BOOK ONE IN THE SALVATION SERIES
"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror. Victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival."
"You just ripped off Winston Churchill."
"Wow, Blake, congratulations...
" she knew that victory was possible because they refused to stop fighting through the bad days to get to the good "
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I slide past two kids running, scrambling up to the post next to Miller. My hand is steady in the cool metal, despite Miller turning to me like I'm crazy. My wrist shakes in the weight of the gun, but I grip it tightly, disregarding the small throbs of pain.
"They're gaining ground Avalon!" Miller shouts over the chaos, hundreds of grounders all storming through the gates. We lost the foxholes, my mind immediately going to Bellamy and Octavia. They were supposed to be in them, but I didn't see them anywhere.
"Where are Bellamy and Octavia?" I raise my voice, extending my arm with the gun in it. I train it on one beefy grounder, his gaze meeting mine. I'm unblinking as I pull the trigger that sends him flying to the ground in a puddle of his own blood. I push away he guilt that creeps up on me, not letting it distract me.
Miller glances back at me, watching my aim. "I don't know, they ran off a while ago!" He answers, waiting for my reaction. My chest tightens, knowing Octavia would use her sword. If she was still out there surrounded by them— it couldn't be good. And I had no doubt Bellamy would be right there next to her.
"They're too close!" Miller's voice is laced with fear as he shoots recklessly at the mob of grounders coming right at us. "Everyone to the dropship now!"
I don't look away from the army of grounders, making sure that each bullet counted. I look around at the campers firing at the grounders, making sure they were listening. "No! Everyone, stay at your post. If they break through, it's over!"
Even with the fiery blast we had planned, there were bound to be casualties if they broke through. I couldn't let that happen. Maybe if we thinned their army out, we could all get to the dropship in time. Plus, I hadn't seen Finn come back yet.
I make eye contact with one particularly disturbing grounder. He was large and tall, radiating authority. He draws back the bow across his shoulder, aiming it straight at me. Maybe this was the Tristan Lincoln warned me about.
Before I can shoot, I put a hand overtop Miller's hat clad head, pulling him down with me. My breaths are fast paced as the arrow sails over our heads, Miller's dark eyes widening.
"Thanks," He breathes, the both of us standing back up. Miller readjusts his hat before bouncing back up.
"Anytime," I mutter, bringing the gun back up. The grounders were swarming us, the shouts of fearful kids echoing throughout camp. None of them ever asked to be fighting like this, they were kids.
