SOLDIER
book one
It's been 97 years since a nuclear explosion radiated life on Earth and life support on The Ark is now failing. In a desperate attempt to grant the citizens of the SpaceCraft more time, 100 juvenile delinquents are sent down to the...
Chapter twenty-six: Twilight's Last Gleaming (Part 1)
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WITH moonlight gently bathing her face, Vivienne desperately scrubbed at the drying blood that coated her hands, soaking into the crevices of her bruised knuckles. Tears fell freely down her cheeks as she silently cried and her skin became raw from the abrasive touch of the dirty cloth, yet no matter how much she scrubbed, the blood never seemed to fade.
From a distance, Bellamy watched Vivienne at the dropship intently, tuning out Miller and Mbege's conversation until their words faded into white noise. He fixated on her filthy hands that he knew were stained from his blood, as Bellamy's broken nose was yet to stop bleeding, and he noticed the way she cried without a sound, utterly lost in her own thoughts.
"Bellamy!" Octavia's voice suddenly drew the eldest boy's attention away from Vivienne and towards his sister, who was pointing up at the dark sky.
A blazing fireball was hurtling rapidly towards the ground, and Bellamy jumped to his feet, dropping the rag he had pressed against his nose. Soon, the entire camp was mesmerized, their eyes fixed on the flaming metal sphere streaking through the sky. The air buzzed with speculation as people exchanged theories about what The Ark might be sending down.
With the commotion in the camp growing louder, Vivienne's tears gradually subsided as she glanced up at the gathering crowd in the center of the camp, all eyes turned skyward. Leaving her cloth behind, she approached the cluster of delinquents.
Bellamy stood at the forefront of the crowd, his posture rigid and his stomach twisted with dread as he watched the first fragments of The Ark descend, despite his best efforts to keep them where they were; dying in space.
Vivienne stopped just in front of Bellamy, their eyes locking briefly as she shot him a cold, unforgiving glare before turning her back to the crowd. She gazed up at the sky, watching the old metal pod hurtle toward them. The parachute deployed, but the pod continued its descent with alarming speed, barely slowing down and threatening a dangerously fast landing.
Finally, with a resounding thud that reverberated through the woods, the ship crash-landed just beyond the camp, sending a plume of smoke billowing into the air.
Once the pod hit the ground, Bellamy slipped into one of the camp's larger tents, with Octavia and two boys trailing closely behind. Vivienne watched the tent intently, her jacket slung over her arm, ready to rush to the fallen pod. However, when the two boys emerged without the Blake siblings, they began spreading Bellamy's message.
"We're heading out at first light. No one leaves camp while it's dark," one of the boys mumbled, approaching Vivienne with a timid demeanor and avoiding her gaze.
Vivienne furrowed her brows, tilting her head slightly in confusion. She couldn't understand why Bellamy would delay reaching the pod, knowing that everyone within a hundred miles would have seen it come down.
•••
FEELING the harsh breeze through her thin shirt, Vivienne zipped up her jacket as she slipped out the back of the camp, armed with nothing but a makeshift knife she'd borrowed from a discarded seat around the fire pit.
Tying her wavy hair back with the hair tie from her wrist, Vivienne moved as quietly as she could, tiptoeing through the woods while trying to navigate an unfamiliar world. She relied mainly on the smoke billowing above the trees to guide her, it's dark tendrils gradually fading into the rising light of the sun.
The sounds of snapping twigs and rustling leaves echoed like hushed whispers through the thick woodland, causing her to jerk her head in all directions. Her stomach churned with dread, and goosebumps covered her skin beneath the sleeves of her jacket.
By the time the sun had fully risen and morning had begun, Vivienne reached the clearing where the pod had crash-landed. Pushing past stray branches and letting them swing back into place behind her, she entered the clearing cautiously. Her eyes darted around, scanning the surrounding trees, wary of any lurking Grounders who might have come to investigate the fallen pod.
Once she was sure she was safe, Vivienne moved quickly and quietly toward the smoking pod. Approaching from the left, she saw the door had already been pried open and lay abandoned on the dirt ground.
Vivienne grew more anxious, slowing her pace and holding her breath as she peered into the pod. Her eyes widened, and she gasped at the sight of a girl, bloody and unconscious, still strapped to the seat of the pod. Gently, Vivienne reached forward with two fingers, carefully placing them on the girl's neck. A wave of relief washed over her as she felt a faint pulse. The girl was alive.
"Vivienne?" a voice called from behind her. Vivienne tore her fingers away from the girl's tan skin, her head whipping around to see Clarke emerge from the woods.
"Clarke, someone's in here!" Vivienne exclaimed, momentarily pushing aside her harsh feelings towards Clarke. She was far more concerned about the amount of blood staining the unconscious girl's head.
Clarke rushed over, slipping the bag off her back and placing it at the foot of the pod before leaning in. Suddenly, startling both blondes, the girl woke with a harsh gasp, her breathing ragged and her eyes fluttering open.
"Take it easy," Clarke cautioned as the girl slowly sat up with a pained groan as she removed her space helmet, her fingers lightly pressing against the blood dripping down her face.
"I made it?" the girl asked, her eyes wide as she looked between the two blondes staring back at her, both equally stunned.
Vivienne nodded slowly, uncertain about the girl the Ark had sent down. "Yeah, you made it," she said, letting out a breath.
