xxvi. uncovering secrets
fog of war

LIFE AT THE established Ark camp, otherwise dubbed Camp Jaha, went on in the days that followed the massacre at the Grounder village. A new normal fell over those who survived the space station's crash to Earth. Guards patrolled the fence at all hours, trading off in designated shifts, while others tried to go back to the way things were when they orbited the radiation soaked planet.

For the remaining hundred, the idea of normal never crossed their minds. Not for Sawyer, at least. After the scene she witnessed, after she saw all the people Finn killed at the village, she did not think normal would ever happen again.

Sawyer rested at a table set up outside the main structure of the Ark, more specifically the remnants of Alpha Station. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she leaned back in a chair that survived the landing, staring at the map Clarke's sketched of Mount Weather and the series of mines that ran underneath it. She, Clarke, and Bellamy gathered to discuss their next move.

Bellamy released a long breath and voiced from where he sat at the table, "okay, tell me again." He glanced between the two girls.

Clarke reached out and tapped the map spread across its surface. "It's a labyrinth. We got to the dam through this tunnel." She gestured to tunnel drawn from Mount Weather to the depiction of the dam. "It's all connected to the mine system. That's our way in."

"Are you sure we can get past the Reapers and the Mountain Men?" Bellamy questioned.

Sawyer looked to him with a flat stare. "Do you want us to answer honestly?"

Bellamy sighed. "You just did." He leaned away from the table and exclaimed toward the blonde, "I swear to God, if your mom doesn't sanction the mission soon I'm going by myself."

"You won't be the only one," Clarke replied, meeting the eldest Blake's gaze.

"I second that," Sawyer added.

Right then, the sound of shuffling drew the trio's attention to the entrance of the Ark. Sawyer looked to where Finn and Murphy exited into the night air. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted the Collins boy.

Once they returned to camp after the massacre, Abby and the Council convened to decide whether or not Finn and Murphy should be punished or cleared of what they did. Their trial went on for the last two days. For Sawyer, she could never forgive Finn. Not after she witnessed the event for herself. Finn did not just kill vicious, savage Grounders that day. He killed elderly people. Children. Unprovoked and defenseless.

It was one thing when they were at war, actively trying to kill them, but another when they were cowering inside their own village.

"Guess the inquisition's over." Bellamy turned away from where the two boys strode across the camp and set his stare on the blonde. "How's Finn doing, anyway?"

Clarke's expression fell flat. "I haven't talked to him since we got back. I don't know what to say. He just – kept shooting."

"We're at war, Clarke," Bellamy stated. "We've all done things."

"Yeah," Sawyer started and pulled the man's gaze to her, "when we were fighting for our lives. Finn wasn't fighting for his life when he shot up a village." She stared at the eldest Blake as her eyes twitched into slits. "Don't make excuses for him."

Bellamy did not say another word as Finn approached their table.

"Hey," Finn spoke with his sole attention on the Griffin girl.

Sawyer glanced toward Clarke, watching as she tensed at the sight of the boy. Her blood began to boil.

"Hey," Bellamy replied, before he noticed the thick tension that engulfed them. He stood from his chair and grabbed their cups from the table. "Next round's on me." He looked to the Wesley girl, who proceeded to glare at Finn. "Sawyer."

Sawyer's line of sight did not waver. "I'm good."

"Sawyer," Bellamy's tone lowered into a stern demand.

Sawyer snapped away from Finn to Bellamy. She met his hardened gaze with one of her own. They faced off for a few seconds, before she rolled her eyes and stood to her feet. She moved to follow after Bellamy, swiping her empty cup from the tables.

Sawyer and Bellamy weaved around the other tables placed throughout the area. A station had been set up near the edge of the Ark where a man distributed cups of moonshine, having used Monty's salvaged still to create the strong beverage. They approached him and set their cups onto the station's counter to get them refilled.

While they waited, Bellamy faced the Wesley girl in slight exasperation. "I thought you, of all people, would be more understanding about Finn."

Sawyer's brows creased as she rested her arm on the moonshine dispenser's counter. "Why? 'Cause I'm a criminal. I'm the Queen of Thieves, Bellamy. Thieves, not murderers."

"He thought he was saving his friends," Bellamy argued. "Saving you and Clarke."

