I stood beside Bellamy inside the church, my eyes never leaving Diyoza and her people. One of Diyoza's men had gone back to their drop ship after we told them about the whole "killing all their people" thing. He was making sure we weren't lying.
"Colonel, it's me," the man spoke over the radio. "They're telling the truth. Somehow they blocked the remote access to the cryo-room and the pods. We can't wake anyone up."
"Do we have your attention now?" Bellamy asked.
Diyoza gave him a look as she spoke. "I don't know how you got on my ship, but if anything happens to any of my people--"
"Nothing will happen to them as long as we can make a deal," Bellamy interrupted.
I clenched my jaw slightly when the man behind us spoke. "I say we kill them now."
"If you even think--," I began spinning around to face the man but Bellamy grabbed my arm, shaking his head at me. I bit my tongue to keep from snapping.
I turned back to Diyoza to see her walking toward us. Once she stopped, she spoke. "What do you want?"
"We need your help opening a bunker," Bellamy stated. "You're miners, so that shouldn't be a problem for you. If you do that, we'll let your people go."
"And then what, happily ever after?" Diyoza asked doubtfully.
"Then we'll split the valley down the middle," Bellamy said. "Whether or not you're happy is on you, but I'd like to think that we can find a way to coexist."
The man behind us chuckled, causing both Bellamy and me to turn our heads. He stood from the chair he was in. My eyes stayed trained on him, ready to attack as he stopped beside us.
"Threatening to kill 283 of my people is one hell of a way to start a friendship," Diyoza stated.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I looked at the woman. "Do we have a deal, or not?"
°°°
I waited impatiently for the door to open. Diyoza had locked Clarke in a room on the dropship and we had been allowed to see her. A buzzer sounded and the door opened. My eyes fell on the blonde girl lying on the bench.
Bellamy was the first to reach her, pulling her into a hug after she sat up. "Oh, you're really here."
After a few seconds, Bellamy let go and allowed me to sit in his spot. I pulled Clarke into a tight hug. The girl hugged back with just a much force. I closed my eyes as I took in this moment; Clarke's actually alive. When I pulled away, I gave her a small smile.
"Madi?" The blonde girl asked.
"She's safe," Bellamy stated. "She's in the woods with the others. Diyoza won't look for them as long as we're in control."
Clarke's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she spoke. "You're all still alive-- Murphy, Monty, Raven?"
"Echo, Harper, and Emori, yeah," I said with a nod. "Clarke, you saved us all."
"And now you're home," the girl said, her voice breaking slightly. She pulled me into another hug. I grabbed Bellamy and pulled him in as well, the three of us embracing each other. After a few seconds, the blonde girl pulled away. "Wait. Why'd she release me?"
"We made a deal," Bellamy answered. "She agreed to open the bunker."
Clarke let out a small laugh. Bellamy held up his walkie and spoke, to Raven and Murphy who are still on the ship. "Raven, can you hear me? Come in."
After a few seconds, the girl answered. "Tell me everyone's okay."
"Everyone's okay. We reached a deal with the people from that ship, and, by the way, the laser-comm's an open line, so they can hear every word we say."
"Nice to meet you. We're not bad people. We--" I heard Murphy say, speaking to Diyoza and her crew. Raven must've taken the walkie from him because his voice cut off. I just rolled my eyes, a small smile on my lips.
Bellamy rolled his eyes as he spoke. "Raven, keep him away from the radio."
"Copy that."
"Anyway, they know the rules, but just to be safe, Colonel Diyoza, here they are again. If anyone tries to get around your security, you pull the plug. If anyone does anything that wasn't agreed upon, you pull the plug, and if you don't hear from me every hour on the hour, you pull the plug."
I tilted my head slightly to the side as Raven spoke. "Is that all?"
"No. That's not all. Someone wants to say hello."
Bellamy had a smile on his face as he haded the walkie to Clarke, who spoke. "Raven, Murphy, it's really good to hear your voices."
"Clarke?" Raven asked with a slightly shaky voice. "I don't believe it."
"Jeez, and they call me the cockroach," Murphy commented.
Clarke let out a small laugh as she spoke again, "Hey, you guys just be careful up there, okay. We'll talk more once all this is over... I want to hear everything."
