Kingdom of Rivals - The 100 [5]

Chapter 13 - Part 1

Venus's POV

Night had fallen over the camp. Wounded had stopped coming back from the battlefield hours ago, and there was still no sign of Liv. Was my little girl really gone, just like that? Tears flowed from my eyes as I tended to injury after injury. One man died before I was even able to finish examining his wound - I lost it. Waves of sobs stormed through me; I couldn't take it anymore. My legs gave out from under me and I sank onto the stool next to me, burying my face into my hands.

"Hey." A gentle hand rested on my shoulder. I looked up to see Apollon standing there behind me, a canteen in his hand. "Take a break. I brought you some water."

I stood and stared at the canteen. I didn't want it, I didn't want any help from him. But my thirst won out over my hatred and I took it, sipping generously for a few seconds. I looked at him. "Liv's dead..."

"Don't say that." His arms spread open and he went to engulf me in a hug. For a second I began to step back, ready to hurl the canteen at him and scream for him to get away from me. But something stopped me, and I stood there as his arms encircled me and brought me close to him, the smell of his scent filling my nose. It had been so long, I had forgotten what his hugs had felt like: warm, comforting, safe...

"She's hasn't come back Apollon, my baby girl-"

The faint hum of an engine caught my ears. It started off low, but as the source neared it became louder. Apollon and I parted and stared off where the hum was coming from. A rover came into view, its lights shining bright.

"Gunners, spread out and take aim." Miller shouted. Apollon picked up his rifle and ran to meet the rover. I followed close behind him. Maybe Liv was in there... No. There was no telling who was in that rover - it could very well be the enemy coming to finish us off. Our people had stopped coming back hours ago, and I had no reason to believe Liv-

The rover came to a stop, and the back door sprang open. Bellamy was the first to jump out of the back of the vehicle, followed by Indra. Between them both they carried Gaia out. Even from where I stood I could see just how badly wounded she was. Then, a little girl jumped out, a little girl with wavy brown hair and bright green eyes.

"Liv!" I shouted. I took off running towards my daughter, past Apollon and the rest of the gunners, and dropped to my knees, scooping her into my arms. I held her close and my sobs came back, but this time they were filled with joy instead of sorrow. She was back, she was alive - my little girl was alive! I let go and held her at arm's length, it was really her! And then I noticed the blood. The blood was all over her, covering her face, her hands, staining her clothes. I felt panic over-take me. "Are you hurt? Where are you hurt, baby?" I frantically searched her, looking for where the blood was coming from.

Liv pushed my hands away. "I'm okay Momma."

"But the blood..."

She shook her head. "It's not mine." And then I saw something that I hadn't seen since she was just a toddler. Liv began to cry. "Urke's dead, Momma. Urke's dead." I took her back into my arms and held her close. I felt her body tremble as she sobbed over the loss of her friend. I may have not liked Urke, but that didn't stop my heart from twisting inside me knowing my little girl, at six-years-old, had seen her best friend die.

As I held her tight, a pair of boots came out of the rover, landing in the sand just past Liv. My eyes followed the boots up through the legs, through the body, and to the face. Above me, I saw John Murphy. It had been six years since I had last seen him, yet he looked exactly how I remembered him. I stared up at him, feeling myself at a complete loss of words. So many emotions came flooding back into me. Time stood still for a moment before something crashed into John, knocking him to the ground.