AN: How crap, thank you all for the support! Shout out to Bee-bac, x XRoweenaJAugustineX x, masqueraderose3, and anonymous guest for their reviews, you're all awesome. Hope you guys enjoy this next one, it was a pretty fun one to write. Please alert and comment with your thoughts, as always.

CHAPTER FIVE

Caught in the riptide, I was searching for the truth
There was a reason I collided into you

Nobody knows why, nobody knows how and
This feeling begins just like a spark
Tossing and turning inside of your heart, exploding in the dark

Here with Me – Susie Suh

BEFORE

For three days Bellamy waited for the knock on their door that would signify her betrayal of his secret. He couldn't sleep, instead spending the time to listen to the light snores of his family and waited for footsteps to march down the corridor. He waited for the intrusive pounding that would be followed by the door being forced open as the Guard came to take away his mother. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Nora Bishop betrayed him, because he hadn't given her a reason not to.

He had left her in the corridor in Telsa, overwhelmed with the urge to be sick – vision blurring as he nearly sprinted home. She had called after him, begging for him to go back, to talk with her, but he'd fled from the sound of her voice. After locking the door behind him, he hadn't left their quarters except to go out early in the morning to get his daily rations. He took an elaborate route through the stations, avoiding the busiest corridors and kept his distance from Alpha Station.

He'd spent three days trying to think of something, anything, that would save them from further discovery but he had come up with nothing short of finding a way to get rid of Nora. He still wasn't entirely sure how she had figured out about his secret, but it couldn't have been easy to put together the clues. After more than a decade of hiding another human being in their small quarters, and their lives, he and his mother had grown used to the extra precautions they both had to take to keep Octavia safe. Maybe they had gotten too comfortable, slipped up, and mentioned something that they shouldn't have.

Before she was born, Bellamy had been different. He'd been full of life and laughter, a thirst for knowledge, and a drive to one day give his mother a better life. He had wanted to provide for her and show her that the Ark was an amazing place to live – at six years old, he thought it was the best place in the whole galaxy. But when he held his sister for the first time, felt how small and fragile she was in his arms, he had felt those dreams slip away to be replaced with something different: a purpose; she was his responsibility and it was his duty to keep her safe.

Gone were the friends, the outgoing personality, even his grades never lifting to a level that would get him recognized by his teachers, nothing to draw attention to himself. Anyone that tried to get to know him was someone that he went out of his way to avoid. It took a few years for his peers and teachers to accept the change but soon no one remembered how he used to behave.

He found it lonelier as he grew older and watched as his peers romantically paired off with one another. Their public displays of affection flooded the corridors in the Education District and he found himself wishing to be among them, but knew that it was an impossibility. Any connections would one day lead to questions he couldn't answer, so he didn't make connections. He didn't need anyone else when he had his mother and Octavia, and he did it for them.

He would do anything for them, anything it took to keep them safe. As the night dragged on, Bellamy thought of only one solution to his problem, and he was sick with himself for even considering it a possibility. He had gone through the problem over and over, trying to look at it from angles, to see it in every possible light, to think of everything but that option. He even wondered if he could pay her off somehow but he knew that they had nothing that would be valuable enough to buy her silence.

It all came back to Nora Bishop and whether or not he could trust her to keep his secret. He couldn't trust her, he didn't even know her. While he shared space with her most of his life, he knew almost nothing about her besides her name and her father. He hadn't paid attention to her in class, hadn't noticed her around the Ark, and had approached her in the Archives with no idea what he was doing. A total stranger held his life- no, his family's lives, in her hands and he couldn't allow himself to believe that someone would be merciful enough to let them go. He had to do something.

The idea came to him on the second night as he struggled to fall asleep. Octavia was tucked into his side, clutching most of the blankets to herself. He didn't mind as he tended to run through the night, and watched as she lightly snored, eyebrows twitching with every breath. He had used a gentle thumb to rub the furrow from between them and she had nestled further into the blankets, turning her back to him with a small hum.

There was only one option that would make the problem go away entirely, but only if Nora hadn't told anyone else yet about what she had discovered. If she had already told then it wouldn't matter for long, but if she had kept silent, then only she knew the truth. It would be easy to make the problem go away if Nora did and there were plenty of places on the Ark that someone could.. disappear.

He didn't like the idea of killing someone, it made him want curl up and hide beneath his bed like a child, but he didn't see another choice. Whatever the cost, he had to keep his family safe. When he reminded himself that it wouldn't be a faceless someone that he killed, but rather someone that he knew, it was hard to imagine the blood of Nora Bishop on his hands. The light from her eyes would go out, her hopes and dreams of the future would fade, and her parents would be left to mourn her, never knowing the truth of why she died if he was successful.

