notion • john murphy

42 - SOLUTION

[ SOLUTION ]

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   "We've been at this for two days." Bellamy spoke up to everyone in the room. Sayah eyes stayed on the window where rain droplets raced down quickly. She liked the rain. "There must be something we're not thinking of. What if we could reach the nearest nuclear reactor?"

"I told you," Raven sighed at him, hands on the table behind her as she leaned against it. Sayah quietly wondered how her leg was as her eyes moved over to Raven's brace. "The meltdown started months ago. There's no magic button to turn them off. Today this isn't black rain," She gestured outside. "But it will be soon. That's why we have to focus on riding out the radiation, finding someplace safe and big enough to hold all five-hundred of us."

Sayah watched as Clarke turned away from the window and faced Raven. "This isn't just about saving us. I made a promise to Roan. It's about saving everyone."

"And that's why we need to tell everyone." Raven replied. "Crowdsource it. If there's another Mount Weather out there, the Grounders will know about it." She turned to Sayah. "Right? There's gotta be something."

Sayah's eyes darted around at the four questioning faces staring at her and she sighed, leaning further back in her chair. "I suppose." She shrugged. "But, there's also factors like whether or not they'd even want to spill things like that. They could want to use it for themselves—for their own clans. . . It's just risky, that's all."

"Sayah's right." Bellamy nodded as he looked over to Raven. "You think they're just gonna tell us, just like that? If we tell everyone they're gonna die, the coalition is over, Roan falls, and the Grounders will be at our gate."

"Then just tell our people." Raven argued. Sayah watched as Monty got up from where he sat with an agitated sigh and moved over towards the window. "We need more minds on this problem." Raven continued and Sayah's attention moved back over to her. "On the Ark, people volunteered for the culling because they were told the truth and given a choice. . ." She paused and looked over to Clarke. "A choice your dad died for."

Thunder rumbled in the distance and Sayah's eyes darted nervously between Clarke and Raven as she watched Clarke's lips part and an angry expression fall over her. "You think I've forgotten that?" Clarke remarked, annoyance evident in her tone.

"Okay." Bellamy spoke up, noticing the tension between the two girls. "We'll tell everyone the truth as soon as we have a viable solution."

"Without one, people will panic." Sayah added to Raven, inhaling sharply. "And when people panic, they don't work."

"But—"

"That's it!" Monty's voice rang out loudly and everyone's attention turned to him. Sayah thought he had finally snapped, getting sick of everyone's arguing but that wasn't it.

"What are you talking about?" Clarke questioned him.

He turned to the others quickly, eyes calculating in only a way Monty's could do. "Think. Alpha Station survived for 97 years in space, through elevated radiation levels and extreme temperature fluctuations. Sound familiar?"

"No. . ." Sayah mumbled quietly, brows furrowed as her eyes darted between the others.

"All we have to do is patch up the ship." Monty clarified. He glanced up, a grin forming on his face. "We're standing in our viable solution."