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Clarke and Dakota were brought into President Wallace's office at the same time. her hands were bound together in front of her in handcuffs. Clarke was content with the guards just pushing her around, but every time a hand came down and touched Dakota on the back she flinched away and her heart rate would increase slightly.

When they entered President Wallace's office, Dante was standing with his back facing the two girls, without turning around, he spoke to the guards. "Lose the handcuffs," He ordered the men.

The guards didn't hesitate and they removed the handcuffs from the two teenage girls. Dakota ran her thumb across the wrist were the handcuff was digging into her flesh. Dante pointed with his paintbrush to a blank canvas in the corner before speaking. "There's a blank canvas, if you like. Though, Dakota. I'm sure you would prefer to paint with water colors instead."

Dakota narrowed her eyes at the man, how could he possibly know that she use to paint?

"I used to paint the ground, too." Clarke spoke while she looked at the painting he was currently working on.

"It's not just the ground. It's a memory." Dante told her.

Dakota's eyebrows rose at his confession. "So, You've been outside?" She questioned him.

"Yes," Dante continued, still painting. "56 years ago. For five minutes. I was seven when the first of what we call 'the Outsiders' appeared. Before that, we thought we were all there was. Imagine our surprise."

"We don't have to imagine." Clarke was the one to respond.

"My father, this was his office at the time, believed it meant that the Earth was survivable again. And so he opened the doors. Within a week, 54 people were dead from the exposure. My mother and sister among them." He turned around and wiped his hands free of paint, while looking between the two girls. "Loss, pain, regret...time eases these things, girls. but the only time it's ever truly gone is when I'm painting."

"All right." Dakota sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. She leaned onto her other foot, bearing all of her weight onto it. "You wanna sit here and chit-chat about painting all day or are we gonna cut to the chase?"

Dante looked over at me with an amused smile. "I'm curious as to where you learned your manners."

Dakota smirked. "Why have manners when hostility works ten time more effective?"

"You didn't bring us here to talk about paint or manners," Clarke started getting annoyed with Dakota's rude remarks. "What is it that you wanted to talk about?"

"I'm afraid I have bad news," Dante began, "Our patrols swept the area and found no trace of survivors either at your camp or at the Ark."

"You're lying!" Dakota immediately shouted at him.

Clarke's arm came to rest on Dakota's forearm, trying to give her some sort of comfort, knowing that her anger has always got the best of her at the worst times. "How can you be so sure?"

"They can't," Dante admitted. "I've ordered them to keep searching, but-"

"I-I need to see it for myself-"

"I'm sorry, I can't allow that." The president cut her off immediately. Dakota scoffed, and the action did not go unnoticed by Dante, "I'm doing this for your own good, Clarke. It's not safe out there."

"It's not safe in here!" Dakota exclaimed, frustration taking over her, and she turned around with her arms up in the air."There's absolutely no excuse for you to sit here and tell us that we aren't allowed to go outside. You said we weren't prisoners in here but that exactly how you are treating us! The radiation has no effect on us!"

"It's not the radiation I'm concerned about," Dante explained as he called in the guards from the outside. He looked at us with sadden eyes. "You both need time to grieve."

"Don't tell me what I need to do!" Dakota groaned. All she was hearing from President's Wallace's mouth was complete bullshit. None of it made sense. There was nothing to grieve over. Sure, there was a part of her that believed Bellamy and the other's were dead, but she knew that she had to keep her hopes up. She wouldn't give up that possibly he was still out there.

"The guards will take you to your room."

"And if we try to leave?" Clarke spat through her teeth.

"Please don't test me, Clarke." The president asked, confirming both of their thoughts. Mount Weather couldn't be trusted and both of them knew that. These people were a bunch of liars, boxed in together and there was something bigger going on here and she was planning to find out what it was.

****

"For the past and the future we serve," Dante spoke to his people as they gathered around the dinning table at the end of the evening for supper.

"We give thanks," The entire crowd repeated, excluding most of the delinquents who weren't aware of the prayer. Clarke and Dakota exchanged glances over the table as the prayer continued.

"Good health, good food, and good company in the blessing of new friends," Dante finished.

"We give thanks," Dakota mocked the final saying and she rolled her eyes, "Thanks can shove it up their ass." She muttered under her breath which made Monty scowl over at the girl.. Everyone sat down and began to eat their meal. Dakota stared down at her meal in front of her, she wasn't hungry, she was angry. Clarke's foot hit her shin under the table which made the girl look up from her food and shoot a glare over at Clarke. Clarke pushed the bowl closer to her and gestured her to stop sulking and eat. Dakota rolled her eyes and picked up the spoon that sat on a napkin and dipped it into the bowl to get a spoonful of the stew.

She brought it up to her mouth and swallowed a bite of it. She immediately froze in place as her taste buds were overflowed with delicious, mouth-watering flavour that sent her entire being jumping over rainbows in her head. She tried her hardest to not show that she enjoyed the rest of her food.

When the teenagers were released from the dinning hall, they were shown to their rooms. Dakota walked in to find Monty and Jasper sitting across from each other on two bottom bunks.

She noticed that Clarke had climbed up onto the top bunk of their bed, claiming it for herself. Dakota's eyes narrowed down at the little card on top of a brown leather case. Her name was neatly written on it, and she grabbed the piece of paper and opened it.

Dakota,

To let some of that build up hostility out.

