Day 21
Page 23
“There really was another mission, then. Sasha was telling the truth.”
Bellamy nodded and ran a finger along the stone. “It’s nice, you know, having a place to visit the people you’ve lost. I wish we had something like that on the Colony, something more personal than the Remembrance Wall.”
“Who would you have wanted to visit?” Clarke asked quietly, wondering if there was any way he could know that Lilly had died.
“Just… friends. People I never got to say good-bye to.” Bellamy rose to his feet with a sigh, then wrapped his arm around Clarke.
She leaned in to him, then turned her attention back to the graves. “Do you think they died in the crash? Or later, after whatever happened with the Earthborns?”
“I’m not sure. Why?”
“I just wish we’d come down sooner. Maybe we could’ve done something to help them.”
Bellamy gave her a squeeze. “You can’t save everyone, Clarke,” he said quietly.
You have no idea, she thought.
CHAPTER 14
Wells
“Careful,” Wells called out as he watched one of the younger boys reach toward the fire. “Use the stick.”
“I got it,” he said, carefully removing the corn from the red-hot stones Wells had piled on top of the flames, the way Sasha had told him to.
The corn had, quite literally, been a lifesaver. Now instead of furtive whispers and weary complaints, the camp was filled with the sound of crackling flames and reinvigorated chatter. Everyone sat around the fire, gnawing at the strange but welcome food.
After returning with as much as they could carry, Wells and Sasha had grabbed two empty water containers and headed back to the orchard for more. By the time they’d staggered back, smiling and weary from their efforts, Wells had almost forgotten that Sasha was their prisoner. He’d felt exceedingly awkward when, after thanking her for her help, he’d had to sneak her back to the infirmary cabin. Luckily, Clarke had been gone, and the sick people asleep, so no one saw him apologizing to Sasha as he retied her hands.
You caught her spying on you, he reminded himself as he watched a group of girls challenge some Walden boys to a corncob-throwing contest. Wells started to protest—Sasha had warned them not to leave the cobs in the clearing, lest they attract unwelcome animal visitors—but he swallowed the words. He’d have an easier time sneaking some food to Sasha if he didn’t make a scene.
Wells gingerly plucked a few cobs from the embers, stretching out his shirt so he could carry them without burning his hands, then headed back to the infirmary cabin.
“Hey,” he whispered as he moved quietly toward her cot. “I brought you one.” He handed her one of the corncobs, which had cooled enough to touch, then placed the others next to Molly, Felix, and Tamsin so they’d have something to eat when they woke up. It was becoming hard to find volunteers to bring food and water to the sick people. Rumors about their illness were spreading, and now it was rare for anyone besides Clarke, Wells, Bellamy, Priya, and Eric to set foot inside the infirmary cabin.
“Thanks,” Sasha said, shooting a wary glance toward the door before taking a small bite of the corn.
“How is it?” Wells asked, returning to sit on the edge of her cot. “Better than the protein paste?”
She smiled. “Yes, definitely better. Although still pretty bland. Why didn’t you season them with those pepper leaves like I told you?”
“I figured the corn was suspicious enough. Revealing some fancy cooking tricks might’ve caused more trouble than it was worth.”
He expected her to tease him about his culinary skills, but instead her face grew serious. “They really don’t trust me, do they?” There was an edge to her voice as she shifted on the cot. “What can I do to convince you all that I had nothing to do with the attacks?”
“It’ll just take some time,” Wells said, though he still wasn’t entirely sure whether he believed her. He knew Sasha was kind and rational, but that certainly didn’t mean her people—her father—weren’t capable of violence. If, somehow, the Colony were threatened by some hitherto unimagined enemy, Wells’s father wouldn’t have thought twice before launching an attack.
The door opened and Kendall walked in. Wells jumped to his feet as Kendall stared at them, an inscrutable look on her face. “Sorry to disturb you,” she said, glancing between Wells and Sasha. “I was just coming to take a quick nap. I didn’t get much sleep last night, obviously.”
“It’s fine,” Wells said. He gestured toward the empty cots. “There’s plenty of room.” Apparently, Kendall wasn’t worried about catching the mysterious illness.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll try one of the other cabins.” She gave Wells one more lingering look before she turned around and walked back into the clearing.
“See? No one even wants to be in the same room as me. They all think I’m a murderer.”
Wells glanced over at Tamsin, whose heavily bandaged leg might as well have been emblazoned with a warning about the Earthborns. To say nothing of the newly dug grave in the cemetery. Until Sasha could prove that there really was a rogue band of Earthborns, people who had nothing to do with her, it’d be impossible for the hundred to see her as anything but a threat. “Do you want to go for a walk?” he said suddenly. “It’s silly for you to be locked in here all day.”
