Chapter Text
It was raining. Hard. Fat raindrops slammed into the ground, turning the formerly neat dirt paths of Arkadia into a muddy sludge. Everyone had already fled inside, seeking shelter from the rain and the bitter cold accompanying it.
All except one.
Clarke crouched in the shadows of the horse stables, ignoring the cold water slowly seeping through her clothes. If her enemies could see her now they would have laughed, the almighty Wanheda sneaking around in the mud.
A door banged open in the shop across from her and she froze, watching as two people exited. Cautiously, she lowered herself even further until she was on her stomach and slowly peered around the edge of the stable wall. If she was noticed her mission would be for nothing and weeks of careful planning would be wasted.
Blinking water out of her eyes she paused, eyeing the figures. Even through the onslaught, they were easily recognizable. The first was short and bulky while his companion was taller and wirier. For a moment a hot flash of anger consumed her and her hands tightened into tight fists.
Sense returned to her and she forced herself to relax. It would do no good to let her emotions get the best of her here. The thought had her settling down and listening. Anything to give her a clue as to why Marcus Kane was talking with Charles Pike.
“-really think that it could help boost some spirit.” Kane said.
Pike shrugged and scanned his surroundings. For the briefest of moments, his eyes lingered on the stables and Clarke tensed. Still, she held her position and a few seconds later Pike was looking away again.
“I’m not really looking to boost morale here Kane. I’ve got more important things to worry about.”
Kane blinked, surprised. “What could possibly be more important? Food rates are lower than ever and we don’t have nearly enough rations to sustain this type of living-”
“Listen here Kane,” Pike grinned, a horribly forced thing. “Nothing is more important than breaking through that goddamned barrier and claiming the ground. It is ours, not those bloodthirsty savages.”
Kane spluttered a protest and Pike raised a hand. “I am the Chancellor of Arkadia and as such it is my duty to make sure that my people are returned to the land that is rightfully theirs.” He advanced forwards, practically looming over the older man despite his shorter stature. “You leave the barrier to me and go fuss over a few scared kids, alright?”
In the stables, Clarke rolled her eyes. What she wouldn’t have given to punch Pike in the face at that exact moment. God knew he deserved it and a lot worse.
Kane wavered for a few seconds before slumping and looking away. “You’re making a mistake here Charles.” He muttered. “Things aren’t going to end well if you continue on like this.”
For a moment Pike looked about ready to fly into a rage. But he took a deep breath and stepped back. “You go reassure those kids Kane. Meanwhile I’ll be doing something that actually matters.” Then he was gone.
Kane stared after him for a moment and then dropped his face into his hands. Clarke raised an eyebrow, any sympathy for the man already long gone. Carefully pulling back into the shelter of the stable walls she sat up. From then it was only a quick detour out of the window and into a narrow back alley.
Emerging back into the rain she scrubbed as much of the mud from her clothes as she could before taking off back to the Ark, careful to keep close to the shadows. As she walked she smiled, Octavia’s tip-off had been successful. Finally, they had a leg up on Pike.
This was going to be good.
“You want to do what now?” Octavia’s eyes were comically wide, the young warrior shocked into a rare silence.
“I want to start a riot.” Clarke repeated, toweling her hair dry. They were seated in her room, surrounded by papers, the result of weeks of hard work and careful planning. Now it was finally coming into action.
“You do realize that there are a million different things that could go wrong with that right?”
“I like it.” Clarke glanced sideways to where the third occupant of the room sat at her desk. Thalia peered at a sheaf of reports, her face unusually grim as she looked up. “Pike is no longer looking at the citizens of Arkadia as a threat. Now is our best time to strike, he’s off guard and distracted.”
Inwardly, Clarke smiled. The sixteen-year-old showed great signs of progress, a far cry from when she and Clarke had first met at the start of the barricade. Once they were free from Arkadia, Thalia would undoubtedly become a strong leader.
“This is Pike we’re talking about.” Octavia said flatly. “That asshole always has something up his sleeve not to mention that he hates us. He could just as easily make up some lie and then we’re done for.”
“Not if we aren’t the ones starting the riot.” Clarke turned around and met Octavia’s gaze. “Monty, Raven, Harper, Jasper. They’re stuck here too. You just have to tell them what to do.” She could practically see Octavia’s resolve crumbling. “You know they want to fight.”
“Alright, alright, I heard you the first time, I’ll do it.”
She smiled and opened her mouth but Octavia cut her off. “But if they get caught up in any of this,” she gestured between Thalia and Clarke. “I won’t hesitate to come after you. They’re my family.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Clarke saw Thalia scowl but she simply shrugged. “Understood.” And she did. She’d protect Thalia with her life and gladly kill anyone who stood in her way. It was hypocritical to judge Octavia for wanting to do the same.
They spent the rest of the afternoon poring over the information they had, creating a plan. By the time the overhead lights came on and Octavia was leaving Clarke was feeling a rush of excitement. If all went right Pike would be getting a nasty surprise in a few hours.
Standing up, she stretched, wincing as her joints popped loudly. Beside her, Thalia stood up as well and Clarke turned towards her, instinctively reaching out a hand and smoothing a few curls out of her face.
