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The depot was dark. The air was stale and moist and made Aleta want to gag. "Here," Clarke said, handing a flashlight to the two. "You really think this place hasn't been touched since the war?" Bellamy asked aloud. "A girl can dream. Come on," Clarke said and Aleta followed after her.

They descended down another set of stairs. A skeleton was laid on the stairs and Aleta felt like gagging again. "Hell of a place to die," Bellamy said. "So much for living down here," Clarke muttered. "Yeah, this place is disgusting," Aleta spoke.

"Dammit," Clarke said in frustration. They continued walking and Aleta scrunched up her nose in disgust at the place. "Anything left down here is ruined," Bellamy pointed out. "Well this just sucks," Aleta mumbled. Aleta tuned out whatever conversation Bellamy and Clarke were having and began looking through boxes.

"Hey, I found blankets," Clarke said happily and Aleta walked over to her. "Excited about a couple of blankets?" Bellamy questioned walking up to them. "It's better than nothing," Aleta retorted. "How about a canteen or a med kit or a decent freaking tent," Bellamy said angrily as he walked around the room.

He shouted in frustration and kicked a container over. "So dramatic," Aleta muttered to herself. "Oh my God," Bellamy then quietly expressed. "What?" Clarke and Aleta asked. They walked over to Bellamy's crouched form and he held up a rifle. Bellamy smiled widely and Aleta's eyes narrowed. "You're happy that you found a bunch of guns? Really?" She asked him.

Bellamy stood up and went to grab a blanket. He drew an 'X' on it and hung it up. "This changes everything. No more running from spears. Ready to be badass guys?" He asked the two, though his eyes were trained on Aleta. The brunette girl scoffed. "I don't need, nor do I want, to be a badass, Bellamy," she said and he smirked.

"Look, I'm not gonna fight you on bringing guns back to camp. I know we need them, but don't expect me to like it," Clarke said.

"We're lucky the rifles were packed in grease. The fact that they survived means we're not sitting ducks anymore. You two need to learn how to do this," Bellamy said. "We don't need to do anything," Aleta responded and he glared at her. "You need to learn to protect yourself," he argued.

"I can protect myself just fine," Aleta countered. "You sure about that Clumsy?" He asked, using a nickname he had given her back on the Ark after she tripped and fell in the Ark Library.

"Fine," she grumbled, picking up a rifle. He smiled victoriously and walked over to her. She almost dropped the gun, not expecting it to weigh as much as it did. Clarke moved away from them and picked up a rifle of her own. "Do I put this on my shoulder or something?" Aleta asked him.

"Yeah, uh. A little higher," Bellamy said, walking up behind her. He placed his hand on her back and she tensed a little. Aleta raised the gun higher onto her shoulder. "Like this?" She asked. Bellamy shook his head, "No. Here." He adjusted her shoulders slightly and raised the gun a little higher. His face is close to hers and she held her breath. "Now you just aim and shoot," he whispered and Aleta suppressed a shiver.

"Am I doing this right?" Clarke asked aloud. Bellamy cleared his throat and moved away from Aleta, glancing over at Clarke. "Watch and learn," he said cockily to them. He picked up a rifle and cocked it. He pointed it at the blanket and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. He tried again and still, nothing happened.

"Still watching." Clarke smirked and Aleta chuckled. "My bullets are duds. Try yours," he said. Clarke readied herself and aimed the gun at the blanket. She pulled the trigger and this time, a bullet fires. "That was amazing. Am I horrible for feeling that?" Clarke said. Bellamy smiled and shook his head. "Your turn," he said to Aleta.

She placed the gun on her shoulder, like he had shown her, and aimed it at the blanket. She looked through the scope and pulled the trigger. A bullet fires and hit the top right corner of the blanket, barely grazing it. "Huh, that does feel good," she admitted. "Try again," Bellamy said. "No. We shouldn't waste the ammunition," Clarke disagreed.

"You two need to practice," Bellamy protested. "And this time, try to actually hit the center of the 'X'," he added. Aleta scowled at him, knowing that was a jab at her. "We need to talk about how we're gonna keep guns around camp, where are we gonna keep them, and who has access," Clarke said. Bellamy reloaded the gun and shot it at the blanket. "You left Miller in charge of the grounder. You must trust him," Clarke brought up.

"You two should keep him close. The others listen to him," Bellamy said. Aleta scrunched up her face in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked. "Bellamy, what's going on? You've been acting weird all day... All the rations you took. You're gonna run. That's why you agreed to come with me. You were gonna load up on supplies and just disappear," Clarke realized.

Aleta turned her attention to the boy who refused to meet her eyes. "Is she right? Were you gonna leave?" Aleta asked. "I don't have a choice. The Ark will be here soon," Bellamy said. "So, you were just gonna leave Octavia?" Aleta asked incredulously.

