Homecoming

CHAPTER 9: Glass

Glass knew she was lucky to be on Earth, but a part of her wondered if she’d have fought quite so hard to get here if she’d known she was going to spend the rest of her life peeing in the woods. Glass stepped out of the tiny shed, which really wasn’t much more than a lean-to with a tree as the fourth wall, and headed back toward camp. At least, she thought she was heading toward camp. All the trees looked the same, and she was still getting her bearings.

The distant sound of voices reassured her she was getting closer. She stepped into the clearing, reluctantly leaving behind the comforting quiet of the woods. Glass stopped in her tracks, suddenly disoriented. She wasn’t in the right place. She was used to arriving between the infirmary and the supply cabins, but somehow she had ended up on the opposite side of the camp, near one of the new dormitory-like structures that was going up. She sighed at her own miscalculation, making a mental note to be more careful next time. Luke had already lectured her several times about staying alert and not going off into the woods alone. But he was working all the time, and Glass wasn’t comfortable enough with anyone else in camp to ask them to come with her to the bathroom.

Glass rounded the construction site and came up behind two men talking in low voices near the tree line. They were engrossed in conversation and didn’t seem to notice she was there. She stopped, unsure whether to alert them to her presence, stay still until they were done, or just keep walking past them. Before she had a chance to decide, she realized that one of the men was familiar—it was Vice Chancellor Rhodes.

Glass froze as her brain unleashed a storm of conflicting emotions. Something about him had always made Glass’s skin prickle, and watching him order his guards to shoot Bellamy certainly hadn’t helped matters. Yet at the same time, he was the reason Glass was alive. When he’d spotted Glass and her mother in the crush of people trying in vain to make their way to the dropships, he’d swept them along with his entourage and secured them the final two seats.

Glass hadn’t been near enough to Rhodes to speak to him since that moment, but now a thousand unspoken questions bubbled up in her throat. Why had he helped them? What was his relationship with her mother? Had she spoken of how much Glass had disappointed her, back on the Colony?

The Vice Chancellor’s voice snapped Glass out of her thoughts. “We’ll hold the trial in the center of camp. Make sure everyone knows attendance is mandatory. I want them to see up close that treason or self-serving treachery of any kind will not be tolerated.”

Glass stifled a gasp. He was talking about Bellamy.

“Yes, sir,” said the other man, who wore a ripped and dirt-dusted officer’s uniform. Glass recognized him as the Vice Chancellor’s second-in-command, Burnett—the man who had grabbed her arm and pulled Glass and her mother to safety on the launch deck. “And have you thought about where we will house him long-term if his sentence is Confinement?”

Rhodes let out a harsh, dry laugh. “Confinement? There’s only one outcome to this trial, and I assure you, it is not Confinement.”

Burnett nodded. “I see.”

“You and I will sit on the Council, as will a couple of the elder Phoenicians who came down with us,” Rhodes continued. “I’ve already spoken to them. They understand what they need to do. We will execute the prisoner, which should serve as a clear reminder to all that maintaining order here on Earth is just as important—indeed, more so—than it was on the Colony.”

“I understand, sir. But as to the logistics. We can’t exactly float the prisoner down here. How would you like to handle the execution? We have firearms, but…” Burnett hesitated for only the briefest of moments. “Will you pull the trigger yourself?”

Glass shut her eyes as a wave of nausea crashed over her. She couldn’t believe her ears. They were talking about executing Bellamy in the same off-hand manner they might have used to discuss electricity rations or an upcoming Remembrance Day celebration.

“I’ve been giving that some thought, and I believe I have just the person for the job. He’s a rule abider, and he’s an excellent guard. A member of the engineering corps in fact. But he’s displayed some rebellious tendencies lately, harboring a fugitive, among other things, and I think this task will do nicely to remind him where his loyalties lie.”

Glass’s head started to spin, as if someone had cut off the oxygen supply to her brain, and she reached out a hand to steady herself on the nearest tree trunk. Luke. The Vice Chancellor was going to force Luke to execute Bellamy to prove his loyalty. But Luke would never kill someone—she knew he couldn’t possibly pull the trigger. What would Rhodes do to him then? Would he question more than just Luke’s allegiance? Would he wonder if Luke could be trusted at all? Because it had become crystal clear what Rhodes did to people he couldn’t trust.

Rhodes and Burnett began walking toward a small cluster of guards she didn’t recognize. As soon as they were out of earshot, Glass let out a long breath that ended in a choked sob. She had to find Luke. She scanned the campsite but didn’t see him anywhere. Panic began to rise in her chest. Stay calm, she told herself. Freaking out will solve nothing. You kept it together during a spacewalk—you can certainly keep it together long enough to find Luke.

Glass forced herself to walk calmly across the center of camp, headed for the infirmary cabin. Maybe Clarke had seen Luke. She stepped inside. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim, windowless cabin, and she felt momentarily blinded. When her vision returned, she saw Luke standing across from her, his back to her. He was on duty, guarding Bellamy. The relief she felt upon seeing him nearly brought tears to her eyes. But then an image of Luke raising a gun and pointing it at Bellamy, pulling the trigger, the loud pop as he fired it, flooded her mind. She couldn’t let it happen. She couldn’t let them force Luke to make that decision—and she wasn’t going to stand by while they threatened to hurt him too.

