Hopeless - (Bellamy Blake - Book 2)

Chapter 14.

I crouch near the cliff edge to stretch my legs and relieve my back from all the standing and running, the others stood beside me. We all watch Sterling making the slow descent down to where his friend clings on for her life.

"I'm almost there!" He calls up to us. "When I have her, pull us up!"

"You know, I'd say he's heard one too many of your motivational speeches." Murphy snides to Bellamy.

"Shut up, Murphy." Bellamy replies.

I smirk to myself, Murphy has a point.

The sound of sliding rock, pulling rope and a squeal from Mel has me surging forward, peering over the edge.

"Sterling!" I shout down, watching as he flails all over the place, with Mel clutching onto a tree branch protruding from the rock, her legs kicking out underneath her as she tries to regain her footing.

I watch as the pair reach towards each other, trying to clasp hands and exchanging quiet words when suddenly, Sterling is gone, falling down to the ravine below with Mel screaming, and the rest of us in chaos.

"Sterling!" Bellamy roars. I whip my head around to see the rope Sterling had tied, soaring past and following him down to the ground, his scream echoing up to us.

"Oh my god." I fall back onto my ass in shock, and can hear Monroe crying behind me.

"Mel! Mel, hold on." Bellamy tells her. He kneels beside me on the ground, his hand on my back. "Focus on me. You can do this."

"No!" Mel sobs.

"Yes, you can. You're strong."

"I'm not strong." She cries up. "Stubborn, maybe."

I choke out a small laugh.

"So be stubborn a little longer. I'm not gonna let you die, you hear me?"

Bellamy stands, and I follow suit. "You are not going down there."

"No, because we're out of rope." Finn says plainly.

"So we make a new one." Bellamy says.

"If anything happens to our friends—"

"We don't know if we can even save our friends! For all we know, they may be dead already. We've all thought it."

We all stay quiet at Bellamy's confession.

"But what we do know, is we could save this one girl."

"Sterling was one of us." Monroe says, her voice thick. "She was his friend...I'm in."

Murphy sighs. "How do we do it?"

Bellamy nods. "We make new rope from the wreckage. Go find wires, seatbelts, anything."

Murphy nods, then he and Monroe set off, leaving myself, Bellamy and Finn.

Finn says, eyes never leaving Bellamy, "I hope you're right about this," before walking away.