Homecoming

CHAPTER 5: Glass

Glass had never felt more out of place in her life. Not as a Phoenician visiting Luke on Walden. Not as the daughter of a man who abandoned his family. Not even as a recently freed convict back on Phoenix for the first time. She stood by the fire pit, shivering though the sun was high overhead, and watched the frenzy of activity around camp. Everywhere she looked, kids her age or younger were busy with crucial tasks.

People darted in and out of the hospital cabin, bringing water for Clarke’s patients and carrying out bloodstained bandages to burn or bury in the woods. Some of the kids spilled into the clearing, carrying axes and firewood they’d chopped themselves, while others were laying the foundation for a new cabin. A few hours earlier, a group of grim-faced volunteers had headed down to the lake to start digging graves for the passengers who hadn’t survived. There were too many to fit in the cemetery on the far side of the clearing, and there was no point to carrying the bodies all the way to the camp.

Although the new Colonists had left without much warning, the dropships had all been prestocked with enough basic supplies to make the first-wave kids act like they’d been given the key to everlasting life. One of the girls Wells had assigned to take inventory looked like she was going to cry while running her hand along a new hammer, treating it with the same reverence other girls showed toward a beautiful piece of jewelry at the Exchange.

Glass was desperate to make herself useful, but she was completely out of her element. She was too afraid even to ask where—or worse, how—she was supposed to go to the bathroom. Luke had been called away with the rest of the guards, and although he’d been reluctant to leave Glass on her own, they both knew now wasn’t the moment for him to shirk his duty.

A group of girls Glass’s age were walking toward the fire, whispering urgently, but as they passed Glass, they fell silent and stared at her warily. “Hi,” Glass said, eager to start out on the right foot. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

One of the girls, a tall brunette whose carefully torn shorts showed off her long, unbelievably toned legs, narrowed her eyes as she looked Glass up and down. “You were supposed to be on the dropship with us, weren’t you?”

Glass nodded. “Yes, I was taken from the detention center, just like the rest of you.” It was the first time she’d voluntarily confessed to having been Confined. “But I snuck off at the last minute.” Snuck off was a somewhat inaccurate way to describe her life-or-death sprint onto Walden to find Luke, but she sensed that now wasn’t the time for a play-by-play of her dramatic escape.

“Yeah, snuck off, okay,” a girl with an Arcadian accent said, exchanging glances with her friends. “Must be nice to know people who can call in favors.”

Glass bit her lips, wishing there were some way to make it clear how much she’d gone through, that she hadn’t exactly spent the past few weeks living it up on Phoenix. She had almost asphyxiated on Walden and barely made it onto the last ship. She had just watched her own mother die, the reality of which was still pummeling her chest with alternating waves of searing pain and suffocating numbness.

“You should just hang out with the others,” one of the girls said, a little more kindly. She gestured toward a group of other recent arrivals who were clustered on the other side of the fire, staring at their shocking new surroundings in wide-eyed wonder.

Glass nodded and watched the girls walk off, knowing full well she wasn’t welcome among the recent arrivals either. Most of them had seen her board the dropship with Vice Chancellor Rhodes, taking the seat the others had so desperately hoped would be filled by one of the friends and family members they’d been forced to leave behind. If only her mom were here. She’d had a special gift for making herself at home in any social situation and helping everyone around her feel at ease as well. Sonja might not have known how to light a fire or chop wood any more than Glass did, but her warm smile and musical laugh would’ve been just as valuable.

Glass wrapped her arms around herself and glanced up at the dizzyingly tall trees. Swaying in the wind, they almost seemed to be looking down at her, making her feel like a little kid lost in a sea of oblivious grown-ups.

She watched as Wells stepped out of the hospital cabin, and even from a distance, she could tell his expression was grim. He ran his fingers through his hair and rubbed his temples. Despite the gravity of the situation, Glass couldn’t help but smile at the familiar gesture—the same one she’d seen the Chancellor perform nearly every evening she’d spent studying at Wells’s flat. A pang of regret washed over her as she thought about the Chancellor, left behind on the dying ship. He’d never get the chance to see everything his son had accomplished on Earth.

Glass had always known Wells was a natural-born leader, and it made her heart swell with pride to see how much everyone seemed to rely on him, though she felt a wistful twinge of sadness. It was a selfish thought, but she missed the days when Wells belonged to her most of all.

