Kings // c. griffin

Chapter Nine

Clarke turned on the flashlight as Finn closed the hatch above them, engulfing them in darkness aside from the pale glow of the light in the blonde's hands. As Finn landed on the ground, he reached into Clarke's bag and pulled out two more flashlights, handing one to Isaac. The two boys switched their lights on and Isaac stepped in front of the group ever so slightly, ready to take the brunt of an attack should there be one.

The light fell over a dusty table, lined with a few pictures and art materials. Isaac turned away, looking at a sink. "Finn, what is this place?" Clarke asked, Isaac nodding along with her question even though Finn wasn't even looking at him.

The long haired boy shrugged at Clarke. "For now, its... home."

They set to work on getting it lighter in the bunker, Isaac stumbling (quite literally, having tripped over a box full of them) across some candles and soon they were lighting them, spreading them around the bunker on different surfaces for some better lighting. Charlotte had fallen asleep on one of the bunk beds a while ago, Isaac noticed. While Finn and Clarke were talking, Isaac managed to find a blanket and cover the girl with it, tucking the edges around her in hopes that she wasn't cold.

"I can't believe you kept the place quiet," Clarke hissed quietly at Finn, shaking out the match she had been using for the candles.

"Oh come on, Clarke," Finn sighed, giving her a pointed look. "What would be the point of telling anybody?"

"Some of this stuff could be useful," Clarke pointed out.

"Like what?" Finn asked. "There's no weapons. All the food expired like ninety years ago."

The blonde nodded in agreement, but Clarke wasn't going to give up easily. "Yeah, but we could re-purpose," she suggested, raising her eyebrows. "Share with the group, if you'd like."

Finn rolled his eyes affectionately. "You can share this with the group if you'd like," he teased, holding out a jar. Isaac watched as Clarke grinned ecstatically, grabbing the jar and examining the pencils inside. Finn stared at her, amused as she went through the supplies. Isaac on the inside of his cheek, a bit bitterly, and turned away, ignoring the tug in his stomach as he went back to tending to Charlotte as she slept, determinedly searching for another blanket. "What did you find?" Finn asked her, Isaac listening to their footsteps as they went to sit next to each other.

"Well, it looks like they never made it here," Clarke sighed, Isaac glancing over his shoulder for a brief second to notice her staring at a photograph.

"No," Finn mumbled. "I figure the bombs took them by surprise." He sighed loudly. "All this preparation, what a waste."

"I don't know," Clarke said. "Maybe they were lucky. They couldn't have lived more than a few years down here, then when they ran out of food, or lost their minds, they would have opened the doors and been dead within a few days. Back then, maybe sooner."

Their conversation became hushed and for some reason Isaac couldn't shake the nervous feeling like they were talking about him. He knew it was unlikely, but there was still a part of him that nagged, tugging at him like a loose rope, trying to convince him that they were. Sighing, Isaac tried to shove those thoughts away, opening another drawer.

Inside were blankets and a few pillows. The curly haired boy smiled softly and reached inside, pulling out a few blankets and a couple of the pillows. He was just setting them aside when suddenly something soft tumbled into his lap. Looking down, he saw a stuffed bear. It was around the size of his head, and it had soft, fluffy fur that was brown and smooth, and two shiny black eyes stitched into the head along with a sewn-on smile and a button nose. Isaac drew in a soft breath, staring at the bear. Picking it up, he held it in his hand. This had belonged to someone, to a child, before the nuclear bombs destroyed everything. He often had though about how the world had ended, but until now he had never put too much thought into the people it had also destroyed. Families, cities, entire countries, men, women, and children alike.