Chapter 8
Clarke was walking through the bushes after going to the slit trenches. There was no way they could know that the Ark was no longer watching them. Even if they sent word that they had stopped, they knew the Ark wouldn't. The only way to stop them watching was to destroy the machines and that could kill them!
Clarke made her way to the top deck which was mostly her patients. Jasper, Atom and Wells. Jasper was almost ready to leave the ship, but he seemed to be developing a kind of fear of the ground. Atom would need a lot more care and something to use as a salve before he was anywhere near ready to resume his duties - and they would have to be significantly altered. Maybe he could stand sentry duty. Wells though, was the most concerning to Clarke. She'd sewn him up and bandaged his arm and it was now in a sling, but Charlotte could try again if she ever got free. Well's mental state was also altered. Clarke didn't think he would ever be the same again. He knew people didn't like him because he was from Alpha, but that attitude was slowly changing as they saw him work alongside the others without complaint. Charlotte, however, tried to kill him just because of who his father was and what he did. Both Jaha's would have to come to terms with that - and with the entire Ark knowing what happened and why.
Clarke sighed silently to herself before she plastered on a big smile and went over to Jasper. She checked his wound.
"Well, Jasper, another couple of days and I think you can get up and move around. I'd prefer you to stay in the camp at first but you should be okay to move around." Jasper gave her a hesitant smile.
"It's okay, Jasper. We all know how hard this must be for you but it will get better, okay? This is just trauma from the injury coming out in your mind. You survived, concentrate on that." He nodded and lay back down. Clarke moved on to Atom.
"Let's have a look at you," she said as she pulled the damp cloth from his torso. "I think you are starting to heal, Atom, the redness is fading a bit. You may not be fully fit as you were, but I think you can still live a full life. You will probably have a few burn scars, but they should not stop you from doing most things. Stretching too far may be painful, but we can figure it out later when you're on your feet." Atom smiled at her.
"Thank you!" he said. "Hear that mom! I'm gonna be okay!" Clarke smiled again and moved onto Wells. She unwrapped the bandage to look at his wound.
"Good, no bleeding. I'll need more bandages soon, but I think we can boil these ones and let them air dry and reuse them. I'll just change the bandage and then put your arm back into the sling. Keep it in the sling, Wells, no trying to use the arm. I do not have a lot of supplies left to restitch it!" Wells nodded and grinned.
"Yes, Doctor," he said. The other two laughed. It was a happy and congenial atmosphere on the top deck. After a few days of wondering if any of them would stay alive, it was nice to see. Clarke could see that both Jasper and Atom were bonding with Wells and that Atom was bonding with Jasper. Three people from three different groups all coming together because they were all confined in the makeshift med bay together.
Clarke turned to gather up the used bandages when a thought popped into her head.
"OHHH!" she said out loud.
"What?" asked Wells.
"Just had a thought. I need Raven." She dropped as fast as she could down the ladders and ran out yelling for Raven.
"What?" she asked from on top of the dropship.
"Come down. I need to talk to you in private. Come to the top deck, please!" Clarke disappeared before Raven could question her. Raven cursed and went down to see what Clarke wanted.
On the top deck, Clarke took a pencil and a clean piece of paper over to a darkened corner and waited.
"Alright, I'm here. What do you want?" asked Raven, a little narked she had to leave the wiring for this. Clarke held up one hand.
"I don't want anyone looking over here until I tell you, okay?" Her patients and Raven nodded but all with quizzical looks on their faces. Clarke turned back to the drum they were using as a table and closed her eyes before she wrote something on the sheet. She put the pencil down and turned around before opening her eyes.
"Raven, can you go to the piece of paper and read it to yourself? I want to know if it's doable or not. A yes or no will suffice. Even if it could take you some serious searching for parts, could you do it within, say, a month?" Raven was mystified but went over. "The rest of you, do not look over there."
"What's going on?" asked Atom.
"I can't say. If I did, those on the Ark would know and I don't want them to. Raven isn't tagged like the rest of us so she can read it and not let the Arkers know what it is I want to happen."
