Rhodes looked diminished. It wasn’t just his exhausted body or the bandages encasing most of his arms and torso. It was something in his face. He didn’t just look beaten—he looked broken.
Rhodes propped himself up on one elbow with some effort. Bellamy briefly considered reaching out to help but then thought better of it. He’d done enough for this creep already.
“Hello, Bellamy.”
“How are you feeling?” Bellamy asked, more out of habit than from any actual concern. That’s generally what you said when facing a dude covered in bandages.
“Clarke and Dr. Lahiri say that I’ll make a full recovery.”
“Great,” Bellamy said, shifting his weight from side to side. This was ridiculous. What the hell was he doing here?
“I asked you to come because I wanted to thank you.”
“Forget about it,” Bellamy said with a shrug. He had saved Rhodes’s life for himself, not because he thought this particular power-hungry madman deserved to live. He didn’t particularly fancy a long heart-to-heart.
Rhodes paused and contemplated the empty space over Bellamy’s shoulder for a long moment.
“I was reluctant to accept the idea that the original hundred—yourself included—knew more about living on Earth than I did. After all, I had been planning for this journey my entire life, and you”—Rhodes fixed Bellamy with a hard stare—“were nothing more than a bunch of juvenile delinquents. You were stupid enough to get yourselves into trouble on the Colony, so why should I assume you were smart enough to survive down here?”
Bellamy flinched and balled his hands into fists, but kept his expression neutral. He heard Clarke’s and Wells’s voices in his head, imploring him to stay calm, no matter what Rhodes had to say.
“But you were,” Rhodes went on. “You not only survived on Earth, you thrived. And it has come to my attention that surviving on Earth is hard enough.” He glanced down at his many wounds. “To really live, well, that requires something more than intelligence. That requires will.”
Bellamy stared at the Vice Chancellor, wondering if he’d heard correctly. Had Rhodes just praised him and the rest of the hundred? Perhaps his head injuries were worse than Clarke had realized.
He could tell that Rhodes was waiting for him to say something.
“I’m glad you see it that way,” Bellamy said slowly, praying that Clarke would come in to check in on her patient. Or anyone, really. He didn’t want to be alone with the Vice Chancellor for another second.
“I hereby pardon you for the crime of kidnapping and the involuntary murder of Chancellor Jaha.”
Bellamy tried to keep the scorn out of his face as he nodded. “Thank you,” Bellamy said. He’d sort of just assumed that was the case, given the fact that he’d saved Rhodes’s life.
As if reading his thoughts, Rhodes continued. “That’s not all. Effective immediately, I’m instating a new Advisory Council. Wells was right. The Gaia Doctrine has no place on Earth. We need a new system, a better one. I’m going to suggest that we nominate people this evening. Perhaps…” He grimaced as a new wave of pain washed over him. “Perhaps that’s something you would consider being a part of?”
Bellamy blinked a few times, trying to process what he had just heard. If he wasn’t mistaken, and he hadn’t accidentally eaten a hallucinogenic berry out in the woods, then Vice Chancellor Rhodes, the most corrupt leader the Colony had ever known, had just pardoned him and suggested he get into politics.
Bellamy couldn’t help it: He laughed out loud.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
Bellamy couldn’t wait to go tell Octavia so they could laugh about it. Unless she didn’t think it was funny. Maybe O would actually want him on the Council. Hell, crazier things had happened over the past few weeks. Why couldn’t Bellamy try his hand at running things for a while? There was just one person he needed to check with first.
With a smile and a nod, he turned and went to find Clarke.
CHAPTER 29
Glass
Every muscle in Glass’s body felt like it was on fire. Her shoulders were rubbed raw from the rope. Her calves and thighs vibrated with exhaustion and threatened to give out any second.
When she saw the corner of a wooden building peeking out through the trees, she let out a loud sob of relief. They had actually made it back to camp. Luke had stirred once or twice on their journey from the abandoned cabin. She’d stopped a few times to give him water and make sure he was still alive, anxiously holding her breath each time.
Glass stumbled through the trees and into the clearing. It was as she feared—the sounds of gunshots and the smoke that had stained the sky early this morning must have been coming from here. The entire camp looked like a war zone. Broken spears, bullet casings, ripped clothing, and pools of blood littered the ground. Some of the cabins were totally destroyed. Others looked as if someone had tried to set them on fire. Shell-shocked Colonists milled about, but she didn’t recognize anyone. It was if she had returned to an entirely different place, and she felt a cold shot of fear. What had happened to her friends? Where was Wells?
Then the sound of a familiar voice sent a wave of joy through her.
“Glass?” Clarke called from the doorway of the hospital cabin. “Is that you? Oh, no—is that Luke?” Clarke ran to them. Wells popped his head out of the doorway and bolted after her.
Glass freed herself from the sled. Clarke dropped to her knees and began examining Luke.