Author's Note: Hellooooo wonderful readers :) I'm so excited to post the first chapter of the sequel! For those of you reading this for the first time, I would strongly suggest reading Free to Live, Free to Love in order to understand what's going on! The timing and placement of Kat was a little tricky this season, but I think you guys will be happy with what I've come up with.

Special thanks to Dannylionthe1st for beta-ing!

Thank you all so much for your continued positive comments and support. Don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you thought! I put aside a lot of homework and sleep in order to put this chapter up for you guys and reviews are my thanks and my motivation.

Chapter 1: I'm In

Clarke's POV

Clarke slowly ran her fingers over the jewelry and fine clothes, almost not believing what she was seeing. She was actually seeing clothing from 97 years ago, what women used to wear before the world went to shit.

Her mind was reeling, trying to find something definitive and real to grasp hold of. She was in Mount Weather, the place that they were supposed to go to when the dropship first landed but had been unable to because it was near grounder territory. There were people here, people like her rather than people like the grounders. Strangely enough, it made her trust them even less.

Her eyes flickered over to the door where President Wallace was ushering everybody out of the room so she could change. He seemed genuine when he said that they were safe here, that they were looking for survivors and that she could see her friends. But the whole place gave her a weird feeling. Her gaze dropped to where Maya was lying on the bed at the other side of the room, hooked up to some machine that was filtering out her infected blood with new blood. Very strange.

Her fingers trailed along the trunk until she came to a pair of black shoes that had a long point on the end. Frowning slightly, she wondered who would ever wear contraptions like these – there was no way they could possibly be comfortable. A mental image of her trying to walk or run around their camp wearing these things popped into her head and she had to inwardly snort at how ridiculous it was. She could almost hear the sarcastic comment from Kat –

Clarke's heart sank in her stomach, her brief amusement fading as she thought about her friends, her people. Determination on her face, Clarke subtly broke off the point of the shoe and changed into a pair of pants, boots and a zip up jacket, something nondescript and comfortable. She slipped the point up her sleeve, hiding it from view. She didn't trust the people here and she would do whatever it took to make sure her people were safe.

Without looking at Maya again, Clarke strode across the room and pushed open the door. President Wallace was waiting outside for her, along with four very serious looking guards that were eyeing her carefully.

"Sorry about the noise!" President Wallace apologized loudly, gesturing above them. "Hydro electric power from the dam and water from our own, underground reservoir, and fresh food from our agricultural farm."

"I don't understand," Clarke said slowly, frowning as she looked up at him. "You're on the ground, you know it's survivable. Why would you stay here?"

"It's not survivable for us," he told her.

"The grounders manage."

"Natural selection works. The grounders who couldn't survive in the radiation didn't. Those that could passed on their DNA. For better or for worse, here we never went through that process."

"But neither did we," Clarke argued. "We've been on the ground now for…" Her voice trailed off as the answer suddenly hit her. "Solar radiation."

"Very good! Your DNA ran the same gauntlet as the grounders. Only because radiation levels in space is even higher, your ability to metabolize that radiation is even stronger," he said casually, as if he were discussing something simple and mundane. He paused in front of the elevator. "Truth be told, our scientists were blown away by the efficiency of your systems. If not for that, your friends would still be upstairs in quarantine." He smiled and gestured toward the elevator as the doors opened. Clarke hesitantly joined the two impassive guards, her eyes flickering around the elevator cautiously before she turned to face President Wallace again. Just as the doors were closing, he put out a hand to stop them. Gone was the pleasant old man and in its place was a strong, determined leader of his people. The glimpse into his eyes made Clarke's heart beat faster, her muscles tensing in anticipation. "First," he said slowly. "Give me the heel." Clarke clenched her teeth, disappointment flooding through her as she handed it over. "You're not fighting for your life, anymore Clarke. You've made it. Welcome to Mount Weather."

There was another smile on his face, but it felt wrong somehow and didn't make Clarke feel reassured in the slightest. She rode the elevator in silence, her hands clenching and unclenching as she watched the number slowly tick towards level five. Excitement rushed through her – she was finally going to see her people. Worry trickled through almost immediately. 47. Out of the 82 that they had saved before the battle, only 47 were left. Monty was safe, she knew that now, but who else had they captured? Kat? Jasper? Bellamy and Finn? Her heart beat harder at the thought.

The guards gestured as the elevator dinged and the door opened again. She took a right and the sound of a girl's voice floated towards her. "Your packet contains everything you need to know about Mount Weather, which, I promise, is not as confusing as it looks on page one."

Clarke looked around and noticed she was in the dining hall again, except this time the tables were empty. There was a crowd of people standing in the corner listening to a girl speak. "Clarke!" Monty cried in relief, a broad smile crossing his face as he pushed through the crowd and running up to give her a hug. Clarke smiled in return, hugging him tightly and closing her eyes as she let the relief and happiness wash over her. He was solid in her arms, she could feel his heart beating strong in his chest – he was safe. "You're okay," she whispered, pulling back and smiling up at him.