"Is it bad?"
"No, now stop trying to get info from me, please."
"Are you serious?" Raven asked in astonishment.
"Yes. Is it doable within a month?"
"If I can get the right parts, yes, but it would need some serious building done and I'm not sure I can do it myself."
"You can have Bellamy help you, he's not tagged either. You two are the only ones who can do this and keep it from the Ark."
"Would it work though?" Raven asked.
"I don't know, but I volunteer to find out. You and Bellamy can lead if it doesn't."
"It could kill you, Clarke," Raven warned.
"And that's why I'm volunteering. I won't ask others to do something I'm not prepared to do myself. I'm not one of the Alpha elite, too scared of losing privilege!" Wells was in the corner, nodding to himself glumly.
"Raven, fold up that piece of paper so we can't see what's written on it and put it into your pocket." Raven did as she was told and then told them it was safely hidden from view. Raven went over to them.
"You sure about this?" she asked Clarke.
"No, but it's the only thing I can think of to stop them invading our privacy. I'm sure most of the parents on the Ark do not want anyone else to see their children's private parts, nor when they are having sex. Do you think they can stop it? I don't! There will always be someone who just couldn't resist taking a quick peek even if the Ark decreed us off limits." Raven nodded.
"I get it. When I was watching you two flirt, I hated that others knew Finn was attempting to cheat on me. Nothing happened between you two except for some long looks, but others couldn't help rib me for having a wandering boyfriend. There was no way I could stop anyone else from seeing it though."
"They had to watch as those two boys died on the way down," Wells said, sadly.
"And they saw when Trina and Pascal were killed by the acid fog. They died the day before it reached you. Their bodies are still out there," Raven said, shuddering. The others looked shocked.
"We knew they were missing, but we didn't know they had died!" Clarke said.
"We need to go get them. Give them a proper burial," Atom said.
"I'll ask Bellamy to get a team together and go get them," Clarke said quietly.
"I'll go with them," Raven said. "I know roughly where they were last seen." Clarke nodded.
"Let's go tell him the bad news," Clarke said. They made their way down the ladders and over to Bellamy who was watching as Octavia and her enlarged team walked into the woods and disappeared. He sighed as he turned from the wall and made his way over to the two emerging from the ship.
"Octavia's group is off to find that town," he said, quietly.
"You did the right thing, Bellamy. She needs experience in leading and interacting with others. She couldn't get that here with you hovering over her. People were too scared to speak to her, especially the guys who were only trying to talk to her."
"She's my sister," he replied.
"And she's also a human, Bellamy. This is her time to run free. The Ark has no say in what we do and if Octavia wants to go off exploring, the Ark can't say no and neither can you. Let her live, Bellamy and you'll find she's a better person for it - and you will be as well." He nodded and looked at the pair.
"Is there something else you need?"
"Yeah, Raven says those two missing kids are dead. They were killed by acid fog the day before it reached here. Could you get a team together to go retrieve them? We'll give them a proper burial and with these machines in our heads, the Ark can damn well watch as we bury them!" Bellamy was shocked to hear they were dead.
"Do you kow where they are?"
"Roughly," Raven said.
"Bellamy, lead the team to go get them please. Raven has something to show you but only when none of the rest of us are around to see or hear about it. This is something I want to happen and Raven says it is doable but it will take time and effort to do it. You two are the only ones who can because you two are the only ones not tagged."
"You want this kept from the Ark," Bellamy stated.
"Yeah, the less they know, the better!"
"Who do I leave in charge of security?"
"Miller," Clarke replied. "Atom needs a lot more healing before he can resume his job and it will need to be significantly altered. I'm not saying he'll make a complete recovery, but to start with, he needs to feel wanted but we need to protect him. Once back on his feet, give him sentry duty." Bellamy nodded.
"When?"
"Not for a while yet, Bellamy. I need to find something to use to reduce the scarring and keeping him wet is the only thing we can do right now. It'll be at least two more weeks and probably more." Bellamy sighed. He turned to Raven.
