silence and sound → the 100 ²

[ 014 ] the world under the water.

— CHAPTER FOURTEEN,
the world under the water.

RUBY SITS IN THE PASSENGER SEAT OF THE ROVER. The group is following Lincoln's map to where they assume Luna is located. Raven, Monty, Harper, Miller, and Bryan stayed behind at Arkadia.

Ruby's memory book rests in her lap. She flicks through the pages, eyes grazing over her horrible handwriting and amazing sketches.

Bellamy Blake has terrible timing.

As he glances down at the book, his heart freezes in time. Just as Ruby flips the page, he sees the waterfall and the pool of water at the bottom. A man and a woman float in the middle of the water. Their lips are locked and they hold onto each other.

Ruby's book captures their first kiss beautifully.

Bellamy sucks in a breath through his nose. His eyes dart back to the windshield. At the sound of his breath, Ruby's speckled eyes turn to him. She studies him, a frown tugging at her lips. She then turns back to the book and closes it. She places her chin in her hand and looks out of the window. She sniffles and then wipes her face with her free hand. She's crying.

Ryland watches with a frown of his own. He knows what Bellamy did is horrible, he doesn't forgive the man for it. He's not sure if he can or will. But Ruby deserves better. Ryland wishes that Bellamy would have never walked out the gates with Pike or turned his back on Ruby the day they reunited. Ruby is the single most person in the world that deserves endless love.

Beside him, Luca and Amara keep silent. Neither of them have seen or spoken to Luna in years. Of course they know where she's located. But they will not tell the others. Luna was once their friend. Perhaps one of their closest. Luca had been the only person she trusted with telling when she fled her conclave.

As children, Luna and Luca would spar almost daily. She won every single time.

"It's been an hour since we passed the airplane wreckage," Jasper speaks up. "Seeing as we're using a map without any distances, it could be days before we reach Luna's village."

"At least we know we're going in the right direction," Bellamy quickly says in response.

"We're running out of daylight. We should stop in the sun and recharge the battery." Jasper suggests.

"What sun?" Clarke retorts. She motions to the gray and cloudy sky outside the windshield. "We keep going until it dies."

"We keep going until we get to Luna," Octavia mumbles.

Jasper flips around Lincoln's book so Amara and Luca can see the drawing of their old friend. "This her?" He asks.

"Yes," Amara nods, "that's Luna."

"What do you think she's gonna say when we show up asking to put an AI in her head?" Jasper questions the group. "Or if we mention that. . . you know, Ruby is one, too."

"Lincoln said she helps those that are in trouble. She'll help us too." Octavia tells him.

Bellamy puts on the brakes. Ruby groans as she stares at what's stopped them.

"And we don't mention Ruby being a Nightblood," Ryland says. "No one says a single word about it to anyone at the village."

"Fucking tree," Ruby grumbles, keeping her eyes on the fallen tree.

"You think she can help us find a better map?" Jasper questions Octavia.

"Backtrack," Bellamy says. But before he can back up, Octavia is jumping out of the rover. "Find somewhere where the trees aren't so bad."