“I pledge myself to Earth’s service,” Wells said, bracing himself.
The silence that followed felt like a free fall. Wells cocked his head, confused. He’d said it. The whole sentence. And Oak was still just running beside him, aggression firmly in check.
Wells glanced at Oak. The old man wasn’t looking at him, just staring down the forest track back to the barracks. His mouth was still set in a surly line, but there was the faintest glint of a smile in his eyes. Wells was making progress.
When they reached the outer courtyard of the Stone, Wells stopped abruptly, as he’d been trained to do, hands behind his back awaiting next orders.
“Break for lunch,” Oak barked. “Be back here in an hour.”
“Yes, sir,” Wells said. Oak stalked off toward the field and Wells watched him with wonder. For the first time since they’d arrived, he was allowed to be on his own. He wasn’t being marched to his meal or being watched by his trainer. He wasn’t being watched by anyone at all.
Was this his reward for doing well today? For pledging himself to Earth’s service?
Wells glanced around and, seeing no one looking, spat into the dirt, as close to a rebellion as he could muster right now. Something told him the planet didn’t care. Then, deciding to press his luck a little further, he went inside the Stone to do a little exploring.
The outer roads were bustling with carts today. Another raiding party must have just come in, this one from the south, wagons full of ceramic pots and bowls, woven rugs, winter vegetables, cured meats, and what looked like blocks of salt. Though he kept his expression schooled, anger burned brightly inside him. Who had the Protectors been stealing from now? Destroying his camp wasn’t enough for them?
Wells kept going, deeper into the structure, taking in as many details as he could in the limited time he was given. A plume of steam came from a wide inner room. He ducked his head inside to see a laundry facility, clothes being dropped into a vat over a fire, red-cheeked girls stirring it, sweat pooling in dark puddles on the backs of their white dresses. He scanned the room, but none of the faces were familiar.
The buzz of furtive whispers drew his attention down the road. The way was blocked by a wall of white fabric dangling from a line that stretched from building to building. He could see two figures outlined behind one sheet by the afternoon sun, their heads close together.
The two figures stepped back, and one of their heads poked out from between the pinned sheets. Wells caught a flash of black hair and red ribbon, glanced behind him for onlookers, and hurried over.
“Octavia,” he said, pulling the sheet back, blinded for a second by the sudden flash of sun.
He heard a gasp, then felt something jagged pressing painfully into his neck.
“Wells… oh god, I’m sorry.” The object drew away and Wells peered down at a startled Octavia. She winced in apology, pocketing the metal scrap she’d been wielding. “I thought you were one of them.”
“And what if I had been, O?” Wells whispered. “You would have been caught, just like that.”
“I don’t care.” She raised her chin, and for a moment, she looked so much like Bellamy, Wells almost laughed. But when he saw the fury in her eyes, his amusement drained away. “Let them come for me. I’m done playing their games. They act so enlightened, but underneath it, they’re rotten to the core.” Octavia reached out and took the hand of the girl standing next to her. She had dark curly hair and looked vaguely familiar. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you,” Octavia told her.
“What’s going on?” Wells asked, looking from one girl to the other. “What happened?”
“One of the so-called Protectors attacked her. He grabbed her and pulled her down to the ground, saying some bullshit about the Earth wanting them to be together. Thankfully, Anna kicked him in the balls and got away, because she’s a warrior.” Octavia’s expression softened as she looked at the girl, her eyes full of concern.
“Well done, Anna,” Wells said slowly. He stared at her. “You look awfully familiar…”
Octavia smiled. “She’s from Walden.”
Wells’s heart skidded to a stop. “Walden? You’re from the Colony?”
She nodded, and for the next few minutes, he listened to Anna’s remarkable tale about her journey to Earth, and what happened after her dropship crashed. “What happened to the others?” he asked, slightly dazed. “The ones who weren’t taken by the Protectors?”
“I guess they’re still out there. They were looking for the rest of you… I hope they made it.”
Octavia took Anna’s hand again. “They will. Or else, we’ll go find them, and then we’ll all get to have a fresh start together.” She smiled. “You’re going to love it at our camp. There’s a stream where we can go swimming, and this rabbit that comes to visit every morning. And every night, we sit by the fire and talk until it’s time to go to sleep.”