/\/\/
/\/\/
Byrd walked through the streets of Polis on horseback, screams echoing in her ears. The streets were dead, a sense of dread loomed over the entire city. It was nothing like it had been the previous day. Her eyes roamed over the bodies, dead and alive, strung up on crosses along the fence; dust sitting heavy in the air. Blood pooled in the centre of the street, her horse becoming ancy beneath her at the smell.
'Kane,' She called when she spotted the man walking amongst the grounders.
He turned to look at her as she rode up beside him, her gaze never meeting his as she continued to look around; Pike watching her closely.
'What happened here?' He asked.
'I just got back,' She shook her head.
She stopped behind the lead grounder when he did, staying on horse back as she looked over all the people before her; kneeling with their heads low and eyes closed. Jackson arose from the crowd and approached them with a smile, no body else moving.
'Chancellors. Byrd,' He greeted.
'Jackson?' Kane whispered.
'What the hell are you doing here?' Pike asked.
'Those aren't necessary,' Jackson ignored their questions as he motioned to the cuffs on Pike's wrists.
'This man belongs to the Commander,' The grounder stated firmly.
And as if right on cue, Jaha and the new commander walked through the crowd with a tall guard behind them.
'It's all right, Jackson,' Jaha smiled.
'Lus em au,' The commander demanded.
The grounder quickly turned and unlocked Pike's cuffs, letting them fall free.
'Nau teik yu spika slak en teik Klika-de in,' The girl then instructed.
The grounder did as he was told, lifting up his mask and opening his mouth so she could slid the chip into it.
'Thelonious, what is this?' Kane asked.
'This is the chip,' Pike stepped forward; 'I thought you were crazy. Now I know you are.'
'I always knew it, this just proves it,' Byrd inputted.
'This is unity, like you always wanted,' Jaha smiled.
Pike suddenly surged forward and grabbed the commander, placing his knife over her neck.
'Everyone back away, or the Commander dies,' He shouted as two guards of Arkadia approached him; 'Thank God. Briggs, Grant, get behind me.'
But, one of the men slammed the butt of his gun into the side of Pike's leg, causing him to free the commander as he curled over. The two men grabbed him, holding him strong despite his struggling.
'Briggs! You're Farm Station,' Pike exclaimed.
'There are no stations here, just the City of Light,' Jaha stepped forward before holding out his hand, a clear tablet sitting in it; 'Join us, Charles, please. There's no more need for fighting.'
'We both know there's no way in hell I'm taking that thing.'
'Sorry it has to be this way.'
A grounder stepped forward and placed a bag over Pike's head before he was lead away, attempting to fight back. Byrd glared down at Jaha as he turned to her with a smile, before tilting his head away as though he was listening to something.
'Byrd, how about you?' He asked.
'Go float yourself, Jaha,' She sneered.
He sighed, waving his hand toward her. Within seconds, she was being yanked down from her horse and bagged. She fought against the two grounders who had hold of her, trying to get free. But, nothing seemed to hurt them, not even the knife she jabbed into one of their legs. And that became an issue.
/\/\/
Byrd struggled against the guards as they lead her go knows where, letting her fall down stairs and get squashed between them through narrower halls. She could hear Pike yelling out up ahead, before the chain clinking echoed up the hall. She was yanked to a stop, before seconds later she was shoved forward. She could hear Pike's begging, which she smirked to as her hands were cuffed once more; the old ones stripped. She was hit in the stomach and across the face, another across the bottom on her spine where she was sent to her knees.
'Briggs, you don't have to do this,' Pike yelled; 'You're strong! Fight it! We'll get our people and get out of here. Briggs!'
'Oh, shut up, Pike,' She sneered as the bag was ripped off her head.
She glared at the man, before tugging on the chains that were anchored to the floor.
'Who's ready to take the key?' The head grounder asked.
The grounders hardly looked up, the man huffing before he left. He slammed the gate shut, leaving them be once more.
'What are the odds?' Murphy's voice surprised her.
She grinned as she looked down at him, 'Murphy.'
'Magpie.'
'John Murphy?' Pike queried.
'Told you I'd survive.'
She chuckled, moving to sit down beside the boy as he shuffled over to be closer to her. She smirked over at him, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach.
'You should have killed me on that battlefield,' Indra spoke.