Dante

Her eyes scanned the perfect handwriting and then she gazed down at the case that was sitting on top of a white bedside table. She sighed and put the letter down and decided to open up the case. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the multiple colors filling little circles, and a jar of purified water, and some paint brushes. She managed to crack a smile at the gift. The last time she had picked up a paintbrush was three days before she was sent to the ground. Her eyes got glossy from an unwanted memory of her mother giving her, her first paint set as a little girl. She sniffed and wiped her eyes from the small memory she treasured and sat on the bed. After awhile of sitting down quietly, she looked down at the small brush strokes that decorated her paper, she decided to speak.

"Do you think they're still out there?" Dakota whispered, but loud enough that Clarke could hear her.

Clarke hesitated on answering her question. "They have to be."

"And if they're not?" She asked, afraid of what her possible answer could be.

"We're gonna find a way to get out of here," Clarke said quietly. "And when we do, we'll find Finn and Bellamy."

Dakota found herself sitting there, looking down at the paper and the blue lines that she had painted, outlining the memory that she had of Bellamy. Tears started falling from her eyes. "He taught me that it's okay to appear weak," She began to pick up some paint on her water-soaked paint brush. "And that I shouldn't let my pass define me, and that it wasn't my fault. I was already underwater, he just kept me from drowning."

Clarke didn't say anything, and that's when she got off of her bed and climbed up into Clarke's. Dakota looked down at the welcome book that Clarke had sitting on her lap. Her eyes scanned the estimated enhanced map that Clarke was drawing. "Let's find out way out of this hell hole."

***

Dakota glanced over at Jasper who was leaning over Clarke's shoulder awkwardly, it was clear that he was unsure where their friendship still laid after Clarke tried to escape. Jasper then looked down at Dakota's drawing.

"Hey, isn't that-" Jasper furrowed his eyebrows at the familiar face.

Dakota cut Jasper off quickly, "You finish that sentence and I will put my shoe down your throat." She glanced up at the boy.

"Look who got released." Was the next words that left Jasper's mouth, and his words caught Dakota's attention, making her turn her head where Maya stood with a healthy looking Miller who was looking so much better the last time anyone had seen him.

Dakota smiled and got off the bed. "You're one tough kid, you know that?" She told him as she walked over closer to him.

Miller looked at the girl with a smile on his face, bringing her into a gentle hug. Dakota remembered Unity Day and them dancing together under the influence of a couple drinks and she wondered why they hadn't spoken since.

"Yeah, it only took, what, three surgeries?" He looked to Maya as he said this and she nodded, her eyes darting towards Clarke in unease.

Miller glanced at Clarke and Dakota, "I heard you're fitting right in."

Maya looked uncomfortable as Clarke glanced at her. "Twice a day, don't forget." She handed Miller a bottle of medication. "You'll be okay in a few days."

Dakota stopped paying attention after that, returning to her unfinished painting of Bellamy. That's when an alarm suddenly went off and a huge blob of blue made it's way to the paper. Dakota cursed to myself and dabbed more water on it before it had time to dry.

"Um, save me a seat, okay?" Maya looked at Jasper and Dakota immediately got up from the bed, following Clarke.

Clarke blocked Maya's escape. "Hey, what's going on?"

"The signal means a surface patrol is back and someone needs medical attention. I have to go to quarantine." Maya disappeared.

Clarke and Dakota were about to follow after her when Jasper grabbed her arm. "Hey, Clarke. What are you doing?"

"Maybe they found survivors. If our people are hurt, we have a right to know."

"I'm pretty sure we shouldn't just go wandering around." Jasper tried to reason with Clarke, but from the determined look on her face, Jasper knew she already made up her mind. Clarke ran after Maya, and Dakota followed after her with Jasper following behind her.

"Finally, something exciting is happening." Dakota squealed as she ran up beside Clarke

"What are we dealing with?" All of them followed Maya's voice.

"They were attacked. One dead, he's in room two, the other took off his gloves and mask to treat him. He's still in decon but he'll need treatment as soon as he's processed through."

"Who attacked them?" Clarke pushed her way into the Conversation.

"What are they doing here?" The male who had been briefing Maya, sneered.

Without thinking, Clarke looked toward one of the doctors, ripping his key card from his shirt before storming up towards the door. Dakota didn't hesitate to follow Clarke, and she grabbed Jasper's wrist as Clarke slid the key card across the key pad.

"It's not safe!" The man warned.

Dakota looked back at the man, "It is for us." She snapped as she disappeared behind the door.

Jasper glanced back at all the doctors. "Someone's gotta keep them out of trouble."

They all sprinted down the hallway with Jasper struggling to keep up behind the two girls. "You guys, slow down!" He exclaimed, his heels skidding against the floor as Clarke and Dakota stopped abruptly. "Stop pushing so hard these people-" Jasper stopped talking as a body of a patrolman came into view.

"They are lying to us!" Clarke cried out, cutting Jasper's sentence off and ending it herself. "That's a bullet wound. Grounders don't use guns."

Dakota peered at the wound myself, and she agreed with Clarke. This was too big to be an arrow wound, and too small to be a sword.

"Unless the grounders got guns from us." Jasper sounded unsure.

"I don't think so. I think our people are alive out there."

"Get them out of here!" The doctor appeared behind them followed by more medical staff who were leading a man into the room, who was clearly suffering from radiation.

"Holy shit."