Wounds [Bellamy Blake]

Patience [Chapter 64]

                "The drop ship." Octavia sat upright from her spot against the tree.

                I could see Bjorn's face tighten; if Bellamy's plan had worked, a large handful of Grounders had been burnt to a crisp. That was his family, though he had left them for the safety of his life. My eyes flickered from side to side, and I decided to make a run for it. Octavia and Lincoln were preoccupied, and wouldn't come after me. Bjorn was walking back out to check the surroundings. If I could get a good enough head start, I could run the entire way back; it had to only be three miles.      Three miles to Bellamy.

                Though my quiver had spilled all its arrows in my feeble attempt to slip from Bjorn's grasp, I still had a single dagger in case I ran into any trouble. I had a feeling that the forest would be dead for a while, no humans or animals stirring until there was confirmation of what had happened. The sun was rising, precious time was slipping through my fingers.

                Slowly rising, as to not gain the unwanted attention of Lincoln and Octavia, I turned on my heel and made a run for it. The leaves that had fallen from the trees as the seasons changed cracked underneath my boots, causing more noise than I wanted. I couldn't give up my chance to see if Bellamy was alive, not for anything. Incompletion was one of the worst feelings; I was incomplete without Bellamy.

                The soft forest ground left the marker of my movements, deep footprints revealing my trail to anyone who would follow, though I suspected that with or without footprints, everyone would know where I was headed. It wouldn't be long before they noticed my absence, and would come after me. My lungs and throat screamed in protest as I breathed in the icy cold air, my muscles warm but my body cold. I was almost immune to the feelings of my body, adrenaline pumping through me.

                What if he was dead?

                What if he made it? Would he hate me for leaving? Surely not; he sent me away.            

                Not allowing my contradicting thoughts distract me any further, I shook them from my mind and pressed on. My muscles and joints were growing tired from endless days and nights that had all been blended together in my memory. Any memory of the last time I slept evaded me, but there was no need for sleep until I knew what had happened at the drop ship.

                "Ava." Bjorn's hoarse voice came from behind me. He was breathing heavily, and I could hear his footsteps gaining on me.

                Instead of looking back or replying, I forced myself to run faster, a cramp developing on my right side. Air struggled to return to my lungs, but my legs kept moving. I had to know.

                "Ava stop." Bjorn grabbed my wrist now and I nearly fell on my ass trying to pull free from him.

                "You cannot do this to me, Bjorn." I cried, feeling tears in my eyes, "I love him."

                "I know." Bjorn replied, "It isn't safe. Not yet."

                "What do you know?!"

                "Two against any survivors; our chances are slim."

                "Please... Just let me see..."

                Bjorn looked down into my eyes, studying them, searching for something. He shook his head and sighed, "Fine. But you are not going to like what you see."

                We trekked the last mile together, a slower pace than I had wanted, but my body was grateful to no longer be running. As we neared some familiar terrain, I felt nervous in so many ways. There was so much potential danger lurking just around the corner, the possibility of my dead friends, and Bjorn's. I knew now what Bjorn meant by not liking what I will see; black ash filled the sky and it reeked of something foul.

                "Bodies." Bjorn told me, "Burning bodies."

                "You recognize the smell?"

                He nodded quickly, then reached his arm out to stop me from moving ahead. "Someone else has been here."

                I wondered how he could know that; there had been Reapers, Grounders and the Hundred. How he could possibly tell a fourth kind was there was unbeknownst to me. I watched as Bjorn sniffed the air, then cleared his throat. From his hip, he grabbed his twisted black mask and handed it to me, "Put this on."

                "Why?"

                "I don't want you breathing any of this in."

                I presumed he meant the ash of his dead tribe. "I'm fine without."

                "The Mountain Men we here." He observed. "Put the damn mask on."

                I obeyed this time, though the mask was loose and quite uncomfortable; I held it to my face, and breathed as little as possible. "We have to get to the drop ship."

                "Be patient."

                I wanted to scream at him; how could I be patient when the man I loved might be in even more danger?

                When I spotted it; silver with hints of black char on the sides, I felt my heart jump into my throat. The drop ship protruded over the walls we had built, many of which had been torn down. We walked towards the front of the wall, looking at the bits and pieces of it that still stood. Below our feet now was a large mound of black ash; bones and skulls of people I didn't know. Whether it was any of my own, or if they were all Bjorn's, we could not determine.

                I couldn't tell if Bjorn was sad about this obvious loss; he didn't show it as he crouched down and grabbed a piece of metal. He brought it to his nose and sniffed at it, then brought it quickly away from his body. Rising to his feet again, he looked around carefully, drawing a long blade that I had never noticed before.

                "We must leave."

                "Let me check the ship first, please." I said, rushing towards the open door before he could protest. It was completely empty. No bodies, no evidence of anyone; they must have evacuated the scene as soon as they could. I exited the ship, feeling empty and finally giving up on hope. The world was too large to begin a search for them.

                "Ava, we have to go." He said as I left the ship. "The Mountain Men were here, and they may be back to study the camp..."

                I nodded, following sullenly behind him as I realized that even if Bellamy had survived the blast, would he survive the Mountain Men?

                "Tell me about the Mountain Men." I asked of Bjorn.

                He gave me a grave look, but knew that in the few miles we had to go to get back to Lincoln and Octavia, he couldn't hide the truth.

Alright guys, so I have officially decided to end this story at chapter 70. It is my longest running story, and I have to thank all of you for all the positive and constructive comments you have given! All of you who message me, I hope to continue messaging and to keep in contact. I cannot begin to explain how much you have all supported me with this story. So thank you, so much :)