“Are you feeling up for this?”
“I can’t wait.” Thalia said darkly. “Pike is finally going to get what he deserves.”
Clarke snarled, eyes darkening as a familiar rage bubbled in her chest. “He deserves worse than death for what he did to you.” She spat. “Even if he hadn’t hurt you he tried to take you away from me. For that he deserves worse than death.”
“Hey,” Thalia reached out and took hold of her fist, trying for a smile. “I’m right here, he didn’t succeed.”
She hummed. “No, he didn’t.” Drawing her into a hug she tried to calm the anger threatening to burst forth; the errant desire to paint the walls red. Beside her, Thalia didn’t move and she frowned, pulling back a little as she tried to see her face. “What’s wrong?”
“If we get out of here,” Thalia hesitated, wringing her hands. “Do you think you’ll see Lexa again?”
Clarke blinked, the air suddenly vanishing from her lungs as she stared. The look on her face must have been worse than she thought because Thalia immediately backtracked.
“You know what? Forget I said that, it was stupid. I think I’m going to go on a walk, we could use a perimeter check anyways.” Nodding, she sprang to her feet, donning a jacket and slipping out the door before Clarke could even think to go after her.
Blood rushed in her ears and she ignored the sudden hot feeling in her eyes. It had been a while since she had thought of Lexa. Just her name was enough to bring back memories she’d worked hard to forget: long brown hair, flowing capes of red, and sharp emerald eyes. The last time she’d seen those eyes they’d been shimmering with unshed tears, face held in her hands as she’d leaned in closer-
No. She was not thinking about this right now. She would not. Not when she was so close to achieving what she’d been working on. Straightening up, she harshly scrubbed at her face. Love is a distraction, she chided herself. Not caring is the kindest thing you can do now.
When she finally swung the door open again, any thoughts of the Commander were safely locked away again. Stepping into the hallway, Clarke raised an eyebrow as Thalia straightened up from where she was slouched against the wall.
“How did the walk go?” She asked sarcastically.
Thalia winced. “Are you okay?”
Clarke raised an eyebrow. “Fine. Now, Octavia will tell the others the plan but they don’t know about you and I would prefer to keep it that way.” Ignoring the defeated look on the girl’s face she withdrew a map from an inner pocket of her jacket.
“This is a general layout of the vent system. I want you to go through the overhead vents and if possible, get into the central common area. That’s where the others will be. As soon as you arrive, that's the signal to start stirring the crowd.”
“Hang on.” Thalia frowned. “I’m not going with you? I thought you said that we didn’t need to be the ones starting the riot.”
Clarke sighed quietly. “I can’t have you in danger.” She said, immediately Thalia opened her mouth to argue but she held up her hand. “Listen to me Thalia Marsh, you are my second, nothing is more important than keeping you alive. You’re also a member of the hundred which means that they’ll keep you safe if things go wrong.”
“How am I going to learn if you’re always keeping me out of danger?” Thalia argued back. “You can’t just hide me away at the first sign of danger Clarke. I’m not helpless.”
“This is different.” Clarke snapped. “Pike has proven himself to be dangerous beyond what anyone expected. Especially to you and I. I will not take you into a situation if it means just the slightest risk of Pike finding you and hurting you again.”
For a moment Thalia glared at her. Then she tugged the map out of her hands and spun around, storming down the hallway. Clarke sighed.
When she caught up to her second the vent hatch was already down and Thalia was tying her hair back. Clarke watched silently as she hoisted herself into the vents with practiced ease. It was only then that she broke her silence.
“If anything happens to me and I don’t return, find Octavia or Abby. They’ll make sure you’re safe.”
Thalia paused, just the soles of her shoes visible. For a moment it sounded like she would say something back but then the moment passed and she scoffed, pulling away and vanishing into the depths of the vent systems.
Clarke frowned. Still, she re-secured the vent hatch and returned down the hallway to her room. She’d deal with any potential temper tantrums later.
In her room she lowered herself to the ground, reaching underneath the bed until her fingers collided with something long and thin. Pulling it back she sighed in relief as she saw the sword still safely in its sheath, untouched if a little dusty.
Strapping it over her back she felt the stress in her stomach settle. If she ran into Pike now she wouldn’t be helpless. Tugging a cloak from the detritus of her room she swung it over her shoulders, making sure that most of her sword was covered.
Emerging from her room she felt the calmest she ever had since returning to the camp. She was done playing games with Pike. The barricade was going to fall and she had absolutely no qualms about doing everything in her power to make sure it happened one way or another.
Grinning to herself she stole quietly down the hall. From there it was easy to pry a panel off of the wall and expose the space behind it. Carefully hoisting herself into the small space she flattened herself to the bottom and began the slow process of traveling through the walls. Time to finish what she’d started.
In retrospect, Octavia should have known that things wouldn’t go the way they planned. What she hadn’t accounted for was that they would go wrong so quickly.
“Clarke Griffin wants us to do what now?” Raven Reyes slammed her tray down on the table and gave her a flat look. “No fucking way.”
