The Commander of Death

Chapter Fourteen

A/N: If you're still reading this book, you're awesome, and I appreciate you. Sad that this is the last chapter, but I'm glad to be putting it up. I hope you like the last bit of the story, save for an epilogue coming soon. Thanks for sticking with me :)

-JM

Raven left to tell Kane the good news regarding the changed percentages, and the Chancellor was thrilled. Clarke was let out of bed and walking slowly with Lexa's support, her arm slung around the Commander's shoulder and Lexa's arm around her waist to help take some of the weight off of her since her snapped left ankle was still a little sore from her botched recovery process. They were leaving the med bay when Kane's voice came over the speakers inside the Ark and throughout the courtyard.

He informed everyone of what Clarke had been doing in the past weeks regarding visiting the five nuclear power plants and absorbing all of the radiation to eliminate their contribution to the death wave, taking power from it.

They hadn't publicly released any progress updates previous to this, so people aside from those closest to Clarke were not aware of any of this, still thinking that they'd be in the bunker for five years and emerge to find only seven percent of the surface survivable.

He mentioned that the wait would be only forty-eight hours in the bunker as opposed to the previous prediction of five years, that forty-six percent of the environment within the clan territories will be unharmed instead of the previously estimated seven percent, that in three year's time, twenty-nine percent of the environment that will be harmed by the death wave would recover, and that forty-five additional people from each clan would be able to stay in the bunker due to the lack of an extended stay.

Clarke braced herself as she emerged from the Ark with Lexa, hearing everyone erupting in cheers, though thankfully none of them had spotted her just yet. "I feel so awkward with this stuff. Is it ungrateful of me to say it's kind of unnerving?" Clarke asked Lexa with a grimace "People usually just hate me." She said, huffing out a laugh. "That, I'm used to, but certainly not being celebrated as if I'm some sort of fucking savior." 

Lexa grinned at her. "You are the savior, Clarke." She quipped, pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek.

Clarke rolled her eyes. "Let's just hurry up before I'm spotted and feel even more awkward." Apparently, she spoke too soon, as people's eyes found her quickly. "Fuck me. I jinxed it." Clarke muttered quietly so that only Lexa could hear her groan, keeping her expression neutral.

Octavia reached her first, launching at her. Clarke stumbled back and groaned, only held up by Lexa's strong arm on her back. "Be gentle with her; she just absorbed enough radiation to kill thousands of people and she is still in some pain." Lexa warned the girl lightly.

Octavia quickly retracted her arms and took a step back. "Right, sorry, my bad." She apologized sheepishly.

Clarke stood on shaky legs, still utterly exhausted. "It's okay." She told her, mustering a small smile but still wincing from the pain.

"C, you're fucking amazing!" She exclaimed brightly.

Lincoln reached her next, patting her on the back, Indra giving her a smile filled with pride and grasping her forearm, Gaia giving her a gentle hug, careful not to hurt her, followed by a hug from Monty, Harper, Miller, and Bellamy, and a few other people came up to her to thank her with bursting gratitude.

Clarke saw an out and tugged Lexa along after exchanging words and polite smiles, desperate to get to their bed. Once they reached the tent, Lexa gently laid Clarke down before emerging from the tent once more to address Roan, requesting that he instead go to Polis with Indra to inform all of the ambassadors of the news so they could modify their lists and prepare properly while she stayed with Clarke. She'd join them once Clarke was rested enough to use her powers again so they could appear there without taking a lengthy trip.