishes with Lauren, walking to the dormitories and found most of our group asleep. Edward sauntered into the dorm, running a towel through his wet hair and he was shirtless.
Hello, ab muscles …
I sat down on one of beds, curling up after I kicked off my boots. Edward saw me trying to not stare at his lean body. He smirked crookedly, walking toward me, and sat down on my bed. "You're awfully pink, Princess."
"You're awfully shirtless, Edward," I snorted.
"Sorry, I was really hot when I got out of the shower, but I'm cooling off now," he said, moving to lay on the bed.
"Um, what are you doing?" I asked, looking at him with a wry grin. "You have the choice of beds, Cullen." I gestured to the rest of the unclaimed, perfectly made beds.
"I know, but I like sleeping with you," he answered. His eyes were shining with a vulnerability I hadn't seen before.
I gave him a smile, laying down next to him. "Are you going to put on shirt?"
"This shirt thing is freaking you out," he whispered, grinning crookedly. His arm slid around my waist, pulling me closer. I could smell his clean, masculine scent lingering on his bare skin. I wasn't sure where to put my hands because I … I was very confused as to what was happening. "Stop fussing, Princess."
"Cullen," I huffed.
His hand cupped my cheek, guiding my chin up so I could look at him. His thumb caressed my cheek. With each pass of his thumb made my skin erupt in tingles. "Why are you freaking out?"
"What's going on here?" I whispered. "I mean, we're in the same bed, but we're not … um … together? Are we?"
"I know that we argued like cats and dogs," he explained, trailing his fingers down my neck to trace along my spine. "But, there's something about you that I'm drawn to. I mean, I've always been drawn to you. I was a jackass to prevent … to … I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't share same beliefs as your father. I thought you felt the same as him."
"That would be a no," I snorted humorlessly.
"So, I acted like an asshole," he frowned. "I'm sorry." He pulled me closer. I had no other option than to place my hands on his chest, feeling the warmth and strength in his muscles. He shuddered, pressing his forehead to mine. "I'm so fucking sorry."
"I didn't help by being a bitch," I said, snuggling closer.
"You are not a bitch. My sister … well … she's the bitch," he laughed quietly, tucking me to his side. "I want … I want to try. I've liked holding your hand, hugging you and just being by your side. You make all of this … easier. I'll completely understand if you don't want anything to do with me."
"Would I be curled up in your arms if I didn't want to try either?" I asked, looping my arm around his waist. "I was starved for human contact, but I happen to like your human contact."
"Me, too, Princess. Me, too," he smiled, holding me closer. I pressed my ear to his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. It was what lulled me to sleep.
xx MWMA xx
The next day, we let the rovers charge and were able to leave after we ate lunch. We sealed up Mount Weather up tight so that our oasis wouldn't be stolen by time, weather or the humans roaming the mountains, whoever they may be. Emmett, Edward, and Mike were driving the Rovers back to the drop ship. Emmett led the caravan of rovers with Lauren acting as navigator and Tyler in the backseat. Edward and I were in the second rover with Quil in the backseat. Mike had Alice and Jacob. Quil wanted to be with them, but Jacob all but screamed at Quil that he wasn't riding with them.
While we were driving, I was brainstorming all the different jobs we needed to fill in Mount Weather.
"This would go by so much faster if there were roads," Quil grumped.
"According to the GPS, I'm on a highway," Edward snorted.
"We're in the middle of a forest," I said, gesturing to the trees surrounding us and the grass underneath the tires.
"Seventy-five years without any human interruption," Edward explained. "Minus the years where the planet had to deal with the nuclear winter."
"Wouldn't the nuclear winter have killed all of this?" Quil asked.
"The world went through a nuclear holocaust. The fact that these trees, animals, nature rebounded is a miracle," I said. "The ground obviously will have the scars of the nuclear bombs. The ambient nuclear energy is higher than most … but our bodies have acclimated to it because our lives spent in space. What we're experiencing down here is less radiation than what we endured on the Ark."
