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chapter twenty-two, Early Arrival
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CLARKE, NOVA, AND FINN WALK THROUGH THE WOODS TOGETHER. "I'd love it if you were right about this, but did you two ever consider it might be a trap?" Clarke asks and Nova shrugs her shoulders.
"I kind of just followed his lead and went with it so... no" Nova confesses and Clarke sighs and shakes her head in disappointment.
"It's Unity Day, I decided to have hope instead" Finn shrugs nonchalantly and Clarke and Nova share a look then let out a small chuckle. Nova takes a deep breath after feeling a sharp pain in her side where she was stabbed.
Clarke stops Nova from walking and steps in front of her. "Let me have a look at that" Clarke says as she gently lifts up Nova's shirt and checks her wound.
"You really trust the guy who stabbed you?" Clarke asks putting Nova's shirt down and looking at her. "He seems nice" Nova shrugs and puts a cheeky smile on her face.
"Sounding more and more like Bellamy" Finn jokes and begins walking along with Clarke and Nova. "I'm just trying to keep us alive" Clarke states.
"So am I. At least they're good for something" Finn states and Clarke sighs as they continue to walk through the woods.
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CLARKE, NOVA AND FINN FINALLY arrive at the meeting place after many tired hours of treading through the woods. Octavia soon caught up with them and stayed with the group until they arrived at the bridge, the meetup spot.
"So that's how you set this up. You helped him escape, didn't you?" Clarke says as they stand at the edge of the bridge and see Lincoln, the grounder that escaped walk up.
"I trust him, Clarke" Octavia defends and Clarke scoffs in slight annoyance. "A lot of that going around" Clarke says before Octavia spots Lincoln and rushes up to him hugging him.
Nova watches Lincoln lift Octavia up from the ground slightly as they hug.
Clarke turns her gaze to Nova and starts to feel bad for her but doesn't say anything that could make her more upset.
"Wait. Look. Oh, my God. Horses!" Clarke says happily and surprised. Nova looks at the other end of the bridge and sees 3 people on horses and weapons.
"Finn, I thought you said no weapons" Nova says bumping into his arm to get his attention.
"I did. Hey! We said no weapons" Finn shouts grabbing Lincoln's attention and he shrugs his shoulders. "I was told there wouldn't be" Lincoln says and Clarke sighs, knowing this was a bad idea from the start.
"Too late now" Clarke declares as she starts walking towards the grounders, going to meet in the middle.
Nova and Finn try walking behind Clarke but is stopped by Lincoln. "She goes alone" Lincoln states with a shake of his head, and Nova scoffs in shock before reluctantly taking a step back.
"I'll be okay" Clarke reassures looking back to Finn and Nova.
Nova watched from a distance, her heart pounding as she saw Clarke's tense expression, indicating the conversation was not going well. A feeling of dread settled over her. Suddenly, she heard rustling in the woods.
Turning her head, she spotted Bellamy, Raven, and Jasper hiding, their eyes fixed on Clarke.
"Oh, no..." Nova whispered, her pulse quickening. She scanned the grounders nearby, praying they wouldn't notice the intruders.
"They're gonna shoot! Clarke, run! Run!" Jasper's frantic yell shattered the tense silence. Nova's eyes widened in horror, and she looked up to see archers readying their arrows in the trees.
"Clarke! The trees!" Nova screamed as Finn pulled her to the ground.
"Clarke, get down!" Finn shouted. Without a moment's hesitation, Nova scrambled to her feet and sprinted towards Clarke as arrows began to rain down. She grabbed Clarke's arm, yanking her away just as Lincoln was struck by an arrow.
"Lincoln!" Octavia's anguished cry filled the air. She darted past Nova, her only thought to reach Lincoln.
Nova's breath came in ragged gasps as she and Clarke reached the other side of the bridge. Bellamy, Jasper, and Raven rushed to meet them.
"Run! Don't stop till you get behind your walls. Go! Take her!" Lincoln's desperate shout echoed. Bellamy grabbed Octavia, and they all began to run, fear propelling them forward.
Nova coughed, clutching her side in pain. Clarke looped Nova's arm around her shoulder, helping her keep pace. They all ran, the sound of arrows and shouts fading behind them, until they were safely behind the camp's walls.
Finally, they stopped to catch their breath, hearts racing. Clarke gently lowered Nova onto a log, concern etched on her face.
Bellamy, his expression a mix of anger and relief, threw his hands up in frustration. "You got anything to say?" he demanded; his voice taut with emotion.
"We said no guns!" Nova argues and holding her side. "I told you both we couldn't trust the Grounders. I was right" Clarke argues and looks between Nova and Finn.
"Why didn't you tell me what you were up to?" Raven asks stepping to Finn.
"I tried, but you were too busy making bullets for your gun" Finn states.
"You're lucky she brought that! They came there to kill you, Finn. You and Nova" Bellamy says and Nova shakes her head. "You don't know that! Jasper fired the first shot!" Finn argues and Octavia steps in.
"You two ruined everything" Octavia says and Nova looks into Octavia's eyes and sees the pain, but it isn't for her it's for Lincoln.
"Well, who's ready for a war because if we didn't have one then we sure as hell have one now" Nova states as she stands up from the log she was sitting on, grunting in slight pain.
"Best Unity Day ever" Bellamy cheers sarcastically until an explosion sounds through the air, which is revealed to be the Exodus ship. "Exodus ship?" Nova questions.
"Your mom's early" Bellamy adds and Clarke slowly tugs a smile on her face.
"Wait. Too fast. No parachute? Something's wrong" Clarke says as her smile fades. Exodus ship impacts heavily with the ground, creating a mushroom cloud. Nova gasps quietly and looks over at Clarke who sinks to her knees, believing her mother to be dead.
"No!" Clarke cries out and Nova kneels down next to her and rubs her back and pulls her in for a hug.
"No!" Clarke continues to cry out.