XX

[PREVIOUSLY: Octavia wavers in her loyalty to Aidan versus Lincoln. Bellamy gets a new girlfriend. Raven receives bad news and Jasper slides into depression. Meanwhile, Octavia breaks the law by crossing the Trikru border only to be met, face-to-face, with an astonishing surprise].

"It's Thelonious Jaha."

For a moment, no one spoke. Everyone was too shocked to do anything more than stare, open-mouthed, at our former Chancellor.

"H-how...?" Kane managed to splutter. "How are you alive? You're dead! You died on the Ring! You sacrificed your life for ours!"

Jaha stepped forward and placed a firm hand on his friend's shoulder. "There's a lot we need to catch up on, I know. I've travelled across miles and miles of desert. I've scaled mountains. I've crossed rivers. All to find my people. And it was worth it."

Abby shook her head, still numb from disbelief. "You escaped the Ring?"

Jaha nodded. "Yes. The thought of my son, Wells, made me fight for my life. His death would've meant nothing if I did not strive to prove it worthy. I took the rocket blazers down to Earth and crash-landed in a location hundreds of miles from here. It took me months to make the long, tedious journey, but I did it and I met some people." He motioned to the group behind him. "Meet Emori and her brother Otan. They are nomadic grounders I crossed paths with in the desert."

My eyes flickered over towards the two in question. A girl, her dark-brown hair falling in waves across her forehead and shoulders, stood behind Jaha. In her hand was a sturdy, knobbly stick and printed across her nose and cheek-bone was a distinctive, inky tattoo. Her brother was standing protectively in front of her. His sandy-coloured hair was mostly concealed by an aqua-coloured turban and his stooped back was loaded with full packs made of animal hide.

As Jaha went on to introduce the other members of the group, my gaze fell upon a certain, stocky youth who was standing near the rear.

My eyes widened in disbelief and I advanced towards him. "Murphy?" I gasped. "Is that you?"

The boy turned his grime-streaked face towards me and I knew.

It was him.

It was Murphy!

"What on earth are you doing here?" I queried, astounded by the turn of events.

Murphy, however, seemed less happy to see me. He sent me a ferocious scowl and screwed up his face in disgust before spitting out between gritted teeth, "After Finn destroyed the village of TonDC, I was kidnapped by a group of traders. They beat me and left me for dead. The entire time, I thought that maybe, just maybe, you guys would come back to look for me, to rescue me. But no. You didn't. You went on with your lives, completely forgetting that I even existed. If Emori and Otan hadn't passed me by on their way to the City of Light, I would've died."

I gulped. "I - I don't know what to say, Murphy..."

"Save it!" he snapped. "I don't wanna hear it."

Brushing roughly past me, he trudged through the gates and disappeared amidst the massive throng of people gathered out in the yard.

My heart, weighty with guilt, sank right down into my feet.

I hadn't given Murphy a single thought since his disappearance.

And now, I realised that doing that had been a mistake.

"The City of Light?" Abby piped up questioningly, having overheard our conversation. "What's that, Jaha?"

Jaha smiled, a seriously creepy, sinister smile. "The City of Light," he mused. "It is a place I have been searching for on my travels, a place that we will be safe in, a place that is free from harm and suffering. And I found it."

"You found it?" Kane asked dubiously. "Jaha, are you certain that you weren't hallucinating in the desert? Surely there is no such place."

"Ah, but there is!" he argued. "Let me show you the way and we can all reside there in peace and safety."

Abby reached over and placed a gentle hand on Jaha's back. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up and put some food in you. I'm sure you're just tired and need to rest."

As Jaha and the rest of his companions followed Abby back into the Ark, I exchanged a disgruntled look with Lincoln.

I had to admit, this entire situation was really weird.

Later on that day, Kane summoned me to his office. As I stepped inside, he handed me a blue-print and pointed out the name cresting the top of the page.

"Mount Weather," he stated soberly. "The council has been considering this for some time and we have come to the conclusion that the Ark is an inadequate place for Abby to continue her medical practice. We simply don't have enough space or supplies to keep it up."

"So you want to move the ward to the mountain of death?" I returned sardonically. "Sounds sensible to me."

Kane sent me a warning look as he continued, "Exactly. Mount Weather is fully equipped with medical supplies, supplies that we need! It would be a terrible use of resources if we were to completely ignore the fact that we could turn that huge, empty space into a place of use such as a medical facility."

"Kane..." I began haltingly. "In order to reach Mount Weather, we have to cross the border into Trikru territory. Do that and we could have a full-scale war our hands."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," he shot back. "But I am also a man of precautions which is why I'm sending Gina's scout group ahead of the main posse. I'm placing Mr Miller and Bellamy in charge of protecting Abby and her crew and I want you to direct them through the forest."

