THE POWER OVER ME.

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LOST IN FIRE (book three).
°•        CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE        •°

"        WHAT HAVE I DONE?       "

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Anger could be a minor problem. That's what it had always been for Harley. She never had a temper and it took a lot to enrage her. She was the opposite of her brother. Earth took advantage of that. It took every bit of sunlight she had left in her overly sized heart before destroying it. The red sun brought out everything she never felt. Fury, guilt... And it made them powerful. It was too much for her to fight off. It was unlike anything she's ever felt before. Harley doesn't feel an ounce of either emotion when she stirs from her curled position on the ground. All she felt was numb. But then that faded before it's replaced with one - guilt.

Everything Harley did to end up where she was now filled her memories. She lets out a shocked gasp that brings a pang to her skull. She raises her arm to touch the back of her head, but the chain connecting to her wrist holds her limb back. Then Harley remembers the blood. She ignores her rising headache to scramble so she can stand and stares straight in the mirror, expecting to see the drying liquid still smeared across her face.

But it isn't there. All Harley sees is her skin, paling from where it had once been red. The mask was gone. She wasn't even sporting any braids like she thought. She cautiously looks away to glance at her hands. Those, however, were a different story. They were tinted light pink. But Harley knows it isn't her blood, nor Octavia's. It's Murphy's.

Harley suddenly remembers her screaming, "I won't let you kill me!" a second before she attacked him with a knife. She cut his arm. She stabbed him in the shoulder. She nearly plunged the blade into his chest. And she doesn't even know if he's still alive. Guilt swallowed her whole. Harley's lips part before her jaw fully drops, the tears that swelled in her eyes, and the undeniable need to find her brother filled her.

"Oh my God," she whispers in horror. "What have I done?"

Her head whips, startled, when someone lets out a soft, "Harley?" But it's only Emori. She looks equally as horrified with less rage than either of them held before. Echo is still there, unconscious on a small mattress.

But Harley stares at Emori, desperately begging, "Please, tell me I didn't kill him," she cries. "Tell me he's okay - "

The doorknob shifts before Emori can answer. Harley holds her arms up to brace herself, but then she drops them. If it was Murphy, or Bellamy, returning to kill her, she wouldn't make an attempt to defend her life, knowing it'd be what she deserved. But it isn't either of them. It's the last person she expected to see - Octavia.

There's something different about her Harley can't place. Maybe she's only confused about how Octavia was actually here, on this planet, instead of cryo sleep. Harley found her limbs freezing, stunned in place. Octavia was sporting a jacket now, along with a couple of fresh bruises spotting her jawline and creeping down her neck to her collarbone. Her lip was busted too. Harley doesn't know what to say. The last thing she remembered before laying down to sleep was telling Octavia she loved her and that they could talk again in ten years before Murphy promised to keep her safe in their new, regrown world. So much for that.

"I've got the keys," Octavia declares in a slightly strained voice once she breaks the stare held with Harley. It hurts a bit when she watches Octavia go to Emori first and crouches next to her, unlocking her cuffs. She places the second key in her hand and Harley expects it to be hers, but Emori bolts to Echo who had started to stir, leaving Octavia to approach Harley.

She still can't speak. Harley is struggling through a state of shock from everything, nearly killing her brother, her hallucinations of becoming the next leader of Wonkru after what she's done, and now Octavia standing before her. She's silent, eyes studying every curve on Octavia's face, everything that made her breathtaking and physically beautiful. But it's her heart that Harley fell in love with. It was something she could see was still pure, even after all she's done.

The cuffs click and finally free Harley. Octavia reads her mind as easily as she reads a book when informing her, "You'll find Murphy in the palace. A guard will take you there."

Harley doesn't question it as soon as she breaks out of the trance. She takes off and nearly rams into the guard Octavia mentioned who escorted her inside the castle in a secluded room with a bar table. She can see her friends, Clarke, and a few of those they left behind in the ship. She doesn't question how they got here. Harley can feel every inch of her start to tremble when she sees Murphy on his back, a blanket draped over him, Bellamy sat next to his shoulder.

