CHAPTER 2: TO THE GROUND WE HAVE RETURNED
Bellamy:
I unhooked my arms from the strap and I unclipped the one around my waist. I feel a jolt of fear run through me as I walked over to the lever that would open the door. "Ready?" I asked to the room around me I saw nods of agreement and fear in everyone's eyes. Even Murphy's. I knew that even if we wanted to we can't hide here forever, we have to open the door sometime, unless we wanna starve. My hand had just rested on the lever when I was taken back in time. To our first day here. That was a very important day. It was the day I started my life on the ground. The day i saw my sister again, for the first time in a long time. And the day I met Clarke.
"Everybody get back!" I said waving my hand in a semicircle around me, I watched silently as everyone took a step back, why haven't I seen O yet? She has to be here, where else would she be if not here? "Stop!" Suddenly all the muttering in the room stopped as everyone's eyes fell on one person. A blonde. The moment my eyes first landed on her I knew my heart was taken. But we would never work. I can tell just by looking at her that she is a privileged. And even if she would come to like me that way...after what I've done? No, I wouldn't be worthy of her. "The air could be toxic." Where the next words out of her mouth after she climbed down the ladder and stood inches away from me. Everyone was silent, I could hear, even feel my heartbeat. Stop it. I told myself, I opened my mouth before I knew what was coming out of it. But hey, at least I made sense "If the airs toxic we're all dead anyway." I didn't mean to sound so rude, it was just how it came out, you know? It was like I couldn't control it. My subconscious mind wanted me to prove myself worthy, of leadership, to be a guard, to be the protector of the blonde.
"Bellamy? Are you okay?" Harper asked, concerned from beside me. My eyes darted to her face for a second, I felt for a second the urge to tell her everything, how I feel about Clarke. The flashback I just had. But I have to be strong, I have to be a leader. I quickly gathered myself together and before I even knew what I was doing, I pulled down hard on the lever.
I sucked in a quick breath as the metal doors began to open, the light from the outside instantly making me squint as it blinded me. The doors finished opening and a big click echoed through the ship as the doors came to their resting positions. I released my breath through my nose and reluctantly took another. I looked around to find the others breathing in steadily the oxygen moving in and out of their lungs as well as my own. "The airs not toxic." Harper muttered. "We beat the odds." Monty laughed, "we survived the fall, and the air! Oh, yeah!" Monty pumped his fist into the air as he laughed and tumbled over to me, a second after Monty pulled up next to me he smacked me on the back and said "Well, should we go?" I smiled at Monty before turning my gaze back to the earth, I felt nervousness creep into me as I walked to the edge of the ship, I looked down at my feet for a second before jumping both feet leaving the metal at the same time, the moment both my feet hit the ground I hear the dirt and the grass being pushed down under my boots. I felt a wave of emotion hit me, so many emotions I wasn't sure which ones where apart of it. Getting the same rush that my sister had I smiled and gave a small chuckle, "We're back, b**ches!" I echoed. (from Octavia, season 01 of the 100 when she first stepped on the ground.)
I stood outside the space station and turned to beckon the others out with my hands, they didn't need much convincing, they all stepped and onto the ground, Raven started spinning in a circle arms spread out wide the wind blowing at her, Monty is laying on the ground as if he was trying to get as close as he possibly could, Harper is laughing to herself staring at the scenery, Murphy is spinning Emori around in a tight embrace, and Echo is standing still away from the others but has a beaming smile on her face. "Hey, what's that?" I heard Emori ask, now free from murphy's hug but her arm around his waist and his arm draped across her shoulders, we all turned to look at where she was pointing, the corner of a tall building sticks out from the trees. "Is that...?" Raven began but she didn't get to finish her sentence because Murphy finished it for her, "Polis." Monty smiled and clapped his hands together twice before putting his arm around Harper's waist, "well, our walk is shorter than we thought it'd be. I guess we better get going now then, I mean only the lives of our friends and family in the bunker are at stake right?" Monty laughed sarcastically, "is there any chance that anyone might be at polis?" Echo asked, "not unless someone from the bunker went searching for us in hopes we survived." Monty explained. "Could there be any...creatures in there?" Raven asked shuddering at the thought, "anything that was outside when the acid wave hit would have been burned to death." I explained, Harper looked to me, "well, if everything and everyone that was outside is dead. Than, what are we going to do for food?" I hesitated unsure if my answer, than I gathered what I could and did what I know Clarke would have done. Keep everybody clam. "Let's just wait and see, there should have been animals that where...immune. And there might even be food one of the places we stop by." We all walked the rest of the way to Polis in anxious silence.
