( THIRTEEN : THE CAVE )

ELISSA'S FEET FLEW over the soft forest ground, each step propelling her forward with a strong desperation to get away. With every ragged gasp for breath came the bitter tang of panic in the air.

    Run!

    The loud warning blare from the horn only seemed to amplify her fear.

    Elissa, Charlotte, and Bellamy headed back in the direction they'd come from. Deep inside, she already knew that there was no possible way that they would be able to outrun the fog and get back to the dropship in time. It was moving too fast and they were running too slow. They'd watched it progress for too long.

    So, what if you get back to the dropship? There's no way you'll be able to get everyone inside before the fog arrives! A sudden terrifying thought occurred to her, what if it had already hit the rest? You heard those scream—had they come from camp? Or someone from the hunting group? She thought, desperately trying to figure out their location in relation to the rest of the group. Where had everyone gone—she hadn't been paying attention.

    All thoughts vanished from her head when Charlotte's hand was torn from her own. Heart jumped into her throat and Elissa stumbled as she skidded to a stop—her feet trying to find a foothold on the root covered ground. Whirling around, she barely had time to register that Charlotte had fallen—her foot caught on a root—when Bellamy reached down mid-stride and hoisted the young girl up by her armpits and set her back on her feet. He didn't let her go, keeping a firm grip on her arm and drug her along behind him. Charlotte's eyes wide and terrified as she struggled to keep up.

    Movement behind them caught her attention and she could only watch in horror and disbelief as the yellow wall of fog slithered through the trees, its tendrils reaching and grasping out as they silently made their way toward them.

    Elissa hadn't realized that she'd just been standing and staring until a hand clamped onto her upper arm and yanked her around.

    "Move, Bardot! Move!" Bellamy snapped at her, propelling her forward in front of him. For a second, her feet struggled on the uneven terrain before she caught herself on a tree and regained her balance. Glancing over her shoulder to make sure Bellamy still had Charlotte, she turned and dashed through the trees.

    Since she was in the lead, Elissa tried to guide them in the direction she knew the dropship to be. But as they passed tree after tree after tree, she rapidly lost track of where they were—the area around them beginning to blur into nothingness. Heart pounded in her chest, her eyes darted left and right as she ran, looking for any sign of familiar landmarks.

    Useless, useless, useless. She berated herself, sidestepping a bush before ducking under a fallen tree that was leaning against another for support. How are you going to get us back if you don't know where you're going?!

    "Steer left, Bardot." Bellamy suddenly panted at her back. Without question, she did as he said, knowing that he must have had some place in mind.

    It's definitely not the dropship, she thought, noting the change in the slope and how they were now moving along the slope instead of heading up at an angle. Don't know what he has in mind, but it better be close. Her lungs and her legs had begun to burn something fierce and she knew that she would never have been able to make it back to the dropship. It was too far away. They were too far away.

    When a figure suddenly burst through the trees in front of her and slammed into her side, Elissa let out a strangled scream as the force knocked her onto the ground, scraping the exposed flesh of her arms on the rough terrain. Winded, Elissa struggled to regain her breath—the world spinning around her for a few seconds. The attack apparently hadn't been intentional, she duly realized, as whoever had hit her lied moaning on the ground beside her.

    With a cough, Elissa forced herself back onto her feet and ignored the sting of open wounds as she stared down at the extremely shocked Atom. His eyes were wide as he looked back up at her.

    As he opened his mouth to ask what she assumed was going on, Elissa was already shaking her head at him. She reached down and bodily hauled him to his feet. Glancing over her shoulder, she barely caught sight of the deadly fog before shoving him along.

    "What—" he began, not even peering in the direction of the fog and she knew that he had no idea what was really happening.

    "Poisonous fog...no time. Run!" She snapped at him with her breath labored, from the running and the collision, barely allowing her to speak.

    Elissa's eyes met Bellamy's glare that bordered between irritation and worry. He was ahead of her now with Charlotte by his side. The two had slowed their pace to a jog because of her. She felt anger and panic rise inside her—it wasn't her fault Atom collided with her. "Come on!" she called over her shoulder at Atom, taking off after the other two. She needed to catch up.

