The Storm: Chapter Twelve

Sleep refused to come. The cough instead did. Maggie did her best to help me, but without drinking all of our rations of water, there wasn't much more do be done. At one point, I managed to doze off. My head slumping to the side as I no longer had the strength to keep it upright. It didn't last long. Minutes past before the coughing returned in full bloom producing yellow mucus from the back of my throat.

Preoccupied with my own predicament, I didn't register the whispers in the dark. Movement from the corner of my eye woke me to the pale light of the early morning.

Poe returned. His face blank. Dried tears staining his face. Not a word spoken from him.

He stopped by us, facing the direction the looked directly into the valley. He didn't interact with us, he didn't even look at us. His eyes fixated on the area where WICKED intended to meet us.

Maggie and Maya scrambled up, stuffing the few belongings we had back into the packs. Taking Poe's lack of interaction as a cue that they were leaving. Maya helped me from the floor.

"We better get moving. Today is the day," Maya said as she hooked her pack over her shoulder.

Whilst we had been waiting for Poe to return, they had spent some time redistributing our remaining supplies into the three bags. We counted enough to get us to the checkpoint. Enough to last a day more. The urgency to get to our salvation heightened with the dwindling number.

Maggie walked up to Poe and gave him his pack with his share of the supplies. He glanced down and without a word took it from her grasp. He slung it over his shoulder and continued to stare into the valley, as if nothing had happened.

For me, there wasn't a discussion. It was clear that I barely had the strength to keep myself upright. There was no way I could carry a pack as well. We were still scratching our heads as to how I managed it for the day I searched for them. I concluded pure spite. Maggie suggested stupidity.

We joined Poe by the edge of the cliff and studied the final part of our journey. One glance to the wasteland in the daylight didn't make the situation any better. There was still nothing out there. No tree, no hill. Certainly nothing that resembled a checkpoint.

"There's that girl group there." Maggie pointed down below. In the distance, a couple of miles out on the flat surface was the girl group walking straight ahead. "And look, there's another at the base."

I strained upward to spot the smaller group a mile or two west, heading the same direction as the girls.

"Wow, look how many of them survived," Maya said in a disheartened tone.

Lottie's death fresh in everyone's mind. I could only imagine what was going through their heads from seeing the size of the other groups. For the trio, it must have been a kick in the teeth to see so many of the other groups and have only them to survive their trials. How they wished that more of their friends, my friends, had the same opportunities as them. Why WICKED were adamant only a few would be allowed to be selected? In fact, I felt the same way. Remembering didn't mean I hadn't lost anyone. I lost the same friends and co-survivors. I too felt that this whole situation was unfair.

I cleared my throat. "We gotta keep moving. Just cause there's nothing there doesn't mean anything who knows what WICKED is up to? Come on."

The sky didn't lighten much as the morning tickled on. Clouds blew in from the west, grey and thick. Clouds. Last time that happened…

Maybe this storm wouldn't be as bad as the last. Maybe.

We followed the obvious trail that led down to the valley below, switching back and forth like a jagged scar on the mountain face. From a rough estimate, it would take us hours to reach the bottom of the mountain. Running was out of the question. The slopes turned out to be incredibly steep and slippery. Any wrong move from each of others resulted in injury. Or worse, death. That was a risk I was not willing to take. The ending was close, why do something silly at the last minute?

The dark clouds churned above as. The wind gusting in seemingly every direction possible. The wind intensified, whipping and swirling. Ripping at my clothes, threatening to push me over the edge. The sky darkened and thunder rumbled in the distance. A warning of what was to come.

"Do you think will make it before the storm hits?" Maggie asked. She stood at the edge of the switchback and stared up at us.

Maya shrugged her shoulders as she passed her, tapping her hand against her arm. "Dunno. Seems far enough that it could."

"I hope we do," I added when I passed Maggie. "I ain't being blasted by one of those strikes again."

"It hit ya?" Maggie waited for Poe to pass her to carry on.

"Not directly. Just in the near region."

"I didn't see the last one. Was hauled up down below with them Cranks."

"Before or after they went crazy?" I asked.