"Okay, but first..." Raven's voice broke slightly. "Thank you for saving our lives."
"I miss you both," Clarke admitted quietly just as Bellamy put a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"We got to go." The girl nodded and handed the walkie back to him. "Raven, stay safe. We'll talk soon."
"Yeh. Every hour on the hour."
°°°
I waited impatiently as Bellamy was lowered into the bunker. The miners had mined a large hole in the ground, right above the bunker, and set up a pulley system. Bellamy was the first to be lowered into the bunker. I followed soon after, and Clarke after me.
Around us, the rotunda was closed off by chain-link fences covered in an assortment of melee weapons, following the spiral staircase al the way to the top. A bunch of people stared down at us as I turned to Octavia, who was hugging Bellamy. She let go of her brother and walked toward Clarke and me. She had red face paint on her forehead, but as she came closer, I realized it wasn't facepaint; it was blood.
I pulled her into a quick hug, a small smile on my face before the girl turned to Clarke, grasping her arm. Clarke, Bellamy, and me exchanged concerned looks, thinking the same thing; what the hell happened here during those six years?
After a few minutes, Diyoza and one of her men, who I've learned is McCreary, came down into the bunker. They looked around the rotunda at everything.
"Who are they?" Octavia asked Bellamy.
Diyoza looked at the girl. "We're here to rescue you."
After a few seconds of silence, Octavia stepped forward. "Why are you armed?"
"O, O, it's okay," Bellamy said, stopping the girl. "We have an understanding."
"Before we get to that, where's my mom?" Clarke blurted. I looked at the girl.
"I'll take her to her mother," Indra said. She looked at me and I nodded. It's not exactly a secret that Clarke is my sister and Murphy is my brother. I followed Indra and Clarke. The woman led us through the bunker, stopping just outside a steel door. A buzzer sounded and the door opened, Indra walked inside.
"Is it over?" I heard Abby ask weakly.
Indra replied. "He's alive... For now."
I followed Clarke into the room to see Abby sitting on the floor.
"Hi, mom," Clarke spoke.
The woman froze before turning and looking at us. "Clarke? Aiden..."
The woman shot up from her seat on the floor, walking toward us. After taking us in, she pulled both of us into a hug. A small smile formed on my lips as I closed my eyes, taking in this moment. After years and years of hating her for something I thought was her fault, it felt good that I had my mother back. Now I know it wasn't her fault.
"How? How?" I heard the woman ask, her voice shaky. "When? When did--"
"We should move, now," Indra interrupted. I nodded, slowly pulling away from the woman, who had tears in her eyes.
I took a deep breath as Clarke spoke. "Everything's gonna be okay, but first, we have to get you out of here. Come on."
Abby nodded and Clarke and me helped her stand. Once she was standing, the woman looked at Indra. "What happens to Marcus?"
Indra was silent, not looking at Abby. After a few seconds, she lifted her head, looking at us. "I'll get him to the ground. After that, it's up to you."
Indra left the room and the three of us followed soon after.
°°°
After Octavia was lifted out of the bunker, Bellamy, Clarke, and me followed soon after. Miller came up next and after the clip was unhooked from his waist, he hugged Bellamy. The smile on Bellamy's face seemed to falter when he noticed the gun in Miller's belt. Turning to his sister, he spoke. I looked at Miller. He hugged Clarke and then turned to me.
"Never thought I'd be so happy to see you, Miller," I said with a light chuckle, grasping his arm. He nodded in my direction before climbing down the rubble of what was once the tower in the center of Polis.
"Give me a second, then follow me," I heard Bellamy instruct quietly to Octavia. He climbed down the rubble, walking to one of the many buildings. Octavia followed soon after. That marked our cue to bring Kane up.
"Okay. Bring him up," Indra said into the walkie in her hand. We waited and, soon enough, Kane was slowly lifted out of the bunker, squinting his eyes from the sun. We waited at the bottom of the rubble for him as he climbed down, a pair of cuffs around his wrists. When he saw us, he smiled. Clarke pulled him into a hug before the man turned to me. I pulled him into a hug as well. Indra subtly put a key in Kane's hand. "Wait for night. If you get caught, I won't be able to help you."
