𝟐.𝟏𝟓

──── 「SHEDA」 ────

     I had been working on everything Clarke had asked me to since she left, but without supplies or intel there wasn't much more I could do, so the next thing I did was draw a map of Mount Weather on a board based on her drawing and then I focused on the dam.

- "Has he checked in yet?"

- "No." –I turned around to see Clarke coming into the room followed by a Grounder- "Worried someone's gonna take a shot at you inside the Ark?"

- "Lexa's orders." -she answered me before I turned around, hearing her dismiss him before she walked toward me- "He's late, what if something's happened to him?"

- "Then you'll need that Grounder because Sam will kill you." –I glanced at her for a second, seeing the color drain from her face- "Don't worry, he'll be fine."

- "You've been busy." –she spoke after sighing at my remark- "Why are you focusing on the dam? I told you acid fog was our priority."

- "Well, until Bellamy gets eyes on their dispersal system there's only so much I can do."

- "Fine. "Tell me about the dam. Can we cut off their power?"

- "Maybe. I'm still playing with a few things."

As I kept looking at the dam's map, she turned and took one of the Reaper's Repellent, as Sam and I had baptized the previous day before she left to Tondc, and pressed the button.

- "How many of these have you made?"

- "Only two so far but..."

- "Two?!" –she put it back aggressively on the table- "That's not enough! There'll be Reapers everywhere!"

- "High-frequency tone generators don't grow on trees, Clarke." –I was starting to get annoyed at her- "Wick's scrounging for parts."

- "Raven. I am about to leave for Tondc where Lexa and the heads of all 12 Grounder clans are waiting for me to tell them we're a go. Only we are not a go because they still have the acid fog and we only have two-tone generators."

- "We'll be ready." –she looked at me, doubtful- "We will."

- "Work Station, do you read me?" –Bellamy's voice came through the radio just in time- "Anybody there?"

- "Bellamy, you're late." –Clarke was quick to take the radio- "Every three hours means every three hours."

- "Are you through?"

- "Have you found the source of the acid fog?"

- "No, that's gonna have to wait."

- "What? No." -Clarke's tone was harsh; I wondered if she understood the risks Bellamy was taking- "Nothing is more important than that."

- "Our friends are. They've started taking them from the dorm one at a time every few hours."

- "Taking them where?" –I spoke through the radio.

- "I don't know. We tried to follow them but they went to a classified level." –the pain in Bellamy's voice mixed with guilt- "Maya borrowed the schematics of the vent system from her boss and we're still trying to find a way in. Anything?"

- "I think I found a path, but it's gonna be tight." –we heard Maya answer him- "Here's the walkie Raven asked for and the earbud."

Before explaining to Bellamy what to do to make himself mobile, I watched as Clarke left the room, deciding she couldn't leave to Tondc in those circumstances. I wasn't sure what that'd mean for the meeting but I had other things to worry about, like making sure we didn't lose connection with Bellamy, not that she'd answer my questions, leaving me with the words in my mouth so I simply sighed and turned toward the radio and my own map of Mount Weather to work with Bellamy and Maya to find a way in.

Eventually, Clarke came back, explaining to me she wasn't leaving so she started to work with me to find a way in for Bellamy and, once we found it, he started to move through the vent system, leaving Maya behind to pretend everything was going fine and following our directions as we followed his movements with our map.

- "Bellamy." –Clarke spoke to the radio as I pointed at a place on the map- "We think you're close, the lab should be up ahead."

- "Any chance you could be more specific?"

I looked at the map; it wasn't very accurate, so there was no way for us to know which way he needed to go for sure on the next crossroad in the vents. Suddenly, a sound came through the radio.

- "Never mind." -Bellamy spoke again- "I got this."

- "Is that a drill?"

- "Bone marrow extraction."

The realization of what was going on hit me as Clarke answered me. It was horrible. Bellamy went silent as he got closer and so did we to make sure he wasn't discovered. After some time, the drilling stopped, exchanged for the clicking of heels and then a woman's voice through Bellamy's earpiece.

- "Ready for the last treatment you'll ever need, lieutenant?"

- "You have no idea. I've waited my whole life to breathe fresh air."

- "That's Emerson." –Clarke whispered.

- "Let's get back to this secret army that she claims to have." –another man's voice came in- "Did she tell you anything that might help us find it?"

The drilling noise started again but just for a moment, silencing everything else but, thankfully, it stopped.

- "The window for extraction after death is incredibly short." –the woman spoke and my blood froze- "We need..."

- "I only need a minute."

