Elastic Heart

She was back on the Ark locked within her cell, the darkness and eerie silence making it immediately apparent as she opened her eyes. Everything was as she remembered. The hand-carved scratches along the wall still totaled up to the three-hundred and fifty-two days she had spent imprisoned. But Blair sensed something was amiss, and she felt uneasy as she got to her feet. In the cell she had spent three-hundred and fifty-two day with the stars her only constant source of lighting, it only took her a few seconds before she realised the cause for her discontent. The door to her cell was ajar, allowing a minimal amount of artificial lighting to filter its way through. Intrigued, she walked cautiously towards the door, her feet weightless as she stepped. Pushing it gently open till it was wide, it shocked Blair to find the Skybox deserted. No Guards patrolled along the levels and no prisoners resided in the empty cells.

The rest of the Ark was much the same-- vacant without any sign of life. Even the low rumble of the Arks generators had disappeared along with all its people. The lighting panels began to flicker overhead, halting Blair and her slow-paced steps. She wasn't afraid of the dark, if truth be told she greeted it like an old friend. It was the unknown that scared her, the not knowing what she may find up ahead.

Fumbling further into the heart of the Ark, Blair found herself nearing the Airlock Chamber. The one part of the Ark she went out of her way to avoid. According to Blair's father, it was just outside the Airlock Chamber that her mother held her and kissed her goodbye for the final time only moments before stepping in. She, of course, remembered nothing of her mothers last moments. In actuality, she hardly remembered anything about her mother at all. She knew only what her father told her and relied on pictures to put a face to the name.

Rounding the corner with her heart heavy, it was the smell that hit Blair first. Stumbling backwards with her hand covering her nose and mouth, Blair attempted to block out the smell and mask her horror-filled gasp. The lights correcting themselves and shining bright in working order once again, the mass of dead bodies could finally be seen. Tears brimmed her eyes as she scanned the perished faces. Some died laid and others died sitting, but all looked to have died waiting for the doors of the Airlock Chamber to open. They had all chosen death, but Blair doubted they'd wished to find it this way.

Then she saw him. The man who had raised her. The man who had given her everything and asked for nothing in return. The only man she had ever loved.

He sat with his back propped against the glass of the Chamber door, his legs stretched out in front of him. The head of another mans body rested against his shoulder whilst her father's head hung limply down.

"Daddy." She wasn't sure if it was said in sotto voce or as a scream. For all she knew it may never have left her lips at all. Her legs failed to hold her up as she collapsed to the metal floor. Crying and praying for the nightmare to end.



By the time her subconscious showed Blair mercy and released her from her terrifying dream, it was late morning. Wells make-shift bed beside hers looked unslept in or long left, she couldn't decide which.

Outside it was much the same as it had been the day before. A small handful of the one hundred moved around gathering up supplies and collecting more firewood whilst the majority ran around acting as though everything was just one big game. Blair's earlier upset and anger from the night before had now subsided. Although she didn't agree with the mutiny Bellamy had started, she knew she was powerless to stop it. Maybe if she had known of his intentions beforehand she may have been able to make him see sense. That being the lie she fed herself this morning after her ordeal that night to rid herself of the guilt of not doing more. Regardless of whether the lie held any truth, it was too late to wish upon hindsight now; his plan was already too far in motion. Around fifteen of the hundred had liberated themselves around the campfire last night, the build up of discarded silver being a harsh reminder as Blair sauntered by in search of Wells.

Peer pressure was something she could not control. If applied by the wrong people with the right amount of force, she'd be unable to convince the remaining criminals with their wristbands still in-check not to succumb and rid themselves of the burden of keeping it on.

The only thing Blair could control was what she did with hers, and she was adamant she would remove it for nothing and no-one, no matter the consequences that would bring. She didn't doubt that Clarke, Wells and Finn would feel the same. Four out of one hundred didn't fill Blair with much hope... but it was a start.

"Wells," Blair called out as she spotted him heading back into the heart of camp, carrying various items of clothing under his arm. He turned at the sound of her voice and raised his hand in a wave, forcing a small-scale smile. Blair noticed the absence of silver around his wrist and stormed towards him in an instant. "What happened to your wristband?"

