Chapter 4: Where is Wells?

[Warning] Season 7 spoilers! (Those who are watching or have watched season 7 will know what I mean)

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She shook her head. It wasn't unnatural. Her and her family had been all over the news those few years back. It had been posted everywhere.

The Griffins lose a beloved family member to a break-in!

Break-in at the Griffin household! 1 dead and another traumatized!

Jake Griffin's heroic sacrifice to protect his daughter against a group of burglars!

Abby Griffin shows her human side at Jake's funeral!

But it was still strange. Why did Becca Franco know her?

She forced her smile back on her face and held her hand out almost squealing when she placed her hand in hers and shook it. She had such a firm grip and her rough hands only accentuated the amount of hard work she put into her work. She was such a perfect role mode--No! Bad Clarke! Get back to the point!

She (reluctantly) took her hand out of Becca's and cleared her throat. Overtime she'd prepared a mental list of questions to ask Becca if she'd ever had the luxury of meeting her and she'd never once thought that her first question would be this.

"If you don't mind me asking." she fidgeted with her hands staring at the women who smiled back at her waiting patiently for the question as though she'd done this many other times before. "How do you know my name?"

Clarke watched as the smile faded from the woman's face and her eyebrows furrowed.

Had she said something wrong? Why was Becca looking at her like she'd just lost something. Did a person like Becca even lose things?

"Did your mother not tell you?"

Clarke's lips twitched as she let out a seemingly awkward chuckle. "My mother?"

What did her mother have to do with any of this?

Before Becca could answer, the sound of footsteps and the unmistakable glint of goggles invaded her space as Jasper ran up to her.

"Clarke! We've been looking everywhere for you! Raven--" He paused only now noticing the woman in front and gasped. "Holy cow is that...Becca Franco! In person?"

Becca's lips lifted and she took one last glance at Clarke before drawing her attention to the young boy waving his arms around and talking about a best friend called Monty who was apparently obsessed with her. Clarke could only watch as the woman nodded, her signature smile plastered on, and listened to the boy occasionally glancing at Clarke.

"Griffiiiin!"

Clarke shot her eyes away from Jasper and his dramatic arms and focused on the brown tail striking faces as the owner barged through the crowd like the bull she was. She grinned at the girl and responded with her own "Reyeeees!".

Raven broke through the crowd and barreled into Clarke huffing. "Jeez Clarke! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to avoid me--oh my God is that Becca Franco!" Her eyes went wide and her mouth popped open as she stared at the woman standing tall and proud listening to Jasper.

Her eyes went to Clarke in almost an instant as she practically begged to be released from whatever cage Clarke had definitely not remembered putting her in.

"Fine! Go get her."

Raven squealed and lunged towards the woman. "Get your goggles out of the damn way Jordan!"

She twitched as what seemed to be a black haze flew past her stopping in front of Becca and forming the outline of one Monty Green as he joined the conversation asking something about algae and space.

A chuckle from behind caught her attention and Harper made her way next to her. "Jasper's so silly."

Oh? Jasper huh?

Clarke found a smirk worming its way on her face. "Jasper?" She chuckled as the younger girl flushed almost instantly.

"A-and Monty. And Monty."

"Is Wells not here yet?" She scanned the perimeter.

"He got a last minute call from his Father."

"I see." She huffed. She hadn't seen him for over 2 weeks and here he was bailing on her again.

A tap from behind and a "It's gonna start." from Harper turner her around as Becca began the unveiling of 'The Ark'.

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It was big. So big they couldn't even showcase the whole thing. Only a small part of it actually fit in the room.

"This is the airlock."

The metal shined and the gears and bars looked beyond comprehension. It all looked so confusing and complex. But most of all, it looked epic. She dragged her hand along the cool metal and smooth surface. The door was a perfect circle and the glass was sturdy with double-glazing. Was it even glass?

"How do you open it?" A voice came from the crowd.

Becca smiled - wasn't she smiling just a bit too much? - and pressed a red button on the side. The doors opened with a 'whoosh' and many scrambled to get inside. It looked t be a sort of hexagonal shape with a yellow line on two parallel sides. Voices echoed but died down as more people entered filling up the space.

"Clarke."

She stayed outside scanning the rest of the hallway. A lever caught her attention.

Airlock Release

She pulled it and jumped at the screams from inside the airlock as a second door on the other side opened surprising them.

"Clarke."

A chuckle from behind caught her attention as Becca laughed at their reactions. "That lever opens the other door. The one that will one day be used as a sort of pier for engineers."

Clarke nodded pulling it back up and closing the door.

She turned around and smiled at the woman. "So. My mother. What did you mean when--"

"Clarke!"

A hand from behind dragged her back and she whipped her head around to be met with a huffing and puffing Wells. "Glad to see you decided to come."

He lifted his head, sweat on his brow. "There's no time to talk we need to leave."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

He grabbed her hand pulling her away violently. "We need to go! Now!"

"Wells what the hell are you--"

"Wells Jaha?"

