twenty-one; LAST FIRST KISS

Night had fallen when the war drums began to cut through the silence of what had once been a tense but peaceful night and Reese corrected her stance, her finger hovering near the trigger but not on it as Bellamy's earlier words from the walkies began to swim about her head.

Inflict casualties.

Hold them off.

Ensure Raven, Clarke, and Alec have enough time to get the ship ready for blast off.

"They're here," Harper whispered and Reese looked through her scope at the clearing ahead of them, where they'd planted the mines early the day before.

"It's okay." She responded just as quietly, "We have this under control."

"I see them, they're moving!" Sterling's voice shouted through the walkie that Reese had attached to her belt, "I count two, three, no, wait, there's more. I don't know, man. There's too damn many of them."

The sound of a gunshot piercing the air could also be heard both through the walkie and somewhere near them and Reese found herself tensing as she slowly took a deep breath and held it before she exhaled through her nose, a trick her mother had taught her when she was scared or stressed.

"South foxhole, report now," Bellamy ordered and Reese relaxed a bit more knowing that he was at least currently okay.

"Yeah, yeah, we're okay." Sterling responded when the gunfire stopped, "They didn't attack, it's like shooting at ghosts!

The silence after those words were brief before shots rang out and Jasper shared a look with Harper and Reese as they each squinted to look out at the field, occasionally checking it through their scopes when they were unsure if a shadow in the distance was a tree or their enemy.

"I don't see anyone." Bang, bang, bang.

"They're too fast." Bang.

"I think I hit one." Bang, scream, bang, bang.

Suddenly, it was as if they'd appeared out of nowhere, dozens of grounders could be seen by the trio stationed at the mined foxhole, and they each prepared themselves as Harper fired the first shot that just missed the grounder sprinted across the clearing.

"They're everywhere." Jasper bellowed loudly as his eyes widened, "Harper, Reese, get down."

"We need backup," Reese shouted as she pulled the trigger, her heart sinking when she hit a grounder in the shoulder and he stumbled but she steeled herself, firing another bullet and the trio flinched back in shock when the bullet hit the ground and it exploded, sending two grounders flying.

Jasper quickly pulled the radio from Reese's belt and brought it to his mouth, shouting into the speaker excitedly, "Raven, our mines actually worked!"

"Jasper or Reese." Clarke's voice came through, gaining the attention of the two, "We need one of you in the dropship right now."

"Negative." Bellamy answered before one of them could, "We can't give up the west woods."

"The west woods are mined, Bellamy." Clarke argued as Reese scanned the treeline, "The grounders just figured that out so one of you, get in here!"

"I see one!" Harper screamed, "There!"

She began to shoot as Reese raised her own rifle, the younger girl setting off two more of the mines which sent the grounders around it into the air, with only a few getting back to their feet and she groaned in disappointment when her gun clicked, signalling she was all out of ammo.

"They're drawing our fire." Jasper whispered and Reese's eyes widened, "They want us to run out of ammo."

The young woman snatched the walkie back from Jasper who nodded in the direction of the dropship and Reese nodded at him. He quickly handed Harper his gun and disappeared through the foxhole.

"All gunners, listen up!" She announced into it loudly, "Jasper worked something out, the grounders are not attacking, not yet at least, they're making us waste bullets so do not shoot unless they are running at you."

"They're right." Bellamy shouted, "Don't fire until you're sure it's an attack, repeat, do not fire until you are sure."

"West foxhole pulling back." She exclaimed into the walkie, "Jasper's on his way, Clarke."

"I'm gonna go help south." Harper shouted as another mine exploded and she entered the foxhole, calling over her shoulder, "You go help north."

Reese followed after the girl and when she came out at the other end, she kicked the side of the tunnel, allowing the dirt to cave in so the grounders wouldn't be able to follow through and she smirked as she sprinted in the direction of the north foxhole, quickly scurrying through it and when she made it to the other end, Bellamy and Miller were shooting at a massive mob of grounders.

The young woman released a shaky breath and raised her gun, pulling the trigger and hitting her target each time with a heavy heart.