"Why?" Quil frowned.
"Combination of our genetical engineering and solar radiation," Edward answered. I shot him a look, surprised at his response. "My dad was one of the Ark's doctors, Princess. Most of the medical stuff goes over my head, but I did understand how we were able to survive in space. I much prefer the ground to the Ark. I like being able to see the sun rise, smell the fresh air and feel the humidity on my skin."
"I do like that," Quil nodded. "A lot." He looked out the window, shifting in the backseat. He opened his mouth a few times, but huffed, staring at the trees we passed.
"Quil, why were you in the prison?" I asked, trying to draw him out.
"I took extra food rations," Quil muttered quietly. "I was so hungry, and I took two extra protein bars. Commander Blake saw me, shock lashing me and dragging me to the prison ward. I get that things are fixed up in the Ark, but … I needed more. I'd completed a heavy task while I was at work, working in farm station and trying to fix one of the water reclamation systems. It was two extra protein bars. Two! It's not like I stole a month's worth of rations."
"I'm sorry, Quil," Edward murmured. "Some of the rules on the Ark are too stringent, but they have to be. Finite amount of room, finite amount of food, finite amount of people …" His brows furrowed and I knew that he was thinking about when he found me, taking me into custody.
"You worked in farm station?" I questioned.
"No, I worked in mechanics, but I was fixing one of the water reclamation systems," Quil answered. "I did grunt work. I was good at repairing shit. I worked with Emmett to get these rovers going. Someone had to help him. Tyler had no engineering experience and Jacob … he wouldn't do anything." Quil shifted in his seat. "I know that you both don't like Jacob."
"Did you see him before we got on the drop ship?" Edward asked. "Be honest, Quil."
It took some time for Quil to respond, but he did answer. Hesitantly. "No, I didn't. I thought he was like you … a security guard. But, he's not, is he?" Quil asked.
"I've never seen Jacob on the security team in all the time I've worked under Commander Blake," Edward answered honestly. "I've worked in every possible place on the Ark with all the security teams. I never saw a Jacob White on the schedule."
"His last name isn't White," Quil whispered. He fidgeted some more. "It's Black. His last name is Jacob Black."
Edward swerved, making us slam against the doors of the Rover. Over the radio, Emmett called out. "You okay, Cullen?" he asked.
"I thought I saw something," Edward choked out. I blinked to Edward and saw that he was white as a sheet.
"I don't know about you," I said over the radio, "but, I need to stretch my legs and …"
"Oooh, good call, Bella. I've got to pee," Lauren added. "I wish we could have brought the toilets from Mount Weather with us …"
"Amen about that," I snorted.
Edward pulled over, parking behind Emmett. Mike did the same. Lauren hopped out of the Rover, darting into the trees. Quil got out, explaining that he was also going to answer the call of nature. I got out of the car, walking to the driver's side and guiding Edward out of the car. I kept the walkie talkie clipped to the waistband of my pants, guiding him to the back of the rover. I opened the back, sitting down on the bumper. "What is it, Edward? Talk to me," I encouraged.
"Jacob Black is the son of Billy Black … the man who raped my mother," he hissed. "Jacob is Alice's half-brother, just like I'm her half-brother." He shot up, his fists clenched and rage swirling in his green eyes. "That asshole … he …"
I stood up, taking his clenched hands and threaded my fingers with his. "Look at me, Edward."
"He's turning my sister against me, Bella," he growled. "He's related to him. Bella, I don't know … I'm so fucking angry right now." He pressed his forehead to mine, panting heavily. "Even from the grave, Billy Black is fucking with my family."
"McCarty to Cullen," Emmett radioed.
"Take a few moments, Edward. I'm so sorry," I said, trailing my fingers down his jaw. "With all that's happening, having Jacob step away from our group might be the best choice."
