I Will Remember

Chapter Two

Clarke continued on in a direction away from those mountains, towards the next set of hills where she knew the drop ship would be. She salvaged what she could from the area, knowing there wouldn't be much, if anything left at all. Clarke looked around at her first home on Earth, repeating the one thing that kept her going inside her mind. Her people, and the Grounders would survive beyond this. She knew things would be tough for them inside the bunker, with supplies rationed to the point of extreme. But they would be okay and she would see them again someday. Four years, four months and counting. She shouldered her pack and continued on her way.

…

Clarke found herself standing outside the walls of what was once Arkadia and looked up the huge metal skeletal structure. It still stood, tall as ever. Apparently even a radiation death wave hadn't been able to knock down the huge structure. But just as everything she'd witnessed so far, its surroundings was bare, a scene that replicated metal in the middle of a desert.

Clarke slowly made her way towards the entrance, a familiar path she'd once taken often before. The doors had been closed by someone, whom she guessed had been Monty and Harper as they'd left one last final time. The thought of her friends whom had travelled into space, once again crossed her mind as it so often did.

Clarke entered the dining hall, slowly making her way into the room when she gasped. Bodies lay in the centre of the room, in a group she knew were the ones who had opted to die instead of surviving. She easily identified each and every one of them but there was no sight of her Jasper, who she knew had led them down this path. Then, she remembered something Monty had said and left the main hall, heading down one of the corridors in search of a body she knew would be on its own.

Clarke forced herself to keep walking, even as a lone body, sat propped up on a window sill came into view. She felt silent tears roll down her cheeks, her face crumpling in grief. "Jasper…" She whispered, crouching down next to his body. She took a moment to remember him, from their first day on Earth, to when he was speared on that very day and then Mount Weather. God Mount Weather, which had ultimately lead to his death. He'd been so angry at her, so unforgiving it had hurt more than she could ever admit. She'd blamed herself for so long. And, even if he had only been in a fit of anger, she'd come to blame herself for Lexa's death as he had mentioned. Clarke kneeled in silence, her head in her hands as she cried over Jasper, and so many other's she had lost.

…

Clarke went back the way she'd come, trying to find a tarp or blanket she could use to carry his body in. Upon finding an old blanket that had been used by one of the many people who had opted to stay on the Ark, she took it back to Jasper's body and set about bury her people. It took the remainder of the night and the next day to dig everyone's grave, despite having the option to burn their bodies. But there were only a few, so to her it was worth it. And as she lowered Jasper's body into the ground and shovelled the last of the dirt, she silently said her goodbyes.

…

Once all the graves were dug for her fallen friends, with crosses marking where they were laid to rest, Clarke brushed the last of the dirt from her hands. She shouldered her pack and walked out the gates of Arkadia, wondering if it was for the last time.

…

Clarke knew where she wanted to go next. With radio communication down, she wanted to try and make contact with the bunker in person. She needed her mother to know she was alive. In some ways she'd gotten lucky. If she had travelled to space like the rest of them, her mother may think she was dead and wouldn't know otherwise until it was safe to surface.

The trip was long and exhausting. She hadn't realised how long it would be to walk without aid from a horse or vehicle. Clarke travelled through the day, only resting at night for a few hours when she could no longer see where she was going. She knew the road mainly, having used it many times during the months she spent on her own. But during the darkest time of night, it became impossible to see in the pitch black.

Clarke's heart skipped a beat as the heavy wooden gates to Polis came into view, a little over a week later. She made her way through the city, remembering the way to the bunker easily. She recognised many buildings on her way and when the Tower came into view, she couldn't help but remember everything that had happened in its walls. Deciding to bypass the tower despite her reverie, she continued onwards towards the bunker.

Clarke stepped inside the temple but stopped suddenly at the sight she saw, having the same reaction she'd had back at Arkadia. She should have expected it, knowing only 100 of each clan could stay in the bunker. But even that hadn't prepared her for the sight she saw. Clarke moved further towards the door where bodies laid surrounding it, the body count increasing the closer she got. She recognised some, like Miller's dad who unbeknownst to Clarke, had sacrificed himself so his son would live. She stepped over the bodies, careful not to step on them and got as close as she could to the door. "Hello?! Can anyone hear me?!" She shouted as loud as she could, not knowing if she could even be heard from the other side. When there was no answer she turned back to the bodies and, as she had done back in Arkadia, began to drag the bodies out one by one.

To stop the smell of the already decaying bodies from assaulting her nostrils, she wrapped a bandana around her nose and mouth as she worked. There were too many to bury, she knew that. They would have to be burned on a pyre, Grounders and Skaikru together as one. She felt it was right. After all, they had spent their last moments together before death. So she set about gathering enough wood for the mass of bodies, building the pyre just outside the temple where she would carry out the mass funeral.

…

Clarke laid the final body on top of the pile of wood before taking a step back. Like the graves, it had taken her some time to prepare the mass funeral. She lit a torch and took a step back with it still in her hand before reciting the words of her people.

"In peace, may we leave the shore.

In love, may we find the next.

Safe passage on your travels,

Until our final journey to the ground.

May we meet again."

Clarke lowered the torch as she finished the passage, watching as the pyre went up in flames. Slowly at first, but as it caught, growing as it fully ignited.

"Yu gonplei ste odon." She whispered out of respect for the Grounders whom were being laid to rest. There were no more sides. No more wars, only survival. And afterwards. The only thing that kept her going, was afterwards.

AN: Thank you again for all the reviews, follows and favorites. I apologise for not updating as regularly as I'd like to. I find it hard to have the time or energy to write when I get home from work on weekdays so most chapters will probably be posted on weekends. Keep letting me know what you think :) I take all your ideas and suggestions into consideration.