by Kass Morgan
He and Felix had found something on their scouting mission, and had waited for everyone to wake up to fill them in. Bellamy waited for Vale to stagger over, sleepily rubbing her eyes, then launched in without preamble.
“We’ve found a back door into these people’s entire stash of weapons,” he said. His eyes shone with a manic intensity that made Clarke shiver.
Felix stood a few feet behind him, arms crossed tight. “And they have no idea it’s there,” he added. “We might not have long before they discover the hole.”
No, Clarke thought desperately. That’s not the way to do this. They were vastly outnumbered. Weapons weren’t going to help them here. They had to try diplomacy, offer some kind of trade. There had to be something these people wanted, or else they wouldn’t have attacked their camp.
Clarke glanced at Paul, who had an unusually grave look on his face. He and Clarke had discussed this last night with the others, while Felix and Bellamy had gone off on their own. He’d back her up.
“The walls look unbreakable, but only from a distance,” Bellamy went on. Clarke noticed that his hands were shaking. “There are windows, cracked foundations, places we could plant these explosives and blow the whole thing down around them.”
“You know this how, exactly?” Paul asked, smiling tightly. “Did you become an engineer in the past two days, on top of everything else?”
Instinctively, Clarke started to rise to Bellamy’s defense, but Bellamy’s eyes lit up, smirk back in place.
“No, I’m not an engineer,” he said calmly. “But he is.”
He nodded to Luke, who was sitting on a log, his forehead creasing as he listened.
“What do you think, Luke?” Bellamy asked. “Is this viable?”
“I’d have to see it for myself,” he said, scratching his curly hair. “Help figure out where to position the explosives.”
Bellamy nodded. “That was going to be my next suggestion. We can risk one more recon trip, maybe tonight…”
Clarke stood.
“Then we’ll loot the armory and—”
“And blow up part of the building,” Clarke finished for him. “With our friends inside.”
Bellamy fell silent, turning to look at her.
She tried to ignore the look on his face, a mixture of pain and frustration. “This is reckless and this is wrong.”
“Thank you,” Paul said, standing up beside her with a huff. “I was sitting here listening to this, wondering if I was the only one who—”
Clarke cut him off, her eyes never leaving Bellamy’s. “We have to try diplomacy first, Bel. We have no idea where our friends are inside this… this structure, fortress, whatever you want to call it. For all we know, they could be in exactly the places you’re planning to bomb.”
Bellamy stiffened. “I thought about that,” he said through clenched teeth. “Those walls are just a defense. If we can knock them down, we can get to the heart of the structure without putting our friends at risk.”
Clarke took a deep breath. She knew Bellamy wouldn’t like it, but she had to speak. “Why do we have to attack at all?” she asked, turning to face the others. “Shouldn’t we explore every option available to us?”
Bellamy let out a short, bitter laugh. “You really think talking to these monsters is an option?”
Clarke blinked hard, trying to avoid the scorn in his face. “Paul and I talked about this last night. We think there’s a way to make a tactical and peaceful approach that will allow our loved ones to come home safely. We will listen to the demands of these… raiders.”
“These murderers,” Bellamy shot back.
“And we will offer a counterproposal, keeping the lines of communication open as long as we can in the hopes of a peaceful solution. Meanwhile, we can use that time to come up with a plan B that might be a little less…” She turned away from Bellamy, bracing herself for his reaction. “Rash. More strategically viable.”
Even without looking, she could feel the anger radiating from him. “And if our friends are killed in the meantime?” Bellamy asked, striding toward her. “My brother. My little sister? Are you really prepared to gamble with their lives?”
“Are you?” Clarke’s voice rose, her fists balling with anger. She refused to let him make her feel like some callous, uncaring person just because she wanted to exercise caution. “Because that’s what you’re bringing to us right now, Bel! A huge, reckless, crazy gamble.”
“Crazy,” Bellamy repeated. “You really want to throw that word at me right now?”
