Problems
Clarke's pov
I never had trouble waking up early. In fact I love mornings when I open my eyes before the sun does and get up to see the first rays of sunshine start another day. Today though, opening my eyes feels like the hardest thing to do and I can't find the strength to do that simple everyday task.
Slowly the events of the past... days? Weeks? I don't even know... comes flooding back to me.
Being captured, „cleaned" like they call it, put into a den. My guard trying to fight back, but not having a chance. Me trying to help and failing miserably. The doctor, smiling as my eyes flutter shut. Green eyes.
I let out a groan. How the hell am I still alive? Wait, am I even alive?
Yes. Yes, I am as a prick to my skin assures me. A prick like a needle which disappears after a few seconds again.
Suddenly, voices start to register to my foggy mind.
„I don't know either, Cage. It just heals them faster." What? Heals them faster? Who?
„Then find the hell out why. If it has a higher radiation resistance, it could be the solution to our problem." A male, assumably this Cage, tells the doctor.
„I will. Also, I believe your father wants to talk to you. You should probably get going."
„Get us out of here, Dr. Tsing." Steps echo through the room until a door opens and the sound of his movements fades out.
Maunon, problem, solution, healing, radiation resistance, get us out of here.
I try to put the things I've heard together as best I can, however, my mind won't let me. Thinking becomes harder again when another needle breaks through my skin.
I can only think one last thing. Get out of here and kill them all. And next thing, I'm engulfed in the now all too familiar darkness.
Raven's pov
Being on the ground is not as great as I hoped it would be. It's beautiful, sure, but I miss floating through the emptiness of space. I mean, what the hell does the youngest zero-g mechanic in 52 years do without zero-g? Building fences. That already sounds like a bad joke. Still, I could laugh at it if it wasn't happening exactly like that to me. Great, just great.
We've been down here for only a few days and I'm already bored. Well, not bored but rather underchallenged.
I already searched for Kane today to get the permission to build something to signal other survivors that could be out there. I, of course, thought about it, sadly with Wick. He's just too arogant. However, we think it would be our best chance if we build a radio beacon. I looked for Kane everywhere I could think of, but couldn't find him.
The sun has just risen and only few people are up. To my displeasure, one of those people is Bellamy Blake. Since coming down here he acts like he's a guard again, like we have to answer to him. Right now though, he seems to be lookkng for something.
„Hey, Raven." I roll my eyes and pretend I didn't hear him, albeit he appears to look through my pretense and stands in front of me, blocking my way. „Have you seen Octavia?" Right, his sister, the one he's hidden under the floor. After landing each juvenile delinquent was released except of those who truly deserved to be locked up.
„No, I haven't, but if you can't find her that's probably because she doesn't want to be found."
„What if something happened to her?" There's worry evident in his tone, nevertheless, I don't care. „Then you failed her. Again. Brother of the year." Not like he has any competition, but still.
„At least I'm trying to help." Guess I've struck a nerve.
„Yeah? Then why are you trying to undermine Kane's lead? Also trying to help there?" He balls his fists, but doesn't do anything.
„What I'm trying is to free us of having to answer to the privileged."
„We are already free from tyranny. Kane freed us from Jaha and made sure to be better than him. He may be more privileged, but at least he is just. More so than you if I may add that." I glare at him until we hear a commotion at the gates and I rush there, not paying any more attention to him.
The first thing I see when I reach the source of the turmoil is Abby. Directly behind her is Kane and besides him is the lost sister.
„I told you to not leave the camp. It's dangerous, O." Bellamy sounds beyond pissed which seems to only infuriate his sister.
„Just because you're scared of the world doesn't mean all of us are. Besides I'm not going to hide again. I want to live, Bell." Her tone starts out aggressively, but loses most of the anger in the second sentence. It appears to soften Bellamy's mood, however, my attention sways over to Abby when she walks up to the front of the crowd where Kane already stands.
„Arkers!" Kane gets the full attention of the people all around me.
„Abigail and I were outside yesterday and made an incredible discovery." All eyes are on him. „There are survivors down here, grounders." With that all hell breaks loose and screams of discussions ring through the whole camp.
„SILENCE!" Up until now, I've never heard Kane scream. He always was the peaceful one, never raising his voice. The shouts are immediately muted.
„They mean no harm to us. However, they do need our help just like we need theirs." Before outraged cries can sound again, he continues. „We made a deal with them. They will teach us how to survive down here. That means hunting, farming, building and everything else we need to know. Also we will have peace with them as long as we honor their laws..." Now the screams do start again. None of the Arkers want to play by the rules of some random people, but they are silenced with another scream.
