|I'm Not Sick|
I was putting on my boots as Leonora still slept. Clarke had left a while ago when I heard commotion. I heard coughing. I sighed hoping it wasn't the cold. Because if it is I'm going to have to go on the hunt for medicinal herbs to remedy the cold.
I put my jacket on and rubbed my hands together as I left the tent.
"Oh my god." I said as someone pushed and coughed on me. I looked at the person who bumped into me and saw that he was bleeding. I grabbed my cheek and saw that there was a bit of blood on it.
"Get to the drop ship. Now!" I told him as I walked after him. I looked around and saw everyone was starting to freak out as others started to bleed.
"Everyone calm down!" I yelled over everyone as I directed the ones who were bleeding into the drop ship. I saw a familiar blonde head stumble bleeding from her eyes reach me.
"Get inside." I told her.
"I'll take care of them." She said
"You're sick. I'm not. You need to rest, I'll take care of them." I told her pushing her in the drop ship.
"Everyone continue what you were doing." I yelled as they started to calm down. I went inside the drop ship and saw about five people bleeding from their eyes, ears, nose.
I saw Murphy throw up blood as I saw the source of the problem.
"Murphy, tell me. How did you escape the grounders?" I asked him as he leaned against the cool metal
"One morning I woke up. And I saw that they had forgotten to lock the cage. And so I ran." He said as Bellamy walked into the dropship
"What the hell is going on?" He asked
"They let you go." I said looking towards Bellamy as Clarke sat down on the floor.
"Did he hurt you?" He asked as he stepped towards Murphy but I stopped him.
"You guys wanted your retaliation, you got it. You guys got biological warfare."I said speaking towards Clarke and Bellamy as they shared a look.
"Lydia!" I heard my name being yelled as I spun around.
"What's wrong?" I asked her as she grabbed my arm and motioned for me to step away
"Please we need to leave." Leonora said as she tried to drag me out of the drop ship.
"What? Why?" I asked her
"You're going to be infected" she said
"I need to help, even if that means I get infected." I told her as she shook her head
"Lydia please. You don't know what this does or how to cure it. If you come with me you'll be safe." She said once again grabbing my arm
"These are my people. I can't leave them." I told her
"Fine." She said as she turned around and left the drop ship.
"What was that about?" Bellamy asked me
"She want me to leave camp with her." I said before walking out of the drop ship as well. I saw her exit the tent with a bag over her shoulder as she walked towards me again.
"Where are you going?" I asked her
"Away from here." She said as she walked towards the gates
"You can't leave I won't allow it." I told her as she kept walking. I walked after her as she reached the gates.
"Leonora I just got you back." I told her as she opened the gates.
"Then come with me." She said once again.
"You know I can't." I told her
"Well then you know I can't stay. Not while the infection runs wild." She said as she walked out of the gates.
"Leonora please you can't leave." I pleaded as she ignored me and kept walking.
"Leonora!" I yelled as I grabbed her arm. She snatched her arm away and looked at me.
"Don't." She said looking at me in the eyes.
"Well then don't leave." I said standing taller.
"You don't command me." She said
"I'm your sister. We need to stick together. Please Leonora you are the only family I have left." I begged
"You are going to have to fight me so I can stay." She said as I tilted my head.
"Challenge accepted." I said quickly as I saw her left arm tense as I raised my right arm to block her hit.
She tried kicking me but I grabbed her leg and pulled her as she fell.
"Hey! Hey hey calm down." Bellamy said as he ran to us.
"You know what? Leave! If you want to leave so badly go!" I told her as I stood over her as she stood up.
"Get to the drop ship. Now!" She said
"What?" I asked confused as Bellamy came towards us and looked at me.
"You're bleeding." He said as he pointed to his nose and eyes. I touched my cheek and looked at my fingers as I saw blood on them.
"Come on." Leonora said as she kept her distance from me
"I'll get you some water and a place to rest." Bellamy said as he ran ahead.
"I feel fine." I said to her as she put her hands in her hips
"Prove it." She said as I literally felt my head spin.
"What are you doing?" She asked after a couple of seconds as I looked at her weared out
"Cartwheels, am I not doing them?" I asked as my head still spun. She shook her head and pushed me ahead to the camp.
"Aren't you leaving?" I asked breathing heavily
"A lovely girl reminded me that we're the only family we have left. And that family sticks together." She said as she put my arm around her shoulders
"I'm going to get you infected" I told her
"Let me get infected. As long as you get better." She said as I started to drag my feet
"Come on. The gates just ten more feet." She said as she was starting to carry more of my weight.
"We made it past the gates." She said
"Now let's just make it to the drop ship got it?" She asked me but I had started to black out.
"Hey. Hey wake up." I heard her say as she slapped my face lightly.
