Chapter 1

Marcus Kane gripped the cold metal railing like his life depended on it. His dark eyes scanned the room below him taking everything in. Unconscious, his people lay on the floor. Pieces of the broken bowl scattered between them. Papers with their names on them sprinkled on the ground like freshly fallen snow. Sky People fell where they stood with no idea of what was about to come.

His eyes scanned the room for any sign of movement. Nothing. Only Jaha, still in his gas mask stood next to him. Marcus took a deep breath and removed his own mask. He turned his head to the guard behind him and nodded. It was done. There was no coming back. The time ran out. Everyone in the bunker, apart from the selected few, was unconscious and the death wave was coming. Their fates were already sealed. Those not asleep had to work quickly or they would all be dead for one reason or another.

Marcus released his grip on the railing. His hands, wet with sweat, dropped to his sides. He clenched and unclenched his fists as he turned towards the stairs and slowly but surely made his way down. His steps were careful to avoid stepping on the limbs of people who lost consciousness on the stairs. As Kane walked down, his eyes scanned the room.

"This is how we save our people," he said choking back his tears.

Kane fixed his eyes on the door at the opposite end of the room. An overwhelming sense of dread filled his body at the thought of what was waiting behind that door. He placed his feet carefully, maneuvering between the unconscious bodies of his people.

This is how we save our people, he thought once again when he reached the door leading to the main corridor.Marcus Kane paused and stood still with his eyes closed. He squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. This is how we save our people, he repeated like a mantra in his thoughts hoping that it would make the inevitable more bearable. Another deep breath and he opened his eyes. He turned his head to the guard next to him and signaled him to open the door. Marcus' heart pounded in his chest. The door squeaked and Kane took a step back. The enormity of the situation and the gravity of the task ahead of him were overwhelming.

Nothing could have had prepared them for what was waiting on the other side of that door. The long corridor was filled with unconscious bodies of grounders who fell where they stood. Marcus scrunched up his nose as the metallic smell hit his nostrils. He looked around and noticed a pool of blood on the floor. His eyes followed the trail at the end of which, he found a body of a middle-aged grounder man impaled on a sword held by another. Accidental death while they were falling asleep as a result of the released gases. Marcus gulped. Next to the dead man lay the sword owner. His chest rose and fell slowly. Still alive. Asleep. Just like Kane's people in another room. The difference was that Sky people would get to live. This man and hundreds of others in this hall were just minutes away from dying. He, Marcus Kane, was mere minutes from executing them all. Killing hundreds of grounders. A bunker full of them because he couldn't bear to sacrifice his own people. Not this time. This time they had no choice. He had no choice. It was either them or the grounders. And Kane couldn't sacrifice hundreds of his people. Not again. And yet, sacrificing strangers, grounders he'd never even met didn't exactly make him feel any better.

Behind him, Jaha sensed Marcus' thoughts.

"It must be done. We'd never have peace with a thousand of grounder warriors in the bunker. You know that!"

"I do. But it doesn't make it any easier," replied Kane slumping his shoulders.

A dozen of his trusted guards stood behind him, those he selected to keep conscious. Men they needed to move those he was about to save and then, those he was about to kill.

"If anyone sees Octavia or Indra, report to me immediately," Marcus barked orders as he easily slipped into his guar persona; the only way he knew how to handle this situation without falling apart. "Bring over any Trikru member that you find. They all stay. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

"And you three, go to the storage room. Niylah and some others were sorting out our supplies. Move them all to the main room. All of them stay. No exceptions! Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" the three men replied in unison and split from the main group to go fulfil their duties.

Marcus stayed where he was, slowly making his way through the sea of bodies in front of him. As he walked, he focused on the faces of people whom he'd never seen before. Wondered what their past was like and what future he was taking away from them. Would they have been able to live in the bunker peacefully? Or would it be a bloodbath right from the start? Was he making the right choice? Questions echoed in his head.

