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❤️Tay
Eight - Now You've Seen Me Angry
"Bring out the girl, Bellamy!" Murphy demands from outside of the main tent that we had discussed who killed Wells just a few minutes before.
"Why, Charlotte?" Bellamy begs, searching for an answer to why she would do such a thing. But he doesn't understand losing everyone you have ever loved. Watching them slip away from you. I have. Mama. And even Papa.
The metallic smell of blood filled my nostrils. Bodies sprawled out, covering the ground, making it impossible to travel any distance without walking on them; as if they were the red carpet and I a queen headed to her throne. I wasn't supposed to be here. Mama had told me to stay home while she went to find Papa. But here I was, in the middle of a battlefield, at the age of six, just outside our village. Swords were swinging and clanking all around me. Arrows whistled past my ears. Bodies dropping and blood splattering. I shouldn't have been there, but I had to find Papa.
And I did. Under the foot of a large man, begging for his life, "Beja, ai don a goufa en a houmon. Beja!" Please, I have a child and a wife. Please!
But my father's pleads were no match for the blood lust that was in the man's vile green eyes, that would haunt me for years to come. I watched as the man dug his blade into my father's chest, unable to do anything to stop him.
"Papa! No!" I screamed out, falling to my knees. The man followed the sound to me, watching with a smirk, as my eyes filled with tears. But nothing else could be expected from an Azgeda warrior. White face paint covered his face completely. A signature of Azgeda. His face even had the interior tattoos, that caused lines to protrude from his skin, another signature aspect of Azgeda.
He didn't even need to pull the sword from my father's chest as he had another in his left hand. As he got closer, I didn't move, in fact I welcomed death. From his white face paint down to his crossed sword tattoo on his left wrist, I wanted death. I had already felt death. I couldn't imagine it getting any worse.
But he suddenly had stopped just as I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. I met the gaze of a young warrior in our tribe, Indra. I could feel the tears building up, almost about to fall, but Indra shook her head, "The gona doesn't mourn the stedaunon taim the wor ste odon." The warrior doesn't mourn the dead until the war is over.
I nod and look back to see that my father's murderer was staring at Indra and Indra held his stare. His gaze softens until he looked away and whistled, signaling the rest of the warriors to run off. I watched them leave until they were no longer in sight.
I stood and moved over to Papa's side. There I saw his lifeless body. His eyes still open in fear. My Papa was always told me that he wasn't afraid of anything, except losing me and Mama. And in the end, he didn't have to lose us, we lost him.
"Leigh!" my Mama rushes over and wrapped me in a hug, "It is okay, sweetie. It is all going to be okay." She dropped down beside me, running her eyes over the dead body of her husband.
"Oh, honey, no," She cried and pulled me tighter to her body, "It is going to be okay. We can get through this."
She let go of me, placed both of her hands on either side of my father's face and began to sing through the tears,
"Yu'll be okay, close yu eyes, think gon the day, nou the jus bilaik was kom the lies, yu gonplei ste odon." You'll be okay, close your eyes, think of the day, not the blood that was from the lies, your fight is over.
"I was just trying to slay my demons, like you told me," Charlotte protested, pulling herself closer to me, attempting to use my coat as a shield against some of the accusations.
"What the hell is she talking about?" Clarke growls out and looks over to me.
I scoff, rolling my eyes, "Wasn't my speech. But thank you for not assuming that I just want to kill everything," I reply sarcastically. Even though she isn't entirely wrong. It was just part of my training. It is how I am.
"She misunderstood me," Bellamy defends himself to Clarke. He pulls Charlotte out from behind my coat, holding her by the biceps, "Charlotte, that is not what I meant."
"Bring the girl out now!" Murphy's voice demands once more from outside.
"Please don't let them hurt me," Charlotte begs, tears filling her eyes as she looks to me.
I speak up because suddenly, I remember myself in Charlotte's position, "I could take her to my home," Charlotte glances up at me, nodding her small head, "That is what happened to me, when I was in this situation."
