It didn't take the rest of the rangers to wake up from whatever we got intoxicated with to disperse once the person, who kept using it died, thought Zoe wasn't exactly alright once she woke up. Thankfully, Lee and the two odd rangers quickly recovered their strength after resting for a few minutes.
As the leader of my team, Lee was the one to check the bodies of the hefbis lovers for anything that may help them take care of the problem for good. Not long after he starts looking through pockets and bags, Lee showed us a rather sizeable bottle with something liquid in it.
"That my friends, is what almost got us killed."
"Acid, ain't it?"
"Aye, brother, not zip it up and let the man explain."
"Thanks, Lennon, anyways, this shit is both used by our medics and healers to treat the wounded, especially the ones with mortal injuries, making their sufferings just a tiny bit easier. On the other hand, some of the tribes actually use this concoction as a weapon, and as we all found out it's definitely not something easy to overcome or prepared against. "
Lee took a second to glance at me before she shook his head. "Thankfully for all of us, our new rookie here somehow didn't get that affected by it, which to be honest may have just saved our asses."
He wasn't wrong, though. My body was adapting to this drug, and while this was only the second time I was affected by the acid, it was notably shorter than when the girl used it on me back in the library. Whatever my mother and that doctor did to me may have just saved my life, and until I know for sure what they did to me, I would have to experiment by myself. Who knows, maybe I would get immunity for drugs in the future, or maybe I would produce it myself.
"As I said, thanks to Leon, we live to see another day. Let's get the rest of our boys and get home. Oh and rookies…"
Both Zoe and I looked at Lee, not knowing what he was going to say before he smiled at us.
"You two and your friend would love being under Sam for the next few weeks."
Just like that, we spent the next few months between training with the rangers, learning how to hunt like the grounders, and hunting down the rest of the hefbis and their human helpers.
After more than three months since they left, Bellamy was rather forced to take over the delinquents since they didn't listen to the harsh condition Abby and Marcus forced on them. After all, they all took part in the war against the grounders, and thanks to the blood, sweat, and their now-dead friends, they were given a chance at a new life down here, but Abby's idea of democracy destroyed their hopes of having even the tiniest bit of freedom.
While they didn't complain about the work they had to do, almost every one of them, Bellamy and Raven as well, didn't like the way Abby suddenly decided to treat them. After one month since Clarke and Leon left, Abby become more unpredictable and because of that, she used almost everything to search for her daughter, even sacrificing a few guards just so that she could find her daughter whom she involuntarily forced to commit genocide so that she could be saved.
Shaking his head to forget about all of the burdens that befallen him, the new leader of the delinquents has had his ass handed over by his little sister's boyfriend.
Bellamy's chest rose and fell with heavy panting as Lincoln loomed over him with a tightly clenched fist residing next to his face. He could've tried to gain the drop on him, but Bellamy didn't really want to spend all day in the training room getting his ass kicked by his sister's boyfriend. That, and there was the small issue that he felt like his back had split in half from the flip Lincoln tested on him. The grounder turned to all of the delinquents observing their fight with a professional look on his face.
"As all of you saw, Bellamy had me, but he was too aggressive to realize that he was only giving me more chances to use his body against him."
"Whatever you say. I don't have time to argue with you about who's better." Bellamy threw a look and a scoff over his shoulder as he put on his shirt so that he could leave. Not wanting to be left alone with the delinquents, Lincoln turned around at him as the crowd chuckled.
"Quitting so soon? Didn't you bolster last night that you are undefeated?"
Bellamy only threw him a hateful glance, before grabbing his jacket.
"Mapping run. Sector 7. Harper! Let's get our daily run done."
Right as he slipped his shirt over his shoulder, Harper turned to her side and grabbed the jacket she was instructed to give to Lincoln. She tossed it to him, and the Grounder caught the jacket effortlessly in his hand. He looked down at it with both confusion and reservations, but Bellamy walked over to him.
"Marcus and Byrne want you to have that, you deserve more than this for what you have done to us."
"I'm Trikru, Bellamy. I can't accept this jacket, everything I did, was for Octavia."
"I know that you did it for O, but still, a uniform doesn't change what you are, it just makes you look better." As he said that, Bellamy smiled for a second before he turned back to his previous self." Not to mention, that this is our home now, Lincoln. We fought for it, people died for it."
As he was speaking, Bellamy turned his head to the crowd of teenagers that were looking at them. "Too many of our friends died for it and many of us shed blood for a safe place. On the Ark, the uniform meant something different. Down here, it means what we make it mean. Together."
While everyone was doing their own things, he leaned forward to Lincoln and whispered. "My sister will understand that eventually. After all, whether she likes it or not, you live here now, no matter what she says."
Harper walked beside Bellamy, who turned and walked away with her, but as they did, Lincoln took charge of the delinquents and had them simulate the fighting themselves so they could learn. As they moved into their positions, Lincoln came up behind Bellamy just as the older Blake grabbed his own uniform so that he and Harper could head out.
"Hey, you and the team are going to Sector 7? That puts you right at the Ice Nation border."
"I know, but you must have heard about the rumors, right?"
"Yeah, a group of three people was taking out the slavers and the cannibals. Nevertheless, just because Azgeda is part of the Commander's coalition doesn't mean they respect the ceasefire, Lexa and Abby made. I just hoped I could be part of the scouting party."
"I wish. We all do. But until the Commander agrees to lift the kill order on you, you're more trouble than you're worth." With that being said, Bellamy walked out of the training room only to walk into another room where he knew Kane would be, mapping the area as they had been doing for the past three months. When he walked in, after his knock, he watched Marcus put a finger to his lips cautiously. Bellamy could see that Dr. Griffin was lying on the couch in the other part of the room, sleeping away. He didn't think much of it, not that it was his business anyways, but even a blind person could see that Kane and Griffin had been nearly inseparable since their return from Mount Weather. Maybe that's why in the last week or so, Abby started changing the way she treated everyone and actually eased up her search for Clarke.
"This is the first sleep she had in two days. Everything just piles on her head, not to mention Clarke and Leon's sudden defection."
"I'll be quick, then. We're going into Sector 7, there are rumors that a group of three people had caused massive losses to the Azgeda, and from the way, the grounders describe the attack, I could only imagine a single person who would be so brutal with them. I think we should arm the entire unit if we are to bring our friends back home."
Kane hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement. "If you really think that Leon, Monroe, and Glukhovsky are the cause for Azgeda's losses then, permission granted. But, I hope you remember the rules of engagement, and yes they still apply, no matter who's part of that group. Non-lethal response. We can't afford another war with the grounders, especially now that we are searching for survivors."
"Copy that, sir. Ask first then shoot, duly noted."
"Bellamy…" Marcus called him back, causing Bellamy to turn around to face Kane once again. The older man walked forward precariously. "…the grounders didn't attack us since we eliminated Mount Weather. That's three months of peace for everyone. Our people believe that this is real peace. Try not to screw that up."
"Yes, Sir."