Homecoming

by Kass Morgan

  They were both so focused on their search, they almost didn’t notice a deer grazing nearby. Glass raised her head to call Luke over, and just before his name left her lips, she saw it, standing just feet from her. It was young—was there a special name for a baby deer? Glass strained to remember—and so beautiful. Its soft brown muzzle twitched as it sniffed the air, and its wide brown eyes were sweet and sad. Glass was afraid to move, for fear of scaring it away. She wanted Luke to see it too, but she couldn’t make a sound. She and the deer stared at each other for a long moment, until finally Luke turned and saw it. He froze. She could tell from the look on his face that he was as awestruck by the animal as she was.

  The three of them stood there, locked in a silent exchange. Finally, a distant rustle in the trees sent the deer bolting off into the woods with barely a sound. Glass let out a sigh as it disappeared. “That was incredible,” she said.

  “Yeah,” Luke agreed, but his expression was serious.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, surprised at his reaction.

  “It’s just—if we don’t find something to eat, we’re going to have to, you know…” He trailed off.

  Glass’s heart sank. She had been so transfixed by the deer’s expressive eyes; she hadn’t stopped to think that she might be forced to eat it. The thought made her stomach turn. “Let’s not worry about that now,” she said. “Just keep looking.”

  Luckily they’d found the berries, and so far they’d been okay. But she knew deep down it was only a matter of time before something changed. They were running low on water-purifying tablets, and there was no pot in the house that would enable them to boil any water. There were weird bugs that scuttled across the floor in the predawn hours, waking Glass from a dead sleep and giving her goose bumps. Luke just laughed at her as she scooted closer to him and pulled the blankets tighter over them both. And there had been the constant, nagging worry about what would happen next. Would they be able to stay here? Could it really be that simple? She remembered learning about Earth seasons—the pretty fall leaves meant that, soon enough, winter would come, and they’d have to figure out how to survive the cold. She did her best to push those thoughts away, though. Winter was a worry for another day. Today she just wanted to live out the fairy tale, in their fantasy cabin under the tall canopy of trees.

  Luke stepped through the doorway, stomping mud off his boots. Leaves clung to his thick, wavy hair. A waft of piney crispness floated off of him and filled her nose. Glass inhaled deeply. Just being this close to him and breathing in his scent made every nerve in her body tingle.

  “Dinner?” She held up the dish of berries with mock solemnity. “I made you something special tonight.”

  “Ah, berry stew.” Luke grinned. “My favorite. Is it a special occasion?”

  She cocked her head to the side and smiled mischievously. “It can be.”

  Luke stepped across the room in a couple of quick strides, hugged her, and pulled her into a deep kiss that felt like it would never end.

  Later that night, they fell asleep entwined together by the fire. Glass had nodded off quickly. With each night they’d spent in the woods, Glass had grown more and more relaxed, the anxiety and stress of the past few weeks slowly fading from her memory. She had started to sleep deeply, almost hungrily, as if sleep offered her a nourishment she had long craved.

  When the first noise came through the window, Glass incorporated it into her dream. She only woke when Luke sat upright next to her, her body rolling off his as he jumped up in a panic. She opened her eyes, snapping instantly into consciousness. That’s when she saw it: a face at the window of the cabin. Someone was staring at them—an Earthborn, she saw in the reflected light of the dying fire. She could tell from the long hair and bulky clothes. None of the Colonists dressed like that. They didn’t carry themselves like that. Terror and adrenaline shot through her body, flooding her veins and firing up her brain. She heard screaming in the distance, but it took her a moment to realize the sound was coming from her own mouth.

  Luke jumped up and reached for the gun he had taken from camp. Shirtless and barefoot, he whipped open the front door to the cabin and bolted into the darkness.

  “Luke, no!” Glass called after him, a note of desperation in her voice. “Don’t go out there!” But he had already disappeared from view. Panic gripped her chest, threatening to bring her to the ground, but she pressed forward, stumbling after Luke, gasping for air as she tried to call his name.