    When the two in front of her disappeared around the corner of a rocky bank, Elissa felt irrational panic surge through her. What if she rounded the bend and couldn't see them anymore? What would she do if she got separated from them? Where would she go?

    No no no no no! Come back! She mentally screamed at them, picking up her pace—her lungs already exceeding their limits—not giving her enough air to call out.

    Rounding the corner, she was instantly relieved when she caught sight of Bellamy's dark jacket with Charlotte standing next to him. They were both facing the rocky cliff face and Bellamy urgently nudged the younger girl toward the front.

    This is his plan? What is that idiot thinking? We're never going to be able to outrun the fog by climbing up!

    Coming up behind them, she quickly realized that that's not what he was doing at all.

    He wasn't encouraging Charlotte to climb up, he was motioning her toward a gap in the rocks.

    Skidding to a halt, Elissa froze and felt all the blood drain from her face as she watched Charlotte duck through the tiny opening between the two large rocks.

    Too small. Too dark.

    She watched as the chilling blackness seemed to swallow up the young girl as she ducked into it. Then she was gone, engulfed in the shadows.

    A cave, she thought, the word shooting a wave of new wave of terror through her and her body went cold at the foreign notion.

    The world slowly closed in around her, until all she could focus on was the pitch black open mouth in front of her and she forgot entirely about the fog at her heels. I—I can't.

    The sound around her faded into the distance, the horn dying away completely and left nothing but the rapid pounding of her heartbeat in its place. The sound seemed to fill her head, thundering through her chest and making it hard to breathe. Her skin felt sensitive, the hairs on her arms and neck standing on end, as if the temperature around her had dripped far too quickly.

    "—dot! What are you doing? Let's go!" Bellamy's voice suddenly cut through the fog that had settled around her brain. Her eyes snapped up to his face and she found him eyeing her, his expression somewhere between worry and fear. "We need to get inside!"

    Go inside?

    She was already shaking her head before she'd fully comprehended his words. Stumbling back, she moved away from him—away from the cave.

    "I...no. I can't." She stumbled over the words, her lungs seemed to struggle with the small task of talking.

    A frown settled over his face. "What?" He shouted, looking perplexed at her answer. His eyes took in the clammy look of her face and her defensive stance. "What's wrong with you?" He took a slow careful step toward her, acting like she was going to bolt if he moved too suddenly. Maybe he was right.

    Raising her hands up in front of her as if to ward him off, she quickly realized that they were shaking and clenched them tightly instead and moved them back down to her sides, trying to stop the uncontrollable movement. His eyes followed the movement with sharp eyes.

    "I just—can't." Her tone held a pleading edge as she gazed back at him, hoping to convey the fear—the terror—that filled her at the thought of going in there.

    He took another step toward her. "Bardot, we don't have time—"

    But it was too late. The first wisps of fog slid around the corner, trailing over the ground toward them.

    Even though it hadn't fully settled upon them, her eyes had begun to burn. The nauseous smell of sulphur filled her nose as she stumbled back, her skin started to itch and burn. With a single gasp, her lungs followed suit and send her into a fit of coughs that shook her body.

    Eyes slide closed on instinct in an attempt to ward away the burn, she barely heard Bellamy cough in front of her before strong arms enveloped around her torso, pinning her arms to her sides. Panicked and shocked, she gasped, lungs burning as she was pulled back against a firm chest and lifted completely off of her feet.

    What is he doing?! Her mind screamed at her and send her into a panic. Her movements were frantic as she struggled against him, her elbow slammed back into his stomach.

    Bellamy grunted at the impact, but didn't let go with his grip only tightening in response as he hauled her forward. With each of his footsteps, she could feel him coughing. His chest shuddered as he tried to avoid breathing in the toxic fumes that permeated the air around them.

    Then she realized where he was dragging her.

    No, no!

    A chocked cry escaped her throat and her struggles against him doubled in strength—using her arms and legs—looking for any purchase she could find. But her boots barely scraped the floor, her arms held fast at her sides, her hands only able to grasp the fabric of his clothes.

    "N-No! Let—me go!" She coughed, but he ignored her and lurched them both forward and ducking down through the small break in the rocks, desperate to get them away from the burning fog.

    Her whole world went pitch black.

