The first night on Earth could have been a lot better for Lily.
After the rain, the sky had opened up, revealing the stars that shone differently compared to how they looked from the Ark—but no less beautifully.
The damp soil had been strangely comfortable, and the smell of the wet wood had lulled her to sleep, but at some point during the night, Lily had woken up to notice that Wells was no longer lying next to her.
That had been immediately alarming. It was strange that he had gotten up to take a walk in the middle of the night. Wells had told her he was worried about Clarke, so it was possible he couldn't fall asleep—but walking around in the dark?
I don't like this, she thought, looking around. Lily slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position, trying to spot any movement in the dark. But there was no use. She couldn't see anyone. Biting her lip, she stood up, feeling the cloth of her trousers damp from where she had been lying.
"Wells?" she called in a whisper, peering ahead. Lily didn't really know what to do; she wanted to make sure Wells was alright, but it would be stupid to walk into the forest alone, in the dark. She would surely get lost.
She was still debating what to do when the sound of footsteps made her let out a relieved breath. Wells was surely coming back. But her smile faded when she noticed Bellamy walking out of the woods. He was alone, his shirt damp from the rain, and something about the way he moved made her spine stiffen. As he stepped into the clearing where they were all sleeping, he didn't miss her standing figure.
"Where's Wells?" she asked, taking a step toward Bellamy, who let out a little chuckle.
"Got a crush on the Chancellor?" he mocked, but Lily ignored him, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at him.
"He's not here and you just got back," she said firmly, and even though it was dark, she could feel his stare on her. "So? Where is he?"
Bellamy stood silent for a moment before taking a step toward her. Lily stood her ground as her heart hammered in her chest. Bellamy was unpredictable—she still had many questions about him, and she really didn't know what to expect from his reactions.
"You're a curious one, aren't you?" he asked. She could see a smirk, but she wasn't sure he was enjoying this. "I wouldn't be if I were you."
That made her frown as he came closer.
"Are you threatening me?" she asked, but he shook his head once, confusing her even more.
"Just a warning," he answered. "In your position, I wouldn't want to draw attention to myself."
"My position?" She looked up at him, but he didn't answer. Bellamy paused, just for a second. Then smirked and walked past her, leaving her alone with her pounding heart.
"What position?" she asked again, but he only walked away.
He cannot know, she thought, her heart beating like crazy inside her chest. Nobody knows.
Marcus would have never told anyone about her—it wasn't like him.
So how could Bellamy know anything about her?
Lily stood there in silence, her back lying against the trunk of the tree she had been sleeping under earlier. She could only think about what Bellamy was implying. She didn't want anyone to know that she was Councilor Marcus Kane's daughter; she had seen how they had targeted Wells just for being a Jaha, and she knew that being considered one of the privileged now was not something that would have helped her—if anything, it was the exact opposite. But the question was still stuck in her head. Nobody knew who her father was. Nobody.
Her racing thoughts were abruptly interrupted when she heard laughter coming from the woods, a few meters away from where she was. And just a few moments later, she spotted the group of guys who usually followed Bellamy coming out of the trees.
"That was easy," she heard Murphy say as he walked towards the dropship, letting out another laugh. She had to look more closely to see that he was holding something in his hand, but it was too dark to understand what it was. Then she felt her anxiety rise when she saw those guys go talk to Bellamy. She was sure that something had happened to Wells.
What did they do? she asked herself, feeling even more afraid for Wells. She wanted to go ask for some kind of explanation, but as she was about to move, Bellamy's warning echoed in her head.
In your position, I wouldn't want to draw attention to myself.
She hated that those words had that effect on her, especially because Wells could really need her help. Lily didn't want to leave him alone, but she didn't want any attention on her either. Was she afraid? Was she selfish?
But Wells could need my help, she thought, finally deciding that she would ask something—either to Bellamy, or Murphy, or someone from the group. But just as she was about to take a step forward, a rustling noise made her turn toward the woods behind her. A relieved breath escaped her lips when she saw Wells walking out of the shadows.
"Oh my God," Lily exclaimed, hurrying toward him. He looked exhausted and worried, so she placed a hand on his forearm. "Wells, what happened?" she asked, glancing behind her toward the dropship.
"Bellamy ambushed me," he said, anger in his eyes.
"What?" she exclaimed.
