Chapter 24
Author's note: Hey guys, I am so sorry I haven't updated in forever. I've been super busy with end of the year testing, my school has 4 different standardized tests and we just finished the first set. Please be patient, I'm exhausted and tested out. Also, have any of you seen season 3? I'm so mad with the producers about this season, it's like they took all plot development and threw it out the window. Anyways, sorry for the delay but expect my chapters to be less frequent with testing coming up.
She wandered amongst the rubble and charred corpses. It was a horrible way to die, burning in a ship as you tried to escape the death trap you called home. Ari felt the hard crunch of a rock beneath her foot and glanced down at it, her stomach churning as she realized it was blackened skull and not a rock. She glanced up at Clarke who wandered the wreckage desolately, trying hard to hold in her tears. I wonder if my dad was on the ship?
"Clarke shouldn't be out here," Finn remarked as he watched her worriedly. "Her mom was on the ship. She's looking for answers. You want to help her, find me the black box. Hard drives, anything that will help me figure out why this ship crashed," Raven implored as she too stared out over the crash site. "Keep an eye out. Retaliation for the bridge will come soon, it's just a matter of when," Bellamy warned them, eyes scanning the tree line worriedly.
"Do you blame them?" His brown eyes snapped to Finn at the defensive question shot his way. "No, I blame you," he snapped, glancing at Ari's shoulder pointedly as the small brunette turned away. "Well, if you hadn't brought guns-" Raven cut Finn off, "If we hadn't brought guns, we would all be dead." "It doesn't matter why they're coming now. We have to be ready when they do, we're on our own now," Ari added as she watched her friend anxiously.
They all collectively glanced up to make sure their Ark Princess was alright. Raven rushed forward suddenly, calling out as she did. "Clarke, stop!" The blonde was leant over a large fuel tank that was dripping a foul smelling pink liquid. They ran after her, all gripping their guns in search of grounders or any other threat but saw none. "Rocket fuel?" Raven shook her head, answering Clarke's question. "Hydrozene. Extremely volatile in its natural form. If this stuff meets fire, we're all cooked. Fire in the hole," she shouted as she dipped a rock in and tossed it towards some smoking wreckage. A huge plume of flame rose with a steady roar as the boom echoed around them.
"We need to get back," Raven warned, her warning taking root after seeing how dangerous this fuel really was. "Okay then," Bellamy commented before turning to yell so the group could hear him, "Okay! Group together, no straggling! We have to get back before dark!" Ari shot Clarke a smile, falling instep with the blonde as they headed back to camp.
[page break] p.s. this scene is kinda personal, it's just about Bellamy and Ari and it may be triggering to some. If it makes you uncomfortable please just skip this part.
She stormed into the dropship as she easily spotted the group of people guarding Murphy in a back corner of the dropship. She said nothing, moving through the crowd as they parted for her. None were willing to rob her of her confrontation with the man responsible for Charlotte's death. She came to a stop in front of him, studying him intently.
He was bloodied, so covered in it and grime that she could barely recognize him. He was patch marked by cuts, bruises, scars, burns. Some were festered and oozed a yellow pus as he twitched below her, mistrusting blue eyes meeting hers tentatively.
Slowly she knelt in front of him, eyes never leaving his. "What the hell happened to you?" He flinched at her question before licking his chapped lips, "The grounders found me. They took me to their camp, tortured me. I just got away." She nodded at his explanation, his eyes dropping to his lap. "Good. You deserve it," his eyes snapped back up disbelievingly at her cold words. "I think it's a fair punishment for what you did to Charlotte. For killing my daughter," she rose, expression hard as she kept her eyes on him until he looked away.
Bellamy stormed in then, faltering in his steps as his eyes locked on the two. The crowd parted further to let him through as he stared down at Murphy, taking in his haggard appearance. "Everyone out but Connor and Miller." The men departed leaving only Finn, Bellamy, Clarke, Ari, Murphy, Connor, and Miller.
"He says he was with the grounders. We caught him trying to sneak back into camp," Miller reported. "I wasn't sneaking back into camp, I was running from the grounders," Murphy muttered weakly. "Did anyone see any grounders?" Connor shook his head at the question, causing Bellamy to raise his gun. "Well in that case," he told them darkly. Finn stepped forwards, "No! What the hell is wrong with you?" "We made it clear what would happen if he came back," Bellamy warned indignantly.
"If he was with the grounders he knows things, things that could help us," Finn pointed out. "Help us? We hanged him, we banished him, and now we're gonna kill him. Get the hell out of my way," Bellamy told him angrily, raising his gun once more as Ari stepped forwards. "He's right, he might know something."
"Like hell he is," Bellamy yelled as Clarke moved over to Murphy, kneeling to examine his wounds. "Clarke, Ari. Think about Charlotte," he implored. "I am," Clarke threw over her shoulder before turning back to Murphy, "They tortured him, his fingernails have been torn off." "You and the grounders should compare notes," Finn spat at Bellamy. Ari shoved Finn by the chest, "Piss off. You would do the same if it was Clarke." Bellamy held her back, speaking easily over her head at five feet, "The grounders know we're at war. What did you tell them about us?"