  Glass ran outside, searching blindly in the dark until her eyes adjusted. She was flooded with relief when she saw Luke standing a few meters away, his back to her. He held the gun high in the air, pointed at the sky. Facing him, forming a half circle, were three men and one woman. They were dressed similarly to Sasha, in a combination of animal skins and wool, but that was where the similarities ended. Their faces were like cruel masks, and their eyes glinted with malice as they exchanged delighted glances with one another.

  Luke and the Earthborns were engaged in a silent standoff. The Earthborns stood with their arms raised, spears poised at shoulder-height, ready to attack. They seemed to be waiting for some kind of signal. Before he could stop her, Glass ran toward Luke. He wrapped a strong arm around her and pushed her behind him. She could feel every muscle in his body tensed, ready for a fight.

  She stuck her head out from behind him and called out to the Earthborns. “Please,” she said, her voice cracking. “We’re not here to hurt anyone. We’re friends of Sasha’s. Please don’t hurt us.”

  “Oh, you’re friends with Sasha, are you?” one of the men said, his voice harsh and mocking. “Well, in that case, we’ll kill you right away instead of leaving you half dead for the animals. It’s only polite.”

  Luke tried to push her further behind him. There was a long, terrifying pause, as each side waited for the other one to act. Finally, one of the Earthborns—the man whose face she’d seen at the window—stepped forward menacingly. “We tried warning your friends. We showed mercy by only killing one of them. Yet instead of realizing that you aren’t welcome here, you brought down more of your kind. Enough is enough,” he spat.

  “That’s not what happened,” Glass cried. “We didn’t know… there was no way to communicate with them. But there are no more of us coming, I promise.” Her voice broke, both from fear and from the sad realization that it was true. Whoever hadn’t made it onto one of the dropships was gone forever.

  The Earthborn woman sneered at Glass. “You promise?” She snorted. “We learned the hard way what happens when you trust outsiders.” She nodded at the man, who raised his arm and aimed his spear directly at Luke’s heart, cocking his arm back.

  “Don’t move!” Luke shouted. “Please. I don’t want to hurt you, but I have a gun. Don’t force me to use it.”

  The man paused, as if considering Luke’s words, but only for a moment. Then he took another careful step forward.

  Glass’s ears rang with the sharp crack of the bullet. It echoed off the tree trunks and bounced back at them. Luke had fired into the sky, pointing the gun away from the Earthborns, but it had been enough to scare them. They jumped and scattered, disappearing into the darkness.

  Glass was so relieved to see them retreating that at first she didn’t realize what had happened. There had been a little flurry of motion right as Luke fired the shot. Had one of them thrown something? She turned back to Luke, and her blood froze in her veins. He stood facing her, his eyes wide and startled. His mouth was open, but no sound came out. She ran her eyes down his body, following his arms down to his hands, which grasped his left leg tightly. Blood poured out from between his fingers. A wooden spear lay on the ground near his foot.

  “Luke!” she cried. “Luke—no!”

  Luke sank to his knees.

  Glass ran to him, throwing herself on the ground next him. “Luke!” She grabbed his arm, as if trying to keep him with her, to stop him from slipping away somewhere she couldn’t follow.

  “You’l
l be okay,” she said, willing herself to push the panic from her voice. Luke needed her to stay calm. He needed her to figure something out. “Let’s just get you inside.” She looked down and blanched. Even in the faint moonlight, she could see the grass around Luke’s leg turning dark red.

  She reached under Luke’s arms and gave an experimental tug but stopped abruptly when he let out a cry of pain. “Just help me up,” Luke grunted through clenched teeth. “We’ll deal with the rest when we get inside.”

  Uneasily, he rose onto one leg. She tried to keep her breathing steady, tried to forget the fact that they were two days’ walk from medical help. How could they have been so foolish to go off on their own?

  “Don’t worry,” Luke said, wincing with each awkward hop. He twisted around, scanning the dark trees for signs of the Earthborns. “It’s not that bad.” But even Luke couldn’t keep the fear out of his voice.

