TWENTY SIX. haunt all of my what ifs

Octavia didn't have much longer and Tatum was beginning to panic. She continued to assure her that things would be okay and she held her close as she withered in pain, but that's all she knew how to do. Lincoln still wasn't back yet. She looked up at the clear blue sky. It was so bright but she still felt like she was trapped in the dark. There was no light in her life right now. Everyone she loved was most likely dead. She was just so tired.

She closed her eyes for a minute, the exhaustion hitting her all of a sudden. She laid her head on Octavia's again.

She didn't even realize she had fallen asleep until she felt Octavia shake her. "Tatum. Tatum, wake up!" Her voice became clear.

When Tatum opened her eyes, a man stood in front of them. He was tall and big with long black hair in braids. He wore clothes like Lincoln. She instantly glared at him. "Who are you?" She growled.

He didn't answer and instead he crouched next to them. She held Octavia closed to her. The man reached forward and grabbed her. "Don't touch her!"

He held what looked like a small cup in his hand. He grabbed Octavia by the back of her neck and pulled her up. "Where's Lincoln?" She exhaled out.

"Drink." The man ordered.

"She's not drinking anything." Tatum snapped and tried pulling the girl away from him.

"Do you want her to die?" He snapped back and practically forced the liquid into Octavia's mouth.

She immediately spit it out and it caused the grounder to grasp her hair and yank her head back. "Drink or die. Your choice."

Tatum grabbed her hand and glared daggers into him. Octavia drank what was left in the cup and he grabbed her chin, forcing it closed so she would swallow the liquid. Tatum took out her knife and pointed it at him.  "I will slit your throat." She threatened.

"Then the others will kill you." He simply stated.

She looked over to see Octavia had passed out.  "Octavia? Octavia?" She said dropped the knife. She shook her shoulders but she didn't wake up. "Octavia!  What the fuck did you do?" She shouted at him.

"I saved her life."

"You killed her! You killed her! She's all I have left!"

He stood up and Tatum hovered over the girl. She held her face. "Octavia? Octavia, please wake up." She pleaded. But her eyes remained closed. Tatum's eyes filled with tears. "Please, please don't leave me. Don't leave me too. Please." She cried and leaned her head on hers.

Raven's blood curdling screams chilled Bellamy to the bone. He could hear the fear scratching at her throat at the thought of never being able to walk again. He stared at his zip typed hands. He would've preferred being alone if he meant he didn't have to share a room with Murphy.

"Yeah, that was me at the grounder camp." Said Murphy from the other side of the room, his hands also tied together. "Y'know, I did everything I could not to scream but eventually—"

"But eventually, you broke and you told them everything." He finished coldly.

He smirked. "And you wouldn't have because you're better than me."

"Damn right." Bellamy hissed, making him smirk more. "I'm not a traitor. I didn't tell them where they could find us."

"And I did." The two of them glared at each other. Murphy still nodded. "Yeah, I did. After they tortured me in their prison camp for three days. But go ahead.  You just keep believing. . . Even if you are in here,  you're just like me." He sneered.

"I'm nothing like you. I would have never done what you did. Not what you did to Raven, or me. . . I would have never did what you did to Tatum." He spoke bitterly with a voice full of pain.

Murphy's smirk washed away.

"You claim that you love her? Somebody that loves someone wouldn't make them watch you torture the person they truly love. If that was me, I would have never made her sit and watch that. She cried for you to stop and you didn't because you wanted to get back at me. Well guess what, Murphy? You only pushed her away farther!" He spat in a fury and all the anger he felt towards him rose to the surface.

Murphy's eyes started to water. "That's not true. She loves me."

He shook his head. "No, she loves me. And I love her," he spoke more calmly. He let out a breath. "I understand, okay? You've known her your
whole life—"

"No, no you don't understand," Murphy interrupted and shook his head vigorously. "She's the only person I have. She's the only one who understands and accepts me. She's my best friend!"

Bellamy felt no sympathy. Really, he only felt pure hatred for the boy across from him. He was the reason for all of this. He was the reason Raven was screaming bloody murder and the reason the love of his life was gone. He only saw red when he thought of John Murphy. "Yeah, well, now we both don't have her." His voice was cold and bitter. When he felt his throat tighten, he looked away, not giving Murphy the satisfaction of seeing him upset.

Tatum glared daggers at the grounder. Octavia's head was cradled on her lap. "Who are you?"

He stared at her for a second or two. "I'm Nyko." He answered.

She glanced at the sleeping girl. "What did you do to her?" She asked and tried to keep calm.

"I saved her life. I'm a friend of Lincoln's. It's what he wanted." He explained to her.

"Will she be okay?"

"We'll see."

Before she could say anything, Octavia stirred and Tatum quickly look down at her again. Her eyes opened slightly. "Tate?" She spoke weakly.

Tatum smiled with relief. "Hey, Via."

She started to sit up. "What happened? W-Where's Lincoln?"

"Hey, hey, it's okay. You're safe."

She looked over at the man that gave her the liquid.  "Who are you? Where's Lincoln?" She asked again, more rough that time.

"His name is Nyko, Via. He's a friend of Lincoln's."  Tatum recited what he told her.

Octavia pushed herself up from her lap. Tatum watched her carefully. She leaned her hands against the rock and pushed off, standing on her feet. She followed suit.

"You can stand. Good. Because now you both should run."

Both of the girls froze at the statement. Octavia glanced at her for a brief second. "Where's Lincoln?" She took a step in his direction.

"He's answering for what he's done." The grounded responded under his breath, looking her in the eye.

Tatum felt her stomach drop. "They're going to kill him." She realized and took a step back.

Nyko stood up. He hovered over Octavia. "Because he helped you, our clan is vulnerable. If the reapers come, we can't even fight them off."

Octavia stopped him before he could walk off. "Wait.  Wait. Are you saying that they caught him?" She asked for clarification. He didn't answer but the look on his face answered her question. She started to panic. "They'll kill him. We have to do something."

Nyko didn't respond.

"You said he's your friend. We have to do something."  Tatum butted in.

"I did do something." He said in a low voice, looking between the two girls. He pointed at Octavia. "I saved your life. Now run."

He turned his back again. Before she could blink, Octavia kicked him and he fell to the ground. Tatum's eyes went wide. "Via!" She shouted.

She grabbed a rock and clutched it in her hand. When Nyko went to charge at her, Octavia hit him in the head with the rock and he fell to the ground.

"Octavia!"

"Thank you for saving my life." Octavia exhaled and grabbed Tatum's hand. "Help me!"

She stopped her. "Via, this could kill us."

She paused and got closer to her. "Tate, what else do we have to lose?" She questioned with a deep exhale.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. They had lost everything. The only thing they had was each other. Tatum stared into her eyes and sighed. If she was going to die, at least it would be with someone she loved.