RAVEN

Now, this was her kind of chaos. For Raven Reyes, it was always about finding the calm in the chaos. She thrived in chaos. She felt like a circus master playing with the police and the Tree Crew soldiers. Once sending them to the bridge then sending them back to the tower. The city was engulfed in a different kind of madness. Her heart was beating as if it was on fire. She was fucking alive.

As they had predicted, all the forces had been turned back to the city. Leaving the checkpoints almost barren. They had to partially open up the bridge because traffic was mounting on both ends of it. Their only hurdle was the checkpoint at the bridge. Their van was the first to approach the bridge among the three of them. Despite the shortage of manpower, the Tree Crew and Police were co-ordinating on the bridge to check every vehicle.

"Be ready," Miller warned on his radio. "They are checking every vehicle."

She hid her tablet underneath her and laid back on the stretcher as Jackson gave her the empty plastic bowl to put inside her shirt. He was taking deep breaths to prepare for his terrible acting skills. Jackson was putting on his stethoscope around his neck. She drank some water; sprayed some on her face and then on Jasper's to make it look like both of them had been weeping. She exhaled, willing her heart to beat faster. As the van came to a stop, she was ready to wail.

"I am taking a pregnant woman to the hospital," Miller answered when a Tree Crew soldier asked his purpose. "Her water broke near Mount Weather street. You know how much chaos there is-"

"I don't care." The soldier said grumpily. "Open up now."

Raven let out a painful moan as they opened the back door. She contorted her face with fake pain. Sweat trickled down from her face. She held Jasper's arm in a death grip. She screamed as loud and painful as she could, pushing her knees upward and throwing her head back. Faking childbirth was not an easy thing.

"Calm down, honey, calm down." Jasper was moving a hand through her sticky wet hair.

"I think the baby is coming," Raven cried. She grabbed Jasper by his collar and pulled him close to her red, scrunched up face. "Aghh… this is because of you! All because of you!"

"I know, honey, I know, just a little bit lon-longer… we-we will get you to a ho-hospital I promise…" He stammered, wiping the back of his hand on his face.

The soldier who had opened the door stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do. Other cars were lining up behind them and a few people were gathering behind the van to look at what was going on.

"Please sir," Jasper begged. "Do whatever you want to do with me - my wife and my baby - they need to go to the hospital -" He started weeping.

Another soldier came up behind the first one. "What is going on here?" He seemed irritated at the commotion.

"I know them." He said when he saw them. He seemed to have more authority than the former one with more star linings on his shoulder pad.

"But sir,"

"I have seen them around the tower before. The lady was pregnant. Let them go, they are holding up the line."

They closed the doors hurriedly. Raven heard the chaos - that she had brought - erupting outside to clear the way for the ambulance. Slowly but steadily Miller drove the van through the gap in the barrication. A few moments later, the sirens and shouting could not be heard at all. They all let out a collective sigh and broke into reckless laughter, holding their bellies and wiping out tears.

Raven picked up the radio and grinned while saying, "This is Raven. We are through."

BELLAMY

The line in front of the bridge was a short one when they arrived. He had seen their fake ambulance pass through the barricades successfully and had heard Raven's confirmation on the radio. At first, he had thought that they had a better shot at kidnapping the president compared to kidnapping Lexa. He had doubts about the plan but now that it was all falling into place he couldn't help but admire it.

Beside him, Octavia's eyes were switching between the various surveillance monitors in front of them. She was biting her nails and rocking her foot. He smiled at her. She hadn't changed much from the day Clarke had found them in Rome.

He still remembers the horrible Plague of Galen. He was serving in the Roman army back then. He had returned home from the Mesopotamian war when the plague had broken out. It hit the crowded slums of the Roman Empire hardest. Bodies piled up in the streets and carts. Starvation and death were a common occurrence.

The reapers were taking the dead and undead towards the graveyard outside the city for mass burials all hours of the day. Death in ancient Rome was thought to be something that could infect or be harmful to the living. Therefore there was a strict physical separation between the living and the dead.

