Episode Four, Part2:
Hope

With most of their tasks finished for the day, the four Sovereigns were going over their work in the map room, finalising details for training schedules or changes around camp. Sol and Kodiak were gathered at the table whilst Wynn was sat in the corner of the room working closely with Dreea - who could feel the tension growing between the three of them without understanding why. All she knew was that no one was speaking a word to each other unless absolutely necessary, the fear of having to confront everything that was trying to pull them apart being almost too much to bear.

As Dreea was debating leaving the room and locking them inside until they all made up, the doors were suddenly burst open and two people hurried inside, both fronting terrified expressions.

Sol stood up as she saw her sister hurry inside, followed closely behind Bas who was holding tightly onto a fistful of paper, beads of sweat coating his forehead.

"Atlantis? What's wrong?" Sol asked, carefully approaching her as her voice lowered in concern.

"We have an update," Atlantis announced, bypassing Sol and making her way to the table as she helped Bas to spread all their work out so everyone could see. She waited until Wynn and Dreea made their way over before she continued.

"It's about the foreshock sequences I was telling you about earlier," she said, "meaning that there may be more earthquakes to come."

"Is that what you've figured out?" Wynn asked, looking beside him at Bas, hoping that he could figure out the answer purely by reading the expression on Bas' face before anything was even said.

"Sort of," he answered. "We've looked at everything: the ground, the dam, the disappearance of all the hunt..."

"And we think we've got our answer," Atlantis sighed, waiting momentarily before she said anything else, almost waiting for Bas to jump in and realise they had made a mistake.

"Go on," Sol said, taking hold of Atlantis' lame hand for her own comfort more than for the sake of reassuring her sister.

"A flood is coming," Atlantis said, glancing around everyone to take in their reactions.

"What kind of flood?" Dreea searched. "And is it because of the dams? I know they haven't filled up their capacity of water since..." She didn't like to bring up the reminder, especially in front of Wynn as they all knew that she was referencing his brother's death, but it was important that they understood exactly what was being implied.

Atlantis shook her head, frowning sympathetically in Wynn's direction as Bas reached up and squeezed his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Everything indicates that it's coming to wipe us out," she said. "That is if we don't do something..."

"What specifics do you know?" Dreea asked them. "When do you think it's coming? How long will it last, when will it be over, what areas will be affected?"

"We're still working on some of that," Bas said. "We don't know how long it will take for the water to pass once it's here, but it doesn't matter. It'll destroy all the crops we have, all the food in the forests, and any wildlife close enough for us to catch. Even if the water doesn't kill us, starvation will, or lack of shelter."

"How many people know about this?" Sol asked.

"Just you guys," Atlantis said. "And Fenn, Chessca and Joren... They came out with us when we were scouting the ground the other day."

"Okay, good," Sol replied. "No one else finds out about this. We can't let our people get word of it until we know everything we can about it, especially not Riders. We need to figure out where we're-"

"Where we're going to move 200 of our people," Wynn said, finishing Sol's thought.

"Yeah..." Sol said tenderly, flickering her eyes over towards his, trying to figure out where they stood with each other.

"Well, the obvious place we're all thinking is the Bunkers," Wynn said, letting out a discontented laugh as he leaned against the table, scanning his eyes over the papers.

"My Bunker can't fit 200 people in it," he said. "It probably couldn't even fit 50 of us, but it's not only that, it's... It's..."

"It's home," Kodiak said from directly across the table, feeling deeply sympathetic towards him.

Wynn shook his head, appreciative of what he had said and knowing that he recognised how important the place was to him, but he hadn't got it right.

"No," Wynn said, meeting Sol's eyes without even meaning to. "The Bunker's not home..."

"But it was for most of our life," Bas said, propping his arm on Wynn's shoulder. "It's our place; a museum, I guess you could say, of all the people we've lost. All of Hayzel's and Lyra's things are there," he glanced around the room. "My parents' and everyone else' belongings, and Ares'..."

"We can rule it out if we need to-" 

"No," Wynn stood up a little taller, dismissing Sol's offer. He knew she was only trying to be kind, but she wasn't thinking of everyone else in Basilisk; she was just thinking of him.

"If it comes to it, Quill and I will move into mine and Ares' room. Elara can have her old room," he said, noticing the confusion on Kodiak's face - which resolved into an afflicted sigh within seconds as if for a moment, he couldn't remember why Elara wouldn't be with him.

"Everything that's sentimental, we can move into one room or keep it locked up in Azha's office," Bas said to Wynn, knowing that was their best and only option.

"Yeah," Wynn nodded, "but there still won't be enough room for our people. Trying to fit more beds in there will be a challenge all on its own... Unless we turn the living quarters into one giant room and have them laid out in rows, kind of like the medic tent," he said.

"We can use my Bunker for the majority of Basilisk," Atlantis piped up, taking some of the pressure of Bas and Wynn's shoulder. "It's not sentimental to me or the rest of us that came from there," she said. "Other than mine and my mother's room - which I can stay inside with Riv, Chessca - whoever comes with us," she continued, sparking a sudden thought that each of them seemed to realise - but didn't dare say; they would all be separated...

"My Bunker's like, three times the size of yours," she continued. "It'll still be a tight squeeze but we can definitely fit 100 people in there; 150 if we really push it."

"That still leaves a lot of losses," Sol shook her head, sighing as she buried her face in her hands, desperate to hide herself away from the world.

