Unbroken
.
‘So how can I explain the isolated rain that follows you?
And wouldn't you agree running always slows you down?
So welcome the pain and stop yourself from delayin' it
‘cause the real life will never go away.’
Clarke was feeling fairly audacious.
She knew how to play. Her father had a real obsession for this game and, being the hopless engineer nerd he was, he had analyzed in detail each of its connotations.
In addition, Clarke was nothing but a fast learner.
So she let the man think he was better for most of the game, always intentionally falling one step behind, moving around the table with subtle confidence.
For what she had in mind she needed tu put on a show, an entertaining one, especially since any hope of coming down there unnoticed they undeniably lost the second they stepped in.
If she were to be honest, she was probably acting so brazenly only because she was sure enough that they wouldn't have been killed lightly in such a crowded place… but on the other hand she really wasn't all that certain.
So she kept trying to find all the little things that made her rival snap, lightly scratching her nails on the side of the table, talking to Nathan and giggling softly when it wasn’t her turn, slowly cracking her fingers.
At some point she started whistling lowly, which made him grit his teeth and miss his shot.
When her turn came, she easily managed to pot one of her balls so that they were even and then missed the second shot to let him hope.
It was a focus competition, right now. She needed to win and she needed them to believe she was more dangerous than she actually was.
Like, monumentally.
He got two in and then missed his last shot when Clarke started rythmically tapping her fingers on the wooden stick.
By then, Clarke could practically feel him seething.
‘Pet peeves - 1 ; big bad man - 0’
She gave him a devilish smile and then proceeded to pot her last two balls with a single shot.
She was raised by an engineer and also currently lived with one. If you mixed her knowledge of physics with her long experience, it really wasn't all that surprising.
Nathan had been holding his breath for roughly the whole game. She gave him a wink and bent down to pot the black number eight.
When the game ended with a winning Clarke, the man looked silently furious.
“I think you owe me a drink.” She said raising an eyebrow. “I’m Jane. Good game, by the way”
And then she was strolling away, Nathan in tow.
“How the hell did you do that?” he said under his breath when they took a seat by the counter.
“A lot of experience. No big deal, really.”
“No big deal?! Are you kidding me??”
The waiter approached them again with the same aversion and Clarke ordered another beer.
As Nathan watched her in awe, Clarke heard the seat on her other side move.
Big bad man had just taken place beside her and was sliding some money on the counter table.
“No beer, Diablo. Two whiskey.”
He laid his glaring and sqinting eyes on Clarke but waited for their drinks to be handed to them before speaking again.
“This is not a place for brats.” He told her.
“If I knew you were gonna hold a grudge I would have asked someone else to play.”
“You think you're brave.” He said taking his glass, flexing his right bicep in doing so, and Clarke couldn’t ignore that the size of that arm was definitely impressive. “People like you don't last long, here.” He drank all of his drink in one go and waved at the waiter for another.
“You sure talk a lot of shit for someone that just lost to a girl.”
She retorted taking a sip and wincing at the burn it caused.
“What is your business here?”
She contemplated lying again and have him think she was just out to have some fun, but then decided against it. She needed him to take interest in them and talk.
“I’m looking for a friend.”
“You're in the wrong place, then.”
“How do you know?”
At that, his face contorted into something similar to a grin, he looked pleased with himself for some reason. “If he caused trouble here, you won't find him.”
She felt herself shiver at the implication and mentally kicked herself… this wasn't the time for guilt or doubts. Untill proven otherwise, Bellamy was alive.
“Help me look for him, then.”
This time the man barked out a laugh that sounded awfully akin to an earthquake.
“You know, there are better ways to die than coming here and acting like a fool…”
“I’m no fool. Help me out and I'll get out of your hair. You'll never have to see me again and people will forget you ever let a woman humiliate you.”
He looked pensive for a second, so much that Clarke really thought he would comply. But then his hand was in his leather jacket and it drew out a very sharp looking knife.
“Or I could slit your throat and make you regret you ever-“
Before he could finish Nathan, who had been silent and motionless during the whole exchange, had come to stand between the two of them. His hand hovering above a gun securely tucked under his own jacket.
He didn't say anything, just looked at the man with as much confidence as he could muster.
“Another one of you flatties… you really have some nerve coming here.”
“What do you mean ‘another’?” Asked the boy without moving his hand away from his weapon.
“You better beat it if you value your life.” He snarled.
Right then a bald man with a pointed nose and a slightly haughty look approached them. He stood beside big bad man and spoke.
“Gustus, I believe this is not the best way to handle this.”
The taller man grunted but lowered the knife anyway.
