CHAPTER TWELVE
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one year ago
october 1, 2148

     "SHE'S GONNA LOVE this," Taylor exulted, knowing that Octavia would be shocked at what they were about to do, but also ridiculously happy. Bellamy smiled and nodded, though Taylor knew that he had his concerns about this, but maintained that she still thought it was a great idea. "Don't worry — this will go great."

     They entered the Blakes' flat and Bellamy closed the door with an excited look. She knew that he was just as excited for Octavia as she was. "O, you'll never guess what's about to happen," he beamed.

     A dejected look appeared on her face and she put down the needle she had been patching up the fabric in front of her with.

     "Inspection. I'll get in the hole," she surrendered immediately, getting up from her seat. The routine was engraved in her mind just as well as eating or breathing.

"No, no, no, no. O, sit, sit," he rushed out, gesturing back to her seat as they took the two next to her.

     "Please, Bell, Taylor, I don't want to hear about another amazing moonrise when I'm never going to be able to see one," she sighed, directing her eyes back down to the fabric.

     "You're going to see one. Right now," Bellamy announced. "The Unity Day masquerade dance starts in ten minutes. Now, I didn't wanna say anything until I was sure my cadet unit was working security but..."

     "They are! It's the perfect chance," Taylor gushed with a nod, Octavia's hopeful eyes filling to the brim with happiness.

     "I'm going to be there watching you the entire time," he finished, handing her a mask that would cover all features that would give her away as someone unknown to the Ark.

     "And I'll be there. I know it isn't as good as Cadet Blake here, but it's better to have more eyes," Taylor said in a slightly teasing tone. Octavia looked down at the mask and turned it over in her hands a few times.

     "Is this real?" she questioned almost hesitantly. The two older people nodded with wide smiles, Bellamy letting out a small laugh.

     "It is. Now go on," Taylor urged, pointing at the mask in Octavia's hands. She slipped it over her head eagerly and struck a dramatic pose.

     "How do I look?" she asked jokingly, all of them breaking out into small laughs.

     "Mysterious," Bellamy answered.

     "Absolutely fantastic," Taylor added with a nod. She couldn't feel happier for Octavia, not being able to imagine what it would be like to only have been outside of one room her whole life and only for five minutes just down the hall by accident when she was five.

     "Oh, Bell, what about Mom?" she remembered, burying her head in her hands fretfully.

     "Hey, will you stop worrying? We'll be back before she even knows you're gone," he assured. She didn't look particularly convinced by this, but nodded regardless. Bellamy headed to the door and opened it, glancing each way before turning back to the two behind him.

     "Want to go for a walk?" he asked with a grin. Octavia's eyes lit up with excitement and she bobbed her head up and down cheerfully.

     Taylor moved forward and stepped into the hall and held the door open as Bellamy took Octavia's hand and led her into the hall. She closed the door behind them and Octavia stepped back into the both of them, almost like she wanted to dive back into the safety of home.

     "It's okay," Bellamy comforted, leading the way to the dance and smiling back at her every so often. Octavia took a few hesitant steps forward and Taylor held out her hand and jerked her head forward. She took her hand and the two walked at a steady pace with Bellamy just ahead.

     Octavia walked in defense mode, jumping at every sound and looking timid, but excited at the new setting.  She had tears glistening in her eyes to match the smile and squeezed Taylor's hand before finally letting go. Octavia had hurried up to a window and looked in awe as she saw the moon rise over Earth for the first time.

     Taylor almost wanted to cry herself, Bellamy looking the same exact way as well. The chatter of a number of teenagers filled the halls and they began to file through the hall to the dance. Bellamy and Taylor watched from the back of the room as she mingled in with the crowd and started to dance with the biggest smile on her face.

     "She's so happy, Bell," she whispered with a smile, dreading when they would have to take her back to the same place she had known her whole life.

     "I know," he agreed, looking at his sister with an unerasable smile. Taylor looked down at the floor and nodded to herself. At least she could help Octavia and make someone happy. Bellamy noticed her now deterred look and nudged her with his elbow slightly. "Hey, I know it's been hard ever since -"

     "I'm fine," she interrupted with a smile that now seemed more forced than anything. "Tonight's about Octavia." As soon as the words left her mouth, the lights suddenly flashed back on.

     "Solar flare alert. An X-class solar flare has begun on the starboard side of the Ark," a woman's monotoned voice droned through the speaker system. The two glanced at each other, smiles gone and replaced with intense dread. "All citizens must report to the nearest shelter zone immediately."

