Who We Are [Bellamy Blake]

Chapter 18

Athena could feel the thunder rumble coming from the hundreds of feet, both human and horses, and it lit something in her that she was familiar with. For a moment, she forgot who she was fighting and the thrill of war consumed her. Even for a brief moment there was a smile on her lips. But as the branches on the trees whipped against her cheeks, leaving red, tingling marks, it woke her up and reminded her of what this was; needless slaughter.

Though she had instructed her team to take hostages where they could, though she had not specifically said whom she wanted kept alive. She lowered her gaze though continued her stride through the forest. The bridge was getting closer, a dull fog covered the sturdy connection between the two sides of the river, Athena wanted to turn around and stop, something in her gut told her this was wrong. And yet, she continued to plow through the forest like she owned the place. With Aslan at her side, and the others just meters behind her, she felt so powerful and yet so weak.

There was gun fire, and a few of them slowed; the Sky People were waiting for them where they would be most vulnerable. It was smart of them, but spears and arrows could go far, and do more damage than a bullet when struck properly. The bullet in Athena’s thigh had hardly slowed her down, and she had suffered worse in the past.

The army slowed as they reached the narrow opening of the bridge, only a few warriors at a time could make it through. If the Sky People had good sentries, they would be picked off one by one as they tried to filter in; the bodies would pile up. Athena hoped Kira, who was already climbing into a tree, would spot them and take them out with her bow and arrow. The bridge had debris from years and years ago, but something different was there; a small cylindrical object caught her attention. Another shot fired and a few of the group backed up, Athena looked around for the people who were firing.

They inched closer again; were they shooting at the ground to scare them or because they were bad shooters? Athena couldn’t tell, but she had a feeling that they weren’t trying to shoot at the army individually, but as a whole. Her eyes trailed to the cylinder on the ground again and realized that was what they were shooting at. It appeared that Gendry noticed it as well, so he darted between other warriors and debris, advancing towards the object. 

“Gendry!” Leia, his mate, shouted after him.

Colden raced after Gendry, either to help him or stop him, Athena did not know. The warriors behind Athena began to stir, picking up their pace as they began to charge, following Gendry and Colden’s lead without realizing what they were doing. No one behind Athena could see the cylinder, and so they probably suspected the sentries had been taken out, and it was safe to proceed. 

It all happened in seconds.

Athena stepped forward to avoid being knocked down by the coming army, but before she could even side step, an explosion like she’d never heard before shook the whole earth below her feet. She was soaring through the air beside concrete blocks, metal beams and various body parts. She felt as though she were floating, watching everything as it fluttered down beside her, like slow motion. When she landed flat on her back, water or blood trickling underneath her, concrete blocks digging into her flesh, she saw the huge cloud above her. Dangerously it swirled higher and higher in the air, darkening the sky. 

Athena groaned as she attempted to move, seeing that she was lying on the edge of the river bank, a chunk of the bridge on her ribs, holding her down. She could hear screaming, and she recognized the voices to be from Cleopatra and Leia. Athena was able to piece it together; the body parts she saw flying through the air beside her, staining her skin with blood, were those from Colden and Gendry. The two warriors who were closest to the bomb had not survived. Athena had been much further away and still hurt, though she didn’t know how much damage had been done.

Using her strength, she tucked her hands underneath the concrete slab on her ribs and pushed, but she was going against gravity and had very little leverage. She lifted it about an inch, then scooted over slightly. The slab fell back on her and she groaned in pain, trying again, this time successfully freeing herself. When the pain of the weight was gone, Athena felt the pain elsewhere in her body, suddenly revealing itself now that the worst of the pain was gone. 

She tasted blood in her mouth, her jaw and cheek sent jolts of pain throughout her. Her hands were covered in shrapnel and she had to brush the rocks and shards out of her hand before she could push herself to her knees. Her clothes were soaked with water and with blood, her ears were ringing and she realized all she could hear was the faint screams. With mud caked on her hands now, she forced herself to her feet, looking over her body. She glanced down and saw the dark red expanding through her shirt, so she peeled it off. Below was a gaping wound, already bruised around the edges, blood flowing. She ripped her shirt and applied pressure to the wound, but it soaked through almost instantly. 

There were a few bodies and body parts littered over the riverbank, and Athena made herself look at them. She could not tell which parts were Gendry, or which were Colden. They had not remained intact, though some of the other dead bodies were whole. She crouched down beside one, pulling the mask from his face. Blood pooled by his lips, and she knew he was dead. She moved, body to body, trying to see if there were any people left alive. 

As her hearing came back to her, she looked up and say Anya crouched beside the petite body of a girl; Tris. Tris was Anya’s young second, a girl Athena had not had the privilege to train or meet, but she had heard that she was brave. Athena looked away; the death of children didn’t phase her, and yet today she felt as though the world as they knew it was coming to a terrible end. Children fighting children, children killing children. Athena leaned against the base of the bridge, which remained mostly intact. She dropped to her knees, gasping as the pain overwhelmed her.

“Athena!” Aslan’s strong voice comforted Athena, though less than she would have hoped. “Athena, you’re bleeding.”

“He told me.” She muttered, not being able to censor her words. “He told me not to fight, I-I should have understood.”

“Who?” Aslan asked, talking to her to keep her awake as he tucked his arms under her legs and around her back. He lifted her up and she felt a tremendous weight lifted off of her. “Keep the wound under pressure.”

Athena held the blood soaked shirt tight against her wound. “Bell-“ She groaned, “Bellamy.”

That was the last thing she spoke before passing out from blood loss.

Eeee, today is Tattuesday and  I'm going in to work on my Octopus piece! So, if I am slow at responding to comments and such it is because I'm going to have a needle repeatedly stabbed into my sternum and ribcage.