"Not with Alice. She cannot go anywhere with him. Even if I have to trust her when I don't," Edward huffed, crushing me to his chest. "I'll be back. I won't be far." He pressed a kiss to my forehead, walking into the woods.
I frowned, sitting in the back of the rover. "Swan to McCarty," I said.
"Where's Cullen?" Emmett asked.
"He had to go to the bathroom. What's up?" I asked.
"We're going to set up camp here. According to Lauren's navigation and the GPS signal, we're about halfway to the drop ship," Emmett explained. "We're going to drive to a lake off this path and then make a plan after we eat."
"Sounds good," I said. "Tell Mike …"
"He's right with me," Emmett chuckled.
"Okay," I nodded, watching as Edward walked back. "Do you think we'll be able to get to the drop ship by tomorrow?"
"More than likely," he said. "I miss Rosie."
"I'm sure you do," I snickered. "I miss her, too. Edward's coming back and we'll be good to go."
Edward made his way back to the rover. His knuckles were raw and bleeding, like he'd beat the shit out of a tree. I hopped out of the rover, picking up his hands. He shook his head. "I just needed to … blow off some steam. I'd rather beat the shit out of Jacob Black, but that would make me a hypocrite."
"How so?" I asked.
"Alice got thrown into the prison for trying to beat the hell out of my parents," he answered wryly. "So, yeah … hypocrite."
"You should talk to her," I encouraged.
"When we get settled to camp, I'll pull her aside," he said.
"We're setting up camp now. We're halfway to the drop ship," I said, relaying Emmett's message. Edward nodded, ambling back to the driver's seat of the rover. When everyone got back into their vehicle, we drove to the nearby lake. Tyler and Mike went in search of firewood. Emmett grabbed Jacob and Quil with the fishing poles. Lauren and I set up a couple of the tents while Edward approached Alice, guiding her the opposite direction of Emmett, Jacob and Quil.
After we set up the campground, Lauren and I worked on my list of jobs for Mount Weather. An hour later, Tyler and Mike started the fire. Lauren found some local, wild vegetables, chopping them up and putting them into large frying pan. Emmett came back with Jacob and Quil. They had a ton of fish, along with a few more rabbits. Emmett said we could have had a deer, but with no way kill it, so they let it wander away.
Quil was talking with Emmett, ignoring Jacob. Tyler was flirting with Lauren as she cooked. Mike was snoozing since he was tired from driving. I was anxiously waiting for Alice and Edward to come back, hopeful that Alice would stay with us. Dinner was made and we dug in, still waiting on the two of them. They came back well after the sun had set. Edward followed Alice. She had tear stains on her cheek, but she didn't look angry. Alice sat down next to Lauren, taking a proffered bowl. Edward took his spot next to me. I handed him a bowl, looking at him with an arched brow.
"I'll tell you after I eat," he whispered. He blinked to Jacob, who was scowling at us. "He's losing his sheep, his blind followers." Tucking into his meal, he watched Jacob with a smirk as Alice asked to sleep in Lauren's tent. Quil was chatting with Tyler, Mike, and Emmett. Jacob was sitting off on his own, with no friends. It took all my strength to not give him the finger, but instead, I looked at the fire dancing within the logs.
When Alice and Lauren went into one of the tents, Edward put his cleaned bowl next to the rest of kitchen supplies that Lauren swiped from Mount Weather. He held out his hand to me, tugging me to my feet. He shot a look back at our group, blowing out a breath when he saw that Jacob was gone. Edward shook his head, guiding me to one of the rovers. He ducked inside, grabbing a blanket and shone a flashlight on the ladder to the roof. I climbed up, taking the blanket from him as he did the same. He arranged it on top the roof, covering us so we wouldn't shiver. He sat back, leaning against one of the spare tires. His eyes were staring at the swaying trees, hiding the night sky. "I told Alice," he said.
"And?" I asked.
