Haunted || Octavia Blake || 1 ||

38: F r i e n d s w i t h B e n e f i t s

XX

[PREVIOUSLY: Bellamy and Octavia inform Chancellor Jaha of Commander Shumway's treason and hear horrific news. Finn tries to make amends with Octavia and the determined, feisty girl finds herself at a crossroads when she has to chose between her people and the grounders].

Even though I was very reluctant to put Finn's plan into action, Bellamy, Clarke and the others seemed eager to carry it out.

At first, I was surprised by the amazing amount of reception the idea received, but later, when Bellamy pulled me aside, I learned that even though he wasn't happy about it, he was forced to follow through with it because he had no other choice.

For him, the decision was an easy one: his people first, always. But for me, I had seen the other side of the grounders, the side that whispered words of hope and love and hinted at their humanity. Those grounders deserved a second chance ... but this so-called 'peace treaty' was the very opposite to what I had, at first, intended.

As I was lying in bed that night, gazing up towards the underside of the tent sheltering me, I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps I could convince the others to stay true to the treaty instead of breaking it. Maybe, if I played along with the plan, I could later convince them against going to war with the grounders. They would make powerful allies. I just needed Bellamy to see that.

As dawn broke over the land, I was awakened from my drowsy doze by an urgent-mannered Finn.

Carefully and quietly, in order to not wake up Zoe, I gathered up my clothes and slipped out into the crisp morning air.

As soon as I had pulled on my pants and buttoned up my jacket, I followed Finn to the drop-ship where Bellamy, Clarke, Raven, Monty and Jasper were waiting for us.

"Hey, what's going on?" I queried as I stepped inside the metal compartment and glanced around quizzically.

Bellamy motioned for me to be quiet before waving me over towards the table where he and the others were gathered.

As Finn and I joined them, we were just in time to see Clarke folding up a piece of paper and tucking it into her pocket.

"What's that?" I demanded, gazing suspiciously at her.

Clarke sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, if you must know, it is a list of - er - benefits that we are willing to offer the grounders along with our treaty. I doubt that they'll want to just make the treaty. They're gonna want something from it."

"Oh," I nodded. "That makes sense. But we can't make a treaty if we can't see them. How are we going too ...?"

"Relax O," Bellamy chuckled, holding out a consoling hand. "We've already nailed up a message near the riverbed, asking for a meeting between their leader and ours. That's what Finn and I were doing earlier this morning. We're going back later to check on it to see if we've received a response. I'm assuming, if they agree, that they'll give us the place and the time. We just have to be ready for it."

"So, whose going to represent us?" I questioned.

For a moment, only silence filled the air. Then Clarke spoke up, "Me."

"What?" I stared at her, aghast. "You're not our leader! Bellamy is!"

Clarke narrowed her eyes at me. "You can't make that call. Everyone here voted for me to go. Besides, you're not going to miss out on all the fun. You're coming with me, as is everyone else in this room."

"What?" I gaped at her. "T-that doesn't make sense. Why would we all go?"

"Simple," Bellamy responded gruffly. "Those grounders can't be trusted. We have to be ready for anything. Clarke, Finn and you will go meet them face-to-face while the rest of us will trail behind you in the trees. If there's any trouble, you'll need back-up."

I bit my lip to stop the retort that was about to escape from my mouth. Instead, I steadied my breathing and my rising temper as I asked, "W-why are Finn and I accompanying Clarke?"

Bellamy sighed. "I didn't want you to go, but Clarke said that the grounders might recognise you so you'd be a helpful asset. Finn is supposed to act as a bodyguard to avoid suspicion. He volunteered since no one else was willing to go. I would've taken his place, but Clarke suggested that I lead the others behind her, seeing as there's nobody else who knows these woods better than me."

I tried to contain a sardonic laugh as my eyes darted from Bellamy to Clarke. "Since when do you listen to anything Clarke has to say, hmm? She's not our leader and I refuse to treat her as such."

"O," Bellamy grasped my upper arm, forcing me to look at him. "Please ... just this once ... I know you don't like Clarke, you've made that clearly obvious, but if you want to secure the safety of our people, you'll do it ... for my sake."

I gritted my teeth together, numerous thoughts flashing through my mind at once. Of course I would hate every minute of it and Clarke would never let me forget it either, but if I was to make certain that Aidan and Lincoln were kept safe, it was a necessity. I would have to do it.

"Fine," I growled as I pulled away from Bellamy's grasp.

"Okay then," Bellamy smirked. "Finn, Jasper, let's go. We have work to do. The rest of you, carry on as per usual, if the grounders are watching us, we can't let them suspect anything. And stay inside the camp grounds ... Octavia."

I frowned. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You have a tendency to go wandering off," Bellamy told me briskly. "We can't afford to waste time on another search - not now. Okay, boys, let's go."

My shoulders sagged and an annoyed sigh left my lips as I watched Bellamy, Finn and Jasper exit the drop-ship. As I turned back to Clarke, a sudden thought flashed through my mind. "H-how's Murphy holding up?"

"He's fine. Unconscious, but fine," Clarke shrugged carelessly as she began gathering up the papers from the table in front of her.

"Speaking of which, it's my turn to go and watch him," Raven groaned. "Monty, I may need some of your infamous moonshine to get through these next few hours."

Monty uttered a low laugh as he nodded in agreement. "Coming right up."

Slowly, I turned my back on the others and walked outside. The sun had just appeared over the distant mountain range, casting it's bright glare in a sweeping wave over the valley. The birds had began their typical morning trills. The crickets had finished their night-time melodies and were preparing to rest up for the next twelve hours or so. The green leaves of the trees nearby swayed and danced in the slight breeze that had began to whirl its way throughout the camp.

CLICK.

I turned my head just in time to see Finn, Jasper and Bellamy slip out through the camp gates.

Who knew what this day would hold for us?

I hated to admit it, but a very bad feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. I didn't like what we were about to do, I didn't like it at all ...

Gif: Octavia looks at Clarke as she explains their next move.

XX