Chapter 32:

Brooklyn took her by car to a house where she shoved her inside a small closet and locked it. A few minutes later, Clarke heard the door of the house open and close. She waited a few more minutes to be sure Brooklyn was gone before she started trying to make her escape. There was no light and nothing in the closet other than a few jackets hanging up. She tried to kick the door open, but there wasn't enough space in the closet for her to get the leverage she needed. She felt her own pockets for anything that could serve her purpose, but they were empty and Brooklyn had obviously taken her radio once they'd gotten in the car. She'd tossed it on the side of the road on their way here so no one could track it. After several tries, she finally gave up and sat on the floor holding her knees to her chest. She thought of Lexa and worried about the amount of blood she'd lost and the pain she'd seen in her eyes. Lexa had been so good never to show pain or much emotion at any time so the fact that Clarke could see it clearly, meant it must have been bad. She pressed her chin to her knee for a few moments before lifting her head back up and brushing against one of the hanging coats.

Her eyes went wide. She stood quickly and started looking. She'd checked her pockets, but not the pockets on the coats. Maybe there was something inside she could use. It was then that she looked up further and saw the coat hangers. Four of them were made of wire. She felt for the doorknob and it was the kind with the small hole that didn't require a real key. She had hope. She grabbed a hanger and bent it. She began working on the keyhole trying to pick the lock. She couldn't see much and was only guessing. She'd never had to pick a lock before.

Her hands started to hurt and she knew she wasn't making the progress she'd hoped for, but she kept at it. She had no idea how much time had passed, but when she finally heard a click and the door unlocked, she opened it quickly and then ran toward the front door to open it. The bright light hit her eyes and she squinted to see that she was in a deserted neighborhood. She looked around and saw no cars she could borrow to get to the hospital to check on Lexa. She knew she should get back to the city center to check on Kane and find a radio to see how Wick was doing, but she had to know if Lexa was all right. All she could do was run so she started off in the direction of her house. It was on the way to the hospital and there, she could pick up a radio and then stop by Raven and Wick's place, which was only a few doors down.

It took over 30 minutes of running flat out and when she finally arrived at the house to grab the radio, she had to stop to catch her breath. Before she was really ready, she ran over to Wick to check on his progress.

"Clarke! I've been trying to reach you. What happened to your radio?" He asked. She did have a radio on her hip. It just wasn't her radio.

"Long story. How are you doing? Any progress?" She asked, still trying to catch her breath.

"Some. I've got it put together how I need it. Now, I just have to find their frequency and jam it. That'll give us enough time to find and disarm all the bombs."

"How much longer?"
"I don't know." He admitted. "I'm kind of making this up as I go along here."

"I've got to get to the hospital. Update me when you can. I'm taking the car." She ran out of the house before he could say anything. She hopped in the car and drove straight to the hospital. She ran into the building and scanned the space for Lexa or Abby or even Raven. She saw Abby over in a corner grabbing a tray with some supplies.

"Mom!" She yelled and ran toward her with what felt like the last of her energy.

"Clarke! You're okay!" Abby stated over the screams of people in pain as Clarke arrived in front of her.

"Lexa?" Clarke asked.

"She's in there."

Clarke ran to one of the rooms and stopped in the doorway. Indra was standing next to Lexa who looked to be unconscious.

"She needs blood." Indra told Clarke.

"I've sewed her up and given her pain medication. What little I could. We're running out and-"

"Take my blood." Clarke offered.

"What?" Abby asked.

"Take my blood."

"Clarke, you're type A and she's B. You can't donate. I need someone with B or O. Indra's AB. I already checked."

"I'm O." Bellamy came around the corner. "Take mine."

"You've already donated today, Bellamy." Abby stated. "We can't risk you losing anymore blood."

Bellamy did look pale and Clarke knew she had no right asking him to risk his life for Lexa.

"I'm good. Just do it."

"Bell-" Clarke actually stopped herself.