"Which direction are they?"
"Towards Mount Weather," she replied. Bellamy winced.
"Okay. We'll hunt for caves as well as we go. If we need to, we can use one of them."
"Good idea. How far away?" asked Clarke.
"About eight to ten miles," Raven replied.
"Then take Finn. We went in that direction. Maybe he can guide you on what to avoid and keep you on a least time route towards the Mountain."
"You still need a water collection team," Bellamy said.
"Then Kathy can take over until Finn comes back. She's one of his team and the others look to her when Finn's not around." Bellamy nodded.
It took another two hours before they had everything they needed. Finn did say he'd found a bunker out that way and they could get blankets to wrap the two kids in. Bellamy nodded and vowed to raid the place if there was anything useful in it.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
With Octavia's and Bellamy's teams out and Kathy taking over for Finn, everyone else had to pull together. Bellamy had left Jones behind as well so Clarke and Miller talked to him about what he wanted to do. After some discussion, Clarke and Miller made him temporary night shift leader for the watchers. Miller was on the day shift and Clarke was in charge of the camp. The foragers, hunters and water teams all had a couple of members assigned to the away teams but they made do.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Bellamy's team were led by Finn towards Mount Weather. He told them of the places to stay away from and Raven recounted what she'd seen of the first time they'd tried to get to Mount Weather. Both recounted the river snake they'd encountered on the first day and they skirted around that area. They moved on until Raven said it was around that area that they'd last been seen.
Murphy climbed a tree to look around.
"There's a clearing to our northwest," he said. They headed over there. They came to an embankment and saw the bodies in the middle of the clearing.
"Found them!" Murphy muttered. Mbege moved to the edge and as he put his foot on the slope, he slipped and tumbled down to the bottom.
"Mbege!" Bellamy shouted when Mbege yelled in pain. Bellamy grabbed the vine rope they'd made and gave one end to several people and then he carefully went down. Two more did the same and then Raven did. They went over to their two dead compatriots.
"Murphy, Steve, spread those blankets out and then we'll move them and wrap them," Bellamy said as he went over to Mbege.
"Is it broken?"
"No, but it is gashed," he said, lifting his hand so Bellamy could see the large cut.
"Shit!" Bellamy said. He looked around and got some large leaves and then cut some more vines to use as a makeshift bandage.
"He needs help!" a voice said from behind them. They all turned around to see a tallish man behind those holding the vine rope.
"Who are you?" Bellamy said.
"A healer," he replied. "I can help him." Bellamy didn't know what to do.
"Then come down and help," Raven said. The man made his way down without slipping. He knelt beside Mbege and looked at him.
"May I have a look?" he asked. Mbege looked at Raven and Bellamy first. Raven nodded and Bellamy shrugged. He had no idea what to do about the unknown man. Mbege nodded and the man looked at Mbege's leg when he lifted his hand.
"Replace your hand while I get some medicine together." The man moved off to the side and pulled up several plants.
"Bellamy, you'd better go help Murphy and Steve with the bodies," Raven said. Bellamy hesitated and then went over to them and helped pick up each of them and then wrap them. Raven knelt on the other side of Mbege. The man came back.
"What's your name?" Raven asked.
"Lincoln," the man replied, not looking up from crushing the plants in a small bowl with a long thin rock.
"I'm Raven and your patient is called Mbege." Lincoln nodded but carried on mixing the meds.
"This paste will sting a little but it is very effective against infection and pain." Mbege hesitated but nodded.
"It is better if someone holds his leg down while I apply it." Bellamy and Steve held Mbege down and Lincoln rubbed the paste over his wound.
"Aargh!" Mbege yelled.
"Stop! You're hurting him!" Bellamy yelled at Lincoln.
"It only stings for a little bit and then it starts to work. Without it, he would not be able to walk back to your village."
"It's okay, the stinging is going away," Mbege said, breathing hard. He looked at Lincoln.
