Nothing Gold Can Stay [1]

Twelve

We Are Grounders

"Better hope those land mines work," Bellamy said, looking at the small devices being planted in the ground outside the camp walls. "All the gunpowder we're wasting, we could be making more grenades."

"You want to come over here and test one?" Raven asked jokingly.

"Cute," Bellamy scoffed. "I need this entire section mined by morning. Then you finish the south field."

"Hey, I told you, we're going after Finn, Clarke, and Monty in the morning."

"And I told you, nobody leaves this camp."

Nova glared at Bellamy. Ever since they had gotten back from the night Monty went missing, Bellamy was even more on edge. He had been stressed all the time, and it took Nova a lot of patience to try and relax him every night.

"I'm talking to you," Raven demanded. "We can't just abandon our people. You want to lead them, show them you give a damn."

A gun shot went off, jerking Nova back into reality, no longer paying attention to Raven and Bellamy's argument.

Bellamy and Nova jogged over to the guard who was looking dazed. "Hey, what the hell is the matter with you?" Bellamy demanded.

"I'm sorry, man. I fell asleep. I've been on watch all day."

"We've all been on watch all day!" Bellamy retorted. "That bullet was one less dead Grounder."

"Bell, you're scaring people," Nova said quietly, placing a hand on his arm. He shrugged it off.

"They should be scared! The bomb on the bridge bought us some time to prepare, but that time is up!" Bellamy was now shouting at everyone within close proximity. "The Grounders are out there right now, waiting for us to leave and picking us off one by one when we do! Clarke, Finn, and Monty are gone; probably dead. And if you want to be next, I can't stop you; but no guns are leaving this camp! This camp is the only thing keeping us alive! Get back to work!"

Everyone looked nervously at the ground, shuffling away. Bellamy was an intimidating guy, and not many people had the bravery to stand up to him.

"Hey, Bell?" Nova looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowing at how angry he seemed.

"What?" He snapped. He looked down at Nova, his face softening. "Sorry," he said as he encased her hands in his.

"I'm worried, Bell. Talk to me."

Bellamy was not one to talk about his feelings, Nova knew that. But neither was she, so she knew that as the indecision flickered across his face, he wanted to talk about whatever was going on in his head.

"I'm just stressed. With Clarke gone, I'm the main leader. And I have to keep everyone safe. The Grounders are going to be coming some time soon, we don't know when. And that's making it worse."

"You're putting a lot of pressure on yourself. It's not all up to you. Besides, you're motivating everyone to get the work done. Sure, you're scaring them at the same time, but the work is getting done. And that's all that matters. You're making this camp safe. We'll send a few people out to find Clarke, Finn and Monty, without guns," she added quickly, seeing the look on Bellamy's face. "They'll be back and we'll still be prepared for the Grounders. Everything will turn out fine, you'll see." Nova smiled encouragingly at Bellamy, rubbing his back.

☢☢☢

Nova was upstairs in the drop ship, counting bullets, lost in her own world. The wound in her leg was almost healed but every now and then the pain would escalate and she would struggle to walk around, let alone stand. So when that happened, Bellamy would immediately notice and send her to do something that involved sitting down. Nova hated not being out with everyone, doing something to protect the camp, but she appreciated Bellamy's concern. And so there she was, counting bullets and separating them into small piles for each group in the first and second lines of defence, when the door slammed shut and she heard shouting from outside.