I'm Just A Kid

Chapter 12: Breaking Point

By the time we made it back to camp, I was exhausted. My arm throbbed, my legs ached, and all I wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep for a week.

But it wasn't just physical exhaustion. I was angry at Bellamy for throwing the radio into the river, terrified for my dad and everyone still trapped on the Ark, and still shaken by everything that had happened with Charlotte.

I didn't even know what I was supposed to feel anymore.

Maybe all of it at once.

Raven immediately began searching for another way to contact the Ark. If we couldn't send a signal through the radio, maybe we could send one they could actually see.

Flares.

Suddenly, the entire camp came alive. People rushed around gathering supplies while Raven, Clarke and Finn worked together. Everyone seemed to have a purpose.

I didn't.

Instead, I went inside the dropship and found an empty seat against the wall. I carefully lowered myself down and rested my head against the cold metal.

For a while, I just listened.

Outside, people shouted instructions and hurried back and forth. Everyone was working desperately to build something that might save three hundred lives.

And I was doing absolutely nothing.

Part of me felt guilty, but I couldn't bring myself to move.

I was just so tired.

Eventually, my thoughts drifted back to my dad. Did he think I was dead? Was he looking for me, or had he already been told there was no hope?

My chest tightened.

Then my mind went somewhere else.

Charlotte.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her standing at the edge of that cliff. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Why couldn't my brain just be quiet for five minutes?

I stayed inside until the sun began disappearing behind the trees. Eventually, the frantic voices outside were replaced by excited ones.

The flares were finished.

I slowly stood up and made my way outside. Everyone was gathered together, staring up at the open sky.

I spotted Harper near the edge of the crowd and joined her.

"You okay?" she asked quietly.

I shrugged. "Yeah."

It wasn't exactly the truth, but Harper didn't push me.

Then the camp fell silent.

Everyone was waiting.

The first flare shot into the sky.

Then came a second.

And a third.

They burst above us in brilliant purple light, illuminating the darkness.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then the entire camp erupted into cheers.

People shouted and hugged each other while others simply stared at the glowing sky. I stood beside Harper, my heart beating rapidly.

For the first time all day, I felt something other than anger, sadness or fear.

Hope.

Maybe someone would see them.