A few weeks ago, Bryan would have nodded and done exactly as Pike had asked him to. But now? Bryan was hesitant to jump to the command given to him. When they’d been in the Ice Nation, it had been all about survival, and executing all the grounders they came across to stay safe had been the only way they’d learned to survive. But now that they were in Arkadia… things were different. There didn’t seem much need for executions here, and so many were against it…
“Sir?” Bryan spoke softly then, as if a question. He’d already done as Bellamy said to put a bug in Nathan’s jacket to spy on him, he’d already felt like he had betrayed his boyfriend and was most likely going to lose him. If he continued on this path, would it lead him that route? Or could he compromise and not lose him, not lose his boyfriend or lose his the only father figure that he had left. They were going out scouting, but did that mean killing too?
“Do you want us to just… kill on sight, or if they see us?” He finally asked, a nervous tone in his voice.
Bryan was tired. He was also very jumpy. Who could really blame him though, when it hadn’t been that long that they’ed all returned from Polis after the fighting, after the chip had been destroyed, after Pike had been murdered. Bryan was tired and scared, unsure what would happen next, or what the next plan was. Would they have time to rest, time to plan, before the next event?
If anything, he wasn’t going to be doing much anyway; not when his leg was still injured and he was going to have to try and recover. Even then, Bryan couldn’t just lay around. Despite the lecturing, he was up and hobbling around again, even if just to go get a drink or just long enough to go outside and get some air. He’d been so cooped up on the Ark, he wasn’t about to be cooped up again.
He was headed down the hallway, using the crutch that Jackson had given him to use after he found him leaning against the wall, and making his way towards the door. Maybe he could get a little farther out this time, he thought, just enough to feel less stuck or something. Maybe his leg would be healed enough soon that he could move without the crutch, and go get flowers.
It was his thinking that had his head in a cloud and he nearly ran into someone as he turned the corner. “Sorry!” He nearly squeaked out, trying to back up from running into them, and not fall backwards at the same time.
She lay there with her eyes closed, much longer than she should have. It was easier to pretend just for a few more minutes that everything was okay. But she could hear the others talking amongst themselves. 125 years. Earth was gone. A new planet. If she didn’t get up, it wouldn’t be real. Part of her felt guilty for taking it so hard. It wasn’t like she’d spent very much time on Earth. Not even a whole year. The grounders had lived entire lives there, and the miners had lost their planet not once but twice. Comparably, she had nothing to complain about. What did it matter to a space girl which planet they ended up on? But she’d been looking down at Earth her whole life, dreaming about it. Even after everything that had happened on the ground, she still couldn’t quite let go of her idealized version of Earth. But she had to get up. There was so much to do before they could go explore this new place, and a part of her was excited. A very small part. This could be a fresh start.
Maia pushed herself up on her elbows, and glanced around. Her head snapped toward the sound of her name. “Bryan!” She half slid, half fell out of her own pod, in her excitement. Maia practically tackled him, throwing her arms around his neck in a hug. Six years ( give or take a century) suddenly didn’t feel that long. “How are you? I missed you! I can’t believe I didn’t see you before, I was-” The tattoo on her forearm felt like a weight. Yeah, of course she hadn’t paid attention, she’d been avoiding wonkru as best she could, afraid of what their fearless leader might have said when she found out Maia was playing nice with the enemy. “I was distracted.” She shook her head. “This is crazy, right? A new planet?” Maia’s sudden burst of enthusiasm surprised her, but it was better than the alternative. “Even for a couple of space kids that’s unthinkable.”
Bryan could hear the people around them talking, and heard the mentions of a new planet, of a new world for them to explore. And in the moment before he’d seen Maia, he couldn’t have cared less. The once soft, hopeful boy from Farm Station who had only ever wanted to live and see the earth and be able to live and farm and grow old, had been lost in the bunker. There, his thoughts had only been about how to hide, to obey, to survive. Never about what would happen when they would get out of there, or what would happen afterwards. He’d lost all hope, and had only focused on survival.
But seeing Maia, seeing his friend who he’d cried over at not seeing her in the bunker, it made him feel like there was still maybe a spark of hope left in his heart. He gasped out when she practically tacked him, wrapping his arms around her waist and nearly falling back onto the pod bed that he’d just got up from. He hid his face in her shoulder for a moment, taking a deep breath and just breathing in the fact that his best friend was alive and there with him. “Maia…” He breathed again, laughing softly for the first time in what felt like years, “You… Oh my god. I missed you so much! I though… I’m so happy to see you!” He choked out, feeling his eyes watering some, with the weight off his shoulders at knowing she was alive, that they’d found each other again.
