❝take my hands and take my strength, too. whatever of it you can use to keep going.❞

-alec lightwood, the mortal instruments

♛

I FORCE MY EYES to stay open. They droop and seem to be filled to the brim with sand. The sun came up hours ago, and we have long since passed the entrance into Grounder territory. We have yet to endure an encounter with them, but we also haven't seen any more clues for a long while. I'm beginning to lose hope that we'll find Octavia. Worry is consuming me from head to toe, making me feel miserable.

Finn sighs and crosses around a tree to Bellamy. "I got nothin'. We lost the trail."

Bellamy's head gives a little shake of disbelief that's barely noticeable. He steps around Finn, who has stopped to examine the area more accurately. "Keep looking."

Finn rolls his eyes and follows after Bellamy. I stay close to Jasper, whose head constantly swivels around to survey his surroundings. His tousled raven hair falls messily in his eyes and the red welt near his eye has gone down considerably since I last remember taking a close look at it. He catches my stare and gives me a weird look, wondering why I'm watching him.

I shrug. "Just making sure you're okay, Jas."

He sighs. "I'm fine."

I purse my lips and avoid walking into a particularly thick tree trunk. "Whatever you say."

Finn hurries after Bellamy and attempts to get him to listen. "Wandering around aimlessly isn't the way to find your sister. We should backtrack--"

"I'm not going back," Bellamy cuts in harshly, coming to a stop suddenly. He narrows his eyes into slits at Finn, lips pulled into a small frown.

"Hey, where's John?" A girl named Roma questions nervously. She has long, dark hair pulled back by thin cornrows and a narrow jaw that makes her face appear long. Her small eyebrows are creased together in worry.

When I look around, I notice that John is missing from our group. The rest turn their heads in search of him as well.

"I just saw him a second ago," Jasper whispers as his head snaps around. His body tenses and his knees stay slightly bent like he's ready to run at any given moment.

"Spread out," Bellamy orders. "He couldn't have gotten that far."

Just as he finishes, something falls from the treetops and lands in the center of our wide circle. I turn and feel my heart go cold. There lies John's lifeless body, completely still with his throat slashed and unfocused eyes staring at space.

Finn runs over to the body, accompanied by Bellamy. The former glances up at the leaves with a panicked expression. "They use the trees."

A bird shrieks nearby. My neck turns up to view the seemingly empty branches of the trees surrounding us, carefully but swiftly searching for anything unusual.

"We shouldn't have crossed the boundary," one of the guys says, deep voice wavering. I think I remember people calling him Diggs.

"Now can we go back?" Roma asks anxiously, seemingly even paler than before. The loss of color gives her a washed-out, ghostlike appearance.

"There." Jasper uses his weapon to point in the distance. I turn to my left and notice a black figure standing, frozen in place, about a quarter of a mile away. "Right there."

Diggs stands near the long-faced girl, breath shaking. "Another one."

My heart begins to pound intensely as my gaze flickers between the two Grounders. I wring my cold hands together. The feeling of fatigue has completely passed over me now.

"We should run," Finn advises quietly.

Upon that suggestion, Bellamy turns and sprints away without a word. Monroe flees in the opposite direction, her reddish braids whipping behind her. Jasper and I clash together as we both try to run different ways. He grabs my arms and gently moves me aside so I can go.

I notice Monroe taking a large, rounded turn out of the corner of my eye. It only takes me a second to realize what she's doing. Though we all started off running in different directions, we're still coming together to form one line. I copy her actions and start to turn, trying to steady my breathing as to not get a cramp.

"What are they gonna do?" Finn asks after we've all gotten in line, one after the other. He trips over a rock and scrambles to get back on his feet. "They keep heading us off!"

"Just keep running!" I shout back, hopping over the stone Finn had tripped over. "It's a lot harder to hit a moving target."

My breathing grows labored and heavy. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep up. My energy had been low enough before I started sprinting, and by now my legs are starting to feel like rubber. The seemingly packed dirt we're moving on is actually loose. My feet slide as I move swiftly through the woods.

