CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

"Unreal."

***

The smell of blood is different than any other scent in the world. 

 I am awfully familiar with it by now, mainly from the short amount of time I have spent on Earth. It is now weird to not have blood all over your face, which I think is kind of suspicious. I thought I was familiar with the metallic scent of blood, but when I walked into the harvesting chambers, I almost threw up. 

 "Holy shit," I gasped, and the smallest sound made a bunch of blood-deprived Grounders turn in their cages and stare at us. Phia gave me an annoyed look as I winced deeply. 

 The room may be the most horrifying thing I have ever seen in my life. There were rows upon rows of steel barred cages, and inside each and everyone one of them, there was a person... a person who was quivering in fear and moaning in pain... a person that was having their blood harvested. 

 "Come on," Bellamy grabbed a key from his belt and fumbled with it for a second, before fitting into the lock. A girl turned her head, her face practically glowing, and her entire body limp. Her eyes widened in recognition, and Bellamy carefully helped her out of the cage. "Come on, I told you I'd come back for you." 

 "Oh my God," I carefully shifted the girl from Bellamy's arms into mine, gesturing for Phia to help me hold her up so I could grab a flashlight from my belt. She squirmed slightly in our grasp, apparently still strong after loosing a shit-ton of her blood. "Hey, hey," I tried to keep my voice calm, although I think we all knew that I was freaking out on the inside. "Hey, you need to let me look at you." 

 "I'm fine." She pushed away from Phia, before she lightly leaned against the cages and closed her eyes, her chest heaving. I shared a look with the girl next to me, and she shrugged. I had to find a way to see just how extensive the damage was.... we couldn't get help from these people if they are too hurt. 

 I leaned closer and lowered my voice to a whisper, making her steely gaze land directly on my face. "My name is Nathaniel Masteron, and I was a doctor before I came here-" 

 Ha, ha, ha, lies. I was a convicted pickpocket. 

 "-and I know that you're scared, and that you're strong... but it doesn't matter how strong you are- if you are malnourished and have severe iron deficiency, it would be pretty damn hard to fight a war..." I paused, casting Phia a brief look over my shoulder. "Can you please let me check you out?" 

 She didn't say anything, but she also didn't bite me when I grabbed my flashlight, so I assumed it was fine. 

There was no way this chick could fight a war... I feel like I knew that the second I walked through the door, but this is only confirming it further. I mean, being bled out is obviously not ideal, but this girl has obviously not eaten anything for a long time, and she was swaying lightly on her feet. Her skin was anemic, her eyes were sleep-deprived, and her entire body was malnourished. 

 I didn't say any of that, I just smiled, "Thanks." 

 I darted to the side as quickly as I could, darting out my hand to grab Bellamy's arm. "Blake!" 

 He leaned in slightly, but that was the only indication that he was even listening to me, as his eyes were still darting across the room at the speed of light. I was tempted to slap him, but then realized that would do more harm than good and bit my lip. "Look, I know we need these people, but she can barely stay on her feet, and she's in good shape." 

 "I don't know what you want me to do about that," he mumbled back, our lowered voice seeming to echo across the room. "We need them to fight."

 "I also think it would be ideal if they were, oh I dunno- alive." 

 "They can hear you, you know." Phia mused from her spot beside the girl. I blushed, raising my voice. "Look, I know that everyone in this room is a fighter, but-"  

 "We need you all to get ready for a war." Bellamy cut in, and my eyebrows shot up on my head. This man is the stupidest person I have ever met. I mean, sure, we need peopel to fight, but we also need people to fight who can... well, actually fight. 

 Right as Phia was about to unlock another cage, the Grounders all began hitting on the steel bars, groaning in either pain ot anticipation. They obviously didn't trust us at all, and I don't blame them since we are literally all wearing Guard uniforms. The girl growled, limping forward and raising her voice, yelling something in Trig that proved to be very effective, as the sound died down, making Bellamy nod his approval. 

