Who We Are [Bellamy Blake]

Chapter 19

                A damp cloth brushed over her blood stained skin, voices echoed in the back of her mind. A pain in her left ear left the voices fuzzy and distant. Water trickled down the sides of her face, being absorbed by her brown hair. A splash of the cloth hitting Luke warm water brought Athena’s eyes to a stir, the optic nerves firing. She forced her eyelids open, though they felt as though they had been glued together with a combination of blood, sweat and sleep. When her eyes fell upon the grey above her, it took her a moment to realize where she was.

                The makeshift infirmary at Anya’s camp.

                It was simply a building that had survived the cataclysm so many years ago; weed infested and moss strewn, it looked unpleasant, but it was all that they had for the time being. Athena herself was lying on her back on a few skins strewn on top of a concrete slab. She tried to prop herself up on her elbows, but a pain in her side caused her to cry out.

                “Stay still.” Aslan’s soothing voice didn’t surprise her.

                “Body count?” Athena got right to business as she laid back down, allowing Aslan to continue cleaning her up. She discovered that she was mostly exposed, a fabric wrapping around her breasts and another around where her wound was on her ribs. She placed her hands at her sides, as placing them anywhere else seemed to cause more pain throughout her body. Her face ached with every touch, every facial movement, and she feared for what she looked like.

                “Eight, two of our own, six injured including you.” Aslan relayed.

                “Gendry and Colden?”

                “No.” Aslan sighed.

                Athena winced, trying to push herself up again. This time Aslan did not try to stop her, he knew it was folly to try and tell Athena to do anything other than what she had set her mind on. She swung her legs over the edge of the concrete slab and rested until the light-headedness was at bay. Her legs were fine, much to her delight, and she was able to walk just fine. However, she walked with a limp as to avoid movement on her side.

                A faint echo of voices caught her attention.

                “Who else is here?” Athena asked, not being able to walk fast enough to investigate the situation.

                “Anya sent two soldiers to bring back the Sky People’s leader.” Aslan explained.

                “Which…?”

                “Clarke. And another boy, Finn, I believe.”

                “Why?” Athena growled. They didn’t need hostages.

                “Tris was injured, Clarke has medical experience.”

                “Why does she need the boy?”

                “To get Clarke to do what she says.” Aslan explained. “Athena, you and I must talk.”

                “There is no time for talking, Anya is taking this too far.”

                “Athena, stop!” Aslan rose, “This is war, and you have a bias for the opposing team. Why?”

                “Until now, they have done nothing to us!” She shouted back, her ribs shuddering in pain.

                “And you are still siding with them! I’ve known you your whole life, you would rather have children die in your training than risk making them a mistake in the real battlefield that could get others killed. You care about them, why?!”

                Athena was shaking, but she wouldn’t back down from this. “You wouldn’t understand, Aslan.”

                Aslan gritted his teeth, rising from his sitting position and towering over Athena. She did not fear him, no, he would never hurt her. But she feared for what she had done to sever their already complicated situation. What was he going to say to her?

                “You think I do not understand love?”

                “Love…?” Athena seldom used the word. “What does this have to do with love?”

                “You care for someone the way I care, and have always cared about you. Athena, I can see it in the way you look at me, you do not love me.”

                Her cheeks went red and she looked down, turning slightly so that Aslan could not see her so weak. Her hands balled into fists as she tried to contain her trembling. It was of no use, it was obvious her state of being from a distance. Aslan didn’t make any move to comfort her. She turned away from him after a few moments of silence, and began to walk away.

                “Walk away.” Aslan yelled, “I just hope I don’t see you on the opposing side tomorrow.”

                She looked back at her mate, eyes wide for a moment.

                Then he added, “Whoever he is, he’s probably dead already.”

                “What are you talking about?” Athena asked, daggers in her words.

                “Anya sent in one of their own that she had taken a while back.”

                “Infection.” Athena knew the tactic.

                Now she had to go to the camp, to see if Bellamy was even still alive. There was no cure for the illness, only the strongest could survive, and those who prevailed would never again be harmed by the illness. She had hope that Bellamy had survived as he was a strong person, but that didn’t always mean much. Not everyone had the antibodies to fight off the horrid infection. People exposed themselves to it at young ages, small increments, to create an immunity. But only the people from the ground, not the people from the sky.

                Chances are a good bulk of them died over the last day, but those who were left were safe. However tactical it was to send in an illness to weaken the enemy, the supposed enemy had excellent skills of their own and their tactic had been to severe the physical connection between the two armies. Both had succeeded in some degree to shrink the opposing teams defence, but while both groups were recovering from these tactics, nothing had really changed.

                Athena arrived at the Sky People’s camp and knew that if Bellamy and Octavia were not there, the people within would try to rip her limb from limb. Due to her current wounded state, she could not carry many weapons; her Morningstar and spear were left behind at the camp. All she had were daggers and a long blade. She hoped that she wouldn’t have to use them, and so she put most of them away in the hollow of a mossy tree. Then, she walked towards the camp, hands raised above her head, hoping for a miracle.

Alright, I need a questioned answered! In the next few chapters I will be writing for the scene with Murphy and Bellamy, the whole hanging thing. For those of you who read Wounds, you know that I had my OC play a big part in that scene. So the question today is do you want Athena to be involved in this scene or not? I'm not entirely sure where to go with it, so I'd like at least five people to answer!