chapter four
BRING THEM HOME
"my ghost, where'd you go?"

"How long are you gonna keep me locked up in here?" Was the first thing that left Bellamy's mouth, unable to suppress his irritation anymore.

Kane reasoned with slight bitterness, "Until I'm confident you're no longer a threat to others."

Bellamy sucked in a harsh breath of air as Kane took a seat, parallel to another empty chair.

"Let's continue," He said, "Now you said there were hundreds of Grounders attacking. 200, 300?"

Bellamy rolled his eyes, "I didn't count."

"Why do you think they attacked? What provoked them?"

"We were here. That was enough." Bellamy felt his anxiety burst at the surface, "We're wasting time. The others didn't just vanish into thin air. They were taken, and we need to go after them."

Kane looked up at him, "Search team is prepping to leave, but not before we've gotten the intel we need from you."

Bellamy swiftly moved to sit in front of him, "I need to be on that team, please."

Kane shook his head, "That's out of the question. You're not trained. It's too dangerous."

"Those are my people out there."

"They're my people, too. You want to help them? Tell me what we're up against. Grounder tactics, their numbers, what kind of weapons they used."

Bellamy reluctantly complied, "Arrows and spears, axes, swords, clubs, their teeth."

He shuddered slightly. With each weapon he listed, he could remember one of their people being attacked or even killed by it.

Kane narrowed his eyes, "No guns?"

Bellamy shook his head.

"But you had guns."

He nodded, "The guns we found at the aid depot leveled the playing field, and maybe—maybe if we'd had more bullets, we could have—"

Kane cut him off, "There were more bullets. Search team just returned from the bunker. They found two more barrels full of rifles and a third filled with bullets."

Bellamy's heart stopped.

He could vividly hear the soul-shattering click of the empty rifle as he tried to take down that Grounder.

The moment he realized he couldn't protect Evelynn.

He couldn't protect himself.

The moment he thought he had got them both killed.

It was as if their fate was sealed before the war had even ended.

Where is she?

"We should have looked harder." He thought out loud.

Just then a guard and Major Byrne unlocked the door and pushed someone into the from.

"Keep walking," The guard muttered.

Bellamy instantly recognized Murphy's smug face, "What's he doing here?"

"Excuse me, sir." Byrne said to Kane, ignoring Bellamy's comment, "Dr. Griffin cleared Mr. Murphy out of medical."

Kane nodded, pointing out to the left corner of the room, "Put him over there, Major Byrne."

The guard that accompanied her, came behind Bellamy and pulled him to the right corner, "On your knees. Come on."

Bellamy realized what was happening as the guards bound both his and Murphy's hands and then tied them to poles on opposite sides of the room.

Murphy spoke sarcastically, "Well, this should be fun."

»»————-　★　————-««

The day dragged on slowly.

Bellamy felt like he was attached to a ticking time bomb, barely sitting still, itching to get out and find his friends.

Although Murphy glanced over at Bellamy from time to time, he kept quiet for most of the day, which Bellamy wasn't sure if he was grateful for or not.

He, obviously, didn't want to talk to Murphy to fill his time.

But the silence only left him with his thoughts consisting of envisioning the worst-case scenarios of what was currently happening to all of his friends, or replaying the memories he had from the war at the dropship and reliving every single terrifying moment.

And everything he did in those scenarios ended up being wrong.

He snapped out of his daze when the sound of bloodcurdling screams pierced the air. Raven.

"Yeah," Murphy muttered, breaking their excruciating silence, "That was me at the Grounder camp. You now, I did everything I could not scream, but eventually—"

"But eventually, you broke and you told them everything."

Murphy barked back, "And you wouldn't have because you're better than me."

Bellamy didn't bother to hide his distain, not for Murphy, "Damn right. I'm not a traitor. I didn't tell them where they could find us."

"And I did. Yeah, I did. After they tortured me in their prison camp for 3 days, but go ahead. You just keep believing, even if you are in here just like me."

