"Ready to be a badass, Red?" Bellamy asked whilst cocking a gun, offering it to her.
Loxy felt a smile plaster on her face as she picked up her own gun, fully loaded. "Oh please, Amy, I've always been a badass," she declared. Spinning around, she held gun parallel to her shoulder and aimed, hitting the center of the target.
Bellamy shifted his weight on to his leg, shaking his head in bemusement. "How am I supposed to know you didn't have help getting that bull's eye?"
"Because I'm a badass. Wells gave me private lessons on how to shoot. I wonder what compelled him to do so," Loxy said thoughtfully before shaking it off. "Let's see what you've got, huh?"
He gave her a cocky grin before adjusting his gun on his shoulder and aiming. "Watch and learn," he teased before firing. Surprisingly, no bullet hit the target.
"Is it a dud or do you have incredibly bad aim?" Loxy asked tauntingly.
Bellamy shook his head, trying to hide his smile. "It's a dud. Let me try yours," he spoke, gently taking her gun. He managed to hit just centimeters away from her bullet.
"Not so bad for someone who used to be apart of the guard," Loxy tsked, turning away to place her gun down on a box. "So who's gonna have access to these guns?"
Bellamy fired another bullet, this time getting it right next to hers.
"You left Miller in charge of our Grounder. That means you trust him," Loxy's eyebrows knitted together.
He let out a small puff of air, his shoulders relaxing. "You should keep him close. The others listen to him," he sighed.
Loxy felt something catch in her throat. "I-I should keep him close?" She asked, her voice croaking in fear. She wrapped her hand around his elbow, looking into his eyes. "You've been acting weird all day, Amy. What's up with you?"
His eyes trailed to the ground, landing on his bag loaded with food.
"All the rations you took..." she trailed off, and finally put two and two together. The realization hit her like a bullet in the chest. "You're gonna run!"
Bellamy swallowed the bile in his throat. "I have no choice. The Ark will come down soon."
"Screw the Ark! You're just going to leave Octavia? You're going to leave...me?" She uttered out, surprised at how fast tears were coming to her eyes. Images of Bellamy leaving forever flooded her mind.
"Octavia hates me," Bellamy grunted, throwing his gun next to his bag. "And you've made it pretty clear that you can take care of yourself."
"Bellamy you can't just—"
"I shot the Chancellor!" He yelled, interrupting her. A vein had begun to pop out of his forehead. "They're going to kill me, Loxy."
"You think I would let them hurt you!" She shouted back, her voice straining as it began to falter. "All my life I've watched people I've cared about either die or leave me. I'm tired of having to go through that because it's always my fault."
Bellamy fought the urge to comfort her, leaving his hands to rest at his side. After a moment of silence, the only sound being Loxy's small whimpers, he shook his head. "Keep practicing, I need some air."
Loxy fell to her knees as she watched him stalk off, desperation filling up inside her like a bottle. Her breath grew shaky and she knew she could feel a panic attack coming.
"No!" She screamed, stretching out her hand and pointing at a wooden box. It flew across the room with impeccable speed, shattering into pieces as it met with the wall. Several other boxes began rushing around the room, things being tossed aside.
She was losing her mind.
Bellamy. I need you. Shakily getting to her feet, Loxy resisted against her powers, which were trying to consume her. This only happened when her emotions were too strong to handle. The last time this happened, she ended up wasting three months worth of oxygen for the Ark.
The night air hit her like a whip lash. It was sharp and chilly, signs of winter coming. But she trembled forward, wanting to find Bellamy.
"Loxy," a voice muttered, but it didn't belong to a freckle-stained boy. She whipped around and was horrified to be looking into the eyes of Wells. "Help me," he pleaded.
"Wells? N-No. You're dead," her own voice echoed within her ears, leaving a distant ringing.
"Please help me." He spoke again, absolute fear shining in his eyes. "She's coming."
"Who's coming?" She called back, feeling as though she was drowning in water.
"Loxy," a second voice murmured. Atom was standing a few feet away from Wells, the burns still evident on his body. "I need to run from her."
"Who?" She demanded, but was only answered by her own echoes.
"Loxy," Charlotte whispered, completely drenched in water. She was shivering from the cold and from the water dripping off her clothes. "I'm scared."
