The Commander of The Founders: Book One

Chapter Thirteen: Preservation Instantiation Part One

A little snow coating was over the green grass. It was day time, but the clouds seemed to block the most bright light. Jasper sat on the hood of the Rover and stared off into space. He was not too keen on what was going on around him. Octavia leaned on the front of the vehicle. Octavia looked undecided. She did not know what to do next. Bellamy stood a little distance from the vehicle. His thumbs hooked onto his belt loops. He had an exhausted face and a put up one. Clarke was nowhere in sight and that did not bother the small group. Wherever she was she knew how to defend herself. Didrika was inside the back of the Rover. She had fallen asleep and Octavia chose to let her stay that way. Didrika may have looked peaceful but she was far from it.

Didrika stood in the middle of a battlefield. Flames were eating at the infrastructure of the city. Screams covered every other sound of nature. The ground was stained red from puddles of blood. The Polis tower no longer gave off its yellow flame at the top of it. Bodies littered the streets. The makeshift booths were torn to shreds. Didrika slowly moved her feet. She headed straight for the city square. Horror raced down her spine. A cold mist puffed out of her mouth as she gasped. The weather had dropped temperatures and everything was covered in a layer of ice. People sized poles stood outside the entrance of the tower. Lorelei, Indra, Mackenzie, Jacob, Cerberus, they all had their heads displayed on the poles. Two warriors dragged a boy in their arms. The boy's head was covered and he fought against his capturer. The warriors passed Didrika. It was like they did not even see her. A woman in red walked out of the tower entrance. The warriors threw the boy at her feet and ripped the bag off his head. The woman presented him with a blue hexagon chip and the boy struggled to get back onto his feet. The woman pulled out a sword. The warriors turned the boy to face Didrika. It was Aden. He stared right through her as if she did not exist. One warrior tugged on his blonde hair to tilt his head back. Aden had stopped fighting. It was like he had no hope. There was no one there to save him. His leader was missing. Didrika tried to move, but her feet were stuck. The woman in red swung the sword and Aden's eyes grew big. Black blood sprayed everywhere, dying the woman in red black. The woman took a handful of Aden's hair and lifted up. Aden's body fell to the group like a sack of potatoes. Didrika fell to her knees and screamed. The woman in red presented his head and smiled politely.

Octavia, Bellamy, and Jasper jumped as they heard a high pitched tortured yelp. Bellamy turned to Octavia and put his hand on his gun. The noise had sounded close. Octavia raised her hand to the hilt of her sword and froze. It was close because it was Didrika. Octavia gestured for Bellamy to relax. He looked at her puzzled. Octavia rushed over to the back of Rover. Octavia slightly smiled. The mighty Heda was human after all. Didrika shook in her sleep and was mumbling the same phrase over and over again: woman in red killed Aden. Octavia climbed into the back and slightly nudged Didrika on the shoulder. Didrika's eyes shot open and she gripped Octavia's wrist and flipped her onto her back. Didrika pinned her down and pressed a knife to her neck. Octavia looked at her horrified. Didrika blinked back her lingering terror. She climbed off of Octavia and dropped the knife. It clattered as it spun to the floor. Octavia sat up and readjusted her jacket.

"Sorry," Didrika mumbled.

Rather than Octavia making her feel bad or exploiting her weakness, Octavia thought of ways that would start a conversation. Octavia ultimately knew that it was not a normal nightmare.

"Who's Aden?" Octavia asked.

"He's the Nightblood that gave me the Flame," Didrika answered.

"Why were you dreaming about him?"

"It wasn't really about him. Whenever something bad happens it manifests in my dreams. It always ends up being my fault."

Octavia slowly moved beside Didrika and leaned her head on her shoulder.