When Songbirds Fly | Bellamy Blake

Chapter Twenty-Two: Bloodstained Boots

It's been two days since the events at Lincoln's village. Two days of trying to come to terms with the fact that our friend killed eighteen unarmed Grounders.

It's been the hardest on Clarke and Raven, knowing what has happened to the boy they love. Raven was lucky not to see it.

The blood still stains the tips of my boots. It dried whilst we were walking back to Camp Jaha and now I can't get it out.

When I try to sleep, I see Ezri's face. I, like Raven, was lucky not to see her when she committed the crime, but even the sight of her afterwards was enough to haunt me — sweat forming in beads across her paled brow, body trembling, gun still clutched in her hand, an eerily satisfied look in her wild eyes.

What's worse is that she isn't just my sister, she's my twin. So when I see her in my nightmares, I see my own face staring back at me. Blood spatters form a scattering, similar to the moles across my own face.

——————

Bellamy and I are still waiting for the date that I had been brave enough to schedule. Only five days left.

And yet, as if by some twist of irony, we find ourselves in the camp's new bar with Clarke. The room is fairly large, illuminated by small candles that hang over our heads by spare wires. A buzz of indistinct chatter fills the room.

My leg brushes against Bellamy's as I pull my rickety stool closer to the small table. Face flushing, I quickly reach for the tin of moonshine in front of me.

A grimace almost immediately twists at my face as I try to knock the liquid back. It's effect catches me off guard. I had assumed that three years wasn't too much of a big deal. I hiss as it burns down my throat and, elbowing Bellamy for daring to laugh at my reaction, I turn back to Clarke. 'Okay, let's go over it again.'

Leaning over a drawing of a map, she jabs the end of her pencil at the far end. 'It's like a labyrinth. We got to the dam through this tunnel. It's all connected to the mine system. That's our way in. At some point, we need to disable the Acid Fog and the Bugs.'

This was another revelation from Clarke's time in Mount Weather. The insects that attacked us were another artificial phenomenon, manufactured by the Mountain Men to keep the Grounders in line. They have only shown up once more recently, but everyone managed to hide inside before they arrived.

'Sure,' Bellamy shrugs after a long pause to examine the route, 'if we can get past the Reapers and the Mountain Men. I swear to God, if your mom doesn't sanction a mission soon, I'm going by myself.'

'You won't be by yourself.'

The two of us frown at the far away look in her eyes, following her gaze to the people rushing in and out of the main building. Bellamy sighs wearily, eyeing her with sympathy. 'Guess the inquisition's over. How's Finn doing, anyway?'

She lowers her head with a weary sigh. 'I haven't talked to him since we got back. I don't know what to say. He just kept shooting.'

'We're at war, Clarke. We've all done things.'

'Hey.'

Freezing, the three of us look up to see Finn stood just behind us. He doesn't speak. All he does is stare at Clarke with hurt in his eyes.

Bellamy's hands hit the table with a quiet thud as he gets to his feet. 'Next round's on me. Wren, can I have a hand carrying drinks?'

We make our way over to the bar and I lean against it, picking at the painted metal corners as I wait for someone to serve us. The feeling of a hand on my waist doesn't surprise me as much as it would have done before everything. 'Come here often, Pretty Boy?'