Bury the Hatchet (Bellamy Blake)

24

Murphy comes to my tent when I get back from hunting.

"Hey." I say.

"Hey." He replies, sitting down.

I finish cleaning up the area before sitting down in front of him.

"Ready for the war tomorrow?" I question, laughing. He laughs as well. Though I'm joking about it, I am a little scared.

"Oh, joy." He rolls his eyes. Then he looks back at me.

"Why don't we just take off?" He suggests. The idea shocks me, and I freeze. It takes some time for my brain to catch up to what he's trying to ask.

"You mean, like, together?"

He nods. "Of course. How else?"

It's an appealing idea, but I know that it's something we're unable to do.

"John, I can't leave my people behind. I care about them, and they rely on me. Plus, I have certain people I don't want to leave behind." I frown. "But it's an intriguing idea."

"How many people do you have left?" He challenges. It hurts a little, but he's right.

My mother is gone. My old best friends both hate me, and I hate one of them. Due to the argument I had with Finn last night, I have no idea where we stand. All I know is it seems likes he's avoiding me. He won't talk to me or look at me, and he won't even stay anywhere close to where I am. If I walk into the same area as him, he takes off. I doubt he'd care if I ran off.

"You're right, but I just can't. And you shouldn't. Remember what happened last time?" I remind him. He cringes at the thought.

"Yeah, I do. But what the hell are we going to do? We have about twelve hours until the grounders attack." He shakes his head. "We're all going to die."

Just then, Bellamy walks in.

"Get up. Get ready." He commands us.

"What's happening?" Murphy asks.

"Trickery. We're all going to the drop ship. As many as can fit, anyway." He tells us.

Murphy and I look at each other, both still confused.

"And...?" Murphy raises an eyebrow, prompting for further explanation.

"Last they knew, we were at the drop ship. If they go there and see us there, we're hoping they'll just attack there." Bellamy fills us in.

"So why do most of us have to go?" I blurt. "Why not all, or a few? We might as well keep the casualties at a minimum."

I'm more than willing to die for those that I care for, but I am not willing to let the same people walk into a death trap with me.

"We aren't going to have casualties." Bellamy's tone is confident, and he's speaking as if teaching us something for the tenth time.

We just answer with puzzled expressions, not knowing anything about his plans. He chuckles at us.

"Raven came up with a plan. We'll lead them in, get closed in the drop ship, and then we're going to fry them." He informs us. My jaw drops, but John laughs in approval.

"That's horrible!" I protest. "You mean, burn them to death?"

"We don't have a choice, Adrian." Bellamy snaps.

"No! That's inhumane." I shake my head and stand with Bellamy.

"That's war." Murphy throws out.

"There has to be another way." I look at Bellamy, my blue eyes meeting his brown ones. He presses his lips together.

"I wish there was. This is the only way to end it and save as many of our people as we can. Remember when our attempt to make peace failed?" He reminds me. I nod, thinking about what he's told me.