Wounds [Bellamy Blake]

Goodbye, Cruel World [Chapter 67]

                Many stayed behind with the Arc; sending out search parties to see if there were any other surviving parts of the ship. Kane explained how much of it was obliterated on the descent, though there had hardly been many survivors on the Arc after the Exodus ship destroyed the entire power source, and many people hadn't made it. When they decided to bring the Arc to Earth, they knew that many people would die, but they would have all died if they hadn't made that call.

                Hearing their side of it, I understood now why they had been cut off from all communication with us down on Earth. I explained to Kane, Abby and Sinclair –the only three who came to see the remains of the camp- our side of the story. The Grounders, Reapers, the war, and the Mountain Men. They seemed extremely untrusting of Bjorn and Lincoln, but had no choice in the matter that they were with us. Both of them had risked their lives for Octavia and myself, and I trusted my life in their hands.

                "We split up from the rest of the group..." I wrapped up the story, "And when we came back it was gone."

                "Gone how?"

                "Burnt down, everyone missing." I drifted off and muttered to myself, "Bellamy..."

                "Bellamy Blake?" Kane spoke up.

                I glanced up at him when his voice registered in my brain, "Yeah."

                Kane made a face, "It's a shame Jaha pardoned him."

                "Hey!" Octavia snapped, "That's my brother!"

                "I'm well aware." Kane retorted.

                "Bellamy did more for the survival of the children you sent down than any other person." I growled       

                "I think we should drop it." Abby said quietly. "We are all suffering losses, we best get along."

                "Down here, that is a lot to ask for." I added, thinking of Murphy and wondering if he was still alive or not.

                "Down here is all we have left." Kane sighed.

                He was right; not only was the Arc out of space, many of the inhabitants had been killed in the descent and the landing. Earth was so ancient, full of history, but it was new to us; even more so to Kane than myself. Though the beauty of Earth was so much greater than anything on the Arc, it had unimaginable dangers. Perhaps it was fighting back after what our ancestors had done to it. It didn't want to welcome us back.

                "There's the camp." I told them, pointing in the direction of what was left of the camp. There were no longer ashes blowing in the wind, but it still smelled of burnt flesh.

                Abby walked a little bit faster than anyone else; the only one with a child on the ground. I could tell her frame was rigid as she spotted the bones and skulls that remained of some of the Grounders. Since I could not clarify if her child was alive, any of these could be Clarke in her mind. Optimism went a long way these days, but it was far from realism. As the woman dropped to her knees, her hands sifting through the ashes, I could feel her pain.

                I did not console her or try to comfort her. There was nothing I could say that would make anything seem okay. Nothing was okay. Being a realist sometimes hurt, but it was better than having your hopes ripped from your hands every single time you expected to be given anything back in this brutal world.

                Lincoln and Bjorn were circling the perimeter, ensuring that we were safe for the mean time. Not only had both of them resented the idea of going back –given that most of their own had been slaughtered here- but they didn't trust that the Mountain Men weren't watching the camp for stragglers like myself and Octavia. An eerie feeling surrounded the entire remnants of the camp, and it didn't sit well with me.

                Abby rose, her knees stained with black ash now, her eyes red from the tears she could finally spill for her daughter. "Tell me what happened here."

                "I already did, Abby." I said, not wanting to think about me leaving Bellamy any more.

                "Avarice." She demanded.

                I opened my mouth to speak but ceased when I heard movement on my far left. Turning my attention towards the sound, I spotted someone; no one I had seen before. On the face they wore a gas mask, and in their hands he held a gun.

                I reached for my bow, but recalled that my quiver had been left empty. My eyes darted towards anyone; but no one had a weapon other than Bjorn and Lincoln. The man with the gas mask peered over the tall ridge line, looking down at us. When I noticed the green laser from the scope on my chest, I knew it was all over. Stun gun or real gun; our time was up.

                The trigger was pulled and gun fire sounded in my ears once again. Memories of my time here on Earth flashed through my mind. Meeting Bellamy Blake. Trusting Bellamy Blake. Loving Bellamy Blake. Losing Bellamy Blake. Earth had been all about him; since the beginning I had only wanted to be with him. I knew that once that bullet hit me I would be dead, never to see Bellamy again.

                There were many people on the Arc that believed there was a heaven, a God, and a hell. Not me. I knew better than to believe in the fairy tales of our ancestors. Nothing remained after death except our rotting corpses; that was all I was going to be after this was all over. I decided that it might be for the best then, never having to suffer to physical or emotional pain that went hand in hand with Earth. In my time alive, I had lived an exciting life. Not perfect; far from perfect. But I had loved, and that had to count for something.

                I recalled what Bjorn had told me about loving and losing; he was wrong about it. I was happier to have loved and been loved in return, even if it was short lived. Everything was short lived. When I fell to the ground, I wondered how long it would take before I died.

Ah, I await the hate comments. *waits*
There are still three chapters left! I have to finish writing the story, chapter 69 and 70. I really have loved this story, and I think it has come a long way. I know that it is not perfect, my writing is hobby not perfection. It will not be a story I will come back and edit, so the errors and flaws that are within will always be there, no hate!

Also, I saw Guardians of the Galaxy for the fourth time last night, so awesome every time. Anyways, I am writing a Marvel Universe story, and one of the characters (there are 7 OC's) is paired up with Peter Quill, so, yeah... read it if you so desire :)