DISCORDIA

[ 19 ] aim steady

     SHE WAS STARTING TO REGRET ever agreeing to Clarke's request as the blonde kept trying to persuade them to talk to the Ark. They had been walking for a couple of hours through the forest, following the direction on the map. Jinny was pointedly ignoring every attempt at conversation regarding the Ark, and Bellamy had taken it upon himself to reflect them.

     "You know, the first dropship's gonna come down soon," Clarke started again as they treaded through a patch of bald trees, their spindly branches poking out at them on all sides. "Pretty sure you can't avoid Jaha forever."

     "I can try," Bellamy retorted.

     They broke the line of trees and hiked up an incline in front of them. Jinny wrapped her jacket tightly around herself as a cool breeze blew in from the north. She definitely felt the chill from that, seeping deep into her very bones with a gnawing ache. The three of them stopped at the top of the hill and looked out over the landscape. The site of a ruin laid before them, half buried in a large body of water. The decrepit structure of what was once an imposing building stood out from the rest of the broken down remnants that surrounded it. Four tall columns still supported the triangular crest above them, which was all that was left of the roof.

     Jinny could pick out several other landmarks around the edifice; a rusted tower that was leaning to the side, a sign with the number fifteen next to a house. Beyond the decay laid the vast expanse of coniferous trees reaching uninhibited into the misty sky.

     "The depot's supposed to be around here," Clarke said as she looked around. "Somewhere..."

     "There's gotta be a door," Bellamy declared.

     "Maybe he'll be lenient," the girl looked at them pleadingly.

     "He's not just going to forgive and forget," he told her with a tone filled with exasperation.

     "You wouldn't know if you didn't try," she went on.

     "Clarke, enough!" Jinny snapped at her. "You don't know what you're talking about here, okay? Just stop it."

     "Well, maybe if you tell me why you're avoiding them then I will!" she argued back. "What could it be that's so bad that you can't even talk about?"

     "Hey, hey," Bellamy interrupted before Jinny lost her temper and attempted to impale Clarke on a branch. "We didn't come here to talk about this. Let's just split up, we'll cover more ground. Stay within shouting distance."

     He nudged Jinny along with him as he walked around Clarke and made their way down the hill. The blonde sighed out loud but complied with his suggestion. Jinny continued to seethe as Bellamy searched the area for some kind of entryway, hacking away at overgrown roots. She wandered around, wondering what the ruins had been like in its prime instead. Had there been a metropolis here? Did it used to be teeming with life and splendour before its destruction?

     She remembered the few history documentaries on the Ark, that talked about grand palaces and state capitols where momentous decisions were made. There were treaties of peace and declarations of war made by leaders of different countries. Men would lose their lives over a notion called patriotism, defending a nation that was all but forgotten to time now. Clarke's voice broke her out of her reverie and she turned around.

     "Bellamy! Jinny! Over here, I found a door!"

     Heading over with Bellamy, she saw Clarke bent down over the handle of a metal door and tried to pull it open. "It's rusted shut," she told them.

     "Watch your foot," Bellamy warned before he brought his axe down on the hinges peeking out of the muddy grass. "Give me a hand."

     They managed to pry the door open, revealing a set of stairs that led down to Emergency Aid Depot #23. Jinny clicked on her searchlight as she went ahead to check out the interior. It smelled strongly of copper, along with damp and rot the further inside she went. Cobwebs hung all around the sides, stretched from one corner to the next like an intricate design.