Blood Must Have Blood (Clexa Fanfic)

Take a Life With Me

For a few moments Clarke didn't know what to do, she'd heard Lexa's words clearly but for some reason they didn't sink in. Images flashed in her mind of her people and as the gunshots fired into the trees the images only became more vivid. She could almost imagine herself running through the forest with them, a gun resting reassuringly against her side. It reminded her of a time when she had her confidence, a time when she wasn't broken, a time when she was truly free...

There was a salty tang in the air and it was thick with smoke. Clarke didn't know what Skaikru had done but it didn't take a genius to realise that the forest was already ablaze. Orange flames licked at the trees and the acidic smoke stung her eyes. She coughed and when she squinted she could see black silhouettes darting past the flames and shouting in panic. Although the shouting was barely audible over the sound of the roaring flames. At this stage it wasn't obvious which side the bodies belonged to, but each shared the same goal to escape.

Clarke could feel her face getting hotter and the smoke grow thicker as the fire tore through the trees. She shook her head, finally bringing herself back to reality and breaking the dream she was in. Grounders sprinted past her, heading for cover beneath the trees that hadn't yet been licked by the flames.

Suddenly, Clarke felt her heart-rate quicken as she realised she hadn't seen Lexa since the fire started. Her head snapped in every direction and her breathing quickened as she couldn't see the Commander. She had no idea why she even cared for the girl's safety. Maybe she didn't, but Clarke felt like without the Commander, her only shred of confidence was...gone. And she was alone in the world. Clarke didn't think she could stand that, even if it meant keeping the one person she hated alive.

"Clarke..." A voice whispered and she barely heard it over the crackling of the fire as she turned and squinted at the bright light of the flames. The heat was overwhelming and for a split-second, Clarke could've sworn that she'd never heard the voice in the first place.
"Lexa?" She croaked, feeling her voice break at the strain of speaking the word through the smoke. But she received no reply.

"Lex-" Clarke began before her words were cut off by another body hitting hers and wrestling her to the ground. She felt the air get knocked out of her and she gasped as she felt a hand wrap around her throat, cutting off her supply of air. Her eyes began to water and she writhed beneath the heavy weight on her own body, kicking her legs in an effort to shake it off. The build felt female and she could tell by the tightness of the grip that they intended to kill.

Clarke brought her hands up and tried to claw at the face of her attacker, although she was pushed back down with ease. Her eyes looked up in disbelief as she took in the young face of a girl with brown hair. She looked fairly similar to Lexa but her eyes weren't ringed with same dark paint and this girl's eyes looked harsher than Lexa's and a lot less soft. Clarke felt like she recognised the girl and her whole body tingled as the blood stopped flowing through it. Her legs kicked out again and she wheezed as her vision began to become black at the edges.
"Oc-tav-ia.." Clarke choked out and the girl sneered, putting more pressure on her throat.
"Dammit Clarke. Quit struggling. It'll hurt less if you do.." Was all she said and in that painful moment it almost seemed impossible that the two girls had been former friends.

"Wh-why..."
"Blood must have blood after all. You never truly got what you deserved after that missile hit." She said and Clarke could hear the venom laced in the words. They hit her in a nauseating wave as she remembered abandoning everyone she'd cared about in order for her and Lexa to escape. The sound of screaming would be forever imprinted into her memory.

Tears welled in her eyes and she tried to mouth a response but Octavia didn't let her.
"Save it. I'll see you in hell Wanheda..." She said and Clarke stopped wriggling, closing her eyes and waiting for the world to disappear. Oddly enough she didn't feel scared, she just didn't want to fight the inevitable. Octavia would kill her. She would die here...

"Get the hell off her." Another voice snarled and Clarke's eyes shot open. It was like a jolt of electricity had shot through her at the sound of Lexa's voice and she began to struggle again.
The weight was immediately relieved from Clarke's chest as Lexa tackled Octavia away from her, sending up a cloud of ash as the fire still burned.

Clarke coughed and took in sharp, wheezing breaths as her lungs ached. The oxygen coursed through her veins and she felt the feeling return to her limbs and the blood warm her body again.

In her ears she could hear the sound of struggling and every so often a cry of pain. She couldn't tell who had the upper-hand but by the time Clarke had scrambled to her feet, Lexa was towering over Octavia, her blade in hand and her eyes set. They burned a hot amber colour as they reflected the flames and her pupils were dilated as she edged closer to Octavia's unmoving body.

Clarke's eyes widened as she reached her arm out and she stepped forward.
"Lexa stop!" She cried but it was too late as she saw a flash of silver and the blade came down sending up a spray of Octavia's blood.

It was like the world itself had stopped, everything put on hold and the only sound Clarke heard was her own ragged breathing. She'd seen blood before but Octavia's was different. Darker in some way. It was like watching ink spill and as her eyes drifted to Octavia's face she stifled a gasp.

Her eyes were still open, staring into nothingness almost like a statue that would never move. Blood mottled her face and her hair stuck to it, burning another image into Clarke's mind that she would unlikely ever forget. She would've stayed there longer but she felt a stern grip on her shoulder as her body was pushed forward.

"We have to move!" Lexa shouted over the sound of the flames, pushing Clarke forward away from the fire. But she still felt numb, cold from what she'd just seen. She knew Octavia had hated her but she could never wish death upon her. Never...
At heart, Clarke felt she was still a leader to Skaikru and watching one of her people die was the most painful thing she'd have to live through.

Although they were still running, Clarke could feel Lexa's angst and something unspoken in the air between them. It was like Lexa's guilt weighed on Clarke's shoulders as well and deep-down she felt bad for what she had done. But that was just the problem. It was done, and Clarke knew better than anyone, death wasn't something anyone could undo... So not a word was spoken between them until they'd evacuated the clearing. But as the sounds of the fire grew further and further away and the air cleared, Clarke felt Lexa walk beside her and in that small moment where they were alone together the simple words "I'm sorry." left Lexa's lips.