CHAPTER 7: THE APPLE DOESN'T FALL FAR.
The soon future;
Branches break along the path I'm running through, the leaves and twigs smack and scratch my face leaving agitated and sore scratches marking my features, leaves are crunching under my rapid running, Bellamy short behind me.
I feel the heat on my face as the forest burns and the fire spits and crackles, laughing at us. Taunting us.
And than I fall, I fall into the deep depths of darkness and light, my cheek pressing against the hard and dirty ground the roaring flames around me, I hear Bellamy scream my name, i hear the worry and panic in his voice, I hear him frantically try to reach me.
who knew if I would ever get back up?
The present;
Clarke:
I feel a smile tugging at the corners of my lips as I watch Madi scold Sean for spilling the water bucket accidentally, she does it with much authority, but also with kindness and forgiveness,
I wonder who she gets the authority inside her from, her fire, the one that can flare burning hot but also be cool enough to encourage and help. I really do.
Boots crunch in the earth as I hear someone walk up beside me,
"Hey, uh, Bellamy told me you are trying to find out who Madi's biological parents are?" Raven says questioningly beside me,
"Biological?"
I echo with a slight confused tone to my voice,
"Yeah, i mean, Madi has you, and you're kind of like her mother in a way, and you're the one that's been taking care of her..." Raven sighs audibly,
"I know, but.. I want to know who her birth parents are, I want her to know." I admit,
the wind lightly pushes against my hair as I feel the emotion build inside me.
"Do you know of an efficient way for us to find out?" I ask, running over every possibility in my tired, exhausted brain.
"I could do a blood test? I mean, we have weapons in storage that we haven't washed from past battles, so they still have some dried blood, and I can always get some samples from the people here if needed." Raven explains technically,
"Do you think that Madi's parents could be some of the dead?" I question worriedly,
"Maybe. But there's only one way to know for sure... do you want me to do the tests? Because it's okay if-"
"No, I need you to do the tests. Madi needs you to," I say cutting Raven off, and as we both stand in the slightly cloudy afternoon watching Madi off in the distance, we each carry a look of worry in our eyes.
As I walk up to my handsome boyfriend, Bellamy, I run over the past events in my head, all the unfortunate and fortunate ones.
I smile brightly, and he flashes me a radiant beaming, thousand watt, million dollar smile.
It may sound like I'm exaggerating, but it's what is it to me.
He wraps his arms around my waist as my hands rest on his chest, i can feel his warm skin through the thin material of his t-shirt.
He kisses my forehead lightly, we both give off an aura of complete happiness together, because no matter what, were always one-hundred percent when we are with each other.
"What have you been up to?" I ask playfully,
"usual things, the day's been kind of dull, but now that your here it just got a thousand times better..." He teases with a wiggle of his eyebrows, swaying a little in his movement and moving closer to me, our noses touching, but in his own way he is meaning it seriously at the same time.
I smack his chest playfully and we both chuckle, "yeah, yeah... I'm glad I have you too." I respond, He smiles boyishly with a charming air, and kisses me soundly, and no matter how many times, how big or small, it'll always be like fireworks.
Wick:
As I walk towards the lab I notice Murphy walking around flamboyantly,
and questionably look at him only for him to shrug it off, with a condescending look on his face.
Chuckling and shaking off the odd feeling as I enter the room i let my gaze immediately fall onto Raven, my beautiful, mechanic and technician I guess, of a girlfriend.
"you look exhausted." I acknowledge softly,
"I'm just tired. We've been travelling for a while now, it's only really now that we get to finally rest for a while." Raven responded.
"How long were you travelling for before you found us?" I ask worriedly,
"I don't know, I lost count of the day's, the amount of time that passed." She whispers,
I sigh slightly, and start to massage her shoulders,
"you'll survive, you always do."
Her hand covers one of mine, and we stay like that for a while, me standing and Raven sitting in her chair.
"Any new projects coming up?" I ask after a while, moving to sit next to her,
"Yeah, I've got to do some blood tests for Madi." Raven admits,
"Why?" I ask,
"Well, Clarke wants to know who Madi's parents are, and I guess Madi does too?" Raven explains questionably,
"Can I help in anyway?" I ask concerned,
"Well... I might need your manly charm for later, for if I need to get blood samples from people and not weapons?" Raven suggests with a laugh.
