whatever the hell we want || j. jordan

~ chapter 4.1 ~

Octavia ran from the room. Everyone else trickled out, but I stayed behind with Miller. Jackson came up to help us treat the wounded and move the dead. After an hour or so, one of the Arkadia guards came to retrieve us. His explanation of our situation was rough and vague, but it was clear enough.

Skaikru was now a threat to Polis. And we needed to hide.

We took as many of the other Skaikru people down to the ground floor and into a room, rushing along so as to go unnoticed by the other Grounders.

After gathering all of Skaikru, the guards went back to the Ark. Miller bargained for me and I followed with them. Neither of us wanted to separate again, especially since almost all of our friends were back at the Ark. I wasn't the politician out of all of us, so staying in Polis wasn't necessary for me.

When we arrived, Miller, Bryan, and I headed to our rooms to get clean before reuniting with the others. We spent the next day reflecting and resting. The morning after Bellamy called everyone into a room and laid out everything he and Clarke had learned of in the past few days. He told us about the reason Alie created the City of Light, and the nuclear reactors melting. It began storming just as he talked, which didn't help the mood. The storm went on all day and through the next.

"We've been at this for two days, there must be something we're not thinking of." Bellamy said while pacing. "What if we could reach the nearest reactor?"

"I told you," Raven said. "The meltdown started months ago. There's no magic button to turn them off. Today this isn't black rain, but it will be soon. That's why we have to focus on riding out the radiation, finding someplace safe and big enough to hold all 500 of us."

"This isn't just about saving us. I made a promise to Roan. It's about saving everyone." Clarke said.

"Then maybe we should tell everyone," I insisted. "Keeping the truth from them isn't going to help in the long run."

"Crowdsource it," Raven nodded to me. "If there's another Mount Weather out there, the Grounders will know about it."

"And you think they're just gonna tell us? Just like that?" Bellamy said, leaning against the wall. "If we tell everybody they're gonna die, the Coalition is over, Roan falls, and the Grounders will be at our gate."

Monty stood up, rubbing his face in frustration. He wandered across the room.

"Then just tell our people." Raven said quietly. "We need more minds on this problem. On the Ark, people volunteered for the culling because they were told the truth and given a choice," She turned to Clarke. "A choice your dad died for."

"You think I've forgotten that?" Clarke spat.

"Okay. We'll tell everybody the truth as soon as we have a viable solution," Bellamy said. "Without one, it'll start a panic."

"You don't know that." Clarke insisted.

Monty interrupted. "That's it!" We all turned to him.

"What are you talking about?" Clarke asked, the exasperated edge still on her voice.

"Think," Monty turned back around to us. "Alpha station survived for 97 years in space through elevated radiation levels and extreme temperature fluctuations. Sound familiar? All we have to do is patch up the ship. We're standing in our viable solution." He smiled.

•

Bellamy gathered Bryan and I, both from Farm Station, into Bryan's bedroom. He explained Monty's idea to Miller and Bryan.

"Raven says we can get it sealed up in a month." He finished.

Miller nodded. "I get it. OK, so freeze-dried meat until we can grow our own food. We've got oxygen scrubbers, but how do we store enough water for 500 people?"