"Not sure. I reckon that was the moment they decided they wanted to eat us." A pinch of guilt rippled in my chest when Maggie said 'us'. Momentarily she had forgotten the impact that could have. She didn't continue her story after that. When the time was right, Maggie would entail us of the details of what happened when she separated from Maya. Right now was not that time.

We set in a heavy rhythm of crisscrossing switchbacks down the mountain side. Hours passed and finally we made it to the bottom of the mountain. The slope levelled a bit as we got closer, allowing for us to increase our pace from a cautious walk to confident stride. Eventually, the switchbacks stopped altogether.

"I feel a bit dizzy after that," Maya laughed, attempting to lighten the mood as best she could. She turned to us for approval but was met with sullen faces. Her smile dropped, her facing saddening as she matched her emotions with ours.

Exhausted. Starved. Miserable. Optimistic.

The air at the bottom of the mountain was hot. The overcast sky and wind kept it at a bearable temperature. But it was hotter than when we were at the top that morning.

Ahead, I struggled to pinpoint the two slowly converging groups. Losing the birds eye view of the valley put as at a disadvantage. Even so with the dust cloud that was forming along the surface and air. From what I last saw, I gathered that the groups still moved in their own tight packs heading north for as long as they were instructed. Even from my poor advantage point, they appeared to be leaning into the stiffening wind as they walked.

My eyes stung from the dust and debris whipping through the air. My attempts at wiping my eyes ended in failure. Each swipe made the situation worse, the skin raw to touch around the creases of my eyes. Above us, the world continued to darken as the clouds thickened into temporal beasts. Chaos ensuing all around us.

After the hours spent travelling down the mountain, we decided to take a small break to refuel on our remaining supplies.

"Do you think they're all getting it?" Maya asked in between sips of water. She stared straight at the converging groups ahead.

"Looks like it, there's a large group of them," Maggie added, she too occupied with what was going on up ahead.

"So why are we allowed only six to get the cure?"

No one responded to her comment. No one thought to question that until now. I still hadn't told them my night with Newt and the Gladers. I wanted to avoid another round of interrogation from people. Holding back the little information I would not have helped us in any way. Knowing that all the others had to do was to survive to get to the end would have fuelled their anger and resentment. In a way, I felt I was protecting both parties by not confirming what they thought.

"They're just walking up there," Maya said. "Maybe it's gonna be a battle to the death."

"Maya!" Maggie snapped. "WICKED are not going to let a bunch of teenagers kill each other warrior style."

"They let us do it," she retorted. Maggie went to speak again but Maya flicked her hand in Maggie's direction in dismissal. "WICKED don't care. Lottie, Jamie, Miguel, Kaz, the others from Eden. They would all be here if WICKED didn't want us to fight our way to the end."

There was a long pause. Maya aggressively stabbed at her food. She kept stabbing over and over and over again until she let out a cry of frustration threw the can to the floor. "It's just not fair!"

Maggie shuffled over to her and laid her arm over her shoulder. "I know sweet."

"What do we do?" I jumped, knocking the can out of my hand. Poe hadn't spoken a word in hours. He barely engaged with us, unless it was pointing out hazards to avoid.

"Uh … well," Maya hummed. She glanced up to Maggie, hoping that she would have the answer. Maggie shrugged her shoulders.

"Keep going," I stated. They all turned their attention to me. "There must be a few hours left until the deadline. Unless we have figured out the location wrong, the checkpoint should be a few miles this side of the mountains."

"I don't see anything," Maya said.

"Well, I'm not risking it. I'd rather be there and be wrong, then here and miss it." I dragged myself to my knees, and slowly rose upward, squinting my eyes shut as I did this. I released a sharp breath of air, that was met with fire in my chest.

Poe stood with me, indicating that he too would follow me to the end. He bent down to grab his pack, when his eyes widened. He darted to me and flew an arm around my back. I whipped round to catch three shadows sprinting in our direction. My heart leaped into my throat, the insides of my body trembling.

They're coming they're coming they're coming.

Fear spiked the closer the shadows got. Poe, however, didn't hesitate. He darted forward, heading straight for them. He had nothing to protect himself. Poe charged at the shadows intent on destroying them.

