the world as we know it -- bellarke au

chapter fourteen - going south

c l a r k e   g r i f f i n

When Raven returned the next morning, I still couldn't feel my legs. 

The paralysis had spread all the way up to my midsection, so much so that I couldn't even sit up. Luckily, since we'd had basically no water to drink, I didn't have to go to the washroom. Otherwise, I think Bellamy would've drawn the line at helping me use the toilet. 

Raven opened the door just a moment to slide in a few bottles of water and some food, which I was sure neither of us would touch. 

"Paralysis," I said, when she had settled outside the door. "That's one of the symptoms, right?"

Raven sighed. "It's temporary. This is the second stage. Either presents as temporary paralysis or extreme pain in the leg muscles, but it fades after a few hours."

I nodded, relieved. 

"You want to hear the rest?" she asked. 

"Do we have a choice?" Bellamy asked. 

"Stage three is extreme cold, followed by a period of excessive overheating, then temperatures regulate and seem to leave behind soreness."

"Wonderful," I grumbled, trying again to move my legs. 

Nothing happened. 

"You also have to watch out for fading," Raven said seriously. "You'll feel... foggy, I guess, like there's a shield between you and the rest of the world. When the cells started to fog, it meant..." She inhaled. "It meant the end was near."

I grabbed Bellamy's hand. 

"No," he said, pulling away. "I--- I don't want to hear the rest of this. You listen. I'll be back in a minute." Rubbing his temples, he disappeared into the washroom and shut the door. 

"You still there?" Raven asked me. 

"I can't exactly go anywhere," I said. "Does it get worse?"

Raven was quiet for a moment. "After the soreness, you'll start to feel better. Like, completely better. The eye of the hurricane."

"And then?" I dared to ask. 

"Immobilization," Raven said softly. "Movement causes extreme pain. This is when the fading was most common."

I cleared my throat, trying not to panic. We were more than cells, right? We were people. Made up of cells, sure. But we were stronger. We'd survived more. "How common?"

Raven said nothing. 

"Raven," I said seriously. "I need to know."

"All but one of the test cells died," she said quietly. 

My breath caught in my throat, and for a moment, I thought the paralysis had spread further. Then I caught sight of my mural, and I could breathe again. I would not die without going back to the ground. 

"Okay," I said. "So we won't fade. Have you figured out a cure?"

"We're still working on it," Raven said. "It's a tricky pathogen. It seems... altered. Like the virus we got from the grounders, but stronger. I think someone might've been tampering with it."

"This was on purpose?"

"We don't know that," Raven said immediately. "But I'll figure it out. I promise."

Bellamy peered out of the washroom, looking at me. "You two done?" he asked. 

I nodded, and Bellamy stepped out of the washroom. His eyes were red, and I wondered if he had gone in there to cry.