Chapter 2, let's goooo


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"I want to see my people," Clarke told the man, sounding like a leader.

I couldn't say I didn't feel the same, though. I was itching to see the kids we'd come down to the Ground with. Even though we had had so many struggles and fights while we had been together, we were all like a strange, dysfunctional family. I had used to want to be alone all of the time and now, I couldn't think of anything I would want less.

"Course you do. I would, too," Dante smiled. He then turned and gestured to the guards who were rolling over a cabinet.

They unlatched and opened it to reveal it was a wardrobe. Inside were several different clothes from plain outfits to fancier dresses, as well as all different pairs of shoes. The sight almost made me smile considering that we had been stuck in the clothes we had descended from the Ark in.

"Change and meet me in the hall," he instructed us. He then walked towards the exit, beckoning his guards to follow.
"Come on, let's go. Let's give Clarke and Theodora some privacy."

Clarke was the first to approach the cabinet, touching one of the dresses before her hands reached for the shoes. Picking up one of the high heels, she turned it in her hands slowly.

"Clarke, what are you doing?" I whispered as I noticed her looking around to see if we were being watched.

She then grabbed the heel and broke it clean off as quietly as she could. Looking over to me, she spoke in a hushed tone.
"Get changed. We're getting the other forty-six of us, and then we're going to go and find the rest."

My first proper smile since waking up in Mount Weather reached my face at that moment. "That's probably the best plan I've heard from you, Clarke."

The girl rolled her eyes, smirking as she reached into the cabinet and fished out some clothes. After she picked an outfit, she took a step back so that I could have a look.

I ran my fingers over the clothing, the material soft under my skin. It helped me feel a strange sense of calmness that I couldn't explain. Reaching in I grabbed out a pair of dark exercise tights, a shirt and a jacket.

As I began to get changed, I noticed that Clarke and I had chosen a similar attire. Both of us clearly realised that a dress or skirt wasn't exactly going to be practical if we were going to be on the run.

Getting changed, I then grabbed a pair of trainers from the cabinet and slipped them on. As I waited for Clarke to finish getting dressed, I combed my fingers through my hair and tied it back with a band I managed to find with the clothes.

"Ready?" Clarke asked as she slid the broke-off heel into the sleeve of her jacket.

I nodded as I laced up my second shoe, before following Clarke out the door. Dante was waiting for us just like he said, surrounded by several guards. He was clearly the leader in Mount Weather, the men at attention as soon as we approached Dante.

"Sorry about the noise," he apologised as the three of us began to walk down the hallway. "Hydroelectric power from Philpott Dam. Fresh water from our own underground reservoir. Fresh food from our hydroponic farm."

Clarke and I were more confused than impressed. If they had all of this technology and such to stay alive and healthy, then why were the Grounders living off of scraps? Why had their ancestors been forced to go to the Ark if the ground was survivable?

"I don't understand," Clarke said, speaking her mind for the both of us. Clarke had always been the way better with words. "You're on the ground. You know it's survivable. Why would you stay here?"

Dante shook his head, "It's not survivable for us."

"That doesn't make sense. What about the Grounders?" I countered.

"Natural selection works," he answered simply. "The Grounders who couldn't survive the radiation didn't. Those who could pass on their DNA. For better or for worse, here, we never went through that process."

Clarke turned to him, brows pinched, "Neither did we. We've been on the ground now for. . . solar radiation."

Dante grinned when she had been able to answer her own question. "Very good. Your DNA ran the same gauntlet as the Grounders. Only because radiation levels in space are even higher. . . your ability to metabolize that radiation is even stronger.

"Truth be told, our scientists were blown away by the efficiency of your systems. If not for that, your friends would still be upstairs in quarantine. Please."

Dante gestured to an elevator ahead of us, asking us to go inside. Clarke and I shared a look before doing so, entering the elevator cautiously alongside two of Dante's guards. We stood side-by-side as we waited for the doors to close, anxious to get to our friends.