    Adrenaline flooded her system, her senses flared out in panic and everything around her became crystal clear despite hardly being able to see anything around her.

    The limited light coming from the mouth of the cave glinted off the moist walls, the air tasted stale and damp. Any sounds they made reverberated through the small space around them, but sounded deadened all the same.

    Despite knowing the rock walls around them didn't move—couldn't move—they pressed in around her. The drew in closer and pressed against her.

    Then the space around her was getting smaller.

    And smaller.

    The air solidified and her throat closed off entirely—leaving her lungs screaming for air—each ragged gasp for breath did nothing to alleviate the overwhelming feeling of being drowned.

    She hardly felt herself being settled on the rough ground, her knees gave out behind her until her back rested on the uncomfortable cool rock behind her. The arms that had been supporting her, slid away, leaving her alone.

    Alone in the dark.

    With a pained moan, she rocked forward and her hands pressed against her head. Her fingers threaded tightly through her hair and the sharp tug at the scalp gave her something to hold onto.

    Darkness embrace her—its grip too tight—trapping, squeezing, suffocation. Her body shook and the need to scream was held back only by the desperate need for air.   

    She was losing control.

    "Bardot?" Blake called to her when he finally stopped coughing, his voice rough and echoed in the small space around them. "Shit—what the hell is wrong with her?"

    "I think—I think she's afraid of this." Charlotte's voice filled the small space, sounding scared and unsure.

    "Of this—of what?" Bellamy questioned, sounding confused. He shifted on his knees and the low ceiling of the cave not giving him enough space to stand.

    "Small spaces," the young girl elaborated. Her voice was low, as if she knew she were sharing a secret she wasn't supposed to. The cave fell back into silence, all except Elissa's sharp gasps for air.

    Through the panicked haze of her mind, Elissa heard them, vaguely noticing that they sounded like they were talking at the far side of large room and not just a few feet in front of her.

    "Bardot, hey." Came Bellamy's voice, suddenly sounding much closer, like he was directly in front of her face. His tone had taken on an unknown one, it sounded soft and soothing, as if he were trying to calm a wild animal.

    Her lungs burned.

    Can't breathe, can't breathe, can't breathe.

    "Bar—" he paused, "Elissa, can you hear me?"

    Elissa?

    The sound of her name coming from his lips speared through the veil over her mind and gave her something to focus on. She latched onto it with all her might.

    Focus, focus on it.

    Although she continued gasping for air, her eyes peaked open—when did I close them?—and he his worried gaze, the skin tight around his eyes as he stared back at her.

    When her eyes met his own, his face softened. "There you go. You can do it. Focus," he told her, his voice firm. He was crouched down in front of her, but when he saw he had her attention. He shifted until he sat with his legs crossed—shins touching her own, which were folded up under her chin.

    Slowly, he cautiously reached out and grasped her wrist, trying to gently pry her hands away from her head where they were fisted painfully into her hair. Reluctantly, she let go and allowed him to tug them away, but he didn't release her. Instead, he turned them over and wrapped his fingers around her own and held them gently but firm.

    "Hey, you're okay," he whispered, voice steady and soothing as he gave her hands a small squeeze. "Focus, look at me." He lowered his head down to try and meet her eyes. Although it took a few seconds, her watery eyes met his own, and he gave her an encouraging nod. "Good. Good, now, I want you to take a deep breath and hold it for a second, then let it go. Breathe, Elissa. Do you think you can do that?" He leaned toward her, his face hovering just over her knees, never breaking his gaze and his grip was constant on her hands.

    Focus, breathe. Focus on him.

    Holding his hands as tightly as she could, she forced herself to give a shaky nod and he shot her an encouraging smile.

    "You can do this," he continued, his voice gentle but commanding and gave her no other option but to comply. "In and out. Breathe."

    Breathe, she repeated to herself. You need to breathe.

    Her eyes slid shut and she focused all her attention on regaining control. At first, her lungs protested and the air struggled to move through her airway, getting cut off before it could reach them.

    In and out...in and out.

    As minutes went by, her breathing slowly began to even out—easing the tightness around her chest. Each breath reached deeper and deeper into her lungs and it with came relief.

