Fallout [The 100]

36

When we reached Arkadia, it was complete chaos. The whole ship was in flames. People were scattered, screaming and searching the smoke for their loved ones. Bellamy and I pushed through them. "Octavia!" I shouted.

"She was in medical," Clarke said. I started toward the far side of the ship, but Bellamy grabbed my arm. He tugged me toward the door. Ilian emerged from the flaming wreckage. In one arm he held Niylah, and in the other, Octavia. Bellamy and I rushed toward him.

As Bellamy took Octavia, I grabbed Ilian's arm. "Thank you." He gave me a grim look before disappearing into the chaos. I dropped down next to the Blakes. I ran my fingers over Octavia's hair. Bellamy put one arm around me, pulling the three of us together for a moment.

"It was Ilian," Octavia wheezed. "I tried to stop him."

There was a loud creak. We looked up as a piece of the ship collapsed, crushing everything beneath it. I pressed my face into Bellamy's neck, cradling Octavia between us. I couldn't watch my home burn anymore.

★ ★ ★ ★

I made a lap around the wreckage to make sure we hadn't missed anyone. It was a disaster. There would be no safety from praimfaya in Arkadia when the fire died out. I turned the corner, around the back, and found Mr. Carpenter. He was kneeling in front of the back entrance. The Library was just around the corner.

"We're trying to clear the area while we assess the damage," I told him hesitantly. "You should go meet up with the others."

"He's really gone," he whispered. I knelt down next to him. "Everything I had left of him is gone."

"Your son?" I asked.

He nodded. This close I could see the tears that slowly spilled over his face. "I kept everything. Heller's drawings, his favorite books. He was gone, but I always had a piece of him with me."

"The library always felt like a second home to me. Maybe some of it survived?" The library's central location had been one of my reason's for accepting the job there back on the Ark. It had been right below the control center, now it was down the hall from the server room. But, maybe some of the books had survived. Lawrence put his arm around me. I lay my head on his shoulder and we sat in silence for a moment, watching the flames.

"I worked so hard to keep the library running," he said. "I poured everything I had into it. How will they remember now? We'll be doomed to repeat our pasts unless we remember."

"We remember," I reminded him. "You and I have read every book in that library a dozen times. That's why we're Council members."

"Former," he corrected.

"That's your own fault." I shook my head disapprovingly. "There are more libraries. I mean, some books had to survive the bombs, right?"

"I suppose if they were kept under the right conditions," he mused. I recognized the look in his eyes. He was thinking ahead, planning. Getting lost in books he hadn't even opened.

"When this is over, and we beat the radiation, we'll find another library," I promised. "And Heller isn't gone, he's right here." I tapped Mr. Carpenter's head. "As long as you remember, he's always with you."

★ ★ ★ ★

We met in Kane's office the next morning to discuss the damages. It hadn't been quite as bad as I'd thought at first. Life support was down, but we weren't sleeping on blankets under the stars. At least we had shelter if the black rain came.

"The library was hit pretty bad," I told everyone. "Two shelves survived with minimal damage. Lawrence is looking through the others to see if we can save anything else."