But of course, Finn has to burst the hope in the room, "No. Not happening. I don't trust you. Don't think I ever will. So you are not taking Charlotte anywhere." I'm shocked. Well not shocked, I knew I was disliked but it seems Finn's feeling for me goes deeper than that. Hatred even.
"Finn!-" Clarke starts but is rudely interrupted by Finn, "Don't Finn! me. You don't trust her either. You just want her to think that we do and I'm tired of it."
I roll my eyes looking to see Bellamy is fuming. "Well if any of you guys have any bright ideas, speak up," Bellamy demands, anger rolling off him in waves. But of course, neither of the other two idiots in the tent has an idea. "Now you stay quiet," Bellamy scoffs, annoyed.
"Those are your boys out there," Finn mutters, even though it does not help the situation whatsoever.
"This is not my fault," Bellamy points to Clarke, "If she had listened to me, those idiots would still be building the wall."
"If either of you were to listen to me, we wouldn't be having this conversation," I mutter, just loud enough for only Bellamy to hear me. I can see his stern expression be replaced by guilt, but I ignore it.
But the stern expression returns when we hear another command coming from Murphy outside, "You want to build a society, princess? Let's build a society. Bring her out."
"No! Please, Bellamy. Leigh, please," Charlotte begs. I hold her close, noticing that Bellamy is unsure of what to do. Even though I know the best idea would be for me to take her to Polis, I suggest an alternative that has the same results in the end, "Why don't the three of us," I gesture to Clarke, Finn, and I, "take her out into the woods. I can find us a place to hide. And I know those woods like the back of my hand." This part, of course, I was telling the truth. I had grown up here, my best friend Lincoln and I would run all over here.
Charlotte still seems scared, but who could blame her. Bellamy being the person he steps in, rubbing her arms soothingly, "Charlotte, hey, it's gonna be okay. Just stay with them."
She nods and follows Clarke and Finn out the back of the tent. But my attempts to go after them is stopped short when Bellamy grabs my wrist. I glare at him, trying to pull my wrist back, but he holds tight. Finally, I give up, asking the question of the hour, "What the hell do you want?"
He smiles an actual genuine smile, making me confused. But he doesn't say anything until he grabs me by my waist and pulls me against him. "Bell-" I try but am cut off by Bellamy pressing his lips against mine. Instantly, a state of euphoria overcomes my whole body. I melt into him, pushing onto the tips of my toes and pulling at the back of his neck to bring us closer, even though I don't think we could move any closer. What started as a simple and innocent kiss, soon turned heated. That is until Murphy interrupts us again, "Bellamy! Last chance! Bring the girl out! Or I will burn that tent to the ground!"
Bellamy rests his forehead on mine, both of us out of breath. "What was that for?" I ask.
Bellamy smiles before lightly frowning, "I know what you are planning. Just make sure Charlotte is safe. If that is Polis, then take her to Polis. Even though Finn doesn't, I trust you."
I nod and smile before reaching up and pecking his lips once more, "Nowe seintaim far Belomi. Osir don each other."
Bellamy smirks, slowly walking out of the front of the tent, "Never too far away, Leigh. We have each other."
Once he makes his leave from the tent, I scramble out of the back of the tent eager to find Charlotte. It was quite easy seeing as they left prints everywhere. For Finn being a tracker, he was significantly worse at covering his tracks.
I catch up to them in minutes to see Clarke yelling at Charlotte. "She's a killer. You killed someone, Charlotte. Ended his life. Did you stop to think about that for even one second? Look at me! You can't just kill someone to make yourself feel better."
My instinct kicks in to protect her and I draw my knife from my boot, throwing it into the tree right beside Clarke's head. Everyone gasps, but me. They all turn their heads to me and I am seething, "You do not talk to her that way or I will end your life faster than either of you can react. She is my family and you hurting her is hurting me. And I don't know about you, but I do kill to make myself feel better, so..." I shrug at the end. I walk over to the shocked group, pulling my knife from the tree.