Almost immediately he was pushed to the side as a grinning and laughing Jasper took his place. "Hi!" Clarke laughed breathlessly, returning his hug. "I'm so glad to see you." Her eyes flickered around the other smiling faces of her people around her as she murmured a few hellos. She was happy to see them but she couldn't deny that she was looking for a few faces in particular.

"Bellamy and Finn?" She asked as Jasper pulled back. The mood of the group darkened, the smiles slipping off their faces.

"Clarke," Jasper murmured apologetically, his brown eyes sad. Clarke's happy bubble burst inside her, dread flickering through her because she knew what was coming next. "They uh…. They didn't make it."

She shook her head before he was finished speaking. "We don't know that," she said firmly, refusing to believe it, refusing to acknowledge the pain in her chest. "What about Raven and Octavia?" Both Jasper and Monty looked down, their faces grim. "Kat?" She asked, growing desperate.

Jasper looked slightly surprised. "You mean no one's told you?"

"What?" Clarke said quickly, wanting to shake the words out of him. "Told me what?"

"Kat… she's," Monty looked slightly uncomfortable. "She's in the psych ward."

"What?" Clarke gasped, flabbergasted. "Why?"

Jasper shrugged. "I'm not really sure. We've tried asking but all they will say is that it's safer for her at the moment." A worried look crossed his face as he shifted guiltily. "Did… did you see her face when she walked out of the dropship and realized Bellamy was dead? I mean, I didn't even know they were a thing. Kat was probably trying to escape so she could kill me for killing him – "

"Hey," Clarke interrupted sharply, waiting until he looked at her. "I made that call. I asked you for help. The death of those people is on me, not you. Do you understand?"

Jasper nodded, though he didn't look convinced. "I appreciate that Clarke," he said softly, looking more serious than Clarke had ever seen him. "But I'm the one that fixed the rockets and I'm the one that flipped the switch. I had a hand in the deaths of those people too."

"Welcome, Clarke," the girl from Mount Weather greeted, interrupting whatever Clarke was going to say. She handed her a binder with a smile. "If you have any questions my name is Keegan." Clarke gave her a distracted thanks, glancing down at the binder and flicking it open. The first page was a map of Mount Weather, which Clarke's eyes searched carefully and eagerly. The psych ward was on level six, a level below where they were right now.

For the moment, Clarke would play by their rules. She would ask to be able to visit Kat. But if they said no, then Clarke was going to have to break in on her own.

Bellamy's POV

Bellamy's throat tightened, his face hardening as he surveyed the aftermath of the battle. His eyes flickered from one body to another, his mind thinking in despair: I should have saved her. I could have saved him.

Kat. Kat. Kat. Kat. Kat.

He glanced behind him to see Finn's grim face as well as the faces of Marcus Kane, Abby Griffin and several other guards. Part of him felt relief that they were here to help them, but the other part of him felt annoyance and frustration. They hadn't even been down here for five minutes and they already took over. They think they knew everything, that they were smarter because they were older but they weren't the ones who had been down here for a month. They had no idea what they were up against.

The group paused at the bottom of the hill that led up to the dropship. Bellamy strained his ears to hear anything – the sound of kids talking, the snap of the branches as they walked, even the sound of scared crying. But there was nothing and that sent a shiver of fear down his back. "It's too quiet," he muttered heavily.

Kat. Kat. Kat. Kat. Kat.

Unable to take the wondering any longer, he made to move forward but Kane grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back down. "We'll take it from here," Kane said in an authoritative voice. "You two stay here with them," he instructed two of the guards. "We'll signal once we're sure it's safe."

Fists clenched, Bellamy watched them go with narrowed eyes. It should be him leading the way up there checking to see if his people were safe. Kane and the rest of the council had sent them down here to die – as far as Bellamy was concerned, that destroyed any loyalty they might have had.

There was silence for a long time and Bellamy was filled with such nervous energy that he started to pace up and down, throwing anxious glances up the hill every so often.

"We need a stretcher up here!" Both Bellamy and Finn rushed over only to be stopped by the two guards. Bellamy swallowed a growl of frustration. Who needed a stretcher? Was it Kat? Because if it was, he could deal with that. That would mean that she was alive, at least.

This was just torture. He needed to know. Now. He met Finn's gaze and knew they were thinking the same thing. He gave a subtle nod and they both turned on their heel, sprinting into one of the reaper tunnels that connect to camp.

They both froze when they exited the tunnel. Horror filled Bellamy as he looked around at what could only be described as a mass graveyard. Hundreds of burned skeletons surrounded the dropship where the rockets had gone off and it suddenly hit Bellamy that this could have been him. If they hadn't known what was coming or if they had stayed just a minute longer before fleeing from the dropship…. He would be dead right now.

His gaze quickly searched the surrounding area but there was nothing but burned skeletons and ashes. "Where is everyone?" He asked Finn, who only gave him a hopeless shake of his head.

