Homecoming

“What do they want?” Bellamy asked, not even sure he wanted to know the answer.

“I wish I knew.” Max sighed and ran a hand along his gray beard. “Revenge? Power? What could they want that we didn’t have right here?”

They were silent for a moment.

“Clarke wants to go find her parents,” Bellamy said.

“I know she does. But it’s not safe. If the splinter group is willing to hurt their own neighbors and friends, they certainly won’t hesitate to hurt Clarke. And if they find out that she is their daughter—well, I’d hate to think of what they might do. The Griffins had nothing to do with the boy’s death, but these aren’t rational people we’re talking about here.” Max turned and locked eyes with Bellamy. “Do you think she understands the risks?”

Bellamy shook his head. “I don’t know. But she’s not going to stay here and wait around forever. She wants to find her mom and dad. Soon. I tried to convince her to wait until it’s safe for me to go with her. We need to find out more about where they might have gone. But she’s determined.”

“I don’t blame her.” Max sighed. “I’d want to find them too.”

“Yeah.” Bellamy knew what it was like to feel a desperate, primal urge to find someone you love. He got why Clarke wanted to start tracking her parents. But was he willing to let her die for it?

Bellamy’s thoughts were interrupted as a man raced toward them.

“Max,” the man said breathlessly, coming to a sudden halt in front of their bench. “There’s a group approaching the town. They’re about a hundred meters out. They’ll be here in a few minutes. And—Max—they’re armed.”

Bellamy’s heart leapt into his throat as a wave of guilt crashed over him. They’re here for me.

Max jumped to his feet. “Send out the signal. And dispatch a group to meet them and bring them in. Peacefully.” The man nodded and ran off. Max turned back to Bellamy. “Follow me.”

Bellamy tried to remain calm, but a surge of anger and fear welled up inside of him, the same combination of feelings that generally prompted him to do something stupid. He trailed Max closely as they jogged down the path and toward the town’s main hall, where people were already gathering, many bearing guns and spears. Clarke, Wells, and Sasha ran inside a few minutes later, looking anxious but determined. Sasha joined her father at the front of the room, while Wells and Clarke wended their way through the crowd to stand with Bellamy at the back.

“Don’t worry,” Wells said to Bellamy as the crowd chattered anxiously all around them. “We’re not going to let them take you.”

But that wasn’t what Bellamy was worried about, not really. He was more worried about what would happen when the Earthborns refused to hand him over—what Rhodes would do if he didn’t get his way.

Max raised a hand, and the room fell silent.

“As most of you know, we have some visitors coming,” he called out, his voice commanding but calm. “They’re being brought in now. We will meet with them, hear what they want, and then we will decide what to do.”

A tide of murmurs and muffled questions rose up from the crowd. Max held up his hand again, and everyone quieted down. “I know you have a lot of questions. I do too. But let’s start by listening. Remember, there is no peace without peaceful exchange.”

A tense silence settled over the room. A few minutes later, a handful of Earthborns led in a group of Rhodes’s guards. They had been relieved of their weapons but not restrained in any way.

“Welcome,” Max said. The guards were stony-faced and silent, their eyes darting around the room, strategizing and assessing. “Please make yourselves comfortable and tell us why you’ve come.”

The guards exchanged glances. The eldest, a middle-aged man named Burnett who Bellamy recognized from the prison cabin, stepped forward.

“We are not here to harm your people,” Burnett said in the same cold, flat voice Bellamy had heard countless guards use before dragging someone off to Confinement, making them disappear forever. He scanned the room until his eyes landed on Bellamy. Every muscle in Bellamy’s body tensed up, and he had to fight the urge to bolt to the front of the hall and wrap his hands around Burnett’s thick neck. “We are under orders to collect our prisoner, that’s all. You are harboring a fugitive, who must answer for his crimes. Hand him over, and we’ll leave you in peace.”

Clarke grabbed Bellamy’s hand and held it tight. He knew she’d do anything to keep him safe, but at this point, all he wanted to do was spare her any more pain.

Max surveyed Burnett carefully, pausing before he spoke. “My friend, I appreciate that you have come here under orders. And it is not our intention to cause trouble in any way.” Max shot Bellamy a look over the sea of heads that separated them, his expression unreadable. “But it’s my understanding that the prisoner, as you call him, will not be receiving any sort of just sentence. If he returns to your camp, he will be executed.”

A sea of shocked gasps and whispers rippled over the crowd. An Earthborn woman near Clarke and Bellamy turned to stare at them, taking in their frightened expressions and clasped hands, and her expression changed from confusion to resolve. Three men who’d been standing near Bellamy’s side exchanged glances, then took a few steps so they were standing between Bellamy and the guards. “And we are not in the business of sending young men to their deaths,” Max finished.