CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

"You all suck!" 

***

 "I saw we give him up!" 

 "I say, we never asked you!" I snapped, my voice taking on that super sassy tone that I haven't heard in a while. The man looked very taken aback for a moment, as if he couldn't believe that a scruffy young delinquent such as myself would dare to speak to him that way. I hate how willing these people are to sacrifice us over and over again. Finn may be an asshole sometimes, but he is a person. A person who we can't just give up to the Grounders. 

 "Give him to the Grounders!" Another man yelled, and Raven surged forward, using her arms to shove him away, anger filling her eyes. "Hey, back off!" 

The man lunged toward us again, so I turned to push him back, grabbing Raven's arm. "Raven, it's okay!" I yelled over the over-lapping voices. She turned to me just long enough for a flurry of words to shoot from my mouth in an effort to calm her down. "Finn will be fine! I promise!" 

 She relaxed slightly taking a step back. Phia took the liberty to stand in front of her, unsheathing her knife. 

 "She was with him! Let's give them the Grounder!" Someone yelled, and I internally rolled my eyes at how stupid these people really were. Someone surged forward in an effort to grab her, but she ducked and drove her elbow into his stomach, kicking him back. 

 "I'm not dying for him! Spacewalker burned three months of oxygen from the Ark! We should have floated him a long time ago!" 

 "Do you realize how many people should've been floated a long time ago?" I demanded, my grip on Raven's arm tightening as she surged forward. The crowd was forming around us, and I really didn't need Raven killing someone right now. 

 "It's one life for all of us! Give him up!" 

 Raven's arm lashed out of my grip, and she ran forward, pushing people back and yelling words too quickly for me to hear them. Major Byrne seemed to have the same idea as me, as she rushed forward to break up the fight. Raven, obviously not wanting to be touched by her, swung her fist up and managed to hit her right in the jaw, the force of the punch knocking her off of her feet. 

  In a flash, guards were on either side of her, pinning her arms behind her back. "Whoa!" I jumped forward, grabbing the closest guards arm and pulling him so he would look at me. "Seriously? You're gonna take her away for punching someone?" I dropped my hands limply at my sides in defeat. "You're gonna run out of prison space if you keep arresting people for the stupidest reasons!" 

 "You wanna join her?" One of the guards threatened, and I could feel my eyebrows fly up on my face. If they were arresting people for punching than I might be going for my third time. Before I could, a hand reached out to grab my bicep, gently pulling me back. 

 "No thank you," Bellamy said, glaring holes into the guards as they turned and dragged Raven away, I held up my middle finger at their retreating forms. 

 "You all suck!" I shouted, but if they heard me, they didn't acknowledge it.

 "Nate, you can not get arrested right now," Clarke scolded, sighing deeply. "Again." 

"It's not my fault adults are stupid!" I hissed, turning to glance at Abby, "not all, though." 

 "Well we need you," Clarke cleared her throat, holding onto Finn's arm protectively. "I need you to go talk to Lincoln." 

 ***

 "You know he's not a Reaper anymore, he doesn't need to be restrained." I said to no-one in-particular, entering the medical bay. For someone who just died twice, Lincoln was looking pretty good. Bloody, bruised, and beat up... but good. Damn-it, I only died once, he's beating me. 

"Yes I do," Lincoln replied, his voice pained as Octavia rubbed his back. I grimaced as Phia walked in to stand next to me. Clarke was talking to Finn with Bellamy, and since she is the queen of multi-tasking, she sent me and my scary Grounder friend to check up on the other slightly less scary Grounder friend. 

 "Can you please just tell us if there is a way to make peace?" Abby requested, and Lincoln sighed.  He spoke to Phia like she was the only person in the room. 

 "Did she leave riders?" 

 "Two, just outside of the gate." She replied. 

 "They're waiting,"  he said, and she nodded. "You don't have much time." 

 "She can't just expect us to hand over one of our own people," Octavia shook her head incredulously, her lip curled. "Would she do that?" 

 "She wouldn't let her people die to protect a murderer." Lincoln angled his head so he was staring directly at me, his eyes dark and hard as stone. "If you don't do this, she will kill everyone in this camp." 

