Kane's Point of View
I stood there in the heat waiting as the Major walked over to me after they had secured the prisoner. I knew what she was going to ask me, and I knew even more that friendship and knowing it was wrong aside. It needed to be done; I could almost hear Rayne's voice in my head telling me to ignore the Major's protests and to not listen to her. That harming Abby would not get the outcome I wanted.
"Chancellor." She greeted me.
"Major."
"I don't think I need to point of the importance again of what needs to be done. There needs to be an example made, other wise we risk having more days like today happen. More unnecessary deaths brought on by random acts of violence. Chancellor we need order, you need order in this camp." She began to provide me with her case.
"Yes. I agree we need order in the camp, what will shock lashing Abby prove to the camp?" I asked her keeping my eyes on the medical tent she was in.
"It shows that no body is above the law, no citizen, no members of the council, no body." She told me.
Lowering my head I began to consider all the options that where presented before me. I could give Abby the ten shock lashes and risk having an uprising. Or give Abby the shock lashes and the camp falls in line. Or do nothing and maybe have the camp tear its self to shreds.
Raising my head I turn towards the Major, taking a deep breathe collecting myself before making my decision.
"Abby will receive ten shock lashes for her crimes. Have the men set up over there then go get Abby." I told her.
"Yes, Sir." The Major said, her voice a little too up beat considering what she was about to do to Abby.
It wasn't two long before I watched as the crowd began to gather around the two posts that where going to be used to give Abby her lashings. The people curious as to what was about to happen, I could hear the mumbles all around me alerting me that Abby was on her way towards me.
I turned to face her, as she was being lead through the sea of people by the Major and one of her guards. Abby stopped walking allowing me to walk up to her as she stared at the two posts before her. I tried to keep my face calm when approaching her.
"What is this?" She asked me coldly.
"I'm sorry it had to come to this, Abby." I told her as the wind blew around us. "But you left me no choice."
"Abigail Griffin has confessed to aiding and abetting known criminals and trafficking in firearms. Under the laws set forth in the Exodus Charter of the Ark, she's been sentenced to ten lashes." The Major called out to the entire crowd around us.
The crowd began to gasp and the whispers started all around. I knew they would be shocked by the severity of the punishment and apart of me knew that this would not look good on me for a while to come. Something however needed to be done to stop anything further from happening.
"You can't be serious." Abby said to me her face still stone.
"On your command, Chancellor Kane." Turning away from Abby nodding my head slightly.
Two of the guards took Abby by the arms pulling her away; they stood her between the two posts securing her hands in the restraints as she kept her eyes locked on me. I stood there watching her, the gut feeling in my stomach returning again, this felt so wrong.
"We don't have to do this down here." Abby began pleading with me as the Major walked behind her tearing the back of her shirt open moving it away from her skin.
The Major moved away from her pulling the rod from belt, turning the power on it causing the rod to light up with the blue electric current to snap through out it. I watched as Abby physically shook in her place because of the sound of it. She moved her hands to hold onto the straps tightly showing the amount of strength and courage she was trying to hold.
"Proceed." I said.
She tapped the rod on the back of Abby's back, causing her to jolt forward in pain screaming out. The entire crowd around me seemed visibly upset by the actions going on before them. Not that I blamed them at all, Abby may have deserved to be punished but this was terrible.
"Again."
Abby grunted in pain again her screams less intense, some of the people in the crowd turning their heads away in disgust of the on going actions. Abby was still standing her head down and her body slightly slumped over. She was panting and seemed out of breath, but I had no choice I had to finish her punishment. She looked up at me, standing up trying to show me that she was not afraid.
"Again." I said my voice trembling slightly.
Abby was struck again for the third time causing her body to curl forward. I let myself look down to the ground knowing this was going to make things incredibly awkward between the two of us. She was the only person I could trust in this camp beside the guard.
Her entire body slumped down her head falling down as she tried to catch her breath. Hide the pain that she was enduring and going through. She was barely able to stand, the restraints holding her entire weight as she practically hung there.
I looked down to the ground again; visibly uncomfortable now with the way I had let this whole thing play out. The way Abby's body hung there, hearing her groans of agony were killing me. I looked over at Abby, then to the Major. Before setting my eyes back on the ground, "Again."
I looked up hearing Abby's feet move around in the dirt. I watched as she tried standing up in place holding onto the restraints again. The rod was once again placed on her back causing the electricity snap, pushing her body forward. I looked back down to the ground out of disgust for myself.
