Persphyni : I am Darkness

16

"Anybody out here!" I slapped my forehead as Bellamy shouted as he exited the caves.

"Jones!" I rolled my eyes as he continued.

"We're here!" This idiot, lets just all yell in the forest. First one to get caught by a grounder loses.

I took off towards the voice, Bellamy and Charlotte following until we caught sight of the small group.

"Lost you in the stew." Bellamy proceeded to move around me just to get in front and cut me off to make it look like he was leading. "Where'd you go?" I counted three, Atom wasn't there.

"Made it to a cave down there." I'm going to assume that's Jones. "The hell was that?"

"I don't know."

"Acid fog." Bellamy and I said at the same time. Mine was the logical answer and well, Bellamy just lived up to being called a dumbass even after he saw the radiation burns.

"Where's Atom?" Bellamy changed subject shooting me a glare.

"Where he was when you didn't let me go save him." I growled turning around and taking off. Charlotte following quickly behind me. The rest too in shock to have seen me told off their "leader".

"Hey, knife out. We'll split up, stay in shouting distance. Okay?" She nodded at me and went left. I went right and got onto the trail I faintly remember running on the way to the cave. Roughly half a mile out from the cave I saw the back of Charlotte's hair, jogging up behind her only to hear her scream.

"Hey! Shh." I yelled getting closer as she screamed one more time. "Charlotte it's okay." I tucked the girl in my chest as I saw the sight before me. It was twenty times worse than my shoulder, the burns yellow some white with puss of dead white blood cells. Raw bloody tissue that tried to heal but ran out of platelets and cells.

Atom lay in the forest face up, his chest rising and falling shakily as I slowly let go of the young blonde. I slid down the hill and knelt near Atom's head.

"Hey, Atom." I whispered.

"A-At-Atlys?" His voice was dry and scratchy.

"Yes, it's me. But can I tell you a secret." His eyes were grey, the acid burning them making him blind. "My real name is Persphyni Atlys. I was the Songbird in the vents." I spoke softly in his ear.

"C-c-can yo-you sing m-me a-away?" He sounded so broken.

"I can Atom, I can. Just, don't talk anymore. I'm going to help you." I looked up as Bellamy knelt down by his side on my left.

"Atom."

"Bellamy's here too." I whispered again for him to hear.

I watched his head turn in the direction of Bellamy's movements. His mouth opening as he swallowed blood down his throat.

"Kill me. Kill me." Atom returned his head back to where it was before. "Atlys, please." I smiled sadly at the boy. He was considerate enough to call me by the name I had given him rather than expose my secret.

I watched Charlotte walk up to Bellamy and hand over his tiny knife.

"Don't be afraid." I looked back down at Atom and softly stroked his hair.

"Go back to camp. Charlotte, you too." He looked at me. "Atlys, you don't have to stay here." He knelt back down looking me right in the face. I held back my shock as he actually said my name.

"I have to bear the world." I spoke, grabbing the knife from his hand. "You don't have to be here, Bellamy." I made eye contact with him knowing the inner struggle he was going to be facing. But he clenched his jaw and stayed put.

I closed my eyes thinking of a song to send him away with as another body dropped beside mine.

"I heard screams." Clarke.

"Charlotte found him." I whispered, my eyes opening and flicking up to Clarke.

"I sent her back to camp." Bellamy added, looking from Atom to Clarke to the knife and to me.

Clarke scanned Atoms body and shook her head looking at Bellamy before turning to me. I knew before she looked he wasn't going to be able to survive this, I knew I should have come back for him. I looked back down at Atom as his breathing became harder.

"Please, Atlys." It was barely a whisper, but I heard it bright as day. Clarke was about to open her mouth but I stopped her with a pointed look.

"No." My word was to both Clarke and Bellamy, letting them both know I was in charge. "I'm the Bearer of the World."

"We live and we die
Like fireworks
Our legacies hide
In the embers
May our stories catch fire
And burn bright enough
To catch God's eye

We live and we die" I sang softly as I brought the knife into his carotid artery and pulled it out. The movement so fluid and graceful as I had multiple experiences with mercy kills. I could feel them staring at me, but Atom was more important.

"Like fireworks
We pull apart the dark
Compete against the stars
With all of our hearts
Till our temporary brilliance turns to ash
We pull apart the darkness while we can"

I closed his eyelids as he finally stilled, his heart no longer pumping blood and his lungs no longer breathing oxygen.

May we live and die
A valorous life
May we write it all down
In cursive light
So we pray we were made
In the image of a figure eight"

I finally stopped singing, not looking up at either of the two beside me. A small smile on my face as I brought two fingers to my lips and placed them on his forehead.

"May we meet again."

My face stone as I stood up, wiping the blood off on my black jeans and handed Bellamy his tiny knife hilt first. They remained on the ground both shocked at what had just happened. At what I had did. So I dropped the knife and began to walk away.

"I am the Bringer of Death. I am Darkness." The words a whisper in the wind.