Responsible for survival

Communicating

BELLAMY'S POV

The day itches past. Midday ticks by, and Monroe begrudgingly sends up a handful of nuts to the prisoner, knowing the dead can't talk. The mood at camp is stifled and heavy. Guards pace along the half repaired wall, kids darning holes and tears in tents together. The silence is insufferable. Raven shuffles over to me.
"When the grounders come we need to keep Finn away from them." She sighs, sitting on a log. "He's bitter about Wells, and since it was Indra who killed him..." I crease my eyebrows. "She's your sister's mentor, loves Monroe and thinks we're awesome. She'll come here with Octavia." I sigh, nodding. My sister's finally got a mum who truly loves her.

Dusk draws heavy, and I send kids into tents, under strict instructions to remain in them during the night. A harsh north breeze tears through the camp. I take camp duty again, still unable to sleep without Clarke. Our tent is empty, Monroe guarding the gate. The icy winds stab my back, neck, fingers. I flex them, desperately trying for warmth. I wander past the play area, with abandoned rope swings and climbing trees, ropes whipping wildly in the wind.

"BELLAMY!"

I spin on my heel, pulling my knife out. Ready for any enemy, but she's not. "O!" A burning relief eases and I feel like I'm going to be sick. I shove the knife back into my pocket, and squeeze her slight body tightly. She's warm. Her arms squeeze me back tighter than I've felt before. Five days away and she's already gone. She lets go, and I turn to Indra and Lincoln, both half shrouded in darkness. I nod curtly at Indra, before bro-hugging Lincoln. I didn't think I'd miss my sister's boyfriend. I let go, and guide them to the dropship, where the faint light of Raven working glows around the thick parachute curtain. Indra eyes it with interest. I smile gratefully at her. "Thanks for getting here as quick as you have."
"Your sister is stubborn, we were supposed to wait for heda." Indra laughs. Raven looks at us as we walk in, and her worry lines smash into a smile. She jumps up and hugs O. "So..." Indra asks, stooping into one of the chairs. "What happened with the maunon?" She already knows, clearly. Why does she want me to explain?
"After the storm a load of us went hunting, leaving the camp to be fortified by the younger kids and Raven. They captured almost all of us. Two hunting teams, working far north west, weren't captured and half of Monroe's and myself weren't captured. Members of the guard from camp and Raven weren't either. We were able to free about 40 of our friends before the maunon realised, and started a fight. We've lost 20 people, but we have got a captured guard." Indra grins at the last part. She nods, but O's eyes begin to glitter.
"Bell, where's Clarke?" Lincoln squeezes her hand. Raven turns to me in sad horror, asking wordlessly if I want her to say. I shake my head, over and over, blinking back the tears.
"They shot her." I whisper, voice breaking. "They took her to the mountain."
"How are you going to get her back?" Indra asks, eyes filled with sorrow but tone harsh. "She was willing to lose everything to save you."
"We don't know..." I whisper, guiltily staring at my feet. The others don't talk about what happened when we were taken.
"I'm trying to remove the protection from the radio, see if we can talk to them, blackmail them into submission." Raven leans forward, rubbing my back.
"Probably won't work, but perhaps you'll be able to communicate with your friends in the mountain." Indra taps her hand against the side of the chair. "What have you got out of your prisoner?"
"You'll want to ask Monroe that, she's the only one who's made a lot of head way." Raven explains.
"I got a little. Some of the mountain men, mainly kids, are immune to very low levels of radiation but the majority of them aren't. Those of them who are exposed to radiation are given grounder bone marrow transplants. Our guy's came from a little kid." His tearful eyes burn in my memory, inhuman but not inhumane. "Most of the time the people are just given blood from you, it protects them from radiation but it's not long lasting. They call it 'the truth'." Indra's eyes swim with tears and anger. I'm grateful we locked the guard up, or Indra would be pulling him limb from limb.
"Can you get Monroe, from the rest of it?"
"She's on duty, and the rota doesn't end for another hour." Indra nods, disappointed. "I'm also on duty, so I've got to go back out." I nod curtly, before walking into the cold air.