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chapter twenty-four.
head in the clouds.
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    June regrets having not swum a lot since landing. It took a long time before she felt comfortable with the feeling of soil on her boots after floating in space her entire life. She wasn't a fan of water after hearing Octavia was dragged underneath by a monstrous-sized animal they've never heard of, possibly mutated by the lingering radiation, and eventually learned how to swim. Sort of. At the very least, June wouldn't drown right away if the occasion called for it. She hopes that the boat Emori led them on to reach the lab far from their home wouldn't capsize. The only plus side would be if Murphy drowned.

June couldn't help glaring at the back of his head. He was so insistent on tagging along once he found out what they were doing to survive because there'll be two things left when the end of the world hit - cockroaches, and John Murphy. She didn't understand the hate that was still boiling towards him. June couldn't possibly understand why Abby still trusted him enough to give him a seat on their travels. She didn't. And she sure as hell didn't trust the other leech he seemed to be fond of, Emori, someone he met when he disappeared.

The roar of the boat's engine rumbles so loudly that June fears she'd topple over the boat's edge. She kept a firm grip on one of the poles just in case and wishes momentarily she would get over the silly fear and the rightful anger towards Murphy so she could appreciate the beautiful mix of blue and green waves lapping against the boat. It was as if the trees were reflecting off of them. June feels a sudden sense of relief when the lighthouse comes into view as does Abby, who shuts off the walkie she was speaking to Kane on and tucks it away.

They come to a harsh stop next to a wooden deck. It looked like it was falling apart from the years it's stood there that June feared stepping on it more than staying in the water, but the lab was waiting. As one of the guards tied the boat to the deck with a rope, Murphy gazes towards the shore. "Where are the boats?" He asks Emori.

"Without ALIE there's no reason to be here," Emori replies. She grabs a leather bag and slung it over her shoulder.

Abby steps off the rim first. She was studying the tablet she was carrying. "According to Thelonious's map, the lab is in the middle of the island. Five miles straight ahead."

The rest of her group piles out of the boat next. June keeps her tight clasp on the pole for balance until her boots are steady on the rocking wood below. She knew she shouldn't offer Raven a hand, in fear of both offending the girl and knowing it wasn't right to assume she couldn't do simple tasks on her own, so June only subtly keeps an eye on her over her shoulder just to be sure Raven landed safely.

But Jackson still questions the mechanic, "you okay for that hike?"

Raven scoffs. "Try to keep up with me."

June can't help but smile. She was so proud of her.

"It's beautiful here," she says because she can't help that either. Admiring the land, that is. It was one of the first thoughts June had when the dropship first landed. Earth had so many stunning sights and the more she found, the more she loved the planet. June allowed her thoughts to wander for just a split second.

It looked so peaceful here and June hadn't even seen the lab yet. She could hardly wait. She was well aware their time there was going to be full of working with Luna's blood, finding a way to spin it so they could save everyone, but it was away from a spot of land that held horrible memories, causing June's mental state to decline. Standing here already felt like a breath of fresh air and a chance to catch it before it was gone.

In that second, Murphy had responded, snapping June out of her thoughts. "Never thought I'd be here again," he admits although it was more to himself than anyone else.

"Ha, you shouldn't have come." Raven squeezes June's shoulder before stepping past her to bump against Murphy's side. Her voice lowers. "You're not fooling anyone, Murphy. You're still a dick."

June's smile is smug instead this time when she joins them and passes Murphy. Miller notices the other two grounders hanging behind and calls out, "Luna, Nyko, time to move." The guards start loading their guns.

June shoves through. She's still furious that Abby refused to allow any of them to arm her. The anger had been lingering for so long that she had been refusing to speak since she sat in the boat without a firearm in her hand or clipped to her belt.

Once word got out about June showing Murphy hell for everything she put her through, Abby wasn't angry in return. She was far from it, actually. She was worried. June had been a ticking time bomb that finally exploded for the first time and she took Murphy with her.

