Radioactive ||The 100||✓

9. Death of Three

Quote/lyric: 1)On the ground I lay, motionless, in pain. I can see my life flashing before my eyes.~Three Days Grace~Time of Dying
2) If I die tomorrow as the minutes fade away, I can't remember, have I said all I can say? You're my everything, you make me feel so alive.~FGL~If I Die Tomorrow

Dakota sat on a rock by the river scrubbing dirt off of her hands. She felt very confused. She had absolutely no idea what to do about Bellamy. She didn't know how she felt about him. All she knew was that he made her so angry sometimes, but he also made her feel safe. His never say die attitude gave her hope. She scoffed to herself. Boys, who needs em? But she knew she did need Bellamy.

Dakota heard the crunch of gravel under boots and turned around. Standing in front of her were two grounders, looking menacing with an axe and a knife. Dakota pulled out her knife, but she knew it would be useless against their weapons and brute strength. The one with the axe charged and Dakota threw her knife at him. The blade buried itself deep in his chest. He stopped in his tracks, a small drop of blood running down his chin, and fell. The other gave a cry of fury and ran towards Dakota. She leapt out if the way and scrambled over to the dead grounder. She picked up his axe and faced the other. He was running towards her and Dakota's head was spinning. There was one coherent thought in her head. Kill him! She swung the axe and it hit him in the side of his ribs. He cried out and fell and Dakota brought the axe down to the middle of his back. He shuddered and was still.

Dakota took a deep breath and turned to go back to camp. In front of her stood a menacing looking grounder, flanked by two others. Her eyes glared harshly at Dakota, filled with a hatred she had never seen before.

"That is the third grounder you've killed," she said, her lips quivering with fury. She said something to her men in a language Dakota didn't understand and they grabbed her. Dakota kicked and thrashed but it was no use. The grounders were much bigger and stronger than her. One struck her over the head and everything went black.

Dakota's senses came back to her slowly. She heard angry, harsh voices speaking to one another. Her vision was blurred and distorted, but she could see the dark skinned grounder and her men in a small huddle. Then she began to feel the sharp pain in her head and remembered being struck there. She felt an irritation in her hands and realized they were tied above her head. She was hanging from the branch of a tree, her feet barely touching the ground. Her lungs ached from trying to breathe in this painful position. She took a ragged breath and the dark grounder turned to her.

"You have killed three of my men," she said. Her face seemed to be stilled in a permanent scowl. "Now you must suffer." She pulled out a knife and took a step towards Dakota.

There was nothing Dakota could do. She was completely and utterly at the mercy of this savage woman.

"She must die a death of three, Indra," said one of her men.

"Oh, yes," Indra have a hard smile. "You shall die a death as painful as three."

"No," said Dakota weakly. "Please."

Indra struck her across the face. "Silence!"

She pulled out the knife and grinned at Dakota evilly. "In my village, you are marked for those you have killed." She dragged the blade of the knife across Dakota's collar bone and she shrieked. She cut her two more times, side by side. Those would leave large scars.

Indra stuck her knife in a fire and returned to Dakota who was struggling in her bonds. Indra stabbed the knife into the flesh if Dakota's thigh. The pain was horrific. It seared her flesh and a blood curdling scream ripped from her throat. "Stop," Dakota gasped. But she didn't. She racked her knife down Dakota's forearms repeatedly until the flesh was ragged and bloody.

Dakota gasped and screamed, tears staining her face. Indra stabbed her calf, then her other thigh, then her hip. Dakota saw black spots in front of her eyes and for a moment she thought she would pass out from the pain, but she refused. She forced her eyes to stay open, to fight. She had to get out of this. She had to survive. Indra pulled the knife across Dakota's cheek and she screamed through her teeth.

Indra had ripped the bottom of her shirt and was carving into her stomach. Fight! Dakota screamed at herself and she rammed her knee up into Indra's face. She stumbled backwards and Dakota kicked her in the stomach. She fell back and in a twist of luck, hit her head on a rock.

Dakota pulled on her arms, pain ripping through her, until the rope slipped off the tree branch. One of the grounders was charging towards her and she swung her tied hands and hit him across the head. Despite the pain ravaging through her body, Dakota's adrenaline was pumping. She picked up Indra's knife and stabbed him in the temple as he turned back towards her. The other grounder was on her in a minute, slamming his fist into her face. She had no idea where this surge of strength came from and she pushed him off. He rolled to the side, straight into the fire. He shrieked and the sound was terrible. Dakota tried to block out the noise as she cut through the binding rope on her wrists.

Then she ran. Dakota's whole body was screaming at her to stop but she knew she couldn't. Branches were scratching at her exposed skin but she didn't care. She stumbled, but forced herself back up. Bellamy. She thought. Get back to Bellamy. Get to the drop ship. They'll help. Get to Bellamy.