XX

[PREVIOUSLY: Kane places Octavia in charge of getting Abby's medical team to Mount Weather safely. Frustrated by the new Chancellor's lack of understanding, Octavia turns to Lincoln. Meanwhile, Murphy makes another grand entrance and, as she starts to bond with her new horse, Helios, Octavia considers leaving Camp Jaha for good].

I could tell, by the shocked expression on my brother's face, that he had not expected me to say what I did.

"C-Clarke..." he breathed. "Clarke is Wanheda? How is this possible?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Uh...she lives up to her name, Bell. She killed hundreds of people in Mount Weather and then simply disappeared. The entire country is looking for her. No wonder she doesn't want to be found."

Bellamy set his lips into a long, firm line. "So? And why should I care? I have Gina to look out for. Clarke's spent three months out there in the wilderness alone. She can take care of herself."

I drew back, amused by my brother's reaction to the news. "So...is that your way of saying that you still care for Clarke...as more than just a friend?"

A hot, red flush flooded Bellamy's face. "No-o..." he started to protest when, suddenly, a loud shout caught his attention.

Turning, I saw the unfamiliar figure of a ragged, scraggly girl, her face streaked with mud and her hair in a tangle of knots, protruding from a row of thick bushes near the underground entrance.

"Hey!" I let out a yell as I pushed myself off the roof. Landing on the floor, I allowed my body to use the momentum of my fall and roll forwards before leaping to my feet and withdrawing my sword.

"Wait! Octavia! Stop!" Bellamy called frantically after me, watching as I rushed up to the strange girl and seized her by the arm.

Pressing my blade against her throat, I narrowed my eyes and hissed, slowly and empathetically, "Who...the...hell...are...you?"

"Octavia!" Bellamy hurried up behind me and jerked me away from the girl. "Leave her alone. She's a friend."

I gazed, wide-eyed, at him. "Wha...?" Glancing back towards the unfamiliar figure, I shook my head in confusion. "Since when?"

"Since we were locked up together in Mount Weather," he shot back before placing an assuring hand on the girl's shoulder. "Are you okay? Sorry about my sister. She was psychotic from birth."

"Oi! I'm standing right here!" I grumbled.

The girl sent me a small wave, indicating that everything was fine between us. "It's alright. I get it. I would've done the exact same thing. It's good to meet you, Octavia. Your brother wouldn't stop going on about you when we were trapped in those cages. He knew you'd come to rescue us."

"And you are?"

"The name's Echo," the girl stuck out her hand. "I'm from the tribe of Azgeda."

Immediately, I pulled away from her. "Azgeda? As in the Ice Nation?"

"Yes."

Suspicious, my eyes bounced from Echo to Bellamy and then back to Echo again as I recalled the strong warning I had received from Lexa a few weeks previous:

"[Azgeda] are our most dreaded enemy...They have hearts made of stone and their eyes are cold and cruel. If they sense even the slightest hint of weakness, they will attack to kill, even if it is one of their own."

"Okay, okay, slow down," Bellamy was saying when I snapped back to reality. "What were you saying about the Trikru army?"

Echo, struggling to contain her worry, blurted, "There's a rumour going around the valley that Trikru is gathering its forces for an attack on your camp. They are angry that you have broken the conditions of the cease-fire and are preparing to retaliate. I myself climbed up to a knoll that overlooked Polis and saw the capitol which was flooded with warriors. You have to go back and warn your people. There isn't much time."

"Damn it!" I cried. "I told Kane that setting up a medical facility here wasn't worth the risk! Bellamy, we have to go...now!"

Bellamy snatched his pistol from the holster on his belt and cocked it, nodding appreciatively at Echo. "Thank you."

She sent him a small smile and dipped her head shyly in response. "I - I didn't want you to die."

"I won't," he consoled her. "Now, stay out of sight or you could get hurt. Octavia and I will head back to camp right away."

As he spun around and headed for the Mount Weather entrance, I called after him, "I'll ride ahead on Helios! We'll cover more ground in less time."

Bellamy turned and sent me a firm nod. "Alright. I'll follow behind with Jackson."

I raised my eyebrows. "Abby's apprentice? Why?"

"Because he's accountable and Kane trusts him," Bellamy returned. "C'mon. Let's go."

Lifting my fingers to my lips, I let out a shrill whistle and immediately Helios' head perked up from where he was quietly munching grass nearby. Hastily, he trotted over to me and, in one swift movement, I sheathed my sword and pulled myself up onto his back.

Grabbing the reins that were lying across his broad shoulders, I gave him a nudge in the side. "Giddyup!"

Wheeling Helios around, I set my face towards the dark valley that separated the mountain from our camp.

I leaned forward in the saddle, I tightened my grip on the reins, I urged Helios to go faster, faster than he had ever gone before.