Beside her Monty and Harper exchanged uneasy looks. Even Jasper who would have been all too quick to chime in with a scathing word kept silent.
“Listen Raven,” Octavia began carefully. “I know you don’t like Clarke, but this is bigger than you. We’re talking about a chance to catch Pike off guard, to get out of here. Don’t you want that? Don’t you want to be free?”
“Not if it means following a Griffin.” Raven hissed. “You saw what she was capable of Octavia, more than anyone else here. Don’t pretend like you didn’t. Remember how hard it was to get her back from Polis? I was nearly killed and she didn’t give one shit. She was too wrapped up with Lexa.” The name was spat out like poison. Octavia winced.
“Look, you don’t have to like her to know it’s a good plan. The enemy of my enemy is my friend right? I’ve been talking to her and she knows what she’s doing. This could be the way out we’re all looking for, we could get Lincoln back, Abby too.”
Raven sat back and crossed her arms, staying silent. Octavia repressed the urge to smack her upside the head. Looking desperately to the side she made eye contact with Monty who bit his lip. He remained quiet.
Her frustration welled up and she snatched her tray up off of the table. “Fine.” She snapped, “you can stay out of this if you want but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Standing up she squared her shoulders and marched right over to where a cluster of guards was standing. She wasn’t waiting for Thalia, things needed to get started now.
“Excuse me,” she said loudly. “I didn’t get the same amount of rations as everyone else.”
The guards broke off their talking to eye her distastefully. She raised her chin, gripping the tray tighter,
“Everyone here got the same amount. You’re not getting anymore.” One of them said, sounding bored.
Octavia all but hurled the tray into his chest, aware of the way the cafeteria had grown quiet around them. “What the hell is this then? Did Pike cut the rations again?” The roots in question had been slipped onto Jasper’s plate a while ago.
As expected whispers began to ripple throughout the hall.
Hey, she’s got a point, look at our portions, they're different sizes.
How smaller can our rations get?
Can I get more?
We’re going to starve at this point!
Inwardly she smiled. Pike’s popularity—or lack thereof—was always going to be his downfall.
The guard’s patience finally broke. One of them grabbed her wrist; shock baton lighting up with a nasty crackle. Instinctively Octavia flinched away, her hand darting out and grabbing his arm and forcing him to a stop. They stood locked at a standstill waiting for the other to make the first move.
Around them, more and more heads were beginning to turn. When the other guards looked at the crowd they were met with nothing but restless hostility. Octavia was well-liked amongst the Ark, she’d always advocated for them even if it left her in less than good graces with the guards. Now, as the other guards lit up their batons and closed in, people were starting to stir.
“I didn’t get any roots either!” A small figure stepped out of the crowd, throwing her metal tray onto the ground with a clatter. Octavia slumped in relief as Thalia glared at the guards holding her with as much fury as she could muster.
“Grab her.” A guard muttered and Octavia felt her relief turn into fear as they surged forwards and grabbed the teenager, wrestling her back as batons were cranked up to full capacity. A well-aimed hit with one of them meant serious pain. Multiple of them could mean death.
“Hey! She’s a kid, let her go!” Twisting back, she kicked her captor in the knee as hard as she could. He crumpled instantly and she surged forward, hand falling to her side and drawing a familiar blade from the sheath at her waist.
Thalia shrieked as a guard twisted her arm and the crowd broke. Weeks of starvation and abuse made themselves known as people leapt onto the guards, brandishing knives, forks, and even their metal trays as weapons.
Octavia hovered amid the chaos scanning frantically for any sign of her friends. When Jasper’s hand finally grabbed her elbow she nearly brained him. Spinning around she grasped his shoulders, trying her best to keep them both steady as people crashed into and around them.
“Jasper!” She yelled, struggling to make herself heard. “Where are the others?”
He shrugged helplessly, flinching as a tray knocked painfully into his shoulder.
She cursed under her breath. Gripping Jasper’s forearm tightly she made a break for it, ducking underneath arms and legs as she broke free of the group. Only once she’d gotten them clear did she stop to catch her breath, sinking to the floor and wiping sweat from her forehead.
Above her, Jasper made an odd choking sound and she looked up panting. “Are you alright?”
He met her eyes, wringing his hands together worriedly. “I’m fine but who is that?”
Octavia followed his gaze just in time to see Thalia rear up out of the fray, snarling. She felt the corner of her mouth tug up slightly at the sight. Lincoln’s lessons had paid off.
“That’s Thalia, she’s a friend of mine.” She huffed, leaning back. “And also a member of Trikru if I play my cards right.” There was no reply. Twisting around, she peered upwards, confused, only for her breath to catch in her throat. Jasper’s jaw was tight, hands clenched into fists at his side and a haunted look in his eyes.
“Woah, woah, hey it was just an idea.” She said softly, standing up slowly and keeping her movements soft and telegraphed; the way one might act around a wild animal. Fuck, she’d forgotten the number one rule when talking to Jasper: never mention the grounders.
She was about to apologise when Jasper shook himself out of his stupor, grimacing as he looked at her.
