─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
GROUNDER CLOTHING IS MUCH DIFFERENT THAN WHAT JUNE HAD BEEN WEARING. She had ditched her delinquent's jacket and boots for heavier garments, wearing a pair of very worn through clothing along with high boots that were long enough to reach her knees. Her blonde hair was pulled back, tight cornrows on each side of her head leading to one long twist. Bellamy is in the same state, only having more layered armor on. June wondered for a moment how well her disguise would work, thinking maybe Mount Weather didn't take teenage grounders, before remembering Jasper's message and how they were holding her friends hostage. They didn't give a damn about age, only wanted a blood supply.
Even Lincoln was undercover, having put on his red reaper clothing with chains. He was crouched in front of a deer he had speared, hand dug into the animal's chest before pulling them back. June feels her stomach twist as she watched him smear the mild liquid over his face and neck, but she doesn't question it. Bellamy crouched beside him, tugging June down with him. "Okay, so we make it to the intake door without any of the real reapers seeing us," he estimated before asking. "What happens then?"
"I kill everyone and you two slip inside," Lincoln deadpanned simply. June raised her eyebrows, seeing many flaws in that plan, but trusting how confident he was. Lincoln held his hand out, palm up. "Limestone." June nods, pulling the small blue bag that hung on her belt and dropped it in his hand. Lincoln dipped three fingers inside, covering them in white before drawing them down from his forehead to his jaw, leaving three white streaks. "Let's go," he said once he was finished. "We got a lot of ground to cover before dark."
"We can't discuss this amazing plan any further?" June questioned pointedly, straightening her knees as he and Bellamy rose.
Bellamy nodded. "We should know what happens beyond the intake door," he added.
Suddenly, Lincoln froze, like he was thinking back to a bad memory. "They remove your clothes," he finally answered to began with. "Blast you with warm water and douse you with something that burns even worse. Then we were sorted. The others were tagged Harvest. I was tagged Cerberus and turned into a reaper." June clenches her fists, fighting back a shudder, knowing what she was about to endure was going to be much worse than he described.
"Cerberus," Bellamy repeated with a thoughtful expression. "The three-headed dog who guards the underworld."
June smiled. "Nerd," she whispered teasingly.
Squinting at June for a minute, Bellamy shook his head. "My mom read mythology to us all the time," he explained. "Octavia loved it." The sound of his sister's name made Lincoln smile, having June see the fondness despite the rough mask. "You're good for her," Bellamy continued. "You made her strong."
"She was already strong," Lincoln said firmly.
Coming to a stop, Bellamy touched Lincoln's arm. "I need to ask you something," he said. "You protected my sister before you even knew her. Why?"
It was quiet, Lincoln's smile dropping as his dark eyes dart from Bellamy to June. June couldn't lie and say she wasn't curious too. Lincoln not only took care of Octavia but betrayed his people to protect them. He even saved her life. "When I was a boy, I saw a ship fall from the sky like Raven's," Lincoln started. "The man inside was hurt, his body broken. I couldn't get him out."
"What?" June asked, confused. "Did The Ark send him down?"
"No," Bellamy responded. "Suicide by Earth. I heard the stories in the Guard, I just didn't know they were true." June slowly nodded, understanding. It was tragic, but some people just weren't meant for this world.
"I brought him food, water," Lincoln went on. "I couldn't speak the enemy's language yet so I couldn't understand him, but I wanted to. So on the third day, I told my father." He paused to take a deep breath. "He made me kill him." June can see how much pain there is in his face, struggling to cover it up. She couldn't start to imagine how he felt. "The world has been trying to turn me into a monster for as long as I can remember." Lincoln finished, jutting his chin towards the trail they were on, deciding storytime was over. "Let's keep moving."
June stays put while Bellamy and Lincoln take a few steps ahead, trying to process that. She had been on the moon since the night before with Raven, sad that she had to say good-bye to her and her other friends, but she couldn't imagine the terrible life Lincoln had suffered through. It made her mind wander to Wells, like a harsh blow to her chest, knowing how much better he deserved. June swallowed the lump in her throat, pulled from all thoughts of her past best friend when Bellamy called her name. "June? You coming?"
"Yeah." June felt her legs were like heavy weights as she dashed to catch up, just in time to overhear Bellamy speaking to Lincoln as his attention averted.
"... Parking garage where we found you is North, that way." Bellamy pointed to the direction he meant.
"There's a mine entrance closer to where the reapers end," Lincoln replied. "We go into the underworld when we have to, not before." He sprinted in his chosen direction, moving ahead.
Noticing that Bellamy had stopped, June eyes him cautiously. "You alright?" She checked.
