The sun began to rise over the desolate landscape as our group, consisting of myself, Bellamy, Miller, and the others, made our way back to the second-dawn bunker. As we approached the area where a fountain was once, we saw a flurry of activity among the people gathered there. Many of them were hastily arming themselves with weapons, while others were packing bags with provisions and supplies. Which wasn't exactly comforting, to say the least, considering how Octavia had become over the years.
At the same time, Bellamy's brow furrowed in confusion, as he looked at the scene before turning to Miller, who had been with us throughout the whole night. "Miller, what the hell is happening here?"
Miller's gaze shifted from the commotion to meet Bellamy's eyes, mirroring his confusion. He hesitated for a moment, trying to find an answer, but came up empty-handed. "I... I don't know," Miller admitted. "I was with you guys last night. I have no idea what's been going on down here, but if I were to guess, I'd say that Blodreina is going to war."
Just as Echo was about to comment on that, I saw one of Indra's men walking towards a group of armed grounders and before he could reach them, I block him in his path, making the man glance at me as if I killed his entire family.
"Wan Oseleya!" The man shouted before spitting at my feet. The way he looked at me made me wonder what in the seven hells did I do to him, then again the sheer number of dead grounders that died at my hands wasn't exactly easy to count either. Thought to be called the Champion of Death wasn't all that nice either.
Hearing the commotion, my friends and Madi quickly came over. Miller, recognizing the man, approaches him. "What happened why is everyone arming themselves?"
The grounder looked at Miller for a second before turning his attention back to me. "A traitor doesn't need to know what Blodreina does!"
As the grounder's words hung in the air, a tense silence settled over the area. The few dozen grounders that had gathered around us were slowly but surely reaching out for their weapons and swords.
Instinctively, my hand tightened around the man's shoulder, as I brought him to his knees. I could see the fear in his eyes, and without hesitation, I pressed the barrel of my rifle against his mouth, after all, the best way to make a ground sing was to give him an instrument.
"What the hell is going on?" I growled and while the words came out harsher than intended, it did help the grounder weigh his choices as his eyes darted between mine and my gun. He hesitated for a moment, before he relented, understanding that there was no other choice.
"Blodreina... she's calling everyone to war," he muttered, his voice muffled by the weapon in his mouth. "We…march to Shallow Valley."
Hearing his words, I made a decision. Releasing my grip on the grounder, I took a step back, before turning towards my friends and Madi.
"We can't let this escalate into a war," I said as calmly as I could, but deep down, I was struggling to keep my facade from being shown. "We need to find a way to stop Octavia, to bring her back to reason. Lives depend on it."
Just then, the grounder that spilled the beans runs behind me and shoves his rifle into my back. "You can't just do whatever the hell you want here!"
The sudden movement caught me off guard. My friends, however, were quick to intervene. Bellamy and Miller sprang into action, swiftly grabbing hold of the grounder and wrestling him to the ground. Meanwhile, Harper and Emori, knowing very well what I could do when mad, positioned themselves in front of me.
Madi, on the other hand, observed the scene in awe as her eyes were practically sparkling in excitement to hear more about my past. As the grounder was restrained on the ground, struggling against Bellamy and Miller's grip, I turned my attention back to him.
"Listen to me. One way or another, I will find Octavia. I will bring her to her senses and put an end to this madness. You and your people need to understand," I continued, my tone carrying a warning. "If anyone dares to charge forward like a mass of suicidal idiots, they will die. And I won't hesitate to defend innocent lives, even if it means breaking a few legs to stop them."
The man didn't say anything and since there was no point talking with an idiot like him, we left him alone before making our way towards the ruin where Octavia and Indra were planning their mad assault.
As we were approaching, we could hear Octavia's voice, talking to the others inside. "They don't know we're coming, so all three Northern passes will be wide open. But the village will be fortified. Where's the water source?"
Then we heard Indra asking Octavia, "Why? What are you thinking?"
Bloody hell, Octavia was crazy enough to poison the last drinkable source of water we have nearby. That was when we walk inside and the first person to react was a woman with tattoos running down her forehead. "Miller, where were you last-"
But before she could complete her sentence, he cuts her off quickly. "Does it matter? Since no one had come to search for me anyways."
Octavia looks at him in surprise, but she turns towards her brother and me nonetheless. "What's the meaning of this Bellamy?"
"O, this is madness," he said firmly. "We can't go down this path. There has to be another way."
Indra, standing by Octavia's side, tightened her grip on her sword, ready to strike if necessary. She looked at Bellamy disappointed that the brother of her commander wasn't seeing the bigger picture.
Before Indra could make a move, a knife flashed past her head, embedding itself in the wall with a resounding thud and all eyes turned toward me.
"If you couldn't win five years ago, do you think you can now?" I challenged Indra when I saw her ready to attack Bellamy. "Octavia, you're leading your people to their doom, poisoning the water source we all depend on. This isn't the solution, and you know it. Not to mention that this is the sandstorm season and you won't be able to take the route you plan to."
She didn't look at me, instead, she turned toward the tattooed woman. "The sea is gone. Do our scouts tell you if it's passable or not?"
"Yes, Blodreina. The sea is passable. As we speak our warriors are preparing for the journey ahead."
"Let's move out."
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