011.
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"Sergeant Miller?" Magnolia spoke, catching up with the guard as the sun set and he marched through the corridor.
"Who are you?" David inquired in return, the large rifle in his possession being held limply at his side.
"Sorry—" she mumbled, stopping as they made it outside. "I'm Maggie. I'm a close friend of Nate's," the brunette acknowledged, and those few words were enough for the man's full attention to be on her. Any news about his son was worth his time. "I'm the girl who escaped Mount Weather, got back to Camp Jaha a few nights ago?"
"Is my son okay?" was his first question of many, and to get what she needed, the eighteen-year-old would give him all of the answers he wished.
"As far as I know, yes. But to continue to do that—" she started, taking in a deep breath before dropping the bomb on him; the real reason as to why she had searched for him. "What will it take for me to become a part of the guard?"
Instantly, his eyes rolled at the last portion of it. "You're a kid— not to mention deemed a criminal. Why the request?"
Glancing around to see if anyone was paying any mind to their conversation, she lowered her tone so that nobody else would hear them. "Because I'm the only one who has it set as a priority to get the kids out of Mount Weather; one of the forty-six being your son."
Intriguing— he had to admit. It wasn't a half bad way to lure him into her plan. Maggie knew exactly what she was doing, and if anything were to work, that had to. "What makes you think I have the power to do that? What makes you the best option we have to get them back?"
She had prepared for anything. With her famous Magnolia Gray cleverness, the words she chose would be enough to change nearly anyone's opinion. Swaying Miller's dad should be a piece of cake.
"I'm not saying you do. But I do know that you have people on our side that do have access to a rifle and a jacket that would signify my importance. You're not the only one who wants their kid back. Another thing; the chancellor has no idea of what to do to get them out of there. I have an understanding with the president there, I know the layout inside and out, I have a way back in, I've been in charge of them all from the beginning, and, I'm the only person that has solid communication with someone on the inside there," her eyes shifted towards the walkie at her waist.
"If you screw up—"
"Nah da da," the Gray girl interrupted. "I won't. I was a gunner back at our camp. When we went to war with Grounders, I killed nearly a dozen. Half-decent aim. I pulled a lever that killed over three hundred. I'm capable of doing this— I just need your help. Besides, I'll get it done. Believe me, the only person who wants those kids out of that murderous mountain more than anyone is me."
Looking at their surroundings, he eventually exhaled deeply; the teenager's case was more convincing than anything that the chancellor had said from the moment he arrived on Earth. "Not a word to anyone about where or who you got the stuff from; you hear?"
"My lips are sealed," Magnolia confirmed, shaking David's hand firmly as a way of saying they had a deal. "Besides, once this is over I'll either train to be a part of the guard, or I'll hand the shit back."
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A short while later, the two met up in a rather secluded room, where the girl was finally going to be given her things. Earlier in the day, when her and her friends returned to the camp, Maggie's weapons had been snagged, which was not something that was easy for her to go along with.
"They're going to find out that you've never been in the guard before," David admitted, which was not something that was surprising in any way, shape, or form. She usually tended to make herself known amongst the group, which was obviously going to lead to her to being noticed. "Your job is to make sure that you belong there to stay. And— don't rat me out."
"Obviously not," Gray slid her arms through the heavy jacket. Padding was inside the material, seemingly for protection; however, she determined that it wasn't sturdy enough to fully rely on. But that wasn't the point— the symbol on the sides was enough to show what she needed. In no way could she stay on the sidelines; all of her peers would be killed before anything got done. "You got it, boss."
A sudden outburst of conversation had erupted outside, causing the two newfound 'coworkers' to meet each other's eyes. "Come on," the older Miller gestured, leaving the room and heading out the entrance.
Admittedly, the girl didn't know what to expect when she went out into the night, but her sister being escorted away by two guards was not it.
"What the dick is going on out here?" Maggie made her way up to Bellamy and Clarke, who had worry across their faces. The blonde was giving an order to one of the guards— something about reinforcements.
"They want Finn," the Blake boy filled her in, causing her lips to part and her eyes to widen. It wasn't all that surprising, but it still caught the girl off guard. "Hey— where did you get that?"
