Daylight |Bellamy Blake

Thirteen

I gently brush the hair off Finn's forehead and place the damp cloth back on his skin. Glancing over to where Clarke stands by the entrance of the drop-ship, I watch as she gazes out at the storm raging outside. Some of the delinquents are struggling to pull the tarp down to cover the entrance, attempting to prevent the rain from coming in.

However, we can't close the metal doors until Bellamy and some others return. They had left a few hours ago, and my anxiety was growing as they still hadn't returned. Octavia had stormed in here earlier, furious with her older brother. Her anger was palpable as Clarke and I patched her up once Finn was stable.

Tensions were running high all around us. The bottom level of the dropship was crowded with people, and I could sense Raven's growing frustration as she continued to try and call the Ark with no success. Having others constantly interfering only made matters worse.

The crowd made it challenging to work on Finn. For now, we had managed to stabilize his condition, but the blade was still lodged in his chest. Neither Clarke nor I felt confident enough to remove it without guidance from Clarke's mother. So, for the moment, I monitored his situation, playing the waiting game.

A flash of lightning, followed by a clap of thunder, jolts Clarke from her thoughts. She turns away from the grey sky and rain outside and walks back inside, heading toward Raven, who is sitting in front of a monitor with a headset on, repeating her message over and over like a mantra.

"This is Raven Reyes. Calling Ark Station. Come in, Ark Station. This is Raven Reyes. Calling Ark Station. Please come in. Please, please. Can anybody hear me?"

"Are you sure you have the right frequency?" a girl asks, her voice tinged with uncertainty.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Raven snaps back at her, frustration simmering just beneath the surface.

"Raven? You can do this. Okay?" Clarke says softly, offering words of encouragement as she approaches.

Clarke then turns back to me, giving me a tight-lipped smile as she moves toward Finn. Slowly, she lifts the cloth from around the knife's hilt, grimacing at the sight. There are no signs of infection, but Finn has lost a significant amount of blood.

"Ark Station. Please come in. I'm on the ground with the hundred. We need you," Raven continues to call desperately.

"Are you okay?" Clarke whispers to me once she has replaced the bandage with a fresh one.

"Yeah," I reply just as softly.

"Want to trade spots?" she offers, and I nod, relinquishing my seat. I know she wants to be as close to Finn as possible, and I watch as she takes her place beside him, gazing down at him with glossy eyes.

As I continue making rounds to check on everyone's well-being, I find some of them soaked from the rain, so I quickly fetch blankets to help them stay warm. Once I've ensured that nearly everyone is okay, I make my way to the tarp, which is now secured down, and pull it aside.

The sight of the raging storm outside takes my breath away. Despite the ferocity of nature's display, there's a breathtaking beauty to it, and I'm both awed and terrified by the power of the storm. I can't help but think about how tough it must be out there for Bellamy and the others, and my anxiety for their safety intensifies.

"Please... Calling Ark Station... The hundred are alive," I hear Raven's desperate plea in the background. Her message is followed by a brief burst of static before another voice crackles through the radio.

"This is a restricted station. Who is this? Please identify yourself." The voice on the radio is the first hint of hope we've had in a long time, and I feel a rush of anticipation as I push my way through the closing-in crowd to get closer to Raven. Clarke is already standing beside her, and we both watch with bated breath.