Suddenly a bunch of adults showed up.
Bellamy "Remember, we're in their home. Everyone keep calm."
Me "Weapons down."
Bellamy" Abby, stay with Murphy."
Me "Hey, It's okay. We're from Earth. We come in peace."
A woman asked the unknown woman "Kaylee, where have you been? Where's your family?"
Kaylee"They killed them."
Jordan shook his head " That's not good."
Abby looked at Murphy " No, not now, not now. He's seizing."
Clarke "Help us, please. Our friend's dying. He's not breathing."
A man walked to us "Move them back."
Abby" What are you doing? He'll die."
Man " You want my help or not? "
The man kneeled down to Murphy and lifted his shirt "He's already dead. Fortunately for him, death is not the end. Cillian...he was exposed to the seaweed during the red sun. Do it."
Cillian walked over to Murphy and kneeled down to him.
Then he pulled out a snake.
Man " We call it Kepa-She, means hideous snake in Chinese."
The snake bit into Murphy's side.
Cillian "Trust me, I know, but the venom degrades too quickly to deliver it in any other form."
The black veins turned back to normal. .
Me " It's working."
Man "Amazing, Isn't it? Its curative properties were discovered during one of the earliest red suns. Poison made the demon Gabriel believe he could walk on water. The Kepa-She bit him, and the toxin from the seaweed had no effect."
Murphy breathed out.
I breathed out relieved " He's breathing."
Man "Well done, Cillian. Now lock them up."
I froze " Wait. Where are you taking us?"
In a room.
They had us locked into a room.
Bellamy looked at Murphy " Why is he not waking up?"
Abby "He will."
Emori " I can't believe I did this to him."
Bellamy shook his head "Emori, you didn't. I did."
Octavia "Who cares? We need to get out of this place."
Bellamy turned to her "What are you even doing here?"
Octavia"I came to save your ass."
Bellamy scoffed and stood up.
I stepped into his way "Bellamy, no, not now. If we're gonna fight our way out, we need her."
Clarke ""Mel, we're not fighting them. We need them to teach us how to survive down here."
Bellamy's eyes wandered to my neck. My neck was bruising and you could see the spot where he had rammed that syringe into my neck.
I looked down .
Bellamy "i am sorry, Mel"
Clarke asked us confused "what happened?"
I looked at her.
Bellamy "i injected her the nightblood serum"
Everyone's jaw dropped.
I nodded "Yes, i am a nightblood now. Fuck my life"
a man walked inside "Welcome, friends. If it's true you survived the red sun, then you need a drink."
He brought in drinks
Jordan took a sip from it " Thank you. That'z amazing. What is it?"
woman "We call it--"
A woman cut her off "Delilah..."
Delilah" Relax, Mother. I don't think they'll steal your recipe. We call it Jo Juice after Josephine Prime. Hallowed be her name."
I asked confused "Uh, can I ask--it's probably none of our business, but what's a prime?"
Delilah" Sanctum was colonized by a team from Earth made up of four families -- the primes. Their blood rules us still."
A man walked in " Which one's the pilot?"
Kaylee pointed at Raven "There, that one."
Me " Look. If this is about what happened on the mothership, your people stole our transport and then boarded us by force. My people were just defending themselves."
Kaylee" Lies. She wasn't there. We hurt no one."
The man asked me "What's your name?"
Me "Melissa Kane . What's yours?"
A woman snapped "He is Russell Lightborne, seventh of his line, savior of Sanctum, and you will bow before using his name."
I shook my head, grimacing "i don't think so. But you will watch your tone when you talk to me, lady"
Clarke hissed "Melissa"
I ignored her.
Russel " My wife's a stickler for protocol, but she knows you can't observe customs that you're unaware of. You have questions, understandably, and we'll get to them all, but first, we need your transport ship to be flown into Sanctum. You can land in one of the lower fields."
Abby "Why? What's out there?"
His wife "There are worse things in this world than eclipse-induced psychosis. All of them are outside the shield, and the worst of them would love to get their hands on the weapons Kaylee says are on your ship."
Kaylee "Why are we asking for permission? My family is on that ship."