When the doors didn't shut, we glanced at Dante who was already watching Clarke. He then held a hand out, a tight smile on his face. "First, give me the heel."

Clarke hesitated before removing the heel from her sleeve. Reaching out she handed it over to Dante.

"You're not fighting for your life anymore, Clarke," he told her as he accepted the 'weapon'. "You've made it. Welcome to Mount Weather."

I already had trouble trusting people, so that didn't make trying to believe this man when he said that we had made it any easier. Sure, we had reached Mount Weather, but that didn't mean we were any safer than we had been on the ground.
I wanted to know what Clarke thought, but I couldn't exactly ask her when we had been accompanied by two guards.

When the doors to the elevator, Clarke and I stepped into the hall. Hearing a voice, we followed it to find a large group of people gathered in a mess hall, of sorts. We had barely taken five steps into the room when I heard someone call Clarke's name.

Rolling up onto my toes, I saw that Monty was making his way towards them with Jasper on his tail. I felt a sigh of relief escape me at the sight of him. Running from Clarke's side I practically jumped into Jasper's arms.

The boy laughed as he caught me, stumbling slightly. "Theo, you're finally awake, you lazy shit."

"What can I say, J? I was enjoying the rest," I laughed, tightening my arms around him.
"I'm so glad you're okay," I whispered.

"Yeah," he laughed, sniffling a bit. "I'm glad you're okay, too. You scared me."

As Monty came over and hugged Clarke some other of the remainders from the 100 joined them also, Maeve and Carter among them. I pulled back, quickly wiping my eyes in hopes no one had seen me crying. I couldn't be weak, not in this place - not until I knew what this situation was.

"Where's Bellamy?" I asked.

"And Finn?" Clarke tacked on.

The room fell silent as Jasper's smile faded. "Theo, Clarke, they, uh. . . they didn't make it."

I felt sick at his words. The dream had felt so real, I had convinced myself that it meant something. That he was okay.
"No," I said, shaking my head. "No. They're alive. He's alive."

Clarke put a hand on my shoulder as if she understood what I was going through. Sure, we had grown closer, but it wasn't like we were best friends or anything. That's what I had Octavia for and she was gone, too.

"What about Raven?" Clarke asked.

Both Jasper and Monty looked away at that point, and that was answer enough for the two girls. In the last thirty seconds, they'd lost Bellamy, Clarke and Raven, and it hurt. They were no longer the 100.

"Welcome, Clarke and Theodora," a woman smiled as she walked through the crowd to stand before the two. She held out a book to Clarke and me with a smile on her face, "If you have any questions, I'm Keenan."

Clarke accepted the book with a tight smile, just as trusting of these people as I was. When Keenan turned to me, I followed Clarke's lead and took it also. After the woman left Clarke opened hers to see it was like an orientation booklet.

I opened my own booklet, examining the first page that had a map of the compound. Had they really just handed us a map out?
"We need to get out of here," I whispered to Clarke.

One side of the blonde's mouth hitched up, "We will."

"I know how you like to do things alone, so you better not leave me behind, Clarke," I told her, an edge of warning in my voice.

She knew what the Blakes meant to me, and I wasn't about to stay here while they were in danger on the ground.

"Alright," she nodded. "Just make sure you're ready. They might say we're not prisoners, but I don't trust them for a second."

✦✦✦✦✦

About an hour later dinner had been served. I wasn't hungry though, I was too nervous. I just wanted to get back out there and find my friends. Hell, even Finn.

When they brought around dessert I had taken one bite of the pie before I decided I wasn't hungry again. I sat pushing the food around my plate, my head resting on my hand and my elbow on the table.

Monty, Jasper, Carter and Maeve on the other hand were thoroughly enjoying their dessert, taking large bites. It wasn't like I didn't understand, the food in space hadn't exactly five-star. The food they had served us here, freshly-baked pied and decadent chocolate cakes, was a luxury we hadn't experienced even before we'd been locked up in the SkyBox.

"Hey, are you okay?" Carter asked, dragging me away from my thoughts.