Bellamy's fever had come on two days after her mother's and Octavia's. They had no money for medicine, so they huddled together in a pile of cotton sheets on the streets. He had thought he was dreaming when they were thrown into a pile of bodies near the graveyard. He had tried to scream, but he had been too weak. His legs had been aching and face was covered in smallpox sores.

Bellamy had thought he would wake up in the underworld with his mother and sister. Instead, he'd woken up surrounded by dead bodies. His clothes were soaked through with other people's fluids, skin smelling sour. Octavia was beside him, nudging him, barely recognizable because of all the dirt and blood. Her fever had broken. His too. They were free of the rashes, their skin had cleared. He had tried to pull their mother from the pile, hoping that she might wake up as well. They had waited, hand in hand, with hunger in their stomachs and pain in their hearts. She hadn't woken up.

They had buried her body and walked back to the city with only the clothes on their back to face more hunger and poverty. They begged on the streets, too afraid to be sold into slavery. Clarke had found them then. And they had found hope.

"Hey," A police officer's harsh voice broke Bellamy away from his thoughts. "Stop the car."

Murphy had pressed the brakes hard, jerking Bellamy away from his thoughts. Octavia looked at him with worried eyes. She was fiddling with her fake reporter badge. They had changed their clothes to look like civilians and hid their weapons under the seats. They weren't suspicious unless someone looked in the back and recognized him and Octavia from the tower.

"Hey, man," Murphy said in his casual asshole voice. "What's up? I am with the press. Can't you see?"

"You are just paparazzi, dude." The officer was too young. He looked like he didn't want to be there.

"Paparazzi's now news, man." Murphy laughed like a drunk man. "Look, man, I really gotta go. I'll give you a real scoop about the news I'm chasin'. Somethin' to cheer ya up. What d'ya say?"

"Let's hear it then,"

"Prez Trump is getting impeached-"

"No shit! Really?" The man sounded surprised. He was leaning in on the driver's side window as he shook his head in disbelief.

"See," said Murphy. "I just gave ya a real scoop."

"Yeah, yeah," The police officer chuckled. "You can go." He waved a hand to let them pass.

"God bless America!" Murphy shouted back at him as they crossed the barrication.

Bellamy felt the tension leave his body. Beside him, Octavia let out a victorious whoop.

"This is Octavia. We passed, bitches," Octavia screamed into the radio.

"And now it's just her highness in the pumpkin carriage," Murphy muttered, hitting the gas pedal harder than necessary.

CLARKE

Clarke felt relief descend on her like a soft blanket as she heard their voices confirming that they had made it through the bridge safely. She also saw the growing worried look on Lexa's face. Clarke had tried to tell her that they weren't going to hurt her. Yet, she had refused to believe. Clarke had to show her that she couldn't be killed. That in a few hundred years, the life Lexa had built and was so proud of will disappear like ash in the wind. But she had to hold onto that information until they were far away from Mount Weather.

Sitting idle was a struggle, especially when someone was looking at her like she wanted to cut her in pieces and feed her to a wolf. Clarke looked down at her own hands. Just to do something with them, she checked for her guns. The revolver was not there. Oh, fuck no. When she looked up, Lexa was pointing the gun at her. Not again, Clarke internally groaned. But she had to admit that the girl had potential skills.

From the front of the vehicle, Echo was chuckling. "You have to stop underestimating her, boss." Despite the velocity of the getaway, she was calm at the wheel, weaving through traffic like an android.

Clarke folded her arms in front of her and tilted her head to the side. "Say what you have to say." She said to Lexa. They were going to reach the bridge in a few minutes. This was not the time for games.

"I am not going anywhere with your kind," Lexa said through gritted teeth. Her rage is meteoric. "Turn the car around to the Tower or I will shoot you."

She did not doubt that Lexa would shoot her. Clarke sighed and unfolded her hands. She brought out her own gun and sat back calmly. It would just slow things down for a little bit until Echo gets them across the bridge. Besides, Lexa should get used to this whole resurrection thing.

