Chapter 25:
Clarke was impatient. It took almost 30 minutes for her forces to gather. They were close too 200 strong with others out searching to gather the rest of the troops from their houses and other locations.
"Did you see the Ice Queen?" Indra asked her from inside the building opposite the Representatives Hall. It had several large rooms, but none big enough to hold all 200 of them so Clarke had pulled in about 15 recommended by Indra along with Octavia, Kane, Lincoln, Bellamy, Raven, Wick and Indra herself.
"No, but I know those four weren't in the original group. With the plane returning, it makes sense."
"But why?" Raven asked. "The alliance-"
"They only went along with the alliance. The Ice Queen has a history with Lexa. She wants her throne and I think she worked something out with Carolina to get it."
"But how?" Wick asked.
"You're making a lot of assumptions, Clarke." Kane piled on. "Maybe you're wrong. Maybe these guards you saw did come in the original group and-"
"I memorized every member of the Ice Nation when they came."
"Why?" Octavia asked.
"Because I saw it in her eyes the last time she talked to Lexa. She's been hurt and she thinks Lexa and her people are to blame. She wants revenge. It wouldn't surprise me if she somehow met with Carolina covertly or Carolina put Brooklyn on it sensing the tension between all of us and knowing Brooklyn was loyal to her."
"Ai don sen in chit bilaik ai gaf sen in." I've heard what I needed to hear. Indra shared before realizing not all of them speak her language. "We will kill them all." The group of grounders in the room let out a chant.
"I don't care about them. I just want to find Lexa." Clarke explained.
"You think she took her?" Bellamy asked.
"It's the only thing that makes sense."
"We're with you." Raven shared.
Wick nodded in agreement. Kane followed. Lincoln and Octavia stepped forward.
"Indra?" Clarke looked to her. "What are our options?"
"Heda would want you-" Indra started.
"In Lexa's absence, you are Commander." Clarke reminded her. "Help me come up with a plan to save her."
Indra nodded with determination.
"We do not know their numbers." She started. "But we will surround them on all sides."
"What if they all aren't inside the building?" Lincoln asked. "We should reserve groups for a second attack just in case."
"No, there's no reserving." Clarke stated and took a step forward. "We go in strong on all sides as Indra suggested. We take them out. If there are more, we'll find them and take them out too."
"I want a sky person with a woods clan warrior for each group. The rest of the clans will be divided." Indra ordered.
"Why are we going in to fight? We should see if it's true, what the girl says, first." It was one of the clan leaders that joined the first group in the city.
"Shof op!" She shouted. We are going in to retrieve our Commander. I do not care about whether what Clarke says is true or not. We will ask questions later. Mela op. Loka au." Heads up. Eyes open. "Let's go get our Commander."
Clarke didn't know what to do. Indra was leading the charge, but should she be up front with her or at the back? Should she just wait to see what happens? She knew if Lexa were looking for her, she'd be at the front, but Clarke also knew if something went wrong up there, they needed someone like her to be able to pick up the pieces and carry on so she decided as Indra and the others left the room to make her way toward the middle of the pack.
Indra divided up each team into smaller groups. They'd take the building in small numbers so as not to alert anyone inside who may be watching from the windows. They'd also do so quietly, which wasn't exactly the preferred method for the grounders going into battle, but Indra was great at giving direction and they were all ready to go.
Indra released two groups of 4 to move to the sides and one group of 10 to move around to the back of the building. Another group of ten walked quickly, but quietly toward the front of the building. The truth was that there was nowhere for that group to hide. The other three groups had buildings to weave around or trees to navigate around and hide behind.
Clarke watched from the window of the building they'd just met in as the groups disappeared around the sides and the group taking the front, preceded across the unoccupied street and onto the yard of the building. Indra led the group into the front of the building. Clarke held her breath, as she knew the 4 guards were standing right there. It took, Clarke felt, forever before Indra exited the building and nodded that they were able to take them out. Clarke left the building with a group of about 20 headed toward the front now that it had been cleared. She had York's weapons and ran across the street feeling them move against her body. They pushed the door to the building open and followed Indra's group through the main hall, which was expansive, wide enough for them to walk 15 across if they wanted. She saw the bodies of the 4 guards. Some had blood on them. Some were clearly taken out in ways that didn't cause bleeding. Within a few steps, the group that had gone around back had met them.
"Any resistance?" Indra asked. Clarke pushed her way to the front of the group.
