Holy cow! This story officially has over 10,000 views! A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has read/followed/reviewed. I can't begin to explain how much fun this story is to write. I'm absolutely shocked at it's success considering i's the first FanFic I ever wrote.

This chapter isn't edited (I had 0 time to do it!) so excuse whatever mistakes you see. PLase enjoy and let me know what you think!

CHAPTER 19

This is how it starts.

Lina thought back to the last time she had been corralled into a room with a large group of people.

That time, they had been people she knew; people she cared about.

That time, everyone she had ever met and spoken to, had been filed through the doors of a single room.

That time, she had sat in silence, watching each and every one of them take their last breaths. One by one, they succumbed to the dark finality of death.

That time, she had lived.

Now here she was, only a few days later, and it was starting all over again. There were about thirty of them being quarantined into the metal confines of the Ark. Would she live this time? Or would she also be dragged down by whatever awful disease the Grounders had plagued the camp with?

Did it matter?

She was going to die anyway, despite Bellamy's unyielding faith in the doctor's ability to find a cure in time. So did it really matter how she left this world?

Yes. It did matter.

She wanted to go out with the people she loved. The people she laughed and cried with. The people she trusted with her life, the ones who cared for her. The people who were already gone, still entombed in the mountain they called home.

Lina glanced up to find Octavia's long thick braid swinging just a step ahead of her as they walked forward. If she were to look over her shoulder, she had no doubt that Bellamy would be inches away. And behind him, bringing up the rear, she would see Kane and Abby, who would never leave their people to die on their own.

No matter how much she disliked the doctor, she held the upmost respect for the woman. She wasn't one to cower in the corner at the first sign of danger. No, she was the type to plunge head first into the middle of it and save as many lives as possible. Even the ones that aren't hers to save.

Lina turned her head and let her dark eyes swim over the crowd behind her. As predicted, Bellamy stood tall right at her back. And sure enough, she caught sight of Kane between bobbing and weaving heads. But yet, something was missing, something that took her until they reached their destination to realize what it was.

"Where's Lincoln?" She tapped Octavia's shoulder to gain the girl's attention as she asked. Octavia's eyes fell on Kane to make sure he was out of earshot before answering.

"He went to see Lexa."

This didn't mean much to Lina, but apparently it carried a heavy weight to Bellamy, who leaned forward and grunted angrily.

"He went where?" he asked, his cheeks turning red as they filled with his boiling blood.

"Bell, he's sure she didn't do this." The younger Blake hissed in Lincoln's defense. "And neither do I."

While the two continued their heated banter on the trustworthiness of Lexa (whoever she was), Lina took the opportunity to look at the other faces in the crowd. Behind Bellamy were three young girls, no older than six. Their faces were bunched up in pure panic, tears streaming down their tiny round faces. They hung close to Bellamy, one even held onto the back of his shirt. Lina wondered if he was aware of their presence, but her question was answered when he reached back and took the small girl's hand. He turned his body just enough to hoist her up into his arms, all the while continuing his argument with his sister.

Surprise stirred inside of her at his ease with children, but it subsided quickly. Of course he was good with kids, he raised his own sister; and did a pretty damn good job of it. She let a small smile grace her lips as she watched him hold the girl, who seemed visibly more relaxed.

Lina continued her assessment of the condemned group. Many of the men wore the black guard uniforms, a few women too. She recognized a few other faces, some from medical, others from her few times at the kitchen. But there was one face that stood out above the others. A face that made her stomach drop, her heart stop, and her back to burn.

Robert.

Her feet stopped working and she nearly stumbled into Octavia. She was going to be packed tight into a room with the man that nearly killed her, and surely some of his supporters. Lina was close to shutting down, letting her mind lose control of her body. Maybe she could make a run for it. Get out of the camp before Robert had the chance to lay his dirty hands on her again.

"Hey," Octavia had turned to face her, hazel eyes filled with concern. "what's wrong?" she asked finally seeing Lina's panicked expression.

"He's not going to get close enough to hurt you." Bellamy cut in before Lina could answer Octavia. He must have seen Robert earlier in crowd and guessed that he was the reason behind her uneasiness. When she tilted her head to look at him, Bellamy's eyes were straight forward. He didn't spare as much as a reassuring glance her way. She wished he would look at her. Wished that he would put a gentle hand on her arm, just above her elbow, as he had so many times before. It was strange how the same gesture that had once restrained and frightened her was now one that she seeks for comfort.

Without further conversation, they were hustled through the door of the Small Council Chambers. The room was more spacious than she had anticipated, but quickly became cramped as the remaining "infected" filed in. By the times the doors closed, she hardly had a one foot circle of space to call her own. Bellamy carefully put the girl on the floor. He squatted down and whispered into her ear, but Lina couldn't hear the words spoken.

It seemed like hours had passed before Kane finally spoke to them.

"Jackson and the others are examining the contents of the supply boxes at this very moment." His powerful voice glided over the crowd, calming their anxiety as it passed. "We're hoping that if everything is clear, we'll be out of here by morning."

