CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

"Stay stubborn, bitches."  

 ***

 "Mel?" 

 I guess Sterling's eyesight was better than mine, because apparently he could make out who the girl was from here. Murphy's face pinched. "You know her?" 

 "Shut up, Murphy she's my friend!" The small boy snapped, and I fought a smirk off of my face, I think I like this kid. "We have to do something." 

 Finn gestured for Bellamy and I to come closer, and I reluctantly obliged, crossing my arms and already knowing what he was going to say. "We can't stay." 

 "This isn't a Grounder, Finn... we have a rope." Bellamy pointed out, and I nodded my agreement. If it was Monty down there, we wouldn't even be having this conversation because I would have already been climbing down the damn cliff. 

 "You saw her," he hissed as another cry came from below, I clenched my eyes shut and tried to block out the sound, "she'd never be able to hold on to it." 

 "What would you do if that was Raven?" I asked, "or Clarke?" 

  His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, and his arms crossed tightly across his torso, "we'll come back for her." 

 I chuckled dryly, no humor in my voice at all. "Damn-it, Finn! You expect her to hold on that long? We don't even know it we will come back this way!" 

"We're moving out!" 

 At first, I didn't think I heard him right. Bellamy was who spoke, right? Who announced that we would just be leaving this girl hanging on for her life. "Bellamy!" I knocked his arm with the underside of my knuckles, and glared at him when he turned around. "If that was Octavia would we just be moving on? Tell me, if I was down there, would you just leave me to die?" 

"Do you realize how different that is?" He retorted, his lips drawing into a tight line. I shook my head. 

 "Different for you-" 

 "Hey, I'd hate to break up this moment," Murphy began, popping up from seemingly nowhere, his tone hinted with amusement. "But Sterling is climbing down the cliff." 

My neck whipped in the direction of the cliff so fast I was surprised my head didn't fly right off of my head, and I rushed to peer over the edge. Sterling had tied one end of the rope around a thick tree trunk, the other firmly around his waist. I didn't have time to stop him, as he was already halfway to Mel by the time I processed what was happening. "Well damn." 

 "Seems like he's heard one too many of your motivational speeches," Murphy quipped, and I almost laughed out loud. 

 "Shut up, Murphy." Bellamy fired back, exasperation lacing his tone. 

 A loud scream from below made me jump, fear spiking at my organs and making my stomach flutter. I glanced over the edge, just in time to see the rope give way, and Sterling plummet down the cliff.  

 "I can't let any of you get hurt anymore, not because of me, not because of what I did."

It wasn't the words that made me turn around, it was the haunted tone in her voice when she said them. "Charlotte, wha-"

This time, it was my turn to scream.

The small girl turned, and before Bellamy could reach out to grab her, threw herself off the edge of the cliff, plummeting into the abyss below. 

The ground under my feet swayed, and my breathing resonated around in my ears. Charlotte, the cliff- 

 I couldn't control the tears forming in my eyes, as images of that night flashed in my eyes. The rain, the darkness, the torches. My lips were moving, but no sound was coming out, and the pounding in my head almost perfectly matched that from my chest. 

I felt a hand grab my wrist and pull me back, making me realize that I had unconsciously taken a step forward, and was centimetres from falling off of the edge myself. Bellamy shook my arm lightly, which was what pushed me out of my daze. 

 "Are you okay?" The words came back in focus, but I didn't respond. I swallowed and sucked in deep breaths until my feet were planted on firm ground, and my eyesight was clearer. 

 "Mel! Mel focus on me, you can do this!" 

 "No!" Was the cry that came back to Bellamy, and the pure fear and sadness in her voice was not helping me out right now. 

 "Yes you can, you're strong." 

 "Not strong! Stubborn, maybe!" 

 "That's good!" I actually managed to say something, but my voice was hoarse and louder than I originally intended. Stubborn, she was stubborn, like me. "Just... be stubborn for a little longer!" 

Now that I was broken out of my daze, my mind was going into hyper-drive. I walked over past Murphy and grabbed the only other rope we have, looping one end around my waist, and tying the other ends around my legs to form a makeshift harness. Phia watched close by, amusement rolling through her eyes. "You watched a boy fall to his death, and now you are doing the same?" 

 "Yep," I licked my lips, tying the opposite end of the rope around the tree, and raising an eyebrow at Phis. "Please hold this." 