“Watch this,” Glass called over her shoulder to Wells, who lagged behind her on the gravity track. She looked around to make sure the fitness monitor wasn’t watching, then ran over to the control panel, grabbed the lever, and pushed it up a few notches. She felt immediately lighter and giggled as she pushed off the floor and hovered in the air for a moment before floating down slowly.

She bent her knees, pushed off with more force, extended her arms out, and rotated them through the air one at a time. “Look! I’m swimming!” She pinched her nose and puffed out her cheeks, before letting out a sputtering laugh. “That’s how Earth kids got to school when it rained.”

Wells bounced toward her with a grin. “How about this one?” he asked breathlessly, raising his left arm out in front of himself, pushing his right foot behind him, then switching his arms and legs in midair. “I’m skiing!”

Glass did her best imitation of an ancient Earthborn. “I’m just skiing over to the grocery store,” she singsonged in a fancy old-lady voice, “where I will pick fresh vegetables from a tree and then drive my vehicle to the beach for a picnic.”

“With my pet bear, Fido, and my six children!” Wells added.

Glass and Wells collapsed onto the track in a fit of laughter so loud it brought the fitness monitor hurrying out of his office. “What do you think you’re doing?” he scolded. “You know you’re not allowed to touch the gravity settings.” He strode to them, his face stern, but it was impossible to take him seriously when every angry step sent him bouncing into the air. As he got closer and realized that Wells was the Chancellor’s son, his anger subsided slightly, replaced by the stiff smile most adults gave Wells when he caught them unaware.

“Young lady. Mr. Jaha.” He turned from side to side, scanning the fitness center for a guard. “I won’t write you up this time, but don’t test me again. The gravity track isn’t a play area, okay?”

They nodded and watched him turn around with as much dignity as he could muster while floating above the ground.

Glass and Wells pressed their lips tightly together, snorting sharp breaths through their noses until he was far enough away. When he was safely out of earshot, they burst out laughing until their sides ached and tears streamed down their young faces.

Glass wandered over to the edge of the clearing and sat down on a log. If she couldn’t be helpful, at least she could stay out of the way. The only thing that made Glass feel like she wasn’t a complete waste of space was the fact that Luke had quickly been recruited to the Vice Chancellor’s personal guard, which was why she had barely seen him since they landed. He was off somewhere at a briefing about setting up a security perimeter around their camp.

Glass caught another glimpse of Wells at the far end of the clearing, this time walking with a girl who had to be Sasha. Wells threw his arm around the girl’s shoulders and kissed the top of her head. It was startling to see Wells so outwardly affectionate and even more startling to think that his girlfriend was an Earthborn. All the questions Glass hadn’t even thought to ask bubbled up to the surface. Did she speak English? Where did she live? What did she eat? And, more important, where did she get her clothes? Glass looked enviously at Sasha’s tight black leggings, which seemed to be made of animal skin, and ran her hands along her own torn, dirty pants.

It was also incredibly disorienting to see Wells kiss anyone but Clarke. Last time she had seen her best friend, he was still so head over heels in love with Clarke that he could barely talk about anything else. But then again, if Glass had learned anything over the last couple of weeks, it was that people can surprise you. She had even surprised herself.

Glass laughed to herself before blushing and looking around to see if anyone noticed. She had to remember to tell Wells that she’d actually spacewalked, alone, along the outside of the ship. Not to mention her several suffocating trips through an air vent from Walden to Phoenix and back again. He’d never believe me, she thought. Then she corrected herself. He never would have believed me before. But now we’ll both believe anything.

With a sigh, Glass skimmed her eyes across the clearing again. She needed to find something to do. Her eyes fell on the hospital cabin. She gathered her courage and started across the clearing toward it, taking care to steer clear of two boys who were carrying something large between them. At first, she thought it was another injured passenger, but then she realized that what she’d taken to be two skinny arms and two long legs were actually four legs. And they were covered with hair, not skin. Glass gasped. It was an animal, a deer, maybe. She shuddered as her gaze landed on its enormous, lifeless brown eyes, and felt a pang of regret that the first animal she saw was a dead one. Earth was nothing like she’d imagined. It was cold and strange, and instead of dazzling Glass with its beauty, it only seemed to be full of death.

