READY, AIM, FIRE [B.BLAKE]

CHAPTER TEN

"Bring out the girl, Bellamy!" Murphy taunted from outside the tent that Bellamy, Hazel, Charlotte, Clarke, and Finn had all rushed into.

Bellamy was pacing, "why, Charlotte?

"I was just trying to slay my demons like you told me!" Charlotte shot back.

Clarke turned to Bellamy, "what the hell is she talking about?"

Bellamy glanced at the Hazel, who he'd half-dragged back to the tent. She hadn't spoken a word or moved a muscle since she'd been brought here, "she misunderstood me.," Bellamy said, and then finally tore his gaze away from Hazel and back to the younger girl, "Charlotte, that is not at all what I meant."

"Yeah," Hazel laughed coldly, surprising everyone by speaking. "Slay your demons doesn't mean kill the person that did nothing bad to you ever."

"You killed Atom!" Charlotte exclaimed. "He never did anything bad to you!"

Hazel clenched her jaw and ground her teeth together, "Atom would have died a longer, more painful death if I hadn't killed him. He asked me to kill him—"

Bellamy interrupted Hazel, "Hazel, she's only twelve years old—"

"Yeah, and she's already responsible for taking a life," Hazel spat, then turned to Charlotte. Her voice cracked many times and came out weakly from all of the screaming. "You killed Wells, Charlotte. How do you feel knowing he will never grow up, that he'll never have kids, have a family. You took that away from him, you killed him. And you stood there watching while they choked Murphy—for something he was completely innocent for—to death!"

Finn shot Hazel a look, "Hazel, that's enough. She knows what she did."

"Does she?" Hazel spat.

"Hazel," Bellamy said, and she met his eyes for the first time since the hanging. There was so much pain in her eyes, so much anger, but Bellamy challenged fire with his coolness.

Charlotte looked up at Bellamy, "please don't let them hurt me."

"If you guys have any bright ideas, speak up," Bellamy said, looking from Finn to Clarke desperately. "Oh, now you stay quiet."

Finn huffed, "those are your boys out there."

"This is not my fault." Bellamy gritted his teeth, pointing at Clarke, "if she had listened to me, those idiots would still be building the wall."

Murphy's taunting voice came from outside, "you want to build a society, princess? Let's build a society. Bring her out."

"No! Please, Bellamy," Charlotte pleaded, tears in her eyes.