"I can't run much longer!" Jasper warns from all the way in the back as he strains to continue on.

"I'm not stopping for him!" Diggs shouts, sprinting right past Bellamy. The former seems to be the most urgent out of all of us. I'm not even sure if he's thinking of anyone but himself at this moment.

Bellamy has stopped running abruptly, sliding his beloved tomahawk out of his belt. "I'm sick of running, anyway."

"Hey, what are you doing?" Finn asks breathlessly, skidding to a stop next to him and putting a hand on his arm. I begin to slow down my pace and watch them carefully. The others in the group speed right past.

"They know where she is," Bellamy replies tightly, a stern look of determination plastered on his face.

I come to a full stop, noticing that Jasper has, too. The boy is trying desperately to cover up his wheezing gasps as he attempts to catch his breath.

Roma suddenly takes off. "Diggs, where are you?"

"Roma!" His voice calls back from the distance.

My heart almost stops when I notice a Grounder heading straight toward us. I instantly follow after Roma, noticing the others doing so as well. I grit my teeth and ignore the burning cramp in my side.

"Roma?" I call out, turning the same corner that she did. A frightened shriek causes me to run a little faster. After coming out of the trees and into a more open space, I come face-to-face with Diggs, whose body has been speared with some sort of trap that had slammed into his chest. Crimson blood oozes from his pale lips, causing my stomach to churn.

Roma has sprinted beyond Diggs, running away from the horror she had just been struck with. I'm not sure whether to stick with the others or follow after her.

"Wait, Roma!" Bellamy shouts as he catches up to us.

"There could be more," Finn adds in a yell. "Stop!"

I take that as a sign to slow down as well. My boots dig into the ground, skidding me to a stop just beside the wooden paddle that struck Diggs. Finn ceases his run right in front of his body, eyes going wide in shock.

"They were leading us here," Jasper notes, voice wavering with fright. His eyes scan around for more possible traps. "It's the only direction we could run in."

"Hey," Finn says, turning to Bellamy. "Where'd they go?"

He's right. The Grounders surely would've caught up to us by now- we have been stopped long enough. There's no sign of them anywhere. The separation from them is unnerving; I feel like they could be about to pick one of us off then and there.

"After Roma," Bellamy replies, beginning to sprint again. He moves me aside and continues on in the direction she went.

"Wait! Bellamy!" I call after him, following his footsteps. I almost trip over my own feet more than once with how out of it I am. My feet are beginning to feel like cement blocks. After spending my entire life in the Ark, I'm not used to this much moving at once.

After several minutes of running and no sign of Grounders, we decide it's safe to walk. There's been no sign of Roma anywhere so far.

"There she is!" Monroe hisses, pointing to a female's body that's leaning against a tree. "Psst, Roma!"

She doesn't move.

Fearing the worst, I push past Finn and jog to where Roma is. My pace slows once I arrive at the tree. Something's wrong.

And sure enough, when I come in front of her, I feel a sharp punch to my gut. A spear is lodged into her chest, perfectly centered in the middle like it had for Jasper, and pinning her to the tree. Her head is flopping awkwardly to the side. Clots of blood coat her lips and nose. Her empty, open eyes are staring at nothing.

I feel like I'm going to be sick. My hand covers my mouth in shock the longer I look, but I can't tear my eyes away. Bellamy comes up behind me, putting a hand on my arm as he examines Roma. His own eyes go wide and his lips quiver.

Finn sucks in a breath as he looks around. His voice comes out in a hushed whisper. "They're playing with us."

Bellamy reaches a trembling hand out and closes Roma's eyes. His expression is crestfallen as he looks at her. "She only came because of me."

I can almost hear Finn roll his eyes. "They can kill us whenever they want."

"Then they should get it over with!" Jasper screams the last part at the top of his lungs, voice laced with burning anger. Finn rushes over to him to try and shut him up before he attracts the attention of the Grounders. But Jasper continues on screaming, challenging them. "Come on! We know you're out there!"