"No," she mumbles numbly before promptly bursting into a fit of tears. "No, no, no..."

"Harley, it's okay," Clarke reassures her from a distance. "He's alive. These people saved him."

Harley doesn't hide how she ignores her or how the mysterious people returned to their home planet. She presses the back of her hand to her mouth to bite back the cries and approaches her brother as cautiously as possible, terrified out of her mind that one wrong move from her would pain him further. Harley crouches at the end near his head, shaking hands reaching out to gently cup his unmoving jaw. Her fingertips trace upwards to smooth his hair off his warm forehead so she can press a gentle kiss there. She wouldn't have thought he was breathing if his chest wasn't moving.

"Harley," Bellamy whispers. She looks up to see him with a painful, guilty expression. "I'm so sorry." She doesn't answer. The lump in her throat is growing more.

The others begin to filter in. Emori catches up with Harley while Octavia plops herself at the bar with a bored look. Harley doesn't glance to meet Emori's gaze, too traumatized with everything she's done to him. She can see the bloody bandage on Murphy's shoulder peeking out underneath the blanket from a wound she caused. From something she did. She nearly killed him because why? Being angry?

"I can't believe I did this to him," Harley choked out. She squeezes her eyes shut in horror.

"No, Harley," Bellamy dismissed her. "You didn't. I did."

Harley doesn't know what he means by that, but she doesn't ask because she held too much blame towards herself. All she knows is it hurts like hell when Octavia calls out flatly, "Who cares? We need to get out of this place."

The feeling Harley had towards her turns into one of further pain. She presses her hands on the table to stand, her face twisting in hurt and fury towards Octavia's direction. "What did you say?" She demanded in a sudden low voice. Octavia doesn't answer. She glances at the wall shamefully as Harley continued, "How could you say that about my brother? How would you feel if - " Before cutting herself off. Octavia does know how she feels. She threw her own brother in the pit to die.

"Forget it," Harley mutters dismissively but turns away again so Octavia doesn't see how much that stung. She never made an attempt to even like Murphy when he meant the world to her. That drift only became further because Harley did something awful to save his life.

"What are you even doing here?" Bellamy questions his sister harshly.

"I came to save your ass," Octavia fires at him.

A scoff falls from Bellamy's lips. His boots thud against the hardwood floor as he starts towards her, but Echo throws herself in front of him. "Bellamy, no, not now," she warned him. "If we're gonna fight our way out, we need her."

"Echo, we're not fighting them," Clarke cuts in. "We need them to teach us how to survive down here."

No one knows what to say next. Harley doesn't even know who these people were. She's still lost on how she became so angry she almost plunged a knife into his heart, so what did that make them? Were they harmless? She lost her weapons after Jackson knocked her unconscious and she doubted these residents would let any of her people have them back. But then Harley thinks of Monty before she reacts because this is what he wanted. He believed they could do better. So she'll do everything she can to achieve it for him.

A door to the room opens and another guard escorted a man in a tan apron who carried a tray, and pretty, young girl with dark skin wearing a yellow dress, who held a cup in each hand. "Welcome, friends!" The man greeted brightly. Harley wonders how strange they look to them, with their dirty and torn clothing, possibly smelling as if they hadn't showered in months, while they don't have a spot of dirt on their skin or clothes. But they don't seem hostile. Harley didn't doubt that the girl she used to be could have taken that, or been excited to come across people like her. But this Harley, here, now, wasn't sure how to feel.

"If it's true you survived the red sun, then you need a drink," he continued warmly as he approached Clarke. Amen, Harley thinks.

Clarke faintly returned the smile and accepted one of the cups from his tray so she wouldn't seem rude. "Thank you."

He nods before passing out more around the room. Harley tenses up when he comes close to her. Bellamy held his hand up dismissively. "No, thank you," he said politely at the same moment Harley changed her mind and grabs a drink for herself.