When we arrived at polis the sun had started to sink, I'm standing at the door to the building and feel a wave of sadness hit me, I could feel tears welling up in my eyes just thinking about what had happened the last time I was here. The inside is cold, and dark, Raven somehow seeing a power board instantly got to work on the lights muttering to herself as she did so. "Monty can you give me a hand over here?" Raven asked, I tapped my foot impatiently against the ground, in less than ten seconds on Monty walking to Raven the lights had turned on.
I pulled my eyes away from the location of the room where the rocket was found and instead found myself looking at a much, much more emotional location. Damn.
I run my hand along the side of Clarke's face feeling my fingers tingle, I feel my heart jumping around and decide to pull my hand away. We stand in Polis on a balcony overlooking the rocket as Emori and Echo load it with supplies, but we are not watching them anymore, right now, we only have eyes for eachother.
"We're still holding out hope for that night blood solution." I state trying to break the awkward silence, "there was never any solution." Clarke paused "Ally was right about that." She finished with a sad look in her eyes, "our fight is not over." I said reassuringly, but I'm not completely sure who I'm trying to reassure, me, Clarke or both of us. "My mom had a vision of me dying, just like the one Raven had that told her there was a rocket here." I felt panic seep into me as those words left Clarke's mouth, "that is not the same thing." Was all I could manage to say, Clarke sighed painfully, as if she was fighting back tears, or as if she knew that that's what I was going to say.
"They where both EMP-ed." I started talking almost immediately after she was finsihed her statement, "and Abby will be fine too, Raven told her how to stop it."
"That's not what I'm talking about...If anything happens to me-" "nothing is happening to you." I cut her off my hands now on her shoulders, I fought the urge to shake some sense into her, she can't die, not now, we need her. I need her. I won't let anything happen to her, ever again. I take my hands off her shoulders not being able to hear this anymore, I start walking away and say on my way to the table, "come on, let's run these water numbers again." I place my hands on the bench and Clarke comes over to me as I do so, "please, Bellamy I need you to hear this." As she says this something crumbles inside me, I can hear, practically feel how much this is important to her, I hesitate for a moment even though my decision is already made, than stand up straight and turn to face her. For a second she seemed surprised I did as she asked of easily but that surprise seemed to disappear as fast as it had come. "We've been through a lot together you and I." I shake my head yes in response "I didn't like you at first that's no secret, but even then, every stupid thing you did, it was to protect your sister, and she didn't always see that. But I did." Clarke took a breath before continuing "you've got such a big heart Bellamy." "Clarke.." I force her name from my mouth, my throat feeling dry, "people will follow you, you inspire them because of this." She places her hand on my chest and my heart leaps out to her feeling like it might explode. "But the only way to make sure we survive is if you use this too." She removes her hand from my chest and places a finger to the side of my head instead, I felt the tears welling up in my eyes, "I've got you for that." And all Clarke gave me in response was a shake of her head and the words "Ravens vision came true." Before an explosion went off over at the rocket.
"Hey guys come check this out!" Monty yells urgently pulling me back to reality, I pull my hand up to my face just in case and it comes away wet with tears, I quickly and furiously wipe at my eyes as I walk over to Monty and the others, "what is it?" I ask, I jump down the steps taking two at a time stopping once I get to the bottom, I was so shocked i barley registered that it was me who spoke next, "what does this mean?" Raven looked at me, "maybe someone who got injected with nightblood came out of the bunker and came to look for us here...?" Echo replaced that with her own theory "maybe something dangerous is out there? Something that wasn't there before." Murphy snickers, "if it wasn't there before than how would it be here now?" There was a pause, one where everyone and everything is quiet while we wait for the response to come. "I don't know maybe some chemicals mixed or something." Echo replied, "oh, really-"Monty cut off Murphy, ending the argument-to-come by snapping at them telling them how childish they were acting at this time, everyone was stunned to silence for a moment as that was not how Monty normally behaves but we all understand as much as anyone else would, the things we've been through have the power to change people. Even the best of us. "What do we do now?" Harper suddenly asked, "continue with the plan. This doesn't change anything...it just means that maybe someone came looking for us, or something else is out there. But either way we just have to be on guard. Okay?" Raven announced trying to be reassuring to us but also to herself, "okay." We all replied.
That every same day after checking all the rooms for water and food and coming up empty handed, we left Polis, leaving our memories behind us. We also left behind the discovery that we made. I doubt we'd talk about it much, but we would all think about it. Untill the day when we find out who and why, we will all continue to think of reasons why there, lying fresh on the floor of Polis, was blood. Night blood.