XX

[PREVIOUSLY: Finn and Octavia distract a spying troupe of grounders while Bellamy sets up a trap to catch one of them. Raven wires up the prisoners' first walkie-talkies and Octavia receives an unpleasant surprise when she recognises one of the captives].

"Octavia, you can't sit out here all night."

At the sound of Clarke's patronising voice, I bit my lip and remained silent.

"Octavia! We need you. So you need to get your rest," Clarke persisted as she knelt down beside me. "You've been sitting outside of this drop-ship nearly all night. C'mon. Sleep. Please."

"What did you mean?" I spoke up, my tone gravelly and cracked.

"Mean? By what?" Clarke furrowed her brow as she gazed intently at me.

I guffawed under my breath as I looked over at her. "What did you mean when you said that I was important to you? Why? What are you planning? A truce with the grounders so they'll let you and you alone travel to Mount Weather? Escape and leave the rest of us behind to starve? What's your plan, Clarke? And don't try and sugarcoat it because I know, that deep down, you're not as perfect as everyone else seems to think."

Clarke backed away, shaking her head. Suddenly, she stood up and glared down at me, "There's nothing you or anyone else can do to stop Bellamy's interrogation, or should I say, torture of those grounders. Even though you refuse to accept that what we're doing is right, you need to learn, and learn fast, that not everyone on this planet is our friend."

"We are the intruders, Clarke!" I cried, jumping to my feet so I was at eye-level with her. "Us! We are! Not them! This is their home! And we're the ones who are invading it! Disrupting it! I don't think its fair. You said you'd capture a grounder! Not beat the truth out of two!"

"Since when have I ever kept my word?" Clarke scoffed. Rolling her eyes, she turned around and was about to walk away before pausing. She looked back over her shoulder and smirked. "Oh and Octavia? You better screw your head on straight or everyone else around here will no longer think of you as the girl-under-the-floor but the traitor. Goodnight."

I stared angrily after Clarke as she sauntered off. Maybe she was right. Maybe I wasn't loyal to my people ... not after what they did to Wells; not after what they did to Atom; not after what they did to Charlotte.

I spun around on my heel and stalked away, my hand straying to the hilt of the now-finished sword that hung in a sheath from my belt. I didn't return to my tent, however, I headed over to the look-out post that Zoe was standing guard at.

She turned to look at me as I approached her.

"Go on, get some rest," I told her. "I'll relieve you."

Zoe hesitated before shrugging and giving in. She was about to hand me her gun but I shook my head "no" and pointed to the weapon that was hanging by my side.

All she did was screw up her face into a "meh" expression and walk away.

As I stood near the gates for the remainder of that night, it gave me time to think. The grounders hadn't attacked us for a reason. But now that Bellamy and Clarke had not only captured two of them, but were now torturing them, it gave the rest of the grounders reason enough to march against us. I had seen, firsthand, how big and scary their soldiers were. We didn't have a chance against them, even with our guns.

I huffed and drew out my sword, examining the blade as it shone in the radiance of the night-time moon. There was no point in trying to talk to Clarke or Bellamy. I had to take matters into my own hands, starting today.

As morning broke over the land, I was aroused from my deep thoughtful reverie by someone calling my name.

Glancing up, I saw Finn, Monty, Bryce and a blonde-haired girl coming towards me, all armed with knives and guns.

"W-where are you going?" I questioned as they neared me.

"Hunting trip," Finn shrugged. "For real this time."

I gazed quizzically at him. "What do you mean? We've already scoured the woods that many times. There's nothing out there! And besides, who knows how many grounders are hiding in the trees by now? They could attack you!"

"Bellamy's orders," Monty spoke up.

"Orders?" I repeated incredulously. "Orders to what? March to your death? Commit suicide? This is insane. No one leaves this camp!"

"You have no right to boss people around, Octavia. Let them pass," the deep, stern voice of my brother cut through the air.

I whipped around and glared furiously at him. "Right back at ya. You would willingly send them out there when there's frickin grounders surrounding our camp?"

"Hey Princess, it's okay," Finn placed a comforting hand on my arm. "We'll be fine. Harper's the best shot there is."

"Harper?" my eyes drifted over to the blonde-haired girl who was standing next to Monty. She offered me a small smile and a quick nod of her head.

"It's okay," Monty assured me.

"See? They're good, they're willing. Now let them pass," Bellamy commanded.

For a long moment, I stood my ground, glowering at him and the gun in his hands. Finally, I heaved a deep sigh and backed away, watching, through a haze of tears, as the group left.

"If anything happens to them, anything at all, I'll kill you!" I vowed as I brushed roughly past Bellamy and headed back towards the drop-ship.

"You know what? If you weren't my sister, I would've killed you long ago," Bellamy yelled out after me.

"Oh, just like you murdered Atom? And tried to string up Murphy? And drove Charlotte to commit suicide?" I scoffed as I whirled back around to face him. "You're a spoiled asshole, Bell, and I'm sick and tired of the way you lord over everyone like you have some sort of right to life or something. You're sick. You're sick and you're twisted and I hate you!"

Bitterness dripped from my words and from every inch of my body as I turned my back on my so-called brother and walked away. With every step I took, the more disgusted and angry I became. Just because Bellamy and I shared the same blood, it didn't mean that we shared the same views. In fact, we were so different I wondered whether or not we were actually related.

The ticking clock of time had just thrown it's shadow over the early afternoon when it happened.

I was around the back of the drop-ship, gathering firewood with Dustin and Jasper, when we heard a loud commotion sound from the front gates.

All three of us dropped what we were doing and raced towards the scene, the worst possible scenarios running through our minds.

When we stumbled upon the cause of all the chaos, I nearly collapsed. Monty, Harper and Bryce, bruised and dirtied from head to toe where struggling under the weight of an unconscious and bloodied Finn. A stream of dark blood, mixed with saliva, dripped from his partially opened mouth. His forehead was split open by a large, deep cut and a curved hunting knife was buried deep in his chest ... just below his heart.

"F-Finn ... !" I choked out, clapping my hands over my mouth.

"What happened?" Dustin demanded.

"We were attacked!" Harper responded as she gasped for air.

"Grounders?" Jasper inquired.

Bryce nodded. "Yes."

"Oh my god," I breathed. "BELLAMY! CLARKE! COME QUICK! We need something to stop the bleeding!"

Finn was half-carried, half-dragged into the drop-ship and placed on a pile of matted canvases in the corner of the room. Clarke was immediately upon the scene, sponging the wound and winding rolls of bandages around his injuries.

"What are we going to do about the knife?" I asked worriedly.

"Can you get it out?" Bryce stammered anxiously.

Clarke paused and examined the weapon. "I - I can't do it alone. I need help."

"Whose help?" I shouted out desperately. "No one else knows anything about medicine except for you, Clarke!"

"I need my mum," she returned softly.

We all stared at her in astonishment.

"Well ... you can't exactly get her help now can you?" I scoffed. "Remember? She's on the Ark and you're on the ground."

Clarke shot me a withering stare. "I know that, Octavia. But if I'm supposed to extract this blade without doing any damage, I'm going to need help!"

"Why? What's the matter with it?" Dustin spoke up.

Clarke sighed and passed a weary hand over her face. "The knife ... it's been poisoned."

Gif: Octavia as she stands up against Bellamy.

XX