Myles doesn't know why Clarke insisted she be here for this. Why the blonde and Bellamy continue to persist with making the red haired girl a leader with them. The redhead currently sits beside Clarke in the newly built communications tent, staring at Chancellor Jaha as the council talks to the girls through a video chat. Clarke's mum has been removed from the council, and former chancellor Sydney sits in her place. Clarke has been catching up the council on what has happened the fifteen days they've been on the ground and Myles inputs very little.
It's been two days since she was stabbed by the grounder and they've kept the man in the dropship, Bellamy doesn't want to kill him but feels stuck. The camp has been repaired, the teens having bounced back quickly now they know what they're doing. A new threat plagues the delinquents as winter steadily approaches.
"Tell me about the grounder," Jaha instructs, his voice smoothly flowing through the headsets the two girls are wearing. "Can he provide any insight on how to survive the winter?"
Blue eyes snap to hazel before the blonde responds, "we're doing everything we can to prepare here. We're gathering nuts and berries, curing meats, digging for roots, using every method we can think of to stock up on food."
"The truth is," Myles speaks lowly, "we'll freeze before we starve."
"There's good news on that front," Councilor Kane informs the two, "according to civil defence plans from before the war, there's an old emergency aid depot not far from the landing site. Here are the coordinates."
Marcus holds up a tablet with the coordinates on it, and the redhead quickly uses her boot to mark out the numbers in the dirt underneath them. Hazel eyes scanning the numbers over and over, trying to memorise it. It's a good thing Clarke is here, the Chancellor continues to talk in the background while the red haired girl ingrains the numbers to her memory. Once Myles is sure she knows it by heart, she swipes over it with her boot to make sure it's unreadable to whoever else may look at it.
"And what makes you think it's intact?" Clarke asks from beside her, glancing at Myles and the redhead raises her eyebrows.
"It was designed to withstand nuclear warfare," Marcus explains, leaning forward onto his arms on the table.
Blue eyes meet hazel again as the blonde sighs out, "all right. It's worth a shot."
"Chancellor, I have to object," former Chancellor Sydney calls out and Myles rapidly knocks her boot against Clarke's. The older woman gives the redhead an unsettling feeling in her gut and she tries to silently convey her distrust for the woman to Clarke, "project Exodus is under way. The kids should sit tight in their camp until the first dropship launches."
Confused blue eyes meet alarmed hazel as the Chancellor responds, "even if everything goes without a hitch, the hundred would die from exposure before relief arrives."
The girls look at each other again as the Chancellors words relax them slightly.
"I'd like a moment with Clarke alone, please," Jaha requests, "and I know there's a line-"
Myles doesn't hear what else Jaha has to say as she places a hand on the blondes shoulder, slipping off the headset and slinking out of the tent. The redhead is restless, and quickly makes her way to the dropship where she knows Bellamy was the last time she saw him. As she passes through the camp, she spies delinquents shaving off ice from the water that's frozen over the seats around camp, their breaths fogging in the cold air in front of them. Her stitches pull uncomfortably at the redheads fast movements, but she doesn't slow down until she walks to the ramp.
Bellamy is still in the dropship, she can hear him and Octavia arguing on the bottom level.
"Whatever twisted connection you think you have with that animal," Bellamy spits out, "forget it. You don't get to see him. End of conversation."
"Why do you even care if I ruined your life?" Octavia grits out as Myles starts gingerly ascending the ramp, still very sore from her wounds. "You should want me to go up there. Maybe you'll get lucky and he'll kill me, problem solved."
"Octavia," the Blake brother starts, clearly upset with her words, "you know I didn't mean that."
Myles swings the parachute flap open, "Hey, Bellamy – "
"If Clarke sent you, tell her the answer is still no," the Blake brother snaps, "I am not talking to Jaha."
"Hey, relax," the redhead soothes, reaching a hand out to the man and meeting his eyes. Saying softly, "that's not why I'm here."
This intrigues Bellamy, and he lets the gentle girl guide him out of the dropship. Myles leads him to the side of the dropship, and she speaks in hushed tones.
"Do you still mean what you said in the cave?" Myles whispers, the seriousness and urgency with how she asks the question deeply worries the man.
"Aggie," the Blake brother says softly, reaching his hand up to lace his fingers with the hand still on his arm. "What's wrong? Did your father say something to you?"
"No, no," the red haired teen quickly objects, "the 'together' part. Do you still mean that?"
Bellamy's heart stutters, "of course, what's wrong?"
"There's a supply depot a couple miles away," Myles informs him quietly, staring into his deep brown eyes, "the Ark is sending Clarke there. I memorised the coordinates, Clarke doesn't know them. I'm gonna go with her, and I'm not coming back."
"Okay," the Blake brother responds after a minute, "Okay, I'l – "
"Myles, Bellamy," Clarke calls as she approaches them, the two tear their gazes away from each other, "I was just looking for you."
Hazel meets deep brown quickly before focusing back on the blonde.
"Oh, yeah?" Bellamy queries, dropping the redheads hand and turning his body slightly to face Clarke as she comes to a stop in front of them.
"The Ark found some old records that show a supply depot not too far from here," the blonde explains.
Deep brown glance back at hazel before he replies, "what kind of supplies?"
"The kind that might give us a chance to live through winter," Clarke elaborates, "I'm gonna go check it out. I could use backup."
Curiosity burns at the man, "why are you asking me?"
"Well, because right now," the blonde sighs out, "I don't feel like being around anyone I actually like."
"Ouch," the redhead jokes lightly, "that one hurt."
Blonde eyebrows furrow in confusion, "you're not coming."
"Why not?" Bellamy refutes, "she knows the woods better than anyone else here."
"I also happen to be the only one here who actually knows where the supply depot is," Myles smiles kindly.
"That's why you destroyed the coordinates," Clarke realises, and the tanned skinned man beside the redhead smirks, "you're too weak to come. We can't risk you falling behind or hurting yourself any more."