  They both knew he was lying. And they both knew what would happen if he didn’t get better.

  Glass would be entirely on her own.

  CHAPTER 18

  Clarke

  The mood in the Earthborns’ camp had shifted dramatically. As the sun sank, so did the fevered excitement that had made everyone’s blood run fast and hot during the confrontation with Rhodes’s men. They were still committed to protecting Bellamy—if anything, the encounter had made it clear how dangerous it would be to acquiesce to the Colonists—but their faces had grown grave, their voices hushed and urgent as they herded their children into their homes and bolted the doors.

  Clarke was sitting outside the cabin, racing against the fading light as she prepared to repair the stiches Bellamy had torn during the escape. “Take off your shirt,” she said as they settled onto a patch of grass that lay beyond the lengthening shadows.

  Bellamy looked taken aback as he turned his head from side to side, scanning the dirt road for people. “What? Here?”

  “Yes, here. It’s too dark inside the cabin.” He hesitated, and Clarke raised an eyebrow. “Since when does Bellamy Blake have to be asked twice to take his shirt off?”

  “Come on, Clarke. They already think I’m some insane fugitive who’s going to get them all killed. Do I have to be an insane, shirtless fugitive as well?”

  “Yes, unless you want them to see you as an insane, dead fugitive. I need to fix those stitches.”

  He sighed dramatically and, with his good arm, grabbed on to the edge of his shirt and pulled it over his head.

  “Thank you,” Clarke said, suppressing a smile. As a patient, Bellamy bore a striking similarity to some of the little kids she used to treat back in the medical center. But that was one of the things she loved about him. He could be a deer-hunting, arrow-shooting warrior one moment, and a goofy kid splashing around in the stream the next. She admired the way he threw himself into every role, living every moment to the fullest. The last few weeks on Earth had been exhausting and terrifying, but also completely magical as she learned to see the untamed planet through Bellamy’s unexpectedly romantic viewpoint. Unlike most of the hundred, who’d always choose gossiping around the fire over exploring the woods, Bellamy seemed to prefer the company of trees to people. Clarke loved walking with him in the forest, watching his brash attitude slip away as he looked around in wonder.

  She had Bellamy lie down while she threaded the needle she’d just sterilized over the fire. “Do you want me to see if they have painkillers?” Clarke asked, placing her hand on Bellamy’s arm.

  He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “No. I’ve caused enough trouble already. I’m not taking their medicine.”

  Clarke pressed her lips together but didn’t argue. She knew better than to go head-to-head with Bellamy when he was in one of his stubborn moods. She pressed a little harder on his arm, both to keep him still and to steady herself. “Okay. Take a deep breath.”

  She slid the needle into his skin, forcing herself not to move as Bellamy flinched and groaned. The best she could do was to work quickly and accurately, and make the procedure as short as possible. “You’re doing great,” she told him as she brought the needle back around and prepared for a second stitch.

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re enjoying this,” Bellamy said through gritted teeth.

  “Everything okay here?” a voice called. Clarke didn’t turn around, but she could hear Max, Wells, and possibly Sasha walking toward them.

  “Super,” Bellamy said before she could answer. “Just indulging Clarke’s sadistic side. Pretty standard.” He let out another groan. “I let her do this to me every night.”

  “Don’t move,” Clarke said. She tugged gently on the thread and watched in satisfaction as the skin pulled tight. “You don’t want me to slip and accidentally sew your lips shut.”

  She could hear the smile in Sasha’s voice as she said, “You two make a strange couple.”

  “Says the Earth girl dating a boy who fell out of the sky,” Bellamy managed through clenched teeth.

  Clarke tied a small knot and snapped off the extra string. “All done.” She squeezed Bellamy’s knee to let him know to sit back up.

  He looked down at the stitches and nodded. “Nice job, Doctor,” he said loudly so the others could hear. Then he smiled and pulled her close. “Thank you,” he whispered before kissing the top of her head, then reaching for his shirt.

