Heaven Can't Wait - Chapter 10
27 Jan 2018 02:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jennickels
Chapter Ten - Can We Keep Her?
Bellamy's not sure how long they've slept before he's jolted awake by shouting in the hall. The little girl squeaks in surprise when he jerks straight up, nearly dropping her. She twists her hands into his shirt and starts crying. For a second, he thinks he might have dreamed it, but then the doors fly open.
Abby's the first one in the room. "Over there on the table. Jackson, get the-"
Bellamy immediately tunes out the medical mumbo-jumbo as more people follow in a flurry of activity. Bryan and another guard carry someone by their arms and legs. They grunt as they lift him onto the table. It takes Bellamy a moment to recognize Pendleton. He wishes he could unsee what he saw because the person on the table barely looks human.
Huge sores cover Pendleton’s face and hands, and most of his hair has torn away, taking some of his scalp with it. His head flops to the side—sunken eyes staring blankly through Bellamy. The only sign the man is alive is his lips silently mouthing, “kill me.”
Jackson starts cutting away Pendleton’s clothes, grimacing when skin peels away with the man's jacket. Bellamy shudders, pushing the girls head against his chest when she tries to look.
"Oh, god," says Harper, looking like she might vomit.
Bryan just stares, obviously in shock.
Jackson puts his body between Bryan and Pendleton. "What happened?" he asks in that firm, detached way doctors have.
"I-" Bryan swallows hard. "I don't know. We found them just inside the gate."
"Them?"
"Him and Skip."
Abby stops in the middle of filling a syringe, exchanging a look with Jackson. "Where's-"
Harper cuts her off. "He didn't make it."
"We were almost home when the storm seemed to come out of nowhere,” adds Bryan, his voice strained. ”We managed to make it to the dropship.”
“Barely." Harper continues, holding up her burned hands for emphasis. "We waited out the storm then high-tailed it back here. They were-" She motions lamely towards Pendleton, unable to describe the horror.
Bryan jams a hand through his hair and finishes for her. "I guess they thought they could make it back."
Bellamy squeezes his eyes shut and takes deep breaths. He feels sick. That could have been him and Miller. And Octavia is still out there. He pushes the thought away just as quickly as it pops into his head, but it’s immediately replaced by another.
That could have been the girl. That realization drives him to action. He tucks the girl’s hair behind her ear so he can see her face. Her thumb is in her mouth again, but she's wide awake—eyes darting everywhere until they land on his. He forces a smile on his face then wipes the tears from her cheek with his thumb.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispers. She tightens her grip on his shirt so he scoots her higher until he feels her little fingers tangling in his hair. Her soft sigh is such a relief, he doesn’t even care when she pulls one of the curls too hard.
Abby finally notices them standing in the corner. “You don’t need to be in here.” She cocks her head towards the door—her meaning clear.
Bellamy grabs his jacket, wrapping it around the girl then pockets the rations. He’s almost to the door when Miller bursts into the room.
"Bryan? Bryan!"
Harper barely has time to jump out of the way before Miller nearly tackles Bryan in a bear hug. "Are you okay? They said someone was caught in the rain. I-" His voice cracks.
Bellamy has never seen Miller cry before, but he breaks down right in front of everyone. Bryan returns the embrace, murmuring in Miller’s ear. Everyone looks away, giving them what tiny bit of privacy they can get.
Harper stands nearby, arms wrapped protectively around her body. Tears stain her pale face. Bellamy puts a gentle hand on her shoulder, guiding her away from the carnage. She starts at his touch then collapses against him, her whole body trembling.
“Come on,” he says against the top of her head, “let’s get out of here.”
Harper offers no resistance as he maneuvers her out of Medbay. The air is cooler in the hall. He takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. It had taken him days to get used to the rich, loamy scent of the earth after breathing the stale, recirculated air on the Ark his entire life. He doesn’t think he'll ever get used to it again. Five years is going to feel like an eternity.
He leads Harper to the nearby Guard office—thankfully, the room is empty. Harper sinks into the couch, face in her hands. Bellamy grabs a medkit and sits next to her.
“Let me see your hands.”
It’s several seconds before she lifts her head and sniffs. “I was trying to protect my face,” she says softly. “The storm came out of nowhere.”
“I know,” Bellamy tells her. He convinces the girl to sit next to him then rests Harper’s hands on his lap. “We almost didn’t make it back either. We were probably only a few minutes ahead of Skip and Pendleton.”
They shut the door after we got inside. The thought crushes him. They never had a chance. Even if they’d made it to Alpha Station, they wouldn’t have been able to get inside. You killed them, says the damned voice. Two more names to add to the list. Bellamy shakes the thought away and focuses on Harper.
He searches through the kit and finds a small bag of foil-wrapped wipes. He reads the label: for use on minor radiation burns only. These must have been what Abby used on his arms.
Harper’s teeth chatter loudly as he cleans one hand then the other. By the time he’s done bandaging them, she’s shivering uncontrollably. Her eyes are red and distant.
“Harper, you still with me?” he asks, catching her attention with a wave in front of her face.
She blinks at him. “I’m so cold.”
Bellamy grabs his jacket and wraps it around her. “You’re in shock. It’ll pass.”
Harper buries her face in his shoulder, sobbing again. The little girl has been quiet the whole time. Now she climbs into Bellamy’s lap. He holds them both close.
“It’s all going to be okay,” Bellamy says, resting his cheek on the top of Harper’s head. “We’re going to get through this.”
“How?” she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
I don’t know. “Together. Like we always do. We made it through the crash landing, grounders, and the battle at the dropship. We got out of Mt. Weather and survived ALIE. We can do this, too.” He’s not sure if he’s trying to convince her or himself. “This is a cake walk after all that. Five years of sitting around, doing nothing. No running for our lives, and-”
“No one trying to kill us,” Harper adds with a dry laugh.
“And no one trying to kill us,” he repeats, letting his head drop back against the sofa. “See? Cake.”
Eventually, Harper sits up and wipes her eyes with the tips of her fingers. She sniffles a few times while she watches the little girl suck her thumb in her sleep. A smile spreads across her face. “Aw, look at you—that’s so cute with the cuddling and sweetness.”
“Whatever,” Bellamy grumbles, getting him a skeptical look from Harper. What is it with the women in my life seeing right through me?
“She’s adorable. Can we keep her?”
Don’t even think about, says the voice.
Bellamy ignores the voice and Harper’s comment. “You feeling better?”
“Yeah. I think I’m going to go back to my quarters and sleep for a few decades.”
“You need me to walk you?”
She shakes her head. She’s a little wobbly when she stands but stays on her feet. “I’m good.” She looks away for a second then back at him. “Thank you, Bellamy. For-” She gestures at the sofa. “I think I got snot on your shirt.”
He snorts. “Wouldn’t be the first time today.” They both look down at the girl who makes snuffling noises in her sleep.
“You know,” Harper says, tilting her head. “She kind of looks like you.”
Bellamy groans. “Why does everyone keep saying that?”
