DISCORDIA

[ 24 ] last hope

   "Jasper, you're coming with me!" Bellamy's voice cut through the air as he entered the tent. He paused briefly when he saw that Jinny was awake and she pushed herself upright again.

   "Going where?" she asked. Seeing his face reignited the hazy memories she had before her drunken stupor. Their moment in the flower field started to replay itself in her mind as if she was watching it from an old-fashioned reel of film.

   "You okay?" Bellamy finally asked and she nodded. He reached over to grab some bullets when Raven stopped him. "If you're planning on shooting anything, you better think twice. I haven't checked those yet," she told him.

   "Give me some bullets that work," he requested.

   "What do you need them for?" she asked.

   "Your boyfriend's being an idiot."

   She turned around and picked up a few cartridges, pressing them into Bellamy's chest. "I'm coming with you."

   "We should get Clarke," Jasper said.

   Bellamy hesitated, glancing back to Raven and she rolled her eyes. "She's with Finn... isn't she?"

   Jinny guessed she wasn't the only one with boy problems.

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   "Finn did what?!" Jinny exclaimed angrily when Bellamy finally had the opportunity to explain the situation. She squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You know what? I don't care. If he wants to get himself killed, he can go right ahead. I'm leaving."

   "Jin—" Bellamy protested. "We can't just let them die!"

   "Sure, be my guest and be their bodyguards." She gestured before turning around and starting back to the camp. "I'm not going to—" A figure suddenly dropped down from the branches in front of her and she let out a scream in surprise. The others automatically raised their rifles to take aim at the Grounder standing before them.

   "Wait!" The intruder raised his hands in the air. "I come in peace!"

   Jinny took a step back and examined him with a frown. He looked at her hopefully, eyes darting between the rifles nervously. She gestured for them to lower their weapons. "I know this kid," she said. "He stopped me from getting speared twice back in the forest."

   "Who are you?" Bellamy asked gruffly.

   "Lincoln is my mentor," the Grounder told them. "He's the one setting up the meeting. He told me to bring your Commander."

   Jinny stared at him incredulously. "Come again?"

   "You're their Commander." He pointed at her. "If Anya refuses to believe Clarke, she'll believe you instead. We're trying to broker peace, it's better if it works out this way. War isn't the answer."

   "They actually can speak English," Raven commented.

   "Wait, who's Anya?" Jinny asked.

   "She's our field lieutenant, a trusted advisor to our Heda," he explained. "There isn't much time, I'll bring you to them."

   "What does Heda mean?" she asked.

   "Commander."

   Bellamy turned around and scanned the woods for any other signs of life. "How do we know you're telling the truth and not leading us into an ambush?"

   "Because my arrows would have killed you before you even drew breath," he answered.

   "Well, I'm sold," Jasper muttered.