Wounds [Bellamy Blake]

Weapons Hot [Chapter 45]

                When we arrived at the shattered drop ship, I could feel the mood sway towards sullen. Though there was no evidence of any survivors, it looked like much of what was on the ship would be salvageable. My eyes turned to the blonde and I wondered what was running through her mind; had her mother even been on that ship? The chances were high, however, that she had been. My guess was that they launched early (too early) because people were beginning to realize how few would actually make it to Earth; the ship was not large enough for everyone, Clarke had explained. Only the high-born would have made it; Jaha, Kane, Abby…

                I decided to stay on watch; I knew how to spot a Grounder better than anyone now that I had been so close to them for so long. While Clarke, Raven, Bellamy, Finn and a few others salvaged anything they could find, five of us circled the perimeter, scanning for threats.

                Fumbling slightly, I gripped the bow in my hand, trying to find the most comfortable positioning. My left hand firmly gripped the smoothly and intricately whittled curve of the bow, and my right hand held the arrow. Locking it into the twine and pulling it back with great strength, I aimed at a tree that was not so far from where I stood; if I missed I wouldn’t have to trek so far into the woods, and if I hit the target, it would be close enough to swiftly retrieve the arrow. I breathed outwards slowly, releasing the feathered arrow. The twang of the twine echoed softly in my ears, and I watched in perfect stillness as the arrow soared through the empty air.

                To my amazement, it stuck into the tree; though very off centered, it was a great start. Instead of rushing back and forth each time I shot an arrow, I released all twelve of them before loping towards the forest to gather them. Eight of them had landed, while two had not had enough strength to them to reach the tree, and the remaining two soared past. I gathered them one by one, placing them carefully back into the quiver, and then lost myself in the dense woods, searching for the arrows.

                With any luck, I had found one of them lying flat on the ground, only a few minutes into my search. The other one, however, was quite a bit further, but I spotted the bright red feather that Bellamy had used when making it. As I maneuvered the forest, I made a mental note to paint the arrows so that I could find them, or brighten them up somehow.

                “Not bad; you ever shoot an arrow before?” The velvety voice of a certain Grounder startled me.

                My eyes found him before my words did, “No… What are you doing here?”

                “Funny, we’ve wanted to know the same thing since you arrived.”

                I narrowed my eyes, “My people, they have guns… If they see you, they won’t hold you captive like they did Lincoln, they will shoot you.”

                Bjorn frowned. “How many Grounders have your people killed?”

                “Well… none, other than at the bridge.”

                “Let them try.” He strode up to me in only one, giant step.

                Shuffling nervously under his gaze, I wondered how long our deal would have extended to; was he here to kill me? Surely not after what he was planning to do to free me, or when he let me slip out of his grasp on the bridge. Or perhaps he was here to spy on us, or to check out the drop ship just as we were. But in his eyes suggested it was none of those things, but rather, coming back for what I owed him.     

                “I need to get back to my group before they notice me gone.”

                Bjorn nodded, looking unconvinced. “Because they were so keen on finding you last time.”

                His words stung, but I was not going to cave into them. “Tell me why you’re here, or leave.”

                He wrapped his arm around my hips in one swift motion, pulling me close; danger and lust lurked in his eyes. My heart jolted in my chest, I didn’t want this. He let go, laughing now. “I’m looking out for you.”

                “T-thank you?” I stuttered.

                “I also wanted to tell you that Felicity didn’t make it.” He added rather bluntly. “She would have survived the wound if she hadn’t have fallen afterwards.”

                My eyes fell to the ground, studying Bjorn’s black boots. Though Felicity had been the enemy, so to speak, she had not an evil bone in her from what I had seen. “She was beautiful.”

                Bjorn shrugged, “She was a child.”

                “How old are you?” I asked, weary.

                “Twenty eight?”

                “You’re unsure?”

                “How old are you?” He posed.

                I realized I had no idea if I had turned eighteen yet; when I had been sent to Earth my birthday had only been around the corner. Surely I had breached eighteen by now. However, I couldn’t say. I shrugged, not wanting to give away my age to this man.

                “Ava!?” Bellamy called.

                I glanced over my shoulder, “Go.” I told Bjorn, but he had already vanished.

                “Over here!” I called to Bellamy, grabbed my arrow and rushing towards the sound of his voice. I could see the open field where the drop ship had flattened most of the land, and Bellamy’s figure appeared, darkened by how much light shone behind him, like a shadow. When he neared me, I could see his strong figure and a faint smile found my lips.

                “I just lost an arrow.” I told him, “But I have it now.”

                “I was worried about you,” He said as he neared me, placing both hands on my shoulders and smiling at me.

                “Don’t.” I said, thinking of Bjorn watching out for me, “Right now I don’t think there is anything to fear.”

                He eyed me cautiously, “Come on back, Raven found something.”

                I followed beside Bellamy, feeling his warmth and cherishing it as the days were getting colder even still. I wondered when snow might be falling; it had to be October by now, and depending on our location, snow wouldn’t be falling until November, and hopefully it would be a warmer winter than most. However, our brief encounter with the storm suggested Earth was going to be testing us this year, to see if we were worthy of surviving to see the Spring time.

                We arrived back at the war zone that was a drop ship, and Raven was holding a small rock; it looked wet, though I couldn’t tell from the distance I was at. She tossed it a long ways away from anybody, and a large, harsh explosion sent small bits of shrapnel through the air.

                “We need to get out of here, and be careful!” Raven called to everyone around.

                “Everybody out!” Bellamy called, “Weapons hot!”

                Daintily as possible, we all left the shattered drop ship and headed back towards the camp with not much to bring back.

Love all of your amazing feedback! I've gotten only good compliments about Bjorn, so you might be seeing more of him! Many more chapters to come!