Chapter Name: Year #1. Month #4.
Synopsis: 13.
A long, low moan filled the cramped medical supply store room that doubled as their makeshift bedroom and Abby's fingers flexed wide where her hands lay flat against the wall. Her chin rested against her chest and she canted her hips backward so that her growing belly wouldn't be pressed too hard into it. She could no longer comfortably lie on her stomach so they'd improvised and found another way.
Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as the pressure against her back focused on a particularly hard knot. "Oh, God. Don't stop."
She didn't even bristle at the smug chuckle that reverberated right through his hands where they worked their magic on a back full of tension.
As much as Abby would have preferred to enjoy her massage in silence, they'd found their limited private time always gave way to Council and bunker concerns. She wasn't a member but he didn't seem to care. They talked about everything. "Have you found any evidence of Thelonius' involvement?"
While a majority of the early bunker violence had been curbed by Marcus bringing on more Guards, they'd discovered that when a fight broke out there was always a disgruntled Skaikru participant involved.
"Nothing. And I expect Octavia's announcement today enacting more stringent punishment for convicted crimes isn't going to go over well with him and those loyal to how he wanted Skaikru life in the bunker to be."
Abby's eyes fluttered as his talented hands hit another tight knot. "You've done everything you can, Marcus."
"It's never enough."
The defeated tone in his voice caused her to whirl around faster than he could react and wrap her fingers around his whiskered cheeks. This is what they did now. Talked the other down from the melancholy edge. "You have helped save the entire human race." She could feel him ready to deny her words, so she leaned against his chest as best as she could with her belly between them and enclosed him tightly in her arms. "We have found our humanity again. And you're a big part of the reason why."
It took a moment but his arms came tightly around her and she closed her eyes, content with his heart beating strongly beneath her cheek.
A stern-faced Octavia stood on the circular walkway while the population of the bunker crammed themselves into every available space below. Her speech was broadcast through the various rec rooms and public gathering locations throughout the bunker as well, required viewing for all.
The twelve Ambassadors flanked her along the walkway and scattered throughout the population were Marcus' multi-kru Guard. On the lookout for any dissention in the ranks of those who had dogged Octavia's every command since the bunker door had been sealed.
A six months pregnant Abby stood beside Jackson on the lower level, watching the announcement with anxious trepidation. The violence needed to end if they had any hope of surviving the next five years. If increased punishment resembling the most severe on the Ark needed to be enacted to make that possible, Abby would support it. But she knew Marcus had his reservations. He'd been responsible for enforcing law on the Ark and he wasn't eager to repeat the experience.
As expected, various onlookers in the crowd erupted with anger but Octavia placated them with assurances that everyone could do their part by being vigilant of their shared surroundings. Not fighting over little things. Reporting suspicious activity. Marcus was concerned these ideas would sow more discord but his reservations fell on deaf ears.
"If you see something troubling, report it. The Guard will investigate. A trial will prove innocence or ensure guilt." Octavia indicated Marcus to her left. "Ambassador Kane is well-respected among the clans and the multi-kru Guard he leads will be fair to everyone."
Abby beamed proudly at the well-deserved recognition but that pride was short lived as the next events unfolded in slow motion before her shocked, disbelieving eyes.
Marcus, as usual, took Octavia's compliment with a small smile, while he continued to scan the assembled crowd from his vantage point. Abby knew that he'd seen something suspicious when his eyes narrowed on someone behind her in the crowd. He barked out an order and dove in front of Octavia, jerking sharply as a bullet ripped through his shoulder.
Chaos erupted with a few Guards going down, Ambassadors dove for the floor and residents scattered in fear. A Skaikru man armed with a handgun leapt onto the walkway beside Marcus who knocked the gun's aim off just enough so that the bullet tore through Indra's shoulder instead of her chest as she pushed Octavia through the office door and slammed it shut.
Ignoring his injured shoulder, Marcus flipped the gunman with a move Abby recognized as having seen in Indra's combat lessons. The gunman went down but just as Marcus whirled to take on the next assailant, another shot caught him square in the chest.
Abby watched helplessly as he went down hard right in front of the closed office door and her horrified scream joined the muted commotion echoing in her ears.
The Guard quickly subdued the remaining gunmen, restraining them with unrestrained fury. Abby ignored Jackson's cries to wait as she sprinted toward a motionless Marcus as quickly as her swollen ankles would carry her.
Once she reached his side, she knew. She'd been a doctor for a long time. He was lying on his side in a pool of blood facing the closed office door. The last act of a man determined to protect his people; their leader. The pain as she dropped to her knees was nothing compared to the spread of it through her rapidly constricting chest. Trembling fingers confirmed the diagnosis when they reached for a pulse in his neck.
Finding nothing, she tugged sharply and rolled him toward her, desperate to be wrong. The intensity of the sobs that ripped from the depths of her heart were so intense she could barely breathe as she flattened her hand in the sticky, life-ending heat of the blood flowing from his chest.
