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Aleta stumbled slightly as Clarke continued to drag her through the crowd of teenagers. "Why are we finding Bellamy?" She asked. "Because we'll need him," the blonde said. "For what?" The brunette questioned. Clarke stopped and Aleta almost ran into her back.

"Were you not paying attention to the conversation that we were having with Finn?" Clarke asked. "Uh, some of it. But I got distracted," Aleta answered. "By what?" Clarke asks. Aleta looked down at the ground. "My hands," she admitted in embarrassment. Clarke shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips. "Come on, I'll fill you in on the way," the blonde said.

The two continued walking until they spotted the person that they were looking for. "Hey. I need to talk to you," Clarke said as they got closer to him. "Having fun yet, princess?" He asked the blonde. "I'm serious," Clarke said and the two stopped walking. "You always are, so talk," Bellamy replied.

"Finn's set up a meeting with the grounders. We're leaving to go talk to them," Clarke explained, gesturing to herself and Aleta. "Because you think that impaling people on spears is code for 'let's be friends'? Have you lost your damn mind?" Bellamy began before turning to Aleta. "And you, you're drunk," he accused, pointing a finger at her.

"She's fine," Clarke dismissed. "Yeah, what she said," Aleta muttered. Bellamy gave Clarke a look of annoyance before giving Aleta a look of disbelief. "Not too long ago, you were stumbling around camp and talking about a secret mission. You think that's fine?" He said. "Well, I'm fine now. Kinda," Aleta responded. Clarke got back to the topic at hand. "Look, I think it might be worth a shot. I mean, we do have to live with these people," she said.

"They'll probably gut you, string you up as a warning," Bellamy stated, looking between the two girls. Clarke nudged Aleta who sighed. "That's kinda why we're here. Come with us. Be our backup, since you're so worried," Aleta said and Clarke nodded. "Does Finn know about this?" He asked. "Finn doesn't need to know. And Bellamy, bring guns," Clarke said. The boy nodded and the two girls walked in the opposite direction of him.

••••

"Look guys. Maybe I shouldn't be walking through the woods to my possible death. I mean, I know I said I was fine but I did drink. So maybe my cognitive functions aren't up to par at the moment," Aleta said as the three made their way to the meeting place.

Clarke had just finished looking over Finn's wound and Aleta was already tired of walking. "You seem fine to me," Finn commented in slight annoyance. "You know Finn, you're an ass," Aleta retorted, "I could stumble into oblivion and you wouldn't even care."

"Well if you keep talking, I definitely wouldn't," he replied. "And here I thought we were friends," she muttered. "You haven't really been all that friendly to me lately," he responded. Aleta scowled at him, "And why do you think that is?" Finn didn't say anything and Aleta scoffed. "Raven deserves someone a lot better than you." Finn stopped in his tracks and looked at her as she continued walking. "What did you just say?" He questioned. Aleta slowed to a stop and turned to him. "You heard me," she nonchalantly replied.

"And what makes you say that?" He asked. "You know exactly what, Collins," Aleta snapped. He averted his gaze to Clarke before turning back to Aleta. "All right guys, that's enough. We have somewhere to be, remember?" Clarke interjected, pulling the two's eyes away from each other and to her.

Aleta said nothing as she walked forward, Clarke and Finn following. She slowed slightly and allowed Finn to take the lead, seeing as she didn't know where they are going.

After a while of walking, the sun rose on the horizon and the three stumbled onto the bridge. As soon as Aleta was on the bridge, she noticed Octavia's form, pacing back and forth. "So that's how you set this up. You helped him escape, didn't you?" Clarke realized. "I trust him, Clarke," Octavia said.

"There's a lot of that going around," Clarke replied as she looked at Finn. "So I'm here because you wanted me to come?" Aleta asked Octavia who shook her head. "Lincoln did," the younger girl stated, to which Aleta nodded slowly in confusion. It was quiet for a brief moment until Finn spoke.

"Someone's coming," he informed. The four turned toward the opposite end of the bridge and saw a figure. He ran down the bridge towards them and Aleta realized that it's the grounder, Lincoln. Octavia went to him and the two hug, Lincoln lifting her body slightly off the ground.

Clarke nudged Aleta and tilted her head to the side. The brunette followed her gaze but didn't see anything. Clarke took a few steps backward and Finn took her hand, stopping her. Aleta gave him a look of disgust. A sound brought her attention to the end of the bridge as figures approached.

