Clarke sat up and looked around. She thought Lexa woke her, would have sworn that she felt Lexa shake her gently and say her name. Clarke pulled on her boots and left her tent to see one of her guards being dragged away. She pulled her pistol from her waist band and fired one shot in the air.
In the firelight, she saw whoever it was drop the guard and heard the rest of her group scrambling to see what was happening. Murphy, surprisingly, was the first out. "Get him," Clarke ordered. "I'll cover you."
She stayed several feet behind Murphy as he went to get the guard. Another of them went to help him while one stayed with Clarke and the other two did a quick sweep around the campsite.
When the injured guard was close to the fire, Murphy went to Clarke's tent to get her first aid kit. He brought it back with a lantern. "Looks like they clocked him from behind," he observed.
Clarke ran her fingers over his head and on the back of it found a bloody lump. "I need warm water and some cloth to clean him up and see if he needs stitches," she said. One of the Azgeda guards got up to do her bidding.
"Did you see anything?"
"Just him being dragged away. Whoever it was was too far away."
"Didn't know you still had a pistol."
"All of Skaikru's weapons are in the armory at Polis. We can get you one if you want."
"Nah, I'm good."
The guard returned and stood holding a bowl of warm water so Clarke could easily reach it. Murphy held the lantern to give her as much light as possible to work in. To be safe, Clarke put two stitches in and bandaged the guard's head. "Now we just need him to wake up," she said. "Put him in his tent, on his side. I'll check on him."
"I'll stay with him," another guard volunteered.
Clarke nodded while she repacked her kit. Murphy followed her to her tent.
"What woke you?"
"Lexa."
"Score one for the ghost girlfriend."
"Yeah. Go get some rest. I'm gonna try to catch a few more hours."
"I'm up. I'll stay on watch."
"Thanks."
"Just doing my job," Murphy answered as he left Clarke's tent. She sat down on her furs and slowly removed her boots. She put her pistol near her head, laid down, and closed her eyes.
100 – 100 – 100
Raven, Ontari, and two guards left for TonDC after breakfast. The ride was easy; the path between TonDC and Arkadia wasn't yet overgrown.
When they reached the gates, Ontari dismounted and went to help Raven down from her horse. The guards took charge of all the horses while they waited for the gates to open. It didn't take long.
There was a lot of bowing, and Raven didn't recognize anyone who met them. Ontari went off with the new village chief. Raven waited. After several minutes, Octavia strolled up. "I didn't think you would really come."
"Why wouldn't I?"
"You're up in Polis with Clarke, aren't you?"
"Yeah. She got that chip out of my head."
"Good for you."
"Are you mad generally or just at me?"
"Both. You took that chip and you weren't Raven anymore."
"I know."
"And Clarke stayed with Lexa in Polis. She abandoned Skaikru again."
"There's more to it than that."
"I don't care, Raven."
"There's not a lot of us left, Octavia."
"There's no us here, Raven. There never was. We were always invaders. All we brought was death."
"You can be someone else now, but you're always the girl who spent the first 15 years of her life hiding under the floor. You're always the girl who wanted all those things she couldn't have."
"You're still the youngest zero g mechanic in 53 years, but it doesn't mean anything. I don't want to see anyone. I don't want to talk to them. And you can tell Clarke to float herself for me."
"You don't mean that."
"I do. Every word. I'm with Trigedakru. As far as I'm concerned, the sooner Skaikru dies out, the better."
"That won't happen."
"A couple years ago, coming to Earth wasn't going to happen, either."
Raven studied Octavia for several seconds. "I'll be at Arkadia for a few days if you change your mind."
Octavia didn't answer. She turned her back to Raven and walked away. Ravenweighed her options and decided the best choice was to wait at the stable for Ontari to finish whatever it was she had to do. Skaikru wasn't welcome in Trikru lands and Raven didn't want to create any problems for Ontari.
When she reached the stables, Raven took an apple from the basket at the entrance and found an out of the way spot to watch everything. Octavia was angry, but didn't realize that she was the only one to walk away from Arkadia relatively unscathed. She lost Bellamy, but that was his choice. She still had Lincoln and Indra, a place she felt she belonged. The rest of Skaikru continued to struggle and worry.
Raven worried, too. She felt the enormous weight put on her shoulders by Clarke, Ontari, and Lexa. They all trusted her to figure out how to bring Lexa back with the limited tools and information they provided. She was still working things out in her head, and continued to do that while eating an apple in a small patch of sunshine.
"Raven, are you all right?" Ontari repeated.
"Oh, hey, Commander, just thinking." Raven stood up. "We done here?"
"Yes."
They didn't talk while they walked to the gates, or for the first part of the ride. Ontari spoke first, when she felt they were far enough from TonDC. "How was your visit?"
"Not so good. Yours?"
"The same. They complain that I brought Skaikru back to Arkadia."
"We won't be here long, I hope. And I won't bother them again."
"In time, they will seek what Skaikru has," Ontari said. "The things you will build with help everyone."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Commander."
100 – 100 – 100
"I can walk, Wanheda," the guard insisted.
"How many fingers?" Clarke asked.
"Two."
"Nope. We can wait one more day. Rest. That's an order."
Clarke left the tent. Murphy waited nearby. "How is he?"
"He has a bad concussion. He's seeing double. Maybe tomorrow."
"I don't like waiting here."
"I don't like it, either, but no matter what we do, we're down two guards because somebody has to keep an eye on him."
"I'll talk to the other guards, see if we can set up some traps. I have a really bad feeling about us staying here."
Clarke nodded. She wasn't happy about having to lose at least a day of travel, but it couldn't be helped. Murphy's concern added to her worries, as did the hypervigilance of the remaining guards. Whatever trouble was brewing was too close for comfort.