“I’m not a piece of glass you know.” He said wearily. “I don’t give a fuck if you want to recruit someone into your clan of murderers or not. Not like anything I say would matter, you’re stubborn.” There was a hint of bitterness coating what would normally be lighthearted teasing.
Octavia winced. “What you say does matter.” She tried to argue back but he was already shaking his head, shrinking back into the wall as something over her shoulder caught his eye.
“There’s Raven and the others.”
Sure enough when she turned around Raven was limping over, clutching at her leg and giving sour looks at the mob.
“Was this your plan all along Blake?” She hissed. “Do you have any idea what Pike will do to us, do to them,” she gestured to the mob, “once he realises what you did?”
Octavia set her jaw, ignoring the small presence just behind her elbow as Thalia appeared. She didn’t think she could see her face when she spoke. “He’s not in Arkadia at the moment.” She said quietly. Clarke, please forgive me, but I needed my friends safe . “He’s trying to leave the barricade.”
For a long moment, Raven just stared at her. Then she cursed.
By the time Clarke found Pike, she was soaked again. It hadn’t been hard to find him, she’d followed the sound of loud voices and sure enough, he was there. Gesturing wildly and spitting mad, a vein popping in his neck.
Shrinking back into the nearest shadows she peered forward. Immediately her sense of unease returned. Pike may have been a paranoid psychopath but he wasn’t stupid. He usually had around five guards around him. But now there were only two guards at his side, both quailing underneath his fury.
Leaving behind the security of the shadows she crept closer, ducking down behind a row of wilted bushes.
“What do you mean they overpowered the guards?” Pike snarled. “They’re armed!”
One of the guards said something quietly and immediately Pike turned on him, eyes burning as he advanced until he was nose to nose with the poor man. “Led?” His voice was soft and silky, “and how exactly were they led when I’ve taken away all their leaders?”
Clarke swallowed thickly even as relief ran through her veins. Octavia and Thalia had gotten the crowds stirred.
The guard flinched away from Pike, hands shaking in desperate agony. “I’m– I’m not sure sir.”
Pike sneered before smoothing his expression back into something calmer. “No,” he mused to himself, “No you’re right, they must have been led. They certainly couldn’t have done it on their own.”
They’re weak, Clarke agreed bitterly, feeling her stomach twist. Because they’ve been conditioned to be.
Snapping his fingers Pike pointed at the guard. “Find Clarke Griffin. She should be sequestered in section 14. Tell her guards I sent you and bring her to me.” Whirling around he stabbed a finger at the second guard, who, up until that point, had been silent. “This’ll teach you to not trust that grounder lover.”
The guard stiffened, shoulders taut as he dipped his chin down. “With all due respect Chancellor, Clarke Griffin is being guarded by three guards and a locked steel door. As soon as she made it past the doors the guards would have sounded the alarm.”
Clarke bit down sharply on her tongue, iron filling her mouth as she struggled to stay quiet. The second guard was Bellamy Blake. Her throat constricted, he’d known about her imprisonment then. He’d known–
“Chase this is Antonov, do you copy? Over.”
The first guard—Chase—paused in his preparations to leave, scrambling for his radio, and nearly dropping it as both Pike and Bellamy turned their gaze to him.
“This is Chase, over.”
“We’ve got a situation over in the mess hall. Around six citizens have left the area, one of them attacked the guards that tried to intercept. We’ve issued a shoot on sight, what are Pike’s orders? Over.”
Pike snatched the radio and turned to face Bellamy as he flicked the channel open.
“What did this attacker look like?” His voice was trembling with fury, hands gripping the radio so tightly Clarke was surprised the thing hadn’t been turned into a lump of plastic and metal.
“Chancellor, the attacker was female, dressed in grounder clothing and had a sword.” Sparks were flying from Pike’s eyes. “We’ve identified her as Octavia Blake sir, over.”
“My sister would never do something so foolish.” Bellamy snapped. He looked one second away from wrestling the radio out of Pike’s hands. “Antonov must have gotten it wrong.”
Except he didn’t, Clarke thought from behind her bush.
Pike turned to Bellamy. “Your sister has always toed the line.” He said calmly. Too calmly. “I’ve tried to overlook her actions considering you’re her brother. But if Antonov is right and she really is involved in this mess then she will answer for her crimes.”
“Sir,” Bellamy pleaded, “please, she doesn't think. If I can just talk to her she’ll understand.”
For a moment Pike wavered. Then he turned away. “Octavia Blake has caused too much trouble for far too long. She’s scaring our people with her tales of grounders and now she believes we should become them. As soon as we’ve completed our mission she’ll answer for her crimes as the law dictates.”
Clarke frowned. Mission?
“I promise you,” Bellamy straightened up, squaring his shoulders. “Octavia will be on our side.”
“Good,” Pike said. “Now hurry up, we’re losing light. If we want to catch up to the others we better leave now.”
He turned to Chase. “Find Clarke Griffin and bring her to me immediately. Then find Miller and Graham and go to the mess hall. I want you to do whatever it takes to get into that hall and I want it open by the time I return, understand?”