Dark hair and a familiar statue forced me to chase after Poe. I chased after him, ignoring the fire, catching a hold of his arm and yanking it as hard as I could back. I lost my footing, my feet sliding from beneath me, taking me crashing to the ground. I landed on my back and screamed. The pain ripping every nerve ending possible. Taking my literal breath away.

"Clarke."

"Clarke, open your eyes."

"Don't touch her."

"I'm a friend."

The temptation to slip in the darkness taunted me. The easy escape from the agony. This time. This time I had to resist and force myself to wake up. Falling would fail me. And that failure ended in death.

"I'm awake," I whispered, the pain of talking ricocheting around my chest. "I'm awake."

"Clarke, can you sit up?" The other voice I heard spoke to me. "Clarke it's me, Thomas. Greenie"

I forced myself to inch open my eyes to be greeted with the concerned face of Thomas crouched down beside me. Poe stood over the top of both of us, his eyes burning a hole in the back of Thomas's head.

He smiled when he saw my eyes open. "You look rubbish," he told me.

"Hello to you too," I said back. "I need to get up."

"Are you sure?" Thomas asked, his face telling me that he thought that wouldn't be a good idea. I brushed his concern aside and turned to Poe for help. He bent down and slowly aided me into a sitting position. Poe counted down from three then steadily helped me up.

Standing ahead of me were two girls. One tightly curled hair with dark copper eyes and the other jet-black hair with piercing blue eyes. Eyes I had seen before. In the nightmares. Her face twisted into anger. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and the end of her foot tapped the ground. She was fixated on Thomas.

"Tom!" she snapped. Thomas glanced over his shoulder. "They are not a priority. We need to get to the safe haven. Now."

"But Teresa, my friend needs help."

"Doesn't matter about that," she spat, her eyes venomous. "WICKED said if we intervened with Group C there would be consequences."

"She's my friend," Thomas huffed, his words sharp to her. "I can't abandon her."

"Do you wanna die?" They stared at each other after that. Their eyes narrowing, flinches in their noses. The girl beside Teresa spotted what they were doing and whacked Teresa in the chest.

"Stop talking in your head," she scolded them. From the look on her face, they had been doing something like this regularly in her presence. It must have been a shock for Thomas to see the face to the voice. I was there when he first heard her. What they must have talked about was beyond me. Even now they seemed to want to rip each other's head off. Clearly, by Thomas being here, angered the girl further. We didn't need another crisis on our hands.

"Go," I croaked to him. I shoved him away from me. Thomas opened his mouth to speak but I put my hand up to stop him. "I'll be fine. Go."

He cocked his head, as if deciding whether to listen to me or not. Seconds pass, he nodded his head and stood up. He motioned for the two other girls to carry on. They passed us, relief settling on the other girl's face. Thomas turned back to me. He went to say something, thought better of it and gave an awkward wave before he chased off after the girls who were now running to the cluster of people further ahead.

"We don't have much time to get into whatever that was," Maya said. "We need to get moving. I don't like the look of that cloud and we still have a way to go."

With the wind howling and the dust and debris flying through the air. The clouds churning and blackening. The distance to the checkpoint getting shorter. There wasn't time to hang around. We quickened our pace. The trio were far ahead of us now, the distance between them and us growing with every step. They had the means to run. We did not.

There wasn't much talking after our rest. Even if we wanted too, there was nothing to discuss. Some events were still fresh in our heads. Avoiding having to relive more emotions was not the right moment. That would have to come after.

So we kept going in the remaining hours we had.

The cluster eventually met up in the distance. We were still far away to differentiate between them, but it looked like they weren't breaking out into a fight. For us, if we kept at the pace we were going, we would make with just enough time to spare to guarantee our selection.

We huddled closer together as we travelled across the barren wasteland. The wind was at its strongest now. So strong, that if I didn't have one arm linked through Poe's, I may have flown away into the unknown. Above, the lighten storm roared on. It threatening to break at any moment, like the last storm.

Nearly there.

The figures in front of us getting larger and the distance shorter.

Nearly there.

The squeal of metal stopped us in our tracks.

No one spoke.

There was only that sound and the wind and the cold and the stinging eyes.

Then, the scream of metal rubbing against metal stopped.

Through my squinted eyes, the view of the group had been replaced by a several strange objects that had emerged from the ground.

"Are those?" Maggie called to us.

