Day 21

CHAPTER 27 Clarke

For the first few moments, she couldn’t remember where she was. Clarke had woken up in so many different places over the past few weeks—her cell during her final days in Confinement, the overcrowded infirmary tent where Thalia had taken her last breaths, curled next to Bellamy under a star-filled sky. She blinked and listened intently, waiting for something to come into focus. The shadowy outlines of the trees. The sound of Bellamy’s even breath.

But still there was nothing. Only darkness and silence.

She started to sit up, but winced as the small movement sent shooting pain through her head. Where was she?

Then it came back to her. She and Bellamy had wound their way deep inside Mount Weather. Those guards had come after them. And then…

“Bellamy,” she said hoarsely, ignoring the pain as she jerked her head from side to side. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, her surroundings came into focus. She was in a small, empty room. A cell. “Bellamy!” He had aimed an arrow at the guards. Could they have determined he was too much of a threat? Her stomach roiled as she remembered the guns they’d been carrying.

Something groaned a few meters away. Clarke rose onto her hands and knees and crawled toward the sound. A long, lanky figure was stretched out on the stone floor. “Bellamy,” she said again, her voice cracking as relief swept through her. She slumped back down on the ground and cradled his head in her lap.

He groaned, and then his eyes fluttered open.

“Are you okay?” she asked, stroking his hair away from his face. “Do you remember what happened?”

He stared at her, seemingly uncomprehending, then jumped to his feet so quickly, he almost knocked Clarke over in the process. “Where are they?” he shouted, looking around wildly.

“What do you mean?” she asked, wondering if he was still waking up from a nightmare.

“Those Earthborn bastards who knocked us out.” He swatted at his neck. “They shot us with tranquilizer darts or something.”

Clarke brought her hand up to her own neck. The foolishness she felt for not understanding what had happened turned to dread as she realized what it meant. The supposedly peaceful, civilized Earthborns—Sasha’s people—had knocked Clarke and Bellamy unconscious and dragged them into a dark cell.

“Are you okay?” In the dim light, she saw Bellamy’s face soften as his fury gave way to concern. He pulled her toward him and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry,” he murmured. “We’re going to get out of here.”

Clarke said nothing. This was all her fault. She’d been the one to insist they come down here, the one who had begged Bellamy to come with her. She couldn’t believe she’d been such an idiot.

Sasha had lied about Asher. Lied about Octavia. Worst of all, she may even have known what was going to happen to Priya. There was no other “faction” of Earthborns. She must’ve invented them to make the hundred trust her, to lure Clarke and the rest of them into a trap. Sasha had been so vague when she spoke about the first Colonists, about the “incident” that had forced the Earthborns to expel them. Clarke should’ve suspected something was wrong.

She closed her eyes and thought about the graves she’d found. Was that where she and Bellamy would end up after the Earthborns killed them? Or would their bodies remain in this godforsaken bunker forever?

For a moment, all she could hear was Bellamy’s breath and her own frantic heartbeat. But then another sound came, the unmistakable tread of footsteps. “They’re coming,” Clarke whispered.

She heard the clank of metal, and then bright light streamed inside, blinding her. Clarke brought her hand up to her eyes and saw the shadowy outline of a person in the doorway.

The figure stepped forward, and a face came into focus. It was Sasha.

Clarke’s fear drained away, leaving only anger and disgust. “You liar,” she exclaimed, lunging forward. “I trusted you! What the hell do you want from us?”

“What? Clarke, no.” Sasha actually had the audacity to look hurt as she backed away from Clarke. “Wells let me go, and I came as quickly as I could. I wanted to make sure I was here when you arrived.”

“Right, so you could arrange for us to be sedated and locked up,” Bellamy spat.

Sasha shrugged sheepishly. “Sorry about that. But you probably shouldn’t have tried to shoot them with your bow.” She stepped forward and tried to put her hand on Clarke’s arm, then winced as Clarke pulled away. “The guards were only doing their job. As soon as I heard what had happened, I ran down to get you. Everything’s fine now.”

“If this is your idea of fine, I’d hate to see what you think is bad,” Bellamy said, his voice colder than the damp air.

Sasha sighed and pushed the door open further. “Just come with me. I’m taking you to see my father. Everything will make sense after you talk to him.”

Clarke and Bellamy exchanged glances. She knew he didn’t believe Sasha any more than she did, but their only shot at escaping was to get out of the cell. “Fine,” Clarke said, taking Bellamy’s hand. “We’ll go, but then you have to show us the way out.”

“Absolutely.” Sasha nodded. “I promise.”

Clarke and Bellamy followed her out of the cell and into a dimly lit hallway. Most of the doors they passed were shut, but when she saw one that was open, Clarke paused a moment to look inside.

It was an infirmary, or something like it. The equipment was similar to what they had on Phoenix; she recognized a heart-rate monitor, respirators, and an X-ray machine. Yet the narrow beds were covered with ragged, mismatched blankets, or in one case, what appeared to be animal fur.

