Warriors | The 100 | Season 1

0 1 4. S1 E7 Part 2

There wasn't much we could do as we waited for news on Finn. I began to wish my parents had brought me medicine books while I was in lock-up. I had so much free time and I studied the stars. I wished I'd take the time to study something that would have been useful to me. But in hindsight, I could never have known I would be sent down to Earth, I never expected to need something more than astronomy

I began to pace back and forth, waiting for some good news. Unfortunately, it felt like it wasn't coming. After what felt like hours, but was likely only ten minutes, Bellamy stood from his seat and placed his hands on my shoulders, essentially putting the brakes on my stride. He led me over to the chair he was previously seated on and gently pushed me into it.
"You're driving me crazy," he whispered to me. Naturally, I assumed he was talking about my pacing.
I hadn't been sitting long when my legs began to fidget. They shook up and down, my heels tapping the ground, rapidly. A quick glance at Bellamy's face and I could tell that it was starting to bug him too. I stopped my legs from moving and tried my hardest not to fidget, but the anticipation was getting worse. The waiting was getting longer and harder to stand.
A pounding came from the hatch, slightly startling us all. "Hey! Open the door!" Clarke called from the other side before she began rapping on it again heavily.
Everyone looked to Bellamy, waiting for his order to open the door. He nodded his head once, which was enough to let Miller know to let her in. He pulled open the hatch and placed his arm across the ladder, forcing Clarke to stop before she reached the top.
"Get out of my way, Miller. Now!" reluctantly he moved aside for her to enter with Octavia in tow. In her hand, Clarke held a knife. I came to the conclusion that it must have been the knife the grounder had used to stab Finn. she marched over to the grounder and held up the knife expectantly. "What's on this?" she demanded.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, quickly standing from the chair. I knew something was wrong; either with Finn or the entire situation. 
"He poisoned the blade." she explained not taking her eyes off the grounder, still waiting for an answer, that would likely never come. "All this time, you knew Finn was gonna die no matter what we did. What is it? Is there an antidote?"
"Clarke, he doesn't understand you," Octavia explained.
"The vials." Bellamy toned in. I followed him and Clarke over to the tin box where we found the little glass vials. "It's gotta be here." He started handing it over.
Clarke dropped the knife to the ground and took the box from Bellamy's hands "You'd have to be stupid to have a poison around this long without an antidote." she muttered looking through the contents. She held out the box towards the grounder, silently praying he would say something, the slightest indication, or even a gesture. "Which one?"
"Answer the question!" Bellamy shouted.
"Show us," Octavia begged softly. "Please."
"Which one?" I could tell from the tone in Clarke's voice that she was becoming desperate. "Our friend is dying down there and you can stop that."
The grounder said nothing. Clarke looked to Bellamy for help. He glanced at the grounder and sniffed before saying: "I'll get him to talk." He stepped towards the grounder and raised a fist ready to punch him.
Octavia lunged forward, grabbing onto her brother's arm. "Bellamy, no." she protested.
"He wants Finn to die. Why can't you see that?" he cried in retaliation. He then turned to Clarke and me, as if asking us permission. "Do you want him to live or not?"
Clarke made no reply and she momentarily glanced at the floor, like she was considering.
"Clarke, you even said it yourself: This is not who we are! He was protecting me. He saved my life." Octavia reminded them, begging them not to hurt him again. I began to wonder why she was protecting him, what he had done to gain her favour.
"We're talking about Finn's life." Bellamy stated, reminding her why the grounder was here in the first place.
"Do it." Clarke said.
With a nod, Bellamy walked over to pick up a strap from the floor by the wall and threw it over his shoulder. He then proceeded to rip the shirt away from the grounder's torso. My mind was buzzing, unsure what he was about to do.
"Bellamy, what you doing?" I asked but he elicited no answer. "You're going to whip him?"
Octavia and I glanced at each other, I could see deep fear in her eyes. She didn't want any of this at all. "Just tell us!" She begged the grounder, clearly not wanting this to go any further than it already had.
