— CHAPTER THIRTEEN,
light the pyre.

"BECCA'S JOURNAL IS AMAZING," RAVEN SAYS FROM WHERE SHE AND THE OTHERS SIT CRAMPED IN THE BACK OF THE ROVER. Ruby and Bellamy sit in the front. Bellamy drives the rover. Raven continues, "at twenty-six, she found a pathway to access a human mind. That same year, she had to lock up ALIE because he answer to what was wrong with the world was too many people. She was twenty-seven when it launched the bombs."

"What'd she write about the Flame?" Clarke questions.

"ALIE 2.0. She saw it as a way to atone for her sins. She designed it to not just access a human mind, but to merge with one. It could never wipe us out, because it would be one of us. She would put it in herself first. Altered her genes do her body wouldn't reject the implant." Raven explains.

"Bekka Promheda, the first Commander," Luca pipes. All eyes turn to him, "she was also the first Natblida." Becca. The First Commander. Nightblood.

"Natblida?" Ryland's brows furrow. Nightblood.

Bellamy's eyes glance over at Ruby. She looks as if she's paying no attention to the conversation but Bellamy can tell that she is.

"Black blood. It made her blood black, didn't it?" Clarke speaks up.

"Yeah." Raven responds.

"How did you know that?" Octavia asks.

"Nightblood. That's where it came from. Somehow it became hereditary. That's why we have to find Luna." Clarke doesn't see the look shared between Amara and Luca at the mention of Luna, "if she can access ALIE-2–"

"She can tell us how to stop ALIE-1." Octavia finishes Clarke's sentence.

"Bekka Promheda gets her second shot at atonement." Sinclair mumbles to himself. Becca. The First Commander.

"Luna is the final Natblida," Luca says. "But she also fled her conclave. I am not sure if going to Luna is the best idea." Nightblood.

"You got any better ideas?" Clarke looks to him with raised eyebrows.

He shakes his head.

"Get back to the mind pathway," Monty says. Ryland glances at him. He just lost his mother. He is the one that did it, too. "If ALIE used it to upload our minds to the City of Light, then there's chance my mom is still alive."

"That depends on your definition of alive." Raven mutters.

"Eyes sharp, weapons hot. We're almost home." Bellamy informs the group. "Miller, come." Bellamy then says into the radio. Silence. "Harper, you there? Your ride's two minutes out."

Before they arrive at Arkadia, they all swap places. Monty takes his place in the drivers seat, Jasper gets on the Gatling gun on the roof, and Raven takes Ruby's spot in the passenger seat. The others walk along side it with their weapons out.

"We left two days ago. Why haven't they fixed the gate yet?" Clarke asks as they approach Arkadia.

"Maybe cause there's no one here to fix it." Jasper shrugs.

"It's like a ghost town." Octavia remarks.

Bellamy raises his radio to his mouth again. "Miller, where the hell are you? I don't like this."

"Maybe they got chipped." Jasper suggests.

"If they got chipped, they'd have been waiting for us at the cave." Luca tells the teenager.

"Maybe they saw the open gate and went in for Lincoln's book." Jasper keeps on.

"Maybe you should stop saying maybe." Octavia snaps, looking up at him.

"If they were chipped, ALIE knows we're coming." Amara tells the group.

The group comes to a stop. Ruby's eyes look down at her feet. Her blood runs cold.

At the tip of her boots is a pool of blood.

Lincoln's blood.

A sharp gasp slips past her lips. She takes a step back, stumbling over her own feet. Luca instinctively reaches out and grabs her arm. Bellamy's eyes shoot over to them. 

"Let's just get his book and get the hell out of here." Octavia says, looking down at the blood.

"That's a plan I can supper," Jasper states.

They continue on. The hanger bay doors roll open. Monty pulls into the hanger bay.

"Close it up, turn the rover around. We may need to get out of here quickly." Bellamy orders.

─────────

Ruby and Ryland walk side-by-side towards her old home. "Everyone finish what you're doing and meet me in the armory." Bellamy instructs them over the radio.

Her brows furrow. She lifts the radio to her mouth. "Why?" She asks.

"You'll see when you get here." Bellamy replies.

"Okay, we're on our way." Clarke says. Ruby and Ryland share a look.

"Whatever the hell that's about," Ryland mutters as they come to a stop.

Ruby carefully opens the door to her home. Ryland has his gun in hand and Ruby has her sword. If someone is hidden insider her apartment, they're in for a world of hurt.