"Promised I wouldn't tell," she glanced down at the jacket, satisfied that David Miller had cooperated with her. If he didn't, she would've just stole a weapon anyway, so she almost felt better that it hadn't come to that. "Couldn't leave this completely in the hands of real authority. No hard feelings Clarke," Maggie switched her focus to her other friend, who didn't seem to take offense to the slight jab at her mom. It wasn't necessarily directed towards her, anyway.
"Come on, we need to go find him," Clarke decided, and the other two followed her. All three of them made their way around the outskirts of the area, soon stumbling on the rear side, where Finn sat with another figure.
One that the newest 'guard' hadn't seen in ages, and she had simply been convinced that he just disappeared off the radar. Somehow, not a word had been spoken about John Murphy to her since she arrived back from Mount Weather. He was like a cold that wouldn't go away— some might even say a cockroach.
Was she supposed to just forgive him? What kind of bullshit had he pulled since they last crossed paths?
"Hey," Bellamy announced to the two, more specifically Finn. "We're reinforcing our defenses. Doubles on the perimeter. No one's getting past that wire."
"My savior, haven't seen you in a while," Murphy's brow raised at Maggie, referring to when she cleaned up his lacerations from the Grounders' torment that lead to her catching the virus.
A scoff passed by her cracked lips. "Real cute, Murph."
Holding a severe grudge wouldn't do her any good with the conflict at hand.
That didn't mean she wasn't angry, though. Magnolia wasn't about to welcome him into a loving embrace, but she had more important things to focus on. Bellamy was alive, and that was enough for her— Murphy hadn't achieved his ultimate goal.
Finn rose to his feet, dusting off his pants from sitting on the ground. "I'll see where they're thin."
"No," Bellamy cautioned— everyone knew that that was an awful idea with a bad outcome just waiting to happen. "You should head inside. B Corridor would be easier to defend if it comes to that." Both of the girls nodded in agreement.
"I'm not gonna hide," he challenged. Did he even want to be saved?
"Right now we have to think about keeping you safe. Maggie and I are going to talk to Lincoln," Clarke motioned, and the brunette hadn't even known they were doing so.
"Oh— alright? Yeah, okay. Sounds good to me," she rambled.
The Collins boy remained still, causing the three once-leaders to eye one another. "Finn. Come on."
Clarke and Magnolia turned on their heels, and the familiar voice echoed from behind. "Any orders for me, Princess? Or how about you, Miss Guard? Love the new look by the way."
Tempted to laugh, her lips pressed together at his remark; despite all of the shitty things he had done, he was still the notorious John Murphy— the comedic relief despite everything going to utter hell around him. Griffin, on the other hand, didn't seem as amused by his antics. "Stay away from me."
"I was just trying to be helpful," he countered, and Maggie wondered if there was any teasing or mockery in his words. Scanning his features for any of the sort, nothing was sticking out as a joking matter.
Did the John Murphy suddenly just—evolve— out of the blue? Was he like that all along— or did he finally dawn upon the fact that he was acting like a total dick during their time at the drop ship.
"You were with him at the village," Clarke commented, catching her close friend to her right by surprise. She knew a lot about a lot of matters, but Murphy being partner in crime with Finn as he went rogue was not one of those matters.
"I tried to stop him," John tried to reason, and Maggie felt as if it weren't her place to express any thoughts, considering how she wasn't even there to witness it.
Still, his attempts at reconciliation didn't do it for the blue-eyed girl. "Not hard enough," she spat, continuing on the short walk to medical.
"You know what? You wanna start blaming people Clarke? He was out there looking for you," Murphy added, and Magnolia's eyes shut tightly for a moment. Realistically, he was right. Everything he was saying was true. But knowing Clarke, who was bearing enough as it was already, she couldn't put those deaths on herself.
"Come on," Maggie placed a hand on the top of her back, and the two made their way to go speak to Lincoln.
Surprisingly, not many people were in medical. At least that was a good thing. However, Abby didn't seem enthused when she saw the large rifle slung over Maggie Gray's shoulder and a guard jacket being worn. "Who'd you get that coat from?"
"Could whack me fifty times with a shock baton and I still wouldn't give you any names," she replied— to be fair, it was wholeheartedly honest. It would be one thing to screw herself over, but she wasn't going to do the same to somebody else in the process. "All due respect, but—" she then paused, not sure if she should be so blunt, but finished the thought anyway— "I would've gotten the stuff anyway. You've gotta trust me, Ms. Griffin."