"That doesn't excuse what he did," Sawyer retorted and then shook her head. "I forgive a lot, okay? Why do you think I spent all my time on the Ark with criminals? But, there are two things that I won't." She pushed off the station, raising her hand to lift two fingers. "Traitors and kid killers."

Bellamy let out a long breath. "So, Finn and Murphy."

Sawyer dropped her arm and nodded. "Exactly."

"Sawyer."

Sawyer turned to where Raven strode up to her and Bellamy. "Hey, what's up?"

Raven glanced between the two of them, setting on her fellow brunette. "I need to talk to you."

Sawyer blinked, exchanging a look with Bellamy, before she turned back to Raven. "Okay. Let's talk." She moved away alongside the mechanic. "So..."

"Not here," Raven cut her off as they continued through the collection of tables. "Grab Clarke and meet me in Engineering."

Sawyer nodded. "Got it. Be there in five."

Raven returned the nod and headed in the direction of the section of the Ark dubbed Engineering.

Sawyer headed back over to the table where Clarke remained. Finn did not seem to stick around long, being nowhere in sight. Murphy, on the other hand, occupied a seat to the Griffin girl's left, sipping on a cup in his hand. Sawyer rolled her eyes when she spotted the boy. His recent involvement in the massacre of the Grounder village, or lack thereof, did not help his chances of getting her to absolve her hatred toward him.

As soon as she reached the table, Sawyer stared down to the boy from where she stood. "Leave, John."

Murphy did not object, standing from his seat with his cup still in his grasp. "Well, then. Have a good one," he quipped and walked off.

Sawyer ignored him and set her attention on her blonde counterpart. "Raven what's to talk with us."

Clarke's brows raised. "Why?"

Sawyer shrugged. "Don't know, but it seems important."

_______

And, important it was.

Raven wanted to tell Sawyer and Clarke about a discovery she made that involved Mount Weather and the rest of the Ark stations that failed to reach out after they crash landed. The former military bunker jammed their radio signals ever since the dropship fell from space.

"I tweaked the resonator and got this," Raven explained to the two girls as she held a radio in her hands, pressing a button to cause a low tone to sound throughout the room. "It's on every frequency. Long range communication is totally screwed. It's the same reason the range for our walkies sucks. It's the same signal Monty heard in the Black Box of the Exodus ship."

The realization dawned on Clarke and voiced, "Mount Weather crashed the Exodus ship."

Just when Sawyer thought the Mountain Men could not get any worse. She ground her teeth together, before she set her stare on the mechanic. "Is there any way you can get around the signal?"

Raven set the radio down and leaned up from the table. "Around it? No. But, if I can get to the tower that broadcasts it, I can make it go boom."

Sawyer started to smile until the voice of Abby Griffin forced her to frown.

"No one is going anywhere."

Sawyer turned to where Abby entered the room with Byrne on her heels. She sighed and muttered, "party's over."

Clarke stepped toward her mother and began, "Mom, listen..."

"What do I have to do to get through to you?" Abby exclaimed to her daughter. "You and your friends are not soldiers, and continuing to act like you are puts lives at risk."

Sawyer rolled her eyes, not caring if the woman were the stand-in Chancellor. Her superiority complex grew on her last nerve.

"You don't understand. Raven found something," Clarke argued with her mother. "Mount Weather is jamming our communications."

"Is true," Raven spoke, drawing the Griffin woman's attention to her. "There could be other Ark stations on the ground."

"And more guards," Sawyer added, capturing the doctor's gaze. "You said that we don't have enough to fight on two fronts. Hate to break it to you, Dr. Griffin, but we already are. Mount Weather declared war a long time ago when they crashed the Exodus ship."

"The Grounder retaliation for the massacre could happen at any time," Byrne told the Griffin woman, "and when it does, we need every soldier at this camp."

"So, let us go," Clarke stated, bringing her mother's eyes back to her.

Abby stared at her daughter for a long moment, before she voiced, "you're not gonna stop, are you?"

Clarke shook her head. "Not until my friends are safe."

Abby paused and then nodded. "Okay, but I'm coming with you."

"Ma'am, I just said..."

Abby snapped to the female guard and cut off her words, "it's been quiet for two days. Maybe Kane is making headway the Grounders' Commander."

"Or, maybe he's dead," Byrne countered. "And they're massing against us, as we speak."