Murphy swallowed heavily, closing his eyes, "Everything." Clarke met their eyes as Bellamy ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Once he gets better, we find out what he knows. Then he's out of here, okay?" She began to leave, only to turn back as Bellamy spoke up. "And if he refuses to leave? Then what?" Clarke glanced at Murphy, "Then we kill him."
[page break]
Ari drug her feet as she headed back in the direction of he cramped tent, exhausted and rubbing at her shoulder. It had been hell to get treated, Clarke having to push the arrowhead the rest of the way through her shoulder. The blonde medic had been ready to throttle Bellamy who refused to leave Ari's side the whole time, watching intently in case Clarke did something wrong. She thought it impossible that she hadn't broken his hand with the force she squeezed it as the arrow left her body.
She was stopped by Bellamy's voice calling her name as she prodded along, turning wearily back to him. "You don't look so good," he told her, causing her to scoff sarcastically. "Gee thanks, what every girl dreams of hearing." She laughed to let him know she was only joking, "What's up?" He swallowed as he cleared his throat, she could swear he was nervous. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to sleep in my tent tonight?"
She blinked in surprise, eyes narrowing a bit in suspicion. "Why?" He glanced at her, reading her emotions like a book. "I don't want sex, Ari. I mean yeah it would be nice someday but I don't expect it." She looked down, unable to meet his eyes which held respect and warmth. She nodded, "Yeah. I'll sleep there."
They fell into step together, Ari feeling unexpectedly shy all of a sudden. Bellamy glanced over at her suddenly, "Ari, what are we?" She snorted, "Humans, Bell." He shook his head, "I meant to ask, do you want to be my girlfriend?" She smiled, "If that's what you want to call it, I don't need a title for you. Everyone in camp knows I'm off limits, I'm yours. All the women here know not to try it with you because they know I'll cut a bitch." Bellamy burst out laughing at her statement, "Okay, Ari. I'm yours, you're mine then."
His tent was much larger than her own, he had more clothing stored away in a piece of cloth from the dropship. His bed was more than a nest, he had a large pad of some kind from the ship with a few blankets tossed on it. Even with his reassuring words she was still nervous, scratching at her neck as Bellamy followed her in. He moved closer, warmth radiating from him as she glanced up. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to," he reassured once more. Nodding, she moved away some to kick off her boots and shrugged off her jacket. As she turned to fold it up and lay it down neatly, she could feel his eyes on the whip lashings that crossed her back.
She sucked in a breath when unexpectedly she felt his hand graze the scars gently, whipping around to find him behind her. He searched her face for any indication he should stop before reaching out and slowly tracing one that curved over her shoulder. Her skin twitched as he did, her muscles tensing as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to it. "I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered against her skin as she slowly relaxed in his arms.
He pulled back, laying back on his bed as she joined him. She curled against his side, pulling a blanket up over them as they snuggled together for warmth. His fingers continued to trace the scars lightly, slowly accustoming her to the gentle touches. "Do you want to know?" His hand stilled as she asked. "You don't have to tell me," He mumbled against her hair. "It's okay, I think it might help. I haven't spoken about it with anyone." He nodded and she launched into her story.
"My life was considerably normal until I was eleven. I had both my parents, they had decent jobs even if we were working class. My dad was my hero, he was the guy who could fix anything. I idolized him. My mom, she was beautiful. She had the softest hands and she sang beautifully. But one day everything changed. My mom got sick, some terminal illness they couldn't fix. Resources were low and when she was too far gone they figured it kinder to put her out of her misery than to waste supplies on a dying woman. So they floated her."
"Things changed after that, my dad seemed to die with her. He started drinking, missing hours at his shifts, getting angry easily. The first time he hit me was six months after my mom died, I had burnt supper on accident and he backhanded me. Afterwards he apologized for hours and he even bought us some food from the cafeteria to eat. I thought it would stop, but it was just me hoping it would get better. It didn't though, he started hitting me. He did other things too; burnt me, whipped my back with the a thin metal pipe. That's why the scars still stand out so much, the pipe busts your skin more than a belt."
"When I was thirteen I was walking down a hall when a guard approached me. He asked to speak with me and I being a naïve child that I was, I agreed. He led me to an empty storage room where we could speak, when I began to feel uneasy I tried to run. He caught me and threw me to the ground, when I fought back he smashed my head into the ground until I was nearly unconscious..I wish I had been. There days later, I killed him for raping me. I was locked in the Sky Box for a month or so before Octavia showed up. She was my best friend, my only reason for hanging onto my sanity in those years. When I was seventeen I boarded a dropship headed for earth and the rest is history."
Silence settled over them after she had finished her story. Bellamy hugged her close, wrapping his arms around her. She felt his lips pressing against her hair even as they trembled with the grief she had inflicted on him. "No one's ever going to hurt you again," he promised. She curled into him as she drifted off to sleep, feeling the battered pieces of her begin to warm and slowly she began to heal.
Author's note: IMPORTANT. I hate to be one of those authors to ask for reviews but if you guys could tell me what you think about smut possibly being in this story that would be great. I don't know if I should write it, or if it should be a black fade kind of scene. Also, I'd like opinions on that? I can make it detailed, but not trashy, or it can be vague. Just let me know.