"Just have a bad feeling," Bellamy admitted in a mutter.
"This is a suicide mission," June reminded him, putting emphasis on the words. "We shouldn't be having good feelings." She gave a single tug to his arm. "Come on, we should be almost there."
June saw how right she was when the walk took an hour or two, and Mount Weather was just in their eyesight. They were close to what Lincoln had described, according to him, and Clarke's map that Bellamy held confirmed so. June's eyes flickered from the drawing Clarke made them to the bunker just ahead, far, but close enough. She was growing more nervous with each step, having to swallow the emotion so she'd be as brave as possible.
"The mountain has many eyes between here and the tunnels," Lincoln spoke up from behind the two. "From now on, the details must be exact."
"How exact?" June asked, turning away from the view. Her gaze landed on the chains Lincoln had, completed with two long skinny logs. It answered her question immediately.
Folding Clarke's map and tucking it away, Bellamy turned as well with a point. "What if we run into real reapers? Won't they wonder where you've been?"
"All they see is red," Lincoln answered. "Once you take it, nothing else matters. Just how you get more."
Touched with sorrow by the response he received, Bellamy's voice lowered as he questioned him. "How much do you remember from when you were on it?"
"Everything." June can tell Lincoln doesn't want any pity as he picks up one log. "Bellamy, turn around."
He's the first one tied down. June is next, the skinny log resting on her shoulders with her arms draped over it as chains tightly bind her wrists. They are what connected her to Bellamy, the chain linking them together as Lincoln leads them like they're his prisoners. It doesn't take long for June's arm to start aching, but she ignored the pang in her muscles, forcing herself to keep going and refusing to give up. They didn't have time to rest, their friends were in the mountain, and needed them.
Which is why June was confused when Lincoln suddenly stops. He's frozen still, making the corner of June's lips tug down into a frown. "Everything alright?" She spoke, eyeing his burly, paralyzed, statue.
"Why are we stopping?" Bellamy tacked on in question.
There's a crack as June hears, and sees, the source of the problem. Lincoln's boot is pressing down on what looks like a glass needle filled with a red liquid. It seeps through when the glass breaks, staining the grass. June is stunned as she marvels at the strength he had, wanting to say something with pride, but she isn't given a chance as Lincoln yanks at their chain, making her walk once more.
The open mouth of a cave greets them soon. It's dark, making June's heart pound. She knew for sure this was it, though, there was never a doubt in her mind she wouldn't do this no matter how scared she was. She holds her chin as high as she can as she strolls into the cave with them, her vision soon clouding in a darkness she has to squint to see through. "As soon as they open the intake doors, we attack," Lincoln ordered. "Once they close, I'll make it look like you escaped."
"Then what?" Bellamy urged.
"The raiding party."
June turned her head to nervously share a look with Bellamy. "I guess it's not the type of party we think, huh?" Her question is answered before Lincoln can when a noise erupts, bouncing off the cave walls. There's a shouting coming from deeper in the hole, pitched, and when June remembers, she feels a chill race up her spine. It's the same sound she heard when her, Finn, and Lincoln led the reapers to chase them.
All of a sudden, Lincoln rapidly starts to pull at the chains around June's wrists. She grimaced at the feeling against her skin by the way Lincoln was unsteady, hands shaking. "What is it? What's going on?" She asked, feeling panic settling in.
"We're going back," Lincoln declared. "Help me with Bellamy's." The chains holding June slid off, leaving her free, but completely stunned.
"Go back?!" Bellamy repeated, struggling to move away as Lincoln tried to free him too. "No way!"
Trying to stop Lincoln's hands by putting her hands between them, June whispered loudly. "We're not going back!"
"We'll never get a better chance than this," Bellamy pleads.
"I thought I could do this, but I can't, okay?!" Lincoln snapped. "It's over!"
Gritting her teeth, June shoved his shoulder, forcing him to look at her. "We're not going back," she repeated herself stubbornly. "We didn't come all this way to leave all of our people to die at this mountain!"
"You can join them!" Bellamy frantically suggests as Lincoln takes away his chains. "Listen to me! When they bring out the red, you grab it and you run like hell. The reapers will go nuts, the grounders will run, and the Mountain Men will have to deal with it. No one is looking for grounders running into the mountain."
It's a good plan, at least to June, but Lincoln flings Bellamy's log. June has to duck, shielding her head as it hits the wall behind her. "I said no!" He growled, being shoved back by Bellamy.
"Fight back!" Bellamy snarled out. "They'll think we're trying to escape!"
