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▁ ▂ ▅ ▇ █ i am become death, destroyer of worlds █ ▇ ▅ ▂ ▁
At first light, Bellamy, Clarke, and Iris led a group to check the crash site of the Exodus ship.
The area was a mess of twisted metal and smoke. Iris walked through the wreckage, her face distant and heavy with worry. Her father was supposed to be on the dropship. If he was, he might be one of the remains scattered here. The thought made her heart ache, but she kept moving.
She stopped by a piece of the ship's hull, running her fingers over the cold, jagged metal. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to stay strong as she searched for the black box that might hold the answers she needed.
Then, her eyes landed on another set of charred bones, blackened by the fire. She froze, her breath catching in her throat. After a moment, she unclipped her flask from her belt and took a long sip. She had filled it with Monty's moonshine earlier, knowing the alcohol would help her cope. The thought of her father being among the dead was too much to face sober.
Iris steadied herself, her grip tightening on the flask. Her face hardened with determination. She wouldn't break—not yet.
Clarke, walking nearby, looked just as lost. Her mother's fate weighed heavily on her, and she moved through the debris with a hollow expression. Iris felt a pang of solidarity but didn't say anything. They both carried too much pain to share right now.
From a distance, Raven and Finn watched the two girls. Finn frowned, concern etched on his face. "They shouldn't be here," he muttered.
Raven's gaze softened as it lingered on Iris, but she quickly masked her emotions. "You want to help them? Find me the black box, hard drives, anything that will explain why the ship crashed," she said curtly.
A sharp chemical smell suddenly hit Clarke, making her groan. Iris, recognizing it immediately, ran toward her, and Raven followed close behind.
"Rocket fuel?" Clarke asked, her voice tense.
"Hydrazine," Iris confirmed.
Raven crouched down, scooping up a small amount of the liquid with a piece of debris. "Highly unstable in its non-solid form. If this stuff meets fire, we're all pink mist," she explained. To demonstrate, she tossed the debris into a nearby flame.
The resulting explosion shook the ground. "Fire in the hole!" Raven shouted as everyone ducked.
"Bellamy, we need to clear the area!" Iris called out.