"Do it," she faced the gunpoint, even leaned in a little bit to prove her point. Lexa looked distressed, perhaps realizing that shooting Clarke would be futile. She turned the gun to the back of Echo's head.

"Tell her to turn around or I will shoot her." Lexa threatened, her eyes cold and determined.

Echo looked back to see if Clarke wanted her to engage. "Keep driving. She is not going to shoot you." Clarke said. "I am. Prikinsya mrtvym ." She pointed her pistol at Echo's head and fired. Echo collapsed over the steering wheel immediately. Lexa gasped, panicking.

The vehicle swerved on the busy street. Echo floored it through the stoplight. Other drivers braked hard around her. Clarke sat back and closed her eyes. "You are going away with your own kind." Lexa blinked, not understanding what Clarke was saying.

"We are gonna hit the oil tanker." Lexa's panicked voice filtered through the shaking vehicle. Echo still had her foot on the pedal, Clarke assumed. "You go and drive it." Lexa tried to enforce it by pointing the gun at Clarke.

Clarke shrugged. "Give the gun back and I will."

Lexa looked conflicted for a second then she handed over the gun by its handle.

"Good girl," Clarke smirked. "You don't speak Russian, do you?"

"Why?"

"Because I asked her to play dead."

On cue, Echo lifted her head and placed her hands firmly against the steering again. She screeched around corners at breakneck speed, always just on the verge of losing control but not. Lexa looked like wildfire. She lunged at Clarke again, only to be restrained by the chains against her ankle. Clarke watched her temper rising like a storm.

"Fuck you!" She growled and spat at Clarke. There was no shelter from this storm.

Clarke wiped her jacket. "Didn't they teach you manners in your palace, your highness?" The mock title seemed to enrage Lexa even more.

"You and your barbaric friends are the only reason that -" Clarke closed the distance between them and clasped her hand against Lexa's mouth. Lexa's forest-green eyes bulged in surprise. She squirmed under her but Clarke didn't let go.

"Stop talking," Clarke hissed as Echo rolled up the partition between the front and the back seats, engulfing them in darkness. They were entering the checkpoint.

The same realization that had stilled Clarke, lit a fire inside of Lexa. She struggled against her chains, making as much noise as possible. Her breathing was ragged. She held Clarke's wrist that was over her mouth and dug into it with her nails. But Clarke was used to such little pains.

Clarke maintained eye contact with her and kept whispering a small. "Shhh…"

Outside, Clarke heard Echo talking to a police officer.

"You from the Tree Crew lot?" The officer asked with a distinct accent.

"Yes." Echo showed them her almost real ID card. "We have been asked for backup on the other side of the bridge." She lied flawlessly.

"Yeah, yeah. You guys have the whole city running errands for you today, don't ya?" The officer mildly complained.

"You know how it is…" Echo sighed heavily, bonding over mutual complaints about their employers.

"Yeah…" The officer trailed off. Then he waved a hand and said, "Let them pass."

Clarke heard someone slap the side of the vehicle. Shit.

"Wait!" Someone shouted. "The paint is still fresh on the side. She is not one of us! Stop them!" He must have been a Tree Crew soldier. The cogwheel logo of the Tree Crew they had painted on the van hadn't dried out.

Echo crushed the gas pedal with her foot and flew past them before they could close the barricades. Clarke lurched sideways. She let go off of Lexa as she tried to gain balance. Echo rolled down the partition. Police and Tree Crew cars were swarming like bees behind them. A pair of police cars sped up to them; overhead the helicopter flew with its sights set on their vehicle.

"They are going to shoot at us." Echo said, her breathing labored. She zoomed recklessly down the bridge, they still had some kilometers to cover.

"Let them," Clarke cocked her gun.

"Clarke, come in," Raven's distressed voice came through the radio. Echo revved past the other cars aggressively. 85... 90 mph.

"Yeah, this is Clarke," Clarke said, grabbing a handlebar overhead to keep herself steady.

"Do not cross the bridge. I repeat, do not cross the bridge. They have laid out spike sheets. Half of the police force is lining up to fire at you. Do not cross that bridge."

"Yeah, Raven I got it," Clarke confirmed.

