Keeping their captive in a tent at the height of winter made life interesting though Lincoln wouldn't let on. He cleaned his nails with a knife as if bored. The prisoner glared at Lincoln with his chin jutted out and an unblinking stare. The Mountain Men never strayed this far from their territory. He knew a sign like this couldn't be worse for them. All the Grounders and the Sky People were at risk. And most of the Sky People had already fallen victim to the Mountain Men. What they needed, they didn't have: an interrogator. The Commander told them Anya had a new one that hadn't failed in cracking even the strongest-willed prisoner from the Ice Nation. But he had little hope that they'd have their answers.

Indra joined them, her dark skin contrasting against the snow and frost. "We leave at first light. This Clarke will get what we want." Her contempt for the mountain man was so great she wouldn't even acknowledge him. "Tristan is getting everything ready for travel. Do you have one of those things Raven created for us?"

The walkie talkie dangled from his belt and he touched it.

"Good. It might not be Sky garbage after all."

Lincoln glanced at the man sitting across from him and worried that they were over their heads this time. Ice Nation soldiers had more sense to be afraid than this man. If a man lacked fear, then he lacked cracks in his armor.

Sunrise would be in a couple hours and they'd leave with it.


Octavia helped Raven to her feet as they got ready for the two-day trek they were about to make. "You seem upset."

With a shrug, Raven tested the strength of the new brace she'd made.

"Don't blow me off, Raven. What's wrong? You've been getting more distant everyday." When she let go of Raven, she left her arms right behind her in case there was a sudden need to catch. Raven managed to not only stay on her feet but walk close to normal. "Spill."

"Okay, Finn's being an ass. I mean I risked my life getting down here to him months ago, and he's never seemed to really want me here. He doesn't talk to me, he barely touches me, and I can't remember the last time we kissed. I don't get what his deal is. I get picked first for everything, always have. What the hell's his problem?"

"Why isn't he picking you first this time?"

Raven turned away and put on an air of indifference, "Okay, yeah, why isn't he?"

"I don't know. You'd be my first pick. You could try asking him."

Feeling out the brace with more weight on it, Raven shook her head. "This thing needs tied tighter."

Octavia crouched down and tightened the laces on the metal, wood, and animal skin brace. "Better?"

As Raven pressed down from heel to toe and back again, she could tell it worked better. "Perfect."


Bellamy and Tristan packed the last of their gear onto their only horse. This horse only bore a passing resemblance to those he'd seen in pictures on the Ark. Leathery skin and no fur plus strange growths made the beast appear more like a mythical creature from a fairy tale than anything he thought could exist. As Bellamy patted down the horse's flank, Finn brought out the prisoner. The dumb prick refused to move on his own, so Finn had to carry him out over his shoulders. A growl reverberated in his throat as he watched Collins strap the prisoner to the saddle.

"Why waste time going to some village two days away when we could get answers right now? He knows what's happening to our people. We just need to make him tell us."

No one replied. Finn's hands shook and the tightness around his eyes showed how wound up he was. Bellamy had been watching Collins for months, and while he'd fooled Raven, the rest of them were well aware that every day that passed where Finn didn't hear about Clarke shaved more of his altruism away.

Bellamy turned to Tristan. "I know you feel the same way. You've lost people too. To these fuckers. Why are you refusing to do something about it?" He grabbed the Grounder's collar when he tried to turn away.

With a grunt, Tristan shoved Bell's hand away. "Stupid child. Survival is necessary, and you have no instinct for it. Surviving is knowing when to follow the advice of those wiser than you. You have no wisdom, so shut up and do what you're to…"

Finn hit Tristan in the head with a rock, but it did little more than irritate the behemoth. He grabbed Collins by the throat. "Try that again child, and I'll forget my orders and shred you."

Bellamy ground his teeth as he heaved them apart. "We just want to save our friends."

Tristan snorted, turning his back to the other two. "That's what we're doing."

Finn grabbed Bellamy's sleeve before he could walk off, "We should gang up on him. With both of us, we'd overpower him easy."

There was a moment where Bell considered that proposal, but then the rest of their caravan joined them. Octavia gave him a look that told him she knew precisely what he'd been up to and warned him to cut that shit out. He pointed to the others with his eyes when it appeared Finn would say more.

