𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍, finding hope

      𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐄-𝐃𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐊𝐄, searching relentlessly for the radio. When Quinn and Sam and the rest of the group had arrived back at the camp, accompanied by another girl, who's face was painted with a stern expression, she was almost immediately awoken from her not-so-great slumber by Sam, who was eager to introduce her to Raven.

      She remembers Raven, only vaguely. She only ever heard of her through stories Sam told about zero-g and the other mechanics, and even then he was vague. He never really went too into detail on her, only ever saying that she was his top competitor for the role of the best mechanic. That's all she knew, and she never pressed on about the subject. There was really no need to.

      She was also quick to learn that they now needed to go search for the radio, which just so happened to now be at the bottom of a lake, and they are only doing this in hopes that they can salvage the pieces.

      She also now knows that a certain someone threw it into the lake.

      She doesn't know how to feel about Bellamy anymore. Does he really want to benefit everyone in the camp? Does he really want to help the others he's surrounded by? As the oldest person in the camp, he shouldn't be taking advantage of the younger members, twisting their mindset so they follow everything he wants them to do.

      At least in Sam's opinion, his intentions should be questioned. Throwing a radio into a lake for personal benefit, damning hundreds of lives to unavoidable death is not something you can justify. Nor is shooting the Chancellor.

      She tried questioning him about it — she really wanted to see his true intentions, not just the ones she's been told. She wanted to see his perspective on the situation, she wanted to know why he did it. But he wouldn't tell her. He shot her looks, telling her to leave the situation alone and join the rest of the camp in the search for the radio.

      She keeps walking through the water, moving to different locations in an attempt to see if the radio is hidden in the dirt and sand mixture beneath her shoes. She hasn't had any luck so far, being baited by pieces of wood or rocks that cast an illusion of the radio in the water. It's frustrating, because the more she looks, the more it seems like the radio will never be found.

      She looks up from the water, seeing none other than Bellamy Blake staring into the water around her, squatting on the shore of the water as if what he's doing is helping. She tries to tell herself that he just doesn't know what to do — because the radio could be anywhere at this point, but he could just be sitting around because he's reluctant to help. He was the one who threw the radio into the river first, after all.

      She crosses her arms over her chest. "And how exactly is staring into the water helping anyone? Are you going to make it appear out of thin air?" She questions, gaining his attention.

      "I led everyone to the river in the first place" He shrugs, dropping his gaze back down to the water. She rolls her eyes, annoyed that the man is choosing to be difficult, lacking any sort of indication that he actively wants to help them, not just watch them struggle to search for something that might already be destroyed.

      "You could, y'know, actually search for the thing you stole" She offers, trying not to let her tone come off as rude and annoyed — she just wants him to help. She still wants to get his perspective on the situation, itching to know why he shot the Chancellor. Is it bad for her to want to know? She wants to find the good in his actions, wanting to see the real intentions he had in his decision.

      The look on the man's face hasn't changed — it's stern and unreadable, and she thinks she's left there looking stupid because she tried to talk to him. She bites the inside of her cheek, trying to figure out how to speak to him without making his mood even worse.

      "I know you did it for a reason, and I get that you don't want to tell anyone why, but we could use some help. Three hundred people will be saved if you help us find it".

      Bellamy doesn't look up at her. "The radio's probably trashed. Like I said earlier, it's too late" He says back, keeping his eyes on the water. Makayla lets out a huff of frustration, annoyed that he just won't help. It's frustrating, because with his help, they'd have another person searching for the radio, and they would find it sooner rather than later. But he doesn't seem like he's going to budge.

      "Raven, Sam, and Monty can probably fix it" She explains, which makes him finally look up at her. They hold eye contact for a minute, before he shrugs her statement off and keeps his eyes stuck on the same area of the water as they were before.

      She lets out a huff of frustration, annoyed that he's being so difficult. He could just help — she doesn't think looking around the water is that hard to do. But maybe that's just who he is. The way he's been expressing himself to everyone, being so stern and cold doesn't help how anyone sees him, but there's not much Makayla can do about that. All she can do is help search for the radio, while Bellamy stands off to the side, doing absolutely nothing to help.