“No, I didn’t see you either, I’m so sorry, I was so focused on just getting in here and I was distracted too,” He stated softly, “It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is you’re here and… a new planet! It’s insane, it’s crazy and I just..” He laughed softly, feeling that lightness in his soul, “It’s beyond unthinkable. But we’ve got a new place to call home. I kinda can’t wait to see it, you know?” He smiled at her, feeling his own enthusiasm grow at hearing hers, “Maybe it’ll be green and farm-able, huh?”
Huddled around the hallways and rooms of the ship, Bryan couldn’t help the flashbacks that he was having. From sitting on the ark as it came to the ground, to hiding in the woods from Azgeda, to trying to win that spot in the bunker… It made him almost wish that he’d chosen to go out on his own accord like some of the others had. But he was here, and despite the fear that the crowded hallways gave him, he was prepared to keep surviving.
Would they though? It was a tiny voice in the back of his brain, going through all the things that had happened to all of them so far, and all of the things that could happen while they were in the ship. Sure, he knew that Clarke and Bellamy would figure something out, probably something to do with the cryosleep pods that Bryan had seen, but would they be safe in there? What if something were to happen to them and wake them up and…
Bryan tripped over a leg, grunting and trying his best to not fall or step on the person that he’d tripped over. Maybe he really should have just found a place and sat down to wait, instead of trying to look for his friends. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to,” He stated quickly, ducking his head a bit and hoping the person he’d pretty much kicked in the leg wasn’t an enemy or someone that would get angry with him.
Bryan had won a spot in the bunker. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was one of the last of Farm Station, or because he was actually good with plants, or maybe it was because Kane had seen the sad look on his face when he looked at Nathan and his new boyfriend; or maybe it was all three, Bryan had no idea. All he knew was that he’d been chosen and survived. But Maia hadn’t been there, and Bryan had had to learn to befriend others in the bunker.
It had been a long time, and then they’d barely gotten out of the horror that was the bunker, only to have another war started. When they reached the ship and were told they were going to have to go into cryosleep, Bryan eagerly made his way to a pod. A nap sounded like a damn good thing to him, even if it meant so many years would pass. Either way, at least there would be a little peace for even a moment, even if he wouldn’t know it.
He’d been one of the fist to jump into a pod, and with how much chaos there had been before, he hadn’t really paid much attention to who else was there, or who else had gotten onto the ship. Today was wake up day though, and everyone was slowly being woken up group by group, as Clarke and Bellamy worked to get everyone awake and used to the idea that it was over a hundred years later than what it should have been.
His pod slid out and he woke, taking a deep breath and blinking a few times. He sat up with a groan, stretching out and sliding off the pod, standing and just trying to take in that he was awake again. That was when he noticed someone that had been in the pod next to him, and who was just waking up as well.
“… Maia?” Bryan asked, sounding surprised, but happier than he’d felt in years.
They hadn’t brought back the hydrogenerator. He’d walked away from Nathan, then Miller had left and gone to the lab with Abby. Bryan couldn’t even go back to the room; that was Miller’s, he’d told himself, not his if the other didn’t want him there, and instead he’d gone to the bunk room where so many others were staying. It felt claustrophobic and he hated it, but what other choice did he really have? His heart felt heavy about everything.
Bryan hadn’t been able to see people be left behind though; Riley and the others, they were his friends and people he cared about, and it didn’t make sense to him why Miller had been so against it. But now it seemed like they were all back at square one, and he wanted to kick himself. Couldn’t there have been another way? An easier way? It was like some stupid plot that made no sense and he couldn’t handle.
The bar seemed like a logical place to go, as long as they still had alcohol. After all, a drink or a few wouldn’t hurt him, right? He saw that Jasper was sitting there as well, and he approached, sitting next to his friend and taking a deep breath. “What are you drinking?” He asked, “And how strong is it, so I know if I need one?” He offered a faint, lopsided smile, hoping that Jasper would humor him, or at least try.
Look at your character. Now look at the starter I’m writing. Now back to your character and back to the starter. The Starter is now just angst. I’m on a blog.
So, I’m actually having a ton of muse. If anyone wants a starter from me, LIKE this post. If you want a specific verse, leave a comment, or I’ll do something post season 5 when they all are waking up, or choose at random.
indiebryan 