- "No, sir, nothing about the army." –Emerson spoke again- "Clarke did say that if we let her people go, she'll let our people live. The other girl, however, didn't seem to care about any of that, she was much more confrontational; she cut my oxygen supply for another hour, I almost died because of her." –Emerson spoke with poison in his tone as I looked at Clarke and she mouthed what I expected: Sam- "If she were their leader, Sir, I don't think she'd let any of us live."

- "Good thing she's not, then." –the other man spoke, almost in a chuckle- "Although it is a little bit late for their initial offer."

- "I'm sorry I failed, sir."

- "No, it's okay. We'll finish the job tonight. There's a War Council meeting happening tonight in one of their villages and all the leaders are gonna be there. Hopefully, your little friend will be there too."

- "Sir, I feel good. Let me take a team out, support Whitman."

- "No, he has less chance of being spotted if he's alone."

- "Sir, Whitman's good but he can't take out that many targets alone."

- "Which is why we're gonna use a missile. This time we're not gonna miss."

I faced Clarke as we both stood there in shock. We could hear Bellamy moving through the vent until he spoke again. A missile? That'd kill everyone in the area depending on what type of weapon they used. We had people there. Octavia. Sam. We had to stop it. But we didn't have a way to communicate with them. It was like the world was playing a nasty trick on us. I couldn't lose Sam; she meant too much to me. She was my friend. She was my family. I had just lost Finn, I couldn't lose her too.

- "If I leave now, I can make it there in time."

- "In time to be blown up, you mean."

- "It's the only way, Raven." -Clarke glanced at me; I knew she was right but I couldn't stop thinking about it- "When I get back, I wanna know our friends are safe and the acid fog is down. Can you handle that?"

- "Yes, we can handle it." –I took the radio- "Go."

- "Clarke, wait." –Bellamy spoke fast- "Octavia and Sam, are they...?"

- "They're both here, they're training together outside right now, don't worry. They're safe."

- "Okay, good." –he answered relieved- "You be safe too."

- "I will."

- "Sam and Octavia are both in Tondc for the meeting, why did you lie to him?" –I questioned as she let go of the radio, making sure Bellamy couldn't hear us.

- "Bellamy can't be distracted," -her voice was cold- "it helps no one."

     It didn't take us long to get to Tondc. Once we got there, I went straight to sleep to wake up early in the morning to speak with Lexa and for my training session with whoever she had chosen. Ion and Oreth seemed to have an idea of who it might be but refused to tell me. I woke up the next day, luckily having had a decent sleep, and walked around until I found Lexa.

- "Heda."

- "Samantha kom Skaikru. Monin." [Welcome]

- "Mochof. Ai laik hir gon hon daun bilaik offer." –I answered back, not really sure if I was using the correct words but trying nonetheless. [Thank you. I'm here to accept your offer.]

- "I see you've already started your lessons, good." –Lexa nodded in appreciation- "Sheda." –she called one of the Grounders behind her- "He will be training with you, Oreth, and Ion today."

- "Very well, Heda."

I nodded at her, turning around and watching her go in the direction I had come from followed by another three Grounders. I felt the one she had called standing beside me, not saying a word until Lexa disappeared. I wondered how this would go but I wasn't worried. I was excited.

- "So... you're the famous Samantha." -I saw him crossing his arms over his chest from the corner of my eye.

- "I wouldn't say famous," –I smiled to myself- "but yes, I'm Samantha."

- "You're not quite what I expected."

- "Should I be offended by that?"

- "Quint said you put up a fight, I thought you'd be..." -I glared at him as I turned to face him, watching as he shrugged his shoulders- "I don't know..."

- "He was probably trying to scare you;" -I chuckled- "I don't think I harmed him much, honestly, but I did get a decent number of cuts and bruises."

- "He said for someone who fell from the sky, you fought decently."

- "I'd like to say I'll be better today but something tells me I'm going to receive more than I'm going to serve."

- "We'll see." –I saw him smile from the corner of my eye as we walked back to where Ion and Oreth were- "I'd like to question why you carry a bow with no arrows."

- "Lincoln made it for me, it's a gift. I've been meaning to learn to build some arrows, just never really got the chance."

I shrugged my shoulders and he nodded understanding. Sheda was probably just a couple of years older than me and he seemed to be okay with the Trikru-Skaikru alliance, which made things much easier for me. I spent the morning training with him while Oreth and Ion trained next to us on their own for the most part, but from time to time they'd check how I was doing and correct the position of my hands or my feet. They were all so likable I had trouble believing we were once at war.