Glass crossed the room in three big steps and grabbed Luke’s arm. He spun around, his fists up in a defensive gesture, then laughed when he saw her.

“Hi,” he said, dropping his arms to his sides. “You trying to get me in trouble?” His smile fell when he saw the expression on Glass’s face. “Are you okay?” Luke said in a low voice, leaning toward her so no one else could hear their conversation.

“Can we talk?” She nodded toward the door. “Outside?”

“Sure.” Luke turned to the other guard. “Hey, man, I need to step out for a second. You okay?” The guard shrugged, looked at Bellamy, who lay sound asleep and strapped down to the cot, and turned back to Luke and nodded. Luke followed Glass out into the sunlight.

They stepped behind the cabin, and after checking to make sure no one was listening, Glass told Luke everything she had heard Rhodes say. She hated seeing the pained look on his face as he absorbed the full weight of her words. He looked away from her, casting his gaze far out over the treetops. He was silent for a long moment, and Glass held her breath. Birds chirped, the sound of an ax splicing wood echoed across the camp.

Finally Luke turned back to her, his jaw tight and his eyes burning with resolve. “I won’t do it,” he said firmly.

Glass’s heart fluttered with love and pride at Luke’s clear sense of right and wrong. She admired his integrity and honor—it was one of the first things she had been drawn to. But she would never—could never—let him jeopardize himself to save someone else.

“But, Luke, you understand what that means, right? They’ll punish you.” Glass’s voice trembled with fear. “I know he saved my life, but Rhodes is dangerous. You should have seen the way he talked about executing Bellamy. It was… awful. Who knows what he’s capable of?”

“I know.” Luke’s jaw clenched and unclenched.

They were both quiet for a moment. Glass took his hand and squeezed it. He felt far away, distant, like he did when he was preparing for a spacewalk.

“Luke.” She squeezed his hand again. Slowly he turned to look at her. “It can’t end this way.” After all they had been through, after all they had fought for and survived, it’d be madness to let Rhodes turn either of them into scapegoats just like he was doing to Bellamy.

“It won’t,” Luke said, pulling her into a tight embrace.

She breathed in his familiar scent, which was now layered with earthy smells that she was growing to love as she began to associate them more and more with Luke. His heart beat a steady rhythm against her cheek. Her blood pressure began to fall, her pulse slowed, and the adrenaline in her veins subsided. This was all she needed. He was all she needed.

Glass pulled away suddenly. Luke’s head shot around, his instincts programed to check for danger.

“I know what to do,” Glass said.

Luke looked down at her, his brows knit together. “What?”

“We’ll leave.”

“What do you mean ‘leave’? Where would we go?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out. Wells can help us. He and Sasha can tell us which way to go. We can hide out for a while—as long as it takes for us to be sure that when we get back, all this will have been forgotten.”

“What about the Earthborns? The dangerous ones?” Luke asked, looking at her as if she’d gone completely insane.

“We’ll have to take our chances.”

Luke stared at her for a long moment, and Glass braced for the weary shake of his head, and some vagaries about not abandoning his duties. But to her surprise, a small smile crept across his face. “We’d have to go tonight, then. We don’t want to give Rhodes the chance to find me.”

Glass looked at him, startled. “Seriously? You really want to go off on our own?”

He placed his uninjured hand on her waist. “Do you know what’s kept me going this last year? All the time you were in Confinement, those nights on Walden when I was certain we were dying? It was the thought of being on Earth with you. Even when I was sure it was just a fantasy, I couldn’t stop imagining exploring the planet with you. Just us.” He let go of her waist and ran his fingers through her hair. “It’s incredibly risky, though. You know that.”

She nodded. “I know. But I’d rather be in danger out there with you than risk being here without you.” She smiled up at him and ran her hand softly across his stubbly cheek. He took her hand in his and kissed her fingertips.

“And I’d rather be out there with you than cause anyone else more pain,” he said.

“Then let’s go get ready. We’ll take whatever supplies we can grab without attracting attention and then head out.”

“I have to finish this shift. You get some water and whatever food you can hide in your clothes, and we’ll meet back here after sundown. While everyone’s eating dinner.”

“Okay,” Glass agreed. “I’ll find Wells. And I think we should tell Clarke too. She needs to know what they’re planning for Bellamy. Because if it isn’t you, it’s going to be someone else.”

“Can we trust her?”

“Yes.” Glass was emphatic. “We can trust her.”

“Good.” Luke bent his head to give Glass a quick, soft kiss. “We’ll be just like Adam and Eve,” he said with a smile.

“There’s no way I’m dressing in leaves, no matter how long we’re alone in the woods.”

Luke made a show of looking her up and down, then grinned mischievously, making it clear exactly where his mind was. “Go get ready,” he said, tapping her elbow. With one last lingering look, he turned around and headed back to the infirmary cabin.