“You know what’s crazy?” Paul said. “Risking our lives to save people who might already be dead.”
The word sucked the air out of the woods around them. Cooper winced, and next to her, Clarke saw Jessa go pale.
Paul threw his hands up. “I’m just saying what everybody’s thinking! That’s a variable we need to keep in mind. There’s no sense in putting our own lives at risk until we know that there are people left in there to save.”
“They’re not dead,” Bellamy said in a low, dangerous voice. “And I’m not going to stand here while you cowards come up with excuses to abandon them.”
Vale cleared her throat. “He has a point. We’re working with limited information. We need to gather more before we can make a—”
“You might need to. But I don’t.” Bellamy turned around and started away, waving for Felix to follow. “We know where the armory is. We can take it from here.”
“No!” Clarke shouted, hurrying after him. “Bellamy, you can’t. This will put everything at risk… their lives at risk, you’ve got to see that!”
When he turned, his eyes were cold. “The only thing I see is a bunch of cowards, too scared to do what they swore to do.” He scanned the others quickly; then his gaze darted back to Clarke, pinning her with a glare. “Or is selfish a better word?”
She tried to reply, but couldn’t. Her chest was too tight, her heart aching, her blood too hot.
Bellamy turned away again, nodding at Luke. “You coming?”
Luke half rose, then looked to Clarke, wavering. She mouthed, please, and he sat back down.
Bellamy snorted. “That’s fine. I’ll wing it.”
“No, you won’t,” Paul said. “Stand down, Bellamy.”
“I’m not one of your guards,” Bellamy snapped. “And I think you mean Councilor Blake.”
Frustration bubbled up hot in Clarke’s chest. “Is that what this is really all about, Bellamy?” she asked. “You don’t feel like you’re getting the respect you deserve? Are you really going to endanger our friends’ lives to prove a point?”
His face turned white. “I’m trying to save them,” he spat. “We have no idea what’s going on in there—” He pointed toward the fortress. “They could be torturing Wells. Octavia could be in pain. And you’re all just content to sit there, doing nothing.”
“You’re not the only one who’s worried about someone you love,” Jessa snapped, stepping forward. “We’re all desperate for this mission to be a success. But we only have one shot, and we have to make it count.”
“I will make it count,” Bellamy said through gritted teeth. “But if we wait any longer, it could be too late. So here’s how it’s going to work. Anyone who’s ready to rescue our friends, come with me.”
“No,” Paul said. “I’m sorry, Bellamy, I get where you’re coming from, but it’s the wrong move. You’re not going anywhere.”
“And how the hell do you plan to stop me?”
Paul pulled something metallic out of his pocket: a pair of the restraints that Clarke was painfully familiar with, the same ones they’d used back on the ship. The same ones Rhodes had used to bring them before a firing squad.
“What are you doing with those?” Clarke asked, her heart beating fast.
Paul glanced over at her. “I came prepared.”
“Give them to me,” Clarke said, extending her arm. “You’re being ridiculous.”
Paul shook his head gravely.
“I know all about your boyfriend, Clarke. Wherever he goes, chaos ensues. I was there when he got the Chancellor shot. He’s a live wire, and I’m not going to let him get anyone killed again.”
“You’re not tying him up either,” Clarke said, stepping forward to stand in between Paul and Bellamy.
“That won’t be an issue,” Bellamy said, eyes flashing. “I’m out of here. Let’s go, Felix.”
“This is the wrong move,” Paul said, his voice growing louder as he looked imploringly at Jessa, Cooper, and Vale. “You saw what happened the last time you listened to Bellamy. Your people took him in and died for it. Do you really want to let him run off and use those weapons without exhausting our other options first?”
“Paul’s right,” Cooper said gruffly. “We should wait.”
But Bellamy ignored him and started walking away.
Paul nodded at Cooper, and in a flash, they’d grabbed Bellamy’s arms and wrenched them behind his back.
