My eyes were focused on the scenery that slowly faded away as we sped down the snowy road.
I sat in the back of the truck with Emori and Murphy, reluctantly deciding that Clarke and Bellamy needed time to talk. The tensions between all of us were too high for us to work together effectively at this point.
I numbly listened as Emori reminisced on what it felt like to be safe, to have a home. Her and Murphy would never get picked to live in that bunker, and I couldn't help but feel like that was my fault.
"Your home is with me." Murphy mumbled to her, shifting so they could place their heads together.
I looked over at them, trying to fight the feeling of claustrophobia the suit and helmet was forcing on me.
"I'm sorry." I announced, my voice defeated.
Murphy looked over at me in confusion. "Collins, what the hell are you talking about?"
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Bellamy opened that door for Octavia and me. If he hadn't then you guys would have been safe...it's my fault."
I had been so upset with Clarke for what she had done, but was she really wrong? If I had the choice of saving all of our people even if it meant a few of my friends would die, would I take it?
I hoped that my answer would be to save my friends at all costs possible, but did I really know that for sure?
"It's not your fault, Avery." Emori assured. "You should have been in that bunker when the doors were locked."
I held her gaze for a moment before nodding. There was no point in taking this discussion any further. What was done was done.
Even if I wanted to keep the discussion going, it would have been quickly interrupted.
Seemingly out of no where, the truck swerved, veering off the road and slamming into something.
Murphy, Emori and I were sent flying around in the back, my head smacking off the wall behind me.
I groaned, my vision blurring over for a moment as the truck came to a halt.
"You okay, Collins?" Murphy asked after ensuring Emori was unscathed.
I nodded, wincing slightly as I shifted around to try and see what had happened. "I'm good." I assured. "What about you guys?"
"Yeah, we're good." Emori confirmed. "What the hell happened?"
I shook my head, my brows furrowed in confusion. "I don't--"
"--Look out!" Murphy yelled, pulling me away from the entrance. I let out a shocked gasp at the sight of at least half a dozen Grounders rushing toward us.
"Stay behind me!" he ordered, shoving both Emori and I to the back of the truck as he jumped forward, trying to kick off the men who had latched onto the tailgate.
I ignored him, rushing to his side and sending my foot into the face of the closest attacker, trying to drive them away.
Unfortunately, there were too many of them for us, and they overpowered us easily.
One of them grabbed a hold of Murphy, trying to rip him from the vehicle.
"John!" Emori shrieked , lunging forward.
"Murphy, hold on!" I screamed, grabbing a hold of one of his hands and trying to pull him back inside.
With the two of us distracted, two of the other men managed to take a hold of Emori, thrusting her out onto the ground.
"Emori!" Murphy yelled, trying to go after her.
A scream fell from my lips as a pair of hands grabbed onto my waist, beginning to drag me from the truck.
Murphy's eyes widened as he struggled against the men, the group of them all standing on the snowy earth at this point. "Avery!"
I thrashed around, trying to fight against the grip of the man as he dragged me to the ground. "Bellamy!" I screamed, my voice ripping through my throat.
I hadn't seen him since the accident and I prayed with everything in me that he was still okay.
The man clawed at me just as I managed to land a kicked to his chest. He flew off me, giving me time to stumble to my feet.
"They want our suits!" Emori called out, still in a struggle with one of the attackers.
I started toward her, ready to pull the man off of her, but I was grabbed by another.
He threw me to the ground, knocking the air from my lungs as he drove his knee into my chest.
"Avery!"
I could now hear Bellamy's voice...he was alive.
I tried to push the man off of me, my breathing becoming shallow as he place more of his weight on me.
Black rimmed my vision as I continued to fight with all of the strength I had left.
Suddenly, and I wasn't exactly sure if I was dreaming or not, the men around us began to fall to the ground, arrows sticking out from their bodies.
Someone was helping us.
I gasped for air, looking up at my attacker who looked around in fear. I pushed against him, still trying to free myself.
Just in time, he was ripped off of my, and my saviour threw him to the ground, driving a blade into his neck.
The man let out a choked gasp as his red blood soaked the white snow.
I looked up, taking deep breaths as the person who had saved me came into view. Bellamy.
My eyes closed for a moment as a sigh of relief came from my lips. He bent down, pulling me into his arms and up off the ground.
"Are you hurt?" he demanded, checking me over for any wounds or breached to my suit.
I shook my head, leaning into him. "I'm okay."