"Thanks," Harley says and raises the cup in his direction in some mock salute before bringing the rim to her lips and downing it in one gulp. It didn't smell like the moonshine Monty made that she missed so much or burned its way down. Harley swore it tasted like sweet berries and didn't make her stomach churn.

"That's amazing," Jordan complimented before asking curiously, "What is it?"

The girl who handed him the cup starts to answer, "We call it - "

"Delilah," an older woman behind her warned.

"Relax, mother. I don't think they'll steal your recipe," she eased her mother's stress then turns back to Jordan. "We call it Jo Juice after Josephine Prime."

The residents bowed their heads and said in sync, "Hallowed be her name."

Harley shares an uneasy look with the others who she was sure shared the same thoughts as her. That certainly wasn't... Well, normal. But who was she to question it?

"Uh, can I ask - it's probably none of our business, but what's a Prime?" Clarke asks with the intent to be respectful.

"Sanctum was colonized by a team from Earth made up of four families - the Primes," Delilah explains. "Their blood rules us still."

"Earth?" Harley repeats in surprise. She has so many questions, but there's none that can form into words. It must have been long before The Ark was created. Was it the next generation who ruled their home, Sanctum?

No one replies to Harley's shock because a second after she utters the word, the entrance doors swing open loudly, and two guards with a spear in each hand storm in. "Make way for the Primes," one of them declares.

Delilah, her mother, and the servant bow obediently as the guards guide three more people in. Two of them are dressed like royalty. A man has gold streaks that draw into a crown over his forehead, accenting the rich robes that brush against the floor. The woman, who Harley presumed was his wife by their closeness, wore a gold chain on her head like a crown that matched the necklace thumping on her chest covered with darker colored robes.

"Which one's the pilot?" The man demanded to know.

"There," the third woman in a darker spacesuit that the guards brought in answered with a vicious jab towards Raven who appeared startled. "That one," she states in disgust.

The guards start towards Raven and Harley starts to pull away from her brother, prepared to defend her, but the man in power stops them. "Stop," he commands, and they comply immediately. "Did I say to take her?"

"No, sir. Sorry, sir," one of them apologizes with his head bowed in regret.

"Look," Clarke begins, squaring her shoulders and assuming the leadership position. "If this is about what happened on the mothership, your people stole our transport and then boarded us by force. My people were just defending themselves."

"Lies," the accuser spits. "She wasn't there. We hurt no one."

He glances from her to Clarke before his features turn less hostile. "What's your name?" He asks.

"Clarke Griffin," she introduces respectfully. "What's yours?"

His wife steps forward angrily. "He is Russell Lightborne, seventh of his line, savior of Sanctum, and you will bow before using his name," she warns darkly.

Clarke's head tilts. "I don't think so."

Harley turns away then. She doesn't want to listen to this. She catches a few words, like eclipse-induced psychosis. It must have been the red sun that caused her to react like a blood-thirsty murderer. She sits next to Murphy again and brings her hand to stroke through his hair. He still isn't stirring. Harley can feel the memory of what she did start to slip away, the imagery, at least. She just remembered an uncontrollable rage, something so powerful and hot that you could have slit her skin, and she would have bled flames.

And this guilt was something she could never get rid of. Harley doesn't even know if Murphy will wake up, she prays he does, but she can apologize to him a million times. He'll forgive her, but she could never be able to forgive herself. Harley didn't blame the effect of the red sun. She blamed nothing, no one, but herself.

"What?! You woke her?!" Clarke's exclamation broke Harley from her degrading thoughts. She peeks towards the group again and sees her mother had pulled her aside. She guessed it was Madi she meant by the concerned look on her face. It was something only a mother could hold for their child. "Nevermind," Clarke decides with a shake of her head. "Raven will fly the ship. But we're going too."

Raven's stare drops into a glare. "Didn't realize you were giving the orders again, Clarke."

The tension was visible, so thick it could have been cut midair with a knife. "Fine," Russell broke it. "Choose your most disposable people. It's time to go." Clarke nods and starts to offer herself, but Russell holds a hand up. "You don't strike me as disposable."

