Homecoming

Sasha walked up to the front door of the last house on a row and entered without knocking. They stepped through the doorway and into a room lit by a small lamp and a flickering fire. The first thing Wells noticed was the enormous oil painting of a star-filled sky on the wall. Back on the ship, something like that would’ve been behind a foot of bulletproof glass, maybe inside an oxygen-free chamber, but here it hung unadorned, just a few meters from the ash-spewing fire. Yet Wells could tell that the firelight somehow brought it to life more than the harsh, fluorescent lights of Phoenix ever could, making the stars appear to glow.

Wells pulled his gaze from the painting and turned his attention to the gray-bearded man who’d just stood to greet them. He was standing next to a plain wooden table that was covered with electronics, most of which Wells didn’t recognize. The only piece that looked at all familiar was an ancient laptop that’d been welded onto an enormous solar panel, and not particularly neatly.

“Hi, Dad,” Sasha said, stepping forward to kiss her father’s cheek. “You remember Clarke and Bellamy, right?”

The man raised a bushy eyebrow. “How could I forget?” He turned to his guests and nodded. “Welcome back.”

“Thank you,” Bellamy said, slightly bashful. “Sorry I keep showing up like this.”

Sasha’s father glanced at his heavily bandaged arm. “Somehow, I don’t think it’s entirely your fault, although you do seem to have a special talent for finding trouble.”

“Talent is one word for it,” Clarke said, reaching her arm forward. “It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Walgrove.”

“Dad, this is Wells.” Sasha caught Wells’s eye for a brief moment and shot him an encouraging look.

“Nice to meet you, sir.” Wells stepped forward and held out his hand.

“Nice to meet you too, Wells.” Sasha’s dad gripped Wells’s hand in a firm shake. “Call me Max.”

Max turned back to Bellamy. “Where’s your sister?” He said the word casually, without twisting his lips with disdain like Rhodes would’ve done. In this world, having a sibling didn’t mark your family as deviants.

“She didn’t come with us,” Bellamy told Max, trying to keep his voice steady as he shot Clarke an anguished look.

Sasha led them back outside and explained that there was only one spare cabin at the moment, and it only had one bed. Wells quickly said that Bellamy should take it, and he helped Clarke walk Bellamy over while Sasha ran to get Clarke some medical supplies.

Once Bellamy and Clarke were safely inside, Sasha took Wells’s hand and interlaced her fingers through his. “So… where to? You can crash on the floor at my dad’s house, or if you don’t mind the cold, I can take you to my favorite spot.”

“Hmmm,” Wells said, pretending to weigh the choices. “While sleeping a few meters from your father sounds amazing, I’ll have to go with option B.”

Sasha smiled and led Wells back through the tiny town and into a small patch of trees that grew between the cabins and the hill leading up to Mount Weather. “I hope I can find it in the dark,” Sasha said, running her hand along the trunk of one of the larger trees.

“Find what?” Wells asked.

“This.” Sasha’s voice was triumphant. In the dim light, Wells could just make out some kind of ladder, made from ragged rope. “Follow me.” Silently, Sasha scaled the tree, disappearing into the branches before calling down to Wells. “Come on, slowpoke.”

Wells grabbed on to the rope hesitantly. It hardly looked capable of supporting his weight, but there was no way he was going to wimp out in front of Sasha. With a deep breath, he slipped his foot into the first rung, and, holding on to the tree to steady himself, took a big step. He swayed from side to side but managed to keep climbing, wincing slightly as the rope cut into his hands.

Without looking down, he moved up the ladder and eventually saw Sasha resting on a small wooden platform tucked among the branches. “Like it?” she asked, grinning as if she’d just invited Wells into the most magnificent palace.

Carefully, he slipped off the ladder and crawled over next to her. “Love it,” he said with a smile. “Did you make it yourself?”

“I was pretty little, so my dad helped.”

“And he won’t mind if we spend the night here?”

“Wells, my father is in charge of our entire society. He’s a little too busy to care about where I sleep.”

Wells snorted. “No father is that busy.”

“It’s fine. Though we can certainly go back if it’ll make you more comfortable.”

In response, Wells reached his arm around Sasha and pulled her close. “I’m pretty comfortable here, actually.”

She smiled and gave him a quick, light kiss. “Good.”

“I’ve missed you these past few days,” Wells said, lowering himself onto the wooden platform and pulling her down with him.

“I’ve missed you too.” Her voice was muffled as she snuggled into his chest.

“Thank you… for everything. I never meant for you to get caught up in all this, let alone impose on your people.”