"Lexa?" She asked.
"No one." A grounder said.
Clarke sped up a staircase to the side.
"Clarke!" Indra yelled after her.
"Masta ai op!" Follow me! Clarke yelled it in their language to make sure there was no delay. She ran up the staircase, which turned to the right. When she hit the next floor, she took out her gun and was immediately swarmed by Indra's grounders. "Let's go."
"Sweep the floor." Indra commanded and pointed at pairs of grounders and then at one of the doors. There were about 10 doors in all lining one of the walls and 2 on the other. "You're with me, Sky Girl. What do you think the Commander would do to me if something happened to you?" Indra asked her.
"That one." Clarke pointed at the door nearest them and Indra nodded in agreement. Clarke held up her gun as Indra, sword in hand, opened the door. It was a supply closet. Clarke's heart was racing as they walked to the other door on the wall. Again, they readied themselves and opened the door. They pushed inside a small meeting room that was emptied and just as they were about to turn and go, Clarke heard a grounder shout.
"Hir!"
Clarke and Indra turned and ran down the hall toward the shout and followed him into the room. Clarke saw the hands tied behind the chair before she saw the person.
"York?" She questioned after seeing a man tied up. He was dressed in York's clothes, but he was facing the opposite direction, so she couldn't see his face.
"He has tape on his mouth." Indra shared as she walked around him. She pulled it off hastily and he grimaced. Clarke ran around to him.
"York, what happened?"
"Brooklyn!" He said, as his hands were unbound.
"Why?" Clarke asked him. She knelt down to help unbind his feet.
"She was working with Carolina." He started. "How did I not know? I've just been asking myself how I didn't know."
"Tell us what happened? Where is Lexa? Did Brooklyn take her?"
"I haven't seen her. I came here to see if Brooklyn was here. She wasn't. Instead, I got knocked up side the head by one of the representatives loyal to Carolina. Brooklyn had gotten in and released him and the others she could trust. He told me as much when I came to and then told me about the plane."
"What about it?" Bellamy had apparently followed a later group in and had made his way into the room with Octavia and Lincoln.
"You were right, Clarke. She took it."
"Where?" Clarke asked.
"Back to the capital." Free, he stood. "She picked up some people. About 300 of them. I heard him talking to her on a radio. The others she freed…" He took a breath. "I think they took Lexa. He didn't say her name, but he said she was important and that they got her. I thought they were talking about you, but you're here."
"Where, York?"
"I don't know. He didn't say."
"Who did she bring from the capital?" Lincoln asked.
"Ice Nation." Clarke answered for him.
"I don't know. I didn't get that part." York replied. "I'm sorry. I didn't know, I swear. She told you the truth about Carolina. Why would she do this?"
"So, we would not suspect her betrayal." Indra answered. "Clarke is right. There is no other clan that would go against the Commander like this. It is the Ice Queen. She wants the throne."
"Why would Brooklyn help her?" Octavia asked.
"She wants her own alliance." Indra shared.
"With Carolina dead and only a handful of people left on her side, Brooklyn needed support." Clarke explained. "We left a long-range radio at the capital. My guess is that when things went south here, she used it to contact the capital. She'd know of our issues with the Ice Nation from Carolina. Lexa and I shared that of all the clans, they were the ones we'd have the most problems with. She'd met the Queen before too." Clarke filled in. "None of that matters right now. I'll worry about that later. We need to find Lexa. If the Ice Queen gets a chance…" She gulped. She couldn't finish that sentence.
"She won't." Indra stated confidently. She looked at Clarke.
Clarke was at a loss. She had no playbook to follow, no guide like her mom or even Lexa to help her figure it out. With any luck, her mom would be arriving on a plane soon, but she couldn't count on that. Kane could be of some help, but she rarely listened to what he said anyway so she decided not to waste the time.
"What do-" Clarke started to ask.
"We will fan out and find their hiding spot." Indra explained.
"Where is she likely to go, York? Are there any spots she'd know we wouldn't know about?" Clarke asked relieved Indra had helped her complete her last thought.
"There are a ton of places you guys don't know about yet. This city is huge. We all started moving closer together as there were fewer and fewer of us. It just made sense. She could really be anywhere." He shared.
"Narrow it down a little there, York." Octavia begged. "Give us somewhere to start."
