Chapter 2
Hello to everyone who reads my work. I wanted to say thank you for reading and supporting the story with your favorites and reviews. I really appreciate it as I never thought that this story would take off for me. I should be updating every week, but may switch to bi-weekly until the story is finished. I have plenty of ideas as to where I want this to go. Thanks so much. Enjoy!
Bellamy stands at the gate with his eyes locked on the blonde-headed figure stalking off into the distance. Clarke's silhouette continues to become smaller and smaller until she disappears into the fauna of the forest. Bellamy's jet black eyes remain fixed on the point where she vanished. I hope you can forgive yourself Clarke. I hope to see you again. The swift humming of electricity surges through the wires and buzzes in Bellamy's ears. The sounds around him are drowned out by his mind as thoughts feel ajar with worry and inner conflict. A soft voice echoes behind Bellamy.
"…bell."
A tender hand grips his shoulder from behind and makes him jump momentarily.
"Bell, are you alright?"
Bellamy cranes his neck to the side while his right hand moves across his chest to join with his sisters.
"Yeah, O. I'm alright."
"What's wrong, Bell? Where's Clarke? Weren't you two coming in together?"
"We were, but Clarke decided it was time to go."
Octavia's hand falls away from her brother's while her brow furrows in quiet contemplation. Maybe this is for the best. She doesn't deserve this place considering what she did to Tondc.
"Maybe she needs some time alone Bell. After what happened with Finn, the War, and those bastards in Mount Weather, she needs to time."
"Maybe you're right, O. But a part of me feels like she is never coming back."
"If we need her, Clarke will come back on her own time. Until then, let's try and focus on what's really important."
Octavia steps backwards turning on her heel and swiftly moving towards the inner part of the campsite. Her hand extends outward showing the reunion.
"They need us to be strong and thinking about here Bellamy."
The scene is a mixture of emotion. The flood of parents trying to find their sons and daughters is like the tide coming in at night. It is filled with the outreach of hands finding their loved ones and some grasping at the empty air. Many cry openly and all for different reasons.
"You are right Octavia. I just cannot help but think it only gets worse from here. We have more people to take care of and less resources. We don't even know our status with the Grounders."
"They left our people to die in that mountain Bellamy. They abandoned us on the field. They have no honor."
"It's never that simple. War is war." Bellamy state flatly shifting his weight onto his right foot and begins to march away. "I'm going to go find the Chancellor. I need to know what's happening now. We have to be prepared for anything."
Bellamy walks forward around the mass of people. He brushes his body past several elderly on his way around the huddled mass. He offers apologies for his unwanted contact and continues to circle around towards the remnants of his old home. The rubble of the Ark stands firm into the rock face as if nature had built them together. The metal frame shakes a little against the wind with small creaks of rust. The sunlight bounces off of reflect metallic sheets only to be suddenly blotted out. A small rumble in the distance echoes across the open plain indicating an oncoming storm. Bellamy heads inside to find the Chancellor.
Bellamy navigates his way towards the modified sick bay. The ward at Camp Jaha is filled with a handful of patients. The entrance to the room is shrouded in plastic strips to slow the movement of bacteria and contain the barrier between patients and the general population. The room contains a dozen beds filled with patients with varying injuries. Jackson's brow drips with sweat as he attended each person with medical expertise.
Bellamy steps into the room gently lifting the plastic veiled door with his arm. The clear strips fall behind him with a soft thud as he steps into the room. The soft clicking of his boots against the plated flooring echoes throughout the silence. The only other sound echoing is the interment beat of a heart monitor in the far right corner. His dark brown eyes survey the room as he walks forward to find Abby laying in the corner with Kane sitting at her side. Kane's hand remains held with hers for a moment as they both turn to Bellamy. Bellamy momentarily notices Raven laying stagnant with deep breathes. Raven's body remains unmoving as the tube in her arm suggests some type of medication is keeping her in a dream-like state. There are multiple bandages covering several wounds. Raven's brace remains unused as it hangs from the foot of her bed. Bellamy refocuses his attention to the Councilor and Chancellor.
"Bellamy."
"Kane, sir."
Abby smiles for a moment and begins to prop herself up on her elbows with a slight wince. Her body legs and arms are covered like Raven. Each are wrapped around the holes in her flesh and bones drilled by the people of Mountain Weather. Bellamy's jaw tightens momentarily as he reflects on the horror committed against his people. Their life to be exchanged for others unworthy of the chance. A part of him was glad that Mount Weather no longer existed. Only a small part of him cared that they were gone as there were a few good souls among the foul.
