Arcadia Academy

Chapter 14

Clarke looked around her and as far as she could see there was nothing but dessert. Her father put his hand on her shoulder and smiled looking out at all of the sand.

"It's like a permanent beach vacation." Jake said smiling. He always made the best of everything.

"But it's missing the best part." Clarke responded.

"You know your father always liked making sandcastles more than going in the ocean anyway." Abby appeared at Clarke's other side.

"You can make anything from sand and it's not permanent so it doesn't matter if it is perfect. The tide will wash it away and then you have a new slate." Jake said before turning to look at Clarke. "Remember Clarke, nothing in life is permanent. You will make mistakes but over time you can move on from them."

Clarke nodded acknowledging her father's words. "You're sounding very philosophical today."

Suddenly Jake and Abby both had faraway looks in their eyes and Clarke could hear the sound of a helicopter in the distance. The sand started rising in a dust cloud as the helicopter descended, landing just fifty feet from them.

"We have to go." Jake said starting to walk towards the helicopter.

"We love you honey." Abby gave Clarke a quick side hug before following Jake.

Clarke watched them go in silent confusion at the abrupt departure. As they stepped in they both turned to smile at her before the door was slid shut. A terrible feeling came over Clarke and she started running towards the helicopter, but she was too late. They started taking off and the force of the wind from the propellers knocked her off of her feet.

The helicopter flew away into the distance. Suddenly there was a loud bang and before Clarke even had a chance to look for the source there was a huge explosion as a large object collided with the helicopter and the burning vessel fell, crashing to the earth.

Clarke woke up covered in sweat screaming for her parents. Raven, Octavia, and Luna were all at her side within seconds.

"Clarke it's okay, it was a nightmare." Luna spoke first.

"Are you okay?" Raven asked.

"Do you need anything?" Octavia added.

The door to the room burst open and Lexa ran in looking worried. "What happened?" she asked.

"Nightmare." Octavia responded.

Clarke's gut clenched at those words. It had been a nightmare but waking up hadn't ended it. Her reality had become a nightmare.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Lexa asked.

Clarke nodded afraid that if she fell asleep again she would have more dreams about her parents. She stood up from the bed, her legs shaky. She walked into the empty common area feeling the heaviness of the night start to hit her. She heard the door to her room close behind her and Lexa appeared at her side.

"You forgot your shoes." Lexa held out Clarke's sneakers to her.

Suddenly, Clarke's emotions all hit her and she collapsed on the floor in tears. Her parents were either dead or being tortured and there was nothing she could do but wait to find out which piece of bad news it was. She felt utterly helpless and lost. The only people she wanted to talk to when she was this upset were the ones that were gone.