 My heart fell, and I swallowed so that I would be capable of speaking, "there has to be something that we can do." 

 "Finn took eighteen lives, the commander asks for just one in return... take the deal." 

 "How can you say that?" I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest and narrowing my eyes, "Finn can suck sometimes, but he was the first person to offer you peace... he's your friend." 

 "He massacred my village. Some of the dead were my friends too."

 "Yeah, that was kinda fucked," I let my voice trail off as I tried to think of something to say, "but... that wasn't Finn... we've all done things we can't take back, and that isn't the kind of person he is." 

 "Is is now," Lincoln defended, stubbornly shaking his head, "we've all got monsters inside of us, Nathan, and we are responsible for when we let them out."

I clenched my teeth and tried to hide my annoyance at how poetic that was. I directed my gaze to the ground, and then back up at Lincoln, asking the specific question that Clarke requested. "What will they do to him?" 

"Fire... because he killed the innocent, it starts with fire." 

 I cleared my throat, holding my hand up, "hold up, did you say starts?" 

 "Yes." When I looked over, Phia was staring so intently at a rack of bed-sheet's that I was surprised they didn't burst into flames. She turned to glance at me from the corner of her eyes, "they'll take his hands, his tongue, his eyes... and everyone who grieves with have a turn with the knife. When the sun rises, the commander will end it with the sword," she bit her lip, averting her gaze again, "but I have never seen anyone survive until the sword." 

 While my mind reeled over how horrifying that was, Lincoln spoke up. "He took eighteen lives, so he will suffer the pain of eighteen deaths... then we can have peace." 

 I grimaced, squeezing my eyes shut and shaking my head slightly to try and rid my mind of the images it was conjuring. I can't believe I had to be the one to tell Clarke that the dude she likes has to die like that if we want to live. "Wow... that is.... very unfortunate." 

Phia nodded as I groaned, taking the hat off of my head just so I could anxiously run my hand through my messy hair. "Ugh... thanks for the anxiety, Lincoln." I mumbled, spinning on my heel and stalking out of the room.

 ***

 It was hard enough to speak to Clarke without the chanting Grounders. Their cry of 'Jus drien jus daun' echoed in my head. Blood must have blood... a very nice choice of words. 

 Her face was grave and grey by the time I finished, the Grounder's torches illuminating her expression. "Oh." 

 "Yeah... yeah, its's kinda freaky." I admitted, the chanting getting on my nerves. I finally decided I have had enough, and turned to face the wall. "Shut the fuck up!" 

 "They're trying to scare us." Bellamy noted, as I gripped my hat in my hand and squeezed as hard as I could to try and relieve some pressure building in my chest. He rested his hand on my shoulder, obviously sensing my distraught. 

 "Maybe we should go back into the station," Abby requested, her eyes nervously darting to the big structure behind us. Clarke shook her head, finding her voice again, "no, we have to prove that we're not afraid." 

 Abby gave her a look, "what if I am?" 

 "Then do what I do best in life." I took a deep breath, "fake it." 

 Abby nodded, taking my mediocre advice as if it were the wisest thing she has ever heard, and squeezed my hand as she walked past. We all shuffled awkwardly behind her as she strutted right up to the gate, giving the guards the signal to open it. 

 "Where's the boy?" One of the Grounders demanded, his voice deep and condescending. Abby squared her shoulders. 

 "We're not giving him up. We're ready to fight if that is what it comes to." 

 The Grounders stared at her for a moment, trying to decipher if she was actually serious. Abby stared right back at them, her eyes set and challenging. After a moment, a horn blew, and the horses carrying them turned and trotted away into the dead of the night. 

 "Watch for movement in the woods!" Bellamy yelled as soon as the gates closed, and the gunners around the perimeter actually listened for once and complied. I squinted into the dark, Clarke next to me. Suddenly, her hand flew up and grabbed onto my arm, although she spoke Bellamy's name. "Bellamy-" 

 "Don't shoot!" 

 My head perked up at the semi-familiar voice. The gates slowly opened, and at first I didn't understand why, until I saw the figure that entered the camp. 

