Ch 3 Bellamy after the Mountain

The rising sun glinted of the metal door as Bellamy's group prepared to leave the Mountain. They barely recognized each other. Each was kitted out in clothes and equipment taken from the armory. Even Lincoln had accepted a camouflage jacket and backpack laden with supplies. Everyone but him was armed with guns. He had refused, instead choosing some evil looking knives and a crossbow which attached to his pack. Mist was rising from Bellamy's lips. "How sure are you that we have two months before the snows?" He asked. Lincoln shrugged and headed out in the direction of the first Ark Beacon followed by Octavia. Behind them trailed a reluctant Wick. He had wanted to stay behind and play with his new toys, but both Bellamy and Kane had insisted he was needed on the mission. Bellamy walked next to him leaving two Guards to pick up the rear. Their names were Bill and Ben Bobs. Both descendants of the original Bob brothers who had been on the European Space station when the apocalypse happened.

The path was easy going, through the trees and down the mountain. The air around them warming up as the morning drew on and the scent of all things green filled their nostrils. At noon they stopped by a bubbling stream and ate a hearty lunch, packed for them that morning by Ginger. They hadn't seen a single other soul since man or animal. Though Bellamy often felt that the trees were watching him. After spending so much time surrounded by an army of grounders one way or the other, the forest was eerily quiet. Octavia was tearing off a chunk of fresh bread when an arrow whizzed past her cheek and out into the forest. Lincoln leapt from his spot on a fallen tree and raced after it. Everyone grabbed for their guns and dived behind what cover they could find pointing their weapons into the forest looking for a target. Finding nothing. A few minutes later Lincoln returned carrying a large rabbit in one hand and his crossbow in the other. "Dinner." He said simply holding up the rabbit.

They crossed the stream and followed it down the mountain for the rest of the day. Until it widened up into what could only be described as a river. They had walked for eight hours and Bellamy wanted to find a defensible spot to camp. There was nothing but forest so in the end they put up their tents in a small clearing. Bellamy watched in fascination as Octavia expertly butchered the rabbitl wasting none of the precious meat. It seemed that warfare wasn't the only thing she'd learnt during her time with the Grounders. The Bobs gathered firewood while Lincoln dug out a fire pit and lined it with stones. Once the fire was going Octavia laid strips of meat on the hot outer stones to cook. Then she began scraping at the skin of the rabbit. Lincoln looked on pleased. "Your sister sure is a fast learner." Wick observed while setting up the radio. "That is because she can see." Lincoln said placing a small pot of water onto the fire. "What is that supposed to mean?" Bill asked dropping a pile of dry wood next to the stones. "Look towards the river." Lincoln told Bill, Bellamy and Wick also followed his gaze. "Now look at me. What did you see?" Instinctively Bill moved his head to look again. Lincoln stopped him abruptly with the sharp point of his knife on Bill's cheek. "No, what did you see when you looked?" Bill just shrugged. "I don't know, the river I guess." "You guess?" Lincoln barely managed to keep a mocking tone from his voice. "If you want to survive you must learn to see." Bellamy absorbed this thought and resolved to see when he looked. Bill looked back at the river, shook his head and went to scout the perimeter.. "What are you making?" He asked his sister. She smiled at him and said "A hat, eventually. I'm told it's going to get cold." With that she winked at Lincoln and they shared a laugh. If it was a joke Bellamy did not get it.

While dinner cooked Wick contacted both The Mountain and Camp Jaha. Kane was worried about Abby and Raven. It looked like their wounds were getting infected but they had given them antibiotics from Mt Weathers supply. They were trying to decide whether to move them and the other injured back to the mountain. Kane was headed there tomorrow to assess the situation for himself. Still not convinced they should abandon the camp. In the Mountain Monty had managed to get some exterior cameras working. He still wasn't sure what part of the outside he was looking at though. Norm and Ginger were helping him look after Maya. Norm confirmed that they had started building defenses outside the main door.

For dinner they had a rabbit and root vegetable mash, courtesy of Lincoln showing Bill where to dig on the river bank. After the Bobs retreated to their tent, discussing Earth Skills, Lincoln did a final perimeter check. Octavia sat cleaning her knife while she waited for him. When Wick vanished to find the bathroom Bellamy took his chance to talk to her.

"So Octavia." He began, and she immediately recognized his lecture for your own good tone. "Hmhmm." She acknowledged not taking her eyes from her task. "Maya got me thinking. You and Lincoln are..." A sharp rise of her eyebrow made him swallow his words and rethink the phrasing of them. "What I mean is... are you being careful?" She just stared at him, the flames from the fire reflecting in her eyes. Bellamy gulped and shifted on his seat. "I'm always careful." She said deadpan. "I was born careful, you know that." And he did. Every aspect of their lives had been careful. Bellamy felt a flush rise on his cheek and was glad of the fire for hiding it's source. "O, you know what I'm talking about. Lincoln is a lot older than you. He might not care if you get... He might even want..." "Babies?" Octavia finished for him. "Oh he does," she gushed. "lots of them." Bellamy was aghast. "But...but.., Octavia Blake" he finally said, pulling himself up into Big Brother mode. "You're not even eighteen yet, you can't be serious!" Octavia laughed out loud at him and cupped his cheek fondly in her hand. "Don't worry big bro. I'm not ready to make you an uncle yet. Besides I couldn't if I wanted to. None of us could." Bellamy stared at her blankly. "Population control. Everyone was given a 5 year contraceptive shot before we left." Bellamy was at once relieved and angry. He was so fed up of the Council's will being imposed on him without his consent. But of course now he was on the Council too. Things, he thought, were going to change.