Unable to get his way, Finn's shoulders hunched, and he slung a pack on.


It took over twenty minutes for Raven to corner Finn. "Hey, you. We need to talk."

His attempt to hide his annoyance failed, and the smile he forced onto his face sliced her like a razor. "What do we need to talk about?"

"Do you still love me?"

Finn's confusion seemed genuine. "Always."

"Like a lover or like a sister?"

A storm exploded from him. "Raven, you don't love me like a lover! You never have. You confused gratitude for attraction. Do you have any idea how fucked up that is? To have to see that you don't even understand yourself? And I can't say anything because we can't afford to have this kind of drama down here. We don't have the damn luxury." He spun on his heel and walked away.

Raven half groaned, half growled, trying to keep herself from going after him to give him a beating he'd never forget. When she turned to get her pack, Octavia stood there with her arms spread wide. Raven melted into the embrace and wondered why she'd ever come down here. If she'd died in space, she would have at least died at home.

Too soon they needed to leave and Indra shouted orders at Octavia to guard the prisoner, for Lincoln to lead the way, and Tristan to guard the rear. Raven felt useless, but at least she wasn't alone in that uselessness. Bellamy and Finn were as much dead weight as she was.

The strange part about this journey was how the knee deep snow evened out the playing field. The snow supported her ankle and kept it from swelling, making it so she could keep up without too much effort.


Fers served Anya her supper just as one of the Commander's riders sped through the village. When he dismounted and strode past her, Fers toppled sideways. She hadn't mastered balancing her growing belly yet. Anya dismissed the girl with a harsh bark. "Get Clarke."

Once the girl was gone, Anya stood and met the rider away from the crowded table. "Is the Commander coming?"

"The caravan is a breath away. Get ready."

She hadn't expected the convoy until late the next day, but preparations had been completed several hours ago. They just needed to get the key piece into the arena.


Marcel leaned against the cement wall of the bunker, a smile on his lips. No longer unbearably cold, he mused over his future. The outsiders were no match for him. They didn't understand what they held captive. Soon they'd find out and be cleansed.

Just out of his reach was a young girl unlike any outsider he'd ever seen before. He'd only seen such fairness in his fellow numen. The gray dress she wore might have been white at one point. Her stomach swelled with the favor of godly boon and she looked angelic. But no matter how holy she appeared, she was an outsider demon. So when she offered him the last of her food and water, he accepted with a warm smile, but kept his guard up.

"How long have you been down here?" he asked once he finished eating.

"I don't know. But I don't know what the sky looks like." A wistful dreamy look crossed her face, and she gave him a wan smile. "I'm used to this though, it's home."

"I know the feeling. I grew up locked in a mountain with the rest of my kind."

"Other people? What are they like?"

Her innocent interest fascinated him, and he told her about everything that he knew to be inconsequential. He told her the story of Amelia and her disciples. How they raised everyone out of perdition, and into the hands of salvation, their own hands, the hands of gods.


When mid day arrived and the prisoner still hadn't given them anything useful, Anya sent in her backup plan.

"Permanent injury, but not too cruel."

Murphy didn't hesitate or second guess.


Jumping through the hatch landed Murphy right in front of the Mountain Men. With a glimpse around, he found just the thing he needed. A lightning quick grab of the plate and canteen startled the man, but Murphy threw the items at the woman. "Rekim."

Petrified, she cowered away from him, but not fast enough to avoid his knife slashing her face.

"Penta."

Blood dripped between the fingers she pressed against her wound. He regarded her watering eyes and jerked in her direction, making her jump. The whimper meant nothing to him, and he left.


"Are you okay?" Marcel asked as he tried to pull her hand away from her face. "Angel, you need to let me see that."

When he saw the injury, his gut clenched. They needed to leave. He couldn't leave her to these savages. No one as sweet and kind as this girl could ever be considered an outsider. Marcel knew in his heart that she was divine and he needed to protect her at all costs.

A few hours later, the bleeding stopped and the two of them made plans to escape. Between her knowledge of the bunker they were in and the people that held them, and his of the surrounding area coupled with a definitive place to go, the plan came together faster than he'd predicted.