"I'll take her." I heard Bellamy say
"You'll get infected." I heard Leonora say
"I'll live."he said as I was picked up off the ground and whisked away. My head rolled back as I blacked out.
***
"And sleeping beauty awakens." I heard Leonora say next to me as she dabbed my forehead with a cool wet rag.
"How are you feeling?" She asked as she dabbed my neck and chest.
"Here. Drink some water." She said raising the cup to my lips as she tilted it just slightly so the water dropped into my mouth but I still ended up choking.
"Thank you." I said sitting up on the hammock
"Lay down." She said as I pushed her away
"I need some air." I said to her as I stood up shakily. She grabbed my arm and led me slowly outside. We didn't even make it outside as we heard chaos.
I looked around and saw a gun laid against the wall. I grabbed it and took my hand out of Leonora's as I walked out of the drop ship. I saw everyone pointing guns at each other and saw Bellamy struggle to keep order.
I raised the gun to the air and pulled the trigger three times. Everyone quieted down as the only sounds that were heard was the echo of the gunshots and the crackle of the fire. They stared at me as I rested the gun by my side
"This is exactly what the grounders want. Don't you see that? They don't have to kill us if we kill each other first. They won't have to kill us at all if we all catch the virus." I said to them as I walked down the drop ship door. A guy broke from the line and raised his gun at me.
"Get back in the drop ship! Now!" He yelled at me but I soon saw Bellamy quickly disarming him and elbowing him in the nose as he fell to the ground.
"Who the hell gave him a gun?" He asked himself quietly. I felt my eyes grow heavy as the seconds passed as I started to sway.
"Lydia maybe its best if you come back inside." Leonora said grabbing my shoulders gently as I felt my knees go weak.
"I'm okay." I said to her as Clarke came by my side.
"Its okay. Octavia will come back with a cure." And as if on cue Octavia appeared and spoke up.
"There is no cure. But the grounders don't use the sickness to kill." She said as I leaned against Leonora
"Really? Tell that to them. I warned you about seeing that grounder again." Bellamy said to Octavia as he waved his hand over the dead bodies.
" Yeah? Well, I have a warning for you, too. The grounders are coming" she said as everyone started to murmur. I tried opening my eyes but couldn't
" And they're attacking at first light." She continued and at that moment I hated myself because I wasnt able to help.
" Come on. I'll help you get Lydia into the dropship." Clarke told Leonora as Clarke handed the gun I had in my hand to Bellamy before helping me into the drop ship.
" How many bullets can you make by first light" was the last thing I heard Bellamy ask before I was in the drop ship.
"Come on, there you go." Leonora said as I held up a finger to her. I immediately grabbed a bucket and started throwing up blood.
"Ohhh sweetie." Leonora said as she rubbed circles in my back as I had my head stuck in the bucket.
"Oh..my...god." I said weakly as blood dripped from the side of my mouth.
"Clarke you need to rest." I said barely above a whisper as she stood in front of me.
"She's right. You both do." I heard Murphy say as I saw him standing looking better.
"I'll take care of her." He said as he had a wet rag in his hands. Leonora looked at him then back at me.
"Go. Go rest, I'll be fine." I told them as Leonora handed me a wet rag. I cleaned under my eyes and then my mouth.
"I'll be in the tent." She said as she left as Clarke stayed in the drop ship because she was still sick. Clarke went to go find a cot as Murphy handed me a cup of water.
"Here." He said as I nodded in thanks taking the cup. I took some water and rinsed my mouth before throwing the water in the bucket.
I put the bucket on the floor before laying down on the hammock. I felt Murphy dab the cool wet rag on my forehead.
"Why are you helping me?" I asked him
"You stopped them from killing me. More than once. You were the only one who defended me even though...I was guilty." He said
"Listen. We fuck up. We all do. Its the actions we take after our fuck ups that define us." I told him as he nodded.
"Get some sleep. You look like crap." He said as he left the cool wet rag on my forehead.
"Thank you." I told him before he left. He smiled and nodded before going to help others.
****
The next time I woke up I tried to roll around but almost fell due to the fact that I was on a hammock. I felt better than before and saw the cup of water on the floor. I grabbed it off the floor and drank just enough not to upset my stomach.
I stood up and looked around at the sick. To my surprise I found Bellamy laying down on a cot with a face full of dry blood. I saw him starting to stir so I walked over to him.
"How are you feeling?" I asked him as he looked at me.
"I should be asking you that." He said as I handed him the cup of water. He sat down as I sat next to him.
"So...how are you feeling?" He asked
"Better. I think the illness is passing." I said as he nodded drinking a bit of water.
"And you?" I asked
"Better now." He said
"You should rest." I told him.
"So I'm guessing I'll be leading everyone into battle?" I asked with a slight smile.