"Bellamy!" Reese whipped around at Miller's shout, to see a grounder on top of the man and before she could raise her gun, Octavia appeared as if out of nowhere and plunged Lincoln's blade through the back of the grounder's mask.

"Admit it." She exclaimed breathlessly as she looked between the two adults, "You want one."

Before Reese could utter a single word of agreement, arrows soared through the air toward them and she ducked, rolling out of the way and behind a tree.

"You're hit." She could hear Bellamy shouting in a panic, "Miller, fall back, now!"

Reese scrambled to her feet and rushed over to where Bellamy and Octavia stood, the older brother supporting most of his sister's weight due to the arrow protruding from her leg.

"Can you walk?" She asked the girl who groaned in pain as she slumped slightly and Bellamy tightened his grip around her waist as Reese hurried to help her up from the other side.

"Hold onto us, O." Bellamy ordered as gestured for Reese to let go and he quickly hooked his arm around the back of her knees and hauled her up, the younger girl gasping in pain as her leg shifted, "Sorry. Reese, cover me."

Reese nodded and raised her gun, peering through the scope as she followed after Bellamy who began to slowly walk and she pulled the trigger each time a grounder appeared, too panicked to worry about whether or not her shots were good, her concern for Octavia increasing by the minute.

"Stand your ground." Bellamy was calling and she quickly realised he was talking into his radio, "If they take the gate, we're all dead."

"They have broken through." Sterling screamed, "They're heading for the gate."

Shots rang through the air once more as Bellamy, Reese, and Octavia shared a panicked glance and they quickened their pace as much as they could as a bang echoed above them.

It was unlike anything they had ever heard before and the three glanced up in time to witness a couple of dozen bright lights in the sky, each falling down to the earth with a trail of smoke and flames behind each dot of brightness that lit up the sky.

"Is that from the Ark?" Reese asked in awe.

"I think that is the Ark," Bellamy responded and they were silent for a moment before a loud hysterical cry was heard and they whipped around in time to see the grounder's fighting one another, "Get down."

"What is that?" Octavia asked.

"I don't know, but they're distracted." Bellamy responded as they ducked behind a tree, "Let's move while they are."

"We'll never make it." Octavia told him as she shifted slightly and gasped when he leg moved the wrong way, "Leave me, I'll find another way."

"Absolutely not," Reese answered sharply and Bellamy shook his head.

"I am not going anywhere without you." He spoke harshly and Octavia smiled sadly as she gazed between the two.

"Octavia." Reese whirled around, raising her gun but she relaxed when she saw it was only Lincoln who had appeared between the trees.

"Lincoln," Octavia exclaimed breathlessly as he rushed forward and embraced her tightly before he pulled away and gazed down at the protruding arrow.

"You did this?" Bellamy questioned, his tone impressed and slightly less hostile as he nodded toward the fighting grounders.

"With Finn." Lincoln responded without taking his eyes from the wound, "It's deep." He looked over his shoulder quickly before he turned back to look at the three, "I can help you, but you need to come with me now."

He stared at Bellamy almost challengingly but there was no argument coming from the older sibling who nodded quickly, "Let him help."

"Go," Reese told them.

"No way." Octavia shook her head, "I have to see this through."

"You can't walk and Reese and I can't get you back to the dropship." Bellamy retorted.

"He's right." Lincoln told the stubborn girl with a half-smile, "This fight is over for you."

"O, O, listen to me. I told you my life ended the day you were born." Bellamy spoke quickly when she slumped back against the bark of the tree in defeat and gazed up at her brother who looked to be almost tearful, "The truth is, it didn't start until then. So go with him, I need you to live."

"Besides." Reese grinned at the girl, "We've got this."

Octavia laughed as she hugged Bellamy tightly and when they parted, she did the same to Reese and the young woman held on to the girl tightly as tears spring to her eyes and she gazed at Lincoln over Octavia's shoulder, mouthing two words to the man with stern eyes.

'Protect her.'

He nodded solemnly as the two pulled apart and the younger of the two looked at Bellamy tearfully, "I love you, big brother."

"May we meet again." He replied, his voice breaking harshly.