"I feel fine," the red haired girl states firmly.
"And I want to keep it that way," the blonde retorts, "you need to rest."
Blue eyes look to Bellamy for backup and the man shrugs halfheartedly.
"She'll be with us," the Blake brother rationalises, "We'll make sure nothing bad happens to her."
Clarke sighs harshly in disbelief, "you want to leave camp with all three of our leaders?"
"Yes," Bellamy reasons, "that's our best bet on sorting those supplies. Myles is the most resourceful one here."
"Fine," the blonde scoffs before turning to the red haired girl, "but if your wounds get infected, or if you're in too much pain to continue, I warned you."
"We'll get our stuff," the Blake brother smiles, "meet you in ten."
Clarke nods and turns tiredly away from the two, marching back into camp. Bellamy moves to walk to his tent and Myles walks back up the dropship ramp. The dark brown haired man turns and furrows his eyebrows.
"Where are you going?" Bellamy questions the redhead.
"I want to clean my stitches before we leave," Myles answers as she slowly makes her way up, "and find something to cover them."
"You want a hand?" The Blake brother offers, taking a few steps toward her.
"Nah," the red haired girl waves off, "I'll catch up with you in ten."
Myles enters the dropship and quickly gestures to Octavia to be quiet, hurriedly grabbing the canister of moonshine near the medical supplies. The redhead speeds over to the dark brown haired girl and shoves the canister in her hands, shushing her and gesturing to hide. Octavia quickly follows Myles' requests and the red haired girl strides over to the medical supplies again, trying to ignore the painful pulling of her stitches.
"Hey, Nate?" Myles calls loudly in the dropship.
Almost instantly the hatch to the third level opens and the teen shouts back, "Yeah?"
"You wouldn't happen to know where the moonshine went, would you?" The redhead loudly enquires, shooting a quick look to the Blake sister as she catches on.
"It's down there on the table, isn't it?" The beanie wearing teen appears as he descends the ladder.
Myles huffs, "I can't find it. Do you know who had it last?"
"Huh," Miller replies in confusion as he helps the red haired teen scour around the table, "I could've sworn it was here when I came back from communications."
"That's weird," the redhead notes unhelpfully.
"I guess maybe I wasn't paying attention, though," the boy sighs out, moving to Ravens workstation to check.
"Oh?" Myles turns to him concerned, "everything okay with your dad?"
"Yeah, he's okay," Miller answers, "I spoke to Diggs' and Johns parents. I gotta do Roma's later today."
"That must be really hard," the redhead scrunches her face up slightly in remorse, "I'm sorry."
"No, don't be," the boy replies quickly, "I think Sterling had it last, I'll go find him for you."
"Thank you," Myles says appreciatively to the teen as he leaves the dropship, "I'm really sorry."
Miller walks out of the parachute, kindly waving her off, and the second he's out of sight, Myles gestures wildly to Octavia to hurry out of her hiding spot. Taking the canister and ushering her up the ladder quickly, following closely behind her. When the redhead reaches the second level, she discards the canister amongst some blankets and climbs up to the top. Myles is panting and in a shit tonne of pain when she clambers up on the third level, but she doesn't stop as she strides over and picks up the bowl of berries and a water bag from the table.
"Okay," Myles interrupts whatever the Blake girl is telling the man, approaching them quickly, "we only have a few minutes. This needs to be really, really quick."
"What's happening?" Octavia asks worriedly as the dark brown eyes of the grounder land on her.
"We're gonna bust you outta here," the redhead rushes out urgently to the grounder, "eat, quick."
"How?" The Blake sister enquires, her heart beating fast as Myles feeds the eager grounder berries.
"Bellamy, Clarke and I won't be in camp all day," the red haired girl informs hurriedly, moving the bag up to the mans mouth for him to drink from, "Miller will be out of the dropship later on. That's your window, you need to be quick and," locking eyes with the grounder as she pulls the bag away, holding the berries up again, "you need your energy. O can't do this alone and I won't be here."
"Thank you," a teary Octavia tells the redhead as the grounder refuses to eat anymore, Myles turns to put the bowl and bag back on the table.
"Why are you helping me?" The man asks and Myles almost drops the bowl halfway there, quickly putting the two things back.
"You showed me with that foghorn that not all of your people want to hurt us," the redhead rushes out in earnest, hazel eyes locked on his. "I'm hoping I can show the same here, for whatever it's worth." Red braid whips around as the paranoid girl looks to the hatch, "we have to go now, but just hold on, okay?"
Myles pulls the Blake sibling away from the grounder, trying desperately to make a swift exit otherwise their whole plan will fall through. Octavia is reluctant to leave, but a nod from the man encourages the dark brown haired girl to follow her friend.
"I'll be back, okay?" Octavia tells the man as she slips down the ladder.
The redhead immediately shoves the girl back towards her hiding spot and pulls her shirts up, trying to busy herself with looking like she's doing something. Myles picks up an old rag off of the table and drenches it in water, not caring how clean or dirty the material or the water may be. Placing the bottom of the shirt Bellamy gave her and her dark green tank top in her mouth as she delicately wipes at her stitches, face screwing up as she does so.
Hazel eyes scan the room and settle on a blanket on the floor not far from where she leans against a table. Dropping the rag and stepping over to it before tearing off a large strip of the material, and returning to her spot by the wet rag. Miller enters the dropship with another canister.
"Sterling doesn't know where he left it," the beanie wearing boy starts, making his way over to the redhead, "so I just went and stole another one from Monty."
"Thanks, Nate," Myles mumbles and tries to smile through her shirts, taking the offered canister and opening the lid.
"No worries," Miller replies easily, walking towards the ladder and starting to climb it as the red haired girl pours the clear liquid over the rag.
