So Many Miles Between Us

15. Trapped (Octavia)

     I slowly woke up fully, trying to get a good look at my surroundings. My vision was blurred and my head pounded. I felt as blood trickled down my forehead. I attempted to move but quickly realized I was tied up, stuck in a chair. I spotted Emerson in the corner of the room, glaring at me with pure hatred in his eyes, and his lips twisted into a small, cruel smile. I instantly remembered what I saw, as I struggled to wake up. My eyes turned to the camera set up in front of me. My brother. Stuck in the closet. With acid fog enclosing around him.
     That's when I whipped my head around to Emerson and demanded, with both fear and anger in my voice, "Let him go! Now!"
     Emerson just shook his head. "No can do, sweetheart. He has to pay for what he's done. For what he did to my people," Emerson pointed out.
     "Do you really think he wanted to do that?! Your people gave him no choice! They tried to kill us all!" I snapped back at him.
     Emerson wasn't having any of it. It took me a long moment to come up with my next idea, but eventually I said, determination in my voice, "Then, let me pay for him. Please, kill me instead." Emerson just shook his head 'no'. "Please! Take me instead!" I begged him, beginning to shake my chair violently, still holding onto the false hope that I'd manage to get free and make it to Bellamy in time.
     "I won't let you do that", he said, surprisingly calm.
     "Why not?" I asked, my voice shaking and tears threatening to escape my eyes.
      "Because Bellamy is guilty," he explained.
      I looked back to the camera, realizing just how hopeless the situation was. Bellamy was in the corner of the room, burying his face in a rag to keep himself from breathing in the poisonous fog. It was in that moment that I completely lost it. I began screaming Bell's name, as if he would answer me even if he could, shouting at Emerson to let me go, and begging him to show mercy to my brother. He walked over to me with something silver in his hand. Once he got into a better view, I realized that it was tape. He viciously tore a piece off and pressed it across my mouth. He roughly patted my cheek afterwards and said, with a giant smirk on his face, "That's better."
     Of course, I still tried to speak even after the tape was on my mouth but with little success, since the tape muffled any words coming from my mouth and turned them into unrecognizable sounds.
     Just as I was ready to come up with another plan, a loud crash came from the door area. I heard the splintering of the door as it broke into two pieces, before both pieces implanted themselves in the ground. The loose screws let out an orchestra of different sized rings as they hit the floor. It wasn't just the door being demolished that I heard, but the sound of heavy footsteps dragging across the floor...
     My eyes focused on the figure standing in the doorway. I didn't recognize the young woman who stood before me. Her hair was wavy and blonde. Her eyes were a sea blue color, with light dancing in them. Her clothes were those of a Grounder, and she wore an assortment of jewelry. The thing that stood out to me the most was how all jewelry pieces had some sort of sea feature incorporated into them. The necklace that hung around her neck held seashells of all different colors and sizes attached to a thin string. The bracelet wrapped tightly around her wrist was made of dark green, dried out seaweed. The woman also wore earrings, and they were made from small, pure white fish bones.
      I turned my gaze back towards Emerson, but went into panic mode when I couldn't see him. Where could he have went? I wondered to myself. There's nowhere to go. The only exit is the door, and he certainly couldn't have went out that way. Unless, maybe he did, and I just missed it while staring at the new girl.
     The Grounder seemed to notice my unease, so she reassured me by saying, "Don't worry. He's gone for now, but we'll catch him when the final battle comes around. For now, let's just get to your brother." With that, she walked over and ripped the tape from my mouth, leaving a quarter of my face red and stinging.
     I shook my head, confused by her words. "How did he escape?" I asked.
     She didn't say anything, but instead she answered me by nodding towards the corner of the room. I shifted my gaze over to a small hole in the ground, almost hidden by the shadows of the corner. A little door with a handle attached to the top of it lay open. The sides of the door were attached to two of the edges of the rim of the hole. A trapdoor, I guessed.
