Smoke rose from the ashes piled on the ground surrounding the dropship. Charred, unrecognizable bodies littered the ground. The teeth of the dead were the only white among the darkness of the earth.
The dropship door opened slowly. Clarke led the remaining survivors out of the crowded space and into the clear blue morning. Clarke looked through the bodies to see if she recognized any of them, but she couldn't. Tears began to fill her eyes as she fell to her knees in the place where she had last seen Bellamy. In their last moments, she watched him fight Tristan alongside Bellamy. Those two were so brave…
Clarke's heart shattered as the realization hit her. Bellamy was gone… No No No… Bellamy…
The ashes clung to Clarke's clothes as she laid on the ground. Sadness washes over her in waves as she realized that it was her decision to raise the door of the dropship. She pulled the lever that would cause Bellamy to die. It was all her fault. She chose to stay and fight. She chose this battle. She chose to sacrifice everything. And now her partner was dead.
"Clarke?" She looked up to see Jasper standing over her. There was also a sadness in his eyes as he also realized that Bellamy was dead. "What are we going to do?"
Clarke sat up and saw the remaining delinquents standing around her, awaiting orders. I have to lead alone now… What if I make the wrong decision? What if I make a terrible mistake? I miss Bellamy… She rose to her feet and rubbed the tears off of her face. She had to stay strong for her people.
"We were all very brave out there last night." Clarke began. She didn't know where she was going with this. "The people we lost…" Bellamy… I miss you "... will be missed forever. They died for us. They will never be forgotten." Tears began pooling on her eyelids again. "But we are no longer safe here. The walls have been destroyed and we no longer have enough supplies or manpower to rebuild them."
The survivors nodded in agreement. They were all too exhausted to retaliate or brainstorm.
"What about the Grounder?" Miller yelled. He was leading a bound and tired Anya. Anya was looking at the burned skeletons with a fire in her eyes.
"Lets kill her!"
"Yeah! Just like she killed ours!"
"Lets drop her off a cliff"
"Lets throw her in a lake!"
The delinquents began spilling ideas about what to do with Anya. With each second they became increasingly aggressive. Ideas about popping out eyes and stabbing her for each life she took were being brought up. Anya didn't seem scared, even though she knew that they were talking about the million ways that they could painfully execute her.
"ENOUGH!" Clarke announced. "I already told you. We are NOT Grounders! We are better than them. Now Bellamy isn't here anymore so…"
"Bellamy isn't here anymore. So why do we have to listen to his Princess?" A tall ginger boy by the name of Alan growled. "We don't have to listen to you anymore." Alan stalked towards Clarke with his fists clenched.
"She saved our lives. All of us." Monty marched in front of Clarke. Defending her.
"Clarke is the best leader we could have asked for" Jasper piped in and stood between Alan and Clarke. Aww… Maybe I'm not as alone as I thought. They support me.
"They only think that because they are your friends. Or maybe its because you sleep with them… just like you slept with Bellamy. You little slut." Alan muttered.
In that moment, Monty had never felt so angry. No one says that about Clarke. Now, Monty had never punched anyone in his life. But before he had time to think, his fist collided with Alan's face. Although the punch did considerable damage to Monty's fist, it only served to make Alan angry.
"No! Stop!" Clarke yelled and stepped toward the two boys. Alan towered over Monty and probably weighed 60 pounds more than Monty. Alan could easily kill Monty. Alan could kill Clarke even quicker and even more easily, but Clarke just focused on keeping Monty alive.
"Stop it!" Clarke tried shoving Alan and Monty apart, but Alan shrugged her off.
Alan grabbed Monty's shoulder with his left hand. Monty tried to back away. He knew he couldn't fight this guy. Monty tried to squirm away, but the other delinquents were crowding him. Alan punched Monty in the cheek and the boy crumpled to the ground and ceased moving. Clarke had no idea if he survived that, or if the hit had snapped her friend's neck.
Clarke rushed towards Monty to check his pulse, but Alan had grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled his fist up to strike her.