Sasha gave him a long, searching look before raising her bound hands from her lap. “Okay. But no more handcuffs. You know I’m not going anywhere.”
Wells untied her and then, while Sasha rearranged her fur wrap, went over to check on Molly. “Hey,” he whispered, crouching next to her cot. “How are you feeling?” She murmured something but didn’t open her eyes. “Molly?” With a sigh, Wells pulled her blanket up over her thin shoulders, then tucked a strand of sweat-dampened hair behind her ear. “I’ll be back soon,” he said quietly.
Wells peeked into the clearing. Most of the camp was still gathered around the fire, or putting the finishing touches on the new roof. If they hurried, they’d be able to leave unseen. Wells chose not to dwell on the fact that, for the second time that day, he was doing something secret, hiding his actions from the rest of the group. He turned around to gesture to Sasha, and then they quickly darted outside and across the tree line.
Sasha led Wells in a different direction this time, one he hadn’t taken before. Unlike Bellamy, he hadn’t spent a great deal of time in the woods, and was only familiar with the path they usually took to fetch water from the stream. “Watch out,” Sasha called over her shoulder. “It gets pretty steep here.”
Steep was a bit of an understatement. The ground suddenly fell away, and Wells was forced to creep down sideways, grabbing on to the thin, flexible trees that grew out of the hillside to keep himself from tumbling down. The incline was so sharp that some of their roots grew out into the air instead of down into the ground.
Sasha didn’t seem bothered by the grade. She’d barely slowed down and was now several meters ahead of Wells. She’d extended her arms to the side, using her outstretched fingers for balance, looking like the birds he’d seen swooping above the clearing.
A loud crack sounded from behind. Startled, Wells whipped his head around. The movement was enough to send his feet flying out from under him, and he fell, sliding down the slick grass. He tried to dig his fingers into the ground to slow himself down, but he kept gaining speed until something jerked him to a stop. Breathless, he looked up to see Sasha grinning at him as she held the collar of his jacket. “You’re going to have to wait a few months for sledding,” she said as she helped pull him to his feet.
“Sledding?” Wells repeated as he brushed off the back of his pants and tried not to think about how much of an idiot he must’ve looked. “You mean there’s going to be snow?”
“If you’re still alive that long,” Sasha said, grabbing Wells’s elbow as he slipped again.
“If I die before seeing snow, it’ll be because I have one of your friends’ arrows in my back. Not because I keep falling on my ass.”
Bellamy nodded and ran a finger along the stone. “It’s nice, you know, having a place to visit the people you’ve lost. I wish we had something like that on the Colony, something more personal than the Remembrance Wall.”
“Who would you have wanted to visit?” Clarke asked quietly, wondering if there was any way he could know that Lilly had died.
“Just… friends. People I never got to say good-bye to.” Bellamy rose to his feet with a sigh, then wrapped his arm around Clarke.
She leaned in to him, then turned her attention back to the graves. “Do you think they died in the crash? Or later, after whatever happened with the Earthborns?”
“I’m not sure. Why?”
“I just wish we’d come down sooner. Maybe we could’ve done something to help them.”
Bellamy gave her a squeeze. “You can’t save everyone, Clarke,” he said quietly.
You have no idea, she thought.
CHAPTER 14
Wells
“Careful,” Wells called out as he watched one of the younger boys reach toward the fire. “Use the stick.”
“I got it,” he said, carefully removing the corn from the red-hot stones Wells had piled on top of the flames, the way Sasha had told him to.
The corn had, quite literally, been a lifesaver. Now instead of furtive whispers and weary complaints, the camp was filled with the sound of crackling flames and reinvigorated chatter. Everyone sat around the fire, gnawing at the strange but welcome food.
After returning with as much as they could carry, Wells and Sasha had grabbed two empty water containers and headed back to the orchard for more. By the time they’d staggered back, smiling and weary from their efforts, Wells had almost forgotten that Sasha was their prisoner. He’d felt exceedingly awkward when, after thanking her for her help, he’d had to sneak her back to the infirmary cabin. Luckily, Clarke had been gone, and the sick people asleep, so no one saw him apologizing to Sasha as he retied her hands.
You caught her spying on you, he reminded himself as he watched a group of girls challenge some Walden boys to a corncob-throwing contest. Wells started to protest—Sasha had warned them not to leave the cobs in the clearing, lest they attract unwelcome animal visitors—but he swallowed the words. He’d have an easier time sneaking some food to Sasha if he didn’t make a scene.
Wells gingerly plucked a few cobs from the embers, stretching out his shirt so he could carry them without burning his hands, then headed back to the infirmary cabin.