More people began to appear one by one. The five guards from the Ark. Diggs. Roma. Clarke, Jasper, Monty, Finn. Octavia. But it broke her heart the most to see a horrified Bellamy standing at the front.
"She's going to kill me," he cried with tears spilling from his eyes.
And in complete sync, like a choir, they all shouted two simple words. "She's here!"
Leaves rustled and twigs cracked as another body stepped forward. She was looking into a clone of herself, but this Loxy had a sinister look in her eyes. And slowly, more appeared, encircling the group of people she either loved or killed.
Their cries for help and pleas of mercy flooded her entire vision, completely capturing her. She covered her ears and screamed but they wouldn't go away.
You will kill all of us. An unfamiliar voice hissed.
All the clones of her raised their arms together, and sent the group of people flying away. They all slammed against trees, dying instantly.
You're a murderer. The devil is inside you.
"No!" Loxy shouted with all her effort, her face becoming red as she tried to fight her way to Bellamy.
"Will you shut up already?" A hostile voice snarled, and reality hit her faster than an arrow piercing through the air. She turned around for a split second and saw Dax, only for him to hit her in the forehead with the butt of his gun.
She was awake in five minutes, and immediately jumped to her feet in one motion. Dax was going to kill Bellamy. And it would be her to blame if she didn't act on it.
Rushing through the forest, she followed the direction she saw Dax walk off too. Falling behind a tree, she watched as Dax brought his fist to Bellamy's chin, knocking him on his back.
"Nothing personal," he muttered before cocking his gun. He shot, but it was a dud, fortunately.
Her eyebrows pressed together when she saw Bellamy point at him as if he were holding a gun. He's hallucinating.
"Put the gun down, Dax," she demanded, stepping into the clearing.
He spun around, aiming at her. "You should've stayed back there, Little Red Riding Hood. I tried not to kill you. But Shumway made himself pretty clear. No one misses."
"What the hell are you talking about?" She barked back, becoming impatient.
"Shumway gave me the gun to shoot Jaha," Bellamy whispered in realization.
"You're not even armed, Red," he growled. "Why bother fighting me?"
"Put it down," she snarled, drawing herself to her full height.
"Not a chance," he snapped before firing. He missed, giving her enough time to dart behind a tree before shooting again.
"No!" Bellamy yelled, tackling Dax to the ground and flinging the gun out of his arms.
The two began to fight each other viciously, throwing each other punches. Blood stained both of their faces, Bellamy's case being worse.
Loxy pushed the images of all the people from her hallucination away. She knew what she had to do.
Dax scrambled out of Bellamy's grasp and picked the gun back up, cocking it and aiming it.
"No!" Loxy yelled, running in front of Bellamy. Time seemed to slow down as she slid to block him, extending her arms protectively. She narrowed her eyes, and sent him reeling back several feet away.
His body plummeted through the woods, hitting a tree trunk twice before collapsing to the ground. He was dead on the spot.
Loxy let out a heartfelt sob before racing to his body. She kneeled down and gasped when she saw the blood pouring out of his mouth. His eyes were still wide open in terror. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, her voice unrecognizable from all the pain. She gently closed his eyes with two fingers before turning around laying against a tree trunk.
"Are you okay?" Bellamy asked her, panting as he joined her.
"No. I'll never be okay again." She cried, not even bothering to wipe the tears away from her cheeks. "If Wells knew what I'd done. If Charlotte would've watched me do that to Dax..." she murmured. "He was just a boy. A boy following orders so he could talk to his mother." Another thought entered her head which caused her to sob.
"If my parents lived long enough to see what I've become, they'd want me dead."
"Loxy..."
"I'm a monster!" She yelled, clutching her stomach tightly. "I kill everybody I see! I'm better off dead! I should've died years ago!" She kept shouting the same words before suddenly it all became too much.
The panic inside her exploded all at once, like lava erupting from a volcano. She couldn't feel any air getting to her lungs. She couldn't feel anything at all. All she could hear was her own screams and cries, and the rapid breathing of herself and the beating of her heart.
"Loxy," Bellamy shouted, his voice managing to get to her as he grabbed her, dragging her into his lap. "Please. It's okay," he ran his fingers through her hair, soothing her.
