❝ 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲
𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁
𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘆
𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 ❞
- 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝘀

𝗔𝘃𝗮'𝘀 𝗣𝗢𝗩

They start arguing and I tune it out, trying to shove down the urge I have to kill them both. I try humming a song to myself quietly but I hear a gunshot that frightens me.

"Good. Then do what I said" Murphy snaps.

"Bellamy?" I hear Octavia's worried voice from his walkie talkie.

"Bellamy! Are you okay?! Where is Ava?!" She shouts.

"You want her to know you're alive? Start tying" Murphy demands and I realise what he's doing.

I try to yell but it comes out muffled and both boys look at me.

"What's that, gorgeous? I can't quite hear you" Murphy teases me and I glare at him in anger.

He walks towards me and unties the gag, letting it fall to the ground.

"I stuck up for you, asshole. Let me go!" I shout.

"Easy there, tiger" He coos and turns back to Bellamy who shakes his head at me.

I sit quietly and Bellamy starts tying the noose.

"Bellamy! Do you copy?!" Octavia's voice is heard once again.

Murphy holds down the button on the radio and steps closer to Bellamy.

"I'm fine! Ava's fine! Just a misfire! Now stop worrying about us and get back to work, all of you. And tell Raven to hurry her ass up" He tells his sister.

"All right, that's long enough" Murphy says and walks over to me.

"Tie those two ends together" He tells the man.

"All right. Now get up and toss it over" He demands, looking at a beam going across the drop ship.

Bellamy throws the makeshift noose over the beam and the worry inside me grows.

"What do you want me to say? You want me to apologise? I'm-" Bellamy cuts himself off when Murphy raises the gun at him.

"I'm sorry" Bellamy says sincerely and Murphy smirks.

"You got it all wrong, Bellamy. I don't want you to say anything. I want you to feel what I felt, and then...then I want you to die" Murphy explains.

Bellamy looks at the noose in worry and I stand up, looking at the boy holding the gun.

"Don't make him do this" I plead and Murphy laughs.

"I'm not making him do anything" He says.

Bellamy pulls over a stool and sets it under the noose.

"Stand against the wall" Murphy orders and Bellamy walks over to me.

"Stand on it" The boy tells me and I look at him in disbelief.

He cuts the seatbelt around my wrists and nods towards the noose.

"No!" Bellamy objects.

"Stand on it!" Murphy shouts, pointing the gun at Bellamy threateningly.

"Okay! Okay!" I snap, making my way over to the stool.

I hesitate before shakily stepping onto it and turning to face them both.

"Put it over your head" He demands and I look up at it, gulping.

"This is insane! The grounders could-" Bellamy is cut off by Murphy letting off another shot.

"Stop it!" I shout, grabbing the noose.

I put it over my head and my eyes meet Murphy's.

"You happy now?" I sneer, trying my hardest to put on a strong front.

"You're so brave, aren't you? I mean, you came in here thinking you're just gonna turn this whole thing around, that you were stronger than me and that maybe one of your friends would come and help you" Murphy rants, tugging on the rope and causing me to hold onto it at my neck.

"Well, what are you thinking now, gorgeous?" He asks.

"I'm thinking your a huge ass" I spit.

Murphy yanks on the rope and I choke, feeling the air leave my lungs. He lets go and I inhale, the air filling my lungs and I close my eyes in relief.

"I'm gonna show you how it feels to be strung up" He sneers.

"Come on, Murphy. Can't we talk things out?" I plead.

"Shut up! I want you to know what it feels like to struggle to breathe, for your lungs to burn like they're on fire, for your heart to shatter when you realise no one is coming to save you. Because that's how I felt, and you still left me on that cliff without looking back" He tells me and my gut twists in pain.

"When your dad killed himself I was there for you. I stuck by your side for two damn years! When those jackasses strung me up for a crime I didn't commit, you didn't even care. That little bitch confessed and you took her side over mine. Do you even know how bad that hurt, Ava? It was like being hung all over again!" He screams at me angrily and my eyes tear up.

"Now you're shacking up with Bellamy Blake, of all people! The guy who kicked the crate from under my feet and left me for dead. You obviously don't give a fuck about me. So why the fuck do I still care about you?" He groans in frustration.

