CHAPTER FOURTEEN
even if it's not what you need
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𝐄lliot was the only one who didn't have a flashlight but she remained in front of them. Besides, what can the dark do? Apparently, a lot of bad things. She studied their surroundings. It looked untouched, considering it had been a hundred years since the Earth was destroyed. No wonder.
Everything was covered in dust, and it looked to be an underground garage. Abandoned cars were everywhere, their once owners left dead above the garage because of the nuclear bombs that wiped out the whole of humanity. It was a little creepy to think about, that people had once lived and used those before.
Bellamy suddenly directed his flashlight at her, which made her flinch and cover her face with her trembling hands. She glared at him and snapped in Trigedasleng: "What?"
He looked unapologetic but he slightly averted the light somewhere else, but it left enough brightness for him to see her. Only her. He wasn't so stupid to not notice how she was acting like something hurt.
"You okay?" Bellamy asked, his voice echoing through the empty building.
Octavia looked at her and noticed her shivering figure even when Elliot tried to hide it. She sighed and marched towards the Grounder. "No, she's not."
The Grounder-in-training suddenly removed the bow and arrow from her back and dropped them on the dusty floor. Elliot tried to make her back off but failed miserably. She was in no shape.
She kept herself from hissing in pain when Octavia lifted the back of her shirt, feeling her skin burn at the contact with the material. Octavia gaped at the blisters that spread all over her lower back, and just like that, Bellamy was by his sister's side. His forehead creased at the sight of her wound.
"The fog reached you," Octavia breathed.
The Grounder gritted her teeth and slightly shoved the siblings off her, accidentally lowering down her shirt in an abrupt way, which hurt her in the process. She hustled to grab her bow and arrows and wore them over her body again despite the pain. It was bearable. That's why she wasn't complaining just yet.
"It's nothing," Elliot muttered. "Let's just go."
"Alright," Bellamy said reluctantly, not pushing her over since he knew how she gets when someone pushes her buttons. He wasn't the least convinced that she was fine but he let it go for now.
They ventured further inside the abandoned garage, not realizing they got themselves inside the lion's den.
"Where are we?" One of the Ark's guards, Scott, asked.
"Looks like a garage," Bellamy answered.
A noise echoed throughout the empty garage, making Octavia and Elliot unsheath their swords within seconds out of instinct. The two girls shared an alarmed look with each other. This place was no different than what was above them.
"More like a tomb," Octavia scoffed, getting an eerie feeling from the abandoned place.
Bellamy turned to the guards. "Look, I'm sorry about your man, but we need to find an access door to Mount Weather."
At the mention of that mountain, Elliot snapped her attention towards the youngest Blake who looked unbothered and looked at her with a confused expression on her youthful face. I suppose the Earth still hasn't taken what innocence left in her.
"Why the hell would you do that?" Elliot demanded, not missing the look that Bellamy sent their way.
Octavia visibly gulped. "Lincoln might be somewhere."
"He might, but he'd be dead if he was there," Elliot hissed and walked away, not having the attitude to deal with them. Her narrowed gaze wandered everywhere, and her grip on her swords tightened from anger.
It was the heat of the moment. She didn't mean to use that tone on Octavia. But the thought of her brother being dead at the hands of the Mountain men was too much. She probably shouldn't have said that to her. She zoned out for a while until the sound of their footsteps coming towards her made her turn to them.
Bellamy sent her a nod. "Let's go."
They split up to cover more ground as they explored the abandoned garage further. It didn't even take more than five minutes before something went wrong. The trio halted when a pained scream echoed somewhere in the garage. They immediately bolted to where the sound of distress came from, only to hear another thing.
The sound of a music box, playing some creepy Christmas song. It didn't make it any better that the place was already doomed.
"Scott?" Bellamy called out, uneasiness clear in his deep voice. "You there?"
Elliot thought it was a bad idea but Octavia crept further towards the sound. The older ones, her brother, and Elliot followed close behind. They found an automatic rifle on the ground, free from its wielder.
"Bell, what's that?" Octavia asked quietly as the older Blake picked up the gun from the ground.
The Grounder grew alert when a shadow moved across behind the abandoned cars at a very fast pace that they almost couldn't make out what it was. Elliot pulled out her second sword and held the two of them in her hands, preparing to fight them.
"Reapers," Elliot muttered with distaste.
Two Reapers caught sight of them and immediately bolted in their way, but Bellamy loaded his rifle and easily took them out with it. The gunfire echoed throughout the empty lot louder than usual. Elliot had grown to dislike the sound of guns. The Reapers kept coming even with gunshot wounds before finally falling on their own blood.
"O?" Bellamy called urgently.
"Yeah?" Octavia asked.
He handed her one of his handguns and she didn't hesitate to take it. "Take this."
Then he turned to the other girl on her left side who had a hard expression on her face. Never faltering no matter what even though he had already seen her break down once. Elliot glanced at him and the handgun in his hand then she turned away. Bellamy sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to force her to take it.
The three continued to move forward, only to find another Reaper, feasting on Scott's insides. It made their stomach lurch at the sickening sight. Bellamy cocked his gun and pointed it at the Reaper. Elliot narrowed her eyes. Then she realized. She couldn't believe it. Her eyesight must be deceiving her.
