Raven and I spent the night alone in the church. As of yet, none of the so-called "defectors" had joined us.

We had pulled our cots closer to one another, each of us needing comfort due to the watchful eyes of Diyoza's men.

A few of them had been stationed in the church to watch us overnight, and I could help but feel vulnerable under their gaze.

So, the sunlight that leaked through the windows the next morning was a welcomed sight. It was during the early hours of the morning that more and more people gradually began to be moved into the church.

All of them wore the shock collars like Raven and I, but I didn't recognize many of them. Most were likely Grounders that I had never seen before. It was unlikely I would see anyone I knew, assuming that they were all still loyal to Octavia, but I couldn't be sure.

I was itching to find out more of what happened in the bunker. Not that Diyoza deserved to be believed, but by the sounds of her words, something had gone awry down there over the last five years.

I tried to keep myself busy. Raven and I helped the new arrivals set up their cots and made ourselves acquainted with them. If we were ever going to break out of here it would be important to have people on our side.

It was close to midday by the time a familiar face finally walked in...but I have to admit I was completely shocked to see her.

Raven and I had just gotten our lunch plates, and were readying to sit down when my eyes landed on her.

It was Echo.

Raven let out a surprised laugh next to me as Echo's eyes landed on us. Upon seeing our shocked expressions, she gave a small shake of her head and nodded toward the cots. We needed to be discrete.

I let Raven walk over first, and after a few moments I joined. I sat next to Raven, my back to the door as Echo sat across from us.

"Tell me this is a rescue op." Raven pleaded, leaning forward slightly.

Echo's eyes flickered toward the guards for a moment before looking back to us. "It won't be anything if we can't get out of this church."

I bit down on the inside of my cheek as I handed Echo a piece of bread off of my plate, trying to make out interaction as nonchalant as possible.

She took it wordlessly and took a small bite. "I'm betting, by now, my girl has figured out how to slip the collars."

Raven's eyes dimmed slightly as she shook her head. Raven and I had figured out no solutions for freeing ourselves of these mobile cages.

Echo's face fell as she looked passed Raven and I. "They're watching us. But there's something I need you guys to see. Let's go get some water."

One after another, we all rose and made out way toward the table that held bottles of water.

Echo set a glass down on the surface, quickly throwing a flash drive down as well. "Monty says I need to insert it into the transport ship's primary server."

As she spun around and looked into the church, Raven and I looked down at the stick. "It's essentially a keylogger." Raven explained. She then looked to me with expectation.

"It auto installs a backdoor to their surveillance system that only Monty can see." I finished, earning an approving nod from Raven. She took any opportunity for a teaching moment.

"It's brilliant." she whispered, the smile soon fading from her face. "Too bad we can't get to the bridge without our heads exploding."

"What about Kane?" Echo wondered. "Maybe we--"

"--He's with Diyoza." I interrupted, shooting down that idea. "I saw him." I took a small sip of water before continuing. "I don't know what happened in that bunker, but he's different."

Echo's face softened slightly as she shook her head. "You haven't seen them, Avery." she whispered sadly. "They're all different."

I felt my stomach flip slightly at her words. I was almost afraid of who I would meet once we reunited with the rest of our people.

"Murphy said you had someone inside their camp." Echo said, her eyes scanning the group.

Raven jutted her chin out toward where Shaw was unloading supplies.

"Can we trust him? Echo wondered.

"I hope so." Raven answered. "He's our only shot."

With that, she set her cup down and made her way across the room to where Shaw was.

Echo and I instantly turned, focusing back on the water as to not make anything too obvious.

The two of us were silent for a moment, an evident sense of awkwardness falling over us.

Finally, Echo spoke. "Bellamy wants you to know that he's going to get you out of here...no matter what." she muttered, and I could almost hear the distaste in her words.

I looked over at her, giving her a small nod. How could I really respond to that? "We're all going to get out of here." I assured.

