𝙃𝙄𝘿𝘿𝙀𝙉 𝘿𝙀𝙈𝙊𝙉𝙎² ➣ 𝐵. 𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑘𝑒✔

18 | From The Ashes, We Will Rise

As I sorted the rations in storage, the sound of Bellamy's voice caught my attention. Raven's in here as well, fixing the ship with a blowtorch and mask. "Two meals a day for people working as hard as ours, we won't make any friends."

Clarke walked in close behind with a cart full of rations. "Well, if there's one thing our people understand, it's rationing," Clarke explained. "Besides, once we lose those doors, it'll be one meal a day for the next five years."

I let out a scoff, causing Bellamy and Clarke to look at me. "Try one meal every other day. Hunting parties are coming back with less and less. Thanks to your friend Niylah, we're preserving more meat than ever, but it's still not enough."

"Aiden's right," Raven butted in, stepping down from the ladder she was on. "Without a way to make water, growing our own protein like we did on the Ark is not an option." The girl turned to Bellamy. "Remember that when we're starving."

"I won't be starving because I won't be inside," Bellamy said. My head snapped to him, my eyebrows furrowed.

"Like hell, you won't."

"Does that mean you made the list?" Raven asked the blonde girl.

She shook her head. "No... What about drinking water?"

Raven stepped forward. "Clarke, don't change the subject. We need to know who's gonna be on the inside of these doors when the radiation comes."

"We don't need to know now," Clarke whispered.

"We need some medical help at the front gate," a man said over the P.A. "Looks like we got some sick people here."

I put my things down, running out of the room, Clarke and Bellamy just ahead of me and Raven behind me. When we made it outside, we saw a bunch of people crowded by the front gate. I furrowed my eyebrows slightly.

"Move. Stand back," Bellamy demanded when we reached the gate. He pushed everyone aside. I stopped when I saw Nyko and a few others.

"Nyko," Clarke said. "What happened to them?"

"The sickness," the man replied. "We lost more than 40 on the way."

I stepped forward, stopping beside Raven, Clarke, and Bellamy.

"Luna?" Bellamy asked, causing the grounder to look at us.  She had these blisters on her face, but it almost looked like a radiation burn.

"Please don't turn us away because of what I did you," the woman pleaded weakly.

I looked at all the people, my eyes darting to Abby as she walked passed us, kneeling in front of Nyko and a little girl he was holding. Clarke knelt beside her, speaking quietly. "Mom, what is this?"

"Fever, lesions, vomiting," Abby stated. "It's ARS."

"What's ARS?" Bellamy asked.

The woman looked at him. "Acute Radiation Sickness."

My lips formed a straight line as Clarke stood, taking a step back. Abby looked at the girl in Nyko's arms and spoke. "When did the symptoms start?"

"I'm not sure," Luna answered. "Right before the fish started dying."

"The fish are dying?" Raven asked, confused.

Nyko looked at her. "Floating in the sea to the horizon in every direction."

"It's not contagious," Abby stated, standing. "Let's get them to medbay."

I knelt beside one of the women on the ground as everyone else was taken to medbay. She was dead. I saw Clarke kneel beside, her face grim. "it's already here."