Chasing the Wind

Chapter Five

Half of Octavia's Wonkru, the 'one people', we're out of the bunker when Echo took watch.

I fell asleep on top of a pile of rubble next to the Eligius ship.

I heard someone saying, "And her."

"Are you sure?"

"We need her," Abby's voice snapped, "No collar, she'll listen to me."

I was too asleep to fight the person dragging me around.

When I woke up properly, I was in a colorful house, Abigail Griffin looking down on me.

"What?" I asked.

"We need to talk," Abby commanded. She's not nightblood, so she can't be commander, meaning she can't boss around grounders.

I raised an eyebrow, "Is this about the coma?" But it struck me where we were, "Why are we in Louwoda Kliron territory?"

She stared at me.

"Shadow valley," I amended.

"I'm helping Diyoza as a doctor," Abby told me, "She'll kill Kane."

I frowned, "And I'm here without a collar because..."

"Because we needed a bargaining chip," Diyoza appeared behind me.

I reached for a blade that wasn't there, so I ended up with a scalpel in my hand.

"Do you want another collar?" I felt to my neck, which was still slightly burned raw.

"What are you going to do with me until then?"

Diyoza shrugged, "Dunno. But if you run away, Abby and Kane die."

She then left.

"Don't run away," Abby advised.

"Why not?" I asked, "You're the best doctor left on the whole planet, and they need Kane to make you work."

Abby took the scalpel from my hand, showing me a spare shock collar, "Don't make me use this."

"Fine."

I sat on a bed looking around for a while. This had clearly been Clarke's house for six years.

There were sketches of everyone. I spotted Octavia running out of the dropship, screaming with joy.

Then, next to it, Monty and Jasper from when they first arrived. When Jasper was always wearing a ski mask.

Lincoln and Octavia, and next to him, Finn. Past that, there was a drawing of Raven, the raven necklace hanging around her neck.

Maya, the girl from Mount Weather, in her soft pink dress. Echo with her sword high, ready to fight.

Niylah at the shop outpost. Abby working on the Ark. Murphy and Emori. Raven building a space ship.

Past all of them were portraits of everyone. All her friends. I saw what seemed to be Lexa wearing war paint next to Madi, holding a spear.

Beyond all of them, I saw myself helping Bellamy up when we were training.

Another one of a girl sat in a tree firing an arrow at a panther, saving them all.

I remember that day.

Bittersweet memories surrounded the room. I saw so many people I recognized, grounder and Skaikru alike.

It was dark, and I could hear Abby snoring. I gratefully ate the food they left. Then, I grabbed the scalpel and slid it into my boot, along with a couple of sedative sticks.

I opened a window covered by fabric and closed it again behind me, looking around a bit.

Finally, I found where the weapons were stored. I may not want a bow, but I did need it. I took a bow and quiver, clipping them onto the sword sheaths. I also took my swords back, and my daggers.

"Going somewhere?" Abby asked.

"What makes you think that?" I replied.

Abby shrugged, "I don't know, the fact that you're taking all your weapons."

"I need to find the others," I said.

"They're on the wrong side. These people-"

I cut her off, "These people fell from the sky. But instead of meeting the people on Earth in peace, like you at least tried to do, they're just going to kill us? They will kill Clarke. Is that what you want?"

"They won't kill Clarke, I made a deal for her," Abby interjected.

"No, they'll just kill all her friends," I nodded, "Myself included."

She shook her head, "You're safe too. Unless you leave."

"Abby, I haven't seen these people in six years. And after one day with them, I'm supposed to just give up and let them all die?" I asked.

The woman seemed to grow to twice her size, "I can't let you leave."

"You won't let me do anything."

I then gasped as she took out another shock collar, "Do you want one of these?"

"You've changed, Abby," I sighed, "I'm sorry."

Lunging towards her, I jabbed a sedative stick into her neck. She winced, and then collapsed, unconscious. I dropped the stick next to her.

It was now useless. I had two left. Scouting the camp would only be useful if I didn't get caught. The sedatives lasted a couple of hours. That's how long I had to look around, then run across the desert to Polis.

Polis. If Abby was willing to kill so many people, then perhaps everyone had changed in that bunker. Maybe Octavia was still the same. Maybe she'd been able to keep everyone sane by not changing.

After looking around for an hour, I had a brief idea of their numbers and their weapons. I set off across the desert.

There was scorching heat during the day, but I'd rather be able to see whatever was hiding under the sand.

I made a six or seven day trip in four days, and I was greeted by a bunch of Octavia's Wonkru soldiers, "Who are you?"

"Seriously?" I asked, seeing some familiar faces among the soldiers, "Nobody remembers me?"

"We don't know you," Miller stepped forwards.

I rolled my eyes, "That's just great. I'm in a coma for six years and everyone forgets I exist? I'm Sky, and by the way, very much not dead."

"Let her pass," Octavia appeared.

"Does everyone think I was dead?" I asked.

Octavia smirked, "Only the idiots."

"By the way, nice war paint," I gestured to the red paint on her forehead, "Suits you."

"Good to see you," she pulled me into a hug, "Abby took you, didn't she?"

There it is. Asking for information without technically asking, "Yeah. The new people are from a ship called Eligius 4. They were prisoners, but I don't know much. The ones Raven threatened to kill are all on the ground now. I can't tell if Abby's working for them to save Kane, or if she actually wants to help them."

"Anything else?"

"Their food sucks," I added.

Octavia laughed, "Not as much as these ration packets. How did you get back so fast?"

"I got there in a few hours, spent the day there studying them, and travelled back in four days because I didn't stop to sleep," I smiled, "Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to sleep for the rest of the night."

"Good idea," Octavia smiled back, "I'll tell the others you're back in the morning."

Nodding, I walked to a tent that had been left for me. Needing a way to express my confusion at the lat few years, I took out a tattoo kit and got to work.