only choice

four

    The night came and it was different than what Bellamy remembered. It was a new Earth. A new sky. It felt like the sun never went down so there was no need for a fire. Of course, Clarke built one anyway for the light. Around it, Murphy held Emori. Monty held Harper. Raven and Clarke planned, hopelessly. Echo seemed vacant, flames reflecting in her eyeballs. Bellamy knew this look all too well. This silent stewing face that Echo had when her fear crept in. And after the fear came-
        "Bellamy, can I talk to you?" Clarke stood, patting her hands on her jeans.
        "Why?" His jerk reaction left puzzled looks on everyone's faces.
        "In private," Clake insists, linking their arms and strolling deeper into the trees.
         Bellamy's palms are sweating and his heart his thudding. He knows he shouldn't leave the others. Who knows what he might do?
         "Bellamy," Clarke sighs, "I just wanted to say that-,"
         Before the sentence ends, Clarke's open mouth is full. Bellamy is kissing her again, or she's kissing him again. For a moment, she can't tell. And then she realises, its Bellamy. He is pushing hard against her, backing her into the trunk of a tree. She wraps her legs around his torso, relieved.
         "6 years is a long dry spell, huh?" he jokes, pulling out of the kiss. She can't help but smile, leaning her head back and inviting him to bite her neck. He does, chuckling in between nibbles.
          "Bellamy?" Echo calls. He immediately snaps back to reality, dropping Clarke's legs and backing up. His head is pounding, leaving sunspots in his visions. He tastes dirt. Clarke screams.
           "Bellamy," she shouts. Leaning over him, she sees drool falling out of his limp mouth, his body is convulsing wildly. She is frozen in shock as Raven arrives to assess the situation.
            "Clarke, he's having a seizure. I need Monty," Raven shouts, rolling Bellamy onto his back.
             "I-I don't understand-," Clarke fumbles, "He was okay."
             "Clarke, go!" Raven screams. And with that, Clarke's feet rip out from under her. It seems her legs are moving faster than the rest of her body, twigs scratch her and trip her as she rushes back to the fire, to Monty, to Echo.
              "Monty," Clarke gasps, "She-Raven-Bellamy is shaking and he- he needs you!"
              Monty zips into the dense wood, panic across his face. Clarke has no idea how to feel. Bellamy doesn't have seizures. Echo is standing on her feet, prepared to follow Monty, or so Clarke thinks.

         Echo leaps forward, wrapping both hands around Clarke's neck. Clarke tries to suck in air, but fails. Her pleading eyes connect with Harper's. Harper braces herself to intervene.
              "Bitch!" Echo spits, "I thought I was clear."
             Echo's hands tighten and Harper shouts into the woods, "Guys, we have a problem!"
             "I wouldn't bother them, Harper," Echo's voice lowers to a whisper, so only Clarke can hear, "6 years without you, Wanheda. I almost forgot how easy it is for you to destroy."
             Echo throws Clarke aside like a doll, and Clarke gasps for air, clawing at the earth. Her throat still feels closed and her heart is quivering. She crawls toward Echo's feet, trying to grab an ankle from under her. Delirious, she can't react fast enough as Echo's foot comes down on her hand, crushing each bone loudly. Clarke lets out a cry of pain and Harper rushes down to her, shielding her from Echo's wrath.
             "Enough! Bellamy needs you, Echo," Harper warns, eyes darting from the trees and back.
            "Funny, whenever he falls under his spells, he calls out for Clarke," Echo growls, daring Harper to move.
             "Just go," Harper shouts, pushing Clarke behind her like a shield. Echo thinks for a moment, she seems to be weighing the situation. And finally, her eyes break from Harper's. For a moment, Clarke thinks she sees something - pain. But it flickers there for only a moment before Echo storms off into the trees.