      All she wants is the best for everyone in the camp, wanting everyone to thrive in the home they've been building. She doesn't understand why people have to make that so difficult, fighting everyone's efforts in building the camp's foundations. Like Bellamy, who won't even help everyone find the radio, which can give them the opportunity to speak with those in the Ark, letting them know they're alive.

      She'd really like to let her dad know that she's alive.

      She turns around and takes a few steps forward, her worn-out shoe scraping against something hard that's poking out of the dirt and sand. She doesn't want to get her hopes up, but they're already creeping towards an explosive state of happiness, thinking she found the one thing that she's been searching for in desperation. She rolls up the sleeves of her jacket, crouching down in hopes of scraping the dirt off of whatever she stepped on and seeing the piece of metal she's been hoping to find.

      Her hand finds the water, immediately going to scrape the dirt off of the object. There's only a glimpse of gray poking out from the ground, and she can't tell if she's being tricked by a rock or she's actually found the real thing. Digging her nails into the ground in excitement, she pulls the object out of the ground, only to find that it's a rock.

       She lets out a huff and tosses the rock back into the water, wiping her hand and arm on her pants to dry it off. She pulls down her jacket sleeve as she turns, accidentally making eye contact with Bellamy as a shit-eating grin forms on his face.

      "Can you stop with that?" She asks, annoyance not hiding behind any other expression. She's growing really tired of Bellamy's antics, especially when he's essentially sitting on his ass, doing absolutely nothing to help them find the radio. She's tried being reasonable with him, but it's starting to become really hard to.

      "With what?".

      "Making that stupid fucking face even though I was at least trying to find the radio" She spits out, finding that her temper is getting the best of her. She's trying to control it, but it's becoming really hard to. Especially when she was just met with even more disappointment. 

      He lets out a laugh, the grin not leaving his face. "Watching your eyes get all wide when you thought you found it was probably the highlight of my day".

      She scoffs, annoyed that he would point out that of all things. Can anyone blame her for being excited? She thought she found the radio, which she's been itching to find ever since she woke up. She doesn't think her emotions over the possibility of finding the radio were something someone could judge, but everything and everyone seems to continue to surprise her. 

      Before she can say anything, she hears a voice call from behind her that they found the radio. She turns, seeing everyone immediately rush over to the boy who found it — Jones — and Raven takes it from his hands, showing it to Sam. Her feet move before she can even think about it, and a group forms near the shore of the river where she just was as Raven dumps the water out of the machine.

      "Can you fix it?" Clarke questions, voicing the one thing Makayla's wanted to know this whole time — she wasn't sure when she started looking for the radio that they'd even be able to fix it if it were found. She's sure Raven's smart — and she knows that Sam's essentially a genius — but she's not sure that they'd even be able to work around the radio being damaged by water.

      She sees Sam and Raven glance at each other, sharing a knowing look before Raven clears her throat and speaks up. "Maybe, but it'll take half the day just to dry out the components to see what's broken".

      "Like I said, it's too late" She hears Bellamy say, who's appeared beside her out of nowhere. She almost lets out another scoff, annoyed that he's acting annoyed. The radio being damaged is his fault, not anyone else's. And what Makayla's getting from his words is that he's deflecting the blame, trying to make it seem like what he did isn't as bad as everyone is making it out to be.

      Clarke marches up to him, anger radiating off of her. She takes a step back, almost feeling like she'll be caught in the crossfire if she lets herself remain next to Bellamy, even if she didn't necessarily want to be in the first place. "Do you have any idea what you did? Do you even care?!".

      "You asked me to help. I helped" He shrugs in response, making her think that he's barely even listening. It baffles her how much he seems to not care, it not registering in his brain that people are going to die. She would've thought he would care more, actively wanting to help since he's been interested in leading the camp and helping them survive, but when it comes to saving those on the Ark? He doesn't seem to care, and he only seems to be dragging the rest of the camp down with him.

      "You didn't do anything!" She exclaims, tired of seeing him act annoyed. It makes her feel sick, the fact that he's standing around while there's a ticking time bomb on innocent people's lives — one that he could easily stop from blowing up. 

      He shoots her a glare, one that she wants to comment on, because who the fuck is he to be mad at people at a time like this? Where people's lives are on the line — because of his actions? What right does he get to feel upset with her, mad even, for stating the obvious?

      "Three hundred people are gonna die today because of you!".

