Mortality

♛Eradication♛

{ t h i r t y - t w o }

♛ ❦༄

Clarke, Bellamy, and Monty walk into Dante's room. Clarke squints, the brightness of the room momentarily blinding her. Dante stands, looking directly at Clarke.

"Hello, Clarke."

"Sir, we need your help again," Bellamy says. Dante looks at Bellamy, obviously reluctant.

"It's okay. I took the camera out of the junction box in the hall. We can talk freely," Monty informs.

"No one's watching anyway. Thanks to you, they're all on Level Five."

"You're not," Clarke points out.

"No. I'm not."

"Please. We don't have much time," Bellamy pleads, "we need a way to get our people out of this mountain without killing everyone." Dante stares at Bellamy, his eyes hard.

"He's not gonna help us," Clarke says, her eyes never leaving Dante.

"You cut the power, risking the lives of everyone in this mountain, my people, even the ones who helped you," he spits at Clarke. Clarke, fed up with not being able to do anything to save the people she cares about, walks up to Dante threateningly.

"We knew it would be safe on level five. We made sure not ti destroy the turbines so you could repair them," Clarke says. Dante stares her down, unmoving. "We're the good guys, here. Not you!"

"Tell me, if we released your people and theirs, what would have happened to mine?" Dante asks lowly. Clarke says nothing and turns to Monty, sensing there's no changing Dante's mind.

"Can you get us into the command center? We need to see what's happened on level five."

"No problem."

"Let's go," Bellamy says, grabbing Dante by the arm. "You're gonna help us whether you like it or not." They sneak out of the room and down the considerably darker hallway. Clarke leads the way, her Glock drawn. Monty moves ahead to open the command center.

"I told you there's no one here," Dante says, annoyed.

"Sorry if we don't take your word for it," Bellamy snaps.

"Why aren't you with your people on level five?" Clarke asks.

"After what I've done, they can be free. I can't." Clarke stares at him, waiting for him to elaborate. "Deliverance comes at a cost. I bear it so they don't have to." Clarke looks down, soaking in his words.

I bear it so they don't have to.

"It wasn't Cage," Bellamy says. "It was your idea to make the deal with the Grounders." Cage nods, looking down in shame. Not able to stand anywhere near Dante for a moment longer, Clarke moves to stand next to Bellamy.

"Bellamy, I'm sorry," she whispers, her voice cracking. Bellamy doesn't look at her, instead clenching his jaw and looking straight ahead. "I loved her, too. I- if I had known she was there, I would have gotten her out. I would have. Please believe me. I was trying to protect you." Bellamy's resolve shakes a bit, and he looks down at her.

His heart breaks even more at the despair and self-hatred in them. She lost Everlyn, too. The guilt she feels, the self-loathing, is so much worse than his. He understands why she did it. He sighs and wraps an arm around her.

"We'll get through this. We do this for Everlyn." Clarke lets a tear slip down her cheek as she leans into Bellamy, letting her guard down.

"I've got it. We're in," Monty says as the door beeps, and Clarke pulls herself together. Bellamy goes in first, not willing to lose Clarke if Dante is lying. He surveys the room and lets out a tiny sigh of relief.