Raise Hell || The 100 [sequel to Hell and Back]

03 | Floral Dress

As much as I hated it, I forced myself to grab one of the floral dresses from the hangers and pulled it over my body while Clarke chose a more appropriate outfit. I wanted to wear similar capris like hers with a t-shirt and a blue and green, long sleeved jacket over the top. My hands had reached for one of the pairs of pants hanging from a hanger because that was something I would be more comfortable in. That didn't matter right now.

What mattered was how well I showed Dante that I was not a threat to him or his people at Mount Weather. That was why I was currently wearing a light pink, floral dress with a pair of matching flats. I felt silly in the clothes and I saw the confused look Clarke gave me when she saw I changed.

Pants would have been more suitable for running, which explained why Clarke picked her outfit. If Dante saw me in such a girly dress, he would see me as less of a threat. When I saw Clarke slyly break off a heel from one of her shoes and stuff it up her sleeve, I knew she would be getting herself into trouble soon. She wanted to find the rest of our people just like I did, but I wasn't going to be the one to be rash about anything. I needed to stay under the radar.

We were led through a large, wooden door and immediately greeted with loud machine noises. I grimaced at the noise, surprised to see the vast room lit up so brightly with machinery and pipes everywhere.

Dante stood just inside of the room. I took notice of three men standing nearby with guns on their sides. Another one was standing close to Dante, like they just finished up a conversation before we walked in.

Dante smiled when he saw us, briefly glancing at the outfits choices we picked out. He gestured to his ears, yelling over the noise, "Sorry about the noise. Hydroelectric power from a philpott dam." He pointed up at the large pipes on the ceiling and slowly led us through the room. "Fresh water from our own underground reservoir. Fresh food from our hydroponic farm."

Everything in the vast room amazed me. Mount Weather seemed to have everything taken care for them here. I nonchalantly glanced over my shoulder, pretending to follow a pipeline, but solely focused on how the guards were following close behind us.

"I don't understand," Clarke spoke up. "You're on the ground. You know it's survivable. Why would you stay here?"

I expected one of the reasons they stayed here was because of the Grounders. Dante mentioned earlier about how they didn't like the Grounders, which meant they were bound to be enemies with them. Mount Weather was a safe place for them to live without being attacked by them. It was a smart move.

"It's not survivable for us," Dante explained to us.

I frowned, "The Grounders seemed to have managed pretty well."

Dante shook his head and glimpsed at the two of us. Despite walking next to us, he still continued to lead the way through the engine room. "Natural selection works. The Grounders who couldn't survive in the radiation didn't." He walked us past another larger hallway that lead to more sections. "Those who could, passed on their DNA."

I peered down the walkway, eyeing several workers wearing either guards suits or red jumpsuits. I tore my gaze away and refocused on Dante. Was there a reason for this tour or was he checking to see if one of us would run?

"For better or for worse, here, we never went through that process."

"Well, neither did we," Clarke pointed out. "We've been on the ground now for..."

An idea hit me and I found myself blurting, "Solar radiation."

Dante nodded, smiling at me. "Very good, Wren. Your DNA ran the same gauntlet as the Grounders, only because radiation levels in space are even higher. Your ability to metabolize that radiation is even stronger." He brought us to a stop when we reached an elevator. "Truth be told, our scientists were blown away by the efficiency of your systems. If not for that, your friends would still be upstairs in quarantine."