From The Ashes | The 100 S5 [Bellarke]

|17| The New Council

The lights flickered again.

"He's drilling," Jaha said, glancing up at the sputtering panels.

~ ~ ~

Abby was in the middle of injecting an ex-grounder woman with her monthly vitamin-D shot, when the power cut out.

"What the hell?" Jackson said from the other side of the room where he had just finished giving the woman's husband with his own vitamin shot. "That's . . ."

"That's not supposed to happen," Abby said, pulling the needle out of the woman's arm and setting it to the side, the syringe finding the counter after a moment of searching. "Something's wrong."

Dim lights kicked on a few moments later, white-blue and darker than the regular lights. They were part of the bunker's backup system, a separately connected generator and control panel than the normal life support.

"Go back to your room," she told the couple, gesturing for them to leave the med-bay. "We'll let you know what's going on as soon as we can."

After they had left, Jackson looked up from where he'd tried using the inset wall comms.

"Looks like only the basic systems are running," he said, shaking his head. "Emergency lights and air."

"Stay here," she said, starting for the door. "Someone needs to be in medical in case this means we've got injured people."

"Abby, wait!" Jackson took a hesitant step forward, unease flickering across his features. "What are you going to do?"

"Find out what the hell is going on," she replied.

***

When Abby saw the two ex-grounders standing guard by the closed council room doors, the warnings that had been building in her stomach now morphed into true dread. These weren't members of Octavia's guard, or the bunker militia, either.

"Hey," she said, walking up to them. "What the hell is going on?"

"We're going home," one replied, his smile half-hidden behind his grizzled beard. "One of your people found a possible door through old caves behind one of the bunker walls."

"What?" Abby said incredulously. Doubtfully. "No, it has to be a rumor. Please, is Marcus in there?"

"Our rulers thought we should stay in this prison," the other guard spoke up, the scars on his face marking him as ex-Azgeda.

If they had locked up the council, that meant there was something about this door that was dangerous. Or at least, enough of a delicate situation to have required secrecy, since Marcus hadn't said anything to her. She understood the need for silence, especially in a situation like theirs in the bunker, but she couldn't ignore the quiet sting of betrayal.

She trusted Marcus, so why hadn't he trusted her with this knowledge?

"Can I see them?" she asked, focusing on the important issue before her, adding when she saw the hesitation her question brought, "Look, I just want to see if my husband is okay. Is that a problem?"

"Ten minutes," the bearded one said, unlocking the door. "Or you stay in there, too."

"Thank you," Abby replied, slipping through the half-open door.

~ ~ ~

Octavia got to her feet as the door opened, the guards letting Abby in.

Of course. If there was anyone who could manage to convince anyone, it was her. The fact that Abby Kane was the head medical officer meant that she had almost more weight than Octavia's status; people listened to the one who could stitch them up.