Just as June sees a reaper approaching, she lunges, following Bellamy's orders and trying to tackle Lincoln with tights fists, attempting to seem as much as a grounder as possible. Lincoln easily stops her, whirling around from Bellamy and grabbing her by the hips. She's shocked as he flips her over his back, managing to throw her to the ground without breaking a sweat. June gasps in pain as she hits her back, glad momentarily that Lincoln didn't attack with full force otherwise she's positive the wind would have been knocked out of her.
Struggling to stand, June watched as Lincoln and Bellamy fought for dominance before Bellamy is shoved against his back, a knife to his throat. "Ponis un, ai na teik em," he snarled out darkly in warning. (Back off, I will kill him.)
Although June knew Lincoln was putting on a show for the reaper, she pretended to take it seriously. With boots planted firmly in the ground, she straightened her back, sneering before she puckered her lips and spat out a wad of saliva that hit Lincoln directly in the cheek. "Disha da tran wan of," Lincoln called to the grounder, using his free hand to wipe at the spit. (These ones tried to wander off.)
The reaper nodded, moving forward so fast June can hardly blink as he towers over her, bringing her arms before her back. "Dish emo an," he said. June felt chains being tied around her wrists, much tighter than from when Lincoln did it. "Teig em kam ran tribou." (This ones mine. Put him on the log.)
June feels real terror settling in as she watches Lincoln tie a cloth around Bellamy's head. He gives a curt nod to the reaper, making him step to the side so he's in front of her. There's no hardness in Lincoln's features as he looked to June, only apologetic as he lowers a cloth to her eyes as well. June feels her eyes burn with tears or fright, trembling violently and stumbling as one hand shoved her to make her walk.
The trip through the cave is one June doesn't like, mostly because she can't see. The reaper that handles her is rough, worse than how Lincoln is handling Bellamy, she assumes. At one point when she's too slow, his hand grips the back of her neck so tightly, her agony causes her vision to dot black for a few seconds. The hand moves away only when she picks up her pace.
At some point, June is sure they reach the doors they needed to be at. She feels uncomfortable and stiffens as hands tug at her clothes, trying not to resist as each layer peels away until she's only in her undergarments. She shivers at the cold, her skin being washed over with goosebumps. June is pushed one last time, the pressure being put on her shoulders to force her to kneel. She starts shaking all over again, having to fight the urge to whisper Bellamy's name to know he's still there with her. Now, she can only hope he is.
For once, June's hope is answered as the blindfold is taken off her eyes as someone shouts roughly. She blinks, vision adjusting before her heads turns, quickly searching for Bellamy. She heaves a breath of relief when she sees him, on his knees, only in his underwear. Even though Bellamy's a good distance away, two other men in between them, he gives her a curt nod that's enough to calm her down. They were close now.
The door on their side beeps loudly with a red light before swinging open. A few people exit, all in suits that protect them from radiation. June flinches when she hears a high pitched noise echoing, making the reapers back away, covering their ears. "Stay back, or you won't get your dose," a man warned them. The door shuts behind them.
One by one, June watched the reapers fall to their knees as a needle is injected into their neck. They groan, eyes rolling to the back of their head, but June is more focused on the one lady in the room. She holds a clipboard in her hand, pointing to the first grounder in line. "Harvest." She looks to Bellamy. "Harvest." Then, the next two. "Harvest, harvest." June tenses as she comes to a stop in front of her, pausing, before announcing. "Harvest." She wonders how good that is.
June turns her head away from Bellamy, searching for Lincoln. She sees him when the man giving the reaper the drugs urges; "Come on. Next." Lincoln is there, staring at the pair with grief. June waits, thinking for a moment he'd follow through with his plan until Lincoln sinks to his knees and tilts his head. The needle punctures his neck, and the red liquid flows into his system.
She feels like she's been punched in the chest as she watched Lincoln shudder, twitching as his body accepts the drug he couldn't say no to. He falls to his side, and June presses her lips together in distress. It wasn't Lincoln's fault, not all of it, but he sold them out. June wasn't sure what was waiting for her and Bellamy past that door, or what a Harvest was, but the most she could hold onto for now was that they'd be together. She's unsure if she wants to run to his aid or fight back.
"Harvest them all!" The woman announced with a wave of her hand.
A man in a suit comes up from behind June, gloved hands tucking under her arms and forcefully lifting her. She feels her fight instinct kick in, struggling not to shout in protest when knowing they thought she was a grounder. June kicked as hard as she could, trying to elbow the Mountain Men back, but he's too strong and his grip is much too tight. Bellamy tries to break free as well, muscles flexing as he violently fights back until he's hit over the head and knocked to the ground.
In both pain and fear, June gives Bellamy once last look of despair as she's hauled past the door and into Mount Weather, one last thought crossing her mind as a blue light blinds her.
This was a really stupid idea.