The second the doctor uttered the words Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, June had laughed. She laughed so hard she had doubled over, clutching her aching chest, and couldn't catch her breath. The whole world has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and sure, June has been through a lot - things no human being should have to live through - but she was a good shot. They'd feel safer if she was armed.

Plus, Abby armed John Murphy of all people? They were screwed.

The water lapping is left behind for the feeling of sand particles scraping their shoes. June's knees wobble as the group crosses the newfound land, she's never walked on this type of surface before, and the ground below has a sinking feeling as if she stood for too long, she'd plunge beneath it. There's a damp residue that stuck to the soles of her boots thanks to the body of water they crossed to get here. June can't imagine how much it already rains here, she only fears what would happen when the acid rain finally hits.

Emori suddenly stops when they come across a line of tall stones, their tops carved into the shape of a pyramid's tip. The people she led halted behind her. "What's wrong?" Abby asks.

"ALIE's rule. No Frikdreina past this line," Emori replies quietly. June's eyes shift to the arm she always kept hidden under bundles of cloths. Emori seems almost afraid of anyone seeing what was underneath the same way she feared continuing. "I've never crossed it," she admits.

"Frikdreina?" Jackson repeats.

"Mutants."

June sucks in a breath. She considered a long time ago that the lingering radiation had affected more than just animals and plants, but she's never come across someone with a deformed limb. She could tell by the fear on Emori's features that grounders didn't exactly worship them. And the word, Frikdreina - it sounded like poison dancing across her tongue as if it was a horrible slur used against her so many times it couldn't possibly stop hurting.

Murphy scoffs. "I never met a line I wouldn't cross."

He strides bravely past the stones and stops to glance at Emori again. The rest of them wait for something horrible to happen - like the world exploding - but nothing comes. June shrugs and follows his steps, missing the way Murphy gleams at the girl he loved with his hand outstretched, waiting until Emori accepted it.

"Alright, everyone. Let's go. We have a long walk ahead of us," Abby directs. She takes the lead beside a guard as they climb up a short slope. The sand slowly starts to disappear underneath fallen leaves until they're greeted by trees sprouting out of the soil.

A quiet hum echoes in the air. June turns her head at the sound. On her other side, Miller questions, "What is that?" Staring off into the space the buzzing came from.

A small machine hovers above their heads like a black dot in front of the crystal clear sky. Small blades whirring keep it afloat as it stays in place, seemingly watching and studying them from afar. "Is that a drone?" June asks with her eyebrows furrowing. Her mind, a miracle one could say, was already spinning with ideas of what the machine could hold.

"We should run," Emori states. Her voice shakes with fear.

"Why? What's the penalty for crossing a line?" Raven wonders out loud.

Suddenly, a single shot rang in the air, and June jerks in surprise. She releases a loose shout of fear and shock when the bullet pierces one of their guards. His pale skin smears with blood when he falls, a hole clear as day prominent on his forehead.

"Run!"

Multiple gunshots follow after the drone as they all break out into a run. The guards attempt to gather around Luna and shield her, but the thought doesn't even cross June's mind. She doesn't allow her lungs to burn or her legs to pump fast enough to stay afloat until she has Raven's arm around her shoulders and a good grip on her hip. They've only made it a few feet before June's muscles ache from carrying Raven's weight, but not enough to give up.

"I thought you guys said ALIE was down!" Murphy exclaims towards the pair who desperately tried to keep up with their steps.

"She is, it's probably automated!" Raven calls back. Her leg struggles to put any amount of forceful pressure on it and practically stays limp as she leans onto June's side.

"It doesn't matter!" June shouts. She gasps for air a second after the loss of it in her lungs. It doesn't matter that ALIE's drone was gaining as it tried to dodge the tree branches or that it was entirely possible it could attack them again. June refuses to release the weight because she didn't believe Raven was holding her back, not for a second. It was Raven.

It doesn't matter if the danger was floating right above them just like it didn't matter that they were running through the ticking time bomb of Mount Weather. June won't leave her behind.

Raven nearly topples over as her leg gives out and June's grip loosens. She hoists her up again as Raven pants, "I can't keep up!"