Movement by the dropship caught his eye and he saw two figures moving down the ramp, one heavily leaning on the other for support. "It was awful…" the injured one panted. "There were hundreds of them. If it wasn't for Raven I don't know what would have happened." Bellamy was striding forward without even realizing it, a furious scowl on his face. "Bellamy," Murphy said with apprehension. "You're alive." Bellamy would have snorted at the disappointment in his voice if he weren't for the anger filling every fiber of his being. There was a loud buzzing in his ears and he could swear the edges of his vision were tinted red.

Bellamy tackled Murphy to the ground. "You murdering son of a bitch!" He roared, holding him down with his left hand as he pulled his right back to punch him in the face. "Where are they? Where's Kat? What happened to her?"

"I don't know – " Murphy choked out, cut off by Bellamy's fist. Fear, pain, anxiety and denial spurred him on, and he lost count of how many times he hit Murphy.

Kat. Kat. Kat. Kat. Kat.

Pain exploded up his side, the voltages of electricity from the guard's baton spreading throughout the rest of his body, making him fall off Murphy onto his back, his limps twitching as he gasped for breath. Bellamy stared up at the sky, unable to move as the despair spread through him.

She wasn't here. The bubble of hope within him faded, the tension leaving his muscles. Where was she?

Kane's disappointed face appeared above him. "Place him under arrest," he ordered. Two guards stepped forward, grabbing each of Bellamy's arms and hauling him to his feet.

"Wait," Finn tried to explain. "You don't understand. Murphy murdered two of our people, he shot another one and he tried to hang Bellamy!"

"I don't care," Kane said in a hard voice. "You are not animals. There are rules!" He turned to glare at Bellamy as the guards put cuffs on him. "Laws! You are not in charge here anymore."

Sometime later Bellamy found himself sitting on a log, staring blankly at the activity moving around him. His hands were bound tightly behind him but he didn't notice the discomfort. Raven was unconscious on the stretcher, Finn hovering over her. He envied him in a way. Even though Raven was seriously injured, at least Finn knew that she was alive. Although Bellamy had to acknowledge the fact that Finn was infinitely more worried about Clarke.

His gaze traveled over to Abby, who was writing a message into a part of the metal wall. Dozens of his people were missing. Not dead because there were no bodies. They were missing. Where did they go?

Finn was suddenly crouched in front of him. "We're leaving."

"What?" Bellamy asked, confused. He shook his head. "No. This is where they'll come back – "

"I don't think they're coming back," Finn said softly. "The grounders took them and you know it."

"We can't just do nothing - !"

"Hey, I want to find them just as badly as you do!" Finn snapped. "We're in the same boat here, Bellamy. I know you're worried about Kat, though I'm still not sure how that happened," he muttered under his breath. "Look. We go with Kane to Alpha station. We get reinforcements. Weapons. Then we find our friends."

"One question," Bellamy said heavily, looking at Finn with tortured eyes. "How many of us will be dead by then?"

Finn swallowed harshly, glancing over his shoulder at Raven. "Abby said Raven needs surgery or she's going to die. We can't save our friends right now, but we can save her. It's time to go." Bellamy nodded slowly, though it went against every fiber of his being. Without Raven, they would have died a dozen times over. She was brilliant and resourceful, but more importantly she was a friend. She was one of them and she deserved to live.

Two guards came over to pull him to his feet as the rest of the group got ready to move out. He looked around at the dropship one more time, his face setting with determination. I don't know where you are, Kat, he thought fiercely. But I will search the ends of the earth for you. I will find you, he promised.

I will find you.

Clarke's POV

"I need to speak with President Wallace," Clarke told the guard standing outside in the hallway. The guard made no indication that he heard or even saw her standing there in front of him. "Hello?" She called, waving her hand energetically in his face. "Did you hear me? I said, I need to see President Wallace." Still no answer. "Are you deaf?" She asked, throwing up her hands in exasperation. "If you don't answer me – "

"Clarke." She spun around to see President Wallace standing behind her, his head tilted to the side in amusement. "Is there any particular reason why you are terrorizing my guard?"

"I needed to speak with you. I want to know why Kat is locked up in the psych ward," Clarke said in a hard, no-nonsense voice, crossing her arms. Her blue eyes watched him carefully, searching for any signs of deflection or lying. "And I want to see her."

"Of course," President Wallace said easily, a smile on his face. Clarke blinked in surprise though she schooled her face before he noticed. "She's one of your people, I can imagine how worried you must be about her. If you'll follow me I'll take you to her." Clarke nodded, trailing after him as he headed towards the elevators. "Katerina, or Kat, as you call her, seems like an interesting person," President Wallace said conversationally, turning to look over his shoulder at her. "I talked to a few of your people about her. They don't seem to have been very close to her or know her very well, but they all have a very high level of respect for her."

Clarke felt President Wallace glance at her expectantly and knew he was waiting for her to say something. But she wasn't about to explain the complexity of Kat Hale with a man she didn't know or trust. "Yeah," Clarke shortly. "She's a pretty private person."

