Who We Are [Bellamy Blake]

Chapter 26

                Once again the darkness became Athena’s best ally. Wearing dark clothes, she would blend in with the dark tress of the forest, and possibly with the army as well. If she was smart about her decisions, killing only when she would not be seen by face, no one would suspect she was against them. She considered grabbing the first mask she got her hands on, but if the Sky People couldn’t recognize her by her face, it wouldn’t take long before they shot her down as well. Though they were to stay in their designated foxholes, she couldn’t take those risks.

                Sneaking back about five hundred meters beyond the firing line, she crouched down beside a creek bed that was running dry and dipped two fingers into the dark mud. She ran the thick mud down her forehead, covering her right eye and dragging halfway down her cheek. Rising again as a warrior, she gripped her spear in her hand, her knuckles white as she glanced around; they would be coming soon. She could feel the rumble of footsteps underneath her feet, she could smell the terror in the air coming from the camp.

                Taking a deep breath, she tucked herself behind the enemy lines and awaiting the army. Their thundering had stopped, and she knew the game that they were playing. Startle the other team, make them waste ammo, distract them, and then go in for the kill. She had no way of contacting them, and as she heard the gunfire she knew that she was correct about the game plan.

                Looping around, she began to spot the others, the warriors, she took a deep breath; was she really ready to do this? Screams, gunfire, shouting, and death filled the air within minutes. She had no more time to sit back and watch, to take in what was happening; now was the time she had to go in and kill people she once fought beside. They were blinded by territorial rage, and they wouldn’t stop until every last Sky Person was dead.

                She darted out through the trees, moving as silently as night itself, and attacked one of the warriors at the edge. He went down when her spear impaled him, and she winced in pain as she pulled the spear back out, the sudden force of it yanking from his flesh and bones tearing her wound open further. As she continued picking off people here and there, she began to wonder when she would be caught; the others would notice that the person who was next to them a second ago was dead on the ground. They would begin to look for her; but Athena was ready for that. Not in terms that she would survive and onslaught from the vengeful Wood Clan, but in terms that many would look at her, and not at the Sky People. They needed as much help as they could get.

                A sudden blast that was not coming from the guns, not even from the Sky People camp, distracted Athena for a moment. As she glanced around, trying to see where the blast was coming from, a thunderous noise filling the air, she realized that everyone around her was looking up. Her eyes moved towards the sky as they had a million times before, only this time she saw a light so bright in the sky that she almost had to shield her eyes. As her pupils adjusted to the brightness, she realized what it was; another group of people were being sent down from the Ark, where the Sky People came from. Bellamy had told her that they had lost contact with their people still on the Ark, but perhaps that was the push they needed to come down and help the kids that they had sent down to die.

                The word ‘reinforcements’ was being tossed around by the people around her, but it was only when she heard ‘traitor’ did her mind register the trouble and danger that she was in. She spun and looked at the four warriors coming towards her; all of them were wearing masks, and so she knew that they were not her people. She had no qualms killing Anya’s people; it was her own people she needed to get to leave, to go back to the mountain. At the moment, she couldn’t take on three warriors who knew she was there, not at the same time. She needed to take them on one at a time if she wanted to get through, but that was not an option anymore.

                “Athena.” One of them hissed, but she didn’t recognize his voice.

                She said nothing with her mouth, and shifted her body to tell them that she was going to fight them to the death if she had to. They raised their weapons, and two of them took advantage of her vulnerability, coming at her swiftly with their long blades. Athena blocked the first one with the shaft of her spear, and then shouldered the other one in the gut, knocking him to his feet. She slid the end of her spear into the one who was still standing, and turned to the one who called her a traitor. As the other one was shuffling to his feet, Athena brought the spear back and hit his jaw with the thick butt of the spear; a groan of pain came from him, but she knew he was still a threat. The mask protected the face well, and she had not even broken his jaw with her weakened blow.

                She danced the dance of death with the one who spoke, jabbing her spear lightly to block his blade. He slashed at her from the side and caught her upper right bicep, making her grip on her spear weaker, but not weak enough that she wouldn’t make it out of this fight without taking at least one more of them down. She stepped back so that both of the warriors were in front of her, glancing over her shoulder to ensure that there was no one behind her. However, what she saw distracted her, made her freeze.

               

                A cold chill ran up her spine as she heard the hollers associated with the Reapers, her eyes catching glimmers of their metal, her nose smelling the awful stench of the creatures who were once men. As the fight turned from her against the two warriors to all of them against the Reapers, she misjudged her safety of the situation, and felt the length of a blade scrape her side where she was already wounded. A cry of pain slipped from her lips and she fell to the ground in pain. Boots moved around her as the fight began; Reapers versus Grounders.

                It was a bloody battle; both sides inflicting and earning casualties. Athena brought herself to her knees just as a Reaper was headed in her direction, and she lifted her spear to block the blade that was coming down upon her. With little strength, she held it there, but he was weighing her down, winning by default. She used her strongest arm, which was now her left, to hold the spear, and reached down to grab her own long blade. She sliced the Reaper’s knee and he fell, shouting in pain. She ended his pain when she stabbed the blade through his neck, rising up from her knelt down position covered in his blood. A scream left her lips as she joined the fight, this time worrying about being taken by the Reapers; that was a far worse death than a knife through her heart or a bullet through her skull.

                As the Reapers were withering to less than a dozen, she knew that she needed to get out of that gully before they were all gone; three warriors had noticed her easily, and though she was covered in blood now, her face mostly unrecognizable, she didn’t want to take that risk. As she took on another Reaper, this time her adrenaline keeping her going, she knew the seconds were ticking; not only for her, but for the Sky People. Every moment counted, every Reaper left alive to fight the Grounders was giving them time to save themselves, however they intended to do that.

                The Reaper got in close, his eyes wide and making him look crazy. He hit her in the jaw, then used his strength in his leg to bring her down. Her face hit the mud and she forced her hands to push her up. She only made it to her knees before he kicked her again, and this time she knew she wouldn’t be able to rise. Gritting her teeth and spitting out blood, she tried once more; if she gave up, she would die in vain. If she fought until she was no more, she would die a good death. A worthy death. She heard the blade removed from her own sheath; she was going to be killed with her own weapon.

Longer chapter than usual :) I hope I was able to convey the action well enough that everyone could follow it. I've read books where I'm all "Okay, what just happened?" and I don't want to write like that! Let me know how I did, and I'm going to ask for another three comments!

Also, I would like to thank QueenOfPurgatory for making me this image, thanks so much!

http://s376.photobucket.com/user/yagmurcaymaz/media/A44F8D37-17FE-4C58-98BD-AA10CEB511F8_zpsebucqhgn.jpg.html