The One Who's Fallen

Chapter 63

We're too exhausted to run away so the Maunon won't see us. I help Lexa climb a nearby tree. We freeze when we hear the sound of running, silently watching and listening.

"They're so fast!" One person complains, gasping.

"They must've gotten spooked or something." Another said.

"Stupid Cage making us run after them. If he would have let us use a car, we could've caught them by now." Person one says. "He complains that it wastes resources but this is a waste of our time. It was his fault they got away anyways. I don't know why he's do mad at us. Stupid savages, escaping." They continue grumbling and if I were in a better mood, I would laugh.

Their running footsteps fade away and we wait until after we can't hear them anymore. I help Lexa down and we both breathe easier knowing that at least for now, we're relatively safe.

"We need to find a place to rest." Lexa murmurs.

I look around. This hill doesn't look like it has any caves for us to hide in.

"That's a good idea. I don't see anything around here, though. Let's keep moving. We can look along the way." I suggest.

Lexa nods and takes my hand in hers. It makes us both relax further and I silently promise myself that as soon as we find a safe place, I'm going to hug her and not let go for a while.

We start moving again toward the mountain ahead of us. It's the one we were on when we were kidnapped. Luckily, the boar went the other way so we don't have to worry about running into the Maunon. It'll give us time to hopefully find safety before they figure out we've sent them on a wild pig chase. I almost wish I could see Cage's face when he finds out that a couple of "savages" outsmarted him.

The mountain ahead is relatively steep, so we'll definitely need our strength to climb it. TonDC is just around the mountain and a few miles straight, so we could walk around it instead but that just takes up so much time. I'll have to talk to Lexa about it, see what she thinks is the best way to go forward.

We continue hiking for a while and it only gets more and more difficult. We are having the worst luck. We haven't found a good cave to rest in. We've taken short breaks but it's not enough. We're exhausted. The caves we've found are too exposed, too small, or is the home to some creature that doesn't take too kindly to unexpected guests. We actually got chased out of a perfect cave by an angry bear.

I mentally curse at our luck and we stumble onwards. We don't have the strength to care that we're not walking straight (there's a good bi joke I could make here but I'm too tired to think of one).

I suddenly trip on something and fall flat on my face. I groan and sit up. I'm glad I automatically let go of Lexa's hand when I fell.

I wave my hand at Lexa, who looks at me with concern. "I'm okay. The only thing that's bruised is my pride."

Lexa gives me a small amused smile. "What did you trip over?"

"I don't even know. It just looks normal, like there's a bunch of leaves on the ground."

I scoot over to where I tripped over something (yes, I scoot because I don't have the energy to get up and walk over). I begin clearing the leaves away and the metal I see makes me throw my hands up in the air.

"Yes! Take that, bad luck! You can suck it!" I say, probably too loudly for someone who's fleeing a bunch of creepy James Bond wanna-be's.

"Suck what?" Lexa murmurs, then asks. "Clarke, what is that?"

"That is a handle to a trap door. It's probably a bunker and hasn't been opened in a century." I crow victoriously. "Help me clear away the leaves and soil."

Though I'm not sure that Lexa really gets what we stumbled upon here (literally), she helps me unearth the door. It takes more digging than what I would like, and we're both even more tired after all that work. This better be worth it; I don't think we can make it much farther without passing out or eating.

It's a weird door and I turn the handle and then pull. The metal groans and opens an inch.

"Lexa, can you help me with this?" I ask.

Lexa grabs the handle as well and we pull together. The door opens a foot further and we grab the sides, pulling it open enough for us to be able to slip inside. I help Lexa down the ladder. She's more exhausted than I am so I go first. If she falls, I can be her cushion.

It's dark and I can't see anything when we reach the bottom. I fumble around on the wall and hope that the electricity still works. I find a light switch and flip it on. At first, nothing happens but then the overhead lights begin to flicker and then come on fully.

I resist the urge to cheer and gasp. This bunker is incredible. It's bigger than I thought, with old dusty furniture and a few bookshelves with yellowing books. This is obviously the main area but there are some doors that lead to other spaces.

"Go sit on the couch. I'll close the door." I tell Lexa.

She nods and practically flops onto the couch, sighing happily after coughing from the dust that flies up. I smile at the sight before climbing back up the ladder. I pull the door closed and climb back down, jumping so I don't have to go down the last few rungs.

"I'm going to explore the place, see if there's anything to eat or a bed." I tell Lexa.

She nods and I kiss her forehead before starting to look around.

Next chapter, Clarke explores the bunker! Poor Lexa, she's so tired after everything. She'll have a chance to rest soon and even cuddle with Clarke! Thank you for reading and for your lovely comments! Stay awesome!