Conflate | Bellamy Blake ¹ ✓

✯ | chapter seven

❝that smile could end wars and cure cancer.❞

-john green, author

♛

RAVEN SETS A BAG onto an old, decaying tree stump that looks like it's going to split under the weight of the gigantic black sack. The sound makes a satisfying thunk on the wood when she puts it down.

"Scored you a couple extra clips," she says to Bellamy and I with an accomplished smirk.

"Thank you, Raven." I send her a soft smile. Without her, we would have had to make this journey empty-handed. Clarke had suggested I steal some rifles, but with Major Byrne watching our every move, I know I'd have to have someone else I could trust do it for me. That person is Raven.

"Hey," Clarke says a little breathlessly, squinting from the brightness of the sun. "My mom's in surgery, and the team going after Kane just left. We should, too."

"Did you find Octavia?" Bellamy questions.

"No," her voice says from behind the two of us, "I found you." She jumps up to our level of ground with a determined expression on her face. "I'm not letting you leave here without me."

"Octavia--" Clarke tries to say, but the younger Blake cuts her off immediately and speaks to her brother.

"Finn and Murphy are headed to Lincoln's village. I've been there. Have you? Have they?"

"You done?" Bellamy asks with a playful smile. His sister glares at him.

"She's right," I argue in her favor while grabbing a rifle of my own from the bag. "She knows where we're going better than we do. We can't just expect to leave her behind."

There's a beat of silence in which nobody says or does anything. My eyes shift from Bellamy to Clarke with my face devoid of emotion. Then, Bellamy sighs and grabs the last backpack, plopping it on Octavia's arms.

"What's this?" she asks rhetorically.

"Your pack." There's a mischievous glint in Bellamy's eyes. Octavia smiles softly and zips it up. "Lead the way."

I secure the strap of the rifle around my shoulder and prepare to follow Octavia's lead, but Raven stops us suddenly. Her hand stops us from walking; there's warning in her eyes.

"Whoa, not so fast, Pocahontas."

Raven simply holds out her metal walking stick and taps it against the electric fence. White sparks immediately fly out, accompanied by a loud buzzing noise that makes me jump. A reminder of the baton being stuck into my side causes me to shiver. I suddenly remember that I should've changed the bandages on my stomach and hands again- they probably got dirty while on our last expedition.

"I thought you said it was handled," Clarke whispers to Raven.

"It is," she replies calmly. She takes a walkie from her pocket and presses the button on the side. "Shut her down, Wick."

A few seconds later, two clicks from the other side of the radio catch my attention. Raven nods and holds out her stick again. This time, there's nothing.

She smiles confidently at Clarke. "Handled."

Octavia shoves her pack through a large enough hole in the wiring of the fence. Before I go to follow, I turn to Raven and smile sadly at her. I know how badly she must want to go with us. I feel genuinely sorry that her leg prevents her from doing so much.

"Really, Raven," I say. "Thank you."

She sends me a closed-lipped grin. "It's no problem."

I nod and give her a wave goodbye before following behind Clarke through the fence, keeping low until I get into the forest and far away from Camp Jaha.