They fell into the same empty conversation. Bellamy didn't have a smart reply this time.

He just glared at the ties around his wrists as if trying to telepathically will himself free.

He didn't want to be at the same level as John Murphy.

And yet here he was, tied up in the same way, in the same room.

It was hard not to believe everything up to that point wasn't his fault.

»»————-　★　————-««

The sound of the door being opened snapped Bellamy out of his tired haze.

"Get up," Finn said, releasing Bellamy from his restraints, "We're going after them."

Bellamy couldn't help but smile internally.

"It's about time."

Murphy butted in quickly as soon as Bellamy was on his feet, "Wait, wait. What about me?"

Bellamy looked at Finn, who shook his head, but Bellamy didn't listen, grabbing the shears used to cut his ties.

"Wait!" Finn grabbed his shoulder, "What are you doing?"

Bellamy didn't answer for a second, using the shears to cut the wire from the pole.

"He's coming with us."

"No way." Finn protested as Bellamy forced Murphy to stand.

"He's been to the Grounder prison camp."

Murphy turned to Finn, "He's right. Okay? I can bring you there."

Finn still did not look at all enthused by the idea. He opened his mouth to protest again, but he was cut off.

"Hey!" Monroe said, "Sterling just signaled. Someone's coming."

Finn just shook his head in annoyance, but let Bellamy drag Murphy along.

The five delinquents snuck quietly through the Ark, out into the camp, and into the forest surrounding the clearing.

"You don't think anyone saw us?" Bellamy asked quietly, confused as to how easily they seemed to escape.

Finn shut him down immediately, "Shh. Keep it down."

Bellamy pursed his lips slightly. Finn had been so sensitive lately.

They began to walk down a hill deeper into the forest when a bright flashlight caused them to halt suddenly.

Bellamy internally cursed. They were so close. Now Kane was never going to let him out.

Abby moved the flashlight onto Finn, "You're late."

Bellamy quickly realized that Clarke's mom was in on the secret mission, David Miller too, standing beside her.

Finn nodded, "Bellamy decided to bring company."

Bellamy squinted into the flashlight that was now on him as he justified, "He's the only person that's been in their camp."

Neither Abby nor David said anything about it.

Abby just shone the flashlight on her hand, as she held out a handgun to them. Finn didn't hesitate to accept it.

David Miller looked to Bellamy, handing him his rifle, "Here. Find my son. His name is Nathan Miller."

Bellamy nodded to him, determination rising.

Abby and David continued to hand out guns to Monroe and Sterling.

Once the delinquents were all armed, Abby lifted her head, "Bring them home."

»»————-　★　————-««

The sun was now fully shining in the sky. The five kids could hardly feel their feet anymore as they pounded against the ground, numb from walking for so long.

But they didn't care, their thoughts distracted them, weighed down with worry for the other delinquents.

How'd they go from 100 to 5 in such a short amount of time?

Bellamy pulled himself out of his thoughts as they rounded a tree, "Alright Murphy, where to now?"

Murphy sniffed, holding out his tied hands, "I say we lose these first alright?"

"No,"

"Hey, if we get attacked out here, I have nothing to defend myself."

"I don't care." Bellamy shrugged.

Finn sucked in a deep breath of air through his nose and shoved himself in front of Bellamy, cleanly snipping the ties off of Murphy's wrists and simply walking away.

"Thank you," Murphy said with a tone of irritation.

Bellamy ran to catch up to Finn, "Hey! What the hell are you doing?"

Finn didn't look at him, eyes trained on the forest ahead, "It was your idea to bring him."

Bellamy huffed, "Yeah, because he's the only one who's seen where the Grounders keep their prisoners."

Finn stopped to look Bellamy straight, "Then we probably shouldn't let him be defenseless out here. We can handle Murphy."