"You should run," she whispered, looking up into his eyes. "Before I kill you too."
"No. You'll never do that because you're not a monster. And I can't leave. I won't leave you. I'm not gonna leave behind the girl I love," he whispered into her hair before slowly rocking her.
"We've all done things we can't change. I'll forgive you for everything," he told her softly.
She had finally calmed down enough to feel oxygen getting into her system. "And I'll forgive you." She murmured back, leaning into his chest and allowing his arms to wrap around her completely. "Can we just stay here for a moment? I need you right now to just be here with me."
"Whenever you're ready."
~
They stopped just outside camp, looking at each other with unreadable expressions. Without any words, they wrapped their arms around each other, the message being sent clear enough without speaking.
"Meet me in the tent. I'll help you talk to Jaha," she said with a nod before feeling a surge of courage. Standing on the balls of her feet, she planted a small kiss on his cheek before walking away.
The radio buzzed to life, Jaha's solemn face appearing on the screen. Loxy slipped the headphones on, ignoring the fear exploding in her chest. "Bellamy should be here in a minute," she informed him.
"Good," he said, clasping his hands together. "That means we can talk about you."
Loxy grumbled, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm already aware that you and Abby will be coming down to Earth soon so please don't remind me."
"That's thing, Loxy," he paused, a smile appearing on his face. "We've realized how much pain we've caused you for your entire life. And it was almost for nothing."
"What are trying to say?" Loxy asked in a barely audible voice.
"Given our outdated technology, there's no way to discover the truth behind your abilities." Jaha explained, his bushy eyebrows moving as he spoke. "We've decided to no longer run experiments on you. Earth truly has become your second chance. Even if you escaped to get there."
"Yeah," she mumbled awkwardly. "Sorry about that." There was no way of suppressing her happiness. She wouldn't have to ever be a lab rat to anyone ever again.
Bellamy finally showed up, sitting down and slipping the headset on without a single word. She could sense how nervous he was, and reached out under the table to grab his hand assuringly.
"Mr. Blake," the Chancellor greeted him formally. "I've wanted to talk to you for some time now."
"Before you do," Loxy cut him off with a polite smile. "I'd like to say something." She scooted forward in her seat to lean closer to the screen.
"Forgive me, but, when you sent us to Earth, you sent us down here to die. From acid fog to the Grounders, there was little chance of us surviving. But most of us are still here. And we can thank Bellamy here for it. Without him, we'd have never gotten this far." She could feel his eyes looking at her with affection, but she continued on.
"He's given our people an image of hope. A message that says we can fight for our survival. Who knows what'll happen to the hundred if you take that away from them. Just keep that in mind," she uttered the last part, looking back at Bellamy.
"I appreciate your point of view, Loxy. But it's not that simple." Chancellor Jaha responded, his voice crackling under the static.
"It is," Bellamy intervened, "if you want to find out who on the Ark wants you dead." He was using Shumway as leverage.
Jaha looked away, leaving them to sit in a painful silence. With every passing second, Bellamy's grip around her hand became tighter and tighter.
"Bellamy Blake, you are pardoned for your crimes," he declared with a firm voice.
The two of them squeezed each other's hand, smiling in relief.
"Now tell me who gave you the gun."
Bellamy looked back up, pressing his lips together in a frown again. "It was Shumway."
Jaha's face froze in shock, but he nodded at the intel. "Thank you. It will be taken care of."
The signal cut off, and they both immediately embraced each other in a hug. Loxy had to stand on her tip-toes in order to not get lifted from the ground.
"You know," she breathed, drawing away from him, "we make a pretty good team."
"Yeah," Bellamy agreed, giving her a wide grin. "Thank you so much. I didn't know you thought so highly of me. Unless you were exaggerating."
She chuckled lightly before shaking her head. "Everything I said just now. It was all true."
Silence passed between them, an invisible tension builder further and further until it finally collapsed.
Bellamy wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. Their lips pressed together, closing the little space left between them.
Liquid fire spread through Loxy slowly, filling her entire body with comfort and happiness. She leaned further against him. The kiss deepened, filling with more passion and love. Every negative thought or doubt in her mind washed away with the newfound feeling of love.
Until they finally separated for air.
Immediately they looked at their feet, but they failed in hiding the giant smiles on their faces.