On the Other Side
I knew it was going to end badly when she marched out of the drop ship all sass and determination.
"We still got people out there." My stomach lurches when she continues with, "Bellamy's not back yet." I follow her anyway.
An explosion goes off at the gate just before we step out. Grounders everywhere, mowing down our people. I have just enough time to push Clarke behind a couple of crates before she gets speared by a salvo of arrows coming her way. Mines and grenades keep going off left and right and there's a mad looking guy with a sword slicing his way through our people.
Where the hell is Bellamy? Turns out he's in the bushes less than twenty feet away. "There he is!" I can feel her shoulder tense up under my hand when she breathes out the words, "He's never gonna make it," then mindlessly gives away our position to scream, "Bellamy run!"
He's smart enough to grab a rifle, but the rifle's not smart enough to fire when he aims it at the madman with the sword. He blocks the sword to his gut, but takes a punch to the face and a knee to the stomach.
Clarke's face looks like her world is ending all over again. "He's killing him," she says breathlessly. No choice in the matter, I whip around and force the closest gunner to give up his gun. One shot. It hits the madman's shoulder but he doesn't go down. So I tackle him and we both hit the ground hard. I hear a roar and Bellamy is right next to me, on top of the guy, punching the living daylights out of him. It gives me enough time to scramble away. But not enough time to get back to the drop ship. I know.
I look at her, she looks at me and she's just waiting. She won't make the call. It's on me. I hate when it's on me. She's got tears in her eyes. I nod, just once, quickly. Then I have to block a punch. The guy just grabs me and throws me like rag-doll. The impact knocks the wind right out of me and I can't breathe. There's another guy with an axe coming at me. The next second he goes flying over my head and Bellamy face plants next to me on the ground. I don't think about it. I grab Bellamy by the shoulders and start dragging. I drag him to his feet and we drag each other into a run.
The sound of the drop ship hatch closing somehow cuts through the din of a damn battle going on. Less than thirty seconds and we're toast. No time to kiss our asses goodbye. Run, stumble over a dead body, keep running. Grounders are running right past us in the opposite direction. There are more than two dozen of them crowded around the drop ship, rattling their sabers and banging against the hatch.
"Not that way!" Bellamy grabs my arm and pulls me to the left. "Mines!" Like it matters, like we're not dead.
"Why aren't we dead?" I crane my head back but keep running. "It's not working."
"It'll work," Bellamy shouts hoarsely, still dragging my arm, leading me away from the mines and deeper into the woods. "Run."
"It's not working." That's all I can think. The only thought in my head. "It's not working, Bellamy. The rockets aren't-"
The explosion is a hundred times stronger than on the bridge. White hot flames light up the night sky and the pressure wave knocks me flat on the ground. I can feel the heat pushing down on me, searing my jacket, my pants, my shoes, my skin. I can't breathe. My breath is on fire. Everything's on fire and still somehow I can feel Bellamy's fingers clamped around my arm like a steel vice.
I never thought I'd die like this. I hope Clarke is safe.
Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in.
The End