„... AND..." Silence. „... they will give us land to settle on. It isn't safe if we can stay here yet, but even if we can't they will ensure we have a home." I can observe him, taking in a deep breath afore breaking the silence once again. „Those were the terms we had in exchange for our help in a fight against Mount Weather. The mountain..." He speaks above the uproar. „... has been taking their people who are never to be seen again and they will most certainly start to take ours as well soon. We will aid them in defeating Mount Weather and help them safe their people along with ours. Therefore, we will need guards who will train with warriors of the grounders and fight in the attack against the mountain." His gaze wanders over the crowd until it lands on me. „Raven, we will need you as well. Get Sinclair and come to the meeting room in about an hour." I give him a nod which he reciprocates.
He ends his announcement and goes, along with Abby, into the metal structure of the ark.
It's been an hour and I stand in the meeting room with Sinclair, waiting for Kane to make an appearance.
Finally, after endless minutes standing purposeless in the room, the door is opened. Kane strides in with Abby on his heels. „Sorry for making you wait. We don’t have too much time, so lets just get straight to the point, won’t we?“
We don‘t say a word as he nods to Abby, letting her tell us what the hell is going on. „As you both know, we‘re going to war side by side with the grounders against Mount Weather. Since the mountain has technology and the grounders don’t have knowledge about it, we need you to figure out how to get inside and win this war.“
„Do the grounders have any information about them we could use that they gave you, or how are we supposed to do that?“ Sinclair speaks my exact thoughts out while I‘m already too deep in thought to say anything.
This time, it‘s Kane speaking again. „No, they haven’t and that‘s why we need you to give us a radio. Then we will provide you with every information we get on site.“
My mind is reeling, already going through a hundred possibilities before even knowing what we‘re dealing with.
When they dismiss us, I just nod afore leaving for the workshop. At last, I will be able to use my brilliant mind for more important matters than damn fences.
Lincoln‘s pov
I can‘t think. My mind is empty except for one thing: red. I need it, can feel my whole body aching for the substance.
Running through the woods with the others, we are on the search for more victims to get our reward. I don’t know how long it takes to find a group, albeit I know barely anything these days.
With a war cry, we attack. The woman I‘m fighting against seems vaguely familiar and says things I don’t understand. For the first time in how long I can remember, I don’t want to harm the person in front of me, so I try to restrain myself. She appears to be reluctant too, but attacks none the less. I have to fight back, however, whatever‘s holding me back condemns me to lose.
Next thing I perceive, I‘m laying on the ground and see the hilt of a sword coming into view. My head erupts into pain and my body immediately falls limb as the hilt connects to my temple.
Lexa‘s pov
I always hated waiting. Today however, my pacing while once again in my life waiting is interrupted by Indra coming into my tent, urgency written all over her face.
„What is it Indra?“
She doesn’t need more to start talking. „Heda, I was just in the woods hunting with a few other warriors, but we were attacked by a small group of reapers.“ That gets her my full attention. „Was anyone taken or killed?“
„Sha, heda. Two gonas were killed, one taken, and four injured, but that‘s not why I‘m here.“ I just raise my brow, so she continues. „One of the reapers was Lincoln, Heda.“
I can see the sadness in her eyes now. Lincoln became like a son to her in the past ten years. After finding him in the woods, abandoned by his parents, she took it upon herself to raise the twelve year-old as well as she could while also training him to become a warrior. I still remember her talking to my fos once about her concern over him being too quiet. He always was like that, however, her worry was eased when he became friends with Nyko who was learning to become a fisa at that time and was only a few years older than him. He always taught him what he learned from his fos, making Lincoln a quite good healer as well.
„I did not kill him.“
„What do you mean you didn’t kill him?“ I don’t really need to ask. I have a feeling I already know the answer.
„I captured him. He‘s bound in a tent at the moment, of course, guarded strongly. I thought, maybe the Skaikru healer can try to turn him back.“
I let out a sigh. „Indra, our best fisas tried everything to achieve that. You saw them dying despite their attempts yourself.“
„I know, Heda, but Skaikru has technology we never even dreamed of. They might have something to solve that problem as well. Beja, Heda. Let them try.“ Her voice sounds pleading. I never heard her like that, even a bit desperate.
„Okay, but don’t hope too much. They will most likely fail like everyone else has.“