Work Text
Crack!
A sharp snap startled me awake. My bleary eyes fluttered open, dry and stinging, as the world around me came into hazy focus. A twig, dislodged from a burning tree, tumbled down charred branches before bouncing off the ground, smacking into my chest. I flinched instinctively, the jolt fully yanking me out of the fragile comfort of consciousness.Curling onto my side, my lungs spasmed violently as a cough racked my body until my stomach ached, each hack more painful than the last. When I finally gasped in a full breath, I realized that I had somehow moved from the safety nest I had made at the corner of the foxhole and the wall while knocked out.The twig cracked against as I rolled onto my back, its brittle edges jabbing through my clothes. With a frustrated grunt, I snatched it up and tossed it away, my hands trembling.Small bits of ash and smoke still swirled around me, though the fire seemed to have been put out. The itch in my throat dulled, but did not leave entirely.Everything hurt.
Crrr...
The sound pulled my gaze upward. All around me, the trees were scorched skeletons, their leaves burned to crisp edges, embers flickering in the sparse foliage that remained. My heart sank, a chill settling in my chest as the memories rushed back:The dropship launch. Anya. Tristan. Finn. Bellamy.I had only turned my head for a second, looking toward the dropship—
...rrrACK!
A louder crack above snapped me out of my thoughts. My eyes widened as I spotted a massive branch breaking free above me, its fiery limbs angling toward the ground. I rolled instinctively, though my body protested with every motion. Weak from hunger, thirst, and sheer exhaustion, I barely managed to get clear before the branch slammed into the dirt, scattering embers and debris across my face.Coughing and sputtering, I clawed at my shirt to wipe the grit from my eyes. Something hard poked my thigh, and I froze, reaching down. My fingers closed around an object, and I pulled it out, the smudged lenses and frayed strap unmistakable. Jasper’s goggles.Slumped against the wall, lifeless eyes staring into nothing, I recalled the darkened blood dried black on his shirt and neck, stark against the pale pallor of his skin. I had ran right past him as I fled from Anya and the dropship launch.I swallowed hard. I will not pretend like I liked him, but Monty would be devastated. Sliding the goggles up my arm, I tightened the strap around my bicep. Monty would want them.Pushing to my feet, I swayed slightly, my head spinning. Hunger gnawed at my stomach with quiet growls, and my throat burned for water. I scanned the landscape, taking in the carnage: collapsed trees, smoldering plants, and the remnants of the dropship camp. Smoke curled upward, painting the sky a dull, lifeless gray.When Lincoln and I first saw and reported the devastation of the forest around the original landing of the dropship, the Lieutenant and the General had been furious. I could only imagine what kind of meetings Trikru would have now.With no time to waste, I entered the foxhole, my boots crunching against brittle remains and ashes. I kept my eyes forward, even as disgust churned my stomach. When I reached the other end, I climbed out, my limbs weak and trembling. My weapons clattered against my armor as the gravity of exhaustion dropped me to my knees on the ground.I glanced at my hand, now stark white, dusted with ash.Oh. It's not dirt.Ashes of the dead, warriors reduced to nothing more than powder.Shutting my eyes as tight as I could, I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth, swallowing the salty sour saliva threatening to make me gag. There was nothing in my stomach I could expel anyways.I opened my eyes, landing on the open doors of the dropship....open?"No way," I breathed, scrambling up the ash-covered slope on all fours before I ran, ignoring the cuts on my leg and side that burned with the movement. My heart slammed against my ribs, the effort burning through my already depleted energy. When I reached the metal floor, I collapsed onto it, panting heavily.The curtains had burned away, revealing an eerily empty first floor save for a few crates of resources. No signs of life. No Trikru warriors. No Sky People.My mind raced. Anya had been the last to attempt to enter the doors, and I tackled her down. No one else should have gotten in. Unless the kids opened it themselves after?“Who's there?”The dry, raspy voice froze me in place, my hand instinctively gripping the hilt of my sword until I realized—I knew that voice.“Raven!” I exclaimed as I rounded the crates. I found her sprawled on the floor, a gun just within reach. Relief mixed with dread as our eyes met. No one else except for a corpse, one of Trikru's warriors.“I can’t feel my legs,” Her whisper wavered, tears streamed down her cheeks, panic etched into every line of her face. “I... I don’t know what to do.”I crouched beside her, brushing the tears away with gentle fingers. My jaw clenched as I swallowed a surge of anger. This is Murphy’s fault. I should have killed him when I had the chance. Forcing the thought aside, I glanced around the dropship. “Where is everyone?”Raven winced, her body trembling with pain. “They left. The last thing I remember is everyone stepping outside. I don’t know what happened. They just... left me here.”No way. Yet, not a single one of those kids were in sight to disprove her words. My fists curled as I fought the urge to curse aloud. Eyes flickering around, I searched for materials as I said, "If you cannot feel your legs, it is most likely the bullet in your spine. I will not move you without a stretcher. Carrying you myself might make it worse. I can make a stretcher and drag you somewhere safe, but it will be rough.""No." Her hand clamped around my ankle, the closest part of me she could reach. “Leave me here.”“...What?”“Leave me here,” she repeated, her voice stronger this time. Determined. “You survived the blast, right? There must be others. Find them first. Then come back for me.”“Absolutely not.” I shook my head, my voice firm. “I’m not leaving you defenseless.”“I have a gun,” she countered, gesturing weakly toward the weapon. “I’ll wait for you. Look for the others and bring them back with you.”I stared at her, torn. Logically, I knew she was right, and even if I built a stretcher and dragged her through the forest, the bullet might move with the jostling unless someone else carried the other end. “Fine,” I muttered reluctantly, slipping Jasper’s goggles off my arm and handing them to her. “Take these.”Her fingers closed around them hesitantly. “Jasper’s?” she asked quietly."I did not see it happen, but I saw him. He's gone, I'm sorry." I said as I pushed the rifle closer to her. "Stay here. Play dead. If someone comes, shoot them on sight.”Her gaze hardened with resolve as she nodded, clutching the gun tightly.I stood, glancing back toward the open doors. Find the others, then come back. With one last look at Raven, I ran out of the dropship and disappeared into the treeline.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆If I had to pick the thing I hated most in this universe, it would be scouting. No contest. I could complain about it for hours—boring, exhausting, patience-testing, brain-numbing drudgery. It was the absolute worst part of a warrior’s training. The longest I had to scout for was in the deep forest of Mt. Caocin, watching for Azgeda armies for 38 hours straight.But, as I darted through the dense forest, weaving past gnarled roots and low-hanging branches, I grudgingly admitted: scouting had its uses. This forest was a perfect example. Thick, tangled, alive with sounds that bounced off every tree and bush, twisting and scattering so much that pinpointing their source would be impossible to the untrained ear.Then I heard it.“Bellamy, get out of here!”Finn’s voice.Head perking up in that vague direction to my left, I froze for only half a second before my body's instincts ran ahead of me. I had hoped Finn would make more noise, but it was not necessary. Barely registering the words, I sprinted northwest, breath heavy in my chest until I saw light through the thinning treeline.Squatting low, I hid behind a dense cluster of bushes and foliage, peeking through small gaps. The first busted faces I saw?Bell and Finn,” I murmured, my stomach knotting as I laid my eyes upon the two men.Wrists red and raw, both had been bound tightly with ropes that tethered them to a horse's saddle—too precise to be the work of a grunt. With dirt smeared across their swollen faces and blood trailing down their injuries, the two seemed to have gone through hell and back. Although Bellamy had clearly taken the brunt of it, thank the Gods he was alive. Barely half a day since I had promised Octavia to look after him, and here he was, looking like he had been run over by every problem this cursed land could offer. I exhaled slowly. Battered and bruised, but alive. That is what mattered.My gaze shifted to the man tending the horse’s saddlebags. Even from this distance, I recognized that bald head of his.General Tristan.Of course. It just had to be him. Not some nameless warrior, or someone easy to kill. Someone who I did not have history with. My jaw tightened as I watched him adjust the pouches. Tristan turned as though he had heard something, revealing raw skin about to slough off the side of his face. I grimaced out of disgust more than pity. Taking a slow breath, I forced every thought from my mind. No doubts. No distractions. Just Tristan.Kill him, get Bellamy and Finn out.Simple.Sword in hand, I slipped out of the bushes, my movements as silent as the grave. My boots barely touched the forest floor, stepping light over drying leaves. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, threatening to give me away.No thoughts. Head empty.Tristan had more kills, more training, and more experience than I did. If I did not end him immediately, I would not live long to regret it.No thoughts. Head empty.I crept closer, the sun at my front hiding my shadow. His attention locked on his saddlebags, Tristan's peripheral focused on Finn and Bellamy's forms, but not the details. He did not see Finn and Bellamy’s wide-eyed stares. The two had noticed me. Their gazes flicked to Tristan, then back to me, their faces carefully blank. My free hand shot up in a sharp gesture, two fingers pressed to my lips. A silent command: Stay calm. Do not react.Bellamy and Finn shifted just enough to give the impression of adjusting their bonds, but otherwise remained still, their eyes darting to me from the corners of their vision. Silent. Watching. Waiting.Trembling from hunger and slick with sweat, my grip tightened on the hilt of my sword as I slowly raised it high, afraid of any noise it might make. This was it. The perfect angle.The forest erupted with shouts.Two sky kids burst from the trees to my right, wielding crude spears and screaming loud enough to wake the dead. Monroe and Drew stopped dead in their tracks when they had realized what they had done.Tristan spun on his heel at the noise, but his attention flickered to the closer threat. Me.I did not think. Did not hesitate to adapt. While I originally swiped for his head, my instinct aimed downward towards his side, as if knowing exactly what I would hit.Ducking his head, only one of the General's twin swords hissed as the blade slid free from its holster with a shling. The other flew in the air and dropped on the ground, along with his right arm.With a pained shout, Tristan stumbled back, bouncing off his sturdy horse before swinging his blade low, aiming for my head. I raised my sword to meet his, the impact sending a jolt through my arms, throwing me off balance. My boots skidded on the muddy ground, and I stumbled, barely catching myself before I fell to a knee.
'Even the Earth, the very thing that gives us life, can kill us in battle.'
Indra’s voice echoed in my mind, a lesson learned what felt like years ago but could only have been just last month. Mud had cost me a sparring match with Lincoln once. It could cost me my life now.
'Use the elements to your advantage.'
Twisting my leg, I slid along the mud with my knees away from Tristan's next unsteady strike. Even if I could not get another hit in, blood loss would take him out eventually. In one quick motion, I scooped up a handful of mud with my hand.Tristan’s boot slammed into my chest, knocking me back into the mud. Expecting it, I flung the mud into his face as I fell. Without a spare hand to wipe his eyes, the warrior raised his good shoulder to try and wipe the mud off. I rolled away before either his boot or sword aimed for me, adjusting the hilt of my sword as I rose, ignoring the black spots at the edges of my vision. His remaining blade swung wildly, missing me by inches. Backing up, I circled him, predator meeting prey.He stepped forward, snarling, but froze mid-motion.My blade had found its mark. The tip of my sword jutted out from his abdomen, slick with blood. His body jerked as he looked down, disbelief flickering across his face. I pushed harder, driving the blade deeper, twisting it slowly. Deliberately. I leaned close to his ear, "I've dreamt of this moment since Caocin."Tristan’s breathing hitched, his strength faltering as his body sagged forward, slipping off my blade and collapsing into the mud. I did not move for a moment, staring down at his lifeless form. My chest heaved, every breath raw and burning. With one sharp swipe, blood and dirt flew from my blade.“Asshole,” I muttered, stepping over him.Taking a deep breath, I looked down at my sword. It was not on the verge of breaking, but its age became visible over time. The same sword since I was eighteen. It might be time for some upgrades. My gaze shifted to Tristan’s twin swords lying on the ground.“Winner gets to keep the weapons,” I muttered under my breath, sheathing my sword before collecting his twin blades and their sheaths. I tested the balance and weight of each sword as I walked toward the Sky People. Not bad. I gave them an approving nod. Not too different from mine.The clatter of a spear hitting the ground caught my attention. I could not help but snort at the sight in front of me. Bellamy and Finn stood awkwardly behind a horse, flinching at the flies buzzing around the animal's rear that aimed for their faces instead. Meanwhile, Monroe and Drew wrestled with the ropes binding them, while the spear laid useless on the floor.A small, maybe incredulous, but relieved laugh left my lips, catching Monroe and Drew's attention. "If he had killed me, what would you two have done?" I gestured to the fresh corpse on the ground. The two straightened, hands off of Bellamy and Finn's binds like kids caught red-handed. "Matter of fact, what was all that about?" I pointed to the forest line where Monroe and Drew had come from, but before they could answer, I held a hand up. "Save it, we are good." I stepped closer to Finn and cut his bindings with a dagger.“What're you gonna do with those?” He asked, nodding toward the twin swords I had just claimed."Who knows. Maybe find a blacksmith willing to melt them down and make knives. I will not lose this bad boy,” I replied, patting my sword affectionately. “This sword has been through too much with me.” I tied the ropes to my belt, catching Finn’s raised eyebrows. “You never know when you will need rope.”He gave a quiet nod and went to check on Monroe and Drew.That’s when Bellamy stepped up, holding up his bound wrists, that familiar snark in his voice as he said, “You mind?”The corner of my mouth twitched, but my smile faltered when I got a good look at him, dark purple splotches surrounding his eye and cheekbone. “You look nasty,” I said, slicing through his restraints with ease.“Thanks,” He shot back with a roll of his eyes. He winced as the edge of his jacket brushed against raw, irritated skin.Before he could step away, I reached out and grabbed his arm. His gaze flickered between my face and my hand as I carefully hooked my thumbs under his sleeve to fold it back, keeping the rough material from irritating his wounds. “Other arm,” I ordered.Momentarily stunned, he blinked, but complied. The blood crusted around his cuffs made it harder to fold the sleeve neatly, and I could feel his eyes on me, watching my every move. I glanced up, locking eyes with him—a mistake. Now I could see the full extent of his injuries. Small cuts scattered along his swollen cheek, but it was the burst vein in his eye that made my empty stomach clench. Without thinking, I lifted a hand and brushed his hair back, checking for more, but I did not dare touch his injuries. The grimace on my face probably said enough."I'm sorry." My voice barely above a murmur, I dropped my hand along with my gaze. That was all I could bring myself to say. No need for him to know the fear I felt when I realized I had no idea where he went before the launch.Bellamy shook his head, ignoring my apology. "I saw you take down Anya. You had your hands full." To my surprise, a small, teasing smile appeared on his face. "Didn't realize you cared so much.""Well, now I have to," Feigning exasperation, I smacked his arm, not enough to hurt but to chastise. "Out of my sight for a few seconds, and you somehow picked a fight with the one man I told you to avoid—”Pain exploded in my side, cutting me off mid-sentence as a gunshot rang out. The force stole breath from my lungs and balance in my legs. My world tilted, and before I could make sense of what happened, I stumbled forward. My temple smacked straight into Bellamy's shoulder, knocking me further out of my own head as the warmth that seeped into my side quickly turned into a spreading wetness.His hands caught me instinctively, gripping tightly to keep me upright as his breath hitched. Another crack of a gunshot shattered the air, but I barely registered it as Bellamy jolted, his arms wrapping securely around me. "No, stop shooting!" I felt the rumble of his shout in his chest as he turned us slightly, as though shielding us. The shouting continued, distant and frantic from one of the others, but all I could focus on was the throbbing in my side. My knees finally gave way, and Bellamy cursed under his breath, adjusting his grip as he helped lower me to the ground with more care than I thought him capable of."Stay with me," He demanded, one hand on my shoulder, the other pulling up my shirt and revealing the wound. "Somebody get a med kit!"I pressed my hand against my side instinctively, trying to staunch the bleeding as I took in deep breathes."Let me see." Bellamy's hands peeled mine away and lifted my shirt. The sudden exposure to air and rustling of fabric made the wound sting even more, and I hissed through gritted teeth. "Damn it," Muttering under his breath, one hand covered the entire wound and pressed down firmly in spite of my flinch at the contact. "It's not too deep."My vision wavered for a moment, and I blinked hard, trying to focus on something—anything—other than the pain. Fresh and sharp, like heated metal on skin. Bellamy’s face swam into view, set in a determined scowl. I realized someone must have passed him a rag when he pressed fabric against my wound, keeping it from spiraling further."You're gonna be fine," He said, almost as if he was convincing himself. "Just keep breathing and focus on me.""I'm not dying, Bell." I managed weakly. An unusual wound, but one I should have been able to get up from, yet my limbs would not move. The dehydration and starvation must have caught up to me.His lips pressed into a fine line, somewhere between annoyance and relief. "Save your energy and stop talking."I nodded faintly, leaning back against his arm as another wave of dizziness washed over me.An unfamiliar voice, no doubt a leader of some sort, rang out over the chaos: "Build a stretcher!""Build two!" I shouted, raising two fingers weakly in the air and waving, hoping to catch their attention. Bellamy’s hands pressed harder against my side in alarm, and I groaned, my own hand instinctively snapping back to the wound. But, my actions grabbed somebody's attention. Unfamiliar faces stared at me like I had sprouted a second head. “I found Raven Reyes,” I said through gritted teeth, forcing the words out before my body betrayed me further. “She’s hurt. Bad. Give her the sturdier stretcher.”“What do you mean?” A voice asked from somewhere behind.“That’s Abby Griffin,” Bellamy murmured beside me, his tone edged with something I could not quite place. “Clarke’s mother.”Abby Griffin. My mind struggled to connect the dots. “Oh, really? She should love me, I saved her daughter’s life, like… at least three times now.”Without waiting for a response from him, I craned my head back to look at the blob-shaped Abby, who stepped closer to us with Finn in tow. “Raven was shot by Murphy before the battle even started,” I said, forcing the words to come out stable. “I found her after the fight, she might be paralyzed.”In the background, the other leader muttered something to his squad before breaking off to organize help.Even with my blurred vision, I saw Abby’s expression shift with concern. “What about everyone else?” She asked. “Are they okay?”...Shit. With everything going on, I had forgotten. I shook my head, "Unsure. Not here. Don't know where they went."Bellamy frowned, his hands still steady on my side. “What do you mean, they’re not there? Why aren’t they helping Raven?”“They’re gone,” I said, my throat tightening. “I only found Raven in the dropship. Everyone else… they are gone.”⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆Explaining everything to fellow adults took a toll, but I managed through the haze of pain. The militant leader, who I learned was named Kane from Bellamy, huddled with his squad to plan their next steps. They moved me onto a stretcher once they realized I was not a threat, but the guards stripped Bellamy, Finn, Drew, and Monroe of their weapons. Handcrafted spears, knives, even jagged scarps of metal. What caught me off guard, though, was how none of the kids flinched. Bellamy, who I would have expected to blow up at them, did not argue either.Strange.The guards took my weapons as well, but too focused on the agonizing ache radiating from my side, I let it slide."Dude, feel how heavy these swords are." I overheard one guard say to another as they passed mine and Tristan's swords to another, who almost dropped them."Jesus, how could they even use these?"...the slide had some bumps. Gods, I could only hope they did not lose my weapons.Abby examined me and confirmed that while the bullet had not hit anything vital, it had grazed me hard enough to likely fracture a rib somewhere. "A minor break," She said, her handles precise as she checked for damages, "but nothing fatal."I did not doubt her based on how sure her tone was, but I raised a brow, skeptical. "How do you know?"She met my look evenly. "I'm a surgeon."Oh. That's where Clarke got her expertise from. I lowered my gaze in brief respect, filing that information away before meeting her gaze once more. "Some advice: if you ever get captured by one of mine, mention that first—it will save your life. Surgeons are always in demand around here.”Knowing how likely that could be, a faint flicker of unease in her eyes told me she understood.Kane ordered Finn and Bellamy to carry the stretcher as we made out way back to the dropship, and I braced myself for either an awkward or rocky ride. Grabbing the handles by my boots, Bellamy's gaze flickered to my side, where my leather armor had been torn and dark with blood, but he quickly looked away."What?" I rasped, catching him mid-grimace."For once, you look worse than me."I raised a brow. "Only one of us has a battered face.""And the other with a hole in their side." He shot back, mouth twitching.I snorted softly, immediately regretting it as a pain shot through my ribs. My mind wandered as we moved through the plains away from the forest. Now that all of them were down here, it would be confusing to call all of them Invaders, and too long to call them descendants of traitors. That would also cause some problems. Sky kids and adults? Space people? No, that sounded ridiculous. Maybe..."Bell," I cut off my own train of thought."Mmh?""What was the name of your home up there?" I nodded vaguely toward the sky."The Ark?""The Ark," I repeated, mulling it over. "Ark-kru, then? Or, maybe just Arkers...""What are you on about?" He asked, tone curious more so than dismissive.Before I could explain, I heard Kane's voice through the murmur of conversation around us. "Anything more from Jaha?"Finn's voice behind me cut in. “Wait—Jaha, like Wells? You're in contact with him?”Abby and Kane turned to him, frowning in confusion. “How could we be in contact with Wells if he’s dead?” Abby asked.I blinked, the words not making sense. I turned to Bellamy, searching for confirmation. “Dead?” I repeated. “What are you talking about? He’s missing, not dead.”Kane narrowed his eyes. "Wells died shortly after landing.”“No, he's still alive.” I said firmly, glancing between Bellamy and Finn. "The guy missing two fingers, is he not Wells?"Bellamy’s jaw tightened, and I caught the flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. “He’s alive,” Bellamy confirmed after a beat. “We had to take off his bracelet early on. Monty was trying to figure out how to contact you guys, and Wells offered his.”I noted a wary glance from Finn towards Bellamy. What was that about? “Wherever Clarke is, I’m sure he’s with her,” I added.Abby’s expression wavered between disbelief and hope. “Wells is alive?” she said softly, the weight of it clear in her voice. “We all thought he was dead. It’s why…”Kane finished for her. “It’s why Thelonious stayed on the Ark.”While I did not know who this Thelonious was, Bellamy stayed quiet, his eyes fixed somewhere far away, and Finn shuffled uncomfortably, his thoughts clearly spinning. The silence stretched as we moved forward, the plains opening up into a clearing that led toward their camp. My mind churned with questions, but I tucked them away for now. Answers would come in time, and I had more pressing matters to focus on.Survival without Trikru.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆Exhaustion had caught up to me. Restless nights, scraps of food, the battle, and now the searing ache in my side—it all took its toll. My eyes kept drifting close with every sway of the stretcher in spite of the pain shooting through my ribs.Sleep came in shallow, fleeting moments, but I startled awake each time, instincts honed by survival making it impossible to stay under for long.Eventually, the movement stopped, and I blinked myself fully awake. Finn and Bellamy had put the stretcher down. I braced myself for their usual bickering as they took a break, but instead of their familiar voices or hands lifting the stretcher again, it was two unfamiliar guards.I frowned at the sudden change. "What's going on, where are we going?"“Inside the camp,” one of the guards answered.I said nothing in response. The throbbing in my ribs would not let me argue over who carried me. Shifting, I propped myself on my elbows, biting back a wince as the position pulled at my side. Now that the dust had settled, my eyes flickered around. There were more dead than I had originally saw when I first came back to camp after the dropship's launch.With two guards cuffing his wrists behind his back, Bellamy stood still, eyes lowered. If I were not half-delirious and sapped of energy, I would have caused a bigger scene at the sight. My gaze flickered down to—ugh, of course that roach of a human survived—Murphy, sprawled on the ground.In the middle of a conversation, Finn's raised voice trailed in. "You don't understand." He spoke to Kane. "Murphy murdered two of our people. He shot Raven. He tried to hang Bellamy!”“I don’t care,” The militant leader's stern voice responded. “You are not animals. There are rules. Laws." He turned to Bellamy. "You are not in control here anymore.”Glancing between the two, I allowed my filterless mouth to speak. "What kind of leader does not care? Rules and laws include attempted and successful murders, does it not?"Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Finn shoot me a desperate look and Bellamy shaking his head slightly.Kane cut through the quiet that followed. “The last I heard about your people, they were killing our kids without mercy,” he replied to me, striding closer, holding something metallic in his hand.The sheer audacity. "In the past month alone, your kids have killed hundreds, burnt down a village, destroyed a vital library, and kidnapped and tortured our scouts—all before Trikru could even attempt to make contact." I let my words hang in the air, watching as Kane tried and failed to form a response. I would not let him off that easy. "And right where you stand, they killed at least 300 Trikru warriors."His eyes flickered down to his ash-covered boots. Human ash."Do not act like you know what happened here on the ground." I spat. Out of the corner of my eye, Finn stood tense, and Bellamy, for whatever reason, kept his head lowered. As for Murphy—oh, how my blood boiled at the sight of his frog-looking ass—his eyes darted between his Commander and I, shoulders hunched. When our eyes locked, I hissed through my teeth, "Your people may show you mercy," My eyes flickered at his shoulder where I knew my knife had been buried, "but I will not miss next time."Looking away, the boy flinched, his hand covering his injured shoulder. Good.Energy waning, I leaned back against the stretcher. Silence filled the camp. For a moment, even I thought I had finished. But another bitter thought bubbled up, and I roughly pushed myself back up on my elbows, injuries be damned. The sudden motion made the guards holding my stretcher stumble a bit, but I did not care. "And another thing: Whose bright idea was it to send a bunch of imprisoned kids down here with no proper adult supervision? Who even imprisons kids for being born?!" I bit out, recalling Octavia's history. "Your ancestors were fools, no doubt, but clearly the apple planted itself at the base of the tree."Kane's face turned a deep shade of red, his mouth pressed in a thin line. I'm glad he had nothing to say—I'm sure it would have simply pissed me off further. Meanwhile, Finn gave a small, incredulous shake of his head, and I could see Bellamy's lips twitching from here.The moment did not last.Two guards emerged from the dropship, and my breath hitched when I saw who they were carrying.“Raven!” I shifted slightly to get a better look, but this time, the sharp pain forced a hiss from my lips and I collapsed once again, frustration burning in my chest as black dots spotted my peripheral. Finn ran up to her stretcher."It's a miracle she's still alive." Abby said, holding Finn back from overwhelming the mechanic too suddenly. "There's no one else in there. Let's get moving."And just like that, we were on the move again.Wait. Where were we going?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The first real silence I had known since the sky people fell. Not peace—I would not call it that—but quiet enough to notice the birds chirping and insects clicking in the underbrush. If not for those sounds, I might have thought an ambush waited ahead.But there was no ambush. No sign of anyone lurking. And yet, I felt exposed. The Arker guards were useless, eyes fixed on the treeline, oblivious to the canopy above or the shadows within bushes. The exception was Kane, who kept glancing back. His expression hovered between suspicion and calculation, though I guessed he was checking to make sure I did not tear his people apart. As if I could, in this state....I mean...Nah, actually, I'm pretty injured. Adrenaline had pushed my body to forget about the wounds from the battle, and while the arrow injury from Ankwon bridge had scabbed and been picked off already, twinges still caught my calf if I ran wrong.Part of me wondered if Kane had been the one who shot me. I should have been furious, but I could almost sympathize. He was scared, out of his depth, searching for his people.Then again, so was I, and I did not put a bullet in one of his kids. Yeah, screw Kane.Matter of fact, he looked like he was screwing himself over just fine. The man reeked of dread. Most likely, he was imagining the mess he’d face when he dragged me, a so-called “grounder,” into his camp. His people were displaced, resource-starved, and blindsided by a war they did not even know existed. If Clarke had struggled to hold her group together after bringing me back from the bridge, I could not imagine how it will be for Kane.The stretcher jolted, pulling a wince from me. Kane’s gaze lingered on me longer this time, as if weighing something. I ignored him, sinking back into the haze of exhaustion and pain. I had never been captured before, not even during the Trikru-Azgeda war, but now I was weak, alone, and without a home.Oh. Officially clanless."We're here," one of the guards interrupted my thoughts with an announcement. I could not help but be a little grateful for that. No time to spiral, now.Kane’s leadership tone snapped through the group. “Abby, take Raven, Finn, and Murphy to medical. Major Byrne, escort Bellamy to the holding cell.”"What?" Bellamy's protest overlapped with my own. I forced myself upright, the motion sending sharp pricks and needles throughout my ribs. I did not miss Bellamy freeze, his jaw tightening. I could see the resignation in his posture, but I would not sit and watch this farce play out.Abby pressed her hand to my shoulder, trying to push me back down. “Kova, stay still, or you’ll rip your wound open.”“Relax?” I hissed. “You’re not even going to treat Bellamy’s wounds first, and you want me to relax?” Movement caught the corner of my eye as Byrne stepped toward him. I pointed a finger toward her, hand shaking with the effort. “Stay away from him, or you'll have a bigger problem on your hands.”The Major stopped dead in her tracks, her head snapping toward me like I’d just grown a second head.Bellamy muttered something under his breath—too quiet for anyone but me to hear. Tense, he scolded. “Kova, don’t.”I ignored him, of course. Instead, my gaze shifted to Murphy, who looked all too smug despite the situation. "Why does he"—I spat Murphy’s name like a curse—“get to go to medical first? Finn already told you, he killed at least four of your kids, shot Raven, and tried to hang Bellamy! Why are you treating him like something worth saving?!"The group stilled.Oh. Did they not believe Finn?Even Murphy seemed momentarily thrown. It did not last. His lip curled as he barked back, “You grounder mutt, wait until I—”“Until you what?” I snapped, leaning forward on the stretcher as if I could will myself to my feet by rage alone. “Until you try to kill me again? Go ahead. Give me a reason to finish what I started!"Finn did not wait for a reason. His fist connected with Murphy’s jaw, the crack of bone on bone echoing through the forest.“Get his ass!” I yelled as Finn landed another hit.The guards panicked, lowering my stretcher to the ground in case they needed to jump in. Big mistake. I swung my legs over the side, forcing myself upright. My knees wobbled, but I stayed standing, moving closer to Bellamy with a hand firmly pressed against my side.Throwing wild punches and sending each other to the ground, Finn and Murphy continued their brawl until the guards wrestled them apart, tasers crackling. Byrne, however, had her sights set on Bellamy again. She shifted forward, steps measured but intent.This time, I did not bother with words.I calmly unbuckled my belt, sliding it free with a deliberate carefulness that made her pause. Wrapping the leather end around my knuckles once, I let the metal buckle dangle, tilting my head slightly as I looked her dead in the eyes.The message was clear.