     Somehow they weaved through the crowd frantically and located Octavia. Bellamy grabbed her arm and the three started to head down the hall back to their home but guards filled the area.

     "Bell, Taylor, I need to get home!" Octavia stammered as they rushed through the crowd.

     "You will," he asserted, his grip on her arm still tight like she would slip away at any second.

     "Ladies and gentlemen, you know the drill. Masks off, ID chips out," a man who Taylor knew as Commander Shumway announced as he sauntered through the crowd of people.

     "What do we do?" Octavia inquired worriedly, looking to be on the verge of tears. Taylor did her best to position herself in front of Octavia so that no one would see her right away.

     "Listen to me. Whatever happens, you get back home and get under the floor You'll be safe there from the flare like always," he explained carefully, trying to keep his tone as calm as possible for Octavia's sake.

     "What are you gonna do?" she asked, confused as to why he wouldn't be accompanying her back. Taylor looked at him with raised eyebrows, unsure of what exactly the plan was.

     "Create a distraction," he replied as he took out his shock baton and started to walk further into the mess of people. "Now go."

     "Wait, how do I get home?" she asked quickly, panic lacing her tone.

     "I can take her there, now come on!" Taylor volunteered, grabbing hold of Octavia's arm and beginning to drag her through the crowd.

      "Hey!" Shumway called out, causing them to stop dead in their tracks. "I need your ID now." She could faintly hear Bellamy begging to let them go, telling Shumway that he would do whatever he wanted if he just let them get away. The buzzing of voices meant nothing to her now and she leaned in and whispered to Octavia to run as fast as she could.

     And before she knew it, a few of the guards were restraining her and others were after Octavia. Shumway shouted for them to grab her and not let them get away. They were caught and there was nothing that they could do about it.

__________

     She had let Octavia down so many times and she could pinpoint the moment that she had decided to walk away from finding her as one of them. But she couldn't let Atlas die. She wasn't going to let anyone else die, she couldn't.

     Guilt hung in the air around her, invading her lungs each time she took a breath and sinking into her skin like vapor. They were nearing camp now, but the weather was worsening. What had started as a drizzle of rain had escalated into a full pour.

     They trudged through the mud and trees until finally, Taylor spotted the gates of the camp. She struggled with the latch, but eventually pried it open and waited until everyone was in before locking it behind her again.

     All of them arrived at the dropship soaking wet, greeted with a few of the delinquents trying to keep the tarp that served as a door still, but to no avail. "Clarke!" she yelled hoarsely, searching for the girl that she knew was the only one with medical experience. She had saved Jasper, perhaps there was some off chance that she could save Atlas.

     She was already covered in blood, which Taylor questioned at first, but quickly reminded herself that she was covered in just as much blood, if not more. Harper and Miller laid Atlas down on one of the empty beds that had been haphazardly constructed for those who slept in the ship.

     "He was stabbed," Taylor notified her, stating the quite obvious fact. Clarke looked down at the girl kneeling next to the bleeding boy and nodded slowly, already looking quite stressed. The floor was extremely crowded, the chatter making it impossible to get a moment of quiet. Raven sat at a table near the ladder, calling out to the Ark desperately on a radio. "Wait, so you got a radio working? How?"

     "Later," Clarke mumbled, indicating that this was not the time for such conversations. She looked down at the wound, still oozing copious amounts of blood. "How long has the knife been removed?"

     "Longer than is probably okay," Taylor answered gravely, putting her hands on the wound once again. She wasn't sure if it would help, but the less blood she had to see that day, the better. "Is there anything you can do?"

     Atlas had lost consciousness near the beginning of their journey and was just coming to when Clarke shook her head.

     "There's too much blood loss and the wound cut too deep - too many organs have been damaged. I - I'm sorry," she quavered, her eyes darting over the boy's wound in an almost panicked way.

     "What?" he groaned out with an absolutely terrified look on his face. Both girls glanced at each other and had no idea how they could even begin to approach this.

     "Nothing. Clarke's gonna help you, okay?" she soothed, grabbing Atlas's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. She gave Clarke a look that begged her to play along and she nodded with a constrained smile.

     "Yeah, I'm going to fix you. You'll be better soon," she affirmed, her voice cracking as she got the words out.

     "Good. This was starting to get pretty uncomfortable," he huffed out with a grin and a small laugh.

     He was as pale as she had ever seen anyone. She witnessed him inhaling, exhaling and taking his final breath as his chest stopped moving and his face went blank. He was gone.