"Check on Octavia for me. And Lincoln." He asked her and walked into the room. "And then get back in the fight and stop those psychopaths." He looked at Indra. "You too. I'll stay with her." He offered.

Clarke walked over to Lexa and leaned down. She took her hand and kissed her forehead.

"I'll be back." She whispered in her ear. "Ai hod you in." She let go of her hand quickly and rushed out of the room.

"Raven!" She yelled as she saw Raven run down the stairs.

"I heard you were here." Raven replied. "I came back with some injured people. I'm heading back out to help Wick."

"Help Kane. He's trying to disarm the bombs. Wick is back at your house trying to find a way to jam the frequency. How many more bombs have gone off? Do you know?" She asked

"I've heard 6. There are a few hundred injured. I don't know how many dead, but it could be a lot by now."

"Why doesn't she just blow us all up at once?" Clarke asked herself.

"My guess?"

"Yeah?"

"She's watching us move. She's got them stacked around this city and as people start moving in one direction, she sets one off. Better that way. She stands a chance of killing more of us than just blowing all the bombs at once."

"Where's York?" Clarke asked.

"He was still being a dick. I thought about knocking him out, but then one of the grounders beat me to it. He's unconscious upstairs. We moved him to a room that used to be there for prisoners. Bars on the window and two guards standing outside. He's got the cuffs on too. He's not going anywhere."

"Good. Let's go."

Clarke and Raven went back to the center of the city. Clarke kept her eye out for Brooklyn and the car she'd driven Clarke in. They found Kane working on a bomb. He was sweating and was undoubtedly nervous. He finished cutting the wires just as Clarke and Raven arrived.

"Nice job, Kane." Raven encouraged.

"Wick made this look easier than it really is. I could use some help."

"I got ya." Raven stole a glance around the center. "I'll head that way and see what I can find." Raven ran off.

"Show me what Wick taught you. I'll help."

"Clarke, you should help me." It was Indra. She must have returned from the hospital. "We must find the woman responsible for the Commander."

Clarke looked at Kane who nodded at her.

"Raven and I can handle this. You go."

"Okay." Clarke stood and ran to Indra.

"I thought you dead, Clarke of the Sky People. So did the Commander."

"I escaped." Clarke told her.

"Maybe you are worth following after all." Indra smirked.

"Thank you, by the way."

"For what?"

"For not listening to Lexa earlier and saving her life."

"You owe me no thanks. I didn't do it for you. The Commander's life was in danger and it is my duty to-"

"Just take the thanks, Indra." Clarke grumbled.

They wandered around the center of the city for several minutes before Clarke heard another bomb go off. She started to run in that direction, but Indra stopped her.

"You can do nothing for them. We must find the one causing this and stop her."

"Wick, come in." Clarke said into the radio.

"I'm not done yet." Wick responded with obvious frustration in his tone.

"How much longer?"

"I don't know, Clarke. I'm close."

"Close to what?" Brooklyn asked from behind them. They'd been standing behind one of the buildings that was still left untouched by a bomb hoping to find her, but not wanting her to sneak up on them again. "You escaped? I'm impressed."

"You should have checked the closet before you locked me in there."

"Yeah well, you have my accomplice cousin locked up so I'm doing the work of two people right now. Had to cut some corners."

"I notice you don't have a gun, Brooklyn." Clarke pointed out.

Indra reached for her sword.

"I don't really need one. I've got this." She held up the detonator. "And as long as I have my finger on this trigger, you can't touch me."

"This can't really be what you want, Brooklyn." Clarke started. "All these people… if they live through today, do you really expect them to just follow you after all you've done?"

"They will or they'll face the consequences just like everyone else." She responded.

"Ai don sen in chit bilaik ai gaf sen in." I've heard what I needed to hear. Indra started to move toward Brooklyn. "It's time you die."