"Don't worry about that for now." He said to me.
"For now you mean the next ten minutes."
"For now I mean.....we made a bomb." He said as I looked at him not knowing of what bomb he spoke of
"What?"
"Raven made a bomb from the left over rocket fuel from the wreckage and the rest of our gunpowder." Bellamy said as I stood up.
"All of our gunpowder? Blake this leaves us vulnerable to an attack. We have our bullets counted." I said as I paced
"I'll take care of it." He said to me
"So what the hell are we going to do the bomb?" I asked
"Finn is going to set the bomb at the bridge making the bridge explode making it, for now, impossible for the grounders to pass." He said
"All of the gunpowder." I said to myself.
"Jasper is making more." He said
"Where the hell is he going to get the ingredients? You know what.....I should of been the one to meet the grounders. I have more experience. Both of my parents are councilors. I could of bought us more time." I said
"Kitten don't beat yourself up. We'll figure out a way." He said as I looked at him calming down just a bit just when we both heard an explosion. We both ran out of the drop ship as we looked up towards the north.
We saw the clouds of ashy gray smoke bellow high into the sky. The birds squawked as they flew away.
"They did it." Bellamy said he stood behind me as we both looked up at the sky along with the rest of the camp
" I am become death, destroyer of worlds." I said as I looked up to Bellamy down at me with a raised eyebrow
" It's Oppenheimer, the man who built the first-" I was explaining to him
" I know who Oppenheimer is." He said as I smiled as I looked back at the gray clouds.
"So about Murphy." He started as I kept looking up at the sky
"I say we let him stay." I said
"He should stay, on probation. But he's suffered a lot under the hands of the grounders. Plus the more people we have the better." I said looking at him for the last part as he nodded
"Your wish is my command." He said before he walked away as he nodded at Leonora.
"Your wish is my command." She mocked in my ear as she laughed grabbing ahold of my shoulders.
"I forgot how annoying little sisters can be." I cried as she shoved me a bit.
"You look like hot mess. Just take out the hot. So really you just look like a mess." She said as I rolled my eyes.
"Are you suggesting that I should shower?" I asked as she nodded
"You go shower. I'm going to get something from my place." She said as I grabbed her hand as she was leaving.
"You're leaving?" I asked
"Just to get some more clothes, weapons, and some other stuff." She said as I let go of her hand as she walked away smiling over her shoulder.
I decided now was the best time for me to escape. I went through the tunnels and emerged about two hundred feet from camp. I jogged all the way to the pond.
The flowers were dying since it was getting close to winter. I took off my clothes and washed them. I hanged them in a branch where the sun hit the most before jumping into the chilly water.
I gasped as the cold water hit my skin numbing my fingers. I washed my hair and the blood from my face. I scrubbed the dirt from underneath my fingers and every other part if my body. Once I deemed myself clean I got out of the water.
I wringed the water from my hair as I shook off the rest of the water. I waited another half hour so my clothes and myself would dry completely. Once I was redressed. I ran my fingers through my hair taking out any knots.
I walked back to camp and on my way back I heard almost a four count hit the ground. I looked around and saw two horses with only one rider.
"Leo?" I asked as they slowed down to a slow jot. I ran up to them as Leo smiled at me.
"Hey don't you look clean." She said as the horse shook its mane as I took a step back.
"Oh she's harmless." Leonora said
"I'm going to teach you how to ride." She said. And she did.
By the time we got back to camp I was able to ride the horse with just 2/3 of fear and still tighlty gripping the reigns.
"I've been going back and forth the past couple of days to check up on them." Leonora said as she dismounted and tied the horse to a tree. She helped me dismount and helped me tie Nala, the horse, to the tree.
I noticed her taking things down from the horses. She took off the seat off both of them and fed them and gave them water.
"There's a nice little cave near here. I was able to build a nice little coral while you've been busy doing god knows what. They'll be safe there. " Leonora said
"Wait here." She said as she untied both horses and led them away. I stayed put for a couple of minutes as she came back.
"Are you sure they'll be okay there?" I asked
"Of course. That's where I'll be spending most of my days so I'll make sure they'll be tended too." She said as she handed me heavy bags.
"What the hells in here?" I asked
"Clothes, knives, a couple of books." She said as she shouldered her bow and arrow.
"Did you ever have contact with the grounders?" I asked as we walked the rest if the way back to camp
"I did. They wanted to kill me at first but I proved useful. I could heal maybe I wasn't a doctor but I was good. So because I could heal I was spared my life. Plus some taught me how to hunt, how to fight, gave me clothes.
They aren't bad people Lydia. Its just the way they are. Some may even say we're bad people." She said as I took in her words.
"If I could of avoided all these problems with the gorunders, trust me I would have." I said as we entered the gates of camp.