song: always forever by cults
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I distance myself from Bellamy. Not too much to catch his attention, but enough so that the disgust on my face is not as easily spotted.
We enter the gates and my eyes catch Miloch's immediately. I watch as his eyes rake over my form, which is not nearly as covered in blood as the others.
I give him a small, almost imperceptible nod when he meets my eyes again. He sighs before nodding back at me, understanding.
"Bellamy, you okay?" Octavia says as she approaches him. I watch as she opens his jacket, looking for injuries, but he pushes her off.
"I'm fine." He says, making her eyes turn to mine.
"Not a scratch on him." I say, making my lips form a smirk. I try to communicate with my eyes that she needs to play along.
"Of course there's not a scratch on him!" She says, fake malice coating her tone as she walks up to me. "It was a slaughter, wasn't it?" I don't answer, making her scoff at me before turning back to her brother.
"What happened out there?" She asks Bellamy, but he has already begun walking away. She meets my eyes and our expressions are the same. Our jaws are taut and our eyes are narrowed.
"Lock it up." Pike says, getting my attention. He offers me a smirk as he comes to stand next to me. "Everybody, listen up." He says, turning away from me. "Twenty-four hours ago you elected me your chancellor. Every action I've taken since and every action I will take will be to achieve one sacred goal." He sends another smile my way, making my skin crawl. "The creation of a self-sustaining, prosperous, and safe Arkadia." He says before turning to me. "And with Hailey's help," He begins, making my heart race. "That will hopefully come true."
I swallow and muster a nod as the people begin to cheer. I excuse myself from them before entering the Ark and making a B-line for Raven.
I need to just sit and talk with an old friend.
I enter the workshop and sigh when she's nowhere in sight. But, instead of turning around, I walk over to her workbench and run my fingers over her tools.
I smile at the little raven figurine that Finn made her that's set on her tool box.
"Breaking and entering is a serious offense, Hails." She says from behind me, making my lips curve into a genuine smile.
I turn as she says, "I'll let it slide though." She sits down on the stool next to me as I take off my bloody jacket. "You okay?" She asks, eyeing the blood.
I pause before shaking my head. "They slaughtered them." I say, shaking my head.
"You didn't help, right?" She trails off, her head tilting down to meet my eyes.
I shake my head no, but verbally I say, "Yes, I did." I widen my eyes, as if to say, 'play along.'
"Right." She sighs, nodding. "It was the right thing." She says, leaning under the table where she finds a bugged mic. "One of the many things you do right." She says, letting me know she found one.
"Hey, it's what's right." I say, crossing the room in big strides with her following me. We enter the old airlocke chamber and the doors shut behind us.
"What the hell is going on?" She asks once she checks over the room. "You're what?" She pauses. "An inside man?"
I nod, "They think I've brokered a deal to save Orla, Lincoln and Miloch." I sigh, sitting down and holding my head in my hands. "They're going to find out that I didn't actually slaughter the grounders."
"No, no." She leans down to meet my eyes. "It'll be okay." She says, pulling me into a hug. "If they find out, you run." She says and my mind flashes back to Elliot's words.
Whatever happens tomorrow in the battle, you leave me behind and run.
I pull away and shake my head. "No, no way, Raven." I sigh. "I'm not running."
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I leave Raven not long after out moment in the Air Locke chamber, but as I'm walking back outside, I feel an arm circle around my bicep and pull me into a nearby room.
I react immediately by twisting the arm that grabbed me around their back and shoving them against the wall.
"I think you can let go, Hailey." My dad grunts out, making let go and turn to meet Octavia's eyes.
"What's going on?" I ask, eyeing the two.
"I'm sending Octavia out there to figure out what the hell is going on and to send a message." My dad says, making me sigh.
"I had at least ninety of the grounders play dead out there, the message has already been delivered." I say, and his eyes widen.
"You'll get charged with treason." He says, worry lacing his tone.
I nod. "I'm fully aware." I say, my voice thick as I lean against the desk. "But Indra survived with her guard, so she'll deliver the message to not attack." I pinch the bridge of my nose before deciding. "But," I say, catching O's eyes. "You should still go."