"None of us are, but my child is out there, so I'm going to get her," Clarke says stubbornly as if there was no changing her mind.

However, Russell still tries with his hand on her shoulder. "Please. We have things to discuss. Are you the leader of your people, or not?" He asks, quickly growing impatient.

"She is. She can speak for us," Bellamy announces. Raven scoffs and shakes her head, but Harley doesn't make a comment, neither does Emori, the three who have been giving Clarke the hardest time stayed silent for once.

"Good. You can escort your team to the steps," Russell instructs. "The rest of you will remain here, well-cared-for 'till we can decide what to do with you."

A part of Harley felt like that was a threat, warning them there would be consequences if they wanted to try anything. Fair enough. She could respect that. Russell had a responsibility to protect his people, and they were strangers, invaders. He had to be careful. Clarke had done the same more than once for them.

"Raven, Echo," Bellamy says with a cock of his head towards the exit.

Raven stands reluctantly as Echo nods. "Octavia, Harley," she calls next. "Let's go."

Harley's neck could have cracked with how fast she snaps it up. "Are you kidding?" She asks in disbelief with a snort like Echo made some poor joke. She gestures to the one person who meant the world to her, out cold because she stabbed him repeatedly. "I'm not going anywhere until my brother's on his feet."

While Bellamy gave a few more orders, mostly to Miller, Echo passed him to reply to Harley. "We need our best fighters if we're going into the woods. We don't know what's out there," she whispers. "But we know the people here are harmless. They saved Murphy's life when his heart stopped beating. If you don't come with us... You're only risking more lives."

It almost feels like a guilt trip. Harley gazes at Murphy again with tears pricking her eyes. She doesn't want to leave him. Every instinct she had was screaming at her to stay and not leave his side. His life meant more to hers than her own. Harley loved him so much that every minute they were apart she felt a constant ache in her chest. She knew it wasn't going to be easy retreating to the ship and leave him here, but she also knew what Echo said was the stone, cold truth. There are more dangers in the woods. That's why they have the electric field. If Harley was selfish and chose to stay, she was risking the rest of her family too.

"You need to make a decision, Harley," Octavia calls from across the room. She was the last one, waiting.

Harley was so endlessly tired of making choices between Octavia and Murphy. But she leans forward and presses her forehead against her brother's, willing herself not to move. She swears there's a sense of energy that passes between them of the pure contact. He knows she loves him more than anything. He'd understand why she had to go.

"I'm so sorry," Harley chokes out softly. She knows he can't hear but she hopes he can anyway as she whispers, "I love you."

He doesn't stir. Harley didn't expect him to, but she still feels a flash of disappointment. Emori watches with a sad, hurt smile. "I'll look after him," she says. "I promise." Harley thanks her genuinely before tearing herself away with the awful feeling that someone had ripped her in half.

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The group ends up leaving the way they came with a few guards leading them. Harley feels lost without many things - her sword, her brother, Octavia. She was there, obviously, but she'd hardly look in her direction. Harley knew this wasn't going to be easy. She didn't blame her. Harley just wished her life was different. She longed for what it looked like the people in Sanctum had. Peace, quiet, a life without wars, battles for survival, having to make the choice between two people she loved deeply in different ways. She wanted to stay, but it was like fighting was choosing her all over again without granted permission.

Octavia must be feeling the same frustration as her green eyes stay glued on the woods waiting for them. "Wouldn't suck to have a weapon," she commented bitterly.

"He told us, only the guards carry weapons," Bellamy reminded her with a harsh undertone. Octavia rolls her eyes at the retort while Echo whispers to him quietly so only he could hear. But Octavia wasn't completely wrong, was she? Russell's wife warned them that there were dangers in the woods. Harley wouldn't strike first, but she didn't want to roll over and die either.

