Warning: Violence, language, heartbreak x
One moment Clarke was laughing at something Bellamy had said and the next she had a knife up against her throat.
"Make one move and we'll slit her throat right here, right now." The man's voice was raspy and Clarke could feel his breath against her skin. It sent a chill throughout her body.
While Bellamy had stilled, his expression was one of pure anger. He contemplated making a move anyway, but decided he wouldn't be fast enough, so he listened, and he hated every second of it.
Now, had him or Clarke known that that threat would be a gift compared to what the grounders had in mind for later, perhaps things would have gone differently.
Unfortunately, there would be no going back.
It wasn't long before the two of them were shoved into a cave. One of the grounders grabbed hold of Bellamy and chained him to a wall. The situation was clearly dire and the playing field wasn't exactly even, either. While Bellamy was a good fighter and Clarke could stand her ground, two against four didn't leave the odds in their favour.
He was down right pissed.
"What the hell are you doing?" Bellamy's eyes narrowed when he noticed one grounder holding on to Clarke, while two of the others grabbed chains on both sides of her.
"Keep your mouth shut, alien." One of them spat.
He watched as they chained her up, similar to the way he had tied Lincoln and that's when he realized what was about to go down.
"Does grounder princess know you're doing this?" Bellamy tried to keep his voice even. The grounder closest to him turned and gave him a sinister look.
"It doesn't matter." He chuckled. "She's not here."
If Clarke was scared, she was doing a damn good job at hiding it. It wasn't until one of the grounders picked up an extra chain that her expression began to waver.
"Let's begin." The oldest of the four smiled. If the devil existed, Bellamy wouldn't be surprised if he was looking at him now. The man wrapped part of the chain around his hand and Clarke's eyes flickered to meet his.
"Bellamy..." Her voice was shaking.
"Come on, guys. If you want some answers, all you gotta do is ask nicely." If the situation had been different, he wouldn't tell them a god damn thing, but this was Clarke. Like hell he would just sit back and let her take what they had planned.
"Ah, but we're not looking for answers." The oldest rolled back his shoulders. "We're sending a message."
In a split second he had pulled the chain back and then brought it forward with such force, Bellamy flinched. Clarke's scream tore from her throat and echoed against the stone. Bellamy desperately fought against his chains and when they hit her again he practically growled.
"You fucking bastards!" He screamed, hatred pulsing through his veins. "If you don't let her go, I swear to god- "
He was interrupted by the four of them laughing.
"This God of yours doesn't exist in here."
Bellamy's throat tightened as he searched Clarke's face. Tears had begun soaking her cheeks as blood dripped from beneath her clothing. The grounder was holding nothing back. He hit her, over and over again, each one of her screams crawling beneath Bellamy's skin. His wrists were bleeding from his efforts to escape, but no matter what profanity he screamed at them, nor what threat he promised to follow through with, they didn't stop.
It wasn't until she had fallen to her knees and they had brought out a knife that Bellamy realized he was crying.
"Please." He had resorted to begging. "Please, just stop. We get it. Your message is loud and clear."
The one with the knife walked behind Clarke, bending down and lifting her face so Bellamy could get a better look. He brought the knife to her skin, slowly running it along her collar bone, all the while staring at Bellamy.
"Maybe I'll kill her and let you walk out of here. How does that sound?"
Walking out of here with Clarke dead would be the equivalent to being tortured for a lifetime, and it seemed this grounder had realized it.
It was an impossible situation. He was completely and utterly helpless, chained up like an animal.
And Clarke needed him.
It seemed, however, only fair that with every awful thing that had happened, one thing should go their way. Call it luck, chance or even fate but in that moment Lincoln entered, bringing along several familiar faces. Octavia, Jasper, Raven, Monty... when he noticed each one of them had a gun it made sense that Finn was invited on the rescue mission.
Although probably hadn't realized it was a rescue mission.
"Bellamy!" Octavia cried, rushing to his side, and grabbing hold of his hands. Her fingers brushed over his wrists and he hissed.
"Oh my god..." She breathed. It wasn't until she turned and saw Clarke that her eyes widened, and she brought her hand to her mouth.
"What have you done to her?!" She wailed, shoving the closest grounder she could reach.
The moment one made a single step toward her, Raven had a gun aimed at his head.
"Get. Out." Lincoln's voice was menacing. When no one made a move, he grabbed one of them by them arm and forced him out himself.
The others followed suit. It was more to do with the fact that there were guns involved now, but Lincoln's presence made it run much more smoothly. Not to mention, he probably directed them to this cave in the first place.
Octavia had knelt down beside Clarke, whispering things in her ear. Bellamy shook his chains.
"Key?" His eyes flickered over to Lincoln, who rummaged through one side of the cave and tossed it over, before approaching Octavia, putting a hand on her back and then helping her unchain Clarke.
The moment Bellamy was free, he was by Clarke's side in an instant, cupping her face and brushing back her hair, making sure she was still there. Still breathing. Her hands held his, while they held her, and she looked him dead in the eye. He had never seen her so afraid. Not even when Finn almost died.
"I'm so sorry." He mumbled. "I'm so, so sorry." He couldn't stop touching her. His hands checked her face, her arms, her stomach, coming back red with her blood.
"I'll be okay... It's okay." She whispered.
He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, jaw, and even her lips. The others in the cave became suddenly aware that this moment they were witnessing was quite intimate, to say the least.
"Bell...we got to get her back." Octavia said gently, her heart aching for the both of them.
He nodded, gathering her in his arms and lifting her with ease, despite the pain in his wrists.
As each one of them existed the cave, Bellamy mentally cursed himself for having just realized now, what Clarke's life meant to him.
If he ever saw those grounders again...well...let's just say, he wouldn't hesitate this time when it came to making a move.