"Oh my God. Horses!" Clarke said in amazement. Three people on horses approached the bridge. The one in the center of the trio was a woman with dark makeup on her eyes. "Hey! We said no weapons," Finn exclaimed as he ran forward with Clarke, his hand still in hers. Aleta followed behind reluctantly. "I was told there wouldn't be," Lincoln informed. Aleta did a double take when she heard him speak. That was not how she imagined his voice to sound.

"It's too late now," Clarke said, her eyes moving to Aleta. Finn walked forward with Clarke, only for Lincoln to stop him by placing his hand on Finn's chest. "She goes alone," Lincoln stated. "Uh, I don't think so," Aleta protested, shaking her head. "I'll be fine," Clarke assured. "And you know that, how?" Aleta questioned. Clarke attempted to give her a reassuring smile.

"Clarke—" Finn started only to be cut off by the blonde. "It's time to do better," she stated. "I don't like this idea, Clarke," Aleta said. Clarke turned to her, "It'll be okay. Trust me." She then walked forward and toward the woman who dismounted her horse. Aleta moved to stand next to Octavia, who had an unsure look on her face.

The two women met at the center of the bridge and began to converse. Aleta couldn't hear what they are saying and she sighed. "What do you think they're saying?" Aleta asked. "I don't know," Octavia answered. Aleta then turned her attention to Lincoln. "So, why did you want me to come? It's not like I'm bringing anything important to this meeting," she questioned.

His eyes met hers. "You were very against torturing me. I assumed that you would want peace. I wanted you to be here when we got it," Lincoln answered. Aleta nodded, "Well thanks, I guess." She then turned back to Clarke and the grounder woman.

Aleta strained her ears in an attempt to hear their conversation. When she still couldn't hear anything, she sighed again. "I wish I knew what they were saying," she muttered. The sound of a loud cry startled her. "Clarke run!" Aleta heard. She turned her head in every direction, trying to locate the source. "Run!" Jasper yelled again. He then started shooting his rifle in different directions.

Aleta ducked as Octavia pushed her down by her back. "What the hell?" Aleta shrieked. She looked over at Clarke and ran over to her as multiple shots were fired. "No! Get down!" Finn yelled. Aleta felt a sharp pain on her upper arm before she tackled Clarke to the ground. The girl groaned and looked at her arm, where a grounder's arrow pierced through, thankfully only grazing her. That same black blood began to trickle down her arm.

"Are you okay?" She asked Clarke who gulped and nodded. Finn ran over to the two as quickly as he can. "Finn, get back!" Clarke called, though he ignored her. The boy quickly helped them stand and gripped both of their arms. Aleta's hand clutched her bleeding arm as the three ran toward the direction that they came from, staying low to avoid bullets and arrows.

Aleta was gasping as she reached where Lincoln and Octavia stood. Lincoln was pulling an arrow out of his chest and Aleta's eyes widened. The three reached the couple and Lincoln began giving them orders. "Run! Don't stop till you get behind your walls. Go! Take her!" He said, before pushing Octavia into them. He looked at Aleta, his eyes trailing down to where she clutched her arm. The black liquid spilled out between her fingers and his eyes snapped up to meet hers, his holding shock.

Aleta took ahold of Octavia's arm and began pulling her away. "Lincoln no!" Octavia shouted as she was pulled. Her voice brought him out of his confused daze and he looked away from Aleta and back to Octavia. "Go!" He yelled back. Clarke took ahold of Octavia's other arm and helped Aleta pull the girl away from the bridge.

The group began running through the forest, meeting up with Jasper, Raven, and Bellamy. They all ran quickly, dodging trees and jumping over branches. It began to grow dark as they all continued running.

Once they reached the gates of camp, they all stopped running and caught their breaths. Aleta breathed heavily and placed her arms on top of her head, trying to further open up her airways. She hissed as she remembered the injury to her arm and put them back down. She returned her blackened hand to the injury and pressed down, trying to further slow the bleeding.

Finn was resting his hands on his knees as he glared up at Bellamy. "You got something to say?" Bellamy questioned breathlessly. "Yeah, I told you no guns!" Finn exclaimed, pointing at Clarke. "I told you we couldn't trust the grounders. I was right," the blonde retorted.