It was then that I looked around, my eyes falling on the odd person out who was not in a suit, the person who had come to our rescue.
As they pulled the bandana down from their face, I felt my blood run cold in confusion and anger.
It was Echo. She had been the one to save us?
"There might be more of them." she announced as we all looked around in confusion. "We should get going."
Bellamy was still gripping onto me as he spoke. "Echo, what are you doing here?"
"I know about your bunker on the island." she explained, and as I looked at her I noted the blisters that were beginning to form on her face as result of the radiation.
"I just saved your lives." she pointed out. "I'm hoping you will return the favour."
Bellamy shifted his hold on me as he turned to look at the truck behind us.
"Unless we can find another ride, no one's making it to that island."
---
The sky around us had turned dark as we awaited another solution. I felt anxiety course through my veins...time was ticking.
We had given Echo the spare suit we had brought with us, deciding that she decided at least a chance of survival.
I now stood next to Bellamy, nervous pacing in a small circle as I listened to him call Monty over and over again into the radio.
Last we had heard, Monty, Harper and Jasper had still been at Arkadia, but were set to make the trek to the bunker today. If they could get to us in time, maybe we would have a chance.
Suddenly, a voice interrupted Bellamy's incessant calls. "Bellamy, it's Monty. Do you copy?"
Bellamy's face lit up. "Yes, Monty. I read you. Where are you?"
"Two klicks outside of Polis." Monty responded, causing my heart to drop slightly. "Almost there. Everything okay?"
"Not exactly. Look, Monty I hate to ask you this, but we broke down on the way to the island to get Raven. We need you to come reel us in."
Monty's response came almost immediately. "We're on our way. Tell us exactly where you are."
I let out a quick gasp of relief. They were actually coming for us.
Like every good thing recently, my relief was short lived.
Without warning, a cough tore through the air, drawing all of our eyes to Emori who began sputtering blood across the inside visor of her helmet.
Murphy jumped with a start, rushing over to her. "No, no, no. Avery, help--"
I hurried over, stopping beside the two of them. "She's been exposed." I announced, looking to Clarke. The blonde nodded, her face distraught.
"How?" Murphy demanded, holding onto his girlfriend as she swayed unsteadily.
I grabbed onto Emori as well, my eyes scanning her suit. "The seal to her helmet's torn." I declared, my voice soft.
Emori looked over to me, blood coating her lips as fear covered her face. "Can you fix it?"
"We just need tape. That's all. It's gonna be fine." Murphy assured.
"We don't have any tools or weapons." Clarke reminded as Emori let out another harsh cough.
Murphy's anger was eminent. "So we giver her the extra suit, then!"
"We don't have another suit!" I argued.
"Yes, we do!" He snapped at me, his eyes flying to Echo. "Take it off now."
"I saved your life." Echo fired back.
Murphy took a step forward, causing Echo to take one back. "What were you going to do if we didn't get attacked, huh? I mean, you guys seriously think she was following us out of the kindness of her own heart?"
He looked around at the group of us as we all began to realize that what he was saying was true. "No. She was gonna attack us the second that we stopped. Give me the suit-"
"Hey, Murphy!" Bellamy yelled, stepping in between the two before Murphy could reach Echo. "Murphy, no!"
"What?" Murphy spat, still struggling.
Bellamy managed to pull him away from the group. "You cut that suit and it saves no one."
"I'm not letting her die."
"Neither am I." Clarke announced, her words holding a certain bravery.
She didn't hesitate before pulling of her helmet, sending ripples of shock and confusion across the group.
"Clarke, what are you doing!?" I demanded, taken aback by her move.
She let out a few quick breaths. "I have Nightblood."
"Untested Nightblood!"
"We're testing it now." Clarke snapped. "Take off her helmet."
My was face was still wrinkled in shock as Murphy pulled off Emori's helmet, quickly taking Clarke's and securing it on his girlfriend's head.
"Bellamy," Came Monty's voice. "Bellamy, are you there?"
"Head northeast from Polis." Bellamy instructed, his eyes full of worry. "And Monty, drive fast."
---
"We have to talk about it." Clarke declared as she joined Bellamy and I by the truck.
"We missed the window." I acknowledged, my heart breaking at my own words. "Even if we make it to the island, we'll never make it back."
"What about them?" Clarke asked, nodding toward where Emori and Murphy sat. "Do we just save ourselves?"
Her words now caused my stomach to flip. We couldn't just leave them behind...I wouldn't.