"The monsters."

In the sky, thunder crackled and boomed with the flashes of light intensifying and growing brighter. The wind ripped at everyone's clothes and hair. Everything started to smell a little wet and dusty. A strange combination I never thought to describe.

"Look," Maya yelled. She was pointing to a faraway white dot in the sky. It could almost be mistaken for a star. Almost. If it wasn't so cloudy. "Maybe that's our ride outta here?"

The dot flickered in the sky. A flying machine was going to save us.

"Slight hitch. Those monsters have awoken," Maya continued yelling. What had been a dark area where the groups gathered, had now descended into an orangery chaotic light show. The lights surrounded the groups, trapping them in a circle. The shadows of the creatures dancing with every flicker of orangery light.

"What do we do?" The wind carried the sound of my voice before it even left my mouth.

"I dunno," Maya shouted back. "We can't go there. The monsters will tear us apart."

"We've got another problem," Maggie cut in. She was looking behind us. I turned my head over my shoulder to see six figures illuminated in the varies flashes of lights.

The figures were still further away, running. But I didn't need to consult with the others to identify them. I knew exactly who that was.

And they were gaining on us. Fast.

"Run!" I shouted over the noise. Poe unhooked my arm from his and we charged in the direction of the of the chaos in front of us.

Every jolt, thump and pound of my legs intensified the pain in my chest further. It was soon clear that I lagged behind the others. My sped faltering from my injury. Poe spotted my absence. He reached out his hand to drag me along with him. I did my best to match his speed, the sharp intake of breaths worsening.

A blinding light flashed behind us. Then a sound like the entire universe was ripped away from that moment followed a wave of invisible power propelling us forward. I stumbled, my feet catching themselves. Luckily, Poe managed to keep himself upright allowing for me to somehow regain my footing. Another fall like earlier would have been the end of me.

Behind, I caught a glimpse of a massive black hole in the ground with puffs of smokes curling into the air. Overhead, thick shards of white hear shot from the now black clouds. Lightening igniting all round with a deafening crack of thunder exploding immediately afterwards. Plumes of dirt flying into the air from every direction.

Lightening had struck. The storm had finally broken.

The run now deadlier.

A burning smell intensified as we reached the surrounding area of the Gladers and the girls. We pushed ourselves to the limit, doing our best to anticipate and dodge each strike as they struck the earth.

Lightening cracked straight behind. A blood curdling scream pierced the air. I forced myself to focus on the target ahead. Not daring myself to see who had been the victim. Any slip up and I failed. We were so close to winning.

The strikes of electricity subsided as quickly as they had begun. The hair on the back of my skin settling back down. But the lights continued to flash in the clouds allowing for the rain to pour down in sheets against my face. The storm raged on. It growing in anger.

The closer we got to the checkpoint, the louder and deeper the sounds became. So much that it overwhelmed the thunder and the rain. The low hum vibrated the ground that we ran on. In the distance, the dot increased in size, with a shadow of a flying machine similar to the one that had flown over the city after the explosions. It was humongous. Blue flames burning from giant engines at the rear of the machine. The machine hovered above the surface, waiting for a claw-like landing gear to settle on the ground. A huge cargo door in the metal belly slowly opened, a thin strip of light increasing in size as the doors inched upwards.

The finishing line was opening up. We were still ahead.

Barely.

Rain plummeting down softened the dirt making it harder for my shoes to gain good traction and losing the sped I had gained when the ground wasn't as pliable. Soon enough, I was covered in mud. Specks flying at my face, flicked up from my shoes.

Shadowy figures appeared against the backdrop of the warm light of the flying machine. They must be our saviours. And they were doing a great job of saving the two groups from the attacks of the monsters. One by one they pulled themselves up the ramp into safety. Their lives saved from this terrible place.

So close.

Just a little further.

The thrusters of the ship ignited again, lifting the machine off the ground.

"It's leaving!" Maya screamed in front as she frantically pointed at our only means of escape. "Hurry!"

Poe dragged me further toward the graveyard of dead creatures and persons. There wasn't any time to check who the individuals were. Getting on that machine was the only thought that screamed in my head. The only goal that I had at that very second.