 She rolled her eyes, but clamped both of her hands firmly around the red seat belt. I walked back over to the edge, where Bellamy was. 

 "What the hell do you think you're doing?" 

 I gave him a look, shifting my eyes between the rope secured around me, and the cliff's edge. "Uh, getting Mel." 

 "Shut up, no you're not!" 

 "Yes, I am." I think the calmness in my voice scared him slightly, because Bellamy's eyes narrowed slightly and his lips parted at my words. I took a step forward, lowering my voice until it was a pained whisper. "I can't let anyone else die, Bellamy." 

 "Well I can't let you die." 

 "You don't want me to die?" I repeated, my voice cracking on the last word. I held out a piece of the rope, tilting my head to the side, "then hold the rope." 

 He studied my face for a moment, trying to detect a hint of anything that could make me not do this. He wouldn't find it, I had to no this. I had to save at least one person, one person, to make up for all of the people I couldn't save. Charlotte, my mom, Monty, Clarke-

 Bellamy shook his head slightly, and leaned down so that he could, much to my surprise, gently kiss me. I froze slightly as his hand brushed my hair, and then fell back to his side as he pulled away. "Be safe." 

 It took me a minute to respond, "I always am." 

 And with that, I turned and took my first step down the cliff. 

 I grew up in space, I understand what it feels like to be suspended with nothing under your feet. I understand that people who were able to go on spacewalks love the adrenaline of being suspended in the air by nothing except for gravity, the force leaving them floating from a chord. I never understood the appeal of spacewalking. I thought it was terrifying to have nothing to put your feet on. 

 I have a newfound respect for space-walkers. 

 My feet were pressed harshly into the dirt, making my lower back ache, and my hands burn like crazy. Occasionally, one of my feet would slip, and my heart would jump right out of my mouth, making me refrain from yelling out. Mel was a lot farther down then I thought, and by the time I got to her, I was sweating and shaking like a leaf. 

 "Hi, Mel," I took one hand off of the rope, which was a lot harder than it sounds, and grabbed on to the branch she was hanging off of. The girl herself looked like she could have only been a few years younger than me, and her face was coated in blood and small scratches from the crash. I immediately noticed how her right arm was bent at an odd angle, and the joint was swelling slightly over a purple bruise. "Ouch, broken arm." 

  I shifted forward more, roping my arm around her waist and bracing my feet harder against the rock. Tear tracks were visible on her face when she turned to look at me, and I tried for a reassuring smile. "You have to let go, I got you." 

 She shook her head, a trembling gasp leaving her lips. I understood her reluctance, but there was no way for me to get her back to safety if she doesn't let go.

 "I get that you're scared, but if you don't let go, we're both gonna be down here for a really long time," I paused, "I need you to wrap your arm around my neck, both arms if you can." 

 She tensed and gasped wildly as she swung around, moving her left arm to cling to my arm, and then her right. The rope dipped, but I grabbed back on to it with one hand, the other securing Mel firmly to me. "Alright!" I yelled, "I got her!" 

 The rope began moving up. 

 We didn't get far, before a small drop made Mel shriek, and a lot of yelling come from above. My heart stopped for a second as I picked out Murphy, Bellamy, and Phia's voices individually, all sounding like they were yelling their own form of curses. "What's going on?" 

 "Just hold on!" 

 I didn't know what the hell was happening up there, but only seconds after the rope was steady again, I heard a voice that had to have been Monroe's yell. 

 "Grounder!" 

 "Shit!" I held on to the rope tighter, feeling Mel's nails dig into the back of my neck. I heard Phia yell something in her language, and gunshots firing. A spear flew over the cliff, spiraling off to my side. I heard a cry of pain, and internally cursed the Grounders for their poor timing. Like, they seriously couldn't have waited another another five minutes? 

 The seat belt inched down further, and Mel shrieked again. 

"Nate, you gotta cut her loose!" 

 "No way!" I yelled back, not missing the relieved look that passed over the girls face. I had a brief image of this seatbelt falling, taking both of us with it, but I pushed that thought out of my head, and focused on keeping us steady. 

 As if we needed something else to worry about, a foghorn pierced the air, the same foghorn we heard right before the fog of death rolled in. I swore loudly, but relaxed slightly when we began moving up again. 

