Octavia
When she opened her eyes, her first impression was one of emptiness. The room was small, not decorated, cold and sterile. The lights were bright, and let off a soft hum that was irritating. She was on a bed, and the only other furniture in the room was a toilet, set against the wall, and a movable curtain to give some semblance of the possibility of privacy. It was bigger than her family's quarters on the Ark, but it felt much smaller.
Slowly Octavia edged off the bed to stand on the floor, feeling a dull pain in her lower side and shoulder. Belatedly she remembered being shot twice with arrows, and then it all came flashing back- the mountain, the strangers, their demands, fleeing, the horse falling… and after that, nothing.
Heart pounding, Octavia ran to the door and grabbed the handle, pulling on it as hard as she could, trying desperately to open it, but it was locked. There was no window, and the only thing on the wall was a small panel that looked like a speaker. She tried yelling into it, banging it with her palm, but nothing happened. When she pressed her ear to the door there was only silence and that soft, incessant droning. It reminded her of the Ark, that constant machine hum, but it had been long enough since she'd heard it that the sound grated on her terribly.
She tried to attack the door, tried to kick it open, letting out a frustrated yell when all that earned her was sore feet. Her sword was gone. Her clothes were gone, replaced by a simple outfit of a gray cotton pants and shirt. Pacing back and forth, she could barely contain her rising stress. This was just like back on the Ark- a small room, being alone, not knowing when someone might come in, nothing to do. It was enough to drive anyone crazy, and though Octavia had had a lot of practice in a situation like that, it only seemed to make it more claustrophobic.
Octavia sank down on the floor, sitting, waiting, and trying to remain calm. It seemed like a long time before anything happened- there was no way of knowing just how long had passed, and then there was a soft crackle over the speaker panel.
A female voice, calm and almost pleasant, said, "Welcome to the Raven Rock Mountain Complex. Please remain calm. You will not be harmed. Standby for further instructions."
"Yeah right," Octavia said, under her breath, her whole body tensing, expecting a fight.
Then something happened that surprised her. The message repeated, but this time it wasn't English- the woman's voice again, friendly and calm, spoke the same four phrases in Trigedasleng. Octavia didn't understand every word, but because she understood enough she knew it was the exact same message. It made no sense to her.
She didn't have long to ponder over the strangeness of the situation before she heard a soft click and her door started to open. Octavia scrambled to her feet and brought up her hands, crouching slightly in a defensive posture. She felt her sword's absence keenly, but she knew she had to make due with what she had.
Two people stepped into the room, and they were both wearing biohazard suits similar to the ones that she'd seen on the mountain men. That sight alone was enough to stop her heart.
One of the figures put up its hands and said gently, "Please. We mean you no harm." It was a woman. She said the same thing in Trigedasleng.
"Who are you?" Octavia asked in English.
"My name is Moira," she answered, hands still outstretched, as though she was a bit afraid that Octavia would attack at any moment. The other person had a gun held out towards her, and they looked nervous as well. "Please," Moira said. "Come with me and we'll explain everything." Again she said, "We mean you no harm. In fact, we've healed your wounds."
"Where am I?" Octavia demanded. "How long have I been here? Where's Lincoln?"
"Who?" Moira asked uncertainly.
Octavia's heart started beating faster. "Lincoln. The man I was with. Where is he? I want to see him now."
"I'm sorry," the woman said, and her voice sounded gentle. "You came here alone."
She tried not to panic. She tried to reassure herself that there were many reasons she might be here without Lincoln, and that it didn't necessarily mean he was hurt or worse, but of course her mind went there immediately. "What do you mean, came here?" she asked. "I didn't come here… the last thing I remember I was in the forest, with Lincoln. I was shot."
"I promise I'll explain all that," Moira said. "But first we need to complete the decontamination process. Now that you've mostly healed from your wounds, you can be brought inside Raven Rock. You don't have to stay here in the biohazard bay anymore."
"That's fine," Octavia snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm fine with being a hazard."
Moira seemed uncertain for a moment. Hesitantly she said, "You can't stay here."
"Then let me go," she retorted.
"I can't do that either."
She felt a chill run down her spine. "Where am I? What is this?"
"I promise you, everything will be explained, if you just come with me." There was something about Moira's voice, something soothing, almost maternal, but Octavia didn't want to trust her. She remembered the stories about Mount Weather, about how at first it had seemed like a safe haven, utopia, and by the end it was revealed as hell.
She had little choice, though, but to go with this woman. She felt like a trapped animal, uncertain and scared. It reminded her of what had happened to her directly after the masquerade dance- she'd been 'processed,' as they called it, by the medical staff on the Ark: poked, prodded, catalogued, immunised, fingerprinted, retina scanned, photographed, and put into a room cell not unlike this one.
