Chapter 20
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The man swayed on his feet from his chains, eyes closed as he dozed. Bellamy glanced up at him from where he sat, wondering how they had come to this, what they were going to do with him now. He turned his head as Miller opened the hatch, appearing from below. "Did you talk to the Ark?" Miller nodded, "I just got done talking to John's dad, Digg's mom. I'm supposed to talk to Roma's parents later."
"Thanks for doing that. I owe you," he told him as Miller turned to look at the grounder who was beginning to wake up. "Telling all those people that their kids were killed by grounders, I just wish I could tell them we're getting justice." "We're not killing him," Bellamy argued. Miller pursed his lips in disagreement but nodded acceptingly all the same.
He grabbed a handful of food from one of the plates, striding over to the chained grounder as he did. "You were a lot scarier with all that face paint," he whispered before smearing the food on the grounder's face. He stood there for a moment, taking Miller's abuse. Then he jerked quickly, slamming his head into Miller's effectively knocking him unconscious.
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Ari sat on the ground against a tent stake as Clarke spoke with Chancellor Jaha. "Tell us about the grounder, can he provide any insight to help us survive winter?" Ari snorted, last time she checked they weren't surviving winter, the hundred were. Clarke shook her head, ignoring Ari, "We're doing everything we can to prepare here. Gathering nuts and berries, curing meats, digging for roots. But the truth is we'll freeze before we starve."
Ari frowned at that thought. Octavia's tent had been ruined in the storm leading her to now bunk with Ari. They shared the nest like pile of parachute that Ari used as a bed but it wasn't thick enough for winter. Kane interrupted her train of thought, "We have good news on that front. According to civil defense plans before the war there's an emergency aid depot near the landing site. Here are the coordinates." Ari quickly scribbled them down in the dirt before her, memorizing the picture easily so she could reproduce it on paper.
"In addition to providing supplies it could also provide shelter for the hundred and the citizens coming down from the Ark," Jaha told them factually. Ari smirked, "And what makes you think it's intact?" "It was designed to withstand nuclear warfare," Kane argued back at her. "It's worth a shot," Clarke added.
"Chancellor, I have to object. Project Exodus is under way, the kids should sit tight in their camp until the first dropship launches," it was some blonde woman who interjected. "Even if all goes as planned the hundred would die of exposure before relief arrived," Jaha told her impatiently causing Ari to chuckle. "Trouble up in paradise?" No one answered her though.
"Could Clarke and I have a moment alone?" The council members filed out, "And I know there's a line of parents waiting to talk to their kids." His gaze shifted to Ari, "Starting with you Ms. Winters." She was floored, "Me?" They were both staring at her in confusion. "Yes, your father was very eager to get to speak with you," Jaha told her slowly, as if she might not understand.
"No! No, I don't want to speak to him," she practically shouted. Clarke's brows crumpled in concern, "Ari?" "Give-give my spot to someone else, I don't want it," she told them once more as she fled the tent, nearly crashing right into Bellamy.
"Uh hey," she tried to greet him nonchalantly. He didn't buy it. "What's wrong?" She shook her head, forcing a smile. "I'm great, stupendous actually, if you want to use one of Monty's words. Hey listen, they found a depot with supplies. I think Clarke and I are going to go look for it. I want you to come," she tried to distract him, thankfully it seemed to work. "Yeah, I'll come," he told her, "Go gather your supplies."
With a wide grin, as if he'd given her some present, she took off for her tent. She found Octavia inside sulking. She sighed quietly, sitting next to the youngest Blake on the bed. "I'm going on a mission with Bellamy," she began only to be interrupted by Octavia's pouty, "I don't care." She shushed her, "Just listen. Anyways, as I was saying before you so rudely interrupted, I'm going on a mission with Bellamy and Clarke. That means while everyone else is busy storing food, Bellamy and Clarke will be distracted. I can buy you enough time to get your grounder out."
Octavia blinked at her in surprise, "You would do that? You would help him?" Ari nodded, "I know how much he means to you, Tavi. I believe what you told me about him, how he saved us and you. He may have stabbed me but that doesn't mean he deserves to die," Ari told her honestly. The taller girl launched herself at Ari, engulfing her in an embrace, "You're amazing, you know, that?" Ari chuckled, "Yeah, I know."
She left the tent to find Bellamy stuffing food into his bag. "That's a lot of rations. You realize this is a day trip right?" "A lot could happen in a day," he replied eerily. "That wasn't ominous at all," she told him sarcastically. "Let's get a move on," he said as he pulled on his pack, heading to find Clarke with Ari on his heels. None of them noticed Dax following as they left.
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They climbed over the hill to find a lake surrounded by the ruins of some buildings scattered about, none looking promising. "The depot is around here somewhere," Clarke muttered, blue eyes scanning the landscape for a sign of it. "There's got to be a door," Bellamy told them as he too searched for it.
"Let's just split up. Cover more ground. Stay within shouting distance," Bellamy ordered. Clarke and Ari headed in opposite directions, unsurprisingly Ari was followed by Bellamy as she scanned the ground for a door. "You know the first dropship is coming down soon, pretty sure you can't avoid Jaha forever." "I can try," he replied tersely. "Maybe he'll be lenient?" "Look, I shot the man, Ari. He's not just gonna forgive and forget," he snapped.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, turning away from him. He sighed, "I'm sorry for being a dick." She nodded and they fell into silence. They had lapsed apart several feet when Ari's foot kicked something metal. Falling to her knees, she scrambled to remove the grass from it. Finding a metal door she grinned, "Hey guys! Over here, I found something!"
She struggled to pull it open, stopping when she felt pain in her side. "I think it's rusted shut," she told them. "Yeah, watch out," Bellamy warned before beating on the handle with his ax, breaking it off with a crunch. The three pulled it open with a loud creak.
They walked slowly down the slippery steps, Clarke turning on a flashlight to illuminate the cob webbed covered place. A sign in the hall read, Emergency Aid Depot #23. The whole place smelled musty and abandoned. "You really think this place hasn't been touched since the war?" Ari answered Bellamy's question, "A girl can dream."
The stairwell was even more gross, more cobwebs lining the railing and a decomposed skeleton lying on one of the landings. "A hell of a place to die," Bellamy commented as Ari shuddered, "I'll say." "So much for living down here, this place is disgusting," Clarke added her opinion to the conversation.
"Hey, I found some blankets!" Ari turned excitedly towards Clarke's find. "You excited about a couple of blankets?" "Shit, I am. It's cold as fuck at night," Ari answered Bellamy's question. "Well it is something," Clarke pointed out. "Well we could use something else. Like a canteen or a med kit or a decent freaking tent!" Bellamy slammed his hand down on the lid of a barrel angrily causing both girls to flinch.
He popped the lid off of one barrel to reveal murky, greyish water. Angrily he shouted and kicked the barrel over. Upon hearing the metal clanking noise Ari moved forward as Bellamy did. She glanced up at him when she noticed what the contents of the barrel were. Guns.