They do a quick sweep of the apartment and find no one hidden inside.

Ryland watches as Ruby rushes to her bedroom. When she returns, there's a book in her hand.

"What's that?" He asks her.

She glances at him. She tugs on the string and the book opens. He steps up, looking over her shoulder. On the pages of the leather bound book is Ruby's own scribble handwriting.

"In the bunker," she starts. "Luca and Lin— they let me write in this book under their supervision. It's full of memories."

Their eyes lock. She then looks back down at the pages. Each page has different drawings and entries. There are memories from the Ark and memories from Earth. There's drawings of her parents, Marcus, the delinquents, Luca, Amara, Lincoln, Bellamy.

A little piece of paper falls from the book. Ruby bends down to pick it up. She knows what it is. It's a letter.

The letter Murphy left her.

"I needed this." She tells Ryland. She turns to look at home but instead her eyes snap to the ground. Ryland's eyes follows her. A small canister rolls on the ground. It stops after it hits Ruby's foot.

Then it hisses. A red gas starts to emerge from it. Both of their eyes widen. "Oh, shi—"

The gas swiftly takes both teens to the ground. Ruby's book falls from her hand.

A man dressed in Grounder attire steps into the room. He wears a gas mask to keep the himself from inhaling the gas.

He bends down and pulls every weapon off of Ruby and Ryland. He hauls Ruby over his shoulder and grabs Ryland's feet, dragging him and carrying her to the airlock where Octavia, Jasper, Monty, Luca, Harper, Bryan, and Miller are already bound and gagged.

They watch with wide, horror-filled eyes as he roughly throws Ryland's feet down. He brings Ruby off of his shoulder and tugs her arms up so that he can cuff her hands by Octavia, who struggles to break free.

He drags Ryland beside Harper, cuffing his hands. At the same time, the pair of best friends begin to wake. Emerson gags Ryland first. Ryland's wide eyes look around him, not knowing what the hell is happening. All he knows is that it isn't good.

As Emerson brings the gag around Ruby's face, she sinks her teeth into his forearm. He lets out a sharp yell of pain. He yanks his arm back, feeling a piece of his skin rip from his arm. She spits Emerson's skin and blood at his face.

He sends a harsh blow across her face. She gasps at the pain, her head whips to the side. Her ears ring at how hard the hit was. Blood blossoms in her mouth. Red and black blood drip down her chin and stains her lips.

This time when he reaches up to gag her, he is successful. As he pulls back, he looks at her. There is a strong hatred in her speckled eyes. He knows who she is. Of course he does. How could he not know who Ruby Carson is?

"Bitch." Emerson snarls. She attempts to lunge at him again but the cuffs stop her.

He's gone before they know it.

But he returns just as fast with Amara and Raven over his shoulders. Sinclair is no where but the blood that stained Emerson's clothes that wasn't there before tells them everything that happened.

Jacopo Sinclair is dead.

Ruby feels her stomach drop.

Emerson gags and binds the other two. There's a bruise on Amara's cheek and a cut above her eyebrows that shows Ruby she fought back. She didn't go down without a fight.

That's when his radio sounds at his hip, "Emerson. I know you're listening. We need to talk."

Clarke.

Ruby's eyes fly to the man. Emerson.

Son of a fucking bitch.

Carl Emerson, Mount Weather Security Detail. This is the man from Mount Weather, the lady living Mount Weather citizen. She should have killed him when she had the chance.

He raises his radio to his mouth. "I don't need to do anything. You should have killed me when you had the chance."

Raven and Amara start to wake. Amara's eyes immediately find Luca. Their eyes lock. He shakes his head.

"And now you're here to kill me, is that it?" Clarke asks him.

"Something like that." Emerson responds.

"Then let my friends go. Do that and then you can have me," Clarke negotiates.

"You're brave, Clarke." Emerson sneers, a sick smirk on his face. "I'll give you that. They're lucky to have a friend like you. Come to the airlock. No weapons. Right now."

Ruby waits with her heart in her throat. She keeps her eyes locked on Emerson. His eyes then cut to her. "You love Clarke and Bellamy." He says suddenly. All eyes dart to her and Emerson. "Bellamy, of course, loves you back. And Clarke does as well. Not romantically, of course. That was before. Yes, I know about your relations with Clarke."

Ryland's eyes widen. Not even he had known that. So how does Emerson?