In the weeks after Clarke left, Bellamy had told her, slowly and gradually, of what he'd endured when he'd been taken in to Mount Weather. Thinking of his stories, she couldn't help but feel apprehension growing in the pit of her stomach as she followed Moira out of the room, the other person trailing behind them, his gun held to Octavia's back.
She was led down a corridor that was just as blank and cold as her room had been, and eventually to another door. Moira unlocked this door and held her hand out, indicating that Octavia should enter.
"I'll be waiting for you on the other side," she said gently.
She remembered Bellamy's description of the decontamination room- the grated floor, the collar around his neck, hands and feet chained, painful yellow powder that burned being sprinkled on his naked body, boiling water pumped through a hose and sprayed at him with force, a rough brush grinding it all into his skin until he bled, that feeling of not being able to breathe… often when they'd discussed it, he'd had to stop because the memories were too traumatic.
So it was with great trepidation that Octavia entered that room, and she heard a lock click back into place. She was standing in a very short hallway, another door at the end of it. She took a deep breath and walked the few steps forward, and then through the second door, bracing herself for what was to come.
The room was nothing like Bellamy had described. Instead of being big and open, cold and dark, with rusty metal grates and cruel men waiting to torture her, it was a small room with a few cubicles off to one side, and another door at the end. She was the only one there. There was a sign posted on the wall, and it gave clear instructions without any words- using only pictures to convey the message that she should step into one of the cubicles before proceeding.
She did so, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. There was a small speaker set in the wall here too, and as if on a sensor, it crackled to life the moment Octavia entered the narrow little room, which had only a small door about the size of a cupboard on one side, and a shower stall completely enclosed in glass on the other. "Welcome to decontamination," a pleasant female voice announced. "Please remove all clothing and place in the chute, then step into the shower." Again, the message repeated in Trigedasleng.
Octavia looked around to make sure no one was watching, but she was totally alone. Her own clothes were obviously long gone, so she had no qualms about removing what she was wearing and pulling open the small door in the wall, revealing a chute that seemed to lead quite a ways down, judging by the darkness at the end of it. It was too small for her to slip through- she checked.
Once she was naked she carefully examined the arrow wounds, and to her dismay she saw that they well on their way to being fully healed, scabbed over and closing. How long had she been here?
Fists clenched in apprehension, Octavia stepped into the glass shower stall and closed the door. She heard a lock click into place, and for a moment she panicked, trying to pull the door back open, but it wouldn't budge.
Again, that crackling sound as the speaker kicked in, "Prepare for decontamination. Please keep your eyes and mouth closed at all times. Some of the chemicals used can be caustic to the skin. These affects are temporary." Once more, the message repeated in Trigedasleng.
Octavia squeezed her eyes shut. The water turned on, but instead of the burning pain she anticipated from the boiling water, it was only pleasantly hot, and it felt good on her skin. She kept her eyes tightly shut, but even still she could feel when the water stopped, and then she felt what she assumed was the yellow powder Bellamy mentioned beginning to pour over her. It stung, but without the prelude of boiling water it wasn't agony. Once she was doused in the powder, the water started again. Octavia ran her fingers through her hair, enjoying the feeling of the shower as it washed the powder down the drain.
When the water shut off automatically, the door lock disengaged, and Octavia stepped out of the shower. Again, the soothing female voice instructed her in English and Trigedasleng, "Please proceed to the exit doors to choose your clothing. When you are ready, press the green button for entrance to the mountain. Welcome to Raven Rock."
She couldn't believe that was it. Octavia walked down the hall and through the exit door as instructed. There were clean towels set out, as well as a rack of clothing. She dried herself, wrapping herself up in a towel as she examined her options. She settled for a pair of black pants that were a little baggy but fit reasonably well, a plain blue tank top, and a white zip-up sweatshirt.
The green button was across the room, next to the final door. When she pressed it, nothing happened for a moment, but then the door unlocked and she pushed it open, stepping through warily, but somewhat soothed now that she was clean and had kept her dignity intact through what had been a relatively painless decontamination process. Compared to what Bellamy had endured, that had been nothing.
There was a woman waiting for her on the other side- she was about Aurora's age when last alive, but where Octavia's mother had been dark this woman was extremely fair. Her face was smattered in more freckles than even Bellamy's, and whereas his were brown, her own were as red as her hair, which was pulled back in a loose ponytail that hung to just between her shoulder blades. She was pretty in a plain sort of way, but what Octavia noticed most was how kind she looked.
"Moira?" she asked hesitantly, not wanting to be sucked in by the woman's sympathetic appearance. She was still a prisoner here.
