Chapter 26

Bellamy rushed across camp after Ari passed out, scrambling to get to Raven's tent. If Ari said something about hydrozene that meant she had a plan, just what that plan was he didn't know. Bursting into the mechanic's tent without stopping to knock, he skidded to a stop as Raven whirled around having been startled by his sudden entrance. "Bellamy?"

He wasted no time explaining his actions, "Hydrozene. Ari said to tell you, hydrozene." Her brown eyes lit up almost immediately, "Of course! The girl's a genius!" She whipped back around, snatching up the spacesuit she had come down to earth in. Bellamy stepped forward, "I don't get it, what does it mean?" Raven smirked up at him devilishly, "We're gonna build a bomb."

He was floored for a moment before speaking up, "A bomb? How's that supposed to help?" Raven sighed impatiently, "The bridge, Bellamy." He shook his head, "That thing survived a nuclear war, how is a bomb going to destroy it?" She glanced up once more, helmet in hands.

"It won't survive me."

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"Okay, you can come in now!" He ducked beneath the flap that served as a door in time to see Raven removing her helmet and beginning to put her suit back where it belonged. He eyed the innocent looking jar of red liquid, moving towards it slowly without noticing Finn come in behind him or Raven creep up behind him.

"Boom!" He flinched noticeably as Raven giggled before snarking at her, "Cute." "Relax, geez I don't know how Ari puts up with you. It needs an accelerant," she held up the jar of gunpowder, "Gunpowder."

She began to demonstrate how the bomb worked, inserting into an empty paint can. "Hydrozene in here, gunpowder around the hydrozene," she mimed her actions before putting a foil lid on top of the can. "Hit the bull's-eye," she drew an X with a piece of chalk, "Win a prize." "That's the last of our gunpowder, we won't be able to make anymore bullets," Bellamy fretted aloud.

"Tonight we need a bomb, tomorrow we can worry about bullets," Finn assured. "If we do this and it doesn't work, we'll all be dead tomorrow," he insisted causing the other two to look down anxiously. It was a gamble either way, use the bomb and buy some time-if it didn't work they would have wasted ammunition or save the gunpowder for bullets and fight their way through the grounders. Neither option was preferable.

"Then we make sure it works," Raven spoke up determinedly. "You need to be two hundred feet away to be safe," she warned him. "No problem," Bellamy told her confidently, he had made accurate shots from farther. "Which one of you plants the bomb?" There was a pregnant pause as both Raven and Finn stared at each other. "I will," Finn finally told him. He swore he heard a tiny scoff from Raven but dismissed it, whatever issues those two were having they could work it out.

"You won't pick up a gun but blowing people up, that's okay?" Finn shook his head, "We're blowing up a bridge, there won't be any people on it." "Finn, we have one bomb. We need to use it to kill as many of those bastards as possible," he tried to reason. "They don't know we only have one bomb, and even if they did why would we use it on a bridge? I'm talking about deterrence, peace through strength," he continued to ramble even as Raven spoke up once more. "The appearance of strength," she muttered as she removed the spacesuit.

"Yeah," Finn agreed quietly. "The men who built the A bomb thought they were peacemakers too, how did that work out for them?" Finn turned to respond but instead his face froze in shock and fear. He turned to Raven to see what his problem was and saw the same expression on her face. "Don't touch anything," the brunette warned causing him to reach up and touch the bloody trickle from his nose.

"Who else can take the shot?" "Appreciate the concern," he snapped at Finn before sighing, "Just have the bomb packed and ready to go in ten minutes." He left the tent in search of Jasper shaking his head at himself. I can't catch a fucking break.

[page break][ari]

She had begun to recover, the pain that flowed through her body with every thump of her heart slowing to a dull numb. The bloody, gut wrenching coughs turning to gasps of pink tinged spittle. She no longer vomited up blood in gallons, and had finally had some color returned to her face. She lost weight but she powered through the sickness that seemed to last forever but in reality had only been two days.

She was tending to Clarke, watching Murphy distrustfully from her peripheral vision, when Bellamy was led in. "Bell? No, no..," she whispered as she moved to take him from the healthy members leading him in, Tavi rushing to her side. "Clear some space," Tavi yelled, healthier inpatients rushing to obey. They got him on his side in time for him to vomit blood onto the floor.

