Survive for Another Time

Chapter 15

"Soooo, what's up with the hair?"

They had been walking for a dozen minutes now, Octavia trusting her companion to lead them back to the camp with her 'earth skills' when the brunette asked the question with curiosity and humor in her voice. She was intrigued by the dozens of tresses in Clarke's hair as it was a hair do that no one else among the 100 youth wore.

"What about it?" replied Clarke with a smile.
"I don't know, it's different." Octavia defended.
"Exactly." said Clarke before continuing at Octavia's confused expression. "Why do like everybody else when you can be your own self? The Ark is all about falling in line, following the rules, the law. When i got arrested i knew i would be executed once i reached eighteen. 'Why should i follow them?' i wondered and came to the conclusion that there was no reason to."
"So you braided your hair?" was Octavia's disbelieving voice.
"No, i started exercising and learning things about earth -where i always wanted to go- my hair always fell in my eyes so i braided them. It got that way little by little."
"I gess your wish came true then."
"Yes but not the way i wanted too."
"How so?"
"In my dream my father and mother were with me, along with Wells and his father. Now my mother got my father killed and Jaha participated and approved the floating. Only me remains."
"And Wells." corrected Octavia having seen the boy's near fight with Murphy.
"And Wells." confirmed Clarke. And Lexa, added her mind.

The rest of the way was made in silence, Clarke watching the forest to lead them back to camp and Octavia admiring the green forest simply because of its beauty making Clarke smile at her wonder struck expression and remember that she too was the same not so long ago.

When they arrived at the camp people were busy everywhere cutting trees, building walls and there was even one person desperately rubbing two twigs together to light a fire.

"Get your brother." said Clarke to Octavia as she stepped in and light the fire in less than fide minutes under the stupefied eyes of the poor soul who had been at it for the last hour or so. When she stood up she saw Bellamy and Octavia arive and seing Bellamy's expression she had already told him of Finn's fate.

"What's your take on the Grounders?" asked Bellamy as soon as they were close enough so that no one could hear them.
"The Survivors are a threat if we make them one."
"How could they be one when they have attacked one of our own?" was Bellamy's angry retort.
"Like i said to Octavia, they probably think we are invading their forest especially when we burned a part of it in our crash-landing."
"So we do nothing?!"
"That's not what i said." Clarke tried to calm Bellamy down. "We need to find Finn, if only to make sure he is truly dead and to get him a proper funeral, then we need to keep building walls and put guards on them. We might not want to enter a  war that we can't win but if anyone tries to take us down we must be ready."

Bellamy slowly nodded in reluctant agreement. He would have preferred to show those grounders that they were stronger than them but without proper weapons and knowledge of the city it was nearly impossible. By following Clarke's plan they would win time to gather supplies and get to Mount Weather where surely, as a military installation, there would be enough weapons for everyone.

"Finally we need to find a way to contact the Ark." finished Clarke.
"What? No! No Ark! We don't need them!"

Bellamy had shouted as he had been taken by surprise. He had thought that, like him, Clarke was trying to detach themselves from the Ark and start anew without the looming presence of the Chancellor, it's Council and their armed force that were the guards. He was startled to realize that he had been wrong.
His shouting had attracted the camp's attention and now teenagers were gathering around them listening but Bellamy had not seen them as he was too busy trying to find a reason not to contact the Ark.

"We don't need them." he said with authority. "The adults will try to rule over us again, to impose their laws and rules on us."
"And i don't want it either but most of us still have parents of friends stuck up there. If we don't tell them that it is safe to come down then they will all die of oxygen deprivation."

Clarke raised her voice, well aware that people were listening and that they would want their families and friends back and therefore agree with her.

"If worse comes to pass we can leave them on their own but to do that we will need to learn how to survive alone and only the Survivors of Earth can teach us that especialy when winter comes."

Bellamy was taken aback by Clarke's last argument. He had not been thinking so far ahead, only preoccupied by his sister well being and his position as leader that was being threatened by Clarke.

"So, that's why you really want to make peace with them?"
"Partly." admitted Clarke. "My other reason is that they can't have survived down there without a system and if their is a system then their is a community."
"And if their is a community then there is unity among the survivors, a unity that could threaten us." finished Octavian, speaking for the first time since the beginning of the conversation.

Bellamy once again nodded in understanding, watching Clarke with curiosity in his eyes. He wondered what had been her life on the Ark for her to be who she was and be able to think ahead like that. His awe of the young women was reenforced when she spoke once more.

"We deserve more than just surviving, more than the way the Ark worked. We deserve peace."