She pursed her lips, looking down at the cup in her hand for a moment.

I stared at her, trying to decipher why she was giving me such an attitude.

Usually, I would have ignored it, but for some reason that part of me was dormant today.

"Am I missing something?" I questioned, drawing her attention back toward me. "Is there a reason you're being so cold to me? Because last time I checked, you're the one who kissed my boyfriend."

My words were harsh and bitter, and came as a result of me not saying anything to Echo since everything had happened.

Her cheeks reddened slightly as she set her up down. "I'm sorry." she breathed, and I could actually hear the regret in her voice. "I'm being cold to you because I figured that's how you would treat me...and you have every right."

I nodded, taking in her words. "This isn't the time for petty grudges."

"You're right. But just so you know, I am sorry for what I did. And I'm embarrassed." She admitted truthfully. "Bellamy has barely spoken or even looked at me since I did it. He's still in love with you and it's obvious."

I felt my face flush as I pushed the lump in my throat down. "None of that matters right now. What does matter, is us getting out of here." My eyes flickered toward where Raven and Shaw were still having a quiet discussion.

"How did you get here anyway? Does Diyoza not know you're with us?" I wondered.

Echo took another quick sip of water. "Octavia banished me. We used that as to get me here and have Diyoza take me in. I needed to get this flash drive to you and Raven."

My eyes flickered toward her, watching as her face twitched slightly at the mention of Octavia banishing her.

I knew what she had done to Octavia in the past, and part of me still hated her for it. But this was a time that called for us sticking together, not banishing one another. This truly made me wonder what Octavia was like now.

"I have some bad news," came Kane's voice from the front of the room. Echo and I turned, effectively ending our conversation. "Karina is dead. She was Louwoda Kliron Kru, so the rites will be performed this afternoon. Together, we can make sure that her death will not be in vain."

I clenched my jaw as Kane spoke, trying not to reveal the emotion on my face. I didn't know Karina, but I knew whatever happened to her was because of Diyoza and her people. She didn't care what happened to us, and at this point I believed that Kane didn't either.

---

I had spent most of Karina's funeral with my eyes dancing around the meadow. I was trying to gain and understanding of where we were and what we were dealing with.

Raven hadn't come, but had instead stayed back to try and talk Shaw into letting her out of the church and onto the ship to "work" for them.

Upon my return to the church, Raven had informed me that her pleas fell on deaf ears. Shaw wasn't willing to go that far to help us, most likely due to the fact that it put his neck directly on the line.

So, by nightfall that day, the two other girls and I were running out of ideas.

"We need to turn Shaw in." Echo announced quietly as the three of us stood off to the side of the room, partly hidden. "If he isn't going to help us, then maybe we can gain some valour by exposing him."

Both mine and Raven's faces fell as we vehemently shook our heads. "No way." I argued. "He helped us!"

"Shaw's an ally." Raven snapped.

Echo's face remained stoic. "There are times in war where you have to do the wrong things for the right reasons. This is one of those times. Besides, you said yourself, they can't kill him because they need him to fly."

"We are not betraying the one friend that we have here." Raven argued. "He will take me to the bridge. I just need more time."

Echo scoffed before marching off toward her cot, clear mistrust in her face.

I looked to Raven once she was gone, my own face showing some worry. "Do you really think you can convince him?"

She let out a low sigh as she shook her head slightly. "I really hope so, Aves."

---

It was the middle of the night when I was roughly awoken.

My groggy eyes shot open to see Diyoza and a couple of her men standing over me. "Get up." she ordered.

I sat up, my eyes scanning the room to figure out what was going on. They soon landed on Raven who had also been pulled from bed.

"What's going on?" I demanded, my voice thick from sleep.

Diyoza ignored me as she nodded toward the door. "Let's go you two."

Raven and I shared a curious look before slowly following after her. We knew it was either that or be shocked.