"Maybe, which is why we need more guards," Abby stated and turned back to her daughter.

Sawyer pursed her lips, before she quipped, "alright, then. Back to Mount Weather, we go."

_______

Come morning, Sawyer, Clarke, Abby, and a group of others left camp for Mount Weather. Prepared to blow the former military bunker's communication towers sky-high.

Sawyer clutched the straps of her pack as it hung from her shoulders, trekking through the forest in the direction of Mount Weather. Her hair had been gathered into a braid that fell down the back of her head, helping keep the dark strands maintained and out of the way. She stomped over the uneven ground, all too aware of who walked behind her. A rifle held in his hands.

Since she learned about Finn's participation in the excursion, Sawyer's blood pulsed in her ears. It pissed her off that Abby allowed Finn to leave with them, considering he just murdered eighteen people. Not only that, but they let him handle a gun. An automatic rifle, after he shot up a village. Sawyer should have ripped the weapon from Finn's hands and ordered him to stay at the Ark. Although, she knew that would not work. Finn did not like to be told what to do, which ultimately led to his murderous rampage.

"I can't believe they let Finn come," Octavia exclaimed from where she walked between her brother and the Wesley girl.

Sawyer scoffed. "Tell me about it, especially with a damn gun. It's not like he just killed eighteen people with one, or anything."

"He's the best tracker we've got," Bellamy stated, before he called out to the other guards who accompanied them, "don't forget to look up. The Grounders use the trees. That's how we lost John Mbege."

Sawyer sighed at the reminder of the boy who died on their quest to find Octavia when Lincoln took her to his cave. The event seemed like a lifetime away. Back when their lives were simpler. At least, by Sawyer's standards.

They continued on for a long while, before Sawyer made sure the other guards were far enough away from to not hear her next statement. While they were out there to find Mount Weather's communications tower, the rest of the hundred had another mission in mind. Clarke realized that old buildings from before the nuclear war in the immediate area could possibly lead to the underground mine system. The same one that traveled to Mount Weather. Sawyer and Clarke wanted to know if they actually existed, so Bellamy and Octavia offered to look for them.

She turned to the Blake siblings and lowered her voice, "split off, now. I'll keep their attention away from you as long as I can. You have a few minutes, tops. And be careful."

Bellamy nodded. "You, too." He and Octavia slowed their pace and broke off to the right without anyone's knowledge.

Sawyer made sure they were out of sight and moved to catch up with Raven.

_______

The group ended up in a clearing at the base of Mount Weather. Sawyer stared at the mountain that housed the military bunker. Her eyes narrowed toward the foliage covered mound. If she did not know what already laid inside, she would never realize there was anything out of the ordinary. There were no visible entrances or structures that alluded to an underground fortified bunker.

"There," Raven voiced as she peered through a set of binoculars at the mountain. "I see it."

Sawyer walked over to the mechanic and held out her hand. Raven set them in her open palm, pointing to the top of Mount Weather. Sawyer brought the smaller lenses up to her eyes. The sight of the mountain grew large as she shifted the binoculars to spot the communications tower.

"Yeah, definitely there." Sawyer lowered the lenses and looked to where Clarke stepped toward her. "Here." She gave the binoculars to her.

Clarke took them, placing them on her eyes, and looked to the tower. After a moment, she dropped the binoculars and gave them to her mother. "I'll be dark soon. We'll never spot the traps."

Sawyer nodded. "We should make camp. Blow the tower at night when they're asleep, and then leave at first light."

They were silent for a beat, before Abby stated, "we're missing two."

Sawyer released a breath at the woman's declaration. Abby finally noticed that Bellamy and Octavia were gone. The guards shouted for the Blake siblings, searching for them around the clearing. Sawyer knew they would not find there.

Abby whirled to where her daughter stood. Her expression tight. "Clarke, we're in enemy territory, and their lives are my responsibly."

Clarke met her stare and said, "they went to find a way in."

Abby's features faltered. "A way in? That's not what this mission is about."

"Our mission," Sawyer retorted, forcing the Griffin woman's attention to snap to her. "Not theirs."

Abby's jaw clenched, and she turned to the guards. "Find them. Bring them back!"

One of the men nodded. "Yes, ma'am." He looked to two others and commanded, "you two, with me. Let's go!"

The three of them separated and went off to search for Bellamy and Octavia.