Octavia slinks out of her hiding spot to sit back down on one of the seats as Myles hisses loudly, the alcohol stinging her wounds viciously. Once the wound is clean, the redhead tosses the rag to the side and pauses as she reaches for the blanket strip. Deciding, fuck it, and pouring the moonshine over the strip to soak the material, wringing as much of it out as possible. Tying it tightly around her chest wound and stomping her foot in pain as the wound burns.
Satisfied the main wound is covered, Myles drops the shirts from her mouth and packs up the mess she'd strewn across the table. Winking at the Blake sister before hurrying to find Bellamy. On her way out of the dropship, hazel eyes spot her two best friends sorting nuts on a table. Monty throws a nut as Jasper opens his mouth, the two celebrating when the boy catches it. High fiving themselves like they used to do when they were kids, and the redhead laughs lightly as she approaches.
"Nice shot," Myles compliments her best friends, smiling widely.
"Hey," Monty calls excitedly, "look at all this."
"We're gonna be living and breathing these bad boys all winter," Jasper tells her, popping another nut into his mouth.
"Looking real good, you're working hard," the redhead smiles, before leaning close and lowering her voice, "it's good to see you'll be looked after."
Her best friends eyes snap to her hazel. They've known since they first heard that the Ark will follow them down that Myles wouldn't stay. Knowing her father is still up there and is in a highly appreciated profession for starting up their cultivation on Earth. The subtle hint seems to sober the two boys greatly.
"Are you leaving soon?" Monty asks quietly, reaching a hand out to grasp the red haired girls hand.
Myles smiles sadly at her two best friends before leaning up and kissing Monty on his cheek, "I love you two, be good for your parents when they come down."
When the redhead steps around the black haired teen to give a kiss to Jasper, the lanky brown haired teen wraps her in a big hug. Easily wrapping her arms around him as Monty joins in. Kissing Jasper on his cheek, and pulling back slightly to tell them it's time to go.
"You be careful," Monty pleads with her, kissing her hair.
"Yeah," Jasper looks at her seriously, "no more jumping into danger. Focus on yourself for a little bit."
"Will do," Myles promises as Jasper kisses her cheek.
The red haired girl slowly drags herself away from her two best friends, feeling their eyes on her still as she makes her way to Bellamy's tent. Seeing the tall man walking from the tent she shares with her best friends instead of his with two bags in his arms, and the girls bow and quiver. Deep brown eyes catch hers immediately and he walks up to her.
"Grabbed your bag," Bellamy tells her, handing the crudely made bag and weapon to the redhead.
"Thank you," Myles smiles kindly at the man, "you didn't have to do that."
"How's your side?" Deep brown eyes implore her worriedly, "you took a while."
"Yeah, sorry about that," the redhead answers, "couldn't find the moonshine. Nate had to run and get me some more while I cleaned up."
Bellamy looks at her pointedly, "and you're sure you're up to this?"
"All good," Myles smiles back and the dark brown haired man walks with her around camp a bit more, to stick his head into Finn and Ravens tent.
"Clarke," the man calls, "let's get a move on."
Red eyebrows raise as Bellamy ducks back out, hazel eyes catching a glimpse of the awkward conversation going on between the three stuck in a love triangle. The Blake brother marches over to the food crates and grabs handfuls of the ration packs, shoving them into his bag as Myles stands awkwardly beside him. The redhead isn't too worried about bringing food, knowing that she can always find food no matter where she goes.
Clarke slips out of the couples tent and makes her way over to the two, eyeing the man suspiciously.
"That's a lot of rations," the blonde probes, "you realise this is a day trip."
"A lot can happen in a day," Bellamy replies easily, ceasing his greedy hands and shutting the lid on the crate.
Octavia slips out of the dropship and catches the eyes of her brother and the redhead beside him. Bellamy sighs, and turns away, walking with the blonde out of the gate. Turning around as he reaches the wall and looking back at his sister as Myles walks ahead of him.
"You know you can't use that, right?" Clarke warns the red haired girl, gesturing to the bow and quiver slung over her shoulder, as Bellamy continues walking behind them.
"Grounders don't know that," the girl responds thickly, "we gotta go west, then it's a pretty straight shot to the depot."
They're not far from the supply depot as they trek through the cold woods. Clarke is snacking on the ration packs but Myles is so sore she's feeling nauseous. The redhead grits her teeth as she steps over the uneven terrain.
"You know the first dropship is gonna come down soon," Clarke pesters the Blake brother, "pretty sure you can't avoid Jaha forever."
"I can try," Bellamy snarks back, and Myles feels deep brown eyes flicking to her as she focuses on keeping up with them. "You good?" The blake brother asks her, and hazel eyes shoot up to his as she hums an affirmative.
Myles almost walks into the back of Clarke, not realising the blonde had stopped and steps to stand beside her. The redhead breathes out an amazed breath at the ruins before them. Centuries old buildings and structures barely standing, rubble and brick piled up randomly throughout the grass. A small lake resides in the middle of the decaying remains of the buildings.
"The depot is supposed to be around here somewhere," Myles informs them, eyes scanning the land in front of them as Clarke glares down at her map.
"There's got to be a door," Bellamy theorises, spinning his head around.
Clarke drops her arm down and turns to the dark brown haired man, "Maybe he'll be lenient."
"Look," the Blake brother snaps, "I shot the man, Clarke." Myles sighs, bored of this argument and starts walking away from the two stationary members of their little group to find this storehouse. "He's not just gonna forgive and forget." The redhead feels eyes on the back of her head, "let's just split up, cover more ground. Stay within shouting distance."
Myles doesn't hear Clarke respond but she can hear Bellamy come up behind her as she scours the land. The man tugs on her elbow gently, guiding her over to some of the destroyed buildings and they walk around with careful eyes looking for any sign of the depot. Bellamy eventually drops her arm and they separate slightly to search more thoroughly.