I will beat the fuck out of you with this.
Byrne’s lips thinned, her eyes darting from my face to the belt.The fight behind us still had not finished; Finn and Murphy yelled insults at each other as the guards dragged them apart.“Enough!” Kane’s voice cut through all the noise.The guards froze, Byrne included. I did not drop my stance, though, staying between Bellamy and whoever thought they could take him.Pinching the bridge of his nose, Kane's sharp tone left no room for argument as he barked out orders. “Take the grounder and Bellamy to medical,” he said, his gaze flicking to me. “Keep them away from the others. And Major—put your weapon away.”Byrne did not move."Major." Kane's tone dropped slightly as he gave her a sharp look, his gaze flicking pointedly to the buckle in my hand. Byrne’s jaw clenched, but she stepped back, lowering her weapon.Satisfied, I followed and lowered the belt, unwrapping it from my knuckles. My movements felt sluggish, the adrenaline fading and exhaustion creeping back in. Slowly, I walked backward until I bumped into Bellamy, leaning against him more out of necessity than anything else."Still got it," I muttered, the smirk barely reaching my eyes as I glanced at him.Worry flickered across his face as he shifted slightly, bracing my weight. “You’re pushing it,” he said, his tone low and tight.Something about the way he said it made my hackles rise. My energy should have been sapped, but annoyance flared up instead, giving me enough fuel to straighten a bit. I jabbed a finger at his chest—not hard, but firm enough to make my point. “I do not know what is going on with you,” I hissed, keeping my voice low enough to avoid the guards overhearing. “But the Bellamy I know would not roll over for these assholes," hand low, I gestured subtly toward the guards and the adults. “The irritating ass Bellamy I know would have told Kane where to shove his orders.”Bellamy stiffened, his expression darkening. His eyes flicked to mine, sharp and searching, but he did not respond.“Seriously,” I pressed with a harsh whisper. “What is your problem?”Before he could answer, my sharp gaze flickered behind him. One of the guards held up a hand with a key. "Kane ordered to release him." Once the guard saw I had relaxed, they unlocked Bellamy's handcuffs. "Let's move. Now."Exhaling sharply, Bellamy's lips pressing into a thin line. Without a word, he looped an arm around my waist, tugging my good arm over his shoulder, steadying me steady as the guards started herding us toward the camp. I let him help, but I did not let it go. “This is not over."Without looking at me, his grip tightened.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆By the time we broke through the treeline, the sun prepared to set. Another ugly metal contraption sat in the valley between mountains, sun shining between its gaps. It curved to the right, the top hitting the side of the mountain not unlike a tree bent in half. A million thoughts ran through my head-was it stable? Would they have to take the curved part down before it fell? Would it even fall?As soon as we broke through the treeline and entered the Arker camp, excitement buzzed around the entrance, faces lighting up as the small crowd surged forward to see who had returned. These must have been the other survivors, the ones Tristan had named reinforcement.Then, they realized who Kane had brought.The crowd murmured with confusion, murmurs rippling as they took in the ragged group. Raven on one stretcher, pale and injured but alive; Finn close by, glaring at Murphy who had a swell alongside his jaw; Blood staining Bellamy's clothes, exhaustion carved into his features.And me.A few eyes locked on me, disbelief and anger rising from some in the crowd. Not just a stranger, but one of these grounders they must have heard about, one who harmed their kids. The heat of their stares crawled up my skin.“Is that a grounder?” one of them hissed, loud enough for others to pick up on.“How could you bring an enemy to camp?!”“Where are the rest of our kids? What happened to them?”It did not take long for a mob to form, much to Kane's obvious displeasure as he tried to assure his folks that he had things handled. The guards moved quickly, forming a protective circle at Kane's barked orders. A bottle sailed overhead, crashing somewhere behind us. A wave of curses and jeers followed, and another object flew past—something solid this time, a shoe? My instincts kicked in before I could stop myself, shoving Bellamy’s arm slightly to shift him out of its path. The effort sent a sharp ache through my ribs, but I swallowed it, refusing to show weakness here of all places.Grip tightening, Bellamy half guided, half dragged me forward. "Watch it.""Oh, I'm watching." I replied, voice low. "For people who pride themselves on being civilized or whatever, your Arker buddies sure know how to throw a tantrum."His jaw tightened, but he did not reply."Enough!" Addressing the crowd, Kane stepped forward, his voice cutting through the mob like a whip. He glared at them with all the authority he could muster. “Clear the way! Everyone to your stations—now!”The crowd hesitated, grumbling, but his tone left little room for argument. Slowly, they began to disperse, though their glares lingered on me like they were memorizing my face for later.“Keep it moving,” one of the guards barked.Bellamy tugged me along as the group trudged toward the medical tent. The mob might have cleared, but the tension did not fade. I could still feel the weight of their stares, hear their angry mutters fading into the background.I could not help but laugh bitterly, the sound low enough that only Bellamy heard it.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆“No broken bones as far as I can tell, seems like the bullet just grazed you in a sensitive spot,” Abby said, tucking in the last piece of gauze around my waist. Efficient, clinical, and detached, just how I liked my healers. I could see where Clarke got her mannerisms from. “There’s no shrapnel either, so you should be fine within a few weeks at most.”I hummed, the sound barely audible, both an acknowledgment and an attempt to convey gratitude. I kept my eyes closed, focusing on the steady rhythm of my breathing instead of the back of my hand where the IV was taped. I had never been afraid of needles, but the thought of it just sitting there under my skin made my throat tighten. Dehydrated and malnourished, the banana bag prevented the return of the black spots around my vision.“Your other wounds look fine, too,” Abby continued, pulling off her gloves with a snap. “Just make sure they’re kept clean, covered, and use the antibacterial ointment I’m giving you.” She paused, her gaze flicking over me briefly. “A little more to the right and I don't think would've had a similar outcome. You got lucky.”I shook my head, finally opening my eyes and looking to my right. Raven laid on her stomach a few feet away, her face half-buried in a pillow. Finn was perched on a stool by her side, looking like he was trying too hard not to hover. “I’d rather have given that luck to her.”Abby paused mid-motion, her hand hovering over the tray of instruments before passing them off to her assistant—Jackson, I remembered vaguely. He gave me a small nod before slipping out, leaving the room quietly. The movement revealed the dark clothes of a guard out in front of the infirmary. My heart sank. Bellamy was gone. After a hasty bandaging job, two guards had shown up to drag him off, despite my protests. Abby had not stopped them, either, and the way Finn refused to meet my eye made it clear none of us had been in any position to argue.“Let’s go check on her,” Abby said finally, pushing her chair toward Raven. “How are you feeling, Raven?” Abby’s voice softened slightly, but her gaze sharpened for assessment.“Awesome,” Raven bit out without any heat behind it, voice muffled by the pillow. One dark eye peeked out at me. “Hi Kova.”“Hey,” I greeted softly as Abby pressed a button, and the bed beneath me whirred and shifted, tilting me upright into a chair. Fancy tech. For a second, I almost forgot the IV was there, but I reached out with my free hand, taking Raven’s clammy one in mine. She gripped back harder than I expected, her knuckles turning white. I did not flinch, keeping my face neutral even as her nails bit into my skin. “Do not lie to the doc,” I said quietly.“I… You’re right.” Raven’s gaze flickered between me and Abby, her jaw tightening before she let out a sharp breath. “Just spit it out, Abby. What’s going on with me?”Abby hesitated, her lips pressing together before she finally spoke. “The bullet is still shifting."Raven frowned, and I could feel my own stomach twist at the implications.“That’s why you’re in so much pain,” Abby explained, her gaze softening slightly but not losing its professional edge. “I was hoping it would stabilize, but…”Raven’s breathing hitched. Her entire body seemed to tense, her hand gripping mine even tighter. I shifted in my chair but stayed quiet.“So why don’t you take it out?" She asked.Abby glanced at her hands before meeting Raven’s gaze. “It’s stuck in your spine. That’s why you can’t feel your legs. If we leave it in, you’ll live. But you’ll never walk again.”The air grew heavier, pressing down on all of us.“And if you take it out?” Raven’s voice wavered, though her eyes were sharp, drilling into Abby’s.“The surgery could kill you,” Abby admitted, her tone more somber now. “We don’t have the equipment. No proper tools, no anesthesia—”Raven’s breath hitched again, and I leaned forward instinctively, my grip on her hand tightening. Abby’s words blurred, and for a moment, the room felt too small.“Will I walk again?” Raven’s voice cut through the haze, quiet but firm.“Maybe,” Abby said after a pause. “But you’ll be awake the entire time. You’ll feel everything.”The ultimatum hung in the air like a noose. Pain and survival on one side, pain and uncertainty on the other.Raven was quiet for a long time, her expression unreadable as her breathing steadied. But I could see the weight of the choice settling in her shoulders. I could only imagine what was running through her head—but, she took a deep, shaking breath and finally spoke, her voice quiet but unwavering.“Sign me up.”⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆Raven had thankfully passed out about a third of the way through the surgery, screaming nearly the entire time. It was the only mercy any of us could ask for. Tiny, and almost innocent, the bullet laid in Abby's disposal dish. It did not take long for the medication to ebb off. While Abby and Jackson spoke to the side, Raven began to stir. My IV had already been taken out, so I got up from my chair as Finn called for the Arker doctors and picked up a tongue depressor nearby."Raven, you alright? Can you hear me?" Putting a hand on her shoulder, I leaned in so she could see my face. By the time I got a nod and an affirming groan, Abby and the others reached her side. I moved towards Raven's legs, running the stick in my hand up her right foot and calf. Her toes twitched. "Did you feel that?""Yeah," She confirmed.Abby and Jackson's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know to do that?"My eyes flickered between the two of them. "What, the nerve damage test? I work with amputations and limb designs, this is related.""...a prosthetist?" Abby repeated, intrigued as though not expecting me to be familiar with something so... technical.I nodded, moving the depressor up the sole of Raven's left foot. Not even a twitch.Dammit."Did you feel anything, just now?" I asked, keeping my voice steady.“...Feel what?” Raven’s voice was shaky, her fear bleeding through despite her best efforts to stay calm.“It’s okay,” I said gently. “Just tell me when you feel something, all right?”I tried again. Still nothing.“Try it again,” Finn snapped from Raven’s side, standing suddenly as if his presence alone could change the outcome.“Finn, stop,” Raven said softly, her tone enough to make him freeze. She turned her hand in his, holding on tight. It was hard to tell who was gripping harder.I kept dragging the stick upward. It was not until I reached the top of her knee that she finally drew in a sharp breath.“There,” she said, her voice trembling.Everyone except Raven exhaled in relief.“What? What’s going on?” she asked, her eyes darting between us.I moved closer so she could see me clearly. “Raven, there’s damage to the nerves in your left leg. You can only feel up to the top of your knee.”Her voice cracked, although I could not tell if it were from dehydration or a lump in her throat. "Will it get better?"Hesitating for just a second, I took a moment to collect my words. "Maybe, but I will not make promises. It is too early to tell--your back and spine are still swollen, and so are the nerves. Once the swelling goes down, we will test again and see how it goes.""So, it might have all been for nothing?" The first tear slipped down her temple. Finn wiped it as he stepped in close. We both said no.Squeezing her hand, I continued, "You have full control of your right foot and half of your left side." I emphasized. "In the meantime, I can build something for you—a slip-on prosthetic to help you move. But for now, you’ll need crutches until I can make it.”“You’re alive,” Abby said from her other side. “And you’re not in pain anymore.”“But half my leg doesn’t work,” Raven whispered, tears falling freely now.Suddenly, Jackson entered and crossed the room in record time, whispering in Abby's ear. Before anyone could ask, the sound of boots against the floor caught my attention. I did not need to look up to know who it was.“You, grounder.” Byrne’s voice cut through the tension in the room like a blade. She strode in, her gaze fixed on me as two guards trailed behind her.I turned slowly, standing to face her. “Arker.”Her hand hovered near her baton—not drawing it, just a subtle reminder of her authority. “Come with me."“Why?” Abby stepped forward, frowning.“Kane has questions for them,” Byrne said, glancing at Abby briefly before focusing back on me.I turned to Raven, squeezing her hand one last time. “I have to go,” I said softly. “Abby will take care of you.”Raven held my hand for as long as she could, but eventually, Finn had to lowered her arms. Byrne’s gaze did not waver as I approached. “Let’s make this easy.” she said, stepping aside to let the guards flank me....huh. No handcuffs? Pausing for a moment, I wondered if I should ask, be a little more suspicious. What if they used that against me, claimed I broke out of them to escape?Yet, I did not necessarily feel hostility from her, nor the guards. I can respect that. I nodded.Byrne turned sharply and started walking, her boots echoing down the corridor. I followed without a word, the tension in the air enough to keep everyone silent.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆The stories Octavia and the others told me about the "Box" painted a clear enough picture. Juvenile prison was not exactly the right word for it—hell, it was just a cage in orbit. One small crime before you hit eighteen years of age, and you spend the rest of your life in a oxygen-deprived, cold, dark cell. I had pieced together more of the Ark life over time with the testimonies of the other teenagers. The social hierarchies, the scarce resources, the constant surveillance. In some ways, it was not so different from Trikru’s politics. But to be completely confined to one place. Colder. Harsher. If survival meant locking up your own children and depriving them of oxygen, what did that say about the rest of them?Byrne led the way down a narrow hall as her guards flanked me, silent and stern. My hands were cuffed, but I still held my head high. A lot of people assumed I could not bite unless I barked first. They were wrong.Ow. For the second time already, the toe of my boot caught the edge of the floor. Why were there so many panels? I looked down as the corridor tilted slightly. Trap doors? No, there's too many of them to make sense—Ohhh. They are actual doors. The Ark's crash had not just cracked this section of the ship, it had crushed the spaces people once lived in. Also... gravity, I guess? I will not act as though I completely understood life in space. I studied the floor beneath my feet, imagining what it was like to grow up in a place like this. Space. No sky, no wind, nor trees or dirt. Just metal walls and artificial gravity that probably did not feel quite right.Ugh.We reached the door to the interrogation room. Byrne entered first, her expression as blank as ever, but her eyes were sharp. She did not trust me. Fair enough. I did not trust her either.By second nature, my eyes hit every corner of the room before I even stepped inside. In the far-right, I caught Bellamy in the dark corner, cuffed to a chair. At least his raw wrists had been bandaged by Abby, the friction should not make things worse. "Bell?"His head shot up, and I caught the flash of relief in his eyes. “Kova—”"This has to be a cruel joke." I turned to Byrne, pushing down the heat rising in my chest. "For what reason is he locked up in here?""Protocol." Byrne clipped, her eyes narrowing. "He's none of your concern.""He's all of my concern." I scoffed, stepping closer despite the guards flanking her. “You shoved him into a freezing room like a criminal. This is how you treat your own people?”She did not flinch, not even blink. “He’s alive, isn’t he?”"Because of me." I seethed through gritted teeth.The door opened again, spilling light into the room. Kane strode in, his jaw set tight. Byrne immediately straightened to attention. “What is this?” Kane’s voice was low and even, but it carried authority. He glared at Byrne. “I told you to keep things civil.”"It has been, up to now." The major motioned for the guards to follow her at as Kane stepped aside for them. I did not miss the way her eyes lingered on me before she left, a warning in her gaze.As the door closed behind them, I gingerly lowered myself down onto the chair, my back toward Bellamy and eyes on the door. Whatever pain killers Abby had given me, they did their job for the most part. Kane dragged the other one closer and sat down across from me.“I have questions,” he said simply."I can only give you some answers." I responded."Full name, age, and where are you from?""Kova, of Olisia and Rumi. Twenty-five. Born to Trikru."“Do you know where the kids went?” Kane asked.“No.”The simplicity of my answer did not satisfy him, judging by the furrow of his brow.“How do you know English?”Lips pressed into a thin line, my eyes widened for a fraction of a moment before looking to the side, repressing a snort. The sheer absurdity of Kane’s comment had managed to slip past my usually ironclad composure. “Dumb question.”Nose flaring, Kane clearly did not like that answer.“It has only been a hundred years since the Forsakening,” I explained, letting the words come out slow and deliberate, laced with faint annoyance. “Why would we not speak English? Do you think language just evaporates or evolves overnight?”Expression rigid, I could see the gears turning behind Kane's eyes. He, very obviously, did not like any of my answers to his questions, although he could not argue with it either. He pressed on, trying different angles, probing for cracks in my armor. Some of his questions about my clan were blunt, others veiled in forced politeness. I answered none of them. Kane was not stupid; he had to know I would not give him anything useful. But that did not stop him from trying.Then he shifted his approach. “Bellamy, Raven, and Finn all confirmed that you wouldn’t betray us to Trikru,” he said, pausing briefly. “So did Monroe and Drew.”Maybe I should not have been surprised by that. Still, it made my heart a little warm, in spite of the current development.Kane leaned forward, his eyes boring into mine. “I need you to prove it.”I tilted my head, my lips pulling into a wry smile. “Saving your kids was not enough?” My words came out sharper than I intended, but I did not care. I leaned back in my chair. “I'll simplify it for you. My loyalties are with my brother, and by extension, Octavia, and by further extension, Bellamy."The leader's eyes narrowed, not in malice but confusion."Something else you were not aware of on the ground." I jutted my head to the left, where Bellamy sat bound and silent behind me. "We are in-laws now.""You said it wasn't marriage." Bellamy's voice came from behind, his gaze burning into my neck."It is not marriage." I did not turn around. But to Kane, I mouthed, It kind of is.Kane’s lips thinned into a flat, grim line. He sat back in his chair, letting the silence stretch between us before he spoke again with a new topic. “What do you know about crucifixion? What does it mean to your clan?”Now that was a very specific question with real shitty implications. “It’s a means of torture, a warning." I straightened slightly. "War is coming.”The room went silent, save for the faint rattle of Bellamy shifting against his chains. Kane did not flinch, but I could see the flicker of unease in his eyes. Whatever he had hoped to gain from this conversation, I doubted he was prepared for the truth staring back at him.Kane left not too long after our interview. According to Bellamy, Murphy had been put in an isolated cell "just in case" something happened. The first smart decision I had heard all day.“How are you holding up?” Bellamy’s voice cut through the quiet, dry and gravelly.Scooting my chair slightly, I turned toward him, a small smile tugging at the corner of my lips despite the heaviness hanging in the air. “I’m doing alright,” I said, though my voice cracked on the last word. It had been a few hours since we were last given water. “A little worn out, but nothing I cannot handle.” I hesitated for a moment, shifting in my seat. “And you? Last time I saw you, your face was a mess, but I cannot see you well from here. Did they at least help?”The question hung between us, and for a second, I thought he would not answer. Then, I caught the faintest twitch of his lips, a flicker of something warm in his tired expression. “Yeah,” he said, his voice softening. “Thanks to you convincing them, my face is doing fine.”A small laugh escaped me, more of a huff, really, but it eased something tight in my chest. Good. At least those assholes had not let him rot completely.Before I could say anything else, the sharp clank of the door opening shattered the moment. My head snapped up just as Finn walked in, Monroe lingering behind him by the entrance, keeping watch.“Get up,” Finn ordered brusquely, striding past me to where Bellamy sat. He did not waste any time cutting him loose, the metal cuffs clattering to the floor. “We’re going after them.”“It’s about time,” Bellamy muttered, rubbing at his raw wrists before taking the cutters from Finn. Moving past him, he walked up to me and crouched down, his dark eyes searching mine. “Ready to go?”“No.” The word slipped out before I could think better of it. His brow furrowed, and I pressed on, my tone firm. “You need to leave me here.”His confusion was almost tangible. “Kova—?”“If I go, it will be worse,” I said, cutting him off. “I will look suspicious, and I need Kane to trust me right now. Sneaking out will do the opposite. You all need to leave without me.” Eyes glancing down at my lap, then back to his, I added, "With these injuries, I would only slow you down."For a moment, his gaze held mine, his jaw tightening like he was about to argue. But then he saw it—the resolve burning in my eyes, the stubborn determination I would not back down from. Slowly, he nodded, placing a hand on my leg as he stood, squeezing in understanding.“We’ll be back soon,” he said, his voice steady, like a promise.I gave him a small, tired smile, nodding in return. I trusted him—I had to. “Go find our friends and siblings,” I said quietly.Bellamy stood and took one last look at me before heading for the door. Finn followed without a word, and the sound of the door clanging shut behind them left me alone with the faint hum of the ship.I let out a slow breath, leaning back in my chair. My part in this was not over—it was just beginning.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