"I might, be able to do that." I laugh, my voice going a to doubtful tone when I said 'might.'
An we laugh together, bathing in the sounds of each others happiness.
Bellamy:
"Hey Bellamy will you-" jasper asks but than goes silent upon waking up to Clarke and I kissing, we both tear apart, but stay still touching, as my right arm is hung around her waist and her right hands palm is placed gently on my shoulder.
He looked confused and shocked for about half a second, in that time I somehow wondered why, and than it clicked.
We haven't told everyone yet. Whoops.
subconsciously I give him a deadly look in disappointment of him interrupting the time I was having with my Princess.
"I, uh, I'm..." jasper stuttered, now a look of worry and fear on his face, but also one of joy, as if that were possible...
"Don't worry about it jasper, just tell me, what would you like?" I asked dropping the deathly stares, I could sense and see out of the corner of my eye Clarke chuckling silently at the look Jasper had received from me before and failing at trying to hide it, but I quickly go back to giving Jasper my reasonably full attention.
"Could you, like you don't have to if you don't want to, I'm not forcing you, I mean it might not even be important I just wanted to see-" "Jasper." I cut off his nervous rambling,
"What is it?" I ask sternly,
"Can you please help me put this bolt back in the wall?- it, uh, fell out." He stuttered adorably,
Oh, they are just like our little children, like our family. Scratch that, they are our family.
"Okay," I sigh, "lead me to the place where this bolt, 'fell out' from." I command, and slyly smile at Clarke before sauntering off with jasper to fix something I'm almost completely sure he's at fault for. Not that he'd admit it, easily.
Lincoln:
I sit in silence, the dark enveloping me, the air is tight and stuffy, and it strains me to breathe.
I rest my elbows on my knees hunching over, and clasp my hands together, gripping tightly.
As the room becomes easier to see with my eye adjusting to the dark, I take a deep breath and swallow, this was my home.
My cave after running from my tribe.
My safe place, the place that in the start only I knew of.
Now, it's got bits filled of rubble, the dirt masks the air. And dust cakes the rocks.
I can feel my hands are cold and clammy, sure to soon warm up via my body heat.
I take another deep breath, and than I hear a rock of the rubble tumble, falling down.
I stand suddenly, ready to fight.
"Lincoln?" A sweet voice calls, and I lose all sense of fighting, and gain back the ones of feeling.
"Octavia? What are you doing here?" I ask my heartbeat slowing,
"When I couldn't find you in camp, I knew somehow you'd be here. It was a long journey Lincoln, why'd you come alone?" Octavia mumbled.
"Sorry, I just, needed to see it." I say, placing my hands on her shoulders, "so why didn't you bring me?" She inquirers,
"I didn't want to trouble you." I admit slowly, and Octavia looks into my eyes with her bright and shining ones and says,
"I love you Lincoln, you are my world, my space. And I will be here for you no matter what, I just need you to let me."
We embrace in a hug, and than melt into a warm kiss, and afterwards, we walk back to the Ark, together.
Harper:
"Hey, guys!" I call over to Bellamy, jasper and Raven, they wave back and I move to stand in front of them. But almost instantly jasper catches something in the corner of his eye and goes off to investigate,
I turn to the remaining two as they stand by a wall, Bellamy screwing in a bolt.
"Monty has been 'experimenting' and needs some ingredients from out in the woods, can you guys go get them?" I ask,
"why not you?" Raven asks back,
"I already have something else I have to do today." I state,
"well, I can't I have something I have to do too." Raven explains and than immediately stalks off to her lab,
"Bellamy?" I sigh, and he chuckles lightly finishing up the bolt and as he turns to go he speaks clearly,
"yeah i'll go, just let me grab Clarke."
"No problem." I smile, and than I turn to go back to Monty.
Madi:
I'm sitting next to Clarke, watching and listening as she tells me about the bones in our body and their structure, like how the 'Femur', or thigh bone is the longest and strongest bone in the body, and other interesting facts as well.
