❝don't lie to yourself. lie to everyone else instead. it's more fun that way.❞

-brendon urie, panic! at the disco

♛

THOUGH THE COUCH HADN'T been the most comfortable thing in the world, it had still allowed Bellamy and I to get a fair amount of sleep. That's a good thing considering I have a horrible feeling about the upcoming events of today. I can't shake off the notion that something will happen, like an impending danger is hovering just above our heads and is yet so out of reach. It causes me to be more jittery than usual.

I'm back in the guard uniform - Bellamy took a brief trip to the vent to retrieve it for me - and it fills me with even more unease. The collar seems to choke me, the sleeves scratchy and uncomfortable. Being in my other outfit had been liberating; this one feels like a prison in and of itself. I have never felt so uncomfortable in my life.

Since my gun is still covered in Francis' blood and Bellamy is low on bullets, it's only normal to want to pay the armory a visit. Maya is leading us there now, swiftly walking with us through the mountain and speaking at a rapid pace. It's a telltale sign of her nerves. I wonder if she has the same foreboding sense as I do.

"Lovejoy and Francis' key cards will get you in the armory," she informs us quickly, frantically babbling away. "The guns are locked, but the guard has the key. I can lure him away if--"

"No, there's no time," Bellamy cuts her off. "Once we get the guns, how do I get to level five? They're watching every door now."

"Maybe not," Maya replies thoughtfully.

"I can take the vents again," I volunteer. "It's no problem, really."

"That'll take too long," Bellamy protests with a shake of his head.

"Bellamy's right," Maya says to me. Then, her eyes go alight with a different scheme. "The mess hall has a trash chute."

"A trash chute?" I repeat, inwardly cringing at the thought of going down that.

"There's one on every level," she continues more slowly compared to how she had previously been speaking at the speed of light. "Best part, no radiation alarms. The hatches leak like crazy, so they put in these airlocks to be safe. You get the guns. I'll get them into the mess hall."

"You're a natural-born revolutionary," Bellamy tells her with an impressed smile.

"My mom was the revolutionary. I'm just trying to do what's right."

After she says that, there's a nostalgic lull in the conversation in which the air feels heavier than before. I pull my lips into a line and fidget. I know exactly how she feels. My mom wasn't a revolutionary, but she sacrificed herself so they wouldn't take Abby instead.

"Meet back here in thirty minutes," Bellamy instructs as he adjusts his hat. When Maya nods in understanding, he turns to me. "Let's go."

After quickly disappearing around the corner, we remember to slow to a walk- running will make us look suspicious. I try to make myself look taller by keeping my back straight and shoulders back. That, and the fact I have a hat will probably convince people I'm Victoria.

But a few steps later, I notice a muffled voice coming from my earbud. It sounds like it's coming from a nearby channel from how it's clearly a male but I can't understand what he's saying.

"Hang on," I say, grabbing Bellamy's arm to stop him. "I hear something."

I grasp the radio on my hip and switch a few channels until I hear something that makes my blood turn to ice.

"I know she's a friend of yours."

My jaw drops. I know they're talking about Maya immediately, because who else would it be? They must have caught her after we left her behind. I feel like either throwing up or staying frozen in shock. My body seems to be cold, even if the air around me isn't.

"What?" Bellamy asks worriedly after taking one look at the expression on my face.

"Channel six," I rush out in a breath of air. He switches stations just in time to hear Cage Wallace's next words.

"In twenty minutes, your friend will either suffocate or burn."

He starts to turn around before I can stop him, a hand on his gun as he takes off.

"Bellamy!" I call, watching him break into a jog. "Bellamy - wait - ugh!"

"But you can save her. All you have to do is surrender."

I suck in a deep breath before hurrying after him, quickly climbing a brief set of stairs and turning a corner. He's sprinting now. I have to rely on my long legs to propel myself until I'm running alongside him, hair nearly falling out of my ponytail.

"Where are we going?" I ask him.

"Mess hall," he replies under his breath. "They let Maya into level five - that's what they meant by 'burn.'"

