𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍─𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞²

61. eureka

"I'm sorry." she breathed, noting our confusion. "I just, uh, I saw you on the steps."

"Does that mean your bodyguard could, too?" Murphy wondered.

"Good point. Let's take this outside."

"Not yet." Gaia called, her eyes trained on the skeleton closest to her. She reached out, lightly running her thumb across the back of the skull. "Mark of the Flame?"

My face fell slightly as Bellamy and I moved toward one of the skeletons, each of us looking to the back of the skull. This one had the same mark. 

Gaia slowly moved across the line, looking at each skull. "They're all commanders." she announced.

"That's why the symbol was on the flag." Bellamy concluded. 

Murphy threw his hands up. "Well, it's all coming together, isn't it? Now can we please go?"

Bellamy nodded toward the front of the room. "The ones in the front row must be the original Eligius team. There's 12 of them." 

My eyes landed on a number of skeletons that were much smaller than the others. "They take kids." I observed, my voice tight with contempt. 

"Familial love is a powerful motivator." Clarke justified. "People will do anything to ensure the survival of the ones they love." She was already walking toward the door. "Now let's ensure our survival."

The sound of another door creaking open pulled all of our attention away from Clarke. But unlike the last time, it wasn't the main door to the Reliquary that had opened. Instead, it was a door near the back of the room, and in front of it stood Jordan Green. "Open sesame."

A series of unsure glances were thrown around the room before we all silently agreed that we wanted to see what was behind the door. 

Bellamy remained close to me as we slowly entered the room before us. It was dark, but Jordan slowly moved his flashlight in front of himself, showing what seemed to be an operating theatre. 

I squinted through the darkness, searching for a light switch. When I found what appeared to be one, I reached over and switched it on. 

The room lit up, confirming my guess as to what the room was. A single operating bed sat in the middle, surrounded by cabinets that appeared to be well-stocked...this wasn't abandoned. In fortification of that point, what appeared to be freshly used pieces of gauze littered the floor around the bed, covered in nightblood. 

"An operating room attached to a crypt." Murphy drawled. "Really?

As the rest of us milled near the door, Jordan marched into the room. "She was here." he announced, bending down to pick something up before turning back to us. "This was Delilah's. I'm sure of it." he held out the dress that Delilah had been wearing last night. "Still think I'm overreacting?"

"Okay, let's think this through." Bellamy advised. "Becca created the Flame after Apocalypse One. She obviously provided the tech to Eligius III before that. That means that--"

"They're not commanders." Gaia concluded. 

"Right. So what the hell are they?"

Jordan's eyes were trained on one of the computer screens. "Let's find out."

No one argued, just made their way toward where Jordan had just sat down. "Monty taught him how to hack, too. That's my kind of parenting." Murphy muttered as Jordan began typing. 

"No hacking needed." Jordan answered. 

I nodded as I watched him access the files. "The Eligius systems all use the same access code." I explained, leaning forward slightly to watch what Jordan was doing.