jennickels | Heaven Can't Wait - Chapter 56 (Reply)

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Chapter Fifty-Six - Other Things to Worry About

This time when Bellamy wakes, it’s to keys in the cage door. The clinking and creaking of metal pulls him from a now thankfully dreamless sleep. The door swings open as a yawn escapes. He glances up through puffy, sore eyes at a stern-looking Indra. For a split second, he’s back on that field, convincing Pike to let her live. He won’t lie and say he hasn’t wondered more than once if that was a mistake.

Her lips are set in a grim line. She moves out of the way without saying anything to let Kane in who quickly uncuffs Bellamy and offers him a hand up.

Bellamy gets to weak legs, rubbing his sore wrists. “What’s going on?”

“I’m releasing you on your own recognizance.”

“What? Why?” Bellamy glances at the other men in the cage who have woken with the noise as well. He leans in closer to Kane. “The assault-”

“Those charges have been dropped.”

Bellamy blinks at Kane, not sure he heard him correctly. “Dropped?”

Indra stands a little taller. “By Grounder law, you did nothing wrong in protecting the child. Benedict got his due justice for striking someone too weak to defend themselves.”

Bellamy runs a hand over his face. “But-”

“Bellamy,” Kane says, taking him by the arm to guide him out of the cage, “just accept this mercy and promise not to let your emotions get the better of you again.”

I’m not sure I can do that where Heaven is concerned.

He doesn’t say that out loud, though. Kane shuts and locks the cage door then hands the keys to Bellamy. The grumbling from those still inside starts immediately, but they ignore them as they head out of the Stockade.

“I don’t deserve this,” Bellamy mumbles, walking between Indra and Kane.

“We have other things to worry about right now,” says Kane, guiding them in the direction of Bellamy’s office.

Bellamy glances between them. “What’s going on?”

“We did a census of the station last night, trying to account for the whereabouts of everyone.”

“I take it things didn’t go according to plan.”

“There are five men missing,” Indra answers. “From Trikru.”

Bellamy frowns. “Maybe they were just moving around when you took the census, and you never caught up to them.”

They get to the office, and Bellamy lets them in.

“We considered that,” says Kane, arms crossed over his chest defensively. “We talked to their families—no one has seen them since the evacuation.”

Bellamy pinches the bridge of his nose. “They’re lost then? It may not seem like it, but the station is pretty big.”

Kane shakes his head, holding out a tablet. “Then you’ll need to do a room-by-room search.”

With a sigh, Bellamy takes the tablet, scanning over the info. He recognizes two of the Grounders, including Davish from the fight in the yard last week. “All right. I’ll organize a search and talk to their friends and families again. They’ve got to be here somewhere.” He looks up at Kane and Indra. “Where else could they go?”

Indra just glares like she’s torn between needing him and letting him rot in prison. She probably is.

Apparently, she comes to a decision because she nods at Bellamy then turns on her heel, stalking out of his office. Bellamy blows out a long puff of air, ruffling his bangs. “She hates me.”

“But she respects you,” Kane says, squeezing his shoulder.

Bellamy doubts that but doesn’t argue.

After Kane leaves, he spends several minutes just sitting at his desk, fingers fiddling with Bae’s yarn hair. Several Guards come and go as they finish or start their shifts. They eye Bellamy—probably surprised to see him out of lockup already—but don’t say anything.

Eventually, he sets the doll on a corner of his desk and tries to ignore the interruptions while he goes over the files. There are five men unaccounted for—Davish, Luca, Jozef, Kiva, and Hiram. They’re all from Trikru but from different villages spread to all corners of the territory. As far as he can tell, they didn’t even know each other until seeking refuge in Arkadia.

According to the reports by their families and friends, they were helping with the evacuation when they went missing. No one has seen them since the chaos of the day before.

Bellamy is so engrossed in the reports he doesn’t notice the three people enter his office.

“I heard they let you out,” Miller says, startling Bellamy out of his stupor.

He glances up at Miller, Bryan, and Harper then shrugs. “They needed me,” he tells them, handing the tablet to Miller who quickly scans the file.

