70. chaos

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With every passing minute, I felt myself growing increasingly on edge. 

What if something had gone wrong? What if Clarke had been discovered? What if she didn't have a chance to get away?

The sun had slowly begun to set, casting a shadow over the machine shop as I went over Ryker's notes over and over again. 

Running the process through my head, I decided if Clarke didn't arrive with Priya in the next ten minutes, I was going to have to figure it out on my own. 

Moments later, the doors to the shop flew open, just as I ducked behind one of the pillars, my breathing rapid as I awaited any indicator of who was out there. 

"Avery?"

I felt myself relax at the sound of Clarke's voice. Stepping out from behind the pillar, my eyes fell across the group of people. Miller, Gaia, Echo, an unconscious Priya and-

"Greer." I breathed, my face lighting up at the sight of the little girl. 

Her eyes widened as she rushed toward me, her small arms wrapping around me as I picked her up in an embrace. "Are you okay?" I whispered, running a hand over her curls. "Did anyone hurt you?"

She shook her head, pulling back slightly to meet my worried gaze. "I played with B.A. like you and Bellamy told me to do. She gave me cake and cookies."

I let out a small laugh as I nodded, my eyes softening slightly. "You're never going to sleep again with all that sugar."

Greer let out a small giggle as she dropped her head onto my chest, relaxing in my grasp as I turned to the rest of the group. "So I'm going to assume she didn't come willingly." I muttered, nodding toward Priya. 

Echo let out a small sigh as she shot me a grin. "Not exactly."

Nodding, I turned and picked up Ryker's notes with one hand, the other still supporting Greer who refused to let go of me. "I've got most of the process figured out. I just need Priya to take down the reactor and I can do the rest."

As if on cue, a loud alarm began blaring across the compound, causing all of us to turn toward the door. Greer tightened her grip on me as I looked to Clarke. "What's going on?" 

She shook her head, crouching down next to Priya. "It's too soon. We need to get that shield down, now. We need to wake her up."

"Here," I whispered, looking to Miller as I readjusted my grip on Greer. "Can you take her for a second?"

He nodded, reaching out as I pried Greer away from myself. She let out a small cry of protest as I passed her off. "It's just for a minute, G." I assured. "I just need to do a job, okay?"

She nodded, a smile fighting to cover her face as Miller whispered some joke in her ear. 

Turning away from the two of them, I watched as Clarke gently slapped at Priya's cheek. "Priya." she muttered, trying to shake her awake. "Priya."

The Prime's eyes opened with a start, and she looked around at the group of us with a look of pure terror. 

"Rise and shine." I muttered, raising my brows as she tried to scramble away from us. 

Clarke grabbed a hold of her arm, yanking her upward. "Get up."

Priya stood, wincing under Clarke's grip. "You're not Josie, are you?" she whispered.

 "What gave it away?" I muttered. 

"Here's the deal," Clarke began, releasing her grip on Priya as she dug for something in her pocket. "You help Avery take down the shield... or say goodbye to Ryker."

𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍─𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞²Where stories live. Discover now