Bygones

~{Chapter 32}~

~

As we got in Jasper and Monty were huddled around a piece of paper.
"It's possible, but how are we going to find enough metal scraps to contain it?" Monty said.
We walked up to the table and I rested the palms on my hand on the edge of the table.
"Sloan, you know that hypergolic propellant is impossible to be contained, unless we have the right amount of pressure to stabilize it. And that amount of pressure is equivalent to the amount needed to compress steel."
"That right," I sighed, "This is the only thing that gives us a chance to win."
Jasper squinted, "Why are we not using it then?"
"Because of Clarke," Raven rolled her eyes, "She doesn't want to 'hurt the innocent families'. We can lure the Grounders to the South field where there are no villages there."
I rubbed my temples, "Do we still have anymore D-Meth?"
"Dimethylhydrazine?" Monty said, "Nah, we used all of those for the fireworks."
"We used up all of the old drop ship parts to the max and only got 300 bullets. That's enough for everyone to take four shots," Jasper said.
Raven was confused, "There's no way, we should've had 500 bullets. Someone must have taken some parts. I was the one to gather them and made most of them. These two helped me finish."
"Who would take metal parts for? We're already making weapons for them," I sat down and rested my forehead in my hand.
"Who else do you think is missing?" Monty asked.
Jasper squinted, "Murphy..."
Raven scoffed, "Haven't heard from psycho-boy for a long time. Where is he anyway?"
"Last time I heard he was in 'exile'. He lives in the old drop ship, but occasional comes back at night. Apparently he's got some friends here."
"If he did take the parts, how are we supposed to get them back? I mean it's Murphy. He's always got a catch."
"Then we bargain with him," I suggested, "I can negotiate with him. But even then, 500 bullets still isn't enough."
"Is it even worth spending time catching him?" Raven asked.
"I don't know... Anything to help us."
We all sat back and groaned in frustration with Murphy and the alternative bomb situation. I picked up a pencil and played with it until I finally came to a conclusion.
"Screw it," I threw down the pencil, "We're using the propellant."
Raven's face lightened up as Jasper's and Monty's got concerned.
I got up and went to the back of the Arc drop ship and got into the engine box. Raven came shortly followed by Monty and Jasper.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jasper called out to me.
"Yes!" I yelled through the thick metal walls, "We have no other choice!"
I unhooked the latch to the fuse box and revealed the container. Raven came in after me.
"I'll get you some gloves," Raven said as she went back out again.
Jasper and Monty poked their head through the entrance.
"You're probably going to need some stabilizer," Monty finally surrendered, "Which one do you need?"
"What one's do we have?"
"I'm not sure, I'll go and check the stora..." He stopped in mid sentence and looked at something.
I followed his gaze to see two guards at the entrance of the storage tent.
"Clarke," I whispered under my breath.
"What do we do now?" Jasper timidly asked.
"We push through."
Raven met up with us and followed me with the same spirit as Jasper and Monty stuck closely behind.
"Sorry, no entries. Orders." One of the guards said as we got to the entrance.
"We're working with the board," I said. I then tried pushing through, but the two guards pressed their shoulder together tighter. I looked up at one of them.
"I said, we're working with the board so let us through."
They didn't budge a single bit and looked straight forward. Irritated, I turned around and walked back to the back of the Arc drop ship.
"How are we going to get through with the intense supervision?" Jasper whispered as if they would hear.
"I don't know, yet, but I'll try to think of something," I said as I studied the fuse box more.
"I got it!" Monty exclaimed, "I remember hearing someone ordering the guards to stay on watch. Two shifts, one at dawn and one at dusk. They take a few minutes break in between, just enough time for us to slip in and slip out."
"Okay. We'll take the first watch," Jasper said, "You and Raven will hide on the back side of the storage. Then us two will sneak in and lift the side up for you guys."
We all agreed and went off on our own ways to not look suspicious.