I learned fairly quickly that incompetence seemed to be a common trait among the Arkers. Way out of their depth, here. It had taken them about an hour to realize they had people missing, which, to my surprise and dismay, was actually faster than what I would have placed bets on. Kane and Byrne had been furious with their guards, scolding them for either falling asleep on duty or stepping away from their posts. I couldn't help but laugh quietly in the cold, dark, and empty room I was kept in.When they finally turned their attention to me, I played it cool, leaning back against the chair like I had all the time in the world. “I must’ve knocked out after the last few days,” I said, feigning exhaustion. “They probably left while I was out cold.”If I had a book of all my lies, this one would be filed under lazy and laughable. Without a doubt, the most half-baked, pathetic excuse I’d ever come up with. Yet, it worked. Kane and Byrne bought it, probably assuming those boys wouldn’t want to hang around a “grounder” while trying to find their friends.Later on, in the middle of an interrogation, Kane leaned against the table, his expression as stern as ever. “You’ve been running with them for weeks. You must know where Bellamy’s gone.”"I do not." I replied evenly, the chain of the handcuff around my wrist clinking as I shifted against the pole I was tethered to.“You’re lying,” he said flatly.“I am not.”Kane watched me for a long moment, the weariness behind his eyes making it clear he was running out of patience. He opened his mouth, but before he could press me further, the door creaked open, and a guard stepped inside, walking briskly toward him. They leaned in, whispering something I couldn’t make out. Kane frowned, straightened up, and glanced back at me. “This isn’t over,” he said, before following the guard out of the room.The heavy metal door shut behind him with a clang, leaving me alone again. My wrist ached where the cuff secured me to the pole beside the chair, but I resisted the urge to tug at it, the skin already irritated.My head tilted slightly as faint sounds from the hallway reached my ears—footsteps, muffled voices, a scrape of something heavy. Then the door burst open, slamming hard against the wall.Two guards entered, dragging someone between them. The man’s clothes were torn, his face streaked with dirt and blood. A tattoo on his neck marked him as Trikru, but I did not know him. He thrashed violently, his boots kicking against the floor, until his eyes locked on me.“Traitor,” he spat, his voice sharp with venom.Ah, but he knew me.His struggle intensified as he lunged toward me, but the guards held him back, grunting with effort.“What’s that about?” one of the guards muttered, glancing between me and the Trikru warrior.The other smirked. “Looks like he’s got a problem with this one.” They jabbed a thumb in my direction. “Think we should let him loose? Could be fun to watch.”Something else to tell Kane. Were all Arkers this bloodthirsty?“Don’t bother,” I said coolly, never taking my eyes off of the built man. “He knows better.”His nostrils flared, his jaw clenched tight.The first guard raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? What makes you so sure?”“Because he knows exactly who I am.”Thrashing less, the warrior's silence was answer enough. The guards exchanged a glance, then rolled their eyes.“Boring,” one muttered, shoving his prisoner toward the far side of the room. They cuffed his hands behind his back and secured him to another pole before stepping back to admire their work.“Enjoy your stay,” the second guard sneered before the pair exited, leaving the room in silence once again.Glaring at me from across the room, the Trikru warrior's breathing came heavy.Gods, just get it over with. After a moment of a staring contest, I said, "Go ahead."“I should kill you where you sit,” he hissed, his voice low and trembling with rage. “You betrayed us. Sided with the descendants of the traitors. And now—”And now, acting mode. The remainder of his words tuned out as I leaned forward, my cuffed hand smacking the pole and cutting him off. "Sided with these descendants?!" Seething, I interrupted with feign shock and rage. "I had been kidnapped during my scout mission and Trikru deemed me expendable. I am Kova kom Trikru, the Elephant of Caocin, the downfall of Azgeda. I have never betrayed my people." As though calming myself down, I pressed my back against the support of the chair, lowering my head. "Our clan needed a scapegoat, and they chose me." I met his gaze head-on. "I am not your enemy. Not unless you make me one."For a long moment, he said nothing, his eyes searching mine. Then he let out a slow breath, his shoulders relaxing ever so slightly. “Only one chance to prove that,” he muttered.“That is all I need,” I replied, meeting his gaze evenly.The room fell silent, the tension easing but not entirely gone.Still got it.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆Shoulders squared and tensed, the warrior—who introduced himself as Rivo—sat still, even as the blood on his temple dripped down his face. His defiance, neither brave nor foolish, became clear enough when he remained silent throughout all of Kane and Major Byrne's questions. I kept my head tilted low and away, feigning disinterest, but my eyes tracked every movement in the room.Predator stalking prey, Major Byrne paced in a tight cycle around him. She stopped abruptly in front of him, boots scuffing against the floor. "Answer the question," she demanded.No words passed his lips.She drew her gun. Pointed it directly at his face, close enough that he could probably see the groves in the barrel. "Answer the question!" Her yell echoed off the metal walls.My eyes widened ever so slightly, but him? Not one flinch. Rivo's eyes locked onto the barrel, unblinking.Kane flicked his sharp gaze toward her. "Holster that weapon." He ordered.Byrne did not move. Stubborn. Her grip on the gun tightened, and she took half a step closer to Rivo. "Those men you killed were my men," she spat, her voice trembling with restrained fury.I did not dare breathe too loudly. Kane must have felt the tension too. Standing abruptly, his chair scraped against the floor with a screech. "I said, stand down." He barked, posture rigid.Eyes flicking between them, I straightened slightly in my chair. Byrne's finger lingered on the trigger, her knuckles white, but her focus wavered. Rivo hadn't moved an inch. A standoff, one neither wanted to lose."Now!" Kane snapped, leaving no room for argument.Shifting her gaze to Kane, Byrne broke first, her jaw tightening as she hesitated for a breath, then let out a sharp exhale, holstering her weapon."Good." Kane stepped closer, voice dropping low as he said, "Now get some air. That's an order."Byrne stiffened, but did not argue. struck the floor hard as she marched out of the room, shoulders tense with barely contained rage. My eyes followed her as she left, my gaze lingering on the back of her head until the heavy door clanged shut behind her.Silence filled the room.Kane exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand down his face as he turned his attention back to Rivo. He shook his head, muttering under his breath as he began pacing the small space, his boots making a rhythmic tap against the floor.“We can’t keep this up and hope to survive,” he said, more to himself than anyone else. He stopped at the edge of the table, his hand resting on the surface as he stared at Rivo. His tone softened, though frustration still seeped through. “There’s gotta be a better way.”Kane sat heavily in the chair, his shoulders sagging with the weight of it all. I stayed quiet, keeping my expression neutral. But I watched.I always watched.The air had turned stale not too long after Kane had left. The steady drip of water echoed through the cramped space, punctuating the silence with an unrelenting rhythm. Rivo sat bound and furious, his dark eyes burning with the kind of rage that did not extinguish easily.I studied him from where I was chained, keeping my expression neutral, almost unbothered, but I grew bored out of my mind. After all the blood I spilled to survive, here I was, on the opposite side of a line I hadn’t drawn but would gladly exploit.Rivo was glaring at me again, daring me to speak, daring me to slip up.“You’re wasting your energy,” I said at last, my tone flat. “I’m not the enemy.”“You are,” he snapped, his voice low and venomous.“If that is what you need to tell yourself, fine." I gritted out. "But while you sit here deciding how many more insults to hurl at me, Trikru is out there, waiting for you to bring them a victory. Unless you plan to die here?”His jaw clenched so hard I thought his teeth might shatter. “Don’t act like you care what happens to me.”“I do not,” I admitted, meeting his glare without flinching. “But I care about not dying in this place. And I know how to make sure we both walk out of here alive.”Rivo’s eyes narrowed. “What are you playing at?”I let the faintest flicker of frustration show, a calculated crack in my mask. “We need to make sure the Commander knows exactly what these Arkers are planning.”He snorted, the sound harsh. “And why would I trust you to do that?”“Because you do not have to trust me,” I said bluntly. “You just have to believe that I want the same thing you do: to see this land returned as Trikru's territory, to see this pathetic little society of theirs crumble.”His brow furrowed, doubt warring with the simmering anger in his eyes.I leaned closer, lowering my voice as though the walls themselves might be listening. “If we convince Kane to meet with the Commander, she will make sure he never returns. Without him, this weak, scattered group will fall apart. Their guards? Laughable. Their unity? Nonexistent. All it takes is one perfect strike to shatter them.”Lips pressed into a thin line, the gears in Rivo's head turned. “What makes you think Kane would agree to that?”"You heard him." I glanced at the door. "Their leader is desperate. He wants peace badly enough to walk right into the Commander’s hands if we frame it as a negotiation. We play to his weakness, and the Commander adds a new head to her wall.”He did not respond immediately, his eyes boring into mine as though searching for the lie buried in my words. Let him look. I’d made sure there was none to find—at least not on the surface.“And what do you gain from this?” he asked finally, suspicion lacing his tone."Freedom." I let a small smirk show. "A chance to get out of here, to find my brother in the mountains. You can lead Kane to the Commander, become a hero who lured their leader into her grasp. Win-win.”Rivo exhaled through his nose, the sound heavy with reluctance. “Will she believe I worked with you?”“She will care more for the results,” I said simply. “Tell her you planned it all. I do not care."For a long moment, he did not speak, the silence stretching taut between us. Then he nodded, just once, his shoulders relaxing ever so slightly. “One chance,” he said, echoing his earlier words. “If this goes wrong—”“It will not,” I interrupted, letting a glimmer of satisfaction slip into my tone.And just like that, the first piece of my plan slid into place.Linkocha would be proud.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆The sound of boots echoed down the hallway. Without a doubt, Kane's. I straightened slightly, not enough to draw attention, but enough to signal readiness. Across from me, Rivo sat tense, his jaw set in a grim line. His eyes flicked to the door, then back to the floor, burying whatever storm churned inside him.A muffled beep and the metal door swished open, Kane stepping inside. His gaze swept the room, landing first on Rivo, then on me, scrutinizing, assessing.He did not waste time with pleasantries.“We need a way forward,” Calm, but resolute, I could hear he was at his wits end. He met Rivo's eyes. “And you’re going to help me find it.”The warrior stiffened, his hands twitching against the restraints. His silence dragged out, thick and heavy. Finally, Rivo spoke, “You want peace?”Kane’s eyes narrowed, cautious but attentive. “That’s the goal.”Exhaling harshly, Rivo said, "I will bring you to our Commander. Bring your guards, bring your weapons—whatever helps you sleep at night. But she won’t entertain talk from anyone except you. You can negotiate with her.”The room fell silent again, the weight of Rivo’s words hanging in the air. Kane studied him for a long moment, then turned his attention to me, his eyes sharp, probing.“And you?” he asked. “Do you have a counteroffer?”I shook my head slowly, keeping my expression neutral. “No. But I can give you information you will find useful—if you let me out of this cell.”Kane’s jaw tightened. “What kind of information?”“The kind you do not have from anyone else,” I said evenly. “You want to understand how Trikru moves, how we think? I can help you, but not from here. I want sunlight and fresh air.”A brief hesitation, I almost thought he would deny me. But as the silence grew, so did my hidden confidence. Kane knew he did not have many options, and whatever doubts he had, he’d have to set them aside. “Fine,” he said at last, the word clipped. “But if either of you try anything—”“I know,” I interrupted, my tone flat. “You will kill us. Heard it all before.”Rivo made a low noise in his throat, but he did not deny my words.Kane’s gaze lingered on me a moment longer, searching for any sign of deceit. Finding none, he nodded once and turned back to Rivo. “I’ll consider your offer,” Kane said, his tone edged with warning. “And if I agree, you’d better follow through.”Rivo’s lips curled into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “I do not break promises.”Kane did not respond. He gave one final glance between the two of us before stepping out, the door closing behind him with a muted thud. As soon as he was gone, I let out a quiet exhale, though I did not let myself relax completely.Across from me, Rivo’s dark eyes bore into mine. “If this falls apart,” he said, his voice low, “it won’t be the Commander who kills you. It’ll be me.”I met his glare evenly. “If it falls apart, you will have bigger problems than me.”⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆After a brief ten minutes of standing in the sun outside, Kane brought me back to the prison room. Not permanently, but he left briefly to finalize arrangements, leaving me to stew alone in this freezing, dimly lit cell. Rivo had been taken away to be prepped for travel, and I grew restless. When Kane returned, he carried a pile of clothes, with Byrne and another guard tailing him. Obedient shadows.To my surprise, Byrne unlocked the cuffs that restrained me to the pillar of the prison. I stood from the chair with a quiet groan, stretching my back and cracking a few joints before making my way to the table, where Kane awaited. The Chancellor—which I learned the Arkers call their leader from the not-so-quiet fight between Abby and Kane—set the clothes down on the table between us. I glanced at the pile, then up at him. "And here I thought you were getting creative," I said dryly. "Trying to make me look like one of your people?""No," he said curtly. "These are practical, not political. Put them on."Looking down at my own well made, thick clothing, I crossed my arms, letting silence stretch between us for a moment. “Practical for you maybe." To put it politely. "You will not let me walk without a guard, I'm assuming?”Kane raised a brow. “Would you, in my position?”Fair point. I knew damn well that Kane wouldn’t let me roam freely without supervision—not because he cared about protecting me from the angry mob of Ark survivors outside, but because he did not trust me. It wasn’t personal. Clarke and Bellamy hadn’t trusted me at first either. The difference was that they eventually 'loosened the leash,' so to speak, letting me prove myself. Kane? That would take longer, if it ever happened.Keeping my tone casual, I raised my hands and lowered my gaze. "Just saying, Clarke and Bellamy did not have a guard around when I was helping them survive. We did just fine.”“This isn’t about survival,” Kane replied, his voice calm but firm. “This is about maintaining order. The guard is non-negotiable.”“Of course it is." I complied, glancing down at the clothes. Thin, plain, and functional, exactly what I would have expected from the Arkers. No use arguing further. “Fine. I’ll take your babysitter, but not your clothes.”“Deal.” Kane moved toward the door, pausing briefly. “How long did you say the travel would take?”Oh, right. My plan. I wasn’t surprised he was following through on it. After all, I had suggested it for a reason. Kane going to Polis was a win-win for me. Either he’d walk straight into a trap—through Rivo, the Commander, or both—or he’d somehow make it out with or without a truce. Time wasted or beneficial for him, opportunities for me. Either way, it worked.“Depending on weather and other circumstances, three weeks at most, two if you are fast enough,” I replied smoothly. “And do not forget, talk to the Commander directly—do not waste time with her advisors or the council. The Commander knows more languages than your entire camp combined, so no excuses. Make sure you are both on the same page.”Byrne, who’d been quiet up until now, finally spoke up. “Sir, are you sure this is a good idea? Relying on someone like them—”Kane cut her off with a raised hand. “It’s fine. We’re going.” He turned to her. “I’ll see you when I return. Keep it safe here.”Byrne did not look convinced, but she nodded reluctantly. “Yes, sir.”With that, the Chancellor left, soldiers trailing behind him like loyal dogs except for one.The second he was gone, Byrne’s expression hardened. Her brows knitted together, and her eyes bored into mine like she was trying to read my every thought. “While the Chancellor is gone, you’ll be followed 24/7 by your guard. You’ll report to me every three hours, and you are not to leave camp. Is that clear?”“Crystal,” I said with a mock salute. “Anything else?”She pushed the pile of clothes toward me with more force than necessary. “Put on the clothes,” An icy order. “Or don’t. Either way, it won’t change your situation.” With a sharp glance at Jehan, she turned and walked out, her boots clicking sharply against the floor.“Like hell I will,” I muttered, dropping the clothes and kicking them under the table. My eyes flicked to the guard, who stood stiff as a board, staring straight ahead like he hadn’t noticed a thing. “Name?”“Jehan,” he answered, his tone flat and steady.“Mmh. You sound older than I expected. What are you, late thirties?”He did not respond.I sighed. “Gods, don’t tell me you’re the quiet type.”Silence.“Fantastic,” I said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Well, I’m Kova, as you already know. Anything you want to get out in the open now?”Nothing.A bitter chuckle escaped me as I turned toward the door, motioning for him to follow. “Great. Off to a wonderful start. Let us walk around, see what your people think of me.”⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆Meanwhile, in the forest by the river Styx...“If you’re gonna kill me, just get it over with.”Hungry, irritated, and still recovering from the poison, Octavia was exhausted. Lincoln had been kidnapped twice, and Octavia failed twice to bring him back to her.To her surprise, Nyko, who she had originally used as hostage, held a hand out for her. "You have proved yourself well, Octavia of the Sky People. We will let you live."Raising her head, she took his hand without word, allowing him to help lift her up. She glanced around. From here, she had no idea what to do. Follow the Reapers?When her gaze met Indra, who she learned was the chief of the village, the older woman gave her a nod of... acknowledgement? Or thanks, for having her back when she had fallen under a Reaper's weapon. Octavia couldn't tell. Oblivious to where Octavia's head was at, Nyko continued. "Lincoln was a good man. He was my brother." Glancing at the Chief, Nyko lowered his tone. "I do not know where his sibling is, but those two are notorious for finding one another again."Little did he know.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Hello everyone!" Sinclair knocked into the electric wires with a rod, startling everyone on camp with the popping noises. “Just wanted to let you guys know, the fence is now hot!" Sinclair announced to the camp with a smug broad smile. “Trust me, you do not want to go near it." Once everyone nodded, he passed the rod to one of the guards. “Sir,” The guard spoke, walking alongside Sinclair. “Raven Reyes is waiting for you in the job center.”Her name caught his attention quickly. His smile turned into a parted mouth, slightly shocked. He pulled himself out of it and patted the guard’s back. He thanked him before heading over to the job center tent. ‘The last time I saw her was when I caught her taking tools from the communal toolbin.’ He shook his head, a slight smile forming from the memory. ‘I should’ve known she was up to something back then, but fixing up a few centuries old ship? How could I have possibly known? But then again, even if I did, I wouldn’t have been able to stop her.’Man, he remembered how terrified he was when he found out Raven had fixed up that old junk of a space ship and hurled herself to Earth. Of course, this fear was also mixed with pride. How could he not be proud of her when she managed to use something that hadn’t been in use in centuries? But he was more worried of the worst case scenarios, like dying or getting lost in space. He ended up distancing himself from Abby, who was the reason Raven did this in the first place.“Reyes? You in here?” He called for her in the tent.The young woman turned around, her ponytail flicking along with the movement. Raven was a lot paler than what he remembered, with sunken eyes and a little too skinny for his comfort, but she still had a small smile on her face. “Yes, sir!”“There you are.” Sinclair grinned widely but it faltered when he caught sight of the crutches by her sides. He enveloped her into his arms, taking care of the crutches. “I heard Dr. Griffin cleared you for work.” He felt her nod against his chest. “How’s your leg?”Raven cleared her throat, her eyes flickering off to the side. Painful , she wanted to say. Her back still ached terribly from the surgery and her leg was still adjusting to the nerve damage. But there’s no way she could talk about it. Not even to Sinclair. “It’s not a factor.” She pulled away from the hug, her smile faltering. “What’s the job, chief?”“Great!” He clapped his hand on her arm lightly. Of course Sinclair didn’t buy it, but knowing Raven she most likely just wanted to get back into work and clear up her head. “We need a radio beacon so we can contact the other Ark stations that landed. Think you can do that?”“I’m on it, I got it.”“Then let’s get you to engineering and start.”“Roger that.” She said as she fidgeted with her crutches. Raven tried adjusting them so they wouldn’t pinch at her underarms, but they weren’t working with her. Her jaw clenched and her eyebrows furrowed until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She moved back while Sinclair reached down and help her adjust. “Thanks Sinclair.” She muttered quietly before hastily leaving the tent first.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆With little to no allies in this camp, it took me longer than I would like to admit to find anyone familiar. But I had been met with unhappy faces and unkinder words. The Ark had changed since I entered as a medical patient and prisoner a few days ago, but its remains stood tall and stark against the surrounding mountains. New structures rose from the contraption's remains—new structures rising, others patched together like healed scabs. The skeletal frame of a halfway beacon caught my eye. My wounds—both from battle and (presumably) Kane—slowed my steps, but I eventually arrived. Jehan followed silently at my backA dull ache pulsed from my side, more persistent today than yesterday. My steps felt heavier, slower, and though the mountain air had turned cooler with the autumn solstice, I couldn’t shake the faint warmth that lingered under my skin. Nothing I couldn’t push through.A few paces from the beacon, I paused. Raven stood with an older man, scribbling notes as the two spoke in low tones. My lips quirked in a small smile as I watched her—focused, determined, entirely in her element.“What if we change the tone frequency to 400 hertz?” she suggested.With a shake of his head, the man responded, "That'll increase the radiated modulation depth, but atmospheric noise will screw us."Behind me, the whispers began. Mutters from Arkers standing nearby, their words indistinct but sharp enough to sting. I kept my expression neutral, though my eyes narrowed slightly. Let them talk. It wasn’t the first time, and it wouldn’t be the last. For once, I hoped they were whispering about me, not Raven. With how cruel they have proven themselves to be, it would not surprise me if they were like Sangedakru, a clan that was known to throw away babies with disabilities into the dead zone of the desert.“So the signal’s fainter,” Raven argued, oblivious to the tension around her. “At least they’ll know we’re out here.”Good. She hasn’t noticed. Sinclair opened his mouth to respond, but I stepped forward, letting my voice cut through the air.“Signals and atmospheric noise?” I called out with a grin. “Even my generation didn’t bother building radio towers. It’s hopeless.”Raven spun around, her ponytail whipping across her cheek. “Kova!” Her smile lit up her face, chasing away the shadows of the Ark.“Hey there, genius.” I strode over, opening my arms for her to melt against me. Careful, she made sure to hug me by the waist above my wound. "My apologies for not seeing you sooner, I tried, but—""Yeah, I know." She cut me off with a warm tone. "Kane let everyone know about the deal this morning, I'm glad you're finally out."“Seems like you’re the only one.” My voice dropped as I glanced around at the judgmental stares still lingering since I had left my cell. I motioned to the guard trailing me. “Anyway, meet my new friend. Jehan. Come say hi.”Jehan’s eyes flickered between Raven and Sinclair before settling on a spot over my shoulder. He didn’t speak, but I wasn’t about to let that slide.“It’s okay,” I said smugly to Raven. “I’ll crack him eventually.”She let out a small laugh, and Sinclair raised an eyebrow at us."This is Kova, the one who saved us after a virus took out our camp." Raven introduced me to the older man."I'm Sinclair." He greeted back with a brief raise of his hand.I extended my hand in greeting. He hesitated for half a beat before grasping my hand for a firm shake. An old-fashioned greeting, but one nonetheless.“So, what’s the topic of discussion?” I asked.“We think the current isn’t high enough,” he said. “Might as well be shouting into the wind.”“Did you insulate between the mast and the capacity top hat?” Raven asked."Oh, I missed your science-y talk." I teased, nudging her elbow. She bumped back against me lightly, her smile widening for just a moment, emphasizing the circles under her eyes.“We already tried that,” Sinclair replied, eyes flickering between us once more. “It’s still not working.”Raven’s smile dropped instantly. “Then you’re doing it wrong,” she snapped, hobbling toward the antenna with a determination that made me cringe. Her leg dragged slightly, a sight I recognized all too well from war veterans trying to push their limits too soon.“Raven, wait,” Sinclair protested, reaching out as she brushed past him."Are you not supposed to be on bed rest, anyways?" I asked.“Don’t worry.” She waved us off. “I’ll fix it. I always do.”"She is going to hurt herself." I muttered my concern to Sinclair.“Elbow grease isn’t going to fix this!” Sinclair called after her.She scoffed. “What would you know about elbow grease?” She set her crutches against the antenna and slung a tool bag over her shoulder. I watched as she tried climbing, arms trembling as she barely made it past the first set of supports. By the time she attempted the second, her muscles gave out, and she climbed back down, sweat dripping down her face.“Let’s go back to the workroom,” Sinclair said, his voice soft. “We can think it through together—”“Just leave me alone!” she snapped, snatching her crutches and storming off.Sinclair started to follow, but I held up a hand to stop him. “Let her go. She just needs to readjust.” His eyes swept over me, and I realized I may have overstepped. "I have not seen her since her surgery," I changed the topic after a pause, glancing in the direction the young woman had disappeared. "I didn't think her leg would still be paralyzed.""It's bad." Sinclair said quietly. “Abby said it won’t heal properly for a long time. I made her a brace to help, but…”“She won’t use it?” I guessed, smirking slightly when he looked surprised. “Yeah, I figured. I haven’t known Raven as long as you, but I think I’ve got a good sense of her personality. You made a brace already?"Sinclair nodded, though he still looked troubled.“Why don’t we fix it up together?” I suggested.“You know how to do that?”“It’s been a while,” I admitted. “But I’m sure we can manage. I'm good with my hands.”⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆Sinclair led the way to what he called "the Idea Room," but the name didn’t exactly inspire much confidence. I trailed a few steps behind, the knee brace tucked out of sight like some secret weapon. As he pushed the door open, I leaned casually against the frame, letting him take the lead. Each movement felt heavier than it should have, like pebbles at the bottom of a river fighting its current. I chalked it up to the exertion and lingering strain now that Abby's painkillers had worn off. Walking pulled uncomfortably at the healing wounds.“Raven,” Sinclair said softly, stepping into the room.She stood by the window, back turned, staring out like she was mentally anywhere but here. She did not flinch or acknowledge him."Raven," Sinclair tried again, moving closer. "Do you know why you’re working on the beacon?"