Book 1: We are grounders - The 100 (Raven Reyes x reader)

Episode 3 - Reapercussions

It had been far too long since Clarke ventured into the Mountain. The gnawing sense of dread that Riley had tried to suppress was growing harder to ignore. Something was wrong—both she and Clarke knew it.

Clarke had warned her not to jump to the worst conclusion, but how could she not? Riley's mind raced with every possibility. If Clarke was still missing, it meant one of two things: she was either dead or had somehow escaped. Riley clung desperately to the latter, forcing herself to believe that Clarke had made it out, unscathed and unbroken. She had to believe it. Anything else was too painful to consider.

But believing wasn't enough. No one could know. She had to keep the truth from Monty, Miller, and Harper. They couldn't afford to lose hope. And Jasper... She especially had to keep it from him. He had already lost so much, and his attachment to Maya, the girl from Mount Weather, ran too deep. If Jasper knew Clarke was missing, he'd be reckless, and in his grief, he might do something dangerous. Riley couldn't allow that.

Her heart pounded as she paced the dimly lit room, the weight of her secret pressing down on her. She had to act as if everything was fine, but inside, she felt like she was standing on the edge of a precipice, waiting for the ground to crumble beneath her.

The clock was ticking. She could only hope Clarke would return before the truth unravelled.

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The dining hall remained a strange mix of forced pleasantries and underlying tension. Mount Weather citizens ate in neat rows, their soft conversations a sharp contrast to the scattered delinquents, whose unease was almost palpable. The stark difference between the two groups made Riley feel like she was in a dream—or more like a nightmare.

She sat across from Monty at one of the long tables, absentmindedly picking at her breakfast. Monty seemed to be trying to enjoy his meal, but the awkwardness in the air was hard to ignore.

"This whole thing," Riley muttered, her voice low, "it just feels... wrong. Like none of it should be happening. You know what I mean?"

Monty nodded, chewing thoughtfully. "Yeah, it's definitely surreal. I mean, real food, real shelter. After everything we've been through outside, it doesn't feel right to sit down and have a peaceful meal like this." He gestured toward the Mount Weather citizens, who were chatting quietly like this was any other day in their perfectly controlled world.

Riley's eyes scanned the room, her discomfort growing with every passing second. "It's like... they have no idea what's going on out there. And we're just supposed to act like everything's fine, like we haven't fought tooth and nail to survive."

Monty nodded again, setting down his fork. "Clarke said something similar before, you know. She was skeptical about all this from the start. Thought we needed to be on guard."

Riley's stomach tightened at the mention of Clarke. She forced herself to stay calm, but her fingers tapped lightly on the table, betraying her nerves. Monty didn't know that Clarke had gone to investigate the Mountain—and that she hadn't come back yet. She'd been keeping it from him, just like she was keeping it from everyone else. The fewer people who knew, the safer Clarke would be. Or at least, that's what Riley told herself.

"I haven't seen Clarke much lately," Monty added, his voice laced with casual curiosity. "Have you?"

Before Riley could answer, her heart skipped a beat. President Wallace had appeared, moving toward their table with that same serene, almost too-kind smile on his face. Monty straightened, the conversation immediately halted as Wallace approached.

"Miss Riley, Monty," Wallace greeted warmly, his tone pleasant, but Riley felt the intensity beneath it. "I hope I'm not interrupting."

Riley forced a smile, her stomach knotting tighter. "No, of course not, President Wallace. We were just... talking about how nice it is to have a real meal."