"I want you to suffer the same way that I've suffered," — Carl Emerson, "Bitter Harvest"

The rover bumped along the road, a few miles from Tonawa. Lexa's riders had left at the same time, but they were long in the rearview mirror. Harper sat at the wheel, Abby silent next to her. The closer the village got, the more the anxiety filled her. Her knee bounced as they passed another sign for "Tonawa," the last half of what the town used to be called burned off. She had a feeling that something bad had happened, that Ontari had attacked despite Lexa's reports.

"They'll still be there," Harper whispered, glancing at her out of the corner of her eye. Abby nodded absently. She was almost surprised Harper had said anything at all — they had barely spoke the entire seven hour trip, both worried over those they cared about.

In the rover, she wasn't with her family. Benja was back at Arkadia, under the competent supervision of Raven, Rebecca, and Gina. Marcus and Clarke were still another mile away. She felt as if she was balancing in a purgatory, neither getting closer nor further from her family, it was like she would never get to them.

At last, the rover pulled outside the back gate of Tonawa and Abby jumped out before the wheels settled. Harper hurried after her and they entered the small gate, waved in by a Grounder standing guard.

She didn't know what she expected, but it wasn't what she found. People were running from place to place, frantic. They kept shouting something about Wanheda and Heda kom Skaikru, talking too fast for Abby to understand them. She looked at Harper, wide eyed, before she approached someone who seemed relatively calm. She asked, "Weron kamp raun Skaikru? | Where are the Sky People?"

He looked her up and down before nodding across the sea of ramshackle houses to City Hall, the top of which was visible to them. Abby started toward it and heard Harper mutter a hasty, "mochof | thank you" as she followed.

"They're talking about Kane and Clarke, right?" Harper asked, hurrying to keep up with her. Sometimes she forgot that the kids knew enough of the language to get by, she forgot that Kane, Octavia, and Lincoln had been teaching Trigedasleng to anyone who wanted to know, she forgot that Kane had made it a requirement to know Trigedasleng for a position on the Council or in the guard. She had other things on her mind.

Abby nodded, her eyes on their destination. It grew larger and larger as her feet carried her quickly toward it. She burst through the door minutes later and went to the meeting room.

All twelve people turned when they heard the door open, watching their entrance into the room. They surrounded the massive table and an old map lay on the worn surface.

"What are you two doing here?" Nate Miller asked. The light amusement that usually accompanied his voice no matter the situation was noticeably absent. Harper glanced Abby's way as they progressed farther into the room, hearing it too. Miller asked, "Where's Benja?"

"Where are Kane and Clarke?" Harper asked, taking her place at the table next to Emori. The look Bellamy and Octavia shared didn't ease the tension in Abby's lower abdomen. Worry had caused the knot and it was only worsening now that she hadn't found her family where she expected to. She stepped up to the table and glanced down at the map. It was of the massive island west of Tonawa — a small, seemingly abandoned village on its eastern bank was circled in red.

"On a mission," Nelson said too quickly, something that should have been reassurance on his face. Abby frowned at him.

"Don't lie to her," John Murphy spat, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're not good at it and she deserves better."

Abby looked at him, eyes wide. Murphy averted his gaze and stared down at the map in front of them. He tapped the red dot she hadn't noticed at first glance in the circled village, Dyle Villa. He said quietly, "They were taken here."

"Taken?" Abby asked; Murphy confirmed with a nod. She looked to Erie and Roan and asked, "When did this happen?"

"Last night," Bellamy said in a hushed voice. He was staring hard at the village on the map as if the lines on the old paper truly held the answer. He looked up suddenly, his eyes meeting Abby's. He spoke only to her as he continued, "Clarke relieved me on guard duty, she wanted to keep Kane company. That's the last time they were seen; Nelson went to take over for Kane at sunrise, but they were long gone."

"Octavia and I tracked them to Dyle Villa this morning," Lincoln offered, tapping the village on the map. "It's about an hour away on foot and they're being held in an old school. Two Ice Nation warriors are posted outside, another patrols the woods behind the school periodically."

"How do you know Marcus and Clarke are actually being held there?" Abby's eyes found Lincoln's as she asked, "Did you see them?"

Octavia answered in a whisper, "We heard their screams."