Chase nodded, leaving as fast as he could, Clarke pressing hurriedly back as he scurried past.
Pike and Bellamy were already moving for the main gate, Clarke hurriedly following as she weaved between buildings and shadows.
Her mind was racing as she tried to make sense of what she’d just heard. This was not what was supposed to be happening. Pike never left Arkadia. Even if he was planning to force his way through the barricade Arkadia had nowhere near the size of forces they’d need to try and force their way through. She tried to ignore the sickening memory of the last time Bellamy and Pike had forced their way out; a field of corpses, flesh rotting, and flies buzzing as they lay haphazardly on the ground, all with a bullet hole in the center of their foreheads.
She was so lost in thought she didn’t notice the branch until it was too late. Her boot landed directly onto it and as sodden as it was it still cracked, the sound louder than a gunshot in the almost complete silence of the woods. Freezing, she held her breath and waited for some sort of acknowledgement, a shout alerting the others that she had been noticed. But the two men weren’t even looking back, choosing to talk quietly between themselves as they slipped through the main gate, not even bothering to close it behind them. Unease growing, she forced herself to wait a few minutes before she slipped out after them.
Thankfully, neither Bellamy nor Pike had bothered to master the art of moving quietly. She followed them at a distance, close enough that she could hear their footsteps but far enough back that she could easily duck back into cover should one of them look back.
But soon she was slowing down even more. Months spent sitting in a room and walking up and down the same corridor had left her muscles soft and weak. Now they were shrieking in agony and she was making a concerted effort to breathe as quietly as she could.
By the time the shadows had begun to lengthen and creep around them, she was limping along, old scars flaring to life and slowing her down even more.
Still, she placed her feet carefully, constantly on guard of her surroundings.
When the sound of footfalls ahead of her finally quieted she resisted the urge to sigh in relief. Scanning her surroundings she frowned, recognizing several boulders and trees. The barricade was still a good mile ahead of them.
“Sir!” A new voice made all three of them jump. Clarke glanced sideways and recognized Bryan, boyfriend of Nate Miller. Her face darkened. She’d trusted Nate, he had always seemed more inclined to listen first rather than shoot. Her fingers flexed slightly towards the dagger concealed in her boot.
“Good grief Bryan,” Bellamy snapped. “Make a little noise before you appear, would you? We could have shot you.”
Bryan shrugged unaffectedly and turned towards Pike. “Sir, we have the prisoner secured. She put up a good fight on the way here but we got her subdued.”
Clarke felt ice spread through her veins. Pike had taken a prisoner somewhere in the woods. Ducking back behind her tree she frantically racked her mind. Octavia had left the mess hall with the others but they’d been behind her. A guard couldn't make the journey in time without passing them by. Which only left one option: Thalia.
Her stomach clenched, freezing right against the tree. She never should have let Thalia out. She should have made her listen, should have made her stay behind in her room where she was safe.
“Good.” Pike said, oblivious to the inner turmoil going on twenty feet away. “Let’s go check on her one last time shall we?”
The three men turned and strode off into the shadows, catching Clarke off guard. Hastening to her feet she followed after them, barely remembering to be quiet.
They were moving in a parallel line to the barricade and she could feel her heart rate increasing with each step she took. If Pike even tried to harm a hair on Thalia’s head she would personally rip him apart.
“We’re here.” Bryan announced and, in the fast fading light Clarke could just make out a clearing with what looked like all the guards in Arkadia. Desperation sank its claws into her as she struggled to make sense of what was going on. This wasn’t the plan. Pike wasn’t supposed to leave.
For a moment all thoughts of Thalia fled her mind as she stared. It had taken sixteen people to kill three hundred, in front of her was…a lot more than sixteen. For the first time, Clarke felt worry join her already shot nerves. This was going to be a bloodbath.
“Where is she?” Pike demanded, looking around. “Where’s the prisoner?”
“Over there sir.” Bryan said, pointing to a spot where several guards were clumped together. Clarke craned her neck, silently cursing the darkness.
“Alright, let’s make sure she can talk before going to the barricade. After all, we need her people to believe we have one of their own if we want to draw them out.”
Her people. Clarke frowned, Thalia was from the Ark there was no chance any of the grounders would accept her as one of their own, much less fight for her. She was too lost in thought to notice the footsteps behind her until it was too late.
A pair of arms wrapped around her, a cloth shoved into her mouth as something whipped over her neck drawing tight before she could react. Gagging, she reacted on pure instinct as she shoved backward against her assailant, fingers scraping desperately along the thin wire biting into her neck.
There was a muffled cry and then they were colliding into the ground and the wire came loose. Gasping, she rolled away, trying to clear the tears from her eyes as she shoved herself back.
Another pair of hands found her shoulders and even if Clarke hadn’t been disoriented she could already hear several voices coming closer. She was shoved face first into the forest floor, arms twisted around behind her and she knew it was over. Still, she fought, spitting curses even as a familiar pair of boots entered her vision.
“Clarke Griffin.” Pike sounded thoughtful. “We meet again.”