"Charlotte! Clarke and Finn can't save you," Murphy's voice booms through the forest. "Looks like Bellamy couldn't reason with him," I state the obvious.
"We should run," Clarke suggests. But Finn shakes his head, "Yeah, that's one way to go. I like my plan better," he lifts the hatch of a bunker, "Get in. Get in." he instructs us to get into the bunker that Lincoln and I used to play in all the time. It was our special place. Only Lincoln and I ever knew about it.
We all climb in, Finn locking us in. Clarke seems in awe, "Finn, what is this place?"
Finn shrugs, "For now, it's home." I don't listen to the rest of their conversation because I pull Charlotte over to a bed and start to explain the plan, "Lay down. Pretend to be asleep. Once these fools go to sleep, we are leaving. I'm going to take you somewhere where you will be safe."
She nods, hopping the bed closing her eyes. I lay next to her, trying to ignore Clarke and Finn's conversation. But they are so loud.
"What'd you find?" Finn asks, seemingly actually curious.
"Well... Looks like they never made it here. No. I figure the bombs took them by surprise," Clarke says. Bombs? Is that actually what happened when Bekka Pramheda became our first commander? I will have to ask Arthur about it when we get to Polis.
"All this preparation. What a waste," Finn concludes. What is it about this guy? Everything, he looks at the worst. It makes no sense. If he took the chance to get to know me, just a little, he would see that I am not the worst person out there.
Clarke shakes her head, "I don't know. Maybe they were lucky. They couldn't have lived more than a few years down here, then when they ran out of food or lost their minds, they would've opened the doors and been dead within a few days. Back then, maybe sooner." Then she gestures to Charlotte's and I's 'sleeping' figures, "Anyway. What are we gonna do about her? If I hadn't confronted Murphy, none of this would have happened."
They both sit on the comfy seat for two that rests against the wall and Finn tries to comfort her, "How could you know it'd go down like that?" He pulls her in tighter, holding her.
"Bellamy knew, " she gestures to me, "Leigh knew. We think the Grounders are a threat. Now we're killing each other. There have to be consequences. We can't just let them hang people."
Finn sighs, laying down on his back and takes Clarke down with him, "No. Hopefully, we figure it out before Murphy kills us for helping her."
Clarke also sighs, "He's not the forgive and forget type." The next thing I know, I hear light snores, alerting me that they are now asleep. I turn over to Charlotte and nudge her softly, "Charlotte. Wake up. They are asleep," I whisper.
She opens her eyes not a moment later and nods. We both get out of the bed and climb the ladder, opening the hatch and slipping outside. We move in silence in the direction I know Tris to be. That is until a shadowy figure appears in my sight and we halt. I pull my knife out, ready to kill but then I hear a familiar voice that can only belong to Bellamy, "Leigh? Is that you?"
I sheathe my knife and move towards him, wrapping him in a hug, "Are you okay? I feared the worst when I heard Murphy." I pull away just enough to see that he has a little patch of blood on the back of his head. I reach up, touching it with my finger and he winces.
"Are you two dating?" We both freeze, seeing as we forgot that Charlotte was here.
I turn away from Bellamy, "No," I reply for the both of us.
"Well-" Bellamy starts but then I hear Murphy's gang coming from the direction we are supposed to head.
"Damn it," I curse. Where can we go? The falls. There is a path that leads down the stream. We can take the river halfway and then hike the rest. "Follow me," I command, "We can get your head fixed when we get to Polis."
Bellamy and Charlotte nod. We take off running towards the falls, hearing Murphy chanting, "Charlotte! You can't hide forever. Don't worry. We won't hurt you." But to my dismay, when we reach the falls, rocks block the path. "The rocks must have fallen when you guys landed," I explain.
Bellamy and Charlotte step towards the falls, looking for another way down. But it is no use. There isn't. There are only two ways to Polis and both are compromised. When we all turn around, Murphy and his gang are here. He steps forward, "Charlotte! Damn it. Bellamy! You cannot fight all of us. Give her up."