Russell" Which is why you'll be on the team sent to retrieve them. What, now you're afraid to leave the shield?"
Kaylee" I told you, we were late for shelter when we saw that ship. Either we took it or we suffered the red sun."
Clarke walked over to Mady " Mom, what is it?"
Abby"Madi is on the transport ship."
Clarke's jaw dropped "What? You woke her?"
Abby glared at her.
Clarke shook her head" Nevermind. Raven will fly the ship. But we're going too."
Raven scoffed " Didn't realize you were giving the orders again, Clarke."
Russell nodded " Fine. Choose your most disposable people. It's time to go. "
I nodded "okay"
Russell shook his head "You don't strike me as disposable."
Me "None of us are, but a child is out there, so I'm going to get her."
Russell"Please. We have things to discuss. Are you the leader of your people, or not?"
I froze.
Bellamy walked to my side without hesitation "She is. She can speak for us."
I looked at him surprised.
He gave me a little smile.
Russell" Good. You can escort your team to the steps. The rest of you will remain here, well-cared-for till we can decide what to do with you."
Then he and his guys walked out.
Bellamy "Raven, Echo. Clarke"
Echo nodded " Octavia, let's go."
Bellamy looked at Miller "Hey, Miller, you stay here. Keep an eye on things."
I looked at Bellamy "Can I talk to you for a second?"
Bellamy"What? You said it yourself. We need these people. For some reason, their leader seems to like you, so let's try and keep it that way."
I shook my head.
Bellamy "you can do it, Mel, i know you can"
I nodded.
--
I watched how my friends left for the ship.
Suddenly a dog ran up to me and jumped on me.
I've never really seen a dog before. wow.
I smiled at it.
Russell showed up " It's okay. She's friendly. "
He bent down to the dog "Then it is true. They told me that Earth was destroyed. I suppose I had hope for man's best friend. She also told me you were already here when she arrived. The radiation shield has kept us safe for 200 years. I need to know how you breached it."
Me " One of our people, Shaw, was the pilot on Eligius IV. He knew the failsafe code. Radiation killed him, but not before he saved us."
Russel nodded "Thank you. I'll delete the code. Have you ever known peace, Melissa ? You're gonna like it here."
I froze surprised "We can stay?"
Russell"I haven't decided. We'll talk about it over dinner at the palace."
I nodded.
In a room.
Jordan "Mel, I have to get out of here."
I shook my head " Not gonna happen, Jordan."
Miller "You've been locked inside for 26 years. What's one more day?"
Murphy gasped out, yelling.
Emori" Hey, hey,"
Murphy looked at her before jumping up and out of the way.
Emori " You're okay. John, John, the toxin's gone. It's gone. Everyone's okay. Mel, tell him."
I nodded "It's true, okay? We all made it, thanks to you."
Murphy shook his head " No, I didn't. I died, didn't I?"
I froze.
Abby"Your heart did stop, but the people here revived you."
Murphy "I saw something. I f-I felt something."
Emori "Hey, John..."
Abby looked at me " We should give them a minute."
Emori" Look at me. Talk to me."
Murphy" I'm pretty sure I'm going to hell."
Emori hugged him "John..."
Abby" He'll be okay."
I nodded "of course he will, he's a cockroach after all"
We heard a sound from outside and then a voice "By the glory and grace of the primes, daily tai chi is commencing now. May your hearts be filled with love and light as we love as one."
I shook my head "Hell, no"
Then i looked around "Where's Jordan?"
I walked out and up to the tower "There you are. You're not supposed to be out here. If they're gonna help us, we need to follow their rules."
A man walked to us "Back inside, both of you."
Delilah" It's alright, Cassisus. He's with me."
Cassius" Apologies, but he stays out of sight. They're your orders, too."
Then he walked away.
Me " Sorry for interrupting."
Then i walked inside.
In the room.
Delilah was behind the war, giving Murphy drinks.
Murphy"Keep them coming."
Delilah"Good thing we harvest tonight. Gonna need to make more."
Jordan" Hm, you harvest at night? Oh, that is so cool. I've read that it help preserve the purity of fruit. Is that why?"