"Ah," Emerson laughs to himself. "Jasper is the one that mentioned it once. Clarke must've told him about it. I just happened to over hear. So. . ." Ruby sucks in a breath through her nose as metal presses against her throat. "How about we see how much they really love you?"

It doesn't take long for Clarke to round the corner with her hands in the air. For a moment she steps. She stares at Ruby and Emerson with terrified eyes. Then they harden.

"I held up my part of the deal. Your turn," Clarke hisses. "Let my friends go."

"Tell Bellamy to show himself first." Emerson growls, pushing the blade harder against Ruby's neck. Tears blur in her eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking—"

Emerson cuts off Clarke by hitting Ruby in the stomach. She gasps through her gag at the pain. Emerson then grabs a fist full of her hair and yanks her head up. Her presses the blade harder into to her neck.

"No!" Bellamy turns the corner. Ruby shuts her eyes. This is all so horrible.

Why why why?

"Good. Now, take out the clip and throw it down the hall, put down the gun and get inside." Emerson demands.

"Please. You wanted me. I'll get inside once you let them go," Clarke begs.

"I was talking to Bellamy," Emerson snaps. He starts to slide the knife across Ruby's skin. Blood beads at the surface.

Ryland fights against his restraints, screaming beneath his gag. Octavia also struggles to get out of her cuffs to help her friend.

Bellamy does as told. He throws all of his weapons down the hall, out of reach.

Bellamy walks into the open airlock. Emerson nods to the empty cuffs beside Ruby. "Those are yours," he tells Bellamy.

He steps up and cuffs himself. His eyes never leave Ruby. He takes in the blood that covers her face and her neck.

"Get on your knees, Clarke." Emerson demands. He pulls a pistol from its holster. He steps away from Ruby. "Put you hands behind you head."

Clarke does as she's told. Emerson walks from the airlock. As he does, he presses the button that closes the door. Ruby's eyes widen.

No.

She knows what he's going to do.

He's going to make them suffer like Clarke and Bellamy did his people.

They watch as Emerson grabs Clarke and shoves her against the glass. Ruby fights harder against her cuffs. Then, Emerson does the worst. He presses the button that vents the oxygen.

The lights inside the airlock turn a dreadful red and then the voice starts. "Airlock 5. Oxygen venting. Airlock 5. Oxygen venting."

Ruby's eyes meet Bellamy's. He nods his head lightly. There are tears in Ruby's eyes. She can feel the air being sucked from her lungs. Her heart beats slow, too slow.

She watches in horror as Bellamy's eyes flutter shut.

"Ru," whispers Ryland just before his body slumps against the wall.

Ruby and Luca are the final two to lose consciousness. Their eyes meet from across the room. And then, Ruby's eyes roll to the back of her head. And she's at peace.

For what feels like hours, they remain unconscious. And then—

Ruby's eyes snap open. She gasps for air beneath her bloody gag. Tears fall down her cheeks. She looks outside the door to see Emerson laying on the ground in a pool of his own blood.

Ruby is the first person Clarke helps. She drops when she reaches her. She looks at Ruby's neck. All at once it comes crashing down.

Ruby is a Nightblood.

Clarke has no time to question her. She just uncuffs her. Once the cuffs are undone, Ruby slides down the wall. She spits saliva and blood from her mouth. She coughs, rubbing her pained chest. She grabs the hem of her shirt and pulls it up to wipe the blood off of her neck.

Not a second later, Ryland is in front of her. He grabs her face in his hands. Their eyes meet. For an eternity, they just stare at each other. And then they embrace.

─────────

Ruby and Ryland retrieve their weapons and Ruby's book from her room. Ruby grabs Murphy's note off of the ground and stuffs it back into the book. "What is that?" Ryland asks her.

"A note from Murphy." She answers. "I can't believe he's in Polis. . ."

Clarke had told her Murphy is in the capital. He's so close and yet he's so far away. She wonders, is he going to come home?

"He's always been a roach, staying alive some how." Ryland scoffs.

It's about an hour later that Bellamy walks into Arkadia holding a body wrapped in a sheet. Ruby stops moving. So do Octavia, Luca, and Amara. They watch Bellamy sets him down gently.

They let Octavia approach him alone. She drops to her knees beside the man. She starts to untie the tie around the sheet. They watch as she pulls the sheet away to reveal Lincoln's bloody and dirt face. Immediately, Ruby turns her head away. She can't stand to see him that way. Ryland wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. 

