Clarke's POV
"You really think we can trust this guy?"
Clarke took a deep breath, and tried her best to hide her frustration at Monty's doubt.
"He's got us this far."
Thankfully, he couldn't see the uncertainty in her eyes. Her head was turned away from him, watching around the corner of a cabin for any grounder movement.
She had seen Lincoln almost every day at the kitchen, where he dropped off freshly killed meat. By the way that Octavia smiled at him, it was clear that they had gotten to know eachother over the past few months.
When Lincoln had unlocked their hut only half an hour ago, she had no choice but to put her faith in Octavia's judgement.
Now all they had to do was get everyone to the gate while Lincoln took care of the guards.
Unfortunately, Octavia and Clarke had no choice but to split up, so they could open the two remaining huts on opposite ends of the camp. Clarke had taken Sasha, leaving Harper with Octavia. Although the hut Clarke had ended up at wasn't Bellamy's, she was still grateful Octavia was there to look out for him.
The plan was working surprisingly well, given that her group had only passed three grounders so far. From the glimpses she had caught of the others running between buildings, they also seemed to be moving at a solid pace.
Clarke flinched at the sound of footsteps, only to realise it was just Sasha running off to the next point of safety. The girl was small and fast, making her a good choice to sneak across first. Clarke offered to take the position herself, but had settled for the other responsibility of watching from behind.
The sound of more footsteps told her Sasha had successfully signalled the next person to run over. Clarke still didn't dare move her eyes away from the centre of the camp.
Just as she heard the next person take off, a dark figure strolled into her view. Clarke pinned herself to the wall at lightning speed, feeling suddenly nauseous.
"Clarke, what is it?"
She finally turned to look at Monty, and the small figure behind his crouched form.
"Jack, don't go until I tell you to, alright?"
Monty shuffled over, letting Clarke see the boy manage a slow nod of understanding. Taking a deep breath, she looked around the corner again, making sure to conceal as much of her body as possible.
Like them, the grounder was slowly heading in the direction of the gate. Judging by the gun strapped to his back, he was probably relieving one of the guards. All they could do was wait for him to pass and pray Lincoln would take care of him.
Clarke squinted her eyes in confusion, as the man abruptly stopped and turned his back towards her. After a brief pause, the man continued walking, only in a new direction with more purpose.
Hit by a sickening realisation, Clarke found herself leaning on the cabin wall for support, struggling to breathe.
The grounder had seen something. And he was heading right for the path Bellamy's group were taking.
"Monty, tell the others not to wait for me. I need to stop him before we're all dead."
She didn't wait for a response, her body was already moving away from the safety of the shadows.
The man was walking cautiously, but had not yet reached for his gun. Clarke blocked out Monty's call to wait and pushed on, trying her best to conceal herself. Although she was gaining distance, there was no way she could warn Bellamy's group in time. Her heart filled with dread as she reached for the sharp nail hidden in her pocket.
Every step she took, she reminded herself that she had no choice. Her instinct to protect her people was in full force, and all she could focus on was the grounder getting closer and closer.
But her next step had been louder than expected, causing the man to tense up in alert. As he spun around, Clarke quickly closed the distance between them and raised her arm to his neck.
The man let out a yell as he swung his fist around to meet her attack. Clarke retreated, dodging the punch by only a centimetre. With his balance completely overthrown, she took her chance again.
The moment the nail punctured his neck, the next punch hit its mark with a wicked force. Clarke was instantly thrown backwards, her head hitting the ground with a sickening thud.
She slowly rolled over in pain, completely forgetting the danger she was still in. Eyes now open, she desperately tried to make sense of the blurry shape on the ground in front of her.
It wasn't just one person, it was two. As they thrashed around on the ground, Clarke finally recognised Monty's small body doing its best to pin the grounder down. With his mouth covered by Monty's hand, the grounder could only manage a few grunts as more and more blood poured out from his neck. Even in the dark, she could tell how sick Monty looked. Gradually, the grounder's movements came to a stop.
Now sitting up, Clarke tore her eyes away from the scene to face the direction of incoming footsteps. As she reached for the rifle on the grounder's back, her heart lurched at the sight of Bellamy with his hands raised in the air.
"Are you guys alright?" he asked, automatically helping Clarke up to her feet. Instantly feeling a rush of dizziness, she tightened her grip on his arm, trying her best to stay upright.
"I just need a second, I think I hit my head pretty bad," she replied.
"Someone would've heard that," Monty said, his voice empty. He was still sitting on the grounder's body staring at the blood.
At the sound of a voice yelling in Trigadeslang, Bellamy frantically signalled his group with his spare arm.
Clarke hesitantly released her grip, determined to do something helpful.
"I'll get it, save your energy" Bellamy said, reading her mind.
While he collected the rifle and helped Monty up, Clarke turned toward Octavia and the others.
Before she could say a word a gunshot was let out, causing everyone to duck down in panic. Clarke couldn't help but worry for the other group she left behind.
"Run for the gate now and remember to keep travelling east," she ordered.
More gunfire was let out and suddenly Clarke found herself running with the others. Struggling to keep up, she felt a hand reach out for her, and she gratefully took it. She didn't need to check to know it was Bellamy's, she was too busy focusing on putting one foot after the other.
"We're almost there," she heard someone yell.
Clarke let herself look up, desperate to know how long she had to last. The world had not stopped spinning since her head made contact with the ground. At least if she made it out of the gate, Bellamy would have a better chance to leave her and run free.
To her relief, the gate was already open, no guards in sight. The feeling was short lived the moment Harper yelled out in pain. She had been running only a few feet beside them at the back of the group. Without having to say a word, Bellamy and Clarke moved to either side of her to help her walk.
"I can't do it..." Harper moaned.
"Just a little bit further, we'll stop as soon as we are safe," Clarke calmly said.
With the continuous gunfire, the others had completely scattered into the forest. They were only about 100 feet from the gate when Harper's body suddenly went limp.
"We need to stop for a second," Clarke said, struggling to hold up her full weight.
She couldn't help but notice the complete stillness of her body as they lowered her to the ground.
"You grab the feet, I'll carry her by the shoulders..."
Finally mustering the courage, Clarke completely ignored Bellamy and felt for a pulse.
"Is she...?"
The tears already falling down her cheeks were enough of an answer. Bellamy crouched down beside her, his head in his hands.
Drawn to a light in the corner of her vision, Clarke gasped at the sight of grounder's exiting the camp with torches and weapons.
"We need to go," she said, as she stood up with a familiar rush of dizziness. Letting Bellamy take the lead, she pushed through each step, still waiting for the dizziness to fade. She could feel her grip on the world start to slip, and she didn't know how much longer she could hold on.
"Bellamy, you need to leave me"
Just as the words escaped her mouth, she finally succumbed to the darkness.
~~~~~~~~Author's note~~~~~~~~
Thanks for waiting! I plan to wrap this story up in a couple more chapters.