At the sound of a gun rattling, Sawyer shifted her gaze to where Finn grabbed the rifle he sat down earlier. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm going with them," Finn stated and moved after the guards.

Clarke stepped toward him and called out, "Finn, wait."

Raven intercepted his path when he ignored the Griffin girl. Once they were mere inches apart, she told him, "we need you here."

Finn's expression hardened as he glanced between the two girls. "Why? So you can keep an eye on me?" His stare settled on Clarke. "You'd have to be able to look at me to do that."

The statement caught Sawyer's attention. She stormed up to the boy and exclaimed, "calm your ass down. You're not going with them. Not acting like a damn idiot – and especially not with a gun." She held out her hand, gesturing to the weapon in his grasp. "Hand it over." Finn glared at her and did not move. "Hand. It. Over," she stressed each word. They held each other's gazes until Finn relented and slammed the gun into her hands.

Finn then spun on his heel and stomped off into the surrounding forest.

"Finn!" Raven shouted after the Collins boy, but he did not stop.

Clarke sighed and voiced, "I'll go get him." She kicked off the ground to follow him.

"Clarke, wait." Sawyer brought the Griffin girl to a stop a few feet away. She raised the rifle and tossed it to her.

Clarke caught the gun with ease. With a quick nod, she spun on her heel and raced after Finn. 

_______

Soon after Clarke and Finn ran off, a wall of acid fog seeped through the foliage and encroached on their location. Sawyer and the rest of the group quickly build their tents, ones they brought for that exact reason, and zipped them up tight. The toxic cloud swirled around them, whipping the sides of the cloth structures, but it never leaked inside.

Sawyer sat cross-legged with her elbows propped onto her knees. Her chin placed on her open palm, while she stare at the radio console Raven brought with her. Abby rested on her left, using her own radio to try and reach Clarke. She gained no answer.

"Clarke! Clarke, do you read me?" Abby continued to shout into the device.

Raven, who sat across from the Griffin woman, kept her stare on her radio as she spoke, "we're closer to the source. It's swallowing short-range, now, too."

Abby ignored her and tried, again. "Clarke, do you read me?" The radio stayed silent. "Damnit!" she exclaimed, dropping the device.

Sawyer sighed and looked to the woman. "Clarke and Finn are fine. They know these woods."

"She left her pack, and her tent is in it," Abby argued.

"There's a series of caves around here that they can hide in, and also a hidden bunker they can seal up tight," Sawyer stated.

Raven twisted the dial on her radio, forcing different sounds to escape its speakers. Jumbled static soon morphed into what could only be described as distorted voices. Sawyer lifted her head from her hand. 

"What is that?" Abby questioned the mechanic.

Raven shook her head. "I don't know. But, it sounds like they're jamming every frequency but this one." She let go of the dial when the muddled sounds grew louder. Her gaze snapped up to Sawyer and Abby. "You hear that? This one's clear."

Sawyer's brows furrowed. "Clear? I just hear strange noises."

Raven reached into her pack and grabbed more devices. "It'll be clear once I crack the encryption."

"Okay, English, Raven," Abby exclaimed toward the Reyes girl, "what does that mean?"

Raven looked from the woman to her former leader and smiled. "It means we'll be able to listen in on Mount Weather."

Sawyer pondered her words. If Raven could crack the radio signal, they would be able to hear everything that went on inside the mountain. Sawyer flashed her own smile in return. "Then what are you waiting for, Reyes?"

Raven nodded and went to work.

_______

Several minutes passed as more static and jumbled voices filled their little tent. Sawyer fiddled with the end of her braid, spotting the various hairs that split off in multiple directions. Abby stared at Raven, watching the girl work on the radio, and glanced toward her portable one in case Clarke's voice came through.

After a while, Abby grew impatient and exclaimed, "what's taking so long?"

Raven proceeded to spin the dial on the radio console. "I've almost got it. They're using a type of audio modulation here, like a feedback loop. I just need to pinpoint the origin of the loop – hone in on the pure transmission. I just need to find the right," she trailed off, turning the dial, until a clear voice came through.

"Check the other side and report back, over," a man said.

Sawyer's heart leapt in her chest. She dropped her braid and smiled at her friend. "Damn, Reyes. Look at you."

"You did it," Abby praised.

The voices went on.