"You're gonna show us the antidote, or you're gonna wish you had." Bellamy said as he finished removing the shirt.
He stepped out from behind the grounder and stood in the centre of the room. He glanced around the room, first to his sister, then at Clarke before he turned to me. The look in his eyes made me think he wanted me to say something to stop all this. To come up with an idea to end it all and save Finn too. But I had nothing. I sighed heavily and nodded, letting him know we had no other option. This was how we save Finn.
"Bellamy, no," Octavia begged.
It was then that I noticed a metal buckle on the end of the red strap. I felt sick, realising what was about to unfold.
Bellamy took a deep breath before whipping the buckle against the grounder's ribs. The grounder grunted in pain, recoiling with pain. Still, he said nothing. I wanted to turn away. I couldn't watch this. But for some reason, I didn't move.
Bellamy readied himself for another blow. This time he struck the grounder on the side of his head. I could feel my teeth grinding, imagining the pain he was in.
Clarke fell to her knees in front of the grounder, she placed the vials down on the ground before her. "Please. Please. Which one's the antidote? Just tell them." She was flustered and seemed out of breath. She was anxious, none of us wanted Finn to die.
Still, the grounder remained silent.
Bellamy stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Clarke-"
She stood and moved behind him, allowing Bellamy to continue his assault. He continued to whip him over and over again. I didn't understand how he could stand to hurt someone like this. even if it was in an attempt to save a life, was it worth sacrificing your humanity?
"Please stop!" Octavia cried desperately.
Raven suddenly called out from below "Clarke! He's getting worse!"
"We're running out of time." Clarke started and she knelt down in front of the vials again. "Which one? Which one is it? If you tell us, they'll stop. Please tell us which is the antidote and they'll stop this."
The grounder still kept his stoic stance.
In frustration, Bellamy threw the strap to the ground and grabbed and nail from the ground. "If that doesn't work, maybe this will. Clarke, you don't have to be here for this."
"I'm not leaving until I get that antidote." Clarke lectured.
Octavia shook her head disapprovingly, she had tears in her eye, but there was nothing she could do.
"Last chance," Bellamy told the grounder. With no answer, Bellamy turned to me and said gently "Annie, look away." He must have seen the look of horror on my face earlier and knew this was all getting too much for me. I did as he said gladly and waited for results. I could hear the piercing of flesh and the grounder groaning in pain with short breaths.
"What's taking so long?" Raven called as she climbed the ladder. "He stopped breathing." She added once she was level with us.
"What?" Clarke exclaimed rushing toward the ladder.
"He started again, but next time, he might not." Raven explained, holding Clarke in place.
"He won't tell us anything." Clarke admitted, exasperatedly.
"Want to bet?" Raven said eyeing a bundle of wires connected to a pannel on the wall. She pulled them loose exposing the ends of the wires, and scraped them against each other.
"What are you doing?"
"Showing him something new." Raven said making the wires buzz with electricity. The grounder finched with terror, clearly afraid of Raven's new trick.
She held the exposed wires against the grounders skin, electrocuting him, making him scream. The lights dimmed and flickered. "Which one is it? Come on!" She zapped him again, with no mercy. "He's all I have!"
"No more!" Octavia demanded, holding up the knife that Clarke dropped to the floor earlier.
"He's letting Finn die."
Octavia pressed the blade to he forearm and sliced her skin. My eyes went wide but i was frozen, I didn't know what to do.
"Octavia, no!" Bellamy gasped.
"He won't let me die." She stated.
"Octavia, what the hell did you do?" I asked.
Ignoring me, she knelt down in front of the vials and pointed to each of the vials with the tip of the knife. "This one?" She watched the grounder for a sign, he tilted his head to the left. she picked up the end vial and held it up for him to see, just to be sure. "This one?" The grounder nodded in reply. "Good. Thank you." She handed the vial to Clarke who swiftly ran back down the ladder along with Raven. Octavia began to wrap he bleeding arm with a strip of cloth.
