revenant|c.g.|

xvii

"And these- trash people, they're going to help us?" Clary questioned, looking to Rick with a doubtful gaze. The man only nodded. "That's what they promised. We get the Scavengers some guns, they'll stand by us." Rick let out a sigh. "Real question is where are we going to find guns." Clary nodded in thought, until one hit her. "Solaris." Rick furrowed his eyebrows, looking to the girl in confusion. "Solaris? Your old community? What about it?"

Clary stood up, grabbing a map that had been on his counter before laying it in front of him. "Leon installed some weapons caches after a coup that had been set to take him out." With widened eyes, Rick met her gaze and she shrugged. "They were cowards, traitors, they didn't succeed. But it did make him worry about something happening like that again to a Commander, so he set up caches around the community." Rick nodded, deep in thought before he looked up at the girl. "How many are we talking?" Clary shrugged. "Not much, no more than a dozen, some more hidden than others. The more obvious ones along with the armory will probably have been picked clean but— it's something."

Clary watched as Rick thought for a moment, looking at the map of where Solaris had been. "Michonne and I are gonna be heading out for a few days, try to gather some weapons as well. You can go then." Clary nodded as he took a step back, looking to her. "Do you need anyone to go with you?"

Before Clary could respond, footsteps sounded from the steps and the two turned to see Carl approaching them. "I'll go." Although not wanting to put Carl's life in danger, she couldn't but smile slightly at how ready he was to help her. She turned back to Rick, seeing his unsure gaze before he nodded. "Okay, you think you'll need more people?" The girl shook her head. "The two of us will be enough. We'll be able to move quieter and quicker. We'll probably just need car to bring everything back, but we'll be good." Clary looked to Carl, seeing the boy nod his head in agreement.

The thoughts in Clary's mind faded as the door to the car she had been in shut near her. Looking away from the pocket watch in her hand, replacing it within her jeans, she looked across the top of the car to see Carl already looking at her. "Why are we stopping?" Carl questioned, watching as Clary gathered her supplies from the backseat, to which he did as well. "That motel across the street." Carl followed her gaze, seeing the building with a tilted sign.

The Blackbird Motel

"What about it?" Carl questioned, his gaze following Clary as she made her way to his side. "We used it as a checkpoint for Solaris." Pointing to the motel sign, Carl followed it to see a tattered black flag tied around it. "We used the sign for flags to signal Solaris if there was ever a herd coming, or even a group. I decided to stop using it when the Saviors took over just to keep everyone together. If we're lucky, there might be some supplies left over." Carl nodded, his gaze still on the billowing flag as she finished getting her things.

"What do it mean?" The question was simple enough, mostly out of curiosity, but it pained Clary. Carl met her gaze, realizing the pain within the question as she looked to it with somber eyes. "Every flag had a meaning. Green for supply pickup, red for herd, purple and green for members of the Kingdom or Hilltop using our roads. And black..." Clary clenched her jaw. "It used to mean death, destruction. It meant the same thing later on, but just a single group that brought it." Carl didn't need to have her clarify what group as she looked to him, the name leaving a bitter taste in their mouths before they made their way to the building.

As they approached, Clary looked to the abandoned building before turning to the boy. "I'm going to go check the office, that's where we kept some weapons. You can start with the rooms." Carl nodded, the girl ready to depart until she felt a hand on hers. She looked back to Carl, seeing the slight worry in his eye. "Be careful, please." Clary nodded, squeezing his hand comfortingly. "When am I not?" With a shake of his head, she turned away and made her way to the office.