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— WHEN DARKNESS SETTLED ON THE CAMP, THE DELINQUENTS SURROUNDED THEMSELVES AROUND A RAGING FIRE. Courtesy of Cleo, of course, who had found a pack of matches in the dropship while looking for something to wrap the firewood. She had positioned the sticks just right to build a massive collection of dancing flames and had stayed by the fire until that current moment.
She sat on a tree stump and watched disapprovingly as Murphy broke the wristband off of another girl. He had turned into one of Bellamy's peon quickly, all it had taken was a charming speech and a smile.
Cleo shook her head, barely rolling her eyes as the girl stood up like she had just won a game. She basked in the cheers momentarily before she was hastily pulled away and Bellamy looked out into the crowd, eyes washing right over Cleo like she wasn't there.
"Who's next?" His voice boomed, weaving into the crowd as he searched for another volunteer.
"What the hell are you doing?" Wells demanded, marching into camp and stopping another dumb kid from attempting to rebel against the ark.
"We're liberating ourselves – what does it look like?" Bellamy responded, sure of himself as a cocky grin spread on his face.
"It looks like you're trying to get us all killed. The communication system is dead — these wristbands are all we got. Take them off, and the Ark will think we're dying, that it's not safe for them to follow."
"That's the point, Chancellor. We can take care of ourselves, can't we?"
"No," Cleo spoke up, her voice ringing through the crowd. Her word only built up the tension as she garnered everyone's attention. "Face it, none of you know what the hell you're doing down here. None of you started the fire, none of you figured out we're not on Mount Weather. Do you really think that making your parents and your friends grieve over you is going to stop them? If there's even one person still alive, The Ark is coming down – don't be an idiot."
