Warriors

Chapter Two

I rub at my pounding forehead with my fingertips.

Clarke, Monty, Raven, Bellamy, and I are all in the Chancellor's Office trying to figure out what to do, and it's not going to smoothly.

The rain is pouring down from the skies and seeping in through the ceiling of the Ark. The constant dripping of water into the buckets around the room mixed in with the constant arguing is not helping my headache.

"We've been at this for two days," Bellamy says for what feels like the millionth time as he paces the room. "There must be something we aren't thinking of."

"What if we could reach the nearest nuclear reactor?"

I look up from my position on the couch.

"Even I know that that isn't possible."

"Carter's right," Raven says from her spot leaning against the desk. "The meltdown started months ago. There's no magic button to turn them off."

Raven motions to the window.

"Today, this isn't black rain, but it will be soon. That's why we have to focus on riding out the radiation, finding someplace safe and big enough to hold all five-hundred of us."

"Raven, we need to find a place big enough to save everyone," I say before placing my head back in my hands. "I made a promise to Roan, and I intend to keep it."

"And that's why we need to tell everyone," Raven says, taking a few steps closer to me, and I cast Bellamy a weary look."Crowd source it. If there's another Mount Weather out there, the Grounders will know about it."

"And you think they're just gonna tell us, just like that?" Bellamy asks. "If we tell everybody they're gonna die, the coalition is over, Roan falls, and the Grounders will be at our gate."

My head begins pounding even harder.

"Then we just tell our people," Raven argues. "We need more minds on this problem."

"On the Ark, people volunteered for the Culling because they were told the truth and given a choice."

I lift my head up again just in time to see Raven turn to me.

"A choice your dad died for."

My mouth drops open, and I slowly rise to my feet.

"You think I've forgotten that?"

I slowly walk towards her.

"You think that I haven't noticed that I've never met my father? You think that I don't know that he would've been a much better choice to figure this all out than me? You think that I don't feel his absence every freaking day!"

I'm shouting and in Raven's face by the last word. I feel someone grab my arm and pull me back to the couch. I sit back down, not keeping my glare off of Raven who seems utterly surprised by my outburst.

"Okay, we'll tell everybody the truth as soon as we have a viable solution," Bellamy says, and I take my glare off of Raven to focus on him. "Without one, it'll start a panic."

"You don't know that," Raven scoffs.

"That's it!"

My eyes jump to Monty over by the window as he slowly turns to face the rest of us.

"What are you talking about?" Clarke asks, speaking up for the first time today.

"Think," Monty starts, causing me to roll my eyes, "Alpha Station survived for ninety-seven years in space through elevated radiation levels and extreme temperature fluctuations. Sound familiar?"