Hello again! Thanks for all the kind reviews! I'm thrilled that people seem to be enjoying the story! What did you guys all think of the last episode? Was I the only one who cried myself to sleep that night? hahaha!
So I've been thinking of what kind of story I'd like to write next and I think I finally landed on a winner. For any Harry Potter fans out there, my next fic will be a story that follows the Maurarders (James, Sirius, Peter & Lupin) through their years in Hogwarts. What do you all think? Please, if anyone has other ideas or requests let me know! I'm open to anything.
And for those of you following The Fight For Peace, I did not give up on the story. I'm in the middle of some serious writer's block when it comes to the plot. Just be patient and give me some time to figure my shit out haha!
Also, this chapter wasn't edited so sorry for any mistakes.
Chapter 18
It took Bellamy over an hour to find Lincoln among the mass of people who had gathered around the spectacle at the gate. He was tall enough to see over the heads of most, but it wasn't enough to see what was going on in the center of the circle that had been formed. At the back edge of the circle stood a magnificent brown and white horse, its head adorned with typical Grounder garb. Bellamy's body went stiff and alert. Why would a Grounder horse be in Camp Jaha? And why did nobody seem too concerned about its presence?
He was about to ask these questions aloud to anyone who would listen but Lincoln emerged from the center of the group. Bellamy watched him approach the horse, slowly and with great caution. The man stretched out a long arm leaving his hand inches away from the beast's massive head. An unexplainable surge of jealousy sparked in Bellamy's heart when the horse moved its snout so it was touching the palm of Lincoln's hand. He had only ever seen horses when they were being used as tools of war and battle by the Grounders. He couldn't help but wonder what their sleek hair would feel like under his own hand.
Just as he was about to start towards Lincoln and the horse when someone called his name. He whirled around to face Miller, who was casually jogging towards him.
"Bell! Did you see them?" he huffed out in one short breath, a huge smile lighting up his face.
"I see the horse." He looked back over his shoulder at the powerful animal. "But what the hell is going on? Are there Grounders in the camp?" His confusion had only grown in the past minutes. None of his questions had been answered, and only more had sprung up.
"They sent us gifts!" Miller's eyes widened with excitement. "Lexa sent us a peace offering!"
The statement took a few extra seconds to register in Bellamy's mind. Lexa all but declared war when she left them standing alone at the doors of Mount Weather. She abandoned and betrayed them when they needed her most. Why would anyone think to accept her offer of peace? Was it even a real offer?
Bellamy's eyes scanned the rest of the camp. Practically the entire population was crowded around the front gate, leaving only a few stragglers to roam the camp looking as confused as he felt. The guards on the wall hadn't left their posts, but their attention was directed towards the scene inside the walls, not on the woods. Panic coursed through his veins.
Was it a trap?
Get all of the Sky People in one area and then blow them sky high? Create a distraction so warriors can slip into the camp unnoticed?
"Drake! Don't let your guard down!" he cupped his hands around his mouth so that his voice would carry to the top of the wall. Drake was a young guard and one of the original 100 to come to the Ground. He gave a short nod before speaking into his walkie, no doubt to inform the rest of the Guard of the orders.
Bellamy wasn't a leader in Camp Jaha, but he had been before the rest of the Ark fell to Earth. Although the Council didn't recognize him as a military leader, most of the first 100 still did. Pride filled his heart when he watched the rest of the Guard turn their eyes back towards the woods, guns raised to their cheeks to peer through the scopes.
"Just come look." Miller waved for Bellamy to follow him through the crowd. He pushed his way until he was at the front of the circle. A few guards were kneeling in the center, digging through large baskets filled with...
"Is that meat?" Bellamy threw himself forward. The baskets were overflowing with different meats, all wrapped in brown paper. There were at least twelve baskets, all filled to the brim. It would be enough to feed them for another month, more if they rationed correctly.
"Who brought these in?" He asked one of the guards who was now elbow deep in raw bleeding meat.
"A horse came to the gate, no rider." He looked up at Bellamy. "The thing was pulling a huge wagon! There's still some on the other side of the gate. We couldn't bring it all in at once!"
The excitement in his voice was contagious. For a brief moment, the nagging panic and suspicions left Bellamy and he felt nothing but relief.
They could survive this winter yet.
He looked around at the people who were still circled around them. They were all smiling, some even crying with happiness. In the corner he saw a group of young girls cooing over another box. A small furry head popped up and playfully nipped at their fingers, earning small shrieks of joy from the girls. One kid reached in a picked up one of the fuzzy little forms.
"Are those wolves?" Bellamy asked, trying and failing to keep the smile off his lips.
"Yeah. They sent a bunch of blankets and hides too."
Bellamy walked towards the girls and the pups. Sure enough, the wooden crate contained six more tiny bouncing balls of grey and white fur. He stuck an arm in and pulled out the smallest pup by the scruff of the neck. If these gifts really were a peace offering, what the hell was the point of sending seven puppies to Camp Jaha. In his mind, they were only more mouths to feed since they were too small to be of any actual use.
"They'll grow into hunters." Lincoln must have sensed Bellamy's apprehension towards the pups when he walked up from behind. "We're meant to train them into protectors and providers for our camp." He explained while Bellamy cradled the runt in his massive arms. "Trikru has been raising wolves since before anyone can remember."
"How are we supposed to feed them? We can hardly feed ourselves." Bellamy countered. But as he looked around at the new baskets being carried through the front gate, he knew that his argument was invalid. The food the Grounders had sent was more than enough to get them through the brunt of the winter months.
