Chapter 13
Bellamy, Finn and Lincoln walked the whole day back to TonDC. They practically didn't take a break instead for drinking at the river. They didn't talk much. All three of them had enough on his mind to keep them going for hours. Lincoln hoped Indra would accept to help them; Finn hoped Clarke was still alive. Bellamy thought of Jane and Octavia he had left behind in Arkadia, and also about the kids trapped in the Mountain. But Chancellor Kane was right. They had no idea what they were going up against and needed more intel.
Every three hours he would radio Arkadia and hear Jane's voice. He would tell her where they were and update her on their progress. She would tell him to be careful and to come back quickly.
By the end of the day, they arrived in TonDC. Darkness was settling on the forest, and the village could be seen from a distance, thanks to the fires lighting it. Indra met them at the entrance.
"Indra, we need to talk," Lincoln said.
"Where's the girl and the baby?" she asked, and Bellamy frowned at her. "Did you find their ship?"
"Yes, we did," Lincoln said. "Bellamy was right. They have men and guns. But you have to come back with us."
"Now why would I do that?"
"Because we can't go up against the Mountain alone. They need us and we need them."
"How?" she said, skepticism filling her features.
"We know the Ground better than anyone, and we may have intel on the Mountain. They have guns and men. If we put our forces together, we have a chance at beating them."
Indra was silent for a moment, staring long and hard at Lincoln. "Lincoln, you know what the Mountain does to us. There's no way we can get it to fall."
Finn and Bellamy were listening to the conversation and were getting pretty unhappy about it.
"Oh, come on, Indra," Finn said. "Our friends are trapped in there, and we have no idea if they're alive or dead. You have to help us."
Indra's gaze fell heavily on Finn. "Maybe you should know one thing about the Mountain and why we detest it so much: they create the Reapers. That much we know. But why? we don't know anything. They're too dangerous."
Bellamy took a deep breath. That was new. The Mountain created the Reapers? He walked a few steps away and radioed Arkadia. He hadn't radioed since the last time, three hours ago. They would be expecting him, now.
"Arkadia, this is Bellamy Blake, come in." Silence. Or rather static. "Jane, can you hear me? Come in." Static, louder this time.
"Maybe there's a bad reception here," Finn offered, joining him.
"Listen to this," Bellamy said, showing him the static. "I've never heard that before."
Finn frowned. "That's weird. Try again."
"Jane, please, come in." No answer beside the growing static. They walked back to Lincoln and Indra still talking about what to do. "Uhm, I can't contact Arkadia. There's some static going on, here."
Just then, a horn blared in the distance.
"The Fog," Indra said in a breath, clear panic in her eyes. "Take cover in the Farragut House!" she ordered.
Bellamy and Finn followed, not knowing in the slightest what that was. They ran to a building that looked like it had been there for a hundred years, maybe even more. Lincoln waited for the whole village to be safe inside before closing the door. And just before he did, Bellamy saw a yellowish fog curling fast on them.
"What the hell is that?" he asked.
"Acid Fog," Lincoln said. "When you hear the horn, find cover. If you stay outside, it'll melt you down and you die."
"Where does it come from?"
"No one knows. Maybe a climate dysfunction after Praimfaya a hundred years ago." Lincoln walked down the steps and Bellamy followed, looking around him. There was an old crooked sign that said FARRAGUT WEST STATION. Bellamy frowned. What was this place? Probably part of a city of the past. He walked down the stairs and found all the villagers huddled together in the big underground room. Hushed voices filled the atmosphere.
"Lincoln," Bellamy called out. Lincoln looked up from where he was crouched on the ground. "How far does the Fog go?" he whispered.
"Not as far as Arkadia. Don't worry."
Bellamy's shoulders relaxed in relief. "You're sure?"
He nodded. "It's mainly concentrated in a radius around the Mountain. Arkadia is far enough."
"Around the Mountain?" Bellamy asked, his brow furrowed. Lincoln nodded silently. "Do you think it's made by the Mountain? Or by the people inside?"
Lincoln stood, towering the people sitting on the ground. "I've never thought of it. But now that you said it… it's possible."
They shared a glance. "And how long does it last? How long do we have to stay in here?"
"As long as it lasts," Lincoln said. "It's always different."
Bellamy found a spot not too crowded and sat against the wall, toying with his radio. The weird static from before was still there. Probably the Fog disrupting the communications. He closed his eyes and conjured imaged of Jane and Octavia safe in Arkadia. And then he tried to picture the Mountain and the Mountainmen, and what they were doing to the kids. An icy claw of fear grabbed his chest and a cold sweat broke on Bellamy's whole body. His hands started shaking. What if he couldn't do anything for them? What if it was already too late?
No. He couldn't think like that. He had to try to help them. But as long as the Acid Fog was still out there, he couldn't do anything. He closed his eyes and tried to doze off.
"Hey," someone said, sitting next to him. Bellamy opened his eyes and his gaze fell on Finn sitting crossed-legged next to him. "Indra said she would help. She'll come back to Arkadia with us and several of her war generals."
