The One Who's Fallen

Chapter 57

There's a horribly ugly yellow mist, slowly but surely making it's way toward us. It's in the valley between the Mountain and the mountain we're on, but it's coming towards us like possessed fog. Could the Maunon be able to control it?

Snapping out of my haze, I start yelling. "The fog is coming from the valley!"

The others look and one of them pulls out a great big horn and blows it. A loud sound comes out.

"That is a warning for all nearby people that it is coming." Lexa explains to me before shouting. "There is a cave we can stay in half a mile ahead to the left! Go!"

People click their tongues and all of the horses begin galloping.

"Lexa!" I call over the wind, trying to be heard. She's right next to me, but brings her horse slightly closer. "Is this what the Maunon have been planning?"

"Perhaps. If so this is not an attack, it is a diversion. When we get to the cave, there is a nearby tree we could climb to get a better look at the fog." Lexa suggests, the horses slowing slightly as we get close to the cave.

"Alright. We'll get down before the fog gets too close."

The cave comes into view seconds later, a large one that I can't believe I didn't see on the way to Polis. We all dismount our horses and lead them into the cave. When Lexa and I walk back out of the cave, no one tries to stop us but we do get some concerned looks.

The tree she mentioned seems so tall that it almost looks like its top branches are scraping the sky. Luckily, Lexa taught me how to climb trees back when we were in TonDC. I've never climbed one this big, though. I take a deep breath and a moment to be grateful I'm not scared of heights before I begin climbing after Lexa.

If it were a smaller tree that I weren't scared of falling off of (or of what could be happening with the Maunon) I would definitely be looking up and checking out her butt. I'm breathing a little heavily by the time we get to a high enough height to satisfy Lexa. We rest on a nook on a particularly large branch, sitting close together.

"It's not coming any closer than the road." I murmur, confused by that. "Why?"

"I do not-"

A loud sounds interrupts us, coming from above. It sounds like a huge explosion and we both look up. My eyes widen when I realize what's happening. The hundred's coming down. That sound was the drop ship hitting the atmosphere.

"It's the hundred." I blurt out, watching the metal box falling a few miles passed TonDC. It hits the ground with a thunk, only just loud enough to hear it from here.

"Now?" Lexa murmurs. "Why would the Maunon try to hide that?"

"I don't think they could know when they're coming down. That isn't what they're trying to distract us from. Come on, we should tell the others about this."

"Sha. That is a good idea." Lexa says.

We begin slowly making our way down the tree, looking up every once in a while to make sure the fog isn't creeping closer. It isn't, it's staying at the road, but when we get down, it starts edging closer to us. We run into the cave. It started moving as soon as our feet hit the ground... Assuming the Maunon do control it, they must have pressure pads or cameras or spies somewhere.

"Clarke, Heda. Why did you run off?" Indra asks, crossing her arms. I don't know what's worse, the concern I can see hidden in her eyes or the disapproval coming off of her in waves.

"We thought the Maunon may be distracting us from something with the fog so we climbed a tree to get a better look at everything." I explain. "We don't know exactly what they're doing it for yet, but we did see the source of that loud noise. The hundred is coming down. Well, they just came down. That sounds was them hitting the atmosphere." Judging by the blank stares I get, only Lexa gets what I'm saying.

"They are here?" Indra asks.

"Sha, a few miles passed TonDC. We should keep an eye on them, send scouts until Clarke and I can go talk to them. Do not let the scouts contact them." Lexa orders.

A guard nods and begins writing something on a piece of paper. "I will ride to TonDC faster and give the orders after the fog clears."

"Mochof (thank you)." Lexa says.

We wait for a while, eventually growing impatient enough that Anya risks poking her head out of the entrance to see if it's gone.

"It is still there." Anya sighs, sitting down next to Luna. "Usually it is gone by now."

The horses are growing restless as well, probably liking being trapped in here even less than we do. I have to say, I'm impressed that they didn't trample anyone when the drop ship made that noise. They had to have been pretty spooked, but they're incredibly well trained.

When one of them starts panicking, I go over to it and calm it down by speaking softly and stroking it, knowing it won't understand the words but will understand my gentle tone. It calms pretty fast and after I'm sure it's okay, I head to back to where Lexa's standing. She's looking at me with a loving gaze that makes my heart beat faster.

Before either of us can say anything, there's a rustling sound coming from outside. It can't be an animal, they've all fled from the acid fog. It's incredibly unlikely that it's a person because acid fog kills people, unless they have those Maunon suits...

A white ball is tossed in the cave, bouncing a few times before stopping near Lexa and I. We both have our hands on our swords, tense. I realize what it is, too late to do much.

"Cover your nose! Don't breathe it in!" I yell as white mist comes out of the ball.

It's too potent for that apparently, because even though I follow my own device, I only stay awake long enough to see the others passing out and the horses beginning to seem tired. I feel my back sliding down the wall as I start to lose consciousness, grabbing Lexa's hand being my final movement before I pass out.

Ooh, cliff hanger!! Man, a lot of stuff happened this chapter! The hundred, the Maunon... What will happen next? Thank you all for reading and for your incredible and encouraging comments! Stay awesome!