'Help! We've got wounded. We've got wounded!'
Panicked shouts greet us, several people aiming guns right at us. I squint through the darkness, scanning the crowd that circle us, the tents still set out behind them.
'Stand down! Stand down! They're with us,' Harper yells. She and Monty shove their way towards us but barely get within ten feet of us before another figure sprints towards us.
I manage to detach myself from him just in time for Eno to tackle me, the force of her embrace knocking the breath out of me. I waste no time in hugging her back. 'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.'
'Monty, where's Jackson?' we hear Bellamy call. I pull her along with me, my anxious gaze flits over to Gaia's unconscious body. The doctor emerges from a nearby tent and she is taken away.
Bellamy staggers towards us, pulling both Eno and I into his arms. I bring a trembling hand up to touch his face but instantly recoil at the sight of the thick, reddish-brown stains covering my hands. I hadn't realised just how bad it was until now.
Eno pries herself free from us. Frowning, I watch after her as she approaches another young girl stood in the centre of the camp — the one who drove us away from that hell. Her mother is nowhere to be seen. Madi stares apprehensively around her at the dozens of gaping people all focused on her.
A horrible feeling sinks within me at the sight, guilt. I edge even closer to Bellamy, smiling weakly at the sight of Eno holding her hand. This seems to bring her a little more courage to face the onlookers.
'Heda is going to save us,' someone behind us mutters.
We step closer to the two girls. Madi looks to us, still fearful. 'What do I do?'
'Blodreina's coming. Protect the Commander!'
At the frantic call, several people raise their guns. Bellamy, Echo and I are quick to block the young woman's way as she stalks towards us, sword in hand. 'What are you doing?' he hisses.
Her face remains blank. 'Out of my way.'
Nobody dares to move.
Slowly backing up, I shield the girls from her sight. 'O,' Bellamy warns, 'she saved us.'
'Let her pass.'
Madi tries to push past me but I block her way again. 'Don't—'
'I said, let her pass.'
My sceptical gaze darts over to Bellamy and Echo. The latter nods. Reluctantly, I step back and bring Eno with me, giving the Commander more space. Her fear is gone, replaced with a determined stare that seems to pierce right into Octavia's soul.
The woman approaches. She raises her sword but, just as I think that she might hurt the child, she lets it fall to the ground. The blade sinks in, allowing it to stand, stationary, right in front of Madi. Octavia kneels, bowing her head.
One by one, those around us follow suit. Eno does so and I slowly lower myself onto one knee. The time of the Commanders has begun again.
—
My thoughts are interrupted by a quiet cough. Smiling, I shift over to allow Murphy to sit beside me on an upturned crate. Pained shouts can still be heard from the tent behind us. 'Hey,' I say. A moment passes. I awkwardly nudge Murphy. 'That was quite the rescue.'
'Yeah. Shame about the gun.'
Shrugging, I glance over to him with a playful grin. 'Well, you know what they say. Plenty more bullets in the... barrel?' The last word comes out as a wavering mumble, quietened by realisation. 'That sounded better in my head.'
YOU ARE READING
When Songbirds Fly | Bellamy Blake
Fanfiction97 years ago, the world ended. It didn't get better after that. There was no rainbow, no olive branch. The flood of destruction would not simply evaporate once all the sinners had been purged. There was only death. When a new hope came, the first we...