"I got you," a voice responds before June can. He seizes Raven's other arm and pulls it over his shoulders, ducked low enough for her to hold on. June doesn't have time to be stunned that it's Murphy of all people, but he's here, helping her save Raven.

Shots echo and begin following their feet. The guards desperately try to keep up with returning the fire. Beads of sands fly upwards at every bullet piercing the ground. June shouts again as the bullet hits the ground perfectly in between the quick-moving feet of Raven and her that moved too close together, too fast. She has no choice but to let Raven go instead of dragging her with her and risking her like a target.

They split up into groups just to take cover from the drone. June races after Abby, Jackson, and Miller, her boots sliding across the dirt when they finally come to a stop behind a log underneath a bush that shields them from the drone's camera. June keeps the leaves covering her head as she frantically cranes her neck until she sees that Raven had found a safe, sheltering spot alongside Murphy and Emori.

"Luna, watch out!" She hears Nyko shout and June's forced to look into the open battlefield that Luna had accidentally stumbled into while running.

The drone flies closer and is just above their heads as Nyko seemingly embraces Luna, clutching the girl close to his chest. Both of June's hands slap over her mouth in terror as the drone sprays a series of bullets into Nyko's back that was acting as armor to protect Luna.

"Nyko, no!" Abby cries out.

The doctor prepares to run after them, but Jackson grabs her, dragging her back to safety. "You can't help him."

He's right. Nyko was long dead before Luna drops him.

Miller shouts for Luna to take cover as he bravely rises and shoots multiple times towards the drone. But she doesn't move. She sobs over Nyko's body with grief as Miller finally hits their target. The machine creaks and gives a final whir before it crashed too. June can't even allow herself to feel relief. She knows there's more out there, and they've already lost two.

"Well, that took you ten shots. ALIE's got dozens of drones," Murphy points out loudly. "Who do you think's gonna run out of bullets first, huh?"

"Could we talk about why they're still in the sky?!" Miller demands.

"No," June snaps. "We can figure it out later." Her fingers tremble from where they're clutching the wooden log and there are already tears burning at her eyes even when she refuses to get choked up to cry. Now wasn't the time.

It was like Octavia said. A warrior doesn't mourn the dead until the war was over.

"Where the hell is Luna?!" Abby suddenly exclaims.

June's gaze snaps back to the beach. Nyko body was still there, unmoving, but Luna was nowhere to be seen when just a few seconds ago she had been crying above him. Everyone's eyes frantically scan the area, but it's no use. Luna disappeared.

June refuses to accept so. She doesn't know, nor care - 'cause what damage could it do now? - and cups her hands around her mouth so her voice would long echo. "Luna! Luna, where are you?!"

It doesn't matter if June's call would bring another drone, but they soon hear it whirring above the trees. It's close, but not attacking yet. "They're back!" Jackson announces.

"We can see that, Jackson," Miller retorts. His shoulders square as he attempts to map out the right plan in his head. "Here's the deal. If we don't find Luna, everybody we know is gonna die in a wave of fire. Murphy, Emori, Abby, go west. Wilson, Taggart, you got east. Jackson, Thompson, and I take north." He almost seems apologetic when he sees the only member left out. "Raven..."

Raven shrugs like it doesn't bother her. Even from their distance, June can see the pain in her dark eyes. She'd give anything to change that. "I like the beach," Raven eventually says.

"Stay under the trees. You're safe here. The rest of you do the same. We check in every ten," Miller instructs.

Meanwhile, Raven's gaze had wandered to where the drone he shot down fell. The machine still blinked red and gave a few beeps. "It's still active," she announces to the rest.

"One problem at a time, Raven. Let's move out," Miller orders.

June admires that. She makes a good leader, but while she's better with electronics and fighting, she needs to bump with other heads to make a plan. Miller only had to think for a minute before coming up with something good enough to keep them alive. June sucks in a deep breath after the last thought and wishes she could clear her head before pushing herself off the resting log to take off too.

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The deeper they wander into the forest searching for Luna, the more it looks like home to June. They're far enough that she can't hear the waves surging anymore, only surrounded by bundles of trees, so much green June felt safe enough even without being armed. Well, not safe. There was still the threat of the drones lingering. And she didn't even have a weapon to use, relying on the protection of Miller and Jackson as they looked for Luna.