    When she finally managed to take a deep breath and held it for a moment, Bellamy gave her hands a reassuring squeeze. "There you go," he said, sounding relieved.

    With her breathing returned to normal, the panicked haze that had fallen over her mind began to fade and reality was quick to set in.

    Oh God, Blake just saw you make a fool of yourself, was the first thought that crossed her mind and instantly felt her cheeks flare red, embarrassment washing through her.

    What's he going to think now—poor little Elissa, the crybaby who's afraid of absolutely nothing. You're such a coward. She cringed at herself, before slowly opening her eyes to the darkness—she stamped down hard at the flutter of panic that rose up within in—her gaze falling to the side, and with a start, realized that he was still holding her hands...and that her cheeks were damp with tears.

    With a jolt she slid her hands out of his, surprised when she met slight resistance. She wiped her face and tried to erase any evidence of tears—and embarrassment—from her face before tucking them under her arms.

    Elissa knew his eyes were on her, but refused to meet his gaze, knowing that he was watching and waiting.

    Waiting for you to have another breakdown, she thought bitterly. He probably thinks you're crazy.

    Now that she could hear past the pounding of her own heart, all she could hear was the uncomfortable silence that had settled around them.

    Say something.

    Elissa cleared her throat, eyes fixed on the small amount of light coming through the cave's entrance and tried to ignore the darkness around them. "I'm sorry," she finally managed to say, her voice rough. Sorry for what, she didn't know.

    She nearly jumped when Bellamy slid around so he was sitting beside with his back resting against the cave wall. His side was pressed against her own. She could feel the warmth radiating through his jacket and into her own. Was he doing it on purpose? Did he know the comfort it brought her, being reminding that she wasn't completely alone?

    Yeah. Right.

    "You don't have to apologize," he assured her with sigh, leaning his head back against the cave wall and stretched his legs out in front of himself, well, as far as the cramped space allowed and folded his arms across his chest.

    Unsure and not knowing what to say after his comment, Elissa looked around the cave instantly meeting Charlotte's ever watchful gaze. She was sitting at the back, perched on a bed of rocks, her arms wrapped around her knees in front of her. Elissa was relieved to see that the girl wasn't looking as scared as before—the wild and terrified glint in her eyes had faded away to exhaustion. Although the concerned look on her face seemed permanently present.

    Idiot, she's probably worried about you.

    When Charlotte shot her a small tentative smile, she returned it with a tiny one of her own and hoped that it came across as at least marginally reassuring. She must have partially succeeded when Charlotte turned away, her blue eyes resting on the cave entrance once again.

    Then Elissa realized something.

    "Atom?" She asked reluctantly. He wasn't in the cave with them. With a frown, she thought back to when she'd last saw him. Hadn't he been right behind them?"

    "I couldn't—he didn't make it in," he said lowly. His shoulders brushed against her as he sighed.

    "Oh," she tried not to think of what that could mean and rubbed her hands together. She knew that she didn't like the dread that shot through her when Bellamy didn't meet her gaze. "Maybe...maybe he made it somewhere safe."

    "Yeah. Maybe." Bellamy swallowed, shifting slightly in his spot and turned to look out the craze entrance.

    "Is it still—?" She began to ask after a pause, wondering if the fog was still blocking their exit.

    Bellamy nodded slowly. "I think so. But I'm going to give it some time before I check. We don't need to lose anyone else."

    Elissa bit the inside of her cheek. Please, let him have found somewhere to hide.

    When silence descended upon them, Elissa saw that Charlotte had settled back against the rock—curled up and attempted to get comfortable, allowing her eyes to close. Leaning her head back with a sigh, Elissa decided to follow suit and closed her own eyes. Maybe when you wake up, we'll be able to get out of this hell hole.

    But as the seconds dragged into minutes and the minutes into hours, Elissa realized that sleep was not going to come easy. The air in the cave was quick to warm up causing Bellamy to shift beside her, shoulder and arm rubbing against her own as he slipped out of his jacket.

    Finally, with a weary sigh, Elissa opened her eyes and leaned forward. She relaxed her legs until they were crossed in front of her, elbows rested on her thighs as she rubbed her face tiredly. She wasn't going to be able to sleep at all.

    "Can't sleep?" Bellamy asked her quietly, being mindful of Charlotte, who was snoring softly.

