Clarke awoke to the feeling of being carried and she was a little surprised to see that Octavia was the one carrying her.
She was about to speak, but Octavia beat her to the punch and said,"It's about time you woke up. Don't take this the wrong way, but you were starting to feel a little heavy."
Clarke smiled and got off Octavia's back. She stumbled a little, but she was able to steady herself.
"You okay?"said Bellamy who had been walking a little behind Octavia.
"Yeah,"said Clarke,"My legs just fell asleep. Did you guys take care of those guys?"
Octavia bidded and said,"I beat my guy easy enough,but Mr Tough Guy over there hurt himself before he won."
Clarke whirled towards Bellamy and said,"You got hurt? What is it?"
Bellamy sighed and said,"It's nothing too serious. "
Clarke wasn't having it and she noticed the bruised arm that Bellamy's short sleeved shirt didn't hide and said,"Really? Sorry to break it you, but a fractured arm is serious. Let me have a look at it."
Bellamy wordlessly nodded and allowed Clarke to examine his arm. Clarke prodded the area around the bruise noting when Bellamy would flinch whenever she pressed certain areas.
"You're lucky that it wasn't a break or else you'd be in a lot more pain. Don't think I can't tell how much this is hurting you."
Bellamy smiled reluctantly and said,"Are you done? We need to hurry back to camp."
Bellamy's words fell on deaf ears however as Clarke was still staring at his arm. He was about to speak again when he saw her lift her hand again, but this time she placed it just above the location of the fracture.
A soft, green light emanated from her hand and Clarke slowly brought her hand into contact with Bellamy's arm.
Bellamy and Octavia were mystified by these turn of events and to Bellamy's further amazement the pain he was expecting from the contact didn't appear. In fact, a soothing feeling began to spread throughout his body and all too soon the feeling disappeared as Clark removed her hand.
Bellamy looked at his arm and was surprised to see that it was back in perfect condition. Octavia also noticed and said,"So...mind telling us where you picked that up?"
Clarke nodded and said,"It awakened after my fight with that Grounder. It was after I burnt him in that rock prison."
Octavia walked closer to Clarke and said,"You mean that burnt pile of rock was you? We just thought that it was the Grounder you faced so you turned him into ashes? "
"Octavia,"said Bellamy warningly. He wasn't sure how Clarke felt about killing that guy and the last thing they all needed was Clarke not being at 100%.
"It's fine Bellamy,"said Clarke before she turned towards the sky as if in deep thought.
She saw that it was around dusk and she was amazed at how long Octavia had managed to carry her. They were probably only a few miles out from camp.
"I gained the ability to control fire and earth during my battle with him."
Octavia felt her eyebrows raise of their own accord and she said,"I thought you already activated your powers? You're telling me that the super speed and super strength far beyond everyone else isn't the only side effect of the gold injection?"
Clarke nodded and Octavia sighed and said,"I also thought so, but the thing is I beat him before they activated."
Octavia's face scrunched in confusion and she said disgustedly,"What are you talking about? If you beat him why did you end up burning him to death?"
Clarke didn't flinch at Octavia's harsh tone and she said neutrally,"I beat him a lot of times. He just kept standing back up. The first blast that you guys saw there sent him through a tree and when I got there he had a cracked skull and broken neck."
Clarke paused and Bellamy sighed impatiently and he was about to tell Clarke to get to the point, but she continued speaking before he could even say a word.
"First it was his skull. It just moved back into place on it's own,"said Clarke as she didn't notice the horrified looks on the faces of the two siblings,"His neck then just snapped back into place and he charged me at as if he hadn't just suffered crippling if not lethal injuries. I was surprised, but thought nothing of it. I sent him through at least 10 trees. I held him up with my powers and caved in his chest with the the strongest punch I could manage. Hell I dropped a bunch of trees on him and he still shrugged it off."
Octavia had heard enough and she pulled Clarke into a hug and tried to shush her, but still Clarke continued her morbid story.
