𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 · 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 ⁴

𝟒.𝟏𝟐

── 「TRUST THE RECKLESS ONE」 ──

     I drove the Rover with Clarke as my co-pilot while Sam chose to go behind us in the truck with Roan for some reason I failed to understand, but I didn't protest; I knew she knew what she was doing. It had been an hour or so of peaceful silent drive through the forest when Clarke decided it was time to bring up a topic for a conversation I didn't want to have.

- "Octavia?"

- "What?"

- "You look worried, lost in thought."

- "Keep your eyes on the trees."

- "She hasn't forgiven you, has she?" –I didn't answer, I didn't want to talk about my sister with Clarke, I had already done it with Sam and she was the only I'd ever want to talk to- "It'll take time."

- "I know, Clarke and I don't wanna talk about it." –I sighed- "We have a job to do now." -as I finished speaking, I turned a curve in the road, having to stop the Rover almost instantly as a group of Grounders was blocking the way; I took the radio- "Hang on, we got a situation. Looks like a Trikru checkpoint." –I informed the truck driver, suddenly glad Sam was back there since Trikru and Azgeda weren't in the best of terms right now- "Stay alert and show no weapons; keep your passengers on ice."

- "Copy."

- "Wait." –Clarke was quick to speak- "It's not a checkpoint, they have wounded."

She got out of the Rover, ignoring my warning not to.

- "What's she doing?"

- "Being Clarke." –I answered on the walkie before I opened the Rover's door- "No one else gets out." -I hung the radio and got out of the car, moving towards Clarke when I heard a noise behind me- "I said no one else gets out." –I grunted annoyed, seeing Sam coming my way.

- "I'm not 'no one else'." –she scoffed eyeing me up and down as I stood in front of her- "I'm the Commander of Blood, Blake, so move out of my way."

Fine, I should have seen that one coming. She walked past me and towards Clarke.

- "Wanheda!" –one of the Grounders moved towards Clarke, he looked pleased to see her until he saw Sam- "Jusheda!" –he approached Sam, almost ignoring Clarke as he did and standing in front of her almost submissively- "Help us, please."

- "What happened?"

- "Azgeda burned our village to the ground." –he pointed at the crowd by the trees- "My father caught an ax with his leg and we can't stop the bleeding."

- "Clarke." –Sam turned to her- "The bleeding is your job, Azgeda is mine." –Clarke nodded and moved towards the crowd surrounding the fallen man- "We can go after Azgeda once I'm back from something I have to do, you got my word."

- "We knew you'd help us. We heard what happened to their War Chief."

- "He was in my way."

Sam shook hands with their leader as I turned to look at Clarke who pointed with her head in the direction of the truck; a Trikru kid was looking around and getting close to discovering the King and his guard. We couldn't let that happen, it'd mean war. Again.

- "So...?" –Sam asked Clarke.

- "I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do."

- "You think you could unblock the road?" –I questioned and soon the Grounders were clearing it.

- "I'll come back." –Sam reassured them as she started to move back to the truck while Clarke and I got in the Rover again.

- "We're heading to Polis." –the leader explained before looking at me- "If you're going there, we could use a ride."

- "We're not going to Polis."

- "Broadleaf and Plains Riders are moving against Azgeda."

- "What?" –Sam turned around to look at him- "No, that's not right."

- "Azgeda did this."

- "I know who did this."

- "Sam, get in the Rover."

- "We have to attack them now, we're heading to Polis to unite with the other clans." –the leader kept up his conversation with Sam, both of them ignoring me- "You should come with us."

- "I will join you and we will destroy the runway army who did this."

- "Sam, get inside." –I forced her to me, speaking now in between my teeth, pointing at the kid about to discover Roan with my eyes- "We have to go. Now."

- "You trust me?" –I nodded- "Then go." -she pulled away and forced me inside the Rover, Clarke having already started it.

- "Sam, please, get inside."

- "Get the fuel to Raven." –she closed the door before moving back- "Now."

- "Sam..."

- "Azgeda!" –the kid yelled before I could say anything else.

- "I said fucking go, Bellamy! Trust me."

