Bittersweet ━━ Bellamy Blake

𝟬𝟯. close both eyes to see

CHAPTER THREE
the views that twist reality

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

     𝐄lliot sat on a rough-edged flat rock inside a cave, tending some fire in front of her so that she could cook the squirrel she caught earlier. Finally, a flame erupted and caught on the dried leaves, making the fire bigger but not enough that she'd burn herself. Another scar was not sufficient. She had enough on her skin, let alone her only eye was the only thing keeping her alive.

    She flicked down the scarf over her face but she left her hood on. Then she grabbed the squirrel she skinned and placed it over the fire. The sound of heavy footsteps echoed throughout the cave hole, and that made the Grounder glance towards the entrance. She doubled-take when she saw an unfamiliar girl in her friend's arms, a frown immediately appearing on her face.

    "Who is she?" Elliot asked in their language, but the man simply walked past her and gently laid the girl on the ground.

    "Someone," He grunted, responding in the same language as he walked over to his rucksack. "Go."

    "Fine," Elliot grumbled, not asking further questions as she stood up and sulkily stomped over the fire. She threw the uncooked squirrel on the ground and hauled her rucksack and her bow from the ground. But before she could venture her way out of their little hideout, she stopped and turned towards her brother figure. "Lincoln. Be careful."

    The man nodded as they shared a look only the two of them could distinguish. "I will."

    Elliot had been sitting on the same branch of a tree for hours now, even before night fell. Her rucksack hung on another branch beside her head while her bow lied on her lap. She was somewhere near their little hideout, just to be sure. Other than that, she was starving as hell. She'd been waiting for so long, and Lincoln still hadn't called her down.

    Not even a moment later, she suddenly caught sight of torches in the darkness of the woods along with a couple of voices from where she perched upon. Elliot muttered a string of foreign curses under her breath. Grabbing her bow and arrow as quietly as she could, she moved into a crouching position, trying to stay as hidden as possible. Just enough that they wouldn't notice her.

     Thankfully, they didn't go far enough and Elliot let out a small sigh of relief, leaning back against the tree when the group of delinquents left the area. She was probably going to be sleeping up there tonight. Nothing new, but definitely not comfortable, and that means a lot since she mostly slept on the cold ground these past few nights.

     The second the sunlight hit her face, she jolted up from her slumber, almost forgetting that she was up high on a tall tree. Dangerous, but she has the advantage if someone wants to kill her. (Not if she kills herself first though. From falling at this height).

    Her brows instantly furrowed, almost in annoyance, when she felt something hit the back of her head. She tilted her head down towards the ground, only to see her dear friend looking at her from below.

    "Don't throw a rock at my head," Elliot hissed. He hurriedly gestured for her to come down. With an exasperated sigh, she easily climbed down the tree.

    "She's gone, but I know where she went," Lincoln told her.

     Elliot slightly narrowed her good eye at him, an incredulous expression on her face because she knew what he was suggesting. His tone said it all. "That's good, so we go back to the cave."