“As for you…” he said with an even voice turning to them. “I do not allow outsiders to cause turmoil in this place. I would appreciate it if you would follow me out.”
The girl looked at the young cop and they both reluctantly nodded. They walked after him outside of the pub where the man with one eye from before and a black woman with short hair and a wrathful look were standing.
As she was starting to plan a way to get back inside and look for her friend, she heard a thud and a yelp and when she turned in confusion she barely had the time to register Nathan's limp body on the floor and a sudden, sharp pain in the back of her head before everything faded to black.
***
As she left her car in the parking lot, Lexa felt loud laughters and louder music coming from the pub and a feeble voice in her head started trying to talk her out of it, turn around and leave this place before the worst.
But her luck had ran short these days apparently and when she heard her cousin calling her from the door she mentally cursed herself.
Too slow.
“Hey Lex! Are you just gonna stand there all night? Come here, I was waiting for you.”
“I might.” She grumbled joining her a moment later.
Anya grinned. “Aren’t you a real delight, duckling” She playfully patted her cheek and made her way inside.
“Don’t call me that”
The pub was called ‘Ronnie Scott' and it was very irish-looking: wooden seats, wooden tables and ceiling, a low yellow light and loud blues music playing.
They caught sight of Lincoln right away, it was never hard to find him considering his height, he was standing by the counter with two girls and, upon spotting them, her sister forze.
“Oh shit.”
“What?”
“Shitshitshitshitshit! I must have been a real crazy bastard in my past life! Shit, I'm so very sorry for everything my past self has done to this world!” She spoke fast without catching a breath, her eyes fixed to were their cousin was still speaking, unaware of them being there.
“Anya, would you care to enlighten me as to why we're standing here when you looked so thrilled to meet them just ten seconds ago?”
The blonde turned to her with her brows knitted in thought. Lexa knew her well enough to recognize her ‘I need to get myself out of this mess don't speak to me I won't listen' expression, so she poked her in the ribs, earning a yelp and a glare from her.
“I might have been caught looking at one of Lincoln’s friends this morning at the Busy Bean's.” She blurted out.
“Lord, please tell me it's not the one with his arm currently draped over her shoulders ‘cause that would be awful.”
“No, it’s not… and thank God for that! It's the one with the red jacket.”
“See? You already have been proved this could have been much worse.”
“You really don't get it…”
“Hey big sis! Lex, you made it!”
They both jumped at the sound and turned to find Lincoln walking over to them, the two brunettes at his side.
“Hi! I'm Octavia” Said the shorter one with a bright smile, extending her arm towards the two. They both shook her hand and Lexa realized the other girl was staring just as astonished as her cousin and was startled awake by Octavia elbowing her in the stomach.
“Raven Reyes!” Blurted out the girl as if on reflex. Octavia threw her a curious look but didn't say anything.
“I'm Lexa. Nice to meet you.” She shook her hand as well and gave her cousin a side way glance as she did the same murmuring a quiet “Anya.”
“O-okayyyy, looks like we've got the introduction phase out of the way… how about a drink, now?” Said Octavia pulling her boyfriend back to the counter with her.
“Amen” Sighed the blonde as they followed after them.
“I second that” Muttered the girl called Raven.
They drank beer and made some small talk. Lexa found out Raven was an engineer, “a damn great one” as she said, and Octavia was working hard to become a cop like her brother.
After a while it seemed like Anya had made it through her initial shock and quickly loosened up. She told them she owned a firing range and even almost smiled when she told them they were free to come for a visit whenever they wanted to.
Lexa told them she was a literature major, which wasn’t entirely untrue, it just wasn’t the whole truth.
There was not a way to tell them she actually ran a secret, half criminal organization, anyway, she thought.
After some chatting, some drinking and a game of darts which Octavia won (Lexa let her, for the sake of truth) the green eyed girl was ready to call it a night.
She actually kind of liked Lincoln’s girlfriend and their friend and it had been good to catch up with him as well. It had been a long day, though, she was too exhausted to really enjoy anyone's company at the moment. She was about to tell them when they started talking about someone she didn’t know.
“I thought Griffin was gonna be here tonight” Raven said at some point.
“Yeah, I texted her but she said she's probably not gonna make it” answered Octavia with a tinge of disappointment in her voice.
“Is she alright?” asked Lincoln.
“I don't know, she was pretty vague. She didn't even tell us where she was going.”
At that Raven cut in. “She bolted out after a call from her mother, it was a bit weird actually.”
“Yeah, well… she's been pretty secretive for a while, anyway. I don't know what's up with her but we're her friends, she should talk to us if something's wrong, that's how it works”
“It’s that period of the year, O… just go easy on her, she'll come around, I'm sure.”