"We can worry about that later," Dreea said. "For now, we need to get a team out and prep the greenhouse stations in both Bunkers. There's no point about worrying how many of us can go where if we can even get the Bunkers to grow food again - especially for 200 of us."

"Okay," Sol nodded. "I'll organise a team to go with you. I'll stay here and work with Atlantis in case we get an update. Just make sure no one from Riders sees you going inside; if they find out about the flood, let alone that we're planning to move all of our people to the only shelter that can withstand it, they'll want the place for themselves."

///////

Bas was at the gates of Basilisk, adjusting the straps on his bag as he prepared to leave camp when a sudden seize of electricity zapped in the back of his skull.

He lost his breath for a moment, wincing in discomfort, but within a matter of seconds he had already lost 'consciousness'.

He straightened himself out, turning on his heel as he prepared to walk in the direction the implant was leading him, but someone grabbed onto his shoulder.

"What are you doing? We're about to leave." Dreea said, spinning him around to get his attention.

"I can't go with you. Something's come up. I have to stay here."

"...What?" Dreea squinted, confused by his nonchalant reply. "This is your Bunker we're heading to," she said. "I thought you wanted to help us try and prep it?"

"I promised Harlow something," Bas said, not batting an eyelid as the cover-up was forced out of him. "I have to say here."

"Bas-" Dreea tried to press for an answer but he had already turned around and had begun walking in the direction of the tents - heading straight for Harlow, as far as Dreea was concerned. She was frustrated that he had bailed without any warning as well as not giving her any kind of explanation, but she wasn't going to waste her breath trying to persuade him to leave with the group.

As she called the others to follow her outside of camp, Bas navigated his way through the cluster of tents, walking inside to find Hannah waiting for him along with Chessca.

"Good. You're here," Hannah said, standing up from her bed and moving to stand in front of them both.

"I need an update. I need you to tell me what's been going with the Sovereigns. I gave Kodiak a mission to cut off contact with Elara. Has that been achieved?"

"He confided in the Nobel Sovereign Riverly that he has ended his relationship with her," Chessca answered monotonously. Her implant was also activated and she had no idea of a word she was saying, let alone any recognition of the boy standing next to her. "And Nobel Sovereign Riverly informed me of this last night when I moved into her room."

"Why are you in her room?" Hannah panicked, afraid that Sol had already become suspicious of Chessca's strange behaviour from the implant and wanted her close by to keep an eye on her.

"Because Elara has taken my place in the tent with Atlantis," she said. "Because she shared with Kodiak, but their relationship is-"

"Is over, I get it," Hannah rolled her eyes, needing a moment of silence to piece everything together in her mind.

"Bas, I've noticed you've been in the Quarters a lot more than usual lately," she turned her attention over to him. "And you were about to leave camp with Sovereign Dreea. Why?"

"I have been working with Atlantis to investigate the shortage of food," he said, staring straight ahead at her. "And we learnt that there is a flood coming. We went to the Sovereigns earlier today to tell them so that they can figure out a means to keep us sheltered when it hits."

"A flood?" Hannah mumbled to herself, watching as Bas nodded his confirmation. "Who knows about this?"

"Nobel Sovereign Riverly, Sovereign Dreea, Sovereign Kodiak, Sovereign Wynn, Joren Pilot, Fenn Jakson, Chessca Jones and myself, Bas Blackwood."

"Are they going to tell anyone else?"

"No," Bas answered. "They don't want anyone knowing. Nobel Sovereign Riverly said her people can't find out about the flood until they have figured out shelter for everyone, and that the people of Blood Riders can't find out about it."

"Did she say why?" Hannah asked. She could think of hundreds of reasons why Sol wouldn't want another clan to know about the flood, but she wanted to know exactly what she was afraid of.

"She said Blood Riders would take the Bunkers for themselves and we would be left without. If both clans are fighting for the Bunkers, it could turn into a war for our people."

"Okay..." Hannah said, pacing around the small space inside the tent, debating her next move. The consequences of what she was about to ask were racing around inside her head; she knew how many people could end up being killed, or what it would mean for her; would it turn her into a monster? Was is something so unforgivable that she wouldn't be able to look at herself the same way? As horrifying as each possibility was, none of them were as powerful as the chance to secure her relationship with Quill. If Basilisk fell apart - if they were wiped out or lost themselves in another war, it would leave Quill vulnerable and needing the stability and dependency that only she could give him. He alone was worth more than every single life on the ground.

"This is what I need you to do," Hannah said, moving closely in front of them both, lowering her voice in fear of someone passing by over-hearing. "Bas, you will show me the locations of both Bunkers once Sovereign Dreea gets back with her team."

"Okay," Bas agreed, unable to say otherwise.

"And Chessca," she turned to face her. "I need you to take Sovereign Riverly's radio and get the attention of Blood Riders. You need to meet them - somewhere away from Basilisk so no one will see you."

"What do you need me to do when I meet them?"

"I need you to tell them that a flood is coming... And that the leaders of Basilisk are planning to leave them for dead." 

Four // Part Two
A flood is coming. 

Oooohh, big news! What's going to happen for the clans AND the survivability of the ground? And they're all going to get separated again? I can't wait for you to find out what happens to the characters. Also, how do you think Hannah's information about the situation is going to effect everything else?

12/08/20