Despite the fact that the Grounders made it clear to her that they hated her, they still treated the wound the arrow had given Loxy. Instead of being tied to a pole this time, she was in a full iron bar cage.
"Hey, you!" Loxy yelled as she watched a Grounder pass. Using her powers, she pulled him to her, his body slamming against the bars of her cage. He grunted as he struggled against her force. "You'd best tell me what your people are going to do to me, before I kill you."
In any other circumstance, she would've looked at herself in terror. But being a cage told her that the plans for her didn't include torture, and she couldn't fight back her curiosity any longer.
"We're waiting for Anya to make a decision. Meanwhile she wants to introduce you to an old friend," he groaned in pain as she pressed him harder against the cage.
"An old friend? Huh, this should be interesting," she mumbled and released him, watching him scramble away without any efforts to recollect himself.
Her hard exterior couldn't demolish her fear, however. She needed to know what happened on the bridge. What if the Grounders took more of her people? What if they took Bellamy?
Her eyes landed back on the empty cage next to hers, the door wide open. Whoever the "old friend" was, this cage definitely had their name all over it.
The door swung open again, a muscular Grounder covered in a camouflaging paint popping inside. A delinquent completely covered in cuts and dried blood fought against him, grunting and heaving.
"Enough," he spat as he shoved the boy inside the cage, shutting and locking the door with an ancient key. "You two will need some time to catch up."
Loxy crept to the edge of her cage, gripping the icy cold bars tightly as she focused on the other prisoner. It took some time to find a face through all the wounds, but she gasped nonetheless. "Murphy?"
He moaned in pain as he set himself against the cage wall. An evil smile plastered on his face when he looked at her. "Hey there, Little Red Riding Hood. Fancy seeing you here."
Even his cocky self couldn't hide the fact that he was in pain. A sudden wave of compassion washed over her as she scanned his body. The sight of him reminded her how she looked the first time she was kidnapped.
"I'm not really in the mood to chat with the guy who caused these," she growled, lifting her arms to reveal the two long white scars that ran across her skin. "But I'm also not in the mood stay in here any longer."
Sliding onto her back, she pressed her feet against the door of her cage. Summoning the right amount of power, she kicked the door off its hinges, groaning as it flew across the room.
"How the hell did you do that?" Murphy demanded as he watched her free herself.
"Just had to mess around with the bolts a bit," she was quick to cover up her lie. "Funny that they should leave the key waving right in front of our faces," she chuckled lightly as she snatched the key off the bench table.
"You're helping me? Why?" Murphy questioned, suspicion heavy in his tone.
"Because even though you're an asshole and I don't trust you at all, you're good for intel," she retorted back, unlocking his door.
Murphy clambered out lightning fast, undeniable fear in his eyes as he looked back at her. "What intel could I possibly provide for you?" His voice was challenging.
"For someone who just saved your ass, you're really not showing a lot of respect," Loxy fired back, lashing out and grabbing his hand. "They ripped your fingernails off. Damn."
"Let go," he snarled, wrenching away from her hold. "I'm going back to camp with you."
"Of course, but I can't promise you won't be killed when you get there," Loxy rolled her eyes as she began walking down the long corridors.
"Do you even know where to go?" Murphy asked with an irritated expression.
"No, but I think you do, knife boy. So let's go." She demanded, shoving him forward.
"Wow, Little Red Riding Hood, I guess sleeping around with the ringleader gives you a lot of confidence," Murphy said tauntingly, an evident smirk on his bloodied face.
Loxy grabbed his arm, twisting it in the wrong way instantly. He cried out in pain, but it was muffled by her hand. "Right now we are in a Grounder camp and trying to escape. Now is definitely not the time to be making up lies so you can feel better about your pathetic ass."
She let go of him, pushing him forward again. "Next time it'll be me shoving you in a damn cage."
Somehow, they managed to slip out of the camp unnoticed. Probably because most of the Grounders were either out stalking the hundred or too busy being caught up in Grounder things. It didn't matter. All Loxy knew was that she had escaped that wretched camp again.
"You can thank me now," Murphy smirked as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Not until you thank me for getting you out of that cage in the first place. And keep your mouth shut, we're still in enemy territory," she hissed under her breath, taking the lead as they trekked through the forest.
After an hour of walking in deadly silence, the camp walls finally came into view. Loxy felt her shoulders bunch as she saw the outline of a few shooters keeping watch. "Okay listen to me. There's a tripwire somewhere—"
She was cut off by the rattle of metalware as Murphy fell with a grunt. "You dumbass!" She shrieked as she heard people begin to shout in panic. "Watch where you put those two left feet, idiot," she muttered.
Two shots rang throughout the air, and Loxy screeched in agony as she felt searing white-hot pain in her leg. "Dammit!" She sat on the ground, observing the bullet wound in her leg.
"I think I got him!" One of the shooters cried out. People began rushing out the camp wall.
"Octavia, wait up!" A boy named Connor called out, rushing up to the girl with a torch.
Loxy looked up into the eyes of Bellamy's sister, grinning at her despite the throbbing pain in her leg. "Good to see you, O," she greeted her.