“I’m not.” Her voice was clipped as she turned and brushed past him toward the door. “Find someone else.”He followed without missing a beat. “I asked for you specifically,” he said, quickening his pace. "You’re the best mechanic we’ve got.""Wow. Go me," she shot back, rolling her eyes. "Exactly three mechanics made it to the ground. Not exactly a high bar."Sinclair sighed but didn’t let up. "Don’t act like you weren’t top three on the Ark, too." He placed a hand gently on her shoulder. I saw her tense under his touch, but she didn’t shrug him off. "You’re more than just smart, Raven. You’re a genius—the next Einstein, I’d say."She snorted at that, lips twitching into the ghost of a smile. Progress.I stepped in, figuring it was my turn. My legs felt shaky—not enough to be noticeable, but enough that I leaned subtly against the doorframe for support. "Sinclair and I will not pretend to understand what you are going through," I said, my voice breaking the tentative moment. Both of them turned toward me as I walked into the room, pulling the brace from behind my back. "But we will do everything we can to help."Her gaze flicked to me, then the brace, her expression hard to read. For a second, I thought she’d refuse outright. Then, slowly, she reached out. Her hands trembled so much I half-expected her to drop it as I passed it to her. She turned the brace over in her hands, inspecting it like it was a puzzle she didn’t trust. Up close, the exhaustion etched into her face hit me harder. Dark circles carved under her eyes. Her cheeks hollowed like she hadn’t seen a proper meal—or a full night’s sleep—in days. I did not say anything. She didn’t need words, just space to breathe.Raven limped over to the table, setting her crutches against the side before lowering herself carefully into the chair. Her fingers fumbled with the brace for a moment before she glanced up at us, her expression hesitant.“Go on,” I encouraged, keeping my voice gentle.With a sigh, she bent down and slid the brace onto her leg. “It’s an HKAFO brace,” I explained as she adjusted the straps. “It’s meant to support your hip, knee, ankle, and foot. You’ll need to stick with low sneakers for now—no tall boots unless you want to undo all the progress.”"Tragic," she muttered, dry as dust but less bite than usual.I stepped back. The warmth in my body felt more insistent now, a blanket I could not kick off, prickling under my skin.Raven carefully rose to her feet, leaning heavily against the table. One cautious step, then another, and then—letting go of the table entirely—she limped toward Sinclair. The limp was still there, but it wasn’t as bad as before.“What do you know,” she said, flashing a smile that actually reached her eyes. Sinclair clapped her on the shoulder, his own smile soft. "It’s good to see you smile again."Raven chuckled, the sound lighter than I’d heard in weeks. Her gaze darted to the table, and something mischievous flickered in her expression. “Hey, Kova,” she said, nodding toward a tank hidden behind the desk. “You see that? Put the tube in your mouth and inhale.”I raised a skeptical brow. “Why?”“Trust me.”I hesitated, then sighed. “I always do.” Grabbing the tube, I took a deep breath.And instantly regretted it. "What the—AH! MY VOICE!"It was shrill, high-pitched, and cracking all over the place—so far removed from my usual deep tone that it startled even me.Sinclair burst out laughing, clutching his stomach, while Raven doubled over, wheezing with laughter."What’s happening?!" I croaked, my voice wobbling wildly."Helium!" Raven managed to gasp between laughs."Is that what this is?!" I exclaimed, my voice crackling even higher. Then, as abruptly as it had changed, it dropped back to normal. I exhaled in relief, placing a hand over my chest like I’d just survived a near-death experience. “Oh, thank the stars. Never again.”Raven wiped tears from her eyes, still grinning. Then, like a light bulb flicking on, her expression turned serious. "Sinclair!" she said, spinning to face him. "I know what we need to do to raise the beacon!"⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆“A balloon, huh?” Sinclair tilted his head back, squinting up at the beacon we’d rigged together. His hands rested on his hips like he was surveying some great masterpiece. “Smart idea.”“I think the word you’re searching for is genius,” Raven replied, flashing a toothy grin.“Definitely genius,” I added, shielding my eyes with my hand to get a better look at the signal amplifier. Jehan’s gaze burned into my back, his silence louder than any comment. “Honestly, I’m surprised it works this well. We tried to fix and build a radio tower before, but it never worked long distance.”“Because of the radiation?” Sinclair asked.“Yeah, some kind of weird interference,” I said with a shrug. “We never actually figured it out.”“What the hell is this?”The voice triggered an instant eye roll. I turned to see Major Byrne and her ever-present entourage of guards standing behind us, their eyes fixed on the balloon.“Hey, Major,” Sinclair said, raising a hand in an awkward wave. “We made the radio beacon Kane wanted.”“Wrong,” Byrne snapped. "It's a target."Before any of us could react, she pulled out her gun. Raven barely got a word out before the shot echoed in the air, and the balloon crumpled like a fallen leaf.My eyes widened for the briefest second. Excessive much.Byrne must have caught it, the way she aimed her glare straight at me. “Are you the one who made this?” She jabbed a finger at me, her scowl carving deeper lines into her face. “What are you doing? Helping your people figure out where we are?”Oh, here we go.Thankfully, Raven did not hesitate to jump in. She stepped between us. “We fell from space into a damn football stadium. I think they already know where we are.”Byrne’s eyes narrowed, but Raven didn’t even flinch.“Chancellor Kane is out there risking his life negotiating with those savages,” The major snarled. Her words made my skin prickle, but I forced myself to stay calm as she kept going. “You better hope he succeeds because if he doesn’t, every grounder within fifty miles now knows exactly where we are.”"You already have Trikru scouts in the area," I pointed northeast, behind her, "around half a dozen of them last I saw."I nearly winced at how fast her head snapped toward me. The guards behind her murmured quietly, and one quickly jogged away to where I pointed. "And you didn't think to report this?""You have pairs of guards walking the perimeter, and you are wondering why I have not reported anything?"If she clenched her jaw any tighter, she would break teeth. I thought I saw her eye twitch. Perfect.I shrugged, tucking my hands into the pockets of my jacket. "Not really my problem. I’m sure you’re all very skilled at guarding an open, unsecured area. I mean, it’s nothing like the Ark, but I’m sure you’ve got it covered.”Raven’s lips twitched, and even Sinclair coughed into his fist, fighting back a grin.While her glare burned into me, no words came out of her mouth. Instead, she turned to Sinclair, sharply berating, “I expected better from you, Chief.” Then, as if she could not resist one last jab, her gaze swung back to me. “And you—you’re on thin fucking ice. Don’t give me a reason.”A droplet on a leaf, her words rolled off me. No point in wasting energy."All guards to the wall, now!" Byrne barked an order to the remaining guards. "You see a grounder, you're authorized to shoot on sight.”"Including this one?" One of them jutted their head my way. I saved their face in my memory."Unfortunately, no." She made eye contact with me one last time before moving out. As she disappeared into the distance, I exhaled slowly, unclenching my fists. There were marks where my nails had dug into my palms, but at least I’d kept my temper. Small victories.“She’s going to get people killed,” Raven muttered, glancing at the balloon’s remains."It's alright, I made it up." I held back a laugh at Raven and Sinclair's shocked faces. "They need to stay on their toes; they're not looking in the right direction." I said in response. Shaking my head, I turned back to the deflated mess with a heavy sigh. Back to square one.I found myself tilting slightly to the left and stumbled to keep my balance upright. Shit. I could no longer ignore the warmth radiating from under my skin any longer.“Kova?” Raven’s voice cut through my thoughts. She stared at me, her sharp eyes narrowing in concern. “You good?”I forced a nod, swallowing hard. “Yeah. Just… I need to catch you guys later. I’ve got to head to medical.”Raven stepped closer, her brow furrowing. “Why? What’s wrong?”I hesitated. “My wound isn't feeling hot." Raven opened her mouth to speak, ready to follow, but I held up my hand. "I'll let you know what happens, I'm sure it is nothing.”Jehan, who’d been quiet until now, shifted beside me. Without a word, he fell into step as I turned to leave.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
A quiet, but stifling reprieve, the infirmary tent smelled of artificial antiseptic and humid illness. Abby moved between patients, her hands steady as she checked on the wounded and sick. The ground had not been friendly to the Arker's immune systems despite their vaccines, I gathered from my eavesdropping....they really should be more concerned about information sharing. What if I had gone back to Trikru with that? Not that I would, but still.Soon, Abby came to me as I sat on the edge of a cot, my jacket discarded, the sting of the bandage peeling back from my side forcing me to hiss."It's healing better than expected." Clipped, Abby shook her head, expression not unkind. "Still, infections like this can turn quickly if we're not careful. Keep it clean, keep it dry."With a hum of gratitude, I nodded, keeping my eyes on her hands as she replaced and rewrapped the bandage. Behind me, the soft shuffle of boots reminded me of my shadow. Jehan leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, eyes scanning the room without looking at me. If he had been one of my trainees, I would have approved of him.Shifting, I pulled my shirt back over the bandage when the sound of hurried footsteps broke the stillness. Abby and I both turned toward the door just as Major Byrne stormed in, two guards following close behind, carrying someone slumped between them.My stomach twisted.Anya.Even unconscious, she set my instincts on fire. I fought to stay still, though my fingers twitched for a weapon—not to attack, but for defense. Grime smeared her skin and blood soaked the shoulder of her armor, the circular wound glistening wet and raw. A bullet wound. My mouth went dry.“Put her there,” Byrne barked, gesturing to the cot across from me.The guards dropped her with all the gentleness of throwing a sack of grain. I winced as her body landed, limp and heavy, the metal of her armor clanging against the frame. Abby was on her in an instant, her hands already working to assess the injury. After watching Abby fumble with unfamiliar buckles, I decided to assist with unclasping the strange clothing the Lieutenant wore.“What happened?” Abby asked the major, her tone tight."She had Clarke." Byrne said, her voice flat.My head jerked up, as did Abby's. "What?" She asked."Found her and Clarke at the gate." Standing at attention, Byrne continued. "Shot her before she could—""You shot the Lieutenant?" I interrupted."Where is my daughter?" Abby snapped, shooting a sharp glare at Byrne before pressing a clean rag against Anya's wound.The tent flapped open again. A dirty blonde stumbled in, supported by another pair of guards. With multiple cuts across her face, gaunt and malnourished, but alive, Clarke Griffin stood at the door."Clarke," Abby whispered.Before anyone else could move, Clarke surged forward, tightly embracing her mom the second the guards released her.Tapping Abby's wrist to relieve her, I held the rag pressed against Anya's wound so she could hug her daughter back."Clarke," She repeated, pulling back enough to hold her daughter's face in her hands. "Where have you been? What happened? Are you hurt?""I'm fine," Clarke said, though she did not seem like it. Her eyes flickered from Anya to Abby. "We escaped."Stepping forward, Byrne asked sharply, "Escaped from where?""Mount Weather."Eyes widening, Abby's hands fell to her sides before she realized she needed to return back to Anya, her expression shifting from relief to horror as she started working on the wound with tweezers. The bullet must have gotten stuck. I sat back on my original cot, giving the doctor space.Byrne stepped forward. "What about the others?""Not now, Major." Abby interrupted.But her daughter spoke quickly. "They're still trapped there. They don't know that they're not safe, we have to get them out."The Mountain Men brought the 47 back to Mount Weather? Why would they get involved?It seemed like the major had the same question. "What exactly are we dealing with?"Hesitating, Clarke's gaze dropped to the floor. "They're experimenting on us and stealing blood from the grounders."Oh.A heavy silence fell over the room, broken only by the shallow rasp of Anya's breathing. My gaze locked on her, on the blood staining her armor, on the faint rise and fall of her chest. Anya and Clarke worked together?"You have a plan?" I asked Clarke."Kova, she is a child—" Abby admonished."Anya said she would talk to the Commander for us to work out a deal." Clarke cut Abby off. "She said something about her being Anya's second?"The puzzle pieces clicked into place. I confirmed, "Yes, the Commander was her apprentice when she started her military career. That is high influence." My eyes slid down to the gunshot wound Abby worked on, then back to Clarke with a knowing look. "Although..."The blonde shook her head. "I know, but we can also offer getting their people out of Mount Weather as we rescue ours. In return, Trikru leaves us alone. What do you think?"Looking at her, I could not control the smile that spread across my face, showing sharp canines. "Sly girl. With her influence," I gestured to the Lieutenant, "that will work. Lincoln would approve."Not exactly relief, but the approval softened some of Clarke's features. Tension radiated from the Chancellor. She would learn, soon, that the ground changes people fast. The daughter she forced into that metal contraption died in that first drop a month ago.Clarke opened her mouth to respond, but a sharp crackle from Byrne's radio interrupted."Gate patrol to infirmary," the voice buzzed, urgent. "Bellamy Blake's back—he’s got Octavia and a grounder with him.”My breath caught audibly, wide eyes snapping to Clarke’s as the words settled in. Both our gazes darted to Byrne, then to the door.Boots hitting the ground, I jumped off the cot, wincing but unwilling to stop as Clarke bolted first, shoving past the guards. They stumbled, too unstable to catch me as I sprinted after her, injury be damned. Although Byrne and Abby shouted after us, neither of us stopped, the camp blurring around us as we bolted to the distant gate, the metal creaking as it swung close and I saw a familiar bald head—"Linkocha!" The name ripped from my throat. The moment my chest collided with his, an audible thump sounded, my arms wrapping around his shoulders like a lifeline. One hand gripped the back of his neck, fingers brushing against the familiar warmth of his skin, while the other pressed firmly across his shoulders.Lincoln’s arms came around me instantly, strong and steady despite the exhaustion that radiated off him. His cheek pressed against my shoulder, breath shaky, as though he could shield me from every injury, every hardship he had endured. The tightness in my throat threatened to spill over. Finally, I pulled back just enough to see him, my fingers still gripping his arms. My eyes darted across his frame, cataloging every bruise and scrape, but it seemed that the worst of it was the swollen black eye.“Who was it?” I asked, and suddenly I was 14 again, demanding to know who was bullying my baby brother.Lincoln’s lips twitched into a faint smile, as though he had the same thought, although it did not reach his eyes. “Long story.”"I'm sure." Gods, I had so many questions, and although we were stuck in this shitty Arker camp, I was grateful to see him. Movement behind him caught my attention. Octavia, a little thinner than before but whole, her dark hair a tangled, braided mess, stood behind Lincoln. My arms reached for her without hesitation, pulling her into a firm hug that she returned immediately.“You’re safe,” I murmured against her hair, relief washing through me.“Thanks to him,” she said, her voice muffled as she nodded toward Lincoln.When we finally separated, I squeezed Octavia's shoulder gently. "We have so much to talk about." I said to both of them. Before I could inform them of Anya, Clarke moved forward, eyes brimming with unshed tears as she pulled Octavia into a tight embrace, murmuring something too soft for me to hear.As Clarke spoke with Lincoln, I stepped back, shifting my attention to the final figure at the gate. Dirt-streaked and battle-worn, Bellamy stood tall even as a nearby guard snatched the rifle slung over his shoulder. While the cuts across his cheek from Tristan remained, his swollen eye had lessened significantly, leaving behind purple and dark red splotches.Our eyes met.I could not say when things had shifted between us, but I no longer saw Octavia's irritating brother who barked orders carelessly, or the thorn in my side pushing back against every move I tried to make. Standing there, exhaustion lingering in his stance and the grime of battle smeared across his skin, I saw the man who had stood his ground in the face of odds that would have broken most. Somehow, any animosity I felt for him faded, replaced by an odd sense of respect.Neither of us spoke at first as we strode our way to each other. I found myself extending my hand first. He grasped it firmly, and we clasped hands, pulling each other into a brief embrace with a pat on the back.“Good to see you up and about,” he said, his gaze flickering briefly to the side I’d been injured on."Could you believe that I got an infection from being stuck in that musty prison cell?" I asked as my hand dropped back to my side. "Who would have thought."Quiet, exhausted laughs tumbled out of our chests."I offered to get you out of there." Bellamy reminded, the faint lines of a smile still there."You did, you did." I conceded with a nod and an uptick of my own lips. Tone softening, my eyes shifted to his sister and my brother, who awkwardly accepted a hug from Clarke. "I'm glad to see Octavia okay." My gaze flicked back to Bellamy. "And thank you for bringing him back to me."His lips quirked into the faintest hint of a smirk, the weariness in his expression lightening for a moment. “I told you we’d get it done.”The corner of my mouth lifted, and for the first time in days, I felt some of the weight lift off my shoulders.The sounds of boots crunching over dirt interrupted the moment as Major Byrne, Abby, and Jehan marched up from the direction of the infirmary. Ugh. The weight flopped back into place. The heavy lines on Byrne's face already scolded my actions, but I'm sure her mouth will follow soon."Kova!" Her shout confirmed my suspicions as the three arrived. "You were specifically told to remain with your assigned guard at all times. Running off like that is a clear violation of your agreement to stay under watch. I don't care what excuse you think you have, I will not allow you to put us all at risk.”Raising my arms, palms up, I gesture to the camp. "What risk? What have I done, besides what Kane has asked of me?"Before I could continue, Clarke stepped between us and the Major. "We need to focus on what matters," she said. "Kova and Lincoln have done more for our people than anyone can quantify. You don’t get to question their loyalty.” Byrne opened her mouth, but Clarke cut her off. “If we’re going to get our people out of Mount Weather, we need them. Kova and Lincoln are our best shot at surviving on the ground and getting our people out. If you don’t believe me, try to survive on your own out there, then come back.”The sharpness in her tone left no room for argument. Abby exchanged a brief, uncertain glance with Byrne, but she nodded, gesturing for the Major to stand down.Byrne didn’t respond, but her face tightened. She turned, muttered something quiet for Jehan, and walked away. The agent simply stayed put. Seemed like he would be watching over Lincoln and I from now on.Abby lingered a moment longer before beckoning for our group to follow her to the infirmary. The five of us followed, Clarke leading the way by her mother's side. I glanced at Lincoln, pursing my lips into an o-shape, and when our gazes met, we both raised an eyebrow as subtly as possible.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆Exposed wires draped from the ceiling, swaying above our heads as the Ark's council, Lincoln, and I gathered around the table. The invitation to join the meeting had caught us off guard. Abby’s decision to include us—and Sinclair’s support of it—was unexpected. Byrne’s scowl, however, made it clear she wasn’t pleased. The other council members, whose names I didn’t know, seemed indifferent, their focus elsewhere.“We don’t know enough about the people in Mount Weather—their numbers, their capabilities,” Major Byrne said, bracing her hands against the table. “We need to proceed carefully.”Expression somber, Sinclair nodded in agreement. “According to Clarke, the 47 still inside aren’t being harmed—not yet, at least. As much as I hate leaving them there, if she’s right, we have some time.”The other adults murmured in agreement. I noticed their attention drift to talk of other Ark stations that had landed, their concern veering toward scattered survivors. The scale of their home was still hard for me to grasp. More survivors scattered across the land—how many?“Alright. What can you two tell us about Mount Weather?” Abby asked, her gaze shifting between Lincoln and me.I glanced at Lincoln. The topic weighed heavily on him; I knew that much. I prepared myself to speak first, but he surprised me by stepping in.“Trikru has known for generations that people disappear when they get too close to the mountain. It supports Clarke’s account of Mount Weather using our blood. The creatures they create—what we call Reapers—are cannibals. Anyone taken by them never comes back. Almost never.”His voice tightened, and I saw the flicker of pain he carried. I lowered my gaze, recalling how devastated Lincoln had been when we discovered his parents had been taken while we had been at war across the territory. We never saw them again."As for the inside," my brother continued, steadying himself, "we know they are descendants of those who hid in bunkers, but their society is a mystery."“What we do know,” I added, “is they send men in yellow suits to survey the ground. Monty and I encountered them not long ago. If you slash their suits, they only have a short window to return to their bunker.”“They can’t process radiation like we can,” Sinclair said, piecing it together.I nodded. "Exactly. We metabolize radiation, but they do not. That is why they use our blood. If we somehow manage to break in, we would be condemning all of them to radiation poisoning.”“Not our concern,” Byrne interjected bluntly.Though I did not disagree, I refused to be responsible for another mountain's death. But my words were left unsaid. The one perk of living with the Arkers: they will never have to know what atrocities were conducted on the ground—atrocities I played a part in. I hoped they never do.Abby's frown deepened, but she did not let Byrne derail her. “Okay, we gather more intel on Mount Weather and send a team after Kane. He needs to know the Grounders don’t have those kids.”“What about Finn Collins and John Murphy?” Byrne asked.Abby hesitated for a fraction of a second—just long enough to give herself away. I will not pretend as though I cared deeply for Murphy or even Finn, but even I felt the weight of her choice and knew exactly who would not be happy. The Chancellor confirmed my suspicions—they weren’t sending a team for Finn and Murphy. After the meeting had ended, we dispersed, only for Clarke and Bellamy to encounter Abby, Lincoln, and I in the hallway. Abby had to break the news."What?" Clarke's voice rose with disbelief at the news. “No. You can’t just cut them loose.”“Sweetheart, we don’t have the manpower to run two rescue missions and protect the camp,” Abby explained, weary but firm.“Mom, they’re in trouble! They’re either going to get themselves killed or make things worse with the Grounders—the same Grounders we need to help us free our people from Mount Weather.” Clarke countered.Abby’s resolve faltered for a moment, softening just enough to remind me she was a mother before she was a Chancellor. “I know this feels unfair. But our priority has to be Kane if there’s any hope for peace. I’m sorry, Clarke. The decision’s been made.”“You’re sorry?” Bellamy pushed off the wall he had been leaning on.Oh no.“Finn and Murphy are out there looking for your daughter, with guns you gave us. Now that she’s home, you’re just abandoning them?” His words expose the Chancellor for her actions. “If you can’t spare guards, fine. We know the terrain. We have a map. We can do it ourselves.”"Absolutely not." Abby snapped.“Mom,” Clarke pleaded, her voice breaking, but Abby’s expression hardened.“I just got you back,” she said, her voice quieter but no less resolute.I glanced at Lincoln, understanding the weight of her words.Before anyone could respond, Jackson burst in from the entrance. “Abby. I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need you in medical.”“You’d better go,” Clarke said coldly.Abby caught the edge in her daughter’s tone, her eyes narrowing. She didn’t turn around as she addressed Major Byrne. “Byrne? No one leaves this camp.”“Yes, ma’am.” Byrne’s tone was sharp as she glanced briefly at the four of us before turning back to Sinclair and Jehan.As soon as the Chancellor left with Jackson, Clarke turned to Bellamy and said, "We're gonna need guns."⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆Eerily quiet, this section of the Ark's remains had little to no human activity. The flickering lights casted jagged shadows across the exposed wires and panels on the walls. Jehan led Lincoln, Octavia, Bellamy and I to a room in the middle of the corridor, his heavy boots echoing against the metal floors."This will be your room." The guard said, gesturing for Lincoln and me to enter. I exchanged a glance with my brother before stepping inside.Small, but functional. Clearly not a place for comfort, but for containment. Two beds pressed against opposite sides and a single desk in the middle of the furthest wall. I ignored the bucket in the corner.Octavia slipped in behind us without a word, leaning casually in the corner. Bellamy lingered outside the door, arms crossed, gaze roaming the corridor as though half-interested in the proceedings."Curfew is at 8 PM sharp. You are both to remain in this room until morning with the exception of bathroom breaks. There'll be a guard stationed outside to ensure compliance." Jehan glanced at Lincoln, then at me, like he expected an argument.Lincoln gave a short nod, his expression hard to read as always to stranger. I kept my face carefully blank, as if I were listening intently.The guard paced as he continued to explain what further rules they had for us. He did not notice when Octavia shifted behind him, footsteps quiet, precise, and deliberate. With one hand, she uncorked a small vial with a light green liquid that she had slipped from her pocket. In one move, she stepped forward and brought the vial up under Jehan's nose.His eyes widened for a split second before they fluttered closed, his knees buckling as he crumpled. Lincoln caught him mid-fall before easing him gently to the floor.Octavia corked the vial once more and handed it to Lincoln, who slipped it into a small pouch on his belt without a word. He checked Jehan's pulse. Breathing steady, body limp. "Fifteen minutes. We have time."Keeping his body outside the room, Bellamy leaned just enough towards the door to toss a small black bag at me. I caught it and unraveled the rope inside, which we used to secure Jehan's wrists and ankles. Once he was bound, Lincoln picked him up and placed him in one of the beds, facing the wall. I tossed a blanket on him. "Perfect. Nice job, everyone.Nodding in approval, Octavia agreed, "Smart plan."“Let’s move,” Bellamy said, his eyes flicking down the hall as he stepped aside to let us through.The four of us fell into step, slipping out of the room with silent precision. We left no evidence of what had just happened as we made out way to the hidden rendezvous where Clarke and Raven waited for us.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Arkers and their negligence. At this point, the thought crossed my mind at least twice a day. Still, I could not deny that their incompetence worked in our favor. Without it, we would have no way of sneaking out of camp. The large piece of debris lodged in the ground—likely a section of the Ark—was a prime example. The metal disk next to the electrified fence made it a perfect hiding spot to escape from.I crouched behind it, joining Bellamy, Octavia, and Lincoln as we met up with Clarke and Raven.“I scored you a couple extra clips, just in case,” Raven said to Bell, dropping a duffle bag on the rock in front of us. Looking at me, she leaned on her crutch, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Everything handled with your babysitter?"“Taking a nap,” I replied, matching her smirk with a subtle one of my own. “He’s out for at least ten more minutes, and he’s tied up. He won’t be raising any alarms anytime soon.” My gaze shifted to Clarke. “We ready to move?”Clarke nodded. “Yeah. My mom’s in surgery now, and the team going after Kane already left.”“Then let’s go.” Bellamy stepped forward, but Raven swung her crutch in front of him, blocking his path.“Not so fast, Blake.” She reached into her pocket and tossed a small wooden stick at the gate. It hit the metal with a faint crackle, the sound barely audible but enough to draw our attention.Bellamy frowned. “I thought you said it was handled.”“It is,” Raven said, already pulling out her walkie-talkie. She pressed the button and spoke into it. “Sinclair, you can shut her down now.”“Copy. Be safe, everyone,” Sinclair’s voice crackled over the radio. A second later, the buzzing of the electrified fence ceased.Raven bent down and tapped the stick against the gate again. This time, it did not make a sound. She stepped back, satisfied. “See? Handled.”Clarke gave her a nod of gratitude and slipped through the gap in the fence, Bellamy and Octavia close behind. Waiting for me, Lincoln paused at the gate as I hesitated for just a moment. I tapped Raven on the elbow. Her eyes flicked to mine, questioning.“If you can, keep an eye on Lieutenant Anya for us,” I said quietly, referring to Lincoln and I. "If she wakes while we are gone, she will lash out and try to escape her binds. Tell her Lincoln and I can assure her she is safe here, and Clarke vouched for us. She will not believe it at first, but as long as you tell her that, she will calm down after a while of being left alone and unharmed."Raven studied me for a moment before nodding. As much as it clearly frustrated her to stay behind, I could not help but be grateful that she did not push her body past its new limit. “Yeah, I got it. Just don’t get yourselves killed out there.”I allowed myself a brief smile. “Thanks, genius. Stay safe.”She gave me a lopsided grin as I turned and slipped through the fence to follow the others.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆Long, dark fingers across the forest floor, the shadows of the trees stretched long. Night would fall soon, another reminder that winter wasn't far behind. The Arkers did not have clothes for the upcoming snow and relentless frigid wind. I would have to bring that up at some point.Nights like these always took me back to the Azgeda War, unfortunately. Back then, my warriors and I huddled close together to keep hypothermia at bay with thick capes, our metal armor thrown to the side as it burned our skin with frost. Tensions ran high, blood hot from skirmishes and battle wounds earlier in the day, but the brutal cold did not care about grudges. Here, however, we could build a fire with low risk of being found.The crunch of leaves pulled me out of my thoughts as the group slowed, pausing to take in our surroundings.“We should set up camp here tonight,” Octavia said, dropping her bag to the ground and scanning the area. “Looks like there’s no one around.”“No animals either.” With narrow eyes, I swept the bushes, the canopy above, and the ground. A heavy silence, deliberate. Glancing at Lincoln, he nodded at me, confirming my suspicions. Someone had been here. Setting my pack down, I added, “I’ll do a perimeter check. You guys get a fire going—small. Last thing we need is to light up the whole forest and attract attention.”"Wait, take this." Octavia stepped forward, unsheathing Tree-Weaver. "You don't have a blade."Truthfully, there had never been protocol on what to do if the sword transfer had been completed, but the original sword wielder returned from the dead. But I knew Lincoln had no hard feelings about parting from his sword, and insisted Octavia keep it. I never thought my brother would be the hopeless romantic type. It's cute, though.Without looking at the sword, I shook my head. “Raven managed to sneak me some daggers,” I said, patting the sheath strapped to my thigh. “Short and long-distance—they work just fine. You keep it.”She hesitated, and I saw her resist the urge to glance at Lincoln."It is yours, Octavia." I reminded her, offering a faint smile.At last, she nodded and stepped back."Let me come with." To my surprise, Bellamy offered the support, a hand resting on the gun at his hip.Hmm. That worked. I jutted my head to the right. "Come on, then."Bringing a pile of dry branches in her arms, Clarke said, "Be safe!"With a brief nod, Bellamy fell into step beside me. Before stepping into the woods, I spared Lincoln one last glance. His shoulders were relaxed, his focus steady as he crouched to inspect the firewood Clarke had gathered. No tension in his frame, no urgency in his movements. He trusted me to handle this.I exhaled quietly, the assurance lifting a weight off my chest. Turning away, I adjusted the holster on my thigh and followed Bellamy into the trees. Save for the soft crunch of our boots against the leaf-strewn ground, the forest fell quiet.The silence stretched between us, heavy but not uncomfortable, until Bellamy finally broke it. “You really think someone might be out here?”“It’s not impossible,” I replied, my eyes sweeping the forest floor. A subtle disturbance in the dirt caught my attention. Crouching to examine the impressions, my fingers brushed lightly over the ground.Bellamy stepped closer, his shadow falling over me as he crossed his arms. “What is it?”“Animal tracks,” I murmured, tracing the outline of a hoof print. “And here—” I pointed to another set of impressions, faint but unmistakable. “Human. A purposeful, light stride. Someone hunted recently.” No wonder the animals were quiet, they had already been spooked.He frowned, tilting his head as if trying to decipher what I saw. “How can you even tell? It just looks like dirt and leaves to me.”I glanced at him, surprised by the genuine curiosity in his tone. “Look closer,” I said, motioning for him to kneel beside me.To my surprise, he did, lowering himself to the ground and leaning in. The flicker of doubt in his expression softened into interest as I pointed to the tracks. “A boar print,” I explained, tracing its outline. “Two big toes, two small. The edges are sharp but slightly smoothed by the mud. That tells me it’s no more than a day old—mud flattens over time. And this,” I said, moving my finger to a faint, shallow impression overlapping one of the boar prints, “is a hunter’s footprint. Light step, careful placement. They were following their food.”He stared at the ground, brows furrowed in concentration. “You see all that from a few marks in the dirt?” There was no disbelief in his voice, only a quiet kind of wonder.“Reading the ground is like reading a story,” I said simply, standing and brushing dirt from my hands. “The clues are there if you know how to look.”Bellamy straightened, his lips quirking into the smallest of smirks. “I’ll stick to actual books.”“Figures,” I tossed back to him, unable to keep the faint amusement from my tone."Think they'll come back?""No." I answered honestly.Bellamy did not respond, but as we resumed walking, I caught him glancing back at the tracks one more time. For a moment, I wondered if he was trying to read the story I had pointed out—or if he just did not want to admit he could not see it. The tracks faded into the underbrush as we moved in a wide arc around the campsite. No other signs of danger. The more we walked, the more my concern lessened. No danger, but no game either. Looked like we would have to live off of our rations from Camp Jaha."You're quiet." Bellamy broke the silence, lowering his voice enough to not disturb the stillness of the forest. I doubt he knew his heavy steps already did.Glancing at him out of the corner of my eye, I raised a brow. "You sound surprised.”With a shrug, he huffed a soft laugh. "With your attitude back at camp? Yeah, I guess so. Just figured you’d be spouting some warrior wisdom or...I don’t know, lecturing me on proper forest protocol.”“Would you even listen?” I asked, pushing a low-hanging branch out of my way as we walked. I let it swing back toward him, smirking to myself. I glanced back in time to see him duck, almost instinctively, the branch swishing harmlessly over the curls on his head."Probably not." His lips twitched upward as he straightened. "But I'd appreciate the effort."Caught off guard, I raised a brow. “Quick reflexes. Not bad.”He shot me a sidelong look, his grin widening. “You’ve got to try harder than that to trip me up.”“Don’t tempt me.”Bellamy chuckled softly behind me, the sound more relaxed than I had expected.The silence that followed wasn’t heavy—it felt easy, almost companionable. By the time we circled back toward the camp, the sky had darkened to deep gray, and the chill of the evening was settling in around us.“Clear,” I said, glancing over my shoulder at him as we reached the edge of the clearing.Bellamy nodded, his focus already shifting toward the camp. “Good. Let’s hope it stays that way.”By the time we returned, the three had a small campfire going, its dim glow subdued enough to not attract attention. The two lovebirds, Octavia and Lincoln, sat close together against a fallen log, the soft murmur of their voices blending with the occasional crackle of the fire. Clarke lay stretched out a few paces away, her bedroll positioned just far enough from the flames to avoid the chill, but not too close to risk the sparks.Lincoln was the first to notice us, his sharp gaze lifting to meet mine long before we stepped into the clearing. His brow raised in a silent question."Nothing." I reported with a shake of my head. “There were tracks, but whoever hunted here is long gone.”The tension around his eyes and jaw eased slightly at my words. Octavia let out a sigh of relief, her posture visibly softening a she leaned back against the log. "Thank god," she muttered. Then, after a beat, she asked, "How do you know they won't come back?"I crouched near the fire, holding my hands out to the warmth. "A hunter will not waste their time in hunting hidden game. The animals will avoid this area for a while, they have already been spooked.""That also means we'll have to rely on our rations for a little longer." Bellamy added, dropping heavily onto the ground between Clarke and Octavia."Better rations than nothing." Clarke replied, though she did not move from her spot on her bedroll. "We still need to take precautions. Double watches tonight."Leaning back on his elbows, Bellamy said, "Paranoid much?""Caution, not paranoia." Lincoln countered calmly."We can take first watch." Octavia offered, gesturing to herself and Lincoln.I caught Bellamy’s eye, a silent exchange passing between us. “We’ll take second." Out of the corner of my eye, Clarke opened her mouth to argue, but I shook my head, cutting her off. "You are still recovering from everything that happened, and tomorrow will be a long day. No use fighting me on this. Rest.”Her mouth snapped shut, her eyes narrowing slightly, but she did not argue. Instead, she shifted on her bedroll, murmuring a quiet, “Fine.”Bellamy pushed himself to his feet and gestured toward our gear. “Guess that’s settled.”We moved to set up our sleeping bags near Clarke’s, the quiet of the forest settling over the camp like a heavy blanket. The soft rustling of the trees mingled with the crackling of the fire, almost soothing. As I smoothed out my bedroll, I allowed myself a small exhale, the knot of tension in my chest loosening. The forest had been silent, the tracks old. Winter might be creeping closer, its chill already biting at the edges of the night, but for now, we were safe.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆
The scent of damp earth and something metallic filled my sense, heavy with humidity. The darkness stretched endlessly. Shapes moved at the edges of my vision, indistinct, but too close for comfort. Trees and bushes, I tried to convince myself, yet the back of my neck prickled. I could not see them, but they were there.
Watching. Waiting.
Movement darted through the shadows ahead. My breath caught, and I froze. For a moment, the silence was absolute. Yet, my body would not release its tension, as though expecting something.
A bloodcurdling, wretched scream tore through the darkness, forcing a violent jolt from me. Yet, it clipped off at the end, in the same way an animal would be put down. A shocked stillness filled its place. My pulse thundered in my ears, adrenaline rushing through to fight, flee—anything—but I could not move.
I could not move.
I could not mo—
"Kova."My eyes snapped open. A figure crouched at the edge of my vision, half-lit by the faint glow of the campfire, reaching for me.Instinct kicked in. My hand shot toward the knife at my belt. The figure flinched, raising both hands in a placating gesture. Familiar curls caught the light, and my brain caught up just as quickly—Bellamy.Reality crashed back into place. Heart hammering against my ribs, I let my hand drop before it reached the blade. "You scared the shit out of me." I grumbled out, exhaling shakily. "What do you want?"Bellamy's brows furrowed as he crouched near me. "It's our shift. I came to wake you, but you were..." He trailed off, watching me.Fuck. Another one of those dreams. Forcing my body to move, I sat up, dragging a hand over my face to wipe away the remnants of sleep and the sand clinging to the corners of my eyes. I ignored the faint tremor in my fingers. “I’m fine. Give me a moment.”Bellamy did not move. He stood there, gaze uncertain, studying me like he wasn’t sure if I would keel over or snap at him. He raised a brow, silently asking a question I did not care to answer.The prickling at my neck returned, unwelcome and stubborn. Instead of acknowledging him, I kicked off the half-open sleeping bag and busied myself with tucking it into the bedroll, focusing on the familiar motions to ground myself. As I worked, I caught a glimpse of Lincoln and Octavia fast asleep nearby, their forms undisturbed.After another beat, Bell nodded once, muttering an “Okay” under his breath before stepping back. He moved slowly, almost hesitantly, like he was giving me space but waiting for me to catch up.When I finally organized my things and stood, we made our way to the edge of the camp without a word. Only then did I notice how dim the fire had grown—its once-bright flames now flickering at the brink of embers. I frowned, glancing back toward the sleeping forms and the dying fire....Had Bellamy let me sleep in?The realization struck me. I glanced at him as we walked. Focused on the horizon, he did not say anything, his movements unhurried as we kept watch.For once, I could not bring myself to press him for answers.The crisp night air tugged at my senses, shaking off the dream’s lingering grip. My eyes scanned the treetops and the climbable canopy above while Bellamy kept his gaze on the horizon. Silence fell between us. I could not help but be grateful for the few moments of a quiet reprieve, for me to get my bearings together.As we paused on one side of the clearing, Bellamy broke it. "Do you get them often?" He asked, his voice low enough not to disturb the others.I did not look at him. "Get what?"He hesitated, shifting his weight. “…You know.”The careful tone did not escape me, nor did the way his gaze flickered toward me and away again, as though he was not sure if he should ask. But there was no mistaking what he meant. For a moment, I debated brushing him off. It would have been easier, less complicated. Yet, I remembered the look on his face in the tent, when Clarke had inadvertently revealed Bellamy was responsible for the three hundred deaths in the Culling of the Ark—raw, unguarded grief and guilt, a mirror of my own expression after Mount Caocin.Damn it."Sometimes," I admitted, my voice quiet against the crackling of wood behind us. "It becomes... part of it."Bellamy turned toward me slightly. "Part of what?""Grief. And regret." My gaze flicked to him, catching his profile in the faint light of the dying campfire. "The aftermath of battles and war." I returned to watching the forest, unable to reach his gaze. "It is a hell you do not escape from unscathed."For a moment, the words hung heavy between us, an unspoken truth that no Trikru warrior would willingly admit. I thought of Finn, of the hollow look in his eyes that Bellamy had described. The battle at the dropship became his hell, I predicted.With the silence, I thought that would be the end of the conversation. Bellamy surprised me when he finally spoke, tone quieter than expected. "Yeah. I get that."I studied him for a moment, his shoulders hunched slightly, his fingers twitching at his side as if grappling with words he was not ready to say. I no longer saw the brash, commanding Bellamy I had first met. A strange thing, I realized, standing here with him. We were not so different, after all.The night pressed on around us, the silence returning as we resumed our watch.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆Once the night sky began to lighten, Bellamy and I woke the three up. We would need as much travel time as possible to make it to TonDC soon. Packed up and moving, we made it to the Lincoln monument in no time. Bellamy, a historian nerd according to Octavia, made a few comments on it. I could not bring myself to be easily distracted this morning, the quiet weighed on Lincoln and I, a fragile calm stretched thin by unspoken fears.What would we find in our village?My brother and I could not bring ourselves to look at each other throughout the travel. Not until we got close enough to hear the screams and shouts, breaking through the stillness of the forest.One simple glance, and without a word, we broke into a run. The three Arkers followed, but Lincoln and I easily pulled ahead. Healing, but not yet healed, every step sent sharp jolts of pain from the wound in my side, the angry throb pulsing in time with my pounding heart. I gritted my teeth and pushed forward.When we reached the treeline, we ducked instinctively as gunshots cracked through the forest. My body tensed as I saw flashes of light and heard the echoes of death.Ignoring Clarke's call to wait, Lincoln ran to my right around the border of our town, movements silent as he sought to sneak our vulnerable villagers away from the line of fire. I stepped out from the foliage and into the edge of the village, quiet.My blood boiled at the sight.Bodies of a few caretakers slumped against weary houses and wooden posts of the town's fence. Elders and children huddled in the pigs pen as the remaining adults tried to placate their hostage-takers. Murphy stood with his rifle pointed at the villagers while gripping on Finn's arm, pleading, "Finn, we have to go. Now! They're not here."His partner did not listen. Lifeless eyes watched the treeline to his right. Clarke's call must have alerted him, but he seemed suspicious, as though his mind played tricks with him. When she broke through the foliage, he dropped the rifle, his body facing hers as though none of the lives he had destroyed here mattered.A familiar sharp cry wrenched my focus.Artigas.One hand clutching his shoulder, blood seeped through his fingers as the young boy squirmed in pain. Artigas laid in the mud, unable to move. Nyko, a man I had not seen in years, reached forward, only to be held back by the threat of Murphy's words and gun.Not too long after Clarke appeared, Bellamy and Octavia arrived, witnessing the carnage the two boys had caused, the bodies that littered the ground.Finn did not see any of this. He stared at Clarke, whispering, "I found you."Anger exploded in my chest, a white-hot rage that burned away the pain in my side. Without thinking, my hand gripped the blade at the holster of my thigh. "Finn!"The boy's head snapped toward me, confusion flashing in his eyes.That was all I needed."Kova, don't!"I barely registered Octavia's shout as I threw the blade. It sunk into its mark, splitting Finn's eye in half as it embedded into his skull. He crumpled to the ground, dead before his body hit the mud.The forest and village fell silent."No, Finn!" Clarke's scream shattered the silence.Murphy swung his rifle toward me—The sound of a gunshot bounced around the forest. Not from Murphy, but from Bellamy, who aimed the still-smoking barrel at Murphy's chest. Rifle slipping from his hand, Murphy fell to the earth alongside Finn.In my peripheral, Clarke ran towards Finn's body, dropping to her knees beside him. Her hands hovered over him, trembling. No amount of healer knowledge would bring him back from the dead. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at him, but even through her grief, I could tell she knew. She understood the evil he committed, what he had become.Threat no longer holding him back, Nyko sprinted to Artigas, kneeling down and applying pressure to the wound. I could not bring myself to follow, allowing Nyko to have space to heal the village's son as best he could. Instead, I made my way to Murphy, who flubbered and gurgled as blood pooled from the wound into his chest cavity. Fists clenching at my sides, I pulled my last knife out."Said I would finish what I started, did I not?"His eyes widened slightly, but no words could fumble their way out of his blood filled mouth.I ended his pain. A mercy I would not have granted, if his death on my hands did not give me such a satisfaction. Blood must have blood.By the time I stood, Lincoln had moved on to helping those trapped in the pigs' pen climb free. The mud clung to them like a second skin, swallowing their feet with every desperate step. I joined him, lifting the frail forms of the elderly from the muck, their bodies light but their faces heavy with fear and exhaustion. Few thanked us. The village was still in shambles. Artigas still lay injured, his blood mingling with the rain-soaked earth, but I forced the searing anger to ebb. I could not allow it to consume me again.After helping a few more villagers and exchanging brief, pained greetings with familiar faces, I turned back to the Arkers. Octavia took on the job of bringing the injured closer to Nyko, hauling their bodies through the slippery ground. Clarke remained by Finn's body, her shoulders trembling as sobs wracked her frame. She was utterly still otherwise, as though afraid to move too far from what was left of him.Posture rigid, Bellamy stood at the outskirts of the incident, far enough from Clarke to give her space, but close enough to react should anything happen. Protective of his leader while she grieved for her friend, yet his clenched fists and tight set of his jaw betrayed the storm within.Our eyes met.For a moment, I forgot the ache in my side, the blood smeared on my hands, and the cold mud clinging to my knees.His lips parted as if to speak, but no words came. His eyes flickered from Murphy's body to mine. I lowered my head, hoping to convey gratitude for what he had done. He mimicked my motion, though I could see the hesitation in his eyes when he glanced at Finn, still piecing together what had just happened. A different perspective than mine.TonDC, the village of orphans where Lincoln and I had been raised, had been attacked.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Thick with the tang of blood, damp herbs, and acrid smoke from the fire raging outside hung in the air. The bodies of 6 adults burned outside, as tradition stated. Four victims, two perpetrators.In the healing hut, the injured elders of our village sat on raised straw cots, young children and teenagers darting between them with dry and water-soaked cloths, trying to help without getting in the way of the adults in the room. The heat made the chaos worse, an unwanted second layer clinging to my skin.Nyko worked tirelessly at the center of it all, his hands still and practiced as he layered a poultice over a jagged, but clean wound. He did not look up when I stepped to his side, passing him the next batch of herbs I'd just crushed. Across the room, Linkocha steadied an auwlo, his broad frame making the frail elder look even smaller."Keep it steady, wawa." Lincoln spoke softly to the child helping him. Her small hands trembled slightly as she dabbed at the dark wound on auwlo's brow, tears threatening to spill from her wide eyes. But, she kept at it.I glanced around the room, taking in the faces I hadn't seen in years. Auwla Kuska sat at the far end of the hut, a gauze taped to her shoulder and pressed down by a flat poultice. Closer, auwlo Nayra caught my eye, his gaze sharp and searching. I could see the question in his face.
Have you finally returned? Why were you with those people?
