Stay Alive

Chapter eight, Crossfire

     Unityday had just arrived, it had been quiet for days. No attacks from the grounders, no killing or anything. But that didn't mean it couldn't change at any moment. It had just been calm and quiet.

Some people were celebrating by listening to chancellor Jaha's speech through the radio and others were getting drunk or playing games. Some did both. For once they felt alive and for once they were allowed to enjoy the feeling of being alive, free, the feeling of being kids. Because that's what most of them still were, kids. And for the first time since they got to earth, no one was trying to take that away, at least not yet.

🛰️

Octavia told Allie about Lincoln and how they had gotten pretty close. Both Octavia and Ailene wanted to live in peace with the grounders, but unfortunately it didn't seem like there were many others who shared that opinion. They seemed more impressed by the guns. And given the thought about the grounders possible population, that might become what would get them all killed. The safety they found in the knowledge of having guns around, would be the death of them if they didn't get their act together and started thinking logically. They wouldn't survive a war against the grounders, guns or not, they'd eventually be dead.

🛰️

During the middle of the celebrations the radio all of a sudden stopped working. Something had happened on the Ark. Most of the teenagers continued with whatever they were doing before that happened, some of them didn't even know that the comms went out. Ailene didn't feel like partying so she had offered to stand guard.

A while into the night a boy had taken Ailene's place at the guard post. While walking around camp Allie overheard Finn and Clarke talk about how Finn had managed to set up a meeting with the grounders. Finn argued that this was the only way to get peace, but Clarke was seemingly skeptical about it. For some reason she thought the new guns would be a better way to bring peace.

"You really want a war? Because at this rate, that's what's coming", Finn noted. Clarke seemed to finally see the boy's point, because she stayed quiet for a moment.

As soon as Ailene heard Clarke agree to meet with the grounders, she left to saddle Wind. She knew where Octavia usually met Lincoln, she therefore rode there first. Once she got there she tracked Octavia to a bridge made of stone.

"What are you doing here?" Octavia exclaimed when she saw her friend.

"I overheard a conversation between Clarke and Finn. And it led me here", Ailene responded from where she sat on Wind's back. "You think this is going to work?" she continued to ask.

"I really hope so", Octavia said with a slightly anxious tone in her voice.

"Please stop pacing back and forth. You're making my horse nervous", Allie said and gave the brunette a reassuring smile as if to tell her it would be okay.

"You're not supposed to be here, Allie. It wasn't a part of the agreement", Octavia said nervously after a moment of silence.

"It's okay. I'll go. But I'll be close by if you need me. Okay?" the young woman spoke to calm the anxious brunette.

"Thank you, Allie." Ailene just gave the girl a slight nod before turning Wind around and walked back into the forest to stay out of sight.

A short while later Finn and Clarke came walking. And not long after, Lincoln came running out of the forest at the other side of the bridge. Octavia ran to meet him and greeted him with a big hug. It then didn't take many seconds before three horses with their riders trotted out of the forest from where Lincoln had come.