She dimly felt Jackson's presence beside her as he reached for Marcus' wrist but she didn't bother looking at him. She already knew what he would find.
As if she was a specter looking on the scene from outside her body, she dimly saw the office door swing open and an armed Indra stand solidly in front of an equally armed and furious Octavia.
If Abby hadn't already been numb with disbelief, the synchronous way the two warrior's gazes dropped to the floor to regard Marcus' motionless body would have been comical.
Guards surrounded them and Indra repeated Jackson's action moments before, hand darting out to feel for a pulse Abby already knew she wouldn't find.
Octavia stood over them, shock and fury growing rapidly across her blood-streaked face in equal measure.
Dimly, Abby heard Jackson call her name but she was still too stunned to do anything other than lean forward and rest her forehead against Marcus' temple.
She didn't know how much time had passed before she heard Jackson's cries for help. All she wanted to do was scream at him to leave her alone but when her head swiveled in his direction to find his hands covered in blood, her training kicked in.
A still kneeling Indra helped Abby to her feet and when their eyes met, Abby was relieved to find in Indra's slow nod a fierce promise not to leave her friend's side.
On shaky legs, Abby reached Jackson just as a stretcher arrived. The Azgeda Ambassador was lifted quickly onto it and Abby straddled his legs to continue chest compressions as they were carried back to the infirmary. Her work taking her away from the lifeless body of the man she loved and the Trikru warrior still standing guard over it.
Indra took deep, calming breaths and steadied her trembling hands as she watched Octavia unravel before her eyes.
"I want every traitor responsible for this found." Octavia paced in front of her, boots tracking the blood of the dead across the deck. To one Guard she ordered, "Tie them all." She pointed to the center of the room. "There."
Pride at Octavia's willingness to disregard their new bunker laws to enact the more bloody and painful Clan punishment for this grievous attack swelled within Indra's hardened heart. She didn't have it in her to council mercy. Not now. She knew Kane would do so but she was not as strong as her friend in matters of peace. She wanted vengeance for his death and she would do everything in her power to help Octavia achieve it.
"They will suffer for this," Octavia hissed as Guards stood at her side, eyes darting every which way to ensure there would not be another surprise attack. "All of them."
An armed Nathan Miller appeared at Indra's side and she recognized the firm set of his mouth as he stared at the carnage at his feet.
"I need a litter," Indra said sharply. He understood immediately and vanished in the direction of the infirmary.
"Octavia," Indra reached out to stop Octavia's pacing.
"I want everyone confined to quarters," Octavia continued, rage simmering beneath her skin. "And the," her eyes swept across where Kane still lay and Indra felt her throat constrict, "wounded to the infirmary for treatment."
As Octavia attempted to cross in front of her, Indra's hand tightened around her arm. "Octavia."
Octavia huffed in annoyance. Her stance challenging as she turned to fully address her friend. "What?"
Miller returned with a stretcher and set it down at their feet. Octavia needed to be distracted. Immediately.
"I need your help." Indra knelt and nodded to Miller. Together they settled Kane's body onto the stretcher. When Indra glanced up, Octavia knelt beside her. Together, the three of them reverently carried their friend's body to the infirmary.
The crowed outside the infirmary parted as the passed. When they'd transferred the body onto an empty bed, Octavia ordered everyone out. Niylah glanced their way as she worked to clean and bandage minor injuries but there weren't many. The damage had been swift and exact with very little collateral damage.
Behind a floor to ceiling curtain on the far side of the large room, they knew Abby worked to save the life of the Azgeda ambassador.
Niylah finished tying off the bandage and Indra watched as she slowly approached with a basin of water. With a solemn nod, she offered a cloth to both warriors.
Indra watched Octavia set her jaw and take the cloth, dip it into the basin and squeeze out the excess water. Indra followed her lead and steeling herself for the task ahead reverently began to wipe away the blood from Kane's skin.
They worked in silence, Niylah stepping in to lend a hand whenever she saw the two falter. She helped them remove his shirt and pack the bullet wounds and then stepped back so they could finish cleaning away the blood.
Just as they finished, Abby stepped out from behind the curtain, a smile on her lips that in no way reached her eyes. But Indra understood. The ambassador had lived.
Then Abby noticed Kane on the table beneath the two warriors and wobbled toward them on shaky legs. By the time she'd crossed the relatively small room, there were tears dripping from her eyes.
With strength born of a leader who understood loss, Indra watched Octavia square her shoulders and turn to Abby. "I'm sorry. His death is a loss to us all."
Abby threaded her fingers through Kane's newly cleaned ones and Indra backed away, indicating with a short nod to Octavia that it was time to leave. When they reached the infirmary doors, Indra glanced back as Abby's façade crumbled and the sobs began.
By the time Indra and Octavia made it back to the central chamber, posts had been erected and those responsible had been tied to them. All Skaikru. Four in total.
Residents loitered to witness their punishment as Octavia returned to her spot on the still bloodstained ramp.
