XX

[PREVIOUSLY: As Octavia continues her training with Indra, a sequel of events take place in Polis. The entire army regroups, Lincoln returns, Raven explains the mysterious crashing of the Exodus Ship and Bellamy calls in with bad news].

Aidan.

They had him.

Mount Weather had Aidan.

I staggered backwards, an overwhelming fear clawing at my heart and scratching at my throat. Bitter tears swum in my eyes and my soul ached with an unbearable grief.

I shook my head in desperation. "No. No. It can't be true. Bellamy, you're lying."

"No, O," he whispered from the other end of the line. "I'm not. I'm sorry."

I swallowed hard. "I - I need to be alone," I breathed as I spun around and hurried out of the room.

I didn't know where I was going or how long it would take for me to get there. I just kept walking and walking and walking ... until I had exited the capitol by way of the back gates. Choking down the sobs that threatened to tear me apart from the inside, I slipped into the forest that was radiating with an ebony glow and sank down onto a bed of soft grass that was poking up through the blanket of dirt that covered the land.

Burying my face in my hands, I allowed the tears to come, the sobs to escape my lips, the haunting thoughts to rewind in my mind.

It had been one thing to lose Finn. But to lose Aidan too?

I couldn't even bear the thought.

Gulping back my emotions, I lifted my wet, puffy face and looked up towards the night-time sky, littered with millions of blinking lights.

Suddenly, a seething determination arose within me.

I was going to get him back!

I couldn't rest. I couldn't sleep. Not even for a second. For the remainder of the night, I practised with my sword out in the clearing that Indra often took me. I didn't stop, not even when my muscles were screaming in agony, not even when my throat became so parched it felt like it was on fire, not even when the sun appeared over the horizon.

It was only when I saw Indra approaching me did I cease and drop my weapon with a loud clatter to the ground.

She stopped and surveyed me with a great sobriety. She knew that I had been out there all night. She knew that I had been practising with a fury that was unlike anything I had ever felt before.

Reaching over, she placed a hand on my shoulder and spoke, "Octavia, as your mentor, I am ordering you to eat and get some rest. The battle takes place this very day and if you are to survive it, you must take care of yourself."

"I thought you said a warrior didn't care about himself?" I shot back between pants.

Indra shook her head. "That was before I realised how much potential you have, Octavia of the Sky People. You are one of us now. You fight with us. You fight alongside us. Your heart is like unto ours. You are a true warrior. But I will not lose you. Not today."

I heaved a deep sigh and ran my fingers through my thick, tangled mess of hair. "Alright," I reluctantly agreed.

Indra sent me a slight nod before guiding me over towards the Skikru quarters out back of the Tower.

I didn't realise how worn-out I was until my skin touched the bed-sheets.

It only felt like I had been lying there for a few minutes but, in reality, it was a few hours. One moment I had closed my eyes and the next, someone was shaking me awake, urging me to get up, to get ready.

It was time for war.

The trumpets blew all over Polis and the surrounding countryside. Warriors, in all shapes and sizes, masses and genders, gathered in the square just outside of the Royal Tower. National anthems, war cries and chants chiming for vengeance rang throughout the afternoon air, causing the very ground upon which they stood to tremble.

No one could quiet them. Not even if they wanted too.

In a matter of moments, Princess Lexa emerged onto a balcony overlooking the vast multitude, Indra, Clarke and Kane by her side. She was donned in her maroon cape, twisted ivory crown and jet-black war-paint. Her curved sword hung by her side and her belt was lined with skulls and bones that jingled each time she moved.

Raising her hands, Lexa maintained the attention of the mob. "The mountain has cast a shadow over these woods for too long!" she shouted. "They've hunted us, controlled us, turned us into monsters. That ends today! Thanks to our alliance with the Sky People, the mountain will fall. We spare the innocent. As for the guilty ... Jus drein jus daun (Blood must have blood)!"

"Jus drein jus daun! Jus drein jus daun! Jus drein jus daun! Jus drein jus daun!"

