Madi's plan was a good one. But it hinged on levels of success. One failure, and it all failed.
So, a surge of adrenaline and fear rushed through my veins as my team carried out our part of the plan.
Our role was not an entirely intricate task, but it was arguably the most important.
Essentially, Emori, Murphy, Bellamy and myself were tasked with the role of drawing out the cannons, the part of the plan that would create safe passage for the rest of the army.
It was dangerous, that was for sure.
Gun fired rained down against the Rover as Emori drove it through the gorge. I sat in the back with Bellamy, gripping onto the bottom of my seat in fear.
I did my best to hide by terror. I trusted Madi, and I trusted her plan. But that didn't make this any easier.
"Can someone explain to me why I'm not shooting this gatling gun?" Murphy demanded from the front seat, his voice slightly drowned out by the gunfire outside.
"This is Madi's plan." Bellamy shot back. "We have to draw out the cannons."
"By giving them a huge target? Yeah, that's a great plan."
"Come on, John." I said, attempting to mask the shakiness of my voice. "Have a little faith."
No sooner had the words left my mouth when a loud bang sounded from outside the vehicle, the Rover skidding forward harshly.
I was sent forward, causing me to fall into Bellamy as the Rover came to a harsh stop.
My worry began rising as Murphy turned to look at me. "You were saying...?"
Sending a glare his way, I pulled myself off of Bellamy and sat down beside him, my eyes scouring the gorge trying to figure out what had happened.
"What's wrong?" Bellamy demanded. "We're not close enough! Why are we stopping?"
"They got the engine." Emori explained, shaking her head with an angry grunt. "Damn it!"
She angrily hit at the steering wheel before her eyes widened slightly. The gunfire from outside had not ceased, and continued raining down on us. With us no longer in motion, we were even more at risk than before.
"John, get to the back!" Emori yelled as she pulled herself away from the driver's seat.
Murphy looked out the windshield for a moment before his face fell. "Ready to strike!" he exclaimed, scrambling into the back. "Big gun. Go! Now! Be heroes."
That was mine and Bellamy's cue.
He looked at me, ensuring I was ready. Our eyes met, and I gave him a small nod. It was now or never.
With one final glance toward Murphy and Emori, I turned and kicked open the back door, jumping down onto the muddy ground below.
Mindful of the gunfire, I pulled myself around the door, shielding myself the best I could.
Bellamy poked his head out from the Rover, turning toward the attacking pillboxes. "I don't have a shot!"
I let out a shaky breath as I lifted my gun, peering through the scope. Perfect.
"I do." I announced, steadying my breath as I focused in on the cannon that was seconds away from killing us all.
I didn't wait. I couldn't.
My finger squeezed against the trigger and it seemed like the world switched into slow motion as the bullet flew toward the cannon.
I held my breath, praying I had made the perfect shot...if not, we were all dead.
Seconds later, a loud explosion sounded from up above the ravine, the pillbox disappearing into a cloud of dust.
I did it.
A small sigh or relief fell from my lips as I readjusted my grip on the gun. This still wasn't over.
"I need to get closer!" Bellamy yelled, his distraught eyes flickering across the scene. There was still one cannon we needed to take out in order for all of this to be worth it.
"Get closer." Murphy ordered. "I'll cover you."
I continued firing at the remaining pillboxes, adrenaline rushing through my veins.
Soon enough, gunfire began sounding from the Rover, signalling that Murphy had taken over the gatling gun.
"I'll be right behind you!" I called to Bellamy, sidestepping out of the line of fire for a moment. "Don't miss."
He gave me a sure look as he ducked out from behind the Rover. "I won't miss."
With that, he rushed across the gorge, throwing himself behind a large boulder. I lifted my gun, firing protective shots as I ran after Bellamy, ducking down beside him.
"Murphy! Cease fire." Bellamy yelled, motioning for Murphy to stop providing cover.
My breathing was rapid as I stole a glance toward the nearest pillbox. "Still no cannon." I breathed, looking back to Bellamy with a strained expression. "What do we do?"
Bellamy reached out, giving my hand a quick squeeze before he looked out over the rock. When he looked back at me, a sly grin was on his face. "We win."
I felt my stomach flip as I looked toward the pillbox. The cannon was there.
Bellamy stood up, and I readied to cover him in case anything went awry.
But luckily, everything went perfectly according to plan. Three quick shots and the cannon had been struck, blowing up everything in its wake.
I let out a small laugh as Bellamy ducked back behind the rock, a huge grin on his face.
"You did it." I beamed. I knew the battle wasn't over, but this was a good start.
Bellamy grinned as I pulled me closer to him. "Of course I did."
Within minutes, the shiver inducing sounds of a battle cry ripped into the air. It was time to take back the valley.