Bellamy's hands clutched the edge of the table as he lowered his head and drew in a rattled breath. Octavia reached for the hand nearest her and placed hers on top of it, she ran her thumb over the back. The Blakes looked at each other and it was in their eyes that Abby saw the real difference in them. Bellamy's were red, the skin bunched at the corners. He was taking Clarke's abduction hard; she knew he would prefer any physical pain over what she saw in his eyes. Octavia's were on fire. She was out for blood; Abby wondered how Lincoln managed to stop her from storming into that school on her own.

She looked away from the Blakes to Roan. She asked, "What's stopping us from leading the armies to Dyle Villa and taking them back by force?"

"Over two people? I'm not revealing where my army is positioned for two people," Roan said coldly.

"That's not an option, Skaiplan," Ford spat, glaring at her. "We're not risking our lives or strategic position for two worthless—"

"Nou mou, Fourd | Enough, Ford," Erie said, sternly. "Disha hukop na set raun. | This alliance will stand."

Ford rolled his eyes.

Lincoln said calmly, "I understand you don't like the Sky People, but Kane and Clarke are valued leaders, just like you."

"Ai nou fleim Trikru in seintaim | I don't value the Tree People either," Ford said with eyes so narrow they were practically slits.

"Ford," Roan warned. The warrior looked to his king with venom; Roan just glared at him coldly. "Go patrol the woods."

"Dison bilaik seken dula! | That's a second's job!" Ford yelled, his fist banging against the table.

"En yun | And yours," the king replied. Ford glared at him but reluctantly obeyed his king. Roan looked around at the others as if the outburst hadn't happened. He tapped a trail on the map and said, "This is the way we go, fifty of us should do—"

"With all due respect," Bellamy interrupted, his eyes following the trail before he looked at Roan. "You haven't fought the Mountain Men, you were in exile. We have. It would be better to send a small team to sneak in and out undetected to rescue Kane and Clarke."

"You fought them once and you think you know them!" Tara scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I infiltrated the Mountain alone and helped bring it to the ground! I've done things you could never stomach!" Bellamy yelled. He took in deep breaths to calm down before he said, "Less is more with them, believe me."

"We've been at war with them for forty years," Erie began.

Murphy interrupted, "You have? All the way up here? You were too insignificant for them to stomp out and you're too prideful to admit it." Erie's eyes darkened. Murphy smirked as he continued, "Now, as someone who's never fought these Mountain Men, I'll do the smart thing and listen to someone who has."

"The opinion of a thief is branwoda!" Knox spat on the floor.

"What did you call him?" Emori said, reaching reflexively for the knife she kept at her hip. It was in the bin in the corner, checked with the rest of the weapons at the door.

Through the tension in the room, Harper asked quietly, "What Mountain Man is left?"

"Emerson," Miller replied with venom. He looked to Bellamy and asked, "So, what's the plan?"

Bellamy studied the map for a moment and tapped the cluster of trees outlined a mile away from the school. "Six of us will go: Lincoln, Octavia, Miller, Harper, Abby, and me. Octavia sneaks in while Lincoln and I deal with the guards. She will find Kane and Clarke and get them out. Lincoln and I will provide cover as she leads them to these trees. Abby will be waiting to provide whatever medical attention is necessary before we get them into the rover that Harper will be waiting in on the other side of the trees."

"What will I be doing?" Miller asked, raising a lazy eyebrow.

"You are Abby's protection," Bellamy said, glancing at the doctor. "No offense, Abby, but you can't shoot."

She nodded and motioned for him to continue.

Bellamy said, "No one has to know where the Ice Nation army is. We'll get them in and out no problem."

Roan stared at the map as if he could see Bellamy's plan playing out on the paper. He nodded and walked out of the room; Erie and the other Grounders followed.

"What happens if any of us are discovered?" Abby asked.

Bellamy replied coldly, "Then we kill them all."

Blood trickled down his wrists, restrained behind him to the chair. His head rested against his chest, he was on the verge of passing out. The pain in his ribs was enough to do the trick but his face throbbed too and a sharp pain shot up his entire right leg every few minutes.

A noise sounded from a dozen feet in front of him and it was a minute before he realized it was Clarke calling his name. He managed to raise his head to look at her. His eyes met the bruise forming around her eye and the blood dripping from her nose and spilling from the cut on her lip.

"Kane," Clarke whispered again, tears collecting at the corners of her eyes. "Are you okay?"

He knew he had gotten the worst of the beating and he would gladly take every punch, kick, and stab if it meant Clarke was spared as much pain as possible. He could deal with the pain but he couldn't deal with what the beating would do to Clarke. He already worried about her mental stability after Mount Weather and living in the woods for three months, but if she were to be beaten like he had been in Polis or witness what he did with Pike, he didn't know how long she would last.

