𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄─𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞¹ (𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠)

52. freedom

I tried to calm my breathing as I watched Dr. Tsing stand idle in front of our cage. I could see the clipboard in her hands, the bags of blood. My heart was almost beating out of my chest as I prayed for her to move on.

In a shear stroke of luck, one of the Grounder lunged out at her, causing her to quickly retreat backwards.

I let out a sigh of relief as I heard her exiting the room. I was so happy I almost forgot what we were even doing in the cage until Clarke spoke, "Come on, we have to go."

I wasted no time swinging the door of the cage open, jumping out and giving a hand to Clarke, pulling her out with me. Once we were both out we grabbed Anya. She was weak and could barely walk meaning the two of us had to basically drag her out.

"There." I whispered, pointing to a sign which read 'Danger. Protective Suits Beyond This Zone'.

The three of us made our way over to the large steel door. I lightly removed Anya's arm from around my shoulder as I grabbed the door handle. With one strong pull it slowly opened, the sound of the squeaky hinges filling the room.

I ushered the two other girls through the door, quickly following after them. Once I was in, I slammed the door behind me.

I refilled my position on the other side of Anya as we rushed through the small hallway, eventually coming to a stop in a small room. It was dimly lit and the walls and floor were dirty, covered in what looked like blood.

I looked around in shock, "Clarke-"

I was cut off when the doors at the entrance of the small room slammed shut, just as an alarm began to blare.

Anya looked at us with a mixture of confusion and exhaustion, "What is that?"

Clarke and I shared a look, neither of us having any clue what was going on. Clarke opened her mouth, shaking her head as she began to speak, "I don't-"

The floor beneath us suddenly opened and before any one of us had a chance to react we were plunged into darkness as we fell. I clammed my eyes shut as my body came into contact with a metal surface, we were in some kind of chute.

A large grunt escaped my lips as we stopped falling, landing in some kind of large bin. It took me a moment to open my eyes, but as soon as I looked around an audible gasp left my lips.

"Oh my God!" I almost yelled as I tried to climb my way out of the bin. Laying beneath us were dozens of dead Grounders. Their bodies were pale and limp, blood stains present on many of their bodies.

Clarke was sharing a similar reaction to me as she scrambled to pull herself out. She managed to get out first, quickly turning to pull me out behind her. "Thank you." I breathed as she turned to grab Anya.

However, Anya was occupied with the bodies inside the bin. They were her people and now they were gone.

"Anya!" Clarke screamed, pulling her attention away from one of the bodies, "Take my hand."

I was still trying to catch my breath as I waited for the two of them to rejoin me. I glanced around at where we were. We were in some kind of tunnel, a track running through it.

"We're out." Clarke announced as the two of them rejoined me. I looked back towards where we came, feeling myself shudder, "We should get moving."

Clarke nodded as her eyes landed on a pile of clothes across the tracks from us, "Let's get dressed. We can't cover any ground like this."

She was right. Clarke was sporting a hospital gown whereas Anya was still dressed in the flimsy mesh underwear that the rest of the captives were wearing.

I picked up a pair of boots, trading the pair of flats I had on for them. I then pulled a jacket overtop of the dress I was wearing, deciding to leave the dress on as to not waste anymore time.

"I'm not leaving my people." Anya called from behind us, still standing over the bin.

Clarke stood up, rushing over to Anya in hopes to convince her. I tuned the two of them out as I laced up the boots I had on. I focused on my breathing, trying to calm myself down. I was terrified what would happen if we got caught, I knew they wouldn't just let us go.

The sound of voices from deeper within the tunnel caused me to freeze. I looked over at Clarke, my eyes wide in fear.

"Someone's coming." Anya whispered, stating the obvious.

I listened to the voices, saw the flames of the torches and my heart dropped. "Not just someone." I pointed out, "Reapers."

Anya's face clouded over in anger at the mention of her rivals. With one swift move she turned and attempted to pick up a rock.

"No, Anya." Clarke mumbled, pulling her back, "You can't fight, you can barely stand."

The voices and the light got closer and closer. "Clarke, what are we doing." I questioned, fear dripping from my every word.

Clarke looked around for a moment before narrowing in on something. "Grab a pile of clothes, Avery." she instructed as she pulled Anya towards one of the empty carts. I did as she said, pulling a number of clothes and shoes into my arms.

I rushed towards the two others, watching as Clarke boosted Anya into the cart. She then pulled herself in, reaching for me to hand her the clothes. The minute my hands were free I was hoisting myself into safety.

Seconds after I ducked to the ground of the cart, the sound of the Reapers was right beside us. I clamped my hand over my mouth, waiting for them to pass. However instead of moving on, they milled around our cart.

Suddenly, a body was flung in on top of us. She was still alive, barely, but her eyes were open. She met my wide eyes before her eyelids drooped shut. I felt like I was going to throw up out of fear as more and more bodies were thrown in.

To make matters worse, the minute bodies stopped flying in, the cart began to move.

---

The sound of my uneven breathing and then squeaking of the cart on the tracks was all that I could hear. What had actually only been minutes in the cart felt like hours.

When it finally came to a stop I could practically feel my heart in my throat. My worried eyes met Clarke's as we both waited to see what would happen next. Soon enough, a pair of hands reached into the cart, grabbing the girl I had made eye contact with earlier, hoisting her out of the cart.

I laid with my arms over my face, hoping they wouldn't notice me. I could hear my heart in my ears as the sound of footsteps moving away from us echoed through the tunnel. The next sound that I could hear was the sound of a blade, and then a blood curdling scream. They were finishing them off, killing those who weren't already dead.

My eyes were filled with tears as I watched Clarke slowly sit up, peeking over the edge of the cart. She met eyes with me, giving a small nod before pulling herself up. I did the same, jumping out and ducking behind the cart.,

"Anya." Clarke snapped at the Grounder who was still sitting in the cart, stroking the head of a man who's eyes were barely open, "What are you doing? Let's go!"

Anya glared at Clarke before looking back down at the man. She mumbled something in a language I didn't understand before snapping his neck. A gasp escaped my lips as the sound echoed in my head.

This was all too much for me. I didn't know if I was strong enough to handle it all. Was I just going to slow them down? Would we all die because of me?

"Avery," Clarke whispered, grabbing my arm, "Come on, we have to go now."

With one last look back at the Reapers, I turned and followed after the other two girls in search of a way out.