Soft Spot [2]

Hell is empty and all the devils are here.

 Bellamy's POV

We could hear the skittering of the cockroaches all around us, but other than that, this place was as silent as a tomb. One we had sealed ourselves in voluntarily, even if there hadn't been an alternative. I don't know why I felt so on edge down here, theoretically we shouldn't encounter anyone unless we were down in the tunnels where the Reapers roamed, but realistically we had no idea where there usual entrances and exits were to and from the mountain. We could be about to face a raiding party, hungry and ready for an easy dinner. I glanced at Nessa and Octavia on either side of me. I had been less than thrilled that they had been the ones to come with me on this search and rescue, but Octavia was fixated on finding Lincoln, and I had been torn with wanting Nessa to be safe and not wanting to leave her side again. At least here I could protect her, instead of constantly worrying about her somewhere else. Her hair almost seemed to glow, like embers even in this almost pitch darkness. It was almost unnatural how bright red it was, especially considering who her parents were...

 We finally came to a door on the far wall, but just as I was about to try and pry it open, we heard a faint noise in the distance.. was that... music? Then immediately after we heard someone cry out and we all shared a glance before taking off in that direction. 

Hopefully, for Scott and the other guards' sake, it was only the Mountain Men.

Nessa's POV

We heard the music getting louder and louder as we reached the other side of the garage, but nothing else from the guards after that first cry of pain. We stayed crouched low to the ground, half hiding behind cars, weapons at the ready and ears straining to make out any other movement.

"Scott?" Bellamy called out, barely louder than a whisper. "Are you there?" he said a little louder. No response, just more of that damn music. 

"Where the hell is that music coming from. Giving me the creeps," I muttered. Finally ahead of us we saw beams of light along the ground. Two flashlights. Two guns. Lying by themselves in the middle of the open space. As if Scott and the other guard had just vanished into thin air. I tightened my grip on my arrow, holding it even higher in front of me as Bellamy and Octavia bent to inspect the items. 

Suddenly, we heard a faint rustling from the shadows. "What the hell was that," Octavia breathed. In response, Bell picked up one of the discarded rifles and swung the light towards the rustling. 

Immediately, two reapers were illuminated, crouched over... oh god...

"Reapers," Octavia said. They heard her voice and turned, launching themselves towards us with a shout. I let an arrow loose as Bellamy opened fire, both Reapers going down quickly... but not quietly.

"We have to move, there could be more, and that definitely was an alarm letting them know dinner's ready," I said, knocking another arrow. I tried to keep the terror out of my voice, but my heart was pounding. Nothing I had seen so far on the ground scared me quite like the Reapers.

Bellamy nodded, his eyes wide. "O," he said urgently. "Take this." He handed her the handgun. She accepted it and we continued on, as quickly and quietly as we could while waiting for more to spring at us from the darkness. 

Then Bellamy's light landed on Scott's prone figure, another Reaper feasting from him. I swallowed the bile that threatened to rise and looked away for a second, breathing in through my nose, trying to clear my head. I heard Bellamy's gun cock but then Octavia's voice.

"Don't. It's Lincoln." I whipped my head to look and sure enough, there he was. But...the look in his eyes. I don't think he was Lincoln anymore. He stood up from Scott's body, his eyes never wavering from us, fresh blood dripping past his chin. My breath hitched again, this time in fear.

"Lincoln, it's me," Octavia said desperately. "It's Octavia!" He stalked towards us, no recognition passing across his face. 

"O... I don't think..." I said, warily backing up as Lincoln started to charge right at Octavia. 

"Don't kill him!" She repeated again, but he grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her behind him against a car. She made no move to defender herself, but Lincoln whirled back around and charged again at us. A gunshot rang out, but not from Bellamy... Octavia kneeled on the ground, handgun raised. She had only hit him in the shoulder, and Bell took the opportunity to knock him out with a rifle to the head. I kept my arrow trained on him as Bellamy ran to help Octavia. 

"Come on," he pleaded. "We have to get out of here." As soon as they were behind me I turned and ran after them.

That damn song was still playing as Bellamy wrenched open a car door and we all threw ourself inside, huddling as close together as possible. I could feel Octavia shaking next to me. 

"He's a Reaper," she whispered, tears rising. "How's that possible? He looked right through me." I started to respond before I saw a figure creep into my peripheral vision, slowly stalking up my side of the car. I leaned away, closer to Bellamy and Octavia.

"How?" Octavia whispered again, not noticing.

"Shh!" I hissed, but Lincoln had already whipped his head towards the window in front of me, but then he paused. 

"Can he see us?" Octavia asked. 

Bellamy had a hand wrapped protectively around each of our shoulders, pulling us back towards him. "I don't know," he responded. 

We all held our breath as Lincoln continued to stare at the window. He didn't seem to know we were in here, but something had made him pause. He seemed to be... pained by whatever he was seeing.

"His reflection.." I breathed out, even softer than a whisper. Then we all jumped as Lincoln slapped a hand against the window and walked slowly away, leaving a bloody smear behind. We all waited, seeing if he had really gone. 

Octavia seemed like she was about to run after him but Bellamy tried to reassure her. "Just listen to me. We'll get him back, I promise." His eyes flickered to me and then back to her. "But right now, we just need to focus on getting out of here in one piece. Can you do that?" 

Octavia nodded, her breathing getting even more shallow and ragged.

"Ok, I'm going to open my side, and then we're going to have to make a break for the exit," he said to both of us. He looked at Octavia again. "O. Are you sure you're ready for this?" She nodded again, trying to calm herself. 

Bellamy slowly opened his door and hopped out, followed by Octavia and then me. As soon as my feet hit the ground, Octavia strode out from behind the cars and called out. 

"Lincoln?" 

"What the hell are you doing?" Bellamy whisper-shouted, surging forward to draw her back in, but I grabbed his arm.

"Let her do this, Bell. She'll draw him in, we can do the rest. She just wants to save him." We stared at each other for a beat before he finally clenched his jaw and nodded, turning to raise his gun and waiting for Lincoln to appear.

"Lincoln!" Octavia called again. "Can you hear me?" Finally, Lincoln charged out of the shadows towards her, as she backed behind another car. 

I handed Bellamy one of the guards' shock batons I had grabbed from the ground. "Now," I said urgently. He ran across to the other car and ignited the baton, pressing it to Lincoln's back. I heard his cries of pain and steeled myself before following Bellamy out. I saw Lincoln slowly sink to the ground as Octavia held back tears. Finally, he was out on the ground.

"Now what?" Octavia said, gaining some composure again.

"Now we take him home," Bellamy answered.

I looked at the creature that had been Lincoln, unconscious in this dark garage, and felt uncertainty creeping up. How were we going to bring him back? He was a demon straight out of the depths of hell now. 

But I didn't say that.

See? I was getting better at being around people.