She doesn't try to hide her tears. Neither does Amara. The Grounder stands beside Miller with her shaking hands pressed over her mouth. Luca stands beside Monty. He doesn't cry. There is no emotion on his face.

A loud wail escapes from Octavia's lips. She sobs over the corpse of her one true love.

Ruby can't imagine losing Bellamy like that.

─────────

Ruby isn't allowed to do any heavy lifting. The men, Octavia, and Amara gather logs to build a pyre for Sinclair and Lincoln.

Clarke sits in front of Ruby. She unwraps the old, dirty bandages from her wrists. Neither have said a word. Ruby waits for Clarke to say something about her blood.

"You're a Nightblood," Clarke mutters. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I wasn't born with it." Ruby responds after a moment. "The Reaper drug had something else in it, you know that. It's what turned me into a Natblida." Nightblood.

"If Luna doesn't take the Flame. . . could you?" Clarke asks. She isn't asking if she can take the Flame, she's asking will she take it. 

Ruby immediately shakes her head. "No. I can't. I can lead Skaikru from the Ark but thousands of Grounders? No way." Sky People.

"What did they do to you?" Clarke then asks, motioning to Ruby's swollen and red wrists.

"The crucified me. Nailed me to a piece of wood." Ruby responds. She watches as Clarke cleans her wrists off with some water. She then bandages them. "They itch like a mother," Ruby tells her.

"Let me see your shoulder," Clarke says.

Ruby shrugs off her jacket and then her shirt. She's left in her sports bra. Clarke grimaces as she examines Ruby's unattended to gunshot.

"It was Bellamy." Ruby whispers suddenly. Clarke's eyes shot to her face. "He saved my life by shooting me."

"Have you forgiven him?" Clarke asks as she cleans the dry blood off of Ruby's shoulder and arm.

"I don't know if I can." Ruby shakes her head.

"You've forgiven me for the stuff I've done," Clarke says. "The bomb? You forgave me."

"Yeah, because you didn't launch the bomb. Bellamy went and killed three hundred sleeping Grounders that were sent to protect us," Ruby says. "He's done much worse than you have, Clarke. Much, much worse."

"Time will help," Clarke tells her. "It helped me and Lexa. . ."

Ruby watches as Clarke trails off. Tears gather in her eyes as she remembers Lexa's death.

"I'm sorry, by the way." Ruby says. She grabs Clarke's hand. "I know you loved her."

"Thanks," Clarke says.

Minutes later, they all stand around a pyre with two lost souls laying on the wood.

Lincoln and Sinclair.

Sinclair and Lincoln.

Raven steps forward, placing her hand on Sinclair's shoulder. "May we meet again." She says shakily.

She backs away. Octavia then steps up and lights the pyre. Flames lick into the sky, consuming the corpses of their fallen friends.

"Yu gonplei ste odon." Octavia speaks up, trying to keep her voice strong. Your fight is over.

Ruby bows her head. "Yu gonplei ste odon." She whispers as everyone else repeats the phrase. Your fight is over.

Bellamy repeats the goodbye after the others. Ruby glances over at him. She can see the tears in his eyes. She can tell that he blames himself and he should. She knows that Bellamy did not pull the trigger but deep down, she also knows that he is partially responsible for his death.

When Bellamy looks over at her, their eyes lock. Ruby looks away, back to the fire.

"It's time to go!" Octavia announces over the roaring fire. "I'll get the map."

_______________________________

word count: 3,132
episode: demons

😢😢😢.

this chapter is so sad. i added almost a thousand words to it and ugh, i love it so much more now.

sinclair deserved so much better. his death was so sudden and SO uncalled for. like what the hell did he do to deserve that? NOTHING!!!

anyway, past that, ruby was so badass in this chapter. her taking a chunk out of emerson's arm was so reaper of her. she was no playing around. but then bitch ass emerson pulled the clarke and bellamy card on her in front of EVERYONE. he revealed the past she shares with clarke (bitch move fr) and then pressed a knife to be neck. but hey, if ruby didn't know bellamy and clarke would die for her before she does now because both of them were so prepared to do whatever they had to for her.

clarke now knows that ruby is a nightblood and of course started asking if she could take the flame as soon as she got the chance. and ruby said no because she thinks she's incapable of leading thousands of people (she's not).

next chapter we finally meet luna!!! i'm so exited to rewrite her and ruby's relationship.

rest in peace, sinclair.