He tried to memorize the faces of everyone he just sentenced to death. The burden of deciding who lived and dies was heavy on his shoulders. Excruciating. Unfair. What right did he have? His mind screamed at him.

This is how we save our people. He thought again and again, painfully aware of his actions and the lives he was about to take.

Behind him walked Jaha who didn't seem to have the same moral dilemma as Kane had. For Thelonious, the grounders were disposable. Nothing more than a useful tool needed for survival. Despite his claims, Jaha didn't really care about the survival of the human race. He only cared about himself and those that followed him. Marcus swallowed with disgust as he thought how easy it was for Jaha to sacrifice over a thousand people just because they were grounders. Kane's stomach churned, threatening to empty its content. He took a deep breath and released it slowly as he tried to calm himself down.

Deciding who lives and dies was a long and difficult process. Marcus Kane wanted to be thorough. It took a long time but the seemingly never-ending sea of people finally stopped. With all bunker levels checked and all the Trikru they trusted moved to a safe location together with the Skypeople, they were now finished with their task. Marcus and his guards returned to the main room where their people remained unconscious on the floor.

"Has anyone seen Octavia or Indra?" Kane asked his guards.

The reply wasn't the one he had hoped for. Some men shook their heads, others muttered a negative reply. Where the hell are they? Marcus worried that the two of them may still be somewhere in the bunker. Hidden. Impossible to find. As the bunker was now sealed, there was no getting in or out.

He took a deep breath. A pained expression on his face; he couldn't wait any longer. Despair filled him at the thought of losing the two women. Octavia only wanted to do what she thought was right. She was put in that position by them, including Kane. One day, she would've made a great leader even though she had a lot to learn. But if she wasn't in the bunker, her time was limited. She'd never have the chance of becoming that. The Praimfaya would be there shortly and outside, there was no safe place for her to hide. He pinched his lips. There was nothing he could do for her or Indra, his friend, anymore. The time for mourning will be later. He reminded himself.

"We're ready," came a voice from behind him, startling him. He lifted his gaze and took a last long look inside the corridor, at the sea of grounder bodies. He had to see it again, to know exactly what he was about to do. He needed to be aware of the reality of the situation before he gave the order.

Kane's eyes focused on an unconscious grounder as he took a deep breath and slowly turned around, scanning the room he was in. Sky people and Trikru scattered on the floor, unconscious. Unaware of what was happening. This is how we save our people. He reminded himself again.

"You can do this," Jaha's voice hit him like a brick.

Marcus turned his attention to Jaha and nodded in reply.

"Seal the door and separate this section," said Kane to the radio.

"Yes, sir," replied a voice on the other side coming from the inside of the control room.

The door separating him from the grounders locked and a loud hiss indicated the sealing procedure. A shiver ran down Marcus' spine and he swallowed. That was it.

"Reverse the vents in the rest of the bunker and release the carbon monoxide gas." It was done. Marcus Kane gave the final order that sealed the fates of the hundreds behind that closed door.

"Procedure initiated."

Marcus dropped the radio to his side. Procedure initiated. His hand gripped the radio with all his strength as he turned his attention to the room he was in. This time, he focused on the faces of his people. The ones who just hours ago thought they were about to die or lose their loved ones. Safe for now, they were still unaware of it.

His eyes scanned the room until they landed on a golden-brown mane of hair that belonged to the one person he wanted to save the most in the world, and the one who didn't want to be saved. Their previous conversation echoed in his head.

She wanted to be outside the bunker, a request he couldn't follow. He didn't have the strength to go through with it. Not after everything they'd been through. It was too much to ask of him and she must have known that.

Marcus walked over to where Abby lay sideways on the floor with her back facing him. He lowered himself, knelt next to her, and reached with his hand. He gently grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. Her body moved with ease, landing on her back, allowing him to look at her. With his hand, he brushed a loose strand of Abby's hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek with his finger, dragging it along her jawline.

"I hope you can forgive me," he whispered to the unconscious woman in front of him.