Murphy "Need to work on your game, kid. I owe your pops at least that much."
Delilah smiled " His game is just fine."
Murphy looked at me " Yeah? Oh, they grow up so fast, don't they? woaw, Meli"
I smiled and spun around in the dress they had given me.
Me "Thank you, Murphey. Thank you, by the way."
Delilah" My pleasure. Your escort's outside."
Abby walked over to me "You look beautiful. What's wrong?"
I froze "What's wrong? If I don't convince them to let us stay, we die on a moon we know nothing about."
Abby"So convince them."
I asked amused "That's it? That's your big pep talk?"
Abby " Your father is the diplomat, not me."
Me "Is he still in Cyro?"
Abby nodded "and I'm hoping that there'll be medecine here in Sanctum that will help him, but we won't know that unless you get their leader on our side. Hey...just be yourself. Don't tell them more than you have to and don't lie."
Murphy"Hm, unless they ask about the end of the world. In that case, maybe don't tell them you fired the first shot."
I walked over to Murphy and gave him a hug " Don't worry, Murphy. Hell's big enough for both of us."
Murphy chuckled "Well, someone has to lead that place after all, princess"
I smiled.
In the dining hall.
Russell "Welcome, Melissa. Join us, please."
I was handed a drink and smiled " Thank you."
Then i sat down at the table.
Russell"You must be starving."
I shook my head " I'm fine, actually. Delilah's family has been taking good care of us. Thank you for that."
Simone " It's rude not to eat when you're in someone's home, Melissa."
I raised an eyebrow "fine"
Then i took a bite of a piece of candy and gasped "Alright. Oh, my God. It's really good."
Russell" We like our simple pleasures here."
Simone" We don't like finding strangers in our home."
Russell raised his eyebrows at her.
Me "Oh, I'm sorry about that, but we were running from a swarm. Trust me, It's not the way that we wanted to be introduced. Like your founders on Eligius III, we're looking to start over, do better."
Simone rolled her eyes " Yes. I would hope so, considering you destroyed the planet of your birth."
Me" Actually, I was born in space, but I take your point. Look. Here's the truth. Without your help, we won't survive here. You know it. I know it. Our ancestors did destroy the Earth, but they're your ancestors, too."
Simone "How many people have you killed, Melissa?"
i nodded "My friend Jordan likes to talk. What else did he say?"
Russell "He said you went to the protected compound not unlike this one and murdered everyone inside, innocent men, women, and children alike."
I shook my head "That was different. The Mountain Men were going to kill everyone that I love -- my friends, my father. I did what I had to do to save my people."
Simone" Would you do it again?"
Me "would you? We were at war."
Simone shook her head " That's not what I asked you."
Russell sighed "Simone..."
Simone faked a smile " Please, my darling, let her answer."
I shook my head " I will not apologize for saving the people that I love."
Russell "A comfort to them, I'm sure, but we are not your people, and we must protect the people that we love. Kaylee said there are 400 more of you asleep on your ship-- warriors, thieves, killers."
I nodded " All we're asking for is a second chance."
Russell petted the dog "Second chance. When I was a boy, one of our dogs bit my face. My father loved that dog. Everyone told him he should put it down, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. 'Must have been my fault for startling him' he said. 'He deserves a second chance.' A few years later, that dog attacked my baby sister for crawling near his bowl. She died two days later."
Me " We can change."
Russell nodded "I believe you want to, Melissa. I do. I just don't believe you can. Please understand, violence is a contagion. I'm truly sorry, but I can't let your disease wipe out what we must now presume to be the last outpost of humanity in the universe. When your friends return, I suggest you fly back to your mothership because, as you've rightly assumed, you won't survive out of the shield."
In the room.
I walked in "where is he?"
Abby asked confused "Clarke, what happened?"
Me "Jordan told them everything. Where is he?"
Murphy" On the roof with the barmaid."
I walked up to the roof.
Jordan as lying there unconscious " Jordan...Jordan. Jordan, hey. What happened? "
Cassius showed up and grabbed him "No. Hey. He's hurt. Put him down."
Jordan woke up " No. Wait. There. Delilah."
