Homecoming

CHAPTER 6: Bellamy

“Screw this,” Bellamy grumbled to himself, kicking a clump of dirt into the air. He watched it sail in a smooth arc between two trees before landing with a plop a few meters away. Footsteps pierced the silence of the woods, where he lurked behind a cluster of tall trees, keeping himself out of sight. He peered through the foliage into the clearing, watching three of the new arrivals—a man and two women—wrinkle their noses at the deer roasting over the fire. The deer Bellamy had killed that morning and had passed to Antonio to take back to the camp. They could either learn to eat meat or starve to death. Or, better yet, let them find their own food.

When the hundred landed, there was no one there to greet them or show them the ropes. No one taught Bellamy how to track animals, use a bow and arrow, or skin a two-headed deer. He’d figured it out himself, the way Clarke had figured out how to treat injuries and illnesses she’d never seen before. The way Wells figured out how to build a cabin. Even Graham, that otherwise useless slimeball, had figured out how to make a spear. If Graham could do it, these helpless fools could do it too.

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.

She had always been on the outside looking in. No one but Bellamy had ever treated her fairly, or even kindly. Until now. She had finally been given the chance to be a normal teenager, with friends and crushes and, if he was being totally honest, a seriously smart mouth. He wasn’t going to leave her behind, obviously. And he wasn’t going to take her away. So what choice did that leave him? She deserved the chance to stay here, where she had made her first real home. Their first real home.

Bellamy had a sudden flash of the expression on Clarke’s face as she urged him to hide, and his stomach balled up into a knot. It took a lot to frighten that girl—a brilliant doctor with a warrior’s spirit who just happened to be breathtakingly beautiful, especially when the light hit her blond hair—but the thought of the guards aiming their guns at him had been enough to fill her luminous green eyes with fear.

Bellamy exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself. Clarke was just looking out for his best interests. Keeping him alive was a pretty basic one. But her frantic pleas for him to stay safe and out of sight kindled more anger in him than anything else. Not at Clarke, but at this whole messed-up situation. It was getting dark. Was he going to spend the entire night in the forest?

He was just about to walk back into the clearing and resume his rightful place when he saw Wells enter from the other side of the tree line, leading another group of stunned survivors. Bellamy studied Wells’s upright bearing, his brisk pace, and the confident way he addressed the shambling group as if he were their leader, not a convicted criminal half their age. It was hard for Bellamy to get his head around the fact that mini-Chancellor was his actual, real-life brother.… It wasn’t every day that you not only realized that you’d gotten your father shot but also that you had not one, but two illegal siblings.

Everyone in the clearing suddenly fell silent, and all heads snapped toward the spot from which Wells had just emerged. Bellamy followed their gaze and saw Vice Chancellor Rhodes striding through the trees and into the camp. He moved silently among the hundred and the other survivors with his shoulders thrown back, wearing the slightly bored expression that always made him look like a douche back on the ship. Here it just made him look like a moron. He’d narrowly escaped death less than twenty-four hours ago and now he was on the ground for the first time in his entire life. Would it kill him to show the slightest bit of relief or, hell, excitement?

No one dared speak to the Vice Chancellor as he walked around the clearing in a slow circle, flanked by four guards, surveying the camp they had worked so hard to build. Dozens of people held their breath at once, waiting for him to do or say something. After a long moment, the Vice Chancellor stepped inside the nearest cabin. He was out of sight for a moment, then came back into the sunlight, one corner of his mouth twitching with amusement.

Bellamy wanted to fly across the clearing and punch the sadistic little power grubber right in the face. But one look at the guards who followed him at a short distance, forming a half circle around Rhodes at all times, was enough to keep Bellamy’s feet in place. Not only were there a lot more guards than he’d expected—at least twenty, not counting the ones who were injured and still making their way back from the crash site—they all seemed to have guns. Bellamy swallowed hard. The abstract threat of guards with orders to shoot him was one thing. Staring down the barrel of a real gun here on Earth was another. Bellamy wasn’t exactly more afraid than he had been before the newcomers got here. He was just more certain than ever that he and Octavia had to look out for themselves, because no one else would do it for them.

Eventually, Rhodes made his way into the center of the clearing and turned to address the group that had gathered around him. He paused, keeping his audience waiting. Octavia stood in the front of the group, eyeing the Vice Chancellor skeptically. Wells moved off to one side, his arms crossed over his chest, his expression unreadable. Clarke remained at the very back of the crowd, leaning against the wall of the hospital cabin. She looked exhausted, which made Bellamy all the more furious. He’d give anything to be able to put his arm around her and tell her that she’d done an amazing job.

The people gathered around looked at Rhodes, their dirt-smeared faces filled with expectation—and, Bellamy realized with some surprise, relief. Most of the hundred seemed glad Rhodes and his minions were here. They actually thought he was here to help them.

Finally, Rhodes began. “My fellow citizens, this is a sad day, a day we will mourn for generations, but it is also a great day. I am so honored to stand here with you, at long last, on the soil of Earth. The contributions of those of you who came down on the first dropship will not soon be forgotten. You have bravely forged ahead where none of our people have set foot in hundreds of years.”

Bellamy studied Clarke’s face. She betrayed no reaction, but he knew they were thinking exactly the same thing. There were plenty of humans who had set foot here, not all of them Earthborns. Clarke’s parents, for example, and the others who had come to Earth with them. So far, though, none of the hundred knew Clarke’s parents were alive besides Bellamy and Wells.

