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Grace wrings her hands together as the uncomfortable and tense silence lingers in the air. The rover is filled with her friends and family, everyone except Avalon holding a weapon tight to their chests.
It's been a week since Farm Station was found alive and well. Abby started moving Pike and the others into Mount Weather, despite the high amount of protests. After finding out, Grace had nearly puked. She didn't want to go back there — No one did. It was cruel of Abby to think it was okay, and Grace wasn't sure she was going to be able to forgive her.
Bellamy connects their hands. Letting out a tired sigh, she gives him a reassuring squeeze. They'd both been up nearly all night thinking about this. At some point, Avalon had crawled in between them. She remembered the young girl crying. She wasn't sure if it was out of fear of going to Mount Weather for the first time or relief that her best friend was alive. The thought made Grace's stomach lurch. It didn't matter. Mount Weather should have remained what it had always been; a place where their friends and torturers had died. Nothing more.
The rover lurches to a stop, pulling Grace from her thoughts. She tears her eyes away from the floor to check on her sister, who's sitting between Gina and Octavia. Her eyes are on the cement door outside of Mount Weather, never moving. Grace swallows thickly. She doesn't want her sister in there. She doesn't want herself to be in there.
Grace catches Bellamy's eye, his lips pressed into a thin line. She sends him a tiny nod, letting him know that she would be fine, then looks to Octavia and Gina, the latter ambling out of the vehicle.
She has to remind herself that they are why she is here. Grace hadn't been the only one to suffer the losses of the war, to suffer the feeling of the unknown. She hadn't been the only one trapped inside or outside of this place. She has to remember that. She has to remember to hide away her fears in order to help them get through this trip. No matter what.
Bellamy steps out of the vehicle, Grace behind him. Octavia follows her, muttering, "I knew I should've taken my horse."
"You're just mad we made you sit on the floor," Grace says, forcing a half-broken smile. Octavia ignores her, gaze falling to the forest surrounding them. Always looking, always being prepared. Grace's heart skips a beat at that. It wasn't fair that Octavia had to watch her back at every waking moment just so she could make it to the next day.
Bellamy steps towards the cement door leading to their nightmares, face heavy with solemn anger. Grace tries to pull her eyes from the door. It doesn't work.
"Hey..." Gina calls to the couple. They both turn towards her, raising their brows in unison. Her lips quirk up into a comforting smile. "The summit delegation will be fine."