And most striking of all, it was empty—no doctors, nurses, or patients in sight. In fact, as Sasha led them through a series of corridors, Clarke didn’t see a single person anywhere. “I thought you said there were hundreds of you. Where is everyone?” she asked, curiosity momentarily overpowering her wariness.

Bellamy was less easily distracted. “Probably out kidnapping more of our people.”

Sasha stopped and turned to Clarke. “No one’s actually lived down here for fifty years. Now the bunker’s mainly used to store all the generators and the medical equipment, things that couldn’t be moved to the surface.”

“So where do you live?” Clarke asked.

“I’m going to show you. Come on.” Sasha led them around a corner, past another open room full of empty metal cages that Clarke could only hope had once contained animals, then stopped in front of a ladder that extended up through an opening in the ceiling.

“After you,” Sasha said, gesturing toward the rungs.

“Like hell we’re going first,” Bellamy said, grabbing Clarke’s hand.

Sasha glanced between Clarke and Bellamy, then pressed her lips together and stepped lightly onto one of the lower rungs. She scaled the ladder so quickly, she’d nearly disappeared through the opening when she called for them to follow her.

“You first,” Bellamy said to Clarke. “I’ll be right behind you.”

It was harder work than Sasha made it look. Or perhaps that was just because Clarke was shaking so much, she had to use all her strength to keep her hands from slipping.

The ladder disappeared into some sort of airshaft, almost a vertical tunnel. It was so narrow that Clarke could feel the back of her shirt scrape against the rock wall. She closed her eyes and kept climbing, imagining that she was climbing through the Colony, not under thousands of pounds of stone that felt like they were stifling her, crushing down on her until she couldn’t breathe. Her hands were sweaty, and she tried to wipe them on her shirt, terrified that at any moment, she’d slip and crash into Bellamy. She forced herself to breathe steadily.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she glimpsed daylight above her.

As she grasped the top rung, a hand reached down. Clarke was so exhausted that she grabbed it without hesitation, and allowed Sasha to pull her up onto the grass.

While Clarke gasped for breath and rose shakily to her feet, Sasha reached down for Bellamy.

“Do you climb that thing every day?” Bellamy panted, placing his hands on his knees and taking a deep breath of the cool morning air.

“Oh, there’s a much easier way in and out. But I thought you’d appreciate the view from up here,” Sasha said, smiling. They were standing at the top of a hill looking out over a valley filled with wooden structures. There were dozens of small houses whose narrow chimneys were sending streams of smoke into the air, a larger building that might’ve been an assembly hall, and a few fenced-in areas filled with grazing animals.

Clarke couldn’t stop staring at the people. They were everywhere: carrying baskets full of vegetables, pushing huge piles of firewood in wheeled carts, running down the streets and greeting one another. Children laughed as they played some kind of game along the dirt path that wove around the houses.

Clarke turned to Bellamy and saw the same look of awe reflected in his eyes. For once, he was at a loss for words.

“Come on,” Sasha said as she started to make her way down the hill. “My dad is waiting for us.”

This time, neither of them protested. Bellamy took Clarke’s hand, and they followed Sasha down the slope.

Before they even reached the bottom, dozens of people had stopped to stare at them. And by the time they set off down one of the dirt roads, it seemed like the entire village had gathered to catch a glimpse of Clarke and Bellamy.

Most of the Earthborns merely looked surprised or curious, though a few were glaring at them with open suspicion, or even anger.

“Don’t worry about them,” Sasha said cheerfully. “They’ll come around.”

Up ahead, a tall man was standing with two women, who were talking animatedly, clearly arguing. He listened to them both, nodding gravely and saying little. He had close-shaved hair and a gray beard, with pronounced hollows underneath his sharp cheekbones. Yet despite his somewhat gaunt appearance, he radiated strength. As his eyes fell on Sasha, Clarke, and Bellamy, he excused himself from the women and strode forward with powerful, purposeful steps.

“Dad.” Sasha stopped in front of him. “These are the Colonists I told you about.”

“I’m Clarke.” Clarke stepped forward, extending her hand without thinking about it. She still didn’t know whether she could trust these people, but something about the man compelled her to be polite. “And this is Bellamy.”

“Max Walgrove,” he said, shaking her hand firmly, then reaching over to do the same to Bellamy.

“I’m looking for my sister,” Bellamy said without preamble. “Do you know where she is?”

Max nodded, his brow furrowed. “A little over a year ago, a few members of our community broke off, believing that they’d be better off living by their own rules. They were the ones who took your sister—and most unfortunately, killed those two kids.”

Next to her, Clarke could sense Bellamy growing frustrated. He clenched and unclenched his fists, and when he spoke again, his face strained with the effort of keeping his voice steady. “Yeah, Sasha keeps mentioning this other ‘faction’ you have running around. But so far, no one’s been able to tell me how the hell I’m supposed to find my sister.” He crossed his arms and surveyed the Earthborn leader through narrowed eyes. “And how do I know you’re not the one who took her?”

Clarke tensed and tried to give Bellamy a warning look. But Sasha’s father seemed more amused than insulted by Bellamy’s accusatory tone. He turned to glance over his shoulder at a field enclosed by a wooden fence. On the far side, a group of children seemed to be playing tag. Max raised his hand in the air, and they all began running toward them.