“Go float yourself you bastard!” Clarke kicked her legs out, trying her best to buck off whoever was on top of her. Hands wrapped around her ankles holding them down.
“Clarke?” Bellamy sounded aghast as he shoved his way through the crowd of guards. She glared back at him. Turning to Pike he gestured wildly. “What the hell is this?”
Pike gave him a smug look. “News of riots, Octavia Blake, this all sounds awfully convenient for you Clarke. I will say I wasn’t sure it would be you to turn up but you forgot one little thing.” He crouched down. “You left your plans out in the open. All it took was one radio and then the guards were telling me all about what you planned to do.”
Clarke watched in stunned silence as Pike met her eyes. “Octavia will be caught as will the others and then this foolish little rebellion will be over. Perhaps if I’m feeling merciful I’ll let you watch as we punish her.”
Bellamy made a choking noise, horror filling his expression as he realized what had happened.
Clarke met his eyes readily. “You really thought you could convince her to follow you?” She scoffed. “She might have listened to you once, Bell, but no one, not even her, will listen to a traitor.”
Bellamy flinched back, lost for words even as Pike began to laugh and the guards hauled her upright. She felt only raw anger.
Motioning for the guards to take her out from behind the trees, Pike turned to face the rest of the guards. “Today,” he announced, “we break through the barricade and reclaim what is ours.”
There was a smattering of cheers and applause but most just looked on. Pike didn’t seem to be bothered at all, if anything his mood improved.
Clarke was dragged to where she’d seen the knot of guards. It was deserted now, revealing nothing but a singular tree ready with ropes tied around it. There was no sign that Thalia had ever been there.
Pike read the confusion on her face and practically beamed. “Looking for your little pet? The guards spotted her too. By now she’ll be captured along with the rest of Octavia’s friends.”
Instinctively she opened her mouth, ready to argue before she snapped it shut biting into her cheek, hard. She wasn’t fast enough.
“You still think they’re your friends? You betrayed them, broke their trust. It’s as you said, no one ever trusts the traitor.”
She swallowed her revulsion even as ropes were knotted around her wrists. She would not play his mind games. “I didn’t betray them.” Her voice was hoarse, an ache already setting in from where the wire noose had cut. “You took me away from them.”
“Really?” Pike shrugged, clearly enjoying himself. “Then why did they turn a blind eye to your absence? You were missing yet none of them even tried to look for you. Sounds like an awful friendship to me.”
Her hands were shaking. “They didn’t know what happened.” She whispered. “No one knew that you took me.” Even to her ears, the argument was weak. “Octavia looked for me.”
Pike frowned. “She looked for you because she wanted her friends safe. My guards overheard her arguing with the mechanic; they don’t trust you.”
Clarke turned her head away trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her heart. Pike wasn’t right, he was a manipulative lying bastard. But he’s making sense, a small voice whispered in her head. Why didn’t they come looking for you?
Pike straightened up, satisfied. “Rest up Clarke. We break through that barrier at midnight.” Then he was gone, gathering near the other guards around a small campfire.
The smell of food drifted over to her, no doubt intentional, but she ignored it. She’d been tied back against the tree with her hands bound behind her. Twisting her leg beneath her she held her breath as she reached down, grasping around for the blade she knew was concealed in her boot.
Wrapping aching fingers around the handle she carefully withdrew it, making sure to keep an eye on the nearest guard. Positioning her fingers around the blade she gripped it tightly, laid it against the rope, and began to cut.
Midnight came too fast. As foolish as Pike may be he was experienced in the art of attacking. The moon was gone, cloaking the whole forest in thick darkness. Clarke’s restraints were thoroughly cut though, several slices on her hands from where the blade had slipped.
She’d been feigning sleep when they finally came for her, head leaning back and resting against the bark. As soon as the first step sounded though she straightened up, meeting Pike’s eyes. Her fingers tightened around the small dagger still concealed in her palm.
“Ready to go?” He asked.
She shrugged, waiting for the other guards to draw closer into range. The first guard to reach her barely had time to tug on her loose restraints before she was lunging to her feet, burying the dagger into his chest as her left hand came up and yanked the sword from her back.
He went down with a strangled scream and she would have completed the job with her sword had the second guard not already been between them, baton lighting up like the sun. The two collided and she just barely dodged the arc of electricity, throwing herself down in an awkward half-roll. Coming back up she flipped her sword, slamming the hilt right into the guard’s temple. He went down instantly.
Her moment of satisfaction was brief. As soon as their first two companions went down the rest of the guards descended on her. After that, it was simply a struggle to survive. She twisted and slashed and stabbed, desperation burning in her chest and tears burning her eyes.
Soon the ground around them was littered with bodies of fallen guards, whether dead or simply wounded she didn’t have the heart to care. She was coated in warm sticky blood and the metallic scent clogged the air, making her choke.
There were too many.
A knife buried itself in her upper thigh while a shock baton made contact with her abdomen. Instantly the sword dropped from her grasp and Clarke was doubling over shuddering and shaking. They were on her like dogs, and in her weakened state, she could only protect her head as boots and hands grabbed and hit her.