"I wouldn't." Brooklyn held up the detonator. "I hit this button and I can make all the bombs remaining in this place go off at once. You might have taken our hospital, but I knew what the supply level of everything was in this city before today so I know you're already running out. You'll lose more people because you can't repair their injuries or heal those inevitable pesky infections."

Indra stopped herself and stared down at Brooklyn. Clarke knew that the moment Indra had her chance, Brooklyn was dead.

"What made you this way?" Clarke asked.

"You wouldn't understand. You didn't grow up here. You don't know what it's like."

"Tell me then. Try to make me understand how you could think this was all okay." Clarke pleaded with her.

"What's the point? You and I both know there's nothing I could tell you that would redeem my actions in your mind. If I surrendered to you, you'd have me shot on sight or put up for display like you were going to do with everyone that tried to support us or Carolina today."

Clarke took a hesitant step toward her, but held out her hand to show that she wasn't planning anything.

"I grew up on the ark. Has anyone told you what that was like?" She asked.

"Carolina told us you'd been up there since the bombs." Brooklyn replied.

"We didn't know anyone survived. We thought we were what was left of humanity." Clarke began. "Things started to get bad before I was even born. Supplies running low, population control in effect, people being shot out the airlock because they violated the smallest laws. Any infraction warranted execution."

"Did you have a plague of unknown origin wipe through your town killing thousands of people and making it impossible for most of the rest of us to have children?"

"We had disease, illness, death. We had low oxygen too. We had people who went blind because we couldn't generate enough oxygen for them to breathe. My mother held the hands of countless as they died from things they shouldn't have had to suffer from because we couldn't provide. 100 teenagers like me were shot down here in the hopes that it was habitable; that we could survive it because the ark was dying and there was no other choice." She took a breath. "That's why I'm here. That's why we're all here." Clarke paused. Brooklyn appeared to be listening and squinted her eyes as if she was trying to take in what Clarke was saying. "I didn't get that back then." Clarke admitted mostly to herself. "When they took me from my cell and strapped me into the ship, I didn't get it. Now, I do."

"You were in a cell?" Brooklyn seemed intrigued.

"Oh yeah, I failed to mention that I was a criminal. I am a criminal. I helped my father spread the word on the ark that we were running out of air and there was nothing they could do. He was executed and I was put in solitary because I was underage. I spent a year in that cell… alone… waiting to be executed."

"Then, we are more alike than I thought, Clarke."

Indra was seething with all this talking. Clarke knew Lexa was more of a take action first and talk later if at all kind of leader.

"You're right. You've killed people. I've killed people. We are alike, but it's the differences that really matter in this case." She took another hesitant step toward Brooklyn who snapped to attention, but didn't move and didn't hit any buttons on her detonator. She was intrigued by the conversation and that was what Clarke was hoping for. "It's the nightmares that separate us. I have them. You don't." She paused. "I see the deaths of everyone I've killed on replay night after night. It's gotten better, but those visions will never really go away. It's something I'll always have to live with."

Brooklyn smirked.

"You are right then, Clarke. I see nothing when I close my eyes."

Clarke thought about that statement for a moment. She wondered about the nothing. She'd wished for nothing for a long time. Since the mountain and really even before, she'd hoped the visions would go away, but if the visions really did ever go away, she could end up like Brooklyn. She could end up like Lexa even before she met Clarke and realized there was more to life than endless war and emotion wasn't a weakness.

"I hope I always have these visions because I'd rather see them than the nothing you see. They remind me that I'm human and make mistakes; that my decisions matter and impact everyone around me; everyone I care about."

Brooklyn smirked again. Clarke was tired of seeing that smirk.

"Then, I think it's best we part here, Sky Girl." Brooklyn's smirk disappeared. "I've tried to get rid of the nothing, but with everything I've seen, holding the hands of my parents as they withered away from disease, watching my younger sister die of the same, there just is nothing." Brooklyn took a step back. "You don't have to worry. The bombs won't touch us here. We'll survive and I have no doubt you and I will meet again soon." She held up the detonator and pressed the button.