  “You should head inside,” Max said, shooting a glance at the trees surrounding the village. “I don’t think your people are going to cause any trouble tonight, but there’s no reason to make it easy for them if they do.”

  Wells cleared his throat. “I wanted to talk to you about that. We know it’s only a matter of time before the guards come back, most likely with more people and a lot more guns. And from what we know about Rhodes, he won’t be overly concerned about hurting innocent people. He’ll consider harboring Bellamy to be an act of war.” He paused and glanced at Sasha, who gave him a small nod. “I think it’d be safer to move everyone back inside. Underground—into Mount Weather.”

  Max stared at him. “Underground,” he repeated bitterly, twisting his mouth just as Rhodes did when he said the word sister.

  “It’s a fortress, isn’t it?” Clarke said. “If it could keep out a hundred kilotons of radiation, surely it could keep out a few guards.”

  Max shot Sasha a look Clarke couldn’t quite read, but it was enough to make her bite her lip nervously. When he spoke, his voice was strained. “We’re well aware of Mount Weather’s capabilities. Our people lived there for centuries, entire generations entombed. They lived and died without ever glimpsing the sky. When we finally came back above ground, we vowed to stay there. We’d never let anything—or anyone—force us underground again.”

  As someone who’d grown up on a space station, who still got a thrill from her first breath of fresh morning air, Clarke could understand where Max was coming from. But if it came down to living underground or dying above, then the choice was clear. “Rhodes isn’t going to stop until he gets what he wants,” she said. “And he won’t care how many of your people he has to kill along the way.”

  Max’s face hardened. “We’ve fought off attackers before,” he said. “We know how to defend ourselves.”

  “Not against people like this,” Wells said. “These are trained soldiers—a small army. I know the other Earthborns are dangerous, but they’ve got nothing on Rhodes’s men.”

  Max fell silent, and although his expression remained stern, Clarke could tell he was considering Wells’s words.

  Sasha spoke first. “Dad, we should listen to Wells. He knows what he’s talking about. I don’t want to go underground any more than you do, but in this case, I think it’s the right thing to do.”

  Max stared at her with a look of mild surprise, then something in his face shifted, as if he were looking at his daughter in a new light, accepting that she’d gone from child to confidante. Clarke’s heart throbbed painfully as she thought about her own father and the long hours
they’d spent discussing Clarke’s medical training or his own research. In the year leading up to his arrest, he’d begun treating her like a trusted colleague, a friend. Would she ever get the chance to tell him all about her adventures on Earth? Would she ever get to share the questions she’d been saving especially for him?

  Finally, Max nodded. “Okay. We’ll do this calmly. And we need to emphasize to our people that this is only a precaution. We’ll send out the signal and get everyone moving right away. Wells, you come with me. You can brief us on Rhodes and his strategy while we evacuate.”

  After conferring with some of his advisors, Max decided to move everyone inside Mount Weather that night. He sent a few engineers ahead to make sure that the fortress was ready for an influx of people, and spent the rest of the evening going from house to house, explaining the situation.

  By midnight, everyone in the community had gathered at the base of the mountain, prepared to spend the night in its depths for the first time in decades. Most people carried food and clothes, leading children who clutched their favorite toys.

  Max stood by the enormous metal door built into the hillside, which had been propped open to let the stream of people file in. Bellamy and Clarke hung back until nearly everyone was inside, as did Wells, who was standing watch with Sasha. “Is there anything I can do?” Clarke asked Max as they approached.

  “Just make sure everyone’s settled. There are more than enough rooms, but some of them are hard to find. If anyone seems lost, you can tell them to wait for me. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

  Clarke nodded, took Bellamy’s hand, and led him through the door and down the first flight of steep, narrow stairs that seemed to descend down into the belly of the Earth. They’d both been inside Mount Weather before, but that was when they’d believed the Earthborns were their enemy, so they hadn’t spent a great deal of time admiring the incredible setup. This was no dark cave—this was a sophisticated bunker that had been built by the best engineers in America to withstand the Cataclysm.