"He wanted to take my wristband off," Wells went on, showing her his wrist, now free from the iron band. Lily frowned, glancing back once again to see Bellamy entering the dropship. "He said he needs the Ark to think I'm dead."
Lily was confused. She knew Bellamy hated the Ark, and he had already convinced many of them to take off their wristbands—so why did he need Wells to do the same? What was driving Bellamy to the point of ambushing him?
"He's hiding something," Wells said, and Lily could only agree.
After what had happened, Lily hadn't been able to sleep for the rest of the night. Her mind kept searching for answers about Bellamy—how he had managed to get on the ship, why he wanted so badly to prevent the Ark from coming down. There was more to the story, Lily was sure of it, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't come up with a single explanation that made sense.
And with the same questions the sun rose and one by one the hundred woke up all around her. Lily sat near the base of the same tree where she had spent the night, arms wrapped around her knees. Her eyes were fixed on the forest's edge, where Wells had disappeared again at dawn without saying much—just a glance, and muttering "I need to do something."
She didn't follow him. Something in his voice had told her he needed space.
So she decided to look around the camp and see if there were any other bushes with something edible. Lily walked quietly, watching her steps and studying the plants she passed. But nothing looked safe to eat.
Then, suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. When she looked up, she recognized Wells. He was walking slowly, shoulders heavy, hands caked with dirt. He held some clothes in his fingers.
Lily stepped forward. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Wells glanced down at the clothes in his hands and gave a slight nod. There was sadness in his eyes, so Lily decided not to push him to talk.
"I'm a bit hungry," she said with a small, encouraging smile. "Wanna see if there are some raspberries left?"
"Alright," Wells replied quietly, following Lily through camp. Around them, people were already laughing, talking, kissing—as if the night before had never happened.
Lily and Wells walked side by side toward the place where they had found raspberries the night before. To get there, they had to pass by the dropship. As they did, Atom stepped up to Wells.
"Hey," he said, voice sharp enough to make Lily glance between them. "Where'd you get the clothes?"
"Buried the two kids who died during the landing," Wells answered, almost rolling his eyes. It seemed like he had to justify everything to everyone.
"Smart. You know, I'll take it from here. There's always a market for—" Atom began, reaching out to grab the clothes, but Wells quickly pulled them back.
"We share based on need," Wells said firmly. "Just like back home."
Lily watched the two, noticing how quick Wells was to get defensive. She was about to step in when Bellamy emerged from the dropship.
He wasn't wearing a shirt, and there was a girl behind him.
"You still don't get it, do you, Chancellor?" he said, his voice dripping with mockery—enough to make Lily roll her eyes internally—just before he leaned in to kiss the girl behind him. "This is home now. Your father's rules no longer apply."
Then he turned and strode up to Wells, snatching one of the shirts from his arms.
Wells didn't hesitate. He was ready to fight back.
"Wells, no," Lily said, trying to stop him as Atom moved to block him.
"Oh no, no, Atom. Hold up," Bellamy said, stepping closer with a smirk. Then, to Wells, "You want it back? Take it."
The two glared at each other, tension crackling between them, just before Wells threw the clothes on the ground behind him. Lily let out a breath and stepped in between the two of them as some people ran to the clothes.
"We are not going to make it if we keep up like this," she said, looking at Wells first and then at Bellamy.
His eyes flicked to Lily for a moment. His smirk faded just slightly.
"We can't keep fighting with each other for every single thing."
"That's what he wants," Wells said. "Chaos. Don't you?"
Bellamy looked around for a moment, then flashed another smirk. "What's wrong with a little chaos?"
"That you can't control it," Lily said—just before a loud scream pierced the air.
Bellamy's face fell as he quickly pulled on a shirt and turned toward the direction of the scream. Wells and Lily shared a worried look as they followed his steps. They weren't the only ones; the whole camp was gathering around where the screams were coming from.
Lily gasped when she saw Murphy pinning down a girl, her face inches from the fire. They were forcing people to take off their wristbands like they had done with Wells the night before.
"Bellamy, check it out," Murphy said with a smirk as soon as he saw him. "We want the Ark to think the ground is killing us, right? Figure it'll look better if we suffer a little first."
"Oh my God," Lily whispered, just before Wells rushed forward and shoved Murphy off the girl.