"I've tried to speak with her on multiple occasions, but she never says anything. If you hadn't asked me to speak with her, I was going to ask you to. I think she's confused and frightened, and I'm hoping that seeing a familiar face will help her."

Clarke frowned down at the floor as the elevator moved to floor six. Kat… confused and frightened? That didn't sound like her. Angry and sarcastic, maybe. Her last words floated through Clarke's head. I don't know if I can ever forgive you for this. Clarke inwardly winced as she remembered the blank, lost expression on Kat's face, her empty grey eyes staring through her.

"Why is she in the psych ward?" Clarke asked, looking up at Wallace as he stepped out of the elevator and lead her down the hallway.

President Wallace sighed. "Kat spent the first few hours after she woke up screaming. When she finally lost her voice she sat in the corner of her room and didn't move for a full 24 hours. When it was her turn to be quarantined two of our medics went in to get her. She attacked them. Broke the arm of one and knocked the other unconscious. It took four of our guards to subdue and sedate her. If Kat wasn't sedated, she became outwardly aggressive. After the second time and more injuries, we had to knock her out in order to get her quarantined. It turns out she's a very talented fighter so we decided it would be best for both her safety and the safety of my people if she were moved to this floor. Here we are, this is her room."

Clarke stepped forward to peek through the small window in the door. The breath whooshed out of her as she saw Kat. She felt like she had been punched in the stomach. "Why is she still being restrained?" She asked, horrified, sending a glare at him. "She's locked in a room alone, do you think she's a danger to herself?"

"No, it's just a precaution for my people when she's not sedated – "

"Well take them off," Clarke snapped, eyes narrowing. "I don't want them on her when I'm not talking to her, she's not going to hurt me – "

"Clarke – "

"I said take them off."

President Wallace contemplated her for a long moment before nodding to one of the guards who left to get the keys. "I'll have the guards wait out here for you when you're finished. They'll take you straight to lunch. Good luck, Clarke," he said with one last smile before leaving, nodding to the guard as he came back with the keys.

The guard opened the door for her, stepping into the room and walking over to Kat's bed, undoing the restraints on her wrists and ankles. Clarke used his distraction to her advantage, quickly scanning the room. She saw a toilet in the corner, which she assumed they let her up to use every once in a while. Other than the bed and toilet, the only other thing in the room was the camera on the wall, watching and listening to everything that was going on. Clarke would bet everything she owned that this is where President Wallace had gone.

The guard finished undoing the restraints and left the room, closing the door behind him. The silence in the room was almost deafening. Clarke carefully approached the bed, her eyes slowly looking Kat up and down, unbelievably shocked at what she saw. Kat hadn't moved since the guard had released her. Her eyes were empty and trained on the ceiling, blinking every so often. Her face was pale and unhealthy looking, her black hair tangled and greasy. Clarke had seen Kat strong. She had seen Kat fighting. Fierce. Determined.

She had never seen Kat look so weak and helpless. It was wrong, somehow. Like it was going against nature.

"Kat?" Clarke called softly, moving down to sit beside her on the bed, making sure the camera was behind her. "Kat it's me, Clarke." When she didn't get a response, she continued. "You're safe, for now. We're in Mount Weather. It turns out that people have been surviving here for 97 years, so a couple of people must have made it inside before the bombs went off." She waited, but there was still nothing. "They found 48 of us all together. I saw Jasper, Monty, Miller, Harper, Fox and all them earlier, they seem okay." She felt a flicker of annoyance run through her as Kat's expression remained blank and indifferent. "Look at me, Kat! Look at me!" She snapped, grabbing Kat's face and turning it to face her. Kat's empty eyes finally looked at her. "What is going on with you? I know how you're feeling – "

Life flickered into Kat's eyes. "No."

"What?" Clarke asked, frowning.

Clarke's frown deepened at the raw pain and grief that she saw reflecting back towards her. "You have no idea what I'm feeling," Kat croaked, her voice still raspy.

"Then tell me," Clarke said earnestly. "I want to be here for you – "

"Bellamy's dead. I'm never going to see him again and it's all your fault. If you had let me help them – "

"Then you might have died," Clarke interrupted, narrowing her eyes. "There was nothing I could do to help Finn and Bellamy but I could help you."

"I didn't ask – "

"I know that!" Clarke snapped, unconsciously raising her voice. "Just like I didn't ask to become a leader. I made a choice. A terrible choice that killed a lot of people. But you were not the only one who had someone they cared about out there. It was either us or them, Kat, and I did what I had to do to protect my people. I thought you of all people would understand – "

"Normally I would!" Kat interrupted, blinking and looking away. "But…"

"But it was Bellamy out there," Clarke finished softly, nodding.

Kat sat up, looking agitated, her eyes narrowed angrily. "Why is it that you are the cause of two of the worst moments in my life?" She spat furiously. "You are the one that opened your fat mouth about my father and you are the one that ki – killed Bellamy. When are you going to learn to mind your own fucking business?"

