Ch 12 Bellamy After the Mountain.

Bellamy woke with a start, heart thumping the sound of screaming ringing in his ears. His eyes darted across the shadows in the dim light of the tent. The only sound was Mr Monty's heavy breathing, he slept on his side, rolled away from Bellamy. In the tunnel the sound of metal scraping on stone made Bellamy swing his head, ears even more alert, eyes straining.

"Shit!" Bill exclaimed softly into the night.

Bellamy donned his coat and boots and unzipped the tent flap. The cold stung his face and he gasped involuntarily at the pain of breathing in the frigid air. He carefully closed the tent as Mr Monty rolled onto his back and immediately began snoring again.

Against the bright sky at the mouth of the tunnel Bellamy could see Bill trying to start a fire. He was alone.

"Where is Ben?" Bellamy asked quietly, looking over his shoulder to see if Ben was behind him.

"He wasn't feeling well. I don't like the look of his head. I figured he should sleep." Bill's answers were short and strained. He threw down his lighter in frustration and stood to kick a loose stone against the side of the tunnel.

Bellamy took over at the fire and soon had it going. Dawn was still several hours away, but Bill should have already called him to switch watch. Something was on the older man's mind.

"What is bothering you Bill?" Bellamy asked as he looked for a canteen to make some tea.

Bill looked at him as if he were crazy for a moment. Then deciding that Bellamy had missed the blindingly obvious pointed out into the grassland. Snow lay on the ground, only a few inches thick but still falling heavily. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Everywhere was clean and bright. His first instinct was to wake Octavia, and then it hit him again. He looked back into the tunnel. I hope she doesn't miss this. He thought to himself. There would be other snows, but this was their first.

"Don't worry. Lincoln said storms this time of the year don't last long. It could be all gone by the morning." Bellamy reassured Bill and told him to sleep

For a moment he was about to wake Mr Monty but then thought better of it. There would be other snows and Bellamy wanted some time alone with his thoughts. He liked the old man, a lot, but Mr Monty really knew how to fill a silence.

He sat with his back to the fire, tea warming his hands looking out at the world. His whole life had been about protecting Octavia. That wasn't about to change now. If the Commander was a threat to Octavia, then he was a threat to the Commander. He would think of something eventually.

Not for the first time since the gate Bellamy wished Clarke was here. She'd spent more time with Lexa than anyone else. She was good at thinking out of the box and right now that was what he needed. Then it hit him, Clarke knew about the village too. In fact Clarke had escaped with Lexa, it would be too easy to make Clarke take the blame for that. Claim that she was the one who knew and tricked Lexa into leaving without warning their people. Mr Monty was right it would be easy to paint Sky-Kru as the new enemy. Clarke's life was in danger, and she didn't even know.

Where was she now? Would the snow drive her back to Camp Jaha? Where else would she find shelter. The dropship was too exposed. The only place Bellamy could think of was the bunker where Finn had murdered the Grounder with Clarke's watch. But he couldn't remember if Clarke new about it. It was mostly on their way back to camp Jaha. Bellamy decided that they would head there tomorrow after the storm broke.

But as the dawn broke somewhere behind them casting its ethereal light on the frozen landscape the snow was still falling. Mr Monty was delighted when he emerged from the tent. He ran out into the flurries and swirled around looking up at the sky with his mouth wide open. He was as giddy as a child. He wanted to get Monty on the radio straight away when he came in but Ben was still asleep and Bellamy didn't see the point in waking him.

They sat going over their supplies and deciding how long they could bunker down for in the cave. They easily had enough food for a week if they ate moderately and as long as it was snowing water wouldn't be a problem.

Bellamy was very impressed with the thermal properties of the uniforms they'd taken from Mt Weather. Though the cold bit his skin where it was exposed he remained warm enough without need for extra blankets. Wick had speculated that they were made of a smart fabric capable of converting kinetic energy from movement into electrical energy. He hadn't gotten it all worked out before he died. There were connectors inside, but none of the equipment they had with them matched up. Bellamy could feel that the inner layer was actually warm to the touch. He hadn't noticed it before, perhaps it required a temperature difference to kick in. In anycase he wasn't worried about freezing to death.

When the Bobs emerged from their tent mid morning Bellamy was glad he had let Ben sleep. The soldier looked rough and unsteady on his feet. Bill guided him to the fire and sat him down. Mr Monty rummaged through through the plants he had been collecting carefully selected a few, which honestly all looked the same to Bellamy, then began to make the injured man some tea.

Radios inside the cave did not work and they all agreed that there was no rush to contact base. It would be pretty obvious to everyone why they were delayed. Mr Monty eyed the Skyline nervously, but Bellamy was still convinced the storm would pass.

That afternoon though Bellamy and Bill had to venture out to collect more firewood. The ground beneath their boots was slippery and treacherous. It was impossible to tell where was safe to step. Bellamy fell to his knees more than once. The cold biting into his hands. Snow falling into his boots. By the time they had scrambled back into the cave they were bruised, battered cold and wet.

