"Violence is all these people seem to understand." - Raven Reyes, "Unity Day"
Abby ran her hands through her hair before wiping her eyes free of the tears. She wiped the wetness on her thighs, her hands shaking against the fabric. She clenched her fists together, trying to stop the tremor. She glanced over at Lincoln, sedated on his cot. His upper torso was bandaged, his arm in a sling to stabilize his shoulder.
If Pike was any better of a shot, they would be digging a grave right now. She looked down at the bullet in the saucer. Jackson had been pulling it from the Grounder when she arrived in Medical earlier. He hadn't wanted the sedation, Jackson admitted, but he forced it on him to keep him in his cot; Lincoln wanted to go after Pike the second he was conscious again, which happened not long after arriving in Medical. Abby didn't blame Jackson for slipping it in with his pain medication.
After everything Lincoln had done for their people, this was his thanks? He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve hardship after everything he had endured during the war. She had seen this man come back from being turned into a Reaper, from trying to kill his own girlfriend and her brother because the Mountain made him that way. And here he was, shot by a man who saw him as just another Grounder. All Grounders weren't the same, surely Pike had to know that somewhere in his biased brain.
"Abby."
She jumped in her seat before taking a deep breath. Looking to the door, she found Raven Reyes. Abby asked, "What are you doing here?"
Raven held up a very red hand, a sheepish smile on her face. "Stanhope's hopeless, can Sinclair send him back?"
She forced a smile as Raven walked toward her, knowing that her joke meant well but Abby was too stressed to really care. She hadn't realized that so many hours had passed, that the work day had begun. Is Benja awake? Is he with Marcus?
Raven hopped onto a cot. "Is it true? The rumor that's going around?"
Abby filled a bowl with cool water and brought it over to Raven, ordering her to stick her burned hand in it as she gathered up the supplies she would need. She could feel Raven's eyes on her as she moved around the room, but she didn't really want to talk about the massacre. She walked over to Lincoln and absently adjusted his bandages as she waited for the water to do its job on the burn.
"Hello! Earth to Abby," Raven called after a few minutes. Reluctantly, Abby turned to her and nodded. Raven's eyes flickered to Lincoln. "So Pike really shot him? Killed that whole army?"
Again, Abby nodded, not trusting her voice to stay as strong as she wanted it to.
"Where's Kane?"
She shrugged. "My guess would be with Pike, interrogating him."
"About what? He already knows that he did it," Raven replied, eyebrows raising. Abby pulled a stool up in front of her and motioned for her hand. She dried the burn, cleaning it before she started to put the ointment on. "Is he looking into the resistance still?"
"Of course he is," Abby answered, staring at the burned flesh, her hands not moving anymore.
Raven's other hand rested on Abby's shoulder and their eyes met. "Hey, I'm not questioning him. Kane's doing all he can, Abby. Everything will be okay."
Abby shook her head. "You call this okay?"
"I said it will be okay, not that it is okay. We'll get there," Raven said, her thumb stroking over Abby's shoulder. The older woman nodded and went back to tending the wound in silence. She covered it in gauze and was wrapping a loose bandage over it when she heard loud, thundering footsteps coming down the hallway.
The doors slid open and Octavia ran through, doubling over, out-of-breath. Abby jumped to her feet, her heart racing at the sight of the girl. A smile crossed her face and she sighed in relief. "Octavia, you're okay."
Octavia's head shot up and her eyes caught Abby's. She sprinted over to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the door. Abby pulled back, "What's wrong?"
"We have to go," she said breathlessly. "Lexa came across the massacre site and took Kane and Bellamy—"
Her voice cut off when her eyes found Lincoln and she rushed over to him. Octavia looked to Abby and asked, "What happened?"
"Pike shot him to escape. He'll be fine though, he's a warrior." Abby said, frowning. Octavia nodded, running her hand along his jaw. "Octavia, Kane and Bellamy are here—"
"No, they're not, Abby." Octavia said, turning away from her boyfriend. She walked toward the doctor and put her hands on her shoulders. "I saw them when I went back to look for other survivors."
"Other survivors—"
"Abby, we have to go! Lexa's taking them to Polis to be punished for the massacre. My brother. Your boyfriend…our chancellor." Octavia grabbed Abby's hand and tried to pull her toward the door but Abby's feet were frozen in place, cemented to the floor.
Abby shook her head, her eyes tight with emotion. "He's not there, it's not him."
Raven hopped off the bed and said, "We can still catch Lexa, can't we? They're on horses."
Octavia shook her head. "Indra was injured in the attack, it took me hours to drag her the mile back here. I couldn't leave her," her eyes closed. "I just couldn't."
It was like Abby had barely heard them, like she was submerged in water and their voices were drifting to her from shore. He wasn't at the massacre site, he was in Lockup with Pike and the other shooters, with Bellamy and the guard. He was fine, he was safe. Abby whispered, "I have to talk to David."
She started toward the door but Raven caught her arm. "Have you been listening, Abby? We have to get to Polis."
"He's not there!" She spat harshly. She closed her eyes and let out a rattled breath before whispering, "He can't be."
Octavia whispered to Raven, "I'll meet you at the rover."
Raven nodded and grabbed Abby's arm, asking, "Where's Miller?"