"What?" Her eyebrows furrow as she takes a step forward. "Why?"
"It's not safe here for you." I say. "Take Lincoln and run." I finish, making her shake her head profusely. She goes to answer, but I say, "Please."
She stares at me for a moment before sighing. "I can't promise Lincoln's leaving but yes, I'll go."
A sigh of relief leaves me as my walkie goes off.
"Hailey, get your dad and meet us in the chancellor's office." Bellamy's voice sounds.
"Be safe." I say, pulling Octavia into a quick hug before she enters the crawl space and my dad and I are off.
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"Good." Pike says as we enter. "You made it." He says before resuming. "Our goal is secure access to water and arable land with defensible terrain on as many sides as possible. A 15 kilometer perimeter around Arkadia should be sufficient." He says and my blood runs cold.
There's a village 10 kilometers from here. A village with women, men and children. Octavia already left, so she can't deliver the message.
My heart rate picks up as I think of the innocent blood that's going to be spilt. I let out a controlled breath before looking up at Pike.
"Clear the village?" Bellamy says as I come back to reality. Pike nods, making my dad and I's heart beat pick up.
"Yes, is that going to be a problem?" Pike asks, taking a step closer to him.
I silently hope that Bellamy chooses to oppose him. Maybe, just maybe he'll understand that it's wrong. He can't kill the men, women, and children there.
"No, sir." He says, making my heart plummet. I steal a glance at my father to see the same dejected look.
"Look," Pike says, sparing me a glance. "I know it seems harsh, but we don't leave survivors. We don't have the medical supplies to treat their people, and we can't risk them coming back to kill us." He says, tearing his gaze away from Bellamy to look at me.
"You know, we've all learned pretty quickly that war causes us to do things that we'll spend the rest of our lives trying to forget." He says, pausing. "Right, Hailey?" He asks, not giving me a chance to continue before rounding the table to stand in front of me. "I heard what you did to try to save that kid." He says, making me narrow my eyes as anger begins to build in my chest. "Elliot, his name was, i think." He says, sighing. "I need that Hailey. That version is what is going to win us this war." He brings his hand to lay on top of mine on the table. I cautiously slide my hand out from underneath his all the while trying to hide my disgust.
He sends me a smile before turning back to Bellamy. "The only advice I can give you is to think about the lives we saved today, not the ones that were lost. Can you do that?" I send a glance to my father to see worry in his gaze.
"Are you alright?" He discreetly mouths. I nod, making him raise a brow, but he doesn't push me any farther.
"Yes, sir." Bellamy says as I watch him take his guard jacket. I press my lips together as I watch him send me a smile before leaving the room.
My father follows him and I stand to go after him, but Pike stops me by laying his hand on my bicep.
I tense, but force the feeling down before turning.
"Yes?" I ask, my face passive.
"Are you with us?" He asks, his eyes glued to mine.
I send him a quick nod and a stern, "Yes, sir."
He narrows his eyes before letting go of my arm. "Good. You'd be a powerful warrior to lose to the other side." He says before I leave the room and catch eyes with Lincoln.
Immediately I catch wind of his plan.
"What the hell happened out there?" He yells, getting close to my face as Bellamy and Kane watch.
"We did what we had to do, Lincoln." I say, gritting my teeth with false anger. "I don't like it any more than you do, but it was necessary." I say, watching his hands clench into fists.
"Then this is necessary too." He says before sending a pounding punch onto my cheek. I recover immediately.
Before Bellamy can get on him, I shove myself between the two. "No!" I yell, facing Bellamy. "No." I say to Lincoln, sending him a small wink. "He had his right to punch me and I'm not pressing charges, it's fine." I say, letting my hand fall from Lincoln's chest. "It's fine." I say to Bellamy.
His eyes dance between mine and I almost forget that he murdered innocent men and women earlier.
"Okay." He says before walking off, but not before we hear a commotion at the front gate.
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a/n
you know what time it is
TIME FOR A LONG CHAPTER !!1