xxv. everything forever changed
human trials

SHOUTS WERE the first thing Sawyer heard as she came to. Her head felt light, while her body swayed, jostling up and down to an uneven rhythm. She knew that she was not walking. Her legs were underneath her, dragging along the ground. Tights grips around her upper arms and shoulders told her that she was being carried.

     Sawyer pried her eyes open, blinking to rid herself of the blurriness that consumed her vision. The left side of her head pulsed with a dull throb, as well as the right. Another pain erupted on her right side, screaming like her thigh did moments after Murphy grazed her with a bullet.

     Right. She had been shot, again.

     Sawyer lifted her head and found a metal structure in front of her. The Ark. That was right. She and Clarke found the Ark. Along with Anya. Until their people shot her. Sawyer jumped when a figure materialized mere inches from her face.

     "How many of you are there?" a woman's voice sounded. One of the Ark's guards.

     Sawyer strained to speak, but the lack of hydration caused her words to crack. "Wha – what? What are you talking about?"

     "How many are there?" she snapped.

     Sawyer shook her head and ignored the woman. She shifted her stare around her to look for Clarke. If they found her, then they must have found Clarke. "Clarke?" she called out. The Griffin girl's name barely touched her ears, so she tried again at a louder tone. "Clarke?"

     "Sawyer?"

     Sawyer whipped her head to her right and saw another pair of people, carrying someone between them. She could not tell if they were Clarke, not being able to see her bright hair, but she remembered they were covered in mud. That explained why their people could not recognize them. They no longer looked like themselves.

     "We gotta get them to Medical," a man exclaimed. "Move! Move!"

     Sawyer felt the hands on her arms tightened and the guards holding her sped up.

     "Wait!"

     Sawyer looked to where a woman rushed forward. Her hair long and brown. The Ark's doctor, Abby Griffin. Clarke's mother. She was alive? Sawyer thought the woman died in the Exodus Ship crash.

     "Once the prisoners are secured," the female guard from earlier stated.

     "This one's not a prisoner. She's my daughter," Abby replied, moving to where her daughter hung between two guards. She crouched to face her. "Clarke."

     The guards stopped, but they kept her hold on Sawyer. She heard Clarke reply to her mother, before the female guard moved back into her line of sight.

     "Are you one of the hundred?" she questioned.

     Sawyer swallowed hard, wincing as her throat burned, and nodded.

     The guard stood back to her feet and motioned to those who held Sawyer. "Get the girls to Medical. Go! Move!"

     _______

     After the command, the guards carried Sawyer and Clarke in direction Medical. At least, their new version of Medical. To the Wesley girl's delight, they were more gentle about it than when they were hauled into their established camp.

     Sawyer laid atop a cushioned table inside of a tent created from spare fabrics, much like the ones erected back at the dropship. She removed her stolen jacket and pants, giving Abby and another doctor, Jackson, a better look at her wounds. The many that she acquired from her escape from Mount Weather, and there were a lot. Aside from her stitched wound from Murphy's bullet, she obtained multiple cuts and gashes on her arms, legs, hands, and face. Her wrists were rubbed raw from Anya's ties, and a new bullet graze graced her right side. Inches above her hip.

     Abby examined Clarke first and then Sawyer. She understood, of course. The woman wanted to make sure her child was alright.

     "I need saline and two pressure dressings," Abby told the other doctor.

     Jackson nodded, moving for the curtain that separated the space from the rest of the tent. "I'm on it," he stated and left.

     Sawyer lifted the rectangular cloth Abby handed her to wipe the mud from her skin. She dragged it across her face, removing the dark substance from her forehead and cheeks. When its damp surface came into contact with a few cuts, she winced and released a short hiss.

     Clarke did not bother to use hers as she stared at her mother. "I saw your ship crash."

     Abby smiled, running her hand over her daughter's hair. "I wasn't on it. I'm right here."

     Sawyer would have grinned at the sight, but a pain shot up her right side and brought her to groan. "Ugh." The sound slipped through her lips, alerting Abby and the female guard who remained near the edge of the room.

     Abby left Clarke's side for Sawyer. She moved to her right and pulled up the hem of her shirt to reveal the bullet graze. The blood started to clot, and the rest dried on her skin. "It's deep. You'll probably need stitches," she said.