Rayne's Point of View
We had been moving through the woods for hours dragging the grounder towards underground home that Finn had told us about. I was pretty sure he had told us about this place before. I know Clarke had mentioned it to me before once or twice in conversation.
Once we reached the underground bunker Finn, Murphy, and Monroe climbed down the ladder waiting at the bottom for the grounder that Bellamy ended up just pushing into the hole. "Bellamy!" I shouted at him as Sterling put his hand on my shoulder.
"Don't." I warned him, turning to face him.
"Bellamy we can't do this…" I told him as he looked over at me.
"There was no other way to get him down there, Rayne…" he told me before putting his hand out to me to bring me towards the ladder. "Meet you down there." He told me.
Once down Bellamy and Finn began to interrogate the grounder asking him questions about where the people from our camp where, where Clarke was, what they did to them. His face was completely busted up from being hit with the gun, and the fall down into this place.
"This is a necessary evil Ray…" Murphy said approaching me.
"We're gonna do this again, and this time you're gonna stop screwing with us." Bellamy seethed at the man.
"Where did you find this?" He shouted at the grounder pushing Clarke's father's watch into his face. The man just sat there staring directly at me causing me to feel incredibly uncomfortable.
"I told you. I found it outside your camp." The grounder said sarcastically.
"He's lying." Finn said his voice filling with anger.
"Obviously." I spat out quietly causing Murphy to look at me with a slight smirk.
"She would never take it off voluntarily." Finn snapped again.
"I know." Bellamy mumbled. "Where is the girl who was wearing this watch?" Finn then yelled.
"I never saw a girl." The grounder spat.
"Another lie." Murphy said as he sat down on a bed near by, I followed suit sitting next to him.
I hated to admit it but regardless of what had gone down between Murphy and the camp, and Murphy and the grounders. He was still my friend, and I still trusted him. I knew he would never hurt me on purpose. I looked over at him than to Bellamy; "I mean, maybe you should stop asking him nicely."
"Shut up, Murphy." Bellamy quickly answered.
"He's right Bells; all we're being hit with is roadblocks. He isn't going to tell us." I said as I watched Bellamy take in a long deep breath.
"Where are our friends?" Bellamy asked him again. "You took them. We know you did. Just tell us where."
Finn took the pistol out of his belt and looked over at Murphy then to the grounder. "Murphy's right. We're wasting time."
Finn than punched the grounder in the head with the gun, Bellamy quickly move closer to Finn trying to pull him away from the grounder. "Answer the question! Where's the girl! Who was wearing this watch?" Finn screamed at him.
"Hey." Bellamy called out. "Finn, Stop!"
I looked over at Murphy, "You look impressed." I commented.
"No, it's just funny to watch how invested Finn is in only finding Clarke. Notice how he only asks where she is, but Bellamy will ask where everyone is? I mean he cheated on Raven with her, then cheated on her with Raven… now he needs to find her?" He whispered to me. I nudged his arm.
"Don't be rude John, Clarke makes him happy, and he makes Clarke happy… and down here in this world full of misery and death… we need some hope."
"Like Bellamy took mine?" He said looking up at me.
"There are some lines you can't uncross." I heard Bellamy said giving me a chance to move away from the awkward tension that was now between Murphy and I.
Bellamy began to walk away from Finn giving him some space as I walked over to Bellamy. "This is wrong what we're doing to him Ray." He said softly. "But we need to find our people, who knows what they are doing to them."
"We will find them Bells… with or without the information this grounder gives us… have faith in that." I told him as he moved closer to me kissing my forehead. "I'm trying," he told me as we heard metal smack against flesh again.
"Where's Clarke?" Finn shouted as he began to viciously beat the grounder. "Where is she?" Finn continued as Bellamy moved past me quickly pulling Finn away from the grounder for the second time.
"Back off!" Finn shouted at Bellamy pushing him off of him, before cocking and pointing the gun directly at Bellamy.
"Finn no!" I shouted moving closer to Bellamy's aid quickly.
He moved the gun so it was facing me, before facing it back at Bellamy. "Put down the gun, Finn." Bellamy croaked out.
"Three seconds." Finn said pointing the gun directly at the grounders head.
The grounder looked up at Finn with fear before looking over at Bellamy whom he must have thought was in charge of our group. Realizing what we were realizing; this situation had snapped Finn out of any sane thinking. Interrupting him would only end up fatal.
"Two!"
"One."
"Ok…" The grounder said, "I'll tell you."
"This was too easy…" I whispered to Bellamy who just motioned for me to be quiet.
"Your friends are east of here. The village where we take our prisoners of war."
"East? Where?" Finn asked his voice drenched with anger. "How do we get to them?"
