somewhere | b.blake ✔️

1x05✔️

"Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars?
I could really use a wish right now wish right now Wish right now"

-Airplanes, B.O.B (ft. Hayley Willaims)

Note: Raven coming down is pushed back FOUR DAYS. Once again, doesn't change the storyline, just the timing of the events.

*****

The days following John's banishment feel different, as if the air itself had shifted. There's something unspoken, heavy—purpose, maybe. It settles over the camp, and for the first time, everyone seems to understand their role. A sense of calm falls over the delinquents, a rhythm quickly established. Some build walls, others hunt, some gather—an unspoken agreement that they need to survive, and everyone plays a part.

But beneath this newfound order lies tension, a sharp edge threatening to cut through the peace. They all sense it—the fear of who will break first. No one dares to step out of line. No one wants to be the next John.

Ash throws herself into her work with Monty, their focus on the communications system consuming their days. It's slow, almost painfully so. Each wire, every switch feels like it could be their last shot at hope. They're careful—too careful. The thought of failing hangs over them like a shadow, neither willing to voice it aloud. The fear of making a mistake paralyzes them.

After three long days, it happens.

Monty pulls together Clarke, Octavia, Finn, and Jasper for the transmission, hope fluttering in their collective breaths. Clarke searches for Ash's eyes, but Ash avoids her gaze, the memory of John's banishment a weight she can't shake. It lingers in every sleepless night and every waking hour. She still feels it—every second of his absence, every ounce of her complicity.

Clarke, sensing that Ash won't meet her halfway, shifts her focus to the machine. "Will we be able to talk to them?" she asks.

Monty shakes his head. "No. It's more like a Morse code. Just something to tell them we're alive down here." He hands the honor to Jasper, who hesitates, then reaches for the red wire.

Ash steps forward, offering the wire to Jasper with trembling fingers. "Just plug it into that port right there," she instructs, her own anxiety spilling into her hands as she fidgets with her wristband.

They hold their breaths as Jasper connects the wire.

In an instant, Ash's wrist flares with pain, and smoke curls from the machine.

"What happened?" Clarke demands, panic rising in her voice.

Ash's heart drops, her eyes wide as the realization dawns. "It didn't work." Her voice is hollow, filled with dread. "We fried all the wristbands."

The silence is suffocating.

"The Ark will think we're all dead," Clarke whispers, horror lacing her words. "We're alone."

*****

But two hours later, the impossible happens—a pod from the Ark falls to Earth.

Ash stares at it, disbelief washing over her. "How is that possible?" she asks Monty. "We fried the wristbands. They think we're dead. Why would they send a pod now?"

Monty looks equally lost. "I—I don't know."

Excited murmurs ripple through camp as some random kid yells, "Now we can kick some Grounder ass!" Cheers erupt, and Ash rubs her forehead in exhaustion. There's always someone too eager for a fight.