Thursday, 18/09/2149
It isn't until the next day that the yellow fog finally dissipates, giving me the chance to venture back to camp with Lilly, Charlotte, and Will by my side. Murphy came to update me, and a rush of anticipation filled me. Clarke and her group have returned, with Finn receiving her much-needed treatment. Bellamy and his hunting party are also back but empty-handed, which isn't surprising, as the yellow fog caused the forest animals to flee.
"Trina, Pascal will you go and collect some water for the camp please, murphy will you go with them" he stares at me blankly for a few seconds before slowly nodding helping the two of them collect the bags full of empty bottles and the large bowl we use for boiling water before he escorts them out of the camp.
"Atom, fill me in on yesterday's events," I call out to Atom, who is repairing a broken tent.
"After you left, we collected the red seaweed and started making our way back to the camp but Clarke and Wells got into an argument and that's when the yellow fog appeared, the three of us ran but I was catching up until I remembered a buried car I had found a couple of days ago and took them there where we hid out until this morning" I nod along.
"What were Clarke and Wells arguing about?" I ask, and Atom shifts in his skin, his gaze darting away before reluctantly telling me about what they were arguing.
"You know how Clarke's dad was floated" I nod, and he continues, "Well Clarke thought it was Wells who told his dad but it turns out Wells was just covering for Clarke's mum, she's the one who got Clarke's dad floated" I blink taking in all this new information, I had no idea Abby got her husband floated, I just knew why he was floated and Clarke locked up in solitary.
As Atom returns to his tent repairs, I seek out Bellamy. I find him in his tent alone for once, a rare moment of solitude for him. "The fog get you too," he looks up at me from where he's trying to treat the burn on his forearm.
"Yeah, Conner tripped, and I had to help him. Every life matters, right?" I'm slightly shocked he took what I said to heart, but happily he did; I step up to him with a bandage from my bag in hand; I motion for him to let me treat his wound.
He drops his hand away and lets me wrap his burn with one of my clean bandages.
I hold out two painkillers and my canteen, both of which he graciously accepts. "And here I thought Clarke was the doctor around here," he jokes, a sly grin forming on his face. I can't help but chuckle at his quip.
"Back on the ark, when I was little, I was trying to decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I made sure to study everything I was interested in... it was a long list." I paused as he handed me my canteen back. I put it back in my bag and continued, "I loved learning as a kid. I constantly took my schoolbooks home and got in trouble for it. Class time just wasn't long enough for me. I always wanted to be able to learn at home, too. My father was an engineer. He worked with Jake Griffin. My mother was a schoolteacher. She might have taught you when she was alive." I take a moment to reminisce about that happy time when both my parents were still alive and my father didn't resent my mother, but the memory falls away as Bellamy comes back into focus.
"So why did you join the guard?" he inquires with a sparkle of curiosity in his eyes, a youthful glow making him appear five years younger.
"I wanted to help people, I wanted to use my knowledge, but I didn't want just to be one thing. It's one of the reasons I created The Skai Champion," I confess, hesitantly unveiling my alter ego to him. He freezes, taking in what I just said. I did a lot for his family as the Skai Champion.
His gaze softens considerably; it almost looks like he's starting to cry. "Octavia would have been caught a lot earlier if it weren't for you." I wipe the lone tear that falls down his cheek. In that moment, a profound connection seems to spark between us, emotions hanging thick in the air.
"I told you I wanted to help people" My voice soft and airy, as he moves closer to me, our lips brush together, I could feel the dry skin dragging against mine, and with his eyes closed, he leans forward, capturing my lips with his. It's a simple kiss. I know this moment isn't going to end well, as I take a step back from him and his lips.
His eyes open, a confused look on his face. "I'm sorry," I whisper as I flee his tent, escaping back to my own, the echo of our shared moment resonating deeply within me, stirring feelings I have put behind me long ago.
As I retread to my tent, I find a teary-eye Will sitting on my makeshift bed, Murphy trying to help him but struggling, upon seeing me Murphy sighs with relief, "thank god you're here, I have no clue what to do" I chuckle on the inside as I pick Will up and lay him on my shoulder patting and rubbing his back.
"Is that boy bullying you again?" I ask Will in a soft tone; he nods, and I feel it on my shoulder. I can see the rage building up in Murphy's eyes.
"He keeps saying I'm turning into a girl cause all my friends are girls, but I like my friends I don't care if they're all girls," Will says sluggish, I keep patting and rubbing his back until I feel his breathing regulate telling me he's asleep.
I'm careful to put him down on my bed; "Don't do anything stupid, Murphy and don't get caught." he gives me a nod before walking out, pretty much vibrating with rage.