 It was Marcus Kane, and contrary to popular belief, he was alive. 

 Abby walked over, fighting a smile off of her stoic face. "Marcus." 

 Kane didn't try to hide his smile, as he nodded back at her. "Chancellor." He spoke the one word with so much meaning, his eyes drifting past Abby's face to the Ark. "It's good to see this place again." 

 "We can't be out in the open," Bellamy said, his cautious eyes sweeping over the entire small land, "we have to get somewhere safe." 

 "It's safe for the moment," Kane counteracted, lightly shaking his head, a chuckle passing his lips. My eyebrows shot up, wow, did that bitch just laugh? "I managed to buy us a bit of time... but we need to talk." 

 Without waiting for a response, he turned and strode in the direction of the Ark. 

 ***

 "They sprung you!" I spread my arms as Raven's familiar figure approached me. She looked extremely pissed off, but otherwise unharmed. She offered me a tight-lipped smile, crossing her arms. 

 "Yeah, I obviously should have been in there for life, how dare I punch someone?" 

 "You're gonna catch up with me." I teased, slowly beginning to walk in the direction the others went. I volunteered to wait for Raven, and Phia was nowhere to be found. "Not to brag, but I've been arrested twice. Once for stealing, once for beating the shit out of Murphy." 

 "Which was a gift to society." She held up a finger, and I held in a laugh, knowing that she wouldn't appreciate me laughing, just like how I didn't appreciate when Kane did it. "Murphy needs to get his teeth knocked out every once in a while, I would do it, but if he runs then I can't chase him." 

 "It would be my honor to always beat up Murphy for you." 

 She put a hand to her heart, "aw, thank you!" 

 "My pleasure." 

 "Hey," Clarke suddenly sprinted out of the Drop Ship, running into my arm and making me shoot my arms out to steady both of us. She stared up at me, her icy blue eyes overflowing with worry. Bellamy followed soon after, followed by Finn, and Phia. "We have to leave, now." She hissed, grabbing my arm and dragging me away as Bellamy said something to Raven. 

 "Whoa," I held up my hands, pulling my arm from her grip. I trust Clarke... wow, sorry I was thrown by how weird that sentence was to say again... anyway, I do trust Clarke, but I have learned from past experiences that you should probably ask where you are being dragged to. "Where are we going?" 

 "The Drop Ship, people are turning on him." She explained, her eyes darting behind me like I was about to be assaulted by an angry middle-aged man. She leaned in and lowered her voice to a whisper. "We're gonna split up in the woods so that the Grounders don't see us. I'm going with Finn through the middle, you and Bellamy are circling around either sides." 

 I nodded, stage whispering dramatically back to her, "will do, Griffin." 

 She rolled her eyes, "Nate, this is serious... I don't want you to get hurt." 

 I spread my arms and grinned at the blonde as I slowly backed away. "Come on, Clarkie... I'm the best thief on the Ark... remember? I can be quiet if I focus really hard." 

 She clenched her lips shut tightly, and then, much to my surprise, took a big step forward to wrap her arms around my shoulder. I froze, not sure what to do at first. I didn't realize that Clarke hugging me would be a regular thing... Having not hugged her since we were fifteen previously makes me unsure. I hugged back nevertheless. 

 "Please stay safe." She whispered, and I nodded. 

 "Hey, Finn is going to be fine..." I assured, making my voice as confident as I could. Clarke knew that about me, that sometimes I convince myself instead of others... I hope she wasn't catching on to that. "I'll meet you at the Drop Ship and we'll figure it out." 

 Clarke nodded, taking a deep breath and re-gaining her calm composure. She nodded at me, her lips drawn into a tight line, "thank you, Nate." 

 I grinned, winking at the girl who I never thought I would call my friend again. 

 "Anytime, Clarke." 

A/N: Wow I stan Clarke and Nate, and Raven and Nate so much like damn.

 Also: Do you guys think he is really gonna make it to the Drop Ship safe? I am so excited to write that chapter, so it will probably be out soon!

 Please keep voting and commenting, and thank you for reading!