chapter twenty-two
BELLAMY
"'cause a one in a million chance is still a chance, and i would take those odds."

"How are we going to protect ourselves?" Nadiya asked as the group of friends huddled up in the dorm, "They have weapons. We don't have anything."

"I don't know," Jasper sighed.

"Maybe we could try to link our arms together," Fox suggested. Evelynn turned to the younger girl, surprised that she spoke up, "With all of us holding on to each other it'll make it harder for them to take one of us."

"Yeah, but they'll just kick our asses and take someone anyway." Miller shook his head.

"Then what do you suggest? We do nothing?" Evelynn retorted, "We have to try to fight back."

"I agree," Jasper said, "We have to try hold them off until Bellamy comes."

"We have to hold them off until Clarke comes," Evelynn sharply corrected.

Jasper was still holding on to his delusion that Bellamy was currently undercover inside the mountain. He even got a bunch of the other kids to believe it too. But Evelynn was having none of it.

No one else argued with her, dropping the subject of Bellamy immediately.

About an hour passed and the dorm doors were once again opened wide.

"Get back!" the guards shouted at them and Lorelei Tsing made her way through the crowd, "I said get back."

"Here we go!" Jasper called out to the delinquents, "Like we talked about! Link up!"

Evelynn made sure Nadiya, Fox, and the younger teens were safe in the back of the crowd, just in case things got violent.

She and the older kids took the front of the barricade they made with their linked arms.

She stood almost directly in the middle of the group, linking arms with Monty, trying to keep a brave face.

Dr. Tsing's cold eyes scanned over their faces before pointing to a blonde girl right behind Evelynn, "This one."

"All right. Let's go!" a guard shouted, "Clear the way!"

The dorm burst into chaos as soon as one guard punched Monty in the stomach.

Their arm chain was breaking fast as the mountain security guards started getting violent with the kids.

Evelynn found herself directly in front of the girl Tsing wanted to take. Guards were surrounding her, but she stood her ground, arms opened protectively in front of the girl.

Immediate regret filled her veins as the guards quickly took her down, slamming her in to the ground, terribly irritating her bone marrow extraction wounds.

Laying in the floor, writhing in pain, Evelynn watched in anger as the guards took the blonde away anyway.

And they left again, the doors shutting unceremoniously on the beaten up teens.

»»————-　★　————-««

Bellamy's heart was pounding so hard, he could hear the thumping rattle in his ears.

He was trying to blend in with the guards entering the dorm, the helmet and googles helping a lot to keep him unrecognizable.

But still, it was really risky.

Bellamy tried to keep his head down from any suspicious eyes, but he found it impossible, every bone in his body aching to scan the faces of the delinquents in front of him.

He couldn't help himself, he looked up.

His eyes wandered over every frightened face. He found Jasper to the far right. Harper was in the back. Monty was closer in the middle.

And there she was.

His heart skipped a beat.

Evelynn was right in front of him. Mere feet away.

Her long brown hair was tucked behind her ears, pushed away from her scrunched up face. Her green eyes looked darker, clouded with anger. She was glaring daggers at the Doctor as she locked arms with the kids on either side of her, preparing to fight.

And in that moment Bellamy felt like he could breathe again. A massive tidal wave of relief crashed into his him, just seeing her alive.

It wasn't until he felt the other guards pushing past him to fight that he realized he had zoned out and the dorm had burst into complete chaos.

He looked for Evelynn again. He had a gun and wanted her to be the person to have it, she was responsible, and he knew she was a good shot.

But he also wanted to be near her. Talk to her. Hold her. Even just for a second.

But she was in the center of the room desperately protecting the teen they were trying to take, the guards flanking all sides of her.

It was impossible to get to her without blowing his cover.

Bellamy scanned the room again and saw Jasper out of the way of the crowd.

He seized the opportunity, grabbed Jasper, and held his arms behind his back.

Jasper fought back, shouting, "Hey! Let go of me!"

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Bellamy said sharply in a hushed tone.

"Bellamy?"

"Just shut up and listen. They're killing them. Next time they come, you have to fight back harder than this, do you understand?"

Jasper nodded. Bellamy continued, carefully and discretely handing Jasper the gun, "Here. Take this. Get everyone ready."

"Ready for what?" Jasper asked in between nervous breaths, "What's the plan?"

"I'm working on it." Bellamy answered honestly.

Jasper spoke fast, "Find Dante. He's on our side. He'll help us."

Bellamy nodded, relieved to have more information, "Okay,"

"Hey!" one of the guards shouted to Bellamy, "Everything okay over there?"

Bellamy couldn't blow his cover. He shouted back in a muddled voice, "Yes, sir!" And kneed Jasper in the stomach.

