trepidation |BELLAMY BLAKE| [1]

CHAPTER 47

CLARKE AND AVERY WALKED UP TO DANTE, WHO WAS SERVING HIMSELF FOOD.

"We need to talk." Clarke demanded,

He glanced over at the two girls, "Sure. Let's talk over breakfast."

Clarke got right to the point, "Who shot that soldier?"

Some of the people who overheard them looked at them in shock, "That was smooth." Avery sighed under her breath.

Dante led them away from any prying ears, "The patrol that was looking for your people was attacked by what you call Grounders."

"We've fought Grounders. They don't use guns." Clarke stated,

Dante shook his head, "I never mentioned guns. Sergeant Shaw was shot by an arrow."

"That's not true. I... I saw the wound." Clarke insisted,

"So did I." Avery stepped in,

"Sometimes, we feel so strongly about our people we see things that aren't there." Dante reasoned,

"We'd like to see the body."

"Of course." Dante set his plate down, "Come with me."

Dante led them back down into the quarantined area, and they stood in an empty room until Dr. Tsing wheeled the body back in,

"Sorry to keep you waiting. We had to finish decontamination." She informed them,

"Thank you, Dr. Tsing." Dante said,

"The man with the burns, how is he?" Clarke asked,

Tsing looked over at Dante for a moment before answering, "He's improving."

"I'd like to talk to him." Clarke said,

Dr. Tsing looked over at Dante once again, "Sir, only patients are allowed in medical."

"We can arrange that." President Dante insisted,

The doctor removed the cloth that kept the Boyd covered and revealed a metal cylinder placed in his shoulder, inches above his fatal wound, "What is this?" Clarke asked,

"It's a dialysis shunt. We all have them in case of exposure." She answered, "Would you like to see the exit wound?"

Clarke looked over at Avery and they both nodded. Dr. Tsing and Dante lifted up his shoulder to reveal the exit wound on his back, "Sergeant Langston was forced to push the arrow out in the field." They both examine the hole.

Avery wasn't a doctor and didn't have any medical experience. She had no clue what the arrow wound was supposed to look like. But she trusted that Clarke did.

"We have it right here." They laid the bled back down and the doctor reached into the cabinet to show them the bloody arrow head that was in a small plastic bag.

To Avery, it seemed legit.

Doesn't mean they didn't stage it.

Avery smiled at the two, "Thank you for clarifying and letting us see the body. I hope we weren't too much of an inconvenience. It's just that after everything that's happened, you can't be too sure who to trust."

They really didn't need to get on their bad side. Not now when they needed them.

The two nodded and Dr. Tsing wheeled the body out before Dante led them back up to the main floor, "I'm glad you came to me with this issue."

"Thank you for listening." Avery gave him a tight smile,

Beckett approached them and Dante smiled, "Ah, Beckett," The man stopped in front of the trio, "Would you mind escorting Avery and Clarke back to their dorms?"

The man shook his head, "Not at all."

"Thank you." Dante gave them a nod before departing back towards his office.

The three walked down the corridors, "Heard you two have been a bit of trouble." Beckett commented.

Avery raised an eyebrow, "Trouble?" She walked in front of him and stopped, causing him to stop as well, "We just want our people back."

"We're trying, but it's not our top priority." Beckett reasoned,

"But it is ours." Avery stepped forward and lowered her voice, "If Mason was out there, wouldn't you be doing everything in your power to get him back?"

Beckett tensed for a moment before stepping past her, "C'mon. I don't want to get in trouble."

He led them back over to the room their group was staying in and Clarke went inside while Beck grabbed Avery's arm, "Look, I know you want you're people back. And I know I couldn't even begin to imagine what that feels like. But we are looking. And now that we've been attacked by the Ground people, we can't risk more of our people."

Avery nodded, "Thank you for trying."

He nodded back before letting Avery go inside, "What did president Wallace say?" Jasper asked as everyone watched them walk in,

"He showed us Shaw's body." She answered, and Jasper followed behind the, "It looked like an arrow wound."

"Well, maybe because it is an arrow wound." Jasper stated,

"Or that's what they want us to think." Jasper gave her a look, "What? They could have doctored it. Avery saw it."

Jasper looked over at the brunette and she shrugged, "I'm not sure what an arrow wound looks like, but, yeah, it could've been faked. They had the time to do it."

They made it back to their bunk and leaned against the dresser, "Clarke, you sound like a crazy person. Why do you want to screw this up for us?"

"I don't know what this is." Clarke admitted,

"This is... safe. This is food, a real bed, clothes, and my personal favorite... not getting speared by Grounders." Jasper explained, "How long do you think they'll let us stay here if you keep this up?"

Clarke stood up straight, "Did someone threaten you?"

Jasper shook his head, "No. No. It's common sense. Look, we're guests here, not prisoners. What would you do with a guest who kept calling you a liar and generally acted like an ungrateful ass?"

"Kick the ungrateful ass out." Miller spoke up,

"Right now, biggest threat to us is you." Jasper stated,

He walked away and Avery sighed, running her hands through her hair, "Look, Clarke, they're right." Clarke rolled her eyes and went to walk away but Avery grabbed her, "But you're also not wrong. Something us up with this place. So... for now, just keep it low key, alright? We'll figure this out, but we can't if they're breathing down our necks. Gain more trust, learn more secrets."

Clarke nodded, "Friends close, enemies closer."

"Exactly."