Byrd looked straight to the dark corner to the cell, the woman pulling the anchor for the chains out of the wall.
'I won't make the same mistake,' The woman sneered as she walked toward Pike; 'You killed three hundred of my people... Now you'll take three hundred cuts by my hand.'
'Three hundred and one,' Byrd informed her; 'I got a head start.'
'Get on with it,' Pike sneered.
The Delani girl began to laugh as Indra ripped Pike's shirt, dragging the sharp point of the anchor across his chest; blood spilling from his skin. She leant back against the wall laughing, Pike's yells drowning it out. She fell silent after a little while, her eyes never leaving Indra or Pike. Though, she jumped when a hand laid itself on her thigh. She met his eye instantly when she looked up at him, meeting his frown.
'What?' She asked.
'What're you doing back here?' He whispered.
She scoffed, batting his hand away from her leg; 'Good to see you, too.'
'Chicky.'
'Thought it'd be nice to finally be cell mates.'
He shot her a bored glare which she smirked to, shoving him as Pike yelled once more.
'Camp was emptied out, my mum's with them... I had to make sure you didn't take the chip,' She muttered.
'I'm not dumb enough to do that,' He scoffed.
'I know. But, I also know what you'd do in order to survive.'
He smirked, matching her own as she chuckled softly. Byrd rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes as he placed his hand on her thigh again. Pike continued to yell out with each cut placed on his skin, the smell of blood lingering in the air. She could feel Murphy growing tenser with annoyance with each passing minute, she eventually placed her hand on his thigh and began to run her thumb back and forth.
'You can't break me, Grounder,' Pike sneered.
'If you want her to stop, maybe you should try shutting up,' Murphy drawled.
'Only one way this stops,' Indra spat as she sliced the man's skin once more.
Murphy stood with a scowl on his face, causing Byrd to sit up with one set towards him.
'What is wrong with you people?' The boy asked; 'He's strong. We need him if we're gonna fight our way out of here.'
'You have me,' She reminded him.
'We need every person we can get- Listen to me!'
Indra finished the cut along Pike's face, the man groaned as he hung forward on his chains.
'Our real enemy is out there,' Murphy exclaimed; 'Jaha has an army of chipped soldiers. They don't feel any pain. That means they're not gonna stop until all of us either join them or die.'
'Don't waste your breath, kid,' Pike gasped in pain.
'Yu gonplei ste odon,' Indra sneered as she raised the spike.
'Indra, hod op,' A woman yelled.
'He's right, Indra,' Byrd sighed; 'We need every fighter we can get. Even if it is this shitbag... Once it's done, then, you get the revenge you need. We all do.'
Indra looked down at her, then over her shoulder at the other grounders in the cell watching them closely.
'Ask yourself this,' Murphy suggested; 'Do you want your revenge, or you want your people to live?'
'Both,' Indra sneered; 'I'll get my revenge, just not today.'
The woman turned away with a glare on her face, wandering back over to her corner; sticking the anchor back in the wall. Byrd glared up at Pike as he smiled toward her best friend, her hands clenching into fists around her chains.
'Go float yourself,' Murphy spat; 'Everything I learned, I learned on the ground.'
He sat back down with his back to the man, the girl continuing to glare up at him. She shuffled as close as she could get to Murphy, her hands sitting in her lap as she laid back onto the stable like ground.
'Murphy,' She whispered.
He looked down at her, no emotion on his face.
'What are we?' She asked.
'I... I don't know,' He stammered.
'Is it more then friends?'
'Yeh.'
'Good.'
'Why?'
'Just wondering.'
'Don't tell me you're gonna go mad down here?'
'Oh, bite me.'
'I'm just saying so I can get prepared.'
She nailed the boy in the leg with her fists, glaring up at him playfully.
'Don't piss me off, you know I can turn anything into a weapon,' She pointed at him.
'Oh, trust me, I know,' He smirked.
Byrd smiled up at him, rolling onto her side to sleep.
'How can you sleep in this?' Murphy asked.
'I'm not,' She winked as she raised her leg.
Her hands were picking away at her cuffs with a nail she'd found amongst the dirt and hay, a smirk on her lips as she hid her hands once more.
'You're mad,' He huffed in amusement.
'So are you,' She replied.