Kane whispered, "I'm fine, Clarke."

"Kane," she chastised, leaning forward against her restraints. "You don't look okay."

"Don't worry," he said quietly, staring at the floor.

"Hey," she started, but the door at the end of the gymnasium opened and they both looked up to find their torcha, Reid, walking toward them followed by Carl Emerson.

"Clarke, Kane" Emerson began as he neared them. His eyes were cold, almost lifeless, as he passed into the circle of light Kane and Clarke were under. "I know I said our queen had some questions, but she's a little busy at the moment." He pulled out a knife from a sheath against his thigh. "So, I'll be asking them."

He glanced at Kane as he knelt in front of Clarke and ran the knife along her knee. He asked, "Where is the Ice Nation army?"

"Which one?" Clarke asked, glaring at him.

He chuckled lightly before replying, the knife dragging along and snagging her jeans, "You think you are smart, don't you?"

Clarke didn't reply, but her eyes found Kane's and he frowned at her, unsure of what she was doing. Antagonizing Emerson was the last thing they should be doing; he knew firsthand what happened when provoking captors. Last time he had witnessed it, Jasper Jordan had nearly died at the hands of James Banks and Shawn Gillmer.

Emerson followed her gaze and met Kane's disapproving stare. He grinned and looked back to Clarke. He said, "Something's changed here. Are you two…"

He let the question hang in the air and Kane glared at him. Clarke spat, "Of course not."

"Ah," he said, nodding. "Your mother then. So he's family now."

Clarke stared at him, knowing where he was going with it.

Emerson smiled as he asked again, "Where is Roan's army?"

He kept his eyes on Clarke as he walked backward toward Kane's chair, twirling the knife between his fingers. Kane kept his eyes on it as Emerson backed his way. He knew it was going to happen before Emerson thrust the knife down into his leg — Clarke's silence was all it took. The pain was worse since he had time to tense up against it. The blade pierced his flesh and imbedded itself into the thigh bone. He felt his jaw quiver and drew in rapid breaths to keep from screaming aloud. He met Clarke's eyes as she whimpered, watching Kane desperately fight the reaction that would satisfy Emerson to no ends.

"Oh, what's the matter, Clarke?" Emerson taunted, wiggling the knife in Kane's knee as the Chancellor's head fell back and he cried out. Clarke's face contorted as she watched Kane writhe in agony.

"Please, please, stop! Just stop!" Clarke pleaded, her eyes on what she could see of Kane's face. "I'll do anything."

"All I want now, Clarke, is for you to see your family die." Emerson said coldly, wrenching the knife out of Kane's leg painfully. He advanced on Clarke, the blood dripping from the blade onto the wooden floor. "You murdered my entire family." He gripped Clarke's shoulders, the knife dangerously close to her throat as he yelled, "You don't deserve happiness, you don't deserve love! You deserve to die alone, knowing you got everyone you have ever cared about killed!"

He turned toward Kane against as his head rolled toward his chest. He went to his side and looked Clarke in the eye as he gripped Kane by the hair and pulled his head back. He ran the back of the blade over Kane's neck before he said, "Last chance, Clarke."

"Please," she whimpered, watching Kane cringe against whatever blow Emerson was about to deal. "I'll tell you whatever you want, just don't hurt him."

"We don't really care where Roan's army is, I wanted to see you squirm," he replied, turning the blade over as he trailed it down Kane's chest, letting it dig in as he went, cutting the shirt and skin underneath on the way. Kane's jaw clenched as his nerves stung where his flesh was torn apart. "We don't want Niagara, we want Roan to go back there."

"Why?" Kane asked, feeling lightheaded and on the verge of passing out.

"No offense to you, Kane, but you were just in the way. I'm sorry, you're going to die because of her mistakes," Emerson said sincerely as he twirled the tip of the knife against his right thigh, just above Kane's other stab wound. He looked at Clarke as he raised the knife and jammed it deep into the thigh, striking bone.

"Kane?"

He opened his eyes with difficulty and found Clarke staring at him, concern written on every inch of her face. She breathed out in relief as he made a nondescript noise.

"You've been out for a while," she said quietly, her eyes on the knife still imbedded in the middle of his thigh.

"I can't imagine why," he muttered, his entire body pounding with pain.

"Kane," she whispered, grief breaking through her voice. "I'm so sorry."

He shook his head. "Don't."