I looked up at him, giving him an over-enthusiastic grin as I stabbed my pie with my fork. "Oh, I'm doing great. I'm eating pie while my best friend is in danger and the guy I. . . Bellamy could be dead. So I'm just great. Thanks for asking."

Carter noticeably winced in reaction to my reply, "Sorry. Dumb question."

"It's fine," I mumbled.

Glancing across at my friends, I saw Monty and Jasper playfighting over their dessert. It brought a small smile to my face to see them happy. We hadn't had many of those moments since coming to the ground.

When I finally saw Clarke heading our way I began to stand up from my chair and dropped my fork completely. "Clarke?"

Clarke walked over and took a seat beside me, putting the book that Keenan had given her on the table in front of her.
"Sit down and pretend you're happy to see me," she told us all."

"We are happy to see you," Monty responded, confused. "You have to try the chocolate cake."

"Oh, it is so on," Jasper said with narrowed eyes.

Clarke shook her head as she looked at all of our plates, eyes shooting upward to glance at the President for less than a second. "I'm not eating their food."

She then slid her copy of the orientation booklet across the table so that we could all see. She had it open to the page with the map, a frustrated look on her face.

"They gave us a map with no exits."

I felt my brows pinch as I grabbed the book and pulled it towards myself. How had I not noticed that there were no exits?
"Is this a fucking joke?" I mumbled, running my hands down my face after I realised that she was right. No what?

Clarke looked to the other four who hadn't been in the hospital wing with us. "Tell me everything you've seen. Every room. Every hallway. Every way out."

"What are you talking about?" Maeve asked the girl.

"Look around you, Clarke," Jasper said, voicing his agreement. "There's no one hunting us here. First time in our lives we're not hungry. Why would we wanna leave?"

"Are you serious, J?" I scoffed.

Clarke nodded, "We have friends out there."

"They're looking for survivors," Monty informed us as if that made it better. "And they're way better equipped to find them than we are."

The blonde clenched her jaw as she continued to speak in a hushed tone. "This place is too good to be true."

Jasper sighed as he stood up, "You're bumming me out. I'm gonna get more cake."

We all watched as the boy approached the table in search of cake. When he found none, a girl nearby offered hers to him. It took me less than a moment to recognise her as Maya, the girl that Clarke had attacked.

I also recognised that the look on Clarke's face suggested she had had an idea.
"What are you thinking?" I asked quietly.

She thought for a moment longer, before getting up from the table. "I'm thinking that it's about time I apologised."

I stood up also, shoving my plate away. "I think I'll come with you. Moral support."

As I went to follow her, I felt someone grab my arm. Looking down, I saw that it was Carter.
"Theo, what are you doing? We're finally safe, why are you going to risk that?"

"Because we can't just leave them out there. They're our friends," I reminded him.

"Bellamy wanted you to-"

"I don't care," I snapped in a low voice so that the people of Mount Weather didn't hear. "I'm going to go and help find our friends. Now, let me go."

Carter did as I asked, retracting his hand in defeat. I jogged a bit to catch up with Clarke who was making a beeline for Jasper and Maya. I wasn't sure what the plan was just yet, but anything was better than just sitting around

When we approached, Maya and Jasper looked up at us, the girl looking apprehensive when she saw Clarke. I couldn't blame her considering that she had a bandage on her neck after her last encounter with the blonde.

"Hey. It's Maya, right?" Clarke began, sitting her orientation booklet down on the table. Maya nodded, seeming tense.
"I just wanted to say sorry for this morning. I was scared and worried about my friends. I hope you can understand that."

Maya glanced over at Jasper, clearly more trusting of him than of Clarke. The girl didn't verbally respond, but she offered a smile and a nod in return.

Clarke grabbed her booklet and picked it up from the table before hooking her arm with mine and leading me away with her. I was about to protest, not really a fan of all of the touching, but then I saw the smirk on her face. Glancing downward, I saw that she hadn't just taken her book - she'd also stolen Maya's keycard.