Is that what he wants? she thought, looking up at Bellamy. He wanted them to turn on each other? What was the point?
"You can stop this," Wells said to Bellamy.
"Stop this?" he answered, unbothered as always. "I'm just getting started."
"Why are you doing this?" Lily asked, making him look down at her. But before he could respond, the sound of a punch made her whip her head around—Murphy had struck Wells in the face, then in the stomach.
"Wells!" Lily cried, trying to run forward, but two arms blocked her.
"Bellamy, let me go!" she protested, struggling against his grip. She kept trying to break free, turning to see what was happening.
Wells was fighting back, punching Murphy in the face and knocking him to the ground. The crowd shouted around them, some cheering, some just watching. Lily kept fighting Bellamy's hold, panic rising in her chest.
She gasped when she saw Murphy get up and tackle Wells, pinning him and swinging his fist.
"Stop it!" Lily was the only one screaming. "Bellamy, let me go!"
Meanwhile, Wells managed to flip Murphy over and pin him down instead, landing another punch that finally stopped him.
Bellamy let her go at last, and Lily shoved him back with both hands, making him chuckle.
"This is madness!" she exclaimed, turning to Wells.
"Don't you see you can't control it?" Wells said to Bellamy, stepping toward him.
But Murphy's movement caught Lily's attention. Blood was running down his face, and his eyes were wild. What truly scared her, though, was the makeshift dagger in his hand.
"You're dead," he hissed, charging at Wells.
"Murphy, no!" Lily yelled—but surprisingly, it was Bellamy who stepped in, grabbing Murphy before he could strike.
Lily let out a shaky breath. Things were spiraling too quickly—it was only the second day, and they were already trying to kill each other.
But then she saw something that chilled her more than Murphy's rage: Bellamy wasn't stopping the fight. He was giving Wells a weapon.
"Fair fight," he said, tossing the knife at Wells' feet. Lily was really scared. That had become too dangerous to handle—one of them could really die, and for what? Just because they didn't like each other.
"You can't allow this," she said, walking up to Bellamy as she saw Wells pick up the knife. Bellamy didn't answer; he just looked down at her. "They are going to kill each other. You know they will!" she begged him as she turned to Murphy and Wells, both with their knives in hand, circling each other, ready to attack. They were serious, they really were.
Maybe Marcus was right, she thought, hearing the loud sound of her own heartbeat inside her chest. Maybe the only way they could survive was through strict rules. But at the same time, it was because of those strict rules that all of this was happening.
"This is for my father!" Murphy said as he cut Wells on the arm. Lily gasped as she saw Wells dodging Murphy's attack, pushing him to make him turn, grab him, and put a knife to Murphy's neck.
"Wells, no!" Lily said, taking a step forward just before another voice spoke.
"Drop it!" Clarke was the one who had spoken and looked at the scene with wide eyes, as she came forward with Finn close behind. "Let him go!" she demanded, walking toward Wells. But as soon as he let Murphy go, he was ready to charge back, but this time Bellamy stopped him for good. He was not having fun anymore, since he had noticed his sister limping toward them, with an arm around Jasper's friend. Then he frowned when he didn't notice Jasper walking in the clear with the others.
"Octavia, are you alright?" Bellamy asked his sister, who nodded with a little gasp of pain. "Where's the food?" he then asked with a frown.
Where's Jasper? Lily thought, suddenly unable to let words leave her mouth. Something went wrong, and she felt her breath getting caught in her throat. And Clarke's expression was not making anything better.
"We didn't make it to Mount Weather," Finn was the one who answered, sitting himself down on a rock. Lily crossed her arms over her chest when she noticed Murphy stopping next to her.
"What the hell happened out there?" Bellamy demanded, and Clarke's answer only made Lily feel the panic even more.
"We were attacked," she said, making all the people in the crowd gasp and whisper to each other.
"Attacked?" Wells asked, voice filled with worry. "By what?" Clarke looked up at him; she was scared. It was clear she was.
And since Clarke wasn't able to answer, it was Finn who spoke. "Not what. Who." Everyone gasped.
"This cannot be," Lily said with wide eyes.
Finn looked up toward her. "Turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last Grounder."
That was not possible. The radiation should have killed everybody. The Ark was already in space, that's how they were alive until now. But on Earth everyone was supposed to be dead.
