virago|c.g.|

xxiv

For the most part, it was peaceful and quiet, a luxury she had never realized could be found outside of her own community. However, Solaris had been sage not because of walls but because of the armed to the teeth members within, ready to fight at a moment's notice. However, with said peace, it soon faded to worry as she could only wonder if Nicholas would put Glenn in a tough position as he had so many times before. It had taken everything in her power not to rip the man's head off after all that he had done, but now he was put in a position that meant he had to have Glenn's back. It was with those thoughts that the peacefulness could not even satiate her worry. That, and the screams that sounded.

Screams.

Clary stopped dead in her tracks upon hearing the agonizing cries. However, she didn't stay planted, rather moving into action as she tried to find the source of the cries for help. Weaving in between houses, she peered around the corner to see men she had never seen within Alexandria killing those that lived within the walls. Before she could react, she heard a type of battle cry. It didn't take another second for her to turn towards the source of the sound, surprised to see a woman charging at her with a knife in hand. Clary was quick to dodge out of her way, unsheathing her own blade before swinging it and slicing into her back. As the woman cried out in pain, she turned and seemed to growl at the teenager before charging once more.

Clary was quick to swing her blade, the woman's wrist caught in the arc causing her to scream and drop the knife she held. Elbowing her in the nose, Clary knocked her back before thrusting her blade into her stomach. As the woman tried to grab her, her eyes bore into Clary's and she saw the letter upon her forehead written in blood.

W

Clary's heart fell just as the woman fell from her blade before hitting the floor in a lifeless heap. She would've recognized that symbol from anywhere, having seen walkers at the gates of Solaris with it, but also encountering some of the group. If she remembered them well, she realized they were the Wolves. The group had been an enemy for Solaris for a short time, until they had tried to do just what they had done to Alexandria but to her own community. The Guard had killed many of their fighters, rendering them weak. Luckily, Solaris had lost little men in the process, their strength in numbers causing the Wolves to retreat and never return. Clary could admit to herself that she believed that they had taken enough lives of theirs to cause them to never attack Solaris or any community again. However, her heart grew heavy as she realized The Wolves were back.

With a quick plan, Clary took off the large jacket the woman wore, putting it on and bringing up the hood. To further disguise herself, she untied the dirty scarf that had been around the woman's neck before tying it around her own neck, pulling it up to cover the bottom half of her own face.

Making her way out from in between the houses, she kept to the shadows. Although she had a disguise, she wasn't too believing that the Wolves would see her as one of them. As she moved, having to kill two of them on her way, she was surprised when she saw Enid moving from behind houses. Clary ran towards her, going to the next house she believed she would try to hide behind before before rounding the corner. Although Clary was quiet, Enid heard the shuffling of grass, causing her to turn to see the hooded figure approach. "No!" Clary watched Enid unsheathe her knife until Clary pushed her against the wall, her other hand latching one the wrist of the hand holding the weapon. "E, it's me!" Clary whispered harshly, her friend stopping her thrashing as Clary brought down the mask. The girl's eyes widened. "CJ? What the hell are you—" Clary cut her off. "Where are you going?" Clary's question hung in the air as Enid shook her head. "I— I don't know."

Putting up her mask, Clary looked around to see that the coast was clear. She looked back to Enid before grabbing her arm. "Come on, we'll go to Rick's house. He should have guns in there." Enid nodded, following Clary's lead and heading to the Grimes household. Once they got to the back entrance, Clary turned the knob of the door, cursing as it didn't open. Enid held out a hand, pulling out a set of keys before opening it, Clary whispering a soft thanks before allowing the door to open slowly.