The Road To Mount Weather

We woke with the first light. Pale gold spilling over the rocks, washing his face in something that almost looked like peace.

"Sun's up," I whispered. "Good. We can get moving."

He stayed lying down a second longer, just watching me. I laughed and shook my head.

"That's a little creepy, you know. Just staring."

He smirked. "If that's the creepiest thing I've ever done, I'm doing great."

I snorted. "Takes more than that to scare me."

He leaned in and kissed me. "Good."

We packed what little we had. His necklace — my necklace now — I tucked under my shirt. I wasn't taking it off.

I'd been sketching as we moved, drawing a rough map from camp toward Mount Weather. Landmarks. Streams. Shelter points. Paths that weren't obvious. Paths the Grounders didn't seem to patrol.

We walked.

And walked.

And kept walking.

Days bled into weeks. Weeks into more than a month. We lost track of how long exactly. We almost gave up twice. But we didn't.

"It's getting dark again," John muttered one evening. "We should find shelter."

"Yeah," I sighed. "God, I miss just flipping a light switch instead of living on this stupid planet's good mood."

He gave me a look like he wasn't sure if I was joking.

I exhaled. "Sorry. I'm just hungry."

He kissed my forehead. "Me too. We'll find something. I promise."

We pushed deeper into the trees and found a cave. But not just a cave. A cave with... a door.

I froze. "Uh. Is that an actual door?"

John stared, then headed for it. "Only one way to find out."

He grabbed the handle and pushed. The door swung open.

I stepped up beside him, eyes wide. "Did we just find an actual door in the middle of a rock wall?"

He looked at me over his shoulder — bruised, exhausted, bandaged, stubborn, mine — and grinned.

"Miss flipping a switch, princess?" he teased.

I rolled my eyes. "Hit it."

He reached inside and pressed something.

And the World change.