“You have proven that human life can, indeed, exist again on Earth. That is magnificent. But our lives do not depend solely on safe water or clean air.” He paused for dramatic effect and looked around the crowd, locking eyes with one person after another. “Our lives depend on each other,” he continued. Several people in the crowd nodded emphatically, and Bellamy wanted to gag.

“And in order to protect each other and ourselves, we must follow certain rules,” Rhodes said. Here it comes, thought Bellamy, clenching his hands into fists, as if he could somehow hold back the words he knew would change everything. “Life on the Colony was peaceful. Everyone was safe and provided for”—clearly this man had never lived on Arcadia or Walden—“and we were able to keep our species alive because we respected authority, did what was expected of us, and maintained order. Just because we now live on Earth does not mean we can abandon that adherence to a code that is more important than any one of us.” Rhodes paused again, letting his words sink in.

Bellamy took in Wells’s and Clarke’s faces, and he could tell from their expressions that they were all on the same page. Rhodes was full of shit. He had said nothing about the hundred being forgiven for their crimes—which they had all been promised in exchange for their “service” to humanity when they came down here on the first dropship. And based on the number of happy reunions Bellamy had witnessed that day—one or two among the non-Phoenicians—obviously none of their families had been given priority on the next wave of ships. The number of lies this man was spewing in one short speech was repulsive. But even worse, it seemed like a lot of people were eating it up. Open your eyes, Bellamy wanted to shout at them. We survived fine here without these idiots, and we’ll be fine without them. Don’t listen to a word this jerk says.

“I trust that each and every one of you”—Rhodes was wrapping up, his words flowery but his tone ice cold—“will recognize the greater good and do exactly what is expected of you, for your own personal well-being but also for the continuation of our very race. Thank you.”

A chill shot down Bellamy’s spine. This wasn’t a warm and fuzzy motivational speech. This was a warning. Do what I say or you will be removed from the herd, the Vice Chancellor was threatening them. Bellamy didn’t trust himself to toe the line, that was for sure. He had never been much of a rule follower on the Colony. And now, here on Earth, where he had spent entire days and nights alone, deep in the woods, there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d obey anyone ever again. For the first time in his life—in all their lives—Bellamy was free. They all were.

But Rhodes was never going to forgive Bellamy’s act of treason on the launch deck. Bellamy saw that clearly now. Instead, the Vice Chancellor and his followers would make an example of him, which meant execution. Probably publicly.

A decision appeared whole in Bellamy’s mind, already considered and made. He had to get out of here. He would come back for Octavia when it was safe. Clarke and Wells would look after her for now. Bellamy took a large step backward, farther into the woods, his eyes locked on the back of Rhodes’s head. On his second step, he backed right into a tree, smacking it hard. He fell forward with a grunt and struggled to keep his balance. He managed to stay upright but stepped, heavily, on a pile of dry sticks near his feet. They cracked loudly, the snap-snap-snapping echoing right out into the clearing.

Hundreds of heads popped up to follow the sound. The guards raised their guns to their shoulders and zigzagged the barrels at the tree line. With surprisingly quick reflexes, Rhodes turned and scanned the landscape for the source of the sound. Bellamy was stuck. He couldn’t move, or he’d definitely be spotted. His only option was to stay perfectly still and hope that Rhodes and his guards all had terrible eyesight.

No such luck. Rhodes spotted him almost instantly, his face pinching into a delighted grimace. They stared at each other for a long moment, during which Bellamy wasn’t sure if the Vice Chancellor recognized him as the one who had held the Chancellor hostage. Then a flash of sheer joy passed across his usually inscrutable face.

“There!” Rhodes yelled to his guards, pointing straight at Bellamy. The uniformed crew crossed the clearing in record time. Bellamy spun around, counting on his knowledge of the woods to put him at an advantage. He could sprint over tree stumps and duck under low branches at top speed. But he’d gone no more than a few meters when he felt one, then two bodies throwing themselves against his, knocking him to the ground. The guard who landed on him grunted and scrambled to get his hands around Bellamy’s arms. Bellamy fought back, hard, shoving and kicking as he wrestled his way to his knees, then to a standing position. His heart pounded so hard he actually felt his ribs vibrating with each beat. Adrenaline coursed through his limbs. He felt like one of the animals he’d tracked and killed to keep the hundred alive.

More guards arrived and began to surround Bellamy. He took a couple of short steps toward one of them, but at the last second, he ducked, whirled around, and ran in the opposite direction. The guards scrambled to keep up. Bellamy bolted a few steps farther into the shady woods, still hopeful that he could shake them.

But they didn’t use their bodies to stop him this time. A sharp crack pinged off the tree trunks, and dozens of startled birds fluttered out of the highest branches. Bellamy cried out as a piercing pain tore through his shoulder.

They had shot him.

Bellamy fell to the ground and was instantly swarmed with guards, who roughly lifted him up and bound his arms behind his back with no regard to the blood pouring from his wound. They dragged him into the clearing.

“Bellamy!” He heard Clarke’s voice as if from a long distance. Through hazy vision, he saw her pushing her way through the crowd, yelling at the guards as she approached. “Leave him alone. You shot him—isn’t that enough? Please, let me look at him. He needs medical attention.”

The guards parted, allowing Clarke through. She wrapped her arms around Bellamy’s chest and helped him sink to the ground. “It’s okay,” she said, her breath ragged. She ripped his shirt at the neck and pulled it off his shoulder. “I don’t think it’s too serious—I think the bullet passed right through.” Bellamy nodded but couldn’t speak through his gritted teeth.

“Your orders, sir?” one of the guards called out across the clearing to Rhodes.

Bellamy didn’t hear the answer. He had only one thought as he sank into unconsciousness: He’d rather die than live on Earth as a prisoner.