When Lincoln returned Octavia led him into their tent and winked at Bellamy over her shoulder. It was nice to have the old O back. Even if just for a bit. The ground had made her hard and serious. It was good to see her happy. A squeal erupted from their tent and Bellamy turned away. He was really trying not to think about that.

Wick sat with his back to him and looked up at the stars. "Do you ever miss home?" He asked Bellamy. "This is home." He replied firmly. "It always was." Wick shook his head. "I miss the hum." he said. "I miss having a roof over my head. I miss, I dunno, I miss my life". Bellamy thought for a moment. "I didn't have a life there. If I'd stayed I would have probably been floated in a few years anyway." With that Bellamy got up and walked around the outside of the camp keeping his back to the flames so that he could see into the woods. Tomorrow they should reach the first ship and find out if there were any survivors. The initial approach would be the most dangerous if the way the guards at Camp Jaha had reacted to strangers approaching them was an indication. They'd shot at Clarke the first time she had arrived, fleeing the Mountain Men. He'd have to be smarter than that. She'd always had trouble assuming the worst in people. The Bobs took the next watch and Bellamy and Wick shared a tent. Bellamy marveled at it. They popped up from practically nothing but they were so well insulated and so good at keeping the wind out that within a few minutes he was already warm enough to fall into a deep dreamless sleep.

They found the first piece of Ark wreckage about five miles outside of their camp. It was hard to tell how important it was or how badly damaged the rest of the ship might be, but no-one took it as a good sign. The sun was still rising when they found a larger piece. The ship had definitely broken apart before hitting the ground. It was with sinking spirits that they made a camp for lunch. Up ahead the river opened into a large lake, practically an inland sea. If the Ark had landed there, then hopes for survivors must be lost. Octavia and Lincoln did a sweep of the area while Bill prepared some re-hydrated rations from the Mount Weather supplies.

Ben was the first to his feet when Octavia walked back into the camp being pushed by two Ark Guards with guns pointed at her back. "Woah!" Bellamy exclaimed. Let's not do anything hasty. We are here to help." One of the Guards with a scar across his nose kicked Octavia to the ground. Bellamy moved forward, but she shot him an emphatic no look, so he stepped back again. Scarface pointed a gun at her head and said. "Like we would fall for that again. You bastards make me sick! Drop your weapons!" The two Bobs glanced at Bellamy and he indicated that they should comply. They slowly lowered their rifles to the ground but did not kick them away.

"We are not who you think we are." Bellamy began. "We are all from the Ark same as you. We heard your radio beacon." He thought for a moment about how he could convince them the fastest. He needed to diffuse this situation before Lincoln came back. "Remember the girl who grew up under the floor. Octavia Blake?" Bellamy asked earnestly "Remember her loser brother who was in the Guard and got demoted to Janitor." Time was ticking by and they were not cottoning on fast enough. Then one said, "Do you mean Bellamy Blake the guy who shot chancellor Jaha?" "Wait!" The second guy said, coming out from behind the first and staring first into Octavia's face and then his. "You really are them, you were part of the 100. You shot the Chancellor." Instantly the guns were pointed away from Octavia and at Bellamy. "Hey, I was pardoned by Jaha himself personally." Bellamy pleaded hands in the air. Octavia moved sweeping one Guard's feet away from him and using the other leg to kick Scarface in the back of the knee. While her hands were still on the ground. Bellamy just gawped at her while the Bob's moved in swiftly, pointing their handguns at the heads of the now prostrate guards. Lincoln melted out of the tree-line directly in front of Bellamy, crossbow notched, how did I not see him? Bellamy wondered for a moment in awe. He was just about to open his mouth when Wick stumbled noisily from the forest clutching his roll of toilet paper. "Woah! What did I miss?"

"Me saving the day as usual." Octavia grinned as she leapt to her feet. The Bobs nodded their agreement at her and returned her grin. Which just made Octavia's grin even wider. Bellamy resisted the urge to banter with her about being captured. Now wasn't the time. "Wick get the radio out." He said keeping his eyes on the guards who had gotten to their knees but were remaining down. Bellamy had not given the order to disarm them. He hoped that he wasn't going to regret that, but right now he needed to build their trust. Wick pulled the portable radio out of the bag and pulled the antenna up as high as it would go. He looked doubtfully at the horizon. "Is there a problem?" Bellamy asked. "Maybe, maybe not. The Mountain is still in the way here, but if we can hit the antenna at the top I'll be able to bounce the signal off and back to Jaha."

"How many survivors are there?" One of the Guards asked. "Bellamy looked at Wick, who just shrugged. "More than we can easily count, let's just leave it at that." The two Guards looked at each other and visibly relaxed. The radio crackled and the Mount Jaha repeating signal came on. Short and brief. He we are come find us. Then Wick spoke into the Handset and Chancellor Griffin's voice came over the radio asking for a mission update. Wick was going to pass the handset over to Bellamy, but he motioned for Scarface to take it.

After a brief exchange Bellamy took the radio back and spoke to the Chancellor. "Good work Bellamy, or I should say councilor Blake. Get the survivors to head for the Mountain, we are already sending the wounded up there and getting ready to abandon camp. Move fast I don't think we have much time." After agreeing a check-in time for later that evening he was about to hand the radio back to Wick when she asked, " Is Clarke with you? Have you seen her?" His eyes automatically scanned the trees around them, as if she might suddenly materialize. "No, I'm sorry Chancellor. I don't where she is." He turned his back to hand the radio to Wick and when he looked round the Guards had reached for their weapons and were standing over him again.