The woman who made the accusation towards Raven, who Harley learned was Kaylee, suddenly stopped in the middle of the path. "Hold up," she instructs, bringing the rest of them to a halt. She stares gravely at them. "There are things and people in these woods that want us dead. You fall behind, you will be."

Harley was slightly insulted that Kaylee didn't think they could take care of themselves before remembering the empty holster hanging on her hips. She had no weapons but her fists. They wanted them defenseless so they would depend on them to make it. Harley glares, unsure, at her but Kaylee doesn't notice. She only nods to one of the guards who pulls out a glare gun and points it to the sky before pulling the trigger.

An orange light blows from the barrel and rips through the sky. Harley's scowl turns into a look of amazement, her eyes gleaming as they follow the smoking trail it leaves. It doesn't reach the sky or even grazes the blue. Instead, it hits something above them that sparks with electricity, like the sky was made of it instead of clouds. The static shudders with shades of blue and gray.

"Oh," Raven gasps in awe. "It's a dome."

The poles of radiation lit up blue instead of red which only meant they could finally pass through. Harley takes one last longing look above her before passing the field and entering the trees.

The silence that follows the next hour or so is torturous. Harley wishes someone would talk to break it. No one does. She has a hunch it's because both sides are afraid of revealing something the others could use against them. Her people had their own secrets, sure. Those were dark ones. Harley figured if the leaders of Sanctum knew then their chances of making that place a permanent home was gone. They couldn't risk it.

But Harley had questions of her own. She wondered why Sanctum's natives bowed every time they mentioned a leader's name. It wasn't like she did when Clarke's name slipped. How devoted were they, and why? Harley wondered how Primes were royal, and how far they went to earn such loyalty. It was odd, something she's never seen or even read about. She had a bad feeling it ran much deeper than what she thought, and wondered if they got closer to the truth, if everything would become more dangerous for them.

Harley gets her wish when they all hear a sudden violent chanting in the direction of the ship. She froze in place, her head whipping where the noise must have come from. They have to be dead silent, quiet enough to hear insects chirping, but then the words fill the air.

"Death to Primes! Death to Primes! Death to Primes!"

"What the hell is that?" Harley asked in hopes that she was composed, but a hint of fear was hidden in her voice, coming off as a waver. She feels seventeen again, terrified at the dropship camp when she's face to face with grounders trying to kill her. Harley never wanted to feel that way again.

No one responds, but by the look on their faces, Harley knows there's something they aren't telling them. "We're too late." Kaylee's guard grabs her arm, but she attempts to rip it away.

"Like hell we are," she sneers and starts to bolt, but the guard plants himself in front of her with his hand still tightly wrapped around her. "Let me go!"

"Victor, Faye, and Daniel Prime are lost. You're the priority," the guard informs Kaylee strictly. She doesn't stop thrashing, but a few of the other guards seize her and drag her away when he tells them to abort the mission.

Bellamy finally stands for the ones who can do nothing but watch the scene unfold. "What are you talking about? Our people are out there," he says desperately.

"It's okay," Echo interrupts gently when the guard leans a little too close to Bellamy's face. "We don't need them." She takes the binoculars that hung from his neck. "Go. We'll bring our family home." He nods with a tight grip on his spear before fleeing with his people.

"We can't make it on our own. We don't have weapons, Echo," Harley reminds her. "How are we supposed to defend ourselves?" She makes a gesture to Bellamy. "Do we beat them with Bellamy's giant stick?"

The suggestion makes Echo's lips twitch into a smile, but Octavia pushes her way past them and resumes being the leader where they left off. "Doesn't matter. This should be fun," she says as if the only thing keeping her going was adrenaline, not weapons.

Great.

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The sun has finally set by the time they're close to the ship. There's a bunch of bushes that shield them from the ones who must have been making the chants they heard. Harley can only guess these were Sanctum's enemies. They were dressed in odd clothing, rags of leather, with gas masks she once recalled the Mountain Men wearing. But she could see they had weapons. What worried her was the door to the mothership was open, and Echo who used the binoculars told them Colonel Diyoza, Madi, and Gaia were frozen in time, spread on the door.