      She sees Sam and Raven glance at each other once again, gears turning in their brains as they think about what to do. She almost lets a smile form on her face as she watches them form a plan without even speaking to each other. "We don't necessarily have to talk to the Ark" Sam begins saying, Raven nodding along.

      "We just have to let them know we're here, right?" Raven finishes, and almost everyone standing in the river agrees. The smile finally breaks through onto her face, making eye contact with Sam who looks proud of his idea. She directs her smile towards him, receiving one back, as they move together and walk side-by-side back towards the camp.

—————————————————————————————

      𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐄'𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐘, his brain telling his hands what to do to complete the flares without even thinking about it. It almost baffles him — the way it's essentially second nature, no thoughts crossing his mind as he completes the machines. He could think about so many other things and still complete this almost perfectly — it's not like he needs to be focused on what he's currently doing anyway, since it's just unscrewing some bolts in the pod Raven came down in.

      The girl's throwing commands around like it's nothing, the leadership role in this project coming easy to her. Sure, Sam's told others what to do, but he'd rather get his hands dirty with the machines than stand around watching everyone else work when he could be the one working. He wants to be the one working, anyway.

      Makayla was one of the first people to bow out of helping take a part the pod. He's not exactly sure what the whole reason is, but she did say that she would rather watch over some of the people at camp and help them keep everything in order. He hopes it's going well, and that she's not being pushed around by Bellamy or any of the people that seem to worship the ground he walks on.

      He takes another bolt out of the pod, placing them in his jacket pocket so they don't get lost. He's glad that only a few years ago he was allowed to take some extra scrap metal home after completing a job on the Ark, and after a few days of sad attempts to mold the metal into a shape that resembles a zipper, he was able to create one. He had the help of Raven with that, but Makayla's the one who actually helped him secure it to the fabric, which he's still thankful of.

      He almost jumps out of his skin when he sees a head of blonde hair appear next to him, working on removing bolts from the pod on another side. She's in conversation with Raven, the brunette giving the blonde commands on how to remove the bolts.

      "We're gonna need power to fire" He hears Raven say, and he assumes that they're going to use something from the dropship. There's countless wires and batteries residing somewhere in the machine, in nooks and crannies he hasn't gotten the opportunity to check yet. Clarke voices exactly what he's thinking, saying that batteries from the dropship will be used. He's glad he's on the same wavelength as other people, not having his ideas stay isolated from others.

      "Great. So what's the problem?" He hears Raven question as he removes another bolt from the pod. He feels like he's intruding on their conversation, but they are speaking to each other right next to him. He doesn't want to feel guilty over something he just cannot control.

      "If we get the rockets to launch, will they see them from the Ark?".

      Sam thinks the Ark will see them. Of course, there's the small possibility of them not being able to launch the flares in time, or nobody's at a window that would see the flares at the time of launch. It's all a bunch of variables that they have no control over, and they just have to work around them. As much as it makes it harder for them, he thinks they'll be able to work around it and silently tell the Ark that they're alive.

      "It's all about burn time and cloud cover. They should see them" Sam shrugs, not even realizing that he probably wasn't supposed to be listening, or should've said anything. He glances over at them, seeing Clarke nod along, taking in the information he just announced to them. His eyes find Raven's, who's nodding along too, because he's not wrong.

      "But I know your mom will be watching. I've never seen anyone love someone the way she loves you. You know that, right?" He hears Raven say to the blonde after he drops his attention back down to the bolts he's supposed to be unscrewing. He doesn't want to intrude on their conversation anymore, but he couldn't not put his input in. She was asking, anyway.

      A few seconds pass before Raven appears to his right. "You should be overseeing everyone, not sticking your face in front of some bolts and acting like it's entertaining".

      He glances at the brunette, who's crouched down beside him to his right. He didn't think he should be — Raven seems to have it under control. He lets out a sigh and wipes his hands on his pants, standing up almost in unison with Raven. "And why should I do that?".

      "Because, this is easy work, and you should be making sure nobody's making any stupid mistakes when there's 300 lives at stake".

      He sighs, since he knows Raven's right, but doesn't want to accept that. He'd rather stay working on the pod, removing materials they could use when it comes time to launch the flares in a few hours. He doesn't want to be the one overseeing everything, and he doesn't think that's so terrible. But as much as he doesn't like doing so, he follows Raven and helps guide others, telling them how to properly do something so they don't blow up, or even just directing them on how to do a simple activity.

