It doesn't end here !

Chapter XXIII

Clarke and I were still trapped in the blue light. Everything around us was spinning and felt unrealistic. Just as I was about to scream for Clarke, I suddenly heard a loud explosion again. I was frightened, closed my eyes, and tried to mentally prepare myself for what was about to follow now. The blue light faded and I recognized an outline. A small house, a garden, a beach. This had to be Penance. The island seemed beautiful. It really fascinated me. I felt a small gust of wind and suddenly had ground under my feet again. The ground was very dusty so I had to cough. Before I could say anything, Lexa ran towards me. I fell into her arms and hugged her tight. I was back home. I didn't need Polis or Arkadia or any other special place. All that mattered were the people around me.

I really had changed through the stay in my Mindspace. I stood straight and didn't feel like I had to hide. No one would attack me here. I had finally gained self-confidence. So I turned to Emori and felt my hair blowing in the wind. It was an indescribable feeling to finally be myself. No one could change me now, and no matter what this war needed, I was ready. I was no longer the little girl from the Ark or the daughter of Doctor Abby Griffin. No, I was Tara kom Trikru, heda gon soncha, heir to Becca Pramheda and successor to every past commander. A few seconds later, my sister came out of the portal as well. Now we all were back, so we spent the evening with talking and then went to sleep. It was a quiet, restful night. I felt good to be back home with my family. I had missed them so much.

When I woke up the next morning, everyone around me was still asleep, so I decided to leave the hut as quietly as possible and ran to the beach. It was a perfect spot to gain new energy. The smell of the sea was good and aroused hope in me. Before I could think more about it, I took off my boots and stepped into the water. It felt refreshing. I had never seen the sea before but it was as beautiful as I imagined it to be. My great-grand-mother once lived by the sea. My father always told us about a small yellow wooden house at the coast. He himself knew it only from pictures that his grandparents had brought to the Ark and had never seen it in reality but he definitely knew how to describe it.

Just as I was about to go back to the house, I saw the blue circle again, blinking just a few meters in front of me. At first, I didn't care if the portal would swallow me or not. What bad could happen? Either it would lock me back in my Mindspace or it would kill me and sooner or later I would end up back in my Mindspace either way. It just didn't matter. So I consciously walked closer to the light. "I am not afraid!" And for the first time, I believed it. However, the portal made no attempt to suck me in. No, it kept blinking. Whatever that meant, I had no idea.

Suddenly, I heard a loud explosion again and instinctively went back two steps. The light was getting brighter and brighter, so I had to close my eyes. A few minutes later, I carefully tried to open them and couldn't believe my eyes.

The portal had disappeared. I was no longer alone here.

It has been a miracle that neither Clarke nor Lexa, nor anyone else had been awakened by the bang. As the portal closed, two people I knew too well stood across from me. Niylah and Miller. I just couldn't believe my eyes. Before I was able to say something, Niylah already fell into my arms. I was glad to have them back. Miller looked straight into my eyes. He wanted to say something but he couldn't finish his sentence. ''Tara, wow, I am... wow'' I had to smile and Niylah continued for Miller. ''Tara, what he actually wanted to say is that we are glad to see you again and we are impressed by your appearance. You look like a real commander. We are proud of you ''

I wanted to reply but didn't get a chance. Clarke came over and startled when she saw the other two. I guess she didn't expect that. My sister gave all three of us a quick hug and then turned her attention to me. ''Tara, Becca's with us. The final war begins.'' Before I could think any further about what she had told me, Niylah grabbed my hand and ran with me to the house, followed by Clarke and Miller. When we reached the hut, we were already eagerly awaited by the others.

I was just about to get in between the group when Becca led me a bit away from the others and whispered to me. ''Sonheda, I'm glad you came. With the infinity sign on your wrist, I will always be with you. The last war won't be easy to win, but you have something Allie doesn't. You have feelings and you are able to decide with your heart. Take advantage of it. Stay strong. You can do it. I believe in you, Tara. You're special.'' I had to swallow. Why did everyone think I was special? Yes, I had the title Sonheda but was still basically the same person as before. The shy girl from the Ark. How could everyone be so sure, that I was the right person to carry the hope of mankind on my shoulders? My view was changing again. When I had been trapped in my Mindspace, everything seemed to fit together and I felt like there must be a reason for all this. But now I was the little doubtful child again.

Becca knew I was worried, you could clearly see that, so she smiled encouragingly at me and I tried to calm down. I was willing to accept it, even though I had huge problems believing in it.

Suddenly Niylah snatched me out of my mind, the last war had begun. I turned to my right but Becca was gone. For a short time, I felt a tear running down my cheek. Becca had become important to me and she had taken on her own death to save the people who had survived the Apocalypse. Only the thought of that time frightened me. Becca was burned alive but still had given the Flame to Callie Cadogan before she could fall into the wrong hands. I owe her my life the more or less. And yet she had treated me like a friend.

Now I pulled myself out of my thoughts. It wasn't the right time to think. Instead, it was time to use what I had laboriously worked out in my Mindspace. I had to be strong so that people would have a chance to live. There were parallels between Clarke and Becca in many ways. Now it was my time to sacrifice something. For the human race.

So I closed my eyes, saying goodbye in my thoughts to Penance and the people I loved.

May we meet again.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, turned around and froze in my movement. No, it couldn't be real. Three other people had appeared behind me. Octavia, Lincoln & Echo. Without thinking much about what I was doing, I fell into Octavia's arms. I had my best friend back. ''What happened?'' She whispered into my ear. I knew that there was no time even though, I had missed Octavia, so much. ''Look, I'll explain later''. That was answer enough. Suddenly, I heard a loud bang. I knew exactly what had happened. The portal was back and it would take us to the last war. I tried to stay calm.

My sister came to me and laid a gun in my hand. I looked at her a little confused but thanked Clarke and put it in the belt of my robe. I must admit, I absolutely abhorred the idea of possibly having to use a gun. It scared me. Clarke and Octavia had such a natural use of guns. I admired them for that skill. However, I personally did not want to have to use my gun. It should only be for emergencies.

The more we armed ourselves with weapons, the more I began to worry whether fighting was not only what we had been doing over the years, but much more, fighting seemed to be what we are. Suddenly the portal began to flash impatiently. Something seemed to be waiting for us, at the other end of the portal. Once again, I ran to the light first and disappeared into the portal.

I am sorry that I haven't published a chapter for a while but i was on a class trip and I had to study a lot for my upcoming exams but here we go again.

I really hope you like it! And I would really love to hear what you think about it!