While the sound of waves can't follow them, gunfire sure does. June stops dead in her tracks and spun towards the noise of bullets spraying all over again. Miller already pulled out his walkie and pressed the button to speak into it. "Raven, report. Are you okay?"

A slightly breathless Raven answers, "All good here. Worry about your damn self."

June exhales. "She better be hiding," she says hopefully. She recognized the glimmer in Raven's stare when she noticed the drone still active. "Was she going back after the drone?"

"Maybe." Miller's hardly interested in June's words. He's too busy scoping the area for Luna. "What good would it do? There's more out there."

"Yeah," June quietly agrees. She's too busy allowing the wheels in her head to finally turn. "The second appeared right after the first one died. It wasn't because I called for Luna." She kicks aside a few rocks in her path. June's rambling too much to realize the girl she loved on the other side of the land had the same ideas. Great minds think alike. "Maybe all of the drones could have one active mind and we could - "

"Thompson!" Miller stops to snap his gloved hand in June's face until she's cut off. "I know you want to help everyone. But it's useless if we don't find Luna first. She's our mission, okay? We'll keep her in a safe spot and then worry about the drones after."

June keeps a held glare with Miller for a beat of silence. She hates his mind as much as she admires it. Her priority was always keeping everyone alive first. Sometimes that clouded her head. But her choices, every decision June made, no matter how dark, were always the right one. They were what kept all of her people alive. Waiting sucks, but if June spent her time chasing the drones, she'll either get shot in the head or get Luna killed. Then everyone dies.

"Luna's here! She's heading for the boat!" Raven's voice suddenly carries through the walkie, shouting with a strain as if she had broken out into a run.

Miller sighs in relief. "Copy that, Raven. Do whatever you can to stop her. We're on our way."

A dozen more shots echo. June wishes she was smart enough to pinpoint the exact sound it was coming from. It's hard to tell which group was being shot at or if it was Raven. They're retreating towards the beach and it looks like June still has her head in the clouds. The ones around her were worried she was going to get herself or everyone else killed.

"June," Miller says slowly, "if you keep thinking about the drones, you're going to - "

Another bullet rips through the air, but this one sounds much closer. June discovers how close when Jackson cries out and nearly falls. Miller runs to his side immediately and yells at them to run. The three gather together, keeping Jackson on his feet while the drone followed. It chases them into a hidden stone wall that they can duck under for shelter.

Guilt stabs June directly in the chest and could've knocked her off her feet if the feeling was a weapon instead. The sight of Jackson clutching his upper arm and crying out drives her to rip her jacket off with the plan to use it as a bandage. June was too busy thinking of ways to save everyone and Jackson paid for it. She wraps the clothing around the limb and keeps pressure on it while Miller shouts into the walkie, telling Raven they can't make it into the woods, and updating the others that Jackson is hit and he's low on ammo.

"Keep pressure on it," Jackson gasps out.

June's fingers tighten around her jacket. It's already staining with his blood. It leaks through and stains her skin, but she doesn't let it go. "I got it," she promises when Jackson winces.

"What do you mean Jackson's hit? Is he okay?" Abby panics over the radio.

"I think so. He took one in the arm, but June's got it handled. We're pinned down," Miller alerts her.

"We're on our way."

Miller's voice rises, "Luna's the priority! Nothing's more important than her!"

Keeping her grip tight, June glances over her shoulder towards Miller. "Our friends are just as important," she defends despite how it wasn't the time.

"Without Luna, they won't survive either way," Miller argues. He crouches and attempts to shoot at the sky towards the enemy he can hardly even see. "So tell it to the drones!"

He's driven back underneath when the shots fire closer. They're truly pinned. Even sticking a foot out would get the limb shot.

"Still taking fire!" Miller panics into the walkie.

"We're almost there! We can see you!"

A second later June sees the three of them out of the corner of her eye. They've come to a pit stop behind a tree's log, crouched out of sight of the drone. They look afraid. Like they don't know what to do, how to save them. So does Miller.