"I can draw you a map, but you should hurry. Soon they'll outlive their usefulness." The grounder said finally.
"Get him something to draw a map." Finn commanded as Monroe and Sterling began to look for paper and anything to write with.
I felt Bellamy's hand move so that it was gripping mine, he knew just as much as I did that this was wrong. If Clarke where here she would agree with us, well I would hope she would agree with us. Part of me thought she would be just as ruthless as Finn was being. Maybe we needed to be ruthless, had to show them that we were not afraid, that we would do whatever it took.
"You thought I was the crazy one, huh?" Murphy said to Bellamy as he passed by us.
"Come with me." He whispered to me bringing me over to where a couch was sitting me down.
"Rayne, if it comes to it… if he becomes to much… I want you to run as fast as you can back to the camp… your dad will keep you safe. I don't know how far he is willing to go to find her, and he is right in what he is doing… but I will not risk your life or safety." He told me.
"I wont leave your side Bells."
"If he turns on us, you will run home Ray." He told me kissing my lips softly.
We all stood around the paper that the grounder had doodled his map on. Bellamy was kneeled in front of it as the rest of us stood around waiting for his or Finn's reaction to it. Finn was standing taking watch over the grounder behind us. I looked over at Murphy who mouthed to me that it was a trap.
Bellamy finally stood up, Finn walked over to join the conversation. "Gather up the gear. We're leaving."
"What about him?" Sterling asked.
"For now, we leave him." Bellamy explained causing us all to exchange very confused looks. "Deal with him when we're done."
"What if he escapes? Are you willing to risk our lives? Rayne's?" Murphy asked him. "He knows exactly where we're going."
"We're not killing him." Bellamy said his face filling with frustration.
"I'm not really seeing another option here." Murphy continued. "If we don't take care of this now, this is gonna blow back on us and you know that."
"He's unarmed, Murphy."
"He's a grounder." Murphy said as he then looked around at all of us. I didn't know what to say. Murphy was right; not killing him would only get us killed in the long run. He'll escape, go warn his people… but killing him… this would be an execution.
"Really? Come on. Tell him." Murphy said looking between the four of us. "Rayne?" I just shrugged slightly moving closer to Bellamy.
"I don't know." Monroe said slowly.
"You don't know what?" Murphy spat at her. "He's gonna tell his people everything. We're as good as dead. Our friends, too."
"We're not doing this." Bellamy said, continuing the boys argument.
"End of discussion; you want him, you gotta go through me." Bellamy said now that he had moved me aside so that he and Murphy where now arguing closer to each others face.
"And what exactly happened to you, huh? You're talking like you've never killed a grounder before." Murphy egged him on.
"That was in battle. This would be an execution." Bellamy said as a gunshot went off. He instantly turns grabbing me pulling me closer to him, as the other three also jolted in place from the shot.
We all turned to look at the grounder as his body fell to the ground in a heap, blood pouring out of the side of his head from the bullet. I looked over to Finn who held the gun in his hand. He had little to no expression on his face like what he had done didn't matter.
"Let's get moving." Finn said his voice cold as ice. Murphy looked over at me as I began to shake my head slightly. Finn was changing for the worst, and I could only tell Clarke would not accept this Finn into her life. He was starting to become a monster.
He walked past us taking the map off the table and walking towards the exit. Followed by Murphy, Sterling and Monroe before she left she handed Bellamy his gun. Bellamy looked at me shock still riddled on his face. "Remember what I said, Rayne." He told me.
Kane's Point of View
I sat there looking into the man right in his eyes as he stared back at mine, the Major was interrogating him. He just sat there in utter silence, not willing to say a word to us on the matter of our children. He didn't look as menacing as the kids had explained them to be. Then again, he was unarmed and tied to a steel beam.
"Answer the question." She spat at him; he followed her question with more silence.
"Answer the question!" She shouted at him.
Moving away from him she paced around in the corner for a moment before she return to facing him. Pulling the pistol out of her holster pointing it directly at the grounders head. I turned to her looking at her in shock, not that I was entirely surprised by her actions. "Holster that weapon." I ordered her.
"Those men you killed were my men." She told him as he looked up at her.
"I said stand down." I told her as I stood up from my chair, moving towards her. "Now!"
She looked over at me with an expression of complete anger mixed with disgust before standing up holstering her weapon slowly. "You get some air." I told her, as she looked at me anger still filling her eyes. "That's an order."
She moved past me leaving me alone in the room with the grounder, I turned to look at him as he moved back to his stance where he was staring directly at the wall in front of him in complete silence.