"You're angry at me?" Clarke asked, a flicker of hurt spreading across her face before it turned hard. "Good. Get angry. Do something other than just lie here! We need you out there, Kat – " Clarke broke off in confusion, watching Kat's face carefully. Kat was looking at a point over Clarke's shoulder, her eyes wide with fear, bewilderment, terror and longing. "Kat?" Clarke asked curiously, glancing over her shoulder to see nothing but empty space. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Kat's arms wound around her stomach and for a moment before her expression shuttered, Clarke thought it looked like she was trying to hold herself together. Clarke's heart broke for her. "It just hurts," Kat whispered, her eyes slowly moving back towards Clarke. "Every time the thought that he's dead flashes through my mind, it hurts."

"No," Clarke snapped, disagreeing. "No, he's not dead – "

"Yes he is, Clarke!" Kat cried, interrupting her. "The sooner you accept it, the easier it will be. Bellamy, Octavia, Arian, Raven and yes, even Finn are all dead – "

"No!" Clarke shook her head, blue eyes flashing fiercely. "I refuse to believe that they're dead. They knew the plan, they knew what was coming! We never saw them die, Kat, they would have gotten out of there – "

"You don't know that – "

"And you can't tell me otherwise! I refuse to let you give up. You're a fighter, Kat, a survivor. You survived the death of your mom. You survived your abusive father and when it came down to him and you, you won. You survived being locked up, you survived the fall in the dropship and you survived all the shit we've been through down on the ground. You're a fighter, Kat." Clarke was breathing heavily, glaring at Kat. Making a split second decision she put on a fake smile and said in a normal voice, "I'm just really, really glad to see that you're okay." She put her arms out expectantly, giving Kat a significant look.

Kat looked at her as if she were the one who was locked up in the psych ward. "What are you doing? You know I don't do hugs, Blondie – "

"Give me a hug, Kat," Clarke hissed angrily under her breath. "Now." Clarke pulled a grumbling Kat into a hug. She waited until Kat reluctantly returned it before putting her mouth next to her ear, barely whispering, "They're watching and listening to everything we say and do." She felt Kat tense against her but Clarke hurriedly continued before she could speak. "I don't trust these people. They're alive Kat, Bellamy and Finn are alive and they're looking for us. So you have a choice to make. You can either rot down here in the psych ward or you can help me, help our people. Because with or without your help I'm getting out of here. The Kat I know would never stop fighting no matter how bad things get. So make your choice. Let me know what you decide."

Kat's POV

The pain ebbed and flowed through her, going away when her mind was foggy and returning with a sharp stab when it began to clear. She almost wished for another dose of the sedation just so she wouldn't have to think, wouldn't have to feel any of this. He haunted her dreams and her every waking thoughts. Sometimes Octavia and Arian would make an appearance, but he was the central figure. Even now she could feel the dark presence in the corner of the room. The hair stood up on the back of her neck. She looked over from where she was sitting with her back against the wall and her breath caught in her throat.

Bellamy was standing in the room with her.

He had first appeared after she had awoken from the first sedation and for a moment she thought he was real. Her heart leaped and a smile had begun to cross her face. Then she remembered what had happened and the fact that he was dead and she knew he wasn't real.

At first she wondered if he was a ghost. But deep down, she knew the truth without having to think about it too hard. This was her punishment. Her punishment for allowing herself to believe that she was happy, punishment for opening her heart to him when it had been closed for so long.

Her punishment for leaving him to die when she should have been fighting alongside him.

She found herself drinking in his image eagerly – the messy brown hair that he usually ran a hand through when he was agitated. The intense brown eyes that usually showed whatever emotion he was feeling - anger, fear, amusement…love. Now they were looking at her with a combination of sadness and accusation. His broad shoulders and strong arms that she wished would wrap around her as he reassured her that everything was going to be okay.

I'm sorry, she thought miserably, her arms wrapping around her stomach again. I miss you.

"What are you doing here, Kat?" Bellamy asked, looking around the room in mystification. "Didn't you once tell me that you hated to be locked up? That you'd rather be free to do whatever you wanted?"

Her eyes fluttered closed at the sound of his voice. Torture. This was absolute torture. But would she rather forget about him or have some reminder of him so she didn't lose him completely? Apparently she was a glutton for punishment.

When her eyes opened again, she quickly looked up at the camera before looking back down.

Ever since Clarke's visit, it was like a fog had been lifted from her brain. Maybe it was the sedation finally wearing off or maybe Clarke had just yelled some sense into her. Either way, Bellamy was right. She was willingly sitting in this tiny cell, something she promised herself would never happen again.

She casually turned on the bed, facing away from the camera and from Bellamy, her brow furrowed as she thought. She sat there for hours, until her back ached and her muscles cramped. She thought about anything and everything, all her decisions that lead her to this point and all the options she had going forward.

The way she saw it, she had three options. The first one, like Clarke said was that she could give up. She could stay in this small cell forever, essentially. Option two was to comply with these people's wishes and fit in with their community, but to Kat, this was just like giving up as well. So that left her with option three. To pretend that she was compliant in order to get out of this cell. To pretend to fit in with their community. And then escape with Clarke and never look back.