Bellamy nodded once. "Good."
Then they were silent, looking at all the people in this room. Bellamy noticed the walls were covered by small square tiles. What was this place?
The Fog lasted eleven hours. Once it was gone, the people filed out of the Farragut House and went back to their huts. They let out they animals they had hastily locked up in the barn.
"We can't leave now," Indra said. "Night is falling. But we leave at first light."
Bellamy nodded and went to sit near the fire, his gaze lost in the dancing flames. Finn joined him. Later that night, they both dozed off outside. Bellamy on the fallen trunk that served as a bench around the fire, and Finn on the ground. Lincoln woke them up as dawn started lighting the sky with pink colors. They quickly ate some dried meat and left. Lincoln and Bellamy lead the way, followed by Indra and her three war generals, while Finn brought the rear.
When they arrived back two days after their departure from Arkadia, clouds filled the sky, threatening to rain at any moment. Small clouds of mist came out of their moths when they breathed out. The air was cool. Bellamy had not been able to contact Jane anymore. Static filled every single station on the radio.
"Open the gate!" one of the Guards said, and the big gate slowly opened, letting the newcomers step in.
"Bellamy!" Jane cried, running towards him like a mad tornado. She clung to him, half crying, half laughing. "I was so scared something happened to you, you didn't contact us!"
"I did," he said, his face still buried in her hair. "There was static all over the stations." He pulled back and looked at her. "Damn, I missed you." He kissed her long and hard, he didn't notice Lincoln and Indra rolling their eyes at him and Jane.
"Finn!" a female voice called out, running to them.
They all turned around to see who it was.
"Clarke?" Finn said, taking her in his arms. "What- how- what are you doing here?"
"I escaped," she said. She also hugged Bellamy and Lincoln. "I was with Anya," she said to Indra, "but she was killed by my people when we came back here. They thought we were Grounders. One of our men had an easy trigger. The orders were not to shoot anyone. I'm sorry."
Indra frowned. "Where is this man?" she said in a cold voice.
"We've locked him up," Chancellor Kane said, joining the reunion. "He was not trained as a Guard, but he still had a gun. It won't happen again. I'm sorry." He held his hand out to Indra. "I'm Chancellor Kane."
She stared at his hand for a moment, and then finally decided to shake it. "Indra."
"Let's talk inside. Clarke has some things to tell us." Everyone nodded and followed him inside. "Uh, no weapons inside," he said motioning to a big half empty barrel. "You too, Bellamy and Finn."
Finn nodded and set an example by putting his gun in the barrel. The others followed. Bellamy was glad, he had now both free hands to keep Jane close to him. He looped his arm around her shoulders and she wrapped her arm around his waist.
"How's Octavia?" he asked softly.
"She's fine. She's sleeping." She showed him a small radio on her hip. "I put a radio in her room. if she cries, I'll hear her."
Bellamy chuckled. "Where to you come up with all these ideas?"
Janes shrugged. "Somewhere in here," she tapped her head. "Come on. Clarke has some interesting things about the Mountain to tell us. You'll want to hear it."
He nodded once and they hurried to catch up with the others. They conveyed all in the Council Chamber, all taking a seat around the round table. Kane asked Bellamy to tell everyone what had happened during their trip to TonDC and why they had gone radio silent the second day. Bellamy obliged and told them about the Static and the Acid Fog, and his conversation with Lincoln. Then, it was Clarke's turn.
"I woke up in a white hospital room. They put us all in quarantine for a day. Then, when I got out, I saw the inside of the Mountain. Bellamy, there are three hundred people living like kings in there."
"What about the others?" he asked, concern in his voice.
"They're safe for now. But I don't know for how long." She searched for Indra's gaze. "I wandered around the Mountain and figured out what happens to your people. They're taken in and put in cages. The Mountainmen bleed them."
"What?" she said, suddenly looking at Clarke with an icy stare. "Why?"
"Their blood heals them." She paused. "But our blood works better. I don't know how long they're going to keep our friends safe before using their blood."
Finn frowned. "How do you know our blood works better?"
"Because there was an accidental radiation break in the dorm and Maya, one of the girls from the mountain was there. She became sick in a matter of seconds. Jasper and Monty were with her. The doctor said there was only one way to cure her, and it would be to try our blood. Jasper agreed. He likes the girl, obviously. They passed her blood in his body, and in twenty minutes, she was cured."
"How is that even possible?" Indra said.
"Because our blood has been genetically modified to resorb solar radiation in space, which is much higher than the radiation on the Ground," Clarke said, looking at her mother who nodded.
"We need to get them out," Bellamy said in a deep, concerned voice, holding tightly to Jane's hand.
Hi again! thanks for reading, following and favoriting! I finally finished my original WIP, so now I can focus more on this story. Once I finish binge-watching The 100 for the second time... xD anyway. I'm starting school in two days, so I don't know how I'll be able to update, but probably, 1,2, or 3 times a week, it will depend on the amout of work in school^^ so stay tuned!
I'll see you soon with the next chapter! In the meantime, please don't forget to review! ;) thanks! Bye!