 I only recognized one word: Free.

 I turned to Phia, and she mouthed words back at me: "if you want to be free, be quiet." 

 Huh, sounds like something my old teachers would say. 

 "Okay," the girl walked back to us, her steps still swaying, but her tone definite. She squared her shoulders, looking only at Bellamy. "How do we do this?" 

 "There's an army outside going for the main doors," he explained, "when they get it open, all hell will break loose. That's the signal for our friends to come here, and-" 

 Before he could continue, there was a loud beeping sound, and then a voice blared through the speaker system. An all too familiar voice that made me want to stab a fork through my eye. "My fellow citizens, this is your president speaking-" 

 The three of us shared a look, already knowing that this wasn't going to be good. 

 "-I have news to share with you that will change our lives forever. For ninety-seven years, Mount Weather has been our home. It has kept us alive, but it has also held us captive. Most of us have made peace with what we have had to do to survive. We've done these things for one reason: so that our people could return to the ground. That day is today." 

 "Oh shit," I muttered a colorful array of curse words under my breath. "He's going public." 

 "Before my friend Lorelei Tsing was murdered by the outsiders still at large in this mountain, she found a cure... it was their bone marrow."

 "Here-" Bellamy shoved the keys into the girl's hand. "Nate-" 

 I followed, not exactly sure what Bellamy was doing, but knowing exactly what Cage was trying to do. If people knew that our bone marrow could get them out of this god-forsaken piece of crap, they would willingly hunt down our friends... which wouldn't take long, given how many people were in the mountain. 

 "Where are you going?" The girl asked, and this time I answered before Bellamy could. 

 "They're trying to get their people to turn on each other. We gotta get our friends before they turn into bone-marrow mutts." 

 "We'll send them here in groups," Bellamy picked up, "You get your people ready."

 "Oh, and if you need a quick one-oh-one on how to pick a lock-" 

 "We don't have time for that." 

 "-we do not have time for that." 

 "Wait!" The girl called before we could exit, reaching out and grabbing Phia's arm, since she was the closest. My friend looked up at the other girl, who seemed to visibly swallow. "Thank you." 

 Phia made a face that I couldn't decipher. "Free your people." She said, and with a tone laced with finality turned to glance at me. "I'll free mine. We'll thank each other when we get out of here." 

 I didn't even have time to smile, because we had turned and ran from the room. 

 With every step I took, Cage's voice rang in my ears. 

 "This has been the dream of our people since the bombs, but to reach it now, I need your help. The forty four criminals that irradiated level five, killing fifteen of our people, are now keeping us from that dream. Although we've repaired our home, we can never replace the lives that were so viciously taken from us, and as hard as it is to believe, there are those among us who would help the people who did this, and I am speaking to you now." 

 I caught Bellamy's eye. Here comes the guilt trip... or the brutal threats. 

  "If you truly want to end the blood treatments once and for all, then the forty four murderers you're now hiding are the key to doing that. You have one hour to turn them in without punishment. After that, we'll be forced to consider you enemies of the state. I'm asking you, please do what's right for your people, our people, so that we can all take our rightful place on the ground. We're almost home."

"In the vents," Bellamy urged, and Phia glanced over her shoulder, her knife out instead of her gun as she wordlessly climbed in. I was next squeezing Bellamy's hand as I passed, and ducking into the mental tube, cursing quietly when I hit my head on the metal edge.

 As we crawled through the vent, every single sound seemed to be magnified by one thousand. I felt like the dull thump of my knees hitting the metal was as loud as a gunshot, and every breath was nothing more than a signal for the guards to come and get us. I was familar with this feeling, however... I was also familiar with ways to make my breathing almost silent. 

 So I did it know, slow, open-mouthed breaths that didn't provide as much oxygen as what was ideal, but was near silent. When you steal things, there are basically two ways to get out of it. One: hide somewhere and pray, and two: run like hell and try and blame it on someone else. 

