Earth's Echo (The 100)

Grounder Camp

"What do you mean? I just proved that I'm a Doctor! What do you want with me?" I asked.

"You are still a Sky person, you are an enemy, and we do not release our enemies." She said turning towards her body guard, she said something to him, and he stepped forward and grabbed me.

I struggled against him, but it was like trying to escape from a bear. "I'm not an enemy! If you let me go, I promise I'll tell my people that you are no enemy, but if you keep me here, they will come for me!" That was a lie, but they didn't know that.

"Let them come." She said. Her bodyguard carried me off to go knows where, and as he carried me I saw everyone gawking at me, and I was actually grateful when he threw me in some sort of pit shutting me away from their prying stares.

The pit he put me in was covered in straw, and was empty expect for one other person. "Hello?" I called out not really being able to see their face, the person was huddled in a ball. "Are you okay?" I asked reaching out, but I realized it was a mistake after the person moved quickly and got really close to biting my hand. "What the hell?!" I pulled my hand back and went to the other end of the pit.

The person was still in the light, and I noticed it was some old guy with a ravenous face, but when he looked up he backed away from the light, like it burned him, but before he crawled back into his ball he hissed at me baring his many missing teeth.

"I got it, I'll stay on this side." I said leaning against the wall.

******

Night began to fall, and chills racked through my body. I tired making a nest out of the hay, but it was pointless. Once the moon was up the top cage opened up, and stuff was thrown down. I crawled towards the middle, and saw stale looking bread and a thing of water. I ate it quickly, and downed the water.

I pushed the guy his stuff, but when he saw the water pouch he hissed and chucked it at my head nearly knocking me out. "What the hell, I was only being nice." I said.

"He won't drink." I glanced up to see Grenda peering down at me. "It's like he fears the water."

"What happened to him?" I asked.

"He used to be an elder of the tribe, but one day when he came back from the woods he started acting strange, soon he was attacking people so the Commander put him here." She said.

I scrunched my eyes. Fear of water, distaste for sun, and aggressive behavior. "Did he by chance have a bite on him?" I asked.

"A faint one on his ankle, but that's not uncommon around here." She replied.

"I know what's wrong with him." I said looking over to the cowering figure with pity. "Only, there's nothing we can do for him." Grenda looked at me as if to explain. "It's an old and incurable disease that gets passed through animal bites. It's called rabies, and it will soon kill him. It's probably best if he is put out of his misery."

"The Commander will never here that, to kill him would disgrace his honor." Grenda said morbidly. "But if you were to do it."

"If I kill him, I would just be even more hated. Lexa would end me for sure." I sighed.

"If he dies on his own, she will still blame you. If you are the person I saw you to be, you will do the right thing." She slide something through the grate, and I caught the soft material, it was a blanket. "I must leave you know."

She walked off, and I held the blanket in my arms. I knew she was right, I couldn't let this man suffer more than he already was. With all my might, I walked towards him with the blanket balled up. As soon as he saw me coming he lunged towards me, but I was quicker, and I shoved him on the ground and covered his face with the blanket. He struggled at first, but soon his movements slowed until he stopped.

After a minute I pulled back the blanket and saw his resting face. Tears streamed down mine, I never liked making the kill, but I knew this was needed. I got off him, and aligned his body in a sleeping position, and I took the blanket and covered him up. "May we meet again." I said solemnly.

*****

I spent the whole night curled in ball trying to keep in all the warmth I had. I could have used the blanket, but I thought it was better left where I kept it. Finally dawn arrived and the hatch opened up.

"The Commander wishes to speak with you." The guard said lowering a rope. When I didn't make a move to he growled. "Get on the rope."

I sighed, and grabbed the rope, and I got pulled up. The guard grabbed me and tied up my hands while the other guard looked down.

"Maximal," He called down. "Why is he not moving?"

"He's dead." I said."He had a seizure in the night, and died."

"I don't believe you, you killed him." The guard holding me wrung my arm behind my back making me bite my cheek in pain. He pushed me through the camp, me getting more insults hurled at me. Finally we reached the tent and I was thrown in landing roughly on the ground.

Pushing myself off the ground, I looked up to Lexa. She was on her throne looking down at me with a smug look. "You summoned me." I growled standing up. "Commander." I literally spit out the words.

"I just got news that you killed Maximal."

"I didn't kill him, he died." I lied. "Now what do you want."

"Tell me about the Sky People." She said. "Where are they?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Aren't they at the Dropship? After they ignited the ship, didn't they stay?"

"My scouts have said that they are gone, I can only assume by the Mountain People." She said.

My heart skipped a beat, and I fought back tears, but I couldn't show the weakness. "Who are the Mountain People?" I asked.

"They live in the Mountain, and they have weapons superior to ours, and they take our people, and they now have your people." She said.

I leaned against the closest object and steadied myself. "I have to go get them." I said, "Please, you have to understand, they need me."

"I understand what it's like to be a leader, to be responsible for people, but you can't win against the Mountain Men." I could see that Lexa did feel for my problem, but right now I was her problem. "My scouts also tell me that more of your people came down."

I perked up. "How many?" I asked.

"There were multiple landing sites, but only one of the ships has living people, all the other ones are littered with dead bodies of your people." She said with little remorse.

"But there are survivors?" Hope raised in me again.

"Yes, but I'm afraid you won't live long enough to see them." She said. "After you tell us everything about your people, you will have a trial among our elders, and they will decide your fate."

I thought about what she was saying, and I knew that no matter what I said the grounders were going to ask for my death. Then I remembered back to what Anthony had told me about some of the grounder traditions. "No," I said looking up to meet Lexa's eyes.

"What do you mean, no?" She asked sitting up straighter and glaring down at me through her black eye make up.

"I demand a trail by combat." I said strongly. "If I win you let me go, if I lose you kill me."

The guards in the tent glanced to each other and then to Lexa. She seemed to be pondering what I said, and she nodded. "Very well, you will fight one warrior per day for the next five days, and on the last day you will fight me."

"What?" I asked. "I thought I was to fight only one person!"

"You must not have known our traditions as well as you thought." She smirked. "Your first match will start later on today. Banku will watch over you as you prepare." She nodded to one of the smaller guards, and he walked forward. "Banku will give you everything you need before your fight later."

Banku grabbed my arm and lead me out of the tent, and towards the outer parts of the city to a small area. "Where are we?" I asked.

"This is where you'll train for the time being."