     Sawyer let out a bitter chuckle. "Won't be the first time," she quipped, nodding to the dingy bandage on her thigh. Since her swan dive from Mount Weather's dam, it would need to be changed if she wanted to avoid an infection.

     "Are they alright?" the female guard, Byrne, Sawyer believed was her name, asked from where she stood.

     "They will be," Abby told the woman.

     "I'm sorry, ma'am. We had no idea who they were," Byrne exclaimed, before she looked between the two girls. "Where have you been?"

     Sawyer sighed, leaning back against the table beneath her. "Mount Weather," she and Clarke answered at the same time.

     Byrne's brows furrowed. "The Grounders took you to Mount Weather?"

     Sawyer shook her head. "No. The Mountain Men took us to Mount Weather." She dropped her arm to the table and set her cloth aside, before she started to stand. "We need to get them out. They're in danger."

     Clarke also tried to get up from her table, but Abby rushed to her side and pushed against her shoulders. The Griffin woman motioned to Byrne to do the same to Sawyer.

     Sawyer shoved the guard's hands off. "No, get off me! We have to help them."

     "We're not doing this, right now," Abby told her daughter and then turned back to the other girl. "Sawyer, calm down. Your wounds need dressed, and you need to be hydrated before you go anywhere."

     Sawyer knew that Abby was right, but she did not want to wait. She needed to devise a plan of action. Her friends were still inside Mount Weather. The longer it took to return, the closer the forty-six delinquents were to possible danger.

     But if she did not take care of herself, she would never make it back to Mount Weather. Sawyer would have to heal, at least a little bit, to save her friends.

     Sawyer conceded and relaxed. She shot a look to Byrne as she said, "okay."

     Byrne stepped away from the Wesley girl, before she glanced toward the doctor. Abby nodded to her then to the door.

     "Yes, ma'am." Byrne turned on her heel and exited the room.

     "Mom," Clarke voiced, drawing her mother's attention to her. "Did anyone else make it here?"

     Sawyer snapped to the Griffins. The rest of them. That had been the real reason she and Clarke escaped Mount Weather. To find the friends who were left behind. She should have remembered that. Although, it took a lot for Sawyer to remember her whereabouts. She figured the two hits she received to the head were to blame. She might have gotten a concussion.

     Abby nodded with a light smile. "Yes. Six of you did."

     Sawyer froze. "Who?" she questioned, pulling the doctor's gaze to her. "Bellamy and Finn? Were they with them?"

     Abby met her stare and nodded.

     At the conformation, Sawyer's eyes began to fill with tears. They were alive. She had been right. Bellamy and Finn fled their camp in time to escape the thrusters. They did not burn to death with Anya's army. She raised her hands to slip into her matted hair, holding them in place as a quiet sob bubbled up her throat. They were alive.

     "I thought they were dead," Clarke choked out, her own tears slipping down her cheeks. She looked to her mother. "I thought you were dead."

     Abby reached up to cup her daughter's face. "Not me. I'm right here." She pulled Clarke close, placing a kiss to her forehead.

     _______

     Once the tearful reunion ended, Jackson returned with supplies and he and Abby tended to the girls' wounds. Sawyer and Clarke managed to get as clean as they could without an actual shower and were given fresh clothes to replace their stolen ones. Shirts, jackets, and pants riddled with holes and frayed hems. Ark clothes. Sawyer never realized she missed them until she slipped them onto her body.

     Soon after her bandages were applied, Sawyer's eyes grew heavy and pulled her into a deep sleep. A dreamless sleep, to her luck. She did not know how she would deal with a nightmare on top of everything else.

     Sawyer jolted awake when something shook her body. She jumped, snapping her eyes open to find Clarke. "What? We being attacked, or something?" she questioned as she began to stretch her arms up and over her head.

     "Sun's up," Clarke stated, before she turned back to where she sleep and grabbed her fresh clothes.

     Sawyer pushed herself up to drop her legs over the edge of the cushioned table. Sunlight seeped in through the gaps in the tent, confirming Clarke's statement. They slept through the night. She snatched up the pants from where they were placed at the foot of her table, slipping them onto her legs, and then tossed the jacket onto her shoulders.

