The Lost Grounder

Chapter 8

Bellamy and Artemis stood beside Raven and watched as Clarke set fire to the bodies. Artemis felt like a huge weight should have been lifted from her, that this should her brought her peace but instead it brought her pain. This was just a reminder that she would never see her brother or Finn again. Her brother died knowing that she betrayed him and Finn died thinking she hated him. She had ruined everything and she couldn't go back and change it, she had to live with it and she knew that this was going to haunt her forever.

She glanced to Raven, tears trickled down her face silently as she watched the flames consume Finn's body. She wanted to comfort her but there were no words she could say that would lessen the pain. So they stood in silence and stared at the flames until they died down to nothing, leaving only ash where bodies had once been. But that ash meant the beginning of a truce between the Grounders and Sky people, which was to be celebrated with a feast for the main members of each side.

"No sky person leaves this room!" Lexa commanded, the small bottle grasped tightly in her hand as she stormed out. The rest of the Grounders quickly followed suite.

"Indra, hod op! Teik ai chich op kom emo." Lincoln said before Artemis had the chance to say anything or anyone else did for that matter.

"Yu sou laik emo." She replied before slamming the gate and walking away.

"What did they say?" Bellamy asked Artemis.

"Lincoln asked to speak for us and Indra replied by saying that he was one of us." She explained. "In short, we're all in trouble. We can't convince them that it wasn't us without evidence, which we're unlikely to find."

"What will happen to Raven?" He asked glancing to her as Clarke asked if she had done it.

"That is for the Commander to decide. If she's feeling generous then only Raven will die, if not..." she trailed off not wanting to finish. They quickly turned when Raven shouted at Clarke before punching her. Clarke quickly moved to sit in the corner by herself. Artemis went to go to her but Bellamy placed his hand on her shoulder.

"She needs time alone" he said softly. She looked to him and glanced to Clarke before nodding.

It didn't take long for the Commander to come to a decision and Raven was taken and tied to a pole where justice would be served.

"Talk to them" Octavia pleaded to Lincoln, "they're your people."

"Not anymore" he muttered before walking over to Nyko. Bellamy looked to Artemis,

"they won't listen to you will they?" She shook her head,

"not anymore" she replied. "Not after what I've done. I am a traitor. I betrayed everyone I held dear to save a group of strangers who fell from the sky." She said. "My brother died believing I was a traitor, I never got to say goodbye. His last words to me were 'don't die out there' and mine to him were 'I won't.' But I did. I died at Murphy's hand, when I woke beside Clarke I wasn't a Grounder anymore." She said sadly as she watched the blood drip from Raven's arm. "I gave up everything for the one hundred, and look where it's got us."

"Hey it's kept us alive. You saved our lives." He said.

"Yeah and I killed three hundred when I pulled the lever in the drop ship." She replied. He sighed and wrapped his arm around her. He presumed that it had been Clarke, he had never imagined that Artemis had done it, that she was responsible for the death of three hundred Grounders.

"You did what had to be done." He said firmly. "You did the right thing."

"Did I?" She asked genuinely, looking up to him. He nodded,

"yeah you did." He answered.

That night they made camp in the woods just outside the entrance of Tondc.

"Guys!" Raven called. "Listen to this." She ran over to the camp fire they were all sat at held out the radio so they could hear the message. "It's repeating" Raven said to Clarke's request.

"They're alive" Octavia muttered.

"We need to do this now" Bellamy said firmly, "we've got the alliance, now is the time to use it." Clarke considered what he said.

"First we need an inside man" she said decisively. "You were right. Without someone to lower their defences, to shut down the acid fog, an army's useless. You should go."

"I thought you hated that plan." He said, "that I would get myself killed."

"I was being weak" Clarke admitted. "It's worth the risk."

Artemis couldn't listen as they discussed a rough plan of sorts. She didn't want him to go, she had seen what was waiting for him and she couldn't bare it. She didn't want him to get killed or tortured by those monsters. She wanted him to stay with her where she knew he was safe, but that wasn't a reality and she knew that. He had to go and she had to face that.

"Artemis" Bellamy said softly as he sat beside her. "I'll be fine." She looked to him and wished she could believe him, but he didn't know that-he couldn't possibly know that.

"You don't know that" she replied as he pulled her into his arms.

"Help me survive it. Tell me everything you know about Mount Weather-everything you saw in there and everything the Grounders told you about it." She nodded. They sat by the fire for several hours as they talked about Mount Weather and everything Artemis knew about it, true and false.

That morning Bellamy left with Lincoln after an extremely long hug with Artemis, where he promised to return in one piece.

"I need to stay here" Clarke told Artemis, "but I want you to go back to Camp Jaha with the Grounders."

"Are you sure?" Clarke nodded decisively.

"I need you to make sure that everything goes well. If something happens please promise me that you'll try to fix it-you're one of the only people I can rely on." Artemis smiled at Clarke's words, she relied on her. No one had ever relied on her before and she was determined to make sure that Clarke hadn't made a mistake.

"I promise Clarke. Everything will be fine, and when you return you'll see that." Clarke hugged her tightly.

"Thank you" she said before turning back to Tondc.

"Clarke" Artemis called. Clarke stopped and glanced over her shoulder to her. "I know everything will be fine because you are a great leader. You are strong, determined, caring and intelligent. If anyone can save our people from Mount Weather it's you." Clarke smiled at her,

"Thank you Artemis. Remember that you will always be one of us-you are one of the one hundred." She said before disappearing behind the walls of Tondc.