Myles is dragging her feet, so when she goes to walk over a fallen tree, she kicks something that makes a dull metallic thud. The Blake brother is back by her side in an instant and gently moving her aside, whacking at the trunk with his axe to try and get a better view of whatever made the noise. Deciding Bellamy has got this covered, the red haired girl walks away when Clarke yells out.
"Myles, Bellamy," the two immediately cease their efforts and look down the steep hill they're standing on at the blonde down the bottom. "Over here. I found a door."
After hooking his axe back onto his makeshift belt, his large hands reach out to help to injured redhead carefully descend the hill. Keeping her close to him as they slip down the slope, trying to minimise any damage or pain the action could inflict on the teen. Clarke is crouched down when they join her, her glove clad hands pushing away the debris covering the metal door in the ground.
The blonde strains to pull the handle up, "uh! I think it's rusted shut."
"Here," Bellamy instructs, pulling his axe out again, "watch your foot." Waiting until Clarke moves her feet before slamming his axe down on the hinge, a satisfying clang echoes, "Okay. Give me a hand," Myles reaches her hands forward to grip the metal door handle and deep brown, dissatisfied eyes turn to her. "Not you," shooing her hands away.
Clarke and Bellamy lift the door open, revealing a short flight on stairs. The opening door makes an angry creaking noise as the overwhelming musty smell of rot hits them. Clarke walks down the stairs first, quickly followed by Myles, as Bellamy enters last. Cobwebs and a thick layer of dust covers everything they can see, the groups boots leaving impressions in the filth on the stairs as they descend. A sign at the bottom of the stairwell is worn, but you can clearly read 'Emergency Aid Depot #23' and the redhead makes a mental note of the number.
"Here," the blonde hands two flashlights to the two behind her.
"Really think this place hasn't been touched since the war?" Bellamy asks as they shine their lights around them.
"A girl can dream," Clarke answers as she turns around, "come on."
The blonde leads them down another flight of stairs, this one is away from the the door and the sunlight streaming in, leaving the three in almost complete blackness. Light only coming from their three flashlights as they carefully step through the grime on the staircase. Clarke stops and sucks in a breath as she comes to a small landing, the staircase bending around before continuing down. The two behind her stop as well, and their eyes land on what's stopped the teen.
A skeleton lay across the stairs, charred and black, the clothes badly tattered and decomposed on the bones.
"Hell of a place to die," Bellamy comments as they cautiously step past the human remains.
"So much for living down here," Clarke says bitterly as they reach the end of the stairs. Shining their flashlights on the abandoned crates and containers, "this place is disgusting. Damn it."
"Anything left down here is ruined," Myles adds, scanning her hazel eyes down the trashed hallways.
Water rains down from where the lake sits above them, wetting the floor. Everything is destroyed, burned or torn to pieces, tattered cloth hangs from shelves on the walls. Finding something useable in here isn't going to be easy.
"They must have distributed most of the supplies before the last bombs went off," Clarke theorises as Bellamy opens the lid to a container filled with orange glow-sticks .
The man cracks a stick as demonstrated on the posters above the container and throws them onto the ground around them, orange light illuminating their surroundings. Myles and Clarke open as many crates as they can to find something they can take back to camp.
"Hey," Clarke calls excitedly as she opens another crate, "I found blankets."
"Excited about a couple blankets?" Bellamy snarks, marching past the blonde angrily.
"At least it's something," Myles replies warily.
"How about a canteen or a medkit or a decent fucking tent?" The Blake brother explodes, looking into a barrel.
Sighing, the redhead continues to open whatever crates are left around as Clarke stands and watches Bellamy dip his fingers in the barrel. Water flicks angrily and hazel eyes snap up in time to watch Bellamy kick the barrel over, yelling in frustration. The barrel topples over, a light brown liquid sloshing all over the floor, but that's not what catches the attention of the group. Something clatters heavily on the floor with the liquid and Myles drops the crate lid she was holding up. Bellamy sighs and crouches down to inspect the contents of the barrel.
"Oh, my god," the Blake brother breathes enthusiastically, deep brown eyes locking on hazel as he shines his flashlight on the guns in the barrel.
"What?" Clarke asks, turning quickly to see what's got the other two so excited.
Bellamy holds up a grease slicked gun, huge smiles on his and Myles' faces as the blonde stares guardedly at the weapons. The dark brown haired man stands quickly, yanking a tattered cloth down from a shelf and hanging it up with a cross marked in grease down a hallway. Myles slips her bag, bow and quiver onto the ground.
"This changes everything," the Blake brother happily declares, walking back to the two girls across the room, "no more running from spears." Clarke picks up a gun and scrutinises it, as Bellamy eats some of the nuts out of a ration pack before dropping his bag as well. "Ready to be badasses, girls?"
"I'm always a badass," Myles scoffs, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she picks up a gun herself.
"Look," Clarke sighs, turning to Bellamy as he approaches them, "I'm not gonna fight you two on bringing guns back to camp. I know we need them, but don't expect me to like it."
"We're lucky the rifles were packed in grease," Bellamy states around a mouthful of food as Myles loads bullets into the large rifle in her hands, a giant smile on her face. "The fact that they survived means we're not sitting ducks anymore." Clarke drops the gun she's holding onto the table to stare unconvinced at the Blake brother, "you need to learn how to do this."
"We shouldn't waste the bullets," the blonde rationalises and Myles raises her gun to aim at the cloth Bellamy set up, her stitches pulling painfully.
"Alright, cadet," the redhead calls, "do I do this like my bow, or what?"
The Blake smiles widely and steps behind the red haired girl as Clarke continues to sort through what they've found, placing the guns on the table.
"Kinda, just a little higher now," Bellamy wraps his arms around Myles', positioning the gun with his body flush against her back. "Yeah. Uh, that's good," the man mutters awkwardly, separating from the redhead, "uh, girls, watch and learn."