"Can you tell what they're saying?" Bellamy questions in a whisper.

"No, but one of them is leaving, and she's taking the guns," Echo mumbles back as she lowers the binoculars.

Bellamy's face pinches in confusion. "Why would they give up their advantage? Doesn't make sense."

"No," Raven agrees. "But it makes a fair fight."

"She's right. We can't let them in that ship, they'll find Wonkru and the prisoners," Harley adds.

But they all knew they didn't stand a chance against their guns. "Okay," Bellamy starts, deep in thoughts. "Once the guns are clear, we go in - "

Octavia huffs and pulls away from the thin tree trunk she was leaning on. "Don't be an idiot. I'm going for the guns," she declares and doesn't leave room for argument as she sprints out of their hiding spot.

"O! Damn it, O!" Bellamy shouts in a low, annoyed voice. Octavia doesn't listen, and that ends up being her fault.

There's a quiet snapping sound that brings a tree branch to shiver, the wood pieces hanging clicking against each other, giving away their position. They must have set a trap, and Octavia hit it.

"Octavia, get back. Do not engage," Bellamy pleads with her. "Octavia, they'll kill our people. Do not engage!"

But Harley blinks, and Octavia's gone. Her heart sinks as she watches, paralyzed, as Octavia races swiftly to the ship. Her boots feel like concrete, but she still jumps to follow her, only for Bellamy to grasp her arm and tug her back down with a dismissing warning of, "Don't."

Harley can barely see from the long distance between them, but she can hear everything. The way the sword Octavia stole from one of them swipes across their skin or stabs them, every grunt of pain they make. She doesn't spare them, leaves no room for mercy. It was like Octavia wanted to kill them despite there being another way.

A gunshot rings and Harley is hit with a strike of fear, but she straightens to only see it was who she presumed was the Colonel. She fit the look, at least. Octavia looks like a nightmare as Harley follows Bellamy, Echo, and Raven to the ship, her clothing stained in fresh blood, and her knotted hair hung to frame her face. It was like she enjoyed taking their lives. The thought made Harley sick.

"Are you out of your mind?! You didn't have to kill anyone!" Bellamy shouts furiously. He shakes his head angrily and storms past her to see Madi and Gaia, unmoving on the open door. "Why aren't they moving? What's wrong with them?" He pants as if the anger had taken air from his lungs.

"Paralytic darts," Diyoza answers shortly. She's still glaring daggers of distrust towards Octavia.

Harley doesn't look at Octavia in fear she'd see Blodreina staring back at her. She starts up the door and goes to Gaia while Bellamy attended to Madi. She crouches to be at her eye level but knows she can't lift Gaia. She'd feel like a deadweight and Harley wasn't strong enough to hold her. "Hey, we're going to get you inside, okay?" She promises. "You and Madi, you're both fine. You'll be safe once you get to Sanctum." Gaia can't respond with words or a nod, but she blinks a few times.

"Diyoza, Echo, get the body bags. Raven, they would have heard the gunshots. Get us in the air before they come back," Bellamy commands.

Raven nods and motions for Echo to help her lift Gaia. They carefully carry her inside while Diyoza takes Madi, Bellamy placing the small, limp girl in her arms. "They were waiting for something, kept talking about a second moon," she informs him gravely.

"When you figure out what that means, let me know," Bellamy directs her as she follows the others inside. Harley's about to leave too, but two words from him make her come to a pit stop in astonishment. "Not you."

Harley spun on her heels to see Octavia at the bottom of the door, lost, unsure if Bellamy meant what he said as he stands like a shield, blocking her way inside. Then it hits her. "Oh, come on. What are you gonna do, leave me here?"

"Yeah," Bellamy agrees. "For your own good. And ours. Monty gave his life so we could have another chance, and I'm not gonna let you destroy that."