“Get off of me!” Bellamy spat, thrashing from side to side.
“Let him go!” Clarke cried out, dashing over to them. “You’re hurting him.” She grabbed on to Paul’s arm, but he shoved her off easily.
“This is insane,” Luke said, hurrying over and reaching out to help Bellamy, but Vale grabbed Luke and pulled him back. Still weakened from his injury and the long hike, he didn’t have the strength to fight her off.
“Let him go right now,” Clarke said in a voice that made Felix jump.
The restraints in place, Cooper was able to hold Bellamy on his own, allowing Paul to turn to Clarke. “It’s okay, Clarke. We’re just going to wait until he calms down and sees reason. Then we’ll let him go.”
Clarke turned to Bellamy, to make it clear that she wasn’t going to stand for this mutiny. But when their eyes locked, she didn’t recognize the person facing her. He was looking at her with such fury that a wave of fear rippled through her. No. They couldn’t let him loose in this condition. He’d get himself killed, and bring everyone else down with him. Wells and Octavia included. They had to get him to see reason, even if it meant doing something unforgivable.
“I’m sorry.” The words burned as they left her throat, and she turned away, her heart cracking under the weight of her shame.
Bellamy fell into a stony silence as they led him past Clarke. She froze, waiting for his eyes to reach hers, sharp with accusation—but they didn’t even graze her.
As if he couldn’t even bear to look at her.
CHAPTER 18
Bellamy
The hours crept by painfully, and Bellamy sat in silence. Eventually, the sun went down. With no fire and no lantern, Bellamy’s eyes had had time to adjust to the dark. He saw the night birds swooping on their way to search for prey. He saw bugs scuttling past in the soil. And in the near distance, he saw the path the raiders had cut through the forest with their wagons, dragging his family and friends with them.
He’d never felt so alone in his entire life.
He’d been secured to one of the metal beams and his back ached against it. His breathing had gotten slower at least, since that first wave of pure panic had passed. He’d stopped shaking and sweating and his heart no longer felt as if it was about to explode inside his chest.
But he wasn’t okay. He was never going to be okay again.
Bellamy shifted his weight, feeling the cuffs cutting into his wrists once again. They hurt, but nothing stung like the memory of Clarke standing by as her new buddy Paul dragged Bellamy away.
A twig cracked and Bellamy’s back stiffened. He sensed her before he saw her.
“Bellamy,” Clarke said softly. “Are you okay? I brought you some food.” She took a few hesitant steps, as though she were approaching a wounded animal, and crouched, leaning forward to place her hand on his arm.
Bellamy recoiled, wrenching himself as far from her as possible. “Don’t you dare touch me.”
“I just wanted to take off the restraints so you could eat,” she said, her voice shaking. She drew her hand back and watched him for a moment, settling into the dirt a few feet away. “I’m sorry things got… out of hand today.”
“Out of hand?” he repeated, feeling rage boil up inside again. “You stood there while Paul staged a coup. But it’s okay, I get it. He’s more useful to you now than I am.”
Her brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“Let’s see,” he said, pretending to be deep in thought. “First you dated the Chancellor’s son, which I don’t blame you for. Always a good idea to aim high when you can. But then Wells wasn’t very popular on Earth at first, was he?” He made an exaggerated grimace. “I wasn’t very popular either, but I could hunt, so I guess it was a smart trade. You knew you wouldn’t starve. Temporary, though. You hardly expected to spend the rest of your life with a piece of Walden trash like me. And then, here comes Paul, with his officer training and his smooth-talking, ass-kissing charm, and you realized that it was time to upgrade again.”
Clarke’s mouth fell open as she stared at him with a combination of shock and disgust. After a long moment, her eyes narrowed and she spoke. “You see, this is why we don’t want you part of the negotiations tomorrow. You let your temper take over, and then you start to believe your own crazy stories. It’s dangerous.”
Bellamy scoffed. “Yeah? So tell me. What’s your big plan for tomorrow?”