     "Come on. We need to go now, Octavia," the Grounder's voice broke into my thoughts. I realized that she was right, as I glanced back at the camera.
     The Grounder slipped a small knife from her belt loop, cutting the ties that bound me to the chair. "Hurry!" I shouted at her as she began taking to much time.
     "Patience, Octavia of the Sky People," she responded back to me, finishing cutting me loose. I instantly jumped to my feet.
     "Level 8. That's where we need to go. That's where my brother is," I explained to her.
     The Grounder woman just nodded and gestured towards the door, which no longer existed, saying, "Lead the way."
      I nodded and hurried in front of her. I rushed towards the elevator, which was about three minutes away by jogging, and hurried inside, preparing to press the button for Level 8 when I saw her hesitation. "What's wrong?" I asked the Grounder, annoyance creeping into my voice.
      She blinked in confusion at the elevator as if she never saw one before. Of course she never did! She's a Grounder, I told myself.
     "It's safe. I promise. Now, get in," I told her, at this point, really unable to hide the annoyance from my voice. Luckily, she nodded at last and stepped in beside me, though, she was reluctant.
       As the elevator slowly chugged down to Level 8, I found some emergency supplies in a kit in the corner of the elevator. I searched for anything that might be useful and found two small masks. They were made of a thin, paper material, with thin, stretchy strings attached to either sides of the masks to allow somebody to slip it around their face. It wasn't much but it would have to do. Besides, it was better than nothing. I shoved one at the Grounder, commanding her, "Put that on. It won't help much, but hopefully we'll be in and out quickly."
      She nodded in an understanding way and did as I instructed. Next, I put mine on. By that time, the elevator had stopped at Level 8, the wide doors pulling open. The moment they did, the fog touched my skin, sending my body into a series of violent and unfriendly spasms. The fog seeped through my mask, suffocating me, as if I were buried hundreds of feet underground and nobody could hear my screams for help, so they continued piling even more dirt on top of me. I pushed through the pain and suffocation, trying to breathe as little as possible, making my way over to the closet. I banged on the door but heard no response, and the door was locked. Oh, he could already be dead, I thought to myself, terrified.
     "Get back," growled the Grounder woman from behind me, her voice barely audible because of the mask.
     I backed up, letting her rush in front of me. She slowly pulled a sword from the leather straps intertwined on her back, that held weapons. She pulled the sword backwards, hesitated, and then swung. I saw a spark come from where the metal blade met the metal doorknob. It was a clean cut with no jagged edges. The doorknob fell off, screws and bolts falling to the ground, echoing a ringing sound throughout the small room. The door mysteriously opened on its own. After that, I rushed inside, keeping my eyes shut, though, they had already been burning because of the fog. I heard the moans coming from my brother as I rushed to his side, gripping his shoulders, dragging his unconscious body from the room. Once back outside of the closet, I struggled to open my eyes, but when I did, I managed to see the handle that turned the fog on and off. I let go of my brother's shoulders, rushing over to the octagon shaped handle, turning it to the right, shutting the fog off. The air, however, was still unsafe to breathe in, considering the fog still lingered in the air. The Grounder and I teamed up and dragged my brother into the elevator, and then headed down to the floor we were originally on when we first arrived to the mountain.
     All three of us had burns covering our bodies, the skin destroyed where they did. Our eyes watered due to the fog seeping in them. Everyone, including myself, seemed to be breathing heavier, raspier, and unevenly. That's how I could tell the acid fog effected our lungs, which was probably the most serious out of all the injuries, and defiantly the most painful.
     Bellamy groggily struggled to open his eyes. "O? Is that you?" he whispered, slight drool coming from his lips as he did so.
      "Bell," I breathed at last, overwhelming joy in my voice. "Yeah, it's really me," I reassured him.
     "Just... Just don't... G... Go..." he trailed off, slipping back into unconsciousness.
       Before he fully slipped away, I gripped his hand tightly and kissed him gently on his cheek. "Never," I promised him, slipping into the same unconsciousness as he did shortly after.