Sam moved back, taking out her blades and moving towards the side of the Trikru Grounders getting ready to shoot at the truck.

- "Bellamy, let's move!" –Clarke yelled at me- "She'll be alright, we have to go."

I wished Clarke had jumped onto the driver's seat instead of me so that I could get down from the Rover and follow Sam, but I couldn't; I had to drive the fuel to Raven and wait for Sam to show up. I knew she would, I was certain; I had no more doubts about whether she could survive anything, I doubted there was anyone or anything out there that could actually kill her. I trusted her. So I drove away fast, only glancing at the rear mirror once, seeing her slashing someone's throat before I could only see trees again.

- "She'll find her way back."

- "I know she's going to be alright." –I didn't even bother turning to look at Clarke as she finally spoke again.

- "Then, what's bothering you?"

- "What bothers me is that every time I have to leave her behind. I know she's totally capable of doing things on her own, but I'd like to be included in them."

- "Did you talk?"

- "Yeah, we're good. We're taking it slow." –I smiled to myself- "I'm not fucking this up again."

- "You won't." –she reassured me, I saw her relaxing back on her seat from the corner of my eye- "Octavia will come around too."

I hope. We kept driving until we got out of the forest, reaching a clearing with a river crossing it, making it practically impossible for us to cross it without risking the wellbeing of the barrels. Fuck this. I took the radio as I slowed down the Rover.

- "Looks like we've got another problem."

A river? This wasn't on the map. I stopped the Rover just in front of the water, getting down to check closely what we had to deal with now; I sighed annoyed, seeing no actual way of getting past this. Great.

- "Murphy didn't say anything about a river."

Clarke informed me as she walked up to me; she had been the one to communicate with her mom and those at Becca's lab since they left.

- "Well, what else could go wrong?"

I thought I heard the neighing of a horse and, soon enough, I was able to see it, reaching instinctively for my gun until I saw the rider more clearly.

- "Hey there, lover boy!" –Sam waved her hand at us, yelling so that I could hear her- "Mind not shooting me just yet?"

- "I'd never shoot you." –I cleared my throat as she stopped the horse next to the Rover- "But I'm going to kill you." –she got down from the horse, she had some blood splashed over her clothes but it was clear it wasn't hers; she walked up to us or, more so, to me- "Why couldn't you..."

Her lips on mine cut my words easily but she didn't even give me time to kiss her back as she pulled away with a smirk on her face. Any other time I'd have loved that smirk, but right now I wanted to wipe it from her face in several different ways.

- "I'll kill you later too." –she winked at me as she started laughing.

- "What did you do?" –Clarke quickly asked- "Where did you get the horse?"

- "Killed a couple of rebel ones, made a deal with the leader and got a new friend. Pretty decent morning if you asked me." –she shrugged her shoulders as she looked past us- "Huh, well, that looks like another problem."

- "What type of deal?" –I pressed her- "I don't like your side deals..."

- "His head." –Sam cut me off, pointing at Roan with her finger as he looked at her amusedly.

- "Sam!" –I yelled at her- "You can't just do things like that!"

- "Chill out. That..." –she pointed to the forest- "...looks like a problem for another day and, considering how well we're doing here..." –she pointed at the river- "...I probably won't even have to worry about it." –she eyed Roan- "Be more like him, it's his head and he didn't even flinch."

- "If you want my head, you'd have to fight me first."

- "Yeah, and you don't wanna know how that would turn out, do you?" –she rose an eyebrow at him; I felt there was something else going on between the two of them but none said anything else- "So, what's the plan for this mess."

- "The ice melted." –Roan spoke before I could so much as to take a deep breath- "I'll find us a place to cross upstream." –he started walking.

- "Wait." –Clarke moved after him but addressing both Roan and me- "Take the Rover, you'll cover more ground and you'll be safer."

- "With him?"

- "We have to get across the river."

- "Fine, I'll go with Roan." –Sam moved to get into the Rover's driver seat, opening the door but being stopped by Clarke before she could get in.

- "No, you stay with me."

- "Because...?" –Clarke's eyes drifted to Roan's men for a second, not answering Sam's question but it was enough for Sam and me to understand what she meant- "Got it, princess."