Lexa was observing their exchange like she was watching a tennis match. She was calmer, smirking, probably thinking her people will save her in time.

"What now?" Echo looked back for a second. Clarke lurched as Echo took steered too tightly - smashing into an Audi - the mirror on the left side of the car was shorn off. The Audi skidded, tumbling, crashing into the oncoming police cruisers too late to brake. Echo steered the van into another lane; leaving a trail of crashes behind them.

"Remember Bangkok, 1991?" Clarke shouted over the wailing sirens. Her hand was bleeding from the iron tight grip she had on the handlebar.

"Yes! Are you bloody sure?" Echo flashed an all-white grin, eyes crinkling in the corner. She was an adrenaline junkie like her after all, they all were.

"Only if you are." Clarke smiled wider, wilder.

"You have one minute." Echo said, glancing at her watch.

Clarke went to work. In a swift motion, she opened the chain binding Lexa's ankles. She released the cuff from her left wrist and locked it on her own right wrist. She and Lexa were literally connected now. She yanked off a seat belt and buckled it around her waist.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Lexa yelled at her.

"Now," She said to Echo, ignoring Lexa. Echo lowered her head and Clarke emptied her revolver barrel on the windshield of the van. The bullets shattered the glass; cold air rushed through it as pieces of glass rained everywhere.

Clarke turned and grabbed Lexa by the back of her blazer; turned Lexa in front of her as a shield and kicked open the back door. The officers and Tree Crew soldiers who were pointing guns at them from their cars lowered them at the sight of Lexa. The air felt cold on her face, a contrast to the heat rushing in her blood.

"Do you know how to swim?" Clarke shouted so that her voice could be heard above the cacophony of sirens and engines.

"Y-yes-" Panic was heavy in Lexa's voice. Her heart pounded in a ragged rhythm.

"Good girl," Clarke lowered her voice. She felt Lexa shiver under her hold.

Behind them, Echo was in her element - collected behind the wheel of her car almost as if it was a natural extension of herself. She was shifting, spinning the wheel, and skidding -while remaining in full control- as the wheels skimmed over the earth.

"Tri," Echo screamed. Clarke grabbed the handlebar above with one hand and Lexa's blazer with another. "Dva," She paused. "A'deen."

She deftly shifted gears, reaching speeds over 120 miles per hour. At the last moment, she violently twisted the steering wheel- the vehicle leaped forward, bearing down on the railings, sending it toppling over the end, cart-wheeling amidst a cloud of debris, before landing fifty feet into the raging, cold, unforgiving Potomac river.

And then Clarke was falling into the black, into the cold, into the river, into nothing at all. She had died many ways in all her years of life still drowning was her least favorite way.

ECHO

When she regained consciousness, water was seeping into the van. She was freezing. It reminded her of Vladivostok in winter. They were on the river bed with nothing but darkness and debris. Echo sucked in water instead of air. It burned her lungs. What the fuck were they thinking? It was a fucking stupid move. Out of all the ways to die, drowning was one of the most painful. Bloody fucking adrenaline.

Unbuckling her seatbelt that was holding her in place, she swam through the shattered windshield to the back of the van. She searched her pockets for her tactical flashlight and turned it on. The broken glass sliced her thigh. It felt like fire in the chill. The blood spread in the water, painting it red. Thank god there were no sharks in rivers.

In the back, Lexa's body was hanging from the cuffs; straining Clarke's wrist. Clarke's pale white face was lifeless. The image of their lifeless faces was horrifying. It scared her. For Lexa, she knew the first couple of times it would take longer for her to come back. For Clarke, it was different. She would never let Clarke die on her watch. She was a spy. She understood the importance of a good leader, a good mentor, and a good comrade. Clarke was all of those things for her and more.

But Echo was human, after all. And even with all her training, she could barely hold her breath for one-sixty seconds. Just keep fighting you bloody fucking immortal.

Three…

She pocketed her flashlight and grabbed on to the back door of the van.

Two...

She felt the water filling her lungs, the darkness engulfing her once again until there was nothing to see, nothing to feel. Just blackness.