"What now?"
"I need to sew the wound closed," he replied. Mbege gulped but nodded.
"Will it hurt?" Bellamy asked.
"A little bit, but it needs to be done now while it is fresh. Infection could set in if we wait." Bellamy nodded.
"Do it," Mbege said, having been scared to think of an infection getting into the wound and possibly killing him.
It took Lincoln less than three minutes to stitch the wound closed. He then applied another round of paste and then bandaged it up.
"Thank you!" Mbege said with evident relief.
"Pro," he said.
"What now?"
"I can make him some walking sticks to help get him back, but it would be better if he used it as little as possible and when he gets back to your village, he should lay down for at least three days so it can heal without putting pressure on it." Bellamy looked at him and then nodded. He watched the helpful stranger walk to the trees to find suitable wood to make them.
Xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
"Is he a grounder?" Jaha asked.
"Must be," Kane said. "He certainly didn't come from the Ark." Jaha nodded.
"Wonder if that medicine works?" he asked.
"We have to wait and see," Abby said. She wasn't going to admit it, but she was intrigued by the medicines he was using. When they went down, she knew on an intellectual level that the medicines she was used to would eventually run out, but emotionally and mentally, she wasn't ready to have to learn 'primitive' medicines. Grinding plants together to produce the right medicines was not something she really wanted to do. She much preferred going to get a bottle that was already made. She conveniently ignored that Farm station did the same thing because she didn't want to acknowledge that they were already grinding plants together for her medicines. The fact they used machines to grind them made them modern medicines. It was a lie she was prepared to keep going because the alternative was not something she wanted to think about.
They watched as the stranger came back with two pieces of wood and began to carve them into shape.
"Now that's clever!" Callie said. "He's made some crutches!"
"Not proper ones," Abby muttered. Callie turned to her.
"I'm sure once he thinks of it, he'll have a fully prepared blacksmith in his pack next time!" she said, more than a little disappointed in her friend. Instead of seeing the improvements they made on the ground, Abby insisted on seeing the things they didn't have. "After all, as a grounder, he should know better!"
"Callie!" Kane said.
"No, Kane, if Abby cannot see someone trying to help and only sees the medicines as something from the dark ages, what the hell does she expect to use when she goes down? Do any of you actually think there's a fully functional town waiting for us down there?!" They looked at her and at least three people looked as if they had thought there was more on the ground then there actually was.
"Maybe Octavia's team can find a town for us. Isn't she heading towards one right now?" Jaha said.
"Oh, yes, she is, but do you really think it will be inhabitable? After almost a hundred years, nature will have reclaimed most of it and time will have destroyed a lot more. You need to stop thinking of the way things WERE and start thinking about how things ARE. There are not going to be fully fitted out hotels for us to live in, nor people to wait on us hand and foot. The food is not going to magically appear, nor is the water, warmth or shelter. It's time to think about how you want to live on the ground. If it's like those kids, then you have a chance of survival. If it's how you seem to think things SHOULD be like, then you won't. Which one do you want?" With that she left the command centre.
"What's up with her?" Jaha said.
"She's sick and tired of us pretending everything will carry on as they are up here, Chancellor. We've talked quite a bit about the ground as we've watched various kids. Callie's much more prepared for the ground than we are, sir. She's been watching the kids and has realised that the way we live now is not going to work down there. There's not enough food. It would take around two years to figure out how much food we can grow. We'd need several places to live as well. We cannot all live in the same place, there wouldn't be enough room for food and wild animals both."
"So we kill the animals so we have enough ground." one of the technicians said.
"No, we can't do that. Those animals are our food until we have grown enough food for all of us."
"So what do we do?"
"We wait for those kids to find us a place. After that we should be able to figure out how much land we can have." They all turned back to the group and watched as they picked up their dead colleagues and Mbege hobbled back to the camp.
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Raven waited until the others had moved off a little way.
"Don't suppose you have something we can use to knock someone out, do you?" By his frown, she knew he didn't understand her. She sughed.
