the world as we know it -- bellarke au

chapter three - outsiders

c l a r k e   g r i f f i n

I met President Wallace in his office, armed with four drawings and my determination. I had sketched two portraits of Monroe and Sterling, the other two missing delinquents. They were less detailed and probably less accurate, but I wanted to give him the best shot at finding the rest of our people. 

Dante was painting, as I expected he usually was. There didn't seem to be much for the president to do, other than walk around and order patrols. 

"Excuse me," I said, when he didn't acknowledge my arrival. 

"Clarke," he said, in the same tone he normally used with my name. "I wasn't expecting you, was I?"

"No." I waited for him to set down his paintbrush and face me. "I wanted to give you these." I set the drawings of Bellamy and Finn on his desk, keeping a stern expression. I needed the president to respect me --- to take me seriously. To know I was serious. Mount Weather couldn't be our home until it was all of our homes. 

"More of your missing people?" Dante asked, peering down at the pages on his desk. 

"Sterling, Monroe, Bellamy, and Finn," I replied, pointing at their respective pictures. "The last of the 100 that didn't make it here."

Dante nodded slowly. "I'll have copies made and given to each of the search patrols. This was a very intuitive idea, Clarke. The sign of a good leader."

I didn't need the president to tell me I was a good leader. "And you'll keep looking for survivors from the Ark crash."

"I have already promised you this, yes. And I'll promise you again, Clarke. I have your best interests at heart."

I nodded, crossing my arms. 

"While you're here," he continued, stacking my drawings into a pile. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

I remained silent, waiting for him to continue. 

"I'm not sure whether your friend Raven filled you in, but the boy we brought in with her---"

"John Murphy," I supplied. 

"John, yes, he donated some of his blood for a transfusion."

"I know."

Dante sat in his chair, leaning back against the headrest. "Yes, well, we were able to conduct some tests on his blood, in order to see how capable your blood is of diluting and processing radiation."

"And?"

"And I would like to talk to you about blood donations for our treatments."

"What treatments?" This had to be it. The other shoe. The reason President Wallace was keen on doing everything he could to keep us in Mount Weather. 

"We've been using a rather old, outdated method of healing our patrols from radiation exposure," Dante said. "One for which I have been trying to find alternatives. This is the first one that seems plausible."

"What's the treatment right now?"

President Wallace studied me for a moment, then slowly rose from his chair and gestured towards the door of his office. "I would like to foster a relationship of honesty with you, Clarke. If you'll oblige, I'll show you."