The latest groups of scouts returned from checking out the crash sites and found no people and no supplies. Teams were sent out to retrieve as much metal as possible from the Ark remnants.
"Anya, there were no bodies," reported Gustus.
"I see. Any tracks?"
"Heading toward the Mount."
"Thank you, Gustus. I'll deal with it." Anya turned and searched the sky for some kind of help. With the focus on rebuilding the village they hadn't been guarding the boundaries like they used to. Nothing good would come from this.
x
Clarke and Indra met with Anya every evening as instructed. It appeared that the two leaders had a strange division of labor Clarke had yet to figure out. Indra showed little interest in how anything worked, more concerned in getting the job done. Anya asked wide-eyed questions about how everything functioned. It became commonplace for Anya and Clarke to talk into the early morning hours.
Tonight, Clarke took Anya to the fisa house to show her how their new building would reduce infections, be easier to clean, and allow patients to call for help with the touch of button.
"I never thought I'd live to see anything like this in a trigedakru village. We all assumed that we'd never reach this point until after the mountain fell." Anya pointed at the plastic stick on one of the beds. "This will call you? No matter where you're at?"
"Yeah." Clarke showed her the band on left wrist. "This receives a signal when a call button's pressed, and vibrates letting me know that I need to get here quickly." Clarke took off the band, and handed it to Anya. "Try it."
Pressing the button with hand, Anya felt the band vibrate in the other. "This is wonderful. And you said it works on an invisible network in the air?"
"I don't know why you don't ask Raven about this stuff. She could explain it better."
Anya's soft smile then had to be the first time Clarke saw anything soft in her. "I like it when you explain it."
x
Ambling around the village, Bellamy saw Lincoln decked out in warrior gear. Curious, he jogged up to the man. "Hey. What's going on?"
Lincoln didn't answer.
Wanting to make up for having tortured Lincoln in at least some small way, Bellamy said, "I want to help."
Turning to face Bellamy, Lincoln, head leaning back as he sized Bellamy up, considered the boy's mettle. "Get battle ready. I'll meet you at the gate."
"I'll be there." Bellamy raced to get ready.
x
"Has anyone seen Finn?" Raven asked, joining the group around the fire. "He said he was going for a walk and not to wait up for him. That was over a week ago and I feel like I'm the only one who misses him."
"Sorry, Raven. Haven't seen him." Clarke popped the roasted walnut in her mouth and glanced at Murphy.
There were shaking heads and apologies all around. Defeated, Raven plopped down and grabbed a bottle of shine.
As the chatter resumed, Clarke noticed Anya heading toward the fisa house and left to catch up to her.
Once through the door, Clarke got thrown across the room and as Anya tried to pin her, she tumbled and turned things around. Clarke straddled Anya, pinning her hands above her head. "Better?"
"I'd say." The kiss, ferocious at the start, seemed to wear down until all touches were petal soft.
x
Murphy set a drink in front of Bellamy as he sat at the all-purpose table in their house. "You disappear every couple days and come back looking like O got floated. Where do you go all the time?"
"Lincoln and I go through the tunnels, the Reaper tunnels, and collect the dead. Men, women, and, ah, children all waxy and bandaged in pure white gauze. We build their pyres and set them, I don't know, free I guess." Bell downed half the glass and coughed at the burn. "I don't want to talk about it. I want to know why you and Clarke aren't speaking. It's been almost two weeks."
"When I have something to say to her, we'll talk again." Murphy sat across from Bell and ran a finger around the rim of his cup. "So I heard you tortured Lincoln back at the dropship, and I can't help but wonder how you two manage to get along now."
"Unspoken agreements to never talk about it. And I do all the heavy lifting, as a sort of penance." Swallowing more shine, Bellamy's face scrunched like he'd sucked on a rotten lemon. "Can't Jasper improve the taste of this crap?"
Knowing a subject change when he heard one, Murphy shrugged. "We can only hope he's working on it."
x
Taking a walk deep in the woods, Clarke and Anya got attacked by a patrol from Mount Weather. The two women killed several of them and the remaining two ran off.
When Clarke examined the bodies, she saw the uniforms and shock batons. "These three are from the Ark." She stared at Anya. "That means the Mountain Men didn't kill them like we'd assumed. They joined them."
"That's not good news." Anya looked toward the mountain. "How many of our new arrivals will fight against them? People that might be family?"
"Most of us don't have any family. I think the ones we'd have to worry about are Monty and Jasper. We can work around them easily though." Clarke beat the dirt off her knees.
Anya nodded her agreement. "We need to get back. Let Indra know about the alliance between the Arkers and Mountain Men."
x
Sitting on their mat while Clarke stayed out late again, Bellamy and Murphy shared a plate of sweet berries. "How's Clarke dealing with her mother being the Chancellor of our enemies?"
"You know you could ask her yourself."
"Nah."
"Murphy, you two are beyond childish. Rebuilding our home to fit the grid wasn't exactly fun while being the go between for you two. We'd have finished a day sooner if you two'd just fucking speak to each other."
"It's not gonna happen. Hey, what's the deal with the tunnels? You haven't gone in a while." Murphy kicked Bell's foot.
"The Reapers aren't a picnic on a normal day, but they've gone extra crazy and we can't get beyond the first fork to retrieve anyone. We'll check again in a couple days. How's life as Indra's second?"
"I'm her main second these days. Got promoted to chief second last week. I've had to fight her twice and she's tough. I'll beat her eventually though."
"Yeah when she's old and gray maybe." Bell laughed and Murphy joined in before throwing a berry at him.
"And you think I'm the asshole."
"Well, yeah." Bell chuckled some more. "It's not like you didn't earn the title."
"Then call me the King Asshole and bow down to my royal dickishness."
Bellamy hit him with a pillow.
x
As Nyko stitched up the gunshot wound in Clarke's shoulder, Monty sat next to her, a stubborn air about him. "Do you have a plan?"
"To deal with my delusional mother?" Clarke sighed. "No. According to the last prisoner, Abby believes I've been brainwashed. She's trying to rescue me. I, I don't know how to combat that kind of crazy. How about you? How're you doing with your mom in the Mount too?"
"I try not to think about it. I don't like to worry about which I want more: for her to live or for me to."
"Yeah, no one wants to make that kind of decision."
Nyko grunted. "When I was young, I had to fight the village my brother lived in. We clashed. And I chose me. We all choose ourselves." He finished tying the bandage on Clarke. "Don't forget to drink your tea."
"Thanks, Nyko."
"You should thank our medicine man here. He makes good cures." Nyko nodded at Monty.
"Thanks, Nyk." Monty said, faking the best smile he could. "I live to serve."
x
"Will we ever be able to let other people know about us?" Clarke asked as she held Anya after another sweaty evening.
Anya ran her fingers up and down Clarke's arm. "No. The village expects certain behavior from me. And being loyal to my partner is one of them. I would be except Indra and I haven't felt anything more than friendship for a long time. If I fail to live up to those expectations in the eyes of my people, then my authority will mean nothing to them. They'll see both Indra and myself as too weak to rule. There'd be infighting and..."
"I get it. And I'll take what I can get," Clarke said before kissing Anya. She poured every ounce of love she felt into it and tried to drink in as much as she could while she could.