"There's a young girl we have at the camp who is plagued by nightmares every night. She saw her parents murdered. The problem is that the son of the one who murdered them is also in our camp. Bellamy over there told her to slay her demons in the daytime and she'd sleep better at night. Idiot didn't think about what he said and she took it seriously. She tried to kill the son. She did manage to slice his arm open before she was stopped. We've had to build a holding pen and she's in that. If we can find something to knock her out - make her sleep without nightmares - it would be better. We dare not let her go, she'd try again."
"There are medicines that can calm people down and some that make people sleep. I can show you how."
"Can you come with us? There is another who needs help. He was burned by acid fog."
"The yellow fog?"
"Yes. We managed to save his life and Clarke, our doctor, has been keeping him wet to take the burn out of his skin, but she wants to find a salve to put on him to help him heal." Lincoln's eyebrows raised.
"What is a doctor?"
"Like you, someone who tends to people who are ill or injured."
"We are called healers," he said.
"Alright, do you have anything to help Atom - the burned man?"
"I would need to see him first. There are several salves and I would have to make the correct one but without seeing him, I do not know which one it is."
"Will you come with us and see if you can help Clarke with our injured?"
"I will," he replied, pulling his backpack further up his shoulder. They turned and followed the others.
ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
On the way back, Raven pulled Bellamy aside.
"Hey, got something to show you," she said. They waited while the others passed them before Raven took the piece of paper out of her pocket.
"Is this what Clarke was talking about?" Bellamy asked.
"Yeah," she said, handing it over. He opened it and read it.
"What is it?"
"A machine. A very specific one that can knock out electronic machines." Bellamy looked at her. Raven sighed. "An EMP can knock out computers. Clarke wants to see if I can build one to use on the machines in their heads."
"What is an EMP?"
"Electromagnetic Pulse. It's not harmful to people, but electronic machines will be rendered useless if they are switched on."
"Would it work?"
"I don't know. I can build one with the right equipment, but I have no idea if it would work. Clarke has volunteered to be the first to try it. Needless to say, nothing of this gets back to the Ark. Not one word, not even a sniff that we're trying to build one, which means no mentioning it in front of anyone else."
"How do they not know? Didn't they see Clarke write it?" Raven smirked.
"She closed her eyes before she wrote it and turned around before she opened them. She never actually saw what she wrote."
"Smart. Alright, what needs to be done?"
"I need a library and a hell of a lot of engineering books to help me. I need the components to build it and the tools to build it and I need help to build it, mostly donkey work."
"I can do the donkey work, but not the intellectual part of it. That's all on you."
"I know." Raven watched as the back marker disappeared into the trees. "We'd better get back. I asked Lincoln to see if he could help Charlotte and Atom. He thinks he can find a salve for Atom and maybe something to knock the kid out at night." Bellamy nodded as they made their way back to the group and back to camp.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
They got back before it got dark. It was a sombre group that traipsed through the gates. Jones and Drew took the bodies to the back of the dropship. They would be buried in the morning. Clarke came over and looked at Mbege.
"What happened?"
"I slipped in mud and fell down a small hill and gashed my leg open," Mbege said.
"Yeah, but we got lucky. This guy, Lincoln, came along and helped him. He's a healer."
"And a grounder," Bellamy added. Clarke raised her eyebrows.
"Mbege, get into the dropship please so I can look at you." Mbege nodded and made his way to the ship.
"Lincoln said he can help with Atom and maybe Charlotte, too," Raven said.
"He can!?"
"I can try," Lincoln said, speaking for the first time.
"Alright, come with me and you can see my patients, but be warned, one of them was speared by one of yours. He's not a fan of your people."
"Understood," Lincoln said, following Clarke. Bellamy went to see Miller while Raven went to see if there was still anything she could use for the wiring on the ship.
"Up here," Clarke told him. Mbege had already gone up with help. She led him to the top deck.
