When Songbirds Fly | Bellamy Blake

Chapter Ninety: Breathless

TW// Needle, a little steam (nothing explicit)

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A dull throb still keeps its hold over me as I stare up at the pale grey sky. My aching body remains limp, shifting every now and then as I am carried over the rocky desert. The swelling in my throat has mostly reduced now and the tube was removed not long before we left, but the skin remains mottled with purple. My hand comes up to stifle a harsh cough.

A sharp buzz from Bellamy's pocket brings him to an abrupt halt. I watch anxiously as he lets Harper take his side of the stretcher, taking out his radio. 'Bellamy, come in if you can hear me.'

We move to the side, out of the way of Wonkru's despairing procession of civilians and warriors alike. He grins, relieved. 'Echo—'

'Hang on,' Harper warns him, eyeing the device cautiously. 'She's speaking Trig for a reason.'

It makes sense. Agreeing, he speaks with caution, 'Why are we speaking Trig? What's wrong?'

'They know you're coming. You've lost the element of surprise.'

Looking to the others with some difficulty due to the stiffness of my posture, I curse under my breath. Monty voices what all of us are thinking — despite the vague hope that everything isn't completely irreparable —, 'Clarke?'

Guilt calls in the back of my mind, a distant reminder. I am reminded of the faint bruise that still stings my cheek. While we could count ourselves lucky that her and Madi's escape took the worm eggs out of Octavia's hands, we may have a bigger issue to worry about if she has sided with the prisoners.

'It had to be. Echo, listen to me—'

'Bellamy,' Harper interrupts, 'if Clarke's on their side, she speaks Trig, too.'

Eno stares around at the four of us, expecting us to have some kind of solution to the latest obstacle. I still don't have the heart to tell her that we're rapidly losing hope. So I tighten my hold on her hand.

After a lengthy pause, Echo speaks again, 'Bellamy, you have to go back. We have their pilot so you're safe for now, but you can't come here.'

'Not possible. It's a long story, but we can't go back and we can't stop. We're five days out. You have that long to find us a safe way in. After that... we run out of rations.'

'We're on it. Be safe. Over and out.'

My throat is still sore. Each breath brings a sharp pain and another cough, so I simply point to the distant leader of the travellers. 

'Talk to Octavia?' Monty scoffs. 'Hell no, Wren. There's no way you're going near her again. Besides, you can't even talk.'

'I'll go.' Trying to sit up at Bellamy's offer, I am quick to shake my head. The movement sends my mind into a dizzying spin. He gently pushes me back down and lets out a sigh, 'It'll be okay. I'll take Indra with me. She still cares about us, whether she likes it or not.'

We stare at each other for a moment. My determination to remain stubborn fails me. I reluctantly nod, watching after him as he trudges away. His new armour glints under the pale sunlight. Patches of it are stained a dark red, a sight that only furthers my concern for him.

As soon as he is out of sight, I glance down at the flash of copper peeking out from under my sleeve. I'm still not sure about what to do with it. The answer in my mind is fairly clear but it fades every now and then, overwhelmed with doubts. It had been the worst possible time to find something like that and now I'm trapped, never truly knowing how or when I should respond. Maybe it would be best to forget all about it until this mess is over — one way or another.