With a firm nod from Indra, she began, her tone firm and emotionless. "In accordance with Clan law, you will suffer the death of twelve hundred cuts."
"So you'll change the law as you see fit rather than allow us a trial?"
Octavia turned murderous eyes on Jaha. "You killed the only person who would have insisted you be tried instead of immediately put to death." She paced in front of him; a caged animal ready to thrust a dagger straight into his heart for his treason. "And I would have listened to him."
Indra noticed a flicker of regret cross Jaha's face but felt no sympathy for the choices he'd made that had led to the failed rebellion and the death of his supposed friend.
"Marcus wasn't the intended target."
"No, I was. He was collateral damage in your war with eleven hundred strangers." She slid her sword from its sheath. "You don't even know your own history. Our history. The history our ancestors tried to erase. Just as Skaikru became the thirteenth clan in Lexa's coalition, the ancestors of Becca Pramheda, the first Nightblood, originated from the Thirteenth station that was destroyed on Unity Day."
Octavia turned to face the growing crowd, fury raising her voice. "We are all one people! One clan! We always have been."
She stared down Jaha and he defiantly held her gaze.
"E pluribus unum. Kane found it in the history of this place while he was writing the bunker charter. It's the motto of the old United States of America. The motto used to bring the Ark stations together to save the human race. Out of the many, one."
She addressed the room with a confidence that made Indra proud.
"Just like us."
Her eyes fell on Abby as she wove through the gathered crowd to stand at its edge. Her eyes were bloodshot and watery and she only looked able to stand due to the strength of Jackson and Miller who flanked her.
"The history of this world is written in the blood of those who came before. In the sacrifices and the struggles to rebuild a land ripped apart by greed and war." She walked around the room, commanding attention. "We will not be that people. Out of the many clans, we have become one. E pluribus unum. We are all grounders. We are all Skaikru."
Octavia rested the tip of her sword at Jaha's neck and with a miniscule flick of her wrist drew a shallow line of blood across the skin. "You betrayed your friend and your people. For your treason, you will die."
Octavia yanked a dagger out of her boot and held it out to Abby.
Abby stared at it in horror. One hand cradled her belly as she whispered a firm, 'No." Said it again. And again. Each successive repeat louder than the last until she was screaming the word.
Jackson burst into the supply room unannounced as Abby's tortured scream of terror echoed off the walls. He caught her just as she rolled off the bed and continued to scream, one hand clutching her belly, the other pressed to her chest over her racing heart. Her clothing was drenched with sweat and her hair was plastered to her sticky skin.
"Abby? Abby?!" She squeezed her eyes shut. Didn't want to see the pity and heartbreak in Jackson's eyes.
"No! Go away!" She howled, tears streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't be here. She needed to get out. The room was too small. Too full of memories.
"What is it? What can I do?" She dimly noted the desperation in his voice but didn't care.
She struggled out of his grasp, pushed herself to her feet and hurried on unsteady legs toward the open door – and froze.
Marcus skidded to a halt in front of her flanked by heavily armed Guards.
"Abby?!" Marcus pulled her into his arms but she resisted, eyes wide with disbelief. "What's wrong? What's happened?"
"You're dead," she whispered, tone full of anguish. "You died. How are you- what's happening?" She stepped away from him, fingers rubbing her temples, confused and disoriented.
"Abby?"
She heaved a few deep breaths and glanced around the room; at Jackson, the Guards, Marcus, standing shockingly still around her.
Trembling hands danced across his face, his lips, down his neck to feel the pulse thundering beneath the skin. Disbelief raged behind her eyes. "You were dead."
He blinked in confusion.
"I'm gonna-" Jackson moved out of the room as Marcus led her inside.
"We'll be fine," she heard Marcus assure Jackson and the guards. Felt his overwhelming presence inch closer once the door had firmly shut them inside.
"Abby?"
She paced among their meager belongings, feeling like a caged animal. Realization finally dawning on her frayed nerves. "It was a dream. It was-. Oh God, it was a nightmare."
"Abby? Talk to me." His voice was a balm to her soul.
She glanced at him with tears in her suddenly very clear eyes. It had been the worst kind of dream. Real and visceral. Octavia had made the announcement today and they'd had a bit of an uprising, which was why he'd not been there when she woke.
Out of the blue, she revealed, "I had a sonogram today." They'd scheduled it and he hadn't been there. He'd been doing his duty as Octavia's Ambassador. Once again putting the many before the one. Or in this case, three. And she couldn't hate him for it. He'd always tried to do what was best for his people.
He regarded her with patient affection that grew to concern when her face crumpled in sorrow and fear.
"We're having twins." She was still numb with the news.
If she hadn't been so incredibly scared and wrong-footed at the moment, his reaction would have been comical. His mouth fell slack and his wide eyes disbelievingly searched hers.
And she knew he couldn't yet have put together why she was so incredibly scared. Why maybe her subconscious mind substituted his death in place of one of their children.
Octavia had promised that their child, singular, would be one of the 13.
And now there would be two.
END