「 ✦ Bambi- Bellamy Blake ✦ 」

Toska

a dull ache of the soul

Concerned, Athena looked from afar at Clarke. The blonde girl was trying to hold herself together, but Athena could see it was barely working. "She shouldn't be here," Athena mumbled under her breath.

Athena stood on the scorched ground where the dropship had landed and exploded the previous night. She was helping Raven look for anything useful, but her focus wavered. The acrid smell of burned metal and flesh was overwhelming, and everywhere she looked, charred skeletons lay scattered.

Pinching her nose with her fingers to block out the stench, Athena continued walking while searching the ground. "Stay sharp. Grounder retaliation for what happened on the bridge is coming, just a matter of when," Bellamy said as he walked past her, his voice tight with tension.

Athena nodded, her eyes scanning the debris. She could see the strain on everyone's faces, the weight of their situation pressing down on them. 

She glanced over at Raven, who was methodically picking through the wreckage, her movements precise and determined despite the grim surroundings. "Find anything useful?" Athena asked, trying to keep her mind on the task.

"Not much," Raven replied, her voice muffled by the cloth she had tied around her nose and mouth. "Mostly scraps and some damaged equipment. But we'll take what we can get."

Athena sighed, her gaze drifting back to Clarke, who was hunched over, sifting through the debris with a haunted look in her eyes. "Clarke," she called out gently, walking over to her friend. "Maybe you should take a break. Get some rest."

Clarke shook her head, her jaw set with determination. "We don't have time for breaks." Athena walked away again , realizing that nothing will change Clarke's mind.

Suddenly, Raven's loud scream pierced through the tense silence. "Clarke, stop!" Athena whipped around to see Raven sprinting towards Clarke, her voice urgent and frantic. Athena followed close behind, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Hydrazine... Highly unstable in its non-solid form. If this stuff meets fire, we're all pink mist," Raven explained, her words sending a chill down Athena's spine. She stared at Clarke, eyes wide with fear, realizing the grave danger they were in. The possibility of everything around them blowing up at any moment made her stomach churn.

"Fire in the hole!" Raven shouted as a small explosion erupted a couple of meters away from them. The force of it knocked Athena off balance, and she stumbled backward, colliding with someone's chest. She immediately recognized the steady grip on her shoulders as Bellamy's, his presence grounding her amidst the chaos.

"We need to clear the area," Raven announced, her tone commanding and leaving no room for argument.

"Okay, then. We move in formation, no straggling, weapons hot. We got to get back before dark," Bellamy declared, his voice firm and authoritative.

"No problem for me," Athena chimed in, eager to leave the hazardous site as quickly as possible. The thought of being blown to bits by the unstable hydrazine was enough to make her skin crawl.

The group quickly fell into formation, their movements coordinated and precise. Athena stayed close to Bellamy, her eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of danger. The air was thick with tension, every step forward feeling like a gamble with their lives.

Athena was convinced she fell asleep multiple times on the way back. The night was pitch dark, and the cold air seemed to seep into her bones. She walked next to Raven, who kept rambling about the Hydrazine liquid. Athena tried to focus on Raven's words, but exhaustion weighed heavily on her eyelids. Suddenly, a sharp sound pierced the night—a gunshot.