The guards started leaving the room, taking the blonde teen away, and Bellamy followed, a new plan in growing in his mind.

His eyes fell on Evelynn again, but now she was laying on the ground in pain.

His heart ached. He knew he couldn't help her.

He had to look away before the urge to run to her overtook him.

Bellamy sucked in a deep breath as he turned away from the scene and left the room.

»»————-　★　————-««

"Your evening meal, President Wallace."

Bellamy kept his head down, away from the cameras, as he watched the Presidents eyes scan him suspiciously.

Wallace then moved, reaching his arm out for something. Eyeing him, Bellamy slowly reached for his gun.

He relaxed as Dante Wallace turned up the music in the room, presumably so they could talk without being overheard.

Dante finally spoke, "Who are you?"

"Jasper sent me." Bellamy told him quickly, "We need your help. Your son is killing my friends."

Wallace raised his eyebrows, "I'm a prisoner, same as them."

Bellamy started unpacking the plates of food to appear normal to the security camera, "A prisoner who knows every inch of this mountain, every security measure."

"Who's helping you?" Wallace walked up beside him.

"That's not important right now."

Dante gave in, "After Clarke escaped, I had all exits fortified and put under extra surveillance. My son has no doubt changed all access and entrance codes by now. Your friends will never even make it off of level five."

Bellamy grimaced, "I won't let them die here."

"I'm sorry. I can't help them escape." Dante told him honestly.

Bellamy shook his head in defeat and turned to leave. What a waste of time.

"But I may be able to buy them some time."

Bellamy stopped in his tracks, "How?"

"If you reverse the air filtration system on level five it will pull outside air inside. Your friends will be unharmed by the radiation."

Bellamy nodded fast, on board with the idea, "Is there a way to only irradiate level five? We don't want to lose innocent lives, we just want our people safe."

His mind flashed back to the preschool kids he saw. Wallace nodded, seeming grateful.

"Okay," Bellamy pulled out Clarke's map, making sure his back was turned away from the camera, "Show me where to go."

»»————-　★　————-««

Evelynn scrunched her face in pain as Nadiya and Fox helped Evelynn to her feet off the bunk bed so Miller could remove one of the poles to use as a weapon.

Getting beat up by the guards really aggravated her bone marrow extraction wounds. Her shin specifically was killing her from when one of the guards knocked her to the floor.

"You okay?" Miller eyed her.

Evelynn straightened, swallowing her pain. She rested her hand on her chest, "I'm fine. Focus on getting enough poles for everyone."

"Whatever you say, your highness." Miller teased causing Evelynn to smile. He smiled back before getting to work on the bed.

Fox and Nadiya walked with Evelynn as they made their way over to Monty and Japser.

"Using the poles for defense is a great idea, Lynn," Monty told her as they approached.

"Thanks," she said, "I just don't know how well it'll work. I wish we had some real weapons, like—"

"Like this?" Jasper butted in.

Evelynn looked down at Jasper's hands to where he held a silver handgun, keeping it low, away from the cameras.

Nadiya stared at Jasper, "No way,"

"How the hell did you get that?" Evelynn gasped.

"I wasn't lying, Lynnie," Jasper's face twisted into a smile, waiting for it to click in Evelynn's brain.

It took her a minute, but then it struck her.

"Bellamy," she breathed, her voice barely a whisper.

She didn't know whether she wanted to laugh or cry.

There in Jasper's hands was tangible proof that he was there. That he was alive, and he was going to save them.

She felt herself let go. She let herself give into the fantasy. She let herself have hope.

And it felt so relieving.

She bit her lip, unable to suppress her smile, "What did he say?"

Jasper's face fell, "Well, he just said they're killing the people they take from the dorm."

"Shit," Evelynn muttered under her breath. She shook her head, trying not to dwell on the lives they've already lost, "What did he say about the plan?"

"He said he's working on it," Jasper said.

Evelynn didn't look pleased.

Monty spoke up, noticing her grimace, "Lynn?"

"If Bellamy said 'he's working on it', that really means he doesn't have a plan."

"I told him to talk to Dante," Jasper told her, "He'll help him. Bellamy will figure it out."

"I know he will," Evelynn nodded.

She lapsed into silence, her eyes started scanning the room.

Everyone seemed to notice, looking around frantically for what she was looking for.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Fox asked, following Evelynn's gaze.

"Looking for a way out," she told them in a quiet tone, still searching for an escape.

"Way out? Are you insane?" Monty said, breaking her focus, "There are still cameras all over this room. And even if you made it out, they'd easily find you and then kill you."

"Monty, you can easily cut the cameras," Evelynn told him, "Listen, Bellamy is out there without a plan. I know this mountain, even the secret rooms I was held in. I can help him."