Bellamy placed a hand on his sister's shoulder, but she quickly shook him off and said: "Don't touch me."
Bellamy straightened up and glanced at the grounder. I could tell by the look in his eyes, he hated the grounder, not just because he took Octavia, but because, Octavia chose to protect him. He'd taken away the only thing he had ever cared for.
"Stay here, and watch him," Bellamy said to Miller as he headed down the ladder.
I followed him down, just in case he was planning on doing something stupid. The storm had passed and it was safe to go outside again, but when Bellamy opened the door our eyes set upon the mess the hurricane had made of our home. Debris was everywhere. The fence, though still mostly whole, was in pieces.
"Let's get to work." I muttered to him before turning around and began barking orders. Highly unusual for me. "Let's go, people. We need that fence repaired before night fall. Let's get this happening now. Move it!"
Delinquents filed past me and outside without a complaint and as if rehearsed, teamwork flowed smoothly. It was almost dark, but we need the fence up to keep us safe. We couldn't risk the grounders attacking.
I sauntered around silently, overseeing the repairs and a helping hand if needed. I admittedly wasn't very focused on what was banning now, but instead I was stuck reliving the past. I remembered the sound of metal on bone, the sound of sizzling flesh and zapping electricity. I wished I could go back and come up with a plan that didn't involve torture. I felt sick to my stomach thinking about all that had just happened, and it must have shown on my face.
Bellamy places his hands on my shoulders and turned me around to face him. I hadn't even noticed he was there until he touched me. He pulled me into a tight embrace. I wrapped my arms around his back and held him firmly. It was like a silent reassurance.
"Who we are and who we need to be to survive are very different things." He spoke softly into my ear.
"What are we gonna do with him?" I asked, still holding him close. "We can't keep him locked up forever."
"If we let him go, he'll be back, and not alone next time." He said gently peeling me away to look me in the eyes. "It's too dangerous to let him go. I can't let anything happen to our friends. And especially you."
My eyebrows furrowed in curiosity. What did he mean by that?
"What are you talking about." I asked.
"I wanted to kill that grounder then and there. The only thing really stopping me, besides saving Finn, was you."
I felt my heart drop. I wasn't entirely sure what to think. How did I stop him from killing someone? I'd done nothing except stand by his side.
"Having you up there with me, seeing your face, it helped me to remember to stay human." He explained. "I saw your face and you looked horrified by the things I was doing. I already feel like a monster and some of the things I've done are unforgivable. I didn't want to do something that would make you hate me."
My heart was racing. It almost sounded as though he was afraid to lose me. That he cared about me, and thought of me as more than a friend. I wanted it to be true but I'd never known what it was like to know if someone cared about me that way or if they were just being nice. I didn't want to overstep and get ahead of myself. I didn't want to push him away.
"How could you think that I'd never forgive you for protecting us?" I replied. "Bellamy, everything that you've done since we got here was to protect us. Sure, you had your selfish reasons at first, but you've always made the hard choices, and I couldn't've done that. You're so strong. And we need that now more than ever."
He smiled gently and warmly. "You're really good at pep talks, did you know that?"
I didn't know how to reply. Should I say something sarcastic and smart or accept the compliment and simply move on and not make a big deal out of it? I'd frozen, in confusion of how to reply.
I needed to change the subject. To what I didn't know, but I was starting to feel embarrassed, standing there like an idiot. "At this rate we should have the fence reinforced by nightfall." I said, finally stepping out of his embrace.
And just like that I could see the warm light in Bellamy's eyes go out.
He nodded understandingly and said a simple "Good." Before he turned around to wander over to the fence, inspecting the progress.
I again began to feel anxious. But this time it was different. My mind was excited, but for a different reason. I had no idea what had just happened between Bellamy and me, I needed to talk to someone about it. My brain immediately thought of Octavia - I always told her everything, but at the moment I knew she didn't want to be thinking about him at all.
I had to keep it to myself in the meantime, until I could talk to Octavia comfortably again. But when that would happen I didn't know.