“Wait, is Griffin the blonde one?” Everyone turned to Anya with a surprised look. She seemed to regret immediately her words and her eyes widened a bit.
“I mean… You were at the Busy Bean's this morning, I have photografic memory.”
“I bet” murmured Raven so faintly Lexa would have missed it if she wasn't sitting next to her.
Things were just getting interesting, Lexa barely had the time to consider staying when her phone started buzzing in her pocket.
“Really?” Anya asked disbelievingly.
Lexa just fixed her with a glare. She excused herself and got ready to face any inconvenience Titus needed to consult her about.
“I'm sorry, it's work. It was really good to catch up with you Linc! Octavia, Raven, it was nice to meet you”
Anya gave her a strange look as she headed out, and she looked so embittered that for a second Lexa felt the need to put the phone away and get back to the table with them.
She almost did.
***
Clarke registered three things when she came to her senses. Three things before she even opened her eyes.
First: she was lying on the ground.
A rather cold and rough ground. She spit a strange mix of saliva and dust and felt nauseous for a moment.
Second: she wasn't alone. She heard distinct voices murmuring around her.
The last notion was possibly her least favourite: her head hurt like a bitch. And as she slowly came back to reality she felt it growing even stronger.
When she finally tried to take a look around she came face to face with another realization: this place was pitch black, she couldn't see shit.
“Glad to see you back with us, princess.” Her heart made a somersault in her chest and she jumped to her feet as fast as she could.
“Bell! You're alive!” They shared a hug and before he could say anything she punched his arm.
“Ouch! What was that for?”
“I told you not to get in trouble! How did you manage to get caught in less than 24 hours?”
“Well, that's rich coming from you, seen as you're in the same position”
“ ’Cause I came looking for you, you dumbass!”
“Okay, let's slow down a bit.” Nathan whispered suddenly. “Let’s find a way out of this mess first and then we can argue ‘till our hearts content.” Both Clarke and Bellamy nodded. “Good… Clarke, do you remember anything?”
She shook her head looking defeated. “Just you on the ground and then nothing.”
“Let's take a look around, see if we find something” Suggested the young man.
Clarke did as she was told and started searching aimlessly. She heard Bellamy talk but ignored him.
“It’s useless… I've been here for hours and couldn't find shit.”
There was a dim streak of light leaking through the side of the metal door and it's spyhole. She inspected it and heard noise from the other side. She slowly recognized the sound of footsteps coming closer and tried to get away from the door, stepping on something that cracked lightly under her feet. She crouched down and found pieces of a broken glass.
When the door opened all three of them had to close their eyes for a second to the sudden illumination. All they could see were black figures moving and then they heard a voice. Clarke was sure she recognized it from the man that threatened her at the pub, Gustus.
“Get on your feet, Blondie. The commander wants to see you.”
“Wait, she doesn't know anything, I'll come with you!” Bellamy tried to say standing between the girl and the men but Gustus hit him hard in the face sending him flying on the floor.
Nathan was fast to reach him to check on him and Clarke was about to do the same when a strong hand stopped her.
“Heda's orders.” He growled and she could do little but follow him. She heard Bellamy's faint protests as she was escorted out.
As soon as they left the cells, Clarke found herself in a sort of dungeon with low neon lights and a narrow tunnel.
She was cuffed and blindfolded and led through different doors and an elevator. She heard voices and noises and tried to calm her heartbeat, determined not to show any fear, but she probably failed miserably.
She needed to find a way out if she wanted to survive.
Suddenly they came to a stop. She was being uncuffed and she felt a hand move the blindfolds on her eyes to her mouth. The man disregardingly tugged at the cloth and the girl, taken by surprise, let out a pained sound.
“If you so much as look at her the wrong way I will slit your throat.”
‘Her?’ she thought as she silently nodded.
She was pushed through a large wooden door and almost fell on her knees but manages to find her balance before she could.
She had time to make out a room lit with several yellow lamps and a few people standing on the sides.
Then she raised her head and saw her.
Her heart skipped a few beats because she was sitting on a throne, her stance rigid, regal, black paint on her face making the colour of her eyes look almost as dark, and she was looking straight at her with a haughty, solemn look.
And she was so different from the quiet girl reading Blake in a bar and yet she wasn't. Still so beautiful it hurt, still as calm and noble as she was everytime she saw her, although so scary and different.
And yet, once again, Clarke could do nothing but stare in silence as her heart broke.
Because this girl that wouldn't leave her mind could be the same that got her father killed.