"Yes," the woman answered with a smile. "Welcome to Raven Rock. Will you tell me your name?"
She hesitated, but then felt like she had to. "Octavia," she said shortly. "Where's Lincoln?"
"I don't know where Lincoln is," she said gently. "Or even who he is. I'm sorry. But I'm happy to answer all your other questions. Please come with me- we have dinner waiting, and I look forward to chatting with you. It's not every day that I meet a person from space."
Octavia didn't like any of this, but she followed Moira. Her eyes darted everywhere, trying to work out if there were any exits, anything she could use for a weapon. But the walls were smooth and bare, and there were no furnishings or even doors leading off this particular corridor. The only decorations were small alcoves from which plants- ferns, ivy, succulents- spilled out. The impression it gave was one of an overwhelming green, tempered only by the white of the polished floor and painted cement walls.
The dining room was also filled with plants, but Octavia noted that there were no windows. A big table took up most of the room, with enough chairs to seat twenty, but only two places were laid out, at the far end of the table. Moira sat at one, and motioned for Octavia to join her. There were no guards, so of course Octavia considered just killing her and making a run for it, but it was too risky when she had no idea where she was or how many people she was up against.
"We're underground?" she asked as she sat down. She looked at her plate suspiciously, noticing the quality and decadence of the meal. It looked delicious, but she didn't touch it.
"That's right," Moira said with a nod. She took a bite of her own food and said, "You were brought here by huntsman, Octavia. Mount Weather issued a bounty on Sky People months ago."
"But Mount Weather is gone," Octavia said.
"Yes, but we aren't. I suppose they thought they could still cash in if they brought you here, even after Mount Weather fell. They assumed that what was useful to them would be useful to us."
"So that's why I'm here?" Octavia asked, her heart sinking. "To be useful?" She knew the likely implications of that.
"As I said," Moira told her gently. "We mean you no harm."
"Then why am I here?" Octavia countered. "Why not just let me go?"
"Well… lots of reasons," Moira said honestly. "One being that we put a lot of resources into saving your life. You'd lost quite a bit of blood by the time you arrived here, and that arrow was very deep."
"So you saved me just to use me," she said stubbornly.
Moira sighed and took another bite of her food, chewing thoughtfully. "Maybe that was a poor choice of words," she said finally. "Can we start again? I know you've had dealings with Mount Weather, but I assure you Octavia- we are not them."
"So who are you, then?"
"Eat," Moira urged. "All you've had is IVs for the last few days, so please- eat."
Octavia looked down at her plate, but she resolved not to have even a bite. As if betraying her, her stomach growled audibly. Moira smiled softly at her, and then she seemed to have a thought and she set down her fork. She reached out, moving Octavia's plate away, and replaced it with her own. "There. Maybe that will reassure you. I wouldn't heal you just to poison you."
Hesitating for another moment, Octavia finally gave in. She had no idea what it was, but it was certainly delicious.
"I know you must have many questions," Moira said as she began eating from Octavia's original plate. "As I also have for you. I'm sure that, over time, we can learn a lot from each other."
"I don't have time," Octavia replied. "My brother is waiting for me."
"You have a brother?" she asked, seeming very interested.
"Yeah, and he was sick last time I saw him- really sick. Your little bounty hunter friends interrupted us on our journey back to him. We were bringing him medicine." Her face paled suddenly as she realised it had been days, and Bellamy would have never received the leechdom. "I have to go," she said urgently, getting to her feet abruptly.
There was a growing fear in the pit of her stomach that Bellamy was dead, but her mind rebelled against the idea. It couldn't be true. Somehow, he had to live. Even if she and Lincoln hadn't made it back in time, surely Echo would have helped him. She had to believe that because the alternative was too terrifying.
"Please sit down," Moira said gently.
"No!" she snapped, using anger to cover her fear. "No, I can't, I have to find Bellamy," she insisted, shoving her chair back and hurrying to the door. When she grabbed the handle and pulled, it was locked, and claustrophobia slammed into her like a fist. She whirled back to Moira. "Let me out of here right now!"
"Octavia," Moira said calmly, and there was something disturbing about the tone of her voice. "You won't be leaving here."
Swallowing hard, feeling that fear rising from her stomach and spreading into her chest, Octavia said, "What? What are you talking about?" She didn't want to comprehend the words.
"You are very welcome here," Moira said gently. "We have welcomed many outsiders into Raven Rock, over the years. Once you enter this mountain, though, you can never leave again. But I assure you, this isn't a prison."
Octavia's fists clenched, unclenched, and then clenched again. She gritted her teeth, shook her head, stared hard at Moira. Her blue eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared in anger as she realised that this woman was dead serious. "Are you insane?" she demanded. "That's the definition of prison."