"Jasper, stay still. He's here to help!" Clarke said, going first. Jasper turned his head to see a bald head moving through the hatch. He watched as a grounder entered the deck and started to back up. "Jasper! Stay still! He's not here to hurt you!"
"How do you know? He's a grounder, they can't be trusted!"
"Jasper? Trust doesn't come into it. You got speared by an unseen person. It was the first indication that people survived. What trust was there?" Jasper looked at her.
"If you'd asked him not to spear you and then he did, the trust was broken, but that didn't happen. This man is not the person who speared you. He's a healer."
"How do you know he wasn't the one to spear me?"
"Think about it, Jasper. Do you think he's the only one?" Jasper looked at him and then back at Clarke before sighing.
"Still not turning my back to him!" he muttered.
"Then lay still and just watch. You are not going to be his patient. He's here for Atom and Charlotte. I'll have him look at Wells too." Jasper gave a choppy nod and watched the stranger intently.
"This is Atom. He was caught in the acid fog. Bellamy and Charlotte saved his life by throwing him into a pool of water they had in the cave they were hiding in."
"That definitely saved his life. If he had not been found until a few candlemarks later, he would have died. The fog burns until it kills if it is not stopped." Clarke nodded and pulled the damp cloths from Atom's torso. Lincoln bent down to get a good look. He took his pack off and pulled out several candles and a flint striker and then lit them and placed them around Atom and held one to get a good view.
"You are very lucky. I have not seen this much burning on a living person."
"So what do we do? Is there anything we can use for him or is the damp cloth enough?" Clarke asked.
"It is helping a lot, but I can make several salves for him. I do not know which one is the best until we try them," Lincoln said.
"Do you have any on you?"
"No, I'd need to make them from scratch. I can do that tomorrow. It is better done in an open area with plenty of light."
"Why?" asked Jasper suspiciously.
"Because it stinks to make," Lincoln replied. Atom laughed.
"It smells?"
"Only as it is being made," Lincoln said.
"Probably some kind of chemical reaction," Clarke murmured.
"This is Wells. He was cut quite deep." She unwrapped the bandage and showed the stitching to Lincoln.
"I can make a pain killing salve for this too."
"The same one you made for me?" Mbege asked.
"Not quite. I needed to put that into your cut before stitching you up. This one goes over the top of his wound. It has already been sewn up."
"Good," Mbege said. He turned to Wells. "That stuff stung like crazy at first!"
"The one for this cut will be for pain only."
"Can you show me how to prepare them, please?" Clarke asked.
"I can. I will show you where to find the ingredients, how much you nedd to use and how to make it."
"Thank you!" Clarke said, grinning.
"I will leave, but I will be back in the morning."
"Can you come back just before midday? We have two people to buty in the morning."
"I can. I would not mind seeing your burial rituals, but if you do not want me there, then I will come just before midday as you asked." Clarke looked at the others.
"Jasper?" Jasper looked at him and then back at Clarke.
"Midday," he said. Clarke nodded. Lincoln also nodded and climbed back down.
"I'll be back up soon and tomorrow, I'll get a couple of the guys to help you all down for the burials," Clarke said.
"Thanks, Clarke. I want to be there for them," Atom said.
"You will. You will be on a stretcher instead of standing up and you will stil be covered in damp towels, but you can be there." He nodded and Clarke disappeared after Lincoln.
"He is angry," Lincoln said, referring to Jasper.
"He's scared," she countered. "All our lives we were told that no-one survived the bombs, that those on the Ark were the last of humanity. Not so sure about that, though!" she muttered the last to herself.
"Many of us survived. There are twelve clans around here. You are in Trikru lands."
"And you're Tree crew as well?"
"Sha. I am Lincoln kom Trikru. I am a healer."
"I'm Clarke Griffin, delinquent and a healer," Clarke said, holding out her hand. He looked at it and then grabbed her arm to shake that instead.
"This is how we greet people and agree deals." Clarke grinned.
"Tomorrow, after the ceremony, we need to talk about your people, about us and what to do next."