He didn't personally know her parents, but he knew that his mom had voted for Cole Bishop to join the council and that his wife Angela managed the Purser's Office in Go-Sci. Neither seemed to be awful people and probably weren't but suffered the misfortune of having Nora for a daughter. He decided to find a way to make it as painless as possible for her if he was truly forced to kill her – a faulty airlock would be best. He'd been able to fall asleep after promising himself that killing Nora would only be the last resort.

Octavia, elated to have constant company and more free time above the floor, hadn't questioned her brother's reclusive state or distracted mood. She had loved the gift he had given her and he tried to hide his surprise as she had opened it. He didn't know what Nora had chosen as a gift and he had been hoping that it wasn't just an empty box or something worse than a pair of socks. They had plugged in the data-stick and found themselves enraptured by the television show I Love Lucy.

The black and white recording showed them more of Earth than any of the videos Bellamy had seen in his classes. His sister fell in love with the show before the first episode had finished. It was amazing to see what the world had been like before the bombs had destroyed everything. People walked on sidewalks, had picnics in the park, drove to work from their homes that sat in little patches together, and could even watch a movie outside while sitting in their cars. Transportation ranged from cars, bikes, shoes with giant wheels on the bottoms of them, to trains and airplanes.

They were confused by how people could spent their time and money so frivolously. Octavia's eyes were wide as they watched an episode where the characters were all dressed up to go to a masquerade ball, gowns flowing and extravagant while the men wore crisp suits. She'd let out a dreamy sigh as her brother shook his head, not understanding how the world used to function. He wondered if life was any better back then but reasoned that it couldn't have been that great if it had led the world to self-destruction.

His mother took notice to his behavior after he declined her offer to take a walk through the station after Octavia had fallen asleep. It was their way of decompressing from the claustrophobia that they both felt in their small quarters, but both felt guilty for their feelings when they saw how well Octavia dealt with her confinement. They would wait until she fell asleep to wander the empty corridors of the Ark, sometimes stopping for an ice cream bar from the mess hall if his mother had enough spare credits on her account. It was their little way of spending time just the two of them, and at his refusal to go combined with his withdrawn attitude for three days, Aurora Blake had had enough.

After it took her only ten minutes to interrogate the reason out of him, he started to think that his mother would have made a good member of the Guard. While he had expected anger from her, she had handled the news of their discovery better than he was comfortable with, and had only nodded her head calmly before disappearing into the bathroom. He heard it click it shut and the shower start to run, a light melody seeping under the door as she hummed softly.

Five minutes passed and the water timer chimed as the shower shut itself off. Another ten minutes passed before his mother reappeared as she towel dried her hair. He waited for her to speak, feeling the guilt starting to overwhelm him as he tried to read her face. With a sigh, she sat down next to him on his bunk, wrapping her arms around him as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"We're going to get through this," she said quietly, giving him a tight squeeze while rocking side to side slightly. He closed his eyes, leaning into her warm embrace. "I know that you didn't mean for this to happen, but you need to help me fix it, okay?"

He opened his eyes and looked at her, unsure what they could do to fix his mistake. His heart beat faster as he thought back to his last resort. "What are we going to do?"

"Well, tomorrow night I'm going to make my famous potato cakes," she said with small smile, pulling back her head to flick him on the nose lightly. He frowned at her calm attitude, wondering if his mother truly understood the gravity of their situation. Maybe she was in shock like he had been. Opening his mouth to voice his concern, she silenced him with a raised eyebrow and shake of her head. "And you're going to invite Nora Bishop over for dinner."

AFTER

"Would you like more beans, dear?"

Nora opened her eyes to Aurora Blake offering her a spoonful of mashed soy beans, a glassy look in her eyes. She didn't wait for a rely before dumping a heaping scoop on her plate with a loud splat and dropped the spoon to the table, mumbling something to herself. Nora stared at her in open shock and reached out a shaking hand to touch the woman. She gasped as her hand felt solid form beneath Aurora's shirt and pulled it back as if stung.

Her skin crawled as the air buzzed around her, the hair on her arms prickling up. The beans on her plate swirled together, emptying into a black void before her plate was sucked away. A shake shuddered through the room and her chair lowered a few inches before growing too tall, bashing her knee into the table.

"Could you pass the milk?"

She jumped at the sound of his voice, turning to find him seated across from her, looking at her with an impatient face. A pitcher of soy milk sat on the table next to his already full cup and she looked at him in confusion. "I don't understand-" she started, pushing her seat back from the table in an attempt to stand. The floor disappeared for a moment, flashing a bright white before returning to the dull gray of steel.