As I passed Echo's cot, her hand shot out and grabbed onto mine, discretely slipping something into my grip.

I closed my fingers around it...it was the stick.

Confusion washed over me. Were we going to the bridge? And if we were, how did Echo know?

Raven and I remained silent as we were led through the meadow back toward the transport ship. We shivered underneath the cool night air, our minds still trying to wake up.

Once we were in the ship, Diyoza wordlessly led us right to the bridge...this was our chance.

I let out a small grunt as the men shoved us into the room, almost causing me to trip over my own feet.

"Is that really necessary." I muttered, turning around to shoot the man a withering glare.

Diyoza stopped by the control panel, turning to face Raven and I. "Echo says you accused my pilot of sabotage, that he, not you, locked me out of my missile system."

So this is how Echo knew where Raven and I were being taken...she had gone behind our backs and turned Shaw over.

I felt sick over what she had done. She had gone against everything Raven and I had said.

My mind then took me to my next point. Why was I even here? If Raven was the one who could prove Shaw's involvement, what could I possibly be needed for?

Raven and I shared a brief glance as Diyoza spoke again. "I need proof." she ordered, motioning toward the computer. "Show me."

When Raven didn't move immediately, Diyoza nodded at the men behind us. "Show me, or my men shoot Avery."

I felt my body tense as I turned my head ever so slightly, my eyes falling on the guards who currently each had a gun pointed at my head. Ah, so that's why I was here.

"I thought you said I was an essential member of this camp." I challenged Diyoza's previous words to me. "Not so essential now am I?"

Diyoza wore that impassive smile that was usually on her face. "A gunshot wound to the leg doesn't mean you can't perform your job."

Raven let out a frustrated sigh as she stepped forward. "Fine." she gritted out, walking toward the computer. As she did so, she ever so slightly tapped on a part of the panel...the place where I would need to insert the drive.

"Leave us." Diyoza snapped at the men, causing the two of them to quickly leave the three of us alone.

I crossed my arms over my chest, shifting my body so I was in position as Raven began to explain the process to Diyoza.

Slowly, I lowered my hand and slipped the drive into the slot. I made sure to stand in front of it, trying to shield it from Diyoza who looked over at me every few moments.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the drive turned green meaning the job was done.

I pulled it free, slipping it back into the pocket of my jacket as I made my way over to where Raven and Diyoza were.

Standing next to Raven, I put a light hand on her back to let her know that the task had been completed.

She cleared her throat, quickly finishing up explaining to Diyoza that Shaw had in fact been the one to hack the missile system.

Diyoza's face was indifferent, but I could tell that she felt betrayed, and that something horrible was going to happen to Shaw as a result.

---

I was right in my assumption about Shaw.

Only a few hours had passed since Raven and I had returned from the ship, and most of those hours had consisted of the two of us ignoring Echo. Either of us could barely even look at her at this point.

When the doors flew open, and a figure was shoved into the room, I felt my heart drop.

Shaw collapsed against the table, his body seemingly weak and fragile.

I instantly noted the collar attached around his neck, but didn't realize the extent to which he had been punished until he looked up.

When he did, I felt my heart drop as nausea washed over me.

He was beaten, and horribly at that. One of his eyes was so badly beaten that he could barely open it. Blood coated the rest of his face in various areas and he now walked with a limp.

I reached out, gripping onto Raven's hand as her teary eyes landed on Shaw.

He glanced over at her, quickly adverting his eyes as he tried to move as far away from us as possible. He blamed Raven, clearly not aware that she had had nothing to do with this.

I watched as he slowly lowered himself onto a cot, and I felt my chest constrict.

If they were willing to do this to their own pilot...what were they willing to do to us?

-an-

i know we're all itching for bellamy and avery to reunite, and it will come...just not yet.

as for right now, I kind of like writing avery off on her own, being her own badass without bellamy for once.

i hope you guys are enjoying. please let me know your thoughts!

love you all

-maddy xoxo