"Madi, when you're older, is there anything you want to do? Like I know your choices are limited. But what do you picture yourself doing?" Clarke asks,
"I want to be a doctor, like you. Right now I don't really know how to handle sick people, but if it helps, like what you do, I'll do everything I can to learn." I explain softly, my eyes twinkling.
Clarke just smiles, and her happiness reaches her eyes, I lean in, hugging Clarke like I'd hug my mother if I ever could, with love.
"Princess?" I hear Bellamy call uncertainly, Clarke turns to the doorway just as Bellamy comes in, there's something different about the way they are looking at eachother, they still have their conversations in silence, only with their eyes for the two to understand. But, they seem...happier. More lovey dovey than before, or is that just my imagination?
"Hey bell, what's up?" She ponders, as she jumps up and crosses the room to Bellamy as he walks to her too, they meet in the middle together,
He places his hands on her arms, and looks deep into her eyes,
"Harper is sending me out to collect some ingredients for Monty, I got the list before I came here but I was wondering if my Princess would like to join me?" He says sweetly, my? And than it hits me like a bag of bricks.
"Oh!" I squeal, and than cover my mouth with my hands, they both look at me confused, and then burst out laughing, "I'm sorry Madi, I should've told you sooner, I just didn't know when." Clarke chuckles,
"It's okay," I smile, "go with your boyfriend." I laugh, they both go bright red, and than turn to go, hands together, fingers intertwined.
-—
Clarke:
Walking through the woods I could smell the earth, and the soft wind blowing across us mixed with the warmth of the bright sunlight, made today the perfect day to go collecting.
Though, as it got dark out we took out our lamps and walked through the forest with only one thing left to get.
As we spot the radiant purple flower I squat beside it and begin to examine it.
Bellamy places his lamp down next to mine on the grass, grabbing out the bag with the other ingredients and getting it ready to put some more in, "are you sure those are safe to pick?" Bell asks me concerned,
"if they weren't, Monty wouldn't have sent us to get them without warning us to use proper safety equipment," I reassured,
"yeah, but, what if it didn't cross his mind? Or he thought because your a doctor you'd know?" Bellamy questions,
"Monty works with flowers and herbs, he wouldn't have forgotten if something he told us to pick up was poisonous to the touch." I chuckle,
"Okay," Bellamy sighs, "you win.- but what if I just pick it for you?"
Right than at that exact moment, I reach out quickly and pluck the flowers from their place before Bell can do it himself.
I see Bellamy wincing in the corner of my eye, "Bellamy, I'm okay, but you know I feel like you just got more worried and protective when you became my boyfriend and I became your girlfriend." I laugh blushing,
"no, I was and still am always this worried about you." Bellamy admits shaking his head with an expression that read; you had it all wrong, Princess. as well as various other things,
"As I am and was of you." I admit,
The flowers come off reasonably easily, and go into the bag with no trouble.
It was only as I place the last flower in that a single petal falls, and where did it fall? Straight into the lamp, catching alight, in a rush to get away I fling myself back knocking the lamp, lighting the forest aflame, just like the light of day.
Branches break along the path I'm running through, and the leaves and twigs smack and scratch my face, leaving agitated and sore scratches marking my features,
leaves are crunching under my rapid running, Bellamy short behind me.
I feel the heat on my face as the forest burns and the fire spits and crackles, laughing at us. Taunting us.
And than I fell, I fell into the deep depths of darkness and light, my cheek pressing against the hard, dirty ground the roaring flames around me, I hear Bellamy scream my name, i hear the worry and panic in his voice, I hear him frantically try to reach me.
who knew if I would ever get back up?
And just as I thought this, I hear something tumble and fall, an it fell where Bellamy's voice was calling to me from.
I use all of my strength and managed to pull myself up, pain throbbing throughout my entire body.
As I stand I call out to Bellamy, I get no response.
Please, Bellamy, please be okay,
I struggle over to the side where Bellamy was, right then a boulder falls to my right, rolling right towards me.
I jump out of the way only to fall back over again when I land on my feet from the throbbing of pain in them, the boulder rolls over my left leg and I scream loudly, I clench my jaw and wobble as i stand painfully, but the thought of Bellamy being hurt or even worse... that, pains me even more.
I limp over to the location Bellamy should be, "Bellamy!" I call, I hear a low grunt, but the roaring flames block my vision as I search.
