It became slightly chaotic the next morning. Freddie, Clarke and I were stood amongst the crowds of people gathered to listen to Abby and Thelonious speak about the situation at hand.

Although the whole camp seemed to be in meltdown, it seemed that both Clarke and I were more focused on Bellamy and Octavia. "They should be back by now," I'd told her earlier in the morning. My worry had been increasing rapidly throughout the day, and with everything else going on, my anxieties had become even more heightened.

I heard the voices around us slowly quieten and watched as Abby and Thelonious left the Ark, heading in the direction of us all. I shared a look with Clarke, already anticipating the outcome of this speech. But I was not prepared to run away from this and abandon the people, our people, in Mount Weather.

"Chancellor?" Jaha prompted Abby, who was seeming a little overwhelmed by the amount of people in front of her.

"By now you've all heard the rumor," she finally said. "And unfortunately, it's true. The Grounders are coming." Murmurs within the crowd immediately began, as people's heads dropped low at the news. "We have a difficult decision to make. Thankfully, Chancellor Jaha has found his way back to us, and we're discussing all options."

He too a step forwards, in front of Abby. "But to be safe, you need to pack. Now. Whatever you can carry. We may need to leave at a moment's notice."

My heart sunk, Clarke immediately looking towards me, her face saying exactly what I felt. We were leaving. We were leaving our people.

"Where will we go?" A man suddenly yelled out from within the crowd.

"I don't know, is the answer," he replied. "But I heard of a place. A City of Light. It's across the dead zone."

"What makes you think we'll make it there?" Another man questioned.

"Because we made it here," he responded, causing my jaw to clench. They only made it here because of us, because of those people still stuck in that damn Mountain. "I have faith, and right now, given the alternative, that's good enough for me."

But it wasn't good enough for me.

"Not for us." Clarke's voice rang out from the midst of the crowd, heads whipping around to look at her. "If we leave here, what happens to our people in Mount Weather?"

"As your mother said, that is a very difficult decision to make," he started again, and I saw Freddie shake his head, his eyes filled with tears. "But the time has come for each and every one of us to ask: Is this how the story of our people ends?" The crowd gained momentum, whispers flying about. "Did we come all this way just to die tomorrow?"

"You wouldn't have got here without us!" I snapped, unable to bite my tongue down anymore. I felt eyes on me and I took a deep breath, trying to steady my heart rate. "You'd all be dead if it weren't for them."

His eyes lingered on me for a moment before he began to speak again, ignoring me, as if I'd never spoken up. My blood boiled. The crowd's heads slowly turned back to face him, but I could feel my Abby's eyes fixed on me.

"If we're not gone by the time that sun rises," Jaha continued. "That is exactly what will happen."

"No decision's been made," Abby added on, at least giving me a small amount of hope. "In the meantime, please report to your station supervisor and gather emergency supplies."

People began to oblige to her orders, the crowd beginning to disperse as I stood frozen, watching the empty space where Abby and Thelonious had once stood. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I may never see Jasper or Monty or the rest of my people again. I just couldn't. But there was nothing I could do.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around in confusion, a sigh of relief immediately escaping me when I realised it was Bellamy. "Where the hell have you been?"

His eyes shifted over me for a moment, as I silently wished my words hadn't come out so harsh. Although I was slightly annoyed with him, considering I'd been worried sick about him and Octavia for absolutely ages.

"In the dropship," he said, his eyes wandering past me briefly as he gave someone a small nod. "You need to come back with me right now. Both of you."

"The dropship?" I heard Clarke ask from behind me, voicing my thoughts. "Why? What happened?"

"I'll explain on the way," he said, his hand dropping back to his side, surprisingly to my dismay. "Bring a med kit. Meet me at Raven's gate."

I shared a look with Clarke as he left in a hurry, both of us absolutely baffled by what was going on.

"I'll get the med kit," I started, turning to face Clarke. "You–"

"Billie!" Both Clarke and I spun our heads around as Freddie came sprinting towards us both, his face seeming to have paled, fear in his eyes.

He halted in front of us, his eyes searching mine for a few moments, his mouth parted, as if he wanted to say something but didn't know how to.

"Freddie?" I prompted, causing his eyes to divert from mine to Clarke's, and then eventually back to mine again.

"I'm sorry, Billie," he started, causing my heart to pound as I waited in fearful anticipation for his next words. "It's your mom. She–" he cut off for a moment, as I stared at him, feeling as if all the air had been taken from my lungs. "It's a long story but she's really hurt. You have to come quickly."