- "You both look for a way to cross the river." –Clarke addressed Roan now- "We'll stay here and guard the fuel."

I nodded at Clarke, moving past Sam who was still holding the door open and getting inside, she closing it after I got inside.

- "We won't be long."

- "Just find a way to get to Raven. What could go wrong here?"

Roan's men addressed him in Trig, needless to say, I wasn't getting much but it did seem to get Sam's attention as she walked to Roan's side and closed the door after him.

- "Your men answer to me now." –her voice was harsh- "They screw up, they die."

- "They know."

I started the Rover and Roan and I were soon on our way; we didn't talk at all, not that I had anything to say to him anyway.

     After Roan and Bellamy left up the river, I started thinking maybe there was an easier way to cross down the river.

- "Sam..."

- "Huh?" –she rose her head to look at me as she sat on the floor, her back to the truck- "What do you want me to do now?"

- "Am I that easy to read?"

- "I know you, Clarke." -she rose next to me -"What do you need me to do?"

- "There could be a way to cross down the river... I know Bellamy and Roan left to check the other way but..."

- "Got it; doesn't hurt to look, does it?" –her eyes settled on Roan's men- "Are you sure about this?"

- "Yeah. We want the same thing."

- "You three." –she addressed them- "I'm going to check a way to cross down the river. I want to see this just as it is now. You answer to me. You fuck up? You bleed. Understood?"

- "Sha, Jusheda."

One of them answered, bowing his head before Sam moved to the horse, jumping on it; she looked at me one last time and I approached her.

- "Go."

- "Take this." –she handed me one of her short blades- "Just in case."

I took it and admired it for a second before nodding at her, prompting her to go. I wasn't alone, I had a guard with me; it's not like they were going to turn their back on us, Nightblood was the only solution now, we all knew it.

     It took us a bit longer than I'd have liked to find a place to cross the river, but once we did, we got down to make sure it was feasible; we didn't want to get stuck in the middle of the river with the only solution to our problem.

- "Yeah." –Roan nodded, he seemed pleased with himself- "This could work."

- "Sam, come in." –I spoke to the walkie to let her know where to go and to make sure she... they were okay- "We found a crossing. Over." –I waited for an answer but it never came, I could feel something was wrong- "Cargo one, do you read me? Over."

- "Something's wrong."

Roan stated, he was worried, making his way to the Rover; I followed suit, driving as fast as I could back to where I had left Sam, quickly discovering the truck was gone.

- "Be careful." –I warned Roan as we got down from the Rover; he nodded, taking out his sword and starting to look around- "Sam..." -I whispered- "...where the hell are you?"

- "Over here!"

Roan exclaimed and started running towards the water; I followed him and soon, we were dragging a body covered in sheets out of the water, my heart racing at the darkest thought my mind could come up with. As we left the body on the ground Roan looked at me, almost prompting me to discover it; I could tell he was tense too. I took a deep breath and uncovered the body's upper half, breathing relieved as the face of one of his men greeted us.

- "Seiku." –I could tell he was pissed but relief could also be understood in his tone- "We both know who did this." –I looked at him- "Trikru."

- "Why? You heard Sam, she made a deal with them." –I rose straight- "And, if that were true, where the hell are the others?"

- "They probably took the truck to go to Polis..." –he observed before his head shot up- "That has to mean at least one of yours is still alive."

- "And the rest?"

- "We both know Samantha wouldn't go down without a fight. It doesn't please me to say this, but if I were them, I'd have taken Wanheda and killed her."

- "And her body?"

- "Take it with me. She's a symbol after all."

- "I don't like your prediction."

- "Neither do I."

We moved back towards the Rover when something near the tree line caught my attention. No. I shot up running, hearing Roan coming after me. There were two more bodies. No, no, no. Roan beat me this time, uncovering both, revealing the only guard that had come with us from Arkadia and another of his men. I breathed again, until something else caught my attention, kneeling over the Azgeda man and checking his wound.

- "That's Rino."

- "Sam's blade." –I ripped it from his chest and rose again next to Roan.

- "She lied." –his tone was both a mix of angry and startled- "She killed him."