Myles lowers her gun and watches as Bellamy picks up one of his own and aims it, both girls waiting patiently. The Blake brother pulls the trigger, but nothing happens, just the sound of an empty gun clicking and red eyebrows raise slightly. Hazel eyes looking down at her own gun in confusion, as if it had been the one to refuse to fire.
Bellamy pulls the cartridge to reload the gun and aims again. The same thing happens for a second time, no bullets firing, just an empty click.
"Still watching," Clarke drawls out, amused.
"My bullets are duds," Bellamy quickly explains, turning his deep brown eyes to meet hazel, "try yours."
Myles does as she's told, lifting the gun exactly how Bellamy showed her, and pulling the trigger. A loud gunshot echoes in the storehouse as the bullet fires, hitting the cross and the redhead let's out a startled giggle. Wide, exhilarated hazel beam at the Blake brother and his face breaks into a smile when her eyes meet his.
"That is so much cooler than my bow," Myles gushes, huge smile breaking out on her face.
Bellamy huffs a laugh, turning to Clarke, "alright, princess, your turn."
The red haired teen hands Clarke the gun she had just fired, and the blonde takes it cautiously. Stepping in front of the hallway and lifting the gun, Bellamy tipping the gun up slightly higher from his spot beside the teen. Clarke pulls the trigger and another loud gunshot rings out, the bullet hitting just to the right of the cross.
"That was amazing," the blonde says after a moment, breathing a short laugh. Turning to face the two smiling behind her, "Am I horrible for feeling that?"
"Try again," the Blake brother offers, handing another gun to Myles.
"No," Clarke counters immediately as the redhead pulls the cartridge to check if the chamber is empty. "We shouldn't waste the ammunition."
"You need to practice," Bellamy argues, and the red haired teen reloads, satisfying clicking bouncing off the walls.
"No," the blonde refuses.
"He's right, Clarke," Myles tells the girl softly, looking at her apologetically.
"We need to talk about how we're gonna keep guns around camp," Clarke reasons as Bellamy reloads another gun, "where are we gonna keep them," the Blake brother raises his gun to aim at the cloth. "And who has access."
This time when Bellamy pulls the trigger, the gun fires, hitting a few centimetres to the left of his mark. Deep brown ecstatic eyes meet bright hazel as the two smile at each other.
"You left Miller in charge of the grounder," Clarke recalls, "you must trust him."
"You should keep him close," the Blake brother responds as he tears his eyes away from the redhead to look down the hallway, and Myles knows the blonde will pick up on the hidden meaning behind his words. "The others listen to him."
"I should keep him close?" The blonde questions and steps in front of the man, "Bellamy, what's going on? You've been acting weird all day." The Blake brother wont meet her eyes, instead his deep brown locks on hazel for a second.
"All the rations you took," Clarke looks to the twos bags on the ground as she realises what's happening. "You're gonna run." Blue eyes turn to the redhead accusingly, "are you in on this? Is that what you two were talking about? That's why you agreed to come with me. You two were gonna load up on supplies and just disappear."
"I don't have a choice," Bellamy replies evenly, "the Ark will be here soon."
"So you're just gonna leave Octavia?" The blonde demands, eyebrows furrowed in disbelief.
"Octavia hates me," the Blake brother grits out, "She'll be fine."
The blonde rounds on Myles, "and what about you?" When the red haired teen remains silent, Clarke huffs cynically and turns back to Bellamy. "You don't know – "
"I shot the Chancellor," Bellamy shouts, "they're gonna kill me, Clarke. Best-case scenario, they lock me up with the grounder for the rest of my life, and there's no way in hell I'm giving Jaha the satisfaction." The Blake brother tosses his gun down, and turns away, "you two keep practicing. I need some air."
Bellamy storms off, heading for the exit and hazel eyes look after him. Myles sighs heavily and turns to the blonde when she feels her eyes on her. A red eyebrow raises expectantly at the blonde.
Clarke huffs, "you're going to be pardoned, why are you running off with him?" The redhead sighs and rolls her eyes slightly, "What, you talk a big show of not wanting to be a leader, but you're happy to screw one and take off with him?"
"Bellamy and I aren't 'screwing' each other," Myles shoots back wearily, bringing a hand up to rub her temple slightly.
"Don't lie to me," the blonde scowls, "why else would you run off with him? You don't have anything to lose by staying."
"There – " the redhead starts, cutting herself off and dropping her hand from her face. "Those scars on my body?" Myles continues when blonde eyebrows twitch in understanding, "the man who did that is still on the Ark."
"I thought Monty said – "
"I don't know what Monty said, but that's the truth," the red haired teen sighs, cutting Clarke off, hazel eyes pleading with the blonde.
"How is that even possible?" Clarke whispers, concerned.
Breathing a sarcastic laugh, Myles replies, "he's very well versed in the councils eyes."
"My mother would never allow something like that to happen," the blonde raises her voice defensively. Hazel eyes only stare at the blonde in answer, "what about everyone else? How are we gonna survive winter without your help? Everyone looks to you for supplies."
"Everything I could teach them, I already have," Myles answers, "I'm no leader. I don't have anything to offer them."
"What happened to the Ghost, huh?" Clarke scoffs, "the girl who helped total strangers just to get to the next day?"
The redhead stares silently at Clarke for a moment, tossing her gun into the pile of weapons, "Octavia and Jaha are touchy subjects for Bellamy. I'm going to go check on him."
Myles turns and starts to walk out of the room, hearing Clarke fiddle with the gun behind her before dropping it to the floor. The redhead stops when she hears the weapon clatter on the ground, and whips her long, red braid around as she looks behind her. Clarke isn't in sight anymore, and something about it doesn't sit right in the red haired teens gut. Taking slow steps back towards where the blonde was, Myles calls out the girls name.
"Clarke?" The blonde doesn't respond for a moment.
"Dad?" Clarke calls tearfully and Myles' stomach drops.