"At first, she was indignant, saying that I trying to …" he huffed. "That I was trying to manipulate her and that I was lying to her. I told her about my mom and how she faded away after Jacob's father raped her and the dark years after she gave birth. It had been Jacob's father who had caused that."
"Let me guess … she tried to say that Jacob wasn't his father," I offered.
"You're too fucking smart, Swan," he laughed. "But, I argued with her, explaining that Jacob is just like Billy. He shot your father … your father who wasn't even Chancellor when my mom was attacked. He just attacked the Chancellor because it was the office that floated his father."
"Will she be joining Jacob?" I asked.
"She's not sure. She's pissed at me because of the security code, but now that she had a few days to think about it … she understands," he shrugged. "I don't know her. I want to know her. I want to know my little sister, but she makes it so hard."
"And Jacob?"
"Jacob … I don't think he knows that the girl he's salivating over is his sister," Edward shuddered.
"You think he wants to …?" I trailed off, wrinkling my nose.
"Yeah. His eyes are trained on her boobs," Edward grumbled. "Always … I mean, gross." He slid his arms around me, holding me close. "I hope I made an impact on Alice. I don't want to …"
"I'd offer to talk to her, but she hates me," I grumbled.
"She doesn't. If anything, she respects you for standing your ground," Edward murmured. "She also appreciates your loyalty to me, even though I don't really deserve it."
I huffed and moved so I was sitting astride Edward's hips. I took his face in my hands, forcing him to look at me. "I've forgiven you," I said. "What I did was wrong. My father's reaction was also wrong, but you're not at fault. I made the mistake. Not you."
He was frozen, staring at me with wide eyes. But, his hands moved around my waist and pulled me closer to his body. I slid my hands from his face into his soft hair. "I forgive you. Do you forgive yourself?" We were so close, sharing the same breath. "Edward …"
"Bella," he breathed, gliding his hands up my back and into my hair. "I'll forever make it up you." His lips were so close to mine. I inched closer, brushing my mouth over his. That was all it took before he crushed his mouth against mine. I moaned quietly, trying to move as close as possible to him. His tongue slid between my lips, invading my mouth. He nipped at my lower lip as he cupped my ass with his hands.
Moaning, I deepened the kiss, needing to taste more of him. Our kisses were the most intense thing I'd experienced. Edward's lips were soft, pliant, but demanding. His hands needed to touch, to caress, to hold. He pulled back, panting heavily. "I've wanted to do that … for a long time," he breathed.
"Really?" I asked, scratching his scalp. "I always thought you hated me … calling me an entitled princess, one of the elites." I laughed quietly. "I thought you were a hypocrite, calling me that. You were just as entitled as me, bub."
"I called you that to put up a wall," he shrugged, gliding his lips along my neck, and sucking on my earlobe. "To push my feelings for you down." He kissed back to my lips, devouring my mouth. I melted against him, lost in his kisses and taste. He pulled back, staring at me, and brushing some errant curls back from my face. "Now, you're my princess."
I blushed, grinning at him. "My kingdom is inside a mountain," I quipped. Edward laughed, staring at me. "I'm kidding."
"We should get some sleep, but I don't want to …" he blinked to the campsite.
"Let's sleep up here. The sky is clear, and I wouldn't mind waking up to the sun rising," I suggested. Edward nodded, laying down on the roof of the rover. His head was pillowed by some of the blanket while he curled me onto his chest. His hand idly scratched my back. I sighed, snuggling closer and drifting off to sleep with the sound of crickets as our lullaby.
xx MWMA xx
Edward
We arrived back to the drop ship by the following evening. The change from when we arrived a week ago to what we drove into was dramatic. There were walls around the drop ship. Several barrels had been set up to collect rainwater. A small structure was set off to the side with a fire inside. Rosalie, after she'd kissed Emmett deeply, explained that they'd captured a deer. They needed a way to preserve the meat. Eric Yorkie did some research and figured out how to dry out the meat, creating jerky.
