Warrior ‣ Bellamy Blake

Forty-Four

They made it back to the rover, waiting for it to charge, and nearly everyone either paced or started sharpening weapons.

"Rover's almost charged," Bellamy informed. "We need to pack up. We'll be home soon."

"Then what, run away?" Clarke asked.

"We're not running away, Clarke," he responded. "We need to regroup with the others and find another way to defeat-"

"There is no other way. We need to find a Nightblood. We need to unlock the Flame. It's the only way to stop A.L.I.E."

"Look, Bellamy, I told you that if Luna couldn't be convinced, we did what was necessary and put the Flame in me," Aella interjected. "I might be the only Nightblood left that would comply with this."

"It's not a choice, Aella," Clarke answered. "We're not using you for that. It could kill you and you'd die for nothing."

"There's always a choice."

"She's right," Bellamy agreed. "There is always a choice, so we're not risking you until we find the other."

"What do you expect us to do, walk into random villages asking for their Nightbloods?" Jasper asked.

"If that's what it takes," Clarke answered.

"No, Clarke," Octavia refused. "If A.L.I.E. can find us on Luna's rig, then she can find us anywhere. I won't help you destroy another innocent Grounder village."

"If we don't find another Nightblood, there won't be any Grounder villages or a home for us to go back to."

"That's all the more reason we go there and make sure our friends are okay," Bellamy reasoned, causing her to walk off in a small fit of rage.

"She'll be fine," Jasper assured, sitting on the hood of the rover. "Just let her cool off."

Octavia and Bellamy continued packing while Archer slept in the rover. Aella followed the duo and pulled Bellamy aside.

"Bell, we don't have another choice," she told him. "I'm fine putting the thing in me, but no one else is."

"You said we could convince the Commander to do a blood transfusion if we needed to."

"I was trying to make you feel better. Chances are that if A.L.I.E. hasn't already marched and taken over Polis, she will soon and the Commander will not be on our side."

When they heard the sound of a bow releasing an arrow, Bellamy grabbed a gun and Aella followed his tracks. Turns out that Roan had saved Clarke by killing a man controlled by A.L.I.E., but had taken the Flame from her and disarmed her.

"Please, just stop," Clarke begged.

"Because of you, Ontari never ascended," Roan explained in his deep voice. "So no, I won't stop, not until the Ice Nation has its Commander."

Bellamy cocked his gun and asked, "You were saying?"

Roan sighed and was ready to retaliate until both Bellamy and Aella trained their guns on him.

"Hands where I can see them." When he did so, he asked Clarke, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she responded.

"Then let's go."

"He's coming with us."

"The hell he is!"

"Why would I do that?" Roan asked.

"Clarke, it's not an option," Aella warned, knowing what she would say next.