Something is very, very wrong. The redhead hurries down the hallway and spots Clarke almost instantly. The blonde is hugging the air, and Myles closes the distance quickly. Grabbing the blonde by her shoulders and looking into her glazed over blue eyes.
"Clarke? What's wrong?" Myles asks worriedly, and Clarke's blue eyes look up at her sadly.
"You're not real, are you?" The blondes voice responds feebly.
Panic shoots through the red haired teen, "Clarke, this is Myles. I'm real."
"Wait," the blonde shakes her head and looks down, her heartbroken voice soft, "How is this possible?"
"Shit. Clarke," Myles calls loudly, shaking the teen gently. Red eyebrows sitting concerned in the middle of her forehead, "listen to my voice. Can you hear my voice? It's Myles, what you're seeing isn't real."
The blonde looks back up into her hazel eyes, chin quivering, "because I miss you."
"Clarke, it's me," Myles begs, worry for the blonde mounting with every passing moment she babbles nonsense. "It's Myles, list – "
Something hard hits the redhead in the back of her head and she crashes to the floor as everything fades to black.
Blinking blearily as she regains consciousness, the first thing Myles becomes aware of is the cold. Lifting her cheek off the cold, hard stone floor and groaning, squeezing her eyes shut, as the movement stabs at her skull. A hand groggily raises to the throbbing part of the back of her head, feeling a wet, sticky liquid. Bringing her hand in front of her face to look at the bright red blood staining her fingers. The redhead is seeing double, her hand echoing in her sight and Myles looks for her blonde friend. Clarke is lying in front of her, bleeding from a small wound on the side of her forehead.
Myles moves to lean over to the blonde and a loud, strangled squeak escapes her as blinding pain burns up her torso. The red haired teen rolls on her back, still dazed, and stares down at her stomach through her pounding headache. Blood is steadily pouring out from the stab wound in her chest.
"Oh," the redhead slurs, "no, no, no, no, no." Craning her head back to Clarke, "Clarke? Are you okay?"
The blonde doesn't answer her jumbled words and Myles rolls back onto her side, holding herself up by her elbows and crying out in pain. Panting, the grunting redhead crawls over to Clarke and shakes her slightly, calling her name again.
"Clarke?" When the girl doesn't answer her, a shaking pale hand slips disoriented to her throat.
Hazel eyes see the movement multiple times, like the world is stuttering her motions. Sighing in relief at the prominent feeling of a heartbeat, the confused redhead looks around. Myles' heart jumps to her throat and she feels a wave of nausea wash over her.
"Bellamy..." the red haired teen tries to roll herself into a sitting position, her chest screaming in pain.
Myles is unable to stop the pitiful pain-filled grunts and squawks that accompany the simple movement. Once the redhead is sitting, the world only seems to spin more rapidly and the girl leans forward to try to stand. Breathing heavily, Myles stumbles gracelessly to her feet. Her boots don't stop, though, and the red haired teen slams into a table. A loud shout of pain leaves her mouth and the girls convoluted brain keeps trying to tell the girl to be quiet, someone might still be here.
Her mouth doesn't follow the advice, continuing to squeak as Myles tries to move forward, dragging herself along the walls to keep herself upright. Swimming vision spies the guns from the barrel, and the redhead trips over herself to reach them. Grabbing the first gun she can get her hands on, the confused girl is in pain and bleeding everywhere, her mind spinning on a loop Bellamy, Bellamy, Bellamy.
Lifting the gun halfheartedly, to point at nothing in case anyone enters her vision, the red haired teen tumbles along the walls to the staircase. It's not a quiet venture, Myles hums and groans lightly in pain every time she jolts, unable to find her balance. Reaching the stairs after travelling a hallway that felt like it was never ending in her repeating vision, the redhead discovers very quickly that while her feet shuffle forward, they won't lift.
Tripping over the very first step, Myles screeches in pain. A strangled humming sound bursts out of her throat as she looks up at the dead skeleton on the steps in front of her. Breathing heavily, the red haired teen stays bent over the stairs for a moment, resting her pounding head on the rail before crawling up the staircase. Dragging her feet and the gun along behind her, touching her hands in the tacky filth that coats the stairs. A small trail of blood follows her wherever she goes, taunting her, reminding herself of her weakness.
Myles slips as she nears the supply depot doors, the stairs are slick with rainwater and the redheads hands slide, slamming her shoulder down. Her wounds scream in pain, but the girl can only muster up a small squeal before clambering up onto the dark ground. The sun had set, telling the dazed red haired girl it's been a while, and the thought terrifies the teen.
Standing on two feet, the redhead realises she no longer has tables and walls to carry herself around, she needs to actually walk. Her ears perk up, red braid swinging towards the sound of Bellamy grunting. She needs to hurry, the urgency helping her stumble to the sounds of the struggle. Dax, a delinquent that came down from the Ark with them, comes into sight, one of the rifles from the depot in his hands.
"Nothing personal," Dax says, standing above Bellamy as the man lies on the dirt.
Myles raises her gun as Dax pulls the trigger, and the boys gun clicks, not firing. Bellamy reaches for something beside him and holds his empty hand up as if he hand a gun, pointing it at the delinquent. The redheads heart stutters, he's hallucinating, too. Bellamy looks confused at his hand as Myles stumbles closer.
"Put it down, Dax," the red haired girl instructs forcefully, hoping her words don't slur as much to the boy as they do to her own ears.
Dax swings around steadily, the motion echoing in her eyes as the teens point guns at each other. Deep brown eyes look to the redhead and Bellamy feels his heart stutter.
"Should've stayed down there with Clarke," Dax replies, still pointing the gun threateningly at Myles. "I tried not to kill you, but here you are, and Shumway said no witnesses."
Breathing heavily, the redhead doesn't take her hazel eyes off the teen as she directs to Bellamy, "What is he talking about?"
