Raise Hell || The 100 [sequel to Hell and Back]

12 | Journey

My stomach churned into thick, tight knots, nausea swept through my entire body as I slowed to a stop near the damaged wall around the camp. The makeshift doors that once stood tall to protect our people inside now laid on the dirt in separate piles, severely burned. My knees wobbled beneath me at the sight. The rockets destroyed everything we worked so hard to build. It was all gone.

The camp was in complete ruins with the dropship the only thing remaining, standing strong in the center of shambles. My heart plummeted to the pit of my stomach. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the camp ruins. An immense feeling of dread slowly crept over the back of my neck and down my arms with an icy chill, goosebumps rose as I became painfully aware of the silence surrounding me.

This wasn't right. Where was everyone?

Everyone who remained would have sent a guard out to check who approached their camp while the rest hid in the dropship by now. No one was coming out. I would have heard their boots against the broken twigs on the ground. My people knew better than to stay at camp without guards covering the perimeter. Bellamy never would have allowed it.

I reached over my shoulder, quietly pulling the sword out of its sheath and held it down by my side, gripped tightly in my hands, prepared for a potential attack from a Grounder. This could be a trap. What if they took the ones remaining and left a trap behind for anyone that happened to return?

The toes of my boots carefully stepped into clear sections of the ground, carefully avoiding twigs, afraid of alerting anyone unfriendly of my arrival. Sweat ran down the back of my neck, not just from walking several hours, but from the fear and anticipation of finding the inside of the dropship empty.

As I neared the ramp, I briefly stopped to observe faded words written on the metal next to the door. The white words were smudged from the rain, running down the side of the wall with only the first word 'Clarke' barely remaining. Someone left a note. My lips dipped down in a worrisome frown. Why would one of our people live a message behind for Clarke? Without a second thought, I stormed into the dropship, shoving the curtains out of my way, scared of the inevitable.

My breath caught in the base of my throat at the vacant dropship.

"No, no, no..." I mumbled to myself, whirling around in a tight circle, grip tightening on the sword.

Dread seeped into my veins, fearing the worst and inevitable. My boots slipped on the dirty floor as I raced toward the ladder, completely forgetting about how the Grounders could be using our dropship as a trap for my people.

"Bellamy?" I screamed into the hot, open air of the dropship, desperate to hear his voice shout back at me. "Octavia? Monroe? Raven?"

The sword safely slid back into its sheath before I hastily climbed up the ladder. My breath came out heavier, consumed with uneasiness, terrified of what I may find on the second floor. Blood pounded in my ears at a deafening volume. My eyes peeked over the floor of the second level as I climbed up and stepped on solid ground.

Tears welled in my eyes at the reality of things. My people that remained were gone and I had no idea where they were. Someone left a message for Clarke, but the rain washed it away. Discolored shapes spotted in my vision and the room began to spin beneath my boots. I gasped for a breath. My heart thudded rapidly against my chest and my throat tightened with an impending onslaught of tears. I stumbled backward, hand reaching out for the ladder behind me.

This couldn't be—

The heel of my boot slipped off of the edge of the floor by the ladder and within the panic attack, I lost control of my body as it fell backward. My right arm banged against a rung after attempting to stop my fall until my forehead hit the side of the ladder just right. Gravity took control of my body as I fell to the first floor, knocked unconscious before I landed.