Octavia nodded as she grasped Reese's hand in her own and squeezed it tightly as she spoke to the both of them, "May we meet again."

"May we meet again." Reese echoed softly and Bellamy nodded at Lincoln as the two men helped Octavia to her feet so Lincoln could lift her up.

"Keep her safe," Bellamy spoke, blinking rapidly as Lincoln nodded before he turned and began to run, leaving Reese and Bellamy alone.

Reese quickly wiped a stray tear and turned to Bellamy who was already staring at her.

"I'm going to round up everyone still at the foxholes." He told her quickly, "And please don't argue, but I need you back at the dropship, helping with the rockets."

Not wanting to leave him but also knowing that it wasn't the time to argue, Reese quickly nodded and turned but she had only taken three steps when she stopped dead in her tracks.

Quickly, she spun on her heel and marched back to Bellamy who stared at her in confusion until she reached up to and grasped his face in his hands. She didn't even hesitate in bringing his head down to her height and pressing her lips against his own.

Bellamy's eyes widened in surprise before they closed and he responded to her lips with his own with an equal amount of enthusiasm.

Sure, they had pecked one another on the lips once or twice as teenagers but this was different. It was passionate and fierce, yearnful and heated all at once and as quickly as it had begun, Reese was pulling herself away breathlessly, her nose brushing softly against Bellamy's as his breath fanned over her face and her eyes fluttered open to see his cheeks slowly becoming a soft shade of pink.

"I love you." She whispered softly and he grinned widely but before he could form a response, Reese had disappeared into the shadows, rushing through the trees and she quickly made it back to the foxhole that directed her back to camp, her heart thumping wildly in her chest as she moved through the tunnel.

Quickly, she made it out, hearing Bellamy somewhere behind her and she raised her gun as she sprinted through the camp and into the dropship, panting heavily as she rushed over to the hole in the floor and dropped herself down, finding Jasper appearing to be splicing some wires.

"How's it going?" She asked urgently and Jasper looked over his shoulder at her with wide eyes.

"I think I did it." He stammered out, "Raven passed out before she could tell me how to finish it."

Reese's heart dropped as she moved over to where Jasper was crouched, looking over the splicing critically, knowing that if it was wrong, they'd all be dead.

"It's good." She nodded and Jasper's shoulder's collapsed in relief as he sighed heavily.

"Clarke, they're taking down the gate!"

Reese and Jasper shared a nod and the male quickly poked his head through the hole and spoke, "Good, because I did it...we think."

Reese tapped his shoulder and he heaved himself through the hole and quickly helped her out of it, the two grinning faintly at one another until Miller spoke.

"I am closing that door." He exclaimed as they heard what could only be the wall being ripped down from outside.

"We've still got people out there!" Clarke responded at the same time as Reese spoke, her voice panicked, "No, Bell and Xander are still out there"

"Use grenades!"

Reese shouldered her gun and rushed back outside, stopping at the edge of the ramp as her eyes widened in horror at the anarchy before her.

Teenagers were tossing Raven and Alec's grenades at the onslaught of grounders coming towards them and loud explosions rang out when they hit their targets, gunfire echoed through the night sky, and the sound of another part of the wall coming down was enough to make her head spin but she fought through her terror as she raised her gun and pulled the trigger each time a grounder got too close to one of her own.

"Alright, Jasper did it!" Clarke screamed over the gunshots, "Everybody get inside now!"

A grounder turned his attention to Clarke and fired an arrow that Finn was quickly able to pull her away from and Reese shifted her stance and aimed her gun at the man, pulling the trigger and when he went down, a bullet directly between his eyes, her heart sunk lower.

She had pulled the trigger many times that night, but she had never witnessed one of her bullets kill its mark.

"Get inside now!" Reese bellowed as she pulled the trigger once more, cursing loudly when it only clicked and she dropped it onto the ground angrily as she moved a little way forward a picked up one of the grenades, twisting the clip like Raven had shown her and throwing it at the closest wall that the grounders were trying to take down.

She flinched as it exploded but didn't have time for the guilt to settle in when she heard Finn shouting, "There he is!"

