Defiance • Bellamy Blake [1]

41. Spacewalker

Clarke and I marched back into the camp. My head was spinning with what the commander told us. The minute we stepped in, we were surrounded by people, and they were all throwing questions in our faces.

Everyone was shouting, and it was hard to hear what they were asking. Clarke looked just as taken aback as I was. But then Finn spoke up, and his voice was suddenly the only one I could hear.

"What did she say? Do we have a chance?" Finn asked.

"There is a chance for a truce." I said, looking at everyone but Finn. Abby eyed me, and I knew she could tell something was wrong from my tone.

"Then what's the problem?" Abby asked.

"If we want a truce, we have to give them Finn." Clarke told them.

Chatter broke out among everyone, and as I looked at them, I grew uneasy. They were all glaring at Finn, and while the disgust was evident on their faces, I could see the fear in their eyes. I saw Raven take a step forward, fury blazing in her eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Raven demanded.

"That's their offer." Clarke said.

"That's not an offer!" Raven exclaimed.

"It's a punishment." Finn said, his eyes lingering on Clarke. "For what happened at the village. Blood for blood."

"That's insane." Bellamy said.

"If we refuse?" Abby asked, keeping her voice level. 

"They attack," I answered.

Everyone started yelling out things. Most of them were shouting about how we should give up Finn. Everyone was scared at the idea of a war against the grounders, and people were getting hostile now. Fear is the biggest influence in our lives, and I knew that's what they're all feeling right now. I knew they would want to give up Finn in order to save themselves, because no one wanted to die.

All the shouting was giving me a headache, and all I wanted to do was to cover my ears and run away. Run away from the situation at hand, because the grounders want us to give up one of our own. Finn and I may not get along, but I didn't want him to die. Especially not by the hands of the grounders, because I knew that they wouldn't make it quick. I wanted to leave Arcadia, and all our problems behind me.

But that's not what a leader does when things get tough.

"Give him to the grounders." A man said, walking towards Finn.

Raven got in his way and pushed him back, shouting, "back off!" 

I grabbed Raven by the arm and pulled her back.

"Hey, Raven, Raven. Raven, listen to me. Nothing is going to happen to him. I promise, okay?" I said, gripping her arms.

Raven sighed and nodded her head. I could tell she wanted to believe me, but something inside of her was holding her back. I could see it in her eyes.

"I'm not dying for him. Spacewalker burned three months of oxygen on the Ark," Griff said. "He should have floated a long time ago."

Raven wasn't able to contain her anger any longer. She stepped out of my grip and shoved Griff back. Byrne tried to pull her away but Raven just punched her in the face. Two guards grabbed her by the arms and dragged her away. I ran my hands down my face before looking over at Clarke, who looked terrified.

"What the hell do we do?" I asked her. 

I was praying that she would have a plan. Clarke always had a plan, and right now was the best time for one of her brilliant ideas to form. We had to find a way to keep Finn safe, not just from the grounders, but from our own people.