I walked around the cabin, my fingers brushing over the garden beds, the edges of the woods whispering in the distance. For once, I let myself slow down. I picked up a flower and turned it between my hands, staring at it longer than I should have. It had been a while since I allowed myself to just....exist. To enjoy life without always preparing for the next fight.

I bent to place it back down when something caught my eye. Half-buried in the soil was a glass bottle. My heart tugged as I pulled it out, unscrewed the cap, and slid the note from inside. My chest tightened the second I saw the hand writing. Octavia's.

"Bell and Dia,

I hope against hope that this letter reaches you...
I need you both to know that you were right. There was a darkness in me. But Diyoza helped me past that darkness. It's behind me now. I need you both to know that I finally-"

I didn't even finish before the paper was snatched out of my hands.

"Where did you get that?" Hope demanded, her voice sharp.

"I found it here." I said calmly.

"That was not meant for you." She snaps

"It's addressed to me and Bellamy. So yeah, I think it was" I counter

Her jaw clenched.
"It's my watch" she says, and with that, she stormed off.

Inside, Gabriel turned from the monitor, his face alight with discovery.
"The Eligius transport crashed here. Collin was the sole survivor. He found the stone the same way we did, by tracking the radio interference. Built this cabin above it." He says

I glanced at the screen.
"What's all that?" I ask

"It's brilliant. He used a ground vibration sensor and a stethoscope salvaged from the wreckage to measure tiny fluctuations in the stone caused when the correct symbol was touched in the right order." He says

"So...we have the code?" I ask

"No. No, not yet. There's still millions of possible combinations. But he'll get it. I'm sure of it" he answered

I sighed, rubbing at my temples, and drifted toward the window. Outside, Hope sat curled with the letter on her hands, shoulders shaking.

I went to her.

She didn't look up when she spoke.
"I remember when she threw this into the bridge. We still thought sanctum was on the other side. It must have been how they knew we were here." Her voice wavered as she tried to hold herself together.

"Hey" I said gently, laying a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged me off, so I gave her a moment. Then I softened my voice.

"Come here- Come here" I say gently

Finally, she turned, collapsing into my arms. She cried against my shoulder, and I held her, solid and steady.

"We'll get them back. Together. Whatever it takes. We'll get them all back." I whispered

She nodded into my arms, trembling. 

"You must think I'm so weak." Hope said after a moment, her voice muffled.

"No. Quite the opposite. I've seen your moves, and with teacher's like Octavia and Diyoza, people wouldn't want to face you in battle." I say

She gave a bitter laugh.
"They didn't teach me to fight. No. My mom wouldn't allow it. A prisoner came here- a few months after they left- dev. He taught me." She said

"The body" I realized

She nodded.
"Yeah." She says

Before I could respond, echo and Gabriel came running out, Gabriel's eyes wide.

"We need a pen!" Echo yelled
"A pen! He did it! I need a pen. Ha! He did it! I need something to write with, the charcoal or a pen anything!" Gabriel yelled.

Hope and I glanced at each other, before running inside to follow them.

But when we got inside, the man held the device in his hands.

"It's okay. No one's gonna hurt you. That's his memory viewer. His friend was here. He just wants to see what happened to his friend" I say softly, raising a hand.

Gabriel's voice was urgent.
"That man just entered the code and opens the bridge. We need to rewind it so that once we see it we can open ten budge ourselves ok? We can go home." He says

I cursed slightly. He shouldn't have said that out-loud.

"Too soon. I must serve my time" he said

"You can stay. Just give us back-" I try

"No! I serve the master. I am his shield and his sword. For all mankind!" His voice crackled like thunder

"Wait- don't-" I yelled.

But before we could stop him, he smashed the device against the ground.

"No!" Gabriel fell to his knees, hands frantic as he gathered the shattered pieces. He looked back at me, eyes hollow.

I didn't have to say it aloud. We weren't getting off this planet anytime soon.

"Do you realize what you've done?" Gabriel snarled as he pinned the man to the wall. His fists stuck hard, desperation taking over.

"I couldn't let you leave, for all mankind! You don't understand!" The man cried

"Gabriel, enough!" I snapped at the same time hope yelled.
"Stop!" She said

Gabriel froze, chest heaving, before the man shoved free and bolted. Echo started to chase him, but Hope stopped her.

"Let him go. He can't help us off this planet if he's dead." She said

"Help us? He just destroyed our one way off the planet. Does it look like he even wants to help us?" Echo snaps

"If he doesn't. Then we're dead. We have five years to train for a jump into the middle of a fortress guarded by thousands of highly trained soldiers to rescue the people we love. By then, he'll love us. That's why he'll help us. Trust me. I've done this before." Hope said

Her eyes were burning with the same stubborn fire I'd seen in Octavia a hundred times.

"Five years." I muttered later, staring at the endless sky.

"Thinking about it makes it worse." Hope mumbles

"She's right. Give us a hand." Gabriel said, thrusting a tool into my hand.

"Playing in the dirt won't make time pass faster." I said dryly

"Maybe not but it will give our friend out there something to long for. Seeing the four of us working together as a team. Trust me. He'll want that." Gabriel said

"Or we could hunt him down" echo says, and I nod into agreement.

"Is that how you made friends in the Trikru, and the Azgeda?" Hope asks

"It's just Trikru and Azgeda. There's no 'the'" I correct

Still, I knelt and started to work.

"There's clearly no gardening in the clans either.  That poles still alive. Raspberry's?" Gabriel said

I gave him a flat look. 
"I'm not stupid. You eat these, and they'll make you sick, you can tell by the stem. I was digging them out so we can plant something else here" I said

"She's right. They are Paint Berry's. Eat them and they make you sick." Hope nodded

Echo picked up a stone and studied it.
"Is that what you used on this? Is 'H' for hope?" She asks

"No. Hesperides." Hope answered

The word lingered, pulling both Bellamy and Octavia to the front of my mind. My chest tightened.

But this time, I wasn't sure if I could take another five years.