Bellamy grabs my elbow and tugs me along with him to where Jasper is thrashing around in Finn's arms. Monroe's hand tightens around her weapon, green eyes going wide as she spots a Grounder. "They're coming!"

My heart begins its familiar pounding. By now I'm sure my ribs have been bruised from the constant terror I've been experiencing, chilling my body with fear. Bellamy's grip tightens on my arm as he turns and catches sight of another coming toward us. There are four heading our way on every side.

We're trapped.

"Get out your weapon," Bellamy mumbles through ragged, fearful breaths. I fumble with my spear and pull it out from the loops in my jeans, gripping it tightly in my hand. My jaw clenches as the warriors come closer. I will fight with everything I have.

But then a horn blares from the distance, causing all four of them to stop abruptly and turn their heads to the sky. One by one, they all retreat the opposite way.

"Where are they going?" Monroe asks breathlessly, eyebrows pinched in confusion.

"That's the horn for the fog," I realize, remembering the sound from before. "Acid fog. It's coming."

The horn sounds again. I find myself reaching up and touching the skin just beneath my eyes. Images of Atom's death flash in my mind, of how many welts covered every inch of his skin, and how he begged Bellamy to kill him.

We're too far away from those caves. We're be stuck out here.

Finn pulls a tent out from his backpack and begins unfolding it with shaking hands.

"We have to run," Monroe states, eyeing the bunched tent up and down with uncertainty.

Finn shakes his head. "There's no time."

It'll take too long to actually assemble the tent, so we dive underneath it and keep our heads low to the dirt. All the edges are pressed down by either a hand or a foot. It's completely silent other than the sounds of our own breathing.

"How long are we supposed to wait?" Jasper questions in a whisper.

Monroe shifts her gaze between Finn and Jasper. "Will this even work?"

I sigh, locking my hands beneath my chin so I have something to support it. "It's the best we have."

Bellamy studies me carefully. I know that he's thinking about my eyes and how they were affected by the fog. I try to ignore the thought that's prodding my brain, telling me to return the stare, and deliberately ignore him.

"We'll find out if it works," Finn sighs.

"No, we won't," Bellamy grumbles, then lifts the tent over his head. My breath catches in my throat as his face pops outside. "There's no fog."

Finn peeks out as well, and I follow suit. Sure enough, the air is clear and there isn't a speck of the musty yellow fog to be seen. I start to stand, stretching out the ache in my neck.

"Maybe it was a false alarm," Finn surmises as he gets up as well.

Bellamy's eyes go wide as they lock on something. "They're coming back."

I catch sight of a single Grounder moving swiftly through the woods, but keeping his distance. He seems to be running around us.

"I think he's alone," Jasper observes.

"Now can we run?" Monroe asks nervously. Her body is tensed, knees bent to move at the signal.

"He doesn't see us," Bellamy notes. "I'm going after him."

"What?" I hiss, eyebrows raised in question. "What are you gonna do? Kill him?"

"No, Amazon," Bellamy replies, keeping his stare locked on the moving man. "I'm gonna catch him, make him tell me where Octavia is, then kill him."

If there's one thing I know about Bellamy, it's that there's no changing his mind when it comes to his ideas. There's nothing I can do to prevent him from going after that Grounder. The most I can do at this point is follow him.

I lose sight of Bellamy several times, so I'm not sure if he actually kills the Grounder or not. Nevertheless, he must have interrogated him, because now we're heading into a dewy cave.

"Bellamy?"

I turn the corner and squint to see Octavia kneeling near a wall. She has a terrible head injury, blood splattered hear her hairline. Handcuffs lock her wrists together. Her shaking hands hold a small, metal key that she's trying desperately to use to unlock herself.

"Octavia," Bellamy breathes, immediately crouching down to help his sister. I've never heard him so relieved since I've met him.

"Get the key," she commands, nodding to where it hangs just beyond her reach. 

