Beyond the Ark: Oliver Nash

Chapter I: Part V: Aftermath

Bellamy and Aurora were both in shock, sitting in silence for minutes, the echoes of their shallow breathing permeating the room. Aurora addressed her son, who was still bleeding slightly from the lip, a purple bruise beginning to take shape on the base of his jaw. He sat on the floor, one hand on his head, rubbing his fingers through his hair, the other on the metal floor, propping himself up.

"Bell, your sister," Aurora said in a somber tone, as she sat clenching the sheets of the bed she was on.

Bellamy knew what she meant and made his way to open the metal floorboards. He desperately faked a strong face, keeping a relaxed demeanor, but tears welled in the corners of his eyes-tears of pain, hurt, and most of all, confusion. "Forgive me" Those words of Oliver reverberated through his mind, and he shook his head before opening the latch.

As he pried open the door, a rush of relief flooded Octavia's senses, and she surged forward, enveloping him in a desperate embrace. Tears streamed down her cheek and onto the collar of his shirt. Bellamy's arms encircled Octavia, a bastion of strength amidst the chaos, as he lifted her from the confines of her hiding place and cradled her close in his lap. It had been years since he held Octavia like this, the memory of their last embrace a faint whisper in the recesses of their minds.

"Bell," she choked out, more tears welling up in her eyes.

"Shh, it's okay, O. I got you," Bellamy reassured her. The olive-skinned girl touched her face, the same place Oliver had touched when he told her everything would be okay.

"I heard everything," she spoke. "They took him away. Why did he hit you?" Her breathing was getting heavier. "Why did he-did he-they're gonna-they're gonna..." Her voice was stuttered, her breathing quickening immensely.

Aurora got up and sat with them on the floor, wrapping her arms around both of her children. Offering what little support she could during this moment.

"Mom," Octavia choked out, her voice barely a whisper, lost in the suffocating silence of the room. She felt as though the very air around her was thick with dread, pressing down on her chest, making it difficult to breathe. Her heart raced, each beat a thunderous reminder of the impending doom looming overhead.

"They're going to float him, Ollie," she managed to utter, the words heavy with despair and fear. The mere mention of his name threatened to unravel her fragile composure, and she felt a tidal wave of grief crashing over her. Tears streamed down her cheeks, hot and relentless, as she buried her face in Bellamy's chest, painting it with muffled screams. The weight of their shared anguish hung heavy in the air, a palpable reminder of the harsh reality they faced.

As his shirt wettened from his sister's tears and silent screams, Bellamy held her head close and whispered to his mother, "What do we do now?" A single tear fell from his left eye, gliding over his freckled face and onto the crown of Octavia's forehead.

Aurora let out a shaky breath. "We have to tell Rachel."

"Yeah," Bellamy sighed.

Octavia got off his lap, wiping her tears, still leaning on his shoulder and staring at the floor. "Need me to get under the floor again?" Octavia asked as she leaned slightly off her brother's strong shoulder to look at her mother.

"In a moment, dear," Aurora said before turning her attention back to Bellamy. "Why would he do that? I thought he was proud of you, son. He-"

"He was proud," Octavia blurted out.

Bellamy spoke up. "No, I have no idea why he did that, but I have a feeling something we don't know happened. When he slammed me down, he whispered to me to forgive him. It was like he didn't want to be doing it. So no, I don't know why he did it," Bellamy rambled, seeking in his own words an explanation, but there was none.