Blair watched as Wells hung his head as if ashamed and remained withdrawn. But she didn't need him to tell her because deep down she already knew. Wells would never have taken his bracelet off by choice.

"Blair, wait!" Wells desperate plea wasn't enough to stop her as she stalked off in search of Murphy. He wasn't smart enough to be the mastermind behind Wells' attack, she knew that. But the thought of fighting with Bellamy didn't sit right with her. They had their disagreement last night and she was yet to fully forgive him, but she didn't want to cause him any real pain. Not like the pain she planned to inflict on Murphy when she found him.



Unable to stop Blair from doing something stupid on his own, Wells looked for Atom. Although he'd already sided with Bellamy when it came to the removal of wristbands, it was clear he still cared for Blair more than he cared for anyone else, both on the ground and off. She was like family to him; the annoying little sister he never had.

"Hey, where'd you get the clothes?" Atom asked when Wells approached.

"They're from the two kids that died during the landing. Look-" Wells was about to tell Atom about Blair putting herself in danger when Atom cut him off.

"Smart. But you know, I'll take it from here." As he reached towards the clothing Wells instinctively stepped back, his growing annoyance pushing his concern for Blair deeper and deeper into the back of his thought.

"We share based on need! Just like back home," Wells proclaimed.

As Bellamy exited from the dropship where a parachute now hung as a feeble excuse for a door, Wells sighed. Bracing himself from yet another showdown with Bellamy, he was unaware Blair had already tracked down Murphy. Unlike him, she didn't need to brace herself as she charged towards the boy. The anger she already felt given what he had done to Wells and the fact he stood next to a pile of freshly removed wristbands was the driving force behind her fist as she brought it to his face.



"Is this what you want? Chaos?" Wells questioned whilst a small group of kids fought for the clothes he had just cast aside.

Bellamy merely smirked as he slipped on the clean T-shirt he had taken from Wells in an attempt to prove his point. "What's wrong with a little chaos?"

From a distance a scream could be heard. Blair's scream.

"Who was that?" A boy asked aloud to no-one in particular.

Wells eyes widened. He knew exactly who the scream had come from and the likely reason why. The faint whisper of her name was heard by Bellamy and Atom as they stood behind him, all looking out in the direction it had come from. Her name alone was enough to make Bellamy's heart momentarily stop. He couldn't stand the thought of his Sleeping Beauty coming to any harm. Atom moved first with Wells in hot pursuit. After a few seconds to get his head together, Bellamy ran to catch up with the two, pushing his way past anyone that got in his way.



Her skin began to scorch as Murphy held her face and wrist dangerously close to the naked flame. After getting him with her strong right-hook, Blair hadn't betted on him taking this harsh a form of retribution. With his hand knotted tightly in her hair and wrist pressed against the tip of the flame burning, Blair had no choice but to cry out in pain. She hated knowing that hearing her scream would bring him great satisfaction, but the pain was becoming too much for the delicate girl to bear.

"Bellamy, check it out! We want the Ark to think that the ground is killing us, right?" Murphy said, and Blair felt relieved to know he was somewhere close by. She knew he could be cold and callous at times, but even he wouldn't stand for this. "Figured it would look better if we suffered a little bit first."

Blair fell back and away from the fire as Atom forced Murphy to let her go. Whilst Wells tried to break up her friend and foe who had started a brawl a few feet behind her, Bellamy moved over and crouched down beside Blair. She was startled as his coarse-hand gently clasped her elbow and drew her hand closer in order to examine the damage. The skin was red and beginning to blister, the shock making her entire small-boned body shake. Tentatively, he reached his free hand up and cupped the side of her face which wasn't forced down near the flames. He forced her face up to meet his as her tears silently fell. Fighting the urge to wipe them, Bellamy turned her face to the side and inspected the harm done. Besides from the slight redness brought to her cheek, he felt relieved to see she was fine. The color of her cheek reminded him of the shade she'd turned during their walk in the woods yesterday morning. The memory made him inwardly smile.

"You okay, Aurora?" he queried, genuinely concerned. Watching as the girl he'd quickly grown to care for sniffed and wiped her face free of fallen tears, she meekly nodded.

"I will be."