"You're wasting time," Bellamy's voice drifted over her. "You already made your decision." His voice turned smug. "My girl never stops fighting."

She shook her head, trying to clear his voice and concentrate. Bellamy's dead. The words sent a sharp lance of pain through Kat's chest, making her wince. Part of her hated him for making her open her heart up to him, for making her love him. He was dead and she didn't know if this pain was worth it.

"Damn you, Bellamy Blake," she muttered, rubbing her chest and hating that it felt like someone was sitting on it. She missed him so much it hurt. Half of her wanted to rant and rage at the unfairness of it all and the other half wanted to never get out of bed. It was extremely confusing.

So in the end, she decided to side with Clarke. At least being back out there on the ground was something familiar. Something she knew how to handle.

Decision made, she got up from the bed, wobbling slightly from the after effects of the sedation, she went over to the door and pounded on the window. She looked outside but didn't see anyone there so she backed up a couple steps, looking directly up into the camera and waving her arms. "Hey!" She called loudly. "Creepy guy watching me sleep and eat! I'm ready to talk to Wallace. Did you hear me? I'm ready to get out of here. I promise I won't beat anybody else up."

He was there ten minutes later. Kat had to struggle not to roll her eyes when he made a big show of waving the guards away, going on about how Kat wouldn't hurt him. Stupid old man. I can think of at least five different ways to kill you right now.

"Be nice," Bellamy reprimanded gently. "You need to get out of here, remember?"

I don't know how, Kat thought bitterly.

"Act like anyone else but yourself," Bellamy snickered, amused.

Ass.

"My name is President Wallace," the old man greeted. "Do you remember me, Katerina?" He asked gently.

A vague memory of Wallace's blurry face above her appeared in her mind. "Vaguely," she said, frowning. "And call me Kat… please," she added as an afterthought.

"Kat," he agreed, nodding his head toward her. The fuzzy memory would be from the sedation. I'm sorry about that, but I hope you can understand." Kat nodded and a wide smile crossed his face. "So I hear you're finally ready to talk," Wallace said, walking over to her with his hands behind her back.

"Yes," Kat said, forcing a pleasant look on her face. The guy didn't know her, he couldn't tell how out of character this was. "First, I just want to apologize for going a little crazy. Is… is everybody okay? I didn't hurt anyone too bad, did I?"

"Just a few bumps and bruises," Wallace smiled reassuringly. "Nothing permanent."

Kat still felt a twinge of guilt. They were innocent people trying to do their job and she had caused them harm. "Still, it shouldn't have happened and for that I apologize. I lost a couple friends during the battle and it hit me kind of hard. Plus, I had a bad experience with being locked away, and when I woke up and saw that I was right back where I started…." She trailed off, shaking her head.

"I understand," Wallace said softly. "One of your people told me that the Ark was very strict. I want you to know, Katerina, that here you don't have to live in fear of doing something wrong. You don't have to fear the savages – " Kat's jaw clenched at the word. " – attacking you or your people. You're safe here." Wallace paused, his dark blue eyes piercing as he looked at her. His piercing blue eyes seemed to see inside her soul. "You lost someone, didn't you?" He asked gently, tilting his head to the side. "Someone you cared about very much."

Kat's nostrils flared in annoyance. Since when was this any of his fucking business? "Yes," Kat answered shortly.

"I know the signs," he told her as if she had asked how he had known. "I myself lost my wife a few years back. Insomnia, lack of an appetite, depression… I've been through it all. I'd like to tell you that it gets easier, but the pain never really goes away."

Kat nodded, not wanting or needing to hear about his love life, and quickly changed the subject. "Did you find any survivors from the Ark? We saw it fall from the sky during the battle – "

His expression grew somber and regretful. "I'm afraid that my patrols came back with bad news today. They found no survivors from your camp or from the Ark."

Kat knew there were no survivors at the camp, but the news about the Ark was still a blow. She frowned, thinking back to what she saw. "Are they sure? I saw it split apart into different pieces before it hit the ground. You can't tell me that thousands of people died and that there were no survivors! The Ark didn't just randomly fall from the sky, there was still time left! So this must have been planned – "

"I'm sorry," President Wallace said, raising his voice over her. "I've ordered my patrols to keep searching but I wouldn't get your hopes up."

Kat tried a different tactic. "Well let me help them! I know the territory better than they do. Plus I'd be much more use out there than in here and this way I won't hurt any more of your people – "

"Are you threatening my people?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Of course not! I'm just saying I would rather be out looking for the Ark survivors – "

"How old are you?"

"What?" Kat asked, bewildered. "I'm 18, why – "

"18 years old," he repeated. "It's not safe for you out there. Why don't we leave the dangerous, more difficult tasks to the adults – "

"I am not a child," she said furiously. "I haven't been a child since I was five years old – "

His expression cleared as he nodded. "The scars on your back," he guessed, making Kat snap her mouth shut. "We saw multiple scars on your body while putting you through quarantine. Was it your mother or your father?"

