somewhere | b.blake ✔️

1x13✔️

"Here we are, don't turn away now,
We are the warriors that built this town
Here we are, don't turn away now
We are the warriors that built this town"

- Warriors, Imagine Dragons

*****

Ash cries out as Clarke presses the hot knife to her thigh. The searing pain is worse than the gunshot itself. "You're lucky," Clarke mutters, working quickly. "The bullet in your thigh just barely missed your femoral artery. It could've been a lot worse."

"Lucky." Ash scoffs out loud. She's lying face-down on the cold metal table in the dropship, stripped down to a tank top, underwear, and one of Bellamy's shirts draped over her. Her entire body aches, every muscle straining against the throbbing pain in her leg and shoulder.

"Is she okay?" Bellamy's voice cuts through the tension, his worry unmistakable. He stands close, his body taut with concern, eyes flicking nervously between Clarke and Ash.

Clarke wipes her hands and looks up at him. "She'll be fine as long as the wounds don't get infected. The bullet in her thigh went clean through and the shoulder was just a graze. She'll need time, but she'll heal."

Bellamy lets out a breath, though it doesn't do much to ease the tension in his frame. His eyes remain glued to Ash, the worry not fading. "So, she's okay?" he repeats, his voice rougher now, like he needs to hear it again just to believe it.

Clarke nods but gives him a look, silently asking for space. "Yeah, Bellamy. She's okay. But she needs rest."

Ash groans softly, trying to shift her body to sit up, ignoring how everything in her protests. "We don't have time for me to rest. We need to talk about what happened and what we're going to do with an army heading our way."

"Ash, take it easy," Bellamy says, kneeling beside her, his voice gentle but firm. He places a hand on her good arm, trying to keep her from pushing herself too far.

She shakes her head. "No, I'm fine. I saw something. Monty and I... we saw something we've never seen before." Her voice wavers but she fights to keep it steady. She needs them to believe her.

Everyone's attention snaps to her. Even Raven, lying wounded in the corner, watches with wide, tired eyes.

Ash swallows, trying to gather her thoughts through the pain. "Monty and I were out there when two men in hazmat suits showed up." Her voice cracks, and she's met with silence. "We tried to run. We shot at them, but they were fast. One of them... I hit one, but that's when I got shot. Twice."

Clarke's brow furrows as she finishes tending to the wounds. "Hazmat suits?" She exchanges a quick glance with Bellamy and Finn before shaking her head. "Grounders don't wear those, Ash. Why would they start now?"

Ash's frustration boils over. She pushes herself up a little, despite the pain shooting through her body. "I know what I saw, Clarke! They weren't Grounders." Her voice rises, anger laced with desperation. "They had guns. Grounders don't use guns."

Bellamy's hand tightens on her arm, trying to ground her. "Ash, I believe you," he says quietly, but his face betrays his uncertainty. "But... maybe you were hurt, and things got blurry. You could've—"

"I didn't hallucinate it!" she snaps, cutting him off. Her eyes bore into his, pleading. "I was shot after I saw them, Bellamy. Monty was taken, and I couldn't stop them. They probably didn't take me because my blood would leave a trail."

Silence hangs heavy in the air. Bellamy's jaw tightens, and he looks at Clarke, who's still frowning, lost in thought. It's clear that neither of them are sure what to make of what she's saying.