Bellamy is already reaching for it, quickly using it to free her. "Monroe, watch the entrance."

It's then that I notice the unconscious Grounder. He's lying on the floor, eyes closed and blood trickling from a deep cut on his forehead. He has dark skin and a bald head, with black war paint smeared across his face. I make sure to eye him carefully so that he doesn't move.

Octavia grunts as the chains slip from her wrists and she launches herself into her brother's arms. Bellamy pulls her into a hug, whispering, "It's okay. You're okay."

The embrace lasts for a while before Octavia pulls away. She turns to the rest of us and a smile takes over her face as she heavily limps toward both me and Jasper. She hugs us both at the same time, almost falling into us. "How did you find me?"

"Followed him," Jasper replies happily. He seems astonished that Octavia is choosing to include him in her celebration. It's sweet, honestly.

"Glad you're okay, O," I say, gently patting her back. She steps away, breathing heavily and sounding like she's close to crying tears of joy.

"We should go. Now. Before he wakes up," Octavia says through gasps of air. She watches the Grounder out of the corner of her eye, stiffening upon remembering that he's still there.

"He's not gonna wake up," Bellamy mutters darkly, walking to a wall of war weapons and grabbing a pointed stick.

Octavia frantically reaches out to stop him. "Bellamy, stop. He didn't hurt me. Let's just go."

"They started this," Bellamy argues. He stands just behind Finn, who is hunched over the man and examining him. "Finn. Move."

Finn turns something over in his hands, eyebrows creased together in concentration. "Foghorn."

Seconds later, a metallic sound slices through the air. The Grounder stabs a knife through Finn's chest before any of us can react. His legs kick out hard, knocking Jasper off of his feet and sending him sprawling to the rocks. I yell in surprise as he, too, yanks my feet out from under me. I hit the ground forcefully. Luckily, my head stays craned upwards, so the brunt of my fall hits my back and not my skull.

Bellamy lunges at the Grounder with the stick held out in front of him. The man grabs onto both sides of it; the two push it back and forth in an effort to gain control. While Bellamy is distracted, the Grounder kicks him to the ground and turns the point of the stick right toward his throat.

Pain shoots from my back, rendering me immobile. I choose to ignore it as best as I can and push myself to a sitting position. The veins in Bellamy's neck bulge and his face reddens with strain as the Grounder forces the spike closer and closer to his throat. Both of his hands grip the sides, trying to push the point up and prevent his evident death.

"Stop!" Octavia screams, turning away from Finn and now facing the Grounder. "That's my brother!"

Bellamy's teeth grit as the point of the wooden spear nears his skin. He's weaker than the warrior above him, whose eyes are narrowing into slits as he applies more force.

It hits me hard. Jasper is still on the floor, Finn has been stabbed, and Octavia is on the other side of the cave. If none of us do anything, then Bellamy will die.

It's that thought that causes me to push myself into a standing position as quickly as I can. Flaring pain causes me to stumble, but I slip my spear from my belt loops and turn it around so the end is facing upward. I take a single step and swing it into the Grounder's skull, successfully knocking him out just before the point reaches Bellamy's neck. The man crumples to the rocks.

Bellamy's wide eyes glance up at me as he continues to hold the weapon in his hands. He throws it aside as I bend down to help him up, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet. He doesn't let go once he's standing.

"What?" I ask as he squeezes my hand tightly, his eyes locked on Finn.

"I told you to hold my hand if you're scared," Bellamy replies breathlessly. His gaze shifts to me. "Well, I'm scared."

As Jasper helps Finn stand, I squeeze back and then let go to assist Octavia. Bellamy watches as I loop her arm around my neck and use my free hand to hold her middle. There's something there- I'm not sure what it is at first, but it clicks as I move past him with Octavia.

Bellamy is impressed.

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whoo hoo, guys! i'm back on track with this book. plus: the gif of bellamy is sososo cute!!!

bellamy held fallon's hand FALLAMY IS STRONG GUYS

-kristyn