A Wolf's Heart

Chapter 18

Wells sighed in relief as the cool air of the bunker hit his sweaty skin. By their estimates, it was mid-October, but the weather didn't appear to get the news. Most days, the only relief from the heat was found near a river, and today had been no exception. Instead of spending time in the forest or the air-conditioned bunker, Wells had been hunched over wires working in the dropship. Without decent ventilation, the air in the dropship had been stagnant and stale, making Wells and Monty sweat uncomfortably while they worked.

After Clarke had shot down Dani's idea of removing the bands to send a coded message, he and Monty had been trying to connect a working band into the ship's mainframe and hopefully send a message to the Ark. Unfortunately, that had been easier, said than done. Every attempt to power the removed bands had failed, and when Monty tried removing someone's wristband gently, it immediately lost power. Until Monty had gotten lucky a couple of days ago when he had successfully taken off Clarke's, and they had quickly gotten it hooked up to the dropship.

Wells and Monty had completed all the connections they thought they would need to turn the wristband into something akin to a telegraph today. Clarke immediately wanted to try signaling the Ark, but Wells had convinced her to hold off until Dani could look over the work Wells and Monty had done.

Now, Wells just needed to convince Dani to go.

Wells stopped outside the bunker's workshop. He could hear music from within, letting him know Dani was inside. Whatever was playing had a mixed beat with the high notes of a violin overlaying it. Wells didn't recognize it, but that wasn't saying much. Dani had a broad taste in music ranging from classical to the top trends before the bombs.

But the second Wells opened the door; the music automatically turned down to softly continue in the background. The abrupt volume change made Dani look up from the bench she was working at.

She smiled at the boy, "Hey, Wells. When'd you get back?"

"Just a bit ago," he answered, moving to lean on the workbench and peer down at what Dani was working on. "Radios?"

"Yep," the tall brunette replied, stretching and twisting her back to relieve stiff muscles and spine. "This is the last one. We'll have four plus the bunker radio when I'm done."

Wells nodded, relieved that they'd now have a way to keep in touch, "That's great, Dani. I've hated that we can't keep in touch when we're all going in different directions."

"Me, too," Dani nodded in agreement, then tilted her head as she looked at him. "What's on your mind, Wells? You've got the 'I sat on something gross' look on your face."

He startled before ducking his head, "Dammit. I gotta work on that."

Dani chuckled and nudged him, "You forget that I've known you since we were wee sprouts. That look on your face is the same one you used to have when you weren't sure if y—"

Wells interrupted her, "Don't you dare finish that, Dani! I thought we agreed never to speak of that time in my life again."

Dani threw her head back, laughing, "That look on your face was totally worth it!"

Wells groaned, hiding his head in his arms, "Fucking hell, Dani. Your impeccable memory sucks."

Dani patted him on his back, her laughter easing into chuckles, "At least you grew out of it. Now, what did you need?"

Lifting his head, Wells asked, "First, what was that song playing when I came in?"

Smirking, Dani replied, "Ezinma's 'House of Bach.'"

"No wonder it sounded familiar," Wells said, shaking his head. "Alright. This one?"

Dani rolled her eyes, "Trans-Siberian Orchestra's 'Requiem (The Fifth).' Now, quit stalling, Wells Jaha. What's going on?"