The boots Harley wore make heavy thuds against the steel door. She suddenly feels as angry as she did under the red sun. She wasn't going to stab Bellamy in the back, but her blood starts to roar in her eardrums, so powerfully that she almost misses Octavia trying to defend herself with, "We saved Madi, Gaia, and Diyoza. We got the damn ship back. We lost no one. How is that a bad thing?"

"Until you can answer that yourself, you're on your own."

"Are you kidding me?" Harley snarls so darkly that she sounds like Murphy. She swivels around Bellamy so she can face him. If he wasn't taller than her, they'd be nose to nose. "There are enemies in these woods who carry guns, scream Death to Primes as they kill people, and you're going to leave her here to die?!" She exclaims furiously. Harley's hands curl into fists that tremble at her sides.

"I'm not doing this with you, Harley," Bellamy says, too calmly. "If you agree with her - "

"She's like this because of what we did!" Harley shouts.

" - Then you can stay with her," Bellamy finishes as if she didn't interrupt him at all. "I won't let you do something that would make Monty ashamed of you."

Harley's face pinches as sorrow, betrayal, and pain hit her all at once. How could he make a decision like this? Like he blamed her for everything that happened...

Then it sinks in, and Harley realizes how much Bellamy truly blames her. He doesn't hate himself as much as she does for poisoning Octavia. He manipulated her into doing it. Bellamy didn't hold a gun to her head and make her do it, but he used words. He dangled her brother's life in front of her, he knew how much Harley loved her brother and would do anything to protect him, and used that to poison his sister. Then Octavia almost gave her life in war to save them, and this was how he was selfishly repaying that sacrifice?

"Screw you. My brother is in Sanctum. He's hurt because of what I did to him. I'm going back to see he's okay," she whispers as a statement, not to be unheard, but because it takes every bit of strength she has to resist having an outburst. Harley is positively shaking with rage at this point, but Bellamy hardly seems bothered.

"No," he says. "You're a ticking time bomb. You're not coming with us."

Harley snaps. Her arm swings before she can think and her knuckles strike Bellamy's jaw. It's a strong punch, but Bellamy is more stunned than anything, staggering back with a hand on the bone. Harley's lower lip curls into a sneer as she lunges to hit him again, but Octavia drags her back.

"Stop, Harley, stop it," she demands like she's already accepted Bellamy's betrayal on them. He was leaving them to die.

"Go float yourself, you selfish dick!" Harley practically screams after him. If her anger was a fire, it would burn through the woods and surely reach Sanctum. All she could think of how Bellamy manipulated her, how he betrayed her, how he's leaving her and his own sister to die -

"It's over. He's made up his mind," Octavia snaps. She waits until Harley seems calm enough to release her. "It doesn't matter. I should have died in that gorge anyway."

Tears of anger and despair burn at Harley's eyes but she turns away from Bellamy and wipes furiously at them. She won't let Bellamy see them water and know how badly he hurt her. They were family in space, and now because she sided with Octavia, he was practically sending them to their deaths by abandoning them.

The woods are waiting for them once again, but before they can dive in and accept their fate, Bellamy stops them. "My sister died a long time ago."

Harley's lower lip trembles as a few tears escape. She listens with her back turned as Bellamy flipped the switch to the ship, leaving the door to close, sealing their last chance at atonement by ripping it away.

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author's note:

i cannot even start to tell y'all how much bellamy's actions in season 6 pissed me off. i remember watching this scene when it aired and planning how harley would react; realizing he manipulated her into poisoning octavia and leaving her to die for it too. smh.

so that brotp is completely ✂️ snipped. gone. rip.

thank you for being so patient, i feel like you guys deserved a gift so i didn't cut this long ass chapter in half. it's super sad anyway. especially when you realize harley isn't going to see murphy again for a long, long time after this and doesn't even know if he woke up after she nearly killed him.

i'm really pissed off how shitty season 7 is but i don't want this book to end at season 6. the first few episodes weren't bad, and i had so much planned for harley. idk. i think i'll make up my mind when i get there.

hopefully i'll see you guys soon ❤️

- koda