Without hesitation, he scooped her up in his arms. Her body warming his own as he carried her to one of the offices upstairs where he placed her on the couch. He wanted to be alone with her when she would wake up in order to explain everything. Hoping that she'd listen to what he had to say.

"It's been two hours, sir," a young guard replied to Marcus's question.

"Let's leave it for another one just to be on the safe side," said Jaha. The young guard looked at Marcus for approval which Kane gave with a nod.

Two hours had passed since they introduced the carbon monoxide inside the bunker. Two hours ago Marcus became responsible for yet another culling.

Over a thousand dead because of him.

Kane's stomach tightened and his sweaty hands trembled. He closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself down to avoid emptying the content of his stomach right where he stood.

"50 minutes to go," a voice brought him back to reality. Without so much as acknowledging it, he removed himself from the control room desperate for five minutes alone as the weight of the world lay heavy on his shoulders.

Less than an hour later, Marcus stood in front of the same door they closed only a few hours before. He squared his shoulders. His muscle tense and his neck stiff. He took a deep breath. The air smelled the same as it had 3 hours ago. Seemingly, nothing had changed but it was only an illusion.

He already missed the smell of the fresh air which he got used to surprisingly quickly. For now, the filtered air would have to do and he wasn't even sure if he was ever to smell the sweet scent of fresh air ever again.

He waved his hand to signal the guard to open the door. His eyes squeezed shut as he braced himself for what was about to come. A loud hiss penetrated his senses, making him painfully aware of what was waiting behind the door. His eyes shot open and he reached with his hand, placing it firmly on the cold metal of the door and pushing it ever so slightly. Even the small push was enough for the door to fly open.

As he held his breath his eyes landed on the sea of bodies looking exactly the same as they did hours ago. Except, when he looked closely, he saw that they were no longer moving. No rising and falling of chests. The bodies were now eerily still. A shiver ran down Marcus' spine. In front of him, those people were no longer asleep. There was no coming back. Now, they were all dead and it was all his fault.

He walked over to a red-hair grounder man laying on his back. A young guard ran over to Marcus, ready to defend his chancellor if necessary. Kane waved him off. These people were no longer a threat to him. To anyone. Perhaps the guards should have defended them from Marcus? He thought mournfully as he knelt beside the man and pressed two fingers to his neck checking for pulse. Nothing.

He walked over to another one. Empty, foggy eyes stared at nothing. He reached with his hand and closed them. Without much thought, he went over to check someone else. Then he checked another man, and another, and another…

"There's no way anyone would have survived this long," Jaha's voice brought Marcus back from his trance-like state to reality. Kane turned around and took a last look at the warrior's body next to him.

"The time has come. We split into teams as we discussed. Group A, sweep zone 2. Use the trollies to transport the bodies down to level F. Use the equipment elevator. Group B, you wait on level F. Unload the trollies in the Body Disposal Unit and send the trollies back up. Remove what can't be processed and begin the disposal procedure." Marcus' voice emotionless. He hoped that impersonal language and tone would help him distance himself from the recent event but it was wishful thinking. Nothing could do that. Packing emotions away in a tiny box was his specialty on the Ark but he had lost that ability on Earth. Of course, he tried. Killing this many people was too heavy of a burden and he couldn't afford to break down in front of his guards and later other people. He had to keep it together until he would get to his room for the night. Burying his emotions deep was the only way he knew how to do it, except it wasn't working this time.

Transporting all the bodies took hours. They even had to put on their gas masks again and add some sleeping gas so their people wouldn't start waking up. Before they were to be awoken, all bodies had to be moved to level F as to not freak everyone out upon seeing all the dead bodies. But when they wake their people up, they'd be able to delegate more tasks, get help with the disposal and relief guards that'd been on duty for hours. Exhausted and in need of sleep and food.

As the trolley filled with the last of the remaining bodies disappeared behind the elevator door, Kane squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep breath, and straightened his aching back. This is how we saved our people. He reminded himself.

End of Chapter 1