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The next day, Aleta walked with determination toward the Sky Box. She was going to try to see Clarke again and she really wasn't in the mood to take 'no' for an answer. Her curiosity had reached its peak and she wanted answers. She didn't know why she cared so much and why she wanted to know so badly. But she needed to understand. Treason wasn't something Clarke would do. There were pieces missing and people, specifically the council, were keeping secrets. Though that wasn't a surprise, the council always seemed to keep secrets. She suspected her parents were when they'd speak in hushed voices are stop their conversation whenever she entered the room.

They were never this secretive nor did they act so suspicious. But recently, something was going on, something that no one could know. It must have been something big. As Aleta reached the Lockup, there was a crowd of people and a lot of commotion. "Folks, as I said, at this time, we cannot confirm or deny anything," Callie Cartwig was saying to the crowd.

"Come on, lady! Is my son on that ship?" A man yelled at her. "What's going on? What ship?" Aleta asked aloud, hoping someone would answer. Everyone was too busy trying to get answers that no one heard her question.

The dark haired girl quickly exited the area and walked to the Go-Sci Station, where she knew her parents would be. If anyone knew what was going on, it would be them. And she was going to find out exactly what was happening.

When she arrived, there were many people bustling around. More people than usual. She stood on the tips of her toes and scanned the area, hoping to see one, or both, of her parents. She spotted a room where most of the activity was and walked toward the entrance but was stopped by a guard. "You can't go in there," she said, holding her arms out in front of her to stop Aleta from moving forward.

"And why not?" Aleta asked suspiciously. The guard scowled. "Because it's off limits," she said coldly. "Well I'm looking for my parents. Where are they?" Aleta said back. The guard's face remained hard as she answered, "They're busy. Come back later."

"I need to speak with them now," Aleta responded, taking a step closer to the guard. "Either you tell me where they are, or I'll find them myself," Aleta continued. She was growing very annoyed. The guard glared hard at her. "What's going on here?" A male voice asked. Recognizing the voice, Aleta turned around and quickly walked toward it.

"Dad, what's going on?" Aleta asked him. He smiled at her. "What do you mean? Nothing's going on," Damon Correia answered. Aleta narrowed her eyes at the man. "Okay, cut the crap, dad. I go to the Sky Box to try and see if I can visit Clarke again and there's a crowd of people. You wanna know what they were there for? I mean, I'm sure you already know but I'll tell you anyway. They were asking about a ship and if their kids were in it. Now, I have no idea what's going on, but I will find out whether you tell me or not. So, what is going on?" Aleta said.

Marcus Kane walked over to the two and the girl stared at him unpleasantly. She didn't hate him but he was overly irritating and uptight. "Damon," he called, giving her father a weird look. Aleta focused her gaze on the man in front of her. "Well?" She asked impatiently.

Her father sighed and pulled her away. "You shouldn't be here. Go home," he said calmly. "No! No way. Not without answers," she protested. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in exasperation. "You're so stubborn," he said and Aleta scoffed. "Who do you think that I get that trait from?" She questioned sarcastically.

"Not from me," he denied, "Definitely from your mother." A smile adorned his face. Aleta sighed in aggravation, "Don't change the subject." Before he could answer, Abby Griffin and Gianna Correia along with Eric Jackson, rush out of the room she had previously tried to enter.

"Mom!" She yelled, running after the three. "Aleta, what are you doing here? You shouldn't be here," her mother said. Aleta nearly rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I've heard that one before." Abby turned to face the girl, "It's good that you're here, actually. We could use your help."  The woman started walking again.

"Help with what?" Aleta asked curiously, following after the three again. "The Chancellor's been shot," Abby replied causing Aleta to freeze. The Chancellor's been shot? By who? She didn't particularly like the man and she knew that a lot of people didn't like him too. But who would actually have the guts to shoot him? Who would risk it? Aleta fiddled with the gold bracelet around her wrist out of a nervous habit.

"Ali, come on," her mother urged after taking notice of her daughter stopping. "What do you need my help for?" She asked the three. "We could use as many hands as possible," Abby replied.

The four made it to medical and the three doctors began washing their hands and getting gowned and gloved. Aleta stood there and watched, growing uncomfortable. "Aleta, get scrubbed. You're assisting in the surgery," Abby said quickly. "Me? Assist? No way," Aleta denied.

"You've assisted in surgeries before," her mother replied. "Yeah, but not like this," she responded uneasily. "Sweetheart, we're wasting time. We need to do this and we need to do it now," Abby rushed. Aleta nodded and began to quickly wash her hands. When she finished, her mom helped her into a gown and she put on gloves.