"I'm so sorry, Murphy" I apologise as guilty tears roll down my cheeks.

"It's too late for sorry's. Now you're going to die, and you're going to watch" Murphy snaps before turning to Bellamy.

"You're gonna watch her breathe her last breath and see the light die out in her eyes. Then i'm going to kill you too" Murphy says to Bellamy who looks up at me.

I smile weakly at the freckle faced man and his eyes gloss over as he returns my smile.

"I didn't want to hurt you, gorgeous. After all, I still care about you, more than you'll ever know...but so does he" Murphy admits before pointing at Bellamy.

"I could just tie that noose around your neck and kick the crate from under you, but that would be too easy. I want you to suffer. I'm going to take something you care about from you and make you watch" He sneers angrily at the man.

"You know, I got to hand it to you Bellamy. You got 'em all fooled. They actually look up to you, almost as much as they look up to Clarke and Ava. Yeah, well, we know the truth, don't we? You're a coward" Murphy snarls.

"I learned that the day you kicked out the crate from beneath me. The people. Isn't that what you said? That you were just giving the people what they wanted, right?" He growls.

"I should have stopped them" Bellamy argues.

"Yeah, it's a little late for that now" Murphy says, his eyes glistening.

Murphy ties Bellamy to a chair and turns it so it's facing me.

"You think they're just gonna let you walk out of here?" Bellamy asks.

"Well, I think the princess is dead. The queen is about to fall and I know the king's gonna die, so who's really gonna lead these people, huh?" Murphy explains.

"Me, that's who, and, yeah, maybe i'll have to kill your grounder-pounding little sister-" Murphy is cut off when Bellamy starts struggling against the seatbelts but Murphy pulls the rope and I choke, causing Bellamy to stop.

I hear electric spark below us and Murphy looks down at the floor with a smirk.

"I'm guessing that's her right now" Murphy states.

He walks over to where the sound came from and starts shooting at the floor.

"No!" Bellamy and I scream in unison.

Murphy runs out of bullets and I take that as an opportunity to escape. I grab at the noose to remove it but Murphy catches me in the act and kicks the stool from under me.

"No!" Bellamy cries out.

I let out a choked sob and I feel my breath disappear as the noose tightens around my neck. I claw at my neck, trying to grab the noose but nothing works and I feel myself slipping.

"Using your hands is a cheat. Mine were bound, remember?" Murphy says and grabs my hands.

I kick him in the chest with all the strength I have left and he stumbles back. My throat begins burning and my head feels like it's about to explode.

The feeling of my lungs struggling for a breath makes my chest burn in agony and the rope burns my neck as I fight for my life, kicking and choking aggressively.

I suddenly hear the drop ship door open and silent tears run down my face as black dots start to cloud my vision.

"Raven, you did it!" I hear Jasper yell.

Murphy runs up the ladders and my body falls still, clinging onto the hope that i'll make it out of this if I don't struggle too much.

"Ava?! Ava!" I hear Bellamy shout.

My legs are grabbed and I woozily look down to see Jasper lifting me up.

"A, hold on!" I hear Octavia scream.

She runs in and reaches up, cutting the rope. My body hits the floor and my vision goes blurry as my throat greedily gasps in a deep breath.

"Breathe, A! Breathe!" Octavia shouts.

"Can you breathe?" Jasper questions worriedly and I inhale deeply, the air cooling my burning lungs.

"Good" He sighs and Octavia pulls off the noose.

"You're okay. You're okay" She pants, holding my head in her hands.

"Raven, they're fine!" Jasper shouts.

"Murphy!" I hear Bellamy holler.

"Murphy! It's over!" He roars in white hot rage.

I shakily pull myself to sit up to see him climbing up the ladders and I cling onto Octavia with raspy breaths.

Bellamy bangs on the hatch, pushing it as hard as he can but Murphy has jammed it on the other side and it won't budge.

"Murphy!" Bellamy screams.

"There's only one way out of this for you now!" He growls.

A loud explosion is heard above us and I look at Octavia in shock. She mirrors my expression and Bellamy manages to break open the hatch.

Jasper climbs up the ladders after the man and disappears from our line of sight.

"How are you feeling?" Octavia asks me, grabbing my cheeks in her hands.

"I'll be fine, O" I assure her.

