When Songbirds Fly | Bellamy Blake

Chapter Seventeen: Reap What You Sow

'What's going on?'

I pass Sterling a bag containing the few belongings he has. 'The Grounders are coming, so we need to leave. I've got a flask full of tincture and more charcoal if we ever need it.'

Realising that my words are only scaring him, I force a smile and rest my hand on his shoulder. 'You're gonna be fine, kid, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you. Now, you just wait there. I'll get you a stretcher once we're ready to go.'

A loud yell of pain comes from behind me and I quickly join the others, anxiously watching Clarke cauterise Raven's bullet wound. 'That'll stop the external bleeding.'

Finn winces as Raven's grip on his hand tightens even more. 'I don't understand,' he sighs, 'how did Murphy get a gun?'

'Long story.'

'We got lucky,' Raven murmurs. 'If Murphy hit the fuel tank instead of me, we'd all be dead.'

Freezing, Clarke sharply turns to look back at her. 'Wait, there's rocket fuel down there? Enough to build a bomb?'

The girl nods weakly. 'Enough to build a hundred bombs, if we had any gunpowder left.'

'Let's get back to the Reapers. Maybe they'll help us. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?'

Glancing at the drawing in Lincoln's book, Clarke shakes her head. 'Not this enemy. We saw them. Trust me, it's not an option.'

'There's no time for this,' Finn finally snaps. 'Can she walk, or not?'

'No. We have to carry her.'

Scowling, Raven begins to push herself up from the table. 'The hell you will. I'm good to go.'

After a great deal of wincing and gasping for air, she allows Clarke to stop her. 'Hey, listen to me. That bullet is still inside you. If by some miracle there's no internal bleeding, it might hold until we get somewhere safe. But you are not walking there. Is that clear?'

She nods. Finn reluctantly gets to his feet, 'I'll get the stretchers.'

'Can't run away fast enough, huh? Real brave.'

I roll my eyes, fetching the stretchers myself when Finn doubles back to glare down Bellamy. 'Dying in a fight you can't win isn't brave, Bellamy, it's stupid.'

'Spoken like every coward who's ever run from a fight.'

'Please, like you haven't done stuff to avoid a fight. The radio, the plan to run away... Murphy. You're not perfect,' I spit, eyes blazing with all my pent up frustration.

I'm relieved when Clarke gets in between the three of us. 'All right, that's enough. It's time to go.'

Bellamy doesn't budge. 'If they follow, it's a 120-mile walk to the ocean.'

'Look, we're wasting time. If he wants to stay, he can stay.'

——————

Helping a half-conscious Sterling onto the stretcher, I enlist Fox's help to lift it off the ground. He's not as heavy as I'd expected him to be, which comes as a relief. We move out as quickly as we can, following along behind Raven's escort.

Bellamy approaches as we continue our trek through the woods. I offer him a weak smile. 'Sorry. I was harsh back there. I know it's hard to leave the camp behind after everything we've been through.'

He returns the smile. 'It's okay. How're you holding up? Never asked you after what happened the other day.'

'I'm okay, I guess. Worried about the kid. Hope that our treatments worked out.'