The One Who's Fallen

Chapter 99

Lexa and I talk more with my mom while Raven works, mostly about what is happening down here and what it's like.

The most uncomfortable moment is when Mom strays from safe topics and asks if we have had sex. I can't lie to my mom like that, and even if I could she will be able to tell I was lying. So my mother now knows I have had sex with my girlfriend. Lovely.

And then Mom doesn't blanch or anything and talk about a more comfortable subject. After we blush and confirm it, she gives us a half hour long lecture about safe sex. I can tell that for once Raven isn't in the zone because she keeps snickering at us.

Mom finally finishes talking about that. "Raven, I hope you were listening to that too."

I smirk at Raven as she chokes on nothing and looks back at the screen wide-eyed.

"What? Abby, we haven't..." She trails off, blushing just as much as Lexa and I were.

"I know Raven, but I'm sure you will someday."

Raven gives my mom a weird look. "How can you tell?"

"There's some tension between the three of you. That doesn't mean it will happen soon, or ever, but I have a gut feeling it will. When you're all ready, of course."

Raven stares off at a corner of the tent, blushing even more now. I can see she's starting to get uncomfortable, so I stop Mom.

"Let her be, Mom. She has some calculations to do."

"Alright," Mom agrees. "So, Clarke and Lexa. What are the animals like down there. Are they different from our history books?"

Raven mouths "thank you" to me and I smile in response before turning back to Mom.

Lexa chuckles, "That is something Clarke and I talk about fairly often. She is fascinated by the wildlife."

"You would be too if you had never seen an animal until you came down to earth at 17." I retort, maturely sticking out my tongue.

"You're just a nerd, Griffin." Raven says without looking up from her project.

"And you're not? You're the youngest Zero G mechanic in like fifty years." I reply.

"52," Raven corrects. "But who's counting?"

"You, apparently." I tease.

Raven continues on her work, the smirk on her face telling me she doesn't mind my teasing. I return my attention to Lexa and Mom, who both look amused at Raven and my banter.

I squeeze Lexa's hand and we start telling Mom about the animals down here. Well, Lexa mainly does the telling. I tell her about the differences between the history books and the real things.

"You're a nerd too, babe." I tease Lexa. "You love learning about this stuff just as much as I do."

"That is because it is interesting."

"Hey love nerds." Raven calls, making us pause our conversation. "Get it? Like love birds but you two are nerds. Love nerds! Anyway, I think we've got it."

Raven comes over and sits next to us.

"You're already done with the calculations?" I ask, shocked. I thought it would take a day or two, not hours.

"With two geniuses working on it, it goes much faster. Sinclair and I have calculated the probability of each of the stations exploding on reentry."

Raven passes a piece of paper to me. In surprisingly good handwriting there are the twelve stations' names written out with a percentage next to them rounded to the nearest hundredth.

"These are the probabilities?" I question, frowning. "They look big."

"Yes, they are. Any percentage under five is considered rare or an anomaly in statistics." Raven says.

"Raven... None of these are under five." I say softly.

The room is silent for a moment, the weight of this pressing down on our shoulders. From what I remember of the statistics I had to learn, that means it wouldn't be surprising if they blew up.

"There's a really really low chance that every station will explode, so some people will survive." Raven says. "It's just a question of who gets lucky."

"There are three stations with percentages under twenty." Lexa points out. "Abby, will that be enough to hold everyone?"

Mom frowns, looking more tired than I have ever seen her. "Which stations?" I list them off and Mom sighs. "No it won't be enough. It would be if we didn't have to strap everyone down so we don't all die on reentry and impact. We need another station to hold everyone. What's the next smallest percentage?"

"Twenty six," I read. "That's more than a fourth chance that everyone on there will die."

"Then let's put Jaha on that one." Raven jokes and it succeeds in lightening the mood a little bit.

"He will stay with me and Kane," Mom says, a faint smile on her lips. "We have to keep an eye on him."

"Mom? Don't you dare go on that one," I say. I try to make it sound like an order but it just sounds like a plea.

"If I don't, who will?" Mom asks quietly.

I shake my head. "No, Mom. I can't lose you too."

Mom's eyes soften and she gives me a soft smile. "You won't. A bumpy ride won't keep me from seeing you again."

I choke back tears and know there's no talking my mom out of this. I know she's giving up what should be her seat in the least likely to explode in order to give people she deems more necessary than herself. Like farmers, scientists, parents and children.

"If you die I'm going to kill you," I threaten tearfully. Lexa rubs the back of my hand with her thumb, calming me slightly.

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Mom smiles proudly at me. "Now I'm going to have Jackson and Kane help me decide who goes where. We will announce it as soon as we're done so we can do this as soon as we can."

"When?" I ask.

"Tomorrow afternoon," Mom answers. "I'll call you back tomorrow morning, okay? I love you."

"I love you too."

Next chapter, we see what happens. Will Abby survive? (Probably, I mean she's a main character in a story) And I couldn't resist adding in a little statistics stuff (at least my AP Stats class is coming in handy)! Also, whoa we are nearly at 100 chapters!! That's insane! And if you're still here reading, that's incredible! Thank you all for reading and for your amazing comments! Stay awesome!