"And why didn't you tell me what you were up to?" Raven asked her boyfriend, voice raised. "I tried, but you were too busy making bullets for your guns," Finn replied. "You're lucky she brought that. They came there to kill you, Finn," Bellamy said loudly. "You don't know that! Jasper fired the first shot!" Finn yelled.

"You ruined everything," Octavia breathed, eyes on Jasper. She quickly turned around and stalked into camp. "I saved you!" Jasper yelled at her retreating form. "You're welcome," he muttered, following her into camp.

"Well if we weren't at war already, we sure as hell are now," Finn stated. Aleta rolled her eyes at the boy. "You didn't have to trust the grounders, you just had to trust me," Finn added, looking at Clarke. Aleta scoffed and glared at the boy. "Trust you? You haven't exactly proved yourself to be a trustworthy person," Aleta said.

"Shut up Aleta," Finn hissed. "Don't talk to her like that," Raven snapped. "No, Raven. It's fine," Aleta said. "No, it's not," Bellamy objected. Aleta eyed him briefly before turning back to Finn. "You're just mad because you know I'm right," she said. Finn rolled his eyes and looked away from her.

"I knew that there was a reason that I didn't like you at first. Should've followed my gut," Aleta said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm bleeding and need to patch up my arm," she informed, turning away from them and walking into camp. "Yeah, I'll help you with that," Clarke said.

"Don't bother," Aleta snapped, looking at the blonde. Clarke paused her steps and a look of hurt flashed across her face. Aleta sighed, "I can do it on my own." Finn and Raven walked past her and into camp. "Aleta, just let her help you," Bellamy said. She turned her stare onto him. "Don't tell me what to do, Bellamy," she told him.

"Don't be so difficult, Aleta," he retorted. "I'm being difficult? Really?" She asked. "All I'm saying is that Clarke was training to be a doctor. She can help you wrap your arm," he said tiredly. "I was training to be a doctor too. Or did you forget? I think I can wrap my own damn arm up," Aleta snapped.

"It's fine. If she wants to wrap her own arm, then she can," Clarke interjected. Aleta pressed her hand against the wound even harder. "You know what, do whatever you want, Aleta," Bellamy said in annoyance. The brunette girl opened her mouth to reply but a booming noise from the sky caught her attention.

The girl looked up and took a few steps forward and toward Bellamy and Clarke, who were also looking up at the sky. Aleta saw a blueish light, that was falling from the sky. "The Exodus ship?" Bellamy inquired, squinting his eyes. "Your parents are early," he said, glancing between the two.

Clarke released a breathy laugh and Aleta smiled up at the sky. "You think Freya and Sarai are on that ship too?" Clarke asked, her tone hopeful. "I wish," Aleta mumbled. She squinted up at the falling object and frowned. "Wait. Too fast. No parachute? Something's wrong," Clarke realized. Aleta's frown deepened and she walked to stand beside the blonde. "This doesn't look good," she said, voice trembling. She gripped her wounded arm tighter.

The Exodus ship descended faster and faster and Aleta's breathing picked up. The ship crashed into the distance, an explosion following. Aleta gasped and stumbled backward. Her legs felt weak as she backed into Bellamy. His arms wrapped around her as her legs gave out. In front of her, Clarke fell to the ground.

Aleta was gasping for air, thoughts of her wounded arm leaving her head. She gazed at where the ship had crashed. Bellamy grunted before lowering the two to the ground. Tears filled her eyes and quickly begin to trickle down her face. "No, no, no, no, no," she mumbled to herself over and over again.

She began to wriggle around in Bellamy's hold and his grip on her tightened. "Let go. Let go of me!" She exclaimed. "No," he whispered. "Let me go!" She was sobbing now. Bellamy pulled her closer, attempting to comfort her. "It's okay. It's going to be okay," he mumbled, though he didn't quite believe the words. His chest was tight and he tried to keep himself together. For her.

"No. They're not on that ship. They weren't on that ship. They weren't. They're not dead," Aleta said frantically. Her teary eyes looked up at Bellamy who remained quiet. He pulled her head down toward his chest and held her there, placing his head on top of her own. He kissed the crown of her head and gently rocked them side to side "I'm sorry, Leti. I'm so sorry," he whispered, tears threatening to escape his own eyes.

"They're not dead," Aleta denied again. Clarke silently cried in front of the two, her hands gripping the dirt below her. "They're not dead," Aleta repeated.

"They can't be."

°°°°

Boom chapter nineteen! A lot of stuff went on in this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Don't tell me to update. Have a nice day!