- "Sam wouldn't lie with something like that."

- "You said it yourself, that's her blade." –he started moving back to the Rover, more so running.

- "I don't have time for this, she could be in danger."

I got in the Rover, starting it and driving towards Polis. This shouldn't be happening, we don't have this kind of time to lose. I forced the Rover to go as fast as it could handle, not wanting to think of the implications behind Roan's words or the fact that he admitted anyone would want to kill her since she would never agree to cooperate. We drove through the forest again, Roan deciding to start a conversation.

- "We have to get to them before they get to Polis with that fuel; they'll use it to make bombs, they'll kill everyone."

- "You mean they'll use it to kill Ice Nation." –I retorted- "All you care about is your people."

- "Yeah, like you're any better, that's all anyone cares about." –I felt his eyes on me- "But you seem to forget Jusheda is Ice Nation now too."

- "Sam's Skaikru."

- "Jusheda is not one of you, she's one of us. The sooner you see that, the sooner you'll be able to move on."

- "What is that supposed to mean?"

He didn't get to answer as we got to a bifurcation with a body lying there, so I stopped the Rover and went to get down to move it when Roan stopped me.

- "Wait."

- "They left a body. We need to see if we can pick up their trail."

- "Have you not learned anything from Samantha?" –he looked at me with a scowl on his face- "Trikru burn their dead. They're still here." –I looked around, not seeing anyone but thinking of what he just said- "Back up now."

- "There's no one here, Roan." –I scoffed- "They've taken the truck, the fuel, and probably Clarke and Sam. If you're such a good tracker," –I pointed in front of us- "go track."

As soon as I said those words, Trikru men started to surround the Rover, jumping on it and trying to get inside.

- "You were saying?"

Roan almost mocked me, but he didn't seem too bothered by the fact that we were surrounded by his enemy. A man got to my window and I pointed my gun at him.

- "I don't want to shoot you, I just want to know where's the truck and what have you done with the girls."

- "Give us the King." –he completely ignored my question, looking at Roan with his jaw clenched.

- "Bellamy."

- "What?"

- "The truck's not here."

- "How the hell do you know?"

- "Because everyone does what's best for their people." –I turned to look at him- "It was my men who took it, that's why one of them had Samantha's blade on his chest."

As the realization hit us both and the Trikru men started getting more and more daring, I managed to start the Rover again, backing it up and braking hard and fast to force those on the ceiling to fall, getting rid of all of them before we drove away through another path, following Roan's instructions as to where they would be going and where to catch them. Finally, we got to a clearing, seeing the truck just ahead of us. Help is on the way.

- "There they are!" –Roan almost jumped on his seat.

- "Hang on."

I changed gear, going faster. One of Roan's men was on the back with the fuel, soon turning to look at us and starting to move one of the barrels.

- "What the hell is he doing?" –Roan practically yelled.

- "Weaponizing the fuel."

- "You said we need every drop."

- "We do!"

- "So get me as close as you can!"

Roan was exasperated by now, yelling at me and doing hard hand gestures as he pointed to the truck; he then moved to the back and opened the hatch.

- "You gotta be kidding me."

I tried to keep the Rover stable so that Roan could jump or do whatever he intended on doing when, out of nowhere, a rider in a now familiar horse started galloping towards the truck from the opposite side of the clearing. Sam? How? I relaxed for a second, knowing she was alright but realizing on the next what she was doing. She's going to get herself killed.

As I got Roan close enough to jump on the truck, Sam took her bow and shot an arrow to one of the men on the back of the truck who turned to look at her, removing the arrow from his leg, ignoring Roan as the other guy got ready to tackle him; the first guy took his spear and pointed it at her. No, no, no. But Sam was ready, forcing the horse to move to the side, making it harder for the man to get a clean shot but I knew he'd eventually would as she got closer; then, she did something I was not expecting and that I'd much rather never see her doing again: she got up on the horse, bending forward not to fall and holding onto the reigns still. Reckless dumb.