"Don't!" Octavia stopped her older brother as a small smile ghosted over her lips that Elliot couldn't seem to do. "It's Lincoln."
The girl was right. Elliot would always recognize her brother from afar, but right now she didn't know if this was still him. The Reaper━no━Lincoln, looked at them with blood dripping down his chin. He looked so different. So different yet the same person she grew up with playing sword fights using branches of trees.
"Lincoln." Octavia breathed in relief as Lincoln started to walk toward them differently. Like he had just found his prey. "Lincoln, it's me. It's Octavia."
Before Elliot could warn her, Lincoln charged towards them and grabbed Octavia, who screamed from the sudden attack as she was thrown over a car. Elliot didn't hesitate to run forward, her swords by her side.
"Lincoln!" Elliot yelled. His bloodshot eyes snapped towards her. Her lips trembled as she forced the words out of her throat: "Don't make me do this."
Elliot doubts Lincoln in this form even recognized her. Before he could make another move, a gunshot echoed throughout the garage again. It wasn't to put him down but to merely distract him. Elliot's widened eye landed on the dark-haired girl who crouched over the car she was previously thrown over, a gun smoking in her hand.
Octavia shot Lincoln.
Bellamy slammed the end of his gun onto Lincoln's head as soon as he turned around, knocking him to the floor and rendering him unconscious. That's when Elliot let out a breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding in. Octavia was shaking at the sight of her lover, who unmistakably had turned into something unrecognizable.
"Come on. Get up," Bellamy said carefully. He tried to ignore how his heart twisted upon seeing the devastation on his sister's face. "We need to get somewhere safe" Then he realized Elliot wasn't moving. "Elliot. We got to go."
"Go." Elliot looked at him in the eye. "Leave."
"What are you gonna do?" He asked frustratedly.
"I never leave a brother behind."
Octavia tugged her brother's arm, a pleading look on her face. But it was clear as day that Elliot wasn't leaving any time soon. For the millionth time, Bellamy found himself making a hard decision. He cursed under his breath and had to drag Octavia away before she threw herself in front of Lincoln again.
He ran for cover and dragged his sister with him inside an abandoned car to hide. The last thing he saw was Elliot dropping her swords, bow, and arrows on the ground with a loud clank. Metal against concrete. Why is it that if he wasn't trying to kill her━he was leaving her for someone to kill instead? He needed to get his shit straight.
The truth was Elliot wasn't scared. Sure, this wasn't her brother anymore. But physically, Lincoln was still Lincoln. She took a step back when Lincoln stirred from his forceful slumber. Then he staggered to his feet and his head snapped towards her, growling under his breath with vicious eyes trained on her.
His teeth grinded at the sight of her and he slowly approached her unlike what he did earlier to Octavia. Unhuman sounds kept coming out of his mouth, but she convinced herself that it was still her kind, sweet brother, who wouldn't even hurt a fly but would kill to protect the ones he loved the most.
Elliot remained weaponless. Besides she couldn't bring herself to end him if it comes down to it. She was done fighting anyway. There was nothing for her to live in this world. Without Lincoln, she was just nothing.
"You and me against the world, right, brother?" Elliot said halfheartedly, clenching her fists.
Then Lincoln let out a scream in his low voice before shit went down.
The female Grounder braced herself and hastily dodged the man when he tackled her unsuccessfully. Lincoln clenched his jaw and glared at her with his dark bloodshot eyes. Elliot cursed out loud. He charged towards her again and pushed her over a random car.
Elliot cried out from the pain and felt her shirt stuck to the fresh burns over her lower back. Despite the throbbing feeling, she raised her arms and used her elbow to jab the side of his head. He still didn't let her go and slammed her on the hood of the car before throwing her body against it. The windshield shattered, and broken pieces of glass pierced her shoulders.
Her vision turned hazy for a second. Her whole body felt like it was on fire yet she pushed herself up to her feet once more. Lincoln took a small step back. She breathed painfully. Then a crooked smile appeared on her bloody lips as she croaked out: "You die, I die, remember?"
Lincoln only growled at her. It was like, she had a death wish. And maybe that's why she stayed. Because becoming Reaper meant being a dead man. And Elliot knew nothing could help him now but the mercy of someone. Death by their loved one's hands in such a miserable time seemed like the best way to die. Oh, what an incredulous thing it was.
Elliot ducked down when he charged at her again, but she remained crouched down and she used her leg to make him fall to the ground. Lincoln's eyes were widened, but not in the normal way━his dark eyes looked glazed and crazed. He did not care that he was hurting her. And that fact alone hurts her more than she could admit.
She didn't even realize what happened, but the next thing she knew, Lincoln came up behind her and wrapped his big arms around her neck into a chokehold. Her hands immediately went to pry his arm off her. But he was bigger than her and stronger than ever now that he had become a Reaper.
But it wasn't like he chose this. Elliot choked back a sob.
He tightened his arm around her as Elliot continued to choke from the lack of oxygen. Tears fell from her eye at the same it closed, and her limbs went numb, falling down to its side, and the Reaper━a person she once knew━roughly threw her body over the same car like she was some sort of rag doll.
Maybe it would be better if she was gone anyway. All she brought to the world was pain and wherever she went death always loomed her way.