She raised her chin. “I’m going to approach the entrance holding a white flag. We’re not sure whether they have that custom, but it’s worth a try. And I’ll ask to speak to their leader to negotiate the terms of release.”
Her words knocked the anger from his chest. “What? No, Clarke, you can’t. They’ll shoot you before you even have a chance to open your mouth.”
Clarke crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s our only option. We don’t have the weapons to make a strategic attack—”
“We can use their weapons. I told you!” A note of desperation crept into his voice. The hurt and fury he’d felt was gone, replaced by cold dread. He couldn’t let her do this.
“And I told you. We can’t blow up part of the building. Not when we have no idea where the prisoners are being kept.”
“Clarke, please…” His voice cracked. “Don’t do it. After everything… if I lose you too…”
She raised her chin, eyes blazing. “When are you finally going to understand? Just because you love someone, it doesn’t give you the moral right to do something unreasonable. We’re all scared. We’re all in pain. But we have to be rational.”
Her exaggerated calmness reignited the smoldering anger. She was treating him like one of her patients in the psychiatric unit on the ship. Like he was too delusional to understand what was really going on. No matter what, she’d always see him as some hotheaded fool who stormed into situations and made everything worse. He wasn’t going to let her make him feel that way.
He felt his lips curl into a sneer. “People die while you’re trying to be rational, Clarke. Like Lily.” He knew the words were a step over the line the moment they came out of his mouth.
She recoiled and gasped, as if his words had knocked the air out of her. “Are you serious?” she said hoarsely. Years ago, her parents had been blackmailed into performing experiments with radiation on children, as part of the Council’s attempt to determine whether Earth could support human life. Bellamy’s first girlfriend, Lily, had been one of the subjects, and although Clarke had done everything she could to save her, it hadn’t been enough.
“I’m just saying that you might not be the best person to determine our course of action when there are lives on the line.”
Her head shot up, rage, hurt, pain shining from her eyes. Then, as Bellamy watched, his chest growing tight, she pulled it all back in, her face becoming as cold and remote as a statue.
“And you are?” she snapped. “The last time you were involved in a hostage situation, your father was shot.”
He stared at her, finding it hard to believe t
hat this was the same girl who’d left the safety of their camp to go with him to find Octavia when she went missing. The girl who trusted him, who needed him… who loved him.
“Just… go,” he said. “Go do whatever you think is best and I’ll do the same.”
“Fine.” She spun around and left without another word.
The silence that settled over the camp felt absolute. His eyelids fluttered and fell and he swore he could feel Octavia’s tiny hand holding his as they hid together in their cabin on the ship, Wells’s arms wrapping around him the first time they embraced as brothers, Clarke’s body warm against his as they stared up at the stars.
All things that were about to be stolen from him tomorrow, when Clarke put her suicidal plan into action.
CHAPTER 19
Glass
Yesterday had been the kind of busy day that leaves you floating just above dreams all night long, your body longing to stay in motion. In the darkness of her chamber, Glass’s mind flitted from memory to memory, never quite settling into deep slumber.
It had started with a rude awakening, being dragged out of the dorms to become Soren’s new maid, but it had ended on a very different note, with a dinner of delicious, spiced stew, surrounded by Soren and her advisors, their warm chatter and laughter filling the chamber.
Over the course of the day, there had been visits to nearly every corner of the compound; Soren drawing up plans for planting in several areas surrounding the outer walls; ducking into the sorting area, where the women were dividing goods up to keep or to melt down or scrap; walking along the river’s edge, where some of the men were teaching the younger members of the group to catch fish. They’d even paid a visit to the barracks, so that the High Protector could congratulate some of the newer recruits on their training and wish them well.
Glass hadn’t seen any of her friends there, and was secretly a little relieved about it. She’d spotted Wells only briefly, passing through the outer corridors of the Stone, and had flushed with panic at the sight of him, without really even knowing why.