Wounds [Bellamy Blake]

New Threats [Chapter 35]

                “Get down.” Bellamy whispered sharply.

                We both sunk deeper into the water, only our noses and above were revealed. The glow of the pool was surely going to give us away and we had been talking so freely that whomever was there knew exactly where we were. I held onto a rock divot at the edge of the hot spring and peered over to see if anything was visible, but the footsteps had disappeared, but so did the noise of nature.

                Everything was still as stone.

                For what felt like ten minutes of dragging, agony-filled silence, I surfaced, unable to breathe only through my nose any longer. Bellamy rose slightly as well, peering over the edge of the pool and scanning through the darkness. There seemed to be nothing there, and we couldn’t just linger in this pool until sunrise. I hopped out, wringing out my hair and swiftly reaching for my clothes; if I was going to be attacked, I wanted to at least be clothed somewhat.

                As I slipped my new boots on, Bellamy was already fully dressed as he didn’t have to deal with a bra. The sounds of nature began to rise again; the creaking of the trees and skittering of critters in the branches. It soothed me, and my heart rate began its descent. The footsteps could have been anything; someone from the camp who accidentally stumbled upon us, an animal seeing if we were worth hunting, and changing its mind.

                I ran my hands through my clean-ish hair and smiled at Bellamy, but he still looked on edge. Reaching my damp hand over, I grabbed hold of his own and pulled him close, “Let’s go home.”

                It felt odd calling the camp ‘home’, but it was more a home than anything else in the universe had been to me. Bellamy and I would be sharing a tent again now, or at least I assumed we would be. Many of the tents had been damaged or lost in the storm, but many had been recovered; found in tree tops a kilometer away from camp. Somehow Bellamy had still managed to keep his tent exclusively his own.

                We neared the glowing forest, and I knew that camp was only a five minute walk away now. It had to have been the wee hours of the morning; Bellamy had returned to camp around midnight, and we had been out for at least two hours now. As we walked in silence, and a bit of a hurry, I tried to recall how long we had been on Earth for. By now it was probably just under three weeks; so much had turned around and changed, nothing was what we had expected, and yet things seemed to be working out well enough.

                Though the Grounders were ever a threat, I wondered if maybe Lincoln would return to his own and tell them that we were only children, harmless and had no intent to take anything from them. But that would be a lie; we had brutally tortured him, and some would have easily killed him if it hadn’t been for the protection that Octavia gave him. The look in his eyes though, when he looked into Octavia’s orbs, suggested that he had no desire to harm us. That, however, meant nothing in regards to the Grounders.

                Aside from the Grounders, we were able to conquer any threat that came our way. Almost everyone knew how to hunt and protect themselves now. Though there were dangerous animals, like the large forest cat we had found when searching for Jasper, most of the animals that lingered nearby were deer and small rodents. Some kids had even learned to fish, though I still avoided touching any animals. Instead, I stuck to my berries, fruit, nuts and fungi. It was enough to sustain me for now.

                By this point, Bellamy and I were no longer holding hands, and being so close to camp, I had no worries about being a few feet behind him. I had stopped when I noticed a long, slender stick that was sturdy enough for an arrow. Since Bellamy had given me a bow, I would need to make arrows; strong but thin sticks, pointed rocks and strong feathers would be needed. Finding this particular stick was the first step in making my bow into an actual, usable weapon.

                I crouched down, grabbing the stick and turning it over in my hand. Nodding, as if confirming to the stick that it was the right one, I rose to my feet. Glancing towards Bellamy, who had continued walking without noticing my absence, I took a few quick hops to begin a gain on him. The camp walls were in sight now, though with my still damaged ankle, I had no chance in catching up to Bellamy unless he stopped and turned to face me.

                He did exactly that, a faint smile on his lips that hardly showed in the tint of the moonlight. I cast one back to him, feeling all the worry of someone being out here with us fade away; there was a certain way he looked at me that always made me feel safe, even when I knew that I wasn’t. Perhaps it was the determination to keep the things he wanted and loved safe. If anything happened, he would come for me, right?

                Even though only three weeks had come and gone since I had even met Bellamy Blake, the bonds that we had formed were stronger than bonds I had developed with anyone; not even my parents could match up to him. My eyes were trained on him as I walked towards him, his rigid and solid figure standing still as he waited for me to catch up.

                I had been so focused on him that I hardly noticed the first arrow that landed only an inch away from my foot fall. The second one caught my attention, also landing only inches away from my feet. Stopping awkwardly, nearly tumbling as I brought myself to a halt. My arms wavered to keep myself steady, but I had to back up as more arrows fell to my feet, impaling the ground in front of me.

                “Ava!” I heard Bellamy shout, reaching for his weapon and realizing that he had no gun, only his dagger which could not help me in this situation.

                A small dart hit my neck, and I stumbled slightly, feeling a tingle seep through my body. My vision became dim, and as my body crumpled below me despite my efforts to stay erect, I could see Bellamy rushing towards me.

                Then it all faded to black.

So, there are hardly any pictures left on Google Images of Bellamy (at least ones that don't include Clarke)... So sorry if I repeat any images! Comment and vote please! I messaged those of you who answered my challenge questions in the previous chapter, but haven't heard back from either.