Instead of her chancellor-like expression that was usually painted onto her features, Abby's jaw released. She wasn't thinking as if she were in charge; she was thinking from a parental point of view. Besides, Clarke trusted Maggie, so why couldn't she? "We'll set you up for guard training when your shoulder heals, how about that?"
"Sounds good to me, chancellor," she grinned in response.
Both of the Griffin's, along with Magnolia, made their way to where Lincoln was. Octavia was assisting him in adjusting the pillow on his lower back.
"He's not a reaper anymore. He doesn't need to be restrained," Clarke threw the remark out there, making eye contact with her mother for some form of accordance. Around his wrists, Lincoln had shackles keeping him in place, almost as if they were afraid he'd lash out once again.
Much to the two girls' surprise, he was actually the one who then answered. "Yes I do."
"Just tell us—" the chancellor changed the subject, returning the matter back to what mattered. Something needed to be done. "Is there a way to make peace?"
Inhaling deeply, Lincoln gazed to nowhere in particular, contemplating his response. "Did she leave riders behind?"
"Two just outside the gate," Abby's voice decreased in volume.
"They want Finn," Lincoln didn't take any moments to hesitate; that answer was definite and final. "You don't have much time to decide."
"She can't expect us to just hand over one of our own people," Octavia inched up to her boyfriend, and Maggie was seriously taken aback at the fact she wasn't siding with him. "Would she do that?"
"She wouldn't let her people die to protect a murderer. If you don't do this, she will kill everyone in this camp."
"There has to be something else we can offer," Ms. Griffin crossed her arms, still not fully believing the Grounder.
"Finn took eighteen lives. The commander's offering to just take one. Take the deal," Lincoln tried to sway the woman, but almost nobody in the room seemed to be having any of it.
Deep, deep down, Maggie genuinely believed what Lincoln was telling them; he wouldn't lie about something of that manner. And, if she was being even more honest with herself, she would've said that it was the right call.
Finn had been one of the first people she had befriended upon permanently leaving her cell over a month beforehand. They bonded over Raven, and they bonded over wanting to settle the feud with the Grounders peacefully. But following the war, it changed all of them.
Some worse than others. Finn was a prime example of that. Debatably, he had the most unfortunate mental health decline out of everyone. He was willing to kill anyone in cold blood just because of his personal attachment to Clarke and rescuing her. Going to war would just end up in more people being killed on both ends, but going to war over one person was downright impractical. Maggie might've argued that it was worth it ages ago, but her mindset had changed immensely.
Being on the ground taught her a sense of realism.
That didn't mean she wouldn't do what she could to protect him, though.
The blonde wasn't buying any of it, either. "How can you say that? Finn was the first person to come to you to offer peace. He's your friend!"
"He massacred my village," Lincoln calmly responded, not showing any signs of sadness or anguish. "Some of the dead were my friends, too."
"But that's not Finn," Clarke rebutted, doing anything she possibly could, but it wasn't worth it. He was not going to have a change of heart. It was all about perspective; if a Grounder came in and did that to their own people, would the chancellor still feel the same? "You know that's not who it is."
"It is now," Lincoln stated. "We've all got a monster inside of us Clarke. And we're all responsible for what it does when we let it out."
Abby looked down at the floor, pondering how to go about the situation. "What will they do to him?"
"Fire. Because he killed the innocent, it starts with fire."
"Starts?"
Lincoln didn't seemed fazed by any of it— he was talking about brutally murdering someone as if that was the complete opposite of what was actually being discussed. "They'll take his hands. His tongue. His eyes. And anyone who grieves will have a turn with the knife. Sunrise, the commander will handle it with her sword, but I've never known anyone to survive until the sword. He killed eighteen. He will suffer the pain of eighteen deaths. Then we can have peace."
"That's anything but peace," Maggie muttered under her breath. Maybe the Grounders wouldn't be camping outside their gate any longer, but peace was absolutely not the word to describe it.
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finn's death was literally so drawn-out, and i really realized that while writing these few chapters. anyway, thank you THE MOST for 27K!!!!!