     "Clarke, please. You and Sawyer need to rest," Abby stressed to her daughter as she moved to intercept the girl's intended path.

     Clarke sighed and faced her mother. "I don't need to rest. I'm fine. And I don't need you to protect me. What I need is to save my friends."

     Sawyer nodded, removing her hair from where it got trapped beneath her jacket. "Clarke's right," she voiced and captured the doctor's gaze. "What we need is to find Bellamy and Finn, and then get our friends out of Mount Weather."

     The curtain covered exit burst open, stopping Abby from saying more. Byrne stepped into the room, setting her sole attention on the woman. "Ma'am, movement in the north woods."

     "Grounders?" Abby asked.

     Byrne shook her head. "I don't think so."

     Abby gave the two girls one last, scolding look, before she followed Byrne out of the tent to investigate the commotion.

     Sawyer and Clarke did not hesitate to follow, but when they stepped outside, they were brought to a stop by a familiar face.

     Raven Reyes stood from where she sat on a stack of boxes near the tent's entrance. A bright smile on her lips when she spotted the two girls.

     Sawyer's eyes widened. "Oh, my God. Raven," she exclaimed, rushing forward to wrap the mechanic in her arms. They squeezed each other for a moment and pulled away. "You're alive."

     Raven scoffed in a lighthearted manner. "You can't get rid of me that easy."

     Clarke stared at the Reyes girl in complete shock. "Hi." She moved forward to replace Sawyer.

     "I've been waiting out here all night," Raven told them as Clarke let her go. "Abby said you both needed sleep."

     Sawyer rolled her eyes. "She should have at least told us you were here." She scanned the mechanic up and down, making sure that she were alright.

     The last time Sawyer saw her, Raven slowly bed to death from a bullet in her abdomen. A shirt and her red bomber jacket covered her stomach, hiding her scarred skin from the cauterization. But, the full extent of the damage became clear when Sawyer's gaze dropped to Raven's left leg. A bulky, metal contraption wrapped around the limb from her mid-thigh down to her calf.

     Sawyer's stomach clenched at the sight. The bullet must have injured something vital when it shifted into her spine.

     Clarke noticed the brace, and her expression fell. "Raven, I..."

     "Sucks," Raven cut her off with a small, reassuring smile, "but I'm dealing with it."

     Sawyer pressed her lips together at Raven's lie, but she did not comment on it. She did not think the Reyes girl would appreciate being called out.

     Commotion at the front gate drew Sawyer's attention. The guards pulled it open and let four people enter the camp. She strained her eyes to see who they were until their faces registered in her mind. While she did not recognize one them, she did the others. Bellamy, Octavia, and Monroe. Her heart leapt in her chest. They really were alive.

     "Bellamy," Clarke muttered when she spotted the eldest Blake.

     "Go," Raven said, pulling the girls' stare back to her, and nodded toward the others. "I'll catch up."

     "Okay." Clarke grinned and spun on her heel to race across the camp for the Blake siblings.

     Sawyer smiled after the girl, before she turned to Raven. "Come on, Reyes," she exclaimed and started to walk alongside the mechanic.

     Raven looked to her and quirked a brow, taking careful steps as she remained steady with a kind of cane in her hand. "You don't wanna go with her?"

     Sawyer shrugged. "We'll get there." They followed after Clarke, watching her sprint for the Blakes and launch herself into Bellamy's arms. Sawyer snorted as the man stumbled a bit, before he reciprocated the embrace with his arms around her waist. "Now, that's a surprise."

     Raven released a light laugh. "Ain't that the truth."

     Sawyer and Raven approached Clarke and the Blakes after the blonde stepped back from her hug with the youngest. They reached them in time to hear Bellamy question, "how many are with you?"

     Clarke opened her mouth to speak, but Sawyer moved to her side and voiced, "just me."

     Bellamy and Octavia's stares snapped to the Wesley girl, finding a bright smile on her lips.

     "Did you miss me?" Sawyer quipped toward them.

     Octavia, who wore her hair in braids across her temples, moved to pull her into a quick hug. "I'm glad you're okay," she said when she stepped back.

     Sawyer nodded to the Blake girl. "Glad you're okay, too." She shifted her gaze to Bellamy, taking in the various cuts and scrapes that covered the man's face. "You're looking a little rough, Blake."