      It surprises him how much time was able to go by. He spent most of it near Raven, overseeing the activities of others. They were in the front of the line when it came time to go back to camp, talking on and on about the upgrades they could give to the camp and the dropship if they were able to locate the resources. He didn't realize before how much he's missed bantering with Raven — even if it hasn't been as long as it feels like it has. 

      The camp seems to have turned into orderly chaos, everyone being everywhere all at once, trying to get things done. The two stuck together almost the entire time, overseeing everything essential that had to be done. He doesn't want to admit it, but he somewhat enjoyed guiding people in this project, even if they were under the stress of a time crunch. 

      The launch of the flares is beautiful, showing all their hard work. It entertains some of the members of the camp, people watching in awe as the flares fly through the air. The two mechanics stand, watching the flares fly before Raven runs off to find Finn. Sam's left all alone, his eyes immediately searching the crowd for his best friend.

      He finds her standing next to Clarke, a smile on her face as she stares up into the sky. He's quick to rush over to her, wanting to see what she's thinking, because she's obviously happy that the Ark is going to know they're alive. And whenever she's happy, he's happy.

      He hooks his arm around her shoulders and leans on her, making her let out a laugh and make a weak attempt at pushing him off. "They should be able to see them from up there" He says, keeping his eyes stuck on the flares that are soaring through the sky. 

      "I figured. I mean, you and Raven are essentially certified geniuses. In no world would this not work" He hears her say, her words being genuine.

      "You think they can see it from up there?" He hears a voice question, and he turns his head in unison with Makayla's as Bellamy comes to a stop between the two blonde girls. He's sure he's directing his words at Clarke, being the other self-proclaimed leader of the camp. Sam swears there's a look of guilt on his face, plaguing his words.

      "I don't know. I hope so" Clarke says in response, which he assumes is because she wasn't listening when he said that they should. "Can you wish on this kind of shooting star?".

      He thinks about it, even though Clarke's words weren't directed at him. He doesn't know what he would wish for. He tries to rack his brain for answers, but he just can't seem to find any. He's left standing, thinking about what he could wish for, not even realizing that the others are still conversing around him.

      "You can" Makayla says to Clarke in response, Sam seeing out of the corner of his eye that she's turned and directed her attention towards the two beside her. He sees her looking across Bellamy to the blonde, hope in her eyes. "Nobody's stopping you".

      "I wouldn't even know what to wish for. What about you?".

      Sam feels like he's in the same boat as Bellamy. The two don't know what to wish for, being utterly clueless into what they want as the flares continue flying into the sky. Sam turns and sees Clarke staring longingly over at Raven and Finn, and it's not hard for him to connect the dots and figure out that it's because of whatever happened between the blonde and him. He feels bad for the girl, even if he barely knows her.

      "Well I know what I'm wishing for".

      Makayla's turned her attention back to the flares that are soaring through the sky, hope and awe filling her eyes. There's a small smile on her face, the same one he's noticed she always gets when she's hopeful. He assumes she's wishing for the best for everyone, wanting peace for the camp or something along the lines of that. Her hopes and dreams are predictable, as much as she denies that.

      He hears Bellamy question what she's wishing for, and he watches her smile grow even bigger as she turns to him. "Peace for the camp. To be able to coexist with the Grounders. Content with each other, no conflicts".

      The group of four stands in silence for a few more seconds before he hears Makayla announce to them that she's calling it a night. He figures he should go to sleep too, but he still wants to make sure nothing bad happens with the flares. That's the most important part of all of this — making sure the flares are successful, that the Ark sees them and the three hundred lives that are on the line are still safe.

      He turns, telling her 'Goodnight' as she walks away, her blonde hair bouncing with every step she takes. He turns back, ready to focus back on the flares for a few more moments before the spectacle is over, but he doesn't focus back on the flares without noticing Bellamy staring at his best friend who's exiting the crowd, ready to go to sleep.

      That's something he'll focus on another day.

      𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 —

another shorter(ish) chapter, but i actually really liked this one!

i don't have a lot to say about this chapter, so for anyone reading, thank you for sticking around!

𝟑𝟗𝟐𝟏 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