The two of us leaped over boulders and fallen logs, pummelled down rocky trails, wound our way through a maze of forested trees, plunged head-first into a steaming river and pushed our way through thick clusters of underbrush.

I was going so fast, my hair whipped wildly in every direction, hurling back to snap painfully at my face and neck. My breath was coming out in short, uneven gasps and my chest was rising and falling with each puff of air that escaped my lips.

And, during this whole ordeal, I couldn't help but wonder: what if we were too late?

After fifteen minutes of hard-core riding, I slacked off on the reins, giving Helios a moment to breathe. As he cantered his way through a steep gully, littered with rocks and half-dead bushes, I noticed that the path ahead careened downwards into a sudden, steep slope.

Hurriedly, I steered him about, bringing him to a halt. As we stood there, gazing admiringly at the tropical haze of the forest spread out before us, my ears caught the unmistakable sound of a distant gun-shot.

Confused, I turned around in my saddle and looked back the way I had come when the unthinkable occurred.

BBOOMM.

The sound of the explosion ripped through the air like a tidal wave, throwing me backwards in shock. Trying to control a skittish Helios, I tumbled ungracefully from the saddle and landed with a hard thump upon the ground.

Shocked at the turn of events, I tilted my head up and looked towards the heavens. Just beyond the distant tree-line which bordered the edge of the mountain-side was a huge mushroom-shaped pillar of black smoke!

Bellamy!

Jumping to my feet, I held out my hands and softly nickered at Helios who was prancing around in nervous circles. When the horse was calm enough to let me approach it, I mounted him with haste and urged him back along the trail from whence we'd just come.

I had no idea what had happened or how or why or who but I did know one thing: Echo had lied to me.

As Helios, a few minutes later, burst into the clearing that led up to the doors of Mount Weather, I couldn't help but slide, limply, to the ground upon seeing the devastating sight before me.

The underground residence and everyone that had been inside was gone!

The explosion had torn through the face of the mountain and decimated the entire facility. Chunks of burnt cement blocks, slithers of shattered glass and the frazzled remains of medical equipment and kitchen utensils were strewn across the floor in all directions.

I had never felt so hopeless as I did in that very moment.

"O?"

Startled, I glanced up to see Bellamy dart out from the safety of the woods. He ran towards me, a horrified and cautious Jackson in tow.

"Bell!" I yelped as I threw myself into his arms. Wrapping my hands around his neck and burying my face in his shoulder, I allowed a single tear to roll down my cheek. "I - I can't believe it. What's happened? She lied to us, Bell. Echo lied!"

Bellamy pulled away, a look of grim determination plastered on his face. "We can't be the only survivors. Surely there's others..."

"Bellamy," Jackson laid a restraining hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry."

Bellamy, trying hard to blink away the tears, bit down on his lip and shook his head. "No. No. This can't be. Gina's in there. She's alright. She's gonna be alright."

Unable to watch my brother's suffering, I turned away and closed my eyes tightly, trying to shut out the awful images that flooded my mind.

"Bellamy! Jackson! Over here!"

The three of us, upon hearing the voice, rushed towards the sound, eager to discover its' source. We stumbled upon Abby who was cowering behind some oak trees lining the clearing. She was crouched down on her knees beside the bloodied figure of a man whose face was caked in a hideous mix of white and black war-paint.

"Abby, are you okay?" Jackson queried as he hurried to her side.

Abby nodded. "Yes. I'm fine. I think."

"Whose this fellow?" Bellamy demanded, poking the end of his revolver into the man's back.

"I think he's the person who set off the bomb," Abby responded tearfully. "I saw him slip inside and pursued him but I was too late. He set off the bomb in the room that used to be the president's office and then made a run for it. I didn't think. I just rushed after him. I'd only just gotten out of the danger-zone when the bomb went off. Both of us were thrown to the ground but before he could recover, I took out my gun and shot him in the back. I - I've never deliberately killed someone before. It's making me feel nauseous..."

"Hey, hey, just relax," Jackson tried to comfort her. "You did the right thing."

"So, no one else escaped?" I queried in a near-whisper. "There were no other survivors?"

Abby glanced up at me through a haze of glistening tears. "Look around you. The entire mountain-side is ripped apart. No one else would have made it."

I chanced a sideward glance towards Bellamy and cringed when I saw the furious, agonised look on his face. Whirling around, he stormed away, jerking his fingers through his tangle of dark curls.

I wiped my nose on the back of my hand as I tried to stop myself from crying. Giving Abby a look that could kill, I sneered, "Tell me, was it worth it? Was it worth sacrificing my brother's happiness for your stupid medical ward?"

Leaving Abby and Jackson behind, I walked away, my mind in a numb state of complete shock.

I couldn't believe what had happened.

I knew that Azgeda had done this to us.

But the question remained.

Why?

Gif: Octavia as she sees the ruins of Mount Weather.

XX