"Maya is with him," Jasper said, in an attempt to ease her worry, "And she knows the mountain better than all of us."

She felt Fox grab and squeeze her hand.

Monty spoke softly, "I know you want to see Bellamy, but now is not this time to get reckless."

Sighing, Evelynn nodded, "Fine. You're right."

She watched Jasper carefully slip the handgun back in his pocket.

She watched him with her eyebrows raised. He noticed and sheepishly smiled.

"Be careful with that Jasp," she warned.

"Don't worry," he brushed her off, "Your boyfriend trusted me with the gun. I've got this."

»»————-　★　————-««

Raven's voice buzzed in Bellamy's earbud, "Talk to me. What do you see?"

"Close your eyes." Bellamy told her as he carefully stepped onto a ladder, "Imagine a bottomless pit."

"Just stick with it. According to Dante's coordinates, you're almost there." Raven told him.

Bellamy sighed and continued up the alarmingly steep ladder, "What's happening on your end? Did they evacuate Tondc?"

"Don't know yet, but it's Clarke. She'll get it done." Raven said surely, "Just concentrate on squeezing your ass through that vent and stop worrying about your sister."

Bellamy stopped moving. And breathing. Raven did too, the silence between them was tangible.

Bellamy gulped, "Octavia's in Tondc? She's there?"

More silence.

"Raven." He said firmly.

"She's gonna be okay. Clarke fired out of here. She's gonna get there on time."

"How could you keep this from me?" Bellamy asked his face twisting.

"Clarke was trying to protect you." Raven told him. Her voice became firmer, "Listen. You still have a job to do. I know you're worried
about Octavia, but you have to focus."

Bellamy knew she was right. The lives of his friends depended on him right now. There was nothing he could do for Octavia right now.

He had to deal with what he could to distract himself from the rest.

"Let's just get this done."

»»————-　★　————-««

Monty tapped his foot impatiently against the tile dorm floor, "What's taking Bellamy so long?"

"I don't know," Jasper frowned.

They figured Bellamy would figure out a plan before they took the next delinquent. But time was ticking and nothing seemed to have changed.

Miller sniffed, "Maybe they caught him."

Evelynn elbowed him in the side, "Don't say that."

Miller raised his hands in mock-surrender.

Jasper sided with Evelynn, "He'll figure a way out, I know he will."

"It's already been four hours. The guards will be back any second." Miller informed them.

Harper was staring terrified at the dorm doors, "They're gonna take someone else."

"No. Listen to me. Everyone, we stick to the plan." Jasper told them, "They're not taking anyone else out of this room without a fight!"

Every kid looked up from wherever they were when they heard the buzzer sound before the dorm doors opened.

"Get ready," Evelynn called out to everyone.

The teens all gathered together in their formation, holding poles behind their backs for when they had to fight back.

Evelynn linked up with Miller and Monty in the front of the group. She quickly turned and made sure Nadiya and Fox were safely tucked away in the back of the group.

Fox was on the verge of tears, fear gripping her. Nadiya was whispering to her, trying to calm her. Evelynn wished she could do something to help them, but there was nothing to do except fight their way out of this mountain.

She turned back to see Tsing enter the room with the other guards.

She half expected to be able to find Bellamy disguised as one of the guards, but as she scanned their faces, she didn't see him.

The guards closed in on them. One gruffly shouted at them, "Disperse!"

But they only held onto each others arms tighter.

Dr. Tsing didn't care. She approached the front of the group, cold eyes falling on each of their faces. She glanced over Evelynn's glare and finally landed on Monty, "This one."

"Yes, ma'am."

"No!" Evelynn shouted.

As the guards tried to break the arm-chain and grab Monty, the teens were in an uproar in shouts of protest.

"No. No!" Jasper was yelling wildly at them as they pulled Monty away, already beginning to leave the room.

The room suddenly seemed to move in slow motion as Evelynn watched Jasper take the gun out of his pocket, aiming in at one of guards, "Hey! Get your hands off him!"

Shit.

Silence fell over the dorm as Jasper shot the guard. The man stumbled back from the blow, but recovered easily, the bullet bouncing off his bulletproof vest.

The guard reached out and smacked the gun from Jasper's grip and the dorm room once again launched into mayhem.

Once the fighting started, Miller jumped in front of Evelynn with a pole, defending her from a nearby guard, giving her the opportunity to slightly move out of harm's way.

Evelynn used the opportunity to jump for the gun that was knocked out of Jasper's hand.

She raced toward it, all the guards seemingly occupied with the other delinquents, not noticing her run past them.

She slid on the floor, crawling on her knees, and grabbed the gun.

Evelynn was feeling extra grateful for whoever made dresses with pockets as she secretively slid the gun into her's.