Momentarily, blond hair flashed in the light and an outline caught my eye. Seeing him, standing on the ramp of the machine saved, caught me off guard. Poe, fixated on the end goal, and I, distracted by Newt, didn't realise how close the others behind us had gotten.

A weight collided with my back. Arms threw themselves around my hips and drove me downwards. My hand slipped from Poe's grasp as he carried onward. Pain exploded in my chest as I collided with the soft mud. The impact catching the wind out of me. With all the strength I had, I clawed at the mud, trying to find a foothold to stop myself from being dragged away from the end. My fingers glided through the wet mud no matter how deep a dug them. The earth was soddened. I opened my mouth to yell out, but mud only filled it cutting off my voice.

Instinct kicked in and I thrusted my leg out, my foot colliding with the soft part of a stomach. I heard a deep groan behind me as the hands whipped themselves off me. I peered over my shoulder to see the outline of the boy called Nest hunched over holding his stomach. I took my chance and scrambled up, the adrenaline dampening the pain screaming for me to stop.

Nest reacted immediately. He lunged and seized my arm in a dead lock, forcefully twisting it around until I had no choice but to face him. He snarled, baring his teeth at me as he forced me down to my knees. He knew the exact pressure to place on my arm. Not enough to snap my collarbone but enough that the pain overwhelmed everything to the point stars burst into my eyeline. This time I screamed, unable to contain that much pain within.

"I'll make sure I wave at ya when I win."

Nest knew what he was doing. The torture was to hold me up. The longer he held me here, the less chance I had of catching him. Satisfied with his plan, Nest threw me aside and dashed to the machine.

He only got five paces.

A monster, hidden from both of us, jumped out it's creeping glowing legs sliding along through the mud. The thing sensed Nest immediately and pounded at him. It jerked one if its blades out from the side of it's limb and struck deep into his chest. Nest released a blood curdling shriek as the creature descended upon him. Tearing away at skin and bone as fast as it appeared. And the people on the machine. They did nothing but watch, keeping the other groups behind them.

Nest screams snapped me from my pain ridden paralysis. The machine still rose slowly. I had to go. I couldn't waste any more time. The seconds were ticking away.

I found my footing and scrambled to my feet. The rush of standing up throwing my balance. I pushed it aside.

Get to the machine.

Each step was agony.

Get to the machine.

My chest on fire. I couldn't breathe.

GO!

I raced past the monster and the remains of Nest.

Past the corpse of a monster killed by someone in the other groups.

So close.

And a petite figure, covered in just as much mud as I was, appeared from the other side of the corpse.

Icy blonde hair and sharp features.

Georgie.

Georgie held a dagger. She was just as surprised to see me as I was. The expression didn't last. From the look on her face, Georgie was going to finish the job she started.

Her eyes narrowed. The grip on her dagger tightened. She charged. The dagger aimed straight for me.

I no longer was afraid.

I was fearless.

There was nothing more for me to lose.

I became complete.

I dodged Georgie's attempted first strike and caught her arm on the downward swing. Gripping tightly that she couldn't move from her position without breaking her arm. She jerked her locked arm, and tried to attack me with her free hand. I lurched back out of reach of her hand and thrusted my foot as hard as I could down onto her knee until I heard a crunch.

Georgie shrieked.

The dagger dropped from her hand as she collapsed to the ground. She cradled her broken kneecap, moaning.

"You bitch, you bitch, you're nothing but a bitch," she spat. Her eyes filled with tears, spit dribbled from the sides of her mouth.

"Not so tough now," I mocked, a smile curling at my lips. I picked up the dagger that she dropped and twirled it in my hand. "You're just all talk."

Georgie snarled. She shifted herself onto her good knee and swung her fist out, aiming for my stomach. I jerked out of the way. I cried out at the sharp pain, the epinephrin not enough to dull it.

Stay standing.

I forced myself upright. It taking more effort than normal. She would not beat me this way…

The anger replaced the courage. This girl was trying to take everything away from her. The girl was going to take away her only chance of being with him again. Rip away her chance to re-gain the last bits of happiness that she had.

She would not allow this.

She deserved that spot.

That girl did not.

The girl's face shifted. Her scowl twisting into fear. The girl cowered back. She glanced around frantically to find something to help her against her. But the girl had given it straight to her, and lost the only weapon that would determine the final spot.