 As soon as the edge was in view, I did my best to hoist Mel up, watching as Murphy grabbed her arms and pulled her up to safety. My entire body was shaking from the muscle strain as I got my elbows on the rocky edge, cuts blooming up my arms from the harsh terrain. Bellamy reached down and grabbed my hand, giving me the pull I needed to roll onto solid ground. I gasped, "Stay stubborn, bitches."

 I panted, my muscles relaxing for the first time in what felt like decades. Everyone else looked no better, sweaty and gasping. I rolled to my side, crawling to my feet despite the protest from my legs. Monroe was on the ground, am arrow embedded in her thigh. Everyone else looked unharmed, and Phia seemed to have scored a new Grounder souvenir. A spear that was taller than her. 

 She grinned when I caught her eye, "good job, Nathaniel." 

 "Thanks." 

 "We need to take cover from the fog," Finn said, his face red as a tomato. I nodded once, until a new voice prevented me from saying anything else. 

 "Bellamy?" 

 At first I thought my eyes were deceiving me. But no, the girl who was walking toward us, a foghorn gripped loosely in her hand, dark hair pulled into a braid that ran down her back, was Octavia Blake. The same Octavia Blake that I watched be carried into the wilderness. She seemed... fine. 

 "No we don't," a rare smile crossed Bellamy's face, and he leapt to his feet, running over to his sister, who met him halfway in a tight hug. 

 "She blew the horn," Murphy realized, which made me shake my head, a grin tugging at my lips at his idiocy. 

 "No shit." 

 After she hugged her brother, Octavia bounded over to me, wrapping her arms around my torso so tightly I couldn't breath. I hugged back, relieved that the younger Blake was okay. She pulled away, her face shining. "I'm glad you're okay." 

 "Right back at you," I winked jokingly, "love the hair, by the way." 

 She grinned bashfully, swiping the braid over her shoulder, "thanks, so do I." 

 As soon as I could, I re-approached Mel, who was cradling her broken arm. I knelt down, "Do you think you could take the jacket off?" 

Instead of responding, she proved she could by doing it, hissing in pain every time her arm moved. As soon as it was off, I examined the injury. It seemed like the bone broke at the elbow, and it she doesn't get it set, her arm would be really weird for the rest of her life. I tied the arms of her jacket around her neck, and helped her situate her arm in the middle. I can't do anything over than hope that she doesn't move it too much. "That should hold it." 

 "Thank you."

 "Anytime," I grinned, helping her up and dusting off my pants. "Doctor Nate, here for all of your medical needs." 

 Before she could ask what the hell that meant, I turned and walked away on my sore muscle, taking into account how Octavia seemed to be helping out Monroe. "She needs to get that set," I told Bellamy, who was staring at his sister like he couldn't believe it was her. "She needs to go back to the Ark." 

 Finn walked forward and wordlessly handed me a map. I examined it, seeing that he had drawn us a rough outline of how to get back to the station. I nodded my thanks. 

 "We'll meet you there." 

 Finn nodded again, beginning to jog back into the woods, until Phia began to follow him. "Hey!" I called, and she turned around, her spear reflecting the sun, "you're going with them?"

 "I don't really have a choice," she replied, making Finn shot her a worried look. "I am not meant to be locked up."

 "Well leaving Finn alone with a Grounder doesn't really seem like a good idea," Murphy began, nodding toward Bellamy and I. "Parting, such sweet sorrow, right?" 

 "Where the hell do you think you're going?" 

 "Come on, Bellamy," Murphy defended, speaking in a tone that could have been either teasing or desperate. "You know they'll just lock me up if I go back there," he jerked his head in Phia's direction, "the last samurai has a point." 

 Bellamy's eyes narrowed for a few seconds, before he bent down and scooped up a discarded rifle from the ground, tossing it to Murphy. The boy examined the weapon like it was the coolest thing it the world. I raised an eyebrow, as Octavia muttered an incredulous "really?"From her spot on the ground. 

 Murphy quickly moved to follow Finn, and Bellamy turned to Phia, "watch their backs." 

 She nodded, while I ran through every scenario that could have possibly happened while I was dangling from a cliff that could have made Bellamy trust Phia. She nodded, and whirled on her feet, stalking into the forest. 

 And then there were five.