Homecoming

Bellamy would have given his best bow to strut right into the middle of camp, his head held high, and defy the bastards out there to just try to arrest him. He knew that once the smoke cleared and the Colonists’ ears stopped ringing, one of them would recognize him as the boy who had held the Chancellor hostage on the launch deck. It didn’t matter that Bellamy hadn’t pulled the trigger—he was the reason the Chancellor got shot. He hadn’t had a chance to ask Wells if there had been any news on his father… correction: their father. Would he ever get used to that idea? He certainly wasn’t going to find out if the man had lived or died by standing out in the woods by himself.

This camp was Bellamy’s home. He had helped build it with his bare hands, side by side with the rest of the hundred. He’d carried logs from the woods and laid them down to build a foundation. He had single-handedly kept the group alive with the animals he hunted. He wasn’t going to leave it all behind just because he’d had the audacity to try to protect his sister. It wasn’t his fault the Colony had some stupid population rule that made Octavia a freak of nature and gave other people permission to treat her like a criminal.

A branch snapped, and Bellamy spun around with his fist raised, then lowered it bashfully when he saw a little boy staring up at him. “What are you doing out here?” Bellamy asked, looking around to make sure he wasn’t being trailed by anyone else. It was bizarre seeing adults in the camp, but it was even stranger seeing little kids.

“I wanted to see the fishes,” he said, though his lisp made the word sound like fithith.

Bellamy crouched down so he was eye level with the boy, who looked to be about three or four. “Sorry, buddy. The fish live in the lake. That’s a long way from here. But look.” He pointed toward the trees. “There are birds up there. Want to see some birds?”

The boy nodded. Bellamy stood up and craned his head back. “There,” he said, pointing to a spot where the leaves were rustling. “You see?”

The boy shook his head. “No.”

“Let me help you get a closer look.” Bellamy reached down, scooped the boy into his arms, and lifted him onto his shoulders, making the toddler squeal with delight. “Keep it down, okay? No one’s supposed to know I’m out here. Now, look, there’s the bird. See the birdie?” Bellamy couldn’t see the boy’s face, so he took the silence as a yes. “So where are your parents? Do they know where you went?”

Bellamy crouched down so the boy could slide off his back, then turned to face him. “What’s your name?”

“Leo?” a girl’s voice called. “Where’d you go?”

“Shit,” Bellamy said under his breath, but before he had time to move, a girl with long dark hair hurried into sight. He exhaled. It was just Octavia.

She cocked her head to the side and smiled. “Already luring children into the woods like a real creepy hermit, are we? That didn’t take long.”

Bellamy rolled his eyes, but he was secretly glad to see Octavia in such good spirits. She’d had a tough few weeks, and just when she’d returned to camp, the rest of the Colony had suddenly arrived. If nothing else, Octavia was adaptable. She had spent her first five years living in a freaking closet, and the rest of her life proving she deserved to be alive.

“You know this kid?” Bellamy asked.

“That’s Leo.”

“Where are his parents?”

Octavia shot a glance at Leo, then shook her head sadly.

Bellamy let out a long breath and looked at Leo, who was busy tugging at a large vine encircling a nearby tree. “So he’s all on his own?”

Octavia nodded. “I think so. There are a bunch of them. I guess their parents didn’t make it onto the dropships, or else…” She didn’t have to finish the sentence. He knew they were both thinking of the freshly dug, still unmarked graves down by the lake. “I’ve been looking after them all, until we can figure out what to do.”

“That’s really sweet of you, O,” Bellamy said.

She shrugged. “No big deal. The little kids aren’t the ones we should be pissed at. It’s their parents who locked us up.” She was trying to sound blasé, but Bellamy knew that growing up in the Colony’s care center had given her a soft spot for orphaned kids. “Come on, Leo,” she said, reaching out for his hand. “I’ll show you where the bunny lives.” She looked at Bellamy. “You going to be okay out here?” she asked.

Bellamy nodded. “It’s just for today. Once things settle down, we’ll come up with a plan.”

“Okay… be careful.” She smiled and turned to Leo. “Let’s go, kiddo.”

Bellamy stared after them and felt something in his chest twinge as he watched Octavia hop down the slope, pretending to be a rabbit in order to make Leo laugh.