Like we should have been, she remembered. They weren't supposed to survive according to what they had been studying. They should have waited another hundred years for them to be safe. But they were still alive. So what if the radiation was survivable from the start? That would be the only explanation for why there were still people alive on Earth.
"Everything we thought we knew about the ground was wrong," Clarke said to everyone. "There are people here, survivors." Then she took a breath. "The good news is, that means we can survive. Radiation won't kill us."
"Yeah, the bad news is the Grounders will," Finn said after her.
That was too dangerous. They knew nothing of Earth, they knew nothing of those people. How could they defend themselves against someone they didn't even know?
"Where's the kid with the goggles?" Wells asked. And Lily bit her lips as she waited for an answer. How did they know that there were people, and the fact that Jasper was not with them was linked. Lily trembled at the thought. What had happened to Jasper?
"Jasper was hit," Clarke answered.
"Hit?" Lily said, "Hit by what?" Clarke turned towards her.
"A spear," she explained, as Lily let out a shaky breath. "They took him." That made her frown, he was not dead then? But how would she know that? A spear… it was almost impossible for him to survive without surgery.
"Where's your wristband?" Clarke had noticed that Wells wasn't wearing the iron band anymore, and her eyes were wide as she observed his wrist.
"Ask him," Wells said as he glared at Bellamy, who stood silent next to his sister. Clarke looked angry too, knowing what had been going on.
"How many?" she asked. But it was Murphy the one who answered.
"Twenty-four and counting," he said from next to Lily. She looked at him—he seemed proud of himself for what they were doing.
"You idiots," Clarke's reaction made Lily frown, she knew they weren't supposed to take those bracelets off, but she was angry, very angry and worried. What was going on?
"Life support on the Ark is failing," at her words Lily felt her blood run cold.
"What?" she asked, touching her wristband, before she could even think about it.
"That's why they brought us down here," Clarke kept explaining. "They need to know that the ground is survivable again, and we need their help against whoever is out there."
That made sense, it finally made sense. That was why the rush, that was the reason why they had sent them there so abruptly. They were dying.
Marcus…
"If you take off your wristbands, you are not just killing them," Clarke said again, "You are killing us!"
People around them started to whisper at each other, now the prospect of doing whatever the hell they wanted didn't taste as sweet. Lily felt the same. She had liked the idea of starting from scratch, and she understood the appealing feeling of not wanting anyone to get on Earth, even only out of anger. But they were talking about human lives, their families' lives. Her father's life. She had a lot to be angry at Marcus Kane, and she was. But she preferred not to talk to him ever again and knowing him alive, rather than having him dead in a broken spaceship with no oxygen.
"We are stronger than you think!" Bellamy's voice caught Lily's attention. "Don't listen to her, she is one of the privileged."
Again with that matter?
"Why?" Lily asked, her arms still crossed over her chest as she saw Bellamy turn to her, observing her for a moment. "Why would she lie about that?" she asked again, since he was not answering.
"If they come down, she'll have it good," Bellamy answered, before turning to the crowd around them. "How many of you can say the same?"
That was beyond the point. That didn't make any sense. Nobody would lie about that. But why was he so stubborn about it? Why would he not reconsider even after he knew what was really going on on the Ark? Was he truly that angry? Would he really keep on living knowing that he left them to die?
"We can take care of ourselves!" he kept saying, and Lily was surprised at how many people seemed to agree with him. "That wristband on your arm? It makes you a prisoner. We are not prisoners anymore!" Lily observed him as he started to pace back and forth. "They say they'll forgive your crimes. I say you are not criminals! You're fighters, survivors!" He stopped for a moment to take a breath. "The Grounders should be worried about us!"
Everyone shouted in agreement, they really thought that that was all that mattered? They did not care that their loved ones were dying?
That's what those laws had done to us, she thought sadly, knowing how much all of them had suffered. But was that enough to not feel any compassion towards who was on the Ark?
Her eyes followed Bellamy as he walked to his sister, while many guys kept calling for his name. He was becoming their leader. But why he was doing all of that was still strange to Lily.
"What do we do now?" the voice of Jasper's friend made her turn, to see him speak to Clarke.
"Now we go after Jasper," she answered with resolution. And without thinking twice, Lily started to follow them toward the dropship.