Kingdom of Life - The 100 [4]

Chapter 8

Venus's POV

"I know it took courage to be outside with us today, to stand together now in the face of grave danger and grave tragedy." The bodies of those who died because of the black rain laid in front of us, each neatly wrapped up out of respect. Skylar was among them, her body bag a slightly yellow shade. My eyes never left her, even as she was gently lifted up and laid on the pile of wood alongside the others. I barely noticed the rain on my skin as Jaha spoke.

"On the Ark, rain like this was only a dream. Now it's a nightmare, because we know it could turn at any second and kill us, just like it did to 18 of our brothers and sisters, who we honor today. Among them, Erin, Samuel, Louis, and Skylar. May we meet again."

"May we meet again." I joined the crowd in echoing Jaha's words before he lowered his torch to light the wood beneath the bodies. I watched as the flames hesitated a moment before grabbing on and spreading.

A single tear emerged from my eye and started to run down my cheek before I wiped it away, stopping it. I had done my crying yesterday after Skylar passed. She wouldn't want me to cry. She'd want me to go on and enjoy my life, regardless if I only had 10 days left to live or not. 10 days.

Not many people came outside for the ceremony, most remained in the Ark whether to avoid the rain, or avoid this final goodbye. Regardless, the lack of people made Niylah stepping aside to chant over the bodies that much more noticeable. I watched her out of the corner of my eye; she was speaking that Grounder language of hers. She didn't belong here, she didn't belong chanting over our people in her foreign tongue. She's a Grounder. Before the flames reached Skylar's body, I turned and headed back inside the Ark.

Before my mind had set on where I was going, I found myself outside the door to the Chancellor's office – my father's office. The door opened on my second knock. I gave my father a quick hug before walking past him and sitting on the couch set off to the side, placing my head in my hands. I felt the couch shift as my father sat down next to me.

"10 days." I picked my head up and looked to a blank space across the room. "10 days and we still don't have a plan." I looked at my father now, somehow hoping he had an answer to solve all of my problems. That's the magical thing about being a kid, parents always seem to have the answer to every little problem. But as you grow up, and your problems grow bigger, that's not the case anymore. I saw this in my father's eyes, the guilt of not being able to fix the problem.

"Trust me, we're trying everything we can." He gently rubbed my back, a last attempt to comfort me. "There's still Abby's idea with the bone marrow."

I looked down and rubbed my thigh where the needle had pierced it nearly seven months ago, the scar still there under my pants. The needle never reached my bone, but I remember it all the same. "Mount Weather tried taking our bone marrow..."

I heard my father let out a sigh next to me, taking a few seconds to gather his words before he spoke. "Things...Things are different this time."

I shook my head and lifted my eyes, thinking for a few seconds. "How many people will Luna's bone marrow save? In Mount Weather it was only seven before the 'donor' died."

"I'm sure Abby has a way to use the bone marrow to help more than seven people."

"And if it doesn't end up working?" I looked at him, and again saw that he did not have an answer to my question.

A knock sounded at the door, and I could see the relief in my father as he got up to answer the door – a brief distraction from our conversation.

Jaha quickly walked into the room, something round and flat like a disc in his hand. "Marcus, we need to talk. It's about the second dawn bunker." Jaha began before his eyes fell on me and he noticed that the two of them weren't alone. "Hi Venus, how are you holding up?"