Homecoming

As if reading his thoughts, Rhodes continued. “That’s not all. Effective immediately, I’m instating a new Advisory Council. Wells was right. The Gaia Doctrine has no place on Earth. We need a new system, a better one. I’m going to suggest that we nominate people this evening. Perhaps…” He grimaced as a new wave of pain washed over him. “Perhaps that’s something you would consider being a part of?”

Bellamy blinked a few times, trying to process what he had just heard. If he wasn’t mistaken, and he hadn’t accidentally eaten a hallucinogenic berry out in the woods, then Vice Chancellor Rhodes, the most corrupt leader the Colony had ever known, had just pardoned him and suggested he get into politics.

Bellamy couldn’t help it: He laughed out loud.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Bellamy couldn’t wait to go tell Octavia so they could laugh about it. Unless she didn’t think it was funny. Maybe O would actually want him on the Council. Hell, crazier things had happened over the past few weeks. Why couldn’t Bellamy try his hand at running things for a while? There was just one person he needed to check with first.

With a smile and a nod, he turned and went to find Clarke.

CHAPTER 29: Glass

Every muscle in Glass’s body felt like it was on fire. Her shoulders were rubbed raw from the rope. Her calves and thighs vibrated with exhaustion and threatened to give out any second.

When she saw the corner of a wooden building peeking out through the trees, she let out a loud sob of relief. They had actually made it back to camp. Luke had stirred once or twice on their journey from the abandoned cabin. She’d stopped a few times to give him water and make sure he was still alive, anxiously holding her breath each time.

Glass stumbled through the trees and into the clearing. It was as she feared—the sounds of gunshots and the smoke that had stained the sky early this morning must have been coming from here. The entire camp looked like a war zone. Broken spears, bullet casings, ripped clothing, and pools of blood littered the ground. Some of the cabins were totally destroyed. Others looked as if someone had tried to set them on fire. Shell-shocked Colonists milled about, but she didn’t recognize anyone. It was if she had returned to an entirely different place, and she felt a cold shot of fear. What had happened to her friends? Where was Wells?

Then the sound of a familiar voice sent a wave of joy through her.

“Glass?” Clarke called from the doorway of the hospital cabin. “Is that you? Oh, no—is that Luke?” Clarke ran to them. Wells popped his head out of the doorway and bolted after her.

Glass freed herself from the sled. Clarke dropped to her knees and began examining Luke.

“Glass!” Wells shouted as he reached her side and threw his arms around her. “Thank god you’re back. Are you okay?”

Glass nodded, but then all the terror and loneliness and exhaustion crashed down on her at once. Now that they were safe, she finally allowed herself to feel everything she’d been holding at bay for days. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Wells put his arms around her and held her while she sobbed.

“What happened to him?” Wells asked after a moment.

Glass sniffed and wiped her face with her hands. “We were in an abandoned cabin way out in the woods. It seemed safe. But then they”—her eyes filled with tears again at the memory—“attacked us. The Earthborns. Not Sasha’s people, the other ones.” A deeply pained look crossed Wells’s face, but Glass knew now wasn’t the time to ask what had happened.

“Luke went out to chase them off, but they hit him with a spear. I did the best I could, but I didn’t have any way to stitch up the wound, and when I tried to bring him here, they attacked us again.”

Wells swore under his breath. “Glass, I’m so sorry you had to face all that on your own.”

“It’s okay. We made it back alive, right?” Glass managed a smile through her tears.

“Let’s get Luke inside,” Clarke said firmly. Clarke and Wells quickly but gently lifted Luke, still on the sled, and raced into the hospital, Glass following closely behind. They entered the crowded room. Glass couldn’t believe how many people were injured.

“What happened here?” she asked, astonished.

“Same thing that happened to you,” Wells said grimly, “only bigger.”

Glass raised her eyebrows, a million unasked questions on her lips. Wells could practically read her mind. “But don’t worry. Things are changing for the better here. Rhodes is loosening his iron fist, finally. We’re voting a new Advisory Council in tonight.”

A tall, gray-haired man Glass had seen around Phoenix limped toward them. He nodded in her direction, then conferred quietly with Clarke. They spoke in somber tones, examining Luke’s leg closely and listening to his pulse, heartbeat, and breathing. Clarke filled a syringe from a small glass vial and injected something into Luke’s shoulder. Then she began to clean his wound and suture it up. He flinched in his sleep but didn’t wake.