- "Well done, Samantha." –Oreth laughed from beside us once I finally managed to throw Sheda to the ground- "He's finally where he belongs."

- "You're a fast learner, nobody cared to share that." –Sheda looked at Oreth and Ion who seemed to be pretty entertained by us.

- "Not always." –I smiled offering him my hand- "You're a good teacher."

- "I'd say we're done for today." –Sheda rose beside me- "The meeting is in a couple of hours and we all have assigned jobs; go grab some food before everything gets crazy, you deserve it. We'll train again tomorrow and we'll see how it goes from there."

- "No one is coming to lunch with me?" –I questioned him before looking at Oreth and Ion.

- "Technically you're not one of us yet and the other clans are still unsure about this."

- "Seems fair." –I accepted knowing what Ion meant- "I'll see you three around then."

Each of us left to do our own thing. Maybe Octavia is here already and she could come with me. Maybe I could also get around making some arrows, that should be interesting. I found Octavia in the distance talking with Indra who seemed to dismiss her at that very moment so I went to meet her.

- "O!"

- "Sam!" –she turned to face me- "You look a little beat up."

- "Well, I've been training all morning. It was great."

- "Really?" –she raised an eyebrow at me.

- "Yeah, I mean of course I'll be the one on the ground most of the time, but I'm getting there."  –I laughed- "Give me some credit, sis."

- "What are you up to now?"

- "Food break before the meeting. Got some time on your hands?"

- "Yeah. Indra dismissed me so I guess we could get some food."

- "Great, now let's see if they let us or we have to kick their asses again."

- "More like the other way around, but alright."

We both laughed and started walking around the village until we found a place where they were serving food; not many happy faces but they let us eat, which I considered an improvement. After eating and while we were talking and walking around the village, Indra walked to us.

- "I think your break is over." –I whispered to Octavia.

- "What will you be doing now?"

- "I don't know, I'll walk around and try not to fuck anything up."

- "Yeah, that'd be nice." –Octavia smiled- "I'll see you after the meeting is over."

- "Sure thing."

- "Octavia." –Indra was now in front of us.

- "And I'm gonna go now." –I smiled at O- "Indra, good to see you."

Indra nodded before I turned around to leave. I really liked Indra and I respected her. I was glad Octavia was with her for I knew she would teach her well. I started looking around when someone patted me in the back and I turned to face them ready to fight.

- "I see you're always up for a fight."

- "Sheda! You out of everyone here should know not to jump on people like that; especially not on me when I know half the people here don't like me."

- "Yeah, you're probably right."

- "So, what are you up to? Have a job for me because that'd be great, I'm getting bored."

- "Actually, yes. I was looking for you because I have something to show you."

- "Imma go ahead and trust you."

- "Come with me."

I followed Sheda through the village, wondering what we'd be up to since Ion and Oreth were nowhere to be seen. Sheda wouldn't tell me and I was about to protest when I heard a familiar voice, turning in time to see Clarke walking into the village, dismissing Octavia who crossed glances with me. I called after Clarke but she simply smiled and walked by.

- "Something's wrong." –I muttered watching them leave.

- "What do you mean?"

- "Clarke looks worried," -I turned to Sheda- "as if something bad was about to happen."

- "We are getting together to fight a war; I'd say that would make anyone agitated."

- "I guess you could be right." -I conceded, stealing a last glance to see O following Clarke through the village- "Anyway, what are we doing then?"

- "We're almost there, come on."

Sheda resumed walking as I chuckled and followed him. Had it been anyone else, I had questioned his motives and the mystery of his ways, but it was Sheda we were talking about: Lexa had chosen him out of everyone she could have picked which I thought could only mean he was reliable and encouraging so I decided to trust my gut on this one, as usual, and followed him. We were almost outside the village when he stopped and pointed in front of him. I moved beside him and looked at the ground: thin branches were piled up next to some tools and a rope. I couldn't help but smile s I looked up at him.

- "Is this what I think it is?"

- "I thought if you were going to be carrying that bow around, you might as well get a quiver and some arrows. Plus learning how to build them is always helpful."

- "Don't take this the wrong way but why are you being this nice to me? Like I appreciate it endlessly but won't people mock you for helping a Sky Girl?"

- "I think the alliance is good for all of us, we need to learn to work and live together because you are not going up to the sky again, right?"

- "I'm guessing not." –I smiled- "Thank you, Sheda."

- "Let's see if you are as much of a fast learner building weapons as you are using them."

- "I'd hope so."

- "Once we've made a couple of them I wanna see you shoot them, so we'll go out to hunt."