“Die grounder-lover.” A voice hissed above her. She opened her eyes just enough to see a guard aiming a pistol at her face. She squeezed her eyes closed and thought of Thalia. I’m so sorry, I’ll see you on the other side.
Holding her breath, she waited for her life to end. A moment passed, then another.
She opened her eyes just in time to see Pike shoot the guards in the head.
“If any one of you touches her again I will personally shoot you!” He roared. For a moment the guards didn’t move and she became painfully aware of just how fragile Pike’s hold on them was. They were starving too, she could tell from their sunken cheeks and the way their vests hung off their frames. Clarke was just the spark to a pile of timber already soaked with gasoline.
“Back up.” Pike said, voice calmer. “Now.”
For a long moment, there was nothing but silence. Then a wave of movement as the guards finally backed away, lowering their weapons although not without bitter mutterings.
Pike’s shoulders dropped and he finally met Clarke’s eyes. For once the mad gleam in his eye was gone and he simply looked tired; a man forced to make too many choices with no one left to blame but himself.
“Are you okay?” He asked, extending a hand towards her. She stared at him.
“I never should have let you live.” She said quietly. “I should have killed you the first chance I got.”
The Chancellor blinked as if seeing her for the first time. In a way, Clarke realized he was. Once he’d discovered she had little use to him he’d locked her away leaving wounds to fester and rot, both figuratively and literally. He hadn’t stuck around to see the result.
Her fingers found the hilt of the knife in her leg and she pulled. Her head felt clearer than it ever had.
But in the end, it wasn’t her that stabbed Pike.
One moment Clarke was staring upwards at him and the next a fresh coat of blood was spattering over her. Instinctively she jerked back, stomach twisting tighter and tighter–
Bile forced itself up her throat and past her lips, leaving her hunched over. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and she clutched the knife in her hand tighter as her back hit the ground, rolling awkwardly to avoid the puddle of vomit.
Someone was screaming behind her but she paid no attention. Forcing her limbs to work she dragged herself forwards inch by painful inch, throat burning.
“Clarke!”
She forced streaming eyes open in time to see Nate Miller appear before her. He seized her arm, half-dragging half-carrying her clear of the commotion.
“Shit, this is not what was supposed to happen.” He propped her up against a tree and frowned at her. “You weren’t supposed to be here.”
Clarke swallowed hard, letting her head loll back as her stomach lurched again.
“Clarke?” Nate was shaking her. She frowned and forced herself to straighten up again even as her vision clouded and blurred.
“Where is he?”
“Pike?” Nate grimaced. “Hell if I know”
“What?” Clarke looked over to the knot of people on the ground. There were shouts as fists met flesh but none of the screaming earlier. Adrenaline surged through her even as exhaustion tugged at the edges of her consciousness. Spitting out a stream of curses she clawed her way to her feet.
“Where the fuck did he go?” She turned on Nate. “Where the hell is Pike?”
“Is he not there?” She shook her head and he paled. “Maybe he went back?”
With a growl of annoyance, Clarke turned away. In the darkness, there would be no tracking and whatever pretense of stealth she had was instantly ruined by the fighting beside her. Her eyes fell on a discarded gun laying on the ground nearby.
If sixteen won against three hundred what were the odds of just one?
“He’s heading for the barrier.” Fumbling along her neckline, she pulled the fastenings of her cloak loose and let it pool around her feet. Spotting a familiar blade on the ground she bent down, scooping it up and casting a careful eye across it even as Nate recoiled back.
“What is that?”
“I think you should get out of here.”
“Wait what? Hold on!” Nate grabbed her arm. She turned on him, eyes sharp and although he instantly released her he held his ground. “What are you talking about? Where are you going?”
“To go catch your Chancellor before he massacres another army.” Her hands tightened on the sword hilt. “Try and stop me and I won’t hesitate to run you through too.”
For a moment he hesitated and she raised an eyebrow. “Well?”
“I’m going with you.” He decided, raising his chin. It was her turn to hesitate, trying her best not to gawk at him. He huffed, shifting on his feet. “Well?” He mocked back.
She shook her head. “I don’t have time to babysit right now Miller, if you get hurt I’m leaving you behind.” Nate said nothing but there was a new wariness in his eyes she hadn’t seen before. She paused, another thought occurring to her. “One more thing, stay back and out of the way.”
Instantly he opened his mouth furious. But she cut him off in an instant. “I mean it, I can’t keep you safe and deal with Pike at the same time. If it comes down to dealing with you or him I can’t guarantee your safety.”
Nate looked like he wanted to say more but Clarke was already turning away. Rising to her feet she threw one last cautious look at the guards before making a break for it, darting across the clearing. She kept her grip on her sword tight and braced herself but there were no cries of alarm.
A moment later Nate appeared behind her, face set into a grim line as he glanced over waiting for her to make the next move. Together they moved throughout the woods. Clarke intended to move as fast as possible, not even caring as she stepped onto twigs and leaves, and beside her, Nate was even louder. Their cover had already been blown, it was a miracle that none of the grounders at the barricade had decided to move in yet.