"The fire just appeared when I got frustrated. I burnt him and thought that was the end of it. He stood up again a-and it's like my body was on autopilot...I trapped him in that rock and the seen I reached for his face. He bit me deep, but that didn't stop me. Finally, both my hands were on his forehead a-and I-I.."said Clarke before she trailed off at the end.
Bellamy spoke up and voiced the question he knew he wasn't going to like the answer to.
"What happened next?"
Clarke didn't reply for a few seconds before she said simply,"I stole his power to heal. I only realised what I'd done when I saw his burn wounds had stopped healing and after I saw that... I burnt him to death."
Bellamy flinched at the harsh words, but before he could say anything Clarke said,"Look, they're more important things to consider than this. We need to get back to camp and see if we can help Raven with her plan and we also need to tell everyone that the Grounders have powers."
Bellamy and Octavia reluctantly agreed to drop the subject and Clarke stood up and said,"I'll carry you guys back to camp."
"Aren't you feeling tired? You did faint after your fight,"said Octavia worriedly.
Clarke shook her head and said,"I'll be fine. Let's move."
The two siblings were barely able to voice a complaint before they felt Clarke grab and speed off to camp.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
To say that things had gotten hectic after Raven escaped in the pod would be a major understatement.
It had happened shortly after Raven managed to decouple from the Ark and plot a course to Earth.
Abby had been on her way to check on the status of the 100 when she had heard a large commotion coming from the room.
She entered the room and was surprised to see the entire council, Sinclair and Jackson along with a few of the other Ark guards.
She had felt no small amount of trepidation when the room had fallen silent after they noticed that she had entered.
She looked towards Jaha who said,"Abby, I'm afraid you've run out of time."
She looked towards the screen that everybody was crowding around and she was horrified to see Clarke's picture spanning the entire screen.
It was red.
The rest of the 100 had died too which was the reason Jaha had opened with such an ominous statement.
The council had effectively revoked the time she had to prevent the Population Reduction Act and they were to vote on it immediately in the council's chambers.
Abby was in a conundrum she could tell them that she had launched an escape pod and that they should wait for Raven.
However, she knew that at best she'd be stripped of her status as a councillor and that would prevent her from voting against the culling.
Rumours had begun to swirl about the escape pod and somehow it had even come out that Raven had been the one to steal it.
There hadn't been any arrests, but Kane, amongst others, had been rather suspicious of her. No action was to be taken, though, until the Guard who was in charge of the investigation was able to discover who could have helped her.
It was why she was more than a little worried when she saw the Commander of the Guard enter and have a whispered conversation with Kane and then Jaha.
Jaha finally stepped away and took a tablet from the Guard which undoubtedly had the evidence which would incriminate her.
Abby wouldn't deny anything because she believed she was working in the best interests of the Ark and she would accept whatever punishment they deemed fit.
Dimly, she was aware that she wouldn't be executed. The number of cases of pulmonary toxicity were rising even now as they were in the chambers. As the foremost medical expert on the Ark, if she was floated then they'd essentially be killing the people they were tasked with saving.
This line of thinking gave Abby enough confidence to not react as Jaha went back to his seat and slammed his gavel which signified the beginning of the meeting.
"Honourable members of the council,"said Jaha as he began his address,"Make no mistake. The situation facing us is dire. It will require us to be united and be able to act as one."
Jaha paused before slamming his fist onto the table. The crack of Jaha's fist impacting the table caused everyone to flinch and straighten up in their chairs.
"I thought we were all aware of this which is why,"said Jaha as he continued to state at the council members,"It was extremely disappointing to find out from Commander Shumway that despite the situation facing us one of the council members went behind my back in an effort to prove their point."
Jaha paused and Abby, despite her earlier bluster, began to grow concerned at the level of anger that was seeping into Jaha's voice.
Jaha tapped a few buttons on tablet in his hand and to Abby's horror there was a video of Raven working on the escape pod. She wasn't sure when a camera had even been placed there as according to the map of the Ark all council members had there was no cameras in there at all.