One…

She was gone.

Five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

A single heartbeat. Pain.

One…

A steady rhythm. Excruciating pain.

She felt life course through her once again like the warmth of the sun in the morning. She closed her mouth shut, putting the flashlight between her teeth, and navigated the water to find Clarke again. She swam with all the strength she could muster.

Clarke was hanging from her seat, upside down, a protruding piece of metal keeping her in place, stunned and bleeding from the forehead. She counted the seconds in her head as she tried to yank the piece of metal off of her. She had barely ten seconds left when she felt like dying again. All you have to do is fucking survive. She felt the flashlight dropping from her mouth. Her lungs were filled with water and darkness.

Death was there again, laughing at her like she was a joke that would never get old.

Her heart ceased beating.

When she opened her eyes again, her eardrums were ringing. She was suspended in water. Clarke was holding her by her collar. She wanted to laugh but kept her mouth shut. Clarke was okay. They were going to be okay. Echo saw the reflection of her own relief on Clarke's face.

Clarke was holding the flashlight in her mouth, her other hand was trying to pull Lexa's body from where it was stuck between a crumpled bench.

"Pull together." Echo signed.

Clarke nodded. They pulled the bench and the screws finally gave out, freeing Lexa. Clarke held on to Lexa's hand even though they were already connected with the cuffs.

"Forty seconds," Clarke signed. She was keeping count of her time too. "Upwards." Echo nodded. She still had seventy seconds.

When Clarke's eyes closed off again, Echo propelled them upwards with Lexa in tow. When the light in Echo's eyes was gone, Clarke pulled them forward. Finally, after what felt like an hour their feet were touching some ground as they crawled, rolled, and wormed up to the shore.

CLARKE

She was coughing up water, shivering in her wet clothes. Her heart was hammering. Her hands felt like they had carried a rocket to space. Beside her, Echo's condition was no better. She looked like she was hit by a truck.

"You okay?" Clarke stupidly asked.

Echo laughed but it came out in wheezes. Clarke felt a grin spreading on her lips too. "T-this has to be the stu-stupidest thing-thing we have done after that Berlin wall thing in 1963." Her teeth were chattering.

"It def-definitely is." Clarke was laughing, remembering the day they had driven a tank through the Berlin wall. They were desperately, giddily happy to be alive and breathing, even though they were laying on the grass, shivering like wet dogs and still nowhere near safety.

"I ca-can't wait to tell B-Bellamy!" Echo added. Perhaps she was a little delirious. "This was so bad-badass."

"R-Raven i-is going to be so jea-jealous." Her voice came out broken. She was shaking.

"O-Octavia too." Echo let out a breath which fogged in front of her.

They laid there even after their laughter died down. The grass beneath their wet backs and constellations wheeling overhead. Night had fallen a few hours ago. The river had carried them far away from the city. Clarke wasn't sure of the speed of the water, but she could see the forests and flora surrounding the shoreline.

"You should bring her highness back to life." Echo suggested, glancing in Lexa's direction.

"Only her body can do that for her. You know that."

"At least release the cuffs. She is going to panic when she comes back. What if she tore off your wrist?"

"You told me not to underestimate her." Clarke pointed out. "I am not gonna let her out of my sight."

"Alright." Echo conceded. "I feel cold. I am going to find something to burn." She got up and retreated towards the woods.

Clarke sat up. Beside her, Lexa was still lying lifeless as she dragged her away from the water. Clarke unlocked the cuffs and pocketed them for now. Her blazer had frayed to nearly nothing. Everything from her hair to toe was wet. She was barefoot and there was a long, healing gash near the base of her neck.

Maybe Lexa's body did need a little encouragement.

Clarke flipped her onto her back gently and started pressing down on her chest with less force than was strictly necessary.

"Come. On. You. Have. To. Accept. Who. You. Are.," Clarke muttered in sync with her compressions.