 I'm kind of kidding there. I have never blamed my stealing on someone else, but once I did knock over an entire bookcase. 

 "Which way?" Phia asked, and I shrugged. "I dunno, just keep going until you hear something."

 She paused, "that is a horrible plan." 

 "Just-" I lightly hit her foot, "go!" 

 She muttered something under her breath, but nevertheless continued going, turning a corner when we heard two loud gunshots that almost made me hit my head again. Phia unconsciously picked up the pace, which only made it harder for me, since I wasn't exactly as small as she was, and it was harder to get around the corners. 

 As we got near another opening in the vents, I was hit by the familiar scent of blood. Phia approached the vent cover, and wordlessly pulled her gun out of it's holster. 

 "What are you doing?" I demanded in a harsh whisper, and she raised her finger in response, telling me to be quiet. I shut my lips, deciding that (as hard as it was) I have to trust Phia on this one. 

 There was one gunshot, and then light flooded the vent as she pushed her way out of it. 

 "Whoa-" I mumbled, almost falling over just from the stark difference in lighting. Bellamy slipped out after me, his gun pointed at the other guard. I don't think he needed that extra precaution, since Miller currently had his handcuffs wrapped around his neck. With one hard slam against the stone wall, he went still. 

 Bellamy turned to me. "You wanna pick some locks now?" 

 "You know me so well-" I picked a random key from my belt, having no idea what it did, and beckoned Fox toward me. Her shoulders were shaking, but she padded over as I shoved the key into the keyhole and pressed it in, moving it back and forth until a click was heard and the cuffs popped open. 

 Fox rubbed her wrists for a moment, before jumping up to wrap her arms around my shoulders. I hugged her back, her small body quivering in either fear or just generally weakness. She seemed so tiny... how could anyone want to hurt someone as innocent as Fox? 

 "Oh, Nate, thank you," she mumbled, her face muffled by my shirt. I smiled when she pulled away, ruffling her hair. "Anytime, kid." 

 She sniffed once, wiping her face with her sleeve. "I'm only younger than you by a year." 

 "You're still a baby." 

 Maya was next, coming up to stand in front of me as I jimmied the lock, freeing her wrists. She didn't say anything the whole time, just stared ahead at her father, and then stepped aside, massaging the blood back into her hands. 

 Jasper smiled at me when he came forward, his hair as messy as ever, although he did look weird without his goggles on. "Hi, dude." 

 "'Sup-" I grinned at my friend, swiftly getting his handcuffs off. "How's it going?" 

 "Same old, same old." I grinned, embracing him briefly and looking over his shoulder to Miller, who managed to get his cuffs off when he was dealing with the guard. He mock saluted at me, and I returned the action, before chuckling to myself and walking back over to Bellamy. 

 "We need to get everyone to the harvest chamber," he explained as Phia gave Vincent dirty looks from the corner of her eyes. "You'll be safer there." 

 "We'll be safer in the harvest chamber?" Jasper repeated incredulously, looking at me like, "can you believe this guy?" 

 I shrugged. "Unfortunately, I think we're just gonna have to trust Bellamy on this." 

 "Are the others there?" 

 "Not yet-" 

 "Monty?" 

 I frowned, my teeth clenching as everyone looked at me. "No, Monty's not there yet." 

 "He's with the others on level three," Vincent explained, and even that small bit of information gave me great relief. At least he was safe, even if it is only for now. "We moved him after the last sweep, you should go there." 

 "We might just do that," I tried for a smile, before looking back to Fox. "Vincent will take you." 

"Hey!" Jasper almost tripped over his feet in an effort to run over to us. "I'm coming too!"

 Bell and I shared a knowing look. "Jazz-" 

 "I promised I'd protect them... and that is exactly what I am going to do," he cut me off, jutting his chin out indefinitely and crossing his arms. I blinked at my friend, trying to place the exact moment in time when he stopped being the dorky kid who grew weed for the fun of it. 