Glass turned away and walked up to the infirmary cabin, pausing at the door for a moment before taking a deep breath and stepping inside. From the first instance, she was overwhelmed by the efficiency of the operation, even in such a small space. It was a swirl of activity: Felix and Eric zipped across the room, handing off bandages and rummaging through a bin with small vials and bottles of medications. Octavia tilted a water container to the lips of a boy about her age, who lay on a cot with his leg propped up on a hunk of repurposed plastic from the wreckage. Crash survivors crammed the cots, sprawled across the floor, and even leaned on the wall. And at the center of it all was Clarke, who seemed to be in three places at once. She gave Octavia instructions without looking in her direction, passed Eric a shard of metal they were using to cut bandages, helped an older woman sit up, and pressed her hand against the forehead of a little girl nearby, all without seeming the least bit flustered. Glass had never seen Clarke looking so in control—so in her element.

“Hi, Clarke,” Glass said. The greeting felt humorously inadequate given that it was the first time they’d come face-to-face on Earth, but now wasn’t really the time to say, Hi, Clarke, I hope you’re doing well, and that you aren’t too upset about breaking up with Wells after a traumatic journey to Earth. And, oh yeah, sorry for being such a bitch to you when we were kids.

Clarke’s head shot up, a flash of suspicion crossing her face, then disappearing behind her businesslike demeanor. “Glass. Do you need something? Are you hurt?”

Glass tried not to bristle at Clarke’s curt tone. They had never been particularly friendly—Glass had always found Clarke a little too serious for her taste. Glass was always more concerned with tracking down pretty accessories at the Exchange, while Clarke was preoccupied with learning how to save lives. But they had always shared a deep affection for Wells and a concern for his well-being. And at this point, any familiar face seemed like a friendly one. Glass had nothing left to lose.

“Oh, no—sorry. I’m fine. I just wondered if you needed any help,” Glass stammered.

Clarke stared at Glass for a moment, as if trying to determine whether she was being serious. Glass waited awkwardly, until Clarke finally said, “Sure. Definitely. The more hands the better.”

“Great,” Glass exhaled. She cast her eyes around the room, searching for a task that needed doing. She spotted a teetering pile of dirty metal bins and cups. She pointed at them. “I could clean those.”

Clarke nodded before turning back to the woman in front of her. “That would be great,” she said to Glass over her shoulder. “Just be sure to take them to the south stream, not the one we get our drinking water from. But they need to be sterilized over the fire first. You just have to use a stick and hold them over the flame for five minutes or so.”

“Got it.” Glass scooped up the first few items from the top of the stack and moved toward the door.

“Glass,” Clarke called after her. “Do you know how to get to the south stream?”

Glass shook her head, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. “No, sorry. I was just going to ask someone…”

Clarke gave her patient a few instructions, then grabbed an armful of metal bins and followed Glass. “I’ll show you,” Clarke said. “I could use some air.”

The girls stepped into the sunlight together, squinting and taking in big gulps of cool air that seemed almost refreshing after the stuffy cabin.

As she and Clarke walked toward the fire pit at the center of camp, Glass caught a quick flash of movement from the corner of her eye. She whipped her head toward the tree line and squinted. Back in the shadows, about ten feet into the woods, a tall, dark-haired boy stood halfway behind a tree. He was staring at them. Glass sucked in her breath, startled, and stopped walking.

“What is it?” Clarke asked. She followed Glass’s gaze and spotted the boy.

“Should we tell someone?” Glass asked nervously. “Is that—is that one of the Earthborns who want to hurt us?”

Clarke shook her head. “No, that’s Bellamy. He’s one of us, but he’s not supposed to be here right now.”

Glass heard something in Clarke’s voice—was it worry? Fear? Much to Glass’s surprise, Clarke furrowed her brow and shot Bellamy a strange look—almost like a warning. But the boy just met Clarke’s eyes and grinned, unruffled by her serious expression.

Bellamy took a few bouncing steps forward, as if he were heading into camp. Clarke shook her head firmly this time. He stopped, though he didn’t look happy about it. Clarke mouthed a few words and gestured toward him, as if waving him away. He shrugged, and just before he stepped farther back, he gave a little mocking salute before disappearing into the trees.

Glass turned to look at Clarke, who was blushing slightly. She knew Wells was with Sasha, but it hadn’t occurred to her that Clarke could also have met someone new so quickly. Things certainly moved fast down on Earth.