"Octavia hates me. She'll be fine," Bellamy said. "No she doesn't, Bellamy. You don't know—" Aleta began, though he cut her off. "I shot the Chancellor. They're gonna kill me, Aleta. Best-case scenario, they lock me up with the grounder for the rest of my life, and there's no way in hell I'm giving Jaha the satisfaction," Bellamy interjected.

"I wouldn't let that happen," Aleta said honestly. His face held an emotion that she couldn't quite decipher and he sighed. "Keep practicing. I need some air," he said, walking past her and out of the depot. Aleta sighed softly and walked to the other side of the depot. She began pacing. "I can't believe him. He's really gonna run away, like a coward. He says all this shit and makes himself seem so tough and brave. But he's running away. This is ridiculous. He is ridiculous," Aleta said.

"Aleta, you're rambling," Clarke voiced and Aleta stopped pacing. "I'm going outside," Aleta mumbled. She walked up the stairs of the depot and toward the second set of stairs that led outside. She stumbled slightly and her head began to spin. The room around her began to morph into something completely different.

The next thing she knew, she was in her room on the Ark. "What the hell?" She muttered. The door to her room opened and Sarai walked in. "Sarai?" Aleta asked in confusion. "Hi, Aleta," Sarai greeted. Aleta walked over to her and hugged her. "How are you here? What's going on?" Aleta asked.

"You tell me," Sarai said. "I don't know, Sarai," Aleta replied. "Oh Aleta. You poor, confused girl. Can't you figure anything out?" Sarai said with a chuckle. Aleta gave her a confused look and Sarai sighed. "Girl, you need to get your act together. Stop moping around and feeling sorry for yourself and start being the leader that I know you can be. It's time for you to realize that there's a lot more to life than being a good girl," Sarai spoke.

"I'm not a 'good girl'," Aleta responded. Sarai gave her a look and Aleta narrowed her eyes. "Aleta, wake up and be the amazing person that you need to be. Wake up Aleta. Wake up," Sarai said. She began to disappear and her voice grew distant.

"Aleta! Aleta wake up!" Clarke exclaimed. Aleta groaned groggily and opened her eyes. She was laying on the floor and she looked around in confusion. "What happened? Where am I?" Aleta asked. "We're in the depot," Clarke answered. The blonde helped her friend up and the two glanced around the room. "Are you okay?" Clarke asked and Aleta just nodded.

"Come on, let's go," Clarke said and she led the way out, a rifle in hand. The two stepped out into the cool night air. Aleta realized that they had been in the depot for a while. The sound of yelling caught the girls' attention and they quickly ran over to where it had come from.

Aleta saw Bellamy on the ground and a boy, Dax, standing over him, a rifle in hand. Clarke raised her own rifle and pointed it at the boy. "Put it down, Dax," she commanded. He turned to them and pointed his gun in their direction. "You two should've stayed down there. I tried not to kill you, but here you are, and Shumway said no witnesses," Dax said.

"What is he talking about?" Aleta asked. "Shumway set it up. He gave me the gun to shoot the Chancellor," Bellamy answered from the ground. "Walk away now, and I won't kill you," Dax assured to the two. "Put it down," Clarke replied firmly. "Your choice," Dax said nonchalantly.

Clarke pulled the trigger but nothing happened. Both girls quickly ducked behind a tree as Dax began shooting his gun. He fired multiple bullets and Aleta breathed heavily as she hid. "No!" Bellamy shouted and a grunt was heard. Aleta looked around the tree and saw that Bellamy had tackled the other boy.

Bellamy punched Dax twice and for a short while, he had the upper hand. And the Dax managed to punch Bellamy, knocking the boy off of him. Clarke was desperately trying to fix her gun as Dax hit Bellamy over and over again. Aleta grabbed the gun from Clarke's grasp and charged toward Dax. "Get the hell off him!" She exclaimed.

Dax hit her in the stomach with his rifle and knocked the wind out of her. She fell to the ground and gasped in pain. Clarke tried to tackle him but Dax hit her in the face. Bellamy grabbed a stray bullet from the ground and and rammed it into Dax's throat. Blood pooled out of the blond boy's neck and he fell onto his back. After a few seconds, he was dead.

Aleta crawled over to a tree and leaned up against it, Clarke following after her. "You okay?" Aleta asked and Clarke nodded. "Yeah, you?" She asked. "Yeah," Aleta mumbled. Bellamy walked over to them and sat next to Aleta. "You're okay," Aleta whispered to him.