"Loxy!" She breathed whilst pulling her into a tight hug. She drew away quickly to observe the bullet wound. "Dumbass!" Octavia spat at the boy who still clutched his gun.
"I was just doing my job," he was quick to defend himself.
"It's fine," Loxy grunted as she dragged herself to her feet again. "We've got bigger problems to worry about," she gestured to Murphy, who was writhing in pain on the ground. He must've been shot too.
"Loxy, I'm so glad you're back. Bellamy hasn't been—what the hell?" Her eyes finally landed on Murphy, walking up to him.
"Have fun dealing with him," she moaned as she limped away, falling back into the safety of the camp. "It's fun being a target to the Grounders," she muttered to herself. "And finding a clumsy, ungrateful ass in the process."
She would've muttered another string of colorful words if it weren't for the broken voice that stopped her.
"L-Loxy?" Bellamy's eyes were glimmering in the moonlight as he approached her. "Oh my god!" He mumbled into her hair as they embraced in choking hug. "I thought I lost you."
"It takes a lot more than a few pissed off Grounders to kill me, Amy," she replied with a smug look.
Their lips brushed against each for a short moment, warmth passing through them. Bellamy pulled away, steadying her with his hands.
"Who shot you? One of our own?" His eyes darted around to find the shaggy-haired boy. "You idiot!"
"Hey," Loxy warned him, placing a hand on his chest. "He was protecting the camp from possible invaders. It's fine."
"You're hurt," Bellamy responded, facing her again. "That'll never be 'fine' to me."
Loxy shook her head with an incredulous look on her face. "I brought a friendly visitor. I'll leave you to decide whether or not to kill him." Her words confused him, but she didn't wait for his answer as she strode into the drop ship.
"Loxy? Are you okay?" Clarke immediately rushed up to her, checking for wounds. Her light blue eyes found the wound, widening to the size of full moons.
"I'll be fine. Luckily, it went straight through." She informed her as she slid onto Clarke's "operation table". "Quick patching up should do fine."
A few moments later a large crowd filed in, Loxy's shooter—named Derek—dragging a helpless Murphy inside. He shriveled up in the corner, shivering in fear the moment he let go. The torture he had endured clearly frightened him in many deep ways.
"Why the hell did you bring him into camp?" Bellamy snarled, his anger directed at Loxy.
She wasn't affected by his fury, expecting nothing less from him. "Because even though he did this to me," she outstretched her arms, "I will never watch another human being be tortured. Now it wasn't exactly my choice for him to come back to camp. I just freed him."
She was aware that her statement was bending the truth, but something compelled her to
bring the boy back to camp. If anything, the Grounders' lesson to him probably will reinforce his loyalty to the hundred.
"Alright, everyone out!" Bellamy commanded, clearing the room and leaving Loxy, Clarke, and Finn left to stand between him and Murphy.
"You realize now that this human being," Bellamy pointed viciously at him, "will now be killed as we promised. He's back after his exile, which means we kill him."
"You know what?" Loxy winced as she hopped back on her feet. "Fine. I did bring him back to camp. My choice," she growled right in Bellamy's ear.
"He was with the Grounders for a much longer period of time than me. He'll know things, and it's always smart to have good intel," Loxy stressed, her hands clenching into fists.
"We hanged him, we banished him, and now we're gonna kill him, Red. Get the hell out of my way!" He shrieked whilst holding up his gun to aim.
"No!" She yelled, using one of her fists to knock the gun out of his hands. "You will not kill him."
She separated herself from him to join Clarke, who was kneeling next to him and observing the several marks on Murphy's body. He even appeared to have burn marks.
"Like hell I won't! Loxy, think about Charlotte," he started, most likely preparing a whole speech. But at the mention of her name Loxy stopped him.
"I am thinking about her!" She shouted, a torrent of fury in her voice. A single tear slipped down her ghostly cheeks before she whirled around again. "What happened to Charlotte was as much as my fault as his."
"Loxy, I—"
"Look, Clarke," Loxy turned to her best friend, ignoring the remorseful looks Bellamy was sending her. "His fingernails. They really tortured him."
"You and the Grounders should compare notes," Finn uttered to Bellamy, forcing Loxy to suppress a laugh. Maybe there was a bit she had in common with Spacewalker. Including her native language: sarcasm.
"The Grounders know we're at war," Bellamy fired back, scooping his gun off the floor. "What did you tell them about us?"
Murphy looked up, first at Loxy then Bellamy. "Everything," he answered shakily.
"Stop your yelling," she muttered to Bellamy with hostility. She got to her feet and joined him. "Once he's better, and we find out what he knows, he'll be gone again."
She began to walk away gradually, trying to conceal the fact that her injury was slowing her down.
"And what if he refuses to leave? What then?" Bellamy challenged, his boot tapping on the floor with impatience.
"Then we kill him," she mumbled simply. "Is that what you want to hear?" As she spun around to face him again, horror and surprise filled in Bellamy's eyes.
She could feel liquid running down her cheeks, spilling out of her eyes. But it was thicker than tears. Running her fingers in the strange substance, her eyes widened to see what she found.
Blood.