notion • john murphy

39 - FAILURE

[ FAILURE ]

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"The rover's almost charged. We need to pack up, we'll be home soon." Bellamy announced. Sayah sat on the roof of the rover, legs swinging playfully, brows pulled together in thought.

   "Then what? Run away?" Clarke questioned as she circled around the front of the rover.

   Bellamy shut the driver's side door as he approached Clarke. "We're not running away, Clarke. We need to regroup with the others and find another way to defeat—"

   "There is no other way." Clarke interrupted him sternly. "We need to find a Nightblood." Sayah watched as Octavia hopped out of the rover and walked over to the duo. "We need to unlock the Flame. It's the only way to stop Alie."

   "What do you expect us to do, Clarke?" Jasper questioned from his spot on the bonnet of the Rover. "Walk into random villages asking for their Nightbloods?"

   "If that's what it takes." Clarke nodded.

   "That actually doesn't sound like a bad plan." Sayah hummed in thought, jumping down from her spot. She felt pain strike through her ankles when she hit the ground and she winced. Should've landed better.

   "No, Clarke." Octavia argued and Sayah immediately decided to pretend that she didn't think that was an okay idea. "If Alie can find us on Luna's rig, then she can find us anywhere."

   Sayah bent down to pick up a strand of grass before flinging it at Jasper. It didn't reach him, only fell to the space between them two. The two of them followed it silently with their eyes as it landed softly—but lamely—on the Rover. Then they met each other's eyes and both let out quiet snorts of laughter, high-fiving each other.

   "I won't help you destroy another innocent Grounder village." Sayah heard Octavia finish.

   Clarke took a step towards Octavia, eyes desperate. "If we don't find another Nightblood, there won't be any Grounder villages." She glanced between the four of them. "Or a home for us to go back to."

   "That's all the more reason we go there and make sure our friends are okay." Bellamy told her, frustration evident in his voice. Sayah glanced between the two leaders, sensing the tension. Then Clarke glanced at each one of them, silently asking them for their opinion on the matter. When her eyes reached Sayah's, Sayah simply shrugged, pursing her lips.

   Clarke sighed before giving a nod that was entirely mocking, before walking past Bellamy and into the woods. Bellamy watched her with a defeated expression on his face, which would've confused Sayah, because didn't he just win the argument? But no, she knew now Clarke was mad at him. And everyone knew that when Clarke and Bellamy were on opposing sides of something, all hell broke loose.

   "She'll be fine. Just let her cool off." Jasper told Bellamy as Octavia went to put some bags in the back of the back of the rover.

   Bellamy let out some sort of strange sound of frustration—only something that Clarke's stubbornness could be the cause of, Sayah supposed—before he passed the two, helping out Octavia in the back. After a moment, Bellamy came back to announce he was going to get Clarke and bring her back. But Sayah knew he was also going to have a serious talk with her; leader-to-leader or something like that.