"That's nearly twenty four hours." One woman, Lina couldn't see her face, called out. A few others nodded and murmured in agreement.

"Their working as quickly as possible."

"What if the Grounders did poison us?" it was a man who spoke this time. "Are we going to be left here to die?"

"Of course not, " Abby began, but was abruptly cut off by the angry crowd.

"Why isn't Abby out there working?"

"She's in here to help monitor any symptoms that,"

"Did Lincoln know about this?"

"Yeah, why isn't the Grounder in here with us?"

A tall blond man turned to face Octavia, who had winced at the accusation made against Lincoln. He looked about ready to open his mouth, but Bellamy took a step between the two, his back to his sister. The man stood his ground for half a second before thinking better of it and turning back towards Kane.

"ENOUGH!" Kane roared when so many questions were being shouted that they all sounded like a jumbled mess. "I don't know any more than you do." He kept his voice loud, but soft enough to force the room into silence in order to hear. "What I do know is that Lincoln has done nothing but help us through our toughest times and I have unwavering faith in him. I also know that Jackson was trained by Abby herself, and he will not stop working until he can get us out of here. Right now everyone take a seat and get comfortable."

Lina was the first to follow the Chancellor's command. She slid down the wall behind her and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she did. Octavia followed suit, and eventually the others began to drop to the floor as well. She thought of how eerily similar the scene looked to the one in Mount Weather.

Bellamy did not sit. Instead he strode to where Kane and Abby still stood; discussing God knows what in hushed whispers. Lina felt herself tense as he walked away from her. It was as though there had been a blanket of protection draped over her and it was being dragged off with each of his steps.

"I wonder if they'll bring us food?" Octavia asked idly. The girl was looking down at her hands, scraping dirt from around her finger nails.

"How are you so calm?" Lina asked in a whisper. The last thing she wanted was to bring attention to herself. Octavia's lips pulled back into a delicate smile as she leaned in to whisper her reply.

"Lexa may be a stone cold bitch, but I don't believe we're in any real danger." She cocked her head and added a second later; "At least not from Trikru."

There was the name again; Lexa. From what little she'd heard of the woman, Lina assumed she was a powerful force within the Grounder world. Bellamy had once told her that she was only person on who the Grounders could get revenge for the deaths of so many of their people. Maybe the Sky People had no reason to fear the Grounders, but she sure as hell did.

"Do you think they'll try to kill me?" she asked in a small voice.

"Who? Robert?" Octavia's head snapped in the man's direction. He sat on the opposing wall, eyes staring hungrily in their direction. "No. He wouldn't dare try anything as long as Bellamy and Kane are…"

"The Grounders." Lina clarified, redirecting the conversation away from Robert. She already had enough to worry about without adding the bastard to the list. "Bellamy said they would want revenge for what my people have done to theirs. Do you think they'll come for me?"

Not like it mattered if they did or not. In a few days Lina would be dead regardless. What did matter to her was whether or not that death was peaceful or torturous.

"Blood must have blood." Octavia recited the words as though she were reading from a book. "But blood has had blood. The Mountain Men are dead, it's over."

"I'm not dead."

"No, you're a survivor." Octavia put a hand over Lina's and gave a slight reassuring squeeze. "Lexa would be stupid to risk starting another war for one innocent life. And you are innocent, Lina. Most of you were. Your leaders are the ones to blame for what happened, not Lexa, not Clarke, not Bellamy."

Lina was nodding absently. She knew that Octavia was right in some ways. Wallace, Cage that is, was a cruel man. He had been the one to tip the first domino, creating a waterfall of events to cascade down the hills of war. If he hadn't hurt the 100, if he hadn't created the reapers, this war would have been avoided. The Grounders would have been pissed and hated those who resided in the mountain, but they never would have been able to them on alone. So yes, in a sense it was Cage who was to blame. Not Lexa. Not Clarke, whoever the hell that is. And not…

"Why would anyone blame Bellamy?" Lina's eyes narrowed on the girl in front of her. What had she meant by blaming Bellamy? How could he possibly hold any responsibility? Octavia's green eyes widened slightly, not enough for anyone to notice unless they were watching for the movement.

"I just meant that he… He's hard on himself." She stammered for only a second before her voice was back to its usual strength and confidence. "He was in the mountain when it happened. He had infiltrated in order to get our people out."

At that exact moment, the three small girls who had followed the oldest Blake into the room came to stand in front of the Lina and Octavia. Their impish little smiles tugged at a sensitive string on Lina's heart. Hannah had perfected that smile at only four years old.

"Can you braid our hair like yours?" The tallest of the three asked Octavia shyly. Octavia sat up straighter and patted the ground in front of her. The girl sat on the spot, back facing her new stylist. Octavia combed her long fingers through the young girl's golden locks, untangling weeks' worth of knots as she went.

Their conversation had been paused, but Lina wasn't ready to let the subject drop. She would get her answers, and according to Kane, she had about twenty four hours to do so.