Bygones

~{Chapter 33}~

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"Sloan," a gentle whisper woke me up.
I opened my eyes and Bellamy was over me with a smile.
"How long since you returned?" I sat up and got dressed.
"Not long, about a few hours ago," Bellamy whispered and looked at Leyla.
After I got done dressing, I leaned over and kissed Leyla on the head and we went outside.
"We found food enough to go around for one day, three meals, but that's all," he said as we approached a pile of weapons and metal scrapsq that a few people were sorting out.
I picked up a hand-made axe, "Grounder weapons. Well, at least we have something when the amos run out."
Monty came running up to me, "We need you to-" he stopped and looked at Bellamy.
"He's with us," I said.
"We need you to check the pressure," he whispered.
We followed Monty to the place where we buried it.
"What am I in on?" Bellamy squinted, confused.
"You'll see," I got onto my knees and observed the spot, "Make sure no one sees us."
"What's going on?" Bellamy knelt next to me.
"Someone stepped on it. Not good,"
Raven knelt on the other side, "It's going to go off; the pressure changed."
"You built the bomb..." Bellamy caught on.
"I had no choice," I sighed, "There wasn't any other way that we could think of that will actually defend us."
He nodded, rubbing his chin, piecing everything together.
"Alright, everyone steer clear," I stood up.
"What? No! You can't do this! It's going to explode, Sloan," Raven exclaimed.
I put my hands on her shoulder, "No one else is going to do the job."
"I will."
"Rave, remember the Neutralization of Components Test we took when we were younger?"
She rolled her eyes and annoyingly sighed, "Yes, you passed, I didn't. But at least let me help."
"Fine. Only because I know your stubborn as hell," I teased.
Before I started, Bellamy pulled me to the side.
"Are you sure that this is going to work?"
"No, because it's the only way we can check if it does or not."
"That's reassuring," he scoffed.
"Look, I can do this. I've been doing this mostly my whole life."
He nodded and half smiled.
Raven and I got to work carefully digging up the liquid bomb.