"Where's Monty?" I wonder suddenly, knowing I've seen all my friends other than him.

"Ava" Octavia says in sympathy and I push myself away from her.

"Where the fuck is he?" I croak, my voice raspy and sore.

"We were out looking for you guys and he disappeared, I think he was taken" She explains and my heart drops.

"No" I mumble, shaking my head in denial.

this is why Bellamy looked so guilty before

"Not Monty" I cry out, tears slipping down my face "I can't loose him too"

Octavia pulls me into a hug and I try to push her away but she holds me close.

"Shh, it's gonna be okay" She whispers reassuringly.

My cries turn into sniffles as I try to pull myself together and I take a step back, wiping my tears on my sleeves. I've cried far too much today and quite frankly, i'm tired of it.

"Raven?!" I hear Bellamy shout.

"All gunners! We got movement outside the south wall!" I hear Miller shout over Octavia's walkie talkie.

We share a look and run outside with Bellamy and Jasper on our tails. Everyone gathers round the gate and Octavia grabs my hand.

"Wait! Hold your fire! Clarke and Finn! Open the gate!" Miller shouts.

Clarke and Finn?

The gate is opened, both my best friend and princess blondie come jogging into camp like nothing happened. My heart almost explodes out of my chest in relief.

I drop Octavia's hand and sprint forward, launching myself at Finn who catches me.

"Oh, my God. I thought you were dead!" I cry out, hugging him as tight as I can.

"You know I don't go down that easily" He replies, hugging me back.

"Hey, we heard an explosion. What happened?" I hear Clarke ask.

"Murphy happened" Bellamy breathes out and I let go of Finn.

We walk over to Clarke and I throw my arms around the girl. She lets out a short laugh and hugs me back.

"I never thought i'd say this, but i'm glad you're alive, blondie" I mumble.

"Right back at you, Ava" She replies.

"I'm sorry for leaving you" I whisper in shame and her eyes glance down at my neck as she frowns.

"I told you to. I'm glad you listened" She assures me and gently rubs her thumb against my throat "I'll look at those bruises for you in a bit"

I pull away with a slight nod and Jasper crushes the girl in another hug before holding her at arms length.

"Where have you been? Where's Monty?" Jasper asks.

"Monty's gone?" Clarke asks in concern.

"Clarke, we need to leave, now. All of us do! There's an army of grounders, unlike anything we've ever seen, coming for us right now. We need to pack what we can and run!" Finn announces to the whole camp.

"Like hell we do. We knew this was coming!" Bellamy argues.

"Bell, we're not prepared!" Octavia snaps.

"And they're not here yet! We still have time to get ready. Besides, where would we go? Where would we be safer than behind these walls?" Bellamy retorts.

"There's an ocean to the East. People there will help us" Finn explains.

"You saw Lincoln" Octavia states and Finn nods.

"You expect us to trust a grounder? This is our home now. We built this from nothing with our bare hands. Our dead are buried behind that wall in this ground. Our ground! The grounders think they can take that away. They think that because we came from the sky, we don't belong here. But they're yet to realise one very important fact. We are on the ground now. And that means we are grounders!" Bellamy rants.

"Yeah!" Everyone cheers.

"Grounders with guns!" Some guy yells.

"Damn right! I say let 'em come!" Bellamy shouts.

"Bellamy's right! If we leave, we may never find a place as safe as this. And God knows, in this world, we could be faced with something even worse tomorrow. But that doesn't change the simple fact that if we stay here, we will die tonight. So pack your things. Just take what you can carry. Now!" Clarke shouts and I look at Bellamy in sympathy.

Everyone disperses and I let out a sigh, turning to Octavia.

"Help me!" I hear Raven's voice and I turn to see her holding her side, blood on her hand.

"Raven!" I shout, rushing towards the girl.

"Murphy shot her" Jasper says.

"Get her onto the drop ship" Clarke says and Finn lifts her up.

He carries her inside and Bellamy grabs Clarke's arm.

"Clarke, leaving here is a mistake!" He protests.

"The decision's been made" She snaps.

"Crowds make terrible decisions. Just ask Murphy" I butt in.

"Leaders do what they think is right" Bellamy states.

"I am" Clarke replies.

She walks away and I follow her into the drop ship to help my best friend.