She whipped around, eyes wide in relief when she saw Bellamy exiting one of the foxholes with Josie and another girl behind him, the man pushing the two girls forward, Josie shooting anyone in her path.

"Where's Xander?" She screamed and Josie frowned as she skidded to a halt next to her, the other girl sprinting straight into the ship.

"Went to find help." She yelled at the same time Clarke shouted, "He's never going to make it."

Reese grimaced and her eyes found the spot that Bellamy still hadn't moved from, his eyes darting around the carnage and she felt panic claw its way into her stomach

"Bellamy, run!" She screamed and he darted out from his alcove, picking up a stray gun as one of the grounders spotted him and made a beeline to the man.

Reese's heart hammered in her chest as she heard the haunting echo of his empty gun as he moved to fire it and the grounder slashed at him with the sword in his grasp only for Bellamy to jump out of the way at the last second and she just barely heard the scream leave her when the grounder repeatedly punched him again and again.

"No." She moaned as she made to rush forward, only for a pair of strong arms to stop her, "He's killing him."

A gun went off to her left as she attempted to struggle out of the stranger's tight grip and from the corner of her eye, she saw Finn sprinting to Bellamy's aid, tackling the wounded grounder so Bellamy had a chance to get up.

"Get her inside." He roared and she felt herself being moved and her struggling grew more panicked as her eyes made contact with where Bellamy and Finn stood fighting off the enraged grounder.

"No, no, let me go!" She cried as she was dragged past the entryway and back into the dropship, "He's still out there, let me go!"

"There's no time, Reese!" It was Miller who was holding her, who hadn't let her try and save Bellamy, "I'm sorry."

Josie stormed in behind them, alongside a tearful Clarke who moved solemnly to the lever and pulled it back up.

A sob broke its way from Reese's chest and she crumbled against Miller who hadn't yet let her go, his arms tightening around her as he whispered words of apology.

However, her grief was pushed momentarily aside when two bodies came toppling over the closing door, one after the other and Reese frowned as they both immediately stood up, one with weapons blazing and the other with her arms up in surrender.

Anya and Delphia stared at the delinquents silently as a few of the teenagers drew their weapons and the door closed with a single deafening thud before the sound of fists being pounded against metal could be heard on the outside.

"Jasper, now!" Clarke ordered.

From the corner of Reese's eye, she watched as Jasper flicked the switch, only for nothing to happen and as he stared down at it in panic, he spoke, his words directed at Reese, "You said it was good!"

"It was." She retorted emotionlessly as Clarke turned her attention back to the two grounders.

"Anya, you can't win." She exclaimed.

"Anya, dula op nou ste a branwoda." Delphia hissed at the woman, her arms still raised in surrender but the woman ignored both Clarke's words and whatever Delphia had said to her as she let out a battle cry and rushed forward, only for a male that Reese didn't know the name of to step and hit the woman in the head with the butt of his gun, sending her to the ground, but he didn't stop there and as delinquents began to rush forward to get a kick or two in, Reese broke free from Miller's hold and rushed over to Delphia before anyone could remember that two grounders had entered the dropship.

Josie and Clarke shoved their way through, shouting for everyone to stop and Reese was vividly reminded of the mob who had attacked Murphy, only this time, there were more feelings of fury and hatred in them.

"Stop!"

"She deserves to die," Miller exclaimed as he rushed forward with his dagger raised only for Clarke to catch his wrist as she glared up at him before she turned her attention to all those around her.

"We are not grounders!" She spoke and her voice was quiet but powerful as she glared at the boys around her who had all frozen in shock and before she could add to it, Jasper shouted words none of them could make out and the ship shook violently, sending Reese toppling into Delphia who quickly steadied her.

The screaming outside turned into something else entirely and Reese's back hit the wall of the ship and she slid down it, tears pooling in her eyes as she thought of Bellamy who was on the other side and if his screams were echoing the night.

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we've hit the second last chapter before act two begins, reese and bellamy finally kissed, reese currently thinks bellamy is a burning pile of ash and delphia has returned which i'm excited about because you'll be seeing a lot of her throughout act two.

thanks for reading!

~r