Indra spun on her heel and walked away. A few minutes later, Abby came down the rubble toward us.
°°°
It's been a few hours and it's dark now. Clarke took Abby and Kane out of sight and I stayed behind, watching Diyoza and her people's every move. I stood by a barrel that had a small fire lit inside as it's gotten a bit chilly. The sound of an explosion caused me to jump. My head shot toward the fountain as it crumbled to the ground in pieces. A few of Diyoza's men held these enormous guns that were glowing blue.
"Sorry about your pretty fountain, but that was only half power," Diyoza announced. The way she spoke told me she was pissed about something. "I know most of you are armed. If anyone moves for a weapon, you'll see what full power does to human flesh. It's not pretty."
"Hey! Hey," I heard Bellamy shout as he, Octavia, and a few others walked into the area at my left. "Hey, what the hell are you doing? One call from me--"
"Make your call," Diyoza interrupted.
"Raven, come in. Read me?" No answer.
"The deal's off, but nobody has to get hurt," Diyoza stated. I furrowed my eyebrows slightly as I made my way toward them.
"What the hell do you mean the deal's off?" I asked, stopping beside Octavia.
Before anyone could answer, a man shouted. "Someone's coming!"
To our right, Clarke ran toward us. All the guns were aimed at her, but Diyoza stopped them. "Hold your fire. Where's your mother?"
Clarke was silent. No one said a word until Octavia stepped forward. "She's our doctor. You can't have her."
"She asked you a question," McCreary spat, aiming her gun at Octavia. "Where is the doctor?"
"That's right!" A man shouted. "You're not so tough now, are you?"
Out of habit, I went to grab my katana when the man's gun waved around in the air, but then I remembered it was in the rover. Everyone got ready to fight.
"No! Hold," Octavia ordered.
"I'm right here," Abby's voice echoed. We all turned to see Abby and Kane walked toward us. Kane no longer had the cuffs around his wrists. "Don't shoot... We'll come without a fight."
"I bet you will, traitor," Octavia spat viciously at Kane.
Diyoza raised an eyebrow slightly. "We?"
"The two of us. Those are my terms."
A small smirk formed on Diyoza's lips. "I see where your daughter gets it from."
"Both of them, actually," Abby corrected.
Diyoza turned to one of her men. "Take them both."
"Abby, what are you doing?" I asked confused.
The woman turned to me. "I love you, Aiden. You too, Clarke."
Two of Diyoza's men took Abby and Kane and led them away as Diyoza spoke. "Okay, then. Here are my terms. The valley is ours. Any attempt to get there will be met by overwhelming force... As long as you stay here, we won't have a problem... Is that a problem?"
No one said a word. I turned to Bellamy as he spoke after a few seconds. "What about Raven and Murphy?"
"For now, insurance. Let's go. On me." Diyoza and her men slowly backed away, except one. "Szybunka, that's an order."
The man reluctantly turned, his eyes lingering on us for a moment. Just when I thought he was going to leave, he let out a scream, spinning around and firing his gun at Octavia. Someone jumped in front of her, exploding from the weapon's ammunition. The force of the blow knocked me back a few feet, my head hitting the ground. I hissed in pain as a loud ringing filled my ears. I let out a groan, grinding my teeth as someone crouched beside me.
Clarke's face blurred in and out of focus as she slowly helped me off the ground. Her voice echoed faintly in my head, it was almost too quiet to hear. I winced as I was pulled from the ground. I could barely make out Indra carrying Octavia. A figure quickly made its way to us. When it was close enough, I could tell it was Bellamy.
"Are you alright?" He asked me, worried. He turned to Clarke. "Is she okay?"
"I don't know," the girl answered, her voice slightly more clear than before. The ringing was still there and my head was pounding. "I'll take a look."
Bellamy nodded before saying something I didn't quite hear. He put my right arm over his shoulders, he and Clarke helping me toward one of the buildings.
"I trusted you," I heard Octavia say to Bellamy. "This is your fault."
"Blodreina," I heard Miller call out. "What do we do now?"
"Now we go to war."
°°°
Damn. Well, that was intense. Um, so Aiden almost just died again lol. Man, she really IS related to Murphy. Such a cockroach. 😂
Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you all in the next one.
Buh-bye.