Saturn [BELLAMY BLAKE BOOK 1]

2... next time, save the girl

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Chapter Two

After their encounter with the terrifying two headed deer, the six continued their trek to Mount Weather, finding themselves getting closer and closer to the supplies. They tried to put the image of the deer in the back of their minds, but it still left a mark on them that they couldn't seem to be rid of. The thought of one or all of them turning into that monstrosity was enough to keep them awake at night; if they even made it that far.

"You know what I'd like to know?" Finn said, easing himself down a hill, "Why send us down today, after 97 years? What changed?"

It was a fair question, and it raised more for them. How long had this descent been planned? How were they chosen? The Earth skills course they'd been required to take seemed so obvious now. Ivy always thought they'd done it as just another thing to do, a way for them to keep the delinquents at bay while awaiting the end of their sentences. It must've been known for a while that they'd be sending people down to the ground. Might as well be a couple of expendable kids who were just going to die anyways.

Octavia scoffed, "Who cares? I woke up rotting in a cell and now, I'm spinning in the forest." Grinning as she clutched her hand, Ivy spun around with Octavia, around a tree trunk.

Unsatisfied with her reply, Finn walked past her, much to her disappointment. "Maybe they found something on the satellite." Monty suggested, "You know, like an old weather satellite-"

"It wasn't a satellite." Clarke cut in. She said it like she already knew the answer and they were beating down the wrong path, prompting them all to look to her, expectantly waiting for a better explanation. "The Ark is dying." Stopping in their tracks, they all turned to look at her, but she just continued walking past them. "At the current population level, there's roughly 3 months left of life support; maybe four now that we're gone."

At that, Ivy's demeanor changed. Her mom and dad were still up there, she didn't even get to say her goodbyes before coming down to earth. Did anyone? Did her parents even know she was on earth? The worry of the chance of her death or her parents, or worse, both, weighed upon her as Ivy trudged through the dirt. She no longer felt like spinning around tree trunks anymore.

"So that's the secret they locked you up to keep?" Finn asked her, "Why they locked you up in solitary? Floated your old man?"

"My father was the engineer who discovered the flaw. He thought the people had a right to know. The council disagreed, my mother disagreed. They were afraid that it would cause a panic. We were gonna go public, anyway, but Wells..."

"What?" Ivy asked, "Turned in your Dad?" The conversation between the two when they had thought they were going to die during their landing to earth resurfaced in Ivy's mind and she was slowly beginning to piece things together between Clarke and Wells. It was none of her business, but it didn't hurt to understand what was really going on.

Ignoring her question, Clarke continued. It must've still been a touchy subject for her. Ivy could understand that. "Anyway, the guard showed up before we could. That's why today. That's why it was all worth the risk. Even if we all die, at least they bought themselves some more time."