"No, I'm not. My mother... if she knew what I've done, who I am... she raised me to be better, to be good," Bellamy said quietly. "Bellamy," Aleta whispered. "And all I do is hurt people," he continued. He sniffled and Aleta could feel the tears building in her eyes. "I'm a monster," he said. "Hey, that's not true. You saved our lives today, Bellamy. You make stupid decisions and do stupid things, but we need you. I need you, Bell. We'd all be dead if it weren't for you. I'd be dead if it weren't for you. You are not a monster. Not to me," Aleta said.

"You want forgiveness, fine, I'll give it to you. You're forgiven, okay, but you can't run, Bellamy. You have to come back with us. You have to face it," Clarke chimed in. "Like you face your mom?" Bellamy asked and Clarke looked away from him. "You're right. I don't want to face my mom. I don't want to face any of it. All I think about everyday is how we're gonna keep everyone alive. But we don't have a choice," Clarke admitted.

"Jaha will kill me when he comes down," Bellamy said. Aleta shook her head, "I won't let that happen. We'll figure something out."

"Can we figure it out later?" Bellamy asked, leaning his head back against the tree. Aleta smiled weakly and Clarke nodded. "Whenever your ready," the blonde replied. Aleta and Clarke leaned back against the tree also. Aleta took Bellamy's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He looked down at her and squeezed her hand back. The three sat in a comfortable silence for a while before deciding to head back to camp.

••••

After a long walk, they finally got back and teenagers were shouting about how the grounder was gone. Aleta smiled at the news, knowing that it was Octavia. "Let the grounders come. We've been afraid of them for far too long and, why? Because of their knives and spears. Well I don't know about you, but I'm tired of being afraid," Bellamy said. He looked at Aleta and Clarke before placing the rifles on the ground.

Murmurs of excitement came from the crowd as the delinquents realized what they were. "These are weapons, okay, not toys and we have to be prepared to give them up to the Guard when the dropships come. But until then, they're gonna keep us safe," Clarke informed.

"And there are plenty more where these came from. Tomorrow we start training, and if the grounders come, we're gonna be ready to fight," Bellamy said. "But we're gonna be careful with these things. Some of you are morons and can't handle responsibility like this," Aleta said before walking away.

Clarke followed after her and the two headed to the communications tent. "I'll get everything ready and you can get Bellamy when I tell you," Clarke said and Aleta nodded. She stood outside of the tent and waited for Clarke to give her the okay. Her eyes scanned the camp and she sighed at how things were.

Clarke tapped her shoulder and nodded and Aleta went to find Bellamy. She spotted him talking to Octavia and walked closer. "Bellamy, it's time," she called. He looked at her and then back to Octavia, saying a few words to her before walking toward the tent. "Jaha will only let me be in here with Bellamy. I think he's afraid that you'll find a way to murder him from the ground if he says something that you don't like," Clarke said . Aleta rolled her eyes but nodded.

"I'll wait out here then," she said. Bellamy shook his head, "No, I want you in there with me." Aleta gave him a reassuring smile, "You're gonna be okay. And I'll be right here waiting for you." Bellamy sighed, "Promise?" His voice came out in a whisper. "Where else do have to go?" She asked and he nodded.

"Call me if you need me," she added. The two entered the tent and Aleta waited outside the tent impatiently.

After what felt like hours, but was only a few minutes, Bellamy and Clarke walked out of the tent and she turned to them. "So?" Aleta questioned. "He pardoned me," Bellamy breathed, a smile spreading across his mouth. "Yes!" Aleta exclaimed, throwing her arms around the boy and hugging him. Bellamy held her tightly and smiled wider.

Clarke wore a smile on her face as she watched the exchange. After a moment, Aleta awkwardly pulled away, much to Bellamy's dismay. She cleared her throat and looked at her shoes. "Well, I'm gonna go try and get some sleep. I'll see you guys in the morning," Aleta said. She gave Clarke a wave and walked toward the dropship.

After a few minutes, Bellamy entered the dropship, an orange blanket in hand. "I thought you might want this," he said, holding it out to her. "Thanks," she replied, taking it from him. "Are you okay?" He asked after a moment. "I'm fine. Just tired," Aleta responded and he nodded. He wanted to bring up the issue with her blood but decided against it. "Get some sleep," Bellamy said and she smiled. "You too," she answered. He chuckled and she shook her head. "I mean it Bellamy," she said.

"I know you do. And I will," he replied. He prepared to leave the dropship but stopped. "Thank you. For what you said. It meant a lot," he said quietly. "You're welcome," she replied and then yawned. She folded her jacket into a pillow and laid down on it, pulling the blanket over her body and closing her eyes.

Bellamy walked out of the dropship and into the night and Aleta let sleep take over her.

°°°°

This is a fairly long chapter that I hope you enjoyed. I'm sorry it took so long for me to update. I just haven't had the motivation to do so. But here's an update. Be sure to vote and comment. Have a good day.