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[PREVIOUSLY: Finn, Octavia and Lincoln venture forth on a risky expedition through the notorious Reaper Tunnels. Octavia and Lincoln began to bond when Lincoln sacrifices the safety of his own life so she and Finn can escape. The two head towards their camp with a message for their people: they have to leave]!

"We have movement outside the south wall. All gunners to your positions!"

"Somebody's coming!"

"Move it!"

"Get ready!"

"Stay together."

As Finn and I sprinted up the slope towards the camp gate, we heard an uproar of commotion resound from within the walls.

"Wait! Hold your fire! It's Octavia and Finn, I repeat, it's Octavia and Finn. Get the gate. Get the gate!"

In response to Nate's orders, the front gate was unlocked and shoved open, admitting us entrance.

"They're back! Octavia and Finn are back!" a shrill cry rose up from among the numerous spectators as they rushed towards us.

"Oh god," Finn gasped as he stumbled weakly inside. Doubling-over, he placed his hands on his knees, his chest heaving for air.

I came tumbling through after him, my muscles so sore I could barely stand and my tongue so dry I could barely talk.

"Octavia! Where the hell have you been?"

Bellamy, his strides long and purposeful, came storming out of the drop-ship towards Finn and I; Clarke, Raven, Monty and Jasper right on his heels.

"Oh my god, Finn!" Raven exclaimed as she hurried over and threw her arms around his neck. Clinging to him, she buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed in relief.

"Thank goodness!" Jasper scurried over and, wrapping his arms around my waist, he picked me up and spun me around. As he set my weary body back down on the ground, he perked his eyebrows up as he questioned, "You okay?"

I nodded, wincing as I pushed some saliva down the back of my raw, cracked throat.

"We got captured by the the grounders," Finn spoke up in response to the confused murmurs that were rippling through the crowd around us.

"Yeah, I figured," Bellamy retorted as he walked over to me. Placing his arm protectively around my shoulders, he asked, "O, did they hurt you?"

I shook my head. "No."

"How did you get away?" Monty inquired curiously.

I exchanged a quick side-glance with Finn before replying, "Lincoln. He saved our lives."

Bellamy stiffened up as he gazed disbelievingly down at me. "That grounder that was locked up here in the drop-ship? Why the hell would he do that? We tortured him!"

"You mean, you tortured him," I pointed out, slipping away from his grasp and turning around to face him. "I helped him get away from you so I guess he - er - he just returned the favour."

"Favour?" Bellamy scoffed. "Grounders don't do favours. They just do killings."

"Speaking of which," Finn raised his voice as he inclined his head towards me. "We need to leave now. All of us do."

Clarke, who was standing nearby, frowned in confusion as she piped up, "What? Why?"

"There's an army of grounders, unlike anything we've ever seen, coming for us right now!" I hurriedly explained, my tone tight and urgent.

"We need to pack what we can and run," Finn spoke up, creases of fear and worry lining his brow.

"Like hell we do!" Bellamy cut him off abruptly. "We knew this was coming."

I let out a groan of frustration as I turned on him, "Bell, we're not prepared!"

"Yeah? Well, they're not here yet!" he snapped. "We still have time to get ready. Besides, where would we go? Where would we be safer than behind these walls?"

"There's an ocean to the east," Finn explained hurriedly.

"Yes, the people there will help us," I added. "Lincoln said so."

"You expect us to trust a grounder?" Bellamy demanded mockingly as he spread out his arms and turned around to face the rest of the people. "This is our home now! We built this from nothing with our bare hands! Our dead are buried beyond that wall in this ground! Our ground! The grounders think they can take that away! They think that because we came from the sky, we don't belong here! But they're yet to realise one very important fact: we are on the ground now! And that means we are grounders! I say, let them come!"

Cheers and yells of enthusiasm and agreement rose up from the audience encompassing us.

I shook my head as I backed away and surveyed the crowd. They didn't understand. Bellamy didn't understand. We needed to leave.

"Bellamy's right," Clarke called out as she stepped forward.

Finn and I exchanged glances of disbelief. As I looked away, I ground my teeth together in anger. How typical of Clarke to be siding with Bellamy in a matter such as this!

"If we leave, we may never find a place as safe as this," she continued loudly. "And God knows, in this world, we could be faced with something even worse tomorrow. But that doesn't change the simple fact: that if we stay here, we will die tonight!"

My eyes widened in surprise as Clarke's words rang through the moist morning air.

"So, pack your things," Clarke told everyone, her voice carrying a tone of urgency. "We're leaving ... now!"

As the crowd began to disperse, their feelings in a torn state of mind, I gave Clarke a firm nod. "Thanks."

Clarke sent me a grim half-smile before turning and brushing past Bellamy on her way back to the drop-ship.

Bellamy cast Finn and I a savage glare before whirling around and stomping after Clarke.

"I'm sorry Bell," I whispered, the notes of my voice drifting softly over the wispy breezes floating through the camp, "But I can't side with you on this."

Less than twenty minutes later, everyone, in a jumble of noise and chaos, had gathered around the front gate, waiting for Clarke and Bellamy to make an appearance.

Keeping Finn, Raven, Monty and Jasper close by, I paced around impatiently as I heard the muffled sounds of raised voices vibrating out from within the drop-ship. Knowing it was Clarke and Bellamy having ego issues, I gritted my teeth as I tightened my fingers around the hilt of the sword Lincoln had given me earlier.

"If they don't hurry the hell up and get out here, I swear to God..." Finn began.

His sentence was cut short when Clarke and Bellamy suddenly appeared and strode over towards us.

Clarke motioned to Nate, indicating that he should open the gate. "Let's go," she said.

Nate and a few of his friends tugged open the heavy wooden structure. People, slinging packs over their shoulders and tying knives around their belts, poured hastily out of the camp. With the gunners in the lead and at the rear, everyone in the middle, although nervous about what the outside world might bring, felt that bit safer.

As Finn and Raven started off after the others, I cast one last glance over my shoulder and paused.

Bellamy was standing in the middle of the camp. His rifle was slung over one shoulder, his hands were planted on his hips and his head was tilted back as he gazed up towards the trees towering over him.

I hesitated before letting out a reluctant sigh and walking over to him. I came to a stop beside him and waited until he turned around to face me before saying, "You did good here, Bellamy."

Bellamy let out a shaky breath as he wiped his nose on the back of his hand. Stepping back, he surveyed what remained of our camp and shook his head. "Fourteen dead."

"Eighty-six alive," I gently reminded him. "You did good, Bell."

Bellamy clenched his jaw and remained silent.

"We need to go," I prodded.

Bellamy ran his tongue over his dry, cracked lips as he, once again, looked over the camp, the camp that we had laboured over long into the night, the camp that we had built from nothing, the camp that we had lived in, the camp that we had called home.

"Let's go," Bellamy finally consented as he started off towards the gate.

I smiled as I fell into step beside him.

Who knew what the future would hold? I just hoped that it would be better than what we'd had to endure here ...

Little did I know that this was not the end of our fight for survival, but only the beginning.

Gif: Bellamy and Octavia. They're such sibling goals!!

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