Cresting a hill, Clarke paused as she looked down into the ravine below. Even in the darkness, she could see the large wall rising straight out of the Earth. Her heart ached at the sight.
“Clarke!” Nate hissed, breathing loudly beside her. If looks could kill Nate would have been vaporized on the spot and already a cherished memory. “Look!”
Gritting her teeth she obediently followed the direction of his finger and strained her eyes into the darkness. For a moment she saw nothing but the already dark forest. Then her eyes adjusted and she saw just for a moment a small circle of light bobbing around in the bottom of the ravine before it abruptly vanished.
“Is that–?” Nate looked excited. “That’s gotta be him!”
Glaring warningly at Nate she gestured for him to stay back as she rose to her feet. It was undoubtedly Pike, no natural light shone like that.
She descended into the ravine, every sound frighteningly loud to her ears. As she reached the last few meters she held her breath, slowing down, even more, hyper-aware of where her feet were placed.
Rising from her crouch she crept carefully towards the bobbing light. Whatever Pike was doing he wasn’t worried about being caught.
Ten paces away, Pike remained unaware. Eight paces, adrenaline roared through her veins. Five paces. Three, two. She could have reached out now and touched him. Gripping the dagger in both hands she rose behind him like some sort of demented ghost. Except no ghost would ever be tangible again, and no ghost would ever feel the satisfying sort of vengeance Clarke felt as she brought the blade down hard into the soft flesh between Pike’s neck and shoulder.
There was a roar of pain as Pike reared backwards, clutching at his neck. Clarke fell back, allowing momentum to yank the blade out of his neck as she went. She only had time to hold the blade out in front of her before Pike was whirling around, looming above her, features contorted and a hand clamped down over his neck.
“You bitch.”
He reached out, batting aside the blade like it was nothing and slamming her back into a tree. Her head snapped back, cracking painfully against the rough bark of a tree as stars swam in front of her.
Distantly she was aware of the sound of yelling. The grounders were certainly alerted now. But she kept her eyes on Pike. A savage grin graced her lips even as she felt something warm trickle down her neck.
“You won’t win.” She spat. “I’ll protect Arkadia from you, I’ll protect the thirteen clans from you.”
Pike snarled. “Then you’ll die for Arkadia as well.”
The blade was in his hands, edge biting into her neck.
“Clarke!”
Pike’s head snapped to the side and he released her, stepping back. She couldn’t have kept herself upright even if she tried. Collapsing onto her knees she sucked in mouthfuls of air, heart beating in her chest too fast and too hard.
There were sounds of a scuffle off to her right, a yelp, and a snap. Twisting around she felt her heart clip straight out of her body and right into the ground.
Nate had gone up against Pike, armed with nothing but his gun. Of course, once he was in close quarters the weapon was promptly rendered useless and he was doomed.
Pike had him in a vicious headlock, arms holding him steady even as he fought.
Clarke went for the gun Nate had dropped, backing up as she aimed it.
“Let him go.” She said shakily. Her throat ached, each breath accompanied by a new trail of blood.
He sneered, eyes disturbingly wide.
“Pike–”
Nate let out a weak gurgle and Clarke could see his face darkening as he fought for breath. Her pulse was roaring in her ears, desperation and fear building up as her finger instinctively tightened on the trigger. But her hands wouldn’t stop shaking and Nate wouldn’t stop struggling and she couldn’t get a shot without risking it hitting him–
The arrow hit Pike right in the arm. He flinched, distracted by the sudden pain.
She was at his side in an instant, shoving him away. She didn’t recognize the whistling hiss that split the air until Nate cried out, doubling over and clutching at his shoulder. Between his fingers was a wooden arrow shaft, familiar feathers fletched onto one end. Looking up she met his horrified gaze, realization clicking into place.
The grounders had arrived.
Another hiss above her head made her flinch and she made a split decision.
“You have to run.”
“What?” Nate balked, hissing as he clutched at his wounds. “No! No way, I’m not just going to leave you with Pike.”
“You have an arrow in your arm, it's not like you’re going to be that much help.” A pause. She softened. “I told you I can’t protect you like this. Better safe than sorry.”
He bit his lip even as he got his legs underneath him and tightened his grip on his wound. She watched him go, relief settling over her as he disappeared into the darkness.
She turned back to the clearing, looking around and spotting a glean on the ground, immediately scooping it up. Her fingers curled around the blade and she twisted around, eyes narrowing in on Pike. “If you want to live, I suggest you don’t fight.” She warned.
He didn’t protest.
A stick cracked somewhere nearby. Sweat trickled down her neck and she fought to keep her hands steady even as she put the knife to Pike’s neck. The shadows were moving around her, quiet almost inaudible footsteps landing around them, the slithering creak of drawstrings being drawn back.
She took a deep breath. There'd only be one shot here, any mistake and she would earn herself a heart full of arrows.
“Hod op!” Her voice shattered the quiet, the shadows stilling at the Trigedasleng. “Ai laik Wanheda, en ai haf Chancellor Pike kom Skaikru!”
I am the Commander of Death and I have Chancellor Pike of Skaikru.