Meanwhile, the battle for the hallway was still going on, with both sides taking casualties, albeit not monstrous numbers, every man or woman that's injured or killed can change the tide of this battle.
Although I managed to rush the first "line of defense" killing one soldier and forcing another three to go into the middle of the hallway, it wasn't exactly what you would call a victory for us. Besides, there was no way in hell anyone could charge the enemy position through ten meters of open ground, as well as a corner. Thankfully, we found out that the walls that separate the rooms were that thick, and by taking down the walls between those rooms, we could advance our offensive, though it was a little bit on the slower side.
As I was waiting for my turn to dig into the wall, I heard Byrne's voice calling me from across the other room.
"Leon! Come here !"
Until now, she didn't order me or even called me for anything, so it must be something pretty important if she especially wants me to hear it. Not even a minute later, I stood in front of her, waiting for an explanation.
"Clarke just informed us that one of the soldiers took another path towards the command center. They are locked inside and that piece of shit is going to blow the door of the command center up. Can you help them?"
"If I get there in time, then yes, I will be able to get rid of that soldier."
"What are you waiting for then?"
I didn't waste any more time and as soon as I heard her remark, I rushed back to where my friends were, while leaving Byrne in charge of the assault, not that she wasn't already the de facto leader.
Back inside the Command Center, Clarke was struggling to make a decision even now, when the life of her mother as well as most of her friends was at stake.
"Dad, I'll take care of our people. So please let me carry your burden." Suddenly, it became inherently clear to Dante what he should do. Besides, by now he realized that there was only one way out for him and that was death. The old man turned and glanced at Clarke before he decided to ease the girl's burden.
"None of us has a good choice here, Clarke. We just do what we can and hope it's the best for our own people and not what it would do to other people."
"I didn't want this to end in such a horrible way, sir."
"Neither did I want to kill hundreds of people when I became the president, but that doesn't mean I wasn't guilty, Clarke. I hope it would be worth it for your people."
With a heavy heart and teary eyes, Clarke gripped the gun tighter in her as she almost pierced the man's chest. She wanted to shut her eyes and wake up in her bed, hoping that everything was just a nightmare but she knew that wasn't how it worked. She forced her eyes to stay open as she looked into Dante's eyes with pure, cold hatred yet a tiny bit of guilt and regret for not being better than they are. The Mountain had taken everything she had, not only did they take her mother, but also it took her own life with it when they captured her the first time. She was no longer that girl that stepped out of the drop ship with the hope of peace on Earth. She was no longer that girl that wanted a fair and just society and above all, she wasn't the same innocent girl that would rather use diplomacy to solve a conflict than fight. All of those painful times, all of the fights, deaths, and sacrifices made her into another person, one that even she has a hard time recognizing.
"Clarke, you don't have to do this. You have a choice, be different from them!" Raven tried to change Clarke's mind, but alas to no success, after all even if she spares Dante's life, Cage would still kill their friends for a chance to go back to the surface, no matter what he would have to sacrifice to achieve it.
Just as she was about to pull the trigger, someone fired and in the next second, Dante's body fell to the ground. As soon as Dante hit the floor, Clarke revealed a confused look on her face as she stared at Dante's chest and its blood falling on the ground. Other than Clarke, everyone else saw Bellamy shooting the old man in the chest, ending him as well as making the point Clarke needed, on the monitor, Cage was staring in disbelief at a wall and flinched when he heard the gunshot, indicating that his father died.
"Cage, I don't want anyone else to die, so stop forcefully drilling for their bone marrow so that we can talk."
"Or else what! Have your friends killed more of my people again? Please, Clarke, don't you think it's a little bit disrespectful?"
"You still don't believe me capable of doing it, no? Well then, you will have to listen to me very carefully. I killed your father and whether you believe it or not, I will kill you, too eventually. However, if you don't do as I say and let our people go, I will irradiate Level Five and kill everyone inside this mountain that is not immune to radiation. Is that clear?"
Cage didn't respond to Clarke's threat, instead, he contacted Emerson, who soon got his new orders. A few seconds later, he appeared outside of the command center, most likely thanks to a hidden passage that only Cage and a few other soldiers may know of this alternative passage. It didn't take a genius to realize what he was planning to do with that bag of explosives.
"Finn, see if you can contact Leon, Monroe, or even Byrne! We need help or else Emerson will blow the door."
Suddenly, Raven, who was silent until now, found something that may just end this whole fight against Mt. Weather.
"Guys, I think I found out how to take care of our problem."
"What?"
"Irradiate the whole bunker."
"Wait for a second Clarke. We can't just kill them all."
"No, Monty, we have to. Otherwise, they will simply kill our friends before our people can get to them."
"If we do this, there is no going back, Clarke! We all will be responsible for killing hundreds of people."
"It's already too late for all of us. So what's the point of even debating?"
"One last time, Clarke, are you sure?"
"I'm sure Bellamy. Raven, let me do it."
Before Clarke could drag the lever, Finn put his hand over hers, followed by Bellamy, then Monty, and in the end Raven. Clarke looked at all of them, her friends that were willing to share her burden with her. Clarke nodded and they let the lever underneath them slowly pull back towards them. A few seconds later, everything went into chaos as alarms and yellow lights change the whole bunker. The alarm began to sound and on the monitors, they could see every resident of this bunker dying in inhumane conditions. Radiations are a bitch and the dead that follow isn't the most pleasant one.
As soon as the last person fell to the ground, the door of the command center flew open, and the body of a soldier crashed on the floor.
"What in the seven hells have you done?"