“So, why are you keeping Bellamy in the woods?” Glass teased. “Do you want to make sure you get him all to yourself?” She meant it as an icebreaker, an attempt to tell Clarke that she knew she and Wells had moved on. As soon as Glass uttered the words, though, she realized it hadn’t come out that way.

“I’m not keeping him anywhere,” Clarke said, shooting Glass the same look she used to give her when she said something ditzy during tutorial.

Glass flinched. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

Clarke must have realized how harsh she’d sounded. Her face softened. “No, I’m sorry,” she said, exhaling. “That wasn’t fair. There’s just… there’s just a lot going on that we haven’t told you about yet.”

Glass let out a small laugh. “Yeah, I’m starting to figure that out.”

“Does that mean you know about Wells?”

“About him and…” Glass trailed off, not sure whether Wells’s secret was hers to share.

“… and Sasha,” Clarke finished for her.

Glass nodded, relieved that Clarke knew as well. “So, you’re okay with all that?” she asked hesitantly.

Before Clarke could respond, a boy with red hair and freckles dashed over. “Clarke, one of the new people says he can’t breathe and he needs a shot of something.”

She let out a small sigh. “He said all that?” The boy nodded. “If he can talk, he’s fine. It’s probably just a mild panic attack. Tell him I’ll be there in a second.” The boy nodded again and ran off.

“Yes, I’m definitely happy for Wells and Sasha. Things with Bellamy are… I mean, I know it hasn’t been that long, but it almost feels like—”

“It’s okay,” Glass said, cutting her off with a smile. Clarke might be all composed and in control when in doctor mode, but talking about boys made her endearingly flustered.

Clarke looked like she was weighing whether to speak or not. “Did Wells tell you anything about Bellamy yet?”

Glass shook her head.

“I’d better let him talk to you first, then.”

Glass scanned the bustling camp and turned back to Clarke. “I think it’s going to be a while before Wells has time to gossip with me. What’s going on?”

Clarke hesitated, biting her lip.

“Come on, Clarke,” Glass cajoled, slightly amused by the fact that although she’d known Clarke for most of her life, they were having their first proper chat on Earth. “I’m sure Wells won’t care if you’re talking about your own boyfriend.”

“It’s a little more complicated than that.” She looked from side to side to make sure no one else was in earshot, then turned back to Glass with a small smile. “So, this is crazy, but what do you think the odds are that the second guy I fell for would turn out to be the secret half brother of the first guy I fell for?”

Glass stared at Clarke, certain she’d misunderstood. “Wells has a brother?” she said slowly, bracing for Clarke to burst out laughing and correct her.

But to her amazement, Clarke nodded. “The Chancellor and Bellamy’s mother had a secret affair before he married Wells’s mother.”

Glass had heard a lot of confusing things come out of Clarke Griffin’s mouth over the years, especially during math tutorial, but nothing as mind-blowing as this. “I can’t believe it.”

“I couldn’t either at first, but it seems to be true. And that’s only the beginning.” In a surprisingly calm voice, she told Glass about what Bellamy had done to get on the dropship with his sister, Octavia, how he’d taken the Chancellor hostage before knowing that he was his father. Clarke’s face grew even more serious when she told Glass her biggest fear, her worries about what the guards would do to Bellamy when they discovered that he was responsible for the Chancellor’s shooting. “I’ve been trying to get him to leave camp, but he refuses,” she said in a tone Glass couldn’t quite read, a strange mixture of frustration and pride.

Glass struggled to take it all in and made a mental note to talk to Luke. Maybe there was something he could do to throw the other guards off Bellamy’s scent. “Wow,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s even crazier than my spacewalk.”

“You spacewalked?” Clarke’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“I spacewalked,” Glass said, a tiny hint of pleasure sneaking into her voice. “It was the only way to get to Phoenix. Otherwise my boyfriend Luke and I plus a whole lot of other people would have died on Walden.”

The girls stood in silence for a moment, each struggling to process the momentous news the other had just shared. Then the door to the hospital cabin opened behind them, and Octavia stepped out.

“Clarke,” she called. “We need you in here for a sec.”

“Coming,” Clarke replied. She turned to Glass. “I’m glad you’re here, Glass.”

“Me too,” Glass said with a smile. It was true that she was pleased to see Clarke. Whether she was happy to be on Earth was another matter entirely, but at least it wasn’t quite as cold and lonely as she’d always imagined, staring down at the thick shroud of gray clouds from the ship. Especially now that it seemed like she might have a friend.