To my surprise, the murmurs I had heard from the villagers were not angry. Just... surprised, I supposed."Do we know if Kopash Linkopashmi are back...?""I do not believe so. It has been years. I thought...""What about the Commander's orders...?"I had not been allowed to visit my village during my seclusion. Their whispers, our language, they itched at my shoulders like a sunburn. What had they been told? Did they know what transpired in the past month?I returned to the mortar in my hands, grinding the herbs into a paste that Nyko snatched up without so much as a glance.Voice low, Lincoln approached the two of us as he said, "Two more auwlas have been moved to the longhouse. They are no longer critical, but wawa Eskai will be keeping watch."Nyko grunted, his hands never stopping until, finally, less blood seeped from the wound. "Good. Keep them stable.""How many were lost so far?" The question left my lips like stones tumbling down a mountain.Nyko paused, glancing at me briefly before finalizing his work. "Four." He confirmed flatly. "All caretakers."Shit. I swallowed hard, the weight of it settling deep in my chest. Four. Artigas could have been one of them. Or Lykian, though thankfully I did not see him in the crowds. He must be of hunting age now. I could not bring myself to ask, nor look for him. Forcing the thought out of my head, I poured more crushed herbs into a clean bowl and mixed them with water as we moved on to the next patient.Hands slick with the paste, Nyko said suddenly, "You two should not return with the Invaders." He glanced between Lincoln and I. "You belong with us. You know we will not turn you in."A bitter huff left through my nose. "You believe the Commander will not conduct surprise check-ups in the village that raised us?" I glanced back at Lincoln and the young wawa. "What will happen then? She will not just come for Lincoln and I—she will come for all of you for disobeying her orders." Shaking my head, I passed him a needle and thread for him to stich the shallow wound of our last patient, an unconscious villager. "Should I wait around for her guards to drag me out by the hair, to string all of us up?"Glaring at me from the corner of his eye, Nyko took the needle and began. "It will not be safer with the Arkers. How will you convince them," He pursed his lips to the door, referring to Clarke, Bellamy, and Octavia, "to not tell their leaders what happened here?""None of them cared for Murphy, the frog-looking one." I answered one part of the question. "Bellamy said Finn had been off since the dropship launched, but I do not know how he or Octavia felt about him otherwise. Octavia is loyal, however. She would stand in mine and Lincoln's corner against the world if necessary, and Bellamy will protect her no matter what. Clarke is an obvious problem, one I have not figured out how to get around."After a moment of silence, I thought the conversation had ended. Then, shaking his head, a tired laugh rumbled out of Nyko's chest. "Calculated. You have not changed much." Once his laugh quieted, he fell silent again. Then, "You have been away for too long.""You have not changed much, either, based on what Octavia had told me." I replied, softening my tone just as he had. "Did she really knock you out with a rock?"Pink tinged his cheeks. I snorted.Nyko muttered something under his breath as he finished stitching the wound. The tiny rise and fall of the unconscious villager’s chest was the only thing that confirmed they still lived. He tied off the thread, clipping it with his teeth. We sat on the floor and took a small break.Sending another glance at Lincoln, I realized he had been watching us from across the room. An unreadable expression, but I could see the anxiety in the tightness of his posture, the way his hands balled into fists at his sides. He knew we could not be here for much longer.I turned back to Nyko. “They are our best chance,” I said finally. “The Arkers. They may not be perfect, but they are better than nothing. Leverage, maybe allies. If Lincoln and I did not think they could help, we would not waste our breaths.”Nyko did not argue, but the doubt in his eyes stung more than I cared to admit. His silence felt heavier than his words ever could.“Nykocha,” I said, quieter this time, “you know I would give anything to stay. I never wanted to leave in the first place.”He looked at me, and for a moment, the mask of the healer slipped. His eyes softened, and I saw the weariness there—the exhaustion of carrying too much for too long. “I know. It does not mean I have to like you leaving once more.”"Just do not forget why I left. Why I'm leaving now." My voice cracked on the last word, and I swallowed hard, forcing the emotion down before it could surface. “This village will always be my home. That has not changed. But protecting it means staying away.”Lincoln stepped forward then, his quiet presence grounding me. “We should go,” he said softly.I nodded and stood, brushing the dirt from my knees. I could feel the villagers’ eyes on me, a mixture of sadness, pride, and something else I couldn’t name. At the door, Lincoln and I hesitated. But we knew Nyko was not the sappy type.We left without looking back.The acrid smoke of the pyres hit me full force, and I bit back the swell of nausea. Lincoln and I did not speak as we walked, the weight of the evening hanging heavy between us as we made our way to the village's boundary. The scent of burning meat and smoke clung to my clothes. Too much had happened, too much still could.It did not take long to spot the three Arkers. Bellamy paced, a hand unsettled as it shifted from his hip, the rifle, back to his hip, rubbed his facial hair. Octavia sat on a fallen log, her gaze perking up as she saw us walk up the path. Even in the dim light, the remnants of tears streaked across Clarke's cheeks. She stood slightly apart from them, unable to tear her eyes from the burning pile of six bodies in the village. Not until she heard Lincoln’s and my footsteps.The second we stepped into view, her eyes locked on mine, expression hardening. She did not wait to close the distance.“You didn’t have to—” Her voice cracked before she could finish. She stopped, took a breath, and tried again. “What you did to him—”“What he did was inexcusable.” I interrupted, keeping my tone steady as I stepped closer.Her lips pressed into a thin line, and her arms tightened around herself like she was holding something in, or holding herself together. “He was my—”I did not let her finish. “He killed four of our caretakers. Our family.”Her mouth snapped shut, the words freezing mid-air.“Four of them, Clarke. Adults and elders who have survived orphanhood, wars and famine, who were too old to defend themselves when he and Murphy opened fire. They killed four and nearly took the rest," I took another step forward. "Nearly took my son.” Shocked, her lips parted slightly.Before she could speak, I said, “Blood must have blood. Fire cleanses the spirit, burns away the past. Victims and perpetrators leave this world at the same time. And if Lincoln and I hadn’t convinced the village to not say a word, you would be burying all of Camp Jaha before the week ends.”Her jaw clenched, and I could see the storm building behind her eyes—anger, grief, guilt. I did not flinch.“Hate me if you want,” I said, my voice soft with understanding, not regret. “But do not act as though he did not attack innocent people—people who had nothing to do with your war. You were lucky—we were lucky—that the village did not demand more than his body.”For a moment, no one spoke. Even Bellamy stopped pacing, his gaze darting between me and Clarke like he was not sure if he should intervene. Octavia stood, her lips parting as if to say something, but she stayed silent.Clarke looked away first, her shoulders sagging slightly as the weight of my words settled in. “I-I didn’t know,” she said finally, her voice barely above a whisper.“Now you do,” I replied. “And now you know why we can not let the Commander hear about this. If she does, your people would not just be dealing with angry villagers. You will have the full weight of Trikru's army coming down upon you.”Her head snapped back up at that, her brows knitting together in a mixture of worry and defiance. “You think I don’t know that?”“I think you do not understand just how close this was to being worse.” My voice did not waver, even as I leaned in just slightly. “Next time, think about what it takes to clean up your mess before you start grieving the pieces left behind.”Her breath hitched, but she did not argue. She looked past me, her eyes darting to Lincoln for just a moment, then back to the ground.Bellamy's sharp tone broke the silence. “Let’s go." A sharp tone, almost angry, though I could not tell if it had been directed at me or not. His gaze lingered on Clarke with something gentle. She did not move at first, but eventually, she nodded, turning on her heel and heading down the path without another word.Waiting until Clarke moved out of earshot, Octavia stepped closer to me. "You're not wrong," she said quietly, glancing at Lincoln, then back to me. “But don’t expect her to thank you for saying it.”"I do not need her thanks. Nor, even, her understanding." I replied, level-headed. "I need her pragmatism. That is what will save us in the end."Octavia hesitated, then gave a small nod. Bellamy’s voice called out from ahead, impatient and curt, and she jogged to catch up with him.Lincoln and I began to follow. He did not say anything, not until the Arkers had traveled further ahead. When he did, tone low, he seemed almost hesitant. “You pushed her too hard.”I will not pretend as though I understood him. Instead, I simply pushed back with, “She needed to hear it."He did not argue, but I felt the weight of his gaze on me as we walked. I was not sorry. Not for what I said, nor what I did. But as we made our way back to Camp Jaha, I could not shake the haunted look in Clarke's eye. Grief would have shattered her, if not for the atrocity she had witnessed him commit with her own eyes.It no longer mattered. Fire consumed spilt blood.The forest fell quiet once more.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆The treeline and clearing of Camp Jaha came into view sooner than I would have liked. The farther we walked, the clearer the sounds of the camp became: laughter from somewhere, metal striking metal, the barked orders of guards. Our group had walked in complete silence, tension a heavy blanket across all of us.My stomach knotted. I had no idea what to expect. Regardless, if shit hit the fan, Linkocha and I would run and find our way to Floukru. A back-up plan for the back-up.The gates swung open as we approached, the guards stationed at the entrance stiffening the moment they spotted Lincoln and I. Familiar faces, wary eyes, I could feel their stares, even as they shifted focus to Clarke and Bellamy at the head of the group."Chancellor, Major," I heard one of them speak into their walkie. "We have a situation up at the gate, Clarke and her friends are back."It did not take long before a pair of figures broke from the small crowd gathering at the gate, heading toward us at a brisk pace. Chancellor Abby's eyes flicked from Clarke, to Bellamy, to Octavia, lingering on her daughter longer than the others. Major Byrnes, clad in her usual scowl and tactical vest, eyed me and Lincoln as though we had planned to burn the place to the ground."I ordered you to stay. Where have you been?" The concern underneath Abby's sharp tone was plain as day. She had barely glanced at Lincoln and I. Attention locked on Clarke, Abby's expression shifted when she noticed her daughter's tear-streaked face. "Clarke?"She did not answer, not with words. She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around Abby's waist, burying her face in her shoulder. The weight of her sobs shook her frame, muffled, but audible.The crowd had began to disperse now, though a few lingered. Meanwhile, the guards moved closer, collecting our weapons. I felt their hands on me—too rough, too quick—but I did not resist. This was not the time to fight. Not now. They did not take Octavia’s sword, though. I noticed that.Abby's arms came around her instantly, but the worry on her face only deepened. “Clarke,” she repeated, softer this time, stroking her daughter’s hair. “What happened?”The others did not rush to fill the silence. A smart move. Lips pressed into a thin line, Bellamy looked away, and Octavia shifted uncomfortably, her fingers resting on the hilt of her sword. Lincoln and I stayed back, far enough to avoid the spotlight but close enough to watch it unfold.Octavia was the first to speak. “We found Finn and Murphy.” She hesitated just long enough for Abby to look at her. “They’re dead.”Abby froze, her hand stilling on Clarke’s back. “Dead?” she whispered.“They killed each other,” She continued, tone not unkind as Clarke shook harder. "We buried them."A neat lie. One that slid into place without room for argument. To my gratitude, Clarke did not lift her head, nor offer correction, her body trembling against her mother.Abby’s face was a study in grief and disbelief. “They—what?” she stammered, looking from Octavia to Bellamy as if searching for some kind of clarification. “Why? How?”"We told you Murphy was a danger. We found them with gunshot wounds." Bellamy said, voice clipped, though I knew that underlying anger did not come from Abby's choice of sending the young men to look for Clarke. "Grounders don't use guns. Murphy tried to kill Finn; Finn fought back."The Major stepped forward ever so slightly, her eyes cutting through the Arkers and sticking to Lincoln and I. "You buried them out there?" She asked him."Yes," Octavia answered, her jaw tightening. "Their bodies... It had been a while since it had happened. It was the right thing to do."For a moment, no one spoke. Byrnes did not just look unconvinced; her eyes drilled into me and Lincoln, like she was daring us to prove her instincts right. I met her gaze, steady, unflinching. She was looking for cracks. I gave her nothing."We'll talk more about this later." Abby said, a clear dismissal as she steadied her daughter's trembling form, coaxing her to med-bay.The gates shut behind us.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The faint hum of machinery greeted me as I opened my eyes. Pale, grey light filtered and reflected through the angles of the curved hallway from outside, its weak glow barely illuminating the cramped space in a muted yellow. Must be past dawn.I shifted on the stiff cot, the rough blankets scratching against my bare legs. Across the room, Lincoln sat cross-legged on his own bed, hunched over as he inspected his hands. His fingers picked the dirt under his nails, remnants of yesterday's work that even the thin soap and cold shower had not entirely removed. The clean, vertical stripe of hair down the center of his scalp had grown. We knew he would need to buzz it soon, though I doubted either of us knew who to ask about razors around here. The Chancellor had more important issues, and Byrne would likely brush us off. Maybe Sinclair?Sensing I had awoken, Lincoln's eyes flicked up from his hands to meet mine briefly. He pursed his lips, gesturing to the large windows of our cellroom's door before his gaze returned to his hands. I followed his gesture and caught sight of Jehan, who stood just beyond the curve of the hallway, waiting for the clock to strike seven before unlocking our door. Surprising that the guards kept him on watch duty for us after what we had done a few days ago. I wondered if he would be...less neutral...toward us than he was prior.A groan rumbled from my chest as I stretched, my back cracking in a satisfying, if slightly alarming, sequence. My legs trembled with the effort of shaking off sleep. “Did you sleep at all?” I asked, my voice rough with the residue of early morning.Lincoln tilted his head side to side, his shoulders giving a light shrug. Sleep had been elusive for both of us lately.I tugged at the makeshift wrap I created out of an old shirt on my head, letting my dreads tumble free down my back. Not the best, but the fabric was soft enough to do its job. "Breakfast?""Mmn." Linkocha hummed in agreement, a faint smile playing at the corner of his lips.What a strange situation we carved ourselves in. I hadn't realized how much I missed sharing a bedroom with him.We rose from our cots in unison, stretching briefly and changing before Jehan unlocked the door.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆Pale, washed-out clouds stretched across the sky, an endless expanse of grey. The sharp breeze carried the scent of wet earth and a faint trace of wood smoke. By the time Lincoln and I reached the mess hall, the cold had stiffened my fingers, making them ache. Jehan and another guard I was not familiar with followed, but once we shifted past the tent flaps of the dining facility, they separated from us. Inside, quiet conversation and the clatter of trays filled the open space.My shoulders relaxed slightly when Octavia waved us over. This place had a way of making even the simplest interactions feel like a test, the way people stared unabashedly at us. She had saved us two trays, and as we approached, I caught the soft smile she and Linkocha exchanged. He slid into the seat beside Octavia with a familiarity that made me glad they had found some stability in one another. Her hand brushed against his briefly, a quick and casual touch, as if to remind him she was there.Cute. Totally not gagging. I swear.I sat opposite to Octavia.“Morning,” She greeted, nudging one of the trays toward us. “Figured you’d want something before it’s all gone.”"Thank you for thinking ahead." Lincoln replied with a warmth that made her grin.Rough with sleep, I mumbled my thanks and adjusted the tray. The faint weight of eyes watching me prickled the back of my neck, though I could not pinpoint who was watching, nor guess.“You two look like you just rolled out of bed,” she teased, her grin wide and playful.“We did,” I deadpanned, earning a laugh from her.The food was... better than I expected. Cubed meat and fried potatoes. A significant upgrade from the rations we’d been living off before. Could use some salt, though.My instincts stirred. I heard the footsteps before I felt him approach. Familiar, soft against the grass but sure. A hand hovered at my back, warm but not touching, and I confirmed the presence just as his tray clattered onto the table beside me—the tanned skin of his hand, the faint pale ring around his wrists where handcuffs had chafed into his skin. My matching marks had already faded significantly from its dark hue. The knuckle of Bellamy's left thumb dug into my back for just a moment too long, warm and slightly irritating, before he shifted and sat down properly. The scrape of his chair against the floor mingled with the quiet conversations in the mess hall, and as he freed his hand from the tray, he raked it through his messy curls....We had not talked since I put Finn down yesterday. With his sharp protectiveness over Clarke after I had warned her about Trikru and my village, I thought Bellamy would avoid me for some time. I guess not.The flap of the entrance tent shifted across the room, catching the light just right. A faint beam flashed over his freckled skin and tangled hair, highlighting the edges of the still-healing wounds on his face for a moment. I noticed it absently, my focus still lingering on the warmth his hand had left behind. A faint scent clung to him—leather, sweat, and pine. Familiar.“Morning,” he mumbled, his voice rough with sleep, leaning closer to his tray.I blinked. And refocused on my food, exhaling slowly. “Mmh.” I glanced at him, noting the way his hair stuck out in every direction. “Keeping up with the Sleeping Beauty title, I see.”He smirked faintly, his expression as dry as his voice. “All this takes effort.”I almost choked, but before I could respond, Lincoln spoke up, his curiosity cutting through the moment. “Where do you two sleep?” he asked, his brow furrowed as he looked between Bellamy and Octavia. “I haven’t seen the Arkers’ quarters.”“Still camping outside,” Octavia answered, shaking her head. “Tents are holding up for now.”Bellamy grunted in agreement. “You won’t catch me sleeping in this metal husk again.""Every time it gets windy, I’m half-convinced it’ll cave in.” I shook my head. "The creaking alone is enough to drive anyone insane.”The conversation lulled as we focused on our food. Octavia occasionally tossed out comments about how Lincoln and I could help with hunting or gathering, earning amused glances between my brother and me. Her optimism was admirable. Bellamy pointed out what Lincoln and I had been thinking—no way would we be allowed outside after everything.Though my back faced the entrance of the mess hall, the atmosphere of our small table shifted the moment a familiar blonde stepped into the mess hall. I turned slightly when I noted Lincoln's watchful eyes, keeping her in my peripheral. To my surprise, Bellamy straightened immediately, shoulders tightening in a way that set me on edge. I caught the way his gaze found her almost instantly, the sharp focus of it.He pushed back his chair with a quiet scrape, grabbing his tray. “I’ll be back,” he murmured, not really looking at any of us as he moved past. My eyes tracked him without meaning to, following the line of his broad shoulders as he weaved through the scattered tables.Anxiety twisted my stomach as my gaze shifted to Clarke. Secrets did not remain hidden forever, and there was one person that absolutely could not know what really happened out there.But as Bellamy reached her and leaned in slightly, speaking in a tone too low for anyone to hear, I tried to ignore the faint clench of my stomach.“Don’t worry,” Octavia’s voice broke through my thoughts, soft and deliberate, meant only for Lincoln and me. “Clarke already told us she wouldn’t say anything.”I dropped my eyes back to my tray, gripping my fork tighter than I needed to. Anxiety. That was all it was. It would pass. It always did. “I know.”Before I could dwell on it, the One Person showed up, eyes red, movements stiff, grief weighing down every step she took.I might shit myself if Raven came to our table.She hesitated at the edge of the room, scanning the tables until her gaze landed on Bellamy and Clarke. Fuck. That might have been worse than Raven walking over to us. For a moment, she simply stood there, as if unsure whether to approach.I could not bring myself to watch her for too long. Lincoln and I could hear her wails last night. The weight in my chest twisted, deepened. This was not guilt—I will always stand by what I did—but anxiety coiled around my torso, a constant, suffocating reminder. Raven had mourned Finn last night, unaware that his killer sat just a few feet away.Would Clarke tell her the truth?Octavia seemed to notice my discomfort. She started talking about training with her sword, her tone bright and insistent as she tried to draw me back into the conversation. I appreciated the effort, even if my mind struggled to stay present.Across the room, Raven finally approached Bellamy and Clarke’s table. Her voice was too low to hear, but whatever she said had both of them standing within seconds. The three of them left together, their movements brisk and purposeful.Lincoln, Octavia, and I exchanged a look. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t good.My attention snapped back as I caught movement in the corner of my eye. Agent Byrne was watching them too, her expression unreadable. Beside her, Abby stood with her arms crossed, her gaze flicking between the departing group and Byrne.Something new brewed.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆The weight of the tent pack sat stiff against my shoulders, the straps digging into the meat of the muscle with every step. Those asshole guards had given me a backpack with a broken adjuster, and no matter how many times I shifted, trying to redistribute the weight, it still cut into the same bruised spot.This could have been a nice hike—peaceful even. Air crisp with the bite of early morning, the damp forest floor softened the sound of our boots, but also made the fallen orange leaves slippery. Back home, I would have welcomed a walk like this. But I wasn’t home, and instead of peace, I was trudging through the woods toward Mt. Weather.This was not how I expected my day to go.Irritated and exhausted, I could not ignore the logic behind our travels. According to Octavia, Raven had figured out why the Arkers hadn’t been able to reach their missing people over the radio. Not the 47 stuck inside Mt. Weather, but the other Arkers who had landed after the crash. The ones Camp Jaha had assumed were either dead or struggling somewhere beyond their reach. Turns out, the signal wasn’t weak. It wasn’t broken. It was being blocked.Mt. Weather had its claws in their communication, cutting Camp Jaha off from the others.The second Raven had that information, she ran straight to Clarke and Bellamy. Abby and Byrne had followed them from the mess hall. From how Octavia explained it, Raven and Bellamy had pushed for Lincoln and I to be on the team sent to deal with it. I let out a slow breath through my nose and kept my focus ahead. Silent and steady as ever, Lincoln hiked alongside me. I hadn't had a chance to ask him how he felt about all of this—he had been quiet since we left. Not brooding, just thoughtful. Want to know how I could tell? His silence carried patience. Mine? Irritation.The Arkers had fallen further behind again, unused to the strain of hiking the hilly foliage. Lincoln and I stopped once more, waiting for them to catch up. This time, I saw it—the tight set of his jaw, the slight flare of his nostrils. He grew irritated, too. I hid my smirk behind the spout of my water bag as I took a sip.I could not hear the chatter of the larger group, but I did not particularly care what they conversed about. What I did care about was why Abby, of all people, had agreed to let us out again.That part still did not make sense.A few days ago, Lincoln and I had snuck out with Clarke, Bellamy, and Octavia. Not exactly a small offense. And now? Now we were being sent on another mission, sanctioned by the same leadership that had been so wary of us in the first place. Lincoln and I were barely tolerated in Camp Jaha as it was.They had to be desperate.I adjusted my pack once more, shifting the weight. Lincoln caught the movement, and when I met his gaze, he raised an eyebrow as if to silently ask if I wanted to switch. I shook my head. He gave a slight nod, conceding, and did not press the matter.Finally, the sound of approaching footsteps signaled that the others were catching up. Lincoln and I took that as a sign to keep moving, ducking under foliage and weaving around low branches.Behind us, Bellamy stumbled. Again. A snort left me before I realized it. That, at least, brought some level of amusement."Everything okay up there?" Octavia called, her tone teasing."Fine," Bellamy replied flatly.Lincoln shot me a look, half-amused, half-knowing.I sighed and relented. "Watch your step," I added, voice barely louder than necessary to address the group. "Ground becomes uneven here."We did not need any broken ankles—not this far into the forest.The sun had risen higher, but the thick canopy only allowed slivers of light to reach the forest floor. A bird cried sharply from somewhere above, startling one of the guards into raising their rifle. Lincoln shook his head and turned away.I rolled my shoulders, wincing. This damned backpack.Lincoln finally broke the silence. “You are thinking too much.”“You should try it sometime.” I quipped back.“And be as anxious as you are?” His lips twitched.Asshole. Got me there.I gave him a dry look, but did not respond.He let the quiet settle for a moment before speaking again. “Clarke will not say anything.” He kept his tone careful, measured. “But if you keep avoiding Raven like this, she will notice.”I bit the inside of my cheek. I knew that.Yet, I still couldn’t bring myself to look at her. Not when we left camp, not when we stopped for water, not even now. Preoccupied with grief and preparing her gear for the excursion, she had not noticed yet.But she would.I did not get the chance to respond before Bellamy called out, "Slow down. We're stopping for a break."A sharp exhale left me. "Another one?" The words left me before I could stop them, quiet enough that only Lincoln heard. I dropped my pack against a tree with more force than necessary. Lincoln did the same.The others caught up within moments. Octavia first—mildly winded but otherwise fine. A natural ‘grounder,’ as Bellamy would put it. Bellamy followed right behind her, muttering something about the terrain.Clarke was close to Abby, sticking near the guards.And Raven—A guard hiked behind her, as though watching our backs for scouts or followers. In reality, I knew it was to also keep Raven up with the group. Stubborn, she had insisted to everyone that she could carry her own pack and hike by herself just fine. That she did not need help. But I could tell that the brace Sinclair and I had made for her began to bother her. The way she adjusted her leg, the set of her jaw, the way her shoulders stayed rigid.In pain, grieving. A bomb waiting to go off.Lincoln noticed too. His gaze flickered toward her briefly before cutting back to me.I ignored it.Settling onto a rock, I stretched my legs out in front of me. The forest around us was alive with the quiet rustling of leaves, the occasional chirp of birds, the distant snap of a branch somewhere in the underbrush. The guards were too skittish.Octavia sat next to me, pulling a strip of dried meat from her pack. She offered me a piece. I shook my head, but thanked her.Across from us, Clarke rubbed her temples, either from exhaustion or something else. Probably both.Once Abby and a few of the others had their breather, we began our trek again. This time, Clarke, Abby, Raven, and the guards moved ahead of us, leaves crunching under their boots, muffling the quiet conversations passing between them. I kept my steps light, measured, waiting for the moment we could break off without drawing attention, as Clarke directed. She purposefully kept the Chancellor and the guards' attention through conversation.The guards barely paid attention. Their focus remained on Clarke and Abby, on keeping Raven steady. We had a window.Taking the lead, Bellamy stepped off the trail first. Octavia followed without hesitation. Catching the signal, Lincoln and I briefly exchanged a glance before moving after them, our pace quieting as we slipped away.Octavia cast a look over her shoulder. "They won't notice until they take another break.""So we have five minutes." I deadpanned.All three of them snorted quietly, but they recognized the truth behind that statement. The terrain sloped downward, soft earth giving under our boots. Moss-covered roots stretched across the ground, climbing tree trunks."According to Clarke, there were ruins connected to the bunker in Mount Weather." Bellamy's eyes darted around. "So we're looking for ruins—anything that's manmade, alright?" Over his shoulder, he addressed Lincoln and myself. "Have you two ever seen something in this area?"Lincoln shook his head. “Not what she described. Smaller structures, mostly covered by forest.”I kept my gaze ahead, scanning for anything unnatural in the landscape. “If something larger exists, it would not be easy to find.”With a short nod, he returned his gaze forward.We pressed on. Not much matched the description, although Octavia paused a large grouping of strangely bent trees. She and Bellamy stepped closer—"Hey, Blake!"The four of us stopped short, instinct tightening my stance. But as Abby’s guards stomped toward us, I let out a slow breath. A problem, but not one we could not handle.One short, solidly built. The other taller, leaner. Both guards carried rifles, their hands close to the triggers.The taller one squared his shoulders. “Let's go, right now.""In case you've forgotten, we're not under your command." Bellamy responded."Don't make us do this the hard way."Shifting closer to Lincoln, we both inched our way back, standing between Octavia and the guards. The tips of my fingers twitched, my brain instinctively mapping out the fastest way to reach for my knife."C'mon, Scott. Forty-seven of our people are prisoners in this mountain." Bellamy gestured vaguely behind him."That's why we're here." Scott replied."Wrong. You're out here to find other stations of the Ark." Bellamy corrected, not unkindly. "We're out here to find our friends."Before anyone could move, the forest shifted. A rustle, faint at first. Then the sound grew—small, frantic movement across the ground. Bellamy frowned.Then the first mouse appeared.It darted between Lincoln’s boots. Another followed. Then another.The shorter guard stiffened. “What the hell—”More came. Beetles. Insects. Roaches. A wave of movement spilling across the forest floor. One tiny mice scrambled up my sleeve, claws catching fabric before leaping off my shoulder.Nerves rattled Octavia's voice as she said, "Bell?"Lincoln and I locked eyes. We knew."Fog." I called out.The guards hesitated, confusion flickering across their faces.Bellamy did not wait for the two to understand. Dropping his pack, he haphazardly undid the buckles to release the tent. The other guards followed suit when they saw the dusty yellow cloud making its way through the forest, straight for us.Calmly following the animals with our eyes, Lincoln and I watched as they disappeared underneath the foliage. Octavia, on her own, caught on and squatted where they disappeared, scrambling at the foliage."O! O!" Panic laced Bellamy's voice. "Get back here!""Bell, there's something in here!" She called out. "Maybe it's the ruins."Making our way toward her, Lincoln caught my gaze as we moved toward her, pride flickering in his eyes—not for what she found, but for the way she moved, quick and sure. She would have made a fine warrior. I agreed with a subtle nod before moving to help Octavia rip of the foliage."Hey! Over here!" Bellamy notified the two guards, gesturing for them to join our group. With the acid fog closing in, Octavia wrenched the door open. We ran inside, the guards stumbling over themselves to avoid death. Lincoln slammed the door shut, shrouding us in complete, echoing darkness.Rows of abandoned metal husks stretched into the darkness, their surfaces dulled by time and neglect. Even as one of the lucky few unaffected by dust, I could sense the thick and suffocating staleness. The two guards swept their lights across the desolate space, beams bouncing off cracked glass and rusted metal. They passed their spares to Bellamy and Octavia, the glow barely enough to cut through the thick shadows pressing in around us.Sergeant Scott’s voice broke the silence, echoing down the walls. “Where are we?”