Bellamy rolled his eyes as Finn walked away, "Better hope so,"

Murphy found his way back to Bellamy, "So, do I get a gun now?"

Bellamy rolled his eyes as he wordlessly shoved Murphy in front of him.

»»————-　★　————-««

"Everybody down!" Murphy snapped, "Now!"

Bellamy looked into the village in front of them in confusion. He suddenly fell to his knees when a hand sharply yanked him downwards.

He narrowed his eyes at Murphy who just caused him to fall, but Murphy ignored his glare, "This is it. Told you I'd find it."

Bellamy aimed his gun at the village ahead, looking around frantically.

"I see nothing but Grounders." Bellamy said, annoyance evident, "Our people aren't here."

Finn raised his gun, looking around, "Wait a minute, they've got stuff from our dropship."

Bellamy's heart leapt, "Maybe they know where our friends are."

"Yeah, or maybe they killed them already." Murphy said.

Bellamy went to make a snarky reply, but he couldn't think of one. He couldn't pretend that Murphy's comment hadn't occurred to him before.

"Son of a bitch," Finn growled.

"What?"

"The guy with the one eye. Around his neck." Finn said in a low voice, glare unmoving.

Bellamy found the man Finn was talking about, "What am I looking at?"

"He's got Clarke's watch." Finn's voice was shaking in rage, "It was her father's."

Bellamy looked downwards, spotting the gold watch dangling on a string around his neck. He sighed. That didn't look good, "She wouldn't give that up without a fight."

Finn turned to Bellamy, "Neither will we."

Bellamy nodded, standing, "Okay, you're with me."

He then looked to Monroe and Sterling watching them, "You two stay here. If this thing goes south, take out the other Grounders but don't shoot the Grounder with the watch. Copy?"

"Copy," The two said simultaneously.

Monroe furrowed her brows, "And what about Murphy?"

Murphy smirked, "Yeah do I get a gun now?"

Bellamy tipped his head, an idea striking him, "Something like that."

Now, it wasn't easy to convince Murphy to be the bait, but Bellamy and Finn didn't really give him a choice.

As Murphy lured the Grounder out of his camp with the sound of hitting rocks together hidden behind a tree, Bellamy soundlessly followed, gun at the ready.

The Grounder finally swung around the tree where Murphy previously was, but he had moved in time.

Before the one-eyed Grounder could continue looking for the sound, Bellamy rammed the back of his gun into his head, knocking him out cold.

Finn walked up to them, leaned over the Grounder, and yanked Clarke's watch off his neck.

Bellamy watched him sympathetically, but quickly refocused on the task at hand, "We need to take him somewhere quiet."

Finn looked to Bellamy, "I know just the place."

»»————-　★　————-««

Bellamy couldn't stop red, hot, irritation from bubbling through his blood stream.

Their friends were gone and this Grounder wouldn't give them any sort of clue.

The inevitable fact that they had a limited amount of time to save those missing constantly nipped at the back of his mind.

It felt as if time was slipping away like sand falling through his fingers.

"We're gonna do this again and this time you're gonna stop screwing with us," Bellamy shouted, as Finn held out Clarke's watch, "Where did you find this?"

The Grounder didn't seem at all intimidated, "I told you. I found it outside your camp."

Finn's face twisted in irritation, "He's lying. She would never take it off voluntarily."

Bellamy sighed, hope and energy draining, "I know."

Finn sucked on the insides on his cheek before yelling in the Grounder's face again, "Where is the girl who was wearing this watch?"

"I never saw a girl," The Grounder, his voice much quieter than Finn's. He was unnervingly calm.

Murphy jumped in, "Another lie. Maybe you should stop asking him nicely."

"Shut up, Murphy." Bellamy said, without hesitation. He stepped towards the Grounder, trying to reason and avoid violence, "Where are our friends? You took them, we know you did, just tell us where?"

The Grounder shifted his gaze away from Bellamy who sighed, feeling defeated.