She used one hand to pinch Lexa's nose shut and the other to push his mouth open as she tried to breathe air into her lungs. She pressed her lips to Lexa's, timing her breaths with the compressions. She felt her shift when Lexa's heart took over its own rhythm. Then she coughed, chest spasming, water spewing from her mouth. She shoved Clarke off of her, sucking in cold air.

"Get away from me," Lexa gasped, wiping her hand over her mouth. Her eyes were unfocused. She seemed to be staring right through her. "Don't touch me."

Lexa was trembling, from shock or the cold, Clarke didn't know.

"You're in shock, Lexa," Clarke said. "You drowned. Then died."

Lexa coughed again, her entire body shuddering. "Drowned. D-dead" she repeated.

Clarke moved closer. She removed her leather jacket and covered Lexa's hunched shoulders with it. Lexa clutched the jacket closer for warmth.

Clarke nodded slowly. "Tree crew? Mount Weather? Near-death? You want to kill me, remember?"

"I will kill you," Lexa mumbled. Her eyes were still unfocused.

"There she is," Echo announced as she stepped beside them with a makeshift bundle of logs and dried bush.

"Where are we?" Lexa asked, frightened.

"I don't know. But we will get you somewhere safe pretty soon." Said Clarke.

Lexa mumbled something else but her eyes rolled back a little and she was falling back again. Clarke caught her and gently laid her head on her own lap.

Quickly enough, Echo had made a small fire to dry their clothes and keep them warm. She and Clarke sat across from each other, their faces lit by the soft glow of the fire. Insects were chirping in the background. Clarke saw some curious frogs jumping their way too. They opened their palms over the fire, feeling their sensations return.

Lexa's head was resting on her lap as she combed her fingers through her brown, tousled hair. Lexa was mumbling something incoherent about killing Clarke and her team. Clarke smiled.

"Do you think they will find us?" Echo wondered, putting her dried shirt back on.

"Remember, Raven?" Clarke said with a raised eyebrow and a lazy smile. "She tracks everyone. Of course, they will find us." They shared a laugh. Clarke went back to respectfully gawking at Lexa's peaceful face until Echo spoke again.

"You know, Jackson and Miller have this theory that the people who see through us when they die for the first time are our soulmates."

Clarke barked out a laugh. "That could be true in your and Bellamy's case."

Echo groaned. "Don't mention him, please."

"What?" Clarke teased. "You like him. He likes you. It's just that you guys are painstakingly slow. I bet he will wait another century before he asks you to be his girlfriend."

"Then I guess I will have to ask him myself." Echo said with an uncharacteristically shy smile. "But I am serious. About you and Lexa. I see how you look at her, boss."

Clarke shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it is true or maybe we just made it up to make ourselves feel better."

"So what?" Echo fed another piece of wood into the fire. "We deserve good things too."

"Good things never seem to last for me-"

"We lasted. Our team. Our family."

Clarke smiled at the answer she was about to give. "Well, I wouldn't call that exactly a good thing. Pain in the ass, maybe-"

Echo threw a stone at her which intentionally missed her head by inches. "You traitor. Wait till I tell Raven what you just said." She flipped her hair back and pulled it up in a mock ponytail. She jutted out her chin a little bit. "Well, first of all, I am awesome-"

Clarke burst out laughing at the exact mimicry of Raven's tone. Echo joined in, tear rolling down from containing her laugh. It was risky to laugh like this when a whole nation was searching for them. Yet, they didn't care. Maybe they had hit their head pretty hard. When the laughter subsided, Clarke held her gaze.

"I just, I just don't wanna ruin this, you know." She hadn't realized how scared she was until this moment. "I want her to set her own pace. I don't wanna burden her with all our theories and stuff… she will have to deal with a lot already, you now. The first century is always the hardest."

Echo smiled as if Clarke had just revealed the secrets of the universe or given her a cup of hot chocolate. "The theory is true then." Clarke threw a stick at her face. She dodged.

Before Clarke could retort or throw another stick they heard a familiar engine of Raven's jeep roaring somewhere behind them. Clarke and Echo exchanged a knowing look. They were here. They had found them.

"Don't say it."

"I told you so." Clarke simply shrugged with a smirk.