Oh, God. I nod to let him know I understand, but as soon as I turn the corner, I reach out an arm to stop Bellamy. He shoots me a questioning glance before noticing a few passersby heading our way. While he subtly hides his face with his hat, I stare straight ahead and hope my luck hasn't run out just yet.

"Let's walk quickly," I whisper to Bellamy. "No running - it might cause suspicion."

He nods in understanding, then mutters, "Which way is the mess hall again?"

"Level seven is the only one I know the whereabouts to. Looks like we're taking the elevator."

I hate elevators. Every time we need to reach a destination quickly, about twelve people get on board and prevent that from happening. I stand a safe distance from Bellamy with my body completely stiff and fear coursing through my veins. It makes me wonder if we're going to get there in time.

My fingers tap on the wall impatiently as more people get on and off at each floor. I bite my lip and glance nervously at the buttons on the side of the door - level four. Almost there.

The next two stops seem to take forever. We have to be cutting time extremely close by now. As soon as the doors for level seven open, I push my way out and take off into a sprint toward the mess hall. Screw suspicion- we have a friend to save.

"Come on!" I urge Bellamy, who's lagging slightly behind me from being all the way in the back of the elevator. My shoes click against the floor with every step I take. They slide when I take a sharp turn to my right and burst into the mess hall.

Luckily, since there isn't a meal going on, it's empty. My eyes dart along the walls for the trash chute. I see rows and rows of tables that slightly obscure the back of the room. There are banners hanging from the ceiling, too, somewhat distracting me with their colors.

"There." Bellamy points to a door implanted in the left wall. We both race to it, but I get there first, fingers shaking as I open it. I'm extremely surprised there's little to no smell like I thought there'd be.

"See you on the other side," I say to him before hoisting myself up and into the chute.

It starts to smell the farther down I go, bracing myself for a sudden stop at level five. My feet slam against the bottom and pound on the door. It doesn't budge.

"Move!" Bellamy shouts from above. I barely have time to scoot to the side before he lands directly beside me.

I bang my fist on the door several more times, fighting to get the door open. My heart is beating so fast I can hear the blood rushing in my ears. When the door finally opens after another punch, I squint to see Jasper, Miller, Monty, and Maya crowded around it.

"Guys!" Monty exclaims in relief. His shoulders slump as if he'd been expecting us to be someone else.

"Get her in here!" Bellamy commands with no time to waste.

When they just stand there, I wave my hands frantically. "Come on!"

Harper helps a breathless Maya into the chute directly before us. We slide down another level before landing in a trash bin, the smell of rotten food invading my senses. I barely have time to sit up before Jasper's bony body lands directly on top of me. The wind is knocked out of my chest momentarily as he struggles to stand.

"Sorry," he apologizes briefly before rushing over to Maya, quickly ripping the helmet off of her hazmat suit so she can breathe.

A strange, white mist envelopes us for a second - disinfectant? - and causes me to lose my breath even further. Bellamy yanks me up into a standing position. I fight to catch my breath, coughing and sputtering as I watch Jasper and Maya embrace each other. Reassurance floods my system.She's okay. We did it.

A few seconds pass and I'm able to breathe again. I try to control it, timing my inhales and exhales instead of taking air in quickly and deeply like I want to. Bellamy doesn't loosen his grip on my shoulders until it's steady again.

"You okay?" he asks me, eyes searching my face. I nod without speaking.

"Decontamination complete. All clear."

So that's what it was.

I climb out of the trash bin, landing squarely on my feet and looking up just in time to see Jasper throw a rifle at me. I fumble with it in my hands but succeed in not dropping it.

Maya is the last to start getting out when the sound of the door opening makes me jump. I cling tighter to my gun for a second until the male figure steps out of the shadows. My entire body relaxes- it's only Vincent.

"Dad?" Maya asks in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"What your mother would have done," he replies, stepping forward and pulling her into a hug.

