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chapter twenty-one!
PEACE WAS NEVER
AN OPTION
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WHEN ARES EMERGES from his tent, tugging his jacket on over his hoodie to protect himself from the abrupt chill of the autumnal night air, he finds the rest of the camp still in full swing. He hadn't realized that when he and Raven had been alone, it was like time had stopped. The rest of the universe didn't matter. For a little while, he could forget that they were in the middle of a war, that they're low on supplies, and that they're probably all going to die in a day or so.

On second thought... maybe he should go back to bed.

Ares turns around and starts to retreat back into his tent, but the voice of Jasper Jordan stops him in his tracks. "Ares!"

A sigh puffs from his lips. He turns around, and the look on his face must be cutthroat, because Jasper averts his gaze and nervously adjusts the strap of his rifle across his shoulder. "Uh, you're wanted up front for more foxholes."

"More what?" Ares asks with a wrinkled brow.

"Foxholes?" Jasper repeats, sounding unsure of himself. The confusion on Ares' face isn't the kind that makes Jasper think that Ares is in the wrong for not knowing what it is. It's the kind of expression that makes Jasper think that he's the one going insane and there are no such things as foxholes.

"Yeah, I've been in the ammo tent all day, so..."

"Oh." Jasper chuckles meekly. "We're digging some tunnels to get across camp quicker. Hopefully they can provide some cover, too. Bellamy left with Monty, Raven, and Octavia to go look for Clarke and Finn, so Miller's in charge."

Raven? She'd already left? Ares suspects he shouldn't be surprised. She's the kind of person who has to keep moving, who'll hardly stop working even if it kills her. But for a moment in the tent, maybe he'd thought she'd wait up for him. He'd thought...

Well, it doesn't matter what he'd thought, because the reality is that she's gone and Ares needs to start thinking with his brain and not what's in his pants.

Then something about Jasper's words strikes him. "What happened to Clarke and Collins?"

"You didn't hear?" Jasper asks. "They're the only ones from the hunting trip who hadn't come back yet."

Wonderful. Missing campers — and Clarke, of all people — will not be good for morale. Collins could honestly step off a cliff and Ares wouldn't bat an eyelash, but he has to admit that he's gotten used to having Clarke around. All she's ever done is try to help him. Now, if she's missing in action, the least he can do is do Clarke a favor and stop slacking off.

He hasn't been blind this entire time. He's noticed that when he's productive, others are, too. Maybe it's the shock of seeing him doing something useful or the spite of not wanting to be sitting ducks while the Psycho is doing his part, but whatever it is, it works. And since he's been taking a little break... well, Nate probably has his hands full with organizing everyone else.

Ares turns to Jasper. "What needs to be done?"

Minutes later, Ares is covered in dirt from his fingertips to his elbows, the sleeves of his jacket and hoodie rolled up to expose his forearms to the cold. His nose stings from the chill. His stupid head cold causes him to sniffle every once in a while, much to the apparent annoyance of those around him at the continuous sound, but none of them dare to complain. The group of four works in silence to construct the tunnel that will snake through the trees and allow them to reach one side of the camp under the cover of branches and packed dirt. Some of the foxholes will cut through foliage itself, holding branches out of the way with scraps of metal.

When Blake and the others return empty-handed except for an injured Myles, who had been in Clarke and Collins' hunting group, and also with no sign of Monty, the fear in the air becomes palpable. Ares can see it on each face he looks at. Some try to hide it with barely-existing masks of determination, but others don't bother wasting their energy in doing so. One of the girls Ares works with can't be older than fourteen. Her hands are shaking so badly that when Ares passes her a bunch of twigs, she nearly snaps them in half.

They're a bunch of children hurtling head-first into war. Ares sometimes forgets that he's the third-oldest in the camp— Blake and Raven are ahead of him, and since they're not even supposed to be here, he's technically the oldest of the former criminals. He was the first of them to reach eighteen almost a month ago. It doesn't mean he feels like an adult. Though he's been caring for himself since he was eight, he still feels like a kid stumbling his way through the dark sometimes. God, they're all so young. Way too young to be facing all the horrors they've seen.

And yet they're still going. Still working tirelessly as they probably will be through the night, no pausing for rest or breaks. They're fighting against the drooping of their eyelids, the incessant desire to close their eyes for just a moment. Continuing to work like robots all for the sake of a war they have a severe disadvantage in.

Ares can sense Raven's presence nearby like he has a sixth sense. It's annoying— though he's trying to focus on the foxhole, he's deeply aware of her existence like a prickle on the back of his neck. This is why he usually distances himself from other people. That way, they aren't a distraction. Without people to care about, you have a clear head.

And also a lonely life.

But it doesn't matter that she's there because she doesn't look at him. She gives no indication that she even knows he's within earshot. The girl is entirely focused on making her landmines, her brows knitted in concentration and mouth turned into a frown. When she shifts to cover the bomb with more dirt, Ares can see one of the dark marks littering her neck, half-hidden by her coat. If those hadn't existed, some bruising his skin as well, he may have thought that their time in his tent had been a figment of his imagination.

Blake approaches. His presence makes the kids Ares is with work harder, fighting to hide their sluggish movements from their watchful leader. Blake eyes them to make sure they're working efficiently, then scrutinizes the partially-constructed tunnel. Apparently, it's up to his standards. He then switches his gaze to Ares.