I turned back to Clarke, my mouth agape. For a moment, I didn't know what to do. Bellamy and Octavia needed us, but my mom, she was all the family I had left. That's who I had to be with. "It's okay, B," Clarke told me after a few moments, noticing the inner battle I was having with myself. "I'll explain to the others."

I couldn't even manage any words as the two of us parted ways, Freddie hurriedly leading me back to the medical ward where I'd woken up when I first got to the camp.

Abby pushed through the material that was cutting us off from the room my mom was in, her face showing a huge amount of sympathy. I feared the worst. I expected the worst. "Billie–" she started as I took a step forwards, swallowing thickly.

"Is–" the words caught in my throat, tears pricking in my eyes. "Is she–"

"Billie, sweetheart, it's not good."

I completely froze on the spot, feeling as if I'd just witnessed the Exodus ship come crashing down to Earth again. I felt trapped in that moment. I thought I lose my mom, and I only just got her back. I needed her now, she couldn't just leave me. Not like this. Not right now. Not ever.

"She– she's gonna be okay, right?" I questioned, wishing I had Clarke or Bellamy by my side so I could just hold on to them.

Abby stared at me momentarily, seeming to be deliberating over her response. "I'm not– we're not sure yet."

I sucked in a deep breath, running my hands over my face and rubbing my eyes. This wasn't happening. "Can I see her?"

"Not quite yet," she responded with a gentle shake of her head. "Were you aware she left camp last night?"

"What?" I questioned, trying to think back to when I last saw her. I hadn't seen her this morning, I was too preoccupied with the speech Abby and Thelonious were making. I presumed my mother was somewhere in the crowd. I thought she was safe. "What happened?"

"She was gone all night," Abby confirmed. "I was made aware, but I didn't want to worry you–"

"So you lied to me?" I immediately shot back, my curiosity being replaced with anger towards Abby. "My mom was out there all night injured and you did nothing? You just got on with your stupid little speech?"

"I sent some guards out to find her," she said, keeping her voice calm despite my tone. "They returned with her this morning. She'd somehow stumbled into a Grounder trap." As Abby continued to explain, I felt myself beginning to zone further and further out. Why was she out there? What the hell was she doing? "Billie, she lost a lot of blood. And we've been unable to bring her back round to a conscious state all morning. It's not looking good at the moment. I'm sorry. I truly am."

I wasn't aware of the tears running down my face at first until I inevitably let out a quiet, pained sob, the left side of my body stumbling against a wall to steady myself. I'd forgotten Freddie was still there because he'd been so silent, until he somewhat awkwardly placed a steady hand on my shoulder.

"I'm going to do everything I can," I heard Abby try to reassure as she too placed a hand on my other shoulder, the action irking me. "I won't let your mom die."

I pushed her hand back, taking a step away, the overwhelming need to blame somebody for all of this suddenly hitting me. I remembered everything Abby Griffin had done to my family. I remembered her being the reason my dad was no longer here. I'd tried and tried to push it aside, but in this moment, I just couldn't look at her the same. I'd never felt such a strong, overwhelming anger towards anyone.

"You won't let her die, huh?" I snapped, my jaw clenching, my heart racing. "Not like you let my dad die."

She seemed taken aback by my words, her face completely falling. I couldn't read her expression, it was a mixture of different emotions. A small part of me desperately wanted to take my venomous words back, but I couldn't. I was so angry. Furious.

"Billie–"

"Just don't–" I bit back, cutting her off. "I don't want your excuses. I don't want you here. I just want my mom to pull through."

Abby nodded solemnly, her eyes falling heavily, not attempting to say anything more as she turned and headed back the other way. I turned back around, squeezing my eyes shut, not even wanting to face Freddie, although I was aware he was still watching.

"Do you– uh, do you want me to go?" He questioned, stumbling over his words slightly. When I finally did look at him, I noticed he was awkwardly fiddling with his hands, unsure on what to do.

I thought for a moment before shaking my head. I needed someone. I really needed someone. "No."

I began heading to the door, nodding at him to follow me. We walked in silence to the bar, where I ordered two drinks, Freddie continuing to watch me warily. "Billie," he started, his eyes glancing around the makeshift bar area. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

The bartender placed two glasses in front of me with a clink and headed away without another word. I slid a glass over to Freddie, whose hand rested on it as he watched me picking up my own. I took a sip, the alcohol burning my throat slightly. But I liked the feeling. I nodded towards him, holding my glass up again with a smile. "Drink up."

↠

A/N

Kind of a filler chapter but I wanted to update as it's been so long.

I haven't had much time to write because of gcse exams, but the good news is that I only have about a month left, so I should be back to writing and updating frequently very soon.

I've got a hell of a lot planned for the rest of this season and I can't wait to get back to writing again.

Thanks for reading 😊