100 – 100 – 100
There was a fair bit of yelling during the night, but Clarke and the concussed guard slept through it. The others stayed in camp, and those who weren't on watch sat up until they were sure whoever made the racket was gone.
After sunup, Murphy and one of the Azgeda guards checked the traps they set the night before. They went first in the direction the yelling came from and found someone hanging from a tree by one foot snarled in rope.
Murphy climbed the tree and untied the rope so they could use it again. While he climbed down, the guard kept their prisoner still by keeping his sword to her neck. When Murphy reached them, he blinked a few times.
"John, tell him to let me go," Emori demanded.
"Emori, what are you doing here?"
"I didn't know it was you. We wouldn't have bothered you."
"Who's we?" Murphy knelt and removed the rope from her leg. The Azgeda guard didn't move, and neither did Emori.
"My friends. Nobody important."
"How many?"
Emori didn't answer.
"C'mon, Emori, how many?"
"Five," she answered sullenly.
"Is the boat still where we left it?"
"I moved it."
"Where is it?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"Tell you what," Murphy said. "You come and have breakfast with us and we'll talk about it, see what we can work out."
"No." Emori shook her head. "They won't take me back if you do that."
"Good. You don't need to be out there." Murphy hauled Emori to her feet.
"You don't understand."
"I understand just fine. You can come with us or we can make you."
To be safe, the Azgeda guard walked behind them and prodded Emori with his sword when she slowed.
No one was in sight when they reached the camp, but Clarke and the concussed guard soon came out of his tent. He moved slowly to sit near the campfire while Clarke looked at Murphy and Emori.
"Who's your friend?" she asked Murphy.
"Clarke, this is Emori. She helped me get away from Jaha and the City of Light."
"With the boat."
"Right."
"Where's the boat?"
Emori didn't say anything.
"She won't tell me."
"What do you want for the boat?"
"It's not mine."
"But you know where it is?"
"Yeah."
Their other guards returned from hunting for breakfast. Beside the fire, they cleaned their catch and put it on to cook. Clarke and Murphy both saw Emori's attention to the food.
"You hungry?" Clarke asked her. When Emori didn't answer, Clarke asked, "What about your friends? Are they hungry?"
"We can help," Murphy said. "We can help you get food."
"You think giving us a meal or two will fix things?"
"It's a start," Clarke answered. "You have something we need. What can we give you in return?"
Emori looked at Clarke suspiciously, then looked to Murphy.
"Maybe I should have introduced Clarke properly," he said to Emori. "That," he pointed at Clarke, "is Klark kom Skaikru, also known as Wanheda. She is also Azgeda's ambassador to Polis and one of Heda Ontari's advisers."
Emori groaned. "I'll tell you where the boat is and you let me go."
"You take us to the boat and make sure we know how to work it, we'll pay you and let you go," Clarke countered.
They looked at each other for half a minute before Emori agreed.
"How far is it?"
"Less than a day's walk."
"As soon as everybody eats and we get our stuff packed up, we'll get going," Clarke said loud enough for the guards to hear.
After that, things moved quickly. Emori pointed the opposite way than Murphy led them. He walked beside her. "When we came back, you left the boat back there, right?"
"Sha. I moved it a couple times."
"Does everything still work?"
"It did when I tied it up. What are you doing with her, John?"
"Clarke? We're friends. She needs to get to the City of Light. The boat's a lot faster than walking."
"Safer, too."
"What happened after they took you?"
"It's a long story," Murphy sighed. "Let's just say I ran into Clarke in Polis and we've been helping each other since."
"Helping her how?"
"You don't get to be jealous. You bailed on me."
"How would it be better for both of us to go to jail?"
"It wouldn't."
"What was I supposed to do?"
Murphy sighed again. "I don't know."
"Tell me about Polis."
"Later." Emori wasn't like he remembered, and he wasn't sure what was different.
After that, they walked without talking. Emori kept looking over her shoulder, and Murphy began to look back, too. He thought he saw movement and waved one of the guards up to stay with Emori while he dropped back to talk to Clarke.
"I don't know what's going on, but something isn't right."
"Like what?"
"Emori keeps looking behind us. I thought I saw somebody back there."
"Keep an eye out," Clarke said. She turned to the concussed guard. He didn't look well, but he kept up and didn't complain. "If something happens, you make sure she doesn't get away."
He nodded and moved up to the front. The guard he replaced dropped back behind Clarke and Murphy. A few minutes later, he reported to Clarke that they were being followed.
"Let's give them a chance to catch up," Clarke said. They moved away from the water into the forest and took a break.
Clarke went to Emori. "Are those your friends back there?"
"Probably."
"Attacking us is a bad idea. Can you give them a signal to come up and talk?"
"So you can kill them?"
"So we can talk."
"They won't believe that's all you want."
"All I care about is getting the boat, so if we can avoid a senseless fight, it's for the best."
"You're so sure you'll defeat them."
"I am," Clarke answered. "Look at us. Four Azgeda warriors, Murphy and me. They're outnumbered. If they're in the same shape you're in, it won't be a fight. I'd rather not see any more blood."
Emori stared at Clarke. Clarke waited for her to speak, and when she tired of waiting, said, "Let's get moving."
Everyone kept an eye on their followers, but they kept their distance. They reached the boat late in the afternoon. Clarke stood on the pier it was tied to and looked at it critically for a couple minutes before boarding. Murphy was behind her. One of the Azgeda guards went next, then Emori, followed by the rest of the party.
While Clarke looked around, Murphy and Emori got it started. Murphy jumped down to get the lines, tossed them to the deck, then jumped aboard. He returned to the wheelhouse. "City of Light?" Emori asked.
"As close to Polis as we can get," Murphy told her.