Kass Morgan - The 100

The door slid open, and Clarke knew it was time to die.

Her eyes locked on the guards boots, and she braced for the rush of fear, the flood of desperate panic. But as she rose up onto her elbow, peeling her shirt from the sweat-soaked cot, all she felt was relief.

Shed been transferred to a single after attacking a guard, but for Clarke, there was no such thing as solitary. She heard voices everywhere. They called to her from the corners of her dark cell. They filled the silence between her heartbeats. They screamed from the deepest recesses of her mind. It wasnt death she craved, but if that was the only way to silence the voices, then she was prepared to die.

Shed been Confined for treason, but the truth was far worse than anyone couldve imagined. Even if by some miracle she was pardoned at her retrial, thered be no real reprieve. Her memories were more oppressive than any cell walls.

The guard cleared his throat as he shifted his weight from side to side. Prisoner number 319, please stand. He was younger than shed expected, and his uniform hung loosely from his lanky frame, betraying his status as a recent recruit. A few months of military rations werent enough to banish the specter of malnutrition that haunted the Colonys poor outer ships, Walden and Arcadia.

Clarke took a deep breath and rose to her feet.

Hold out your hands, he said, pulling a pair of metal restraints from the pocket of his blue uniform. Clarke shuddered as his skin brushed against hers. She hadnt seen another person since theyd brought her to the new cell, let alone touched one.

Are they too tight? he asked, his brusque tone frayed by a note of sympathy that made Clarkes chest ache. Itd been so long since anyone but Thaliaher former cell mate and her only friend in the Ar]worldhad shown her compassion.

She shook her head.

Just sit on the bed. The doctors on his way.

Theyre doing it here? Clarke asked hoarsely, the words scraping against her throat. If a doctor was coming, that meant they were forgoing her retrial. It shouldnt have come as a surprise. According to Colony law, adults were executed immediately upon conviction, and minors were Confined until they turned eighteen and then given one final chance to make their case. But lately, people were being executed within hours of their retrial for crimes that, a few years ago, would have been pardoned.

Still, it was hard to believe theyd actually do it in her cell. In a twisted way, shed been looking forward to one final walk to the hospital where shed spent so much time during her medical apprenticeshipone last chance to experience something familiar, if only the smell of disinfectant and the hum of the ventilation systembefore she lost the ability to feel forever.

The guard spoke without meeting her eyes. I need you to sit down.

Clarke took a few short steps and perched stiffly on the edge of her narrow bed. Although she knew that solitary warped your perception of time, it was hard to believe she had been herealonefor almost six months. The year shed spent with Thalia and their third cell mate, Lise, a hard-faced girl who smiled for the first time when they took Clarke away, had felt like an eternity. But there was no other explanation. Today had to be her eighteenth birthday, and the only present waiting for Clarke was a syringe that would paralyze her muscles until her heart stopped beating. Afterward, her lifeless body would be released into space, as was the custom on the Colony, left to drift endlessly through the galaxy.

A figure appeared in the door and a tall, slender man stepped into the cell. Although his shoulder-length gray hair partially obscured the pin on the collar of his lab coat, Clarke didnt need the insignia to recognize him as the Councils chief medical advisor. Shed spent the better part of the year before her Confinement shadowing Dr. Lahiri and couldnt count the number of hours shed stood next to him during surgery. The other apprentices had envied Clarkes assignment, and had complained of nepotism when they discovered that Dr. Lahiri was one of her fathers closest friends. At least, he had been before her parents were executed.

Hello, Clarke, he said pleasantly, as if he were greeting her in the hospital dining room instead of a detention cell. How are you?

Better than Ill be in a few minutes, I imagine.

Dr. Lahiri used to smile at Clarkes dark humor, but this time he winced and turned to the guard. Could you undo the cuffs and give us a moment, please?

The guard shifted uncomfortably. Im not supposed to leave her unattended.

You can wait right outside the door, Dr. Lahiri said with exaggerated patience. Shes an unarmed seventeen-year-old. I think Ill be able to keep things under control.

The guard avoided Clarkes eyes as he removed the handcuffs. He gave Dr. Lahiri a curt nod as he stepped outside.

You mean Im an unarmed eighteen-year-old, Clarke said, forcing what she thought was a smile. Or are you turning into one of those mad scientists who never knows what year it is? Her father had been like that. Hed forget to program the circadian lights in their flat and end up goie ud end ung to work at 0400, too absorbed in his research to notice that the ships corridors were deserted.

Youre still seventeen, Clarke, Dr. Lahiri said in the calm, slow manner he usually reserved for patients waking up from surgery. Youve been in solitary for three months.

Then what are you doing here? she asked, unable to quell the panic creeping into her voice. The law says you have to wait until Im eighteen.

Theres been a change of plans. Thats all Im authorized to say.

So youre authorized to execute me but not to talk to me? She remembered watching Dr. Lahiri during her parents trial. At the time, shed read his grim face as an expression of his disapproval with the proceedings, but now she wasnt sure. He hadnt spoken up in their defense. No one had. Hed simply sat there mutely as the Council found her parentstwo of Phoenixs most brilliant scientiststo be in violation of the Gaia Doctrine, the rules established after the Cataclysm to ensure the survival of the human race. What about my parents? Did you kill them, too?

Dr. Lahiri closed his eyes, as if Clarkes words had transformed from sounds into something visible. Something grotesque. Im not here to kill you, he said quietly. He opened his eyes and then gestured to the stool at the foot of Clarkes bed. May I?

When Clarke didnt reply, Dr. Lahiri walked forward and sat down so he was facing her. Can I see your arm, please? Clarke felt her chest tighten, and she forced herself to breathe. He was lying. It was cruel and twisted, but itd all be over in a minute.

She extended her hand toward him. Dr. Lahiri reached into his coat pocket and produced a cloth that smelled of antiseptic. Clarke shivered as he swept it along the inside of her arm. Dont worry. This isnt going to hurt.

Clarke closed her eyes.

She remembered the anguished look Wells had given her as the guards were escorting her out of the Council chambers. While the anger that had threatened to consume her during the trial had long since burned out, thinking about Wells sent a new wave of heat pulsing through her body, like a dying star emitting one final flash of light before it faded into nothingness.

Her parents were dead, and it was all his fault.

Dr. Lahiri grasped her arm, his fingers searching for her vein.

See you soon, Mom and Dad.

His grip tightened. This was it.

Clarke took a deep breath as she felt a prick on the inside of her wrist.

There. Youre all set.

Clarkes eyes snapped open. She looked down and saw a metal bracelet clasped to her arm. She ran her finger along it, wincing as what felt like a dozen tiny needles pressed into her skin.