I raised my eyebrows. "Me?"

Kane dipped his head in response. "Yes. You know this area better than all of us put together. You go out there every single day."

I froze. "Wha...?"

"I'm not stupid, Octavia," Kane frowned at me. "I know that you've crossed the border before. However, your actions have now come to some use. I know you dislike me and Abby and leadership of any kind but listen to me when I tell you this: let me down and the next time I see you I'll put a bullet in your brain, is that understood?"

I hesitated. "Is - is this because you don't want anything bad to happen to Abby...?"

"Is that understood?" Kane growled.

I glared at him as I pocketed the blue-prints he'd given to me. "Watch yourself, Chancellor, you're not the only one who knows how to handle a gun."

And with that, I spun around and stormed out of the room.

Under direct orders from Kane, we were to head out to Mount Weather early the following morning. That evening, as I sharpened my knives in front of the fire, Lincoln, knowing something was off, joined me.

"What's gotten to your head?" he raised his eyebrows at me as he downed some tea from his cup. "What did Kane want?"

"He wants to turn Mount Weather into a medical facility, the idiot," I grumbled. "We have to cross the border and let me tell you this, that's not gonna end well."

Lincoln smirked, amused. "Well, in that case, I'd better show you something."

I gazed up at him quizzically.

"Come with me," Lincoln held out his hand which I took. Pulling me to my feet, he headed off towards the stables that were situated across the yard.

Upon arriving, he tugged open one of the iron grates and motioned for me to come and take a look.

Slowly, I stepped in front of him and turned around to see the beautiful, glossy coat of a tall, proud stallion.

"He's yours," he whispered in my ear.

I gasped in surprise. "Lincoln! You're giving me a horse?"

He nodded, his chin just brushing the top of my head. "I know how much you've missed riding Zenia so I made a deal with a passing trader and picked out the best horse I could find. His name is Helios."

I smiled. "Helios. I like that."

~~~~

I got a chance to ride Helios the very next day. Although I didn't want to upset or disorientate the horse, I still decided to take him with me to Mount Weather. Lincoln had been right. I missed riding with Zenia, feeling the wind blow through my hair, whistle past my face and fan my cheeks.

It took us and the rest of the company several days to reach Mount Weather. Along the way, we steered clear of the Trikru villages dotting the hillsides and fortunately, didn't run into any trouble.

The front doors leading into the doomed mountain of death were open when we arrived and everyone got busy setting up the facility.

As I stood outside, gazing within the dark, forbidding walls, I couldn't bring myself to go in. I couldn't bring myself to walk through the halls and sit down at the tables that were previously reserved for the hundreds of people we had killed. I couldn't bring myself to relive the nightmarish memories that haunted me day in and day out. I couldn't bring myself to admit that I had assisted in bringing about death to the entire mountain.

It wasn't something worth remembering.

As the sun began to slip beneath the far horizon, I climbed up onto the grassy roof covering the underground area and settled myself on the highest point. Letting my legs dangle down over a vast expanse of space, I sat and watched as the peach colours of the sky reflected off the shining coat of Helios who was contentedly munching grass just below me.

"Hey. You okay?"

Looking up, I saw Bellamy approaching me. I sent him a grim nod before turning away. As he settled himself down beside me, I let out a lengthy sigh and shook my head. "This is such a mistake, Bell. The grounders will never accept it."

"We're not the Mountain Men, O," Bellamy told me pointedly. "Lincoln will help his people to see that."

"How?" I shot back irritably. "He's got a kill-order on him, Bellamy! He can't even leave camp without risking his life."

Bellamy bowed his head, not sure how to respond.

Slowly, I reached out and placed my hand over his. "You know, I've been thinking a lot lately, Bell. I-I hate it in Camp Jaha and I know that being here in Mount Weather will be no different. I don't know who I am or what I want or where I'll go but I do know that I don't belong here. I'm sorry, Bell. I just don't fit in."

Bellamy looked at me for a moment before conceding, "If you need to leave, I get that. But you'll always fit in with me."

As I sent him a small smile, appreciative of his brotherly understanding, a sudden thought flashed through my mind. "Bell, there's something else too. I - I've been meaning to tell you this but..."

"But what?"

"I know who Wanheda is."

Bellamy drew back in surprise. "What? Who is it?"

I let out a sigh as I stated, "It's Clarke. They're looking for Clarke."

Gif: Bellamy and Octavia as they talk.

XX