That evening they sat eating next to the fire, looking out at the still heavily falling snow. Trapped inside the cave with no way to escape. They briefly discussed the possibility of following Lincoln and Octavia into the tunnels. But they all knew that would be suicide.

That night Bellamy lay alone in his tent listening to Bill and Mr Monty discuss herbs and medicine. Mr Monty was describing all the different chemicals he would be able to synthesize now that they were on the ground. The medicines they'd be able to make. He was particularly looking forward to using rubber, which he was going to make out of the sap of trees.

Bill was telling him about the Mountain and all the equipment they'd found there. Mr Monty pressed him on the agriculture of the Mountain, but Bill hadn't visited that section. On the Ark it did not pay to wonder too much about where your food came from. What with everything being recycled and all.

Bellamy chuckled to himself as he heard them chatter. It all seemed so normal. But his mirth didn't last. Ben was in bed. He had gotten worse during the day. His head was hurting and his vision was off. They needed to get him to a doctor. Soon. Surely, Bellamy thought, the snow couldn't last much longer. The clouds had to empty at some point.

Sirens blared and smoke threatened to fill the corridors of the Ark as Bellamy plummeted through through them, His breathing ragged. His legs ached, but still he kept going. He had to find her before it was too late. Ahead a brief flash of dark brown hair, and a red ribbon spurned his legs to move even faster. He turned to follow Octavia around the corner and skidded to a stop, ducking just in time to avoid The Commander's bloody blade as it swung where his neck had just been. Behind her grounders crowded in full battle armour, blades glinting, he just had time to watch an archer notch his arrow before he was scrambling back around the corner.

The walls closed in around him. Dark, rough and cold to the touch. He could hear the sound of water flowing ahead and when his feet moved they splashed in water that was pooling between the rails on the floor of the mine. Behind him he could hear the reaper's chanting his name. He looked over his shoulder, the darkness of the tunnels ended in the flickering of candlelight and looming grotesque shadows approaching him fast from just around the bend. Lincoln was the first to appear eyes crazed with bloodlust.

He turned and ran stumbling through the darkness towards the sound of the water. He rounded another corner and ahead he could see light and hear the roar of water falling from an impossible height. He reached a ledge that opened up just behind a huge downward tumbling torrent. The power of which threatened to suck him into it. There was no where to go. He turned to face the Reapers as they appeared around the last corner lincoln. First Lincoln and then face painted and scarred, hair shorn into a tight fuzz, Octavia. Her teeth and nails were filed into sharp points. Her mouth bloody. She screamed and lunged for him. He tried to catch her but his foot slipped on the edge and then he was falling listening to his sister's scream for a few seconds before the force of the water pounded into him.

He blinked at the bright light overhead. He lay in the bottom of a ravine, half submerged in water. Pain seared through his muscles as he tried to move. Something butted against his thigh and he looked down to see a small pale hand. He reached for it instinctively, hope giving him renewed strength. It was clammy and when he tried to grab her the skin peeled away leaving exposed flesh and bone. He sat up screaming. Charlotte's bloated body lay in the water next to him. Eyes staring up at the sky. Then they turned to accuse him.

He screamed, she screamed, it screamed. Charlotte's still body lay floating in the water, 100ft away from him. Above her he was watching Charlotte creep closer to the edge as angry voices flowed over the ravine and down to him. Then she was falling.

Help me! She was clinging to a vine hanging over the edge of the ravine. Her blonde hair flowing beneath her as she desperately tried to hold on. She scrambled with her legs trying to find some purchase, something to climb against. Clarke was dangling directly above him. The ground began to shake and spikes erupted from the soil beneath his feet. He leapt out of the way. She looked down, eyes wide. Then her eyes locked on his and filled with hope. A noise above pulled her attention back and he watched as The Commander leaned over the edge, hand extended towards Clarke who reached for her, and then she was falling and Bellamy was staring up into the hate-filled eyes of The Commander. In one hand she held a sharp knife glinting against the sun, and in the other a braid of brown hair with a red ribbon. Bellamy's eyes left hers and travelled down to..

Bellamy sat bolt upright. Hair damp with sweat, pulse racing. He was running out of time. No one he cared about was safe until The Commander was dead. He knew there would be no more sleep for him so he dressed and relieved Mr Monty, who was greatful to seek the warmth of the tent. Bill checked on Ben and then came back to join him.

"Will Ben be able to move tomorrow." Bellamy asked concerned.

Bill shrugged first then his voice was sombre as he told Bellamy that it didn't matter if he was well enough to move, he had to be moved.

As they looked out into the darkness the snow finally began to stop. Bellamy told Bill to sleep so he was rested for tomorrow. Then he sat thinking about his dream. Clarke had taken Charlotte to the bunker, he remembered now. It was near the ravine that she had fallen into. Now he was sure Clarke would go there. It made sense, and Clarke was nothing if not sensible, too sensible. Tomorrow he would find her.