     Bellamy did not try to repress his grin and retorted, "could say the same to you, Your Majesty."

     Their brief banter ended when Clarke scanned the area and questioned, "where's Finn?"

     Bellamy's expression faltered, looking to the blonde. "Looking for you."

     _______

     With the realization that Finn Collins continued to search for Clarke, Sawyer, and the rest of the delinquents, the former co-leaders hurried to inform Abby Griffin, their stand-in Chancellor, and the either still alive, or newly appointed, Council members of the situation. How forty-six of them were still trapped inside Mount Weather, and how Finn Collins and John Murphy wandered through Grounder territory with two automatic rifles.

     Sawyer almost strangled Bellamy when he told her Murphy found his way back into their lives. Before she could, he explained that Murphy helped him and Finn interrogate a Grounder about what happened to the delinquents and assisted in the rescue of a Factory Station girl who clung to the side of a cliff after the Ark crashed to Earth. Actions that put the boy in Bellamy's good graces.

     To Sawyer, Murphy's recent actions did not erase those in the past. He still killed people, injured others, her included, and used all their gunpowder that ultimately led to almost half of the delinquents' deaths. It would take a lot more than a few good deeds to fix that.

     Sawyer ground her teeth together as she listened to Abby relay what she and the other Council members decided. That they wanted to go after their new Chancellor, Marcus Kane who went to talk with the Grounder's Commander, and not send anyone after Finn and Murphy.

     "What? No. You can't just cut them loose," Clarke exclaimed as she faced off with her mother.

     Abby sighed. "Sweetheart, we don't have the manpower to send out two separate rescue missions and protect our camp."

     "Mom, they're in trouble," Clarke countered. "They're either gonna get themselves killed, or they're gonna make things worse with the Grounders, who we need to get out people out of Mount Weather."

     Abby gave her daughter a sympathetic stare. "I know you feel this is unfair, but our priority has to be with Chancellor Kane if there is any hope for peace."

     Sawyer worst fears began to transpire before her eyes. Ever since the delinquents made contact with the Ark after they landed, she worried that when they came down they would act as though nothing changed. That they did not send a hundred juvenile delinquents to an eradiated Earth filled with savage Grounders hellbent on wanting them dead. That those same delinquents did not flourish despite it all. That Sawyer, Clarke, and Bellamy did not became leaders and knew how to navigate the world around them. And as she listened to Abby talk to her daughter, she realized that she had been right.

     Sawyer scoffed, drawing the Griffin woman's attention to her. "You would've had a better shot at peace if you hadn't killed the only Grounder who wanted to help us."

     Abby stared at the Wesley girl for a long moment, before she said, "I'm sorry. The decision's been made."

     "You're sorry?" Bellamy voiced from where he stood little ways from the mother and daughter. "Finn and Murphy are out there looking for your daughter, with guns you gave us, and now she's home, you're just going to abandon them? If you can't spare the guards, we know the terrain, we have a map. We can do it ourselves."

     "Absolutely not," Abby snapped to him.

     "Mom," Clarke tried to speak with her mother, but the woman continued.

     "I just got you back."

     Sawyer would have felt for Abby if they did not have bigger and worse things to deal with than her and Clarke's reunion.

     No one said any more as Jackson strode through the corridor toward the Griffin woman. "Abby," he called out, causing her to looked at him. "I'm sorry. We need you in Medical."

     Abby nodded to him and then turned back to her daughter.

     Clarke spoke before her mother could say another word. "You better go."

     Abby looked to the girl and to the other two delinquents. "Byrne?" she exclaimed to the female guard without a glance in her direction. "No one leaves this camp."

     "Yes, ma'am," Byrne answered.

     Sawyer resisted the urge to roll her eyes as Abby headed off to Medical. Like a couple of guards were about to keep a bunch of criminals in a place where they did not want to be. She spun on her heel and moved away from where Byrne remained in the corridor to converse with her co-leaders. As soon as they gathered, Sawyer muttered low enough for no one else to hear, "we're leaving within the hour."

     Neither Clarke or Bellamy objected.