Ari wiped the red fluid from his face as Tavi rubbed his back, muttering, "Hey, big brother." Panting, Bellamy rolled onto his back, unfocused eyes locking on his younger sister. "I'm scared, O." "I won't let anything happen to you," Octavia whispered fiercely.

Ari moved back to Clarke's side, letting the siblings have their moment. It wasn't long before Bellamy fell asleep, Octavia moving to join her former cellmate.

"He really loves you, you know," the younger girl told her. Ari glanced at her, "I think I love him too." Octavia just stared at her, "I know you never told us about your past..but I'm not stupid Ari. I'm glad you found someone you can be happy with, even if it's kinda weird since you're like my sister." The two laughed together, Ari happy that Tavi was okay with them being a couple.

"Go on, I know you want to keep an eye on him. I'll watch Murphy," Octavia spoke in hushed tones. Ari nodded gratefully as she moved to Bellamy's side, leaning against the wall. She fell asleep running her fingers through his sweaty curls.

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She woke before Bellamy did, blearily blinking the sleep from her eyes. She tensed, moving closer to his vulnerable form as Murphy approached with a cup of water in his hands. Shifting, she pulled a knife out, holding it out as she crouched over Bell's body. Murphy knelt by them, holding out the cup, "Here." "Get the hell away from us," she hissed at him, knocking the cup towards him with her free hand as Bellamy began to stir.

Murphy rolled his eyes, turning to Bellamy who was now awake. "Bellamy, you're sick. Let me help you," he pleaded. Bellamy sat up, shakily trying to move in front of his girl. "If you're still here when I'm better," he warned lowly as Clarke rushed to intercept the mounting tension. "I got this one," she said to Murphy as he departed.

Clarke sat with a sigh, passing Bellamy the cup of water. "You feeling better?" She nodded in response to Ari's question, "Yeah." "That's good," Ari replied awkwardly. "Have you seen Octavia?" "She's been up all night helping people, Murphy gave her a break," Clarke explained to the oldest Blake. Bellamy scoffed, "Don't tell me you trust him now?"

"Trust? No. But I do believe in second chances," Clarke replied optimistically. Ari scoffed now, "Yeah, I thought that at one time too. Look what it got me," she gestured to a burn scar across the back of her hand, caused by none other than her father.

Bellamy looked away, "It's almost dawn. We should probably get everyone inside, shut the doors. Maybe the grounders will think no one's home." "Not everyone is sick," Clarke protested. "Sick is better than dead," Ari pointed out. "You don't think Jasper and Finn are gonna pull it off," Clarke stated, eyes flickering between the two of them. "Do you?" "I'll get everyone inside," Clarke sighed.

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They all turned to look at the grey plume of ash as the boom resounded through the camp, causing their ears to ring. "He did it," Bellamy muttered as their hearing returned, campers in the middle of fleeing to the ship stopping to watch.

"I am become death," Clarke whispered, eyes turned to the cloud. "Destroyer of worlds," Ari finished as Bellamy stared at the two. "It's Oppenheimer, the creator of the first-" Bellamy cut Clarke off dully, "I know who Oppenheimer is."

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It was later while she was helping to disinfect the dropship that she saw Raven being brought in by Finn. She glanced up worriedly but Clarke cleared a cot, beginning to examine her friend so she stayed away. None of the three took notice of Ari's presence.

"She's getting stronger," Clarke assured their floppy haired friend before leaving. Raven opened her eyes as Finn moved closer. "Hey," he said to her. "Hey," she replied weakly, "You saved my life." "I wouldn't have had to do if you hadn't taken the bomb," he teased. Raven only glanced down, no humor on her face. "You hesitated," she whispered. "What?"

"When Bellamy asked who was gonna take it, you hesitated." "That's what people do when they're considering something that might blow them up, right?" "You didn't hesitate when Clarke was falling," Raven whispered as a tear slipped down her cheek. "She had the virus and you caught her anyways. You didn't hesitate."

"Raven, I love you," Finn tried to assure her. She shook her head, "Not the way I want to be loved. Not the way Bellamy loves Ari. Not the way you love Clarke," she told him as she removed the bird necklace. She handed it to him, "It's over Finn." Finn fled the ship as Ari felt her heart breaking for her friend.