Above Ground

Castle in the Sky

It had been only 10 hours since they docked.

Bellamy stood under the hot running water. It was the first time since they launched that he thought about Clarke. He left her behind. They left her behind. He leaned the back of the shower and let out a low growl and slammed his fist against the wall.

Get a hold of yourself, he thought. He drew in a deep breath and let the hot water cascade down his face.

Thirty seconds, he told himself. I'll let it in for 30 seconds.

He counted, and sobbed silently. When he hit thirty, he shut off the water and stepped out. After he dried off and dressed himself he headed back to the control room. Raven lay sleeping, hunched over the console. He knew she hadn't slept in days trying no to find a solution for... well, for the survival of the human race. Not to mention for herself, purging the code that threatened to erase her mind entirely.

Slowly and carefully Bellamy lifted Raven from her seat, she exhaled heavily and shifted in his arms. He held his breath, hoping she wouldn't wake. He carried her to the nearest room and lay her on the bed. Raven twisted and turned over onto her stomach. He returned to the control room, the screen Raven was sitting in front of displsyed "Systems check" text scrolled up the screen as the computer analysed the state of the Ark. Some displayed no faults, some minor faults and others showed as inactive. Bellamy didn't worry about any of the information displayed. He didn't know much about the Arks tech' but knew these weren't vital functions.

A few hours passed and Bellamy was beginning to drift off, he shook himself awake, he knew that Raven would be angry that he took her from work station. But he could only imagine her wrath if he left the station running tests without anyone watching for system failures. As if on cue Monty appeared in the doorway with a smug grin and fresh clothing.

"Where's Raven?" he asked.

"Sleeping" Bellamy replied. "Probably for the first time in days; knowing her."

"OK, go on... Get some rest. I'll man the station"

Bellamy didn't need to be told twice, he jumped up to his feet. Before he left he turned to Monty.

"By the way" he grinned, "you and Harper. It's about time!" He patted Monty's shoulder as he passed. Monty grinned and took Bellamy's place

Raven jolted awake, panicked and submerged. She clawed at the mask that was strapped to her face until she realised where she was. She broke through the surface of the water and pulled herself over the glass lip.

Before she hit the ground she shot upright in her bed, gasping for breath. It took a few seconds before she realised it was a dream. They had made it. They reached the castle in sky... or least, some of them had. Her heart cringed at thoughts of Clarke's fate. It took only seconds for her imagine a dozen ways that she could have died. Burned to death by the death waved, or maybe she made it inside in time and was crushed under the wreckage of the lab or, slowly died or radiation poisoning, maybe she was still dying.

Alone.

She left her behind. Clarke sacrificed herself for them. She bore the burden of leadership and the awful consequences of the decision she'd made to ensure their survival. Tears escaped her eyes and she whispered "Your fight is over"

When she into the hallway she heard muffled voices and followed them to the cafeteria where the others all sat eating the tiny portions their rations allowed.

"How did you sleep?" Bellamy asked.

"Um... fine I guess. How did I-"

"Oh... me. Sorry, you were exhausted you needed a proper nights sleep."

Raven gave Bellamy a nod is almost-approval but and took a seat. The crew set out their plan for the work that needed to be done. Stoing the rations they had brought in the proper places, checking all the empty rooms for anything worthwhile. After all this was the Go-Sci, no one would be shocked if the politicians had rations or other supplies hidden away.

"OK, so we're all clear?" Raven asked. "Monty will tend the algae farm. Bellamy and Harper will organise the supplies. Echo, Murphy and Emori are on search and seize, food, medicine, clothing, any tech or tools."

"What are you gonna do?" John asked.

"I'm gonna find that bitch that's hiding in our computer systems and flush her out." Raven's expression was determined and even a little vengeful.

The others all paused, at least the Skaikru anyway. They hadn't thought about A.L.I.E. In fact they'd completed forgotten about her, they were too preoccupied with surviving Primfya for her... it... to cross their minds.

Everyone knuckled in and set off to complete their tasks.

Echo was feeling out of her depth, John showed her how to turn the lights on and off in the rooms, even though she'd watched Bellamy do it. She couldn't wrap her head around it. She rummaged through rooms and like Bellamy said; many rooms had unopened rations laying around it or hidden. She found herself inexplicably angry. Azgeda would exile or kill those found stealing food or taking more than was needed. She gathered up what she had found and anything that looked like the pieces of tech she's seen in lab. Some rooms also had little bottles with Skaikru medicine.

She heard John and Emori talking, but she tried to ignore them. She wasn't in the mood for conversation. Everything here was cold and hard, it was too bright and every step she took resonated sound all through together the corridors. Her head ached, she helped herself to water in one of the bathrooms. It didn't taste right, she couldn't describe it... but it wasn't right.

Every room looked the same accept for minor details. How Skaikru lived here was beyond her comprehension. No wonder they had few warriors and so many people that couldn't survive without the aid of their leaders.

The hours passed and Echo was growing weary of scavenging. She couldn't stop her mind from drifting to the plight of her people, the plight of her King. These thoughts led to more anger for her banishment. By both Roan and and Octavia, rage brewed slowly under a facade of mild discomfort. Echo took a break from searching and brought the food they had gathered to Bellamy. He was the one person on this massive floating cage that she didn't want to punch all the time.He was a warrior, he couldn't have won their battle without Roan's intervention, but he put up a good fight.