Vagabond (Bellamy Blake) 1/2

26

ryder

"hey, take this." i offer jesse on of my many blades in case she does need something to defend herself with. she just shakes her head, pulling out a hand gun from her belt loop.

i was surprised i hadn't noticed it sooner, but i was relieved to know she was beginning to learn what to do on this earth. 

"don't worry, i got this." she whispers so only i could hear.

the light that our torches were emitting wasn't very much so i had to rely on my hearing to sense the presents of others. after so long of being in the woods full of grounders, i learned to rely on hearing, knowing that grounders were sneaky and they liked sneaking up on others by using trees. 

i was picking up the sound of two, wait no... one person. it sounded as if they were growling or chewing, something that was more like a reaper than a grounder. nothing can ever be easy, can it?

before i could warn jesse, she yelps in pain from stubbing her toe on something, as usual. she was never good at sneaking around. i huff knowing tat the reaper had heard her.

i charge at the reaper, just as it had been doing as well, but before i could get a hit in, i recognize the reaper as the man i had first stolen from on earth. i freeze, realizing that this reaper was once a grounder, a grounder with a family. 

"you." i breathe, but the man looked right through me.

the man took this opportunity to knock me to the ground and i groan in pain. i see him turn his attention to my sister who had tried firing her gun in his direction, but missing terribly. add shooting to the long list of things i would need to teach her to do. 

i push myself off the ground and tackle the reaper that was now strangling my sister, pushing her against the side of a car. all his attention was on her so i used this time to move in on his and smash his skull into the passenger side window. his grip loosened, but he didn't let go.

no one lays a hand on my sister.

any humanity i had seen in this man was gone now and i pulled my machete from my sheath and dragged the blade across the former grounder's throat in one motion. blood splattered all over mine and my sister's faces as he finally lets go of my sisters neck and his body drops to the ground, lifeless.

i dropped my weapon to the ground as my eyes widened and i backed up into the car adjacent. jesse gasped for a breath, but i kept my gaze on the dead grounder- i mean reaper.

how was this grounder a reaper right now though? why is it that the soul that was once in this mans eyes now gone? had i really killed someone, or was this just a horrible nightmare?

suddenly, this man wasn't a reaper anymore, he was a grounder with a family that no longer had a father, brother, friend, and husband. i didn't just take away one life, i ruined multiple in one fell swoop. i had become just as savage as the rest of them.

"ryder? ryder." jesse tried shaking me out of my trance, but all i could do was hum, still in shock. "ry, we need to find they others."

"yeah, the other." i repeat as i re-sheath my weapon that was now covered in blood. she pulled me forward and i followed obediently, looking back one last time at the blood that had spread across the floor.

...

few minutes into our search for the others and i had finally gotten my head in the game again. though it was difficult, i reasoned with myself, there was no sense in me killing if jesse and i died now anyways. i had to stay alert for her, keep her safe like i had always done.

"lincoln? can you here me?" a voice yelled from nearby and i recognized it as the blake girl. 

"octavia." i whisper to my sister as be pick up our pace to where the voices were coming form.

"hey!" bellamy shouts were followed by a loud cry of pain and a thud.

we speed up to see bellamy holding a baton to a reapers neck as the man laid unconscious, but breathing on the ground.

"now what?" octavia asks her brother, still unaware of our presence.

"now we take him home." i immediately know he was referring to the dropship and i freeze once again.

the last time i had been there was the day i found out my father was dead. that was also the day i had first, unofficially meet, the grounder that was lying on the floor. lincoln as octavia had just mentioned.

monty and jasper had been put on packing duty, as in packing little pouches for rations, just after the storm from the night before. i wasn't even allowed to help with that which was ridiculous since it was my leg that was injured and last time i checked it didn't require much walking.

i sighed, knowing that none of my friends would be able to hang out right now, not while there was a shit load of stuff to clean up from all the damage around. the only person i thought of that might be fine with my company was miller. from what i was told he was just relaxing on the third floor of the dropship.

i began climbing up, struggling tremendously with the condition of my leg, but if i had to take another minute of sitting alone while everyone was working, i would go out of my mind. i finally made it to the top of the final set of ladders, opening the hatch and climbing through.

"hey miller. harper told me you were up here-" i stopped speaking when i noticed a tall man chained up, covered in cuts and bruises. "is that a grounder?" miller replied with a nod, standing. "i didn't think she was serious when she said you were watching a grounder."

i force myself up on my feet and begin to approach the grounder that looked like he had been tortured. as i step forward, the grounder eyes me cautiously and i raise my hands to show i mean no harm. 

i reach out to one of his chains in attempt to free him, but miller take hold of my wrist, squeezing tight so i wouldn't be free. i tried to release myself, but he was too strong for me.

"let go of my arm, nate." i scowled  and he obeys. "this isn't tight and you know that." i begin to lecture, turning to face the boy.

"these people are the reason our friends are dead. he deserves to be tortured, or better yet, die." he argues, crossing his arms with an angered look.

"no, no one deserves to die. we don't get to float people down here, this isn't the ark."  my voices raised with every word.

"maybe not, but that doesn't mean we can't torture him for information." i scoffed. what the hell was happening that made him think that any of this was okay? how could anybody think it was reasonable to torture someone, in any case.

"what the hell is wrong with you? that's really sick and you know that." i poke him in his chest accusingly.

"hey we did this for finn. for roma, diggs, john, jasper, our friends. we did this for you!" he yelled, trying to justify his actions. he had the nerve to blame me, to blame our dead friends for their gross, barbarian actions.

"if you were doing this for me, you would let him go." my voice was now quieter, almost a whisper.

i shake my head to my friend then take one last glance at the grounder before limping back to the ladder. i'd rather sit alone outside than watch a man, good or bad, suffer. normally, i would have tried to help out the grounder, maybe help him escape, but i was in no way in any shape to do so now.

one thing i knew was i would have to give bellamy and anyone else that had to do with this viciousness a piece of my mind when i find them. no one deserves torture or death. no matter the circumstances, everyone has the right to not just survive, but live.

i was never able to bring any of this up, but only because my mind had been clouded with judgment and hatred for bellamy blake at the time. 

"ryder, you okay?" bellamy asked snapping me out of my head. sometimes it's better if i just shut my brain off sometimes.

"yeah, im fine." i reply giving him a fake smile. 

did i just smile at bellamy?