"Shumway set it up," the Blake brother answers thickly, still on his back on the ground. "He gave me the gun to shoot the Chancellor."
"Walk away now, and I won't kill you," Dax offers, but there's no way in the universe that Myles will leave Bellamy.
"Put it down," the red haired girl demands, and Myles knows he won't cooperate before he even replies as Bellamy looks terrified between the two.
"You're choice," the boy tilts his head and Myles pulls the trigger.
Her gun is full of duds. Only clicking vacantly and the redhead feels panic bubbling up, slowly overtaking her pain. Dax pulls his trigger twice, the gun firing both times. Loud gunshots echo in the woods as Myles ducks out of the way, desperately trying to make her groggy hands cooperate and reach for one of her knives.
"No!" Bellamy screams out, jumping up towards the teen firing bullets at the red haired girl.
The Blake brother tackles Dax, causing the boy to temporarily drop his weapon as Bellamy beats on the teen. Arms flying up and crashing down hard on the boy as Myles finally grips her knife, and pokes her head around the tree.
Dax is on top of Bellamy now, returning the mans punches. The boy reaches for the gun he dropped and Myles flings her arm as Bellamy tries to tear the gun away from the delinquent. Her knife lands in Dax's back, the handle sticking out and the teen arches at the feeling, dropping his hold on the gun.
"Get the hell off him!" Myles shouts as she stumbles on top of the teen and the boy rears his elbow back, bashing the girl in the face, hard.
The redhead doesn't move off the two, instead forcing the knife in deeper as the teen gurgles grotesquely. Bellamy is still fumbling with the gun that has gotten trapped between the two during the struggle as Dax goes limp on top of the Blake brother. They are both breathing heavily, as the redhead rolls off of the dead teen, spluttering in pain and shuffling her butt on the ground until she rests against a tree. Bellamy shoves the teens body off of him and crawls towards the girl as she hums in pain with each panting breath, the mans hand touches her leg the second he can reach her.
Myles leans forward so her hands can pull at the Blake brother, neither of their hands leaving each other's body as they sit panting against a tree.
"You're okay," the redhead breathes as she brings a hand up to touch his face gently, as if reassuring herself he's in front of her.
"No, I'm not," Bellamy croaks, looking at the ground in front of them with wide, horrified eyes. "My mother... if she knew what I've done, who I am – she raised me to be better, to be good..."
"Bellamy – ," Myles starts, staring at the man with disbelief plaguing her features.
"And all I do is hurt people," Bellamy sniffles, "I'm a monster."
"Hey..." the redhead calls the crying man softly, tears filling her eyes, "that is not true. Rory would be so proud of you."
"No," the Blake brother protests, shaking his head and refusing to meet her eyes. "She wouldn't be."
Gentle hands cradle Bellamy's face, turning his head to look at her, "I knew her. I saw Rory almost every day for six years." Hazel stares into deep brown, holding his head close to hers, "the man you are today – is the same boy she raised. Someone who loves his sister with every last shred of his being. Someone who does everything with her on his mind."
"I killed people," Bellamy mumbles, deep brown irises switching between her hazel ones.
"The 300 people on the Ark, those are on my hands," Myles tells the man sternly. "That's on me. Do you hear me? That's my burden to carry." A look of disbelief flashes across the Blake brothers face, and the redhead shakes his head delicately, "I need you." Deep brown eyes light up at the revelation, "every single person in that camp needs you. We wouldn't have survived a day down here if it wasn't for you."
Bellamy tears his head away from her, and Myles shifts forward slightly, "you want forgiveness? I can give that to you." Deep brown eyes turn towards her again, "you're forgiven, Bellamy Blake. You're forgiven."
"I keep seeing – " Bellamy starts, looking at the red haired girl apologetically, "I need to know. I keep seeing Rhys," at his name, Myles tenses and pulls away from the man, "I keep seeing what he could've done. How he could've taken everything – how you could kill him. I need to know."
Hazel tear their gaze away, her slender arms wrapping around her body as tears slip down her face. The redhead shakes her head lightly, thinking the request over. Bellamy reaches a hand out and Myles pulls further away, wet, deep brown eyes staring at her sorrowfully.
"I was an idiot," Myles cries, huffing as tears cascade down her delicate features, "I spent years battling with the guard and – and knowing how they work. Getting away with everything." Bellamy reaches out again and the red haired girl scrunches up her face as she pulls away, "he told he wanted to ID scan me. That I needed to go in the closet. That I was a big girl now and I had to do it this way." Taking a heavy, stuttered breath, "and I knew he was lying but I knew – " hazel locks with deep brown, "I was 11 and he was a guardsman and I trusted him. I – I trusted him."
Bellamy has tears running down his face again, his tragic expression being mirrored on the redheads face.
"I wish you didn't kill him," the Blake brother grits out, "so I can."
Myles shakes her head earnestly and reaches her hand to grip the back of the mans head, "you are not a murderer, Bellamy Blake." Inching closer to him, "you are not a monster."
"Jaha," Bellamy starts, "will kill me when he comes down."
"I'll fix that," the redhead promises, "I can fix that, if that's what you want?"
"How?" The Blake brother asks weakly, deep brown eyes switching between hazel.
"I'll figure something out," Myles answers.
"We," Bellamy proclaims, holding his hand up, "together."
"Together," the red haired teen agrees, pulling her hand down from his head and lacing her fingers with the mans.
Deep brown eyes look at her hazel haltingly, "can we figure it out later?"
Myles smiles kindly, moving to sit back against the tree and grunting in pain, "whenever you're ready."
The two sit facing forward at the dark woods around them, fingers interlocked, as they recover from the days events.
Clarke had eventually found them like that, sitting against the tree, bloodied and holding hands. They'd had to tie some of the tattered cloth in the depot tightly around the redheads torso to cover the wounds until they got back to camp. Bellamy and Clarke lug the weapons in sacks through the pitch black woods as Myles gingerly follows behind them. The group breathing a tired sigh of relief when the delinquents camp starts to come into view, the distinct chatter of the teens reaching them first.