At least she thought it was secretive. Until she felt the barrel of a gun on the side of her head, "Give me the gun."

Evelynn slowly raised her hands nervously, unsure of what else to do.

She was now more aware that dorm had fallen quieter, her people roughly beaten up by the guards, defeated.

Dr. Tsing walked through their midst, an angry, wild look in her eye. She pointed at Jasper, "Take him instead."

Evelynn wanted to call out in protest, but she was hyper-aware of the cold gun barrel still pressed against her scalp.

"No!" Monty cried, "Jasper!"

Jasper was kicking and yelling as the pulled him out of the room, "No!"

Lorelei Tsing glared at the teens while ordering the guards, "Search the rest. Make sure there are no other weapons."

"Yes, ma'am. You heard her. Let's go!"

"Stand." Evelynn heard the guard with the gun to her head demand.

Complying, Evelynn slowly stood, hands still raised, the gun remaining firmly pressed against her head.

"Don't shoot her!" Evelynn heard Nadiya yell from behind her. She grimaced.

"Davids," the guard beside Evelynn shouted to another guard in the room, the volume of his voice making her jump, "Come search her. I saw her grab a gun."

Evelynn tensed as the other guard, who she assumed was Davids, approached them.

But he never made it to her. Halfway across the dorm, he suddenly started gasping for air.

The guard beside her was doing the same, the gun aimed at her head suddenly lowering as he choked out, "Something's wrong."

Evelynn's eyes widened as she saw the red blisters begin to form on his skin.

Radiation.

A containment breach.

Bellamy did it. He came through.

"Guys!" Evelynn swung around to face the dorm of delinquents, all confused and terrified, "Now's our chance! Let's take the level!"

Miller cracked a smile, "You heard Queenie, take the level!"

The dorm once again flew into an uproar, but this time spirits were much lighter.

The delinquents ran throughout the level, grabbing whatever they could. Chairs, furniture, poles, makeshift weapons.

Anything to hold the Mountain Men off.

Evelynn remembered Jasper. She internally plead that they didn't take him away already as she sprinted into the hall.

He was standing there baffled as the guards around him and Dr. Tsing gasped for air, the radiation melting their skin.

"Jasper!" she yelled. She ran and hugged him.

He smiled as they released, "Told you Bellamy would figure it out."

She smiled, "I didn't doubt it."

Wasting no more time, Evelynn turned and yelled to the kids in the dorm behind her, "Come on, guys!"

Jasper jumped in, shouting as the delinquents started running towards them, "Lets go! This is our chance! Everybody move! Take the level!"

Teens scattered everywhere in the level, free of the dorm room. Jasper continued orders, "Monty, get the cameras. Miller, get their guns. Go!"

"Miller!" Evelynn called out, "Do not let Nadiya have a gun."

Smiling, he gave her a quick salute and began to grab weapons from the recently irradiated guards.

"Wait," Evelynn paused, turning to Jasper, "Where's Tsing?"

That's when both of them noticed the closing elevator door.

They sprinted to the door, and Jasper stuck a pole out he was holding, stopping the door from closing.

Evelynn felt Miller, Harper, and Monty join behind them, peering into the elevator as Tsing cried out in anguish.

"No!" her face was blistering rapidly, "You can't!"

Jasper deadpanned, repeating the same sentence she told them earlier, "I hope you know that you're incredibly special to us."

Evelynn winced as Lorelei Tsing yelled in pain, the radiation melting her skin.

She writhed on the elevator floor as he body seemed to decay before their eyes before she finally fell silent. Dead.

It hurt to watch, but Evelynn was glad Tsing was finally gone.

The woman that maliciously drilled into her and her friends, and killed some of her people, was now dead.

She hated that she found relief, and almost a feeling of victory in this human's death, but she did.

The Ground had really changed them all.

Gathering herself, sucking a deep breath through her nose, Evelynn swung around and faced the small group behind her.

She took the pole from Jasper, letting the elevator fall shut on Tsing's body.

"Okay, Miller, head to the dorm as round up some others. Grab as many beds as you can. We'll need something heavy to make a barricade." Evelynn said.

"Aye, aye, captain." Miller said, running off back towards the dorm. Harper ran with him, going to help.

Evelynn turned to Monty, "Can you disable the elevators?"

"Temporarily," he said, "They can fix it from their side."

"But it will slow them down?"

"Yes—"

"Do it," she nodded to him. Monty nodded back running to get supplies.

Evelynn then looked to Jasper, watching her with anticipation.

"Jasper, do you have a plan?"

Jasper smirked, "I do, but if you have something else—"

Evelynn handed him back the pole, "I'm clueless here Jasp, you should take the lead."

He smiled and took off down the hall, heading for the mess hall.

Evelynn grinned and ran behind him.