She smirked up at him, closing her eyes once more. Murphy watched her, a small smile on his lips as his eyes raked over her. He shook his head, but his eyes never left her.
/\/\/
Byrd hardly slept that night, curled up into a ball; she'd gotten both her hands free and was now working on her left foot, her right free. Indra had been picking at the wall of one the leaders, trying to get her anchor free.
'Em nou flou thru, Indra. Skaikru strat ste os, you,' The woman suggested.
'Running's not a plan,' Indra muttered.
'It's not running. It's surviving,' Murphy propped himself up into a crouch.
'For how long? This threat will find us all eventually.'
'The boy's right,' Pike chimed; 'We regroup and come back stronger. It's a legitimate battle strategy.'
'I have a better one. Kill their leader Jaha.'
Byrd raised her free hand into their air as she laid in her back, 'That's a strategy I can support.'
'Unfortunately, he's not their leader, though. He's being controlled just like everyone else by that-' Murphy cut himself off.
'What?' Pike asked.
'Nothing. Never mind. Just forget it.'
The Delani girl sent him a look, his gaze flicking from her when he met her eyes for a quick second.
'John, this isn't a time for-' Pike was cut off by a bang.
Heavy footsteps sounded, Indra racing back over to her corner. Byrd smirked when the cuff fell loose around her ankle, but she was quick to balance the cuffs on her wrists; hiding her feet. The gate to the cell opened, two grounders walking in; one with a gun.
'Who's ready to take the key?' The unarmed man asked.
'None of us is ever gonna take a key,' Pike spat.
The grounders looked over all of them, not one of them looking toward them. The unarmed grounder stalked toward the man, his face stern. Byrd watched him with a devilish look, fighting the urge to laugh as he turned to look beside him. Suddenly, they turned and approached the wall, the other grounder raising his gun. He began to check the chains and cuffs, tugging on them as the other moved his gun around. And as Byrd watched him grow closer to Indra, she smirked and raised her free hand into the air.
'Yoo-hoo,' She called as she waved her hand; 'Over here.'
The second the grounder turned away, Indra yanked the anchor of her chains out of the wall and stabbed him in the back of his skull; a sickening crunch sounding. The girl laughed as a knife was thrown into the other grounder before his body even hit the floor, both of them dead within seconds. She laughed then, standing as she let her cuffs fall to the ground.
'All right. Come on. Grab the keys. She's gonna send for reinforcements,' Murphy urged.
'You said Jaha was controlled,' Indra strode up to him ignoring his instructions; 'Tell me what you know.'
'The smart play here is going for the tunnels while we still can, before we're overrun by A.L.I.E.'s groupies.'
The other female grounder that Indra had freed worked quickly to undo his chains, Indra glaring up at him.
'If you have information that can help us-' Pike pressed.
'We don't have time for this,' Indra spat; 'Talk.'
Byrd stepped forward when the woman pressed the knife to his neck, standing behind him. She grabbed onto the anchor of Indra's chains, blood staining her hand as she glared at her.
'Murphy, this'd be a good time to spill,' She chided.
'Jaha's backpack,' Murphy after a second.
'What about it?' Pike asked as he moved around.
'All right, it runs the A.I. And if we destroy it, I'm pretty sure we can destroy her.'
'I know where it is,' Indra withdrew the spike; 'I saw them move it into the temple before I was captured.'
'They'll expect us to run,' Pike wandered over to them once everyone was free; 'We can use that. The A.I. will follow those who do, while we go for the pack.'
'We?'
'I can't do this alone. Do you want to save your people, or not?'
Indra looked away conflicted, her eyes flicking to Byrd who nodded with an annoyed huff.
'Bants. Nau. Shoun emo op gon klirnes,' She stated reluctantly.
The small group of grounders moved, pushing each other urgently out the door. Pike watched them, before turning to face the two teens left behind.
'What are you waiting for?' The man pressed.
'The bad guys are following them, right?' Murphy suggested; 'I may as well take my chances with you two.'
'And I don't run,' She smirked.
'Your father would be proud,' Pike muttered as he looked to Murphy.
The girl scowled in reply, knowing Murphy's father was a touchy subject just as hers was.
'So, how do we do it?' Indra asked.
'Carefully,' Murphy stated.
'Let the games begin,' Byrd started forward.