After we got settled, eating some delicious jerky and other goodies from near the drop ship, everyone sat around the campfire, and we told them about what we found at Mount Weather. Many of us were happy about the possibility of being inside and protected by military installation.
A few, mainly Jacob's followers, were none too thrilled. They wanted the freedom to do what they wanted and not move into another location similar to the Ark, with a similar power structure. Bella's speech really put it over the top.
"If, by my estimate, we're close to winter," she said. "We don't have enough room in the drop ship for everyone to have their own private places, but within Mount Weather, there are dorms and private residences for everyone here. Obviously, we need to clean it out since … well … some people tried to leave the protection of Mount Weather before the Earth was safe for humans."
"Ewww! I'm not going to sleep where a person died," Leah, a girl seated next to Jacob, groaned.
"Then, you probably couldn't sleep in many places of the Ark," Bella snapped. "A lot of people died when the Ark was pulled together five years after the bombs. Mount Weather is temporary until winter passes. The temperatures drop below freezing and there's snow, ice, wind … it's not safe. While we deal with the winter weather, we can prepare for the spring and begin planting crops so we can be self-sustaining. We can build our own homes, rebuild the roads. We can contact the Ark. For all they know, we're dead or dying down here. The connection between these biometric cuffs to the Ark could have been lost."
"We did bring back a portable radio," Lauren said. "I'm tech savvy, but this was a bit over my head. Rose, could you set it up?"
"I make no promises, but I'll try," she said. Rosalie took the radio, disappearing into the drop ship.
"I personally think that this whole idea of taking over Mount Weather is bullshit," Jacob scoffed. "Let the Ark think we're dead. That way, we can keep this place for ourselves. Make our own decisions."
"Then, you can choose stay here at the drop ship," I supplied. "But, all the supplies stored within the drop ship will be coming with us. Along with the rovers and technology, as well. You can have the drop ship and the land around it, but everything else is coming with us."
"That's not fair," Leah argued. "We deserve some of this stuff!"
"You can have all of it, if you come with us to Mount Weather," Bella said, arching a brow.
"Bells, I got a hold of the Ark," Rose called from inside the drop ship. "Alec wants to talk to you."
Bella looked up at me, with a grin on her face. "She got in touch with the Ark," she breathed. With a happy little squeak, she left our meeting, darting into the drop ship.
"Emmett, stay here and if you can, get a read on how many people are going to come with us to Mount Weather," I murmured to Emmett.
"You got it, Cullen," he nodded, watching over the buzzing people, eager for something more familiar.
I caught my sister's gaze, keeping my face impassive as I saw her talking to Jasper, who was sitting close to Jacob's group of dissenters. Shaking my head, I went into the drop ship and found Rose, Bella, Lauren, and Tyler at one of the computer screens, speaking with Alec. Alec, who had a scared expression on his face.
"Okay, so let me get this straight," Bella said, pinching her nose. "There's a hurricane heading toward us and Aro is staging some sort of coup?"
"The command center is under the control of Aro's goons," Alec said, looking around the command center furtively. "I was up here, checking on your cuff readings. They're talking about trying to broadcast information about your dad, Bella … it was all lies! Aro was the one responsible for the assassination attempt. He all but admitted it."
"Attempt?" Bella asked. "He's alive."
"Yes, he's alive. He's in medical at the moment, under Dr. Cullen's care because he tried to push it too quickly after being shot," Alec explained. "He should make a full recovery, if he allows his body to heal." He blew out a breath. "I don't know when the hurricane with make landfall, but you need to batten down the hatches and prepare."
"Do you have a radar or an image of this hurricane?" Rose asked. "I know that before the bombs, they were able to track weather systems through satellites."
"Yeah, hold on," Alec said, searching through the computer screens. "I'm not sure if this'll come through, but here's the past few hours of the weather. The dot is where the drop ship landed."