"We can't keep this up…" I began to say to him, "and hope to survive." I moved so that I was back to sitting on my chair across from him slouching forward thinking of what to do, how to keep my people safe.
"There's got be a better way." I said looking up feeling his eyes on me.
I had to find Abby; she needed to take my place as Chancellor. Keep this camp safe. I had to go to this grounders people, broker some kind of peace deal between them so that we could get our children back. Or at least look for them without having to worry about being killed.
I left the grounder to be watched by the guards and left the Ark piece heading towards the tent where I knew I would find Abby recovering from the lashes. Once I walked in I saw that she was sitting on a bed with Jackson attending her wounds.
"Thank you, Jackson." She said to him once they both noticed me standing there. "So? Did it work?" She asked me once he had walked away. "Is the rest of the camp back in line?"
"This wasn't something I- I considered lightly." I began to try to explain to her.
"You don't have to justify yourself. I broke the rules and I accept the consequences. But you can lash me a hundred times and I am still gonna do whatever it takes to find those kids. My kid." She said
It was almost as if she said that last part to ensure I knew and felt guilty for allowing my daughter to rush into the forest filled with these grounders. Run in possibly towards her death, with the small hope that Bellamy would keep her safe and alive.
"I know that." I told her. "Then I guess we're done here." She said to me as she slid off the table she was seated on.
"I'm leading a mission to bring them back. All of them, Rayne and Clarke included." I told her, watching her freeze in place.
"This won't be a- bunch of kids looking to stir up a fight… but a diplomatic mission to make contact with the grounders' commander… and negotiate for peace. I'm taking the grounder prisoner with me to guide the way."
"Marcus, he could be leading you into a trap." She told me.
"Perhaps." I said looking down at my hands holding the small necklace that I had in my hands. Not something I often pulled out of my pocket, as it was the only memento I had left from my mother. I was hoping to give it to Rayne, and then she had left with Bellamy.
"It'll give us a chance. I did hear you, you know." I finished.
"Then I'll go with you." She told me.
"No. No, you're needed here at camp."
"No, Jackson can handle medical—" She started to say as I cut her off.
"It's not just your medical expertise that'll be required. I need to know that while I'm away, you'll set a good example for our people."
"If you do this, I'll be a model citizen." She said slowly.
"I need you to be more than that." I told her, "I need you to be Chancellor." I told her before placing the pin down on the table she had been sitting on. "Please, Abby. For your people."
I had asked her to hold onto the necklace for me in the hopes that Rayne would return from the forest and come home to be safe. Leaving the tent she continued to remain in silence with the things I had said to her. Gathering my things I soon left the camp along since three members of the guard and the grounder prisoner.
Stopping at the exit of the camp turning around to see Abby standing there among the people watching as we all left, hoping to bring good news. However probably walking to our deaths, it still ate at me the last things I said to Rayne, what I had done to Abby earlier in the day. This was all just necessary evil.
Nova's Point of View
I sat there at the table with Monty and Jasper waiting for Maya to come back with the "news" on what had happened to Clarke. I already knew anything she was going to say would be a complete and guaranteed total lie but Clarke had told me that I had to protect her people. Calling these mountain men out on any lies they tell would only do the opposite of keep them safe.
I turned my head and noticed her walk into the room before the boys did. Her eyes landed on me right away, I could tell she knew what she was about to tell them was completely untrue. She had to lie, just like I did. She looked visibly upset with knowing she had to lie to Jasper; something told me she had grown feelings for him. As if that weren't already obvious.
She came up to the table and sat down across from me, between the two boys as they instantly move in closer to her anxious to hear the news. "You found out something?"
"What is it?" It was almost like she was stalling, trying to find a way to make the lie she was about to tell obvious. So they themselves would figure it out and start to ask questions. Yet like me she knew that would only put them into dangers way. She looked at me as I shook my head at her, warning her. Not to put them in dangers way.
"Apparently, Clarke had some kind of breakdown. She just snapped, started pulling out her stitches, trying to hurt herself." At least it was mildly believable… I would give the President and the Doctor that much.
"Where is she now?" Monty asked.
"Psych ward. Being monitored." She told them. Well played Wallace, well played.
"I talked to a friend who works there. She thinks it might be a couple days before the doctors let anyone see her." She said as Jasper looked down at the table. Her eyes landed on me before quickly averting them away. Monty stood up walking away from the table; I motioned towards Jasper before standing up and following Monty out of the room. There was no way I was about to allow him to walk into any traps. I made a promise, and she swore they would come back for my people.