It's confirmed, then. That single sentence informs Bellamy and I that our agreement from this morning is a go.

Jasper, smiling so hugely it brings me joy, lets out a laugh. He takes Bellamy off guard by hugging him as well. Bellamy's hands stay outstretched for a second before he returns the gesture albeit a little hesitantly.

"Hey, listen to me," Bellamy says to him after pulling away. His face doesn't convey the same expression of joy, instead somber. "Clarke is coming with an army of Grounders."

"What?" Jasper asks, clearly taken aback back this information. His eyes widen a fraction of a bit as his smile starts to wobble.

"We have to keep all of you safe until then."

"Don't tell me Finn finally got his peace talks."

My grin slips off of my face instantly, my stomach churning as I swallow down a lump quickly forming in my throat. I had forgotten they have no idea about his death.

"Something like that," Bellamy replies gravely, avoiding Jasper's gaze. "Come on, we got a lot of work to do."

--

I feel like I'm leading a small army of sharply-dressed teenagers as the forty-four follow Bellamy and I down the halls of Mount Weather. We take the front mostly because we know the terrain by now. I'm in the very front, using my light-footedness to creep around corners, while Bellamy follows almost directly behind.

I turn around a bend with my gun securely in my hands. After a quick glance at the empty hallway before us, I announce, "Clear."

The trail of my friends behind me bustles out into the open area. Jasper eyes the space wearily, his own rifle loaded and ready to shoot at the slightest of movements. I can tell he isn't too keen on walking out in the open like this. Unfortunately for him, we don't really have a choice. It's not like we can fit all of us in the vents at once.

"What is this?" he asks with a hint of nerves in his tone.

"Relax," Bellamy replies reassuringly. "Maya took out the cameras."

"Yeah, well, we're still sittin' ducks in a group like this," Miller grumbles distastefully, a scowl pulling down his mouth. Ah, yes. I've missed his insightful observations.

"Exactly," I tell him in a more light tone. "Which is why we're splitting up."

Monty puts a hand on my arm, causing me to stop. "No. We do this together. We survive together."

"Fallon is right," Jasper whispers to him.

"They don't trust Maya anymore," Miller adds, again with the optimistic comments. "Who the hell's gonna help us now?"

I whirl around and continue down the short remainder of the hallway. After turning the last corner, I jerk my head toward the corridor it leads to. "They're going to."

At the end of it is a group of adults led by Maya and Vincent. This morning, we had Maya ask around to see who'd be willing to provide us hospitality if we got the forty-four out of level five. Vincent had shut the idea down immediately. However, as soon as he realized the danger Maya is in, he had agreed to let them help us.

"We're gonna hide you," Maya informs us as she walks forward. "Not everyone here agrees with Cage. Not by a long shot."

"Come with me," Vincent orders with a wave of his hand. "We'll divide you along the way."

Immediately, my friends start surging forward, eager to be placed somewhere safe and not out in the open. I let out a slow, satisfied breath at the fact this worked out so well.

"You'll be okay," Bellamy tells Jasper, who can't fight off his grin. He stands off against the wall to let others pass before him. It must be a change for him to feel so much hope after such a long period of constantly being in danger. Because of that, I can't blame him for smiling so much. It makes me do the same.

"Come on," Vincent urges as he beckons them closer, "you're safe now. Quick, quick."

I watch the rest of them file after the adults with a small smile on my face. It's comforting to know they'll be alright from now on.

"Hey, we're coming with you guys," Jasper informs us, stepping out into the middle of the hallway. Monty follows immediately behind him.

"No way," I protest with a shake of my head. "We have to protect our secret identities, remember?"

"So what do we do?" Monty questions nervously.

"Stay alive," Bellamy replies concisely. "Be ready to fight. War is coming."

------

when will bell not be so dramatic??

please ignore the v low quality of the gif!! it was really hard to figure out how to filter it and when i did the quality went from 100-0 real quick ):

the next chapter is SO LONG and intense!! it's basically twice the length of this one. prepare yourselves.

-kristyn