I pull my t-shirt up to cover my mouth and nose, and breathe in a small amount at a time, coughing slightly.
I run though the flames as fast as I can with my leg, my clothes and my body burning, I pat myself down and put out all the small fires that had lit, my skin burns, my leg is in extreme pain, and suffering what is a serious injury, my lungs are filled with smoke, and my face is sore covered in bruises and scratches,
I scan the area, and see Bellamy laying on the ground eyes closed, breathing slight.
I can see his eyes rolling around behind his lids. And I say, my voice barley above a whisper, thick with worry, concern and love, tears brimming my eyes, and falling down at a pace.
"Oh god, Bellamy..."
Echo:
There was complete silence...And then, there was war.
Or basically it, people are shouting and yelling loudly, some are running frantically for help from the others, the gates then pulled open as Clarke wobbles dramatically in dragging a almost unconscious Bellamy behind before completely collapsing.
Blood covers them both, red for Bellamy and Black (Nightblood) for Clarke.
Their clothes are blotched with the colours and shades and are burned and hot to the touch of skin.
They are covered in bruises and cuts over their bodies.
Off in the distance of the forest a thick plume of smoke spirals to the sky, and a team of our people rush to put it out.
What the hell happened?
Even though, Clarke has sure made it so Bellamy didn't hit his head as his head landed on her body, safe from the hard ground.
Once they were dragged into a medical lab, Madi crouched down beside Clarke, such a small and young girl looking to protect a woman who is basically her mother, even I can see that.
Wick stands in the doorway, Monty rushes around with Abby trying to tend to their wounds. And I just (panic) stand, stare, and hope.
Emori:
I sit legs and arms folded on the ground of Raven and Wicks room as she works pressing buttons and mumbling things to herself on her computer thingy, I came in here because I thought it'd be quiet. Everyone outside was yelling before, but no one came to us so I assume nothing is really wrong. Plus, it is quiet in here. Just not... silent.
I stand up to leave, going to check on the screams that had occurred just in case, but as I look at Raven to tell her what I'm doing I see a shocked expression placed upon her face, mouth agape, eyes wide, the unexpected playing in her eyes.
"What?" I ask curiously, cautious of the answer, but she's silent, still in disbelief. "Raven! What is it?" I snap, but nothing could stop the feel of confusion inside me at the next seven words. "Madi's parents... I know who they are."
Murphy:
I wipe the sweat from Bellamy's forehead as Abby works on his torso, Clarke is sitting, breathing, she hasn't been checked out.
She kept insisting that nothing is wrong that she's okay, and the only reason it seemed she wasn't was because of smoke inhalation.
But I know she's not, out of the corner of my eye I see her wince and grip her left leg, but than pull away as if it just causes more pain. I'm ninety percent sure that she's hurt but it could also be her worry for Bellamy as worry has many effects on a person, in this case though it's very unlikely.
I haven't said anything. Because I know she'd decline help and then we'd just end up wasting time to help Bellamy here, she'll let us help when Bellamy is okay.
I know it, that is unless her pride gets the better of her again and she declines all help as if not to worry people, what she doesn't realise though, is that declining help even when she isn't okay just makes people worry even more, and it makes her injury worse.
All of a sudden Bellamy shoots up and gasps in the air, "what?-" "Bellamy, don't speak. You need to rest, you inhaled a lot of smoke and got injured pretty intensely." I cut Bellamy off, his eyes go wide as he remembers the last few hours, and play through his head.
"Clarke." He starts to look around but instantly calms when he turns around and see Clarke rushing to him barley noticeably limping, she squats beside him and comforts him, "but I heard you-" "shh, you need to rest." Bellamy and Clarke are both bruised, bloody and badly injured.
And yet, they keep pushing all that away to help each other, Bellamy has now just noticed the mark on her leg that she had been trying desperately to hide this whole time and was in the middle of yelling for people to help her when Raven came bustling in. "Raven?" Abby questions, Ravens eyes are wide with worry for the two on the floor and yet she continues on with what she came in here to say,
"I know who they are, I know who Madi's parents are."
Madi stands suddenly with eagerness and expedition.
"Who?" Madi asks,
"They're-"