I Am The Last Nightblood (the 100)

Caught Somewhere In Time

I was seven when I learned how to swim. Lexa escorted a small coven of kids that lived in the city, to a small stream not far the tower. First, they had us place our hands in the water. We had all taken hot baths before, but the water submerging our hands was the opposite of warm. It was cold, freezing almost. They had us hold our hands in the water, and told us that the sensation we felt, the omnipresent coolness, was more than we thought. That if a color could be described by touch, what we were experiencing now would be blue. They told us blue feels like relaxation.

Later we found out that it can also mean terrible pain.

Frozen rivers, knives made of ice, the white soft covering that could kill you in hours, the freezing beauty that slowly shuts your body down.

When I inhale through my mouth now, I feel that blue. Not the cool blue that feels like relaxation, but the deadly blue that visits Azgeda every year. The deadly blue that convulses your body. The blue that makes your skin burn. I breathe out and I feel the blue leave my mouth. It doesn't return with my next breath.

I hesitantly open my eyes, blinded by something bright. I squint and blink, using my hand to try to block out the stream of light blinding my vision, and slowly my eyes begin to adjust. I can't help but let out an audible gasp.

Towers of perfect metal and glass loom high above my head, scraping the grey-blue sky. There's tons of them, all similar but also different. The sun is no where to be found, and I search for the blinding light that welcomed me here. I take a step forward, and then another. A slim figure stands a few steps before me, her blond hair swirling in the wind.

"Clarke?" I call. I walk up to her, stopping by her side. Her head is tilted upwards, surveying her surroundings with awe. I look with her at the metal towers around us, taking it all in. The air is crisp, and my lungs rejoice.

People come into view, all clean. There's no blood, there's no dirt, there's nothing unkempt. Their faces have no scars, their eyes don't leak of pain, their mouths don't scream of agony. They're peaceful. Perfect.

"We made it. We're in the city of light."

♾

We walk with purpose, avoiding the people swarming something Clarke refers to as 'sidewalks.' no one pays us attention, they just continue on their own, seeming to always be preoccupied. I watch from a-far as people hug one another, carrying conversations with purpose. Clarke watches her surroundings too, her eyes not missing a thing. She stops dead in her tracks, recognition and fear crossing her face. I think my heart skips a beat, and an uneasy feeling in my stomach grows.

"Clarke? What is it?" I question, worried.

"Jasper." It's barely a whisper. I follow her eyes and see him, walking across the street towards us, holding a sort of novelty in his hand. And for the first time, I see that he's smiling. His face was bright, his eyes showing no pain, no fear. He walks towards us, passing us without a care.

"He can't see me."Clarke gapes at him in shock.

She turns around in almost a circle, watching the people around her. She follows him, and I almost trip over someone's shoes. Im pushing through the people, trying to make way to the direction I saw Clarke going towards when I notice a strange noise.

"Verena." A soft whisper. I turn quickly, looking for the source. My eyes land on a blinking light, the symbol of the commanders flashing in blue. I find Clarke in the crowd and grasp her shoulder tightly.