"Murphy's right," Finn said, stepping to the Grounder again, "We're wasting time."

Finn took his gun and struck the grounder in the head, "Answer the question!"

Bellamy jumped at him, trying to get him to stop, "Hey! Hey!"

Finn ignored him, smacking him again, "Where is the girl who was wearing this watch?"

Bellamy pulled Finn away, "Finn, stop. We don't want to do this trust me. There are some lines you can't uncross."

Finn's eyes bore into Bellamy's.

Bellamy could nearly physically feel the desperation that Finn was experiencing as he looked into his face.

Finn blinked hard, tearing his eyes away.

He swiftly turned and resumed attacking the Grounder, "Where is Clarke? Where is she?"

"Finn, back off!" Bellamy shouted, watching Finn beat the Grounder to a pulp.

Finn swung around, breathing heavily, gun aimed at Bellamy.

Bellamy's heart dropped to his stomach, watching Finn's fingers twitch on the trigger, eyes cold and emotionless.

"Put down the gun, Finn." Bellamy breathed.

Finn stared at Bellamy for an extra second before turning back to the Grounder, gun now aimed at his head.

"3 seconds." He told the Grounder.

"2,"

"1!"

"Okay!" The Grounder said, breaking, "I'll tell you,"

Bellamy felt a swell of relief, despite the fact that Finn still held a gun to the man's head. And his own, for that matter.

"Your friends are east of here, the village where we take our prisoners of war." The Grounder told them.

Finn's anger still hadn't subsided, "East, where?" He spat, "How do we get to them?"

"I can draw you a map." The man told him, "You should hurry, soon they'll outlive their usefulness."

Bellamy cringed at the Grounder's choice of words.

His tried his hardest to avoid the thought of his friends as prisoners of war. His people, his friends outliving their usefulness. Evelynn being killed.

"Get him something to draw a map." Finn demanded, gun still outstretched threateningly.

Murphy leaned towards Bellamy, back to Finn and the Grounder, "And you thought I was the crazy one, huh?"

»»————-　★　————-««

Bellamy leaned over the map that the Grounder drew for them. He followed the dotted line with his eyes as it led through the surrounding land.

It was an odd thought, but it reminded him of 'treasure maps' that he and Octavia would make when they were kids.

The treasure was always something random, like a toy they already had, or their dinner for that night. But they loved trying to find the hidden treasure together.

This definitely wasn't a treasure map.

'Cause at the end of this map were people. Kids. Their friends, tortured, prisoners of war. Possibly hurt or dead.

He shuddered at the thought.

"Gather up the gear," Bellamy folded up the map, standing up, "We're leaving."

Sterling nodded his head towards the Grounder, still tied up, "What about him?"

Bellamy looked around at the delinquents surrounding him, "We leave him, deal with him when we're done."

"And what if he escapes?" Murphy debates, "He knows exactly where we're going."

Bellamy knew what he was thinking, "We're not killing him,"

"I don't really see another option. If we don't care of this now it'll blow back on us and you know that."

"He's unarmed, Murphy."

"He's a Grounder!" He looked to the others for support, "Come on tell him!"

Monroe shrugged, looking at the floor, "I don't know."

"You don't know what?" Murphy shot, "He's gonna tell his people everything, we're as good as dead. Our friends too."

Bellamy shook his head again, "We're not doing this, end of discussion. You want him you go through me."

"What exactly happened to you? You're acting like you've never killed a Grounder before."

"That was in battle," Bellamy reasoned, "This would be an execution—"

An earsplitting gunshot echoed off the walls of the bunker.

All heads snapped around to the source of the sound.

Bellamy's eyes widened as he saw Finn frozen, gun outstretched, smoke emitting from the barrel, Grounder dead, blood pouring from his head.

No one dared utter a word, all watching Finn stare at what he did.

The gun fell to his side as he turned and walked past them, emotionless as ever, "Let's get moving."