"That is Raven Reyes,"said Thelonious as he paused the video,"A Zero-G mechanic and according to Sinclair the smartest person on this ship bar none or at least she was before she used that escape pod to get to Earth. You might be wondering what this has to do with any of you, but today I received when I received word from Kane that Nygel–a supposed smuggler– was asked by Ms Reyes to obtain a pressure regulator for her I ordered Shumway to investigate. Commander Shumway had just been showing me that one of our members has constantly been seen around Ms Reyes around Mecha Station and he was able to plant a camera within the room they seemed to frequent."
Suspicious looks began to fly around and Abby was doing her best to seem just as surprised by what was going on even though she felt as though a heavy weight had settled in her stomach.
She had gone through all this with the hope that the Earth was habitable and that Project Exodus would commence. It left a dark spot on her soul to acknowledge that she'd essentially doomed Raven if what the wristbands were transmitting was true.
Jaha pressed a button and the video continued until the door began to open and Abby closed her eyes as she heard the gasps of surprise.
"Councillor, what do you have to say for yourself? "said Jaha after the room calmed down.
Abby opened her eyes and was about to speak up, but she was surprised when she heard the voice of Councillor Fuji shout,"This is a disgrace! I have never even met that mechanic before!"
Abby looked towards the screen and she was gobsmacked to see Councillor Fuji speaking to Raven. The scary part was that the words he was saying were the exact words she had said to Raven.
It was very unsettling when she realised that this must be a part of Diana's plan. She didn't understand what the game was here though and she wasn't sure how this was possible.
"Councillor Fuji, please save the little that is left of your dignity,"said Jaha as he motioned for the guards to take him out and said,"Councillor Fuji is hereby stripped of his rank as a councillor. This level of insubordination is cannot and will not be tolerated. I understand that you were simply acting in the Ark's best interest so you shall not be floated."
Richard Fuji was livid at these words and tried to lunge at Jaha, but Shumway hit him with an electrical baton and he fell unconscious.
Jaha waited for the commotion to die down and said,"It is clear that the plan to send the 100 to Earth has failed. The Population Reduction Act was at a stalemate and we had delayed the vote to today. A show of hands for those who refuse."
Abby was the only one who raised her hand in opposition and the matter was settled when all of the other council members voted for the Population Reduction Act.
The details were hashed out with Kane leading the discussion on how best to go through with it. It went mostly unheard by Abby who was unsure how to deal with everything.
Her daughter might be dead. She had condemned another girl just as young as Clarke to a slow death on Earth. Finally, she had kept quiet while an innocent man was stripped of his rank because of crimes he didn't commit.
Crimes she committed.
"The Population Reduction Act will go on as planned tonight. As Kane said it is essential that it appears to be an accident in order to keep the peace,"said Jaha before he said,"We need to elect a new council member so if anyone has any suggestions now would be a good time."
Abby left in a daze and ignored the calls of both Jaha and Kane as she made her way to Medical. She was sure the amount of cases were building up and she needed something to take her mind off of everything.
It probably wouldn't work though. The only thing she could do that could settle the heavy weight in her stomach was to release the video that Jake had made.
She only hoped that this was the right course of action. The fact that someone (probably Diana) had managed to frame another councillor for Abby's crimes made her skittish about the mess that she was embroiled in.
She could tell Thelonious or Kane about Diana and her plans to overthrow Jaha, but that would implicate Abby in the whole deal with Raven. That would definitely result in her being kicked off the council and she needed to stay on not only to hopefully curb whatever Diana was plan, but also to hopefully be amongst the first to hear from Raven who could hopefully clear the fog surrounding the supposed deaths of the 100.
Abby finally reached Medical and as she began to treat a young girl her mind thought of the most important reason she'd left Fuji to the wolves. She had to remain useful to Diana's ambition and wait for her turn to strike.
After all when one's gaze is on the skies it's hard to see what's right in front of you.