But Bellamy pulls Charlotte closer to him, glancing at me, "Maybe not, but I guarantee I'll take a few of you with me."
But I command them, "Bellamy! Murphy! Stop! This has gone too far! Just calm down. We can talk about this."
"I'm sick of listening to you talk," It seems that Murphy doesn't like my idea because he pulls me so my back is against his chest. He also pulls my blade from my left boot and presses it to my neck. I can't even move. If it was any other knife I would. But this one is my own special poison. One wrong move and I'm dead.
"Let her go," Bellamy commands, but I can hear the desperation in his voice, that he is trying so hard to contain. Bellamy tries to step forward but Murphy screams, "One more step and I will slit her throat!" Bellamy stops and Murphy turns the both of us to face the darkness, "I am talking to you two as well. Get over by Bellamy and that devil child or I will kill her right now."
Finn and Clarke inch from the darkness, hands raised in surrender until they reach Bellamy and Charlotte. "Go ahead and kill her. Ever since that grounder showed up, it has only gotten worse," Finn speaks up, receiving a glare from Clarke, Bellamy, and I.
"No, please. Please don't hurt her," Charlotte begs, tears blooming in her eyes.
"Don't hurt her?" Murphy asks and Charlotte nods, "Okay, I'll make you a deal. You come with me right now, I will let her go."
Charlotte steps froward but Bellamy holds her back, "Don't do it, Charlotte. Don't do it, Charlotte!"
Charlotte begins taken steps back to the cliff, "No! No, I have to! I can't let any of you get hurt anymore. Not because of me. Not after what I did." And she jumps right off the cliff, causing anger to boil off me. Bellamy falls to his knees at the edge of the cliff, yelling out. While everyone is distracted, I grab Murphy's arm and throw him over my shoulder. He hits the floor and I repeatedly kick him in his stomach.
"Bellamy, stop her! She'll kill him!" Clarke protests but Bellamy makes no move to stop me. "He deserves to die," Bellamy shrugs, watching me work.
Soon enough though, Clarke and Finn are pulling me off of him, "Get off me! Uhh! He deserves to die!" I yell.
"No! We don't decide who lives and dies. Not down here," Clarke decides.
"So help me God, if you say the people have a right to decide..." Bellamy sighs, running a hand down his face.
"No, I was wrong before, okay? You were right. Sometimes it's dangerous to tell people the truth. But if we're gonna survive down here, we can't just live by whatever the hell we want. We need rules," Clarke admits to everyone's surprise.
"And who makes those rules, huh? You?" Bellamy challenges and Clarke shakes her head, "For now, we make the rules. Okay?"
Bellamy nods but runs his hands through his hair, "So, what, then? We just take him back and pretend like it never happened?"
"We kill him, " I direct, making my way over to a shaking Murphy, knife in hand.
"No! We banish him," Clarke interrupts. Bellamy stalks past me to Murphy, pulling him up by the neck and holding his over the cliff, "If I ever catch you near the camp, we'll be back here. Understand?" Murphy nods and Bellamy drops him back on the ground where I had left him. Then he continues, now talking to Murphy's followers, "As for the four of you, you can come back and follow me, or go off with him to die. Your choice."
The rest of the group walks back to camp, but Bellamy stays behind watching me walk up to Murphy.
Still shaking, Murphy looks up at me, fear present in his eyes. I bend down so I am at his same height, "Listen to me. And listen to me closely. You have three days. Three days to find somewhere to hide. Somewhere you can survive. Then I will send my army after you. Then you can see how cruel an army of grounders can be. And let me just say, me wishing you good luck will not do anything. So I suggest you run and you run fast." Murphy nods and stands to his feet but my voice stops him, "Oh and Murphy. Just know that I'm angry. And I am not very reasonable when I'm angry so it might be less time," I throw my knife and it lands in the eye of a squirrel that was in the tree. He gulps when it lands on the ground, before looking at me.
"Now you've seen me angry," I smile evilly and Murphy takes off running as fast as his legs could possibly carry him.