“Missing persons? How do you go missing in a sealed station?”

“Good question and I’m not liking any of the answers.” He takes the tablet back with a frown. “I could use some help searching the station.”

“Sure,” Harper answers for them. “We can help.”

Bellamy gives Miller and Bryan two of the names to investigate while he and Harper follow up on the other three. Their first stop, though, is the Mess Hall which is still in chaos with crates stacked everywhere and most of the space taken up by Grounder refugees.

Bellamy and Harper join the small line of Arkadians waiting for their meager breakfast rations. The civilians huddle together in groups, eyeing the Grounders who are just trying to keep to themselves. Bellamy notices one group is mostly from Farm Station, and they’re intently watching the Grounders across the room.

This is a powder keg. Something is going to spark a flame, and the whole thing will blow.

Eventually, Bellamy and Harper get their rations—a slightly mushy apple and a tasteless protein bar each—and leave, heading for the upper level, not far from his own quarters. According to the records, Davish’s wife has settled in that hall for the evacuation.

All of the corridors are crowded with people—blankets and sheets hang from the ceiling to give a little privacy. Bellamy guides Harper through the maze of people, asking for guidance from a few helpful Grounders. It takes them a few minutes to locate where the woman is supposed to be, but she’s not there. Instead, they find Davish’s friend from the yard—Callum.

The look he gives Bellamy is less than friendly. “What do you want?”

“I’m looking into the missing Grounders.”

Callum scoffs. “A dead Grounder is one less Grounder to worry about, isn’t it?”

“Who says they’re dead?” asks Harper.

“That’s the only explanation. Davish wouldn’t abandon his family or his people. So he must be dead.”

Bellamy taps his leg with a finger, trying to stay calm. “When was the last time you saw Davish?”

“Yesterday,” Callum says like he’s bored with the conversation already. “Like I told your Chancellor last night. He was helping families move their belongings from one side of the station to the other.”

Bellamy checks the notes on the tablet which say the same thing. “And where was the last place you saw him.”

Callum shrugs. “On the other side when the sirens went off. I had to get my family to safety.”

“You left him?” asks Harper.

That gets a glare. “I guided my family to safety then went back to help others same as Davish. It wasn’t until after the sirens that they were noticed missing.”

Bellamy nods. “One last question—where were Davish’s quarters?”

“Upper deck, west side.”

Right at the front of the station. Right at the center of the storm.

Bellamy bids Callum goodbye and motions for Harper to follow him.

“What are you thinking?” she asks when they’re far enough away from Callum.

Bellamy rubs his tired eyes. “I think Callum is right. There’s no way someone like Davish would just abandon his duty.”

“So you think they’re dead.”

“I’m hoping not, but-”

“But it’s not looking good.”

He shakes his head then asks around for directions to the family of the next name on his list.

The other interviews go about the same as the first—lots of hostility and no new information. The missing men didn’t miraculously show up in the middle of the night. Their families are worried and angry. Bellamy doesn’t blame them. When they opened Arkadia to refugees, they told the Grounders they would be safe here.

That was a lie, and we knew it then.

Bellamy frowns at the voice but doesn’t deny it.

Back in his office, they find Miller and Bryan going over their notes which are more of the same.

“This is pointless,” Miller says. “How do five people just go missing?”

Bellamy sits at his desk with a sigh. “With tensions as high as they are, they won’t be the first.”

“You’re thinking foul play.”

He nods. “What else could it be? One of the men—Davish—was part of that brawl out in the yard last week. He and his friend were attacked by Farm Station.”

Miller shakes his head. “We’re going to have a problem with them.”

“I know.”

“We need to do something.”

Bellamy’s about to ask for suggestions even though there’s nothing they can do short of just locking them all up and violating their rights when his radio squawks a bleat of static then Raven’s voice comes through.

“Bellamy?”

He pulls the radio from his belt. “Yeah?”

“I need you in Engineering.”

“Can’t it wait?”

There’s a pause then Raven’s solemn voice. “No, it really can’t.”

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