I was close enough for Roan to jump onto the truck, so he did, my next intention getting close to Sam so that she'd jump on the Rover, but I didn't get the chance. The Grounder threw the spear at her, hitting the horse a second before she jumped toward the truck. Roan, having knocked out one of the men, moved to the side as he saw her, grabbing her hand and pulling her to him before she could fail the jump, both of them stumbling with the barrels. I saw Sam nodding at Roan, who moved to tackle the remaining man on the back of the truck as Sam avoided him and jumped on the roof over the driver's seat, startling Clarke whom I could see as we were driving side to side now.

     After the Grounders killed the guard and one of their own that opposed to their new plan, Sam had followed us, but they had shot at her and I had completely lost sight of her as I drove through the forest. When we got to a clearing and I started to think maybe that was the end, I saw the Rover coming after us, so I had tried to slow down, but the Grounder next to me had realized and pushed the gas pedal with his foot over mine. I was starting to wonder what had happened to Sam when I saw her coming at us from the opposite side of the clearing. She must have taken a shortcut, thank God this thing can't maneuver through the trees.

Roan and Sam were both on the truck now, when someone jumped on the ceiling over our head, startling both me and the Grounder sat next to me. I looked to my left, seeing Bellamy on the Rover mouthing 'Sam', so I tried to slow down the truck for the last thing I needed was her falling and running her over. A blade pierced the ceiling, hitting the Grounder on the shoulder; he yelped in pain and took out his blade, stabbing the ceiling a couple of times, the noise over us stopping immediately. I thought he killed her until I heard the window glass breaking and a splash of blood covered the inside of the windshield. The Grounder fell forward, dead, and I was finally able to step on the brake and stop the truck.

I heard a noise to my right before the truck came to a stop, wondering what that could've been. Bellamy stopped the rover in front of me and we both got down and walked to the side, seeing Sam and Roan there. Sam had fallen from the truck when I stomped on the break. Roan was holding Sam up.

- "Sam, I'm so sorry." – I approached her, squatting next to her and checking her thigh- "You're bleeding."

- "Yeah, it happens when you get cut." –she scoffed sarcastically, but she didn't look annoyed, more so entertained.

- "What the fuck happened!" –Bellamy was fuming as he got to her- "And what were you thinking."

- "Nice to see you too." –she sat on the floor with Roan's help- "Those two idiots happened." –she pointed at the dead Gounder's before she ripped her shirt and bandaged her leg, Bellamy kneeling next to her- "But we don't have the time, we have to get the fuel to Raven."

- "She's right." –I backed her up- "I'll drive the fuel."

- "You're coming with me now." –Bellamy was quick to command Sam, helping her up as she was about to speak- "No, no complains."

- "I wasn't going to complain about going in the Rover, I was going to complain about me not needing help to walk." –she moved her arm from Bellamy's shoulders- "It's superficial, let's go."

And it was true, it wasn't anything major but I knew Bellamy, it didn't matter if it was a blade through her abdomen or a papercut, the look of sheer panic in his eyes every time Sam got hurt was enough for anyone to realize how much and how deeply he cared for her. And, considering Sam was bleeding most of the time, I wasn't sure how he wasn't drained from any energy he might have had left. Of course, I knew she felt the same way, but Bellamy was not so prompt to getting cut or stabbed.

     Sam and I got in the Rover, driving back to the place Roan and I had found to cross the river. Our intention was not to stop until we got to the ocean unless strictly necessary. Sam reclined on her seat, closed eyes and feet up on the dashboard, her body language only radiated her trust for me, a small smile on my lips as we drove in peaceful silence.

Over the past couple of months, I had grown used to only seeing Sam when she was fighting or badly hurt, so having her with me, relaxed and calm was refreshing. She had been right, the cut on her leg was superficial, having shown it to me as she kept feeling my eyes on her. I just didn't like when she got hurt, but it was like, if someone was going to get hurt, it was going to be her. And she was strong and resilient, but I'd rather bleed myself.

- "What happened?" –I finally asked, having gone over all the possible scenarios in my head- "Why didn't they kidnap you too?"