"What do you want from me?" He yelled. "My cousin has been working with the psycho that raised me after murdering my parents and I've been tied up so she could apparently bring in that Ice Queen and together, they plan to take over the whole damn world."
"York, I know this is hard, but please…" Clarke started and reached for his arm. "This is Lexa."
He took a moment to think while everyone in the room stared.
"There's an old paper mill off of Grant and Lee. We used to go there as kids. It hasn't been in use since long before the bombings. We thought it was cool. I went by a few weeks ago. Part of bringing you all here and putting on this show involved checking on the crappy looking places to see if we should do anything to them to make them appear… welcoming… or just leave them alone because it would be a waste." He paused and sighed. "Brooklyn went on the rounds with me as representative of that area. She might have gone there with her. I don't know. It's large enough to hold a few hundred people. It's probably our best shot."
"Thank you." Clarke told him. "Indra, let's go."
Indra followed Clarke as she ran out of the room. Everyone else was close behind with York bringing up the rear until they were outside. Then he ran to the front of the group.
"That way. Three miles. Turn right and go another 6 miles. You'll see it from there." He pointed.
"9 miles? We can't walk that fast enough." Kane stated the obvious.
"Some of us can drive." Clarke pointed at the few cars sitting around. "We can get about 30 of us there and the cars can come back and pick up more"
"There's a bus around the back." It was Indra. "They saw it when they entered the building." She pointed in the direction of a couple of grounders who'd been on the assault.
"It's for the representatives. Emergency use only. Get them out fast." York explained.
"This is an emergency." Clarke expressed. "How many will it fit?"
"Probably about 80. More if everyone squeezes in." He answered.
"Indra, get everyone that can fit on the bus." Clarke ordered.
Indra shouted an order and grounders began running in the direction of the bus.
"Who's driving the thing?" Raven asked.
"York." Clarke told her. "We'll take cars. York, I need you to drive the bus."
"Okay." He agreed. "But Clarke…"
"Yeah?"
"I can't ki-" He stopped. "My cousin… I can't do anything to her… she's blood. Carolina deserved it, but-"
"It's okay. I understand. It won't come to that if we can help it." She consoled. "Please, hurry York."
He nodded and ran off after the group. Clarke divided up everyone else and had them each head to a car. She only prayed they could figure out how to drive them as quickly as she had and within minutes, they were all on the road heading in the direction of the paper mill to find Lexa and stop whatever Brooklyn and the Ice Queen had planned.
When they got close enough to the paper mill, Clarke turned off the engine and every other vehicle stopped with her. She climbed out of the car and waited for the others to do the same.
"What's the play, Clarke?" Raven asked. "We going in strong or what?"
"Indra, you know her better than I do. What will she expect?" Clarke asked as Indra walked up beside her with her hand clutching her sword.
"She will have guards posted at all entrances. Her best warriors will be closet to her side though. She will not let the Commander out of her sight."
"Does she even know we're onto her though? She thinks York is tied up. She doesn't know we know about the plane." Bellamy shared.
"She knows." Clarke announced. "Brooklyn would have told her we were planning on sending for the others today. We would have been to the airfield and seen that the plane was missing." She paused as she stared toward the mill trying to look and listen for movement. The building was a massive, dilapidated looking warehouse. A sizeable part of the roof was missing on the right side. One of the walls on the left looked like it had been torn off.
"Clarke!" Wick was yelling for some reason.
Clarke turned around and saw a large group of the Ice Nation running at them from behind. They had swords out and once they knew they'd been seen, they started their war cries.
"Attack!" Indra yelled and ran to the back, which just became the front of their war.
Clarke pulled out a knife in one hand and held her gun out in the other. They were only about 50 yards away and closing fast as the grounders on her side were running right at them. There were close to 300 of them from what she could tell, which mean there were still some unaccounted for.
"I have to find Lexa!" She yelled over the war cries.
"We're with you!" Bellamy yelled, gun in hand. Octavia nodded and Lincoln stood beside her ready to go.
Kane and Wick both looked terrified. Raven looked scared, but appeared to be keeping it together a little better than the guys.
"Let's go." Clarke ordered and her small group, guns and swords and other implements in hand headed toward the paper mill. York stood still not knowing whom to follow or if he should run. Eventually, he took off in Clarke's direction.