"Copy. Checking the western boundary. Stand by, over. No signs of life, over."

"Has the veil lifted yet? Over," another man questioned.

That caused Sawyer to freeze. Her gaze lifted to meet Raven and Abby's. The veil?

"Negative, sir. Coverage is still ninety percent. Over."

"Keep searching. If they pop up, hit them again, over and out."

Sawyer's blood pulsed under her skin. "The veil is the acid fog," she stated.

Abby nodded. "It's a weapon."

"Which means they attacked us," Raven replied.

Sawyer could her heartbeat in her ears. Mount Weather had been in control of the acid fog the entire time. Not only did they made them scared to go out into the forest without some kind of tent as protection, but they killed Atom and who knew how many other delinquents. They were after them from the start.

Abby reached back and moved a flap that covered a plastic window. The yellow-green fog still swirled outside. She turned back, letting the drop, and raised her voice to the guards in the other tent. "Sergeant Porter?"

"Yes, ma'am," he answered.

"Build your bomb," Abby ordered as she met the girls' stares. "When the fog lifts, take the tower down. Copy?"

"I copy, ma'am."

Sawyer shook her head. They could not destroy the communication tower. Not when they could eavesdrop on Mount Weather. They needed to keep that line open. "No, you can't do that. We need it up."

Abby looked to her with creased brows.

Before she could argue, Raven beat her to it. "We're listening on the enemy. Blow the antenna, and we won't be able to do that."

Abby understood and released a breath. "Don't blow it, and we won't make contact with any other Ark survivors, and we need those reinforcements, girls."

Raven pressed her lips together. "Tough call. I know what Clarke would do."

Sawyer nodded. "So do it," she agreed, capturing the Griffin woman's attention. "Clarke wouldn't blow that antenna, not when we have a chance to hear what's going on in there."

Abby stared at the Wesley girl for a long moment, before she sighed.

_______

To Sawyer's surprise, Abby listened to her and Raven. She ordered the guards to stand down, and they did not blow the communications tower. It stayed in place on the top of Mount Weather.

Once the acid fog lifted, Sawyer and the others gathered their tents and headed back to the Ark. She knew the ones who broke off from them would return when they could. They were told to do just that in the event that they were separated.

When they reached the outskirts of the Ark camp, Clarke and Finn emerged from the tree-line. Abby rushed up to her daughter and pulled her in for a hug. Finn kept his distance. His features scrunched as if in pain. Emotional, Sawyer figured.

Clarke stepped back from her mother and glanced around. "Bellamy and Octavia?" she questioned when she did not see the siblings.

"They'll come back when they can," Sawyer told the blonde as she moved to her side. Clarke looked at her, and she continued, "we knew it might take a while."

"Well, have you tried to radio?" Clarke asked.

"Still jammed," Raven stated when she grew close.

Clarke turned to the mechanic. "You didn't blow the tower?"

"Raven figured out a way that we could listen to Mount Weather," Abby said, drawing her daughter's eyes back to her. "If we took out the antenna, we wouldn't be able to do that."

Clarke's brows furrowed. "What about the other Ark stations?"

"We don't know if they made it," Abby began. "What we do know is that forty-six of our people are being held prisoner in that mountain." She paused and told her in a tone of reassurance, "we're gonna get them out."

Clarke hugged her mother, again.

Sawyer noticed Raven walk over to Finn and speak for a few moments, but her attention fell to where a shout erupted in the forest. She stared in its direction as the guards rushed forward. The two of them ordered the intruder to raise their hands and their guns aimed toward them. Sawyer's eyes almost burst from her eye sockets when she spotted the person.

Thelonious Jaha climbed out of the trees, shoving the closest guard's gun away from him as he stumbled for the others. Blood coated his face, while his clothes were torn and tattered.

"Thelonious," Abby breathed at the sight of the man they all believed to be dead. She moved toward him as he collapsed to the ground.

Jaha rested on his knees, staring at Alpha Station in all its twisted glory. "I have a message – from the Commander," he stated, clutching Abby's arm as she wrapped them around his shoulders. "Leave, or die. We have two days."

<February 9, 2020>

This chapter sucks. I'm sorry.

On a happier note, guess who makes an appearance in the next chapter? I'm about to have a lot of fun!

Don't forget to vote and comment.

-Jordan

P.S. Unedited chapter.