Bellamy leaned over and put his hands on his knees. He took a few deep, steadying breaths. He knew that Max and Sasha’s people believed in something bigger than themselves. He had seen it in their kindness toward each other, in the way they welcomed three strangers into their lives. He had seen it in Max’s leadership. But he didn’t know how he could ever bear the burden of their generosity.
Clarke took Bellamy’s hand again and looked into his eyes. “Even if you won’t do it for you, will you do it for me? Please?” Her voice was trembling, and something in Bellamy’s chest shifted. He’d never heard her sound so vulnerable, so scared. He’d never heard her beg anyone for anything. Anything she wanted, she went after herself. But that wouldn’t be enough this time. She needed help.
“And for me.” Wells clapped his hand on Bellamy’s good shoulder.
Bellamy turned from Clarke to Wells. How had this happened? When he and Octavia had left the Colony, it’d been them against the universe. And now he had people who cared about him. He had a family.
“Okay,” he said with a nod, fighting back the tears threatening to make an appearance. He forced a smile. “But just this one time. Next time I’m sentenced to death for being a hotheaded idiot, you have to let them take me.”
“Deal,” Wells said, stepping back with a grin.
“No way. You’re my hotheaded idiot.” Clarke rose onto her toes and kissed him. Bellamy wrapped his arm around her and kissed her back, too moved to be embarrassed by the prickle of tears in his eyes.
CHAPTER 17
Glass
Glass shoved the cabin door open with her shoulder. Both her hands were full, one with a bucket of water from the river, the other with a sack of berries she’d found growing nearby. She dropped the food on the uneven wooden table and carried the water over to the basin. Without having to think about it, Glass reached up and took down a small bowl from the shelf. After just two days, she was already so comfortable in their little house that it felt as if she and Luke had been settled there forever.
Their first morning in the cabin, they had stepped outside cautiously, scanning for signs of Earthborns. But there was no hint of any other human life. Slowly their comfort and confidence grew, and they trekked a few meters away in an attempt to find food.
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.