“Hey,” he whispered as he moved quietly toward her cot. “I brought you one.” He handed her one of the corncobs, which had cooled enough to touch, then placed the others next to Molly, Felix, and Tamsin so they’d have something to eat when they woke up. It was becoming hard to find volunteers to bring food and water to the sick people. Rumors about their illness were spreading, and now it was rare for anyone besides Clarke, Wells, Bellamy, Priya, and Eric to set foot inside the infirmary cabin.
“Thanks,” Sasha said, shooting a wary glance toward the door before taking a small bite of the corn.
“How is it?” Wells asked, returning to sit on the edge of her cot. “Better than the protein paste?”
She smiled. “Yes, definitely better. Although still pretty bland. Why didn’t you season them with those pepper leaves like I told you?”
“I figured the corn was suspicious enough. Revealing some fancy cooking tricks might’ve caused more trouble than it was worth.”
He expected her to tease him about his culinary skills, but instead her face grew serious. “They really don’t trust me, do they?” There was an edge to her voice as she shifted on the cot. “What can I do to convince you all that I had nothing to do with the attacks?”
“It’ll just take some time,” Wells said, though he still wasn’t entirely sure whether he believed her. He knew Sasha was kind and rational, but that certainly didn’t mean her people—her father—weren’t capable of violence. If, somehow, the Colony were threatened by some hitherto unimagined enemy, Wells’s father wouldn’t have thought twice before launching an attack.
The door opened and Kendall walked in. Wells jumped to his feet as Kendall stared at them, an inscrutable look on her face. “Sorry to disturb you,” she said, glancing between Wells and Sasha. “I was just coming to take a quick nap. I didn’t get much sleep last night, obviously.”
“It’s fine,” Wells said. He gestured toward the empty cots. “There’s plenty of room.” Apparently, Kendall wasn’t worried about catching the mysterious illness.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll try one of the other cabins.” She gave Wells one more lingering look before she turned around and walked back into the clearing.
“See? No one even wants to be in the same room as me. They all think I’m a murderer.”
Wells glanced over at Tamsin, whose heavily bandaged leg might as well have been emblazoned with a warning about the Earthborns. To say nothing of the newly dug grave in the cemetery. Until Sasha could prove that there really was a rogue band of Earthborns, people who had nothing to do with her, it’d be impossible for the hundred to see her as anything but a threat. “Do you want to go for a walk?” he said suddenly. “It’s silly for you to be locked in here all day.”
Sasha gave him a long, searching look before raising her bound hands from her lap. “Okay. But no more handcuffs. You know I’m not going anywhere.”
Wells untied her and then, while Sasha rearranged her fur wrap, went over to check on Molly. “Hey,” he whispered, crouching next to her cot. “How are you feeling?” She murmured something but didn’t open her eyes. “Molly?” With a sigh, Wells pulled her blanket up over her thin shoulders, then tucked a strand of sweat-dampened hair behind her ear. “I’ll be back soon,” he said quietly.
Wells peeked into the clearing. Most of the camp was still gathered around the fire, or putting the finishing touches on the new roof. If they hurried, they’d be able to leave unseen. Wells chose not to dwell on the fact that, for the second time that day, he was doing something secret, hiding his actions from the rest of the group. He turned around to gesture to Sasha, and then they quickly darted outside and across the tree line.
Sasha led Wells in a different direction this time, one he hadn’t taken before. Unlike Bellamy, he hadn’t spent a great deal of time in the woods, and was only familiar with the path they usually took to fetch water from the stream. “Watch out,” Sasha called over her shoulder. “It gets pretty steep here.”
Steep was a bit of an understatement. The ground suddenly fell away, and Wells was forced to creep down sideways, grabbing on to the thin, flexible trees that grew out of the hillside to keep himself from tumbling down. The incline was so sharp that some of their roots grew out into the air instead of down into the ground.
Sasha didn’t seem bothered by the grade. She’d barely slowed down and was now several meters ahead of Wells. She’d extended her arms to the side, using her outstretched fingers for balance, looking like the birds he’d seen swooping above the clearing.
A loud crack sounded from behind. Startled, Wells whipped his head around. The movement was enough to send his feet flying out from under him, and he fell, sliding down the slick grass. He tried to dig his fingers into the ground to slow himself down, but he kept gaining speed until something jerked him to a stop. Breathless, he looked up to see Sasha grinning at him as she held the collar of his jacket. “You’re going to have to wait a few months for sledding,” she said as she helped pull him to his feet.
“Sledding?” Wells repeated as he brushed off the back of his pants and tried not to think about how much of an idiot he must’ve looked. “You mean there’s going to be snow?”
“If you’re still alive that long,” Sasha said, grabbing Wells’s elbow as he slipped again.
“If I die before seeing snow, it’ll be because I have one of your friends’ arrows in my back. Not because I keep falling on my ass.”
