Reckless ~ Sequel to Shameless {Bellamy Blake}

3~ The First Attempt

Jasper, Monty, Clarke and I all sit at a long wooden table. Jasper and Monty devouring some kind of soup. 

"Is Raven here?" Clarke asks. 

"No." Jasper shakes his head. "Neither is Finn or.." Jasper pauses for a moment, looking over at me. "Bellamy."

"Bellamy's dead." I growl.

"We don't know that." Monty says. 

"Yes, we do. He burned to death with the rest of the Grounders." I say, aggressively. 

"Welcome." A woman says, approaching us. "If you have any questions, my name's Keenan." The woman hands Clarke a map.

I snatch the map from Clarke's hands. "They gave us a map with no exits." I examine it.

"I need you to tell us every exit you've seen." Clarke says to Monty and Jasper.

"Exit?" Jasper questions. "Why would you want to leave?"

"Look around us, no one's hunting us. We're not hungry. Or cold." Monty says.

"We have friends out there who need our help." I answer. "Not to mention, the Ark came down the night of the war."

"They're looking for survivors." Jasper says. "And they're way better equipped to find them than we are."

"You two are bumming me out." Monty says. "I'm getting some cake." 

"Dido." Jasper says, getting up and following Monty to the array of food. 

"Clarke." I hit Clarke's side and nod to the corner of the room. In the corner of the room sat little Miss Maya. 

Clarke looks over at Maya then at me, a plan forming right before our eyes. We both stand, I grab the map, folding it back up and placing it in the pocket of my jacket. We walk over to Maya. 

"Hey." I say, sitting down next to her. Clarke sits on the other side. "It's Maya, right?"

Maya nods. 

"We just wanted to say we're sorry about earlier." Clarke says. I reach my hand down into the pocket of Maya's sweater. "I was just scared and worried about my friends." Clarke continues. I grip the key card and slowly start pulling my hand out, careful not to make any sudden movements. I get it fully out and place it into my jacket pocket. I nod towards Clarke. "I hope you can understand." Clarke finishes. Clarke and I both retrieve, walking out of the room and back out into the long hallway. 

Once the door shuts behind us and the room, along with the people inside of it, our out of sight we take off running. We run straight for the elevator. Before I can swipe the key card, an alarm blares throughout the floor.

"They know." Clarke says. 

I look at Clarke, our best bet being not to depend on the elevator. We both run down the rest of the hallway, taking a left once we hit the dead end. As my combat boots make loud patters on the floor I turn to see dozens of guards running after us. 

"They're following us!" I whisper. 

Clarke then grabs my arm and drags me through a random door. I turn and lock the door and jam my elbow into it, breaking it. We're faced with a metal staircase, that only goes up. Clarke and I start climbing, Clarke a few steps in front of me. 

Once we finally get to the top, I'm a little out of breath. After running a little ways down a hallway, there's a massive, sealed door with a wheeled knob. To the side of it is a red lever. 

Clarke immediately goes for the wheel, trying hard to turn it. 

"I think we have to pull this first." I say gripping the red lever. 

"Tatum, no!" Jasper's voice echoes against the walls as Jasper and Maya come running down the hallway. "If you pull that lever, these people will die. Even a little radiation can kill them."

I never let go of the lever, I grip it harder. 

A very un-expectant thing happens next. Maya pulls out a gun and aims it towards me. "Don't make me shoot you." She says, her voice shaky, though she tries to control it.

"Wait. Wait." Jasper says, trying to get Maya to put the gun down. Clarke then joins me, grabbing the lever as well. "Don't do this." Jasper turns to us. 

"We don't believe them." Clarke says.

"Why would they lie?" Jasper asks. "We're safe here. We're safe."

"Not all of us." I say.

Jasper seems to go quiet. Maya's hands are still shaking as she switches the aim of the gun between Clarke and I. 

The guards approach then, grabbing Clarke's arms and throwing them behind her back, handcuffing her. They do the same to me.

***

We're thrown into a glass office. The wooden desk that sits in the middle of the room is covered in papers and computer-like things. We're forced to sit in the two seats across from the desk. In the corner stands Dante, painting on a canvas.

"Loose the cuffs." Dante says, without turning around. The guards undo our handcuffs and exit the office. "The ground." Dante sighs, stepping away from the canvas a little to give us a view of what he's painting. "It's a memory."

"You've been outside?" I ask.

"Yes. 56 years ago." Dante answers. "For five minutes. I was 7 when the first of what we call the outsiders appeared. Before that, we thought we were all there was. Imagine our surprise."

"We don't have to imagine." Clarke mumbles.

"My father, this was his office at the time, believed it meant that the Earth was survivable again, and so, he opened the doors. Within a week, 54 people were dead from the exposure. My mother and sister among them. Loss... pain, regret. Time eases these things, but the only time it's ever truly gone is when I'm painting." Dante explains.

"You didn't bring us here to talk about painting." Clarke says, aggressively.

"Didn't I?" Dante says. "I'm afraid I have bad news." Dante sets his paint brush down on his desk. "Our patrols have swept the area and found no evidence of survivors, either of your camp, or the Ark."

"How can they be sure?" I demand.

"They can't. I've ordered them to keep searching."

"I need to see for myself." Clarke demands frustratingly.

"I'm sorry. I can't allow that." Dante rejects. "It's not safe out there."

"Radiation has no effect on us." I argue.

"It's not the radiation that concerns me." Dante turns to me, in a less obvious manner. "You need time to grieve. These men will show you to your rooms."

"And if we try to leave?" Clarke asks.

"Please don't test me." Dante finishes.