It took only a few seconds, it seemed to reach the point of no return and when a few guards exited the front of the building and Clarke's gun went off in their direction, she realized she was again at war. The three bodies fell and two more exited the building with their swords drawn. Bellamy's gun went off and took them down before Clarke stopped running. Everyone else fanned out behind her. There was no cover, nowhere to hide. They were sitting ducks if anyone with a gun came out.
"What now?" Bellamy asked.
"Lincoln and Octavia, go around and through that spot there." She pointed at the gap in the wall. "Bell and Kane, take York around the back. Raven and Wick, you're with me." She turned around only for a moment to watch the battle unfold behind her. She couldn't see Indra or anyone she recognized in the mass of swords flying around and bodies falling. They all started to run off. Another guard ran out of the building. Without thinking, she aimed her gun at him and fired. "If you find Lexa, find me!" She yelled after them.
Raven and Wick both had a gun, but Clarke knew they had limited ammo. She really only had a few bullets left. As they stepped over the bodies she just shot, she heard mutterings and sounds of pain. It reminded her of the mountain. It reminded her of her own pain and the other pain she caused, but she had no time to think about that further. She had to find Lexa if Lexa was even still alive. She had to trust that Indra was right and she wouldn't be dead yet. If she stopped believing that, she knew she'd stop fighting all together.
They watched each other's backs as they entered the space. This portion of the mill was obviously for the administration section. There were lines of desks on both sides of them that were covered in debris and dust. The entire place smelled of mold. Clarke wasn't sure how someone could make this their war room with the stench all around them. There were several doors on both sides and a couple in the back. As she turned to look at first door on the left, she heard the sound of gunfire and turned back to her right. Raven had just shot 2 members of the Ice Nation who'd opened the door.
Clarke looked at her. She was breathing hard, obviously in shock. Clarke wasn't sure she'd seen Raven actually kill anyone before. She'd made things and had ideas, but to actually shoot them directly only a few feet away was another thing.
"Raven, come on." Clarke encouraged. Wick put his hand on the small of her back and ushered her forward. She was strong and snapped out of it quickly. Another guard makes his way through a different door. Wick was there though and he pushed the guard back through the door and slammed it shut.
"Raven, help me!" He yelled. Raven moved over and helped him push a desk in the way of the door.
Clarke made her way down the rows of desks and tried to figure out which door to try first knowing that guards are probably inside each room. She thought of Finn in that moment. She knew she only had a few bullets left, which meant she might have to stab someone with her knife. The last time she'd done that had been to spare him pain.
"Clarke!" Raven snapped her out of it. "Through here." Raven had a door opened. Clarke rushed over to her. The door opened to reveal a small hallway and more doors. "This place is like a damn labyrinth. Should we go in?"
"You two go. Check the rooms. I'm going this way." Clarke told Raven.
"You shouldn't go alone, Clarke." Wick told her.
"I'll be okay." She confirmed and left them to walk the hall and check each room.
Clarke waited on more attackers, but none came as she walked down the aisle toward the back of the long room and the back doors. She wasn't sure how the other groups were fairing or even how the fight outside was going. She could hear the clanging of metal and screaming, but she blocked it out as she got closer to the back doors. She opened one of the two doors using her free hand to hold out her gun. It war promptly knocked out of her hand by someone unseen until four arms grabbed her and yanked her into the room.
"Clarke!" It was Lexa's voice.
Clarke's first feeling was relief. That was followed immediately by fear. Her hands were being held together behind her back by a smelly, oversized man. She looked ahead and saw Lincoln and Octavia being held the same way by other men. Brooklyn was standing between them. The Ice Queen was standing behind Lexa holding a knife to her throat. Clarke looked at Lexa's face. The fear she read in her eyes wasn't for herself. Clarke could tell. She was worried about her. She feared for Clarke. Clarke saw a streak of blood from the spot on the neck where the knife was being held. She could tell it was being pressed into her skin just enough to make it bleed.
"It's about time." Brooklyn said in Clarke's direction.
"Are you okay?" Clarke asked Lexa not paying any attention to Brooklyn.
"I'm okay. You?" Lexa questioned and the knife scraped skin. Clarke saw her face register the pain and she lunged forward, but the guards held her back.
"Octavia?" Clarke asked.
"We're good." She responded looking at Lincoln who nodded angrily.
Bellamy and Kane were pushed through a door on the left. The person pushing them emerged right behind holding both of their weapons in his hand. The door slammed shut behind him. He looked over at Clarke and smiled wickedly.
"York?"