ASCENSION: BOOK 2 - SHADOW BLOODS.

Chapter 22. One By One They Fall.

I ran down the corridor leaving behind the armed missile and accessed the lift to the basement levels. I hoped by now Lexa and Bellamy were close to leading our people out of Mount Weather.
As the lift opened I paused before stepping out, my guns at the ready. Bullets flew past me  and ricocheted off the corridor walls. Cage's soliders were now blocking my way. They knew that whomever walked out of that lift would be the reason the security alarm had been activated.
I retreated back but the doors of the lift wouldn't close. Sparks flew from the access panel from a stray bullet causing it to malfunction.
A voice called out to me, "There's no way out of this, Wanheda!" I recognised Emerson's voice.
"You mistake me for someone who fears death, Lieutenant. I've already made my peace with the shadow that stalks me. I suggest you all do the same." I called out as I reached around the corner and fired off some shots to hold them back.
"You want us all dead, The President, the soliders, those that took your people! What about our families, our children? If you've set that missile to detonate you're killing them too!" He growled at me.
I never stopped to consider the innocent, that Mount Weather was home to families not just Cage and his soliders. There was nothing I could do about it now other than bear the burden of my actions.
"Their blood is on your hands too, Emerson. Just like the blood of our families and our children! You reap what you sow!" I shouted.
I heard him give the order to kill me as a rain of bullets flew past the open doors of the lift, keeping me trapped with no place left to hide. 
As I prepared for my last stand I heard the sound of conflict coming from the corridor.  Gun shots, swords, battle cries and then only silence.
A figure appeared from the side of the lift, causing me to raise my guns in defence.
"Easy there!" She said.
I looked to see Lexa standing before me. She held out her arm to help me to my feet.
"Didn't think I'd leave you behind, did you Skaigada?" She smiled as I pulled myself into her arms.
We moved past the bodies of the dead soliders to see Lincoln pointing his sword to Emerson's chest. The Mountain Man was still alive but was struggling breathe as he leaned against the corridor wall. Standing side by side with Lexa I looked the dying man before me. I had no pitty to offer him as he spitefully reminded me of what I had become at the hands of The Mountain.
" Do you think when this is over, when you've defeated The Mountain, The Clans will welcome you back? You're a murderer of your own people, a Shadow Blood, nothing will ever  changed that, Wanheda," He rasped defiantly with a grin on his face.
His words filled me with fury as I raised my gun and pointed it at his head, "My name is Clarke Kom Skaikru!"
I pulled the trigger without hesitation ending the life of Lieutenant Emerson.

My heart was relived to see Lexa, to be by her side once again, but it wouldn't be long before more of Cage's forces closed in on us.
Lexa and her warriors led us down a stairwell into the laboratory where our people were once held in cages.
The bodies Mount Weather's medical team lay bleeding on the floor.
Looking down at Doctor Tsing, I pulled the phials of the fake Reaper Drug from my boot and threw it onto her body. It was my way of attempting to leave Wanheda behind, letting the demon that walked by my side crumble to dust along with The Shadow Bloods of Mount Weather.
Lexa approched me, "Are you ok?"
"I will be," I replied with a smile.
As Lexa ordered her warriors to do a final sweep of the cages, I looked at the watch I held in my hand. It read forty minutes until detonation.
"Where are the others?" I said with a sense of urgency.
"Roan, Bellamy and Octavia are leading our people through the tunnels as we speak. They have warriors with them but there may still be Reapers down there. We need to move fast. "
I nodded in agreement as Lincoln called out to  confirm all of the cages were empty.
As we moved to the emergency stairwell that led into the mines, gunshots blasted out from the far side of the lab. President Cage and what was left of his military had closed in on us. We took cover and stayed low.
"WANHEDA! I know you can hear me. What you've done here is all for nothing. Even if that missle detonates, this facility will be locked down before any of you make it out. If we die, you die!" Cage shouted.
I looked at Lexa as the gunfire continued, "He's not bluffing."
Lexa glanced over at Lincoln and nodded at him. I watched as he pulled out a small device and flicked a switch before throwing it in the direction of Cage and his soliders. We huddled down and prepared for what came next.
The sound was deafening as the explosive opened up all of hell itself. Those who weren't killed were left injured and unable to move.
Through the smoke and destruction we rose to our feet and approched Cage as he lay upon the floor. Black blood covered most of his body and face, yet he fought to stay alive, too stubborn to die. His voice rasped as he struggled to speak, "Tick tock, tick tock, Heda and Wanheda. You're running out of time."
Cage was still full of his own ego until the very end. I watched as Lexa rested the point of her sword upon his throat.
"Know this, before the day is over you and the legacy of Mount Weather will be completly wiped from this world. For my Kin, for The Clans, for The Commanders and for Clarke Kom Skaikru I sentence you to death."
Cage grinned back, "And so the savages stand victorious. Well played, Commander, well played."
And with that Lexa pushed her sword into his flesh ending the reign of President Cage, The leader of The People Of The Mountain.