Georgie's time was up.

"Clarke, you don't have to do this," Georgie pleaded. She raised her hands up. "Please. We can think of something."

A noise, almost like a distorted laugh, came from deep within her.

The tip of the dagger scrapping across the mud as she stepped forward. Georgie's eyes darted from the weapon to hers. She closed her mouth and swallowed hard. "Clarke … please, have mercy."

"Where was mercy when you murdered Jamie?" she spat, her voice unrecognisable. She lifted the dagger and plunged it into the chest of the girl. Georgie's face frozen in stun, her mouth fixed in an 'o' as she comprehended. Blood spurted from the wound. Reality unfroze her and a deafening screech erupted from her. She pulled the dagger out of the girl's chest. The silver-stained red. Georgie slunk back, clutching her chest with her hand. She raised her other and muttered "mercy".

Her eyes were wild. "Where was mercy when you murdered Lottie?" She plunged the dagger again. The girl's wails dampening to a moan.

She leaned in closer to the girl. Blood poured from her mouth as she slowly succumbed to her wounds. Georgie swayed as she knelt, her body weakening as she continued to lose more and more blood. She did not care what Georgie felt. That girl had murdered her friends out of her own spite.

She stretched out her hand and stroked the side of the girl's face. Georgie weakly lifted her head. Their eyes meeting. She lowered her voice to just a whisper. "Where was mercy when you tried to kill me?"

She pushed the girl, letting the weight of her body crash to the floor. Blood continued to flow from her wounds. Her chest faintly rising and falling. A horrified expression etched on Georgie's dying face.

She felt satisfied.

Another figure emerged covered in what she believed to be mud. Poe. His shirt torn, clumps of hair missing from the side of his head. He stopped, caught her eye, studied her then glanced to the ship. He stretched out his arm, his gaze fixated on their leaving escape. She didn't need to be told what to do, she took a hold of his hand and they sprinted to the ramp. Poe half dragging her so she wouldn't be left behind.

Her shoes thrashed against the mud. A crack of thunder followed by a flash of lightening igniting the sky.

Breathing became restricted.

She choked. Bile forcing it way up.

The outline of the ship blurred. Flashes of it appearing closer each time.

The machine almost too high for her to reach up.

Maggie and Maya, already aboard the vessel, bent their bodies over the edge and strained their arms as far as it would allow them ready to help us onto the platform. Poe released her hand, and without warning, grabbed her waist and thrusted her up and into Maya's arms.

The pain.

The adrenaline struggled against the tidal wave of pain.

She couldn't breathe…

I couldn't breathe. The air not fully filling my lungs. The pain. The choking. Drowning.

I'm gonna die I'm gonna die help me help me.

Spots danced across my eyes. The figures at the top of the ramp a blur of shapes. Their voices distant.

The ship rose and Poe was not aboard. Maya shoved me to one side and bent back over to help Maggie pull him aboard. He jumped, pushing his hands down on the flat metal, arms stiff, stomach pressed hard against the thick edge. He swung his leg up and rolled his body fully onto the ramp. Maggie and Maya clearing him from falling back down.

"…breathe," I choked. I lifted my hand and tapped Maya's arm. She glanced down to me, her eyes widening. "Ma … can't … breath."

Maggie pushed Maya aside and took my hand. "Clarke, stay awake. We going to get you help."

My eyes fluttered as my body started to shut down. I tried to fight against the pull of the sleep. I forced myself to stay awake. To cling to the thread that kept me tethered here.

"Stay awake, Clarke. Keep them eyes open."

They dragged me across the ramp, too afraid to touch me in case they damaged me further. My eyes stayed shut. I didn't have the energy to keep them open.

"Let me pass," Newt's voice rung in my ear.

My eyes fluttered open at the sound of his voice. I titled my head to try and see him. I was met with the bright light that lit the belly of the ship. With all the strength I had left in me, I willed my arm up and stretched in the direction I heard his voice, hoping that he would take it.

"Newt." His name a choked murmur on my lips.

Hands lift my head up more hands placing something over my mouth. Coldness trickled in through my nose and mouth. Straight down my throat, cooling the fire.

Then, I allowed the darkness to overwhelm me.