"Bell!" Octavia came bounding through the crowd, Lina only a few steps behind her. While his sister's face was nothing but pure excitement, Lina's eyes scanned every inch of the throng. She was no doubt wary of any impending attacks from Robert and his goons. Out of instinct, Bellamy took a step closer to the girl his senses going on high alert as they always did when she was around.
"Oh my God." Octavia shrieked and instantly stretched her hands out for the pup he was holding. Bellamy rolled his eyes and handed it to her with a reluctant grin. His not-so-little sister was one hell of a warrior, but she was still just a girl when it came to some things. Lina's eyes were trained on the pup, her mouth hanging open in… what? Disbelief? Shock? Terror? He couldn't tell.
"Do you want to hold one?" He asked, trying to gauge her reaction to the wolf as he held another up for her. Slowly, she reached out a small hand and lightly stroked the fur between the dog's ears. She ran her fingers down the length of its back, letting her thick grey coat tickle her palm. Bellamy noticed the new shine to her dark eyes and a buildup of tears that threatened to spill at any moment. She looked up at him with a look that made his heart crumble in his chest.
Wonder.
She wasn't afraid. She wasn't wary of the animals. She was awed by them. Rendered completely speechless at their presence. It occurred to Bellamy that these were the first living creatures that Lina had ever seen besides humans. He remembered the first animal he'd encountered, and after he had finished being hunted by the panther, he too had been in a state of complete wonder. Since then, he'd experienced a million walks of life. But this wolf was the first for Lina.
"She's so beautiful." She finally said, her voice thick with emotion. Bellamy noticed for the first time that Lina's hair was pulled back in an intricate braid, much like the one his sister had become accustomed to wearing. He liked the way it looked, he liked that her face was no longer hidden behind waves of soft black hair.
"Here, take her." he held the pup forward again and Lina took her into her arms. She let out a laugh that practically stopped Bellamy's heart. The sound was rich and sweet like honey. It was a sound he hadn't heard before, but one that he prayed he'd hear every day for the rest of his life. He watched as she fussed over the pup, her features aglow with fascination.
"Oh my God." Octavia said again, but this time her eyes were on her older brother, not the wolves. The smallest of smirks appeared on her lips, pulling her mouth to one side. Bellamy kneaded his eyebrows together with a silent question, but Octavia simply shook her head and chuckled under her breath.
"What?" he asked, demanding an answer. He had a nauseating feeling that his kid sister was laughing at him. But before he could hear her response, Kane's voice came booming through the crowd.
"What the hell is this?!"
The Chancellor still bore signs of sleep deprivation, but his voice was strong and stern as the people cleared a path for him that lead to the heart of the circle. Like always, Abby was just steps behind, her eyes wide with horror.
"Chancellor," the same guard that Bellamy had been speaking to stood at attention in front of Kane and began to explain the piles of wooden crates and baskets.
"Are you really stupid enough to allow these things into our camp, our home, without allowing Abby to run tests?" Kane was angrier than Bellamy ever remembered. His face was now flushed with so much color that he half expected white steam to explode from his ears. "Have we forgotten that the Grounders are not above biological warfare?"
"Well, sir…" The guard stammered, but he was cut off.
"They sent John Murphy back to the one hundred with an illness that spread like a wildfire and killed at least three kids!" Kane bellowed. "Did you pay attention in World History, McNair? Remember the Europeans and the Native Americans? The blankets that were plagued with Smallpox and exterminated an entire civilization in a matter of days? Any of this ringing a bell, or were you too distracted by the fluffy puppies Soldier?"
"Lexa wouldn't do something like that." Lincoln stepped up to face the Chancellor. "Not after everything that happened at the mountain. True, she left the Sky People alone, but she's not stupid." A small group had now gathered around to hear the Grounder defend his Commander. "She knows that without Skaikru she never would have been able to strike a deal with the Mountain Men. This is her way of saying thank you." He spread his arms wide to indicate the baskets of food and supplies.
"How am I supposed to trust her?" Kane's voice had become unnervingly quiet, as though he didn't want anyone besides Lincoln to hear. "She left us defenseless. She left our children to die inside the mountain. She left us with no other choice but to eradicate an entire population, men, women, and children." Bellamy saw Lina shudder out of the corner of his eye. Kane must not have realized she was standing so close; otherwise he would have been more careful with his words. Unless he was just too tired to give a damn.
"She did what she had to do to save her people." Lincoln crossed his arms over his chest. Kane opened his mouth to speak again, but Abby stepped up.
"The bottom line is that until we know for sure that the food isn't poisoned or the supplies loaded with diseases, no one touches anything." She raised her voice enough for everyone in the extended circle to hear. "And anyone whose already had contact will have to be quarantined."
"Don't you think that's a bit extreme?" Lincoln asked skeptically. Bellamy raised his eyebrows at the man's bravery. Not many people questioned Abby and lived to tell the tale.
"Lincoln," she began, her whole body calm. Too calm. "let me remind you that your people infected a seventeen year old boy with a disease that nearly killed him and then sent him back to his home to infect every other living creature he came in contact with. Three of our people died, the others only surviving because they're young and strong. Look around, do you think that the toddlers, schools kids, and elders could fight off an illness so severe that it causes bleeding from the eyes and ears? Do you think that an epidemic like that wouldn't cripple our already fragile society? If I'm being extreme, well then I'm doing what I have to do to save my people." She threw his own words back at him.
Lincoln didn't argue or counter her statement. Instead he settled with a curt nod and turned to leave the group. There was a brief moment of silence before Kane's voice once again carried over the still growing crowd of people.
"You heard her." he called out, "Anyone who has touched any of those baskets or their contents, move to the Small Council chambers in the ship. And don't touch anything!"