Lightning Only Strikes Once - Clexa

Chapter 113: The Second Army

"I found them! They are here! Las Heda en Wanheda! They are here!"

Clarke sleeps.

"She's breathing... she's still breathing! Clarke? Clarke!"

Clarke sleeps.

"We need to get them down as close to sea level as possible. The air's too thin up here to be helping. Hurry! Now, all of you!

Clarke sleeps.

"Come on, honey! Wells, pass me that mask -"

Clarke... stirs.

The world is bright and unpleasant, and she's tempted to stay asleep, but people seem to be yelling at her and she should probably deal with that. There's something on her face but she doesn't remove it, just reaches up to touch it, and realises it's some kind of breathing mask.

Oxygen. They're giving her oxygen. To counteract way too much carbon dioxide. Makes sense.

She feels nauseous and dizzy, but she blinks a few times and her vision swims into focus. Wells. Her mother. Both leaning over her, faces worried. Behind them armed gona stand, eyeing her with barely-concealed nervousness.

Her body reacts before her mind does and she's suddenly surging upright, ignoring the stab of pain to her ankle, yanking the mask off, reaching for her sword, but her weapon's not there and Wells and her mother try and stop her, pressing her down inexorably.

"Honey! Stop!" Abby says. "It's alright! You're alright!"

She subsides for the moment, sinking back onto the comfortable mattress she seems to be on. She's in a tent, she realises. And still in Azgeda territory, judging by the coldness of the air and the scarred faces of the warriors. "How many of them?" she manages to choke out.

"It's okay, Clarke," Wells says earnestly. "They're with us." He turns to the gona. "Out, please. I'll call if we need you." The gona exchange glances then disappear out the tent flat.

"With us?" Clarke says, still struggling to breathe. "Where's Lexa? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Abby says firmly. "I promise, honey."

Clarke ignores her, though, looking to Wells instead for the truth. "Where's Lexa?"

"Just outside," Wells tells her. "She woke up before you. The gona all thought she was dead when they saw her, she was covered in so much blood, but apparently they didn't get even halfway down the mountain before she sat up, got off the stretcher and walked the rest of the way herself." He smiles crookedly. "Holding your hand, too, for that matter. We really need to stop underestimating her."

"And she really needs to start following medical advice," Abby mutters.

"She got stabbed," Clarke remembers suddenly, horrified. There's no way Lexa could have walked down a mountain after that. Everything Clarke did to try and help was nothing but a stopgap, a desperate way to run out the clock, and Lexa should be dead. "How is she – did you -"

"She let one of the healers bandage her up quickly while I was giving you some oxygen, and Wells donated some blood for her after she told us that red blood wouldn't react badly with hers," Abby says. "It's a patch job, at best, and she really should be lying down, but she's not in imminent danger of bleeding to death provided she actually says something if she reopens that wound. I can check her later after you're feeling better. She's fine for now." Clarke suspects her mother would be far more worried about Lexa's injury if she didn't have Clarke here, also injured.

"Then why isn't she here?" Clarke says, and it comes out more plaintive than anything else.

Wells coughs. "Her waking up like that basically made my entire army panic. They thought she returned from the dead to kill them for their betrayal of her. She's – well, she's keeping them from rioting and running for the hills."