Sasha raised an eyebrow, clearly curious about what he was thinking. “I was just imagining what would happen if Rhodes found out that Bellamy and I were brothers,” Wells said.
Sasha laughed. “He’d probably have a heart attack. Actually, that might be the best plan. I’ll head back to your camp, shout the news, and wait for Rhodes to drop dead. Problem solved.”
Wells squeezed her hand back. “Your tactical mind never ceases to amaze me.”
They walked on, with Wells only half listening as Sasha pointed out various geographic features. At one point, Clarke began peppering Sasha with questions about different animal species, but Wells could tell she doing it more to distract Bellamy.
They walked for what seemed like hours. Finally Sasha pointed to a small rise in the ground, so subtle they would never have noticed it on their own.
“That way,” she said. They followed her, picking their way carefully among the branches. Wells felt the ground beneath him slowly sloping downward, and he adjusted his gait to keep from toppling forward. They rounded a curve and Wells’s breath caught in his chest as he took in the sight spread out before him. At the bottom of the hill, in a wide valley, was an entire town, just like he’d spent his entire life reading about. Just like he’d imagined building with the hundred on Earth.
Wells had never seen anything so remarkable since he’d arrived on the planet—not the endless trees reaching to the horizon, not the lake or the sky. Nature was beautiful in a way he’d never imagined, but this… this was life. Signs of vibrancy and energy were everywhere: light-filled windows with the shadows of families inside; animals stomping their hooves, harnesses jangling; smoke curling out of a dozen chimneys in a coordinated dance toward the sky; wheelbarrows tipped on their sides, as if they’d just been dropped moments ago; balls and toys at rest, the echoes of children’s laughter floating in the air around them.
Wells let out an astonished laugh. Clarke turned to him and smiled. “Pretty cool, right?” He was glad that she was here to share this moment. She was one of the only people in the solar system who knew how much this meant to him.
“It’s spectacular.”
Sasha slipped her hand into his and squeezed. “Let’s go.” She led them down the hill and onto the dirt road that ran through the center of her town. Wells breathed in the smell of roasting meat and something lighter and sweeter—was someone baking bread?
Sasha walked up to the front door of the last house on a row and entered without knocking. They stepped through the doorway and into a room lit by a small lamp and a flickering fire. The first thing Wells noticed was the enormous oil painting of a star-filled sky on the wall. Back on the ship, something like that would’ve been behind a foot of bulletproof glass, maybe inside an oxygen-free chamber, but here it hung unadorned, just a few meters from the ash-spewing fire. Yet Wells could tell that the firelight somehow brought it to life more than the harsh, fluorescent lights of Phoenix ever could, making the stars appear to glow.
Wells pulled his gaze from the painting and turned his attention to the gray-bearded man who’d just stood to greet them. He was standing next to a plain wooden table that was covered with electronics, most of which Wells didn’t recognize. The only piece that looked at all familiar was an ancient laptop that’d been welded onto an enormous solar panel, and not particularly neatly.
“Hi, Dad,” Sasha said, stepping forward to kiss her father’s cheek. “You remember Clarke and Bellamy, right?”
The man raised a bushy eyebrow. “How could I forget?” He turned to his guests and nodded. “Welcome back.”
“Thank you,” Bellamy said, slightly bashful. “Sorry I keep showing up like this.”
Sasha’s father glanced at his heavily bandaged arm. “Somehow, I don’t think it’s entirely your fault, although you do seem to have a special talent for finding trouble.”
“Talent is one word for it,” Clarke said, reaching her arm forward. “It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Walgrove.”
“Dad, this is Wells.” Sasha caught Wells’s eye for a brief moment and shot him an encouraging look.
“Nice to meet you, sir.” Wells stepped forward and held out his hand.
“Nice to meet you too, Wells.” Sasha’s dad gripped Wells’s hand in a firm shake. “Call me Max.”
Max turned back to Bellamy. “Where’s your sister?” He said the word casually, without twisting his lips with disdain like Rhodes would’ve done. In this world, having a sibling didn’t mark your family as deviants.
“She didn’t come with us,” Bellamy told Max, trying to keep his voice steady as he shot Clarke an anguished look.
Sasha led them back outside and explained that there was only one spare cabin at the moment, and it only had one bed. Wells quickly said that Bellamy should take it, and he helped Clarke walk Bellamy over while Sasha ran to get Clarke some medical supplies.
Once Bellamy and Clarke were safely inside, Sasha took Wells’s hand and interlaced her fingers through his. “So… where to? You can crash on the floor at my dad’s house, or if you don’t mind the cold, I can take you to my favorite spot.”
“Hmmm,” Wells said, pretending to weigh the choices. “While sleeping a few meters from your father sounds amazing, I’ll have to go with option B.”
Sasha smiled and led Wells back through the tiny town and into a small patch of trees that grew between the cabins and the hill leading up to Mount Weather. “I hope I can find it in the dark,” Sasha said, running her hand along the trunk of one of the larger trees.