Her turned and glared at the woman. "Becca Franco."

She smiled her signature smile. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Your Father has been saying so much about you."

"I wish I could say the same about you." He turned back towards Clarke. "Listen Clarke. I don't have time to explain but we need to go!"

"Why not stay a bit longer? You've only just arrived."

He turned back towards the woman practically seething. What the hell was going on? Wells Jaha was mad! He was never mad! And towards Becca.

"No disrespect Dr Franco, but me and my friend really need to leave."

Becca's smile twitched turning into a grimace. "You haven't even seen the ship--" Commotion from the entrance interrupted her and her eyes went wide as a man in white made his way over. Her smile dropped and her eyes turned towards a confused Clarke before turning back towards the man.

She stepped in front of the two teenagers. "Mr Cadogan. To what do I owe the pleasure--"

"You know why I'm here."

She frowned. "It's not ready. And even if it was, what makes you think I would let you of all people have it?"

He smirked. "Now now Becca." Her eye twitched. "We made a deal."

She turned towards Wells and they made eye contact before she nodded and he nodded back seemingly forming an understanding.

He tugged Clarke's arm and leaned into her ear. "We need to go."

She shook her head. "No. Wait." Her eyes found his. "Wells, what the hell is going on?"

"I don't have time to explain. We need to go!" His voice grew frantic as he attempted to shield her from the view of the man in white. He pulled her arm again but her feet were rooted to the ground.

"No. You need to tell me now! What is going on! Why does she know us, what do our parents have to do with her and who is that man!"

He hesitated before grumbling. "Clarke I am begging you. Come with me right now. I promise I'll explain everything to you, but we need to leave before--"

"Is that her?" Clarke's head turned and her eyes went wide as the man in white stared at her, his smile growing.

Becca stepped in front of her. "No."

He laughed. "You should know by now that I can tell when people are lying Becca." His grin replaced itself with a frown. "Give her to me or my disciples won't go easy on you."

Disciples?

Wells grumbled before grabbing her arms and pulling her harder almost tripping her over as he forced her to the back of the room and then past another few hallways away from the excited tourists checking out the airlock and the two adults arguing.

"Wait! What about Raven and the others?"

"I'll get them after but you need to go!"

His hands slid along the wall seemingly looking for something before his eyes lit up and he pressed at a section. "Wells what are you--" The wall shuddered before pulling back and opening to reveal a small hallway that led outside. Her eyes went wide.

"What the heck."

He pulled his hands away and let out a breath she didn't know he'd been holding. "Okay. Okay. Now go through here and--"

She held up her hands. "Woah woah woah. Wait just a minute. What is with this secret back door and how do you even know where it is or how to open it? Have you been here before? Why have you been here? And who is that man and what does he want from me and how on earth does Bec--"

"Oh my God Clarke!" His voice echoed down the hall bouncing off the surfaces. "Just shut up and get out! Move!"

He pushed her in before shutting it. She stared at it as it closed taking away the light and leaving her in the dark - both literally and figuratively. She turned around and took a step forward. Light came pouring in as another door on the other end opened revealing a bundle of trees.

She took a deep breath in and let it go. Okay. So her mom and Jaha had some sort of connection to Becca, an old man in white came bursting through seemingly knowing her as well and saying something about disciples and Wells had just shoved her into some secret passage saying that he would explain everything later.

What kind of conspiracy was this? She'd only ever seen these kinds of things in movies or books. Real life wasn't meant to go like this!

Don't panic Clarke. Don't panic. She could feel the bile rising up her throat and the tears pricking at her eyes. Don't panic just move. Wells is going to explain everything later. Yeah. And when you get home, you can ask you mom about everything. Yeah. Later.

She looked forward at the trees and took a shaky step toward them before taking another and another and then another.

The cool night air awoke the goosebumps on her arms and she shivered. The door closed almost instantly behind her and she turned to face the trees almost getting hit in the head by a branch hanging low. She was in the forest behind the building. The one she'd sworn to one day draw. But being in it and seeing it from a distance were two completely different things. It was scary at night.

She chose not to go down the stone path and instead practically hugged the metal door and waited for her friends.

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"Clarke!"

Her eyes shot open. When had she fallen asleep?

She stood up, her legs shaking slightly from her uncomfortable position on the floor, and stumbled back when a pair of arms wrapped tight around her.

"We were so worried about you!" She blinked away the bleariness of her fatigue and her eyes focused on the heaving Latina hugging her and the others running up to meet them.

"Raven, what happened?"

Raven pulled away. "I don't really know. It was all a blur. All I remember is seeing some guy talking to Dr Franco and then Wells pulled you away and a few minutes later, he came back in pulling us all out the front entrance screaming something about you and a door? We were looking everywhere for you!"

"Raven--"

"What the hell are you doing in the forest?"

"Raven--"

"We should get out of here. It's all dark and dirty and gloomy and--"

"Raven!"

Raven's voice died down and she stared at the blonde. "Yeah?"

"Where is Wells?"