The One Who's Fallen

Chapter 136

Lexa and I lead the healers and volunteers down to where the people we managed to save are staying. Mom walks a few steps behind us and it's almost eerie, how silent it is.

There's a somber mood in the air, tinged with hope. The horrors everyone just saw will be something we will all relive in our nightmares until our own deaths. But the hope, the hope comes from the place we're headed to. Despite everything, we managed to save some people.

We pause when we reach the stairs, which we have to use because Raven's directing a lot of electricity to keeping the people alive. Plus, I doubt many people would enjoy being confined in a small metal box after all that.

I use the notes I took earlier as well as my memory to hack into the door, which is easier than I expected. The lock clicks and I grin victoriously, holding the door open for Lexa and gesturing for her to go through first. I grab the rubber doorstop is see in the corner of the stairwell. I place it underneath the door, kicking it for good measure to make sure it's in.

"If you're the last one in, close the door behind you." I say before rejoining Lexa's side. I turn to her as we start our descent down the stairs. "So. Do we have a team working on getting everyone out of the cages?"

"Yes we do," Lexa answers. "Indra is the leader of that group, and there are also a few healers I sent over there to help. The Maunon did not feed us well, if at all, when I was there. So there is another small team, with a few Skaikru who know the technology that they have, that is in charge of getting food to them."

"Good," I nod and we revert back to a silence on the border between comfortable and uncomfortable.

We reach the fourth floor and I hack into the door there too. It takes even less time than before and I try not to show how proud I am of myself because of this. Lexa's knowing soft smile tells me I'm not as successful as I would like to be. Oh well.

I pull open the door and I blink. It's another decontamination chamber. I didn't think it would be right here, but it makes sense, especially in case of emergency situations like this. I let go of the door, keeping my foot between the door and the frame to keep it from closing completely. I mean, I could hack into it again (would I need to? Raven didn't explain that) but I don't want to if I don't have to.

I look at the others. Together, Lexa and I explain what to expect with their lovely decontamination showers and stuff. After we make sure everyone knows what's going on so hopefully no one will freak out, I hold the door open to let everyone head into the chamber.

Going through decontamination is just as fun as I remember it. Everyone has really funny looking hair afterwards, though. That's the only positive to it. I snicker at Lexa's tangled braids and help her get them perfect again. Being her girlfriend, I've learned how to braid the way she likes it, and Lexa's done the same for me. We take turns, swiftly redoing each other's hair while we watch everyone else out of the corner of our eyes with amusement as they try to retame their hair.

After we're done, we head out of decontamination and into the sterile hallways. The fans slowly turn, creating a gentle whooshing sound that's almost calming, yet creepy at the same time.

I pull out the radio and press on the button as we reach the room. "Raven? You there?"

"Yup. What's up, Griffin?"

"Is it safe for us to go in?" I ask.

"Hang on. I'm pulling it up on this handy dandy laptop I stole from some room." She pauses for a moment, the ticking of keys coming through the radio. "Yeah, there aren't any leaks on that floor and the radiation level is below what they need, so you're good. Go ahead."

"Alright, thanks Rae."

"No problem."

The line clicks and I reattach the walkie talkie to a special pouch/holster that Raven gave to me. I have no idea where she got it.

I knock on the door, the clang of the metal a stark contrast to the otherwise quiet hallway.

"Is it safe?" A muffled voice asks.

"Yeah," I answer, raising my voice so they can hear me through the door.

There's more noises that I think are people talking on the other side, but I can't tell what they're saying. We wait patiently until the door unseals with a loud hiss and slowly opens, revealing a hesitant looking boy that can't be more than thirteen. I don't see anyone behind him. Maybe the others are all hiding. After everything, I don't blame them.

"Are you... Clarke?" He asks, his eyes flicking to me. "And Lexa?"

"Yes, that's us." I respond.

He smiles shyly. "Come in, all of you. Bellamy has told us all about you."

He leads us back down a narrow hallway, Lexa in front of me but I still hold onto her hand. The volunteers and healers all follow behind us.

As we get closer, I can hear Bellamy's voice as he excitedly tells someone an in-depth history story. I recognize it as Icarus and the sun and chuckle to myself.

"... And so Icarus plunged to his death into the sea." Bellamy finishes as we enter the room, which is larger than I expected.

His eyes light up when he sees us but I'm too busy staring. There are so many people! They were all here, listening to Bellamy's story. And thirty? The estimate Bell gave us? There are roughly thirty kids, all younger than 18. And Maya. She's here too, sitting on the floor with the others. And there are about fifteen adults.

I let out a breathless, happy laugh. "I'm glad we brought extra volunteers."

Whoo! There are a lot of people they saved! And next chapter we get to see the bone marrow transplants, which I will NOT describe in detail because of many reasons, including the fact that I don't like needles and you need a really big one for bone marrow transplants... So nope! Anyway! Tomorrow, I have not one but two projects due! Hooray senior year! And one of them is an hour-long presentation with my group... Which will be fun, considering I'm like 97% introverted (no really, it said so on a psych test I had to take for my psychology class). Plus, I'm still a little sick so I'll be coughing through the whole thing. Though by the time I post this it'll be done... So hopefully you did a good job, future me! Thank you all for reading and for your amazing comments! Stay awesome!