Fallout [The 100]

7

"Why am I here?" I asked, finally getting to the point.

"We want to help you, it is not safe for you out there. Teams are being dispatched to retrieve the rest of your people as we speak."

I suddenly remembered everything that had been going on prior to my blackout. "They need your help as soon as possible, the grounders are planning an attack on our camp. When I was captured we were searching for two of our friends who'd been abducted by them. There are hundreds of grounders, my people may not be able to survive that without help."

Dante looked alarmed. "We knew tensions were mounting between you but we weren't aware how urgent the situation was, I'll have more teams sent out immediately. Would you be able to draw us a map of your camp? We know we were getting close when we found you and Monty, but-"

"We'd made it pretty far by that point. I'd say we were at least three miles northwest of camp. I'm not sure putting a map in front of me would help, I don't know the land much better than your people do."

He nodded. "Three miles northwest, I'll tell my teams. We will bring your people back here safely." He stood up. "And Maia, you are not a captive here. Make yourself at home."

★ ★ ★ ★

After Dante had disappeared, I'd been taken to a dormitory. There were rows of perfectly made beds, just awaiting my friends to fill them. I could hear the creak of the floor when I stepped, and my bedsprings when I plopped down on them. It was a little creepy being the only living thing in this massive room, but it was the first time I'd been alone since following Bellamy back into camp weeks ago. The voices from earlier were diluted, but still audible.

My eyes fell on a train case that waited next to my bed; a note on top explained that if I would like to get changed there would be dinner served in the main dining room on level 5 at 6pm. For the first time since I'd been put in solitary, I had a clock. My stomach growled and I popped open the train case, who was I to turn down dinner. The case filled with clothing and jewelry and shoes nicer than anything I'd ever owned on the Ark.

I touched one of the dresses; the fabric was soft and slipped right through my fingers. It brought back memories of my mother tirelessly stitching gowns for the upper class girls who needed a new dress for this ball, or that symphony, very rarely there was a comet watching party and everyone went all out for those.

I chose a fairly simple yellow linen dress. Linen was one of the most durable fabrics; if it was taken care of properly it could last for ages. My mother always told me if I was going to save my money for the sale I should go for linen. Expecting me to save money for a piece of fabric was probably asking too much out of an eight year old. Even with a seamstress for a mother, I still blew my weekly allowance on fresh fruit; at least I was a healthy eight year old.

After I was changed, I went into the hall. Surprisingly there was no guard or escort; maybe Dante had really meant it when he said we weren't captive here. I followed the voices to the dining hall. "Maia!" Before I knew it I was being scooped up and hugged tightly.

"Monty, you're killing me here," I groaned. He let me go and smiled. "How's your face? It looked a little squished the last time I saw it." He rolled his eyes and I patted his cheek. "This food smells amazing, I'm starved."

Maya waved from a table in the back and I motioned for Monty to follow me to her. "Monty, this is Maya," I said.

He nodded. "We met earlier."

"I bet you're both starved, when's the last time you had a proper meal?" She asked.

Monty and I exchanged a look. "Never," we said in sync. At her puzzled expression, I added, "Prisoners don't exactly get fed five star cuisine. And before that, we weren't exactly the kind of people that dressed like this." I said motioning towards our freshly pressed, new clothing.