On the Run ~ON HOLD~

Chapter 9 Life And Death

The next day, the group started making their way back to camp. The four had been walking for a while. Finn was talking to Wells as Clarke led the way with Thea dragging behind them.

She was hungover. Her head was pounding and the light hurt her eyes. She was seriously starting to regret drinking so much alcohol the previous night.

She watched as Finn sped up in order to catch up with Clarke. The two began talking but Thea didn't pay attention. Instead, she fell into step beside Wells.

"So, you drank quite a bit last night," the boy smirked at her.

Thea just groaned and kept walking. Wells laughed but let the conversation drop and they walked in silence.

Suddenly, the group heard a scream echo through the trees. They stopped, Thea coming up next to Clarke.

"What was that?" Clarke questioned.

"I don't know but we need to get back to camp," Finn replied.

"You guys go, I'll check it out," Thea told the other three.

Clarke began to protest but Thea held up a hand, "You need to get back to Jasper as quickly as possible. Wells and Finn will help you. And besides," she smirked, pulling a makeshift knife from her belt, "I can protect myself."

At this, Clarke nodded, reaching forward to give the girl a quick hug, "Be safe," she whispered and Thea nodded.

Waving goodbye to Finn and Wells, Thea took off in the direction of the scream.

As she got closer, she followed the sound of voices. When she arrived however, she saw only one person: Bellamy. He was knelt down, looking at something. Or someone as the girl discovered when she took a step closer.

Atom lay on the ground, burns covering his body as he gasped for breath. Bellamy knelt next to him, hovering over the dying boy with a knife held in his shaking hand.

Feeling her presence behind him, Bellamy turned to look over his shoulder. Thea walked forward, throwing her bag to the ground as she knelt on the other side of Atom who seemed to be saying something.

"I heard screams," Thea breathed out as she struggled to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Charlotte found him," Bellamy muttered, "I sent her back to camp."

The two looked at each other for a moment, unable to pull their gazes away as they processed what was happening.

With a heavy heart, Thea looked back down at the boy dying on the ground in front of her. Atom was trying to speak, begging for them to kill him, to put him out of his misery. And Thea knew there was nothing else they could do for the boy. He was too far gone.

Looking up at Bellamy once again, Thea shook her head slightly, signaling that there was no hope for the boy. After another moment of silence, the only sound being Atom's desperate pleas for death, Thea made her decision.

Taking a deep breath and sending a pained smile to Atom, she finally spoke, in a quiet, calming voice, "Okay. I'm gonna help you, alright?"

Swallowing her tears and the sick feeling in her stomach, Thea reached forward to stroke the boy's hair as she began to hum a calming tune that her mother used to sing to her to get her to fall asleep.

She reached out slowly, taking hold of Bellamy's hand, the one that held the knife, and gently sliding it out of the older boy's hand.