The vicious screams of the army permeated the air, echoing across the mountains, rattling the windows, wreaking fear throughout the valley.

Lexa nodded in approval as she surveyed the army. She withdrew her sword and held it high in the air. "To war!" she bellowed.

With shouts of triumph, yells of eagerness and voices dripping with blood-lust, the army marched rapidly out of Polis and advanced towards the mountain that loomed, like a dark, threatening shadow, across the land.

Lexa, escorted by her personal company of body-guards, joined the troops near the front of the procession alongside Indra and Clarke. I, meanwhile, fell behind the forces and ended up at the rear with Lincoln, Zoe and Bryce.

"I thought you were a peace-loving advocate?" I addressed Lincoln as we passed through the rocky terrain bordering the edge of the mountain.

Lincoln shrugged. "I am. But my commander is in there. My people are in there. I have to get them out. Desperate times call for desperate measures."

I nodded, a half-smile forming around my lips. "You're right. They do. Well, I'm glad you could join us, partner."

We walked along in silence for a while until Lincoln touched my elbow and motioned to a small group of soldiers breaking away from the main body of grounders. "I think that's your cue," he whispered in my ear.

Surprised, I swivelled my head around to see the tall, regal form of Indra heading the company of soldiers.

I was her second. I had no choice but to go with her.

I sighed as I kept a firm grip on the handle of my sword. "Thanks. See you at the end."

Lincoln sent me a firm nod in response. "Stay safe, Peace Keeper."

I guffawed. "Peace Keeper? More like Warrior."

Lincoln narrowed his eyes at me as I turned and sprinted after Indra's horde of warriors.

"Octavia, wait up!"

Startled, I turned to see Zoe running after me. "What are you doing, Zo?" I queried. "Go back to the others."

Zoe shook her head. "No. I want to stay with you. I need to make sure you're okay."

I set my lips into a long, firm line as I placed a gentle hand on her back. "You don't need to do this."

"Yes. I do," she nodded her brown head importantly. "C'mon. Let's get moving. We have a mountain to overcome."

"Huh. Literally," I huffed.

It wasn't long before the main combination of armies was completely out of sight and ear-shot. As our smaller group, following Indra's lead, scrambled over fallen logs and bush-bashed through thick clusters of underbrush, I realised how alone and vulnerable we were.

Just then, Indra flung up an arm, stopping us all mid-movement. Her dark, sharp eyes travelled across the forest and her body stiffened in alarm.

"General, what's wrong?" one of her comrades spoke up in confusion.

Indra shook her head as she pointed to a break in the trees in front of us. "It's fog."

"Fog?" I repeated.

Indra heaved a deep breath before explaining, "Acid fog. It covers the country once every few years. It is very deadly. You get caught in it and you die from the suffocating fumes. We have to run."

Withdrawing her sword, she let out a loud shout, "Follow me! We can still get to the tunnels!"

As everyone broke into a run, I chanced a quick glance behind me and froze.

Waves, billowing waves, waves a misty orange colour, waves that smelled strongly of acidic toxin, rolled down the hills towards us.

"C'mon, Octavia, what are you doing? Run!" Zoe screamed as she grabbed my arm and pulled me along.

This seemed to snap me back into my senses and without wasting anymore time, I rushed after her and the others.

"The tunnels are just up ahead!" someone cried. "I can see them!"

These words of encouragement seemed to pump a force of adrenaline into my veins. Overtaking Zoe, I pushed myself to my max, forcing my legs to comply, my muscles to cooperate.

Then I spotted it: the shadowy hole leading right into the back of the mountain.

It was the entrance into the tunnels.

We were going to make it.

We were going to survive.

A sharp scream erupted from behind me. Horrified, I skidded to a halt and spun around to see Zoe, writhing on the floor in pain. The toxic fumes had overtaken her legs and were swirling up towards her head!

"Zoe! No!" I shrieked.