It's been hours since we've started. So far, we've only dug up one third of it.
"You should take a break," Raven said as she gently brush away the endless dirt, "Go check up on Leyla."
As soon as she said this I saw in the corner of my eye, Leyla running out of my tent like she was chasing something.
I dropped my tools, jogged to her, and lightly shook her shoulders, "Leyla, what happened?"
She was looking straightforward, mesmerized by nothing.
I cupped her cheek with my hand, realizing what was going on, "Hey, your just dreaming, honey."
I kneeled down in front of her, still holding onto her shoulders.
"Mommy?" She was looking at me, but yet it seemed like she didn't see me at all.
"I'm here, i'm here," I pulled her into a hug.
Bellamy came over, concerned. He kneeled down next to me.
"Sleepwalking," I looked at his face and saw his eyebrows furrowed with concern. Reaching over, I smoothed my thumb over it, "She's alright, Bellamy." He nodded, "I guess this runs in the family."
I smiled and shook my head. He then took Leyla into his arms as we stood up; she was quiet and asleep now.
"I'll take her back," he whispered.
I headed towards Raven and Monty.
"How is she?" Monty asked.
"She's a sleepwalker," I chuckled.
Monty was fidgeting with his fingers as I got back to digging.
"What's on your mind, Monty?"
He was a little startled, "Um, well, I don't know if I should be saying this, but I over heard Bellamy talking to Octavia about Leyla..."
I knew exactly where this was going.
"He said that he's been having anxious feelings whenever he's not near Leyla."
"I know. We've all been stressed and a lot has been going on," I sighed and got up to get tools, "He's a bit tired from preparing for this war."
Monty was still at unease.
"Don't worry," I put a hand on his shoulder, "I'll talk to him."
"It's not that... I was walking by your tent the other day and... I heard Leyla talking about blue birds."
Bellamy was heading our way.
"Thank you Monty for looking out for Leyla. I appreciate it," I smiled.
He handed me a small chisel as Bellamy walked in. I got back to gently breaking away chunks of cold, hardened dirt, keeping what Monty said in the back of my mind. Leyla's sleepwalking seemed to come from me and my sleepwalking times. Times of uneasiness and stress. Pushing the thought off to the side, Raven and I finally got the bomb out and we gently place it on the table in the storage room.
"Well, what now?" she asked.
"We wait until we use it," I responded.
"Bellamy?" We heard Clarke's voice nearby.
I looked at Bellamy and he was already off to hopefully distract her as I hid the bomb and everyone else filled the hole up. Just as I tucked the bomb back into the bag and underneath the table, Clarke walked in.
"What's going on?"
I stood up casually, "I'm checking to see if we have any resources enough for a less explosive bomb you ordered."
I saw Bellamy, standing diagonally behind her, let out a small sigh of relief.
"Anything I can help with?" She came in and looked around.
"Can you get sugar?"
She looked puzzled, "Sugar?"
"It's acts like a stabilizer. Do you know where we can get some?"
She was still kind of skeptical, "No, but I'm sure Lincoln might know."
I nodded.
"The radios need recharging again and Finn is on tool fixing duty. Octavia is in charge of getting everyone battle field prepared," she set down a bag of radios she had in her backpack.
"I'll get to it," I picked up the bag and quickly glanced at Bellamy.
"Sloan," she called out before I turned and left, "I know that assembling these bombs aren't easy, but do them as fast as you can. The war is tomorrow."
"Explosive, but not too explosive. Got it. Hurry up and save the world right?"
She half grinned and I left, a bit offended that she would underestimate me. I got back to the work tent and tossed the bag down with a sigh.
"What's going through your mind?" a voice said, startling me.
"Finn," I gasped and put my hand on my chest, "Nothing. There's been a lot to do, but I shouldn't be complaining. This war... It was because of me..."
"No it's not. Stop saying that," he put down the half-put together gun and came next to me, "Things happen and we don't have control over it."
I shook the thought off and got to work. Before he could say something else, we heard frantic yelling outside. Jasper and Monty suddenly ran in.
"Clarke found the bomb and she moved it!" Jasper exclaimed.
"Damn it!" I sped out the tent.
Jasper, Monty, and I ran through a crowd off people and reached Clarke.
"Clarke put the bomb down! It's going-"
"You made this behind my back?! I thought I could trust you!"
"That doesn't matter right now!" My voice was now calm and assertive as I raised my hands in front of me, "Clarke, you need to put it down. It is going to explode."
"No. This is just you lying to me! If we use this, many innocent people will die for no reason!"
I could see that the purple color was starting to turn white and I knew there was no time left. I bolted towards Clarke's way , snatched the bomb out of her hand, and ran out of the entrance. The metal container was getting hotter every step I took. I turned my head back to see everyone gathering at the fence as I continued to run towards the forest. At edge where the fields and trees met was where the Daunter's kept their horses. Without wasting anytime, I mounted one and rode forward. My heart broke when I heard Bellamy shout my name in the distance. I pushed on, not knowing where I was going, but all I knew was i'm still too close to camp if the bomb blows. The heat of the container was so hot that it now felt cold against my forearm. All around me, the trees where a blur. A few meters in front of me I could see an edge. I yanked back on the lead and the horse skidded to a stop. I push myself off, ran to the edge and threw the container as far as I could. Everything was in slow motion as I saw the container leave the tips of my fingers, spin multiple times in mid-air, and land, wedge between two boulders. I expected it to blow once it hit the ground, but it just sat there. Lag was very common, and knowing that, I mounted the horse again and started back for camp. Minutes later, I heard a loud rumble in the distance and saw a large grey ball in the distance that was catching up to me. I was far, but not far enough.
"Come on!" I yelled as if it would make the horse go any faster. But the radius of the force was faster and launched me off the horse and the horse off the ground. Suddenly, my back hit a tree before it hit the ground, landing on a rock. I let out a shriek of unbearable pain. Blood was flowing down my back and from my forehead. In front of me was the horse, lying on it side. Slowly, I crawled to it, using my arms and dragging my legs. I gently picked it's head up to see if it was still breathing.
"Please, get up," I croaked. It's chest was still. The thick grey smoke and ashes were wrapped around every tree, allowing me to see only silhouettes of nearby trees. I got up and leaned against a trunk, gathering up my strength. Pushing myself off of the trunk, I limped my way forward.

About what seemed like forever, I needed some rest so I collapsed on a rock. The smoke was still heavy and everything was blurry. I put my head back and closed my eyes. A few breaths later, I heard my name being called.
"Over here..." I groaned weekly.
They called my name again, not hearing me.
"Over here!" I tried to say louder.
"I see her!" I recognized Octavia's voice.
A few people ran up to me and hovered over me. A pair of hands gently turned my head slowly, side to side.
"She's surprisingly not that injured," Abby said.
She set down her backpack and started patching me up.
"What the hell, Sloan?!" Raven said in distress.
"Raven," Finn said in a warning tone.
I slightly lifted my head up and moaned sarcastically, "Stop fighting you two... I'm alive, aren't I?"
They both shook their heads in annoyance.
"Where's Leyla and Bellamy...?" I coughed.
"Leyla is back at camp, Jaha is with her. Bellamy... he's being taken care of," Octavia said as she observed my head wound with
"What do you mean 'taken care of'?" I sat up.
Abby laid me back down, "Stay laid down. Your blood flow is fast."
"Octavia," I anxiously said.
"He's fine, he's not hurt," she reassured me, "But he tried to go after you when you left. No one was allowed to leave the camp grounds. Guards had to tase him down."
I didn't even realize I was holding my breath the entire time. Exhaling, Raven and Abby helped me stand up. The blood rush made my head and body heavy. I fell against Raven.
"Woah, okay, you need to sit down," she caught me.
Octavia mounted a horse and help Raven get me on the back. As I was pulled up, I could feel my back wound tear a little more. Clenching down on my teeth and hummed in pain.
"Hang in there," Octavia said to me as she wrapped my arms around her waist. She made a clicking noise and the horse was off. The smog was making me drowsier until finally, I was out cold.

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