"That is not up to me," he said. "That is up to the Commander. She leads all twelve clans."
"Twelve!" Clarke said.
"Sha." Clarke nodded, too stunned to say anything.
"I will be back just before midday tomorrow," Lincoln said, hitching his pack onto his shoulder and setting off into the trees.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
The following morning, Bellamy had everyone ready. Drew and Chris had dug the graves and Finn had made two wooden crosses and Jeremy had carved their names on them. Jones and Guy helped everyone down from the top deck and found places they could sit or lay down to watch the ceremony.
Clarke led them off.
"I don't know the rituals from before the bombs and the Ark never used them, so we will make our own. I remember bits and pieces from various films but we have to make it up as wel go." She looked around.
"For the Ark, please respect our ways even if you disagree with them." She turned back to the assembled ones. Six people had volunteered for sentry duty so everyone else could be there bar Octavia's group. Over eighty people stood around the makeshift gravesite just behind the ship.
"Today, we are gathered her to lay to rest our brother and sister in the skybox. Trina and Pascal died in acid fog - a condition we never knew was down here. Their deaths are the first since we landed but I doubt they'll be the last." She looked around.
"I didn't know them very well, in fact until we reached the ground, I never knew about them. Does anyone here know about them? Their families, what station they were from? Anecdotes from their time on the Ark? Anything?"
"I do," a voice from the back answered. Clarke looked over to see Jeremy Webber making his way through the crowd. Clarke made room for him and gestured for him to speak.
"Trina Morrell and Pascal Warner came from different stations. Trina was from Arrow and Pascal from Tesla. I sat next to Pascal in school and he would talk about this girl he saw at one of the dances. He was fascinated by her. That was Trina. And she was just as besotted with him!" Everyone laughed.
"I remember one time we were at school and I was talking to someone else but Pascal was beside me. I suddenly felt small rapid pats on my back that got harder as they went. I turned to see him still hitting me but with his eyes on a girl. I looked over to see Trina with a big grin on her face as she was talking to one of her friends. "That;s her!" he whispered excitedly. I knew then that Pascal would do anything to be with her. All that time in school and all he would talk about was Trina. When she was arrested, Pascal made sure he was caught trying to steal a small trinket from someone. He just wanted to be with Trina. I don't think he understood what was going to happen to us once we turned 18. Those two were made for each other. I'm sad they died, but I'm glad they died together, neither one would have wanted to live without the other." Jeremy stood back. Clarke took over again. She nodded to the four boys who were going to lower each body into the grave. As they started with Pascal, Clarke began to speak.
"We commit these bodies to the ground, to nourish it so plants can grow, so animals can feed and we can hunt for our own food. The cycle of life continues. Pascal Warner, once of Tesla station, rest in peace, brother." She waited until they'd lowered Trina into her grave.
"Trina Morrell, once of Arrow station, rest in peace, sister." Once the bodies were in the graves, Clarke bowed her head. Everyone else did as well.
"In peace may you leave this shore, in love, may you find the next. Safe passage on your travels until our final journey to the ground. May we meet again." Everyone around her repeated the final sentence.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
On the Ark, everyone had stopped to attend this funeral. The very first ones they would see on the ground. The first two boys had just been buried without a funeral service. As Jeremy talked, Pascal's father nodded.
"The boy was besotted with her," he said.
They all were silent as Clarke spoke about committing their bodies to the ground and they all repeated the final sentence.
In the Command Centre, the council watched with the others.
"May we meet again," they repeated. For most of them, it was a ritual saying, but for those with children on the ground, it was more than a prayer, it was a hope.
When it was over and most people had left, Jaha turned to Kane.
"Make sure those ships are ready on time. I want to see my son." Jaha walked off with Kane watching him. A funeral had brought the Ark together and made Jaha realise how lucky he was to still have his son.
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
Sorry it took so long. I was finishing United Under Fire. I'm going to turn to another of my half-finished stories next so this story will be slow going. Thanks for reading. Samdagger.