BOOM
A shot rang out and Clarke saw Jasper with a gun, breathing heavily. Alan fell to the ground in a pool of blood.
"Anyone else want to question Clarke's authority?" Jasper said through gasps.
As the delinquents settled down, Clarke began to think straight again. Every time she looked around, she was painfully reminded of the loss of Bellamy and Finn.
Instead, she searched the faces of her remaining people.
Jasper was still shocked because he had to shoot one of his own people. He was sitting with Monty, who had just woken up. He was proud of himself for standing up to someone as large as Alan.
Miller was searching the camp frantically. He looked frustrated and marched around the camp, making ashes fly whenever he took a step.
"Miller!" Clarke said, trotting over to Miller. "What are you looking for?"
"Umm… Clarke, don't get mad. But, I lost Anya."
"You WHAT?" Clarke screamed. Anya was fast and sneaky. She understands how Miller could have lost Anya, but this was devastating. The Grounder could be halfway to her camp by now. She could be ordering another attack soon. They couldn't afford another attack. It would be a slaughter. They only had a handful of bullets left.
Now would be the best time to relocate. The Grounders lost numbers and had bigger fish to fry. They wouldn't be concerned if the delinquents left now.
"Okay. Everyone!" Clarke called for her people and they all acknowledged her. The survivors gathered around Clarke to listen.
"Pack your things. Grab whatever you can carry. We are going to the ocean. We will be safe there."
Chapter 2- I thought it should be longer so..
Slowly, Bellamy's eyes opened.
His head pounded and there was a ringing in his ears. He was lying on a cold rock floor and it gave him neck pain.
"He's waking up!" Bellamy heard the comforting words of his sister, Octavia.
"O!" Bellamy tried rising to his feet but was stopped when Octavia laid a hand on his back, which cause a stinging, deep pain to radiate through him. The stab wound in his back was no longer spewing blood, but was still very sensitive. Tristan had done some damage on him.
"How…? What…?" Bellamy recalled the memories of the previous night. Fighting with Tristan, Finn rushing to his side to help him. Running towards Clarke…
"Clarke" Bellamy whispered, as he remembered the way she looked at him right before she jumped into the dropship and raised the door.
"Where's Clarke?" He asked. Octavia wet a towel to put on her brother's wound.
"I don't know. The dropship door was closed when Lincoln saved you." She said. "Yeah, thats right. My dangerous Grounder boyfriend saved the king of the Sky People." She was gloating. Apparently she thought this was a funny matter. It wasn't.
"Yeah. Yeah. Don't call him your boyfriend. That makes everything worse." Bellamy grunted. His back hurt. " So how did Lincoln save me? Did he also save Finn?"
"I don't know, big brother. But my boyfriend was magic getting you out before the ring of fire cooked everyone. And my arrow wound is fine. Thanks for asking. I know your first priority is Clarke but you could have asked how I was doing." Octavia seemed playful, but Bellamy could tell that she was a little hurt that he didn't ask about the arrow in her leg.
"Hey! Clarke is not my first priority! I am just concerned about the wellness of my people! And I saw that you were walking fine, so I didn't think to ask you about it." Bellamy propped himself up on an elbow to watch Octavia tend his back. She really was growing up. Soon, she wouldn't need him anymore. Heck, she doesn't need him now.
"Yeah. Of course Clarke isn't your first priority. You just wake up and whisper everyone's name with concern. Yesterday you woke up from a nap and whispered 'Monty'."
Octavia was a master of sarcasm. Where did she learn that? From Bellamy, obviously…
"Where is Lincoln?" Bellamy asked, trying to change the subject.
"He's out making sure that there aren't other Grounders in the area. He really does want to keep us safe. He's a good guy." Octavia grabbed a vile out of the medicine box and opened it. "Hopefully we can get back to the dropship soon to see if our people are still there. If they were smart, Clarke would have led them away by now." Octavia leaned over Bellamy to pour the white liquid onto his wound.