    Pinching the bridge of her nose, she shook her head and let out an unintelligible noise of agreement. He huffed a laugh beside her.

    "You know, I remember you from the Ark." He said abruptly.

    With a frown, she turned to look at him, wondering what he was talking about. She didn't remember ever seeing him. "What—you do?"

    "Yeah, you used to hang out around the cafeteria on Alpha. You and Councilman Titus' kid. Used to stir up trouble all the time." He shot her an amused look out of the corner of his eye.

    Cocking her head to the side, a rueful smile crossed her face at his observation. "Yeah, that was us, back in the day." She gave a snort of laughter. "Jupiter and I were trouble. My mother used to say that trouble followed us like a cloud." The smile slipped from her face, her chest ached as the thought back to better times. "So, wait—you were in Alpha? I don't remember seeing you there."

    "I used to pick up supplies at the Laundromat" he explained with a shrug. "But I spent most of my time in Factory before entering the Academy."

    She sighed, "I have to ask—are you really a Guard? I don't remember seeing you train with Jupiter when he was in the Academy."

    He threw her a cocky grin in response. "What do you think?"

    She rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop the upward tick of her lips. "I think you probably wouldn't tell me either way."

    "True," he gave her a pensive look. "Being a Guard has its benefits," he wiggled his eyebrows at her, looking sly, "whether it's true—or not."

    She snorted a laugh, giving him a look. "I'm sure it help get into all the girl's pants."

    "Not all," he quipped lightly in reply, giving her a pointed look.

    She narrowed her eyes at him. "Not gonna happen, Blake."

    He chuckled. "Hey, it was worth the—"

    A soft pained moan echoed through the cave and cut him off. They both whipped around to look at where Charlotte was sitting—eyes closed—still asleep.

    But it was clear whatever she had been engulfed in was anything but peaceful. Her face was pinched in a pained expression and she kept flinching back, as if trying to move away from something in front of her. When she gave another moan, Elissa knew she had to do something to help.

    Leaning forward with the intent of getting up and tried not to think about how that would put her further into the darkness, but she was halted by Bellamy's hand that grabbed her own and pulled her back before she could even get to her knees.

    When she turned to frown at him, trying to shake his hand from her own he refused to let go and simply motioned for her to sit back down. "Stay here. I've got this."

    "But—" the words died at her lips when he sent her a stern look.

    "You're not going to be any help if you're having a panic attack while she's having a panic attack."

    Elissa's mouth snapped shut and knew that he had a point. Leaning back sullenly, she rested her back against the cool rock once more as he pushed himself up. Still on his knees, he turned back to look at her. "Are you going to be all right?"

    Startled by the sincere question, Elissa gave a slow nod. "Yeah."

    After a moment, he nodded and glanced at up at the mouth of the cave, then back down toward her. Slowly releasing her hand, he raised a finger at her and gave a serious frown. "Don't move," he warned. "I'm not going to go chasing after you if you make a break for it."

    "I'll be fine."

    With an almost reluctant look, he turned away and headed toward Charlotte who'd begun to cry out and thrash in her sleep.

    Puzzled, Elissa watched him go and wondered how this was the same Bellamy she'd been butting heads with from the moment they landed. Somehow, he'd helped calm her from a panic attack and other than a few snide comments, they'd actually had a small decent conversation for once.

    He'd held her hand when she needed something hold onto—something to bring her back to herself. He hadn't laughed at her or shunned her life she would've expected.

    He let his mask fall away.

    Maybe he's like you, just someone trying to survive...trying to not get hurt. The difference is that he clearly has no problem taking on the role of a leader to get what he wants. Whereas you just pull away.

    Watching in fascination as Bellamy soothed Charlotte from the demons that plagued her sleep, his expression was open and sincere as he talked to her. Suddenly, the pieces fell together. It all made sense.

    Why wouldn't he be good at comforting people? He's probably spent years taking care of Octavia, making sure she survive and keeping her away from the rest of the Ark. I mean, he came down on the dropship for the one person who mattered the most to him, despite the chance that they might've not even survived the landing! He's had to be tough for a long time.

    One thing was for sure, there was more to Bellamy Blake than met the eye.

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