The four entered the operating room and walked to the tube that held the Chancellor's body. Abby, Jackson, and Gianna quickly get to work, Aleta following timidly after.

"Chancellor has lost a lot of blood. If only they'd found him sooner, damn it," Abby said as there was a spike in his vitals. "Abby, he's waking up," Jackson worriedly stated.

"Increase the anesthesia," Gianna commanded. Aleta held a clamp open for the two doctors and was shocked by her mother's words. "We used way too much blood and anesthesia. We're way over the line," Jackson protested. It was clear that he didn't want to do it. "Your Chancellor is going into shock," Abby told him.

"You're asking me to break the law," Jackson shot back. Gianna groaned in annoyance, "Fine, I'll do it." Aleta shook her head quickly. "Mom," she said in disbelief.

"No, I'll do it. Let them come after me," Abby said as she walked to get more blood and anesthesia. The dark haired girl didn't know what to do. This was insane and they could all get arrested, or worse. "Don't worry Al, it'll be okay," he mother tried to reassure. It didn't help.

"Why were there worried parents at the Sky Box asking about a ship?" Aleta asked in a low voice. Abby, Jackson, and her mother looked at each other uneasily. "That isn't something we can discuss," her mother dismissed. "The less you know, the better," Abby added.

Aleta scoffed. "Better for who, you?" She asked incredulously. No one answered and she sighed. "I think I should know. Especially if I'm about to be arrested," Aleta said. Abby and Gianna looked at each other and sighed. "One hundred prisoners were sent to Earth on a dropship," Abby answered quietly so that the four were the only ones to hear.

Aleta blinked before her eyes squinted in confusion. She was having trouble grasping what Abby said. Her head was swimming with questions. "What? Why?" Aleta asked slowly, her shock evident. "Because, sweetie, the Ark is dying. We're low on oxygen and we'll only last a few months," Abby replied. "How do you know that?" Aleta asked. It was quiet for a while and the silence was deafening. Finally, Gianna spoke up. "Jake, he discovered the flaw," she said sadly.

Aleta thought over her mother's words before coming to a realization. "That's why they floated him," she whispered, "Clarke knew, didn't she? That's why she was confined." Abby nodded her head solemnly. "Was Clarke on that dropship?" Aleta asked next, fearing what the answer would be.

"Yes," Abby answered. "But she's okay. She's alive," she quickly added in reassurance. Aleta nodded stiffly. "Okay, we're done. Let's close him up," Gianna said breaking the silence that had fallen on them.

After the surgery, Aleta was forced to go back home. When she arrived, she lied down on the couch. The events of that day swarmed around in her mind. Before she knew it, exhaustion took over and she began drifting off.

She was shaken awake by her mother a few hours later. "Mom, what's wrong?" Aleta asked upon seeing her mother's distress. "It's Abby. They found out about what she did. They're going to execute her in the morning," her mother said. She was crying and Aleta shook her head in denial. "No, no. They, they can't," she whispered, she could feel the tears building up in her eyes.

"It's okay. I'm gonna find a way to stop it. Don't worry," her mother assured. Aleta didn't know if she believed her but she nodded her head anyway. The two sat in silence, Aleta wrapped in her mother's arms.

Everything was becoming awful and kept getting worse. Her life definitely took a turn for the worse. She just hoped that everything would be okay again. But it would never be okay again. Nothing will ever be okay again.

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The next day, Gianna went to where they were going to float Abby. Aleta wanted to go too, to say goodbye but her mother said she couldn't. She again assured her that Abby would be fine.

Aleta sat alone and wrote in her notebook. She wrote down her thoughts and her feelings, almost as if it was a diary. It wasn't, but she liked to write things down. It was a way to keep her sane. In a way, it was like therapy.

With everything that had been going on, her mind hadn't thought too much about what had happened a few days ago. Her mind had traveled to Bellamy. She wondered where he was right now and what he was doing. He was probably at home, alone. Aleta pursed her lips and looked down at the open page. She didn't want to think about him right now. She sighed and closed the notebook.

After a while, the door to her living quarters opened and two people walked in. One of them was Abby. Aleta quickly stood and ran to the woman, practically jumping into her arms as she wrapped her in a hug. Abby laughed and hugged her back.

"You're okay," Aleta breathed. "Yeah, the Chancellor pardoned me. I'm okay," Abby answered. Aleta pulled away and went to hug her mother. She couldn't help the thought that entered her mind again, that maybe things would be okay. Or maybe, they would be better. But, things only seemed to get worse.

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Again, this isn't that different from the original chapter three. I hope you all enjoyed. Please be sure to vote and comment. Have a good day.

-N