“A graj,” Lincoln answered.“A garage?” Bellamy clarified.Lincoln gave a short nod, gaze shifting warily around us.“More like a tomb,” Octavia muttered, the grip on her sword tightening.Heavy agree. My instincts clawed at me, at the walls, a warning of something still unseen. The fine hairs along my arms rose. Something wasn’t right.Bellamy turned to the Sergeant. “Look, we need to find an access door to Mount Weather.”Before Bellamy could move forward, Scott held up a hand. “Not so far.”With a sharp exhale, frustration tightened his expression as he argued, “Sir, that fog will keep us pinned down for another—”Scott cut him off by holding out a gun. The shock on Bellamy's face had been brief, but unmistakable. He hesitated for a fraction of a second before taking the weapon.“We’ll split up,” Scott said. “Be back in fifteen. Stay safe.”I did not like it. Splitting up was always a mistake. But Bellamy turned to us, his expression set. “Let’s go.”The four of us moved in silence, our footsteps echoing faintly in the vast space. We put quite a distance between ourselves and the guards. Unbearable. With the silence, every footstep sounded too loud, even breathing made me fear of revealing my location to the unknown.I hated this. Every damned second of it.Shining his light along the walls, Bellamy pointed out a rusted, old door. We moved close to investigate, but as much as he tried, Lincoln could not tug the stubborn thing open. Octavia peeked through the dusty window—A sharp, raw scream shattered the silence.The four of us jumped, frozen in place as our eyes darted around, trying to determine where it was coming from. A flashlight beam jerked wildly down the corridor where we had left the two guards before the light vanished entirely.What the fuck.Voice trembling, Octavia whispered, “What the fuck was that?”"Stay close." Bellamy's eyes flickered between all three of us. "Let's check it out."We tightened our formation, instincts taking over. Lincoln and I covered the rear, Octavia kept watch on our flanks, and Bellamy led the front. The screams had died off, but the closer we moved, we heard faint and discordant musical notes drifting through the air.Absolutely not. Goosebumps violently erupted across my skin. My hands clenched around the hilt of my dagger. We need to leave. Now.Octavia’s light flicked to the right, illuminating a scene that made my stomach churn. Blood pooled beneath the corpse, dark and spreading. Two figures wore matted fur, their bodies hunched over as they tore flesh from the unnamed guard’s chest."Reapers," Octavia exhaled sharply.At the sound of her voice, their heads snapped up, eyes glinting in the dim light. One lunged.Before any of us could raise our weapons, Bellamy fired. The gunshot shattered the stillness, a deafening crack that sent my ears ringing. Octavia flinched but recovered quickly. Lincoln and I did not have such luck. My ears rang, and he shook his head as though recalibrating. The second Reaper barely had time to react before Bellamy fired again, dropping him where he stood."O..." Bellamy exhaled, the gun still raised.Octavia’s attention snapped to him. “What?”"Take this." He handed her the back-up gun the Sergeant had offered. She took it without hesitation, passing her sword to me without a word. I took it, the weight familiar in my hands. My eyes met Lincoln’s, and I raised an eyebrow, offering him the sword. He shook his head, gesturing to my dagger instead. I handed it over, knowing he was better off with two blades than one.We adjusted our positions. Lincoln and Octavia covered our backs, Bellamy took the right flank, and I covered the left.Bellamy spoke low. “We need to get somewhere safe.”Lincoln nodded. “Move back to the entrance. We wait for the fog to clear, then get out.”I agreed. So did Bellamy and Octavia.Together, we started moving.Fast.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆The acid fog lifted after some time, but its scent clung to the air—metallic, chemical, unnatural. We wasted no time, leaving the garage without looking back at the two guards left behind. The reapers had already stripped them of anything useful.The forest stretched ahead, dense and shifting with the wind. Dark red and orange leaves littered the ground, twigs snapping under the two Arkers' shoes. Lincoln led our group, his steps sure, picking paths easier for the two unaccustomed Arkers to climb. To anyone else, he looked as calm as ever, but I saw the small signs—the rigid grip on his twin knives, his forearms taut. The place, this journey, it had to weigh on him. His poor parents.Octavia’s head stayed on a swivel, flickering between Bellamy, Lincoln, and the woods, keeping the barrel of the pistol in her hands low as she moved with Bell. Her brother stayed close, shoulders drawn tight from everything we had witnessed back in that graj. Every now and then, his head jerked slightly to the side, eyes darting at the shadows between the trees. Paranoia. He still half-expected something to lunge from the undergrowth.I took the rear, watching our backs. Though, I did not expect anything to follow.By the time we reached the rendezvous point, the sun had dipped below the horizon, streaks of orange burning past the grey clouds of the sky. The hills stretched out, vegetation brittle from the drying season. The others were already there—Raven and Abby huddled near a strange-looking machine while Clarke paced nearby. The two remaining guards circling slowly around them. The crackle of the device filled the air.Abby spotted us first, her eyes sweeping over our group, expression tightening as she counted fewer than expected.“Where’s Sergeant Scott? And Abels?”Bellamy did not hesitate. “Dead.”Abby exhaled sharply, rubbing her temple. Thankfully, she did not ask for details—better to assume death by acid fog than the truth.Clarke glanced at us, her gaze flicking over Lincoln, Octavia, Bellamy—then me. Quick, like she barely allowed herself to look at all.“We’re not blowing the tower,” she said.Octavia frowned. “What?”“If we take it out, we lose our only way to reach the 47. Mom and I can use it to try and contact them.”Bellamy’s jaw tightened. “Or an inside man.”Clarke’s head snapped toward him, already bracing for an argument. “No.”“I can get in,” Bellamy insisted. They spoke as though they had already had this conversation before. “If I can reach them, we might not need a damn radio. I can break them out.”“It’s too risky,” Clarke shot back. “You’d be alone, surrounded. You wouldn’t make it out.”"You did."A pause of silence followed. The fire behind his eyes—He would not give up on the idea. Clarke knew it, and so did I. I said nothing. But if he went in, he would have no backup. If something happened to him, no one would be there to pull him out. And if the Mountain was experimenting on both Trikru and Arkers with no survivors...?Before either of them could push further, a sound broke through the air.Rustling.Lincoln and I turned first, weapons raised before the guards even noticed. They caught up, whirling with their rifles, aimed at the trees.A lone figure stumbled into the clearing.Not a Mountain Man. Based on his clothes, an Arker.Abby stepped forward, breath catching, eyes widening as she whispered sharply, “Thelonious?”The guards lowered their weapons instantly. Strangely enough, I felt as though I had heard of the name before. Lincoln and I slowly lowered our weapons.The man stumbled toward Abby, legs giving out as he dropped to his knees. Breath heavy, I noted the dark skin of his arms and face had been marred with fresh cuts, bruises forming beneath layers of dried sweat and dirt.He lifted his head, eyes flicking to the Ark, bent and curving into the side of the opposite hill.Raspy, exhausted, he spoke.“I have a message from the Commander.”My heart dropped through my ass.“Leave or die. We have two days.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Dimly lit, with wires hanging low from the ceiling, the hallway outside the Ark's meeting room unnerved me. Cold metallic walls creaked and wailed, doing nothing to lessen the tension. Arms crossed, I leaned back against the wall, my shoulder brushing against Lincoln's as we waited.Octavia, standing to the right of him, explained who this Thelonious was."—which, according to the adults, he's the one who stayed behind on the Ark to launch the other stations." She concluded, eyes darting toward the double doors where Chancellor Abby, Thelonious, and Clarke were meeting. "He saved everyone up there.""But how did he get down here?" Lincoln asked quietly.Though I could not see her, I heard the rustling of her clothes as Octavia shrugged.Craning forward, I met Octavia's gaze, raising a brow."Yes," Octavia answered the question I had not verbalized. "He's the one who sent us all down here."Nodding slowly, I rested against the wall, looking forward as I digested the information.The man inside that room, talking with Abby... He was the reason the hundred had been dropped to Earth. Unwanted, expendable cargo. Logic pushed me to blame him for all the issues that arose this past month, but somehow, I could not bring myself to do so. A waste of energy. Although... I vaguely remembered Bellamy being accused of something. But after the battle at the dropship, my memories blurred together.I bent forward again, this time catching Bellamy's eyes. He stood on the opposite side of Octavia, arms crossed, one leg propped up against the wall. He felt my eyes on him and, after a beat, rolled his eyes before giving a small, reluctant nod."Yeah, he's the guy I assassinated to get onto the dropship," Bellamy said flatly, the corner of his mouth twitching upward, a ghost of a smirk."Failed assassination," Octavia and I pointed out. We both snickered as Bellamy gave us a look, about to retort, when the double doors to the meeting room slid open with a soft hiss.Clarke stepped out first, the door closing behind her. Abby and Thelonious remained inside."Well?" Bellamy asked before Clarke could speak, stepping forward slightly, his concern poorly disguised as impatience.A sharp exhale left her lips. "Jaha knows about Wells and the 46 trapped in Mount Weather, but he still thinks running is the safer option. He's trying to convince my mom to not stay and fight. He doesn't think we can secure a truce or an alliance just because we have Anya."Lincoln's body stilled. Tense, his eyes flicked from Clarke to me, confusion written plainly across his face."Oh. Forgot," I patted his shoulder. "The Lieutenant had also been captured by Mount Weather and they were draining her of blood. She and Clarke escaped together, they tussled a little, and finally the two made it here." I glanced at Clarke. "That cover it?"She nodded, but added, "Byrne shot Anya when we got back. She's still in the infirmary recovering. Mom says her injuries were pretty significant, but she should wake up soon."Staring at me for a beat, Linkocha seemed to be struggling with the information. His expression said everything: What the hell?"Yes, I know. Do not get me started." I waved it off, gesturing for Clarke to continue."I need you and Lincoln to help me talk to her."...of course, the first time Clarke spoke to me since the incident, and it was an order."We need Anya to keep her word about speaking to the Commander. We don't have much time before the Grounder army makes their way to our front door." She finished.Lincoln gave a wordless nod."If Thelonious confirmed Trikru is already on their way, we can use that to our advantage." I glanced between the two. "Faster to pinpoint where the Commander is, if she is just beyond the treeline, and the faster you and Anya can speak with her."Both Lincoln and Clarke agreed.Bellamy, who had been silent for a few moments longer than normal, spoke up then. “What about me being the inside man?”Clarke hesitated. That was new. I noticed the subtle shift in her posture, something guarded crossing her face. “I won’t confirm anything right now,” she said finally. “But I’ll keep that in mind.”Oh. I did not like that.A flicker of unease stirred in my chest. Clarke was many things—stubborn, reckless, decisive—but hesitant? Not when it came to plans like this. I shot a discreet glance at Bellamy, catching the faintest flicker of surprise in his expression before he masked it. Something had changed, though I couldn’t put my finger on what.“Let’s go,” Clarke said, already moving past us toward the infirmary.Octavia and Bellamy exchanged a quick look, some silent sibling conversation passing between them.“We’ll get ready in case we need to travel again,” Octavia said.Bellamy nodded, and without another word, the two of them headed off down the hallway, leaving Lincoln and me to follow Clarke in the opposite direction.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆I grew sick of seeing the bright blue tent of the infirmary.Air thick with the sweat of sleepless, pain-riddled nights, a nearly empty infirmary greeted Lincoln, Clarke and I. Jehan and another guard remained outside the tent.In the back, a closed curtain hid the person we searched for. Clarke took the lead, her boots squeaking as she stepped onto the metal floor, while Lincoln and I moved along the far wall, To our surprise, Anya sat upright in bed, exhaustion lining her face and the droop of her shoulders. Fingers wrapped around a cup of broth, her eyes fixed ahead as though deep in thought. But what struck me was the woman sat on the stool beside Anya.Raven worked on a small, metal trinket. Weariness showed through the faint smudge of dark circles beneath her eyes, the hunch of her back.None of us spoke. We had not expected to find Raven here, sitting in silence with Anya, a quiet comfort between them.What had happened while we were gone?We greeted them around the curtain. They both turned at our arrival—Anya with a roll of her eyes, Raven with a faint, tired smile that barely lifted the shadows beneath them. Whatever she muttered under her breath made Anya snort, the sound slightly amplified by the cup as she took a sip.Clarke slid into the stool on the other side of Raven, propping her boots up on the bars of the footrests. She gave a quick glance toward Raven, but it was like she could not quite look at her for too long.I could not blame her.Lincoln and I exchanged a brief glance as we positioned ourselves against the wall, silent observers to whatever this conversation would become.As usual, Clarke did not bother with pleasantries. "You remember our deal, right?"A sharp exhale left Anya's nose. A flicker of something passed over the sneer lines of her nose—not quite regret, but close. But then she nodded, gaze leveling with Clarke’s. "I remember," she admitted. "And I will keep it."Lincoln's posture eased slightly. Still tinkering, Raven did not react beyond the slight twitch of her brow. Suddenly, her eyes flickered up, meeting mine for the first time in days.My gut twisted. I ignored it, mouthing, 'thank you.'For watching out for Anya while Lincoln and I had been gone. For picking up the slack we had not had time to....And I'm sorry for your loss, was left unsaid.She held my gaze for a second longer than necessary before nodding once and turning back to her work.Clarke pressed on. "The Commander is giving us two days before war."Anya’s expression didn’t change. She just lifted the cup to her lips, took a slow sip, then set it aside. "Then they’re already at your borders," she said simply. "I will find and meet with the Commander."Clarke straightened. "Then I’ll come with you as the representative." She looked between Anya and Lincoln before flicking her gaze toward me, brief but weighted....Dammit, could I please catch a break?"We can get the 47 and the captured Trikru out of Mount Weather." She continued. "Together."Silence stretched between us.Lincoln was the first to give a slow nod of understanding. "Commander Lexa is a more... lenient leader compared to her predecessors. I think she would accept that. With your word, Lieutenant." His attention shifted to Anya.I gave a small nod as well.The movement must have caught Anya’s attention, because her eyes—tired, but still sharp—narrowed as they landed on me. My shoulders tensed. Gods, I could only hope she did not hold a grudge against me over my actions at the dropship battle. Please, just one break."You," Anya said. Not a greeting. A reminder, a continuation of our conversation at the dropship. Yet this time, I was bare without a mask.Lincoln’s stance shifted slightly beside me, a silent warning.In spite of my hammering heart, I held my ground, forcing my shoulders not to tense a centimeter. "Me," I replied evenly.A beat of silence. Then Anya exhaled, sharp but quiet, before flicking her gaze toward Lincoln. But after a long, unreadable moment, she asked, "You two will continue to stay with the Invaders?"Neither of us responded. We had agreed upon it while heading over to the infirmary with Clarke—the less the Lieutenant knew, the better. It seemed as though she caught on, with the way her gaze flicked between Lincoln and I before her lips pressed into a tight line. She did not ask any more questions. I was thankful for that, but her silence did not comfort me. Clarke exhaled, rubbing her hands together as she stood up, her boots clicking against the floor with a finality that matched the tone of her words. "I’ll stay here and finalize the plan."Raven glanced at Anya, who gave her a brief nod, before packing up her things. Lincoln and I also took our leave. I felt an almost involuntary relief at the idea of getting out of this suffocating space, away from the Lieutenant's eyes."Hey," A warm hand gently touched the crook of my arm.Fuck.I froze. I should have expected it. But I did not know if I could handle this.Placing my hand over hers, I greeted, "Raven.""I need to speak with you," she said quietly. "Are you free now?"It took all my strength to not glance at Lincoln. I knew he would not save me from this—this was something I needed to face head-on."Yeah, let's find a corner?"⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆Clouds hung heavy in the sky, draping the treetops in mist. Raven and I walked the perimeter while Jehan lingered a few feet away. Somewhere in the distance, a lonely crow gave two rasping caws that faded into the thick quiet of the forest.We walked in silence, fighting against the sharp chill. Maybe we should not have strayed too far from camp, but we had not had a heart-to-heart since before the battle. I shoved my hands into my pockets, stealing a glance at Raven. She had adjusted her gait quickly, though she still favored her good leg. But she did not limp as strongly as she once did.Two stumps awaited us near the metal gate. I let her choose her seat before taking the other, exhaling as I leaned back, bracing my hands against the rough bark behind me. Raven followed, lowering herself down gingerly. Jehan lingered far enough away to give us privacy.For a while, we just sat. Watching. Listening.Wind stirred the branches overhead, sending brittle leaves fluttering to the ground. The metal of the gate groaned as it swayed slightly in the breeze. Somewhere far off, I could hear the faint chatter of guards patrolling, but out here, it felt like we were separate from the rest of the camp.Still, the silence between us was not easy. It pressed against my ribs, awkward and heavy, like neither of us quite knew where to begin.Finally, I took the first step.“Thank you,” I murmured. “For keeping an eye on Anya for Lincoln and me.” I flicked a glance at her before turning my gaze back to the metal chain link of the fence. "How has she been?"Raven huffed a soft breath, tilting her head back slightly. “She loves to call me an Invader. Is that the Grounders’ name for us?” A teasing lilt touched her voice, but the smile on her lips did not quite reach her eyes.I let out a short, dry laugh. “‘Descendants of the traitors’ was too long.”That got a chuckle from her.“She’s been good,” Raven continued. “Truthfully, being around her has kept my mind off of… you know.”I nodded. “Mmn. I understand.”Then, back to silence.The wind picked up slightly, rustling through the trees. A few feet away, a squirrel darted up the trunk of an old oak, its tiny claws scraping against bark.Ever so blunt, Raven asked, “Has everything been alright these past few days?”I hesitated before nodding. “Yeah.”Not a lie, but not the whole truth, either. I could feel her watching me, waiting.Sighing, I rubbed a hand over my face. “Sorry, I have been feeling… homesick since Linkocha and I returned. We visited our village on the way back. We are tight-knit, but I had not been back in two years.”Her eyes widened slightly. "Oh, how come you'd never visited?"I hesitated again. How much could I reveal?Though, Raven could ask anything of me, and I would not be able to deny her whatsoever. The least I could do.“Long story,” I said finally. “I hadn’t completed my required military training yet. I had been in the middle of my leave, then you all crashed down.” A breadcrumb of extra detail, but simple and vague enough.Raven’s gaze flickered toward me. “‘You all’ is too many people.”I turned slightly, watching her as she stared out at the trees, her expression distant. “I came a little later than the others,” she added, voice quieter.“I see.”Another pause. More silence.Not exactly uncomfortable, but it seemed as though there was something left unsaid from her end.For all the tension I had felt earlier, the way my body had reacted just at the sight of Raven, I thought I would feel the guilt, the sick twisting in my gut when facing her again. Yet, speaking to her now... my stomach did not weigh heavy.The lying. The manipulating.Somewhere along the way, it had become second nature.Rivo, Kane, the Lieutenant, the Chief—hell, even Zoya. Had I manipulated her without realizing it back then? How many people had I lied to under the guise of survival?…When had it become natural for me?I pushed the thought aside before it could settle too deep. Shaking off my thoughts, I exhaled through my nose and said, “I’m sure you’ve heard this from everyone, but… I’m sorry for your loss.”Raven did not answer right away. Her lips pressed into a thin line, her jaw tightening slightly. Then, after a few seconds, she nodded.“Thanks,” she murmured.Her fingers twitched against her knee, as if fighting the urge to fidget with something. But she had no tools in her hands now. Nothing to distract her. Nothing to keep her grounded.“I just never thought…” Her voice trailed off before she sighed, eyes flicking upward toward the gray sky. “You know, we didn’t even know they had survived the landing.”I stayed quiet, letting her speak at her own pace.“I came down both to let the Arkers know they were alive,” she continued. “But also…”I understood before she even finished.“To find him,” I murmured.She nodded. Short, sharp. Barely a movement at all. A long moment passed, but when Raven finally spoke again, her voice quieted. “It’s funny. I used to think we were invincible, you know?” She let out a short, humorless laugh. “We survived space. We survived the Ark. We survived landing here. But out of all of that, it was a bullet that took him out.”She shook her head, inhaling deeply before exhaling through her nose.“I should’ve been there,” she said. “I should’ve…”She did not finish the sentence. But she did not have to. A heavy exhale left her lips as she slouched forward, resting her elbows against her knees and dropping her head in between them slightly. She glanced up at me from the corner of her eye as she asked, “Do you know what’s next?”I shook my head. “No. I assume the Lieutenant and Clarke will head for the Commander’s camp, but beyond that, I do not know.” A pause. Then, quieter, “And you?”She stretched out her injured leg, rolling her ankle slowly. “I don’t know yet.” A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. “Guess I’ll figure it out as I go.”I huffed a quiet laugh. “That seems to be the way of things.”I glanced at her, but her attention had shifted—her gaze fixed on something behind me, her brow lifting slightly. I turned the other way, careful not to strain the still-healing wound at my side.A crowd had gathered at the base of the Ark. Chancellor Abby stood elevated on a makeshift platform beside the strange man—Thelonious Jaha, I reminded myself. Their voices had just begun to rise above the low murmur of the crowd. Clarke was among them, arms crossed, her face unreadable.“Looks like they made a decision,” Raven muttered, slowly pushing herself to her feet.I followed. “Let’s hear it.”We moved through the bodies pressing toward the platform.Commanding attention with ease, Jaha's voice carried over the restless crowd. “It’s a difficult decision to make,” he said. “But the time has come for each and every one of us to ask: will this be the way our people end? Did we come all this way just to die tomorrow?”Silence settled—not one of agreement, but of uncertainty.Jaha continued, unwavering, “Because if we are not gone by sunrise, that is exactly what will happen.”A murmur rippled through the gathered survivors. Beside him, Abby lifted a hand, her voice cutting through the unease. “No decision has been made yet. While we sort this out, please report to your station supervisor and gather emergency supplies.”And then, just like that, it was over. Raven and I glanced at each other, but it seemed as though others in the crowd were also confused at how brief it was. Abby and Jaha turned and strode back inside without another glance at the people they claimed to lead. A temporary reprieve, nothing more. Whatever Jaha had told Abby, it must have terrified her enough to push a vague, half-formed announcement like this.Lexa was known to be... measured, more than most of her predecessors. But she was still ruthless when she needed to be. What had she done? What could have been so severe that even Thelonious had chosen to abandon the 47 with ease?...well. Not exactly his first time, I supposed.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The shouts began at sunset.Bellamy and I were the first to move, our chairs scraping and stumbling against the dirt as we stood. A hush fell over the mess hall, conversations cut off as every head turned toward the terrified screams. Beyond the tent's entrance, past the barrier the Arkers had thrown together, the heart of a fire pulsed in the dark treeline.One torch. Two. Then four. Then too many to count.The Trikru army had arrived.While drums would never start almost a day early from a planned attack, my heart thrummed with each pound of the drums from deep within the forest. I knew this game well—war did not need bloodshed, but fear. Starve them, isolate them, make them desperate enough to break before the real fight even began. It was a tactic drilled into every Trikru warrior, including myself. Goosebumps rose up my spine, and I could not help but wonder if this was what it was like to be on the Azgeda side of the war.My fingers curled into a fist."Fuck," Bellamy muttered, stepping toward the exit. I followed, and so did Octavia and Lincoln, the four of us emerging into the open air.The cold evening wind slammed into me first. The camp fell silent but for the distant beat of war drums. People backed away from the gates, hands searching for whatever weapons they could find. Movement at the entrance of the camp caught my eye. In front of the metal fencing, Clarke and Anya stood, silhouetted against the firelit trees. Behind them, Arker guards kept their guns trained on the forest line, fingers hovering dangerously close to the triggers.Stomach knotting horrendously, I placed a hand onto Lincoln’s shoulder and asked, "We have to stay out of this, right?"Face unreadable, he nodded."Why? What’s going on?" Octavia asked, her eyes darting between us."Anya is Clarke's best chance at getting an audience with the Commander to request a truce," Lincoln explained, keeping his voice low. "In exchange, the Arkers will help infiltrate Mount Weather to free the 47 delinquents and the Trikru prisoners.""Clarke needs to show her strategy planning strength in front of the Commander. It is the only way." I added.A dangerous plan, but one that Lincoln and I had confidence in. But if Trikru found out Lincoln and I were here as refugees, we were concerned that they might demand our extradition as leverage. I had not let myself think too long on that possibility, and truthfully, Lincoln and I believed that Trikru had more important matters on their hands than us. But the risk was still there.I felt Octavia's stare, burning with questions neither of us could answer. Her knowing there was a question there was a concern in itself. I swallowed, trying to keep my expression neutral, but I felt as though tension etched across my face.His gaze never left the torches, but ever observant, Bellamy asked, "What, you think they'll ask for you two back?"Dammit, Bell. Lincoln hesitated, his silence loud enough to be an answer."They will not," I said, forcing more confidence into my voice than I felt. "We are not important in the grand scheme of things. This is not about us."Even as I spoke, I wondered if that was true.Two warriors on horseback traveled from the treeline to a few paces away from the gate."Ñukaka Anyami Trikrumanta kani!" [I am Anya from Trikru!] The Lieutenant called out, voice carrying across the camp. "Hedaman apamunayku." [Take us to Heda.]The visceral reaction from the Arkers irked me—flinching, as though the speech itself violent. The jarring sound of our language in the middle of this camp made me realize Lincoln and I had adjusted to the mostly English-speaking camp.Slamming their fists against their chests, the two warriors confirmed the order and waited for the two women to walk between them."They're just letting them leave?" Octavia whispered, incredulous."This was the plan," Lincoln reminded her, though I could hear the edge of doubt in his voice. "Clarke must've already gotten approval from the Chancellor."Clarke's shoulders squared as she prepared to leave the safety of the camp. Her eyes scanned the camp, searching for someone. Her mother, probably. When she did not see Abby, her expression hardened again, and she followed Anya through the gate without a backward glance.The gate closed behind them, and the camp exhaled a collective breath."This is a mistake," Bellamy murmured."She will pull it off," I said. "Just as she has in the past."Octavia stepped closer to Lincoln, wrapping her arm around his, her concern obvious. "What if the Commander won't listen? What if this just makes things worse?"Lincoln did not answer right away. Then, he said, "She will listen to Anya.""And if she doesn't?" Bellamy asked."We prepare for migration—or war." Lincoln said quietly.No one spoke after that.The war drums continued.