They found him in the training room, going over the guard rotation with his son. The Millers looked up, surprised by their appearance in the doorway. Abby rushed over to David as he asked, "I'm not overlooking a Council meeting, am I?"
"Where's Marcus?" She asked, clutching at his arm.
"He took Bellamy to find Octavia," David said uncertainly, glancing down at her fingers digging into his arm. "He told me to carry out the arrests for the ten members of Farm Station responsible for the massacre."
Abby stared at him, the corners of her eyes tightening. She released him after a moment and backed away. Raven caught her as she trembled, her legs threatening to send her to the floor. Raven whispered, "Hey, we'll get him back, Lexa can't do anything to him, he's our leader."
Abby took a deep breath and her jaw set as she nodded. She gripped Raven's forearm tight and hoped that the younger woman realized she was thanking her. She needed those words, she needed that hope. She couldn't think that Marcus was going to die.
She looked at the Millers and said, "Can you watch over Benja while we're gone? David, you know the key code; Nate, you know the language." They nodded curtly. "Tell him…Abi en Markos na komba raun dena. Ste os. | Abby and Marcus will be back soon. Be good."
Nate nodded again. Raven pulled Abby toward the door as David called out, "Abby, what's going on?"
Abby's eyes tightened as she said, "Marcus is being punished for the massacre. David, you know who to trust. You know who to watch out for here. You and Sinclair are in charge."
"Abby, I—"
His words were lost as Raven pulled her from the room. She shot a glare at Raven but the younger woman just continued to tow her along toward the hangar. Raven whispered, "We have to hurry, Abby. David understands the urgency."
"They deserve to know what needs to be done." Abby reasoned.
"And Kane deserves a speedy rescue," she replied. "Bellamy too. I think that's more important."
Abby knew she was right and didn't know why she was so worried about leaving Arkadia. Pike and several of the anti-Grounders were locked up, what was there to worry about? Kane should be her top priority — who knew what Lexa was going to do to him? She couldn't bring herself to think about him though, she didn't want to start. She needed distraction; she knew that if she started thinking about all of the horrible things that could be happening to him, she would fall apart and even someone like Raven couldn't pick her up and put her back together.
She remembered the last time he had been taken prisoner by the Grounders, it seemed like forever ago. Nearly four months since she had felt this helpless, this lost. She thought he was dead last time, gone from her forever. She wasn't going to let herself think that this time. She was going to give herself hope, because that's what Marcus Kane was to her. She didn't want to imagine a future without him.
Octavia was leaning against the bumper of the rover, the back door open. She pushed herself to her feet and tossed a med pack at Abby, who caught it on reflex. Her eyes were wide and questioning. Octavia said, "We need you in the back, Abby."
Raven continued to the driver's door while Octavia hopped into the back, holding her hand out to Abby to help her in. She shut the door behind them as Abby stared down at the woman on the metal floor. Indra lay bleeding, poorly bandaged up, on a makeshift stretcher.
Octavia sat down on one of the bench seats and muttered, "I tried my best with her."
Abby squeezed her upper arm. "You did great."
The rover kicked to life and Raven signaled to one of the workers in the room to open the door. It rose steadily and the gate ahead swung open. Raven glanced back at them and asked, "Can you work with a little turbulence?"
"That's all there is down here, Raven, I think I'll be fine." Abby said. Raven smirked and shifted the rover into gear, taking off. Once they were clear of the gate, she really tested the vehicle's limits, seeing how fast it could go.
Abby looked down at Indra and saw that she was unresponsive, she called over her shoulder to Octavia, "How long has she been like this?"
"She was never very conscious," she admitted, staring at the chief of Tondc.
Abby opened the med kit and began to work on cleaning Indra's wounds. She said, "Tell me about the attack."
Octavia sighed. "I didn't really know what was happening at first; I was in the woods, keeping watch, trying to help out. I knew I should have gone back to camp, but I missed it, you know? Feeling that useful, being with the Grounders. I didn't realize it was gunfire, I thought it was Azgeda attacking. But when I got to the edge of the forest, I saw Pike and his men on the hill, firing down at the warriors sitting by their fires. The archers lay dead by the trees. The seconds on patrol ran toward the noise…I didn't."
Her head hung toward her chest and Abby's hands stilled on Indra's shoulder. She glanced over at the girl, frowning. "Octavia, there's no shame in not running toward certain death."
Octavia looked at her. "Lincoln would have."
"Lincoln wouldn't endanger himself like that, not anymore." Abby said, turning back to Indra's wounds. "How did Indra make it out?"
"She wouldn't have if I hadn't been such a coward," Octavia whispered. "As Pike and his men were killing the other wounded, I saw her near my hiding spot. I couldn't let her die there. I snuck down and dragged her up the hill. I got her as far away from the site as I could before I went back. It was light by then, that's when I saw—"
"Marcus and Bellamy," Abby whispered, her eyes closing.
Octavia nodded solemnly, though no one actually saw her. "Lexa won't actually do anything to them, right? It's all a scare tactic — it has to be."
"Yes, it has to be," Abby said, though she knew she wasn't convincing anyone, least of all herself.
Reviews are always welcomed! :) Let me know how I'm doing and how you feel about Kane and Bellamy's predicament/Lexa's decision/Abby's reaction, etc. I love hearing what you all have to say! -TenToo