"Clarke, if Nightblood works, then we need to get you to Polis." Bellamy explained. "Them too. We pull in as many people as we can before the Death Wave hits. If your mom can make us all Nightbloods, then we only need to stay down there until it passes. We can still save everyone."
I looked over at my boyfriend, my chest feeling so tight I almost couldn't breathe. "Expect for Raven." I concluded, the words tasting bitter in my mouth. "I can't leave her behind, Bell. I won't."
"We don't have a choice!" Bellamy snapped, his words coming out harsher than I think he had intended. "We go to that island and we all die."
I felt tears of frustration well up in my eyes. "So she'll die alone?" I whispered, barely able to stand the thought.
Even if Bellamy and Clarke wanted to answer me, neither got the chance.
Headlights lit up the dark night in front of us, the Rover coming into view.
I gave Bellamy and Clarke a final glance before turning and making my way toward Emori and Murphy.
"Come on." I muttered, helping Murphy pull Emori to her feet. "Let's get you inside the Rover."
I held onto her, walking past Harper and Monty who were fussing over the fact that Clarke didn't have a suit.
As I helped Emori into the vehicle, I turned to Harper who had rejoined us after handing the extra suit off to Clarke.
"Harper, where's Jasper?" I questioned, fear creeping into my voice.
She let out a sad sigh as he eyes fell downward for a moment. "He's uh-he's dead, Avery."
I felt my heart break as I pushed down the lump that tried to rise in my throat.
"Let's go!" Bellamy announced as he, Clarke and Monty joined us.
"Back to Polis?" I assumed as I pulled myself into the back.
Bellamy shook his head as he looked over to Clarke. "No...we're going to the island."
---
Never in a million years would I have expected the plan that Clarke had devised.
We weren't going back to Polis, and we weren't going to use the bunker on the island...we were going back to space.
Nightblood didn't work, Clarke was already starting to get sick. Even if it did work, we wouldn't have time to wait and see if the symptoms subsided or not.
There were a lot of logistics to this plan. That's why we needed to get to Raven as soon as possible.
So, when the island came into view, I couldn't wait to get off the boat.
The air around us was heavy as we made our way toward the laboratory, a thick haze settled in the sky.
My hands we shaking as I struggled to punch in the code that would allowed us entry inside.
Bellamy his hand on the small of my back as the doors slid open, letting me know he was here with me.
All of us were silent as we entered, our eyes instantly searching for Raven.
She was sitting on the steps as we entered, watching the tracking report of the Death Wave.
The minute she heard us, she shot up and looked up at the eight of us in confusion. "What are you doing here?" She demanded as we all pulled off our helmets, breathing in the fresh air.
I wore a grin as I began down the stairs toward her. "You didn't think we'd leave you behind?" I wondered.
Raven still looked confused as she pulled me into a hug. "But-but there's no time to get back."
"We're not going back. We're going up."
Her confusion turned to shock as he watched the rest of the group demount the stairs.
"Oh, don't look so surprised," Murphy taunted. "It was all your crazy idea to begin with."
"Space?" Raven confirmed. "We won't have enough fuel to get down."
Harper shrugged. "Sounds like a 5-year problem to me."
"You're talking about the ring." Raven whispered, looking over to Clarke.
"Seems like a shame to let a good rocket go to waste." Bellamy teased.
"How do we live?" Raven asked, the gears in her head clearly turning.
"They left a water reclamation there, and we know that Go-Sci has an algae farm." Clarke answered. "We get those two things up and running and we can survive."
"Algae salads and recycled urine." Murphy mused sarcastically. "Sign me up."
I shot him a glare. "Would you rather death and wave?" I challenged.
"All right. Slow down." Raven ordered. "Breathing's important, too. What's the plan for oxygen?"
"Based on what Murphy says about the lighthouse bunker," Monty explained. "I'm guessing--make that praying--there's an oxygenator there. We take that with us, you hook it up and Bob's your uncle."
Raven wore a pointed look. "You're an engineer, Monty. You do know that there's a thousand things wrong with that plan."
"Yes." Monty confirmed. "And every single one of them kills us. Of course, staying here will kill us too, so--"
"Raven, we need you to get us off the ground before the Death Wave hits." Bellamy pleaded. "What do you say? Can you do it?"
Raven looked at each of us, her worried eyes eventually landing on me. "What do I say?" she echoed, taking a few steps toward the monitor that was tracking the wave. "I say the Death Wave can kiss my ass."
"Good." Clarke asserted. "It's settled then. We're going back to the Ark."