Fearless (Bellamy Blake - Book 1)

Chapter 74

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Clarke, clever as always, leaves behind a trail for us to follow so we won't be hot on their asses and let Finn know we're following them.

Walking through the woods in the dark with a rifle isn't exactly how I thought my Unity Day evening would play out, and I'm not entirely sure if I would rather be doing this, or sitting back at camp feeling miserable about life.

The good thing is my swollen ankle has improved over the past few days, meaning the pain I get when I put pressure on it is merely a slight ache instead of a sharp stab.

"Sorry for bringing up Clarke earlier, that was awkward." Jasper says to Raven.

"Shut up," she says without emotion.

"Both of you shut up." Bellamy snaps at them, "keep your eyes open."

"What is it exactly Finn is doing?" Jasper asks.

"He's playing peacemaker," Bellamy informs both him and Raven, who sends us a look of disbelief.

"What?" She hisses before mumbling to herself, "that's why he was defending that grounder earlier."

"Did he mention any of this to you?" Raven asks me. I shake my head but continue to look ahead, watching where I step. "Well, did he speak to you at all today?"

"Look Raven," I round on her, all four of us stopping. "Finn came to me preaching about how we're the bad guys for invading their land and how I should be a better person. No offence, but my mind has been on other things today, all right?"

Raven is silent for a moment, as are Bellamy and Jasper, but I see her forehead crease at trying to decipher my words before realisation hits her.

"Oh my god," she mutters, "Chris...I'm so sorry, I totally forgot—"

"Don't worry about it," I turn and continue to walk, hearing a pair of footsteps behind me that I presume are Bellamy's. "I still don't want to talk about it," I say quietly, knowing he is the only one who can hear me.

"I know," he says back, enlarging his stride so he walks beside me. I feel his hand slip into mine and give it a quick yet reassuring squeeze before retracting it back to his gun.

The last time Bellamy held my hand was when we were in the woods coming back from looking for the radio we threw in the river. It seems like an entire lifetime ago, but I needed his reassurance then (even if I didn't realise at the time) and I need it now, and that's something Bellamy Blake seems to always pick up on.

I'm not sure whether I like that or not.

After walking until dawn, we finally reach our destination, which just so happens to be a bridge.

Oh, the irony.

Bellamy, Jasper, Raven and I watch as Finn and Clarke jog onto the large metal bridge that somehow survived a nuclear war as well as decades of erosion. We quickly and quietly move through the trees to hide at the top of the bank beside the bridge. We're hidden enough that the grounders and the others won't see us, but we have enough open space to see what is happening and to shoot if necessary.

"What's Octavia doing here?" Jasper voices.

I see Bellamy frown as we watch sweet little Octavia running into the arms of the grounder that stabbed Finn and was locked in the drop ship. He was back into his Grounder gear, and seemed genuinely happy to see Octavia.

"Oh," Jasper deadpanned.

"I guess we know how he got away," Raven all but smirks.

"Like that wasn't obvious," I say, "but don't forget why we had him locked up in the first place."

No one says anything as we then watch the exchange on the bridge, and I almost smirk over at Raven at the sight of Finn grasping Clarke's hand. Almost.

Bellamy, obviously sick of seeing the grounder all over his sister, lifts up his rifle and aims.

"Wait," Raven puts a hand on his shoulder and sends his attention to the other side of the bridge, "look."

I look through my rifle to see three Grounders ride into the bridge on horses, the ones on the end black, their riders clad head to toe in armour and the one in the middle brown and white, its rider a woman also in their generic clothing but without a helmet and her hair holding a few braids that frame her thin, scary looking face.

"They have weapons," I voice as I look at the Grounders.

Finn and Clarke rush forward on the bridge towards Octavia and Lincoln but their words don't reach our ears.

"Yeah, well so do we," Bellamy replies to me, looking through his rifle as we watch Clarke and the Grounder woman walk across the bridge, meeting in the middle.

"Anyone else hate how suspenseful this is?" I ask, looking at the others to see them give me disapproving looks. "All right, just me then," I mumble.