Who We Are [Bellamy Blake]

Chapter 56

Over the century that had gone by when Mount Weather was ruling the Earth, they had struck terror in the hearts of men and women alike. They always reigned behind their thick walls, behind their guns and their weapons. Of course, their attempt to wipe out those around them, to clear the threat, their prolonged power trip only encouraged those who dwelled outside of the mountain to fight back. They made them stronger, they made them the warriors they are. And today, those warriors are knocking at the door, ready to take back what is rightfully theirs.

It no longer seemed frightening and ominous. With the weapons to shut down the Reapers in the hands of those making their way through the mines, none or very few Reapers would be coming out to rip their throats out. With their army, they did not fear them. Reapers picked on the weak, the lonesome. When they saw this army, they would go crawling back into their caves to wither in fear. Athena and Lexa were at the vanguard, some place that was oddly familiar for her. With her spear in hand, she wondered if she should have swapped to a long range weapon. Bow and arrows were not her skill, as the wind on the mountain made them almost useless half of the time.

When the loud war horn blasted, the war began. Bullets darted past Athena's own head, and struck someone behind her. She ducked skillfully behind a thick boulder, wishing she had a shield but knowing that it would drastically slow her down. Aslan's bulky frame was behind her, and he would peer over the rock when the firing ceased. When the bullets stopped and it was almost silent, the air reeking of gun powder, a hailstorm of arrows shot back at the Mount Weather fighters.

A few screams followed by a body tumbling down the front of the mountain followed, and then the gun shots began again. It was useless, this type of battle. Only archers were worth much, as the other side would not let their precious few fighters get within fifty meters of the army. They would have their limbs ripped from their bodies in seconds, no matter how many weapons they had. Face to face, Mount Weather could not win against Lexa's army.

Hearing some rustling to her left, Athena looked at Aslan, then nodded towards the noise. If someone was coming upon them, they were not doing so with stealth. It made sense that they might aim for Lexa, kill the leader and hope that they would crumble into unordered chaos. However, no one really needed a leader anymore, the clans knew how to survive, they took matters into their own hands, and if Lexa died, they would carry on. But Athena was Lexa's second, and she was not planning on letting her die on her watch.

"Athena, stop!" Lexa said, "I'm circling around, I'm going to try and negotiate."

Athena didn't like the sound of walking up to them, unarmed, and asking for a truce. They wouldn't give up their only ticket to fresh air. Not with words. But still, Athena heard Lexa out.

"None of our weapons can do anything until that door is open, and once that door is open, everyone inside of Mount Weather is dead. Clarke wanted minimal casualties; there are children in there who have no part of this war." Lexa's words sounded more like Clarke's than her own. "If I can get out people out, we can leave. No more blood shed."

"Blood must have blood." Athena growled, "They deserve to bleed for what they have done to us for a century."

"I'm going." Lexa said, "I'm getting our people."

"What about their people?" Athena realized.

"Clarke should have thought about it before she brought this to war." Lexa said, "I am willing to make the sacrifices that she is not."

A shot hit a tree just above Athena ad Lexa, the bark and dust scattering over their heads like snow from the clouds. "No. As your second, I think your actions are cowardly."

"Cowards tend to live a lot longer than the brave."

Athena knew that was a blow to her; someone who would never back down from anything. She was brave to the deepest parts of her body, but she knew where to apply it now. Bellamy had helped her learn that; she thought bravery meant taking orders and slaughtering people. She knew now because of Bellamy that bravery sometimes meant making choices that took a shot at your confidence. Bravery meant walking away if it would keep more people alive, but being ready to fight when you absolutely had to. Athena could see why Lexa was doing what she was doing, but she couldn't stand by and let it happen. Not when Bellamy was still in there. If the internal army that they were relying on was gone, there was absolutely no way that Bellamy would get out of there alive. If he wasn't already dead, he would be soon.

Athena darted up the side of the mountain pass to catch up to Lexa. The soft soil crumbled from beneath her boots, but she was used to snow, and held her stance steady as she put her spear on her back, grabbing her Morningstar. She was getting closer to the fighters with guns, and a Morningstar was the right weapon. It struck fear into the hearts of men and women, and startled them. An ancient weapon that was hardly considered anymore, and the long chain quite often was more dangerous to the wielder of the weapon; many had killed themselves by miscalculating just how long that chain was.

She lost sight of Lexa, and the gun fire had ceased. The plan was already in motion; Athena needed to take a hostage and make the others reconsider. She never thought that she would want the other side to keep fighting; but they needed more time in the mines to get people out, and to open the main door. She saw a man, not wearing a hazmat suit. They were using the marrow, and had used it on many people already. How many kids were even left to save? Perhaps they were all dead and they were simply wasting their time.

No. She couldn't think like that.

As she crept behind the man, she grabbed either end of the wooden handle of her Morningstar and wrapped it around his neck. He instantly darted his hands up to get the weapon off of him, but Athena was stronger than him. She was a weathered warrior, and he was just a warrior from Mount Weather. She whispered in his ear, spittle gathering at her lips like angry froth. "Make one move, and I'll kill you ten times over."

Fuck yeah. I managed to post, didn't think I would until late afternoon to be honest. I'm exhausted and I work both jobs today, but I was up until 1 AM drawing poster board sized Pokemon, and it looks fucking awesome. Anyways, I'll be writing this afternoon and tomorrow for a good solid few hours, and I'm hoping to actually finish the writing by tomorrow. Four more chapters, plus the epilogue :)