Cassius yelled at him "You. Get back here. The children of Gabriel are in the compound. They'll use the night harvest to try to get her out. Follow me, please."
Jordan's eyes fell back shut" Wait."
On the field.
I had changed back to my normal outfit. Delilah was nowhere to be found.
Suddenly i saw someone driving through the field."
I followed him "hey!"
The guy cut my palm open with a knife.
I cried out and kicked him in the balls.
He fell to his knees and looked at my blood "You have the blood"
I heard someone yell "She's got him."
The guy ran away.
Russel looked at my hand.
Me "He's getting away."
Russell " It's okay. He won't get past the shield. We'll get him. Set a guard detail to check on Rose. Tell Cillian to bring his bag to the greenhouse. Go. Here."
Then he wrapped my wound in a cloth.
At the greenhouse.
Cillian was taking care of my wound.
Me "What was wrong with her? She looked like she couldn't move."
Russell"She couldn't. They used a paralytic derived from a beetle my daughter discovered a long time ago, wears off in a few hours."
Clarke" I didn't know you had a daughter."
Russell " She died in a fall six years ago.""
Cillian" Your friend Murphy has red blood."
Clarke" Most people do."
Russell"We're not most people, are we? "
Then he took a knife and pinched his finger. Black blood.
I froze.
Russell "We have the same blood, Melissa, royal blood. That's why they went after Delilah."
Miranda showed up " Where's Russell? The children of Gabriel got past Jade and took my Rose."
Russell nodded "We know they're still here. We'll search everywhere in the compound."
Miranda"How did they get inside the compound?"
Russell " Keep your voice down, Miranda."
Miranda"That's the second time the shield's been breeched in two days."
Russell" It wasn't breached. The children of Gabriel knew we'd go for the ship. They were waiting when we lowered it for Kaylee's team. Rose is still in Sanctum, and let's go find her. "
Suddenly we heard a noise from outside.
We walked out and looked up.
Our ship.
Russell "This was their plan all along. They knew we'd lower the shield to let them back in. We have to assume they have Rose. Assemble a team to go after her. Do it now. We'll get her back. We'll get her back."
Miranda"Would you be so calm if it was your daughter's turn?"
Russell froze.
In the room.
Me "We know their founders on Eligius III were all nightbloods."
Abby" And we know, hereditarily, It's incredibly rare."
Murphy "Princess Meli. Perfect."
Miller"Not perfect if it makes her a target."
Clarke" It does. Which is why we can't tell them about Madi...unless you already did. Think. You told her everything else."
Jordan shook her head " I didn't tell her that. I was just being friendly. I'm--I'm the reason they're throwing us out."
Suddenly the others came back.
Raven looked at Murphy, happily "You looked better dead."
Murphy nodded.
Bellamy put a hand on Murphy's shoulder "I'm sorry."
Murphy"It's not your fault, man."
Russell walked in with his wife " It's been a long day, so I'll keep this short. Sanctum was created to be a sanctuary for the human race. After seeing you save Delilah, we've decided that you deserve that, too."
I froze "You changed your mind? We can stay?"
Simone" For now, but no more of you. You will follow our rules and respect our traditions, and we will teach you how to survive here."
Russell"What my wife is trying to say is, welcome to Sanctum."
Simone looked at Diyoza " You're with child. How far along?"
Diyoza "6 months, give or take."
Simone " Through cryosleep, then?"
Diyoza" Right."
Simone " That's remarkable. If you'd like, we can have one of our prenatal physicians examine you in the morning."
Diyoza nodded " I like. Thank you."
Madi" You should have seen Diyoza and Octaviav fighting terrorists."
I looked around "Where's O?"
Bellamy looked down.
Russell" Charmaine Diyoza?"
Diyoza"Yes."
Russell" Escort this woman past the shield right now."
Bellamy " Just wait. What is this?"
Diyoza" Seems my reputation precedes me."
Russell "You could say that. Your face is in our history books next to Hitler and Bin Laden."
Abby" Please, what about the baby?"
Russell" If any of you would care to join her, be my guest."
They escorted her out. Everyone who didn't belong to us walked out.
Murphy" One way or another, the devil gets his due."