     _______

     An hour later, Sawyer met up with Bellamy and Raven at a hidden section of electrified fence. Once she heard about their plan to leave camp, the Reyes girl offered to shut down a portion of the fence so they could slip out without being electrocuted. Because of her leg, she could not tagalong, but she still wanted to help them. She also managed to swipe a few guns for them to use, just in case they needed to protect themselves.

     Sawyer, Clarke, and Bellamy spent the hour packing enough supplies for a prolonged excursion. They did not know how long it would take to find Finn and Murphy, and none of them wanted to return to camp for something like food and water.

     "I scored you a couple extra clips," Raven stated as she pulled out two rectangular mechanisms filled with bullets from her jacket pockets and tossed them to Sawyer and Bellamy.

     In that moment, Clarke approached them. "Hey," she greeted them. "My mom's in surgery, and the team going after Kane just left. We should, too."

     Sawyer slung the straps of her pack onto her shoulders. "Good. We need to find those idiots before they do something we can't fix."

     "Did you find Octavia?" Bellamy questioned the Griffin girl.

     Clarke did not get to answer when Octavia's voice sounded close by. "No. I found you." The youngest Blake stepped around the metal slab that hid where they gathered. She set her stare on her brother and said, "I'm not letting you leave here without me."

     "Octavia," Clarke started, but the girl cut her off.

     "Finn and Murphy are headed for Lincoln's village. I've been there." Octavia asked her brother, "have you?" She pointed to Sawyer and Clarke. "Have they?"

     "You done?" Bellamy quipped, giving his sister an amused look, before he lifted a pack set near his feet and handed it to her.

     Octavia eyed it. "What's this?"

     "Your pack," Bellamy stated and gestured to the fence. "Lead the way."

     Octavia pursed her lips and then stared for the thin wires that made up the electrified barrier.

     Raven raised her cane to stop the girl. "Whoa. Not so fast, Pocahontas," she exclaimed and faced the fence. She held out the end of her cane and tapped the nearest wire. Electricity sparked at the contact.

     Sawyer's brows furrowed, whirling to the mechanic. "You said it was handled. Electricity doesn't equal handled."

     "But it is," Raven said and pulled a radio from her other jacket pocket. She lifted the speaker to her lips and pressed the button. "Shut 'er down, Wick."

     Sawyer kept her attention on the mechanic, following her cane to where it tapped the wire again. That time, no sparks were seen.

     Raven grinned toward the Wesley girl, dropping her cane back to her side. "Handled."

     Sawyer huffed and hiked her pack's straps higher onto her shoulders. She moved for the fence. Octavia, being the closest, slipped through one of the larger gaps. Sawyer went next, then Bellamy, and Clarke. All four of them crouched low in the tall grass to avoid detection from the guards and melded into the forest, ready to stop their friends from doing something they would regret.

     _______

     Darkness fell over the landscape hours after they left the Ark. Sawyer, Clarke, Bellamy and Octavia decided to make camp for the night, or until they were all well rested. Clarke and Octavia were the first ones down, falling asleep as soon as they hit their mats. Sawyer and Bellamy were left awake, sitting next to the fire to stay warm in the cooling air.

     The forest remained quiet, only the occasional chirp of insects or the ruffle of foliage as an animal scurried beneath the trees. Sawyer should have used the break to sleep, but the ten hours she got in Medical made that difficult. Her brain did not want to calm enough to drag her into unconscious, so she rested against a fallen tree and stared into the orange flames.

     Sawyer's gaze drifted from Clarke and Octavia, who remained asleep on their mats, and to Bellamy. He claimed a spot to her right, also watching the fire consume the branches they collected earlier. Since they reunited, Sawyer did not get a chance to speak with the eldest Blake. At least, not unless it pertained to Mount Weather. How the Mountain Men took the delinquents, how they kept Grounders in cages, and most importantly, how they drained them of their blood.

     Sawyer also noticed how Bellamy continued to stare at her and Clarke. "You know, we're not gonna disappear, again," she voiced, forcing the man to snap toward her. "That's why you keeping looking at me and Clarke, right?"

     "You did disappear." Bellamy replied. His expression fell flat, while his brows were furrowed.

     Sawyer nodded, returning her gaze to the hot flames that warmed her wind-chilled skin. "Wish we didn't." A beat passed, before she turned back to him. "You don't know what it's like in there, Bellamy. Our friends are oblivious to everything that's going on in there. They just care about having hot showers and eating chocolate cake."

