Bellātor | BELLAMY BLAKE

three

ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ : ʟɪʙᴇʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ
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Despite having a strong hatred towards his father, Clara finds herself hanging around Wells in Rez's absence. It's not his fault he is the son to the man who sentenced all of these kids to the Sky Box, and now to an unpredicted life on the potentially hazardous earth. Wells has nothing to do with his father's actions, and Clara seems to be the only one who realizes it.

The two go out to search for some water. Wells has a bad ankle, so their pace is slow, but Clara doesn't mind. She never had much exercise on the Ark, so hiking on the uneven terrain is enough.

"Can I ask you a question?" Clara asks out of the blue on their trek.

Wells glances over at the curly-haired girl. Hesitantly, he nods.

"What did you do to get locked up?" She asks, unable to contain her curiosity. "I mean, no offense, but I didn't exactly expect to see the chancellor's son among all these criminals."

Wells lets out a breathy chuckle as he limps by Clara's side in the dense forest. "I set the last tree on fire."

Clara gasps. "You're kidding, right?" When Wells just shrugs in response, Clara laughs. "I don't know what I was expecting you to say, but it definitely wasn't that. Wow."

Wells laughs at Clara's amusement. "Okay, your turn. What did you do to get arrested?"

Clara shoves a branch out of the way and holds it for Wells to get through. When he passes, she lets it snap back in place.

"I used to steal extra rations for Rez since his parents traded his for other stuff, and I got caught one day," Clara explains vaguely. "And when Rez saw that I was getting arrested, he freaked out and assaulted a guard."

A frown pulls at Wells's lips. "Did his parents get caught?"

"Nope," Clara replies, stepping over a large stone. When she notices the distraught expression on his face, she says, "Don't get too hung up over it, it isn't uncommon for parents in Factory Station to trade their child's rations for their own selfish reasons."

"Did yours?" Wells questions.

Clara shrugs. "My dad did only two or three times before he got floated when he was caught with some illegal drugs, but my mom is pretty nice."

Her answer doesn't settle well in Wells's conscience. He doesn't question her further on it, though.

The rest of their trip is mostly silent. Only another minute or two pass before the sound of running water piques Clara's interest. She breaks out into a sprint towards the noise, leaving Wells behind.

Clara skids to a stop when she's feet away from a shallow-running river. Some of the river is shaded red from the colorful seaweed below the surface. A giddy grin spreads across her face.

The sound of footsteps behind her alerts her of Well's presence. She spins around and throws her hands up for emphasis. "Our search is over."

Wells smiles triumphantly and leans down near the river. He scoops some water up, then pours it back out into the river as he examines it. "It looks pretty clear, but we should probably still boil it before—" He glances up and pauses at the sight of Clara drinking the water from her hands. "—drinking it."