Kat was practically vibrating with rage and frustration. "That's – " She began furiously, but thankfully she was cut off.

A loud alarm sounded throughout the room, a yellow light flashing in the hallway. "Alert," a robotic female voice calmly said. "Code Five."

President Wallace's face drew down into a frown as he unconsciously slipped back into leader mode. "Code five?" Kat repeated loudly over the beeping, jumping up from the bed and looking at the President with narrowed eyes. "What's Code five? What's going on?"

"You should stay here until someone escorts you to dinner, Kat," he instructed, before he turned towards the door. "I have other matters to attend to."

"Wait, tell me what's going on first – "

The door slammed behind him and Kat nearly screamed in frustration. Now that she was fully aware again, she wanted nothing more to get out of this cell, even though she was seeing Bellamy's ghost or something, which probably meant she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as the alarms continued, and she felt somewhat alive for the first time in days.

Her mind raced, wondering what was going on. Were the grounders attacking Mount Weather? Was there someone in the building who wasn't supposed to be? Was there a criminal that they were trying to find? Maybe one that had escaped from this place's version of a Sky Box?

"Relax, Kat," Bellamy drawled, rolling his eyes from where he was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. "All this pacing is making me dizzy."

"You're not real," Kat muttered, shaking her head and feeling immensely grateful that the camera's couldn't hear her over the noise of the alarm. "I'm not crazy."

"I believe that everyone's crazy in their own way," Bellamy said lightly, a smirk on his face.

"No one asked you," she snapped, throwing him an angry glare.

"There's no need to be – "

"Go away!" She yelled, spinning in his direction, her grey eyes flashing as her nerves finally broke. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get a hold of herself and slowly counted to ten. When she opened her eyes again, he was gone.

Relief and longing swept through her, erasing the adrenaline and leaving a bone deep exhaustion in it's wake. She swayed slightly before stumbling to sit down on the bed, her elbows on her knees and her head hanging down. She stayed in that position, breathing deeply in and out until eventually the alarm stopped.

It wasn't until a half hour after that her door finally opened again. A young girl was standing on the opposite side, wearing a white dress and a nervous smile. "Hi!" She greeted, quickly looking Kat up and down before focusing on her face determinedly. "My name is Keegan and President Wallace asked me to show you around and then take you to see your friends."

"Great," Kat said in relief, springing to her feet and hurrying out the door before they could change their minds and lock her up for good. "Let's go."

Keegan chattered nervously as they walked, the anxiety practically rolling off her in waves. Amusement flashed through Kat – just what had they told this poor girl about her? Kat tuned her out easily as she talked on and on, her eyes sweeping the corridors and noting possible exits. There were a lot of warning signs about radiation, but Kat didn't bring them up. She did, however, listen with interest each time the guards passed growing more and more pissed.

"Yeah, the blonde one – "

" – heard she tried to escape, the crazy bitch – "

"She's talking to President Wallace now – "

Kat's fists clenched. Clarke had tried to escape without her. She had given this big, rousing, inspirational speech and then was just going to let her sit there and rot while she escaped to the outside. She shoved her annoyance down, not wanting to frighten Keegan with the look on her face.

Keegan took her to shower, which a little glimpse of heaven. Kat stood under the hot water with her eyes closed and didn't move for a full ten minutes, just letting the water wash off a month's worth of dirt and grime.

After she dried off, Keegan gave her a few outfit choices and Kat chose a gray shirt, a black zip up jacket and black pants and boots. Keegan then gave her a short tour, pointing out where the bathrooms and the dining hall was before heading towards the dorms.

"The dorms your friends are all staying in at the end of this hallway is on level five," Keegan was saying as the elevator doors dinged open.

"I think I an manage from here," Kat told her, stepping out of the elevator and turning around to give her a wide smile. "Thank you so much for all your help."

"Oh – are you sure?" Keegan asked, flustered. "It's no trouble – "

"I've got it, thanks!" Kat waved as the doors closed. "See you later!"

Keegan's confused face was forgotten as soon as Kat turned away from the elevator. She had just spotted Clarke walking ahead of her and didn't want any witnesses to this conversation. After checking to see where the cameras were, Kat hurried up and grabbed Clarke's arm, pulling her to an isolated spot in the hallway.

"Get the hell off of – Kat?" Clarke asked with wide eyes, pulling her arm away.

A smile had begun to spread across Clarke's face, but Kat stepped forward, pushing Clarke against the wall and holding her forearm to her throat. "What are you playing at, Blondie?" She hissed angrily, checking over her shoulder to make sure no one was around. "Were you just going to leave me in the psych ward while your escaped from this place – "

Clarke's eyes narrowed in response. "Hey, I told you I was leaving whether you were going to help me or not – "

"So shouldn't you have waited until I had given you my answer?" Kat snapped. "I was in the middle of trying to be nice to President Wallace so I could get out of that hellhole – "

"Wait," Clarke interrupted, her lips twitching as a smile attempted to cross her face, even in the position Kat was holding her in. "You were being nice? How did that go?" She asked curiously.