- "Finally," -I chuckled- "some action!"

- "Where's your quiver?"

- "It got lost somewhere along the past couple of weeks."

- "I got one. You can have it."

- "Won't you need it?"

- "Trust me." –he laughed sitting down- "I'm no good with the bow."

- "Look at that, maybe I could teach you something now." –I mimicked him, laughing.

     Raven and I had spent some time coming up with a plan to follow while checking the intel given by Dante, the president of Mount Weather who, luckily, was on our side. I was now moving around the vents and tunnels and weird places of Mount Weather, following Raven's directions to find where the acid fog was kept and from where it was distributed to the ground.

- "Talk to me, what do you see?"

- "Close your eyes, imagine a bottomless pit."

- "Just stick with it." –Raven commanded me through the radio- "According to Dante's coordinates you're almost there."

- "What's happening on your end? Did they evacuate Tondc?"

- "Don't know yet, but it's Clarke, she'll get it done. Just concentrate on squeezing your ass through the vents and stop worrying about your sister and your girlfriend."

I felt my heart stop beating for a moment, pausing my movement and tightening my grip on the stairs I was climbing. I tried to breathe steadily but just knowing my sister and Sam weren't safe altered me. 

- "They are in Tondc? They're both there?" -nothing came out of my earpiece- "Raven, answer me!"

- "They're going to be okay." –Raven's voice finally came through but I could tell there was something in her voice- "Clarke fired out of here, she's going to get there on time."

- "How could you keep this from me?" -I asked in disbelief, especially knowing how much Raven cared about Sam- "Sam's there!"

- "Clarke was trying to protect you." -Me? Or her plan?- "Listen, you still have a job to do."

- "I know but how can you be so calm. Octavia is my sister and I've seen you with Sam; I know what she means to you and..."

- "I'm worried about them too but we have to focus, Bellamy."

I sighed, knowing she was right. I had to put my feelings to the side and do my part and, by the time this was done, hope that the two most important people in my life were still alive.

- "Let's just get this done."

     Building arrows turned out to be a fun experience. Sheda had shown me how he built them, clear instructions and guidelines with a few tricks up his sleeve. I couldn't help but grin at him as he showed me the first arrow he made, holding it and inspecting it carefully. It was incredibly well made and balanced, which only prompted my own competitive nature to shine through and get to it as he laughed. Once we had around 20 and with a few not very well-made ones by me, Sheda decided it was time to try them out. He left to find his quiver while I finished my last one.

- "Alright, time to see how these fly." –Sheda appeared behind me- "Place them here and follow me."

- "Thank you again, Sheda."

- "Thank me if the arrows fly."

I laughed while putting on the quiver with the arrows and following him into the woods. It was almost nighttime so instead of hunting, Sheda chose to put a target on a tree for me to shoot at.

- "Alright, try one of the first you made."

- "But those are not..."

- "Just to see where they go." -I rose an unimpressed eyebrow at him as he grinned, crossing his arms over his chest- " Come on, just for fun."

- "Well, then move behind me. I don't want to hit you accidentally because you made me fire an unusable arrow."

- "That'll teach you not to waste resources." –he grinned.

- "Oh, come on, it was my first attempt!"

- "Still." –he stood behind me- "Shoot."

I rolled my eyes and placed one of the truly tragically built arrows on my bow and pointed it at the target, even if I was sure it'd go sideways. I let go of the bow's string and the arrow flew away from us in a rather funny way making me laugh.

- "I knew it was horrible but I didn't expect it to be this bad." -I moved towards where the arrow had fallen. It had flown no more than a couple meters to the left and had broken when it hit the ground- "Well now this is a tragic sight, isn't it?" –I returned to Sheda's side and handed him the broken arrow.

- "Try now with one of mine."

- "You wanna brag about how yours won't break?"

- "I hope it won't break or else I taught you the wrong way of making arrows."

- "That would have been a waste of both our time."

I moved to my original place again, this time shooting one of his arrows and, of course, this one did land on the target, flying straight into it.

- "Now, that's a good arrow right there." -I turned to see the grin on his lips that I was sure matched my own- "Good job, Sheda."

- "And that was a pretty decent shot, Samantha."

- "Decent? More like splendid, but I'll take it."

- "We'll see how you do tomorrow with a moving target." -he looked around us- "We should go back."

- "Lead the way."

I strode beside him, Sheda notifying me of everything we'd be doing the following day once the meeting was finally over. We were almost on the verge of the village when a peculiar sound caught my attention, raising my head in time to see a light in the sky flying above us towards the village's center. Octavia.