The One Who's Fallen

Chapter 125

**Needle warning! (As in sewing-ish kind of needle used to stitch up wounds!!)

Whispers come from the cages as we walk closer, repeating the same thing. "Heda's back."

"Are you here to get us out?" An alarmingly thin woman asks when we get close enough.

"Sha (yes)." Lexa responds. "We cannot release you yet, moba (sorry). We have a plan to get you all out."

The woman nods her head understandingly. "Thank you all for coming back for us. Stay safe. Do not worry about us if you do not succeed, just stay safe."

The others around her who heard her nod and murmur their agreement, quietly urging us to put our lives ahead of theirs.

"I guess a lot of Grounders really are that selfless." Raven murmurs to herself, her eyes wet with unshed tears.

I reach out and squeeze her arm, hoping it's comforting. We make our way past stacks of cages, too many to count. We reach a door that unlocks with the swipe of a card. I frown at it.

"Should we wait here to ambush a guard?" I ask.

"Nah, I can hack it." Raven waves her hand. "Easy. Guys, watch what I'm doing in case you need to do it. Okay?"

We all nod and I pull out a tiny notebook I had the foresight to bring and a pencil. Raven gives me an amused look before walking over to stand in front of the card reader. We crowd around her, moving around so everyone can see.

"Alright, first things first." Raven murmurs, pulling the cover away from the wall to expose the wiring and circuitry. "Oh man. Really? Their security sucks. I could have hacked this when I was five."

"That's because you're a genius, Rae." Octavia reminds her, making Raven grin.

"Shush. Flattery will get you everywhere. Okay, next step. Did you guys see that? It should spark like that. If it doesn't, you did something wrong. Next..."

She goes through the next few steps, pausing after each one to make sure we all got it. I write down the steps in my notebook, trying to make it as detailed as possible to avoid any possible confusion. When she's done, she puts the cover back, maneuvering it until there's a click. Raven pulls her hand back, keeping it close and beaming victoriously when it stays closed.

"Okay. We're good." Raven says.

She swipes a piece of paper she steals from me through the card reader and opens the door, gesturing for us to go through. We stand in a short hallway leading to a longer hallway and I find myself even more grateful that I memorized the map; I know exactly where we are. We pause here to go over the plan.

"Lexa and I will go first," I begin. I know we all know it, but it calms me to go over it again. "The second door on the right is the closet you guys are going to stay in. You all know the signal. We're going to create a distraction. You guys stay under their radar for as long as possible while you head to the control room. Lexa and I will join you when we can. Got it?"

"Got it," Octavia confirms.

"One last thing. Octavia, Lincoln. Please stay with Raven. Whenever it's possible, at least one of you should be next to her. Okay?"

"We will keep her safe." Lincoln assures me.

"Mochof (thank you)."

Octavia's sighs, causing us all to look at her. "I'm going to have to endure so many closet and coming out of the closet jokes, aren't I?" We chuckle, keeping our amusement quiet just in case anyone's nearby.

I'm about to make my way out into the longer hallway when Lexa's hand on my good shoulder stops me.

"Clarke. We should check on your wound before we start fighting."

I nod and lean against the wall after helping Lexa take off my chest piece again. She frowns at the red staining the cloth, which is still soaked from the decontamination surprise shower. She takes off the cloth and tosses it onto the ground with a wet slap.

"Clarke, it has not just reopened, it has gotten worse. You need stitches."

"Then can you do stitches?" I ask.

Lexa moves her jaw from side to side and nods. She reaches into a pouch she always carries with her, pulling out a needle and string.

"Does anyone have fire?" Lexa asks.

Raven pulls out a lighter, making me raise an eyebrow. Where on earth did she find that? She shows Lexa how to work it before handing it to her. Lexa flicks it on and heats up the pointed end. She gives it back to Raven, who hands her strips of cloth. One Lexa places in my left hand and I put it in my mouth, determined to keep quiet and the other will probably be used to cover my wound.

I look at Lexa's focused, determined expression instead of the needle. The burning pain makes me want to lock up the muscles in my shoulder but I know that would hinder instead of help. I barely let a sound escape my mouth but I'm grateful for the cloth in my mouth. It keeps my teeth from grinding together.

When Lexa's finished, she presses a kiss above my wound and gently takes the cloth out of my mouth. Lincoln puts on another poultice and spreads it. I flinch at the pain but push through it. Lexa silently wraps my wound and helps me put my chest piece back on.

I give her a lingering kiss in thanks, knowing she hates to see me hurt. Lexa gives me a soft smile and squeezes my left hand.

"Ready?" I ask her.

"Ready," she confirms.

"Be careful," Raven says.

She comes over and hugs Lexa and I, carefully avoiding my injured shoulder and arm. Octavia and Lincoln join in and it becomes one big group hug. We say nothing as we untangle ourselves, giving each other small reassuring smiles. Lexa and I say goodbye to them.

"Don't say goodbye," Raven chokes out. "Say 'see you soon.'"

"See you soon," I repeat.

Lexa looks around the corner of the hallway to make sure it's clear. She gestures for me and we walk down the longer hallway with Octavia, Lincoln, and Raven right behind us. They head into the closet to wait.

Lexa and I walk down the pristine hallway, swords in our hands, ready to start a fight.

Next chapter, the plan continues! Which is basically spontaneous because I plan pretty much nothing and why do I do this to myself! Oh well. And oops! If you guys saw that I posted this yesterday, I didn't mean to! :p I wrote it a day early and accidentally pressed publish like a genius. Anyway! Thank you all for reading and for your amazing comments! Stay awesome!