I pushed myself to my feet, sticking out my hand to pull Bellamy up along with me.
"Emori! John!" I called, turning back toward the Rover. "It's time!"
"Avery!" Emori's voice came out rushed and anxious, and her tone alone caused my heart to drop.
I gave Bellamy a nervous look before rushing toward the Rover, the sound of our army getting closer and closer.
"What happened?" I demanded, pulling myself into the back. My eyes instantly landed on Murphy who was laid across on of the back benches, blood soaking his jacket.
"Oh my God." I whispered, dropping down next to him. "Where are you hit?" There was too much blood for me to pinpoint an exact location.
"He's hit more than once." Emori answered, her voice wavering. "We need to get him out of here."
I nodded, looking over my shoulder to where Madi and the army were rapidly approaching.
"We need to get him to the transport ship." I ordered. "Once we take back the valley, Abby can tend to all of our wounded on there."
"Help me get him up." I instructed, grabbing a hold of Murphy and pulling him to his feet.
A pained groan fell from his lips as he pulled away from me. "I can walk!" he breathed, wincing through the pain. "Avery, you've gotta go. Madi needs you more."
"John, no!" I snapped, my anxiety growing as I watched him struggle. "I'm not just leaving you."
"Ave, they're almost here!" Bellamy called form where he stood on guard outside of the Rover.
"Go!" Murphy ordered, this time more sternly. "I'll be fine. No use in you missing out on all the action."
"But--"
"I've got him." Emori assured, snaking her arm around Murphy's waist.
I bit down on my cheek, still wrought in conflict. The army was almost here, I had to decide.
"Fine." I finally bit out, not fully comfortable with my decision. "Niylah and Jackson will be following the army with the wounded, find them and get to the ship. And keep pressure!" I instructed, reluctantly jumping out of the Rover.
Murphy gave me a tired look as he nodded. "Go kick some ass, Collins."
"Let's go!" Bellamy yelled, already rushing over to the incoming army and falling into flank.
"See you soon." I breathed, saying it as a promise. I would see them again. I would.
With a knot in my stomach, I joined Bellamy by Madi's side, giving the young girl a forced smile as we rushed on.
"You did it." she observed, giving me a relieved look.
I nodded, listening to the sound of hundreds of footsteps as we progressed onward. "It was a good plan."
Silence fell over the group of us for a few minutes, everyone mentally preparing themselves for whatever we were about to walk into.
Soon enough, the rough gravel from the gorge turned into soft green grass...we were here.
"We attack from all ways!" Indra yelled out to the group. "Do not fire until Heda gives command."
Her voice carried across the air, the plan reaching all of the warriors. I gripped tighter onto my gun, my eyes landing on Octavia who marched on with a look of concentration.
"CHARGE!" Madi's command caused my heart to lurch forward as I broke into a quicker jog, all of us rushing into the valley.
A fog had settled across the sky, setting the tone for the attack. It was eery to say the least.
"By me." Bellamy whispered to me as we approached. "I'll cover you if anything happens."
I nodded, pushing my nerves aside. "We've got this."
Within moments, we were rushing in on the valley, taking the prisoners by surprise.
"Weapons down!" Bellamy demanded, gun raised high as we rushed in on them. "Put your weapons down, now!"
Holding my gun up, I dragged it across the scene, preparing to fire on anyone who so much as stepped out of line.
Surprisingly, the prisoners did as Bellamy said, instantly dropping their weapons as they slowly lowered themselves to the ground. Their hands instantly went up, signally a surrender.
I looked over to Bellamy with a hesitant look of surprise. Was it really this easy?
Madi thought so.
"Kill them all!" she ordered, her eyes angry as she looked at our enemy.
"Halt!" Bellamy yelled, stepping in front of our warriors. "Hold your fire!"
I watched as Madi's face contorted in anger, upset that her order had been contradicted.
"They surrendered. It's over." Bellamy explained, trying to make Madi see reason.
"They killed hundreds of our people in that gorge!" she snapped back at him.
"This can't be what the Flame is telling you to do."
Madi looked angrier than before. "I don't need the Flame to tell me what to do with a bunch of criminals who invaded my home."
Bellamy's face fell slightly as he looked down at her. "We've been here before, Madi. We were the criminals. The hundred. We landed in someone else's home, and we went to war."
I felt my heart constrict as Bellamy's eyes flickered toward me. I gave him a quick glance before I found myself looking for Octavia and Miller, both of whom were standing next to me.
It was easy to forget sometimes that we were once all deemed as criminals. Some of us had done worse things than others, but when we were sent down here, it was because they didn't want us on the Ark. And while I didn't think we were entirely equivocal to this group of prisoners, Bellamy made a good point.