"No, don't!" Two small arms wrapped around her waist as Octavia launched herself out of her seat to tackle her to the ground. She clasped a hand over Nora's mouth, looking terrified as she stared at the door. "They'll hear you!"

Neither Bellamy nor his mother took notice to them, both staring silently at their plates. Nora tried to push the small girl off of her and managed to push herself across the floor, trying not to kick Octavia in the face as she struggled to get away. Octavia burst into tears, sobbing into her hands. Nora used the wall to pull herself up, surprised when a burst of pain in her chest sent her back to the floor with a cry.

Breathing heavily, she lay on her back, trying to will the pain to go away. It felt like something was trying to burst its way out of her heart, a pressure that was building from within. She pressed a hand to her heart, hoping to counteract the pain. Fog seeped into the edges of her vision as a loud ringing filled her ears. Suddenly, Aurora was leaning over her, eyes empty as she watched her struggle to breathe.

She looked her, head tilted as Nora felt herself slipping under a wave of unconsciousness, and a small smile came over her. Her teeth showed as she nodded her head and stood up, taking a step back as Nora reached up a hand to her, begging her to help. "May we meet again," she whispered, taking another step back as Bellamy instantly took her place, standing above her with a vacant expression.

"Please," she whispered, voice thick with pain and desperation as the ringing in her ears grew loud enough that she was cradling her head. White hot pain exploded out of her chest as her shirt slowly started turning red, blood soaking through the thin fabric. She felt her face wet with tears as she forced her eyes open to meet his. "Bellamy, please-"

Her head exploded in searing pain and she let out a scream, accepting the darkness. A heartbeat passed and she felt her face grow warm, a light brush of air teased her hair. Blinking her eyes open, she gasped for air and was blinded by a bright light. Raising a hand to shield her eyes, she tried to focus on regaining her breath and looked wildly around her. As the light faded, she felt the pain disappear but found her breath taken away by the view before her.

The warmth on her face and blinding light were both a result of the bright sun above her, casting its rays onto a meadow spread out before her. Taking an unsteady step, she walked forward with her arms out, fingers tickling the wildflowers that waved in the breeze around her. Taking a deep breath in, she felt the fresh air touch her lungs sweetly. She let out a giddy laugh and took off sprinting through the meadow, running in circles with her arms spread wide and to the sparkling blue sky. She laughed and spun tightly, her white dress swirling around her knees as she dug her bare toes into the soft dirt.

A bird flew overhead and let out a loud cry, drawing her attention to the far end of the meadow. She turned, smile dropping slowly from her face as she saw him, standing at the edge of the woods. His face was bloody, a large cut above his eye and a split lip, and he held a gun limply at his side. She walked towards him, and stopped a few paces away when he raised the gun to meet her.

She paused before taking another step forward, followed by another, until the barrel of the gun was pressed lightly into her chest. His hand on the gun was still as she reached up to lay a hand on his, not moving its trajectory. A tear fell down his cheek as he pulled the trigger, the end of the gun exploding into a shower of flower petals. Nora caught them in her hand, blowing them back into his face as he dropped the gun to land in the grass.

She let out a laugh and reached out to grab his hand, only to grab air as the meadow disappeared and darkness surrounded her. She felt a presence behind her and shivered as a light breath touched her neck. "It's time to wake up," he whispered, brushing a soft kiss over her shoulder.

She turned, trying to catch him before he was gone again but felt herself being pulled by an invisible string, sweeping her further into the darkness. She grabbed at the air but had no control of her body as she was dragged away. She tried to cry out, to beg him to stay, but her voice came out only as a gasp of air as the pain returned in her chest. As if hooked from where the pain originated, she was pulled up as an invisible force crashed into her from behind and she felt nothing.

Cole Bishop fought to keep his eyes open, head drifting to fall to his shoulder before he would jump awake and adjust his position in his chair. He let out a sigh, rubbing a tired hand over his face as he tried to find a comfortable way to sit. Just as he felt his eyes start to drift closed once more, a sound to his right shocked him awake.

"Somebody get Abby!" he yelled, surprising two medical techs that were in the room into action, as he hurried to grab his daughter's hand. Her eyes blinked at him and they flashed to her hand in his, a small frown on her face in confusion. Letting out a mix between a laugh and a sob, he gently rubbed her hand between both of his before reaching out to brush her cheek with his thumb. "Hey, Peanut. Welcome back."

Calling your name in the midnight hour, reaching for you from the endless dream
So many miles between us now, but you are always here with me