"I guess you had a plan after all," I grinned.

Clarke nodded, beginning to pick up her pace a bit. "Half of a plan. We need to move before she realises that it's gone."

We went back out into the hallway, beginning to make our way through the tunnels. We'd been walking for less than two minutes when lights began flashing and an alert was playing over the speakers.

"We're not prisoners, huh?" Clarke muttered before she began to run.

I didn't hesitate to follow her lead, running beside her in hopes of finding an exit. They had left and brought us here somehow, and we were going to find it.

When we saw guards coming from one end, we stopped and turned around, changing direction. I was practically in the dark though, given that I hadn't studied the maps as Clarke had. I just hoped that she had some idea of where she was leading us.

"Over here!" Clarke instructed, rushing to a heavy metal door. She took the keycard from her pocket and used it to unlock the door.

We both took ahold of the handle and wrenched it open before slipping into the dark corridor. Once we were both inside we closed the door behind us until we heard the locking mechanism engage once more.

Looking around, I saw that we were on a massive staircase that seemed to go the height of Mount Weather and then some. There was no way of telling just how deep the staircase ran.

Clarke stopped for a moment and grabbed the wires on the back of the door before ripping them out. The keycard swipe pad beeped as it shut down and went red.
"Let's go," she said, choosing to go up.

I followed her, moving as fast as I could up the stairs. "Are you sure you know where you're going?" I asked between breaths.

"Not really."

But then we saw the sign that said 'Emergency Evacuation Route' and our spirits lifted somewhat, putting more speed in our steps. We kept running through the halls until we reached what finally looked like a way out of this place.

When Clarke tried the lever and it didn't budge, I pointed to the door, "Maybe we need to turn the lock on the door first?" 

Clarke agreed and we both grabbed onto it to open it faster. I ignored the pain from the stitches in my hand as we did, just focused on getting it open. Once we span it as far as it would go, Clarke reached for the handle once more.
"Ready to get out of here?"

"Do it," I nodded.

Turning back to the handle, she went to try again. Just as she was able to drag it downwards, Jasper and Maya came running into the hallway.

"Clarke, no! If you pull that lever, these people will die. Even a little radiation could kill them," he warned us as Maya went to retrieve something from around the corner.

I was almost shocked when the sheepishly shy girl returned with a gun. 
"Don't make me shoot you," she told us as she pointed the gun in our direction.

When Jasper just stood by, my mouth fell open somewhat. "J?" I said softly.

His jaw clenched for a moment, trying to decide what to do. Finally, he moved to stand in front of Maya, "Wait, wait."
He then walked over to Clarke and me, "Clarke. . . don't do this."

Clarke shook her head, "I don't believe them."

"Why would they lie?"

"When have people ever told the truth, J? We just met them, why should we believe a word they say?" I challenged.

"Not everyone's a liar, Theo," Jasper insisted. "Listen to me. Both of you. We are safe here. Clarke, because of you, we're safe."

Clarke's breath hitched as she held back tears, shaking her head again, "Not all of us."

I felt my throat tighten at her words, feeling sick at the thought. I wanted nothing more than to push Clarke aside and yank the handle down myself but then Jasper's words gave me pause. What if opening the door did kill the people here?

"I'm the one that fired the rockets," Jasper said, tears in his eyes. "Should I not have done that? Clarke. . . when you pulled that lever, you saved lives. Don't throw that away by pulling this one."

I watched Clarke's expression fall and knew that she had given up. Deciding to trust the instinct that told me to trust no one, I did what I had wanted and stepped between Clarke and the handle.

When I went to pull on it, Jasper grabbed me by the arm and pulled me away. "I can't let you do that, Theo," he told me, eyes red as he continued to hold back tears.

Moments later the hallway was swarming with guards who immediately charged towards Clarke and me and restrained us both. For some reason, they decided that it was necessary to knock us to the ground in order to handcuff us.

"It'll be okay," Jasper tried to assure me as Clarke and I were dragged to our feet. "Just trust them."