- "Clarke asked me to check for a way to cross down the river; got on the horse, moved down the shore, moved back because I couldn't find anything and I didn't like the idea of miss princess alone with those brutes." –her tone was flat, no emotions to it as if she were just solving a math's problem- "Got there, saw they had killed the guard and the Azgeda man on our side; I assumed Clarke had killed one of them for I only saw two on the truck as they started to move away. I followed them on the horse, got shot an arrow," -I opened my mouth as I eyed her- "that I avoided, relax, and had to find another way. The rest is history." –she opened her eyes and looked around, putting her feet on the floor again- "Where are we?"

- "Almost there." –I glanced at her for a second- "Sam..."

- "Shut up. I chose to stay so don't even start. You need to get rid of the guilt I see in your eyes every time I get hurt. It's not your doing, it's mine." –I saw her turning to face me from the corner of my eye- "You showed back up just in time."

- "Yeah." – I chuckled looking at her- "You looked like you needed help."

- "Please..." –she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest- "I had it under control."

- "Sure." –I placed my hand on her thigh, rubbing my thumb over the fabric of her pants- "Especially getting up on the horse and jumping from it; that was clearly calculated by the millimeter."

- "Of course." –she chuckled- "Don't you know who you're talking to?"

- "Jusheda, alright."

- "Oh no, Jusheda is the one who was about to cut their heads off but was stopped by Roan. Sam was just pissed those two decided to take away our only solution to this big mess. You know? Sheda always reprimanded me when I brought the topic of getting up on the horse, or riding without hands... he asked me to never do that..." –her voice went quiet, I knew she missed him- "Ulger, however, taught me how to control it, not to do it safely because you can't, but how not to fall as soon as you raise; it's all about stability and balance." –she let out a small laugh, more like a short huff of air out of her nose- "Ironic; turns out maybe he did teach me a couple of things."

- "You did what you had to do."

- "I know. I just, looking back, I didn't think that arrogant piece of shit could teach me anything useful, but he did. Maybe I do still have a lot to learn." –she let her head fall back, looking through the window- "Too bad everyone willing to do it is dead... maybe it's better this way."

- "Sam..." –I squeezed her thigh to regain her attention- "Oreth and Ion would be so proud of you." –she faced me with sad eyes- "Sheda would be the proudest. He loved you so deeply, Sam..."

- "Bellamy, please, I can't do this right now." –she sniffled, wiping her eyes- "I can't break now." –she took my hand in hers, intertwining our fingers together- "But I appreciate your words, I really do." –she took my hand to her lips and kissed it- "I don't deserve you."

- "You deserve the world." –I squeezed her hand just as we exited the forest and made it to the beach- "And I intend on giving it to you."

- "How about we don't drown first, huh?" –she smiled, pointing in front of us.

- "That'd be a good start." –I took my hand from her thigh and used it to maneuver the Rover and stop it just in front of the water- "Yeah."

She started laughing whole-heartedly and I did too; I knew I'd forever cherish the simple moments of peace I had with her, no matter what happened or where we ended up.

We got down from the Rover just as Clarke stopped the truck behind it, Sam stretched her arms and sat on the sand looking at the ocean, her knees to her chest as she closed her eyes a moment later, the wind on her face as she smiled. I stood behind her, Sam immediately resting her back against my legs as I smiled too. If only we could stay like that.

- "I'll unload the fuel." –Roan proclaimed as he moved to the back of the truck as Clarke walked up next to us.

- "Yeah, let the King do the work for once." –Sam chuckled, looking back at Roan who either didn't hear her or chose to ignore her comment.

- "I have to take the Rover back to Arkadia." –I proclaimed as the three of us were together.

- "Octavia?" –Clarke soon asked but I didn't feel like talking about it with her, which is why I appreciated Sam speaking up.

- "Don't you worry, boss, I'll keep the princess safe and sound."

- "And yourself too."

- "What could go wrong?" –she rose her head to look up at me, sticking out her tongue playfully.

- "We've got a problem." –Roan announced, forcing us three to turn to look at him- "You should see this."

Sam jumped to her feet and we all moved to the back of the trunk, Roan pushing one of the barrels to the edge for us to see. It had an arrow on it.

- "That wasn't me."

- "I know." –Roan answered her- "Trikru arrow."

He pushed the barrel, making it fall to the ground in front of us, the lid opening and revealing the empty inside. Fuck.