Defiance • Bellamy Blake [1]

52. Staying Alive

I was still pressed against the boulder when the sun rose. It was daytime now which made it easier to be seen and easier to be shot. Bodies laid all around on the ground, gunshot wounds in their chests and heads. The sniper seemed to just be shooting now, hoping to hit people. Where the hell was Lincoln? If he didn't get to him soon, there wouldn't be any more people left.

"We can't wait anymore. Our people are dying down there." Atohl said.

"If we can get to the crater, we can tunnel in from the side." Octavia said.

"There's no cover." Caris argued.

"I'll do it." Atohl offered after taking a sip of what I could guess was alcohol.

He got up and started running before getting shot at. He narrowly missed the bullet and Octavia dragged him back beside her.

"Any other bad ideas?" Caris sassed.

"I could do it." I offered.

"No, Harley. You've already been shot." Octavia protested. She looked around the village before picking up the alcohol and taking a chug.

"Really Octavia, now is not the time." I scolded. Octavia gave me a look. Then, she threw it into the fire.

Alcohol is flammable and being thrown into that burning fire, it ignited, making the fire rise high in the sky. I nodded my head in approval even though Octavia couldn't see me. Octavia put a finger in the air, telling everyone to wait. The fire burned down but a dark smoke was rising high and clouding the air. After a moment, Octavia ran. By time she reached the tunnel, the sniper was too late.

"Our turn." I mumbled.

I got up in a crouch position and Julien copied my actions. I waited a moment before running where Octavia went. Thankfully this time, I didn't get shot. I slid down the small hill and got back up on my feet. Julien was right behind me, and Caris and Atohl followed.

"Now what, Sky girl?" Caris asked once we were safe.

"Now we dig." Octavia said.

We crawled over to Octavia. "Stay down." I ordered.

They nodded their heads and we all started moving the rocks. They were heavy but we all had the physical strength to move them. My arm was in a lot of pain, but I tried to work through it. Octavia insisted that I stopped helping, but I wasn't going to let my injury get in the way of helping the people who were trapped down there. So I just suffered through the pain.

It took a while to clear all the rocks, but since there were a few of us, it didn't take as long as it could have. Once we had removed all the rocks, we went on to try and move the cement wall that was blocking our path, but it was proving to be difficult. Atohl was trying to pull it with a rope but was unsuccessful.

"Ugh, it's not use." Caris said, defeated.

"Come on! We can do this." Octavia said.

Suddenly, a horn blew in the distance.

"Wait. Listen." Caris said.

We all stopped what we were doing and listened to the horn blow. We ran out of the tunnel, and Octavia stood with a smile on her face. We all knew what that sound meant, and I felt a smile grow on my face.

"Lincoln. He did it." Octavia breathed out in relief.

"We still can't get them out." Caris said.