Kat's anger faded as she rolled her eyes, dropping her arm and stepping back slightly. "Well enough. I'm out, aren't I? By the way, Wallace isn't going to let us leave. He says it's too dangerous out there."

"I know," Clarke sighed. "He said the same thing to me."

"So why are you still here? How come you didn't make it out?"

"I almost made it. But I would have opened the door to the outside and killed everyone within this building besides us." At Kat's confused expression she went on. "The people here are allergic to the radiation. They can die within minutes if exposed."

Kat whistled softly. "Damn. So they've all been stuck in here for 97 years?" Clarke nodded. "Well I definitely don't want that to happen to us."

"Agreed," Clarke said, a determined look crossing her face. "Which means it's up to us to get out of here."

"Just because I'm in doesn't mean we're friends again, Blondie," Kat warned, pointing a finger in her face. "I'm still really, really pissed at you."

"I'll make it up to you," Clarke promised, her blue eyes unflinching in her belief. "I'll make it up to you by helping you escape and proving that Bellamy is still alive."

"Whatever you say," Kat said dismissively, not believing a word of it.

Clarke watched her sadly for a moment before shaking herself out of it. "Come on," she said, leading the way down the hall. "There are some people who would like to see you."

Kat followed her, shoving her hands in her pockets as she walked. Clarke lead her to a large room and then stepped aside so Kat could enter. Kat got a brief glimpse of dozens of bunk beds with red sheets and dozens of faces turning in her direction before she was swallowed by a mob of people. Jasper and Monty were there, hugging her and telling her they were so glad she was alright. Fox and Harper, grinning widely, joined in the group hug as did other people that Kat hadn't even bothered to learn their names. Some of them looked slightly nervous that they would get punched for touching her, but Kat was too overwhelmed to do much of anything. She had hardly interacted with any of these people and they were all so happy to see that she was okay.

She looked over a Clarke with wide, bewildered eyes and saw that Clarke was laughing quietly to herself, amused at Kat's reaction though Kat thought she saw a sheen of tears in her eyes.

"Kat," someone interrupted before she could be sure.

Kat turned to see a familiar figure standing off to the side, his caring brown eyes watching her with a small smile on his face. "Miller," she breathed, her own, genuine smile spreading across her face. She stumbled in his direction on shaky legs but he caught her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a tight hug. Her eyes closed as she returned the hug, grateful that he was still alive and grateful that he didn't seem to be mad at her anymore. She pulled back slightly, searching his face carefully. "You're alright?" She asked in concern. "Nobody's hurt you or anyone else – "

"No," Miller interrupted with an easy grin. "It's great here, Kat. No more worrying about getting attacked by grounders, no more worrying about our tents leaking while we sleep. We have plenty of clothes and food and the people here aren't so bad."

Kat frowned. "And you feel…. Safe?" She asked doubtfully.

He nodded. "We all do. Look around you, Kat. Have you ever seen them so relaxed? So happy?"

It was true. The group had moved further back into the room and was no chatting and laughing happily. There was music playing from a radio in the corner and a few of the guys were playing catch with something that Kat couldn't identify. She thought about what Miller had said – food, clothing, shelter with no strings attached… it sounded great. Perfect even. But in Kat's life, nothing was perfect. It all sounded too good to be true.

The only one who didn't fit in with the group was Clarke. She was standing off to the side, watching what was going on. There was a small smile on her face as she watched them having fun, but her posture was stiff and her eyes were worried. She didn't trust the Mountain Men and Kat didn't trust President Wallace.

She looked back up at Miller, watching him carefully. "President Wallace said that they found no survivors from the Ark."

Pain flitted across Miller's face as he momentarily froze. "None?" He asked in a forced, casual voice.

"No one."

"That's… that's awful," he said, shaking his head. "All those people…"

"You believe him?"

"You don't?" Miller asked, looking down at her in surprise.

Kat just shrugged. No… no I don't. She met Clarke's eye from across the room and a moment of shared understanding passed between them. President Wallace and the rest of the Mountain Men had convinced their people that they were safe. Both Kat and Clarke had the same gut feeling that they were wrong. So now it was up to them to find out the truth.

The hairs on the back of Kat's neck stood up, and she looked over to see that Bellamy was back, standing unseen next to the nearest group of bunk beds. She accepted the pain his image caused her, promising herself to use it to make sure their people were okay.

They had lost too many people already. Kat swore to herself that she would take Bellamy's place, that she would step up and help Clarke lead. Don't worry, she promised him, meeting his warm brown eyes. Clarke and I are getting out of here and from they're we'll figure out how to make sure our people are safe. It's what you would do. I won't let you down.

Author's Note: Whew! There it is. I still can't believe it! Keep the suggestions for season 2 coming, I love to read what you guys come up with!

Also the summary – do you guys like it? It may be temporary. I'm not pleased with how it came out, but until I can think of a better one that's what I came up with!

Anyways – review, review, review! Thank you all so much!