"Go inside and get more landmines for Raven," he orders. "They should be in the ammo te—"

He stops, making Ares look up to see the man's face. There's an ever-present crease between his brows and his jaw is so tense that it looks like it may snap. His mouth is turned into a grim line, dark eyes assessing Ares. When he's done, his expression is angrier than before.

"Are you kidding me?" Blake fires out, flickering his gaze from the marks on Ares' neck and back up to his face. He doesn't bother to keep his voice down in front of the other foxhole builders. "We are in the middle of a war and you're getting laid?"

One of the kids behind Ares snickers. At a warning glare from Blake, he falls silent.

"Well. gee, Blake. If you want something, all you gotta do is ask," Ares says with a raise of his brows.

The man doesn't laugh.

Ares sighs. "Yeah, okay. I'll go get those landmines."

Except before he can even move, a gunshot tears through the air, causing him and everyone else to jump. A panicked voice asks, "What the hell was that?" while another person demands, "What are you shooting at?"

Blake immediately storms in the direction of the shot. Squinting through the dark, Ares sees Sterling scrambling up from where he'd been sitting against a tree, holding his rifle in his hands. He'd left the safety off. Amateur.

"Hey!" Blake calls as he thunders closer. "What the hell is the matter with you?"

"I–I'm sorry, man. I fell asleep," Sterling stammers. "I've been on watch all day."

Their leader grabs the boy by the lapels of his jacket, yanking him upright. "We've all been on watch all day! That bullet was one less dead Grounder."

"Bell," Octavia says from beside them, "you're scaring people."

"They should be scared!" He releases Sterling, addressing the small crowd that had gathered around. "The bomb on the bridge bought us some time to prepare, but that time is up! The Grounders are out there right now, waiting for us to leave and picking us off one by one when we do. Clarke, Finn, and Monty are gone, probably dead, and if you want to be next, I can't stop you, but no guns are leaving this camp! This camp is the only thing keeping us alive!"

For the first time in a while, Bellamy Blake seems to break, his eyebrows drawn and eyes glassy as he admits the fates of their missing campers and his co-leader. His voice is passionate and compelling, nearly breaking as he looks at the others. He pauses for breath. His inhales are ragged, maybe teetering on the edge of hysteria, before he wets his lips and reigns everything back in. "Get back to work!"

Ares blows air out of the side of his mouth and walks into camp to grab more landmines. This is going to be the longest night of his life.

Raven doesn't look at him when he delivers the bombs to her. She merely gives a short, "Thanks," and keeps digging, carefully packing the dirt around the landmine she's burying, wedging it into the hard ground so it won't be loosened or moved. Though he'd managed to loosen the knot in her shoulders for a bit earlier, the tension is back again. Maybe she feels guilty for sleeping with him when Collins might be dead. As much of a jerk as the tracker may be, she still loves him, and that must be a powerful thing.

Ares continues working until his back aches from hunching over for so long, his face is dusted with dirt, and he'd long since grown to ignore the growling of his stomach. They're allowed small rations to tide them over during the night, but nothing too big until it gets closer to daylight.

The foxhole is complete in the very early hours of the morning — probably two or three a.m. — and they hurry to help another group finish their tunnel. This one cuts through the bushes on the outside of the wall, sneaks along the side, and ends within the camp. They have thin sheets of metal from the dropship and are using it to keep everything out of the way. The tunnel is small, but Ares could probably still run through it if he ducked extremely low.

It quickly becomes clear that Ares is one of the better architects. When one of the panels falls from the ceiling, smacking into a girl's head and producing a welt, Ares mutely fixes it by using a small torch to weld the metal together. He's about to tell the injured girl to go see Clarke for her head, but then remembers their leader's untimely fate and zips his trap shut.

He's faintly aware of the other things going on in and outside of the camp— Kiernan is among a few others who are sharpening their weapons and crafting new ones out of dropship metal. Nate is building some tiny metal walls with slots just big enough to see and shoot out of, providing cover and protection for the Gunners. Oliver is helping Raven with whatever it is she's doing.

Though it's hard, Ares pushes his concerns for the others to the back of his mind. Though he'd never admit it out loud, he's a little afraid too, the slight chill of terror lurking behind the burn of adrenaline in his veins.

And he has more things to worry about than some petty drama. For now, he forces himself to forget about Raven.

__________

a/n:

ares b like:

this is the shortest chapter of the book, but the next one will be longer and have more action! i wanted to include this chapter because 1) orteyes angst (again), 2) it shows everyone getting ready for war, and 3) i had a bit of writer's block and honestly i just wanted this chapter up

the gif is PERFECT for the convo between ares and jasper in the beginning. i love ben's facial expression so much, bless him.

LMAO i actually had a dream about the 100 last night and it was... hella weird. the parents were literal monsters. there was a big thing before the delinquents even got sent to earth, all i remember is clarke and octavia running around the ark ??? idk but then i was my other the 100 oc, fallon, and i threatened to punch murphy on 2 separate occasions and then he was being annoying so i bodyslammed him to the ground and broke his leg. THEN i was bellamy and ares was there and he was just being ares aka a dick and stealing stuff. then the parents were torturing the delinquents idk it was bad but at least ares n fallon were there <33333

HOPEFULLY i'll have pt 1 finished by mid-feb. that'll be 2 or 3 more chapters! also, thank you for 95k reads!!! that's insane and i love you all so much!

—kristyn

( word count: 2.3k )