"You can execute them because they're the enemy or you can break the cycle. You can be better than them. You can be better than us." As Bellamy continued, the anger from Madi's face slowly began to fade.
Bellamy then looked to his sister, who's face had slowly softened with his every word. It was evident that Octavia had needed her brother as a moral compass when she was in that bunker, something she didn't have.
"The choice is yours, Heda." Bellamy concluded, leaving the ball in Madi's court.
Before Madi could give her answer, a loud wailing noise echoed into the air, one that made my heart plummet in fear.
"What is that?" I demanded, looking up to the sky in an anxious confusion.
One of the prisoners closest to us answered. "The evac signal." he explained, his voice shaking. "It means conditions are unsafe. We're supposed to bug out."
"Everyone listen up." That was Raven's voice coming through the speakers. A part of me felt instant relief knowing she was okay, but the other part feared what she was going to say next...and for good reason.
"Life as we know it is about to end...again. Get your asses to the transport ship now for immediate evacuation."
Another voice cut through the station. "Raven, it's Monty. We're transporting the wounded."
"Thank God, Monty. Hurry!" Raven exclaimed.
"So putting aside about a million other questions, how long do we have?"
Raven's answer make me feel sick. "Nine minutes. We'll wait as long as we can."
Instantaneously shock set in across the valley as we all registered this new information.
I turned to Madi, giving her a pressuring look. "So, what'll it be?"
Biting down on her lip, she looked to the prisoners, back to me, back to them, and then finally back at me. "They can live." she finally decided. "They deserve the chance."
I gave her a small smile as I nodded. Bellamy reached out, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Good choice."
Turning away from them, I addressed our army. "You heard Raven! Everyone, get to the ship, now! There's no time to gather anything up, so leave everything behind. The only thing that matters is getting yourselves to safety!"
"You-" I ordered, pointing to the nearest group of prisoners. "Go door-to-door, let everyone know what's happening."
The wide-eyed prisoners nodded as the pushed themselves to their feet, instantly rushing into action.
"Let's go people!" I screamed, ushering everyone into action. "No time to waste!"
"Madi, get to the ship." I instructed, pushing the young girl toward the direction of safety.
She opened her mouth to argue, but I quickly cut her off. "You need to get yourself to safety. Everyone knows what to do."
Reluctantly, she gave me a small nod. "You're coming, right?" she wondered.
"Yes." I answered, looking to the groups of people who were evacuating. "I'll be right there."
"Heda, come on." Indra encouraged, lightly pulling Madi along with her. Madi gave me one final nervous glance before she was pulled away to lead her people to safety.
I had all intentions of following her, but there was something I needed to do first.
"Ave, what are you doing?" Bellamy demanded, chasing after me as I marched further into the valley. "We need to go!"
"Go, Bellamy!" I ordered, not turning to look at him as I stomped on. "I'll just be a minute."
I had seen him the minute we had stormed the valley-Meier, the man who had attacked me. There was no way I was letting him on that ship.
He was just beginning to make his way out of the valley when I caught up to him, anger coursing through my veins. "Hey!" I snapped, my gun feeling heaving in my hand. "Meier!"
He turned at the calling of his name, his eyes instantly darkening as he saw me. "Hello there, gorgeous."
Silently, I marched toward him and drove my fist into his face, sending him stumbling backward. "You're not getting on that ship." I spat, ignoring the throbbing in my hand.
"Avery!" Bellamy yelled, finally catching up to me. "What's going on?" he questioned, obviously confused.
Meier wiped the blood from his lip as he looked at Bellamy. "Crazy bitch won't let me on the ship. That's what's happening!"
Bellamy's face instantly darkened as he took a step forward. "Watch what you say." he bit out, clenching his fists at his side.
Meier grinned as he looked over to me. "What? You don't want round two?"
That was Bellamy's breaking point. He lunged at Meier, throwing him to the ground as he repeatedly threw punch after punch.
My whole body seemed to go numb as I watched Bellamy beat Meier's face to a bloody pulp. I couldn't let Bellamy kill him...he didn't need more blood on his hands.
So, without even thinking, I walked up, raised my gun at Meier and fired.
He was dead instantly, his eyes rolling back in his head as Bellamy froze, turning to me with a complete look of shock.
"Come on." I muttered, turning away from the scene. "We need to go."
I felt a mixture of emotions-anger, confusion, pain. But mostly, all I felt was relieved.
If there was going to be a new world...we did not need people like that monster in it.
-an-
aves' humanity said not today, sis.
I feel like this is one of the first people avery has killed not out of self defence, something that is a sign of the new person she is becoming
hope you all enjoyed!
-maddy xoxo