Bellamy and Clarke slip through the gate first, heading straight for the dropship when they hear Millers panicked shouts.
"He's gone!" Miller yells out, standing on the dropship ramp, "the grounder is gone!"
The delinquents quickly follow suit, their alarmed murmurs rippling through the teens.
"What if he brings other grounders back?"
"He'll kill us all."
"Or worse."
"Let the grounders come," Bellamy bellows as he and Clarke approach, Myles stealthily coming to stand with Monty who lights up when he sees her. "We've been afraid of them far too long, and why?" Jasper walks up beside his best friends and the two boys drape their arms around the redhead, "because of their knives and spears." Hazel catches the eyes of the Blake sister and she winks at her, "I don't know about you. I'm tired of being afraid."
Bellamy's deep brown eyes lock on the red haired girls hazel, before he turns his head to Clarke and the two drop their sacks together. The makeshift bags spill over, revealing the firearms to the teens who holler in excitement.
"These are weapons, okay," Clarke speaks up authoritatively, "not toys, and we have to be prepared to give them up to the guard when the dropships come, but until then, they're gonna help keep us safe."
"And there are plenty more where these came from," Bellamy loudly declares, "tomorrow we start training, and if the grounders come, we're gonna be ready to fight."
Myles has gotten in touch with Marcus, and he's coaxed the Chancellor to come on the video chat on short notice with the promise of meeting face to face with his shooter. The redhead had sent the pacing Blake brother off to mend things with his sister while she talked with Marcus and waited for the man to return with the Chancellor.
Stepping out of the communications tent, the red haired girls hazel eyes land on Bellamy almost immediately. The man stands with his sister by the gate and the two are staring out into the dark woods, a bright orange blanket around the Blake girls shoulders. A pang of regret shoots through Myles, knowing whatever calm moment the two are having, she needs to disrupt.
"Bellamy..." the redhead calls out gently, and his deep brown eyes turn to her, "it's time."
The Blake brother makes it halfway to Myles before he stops and turns back to his sister, "that grounder escaping, was that you?"
Myles can't hear the dark brown haired girls response, but she can see Bellamy clench his jaw before closing the distance between the redhead and himself.
"You ready?" Myles asks softly, worried hazel locking on the mans deep brown gaze.
Bellamy nods his head for a moment, "Together?"
"Together," the redhead assures, holding the parachute material up for the man.
The two sit down and put on the two headsets sitting on the table, the Blake brothers tenseness only amplifies as they stare at the Chancellors face.
"Mr. Blake," Jaha greets stoically, "I've wanted to talk to you for some time now."
"Before you do," Myles interrupts quickly, "I'd like to say something." The redhead continues when Jaha makes no move to intercept, "when you sent us down here, you sent us to die, but miraculously, most of us are still alive. In large part, that is because of him, because of Bellamy Blake." Deep brown eyes lock on her hazel and the man interlocks their fingers under the table, "he's one of us, and he deserves to be pardoned of his crimes just like the rest of us."
"Myles, I appreciate your point of view," the Chancellor starts, "but it's not that simple."
"It is," Bellamy adds, squeezing the red haired teens hand as he speaks, "if you want to know who on the Ark wants you dead."
A tense silence follows as Jaha thinks, turning the idea over in his head. Bellamy and Myles squeeze each other's hands tightly as the Chancellor contemplates the offer the Blake brother has given him.
Finally, Jaha leans in closer to the camera, "Bellamy Blake, you're pardoned for your crimes." Myles smiles as Bellamy bows his head in relief, fighting a smile of his own, "now, tell me who gave you the gun."
"Commander Shumway, sir."
Octavia had come and found her as Myles was fixing her very bloody stitches. The redhead was leaning heavily against the table in the bottom level of the dropship, lightly dabbing her wounds with moonshine. Delicate features screwed up in pain and hazel eyes look up as Octavia flies through the parachute flap.
"You'll never guess what," the dark brown haired girl tells the girl, brimming with quiet excitement.
"What?" Myles smiles at the blake sister, dropping her shirt from her teeth so she can have a proper conversation.
Octavia strides over in front of her and leans in close to the red haired girls ear, "his name is Lincoln."
"Lincoln?" Myles queries, and the Blake sister beams, "that's a pretty badass name."
"Yeah," Octavia breathes out, "I gave everyone the nuts, they're Jobi Nuts. They make people hallucinate."
The redhead drops her shirt down, hazel eyes scanning around to make sure no one is around, "you did amazing." Myles puts her hands on the dark brown haired girls shoulders, "absolutely brilliant."
Octavia quickly envelopes the redhead in a tight hug, and Myles tries desperately not to groan in pain.
"Thank you," Octavia says as she pulls away, the girls keeping their hands on each other's shoulders. "For helping him."
"That's no worries at all," Myles smiles, "I just wish we've could've helped him earlier."
The Blake sister continues to beam, bouncing with her happiness, "he kissed me."
Myles raises red eyebrows at the girl hushed words, but doesn't move her expression from being kind.
"Well, was it good?" The redhead enquires, eyes twinkling.
"Amazing," Octavia sighs out delightedly, "he's – he's so amazing. I just wish I could see him again soon."
"Maybe you can," Myles promises softly, "when I'm good enough to hunt, you can come with me. We'll figure it out."
Octavia wraps her arms around the red haired teen again, "thank you, thank you."
Hazel eyes squint playfully at the Blake sister when they pull apart, and the dark brown haired girl stares at her in question.
"You know what I'm gonna call him?" Myles declares quietly to Octavia.
Octavia huffs, smiling widely, "what?"
"Lilo," the redhead proclaims.
"What?" Octavia laughs, "why?"
Myles shrugs one shoulder lazily, "I think it suits him."