"Just let me," she said, looking him over. She took in the blood on his face, the swollen eye, the blood seeping through the tear in his shirt, the wounds on his leg, and the knife. "I did this to you. I always do this."

He knew she was talking about the time Roan stabbed Bellamy in the leg in an abandoned subway station. He murmured, "Don't blame yourself, don't do that to yourself."

"I think I understand you now," she whispered after a moment.

He didn't hear her, a pain shot up his leg and he cried out. He wheezed out, "Clarke, if I don't make it out—"

"Don't you dare," she warned, her voice harsh. "You will because I won't let you die here."

"Clarke—"

"Kane, stop!" She snapped, glaring at him. "You are getting out of here. My mom needs you; Benja needs you; Bellamy and Octavia need you. I need you! Fight for those you love because we're going to fight for you."

He shook his head as the pain intensified. "Clarke—"

"Shut up," she snapped.

"What—"

"I said, 'shut up,'" she said quietly, her voice alert. "Did you hear that?"

He couldn't hear anything over the sound of the blood pounding in his ears. Once he really concentrated, he could hear the light footsteps on the gymnasium floor followed by Clarke's nearly silent gasp. Kane managed to open his eyes to see Octavia cutting through the zip tie at her ankles, Clarke was rubbing her wrists as she looked at him.

She whispered, "How are we getting out of here? Kane's injured."

Octavia walked over to him and knelt behind the chair, slicing through the zip tie at his wrists before moving onto his ankles. Her eyes homed in on the knife in his leg and she glanced back at Clarke, her eyes wide. Clarke's face was grim as she stood with her arms crossed, watching Octavia appraise Kane.

Octavia rose to her feet and walked to Clarke. She said in a voice so quiet she probably thought Kane couldn't hear her, "I don't see how we can get him out of here."

"If we leave him, they'll kill him," Clarke said, her voice strained.

Octavia glared at her. "I never said we were leaving him." She slapped a gun into Clarke's hand. "We might have to kill our way out."

"That's fine," Clarke said harshly. She and Octavia walked back to Kane and each took one of his arms, ducking under it. They both rose again, lifting him to his feet. Kane let out an agonizing scream and Octavia clamped her hand over his mouth, silencing him after only a few seconds. She looked at Clarke and frowned. Clarke said, "Like you said, we kill anyone who gets in our way."

Octavia nodded and they started their slow journey out of the room. Kane couldn't put any weight on his right leg and his other one couldn't keep up with the girls' pace. Most of his weight was on their shoulders but they managed while holding guns aloft. They were lucky enough not to run into anyone as they snuck through the dark halls to a side door.

"Jesus," Bellamy muttered as the three of them slipped out of the door. He looked at Lincoln as they took Kane from Octavia and Clarke.

Kane whispered, "Bellamy…"

"Shh, it's okay," he said in a hushed, strained tone. "Let's get you out of here."

Octavia led the way and Clarke brought up the rear, both with their guns at the ready. Lincoln and Bellamy lugged Kane along for what felt like hours. The pain in his leg was too great and he felt his consciousness slip away from him. It was like he wasn't in his body anymore, but rather watching as the men hauled him toward safely. He couldn't feel his feet dragging limply along the ground nor their hands under his arms.

They lowered him to the ground when they were a safe distance away. Not a bad place to die, he thought, feeling wetness against his cheek as his head rolled to the side. He could hear leaves rustling in the night's air and hushed voices he recognized.

"Shit," Nate Miller whispered, crouching on the ground next to him. "What the hell happened?"

"Emerson happened," Clarke said coldly.

"Clarke!" It was a voice he hadn't thought he would hear again. It stirred strength within his limbs and he managed to lift his head and open an eye. He saw Abby run toward her daughter and the two women embraced tightly. Her eyes met Marcus' over Clarke's shoulder and he watched her face break at her eyes passed over his many injuries.

Clarke pulled away and walked to Bellamy, asking him what the plan was as he hugged her. He mentioned a rover on the other side of the small forest. Abby knelt next to him and lowered her med kit to the ground. She brushed his hair out of his face and ran her hands over his cheeks, wiping the blood away. She leaned down and pressed her lips to his, whispering, "You have to stop doing this to me."

He croaked with as much of a smile as he could muster, "I'll try."

Four weeks later and, finally, here's a new chapter! Thanks for being so patient with me! You guys are the best :)

As usual, reviews are always welcomed and appreciated!

-Lauren

P.S. I'm so sorry for doing something terrible to Marcus again :/