 Bellamy was the one who answered. "Let's go." 

 I didn't hear anything after that, as I walked forward to hug Fox again. I had to bend over to do so, and it made me feel tall. "Be safe," I whispered, and she repeated the term back to me. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach when I looked at her face, one that I was all too accustomed too. 

 But I didn't have time to dwell on what exactly was about to go wrong, as I turned around and walked away from the group, just praying that it wouldn't be the last time I saw them. 

 ***

 "What the hell is wrong with you?" Phia muttered as we walked down the abandoned corridor on level three. I blinked once, looking over at her. "What do you mean?" 

 "You look like you're about to spontaneously combust." 

 "I do not." 

 On the contrary, I felt like I was going throw up. My knees were wobbly and my gun almost slipped out of my hand from how much sweat was pooling in them. I don't know why, but since we left the other group, the knot in the my stomach that has been present since first coming to this planet was tightened to the point it was painful. I just had the most horrible feeling that something terrible was about to happen. By this point, I was just waiting to be shot or something. 

 "Don't let your emotions get in the way of your duties." 

 "Thanks for the pep talk," I muttered coyly under my breath, sucking in a deep breath and swallowing, glancing over at Bellamy, who's eyes raked back and forth across the hall. I pursed my lips and tried to calm my rapidly calm my nerves. 

 "Attention, class one quarentine protocols are now in effect. All citizens must report to level five immediately. Hard seal lockdown in T-minus thirty minutes and counting." 

 Jasper immediately turned to Maya after these words were announced over the speakers, and I took the opportunity to walk over to Bell. I narrowed my eyes, shoving my gun in my holster when I felt that I could no longer hold it. "I have a really bad feeling about this." 

 Bellamy nodded, his lips pulled into a tight line. "I know. I got it too." 

 "Thank the Lord," I mumbled, a bit of pressure relieving from my chest when I realized I wasn't completely crazy. Bellamy gave me a tight lipped smile, wordlessly lacing his hand with mine.

 "We need to keep moving." 

 "Attention, class one protocols are now-" 

 Since I didn't know what they were talking about before, the statement that Jasper made was slightly confusing, although it was all the more relevant.  

 "Then we kill him." 

 We all jumped as the sound of a gunshot rang across the hall, bouncing off the walls, followed quickly by the shrill sound of a woman screaming. Jasper's eyes flew to mine, both of sharing the same though, although he was the one who voiced it. "Monty." 

 Bellamy told us to be quiet although I am pretty sure none of us listened. The body of a woman splayed out in the middle of the hall, a gunshot wound in her head. "It's Mrs. Ryan." 

"She was hiding the last twelve," Bellamy realized with a horrified look. 

 "Where'd they take them?" 

 "It's got to be level five." 

 I felt my throat constrict as I knelt down by the body. Phia regarded me through calculating eyes as I tried to process this information. They had Monty? How could they have possibly gotten Monty?

There was a loud thump, and I gasped in surprise, falling back and scrambling backwards a few feet as a body was dropped right in front of me into the shadows. It took me a second to process the light, but I jumped to my feet. "Monty!" 

 I almost knocked him over from how hard I hugged him, feeling like I was finally able to breath again... well, for ten seconds. 

 When I pulled away, Monty's face was gaunt. "They know about the Grounders." 

 My face fell. "W-What?" 

 "That's why I hid. I... I didn't do anything to save the others. I let them kill Mrs. Ryan." 

 "What do you mean they know about the Grounders?" Bellamy repeated incredulously. 

 "It was on a soldier's walkie. They're going for the harvest chamber." 

 My eyes flew up to meet Bellamy's, and suddenly the bad feeling in my stomach made sense. We sent all of our friends there, and if they klnow about the Grounders...

"If they do that... we lose everyone."