Covering my nose and mouth with the sleeve of my jacket, I went back for her. Seizing her arm, I draped it over my neck and pulled her limp body up into a standing position.

"C'mon, Zo, you can do it!" I urged, my voice slightly muffled by the leather material enclosing my mouth. "We're nearly there!"

Crying and convulsing in pain, Zoe could do nothing more than utter one word: "Peter."

I dragged her into the safety of the tunnels, shielding her from the coming onslaught of acidic fog as it suddenly rushed past the entrance, lingering dangerously around the outskirts of the cave.

"Oh god," I heaved as I dropped Zoe onto the hard-packed floor. Brushing her hair out of her face, I whispered, "You're gonna be alright. You're gonna be alright."

"A light! We need a light!" Indra called out.

One of her warriors struck a piece of flint over the end of a torch, immediately illuminating the dark, suffocating air swamping us.

As the flickering flame of the fire fell across Zoe's body, one that was slowly melting from the acidic fumes, I tried to choke back a sob, "Oh Zo."

"Peter..." she clawed at my hand. "Peter...tell him...I loved him."

I nodded, tears dripping down my cheeks. "I will. I promise."

A movement occurred from beside me and I turned to see Indra crouching down next to Zoe. Placing a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder, she whispered, "Yu gonplei ste odon (Your fight is over)."

Swallowing hard, I sat back, clasping Zoe's hand with a fond intensity. I turned away and closed my eyes when I saw the silver flash of Indra's knife.

As Indra withdrew the blade from Zoe's mangled throat, the light died from within her eyes. As her last breath escaped her lips, her body fell limp and her fingers, that had been entwined with mine, grew stiff with cold.

For a moment, I couldn't move, I was in too much shock.

I was roused when Indra stood up and gazed down at me. "We must carry on."

Bowing my head in sorrow, I let go of Zoe's hand and pushed myself up into a standing position. Then, I followed Indra and her warriors deep into the dark, formidable heart of the mountain.

I don't know how long we walked until we reached our destination. I don't know how many short-cuts we had to take to avoid the groups of Reapers roaming the rocky walls. I don't know when we arrived at the huge metal grate leading into Mount Weather or how long we stood there, waiting, watching, listening.

All I could feel was pain.

I was jolted out of my stunned stupor by the piercing sound of a horn.

"That's the call for retreat," Indra frowned as she straightened up.

"Retreat?" I queried, horrified. "What? Why? Bellamy hasn't let us in yet!"

"I don't know what's going on but I do know this: our Princess needs us and we're leaving now."

As Indra started off, the rest of her warriors in tow, I stood still, glancing between her and the door that I was situated in front of.

If I left, Zoe's death would be in vain. If I left, Bellamy, Aidan and the others would forever be trapped within the mountain. If I left, no one would be there when the doors opened.

"No."

Even I was surprised by the determination in my voice.

Indra paused before whirling around to face me. Advancing threateningly towards me, she growled, "I just gave you a direct order."

"I know," I swallowed. "But I can't leave. I won't."

Indra sent me a glare so fierce that, if I had been in any other situation, I would be trembling with fear.

However, I stood tall and meet her gaze with a venom of my own.

"I'm not leaving," I confirmed.

In one swift motion, Indra snatched out a knife from her belt and pressed it against my collar-bone. My breath hitched in my throat as I watched the blade slice through a sliver of my skin.

"You are no longer my second," she pronounced as she drew back.

I lifted my fingers to my collar-bone, feeling the moist drops of blood as it trickled down my shirt.

"Indra!" I called out. "You can't leave me in here alone!"

"You made your decision," she hissed. "Now you have to pay the price."

Then, I was left behind, gasping for air and breathless from fright, watching as Indra and her warriors disappeared into the shadows of the tunnels.

Tears squeezed their way out of my eyes and cascaded down my cheeks as I realised what had happened.

I had been betrayed.

Gif: Octavia and Clarke as they march alongside the army.

XX