"Woah, what is that?" Bellamy asked. Did his sister know what she was doing?
"It's the stuff the Lincoln said to put on the wound. Its supposed to act as an anti-infectant."
Octavia poured the milk looking liquid into the wound. Bellamy shuddered.
"Geez, this hurts, but when will I be able to walk again? I want to see if Clarke is still there. I mean, I want to see if they are still there."
Octavia looked at him and giggled. "I think you're twitterpated."
The remaining survivors had very little to pack. Their tents had been turned to dust and their food had been burned. There were only three guns left. Each had 4 bullets left. Miller, Jasper, and Monroe each had guns. A passed out Raven was getting carried, due to the bullet in her spine. The internal bleeding had slowed, thanks to Finn and the coagulate, but she would still need surgery when they arrived at their destination. Clarke didn't even know when they would arrive. She didn't even know where they would arrive.
Clarke's legs ached and her spine throbbed. She had a small sinus headache from the ash she accidentally inhaled during the Alan skirmish.
'I'll never see Bellamy again.' She thought. 'Now I have to lead alone.'
The delinquents were silent as they marched through the quiet forest. The only sound that Clarke could hear was the tune of a single robin. It was like that bird didn't get the memo that the forest was supposed to be silent. But the song was almost soothing and it kept Clarke sane. Otherwise, her thoughts would have become too much to bear.
"What are you thinking about?" Monty interrupted Clarke's thoughts. She wasn't keeping her stress as hidden as she'd hoped. Monty had a hand held firm to his cheek. His bright purple bruise was peeking out from under his hand.
"You know, the usual. My plan for all of us, where we are going, what we are going to do when we get there, how we are going to get food, Bellamy, when we are going to settle down for the -"
"Woah woah woah… Clarke. You've got to slow down and relax. We've all got your back. We trust you and we believe you can do this. You're a good leader." Monty looked at Clarke with a sincere smile on his face. He truly believed in her.
"Thanks, Monty. You're a good friend. I'm glad that you all think so highly of me, but that adds to my problem. There are such high expectations and now that Bellamy is gone… I have to lead everyone by myself." Clarke sighed and kicked a small pebble that was unlucky enough to be in her path.
"Well don't look at me, Clarke. I am not leader material. I don't think any of us, besides you, is leader material. You're our only hope." Clarke looked over her shoulder at the remaining delinquents. Jasper and Monroe were holding their guns to their chest, ready to fight and protect the group. Miller marched behind the group, looking over his shoulder often to make sure that they wouldn't be attacked. The rest of the group looked exhausted. Their feet dragged across the forest floor, creating a path that the Grounders could certainly follow.
"I'm thirsty" Clarke could hear one of the girls muttering. Everyone looked so dehydrated.
"Lets take a break, everyone!" Clarke called out. The group half-assedly cheered and plopped down on the ground for a break. Clarke glanced at Monty, who sent her a proud smile. "I really can do this" Clarke whispered to herself. "I can lead."
As the delinquents rested, Clarke trudged through the forest in search of fresh water. The forest replaced her stress with awe using its beauty. Flowers sprung from the ground and from bushes. The air felt cool and smelled sweet. She never stopped to appreciate the beauty of the forest when she was out with Finn and Bellamy. Oh how she missed Bellamy. With his crooked smile and his black curls. She loved the way he looked at her. Protected her. Even though she didn't need protection, she appreciated the gesture. And now, he's gone. He was the one who kept the fire burning in her soul.
Clarke didn't even realize that she had fallen to her knees. The beauty that surrounded her reminded her of the beauty that she will never see again.
Clarke found a small stream about a quarter of a mile away from where the group was resting.
"I found water south of where we are now." Clarke announced. "Lets head in that direction, so that we can fill our bottles and canteens."
"Its about time!" One of the boys yelled. "We have been walking for hours and you just now thought that it would be a good idea to look for water? Some leader you are!"
Jasper quickly pointed his gun at the boy and whispered something into his ear. The boy nodded slowly then followed the group towards the stream.