EXILE

i • Sky Meets Ground

Scotia found the boy running in the woods. She recognized his face, and she recognized what his people had done to her home, but she didn't help her morals when she killed one of her own.

Lincoln had taken the girl, heading towards the East in search of a cure for her wound, and Scotia recognized the boy next to her as the girl's brother. She couldn't imagine how one of the Sky People would react to losing someone, how Lincoln would feel seeing the girl so upset. So she kept him alive.

She kept walking, all throughout the night, dragging the boy along. When the sun was beginning to peak through, just barely touching the mountain tops, and they had yet to slow their pace. The Grounder that captured Bellamy didn't seem to care about sleep or anything other than getting where she wanted to go.

Once Bellamy finally fell into her pace, she quickly stopped by a river, letting him rest. She knelt next to the river and let the water pour into her hands.

As the Grounder brought water to her wounds, clenching her jaw but never showing any emotion towards the pain she felt, Bellamy set his hands in the water, washing the blood off.

"Thanks..." He said, not sure if she even understood him. "Thank you for killing that guy." He shrugged at her lack of response. She had yet to kill him or hurt him in any way, so she must be one of the nicer Grounders.

Bellamy pulled a sharp stone from the river, hiding it in his palms.

The Grounder looked behind them into the woods. She remained silent, almost waiting for something to happen. Her head turned sharply to the left, so she immediately picked up the rope and dragged Bellamy to the right.

She often looked over her shoulder and Bellamy followed her gaze. He didn't trust her enough to risk her handing him over if someone caught them.

"You're not welcome." The Grounder said. Bellamy almost missed it. She spoke so quietly and her tongue was weak when speaking English. "For killing him. Rich was my friend." Even as she spoke to Bellamy, she didn't look back at him, not even when he caught up to walk parallel to her.

"Then why would you save me?" He asked.

"Save?" Scotia said to herself, testing the word in her mouth. She knew the word, but it was foreign. Unlike Trikru warriors, her home didn't bother teaching their children English. They had to learn on their own.

"Why would you kill your friend to save the enemy?" Bellamy inquired. He was ignorant to their customs and didn't understand how they'd evolved to this language and fashion of everything else in their lives that differed them from the Ark.

Scotia stopped abruptly. "I did not kill him for you." She pressed her finger to his chest harshly, making a point to who she was not fighting for. "But you have a brave heart. But do you even use your brain?" She scoffed.

Bellamy shook his head, laughing off the insult. "Yeah, I do, actually." Bellamy said. He had sawed through the rope just enough he could snap it at any moment. "Where did you learn to speak English?"

"Lincoln taught me." And she left it at that.

Bellamy ran to the left before he ripped the binds apart and ran, pumping his arms as fast as he could to keep his legs moving.

Scotia rolled her eyes. Not only did she know the woods better, but she wasn't the one being hunted by skilled warriors who could kill her before she reached for her weapon.

Scotia was going to run after the boy but when she heard the hooves approaching, she stood frozen. Even after so many years, she was still cautious around Trikru.

"Yu." The man on the horse pointed down at her. "Hakom yu bants?" Tristan asked. He had two boys tied up, pulling them along, and to him, Scotia looked like she was leaving the battlefield without any prisoners.

"Ba'm eintheing." She shrugged, turning to face him on his horse, staring down at her like she was worth less than him. "I was looking for Skayon."

"I'm taking them to the Commander. Someone will need to explain what happened to Anya and the others." Tristan informed, not giving Scotia a choice on the matter of joining him.

She walked beside him, searching the woods for the boy. She knew he would attack and come save his friends, she was only waiting for him to find them.

One of the boys fell to the ground, struggling to keep up. "On your feet." Tristan ordered him, stopping his horse momentarily.

"I can't." The boy coughed.

"He can't keep up." His companion said, pulling on the boy's jacket to help him up. Their faces were so bloody you could hardly make out their faces, but the pain was obvious in their eyes.

"Get on your feet." Tristan descended from his horse. He pulled on the restraints, pulling the boy forward. When he drew his sword, he slowly slit a line across the boy's throat, releasing his blood and letting his body fall back to the Earth. "That's one. I lost 300."

Tristan did not sheath his sword. When he stalked towards the boy, Scotia reminded him why they had prisoners to begin with. The Commander would not get many answers from two dead Sky People.

"Drink. You're lucky. I need to keep one of you alive to talk to the commander." Tristan let the boy get just enough water that he would not die from lack of, but he would not rest long. 

Scotia began to regret not grabbing a horse, but she knew this walk would be short compared to any other torture she has faced. They all turned at the sound of rustling from the woods.

"Hey!" A boy yelled, emerging from the trees. The boy Scotia had let get away. He looked behind him, almost expecting something to happen.

"Bellamy! Get out of here!" The boy yelled to his friend.

"Hmm." Tristan looked down at Scotia, who had yet to draw her weapon. She didn't know what he expected, but he was quick to take matters into his own hands. He charged forward on his horse, dragging the boy in the dirt as he waved his sword, knocking Bellamy down.

Scotia jogged over, looking down at the boy before her boot collided with his side. She watched him crumple further against the ground, trying to keep away from her.

When Tristan saw her hesitation, he threw down his axe and grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt. He beat the boy until his eyes closed, and he could no longer move.

Tristan stood, glaring at Scotia as he went to get more rope. Scotia looked down at the boy with something between disgust and annoyance.