We watched the satellite imagery. It was grainy, but we were able to see the rough track of the hurricane. It was fairly large, spanning from the lower portion of Florida, moving along the eastern seaboard. "I think we've got a couple of days before the hurricane hits us. It might veer off toward a different direction," Tyler said, tracing the coastline. We looked at him. "I liked reading about weather up on the Ark. We never had weather. We had the inky black depths of space with a side of solar radiation. Reading about tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes … it was interesting to me."
"We're going to have a whole lot of interesting," Bella shuddered. "Should we stay here? Wait out the storm in the drop ship, or try to get to Mount Weather."
"Mount Weather," Alec answered, flipping the screen back to his face. "It obviously survived the nuclear apocalypse. It'll definitely survive this hurricane." His face flickered. "We're moving out of range. I'll pass along messages to your families. Be safe."
"Alec …" Bella called. "Tell my father that I love him."
Alec's warm smile was the last thing we saw before the screen turned to crackling snow of interference.
"Is there way to access those satellites?" I asked. "So, we can track that storm?"
"We can't do it here," Lauren answered. "We can do it at Mount Weather. The government system has several weather satellites in orbit. If we leave early tomorrow, we can make it back by tomorrow night."
"We should let everyone know," Bella murmured. "With the rovers, we can make it back by tomorrow night. We don't have enough room to drive everyone. People will have to walk."
"I think we should send a group of people to get Mount Weather ready and to track this storm," Rose said.
"The people we send need to be trustworthy," Bella said. "Lauren, congratulations, you're the head of the command center at Mount Weather. Edward, give her the security code so she can access all of the computer technology."
"I'm going with you," Rose said. "I want to see what's all there. How many people can we fit in those rovers?"
"Four pretty comfortably, but there is an available third row seating option in the rover Cullen drove back to the drop ship," Tyler answered, blinking to me.
"We need to empty out the stuff we'd brought back," I said.
"Let's try and rearrange it so we can just unload it at Mount Weather," Rose said. "We could possibly have eight people in the rover. So, me, Lauren, Emmett, Tyler … Bells, do you want to come?"
"No, I want to organize the caravan and monitor the radio," Bella answered. "I also need to find out who has medical training to help me with med bay. Why don't we send Alice and Jasper?"
"Good idea," I said, smirking. "The more that Alice is away from Jacob, the better. But, with Jasper?"
"He's a good guy. A bit of a stoner, but a good guy," Rose said soothingly. "We're not leaving until tomorrow. You guys make the final decision about who's going to Mount Weather while I try to figure out how to radio back here. Leave … you're hogging my brain."
"Oooh, Rose has her thinking cap on," Bella laughed. "Don't pull something."
"Fuck you, bitch," Rose growled, pushing Bella away. "All of you … do you want to be able to communicate with Mount Weather or what?"
"Hmmmm, good point. Let's head back outside and take a pulse on how many people we need to be able to ferry back and forth to Mount Weather," Bella said. "We also need to check if we can stay here if the hurricane descends on us earlier than anticipated. Tyler, since you've got an interest in this … can you take point?"
"You got it, Bells," Tyler grinned.
I guided Bella back out of the drop ship. We could hear Jacob bad-mouthing everything we'd said. More people were gravitating toward him. I'd give him this … he was a dynamic speaker and could draw a crowd. However, he was the son of the animal who'd hurt my mother. He was the guy who was staring at his half-sister like she was his next meal, like he wanted to fuck every hole and then some …
Bella's hand wriggled into mine, weaving our fingers together, calming my destructive thoughts toward Jacob. In the grand scale of things, he was not a concern. We had to worry more about making sure we had enough shelter for everyone if we were stuck here at the drop ship when the hurricane arrived.
Just another terrifying day on the ground …
A/N: I had a plan for this, but the timing didn't line up. So, yeah … not many pictures with this one, but whatever I have is posted on my blog. It's linked in my profile. I'm also on FB: Tufano79's Twilight Fanfiction Appreciation. Twitter, too: tufano79.
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