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆Even with a fire pit blazing a few feet away, the cold settled in with the dark, biting and sharp against exposed skin. I sat on an overturned crate, hugging one leg to my chest, chin balanced on my knee while the other dangled. The heel of my boot tapped a quiet rhythm against the worn wood, steady.To my left, in the dim light, I watched the distant figures of Linkocha and Oktcha, pausing in front of her tent she shared with Bellamy. A final brief conversation before Lincoln reached down and kissed her hand goodnight. He waited until she slipped inside before returning to the husk of the Ark, back to our cell bedroom.I made a quiet, exaggerated gagging noise at the display.A similar sound came from behind me.My head whipped to the right, where Bellamy sat next to me on the crate. I eyed him up and down. "Copycat."His eyebrows shot up, incredulous. "I've always done that." He defended himself against the accusation."Sure you have."The corner of his mouth twitched, and I felt my own threaten to do the same. The tension thinned, and a quiet, breathy chuckle slipped out of me, barely there but real. Bellamy’s laugh followed, equally short-lived, as though we both remembered ourselves a little too quickly. The fire cracked sharply, sending a shower of embers into the night air, and the weight of the moment crept back in.The silence that settled after was not quite awkward, but different. Lighter, maybe."I'm glad they didn't argue with us," Bellamy murmured, his voice carrying quiet relief.I agreed silently. Our curfew was still a few hours away, but Bellamy and I had insisted our younger siblings catch some rest to prepare for... well, whatever happened tomorrow. Last time we were all out in the forest, Octavia and Lincoln always took the first watch while Bellamy and I got to sleep. It only made sense to switch it around this time.Truthfully, I was not sure I would be able to sleep anyway. The distant beat of war drums died down to a quiet thrumming, a second heartbeat of the forest. Still, it was there—a constant reminder that Clarke and Anya stood somewhere beyond the treeline, before the Commander, gambling on words instead of blood. Either they would succeed, or we would be running for our lives by dawn."Do you think Clarke will be back during our watch?" He asked, his gaze flicking toward the closed gate."No." I did not pull my eyes from the flickering torchlights beyond the trees, from the sea of warriors just out of sight. "But in case she does, we will have a head start in notifying the leaders."Though, behind us, the camp refused to sleep. Some of the Arkers had listened to Thelonious, the fear finally sinking in now that the threat was real, visible, and at their front door. I could hear them scurrying around, packing what little they had in case they needed to run. But a majority of the Arkers seemed to be waiting for Chancellor Abby and her daughter to come through, to pull off a miracle.I wanted to believe that too. But the tension of the night weighed down my shoulders. Even the cold seemed to press in heavier, like the forest held its breath.Silence stretched between Bellamy and I, and in that space, the memory of our last argument about him and the Arkers' leadership resurfaced. I had jabbed a finger at his chest and told him, point-blank, that the aggravating Bellamy I knew would not have rolled over for these assholes. I had meant it at the time—and still did—but the longer I spent in camp, watching, the more I realized I was missing multiple pieces of the puzzle.Perhaps Bell's thought process paralleled mine, because he broke the silence first. "When we first got to the ground, I thought... I thought maybe we all had a chance to start over. Move past the Ark's politics, the Chancellor, our laws." His voice quietened toward the end, almost lost beneath the snap of the firewood. "But then Kane showed up, the adults took over...and I let them."Mm, made sense, and that would account for his strange submissive reaction back then. Nodding along, I turned to him, my cheek resting on my knee. The fire cast long shadows across his face, accentuating the tension in his jaw, the exhaustion tucked in the corners of his eyes."I'd been pardoned by Kane himself, but he’s held that assassination attempt on Jaha against me ever since, even though I gave up who was behind it." He exhaled, bitter. "But he still punished me for it, and I let him. I knew that once Kane and Abby arrived, Clarke and I would be brushed off to the side. They wouldn’t need us anymore."...except Clarke had not been brushed aside. I did not say it, but I could see it in the thin, bitter smile he held.He felt left behind.I knew that feeling too well—watching someone you care about find a place where you no longer fit.“Do not let that mindset take over your rationality,” I said instead.Bellamy frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?""Your plan of being the inside man."Bellamy did not answer right away. Then, a quiet, "We need an advantage.""Yes, but it is too risky." I pointed out with a raise of my brow. "Mount Weather has already started testing blood transfusions. Soon, they will move on to human experiments. You are willing to throw yourself at the wolves, yet you are not thinking about what happens after they sink their teeth in and drag you back to their den."His gaze met mine, and dammit, there it was—that ghost of a smile twitching at the corner of his lips. "And you’d just let that happen to me?"I rolled my eyes. "No. I would have to break into that mountain just to save your dumbass myself."A quiet chuckle left him, albeit short-lived. His eyes flickered back to the fire pit in front of us, the glow reflecting in his dark irises."I just want her to have a life here," he murmured.I did not have to ask who he meant. The girl under the floor. I caught on to what some of the Arkers whispered when they thought Octavia was not listening. Assholes.Maybe that's why the four of us got along well. The outsiders, those who did not fit the Ark's neatly drawn lines of who belonged and who did not. He wanted to give her safety, freedom. I understood that, more than I wanted to admit. After years of being isolated and rejected, Octavia and Lincoln deserved to be happy with each other.The fire crackled as quiet fell between us.A long breath left me, the words tumbling out before I could think better of them."I will come with you."Bellamy snapped his head toward me, eyebrows raised in open surprise. I was almost offended at the reaction. I huffed through my nose. "Do not look at me like that.""I'm just supposed to believe you're willingly volunteering with me?"I closed my eyes, shaking my head slightly before resting my chin back on my knee. "I caused a lot of issues for Lincoln these past few years." A heavy, quiet admission. I shifted on the crate, the cold wood biting into my ass. "We had problems with Trikru long before you all came down. I would like to give him some peace, for once." I hesitated, then exhaled sharply, my breath curling into the cold. "And... I am tired of sitting back, waiting for things to fall apart."Silence stretched between us. In the flickering light of the fire, I felt his eyes on me, studying.After a beat, he let out a breath, shaking his head. "Older siblings. Always causing problems for their younger ones."I snorted.Two older siblings guarding the night, waiting for the dawn.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆I did not remember falling asleep in bed.Darkness blinked into dawn light, creeping through the gaps in the glass windows of the cell bedroom door. A warm hand on my shoulder, gentle but insistent, pulled me from the weight of sleep. Linkocha shook me just enough that my mind stirred, sluggish and reluctant to wake.I exhaled a slow breath through my nose before opening my eyes. A blur of colors and shifting shapes settled into something more familiar—the relaxed lines of Lincoln’s face, the hopeful glint in his gaze. Propping myself up on one elbow, I rubbed the grit of sleep from my eyes, trying to shake off the fog in my head. “She’s back?” My voice rasped, quiet. Lincoln nodded. “Octavia confirmed.”Okay, not a bad sign so far. I hummed in acknowledgment, swinging my legs over the edge of the cot. The cold metal beneath my feet sent a jolt up my legs, my body instinctively recoiling from the chill. I curled my feet away from the floor, holding them aloft for a moment before I could force myself to reach for my socks. As I reached for my clothes, I glanced at him again. “Did she add anything else?”“Anya did not come with her, and Clarke had no visible injuries.” An even tone.Things were... actually looking hopeful, for once?I nodded once and focused on dressing. Lincoln and I were not morning people, and neither of us tried to force unnecessary conversation before our minds were ready for it. He sat in quiet patience as I tugged on the layers of warmth to brace against the chill outside.By the time we were ready, Jehan stood on the other side of the door. The metal connectors hissed open as he released its latch, stepping back to let us pass. Lincoln and I exchanged silent nods of thanks to the Arker before heading out of our cage and straight into the biting morning air.The Arker camp stirred with early movement. The atmosphere had shifted—not quite relief, but something close to it. Less tension in the air, though I caught glimpses of it through people packing their meager belongings. Some of them still did not trust that Clarke’s return meant their safety.My gaze flickered toward the tree line beyond the camp. The Trikru warriors lingered in the shadows of the forest, but they had not moved closer, nor had they prepared for an attack.The sky stretched pale and muted, dawn breaking through thick clouds. Even with the sun's light, the cold held its grasp, seeping into the bones of those unprepared for winter’s approach. Lincoln and I were dressed for this kind of weather, but the Arkers? Not so much. Many of them shivered under thin layers, their breath curling in misted wisps into the air.But it was dawn. And Trikru still had not attacked.We moved through the camp, searching for any sign of Octavia, Bellamy, or Clarke. No sign of them. Not even Raven.Lincoln and I met eyes and, without a word, changed direction. If they weren’t here, they were by the leaders' meeting room. The stale scent of metal and old fire greeted us, the chill clinging to the walls.Just as expected, we found the siblings in the hallway outside the meeting room.Bellamy leaned against the wall, one leg bent, the sole of his shoe pressed against the metal. Octavia stood in front of him, shifting her weight between each foot, arms crossed against the cold. The moment she spotted Lincoln, Octavia moved first, throwing her arms around him. Lincoln, ever steady, caught her easily and returned the embrace without hesitation.As we walked up, I caught Bellamy’s eye. Behind our siblings' backs, I lifted my hand to make a silent, exaggerated gagging gesture at the heartfelt moment. His lips twitched, amusement flickering behind his dark eyes.Before we could speak, the sharp hiss of the meeting room doors broke through the quiet. Our attention snapped toward them just in time to see Clarke step out, followed closely by Chancellor Abby and Thelonious.The latter two barely spared us a glance as they passed, moving toward the exit with determined steps. No doubt heading to rally their people for another speech, another attempt to keep the Arkers steady despite everything looming over them.Clarke, on the other hand, came straight toward us with the update.She looked… better. Less worn down than I expected, considering the stakes. The cuts and bruising she sustained from Mount Weather had faded into yellows and dark thin scabs. There was something in the way she held herself, the way she met our eyes with confidence, that hinted at good news.“We have a truce, it worked.” She confirmed.A collective exhale. Octavia, Lincoln, and I released the tension in our chests. It wasn’t outright relief, not yet, but it was something. A crack in the weight pressing down on us.Bellamy, of course, was the first to push for more. “What happened?”Clarke met his gaze. “The Commander… she’s young, around our age.”Oh, that's right. Lincoln and I glanced at each other, but said nothing, letting her continue.“At first, she wanted answers about other problems we caused. But after I explained our side, she seemed… more understanding. I think Kane made a good impression on her, but I didn't see him. She said he'll be sent to us shortly, whatever that means.” Clarke shifted slightly, glancing at Lincoln and I before adding, “Since Anya confirmed what I saw at Mount Weather, and because of Trikru’s history with that place, she agreed to a truce. Peace, as long as we can get the grounders trapped inside Mount Weather out.”Bellamy let out a breath, a mixture of surprise and disbelief. "That’s it?"I understood his reaction. A truce, just like that? No bloodshed, no immediate punishment?Clarke’s silence confirmed the same thought.Strange. The Commander who forced Trikru into war with Azgeda once more, who declared jus drein, jus daun the night before Mount Caocin... had decided to avoid blood?Did losing Costia changed her?I folded my arms across my chest, glancing at Lincoln. I had expected him to meet my gaze, to also show some confusion, but he avoided me, unreadable for a moment before exhaling slowly through his nose. The weight of his history with Mount Weather hung between us. I saw it in the way his jaw tightened, the flicker of hesitation in his eyes. He did not have to say it—I knew. He would volunteer to go back, to help achieve this peace. He would do it without hesitation, no matter the cost.Too late, ñañito. [little brother.]The silence stretched. Bellamy, oblivious to the tension radiating from Lincoln and I, broke the tension and said to Clarke, "Let me be the inside man."Octavia straightened at his words, but Clarke barely blinked. She had hesitated last time he suggested it.Yet, something had changed her mind.She nodded.Immediately, Bellamy's gaze met mine with a miniscule raise of his eyebrow. An agreement already made.Ever observant, Lincoln caught it. His eyes snapped from Bellamy to me. "No." A low, firm tone. "You don’t know what it's like in there. Neither of you. You don’t know what they’ll do if they catch you."I held Bellamy’s gaze before turning to Lincoln. "Which is exactly why you are not going.""Kova—""Receiving Tree-Weaver was the worst moment of my life, Lincoln." My voice cut through whatever argument he was about to make. "I passed your sword to Octavia, just as you had requested, and I had to protected the Arkers and their camp as though I did not grieve you behind closed tents. You are not going back. Not while I breathe."He stilled, but that silence was not surrender. I did not want to do this—especially not in front of the Arkers—but I knew he would not stop.He opened his mouth—I stepped close, voice low as I said, "Linkocha, you have carried me through Trikru politics for years. You stood between me and their punishments, and carried my exile as your own. You have already given enough. Let me do my part now." I pressed the side of my fist against his chest. "Let me protect you, like I should have been doing."A muscle ticked in his neck, but his balled up fists had relaxed. My foolish younger brother may not have responded, but he conceded.Octavia, on the other hand, seethed."You’re out of your damn mind," she snapped at Bellamy. "You heard what they nearly did to him. You saw what it did to me when I thought he was gone. And now you're just gonna walk in there?" She shoved his arm, but he barely moved. "Are you even listening to yourself?"Jaw tight, Bellamy responded, "We don’t have a choice, O.""Bullshit." Octavia shook her head, eyes burning. "You always think it has to be you.""It does," Bellamy said, quieter now. "And it’s not gonna be you."Octavia scoffed, crossing her arms tight over her chest. "Oh, so you get to decide that?"“Yeah,” Bellamy shot back. “Because I’m your brother. And I won’t lose you.”Octavia’s breath came sharp through her nose, frustration rolling off her in waves. But she did not argue. Not really. She turned to me instead. "And you? You’re really going with him?"I met her gaze, steady. "You protect my sibling..."She pressed her lips together, exhaling sharply through her nose. "...and I'll protect yours." She finished for me.Neither of them liked it. But they understood.Bellamy let out a slow breath, rolling his shoulders back as he looked to Clarke. "So? What’s our next move?"
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Our next move would happen in only a matter of hours.The midday sun bore down on Camp Jaha, casting long shadows between the makeshift shelters and metal scrap piles that had become the backbone of the Arkers’ survival. The camp, once plagued by uncertainty, now moved with purpose.Everywhere I looked, people worked and bustled around. A group of engineers hauled metal scraps toward the smithing station, hammering old Ark pieces into something usable for weapons and armor. Octavia heard a rumor float around, something about Trikru sending in blacksmiths to Camp Jaha, but nothing confirmed. Other Arkers packed medical supplies into cloth bundles, rationing out what could be spared for the journey ahead. The ones who were not going to Mount Weather busied themselves reinforcing the camp, digging trenches and fortifying the walls, I guess in case the alliance crumbled.In the short grass, I stood off to the side, arms crossed, watching it all unfold. Lincoln and Octavia stood to my right, just as quiet. If the Arkers were worried about marching alongside Trikru warriors, they did not show it.Or maybe they did not have the luxury of doubt anymore.The crunch of boots against dirt drew my attention fiest.Major Byrne approached, her face as rigid as the blade she carried at her hip. Behind her, two guards carried an assortment of familiar weapons.Lincoln noticed too, his stance shifting slightly as he straightened beside me. He did not say anything as Byrne stopped in front of us."Your weapons," Byrne said, nodding to the guards. "We took them when you were under watch. Now that we’re all supposed to head out together and play nice..."One of the guards extended their arms, holding my original blade and a pair of twin swords. I took them without a word, though I could feel Lincoln's eyes burning into my hands as I strapped the twins to my hips. A conversation for later. Running my fingers over the familiar grip of my sword, I crossed it over my body and carried it on my back. Lincoln reclaimed two long daggers and three small knives.The guards shifted uncomfortably."But make no mistake," Byrne continued, eyes sharp. "If either of you so much as think about turning on us, I will put you down on the spot."I met her gaze evenly. Lincoln did the same. No need for us to respond to the threat; we were not stupid. Byrne, either. She studied us for a beat longer before turning on her heel and walking away, her guards following.As soon as she was out of earshot, I exhaled sharply and turned to Lincoln. "When I first met her, I had just been shot by one of the Arkers' gun. Delirious, hungry, dehydrated." I held my thumb and forefinger just a hair's breadth apart. "And I was still this close to beating her with my belt."Standing beside him, Octavia barked out a laugh. Lincoln’s lips twitched."Bellamy told me about it," she said, shaking her head. "He said she nearly had an aneurysm."Before Lincoln or I could reply, the far sound of hooves clopping down a beaten path caught our attention. We turned toward the gate, watching as two lines of Trikru warriors on horseback approached. At the head of their ranks, just outside the camp’s perimeter—Oh, by the Gods.I loathed the way my stomach tightened at the sight of Chief Indra. It had only been a month, yet she had aged significantly from sleepless nights, from stretching in multiple directions of responsibilities. Dark eye bags contradicted her straight back. She and Lieutenant Anya sat tall on their horses, in spite of exhaustion and injuries. Neither of them made a move to enter. They simply waited.The Chief remained still, but I caught the flex in her fingers tightening around the reins slightly. Her mouth moved ever so slightly, but her gaze flicked in our general direction until her gaze met my stare. My nails bit into the skin of my palm, the only sensation preventing me from flinching and looking away. A quick dart over to Lincoln, and her nostrils flared before she looked away. She must have noticed the way Octavia held his arm.Anya, on the other hand, did not glance at us. She kept her gaze forward, the muscle in her jaw twitching. Biting back words.Lincoln and I exchanged weary glances.Trikru did not see us as their own anymore. While relations had improved somewhat, the Arkers barely tolerated us. And yet, here we were—walking into battle alongside both....one who might have a kill order on my head. Neither of us had forgotten about that. But what was a casual way to ask, 'Hey, will I be beheaded for stepping out of this camp?'A horn sounded from the front of the camp. Time for the assembly, though the three of us remained in place. Chancellor Abby, I had expected. What I did not expect was Kane, who stood by her side, addressing the gathered crowd.When did he come back?He returned alive and intact, but sickly shades of yellow and green bruises mottled the skin of his jaw and cheekbones. A white bandage peeked from beneath the sleeve of his uniform. When he adjusted his stance, it was slow and careful, as though any sudden movement might send a fresh wave of pain through him.He cleared his throat before speaking to the gathered Arkers."The past few weeks have tested us all. We came down to the ground expecting to find a fresh start, but instead, we found problems. Enemies. Loss. But today, we stand on the edge of something greater than survival." His gaze swept over the crowd. "Today, we fight not just for our people, but for all who have suffered at the hands of Mount Weather."Murmurs rippled through the crowd, but no one interrupted.Abby stepped forward, nodding to Kane before continuing. "When I first took on the role of Chancellor, I did it so that Kane could represent us to the local government body. To keep us safe. To make sure we had a future. But leadership isn’t about holding onto power—it’s about knowing when to let go. Kane will be taking back his position as Chancellor, and I will be leaving to fight for our people as an ambassador, not a leader."A variety of emotions passed through the Arkers in the crowd close to the platform. For some, eagerness. Others, wariness. From a distance, I saw Raven crossing her arms over her chest, muttering something to Clarke. On her opposite side, Bellamy shifted his weight, eyes scanning the guards who would soon be our allies. The Arkers took this well—better than expected. Perhaps they had grown used to the back-and-forth of leadership. Or maybe they no longer cared, so long as someone was willing to fight for them.Anya and Indra remained motionless outside the gate. They had given no signal, no gesture of acknowledgment. I doubted they would.Lincoln exhaled beside me, shifting his weight. "Ready for this?"I glanced at him, then back at the warriors waiting beyond the fence line. My fingers curled around the hilt of Tristan's blade on my right."No," I admitted. "But waiting will not change that."⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆Crunch, the leaves and twigs underneath our boots loudly alerted the forest of our troop's presence.The nearest path from Camp Jaha to TonDC stretched long, uneven, and unkept before us, winding through the sparse foliage of the forest and shifting earth. Raven and Chancellor Ambassador Abby led the way, flanked by armed guards whose footsteps trampled over the brittle undergrowth. Clarke trailed just behind them, posture rigid, her gaze set straight ahead. She never looked back. Not once.With Octavia between us, Lincoln and I walked several paces behind the trio. While Bellamy would not let his sister out of his sight, sometimes he would walk ahead from my side to catch up with Clarke. They spoke in hushed tones, discussing logistics, plans of being the inside man I assumed. His shoulders squared as he listened intently, his brows furrowing in thought before he would slow again, falling back into our orbit.More than once, my eyes traced the lines of his body—the broad lines of his shoulders, his shirt tucked into dark cargo pants that rested on firm, narrow hips. His fingers twitched restlessly near the handle of his gun as he walked.That was why I eyed him up. Right. I wrenched my gaze away, cursing myself for the distraction.But none of that compared to the pressure at the back of my neck. Goosebumps had risen up and down my spine and had not stopped since we left Camp Jaha. Somewhere behind us, farther down the line, three major people who wished to see me dead rode their horses. Too far to hear the shifting of my breath, too far to pick up on the tension bleeding through my stance.The Commander, who never forgot any insubordination.The Lieutenant, who was caught somewhere between disdain and reluctant tolerance.The Chief, who saw me as nothing but a stain upon Trikru.While he had always been better at masking his discomfort, I saw the way Lincoln's shoulders stiffened, the way his fingers flexed at his sides as though itching for his weapons. He felt the stares as well. He was not any more welcome in their eyes than I was. A sliver of guilt weighed heavily in my gut at the idea of being the reason why Lincoln was displaced, even if I knew he actually preferred our current circumstances.Octavia nudged him gently, her pinky hooking with his before she gave him a knowing look. Whatever passed between them was silent but understood. A moment later, she lengthened her stride, stepping ahead until she reached Bellamy, looping her arm through his. Bellamy glanced down at her, then back at us, but he did not question it.Lincoln waited until she was beyond earshot before speaking.“The swords?”It took all my self-discipline to keep my hands still. Dammit. I did not wish to speak of this here.But if not here, then when? Would we have a combined camp? Would there be a scout listening in on our conversations?“What about them?” I asked, knowing I only attempted to prolong the inevitable."Who did they belong to?"I exhaled slowly. “Tristan.”Lincoln’s expression remained impassive, unreadable, but I saw the flicker in his eyes, the way they darted to the trees, scanning the branches as if danger lurked just beyond the leaves. His tell.“When?” He kept his voice low with the question.“After the dropship battle.” I kept my own tone as quiet and steady as I could. “He had Bellamy and Finn captive. I did what needed to be done.”Though his jaw tensed slightly, no argument fell from his lips. He knew as well as I did that Tristan would not have hesitated to do worse. That did not make the situation any less precarious.“No one knows,” I added. “As far as Trikru believes, Tristan died in the fire. But if they recognize the swords—”“They will,” Lincoln interrupted, his voice barely above a whisper. His gaze flickered to the corner of his eye, and I knew he referred to the three powerful riders behind us. “You need to get rid of them.”“I know.” I muttered, shaking my head slightly. "The guards confiscated my weapons, I did not have a chance to even think about them until Byrne returned them. I had planned to pay a blacksmith to turn them into unrecognizable daggers."The swords were sheathed, the hilts worn enough that from a distance, they were indistinguishable from any other warrior’s weapons. But all three women were familiar with Tristan. If they got close enough, if they caught even a glimpse of the markings near the base of the blades…I felt the weight of Lincoln’s stare, the silent warning, but I did not meet his eyes. Instead, I focused on the path ahead, on the soft murmur of Octavia and Bellamy’s voices, on the rhythmic steps of the horses behind us.We were still miles from TonDC. Too many miles left for someone to start asking questions I could not risk to answer.⋆₊⋆ ☾ ⋆₊⋆With no cloud in sight, I knew this night would be frigid. The last ray of sunlight highlighted the nearby mountains a brilliant yellow, but dark blue skies stretched long shadows across the clearing where we had stopped to make camp. A deliberate arrangement divided between Trikru and the Arkers. Clarke, ever the mediator, set up her bedroll in the neutral space between both camps and two large trees. Spread out enough for privacy, the Arkers clustered near her. Abby, of course, kept close, and Raven set up on the Ambassador's opposite side. The guards followed suit and arranged a night watch shift.Lincoln and I sat apart from the two groups, neither fully with our own people nor willing to nestle in beside the Arkers. Although, I thought our camp was slightly closer to the Arkers since Octavia, without hesitation, settled beside us, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.Ugh, Lincoln's goo-goo eyes were back.Bellamy lingered at the edge of the Arkers' camp, rifle slung over his torso, one hand resting against the strap, casual and controlled. His eyes tracked our placement, then met Octavia’s. He gave a slight nod. An agreement. But he did not move to join us. He remained beside Clarke, standing watch.Octavia and I sat near our small fire, murmuring about nothing in particular, our attention flicking up when Lincoln emerged from the tree line. He had only gone to relieve himself, yet I could not help but worry with other Trikru warriors too close for comfort.It seemed as though I had the right to be concerned. Something about the way he returned—his gait a fraction too controlled, too quick—put me on edge.As he crossed the side of the camps, Indra passed him. She did not stop, nor slow. But Lincoln did. Just for a breath of a moment, his steps faltered. He did not look back at her, simply resumed his path. Fuck. What did she say to him?Waiting quietly, Octavia and I watched as Lincoln silently lowered himself onto the log beside Octavia, moving with slow deliberation. His face was expressionless. He met my eye, and I pursed my lips slightly with furrowed eyebrows. An unasked question.A quiet murmur, the word "Sirpaq" left his lips.My mouth parted slightly.Octavia frowned, shifting closer to him. “What does that mean?” she asked.I did not mean to ignore her, but I said, "She called you a traitor?"Uncomfortable, Lincoln remained still. The first sign of aggression, the first boundary tested.A spark of irritation curled in my chest, but somehow, joined by amusement as I huffed, "Still as petty as ever, that Chief."Lincoln gave me a look that was equal parts exasperation and reluctant understanding. Octavia let out a quiet snort, shaking her head. “I’m not surprised. Indra was pretty intimidating the first time I met her.”I blinked. That caught my attention. I turned to her fully. “You have met Indra?”She looked up, brow raised. “Yeah. After Lincoln got taken by the Reapers again—after the dropship fight—I went looking for him, but I couldn’t find him. On my way back, I ran into Bellamy. We headed back together, and that’s when we found Lincoln escaping from the Reapers.”By the time she finished, I was still processing that first part. Lincoln did not wish to speak of his time with the reapers, and I had respected that. I glanced at him. He blinked with a subtle nod. An approval, confirming consent.Somehow, the thought of Octavia and Indra standing in the same space unsettled something in me.I had no further questions, and our conversation slipped into an easier theme. The fire crackled between us, the warmth flickering over our faces. Despite the weight of everything, it was nice, the three of us together. Comfortable in a way I had not anticipated.Octavia had been humming softly in response to something Lincoln had said, but as the minutes passed, the hum faded. Her posture slouched. Her chin dipped toward her chest.Lincoln glanced down. So did I.She had nodded off where she sat, head tipped back against the log behind us, breathing slow and even. The exhaustion of the day’s hike had caught up with her, dragging her under without ceremony.Lincoln moved without speaking, shifting to gather her up as though she weighed nothing. I expected him to take her to her tent—the one she was supposed to share with her brother. Instead, he carried her toward ours.I rapped my knuckles against the log, catching his attention before he ducked into the tent. He paused in the entrance, Octavia still in his arms. I raised an eyebrow.He put his fingers close together in a wordless plea. 'Just a short nap together?'I tilted my head. 'Are you crazy?' I pointedly flicked my gaze past him, where Clarke laid and Bellamy stood watch.His only response was a small, knowing glance down to the sleeping woman curled in his arms. More importantly, down to my sleeping bag. Then the puppy eyes.I sighed, long-suffering, and rolled my eyes. 'Fine, whatever.' I waved my hand. 'Only a short nap.' I pointed a warning finger at him before turning back to the fire.Lincoln nodded, already lowering himself onto his bedroll beside her, fully prepared to ignore my protests as he tucked Octavia under my blanket.If they were going to take over our tent and leave me to the cold, I was not about to sit out here alone. I grabbed my waterskin and made my way to Octavia’s tent instead, throwing my pack inside before crawling in after it, kicking my shoes off just before the entrance.Either Bellamy would wake Octavia up and drag her back, or he would pretend not to notice.Either way, not my problem.