As they came closer, Clarke realized that they weren’t all children. An older girl was with them, her long dark hair streaming behind her as she ran, laughing, across the field.

“Octavia!” Bellamy broke into a sprint, and in a flash, he’d swept her into his arms. He was too far away for Clarke to hear, but by the way his shoulders were moving, he was either laughing or sobbing. Possibly both at the same time.

A strange mix of feelings welled up in Clarke’s chest as she watched the reunion. She was overjoyed that Octavia was safe, but part of her ached thinking about the reunion that she might never get to have.

Blinking away tears, she turned back to Max and Sasha. “Thank you,” she said. “How did you find her?”

Max explained how he’d sent a team to keep watch on the rebels. When he learned that they had kidnapped a Colonist, they staged an attack to get her back. “We just rescued her last night,” he explained. “I was going to escort her to your camp myself today, but then you found us.” There was a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, as though he was trying to keep from smiling.

“I don’t know how I can ever thank you enough,” Bellamy said, walking over with Octavia. “You saved her.”

“You can thank me by keeping your group in line this time, and by keeping to yourselves. Sasha’s told me that you’re good people and that you treated her well, but I can’t risk another tragedy.”

“What happened last time, exactly?” Clarke asked tentatively. She was desperate to ask about her parents, but she needed to hear the whole story first.

“A little over a year ago, one of your dropships crashed about ten kilometers from here. We’d always known about the Colony, but there’d never been any way to communicate, so coming across strangers from space was a bit… startling. But they were in bad shape, so we tried to help the survivors. We gave them food, shelter, access to our hospital—whatever they needed. They’d been sent to this location because they knew about Mount Weather, which they hoped would provide shelter and supplies. Of course, they hadn’t expected anyone to be living here.”

“Do you know what brought them to Earth?” Clarke asked. “The mission was secret. None of us knew anything about it until Sasha told us.”

Max nodded. “They’d been sent to test Earth’s radiation levels, to determine if the planet could support human life again. We made that part easy for them, of course.”

“Who were they?” Clarke cut in. “Were they volunteers, or scientists, or prisoners like us?”

Max frowned, but to his credit, he answered her question without pressing the point. “Most seemed hesitant to discuss their pasts, but I gathered that they weren’t exactly model citizens. Not criminals, exactly, or I suppose they would’ve been killed. Or floated—as I’ve heard it.” He grimaced slightly, then continued. “More like people who could disappear without causing much attention.”

Clarke nodded, taking the information in. “And after they arrived here?” she prompted.

“In the crash landing, they lost the ability to send messages back to the Colony. None of them had ever imagined they’d be separated from the ship indefinitely. So I suppose tensions started to run high. We hadn’t planned on making them permanent members of our community, and they certainly hadn’t counted on staying here forever.” He paused for a moment, and then his face hardened. “I still think it was an accident, what happened with the child. But not everyone saw it that way. All they knew was that one of our children—a little boy—had taken a few of the Colonists fishing. He volunteered to show them our best fishing hole, proud to be useful, but when they finally came home at dusk…” Max winced at the memory. “They were carrying his small body between them. He’d drowned, the poor boy.” He sighed. “I’ll never forget the sound of his mother’s screams when she saw him.”

“It was an accident,” Sasha said hollowly. “I know it was. Tommy slipped off that rock, but none of the Colonists knew how to swim. They tried to save him. Remember how wet they all were? They said that blond woman practically drowned herself trying to get to him.”

“Perhaps,” Max continued. “But they seemed more defensive than sorry. And that’s when the fighting started. A number of our people—the family of that boy, the same group who came after your group as soon as you landed—refused to give them any more food, said they needed to go fend for themselves. I suppose the Colonists got scared, but they went about it the wrong way. Started stealing, hoarding, even threatening people with violence. At the end, I didn’t have a choice. They had to be banished.

“It was a… difficult sentence to carry out. I knew most of them were good people. And I knew they didn’t stand much of a chance out there on their own. But I never thought that when I delivered the sentence, they would fight back. And of course, after that, I had to defend my people. I didn’t have a choice.”

“So they’re all dead?” Clarke asked quietly.

“Except for the couple, the doctors. They left before things got bad, said they disapproved of the way the other Colonists were behaving. They wanted to strike out on their own, see as much of the planet as possible.”

“Doctors?” Clarke repeated, forcing the word out as the air drained from her lungs. She reached out for something to grab on to and felt Bellamy at her side, steadying her with his strong arms.

“Clarke, are you okay?” he asked.

“Were they… do you remember their names?” She closed her eyes, suddenly afraid to see the look on Sasha’s father’s face when he heard the question. “Was it Griffin?”

But she had to look. When she opened her eyes, the Earthborn leader was nodding. “Yes. David and Mary Griffin, I remember.”

Clarke laughed, then gasped as the weight that had been pressed against her chest for the last six months broke apart. Her face was wet; she reached up a hand and realized that she was crying. She wasn’t alone on Earth.

Her parents were alive.