She hoped he was still alive, that he wasn’t being attacked by man-eating gorillas—or worse, dying slowly from radiation. She hoped that they’d made it to the ground at all.
“They don’t have any other options,” Luke said flatly. His eyes searched hers. “You should’ve stayed on that dropship when you had the chance.”
“Yes, well, it turns out I’d left something pretty important behind.”
Luke reached out and ran his finger along the chain of the locket he’d given her on their anniversary. “Of course. You can’t go to Earth without your jewelry.”
Glass swatted him playfully on the shoulder. “You know what I’m talking about.”
Luke laughed. “I can’t wait to see you scowl at me on Earth.”
“Is that the only thing you’re looking forward to?”
“No.” Luke’s hand moved to the back of her head as he lowered his face toward hers and kissed her gently. “I’m looking forward to a lot more than that.”
CHAPTER 4
Wells
There was no way of keeping track of time at night, so Wells had to guess when it was time to change shifts. From the ache in his joints, he’d been patrolling the clearing for at least four hours. But when he went to fetch Eric, he found the Arcadian curled up next to Felix with such a peaceful look on his face, he couldn’t stomach the thought of disturbing them.
With a silent groan, Wells stretched his arms over his head and switched the spear from one hand to the other. The weapon was a joke. The arrow that had killed Asher had been shot with deadly accuracy. If the Earthborns returned and took aim at Wells, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Wells?” a girl called out.
He spun around, blinking in the darkness. “Priya? Is that you?”
“No…” There was a note of hurt in the girl’s voice. “It’s me. Kendall.”
“Sorry,” Wells said. “What’s up? Everything okay?”
“Oh, yes, everything’s fine!” she said, suddenly cheery. Way too cheery for the middle of the night. Luckily, it was too dark for her to see Wells cringe. “I just figured you could use some company.”
The last thing Wells wanted right now was to make small talk. “I’m okay. I’m about to trade off with Eric,” he lied. Even without seeing Kendall’s face, he could sense disappointment radiating out from her. “Now go back to bed before someone steals your spot.”
With a barely audible sigh, Kendall turned and traipsed back toward the cabin. When he heard the door close behind her, Wells returned his focus to the tree line. He was so tired, he had to use all his strength to keep his increasingly heavy eyelids from drooping.
Sometime later—it could have been minutes, it could have been another hour—a figure emerged from the shadows. Wells blinked, expecting it to disappear, but it only grew larger. He snapped to attention, raised the spear, and opened his mouth to shout a warning—but then the shape came into focus, and the words died on his lips.
Bellamy. He was lurching toward him, a limp figure in his trembling arms. For one brief moment, Wells thought it was Octavia—but even in the dark, there was no mistaking the rumpled, reddish-blond hair. He would know her anywhere.
Wells broke into a run and reached them just as Bellamy fell to his knees. His face was bright red and his breath came in ragged gasps, but he held on to Clarke long enough to pass her into Wells’s outstretched arms. “She… she…” Bellamy wheezed, pressing his hand to the grass to steady himself as he struggled to speak. “She was bitten. By a snake.”
That was all Wells needed to hear. Holding Clarke tight to his chest, he took off for the infirmary cabin. The tiny space was jammed with sleeping people—half a dozen were curled up on the few remaining blankets and cots. “Move it,” Wells bellowed, senseless to the indignant murmurs and sleepy protests. “Now.”
“What happened? Are they back?”
“Is it the Earthborns?” someone whimpered.
“Is that Clarke? Is she okay?”
Wells ignored them and set Clarke down on one of the now-empty cots, inhaling sharply as her head fell to the side. “Clarke,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder and shaking her gently. “Clarke!” He knelt down and brought his face close to hers. She was breathing, but just barely.
Bellamy burst inside. “Get them out of here,” Wells ordered, gesturing to the remaining kids who were still staggering to their feet, gazing at Clarke in sleepy confusion.
Bellamy herded them toward the door. “Everybody out,” he said, his voice ragged with exhaustion. When the last few had been unceremoniously removed, he stumbled over to Wells, who was tearing wildly through the medical supplies.
“What can I do?” Bellamy asked.
“Just keep an eye on her.” Wells tossed bandages and vials over his shoulder, praying that they had antivenom, praying that he’d recognize it. He cursed himself for not studying harder during his biology tutorials. He cursed himself for not paying closer attention to Clarke when she spoke offhandedly about her medical training. He’d been too busy admiring the ways her eyes lit up when she talked about her apprenticeship. And now there was a chance those eyes would be closed forever.
“You’d better hurry up.” Bellamy’s voice came from the cot. Wells spun around to see him crouching next to Clarke, brushing the hair off her pale face. The sight momentarily resurrected the rage Wells had felt when he’d seen Bellamy kiss Clarke in the woods.
“Don’t touch her.” He winced at the sharpness of his tone. “Just… give her space to breathe.”
Bellamy locked eyes with Wells. “She’s not going to be breathing for much longer unless we figure out a way to help her.”
Wells turned back to the medicine chest, willing himself to stay calm. When his eyes landed on a bright orange vial, his relief nearly knocked him to the ground.
A few years ago, a group of scientists had given a lecture on their research in Eden Hall. They were developing a universal antidote, a medicine that would give people a fighting chance of surviving when they finally returned to Earth. Not only had humans lost many of their natural immunities, but it was likely that many plants and animals had mutated, rendering the old medicines useless. The lecture felt like a lifetime ago, before Wells had met Clarke, before the Vice Chancellor forced her parents to study the effects of radiation on human test subjects. Wells had only gone because it fell under his responsibilities as the Chancellor’s son. He’d never thought he’d ever set foot on Earth, let alone need to use such an antidote to save the girl he loved.