     "And you're worried they're going to get themselves killed," Bellamy breathed.

     Sawyer quirked a brow. "And you're not?"

     "No, I am," Bellamy said, shifting his arms that were set atop his bent knees. "After everything, I'd be stupid not to be."

     "Which is why as soon as we find Finn and John, we start trying to make some kind of peace with the Grounders. Whether or not Abby Griffin wants to, or not."

     "I agree."

     Sawyer whirled to where Clarke laid on her left. Her eyes were open as she proceeded to stay prompted on her side. "Good to know you're okay with going against your mother."

     Bellamy looked to the blonde with a thoughtful gaze. "Last time I saw the two of you, you were closing the dropship door." He pressed his lips together and stated, "it had to be done."

     Clarke met his eyes and then pushed herself up to sit on her mat. "Did either of you get any sleep?" she questioned, glancing between the other two.

     Sawyer shook her head. "Slept enough, earlier."

     "I'll sleep when we find Finn," Bellamy stated, before his demeanor shifted. He became serious. "You haven't seen him, Clarke. Losing you, both of you, the others, the war, it changed him. He executed the Grounder that drew us the map. Pulled the trigger without even blinking and walked away."

     Sawyer paused. Finn would never do something like that. He always strived for peace, especially with the Grounders. Sawyer was the one who had a hard time with that. It seemed as though they switched places. A scary thought.

     Clarke's expression faltered. "That doesn't sound like Finn."

     "No, it doesn't." Bellamy went on, "I saw what he was capable of, and still, I let him go with Murphy and two automatic rifles."

     "I'm sure you did what had to be done at the time," Sawyer told him, even though she did not fully believe her words. Not really. But, she did not want Bellamy to feel responsible for something he had no control over. Sawyer felt enough for all of them after leaving their friends inside Mount Weather.

     Bellamy looked to the Wesley girl and said, "when we got back to the dropship and no one was there, we assumed it was the Grounders."

     Sawyer's brows creased as she met his stare. "Well, yeah. You didn't know it was the Mountain Men. Hell, we didn't even know they existed until they took us."

     Bellamy nodded. They fell quiet for a moment, before he asked, "how long until chocolate cake turns into being hung upside down and drained for their blood?"

     Clarke sighed and shook her head. "I don't know, but we don't have much time."

     "Okay. First, we find Finn, and like Sawyer said, then our people in Mount Weather," Bellamy stated.

     "And Lincoln."

     Sawyer snapped to where Octavia laid on the opposite side of their little camp. The youngest Blake kept her back turned to them until she rolled over and pushed up from her mat.

     Octavia's features were placid and unfeeling as she faced the three former leaders. "Think we've slept long enough."

     _______

     Sawyer sprinted through the forest. Her stolen rifle held tight in her grasp as she weaved between the trees and leapt over the uneven terrain at her feet. She, Clarke, Bellamy, and Octavia heard gunshots, forcing them to take off in their direction. Grounders did not use guns, which meant it had to be Finn and Murphy. In the same location as Lincoln's village.

     Their feet thundering across the ground the faster they traveled. Buildings emerged through the foliage, bringing Sawyer to quicken her steps. She reached the edge of the village with the others at her side, but skidded to a stop at the sight before her.

     Sawyer's heart skipped inside her chest when she found a group of Grounders corralled in a circular fence, while others littered the ground. Their bodies sprawled in odd positions as blood pooled around them. The ones who were still alive cried and wailed over their fallen loved ones. The sound curdled Sawyer's stomach.

     Sawyer remained at the edge of the village, staring at the horrified and the dead. Her stare lifted to where a familiar boy strode into the open with a rifle hung at his side.

     Finn's sole attention fell to Clarke, who stumbled away from his as he tried to approach her. His expression void of all emotions. "I found you," he breathed.

     And that was when Sawyer's heart stopped altogether.

<February 8, 2020>

Sorry for the really long chapter. I didn't feel like separating it into two.

Also, I started binging watching this new show on Netflix while writing this chapter, so sorry if it's crappy. The show has sucked me in completely. It's called Locke & Key, and it's amazing!

Don't forget to vote and comment.

-Jordan

P.S. Unedited chapter.