The only one who devises an idea of what to do is June.

"Miller, keep pressure here," June demands. The shots have quieted down as if the drone was searching for the other target. Miller's too clouded trying to make up another plan that he lowers his gun to take over and obey. He doesn't suspect that June will pull away and dart into the open area.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Miller and Murphy shout in sync. June's heart is racing too fast to answer.

"You're gonna get yourself killed!" Emori's voice follows.

June ignores everyone else. She spun in a short circle until she sees the drone floating before springing to the tips of her toes. "It'll come for me, just shoot at it when it does!" She waves her arms in the air and shouts, "Hey! Hey, I'm over here!"

Like a moth drawn to a flame, the drone lowers itself. June hears a few clicks from a gun behind her, signaling an empty chamber. If she had a gun, maybe, just maybe, she could shoot at the drone. But she doesn't. Abby took that form of defense from her. June can't fight back, can only stare back at the machine, hands trembling at her sides, lips parted to release a quiet, frightened gasp.

She waits for a spray of bullets to pierce her next. June can't imagine who's waiting on the other side, but -

The drone suddenly plunges instead of being level with her. June releases another gasp. Her knees start to wobble with the sudden loss of adrenaline.

"The drones just fell out of the sky," Abby whispers into the walkie. "What happened?"

"I happened. Now get your asses back to the boat. Luna's here. Over."

June's blocked the world out when her knees finally gave out. She would've hit the surface of rocks below her if it wasn't for the sudden body at her side. Their arms catch her and June fell into them instead. She doesn't realize who it was until they utter, "Hey, are you okay?"

The familiarity of the voice causes June to snap back into reality. She shoves at Murphy and stumbles to stand on her own. "Get away from me," she sneers.

A memory flashed in her mind when they were sick in the dropship camp and Murphy tried to help her stand. She shoved him away then, too. June just stared death right in the face and when she couldn't find the strength to support herself, Murphy tried to be there for her, but she'd rather surrender than accept any of his help.

This time, Murphy defends himself. "Just trying to be helpful."

June's glare darkens. "Don't be."

Everyone seems to forget that June was prepared to eat a bullet for everyone as they safely gather with Raven and Luna again. Abby taps away at her tablet to pull up the map Jaha made, studying the directions. They definitely don't need to run into another enemy. Not after losing two and nearly another when they were only on the island for a good two minutes.

"We getting close, Doctor Griffin?" Miller questions.

Abby nods. "It's just through there." She nods towards the path they were going to follow before the drones had attacked.

They barely make it a couple of feet before Murphy's speaking up again. "Uh, small question. ALIE had a security system to protect this thing, right? Any idea what she was protecting it from?"

"Let's hope we don't find out. Just in case, Raven, get the drones back into the sky," Abby decides.

The group finishes their rations and water before gathering together again. June feels something different hanging in the air, something worse than sorrow. Abby slows from her position in the lead until she's bumped against June's shoulder. "June," she greets. She waits until the teenager's eyes drift to her before holding a firearm in her direction. "I was wrong. Just, uh, don't let me regret it," Abby admits.

The rifle fits snug into June's hands. She allows her head to swim in the clouds for one more minute before reality hits once again and she clicks the safety feature off.

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author's note:

long time no see!! i know y'all have been waiting for an update so i just had to force it out there!! i can't believe it's almost been a year since i've posted a chapter of bleeding out. i'm so glad i finally got it done. i'd get so much dread just opening this blank document. i can't wait to get back into it tho.

just another chapter of june wanting to sacrifice herself for everyone she loves no surprise. also she doesn't have a rocky relationship with miller at all, she admires his guard leadership skills and he worries about her! i love miller and can't imagine writing a character who hates him. but murphy? i know they'll get the chance to get along soon but things are still rocky y'all. i love murphy but june hasn't had a chance to see his development ok!!

also her refusing to leave raven behind again MY HEART IS FLUTTERING

OK IM DONE THANK U FOR READING!! love u guys hopefully see you again soon!! ❤️

- koda