Abby notes Bellamy's uneasiness, "I'm fine. Wounds always recover if taken care of and Jackson is doing just that."
Abby attempts to look around Bellamy and Kane by shifting side to side, "Where is Clarke?"
Bellamy's face flattens stiff while the emotion drains away. He takes a deep breath holding it in as long as possible as his eyes flutter to and from Abby's face. Kane narrows his eyes at the boy and notes that there were no other footsteps behind Bellamy as he entered the ward. Kane releases his grip of Abby's hand and looks towards the small entrance.
Bellamy began, "She isn't here. She decided to leave the camp."
Abby's face surged with undefinable emotion as her facial expression dropped from a smile to a flat line. "What do you mean she left the camp?"
"She decided to leave. Clarke said that she couldn't stay here and see everyone's face. That it reminded her of all the people she," Bellamy paused for a moment to correct himself. "That we had killed on the mountain."
Abby slowly lowered herself onto the cot letting her head titled backwards. Her eyes slowly closed together as a few tears roll down her cheeks. "I just get my daughter back and now, she is gone again."
Kane interjects, "Abby, Clarke will be fine. I am willing to guess that she will be back in a few days' time. She is smart enough to stay within a distance of this camp that will make survival easy enough. We can look for her, but right now we need to talk about what is happening with the Grounders and what we will do from here."
Kane lifts himself from his seat closing his eyes for a moment and while nodding to Bellamy to leave the room with him. They both move from the almost silent ward to the busy noise of the hall. The small pitter-patter of rain can be heard distinctly as several people pass by with slightly drenched clothing.
"Bellamy, you did a good job today. You and Clarke saved us all, but we need to think ahead. With Abby unable to perform her duties, I am going to need your help in organizing groups. We need to find out what is happening with our people. First, we need to send an emissary to the Grounders. They left us on the battlefield, yes. That is true. But we cannot fight them right now, and more importantly we don't need to if they are willing to reconcile our truce. After that, we need to find supplies for our people. And even further, we need to find all the other stations that landed here. It has been weeks since we have landed on Earth and we have no contact with the other stations. We need a communication satellite up and running as soon as possible. I need you to help me getting in contact with the Grounders."
"Octavia knows where their encampment was and she can probably find them easily."
"Good, good. We need to know what they are doing and planning. More importantly, we need to know if our truce can still hold. I will talk to Wick about getting that radio satellite working again. However, it seems that today it will not happen. I'll talk with the Chancellor. For now, I need you to talk to your sister and prepare to go to the Grounders camp. We need to head this off as fast as possible."
Bellamy nods to Kane as the councilor headed back into the recovery ward. While turning around, Bellamy walks through the corridors his mind filled with worry. Just when we need you the most Clarke.
The swift beating of his heart reverberates in his ears as his legs begin to tire as they fill with lactic acid. The sound of a deep rumble in the background entrances his body to move faster as the jet black animal dashes through the forest floor. The pounding of his military boots across the planned path crunch against the dead leaves on the ground. His hand instinctively moves towards his belt to unlock his gun. The cats' paws prance against the ground and it lunges forward. The man slides on the floor dipping low into a curl ducking his crew cut, blonde hair to the dirt. The cat misses the target crashing into a nearby tree with a loud crack. The cat screeches in pain with a high squeak. A small smirk forms across the man's lips as he takes out his pistol and shoots the animal twice in the chest.
He slowly begins to drag the animal towards his camp nestled in a rocky overpass near the river. He dares not go any further than the mountains boundaries in hopes to remain alive. His people are dead and travelling past the land he knows is death. He tosses the animal down the side of the small cliff and jumps down after it. A small fire glows in the distance with a warm heat. A tent remains erect in a crevice close to the fire. He drags the cat close to the campsite edge and leaves it there. He ruffles in his tent to find a small canteen and drinks the water furiously as if his thirst could never be quenched.
As he finishes the water, he notes a small Velcro strip on the ground with his name written on it. He bends down to pick it up rubbing the dirt and sand off it. The letters 'E' and 'M' become visible as he tosses the strip into the fire and continues to drink his canteen. A small crunch of leaves behind him make him on edge as he pulls out his pistol and points it in the direction of the sound.
"Whose there?"
His blue eyes wander the area as he slowly lowers his gun in search of the AR-15 in his tent. The rustling for his gun distracts him as sudden punch to the back of his head sends him reeling forwards with a hard thud to the ground. His eyes flicker rapidly as the world becomes shrouded in black.