And I've been a hero, helpless. I'm in Hell and I've cried up and down in these hallways, blamed myself.

— Daylight, Joji & Diplo

━━━━━━ November 10, 2149

JASPER SAT DOWN BY the bunks alongside Maya. Miller reached over, increasing the volume on the radio in case anyone was listening in. Monty frowned, leaning over his knees. A few days had passed since the group had infiltrated the President's office. Harper and Casey had been standing outside, but when the three left the office, they had vanished.

⠀⠀⠀It had been wishful thinking that they had gone back to the dorms on their own. But nobody knew what happened to them and as for the Mountain men, there was not a word surrounding them. It was like the two girls had never existed. At least with Clarke they had tried to cover it up by claiming she was in Medical for a mental breakdown.

⠀⠀⠀"Anything?" Jasper asked.

⠀⠀⠀Miller shook his head solemnly.

⠀⠀⠀"Keep looking. Whatever happened to Casey and Harper, someone must have seen something," Jasper said with a sigh.

⠀⠀⠀"How many places could they be? We're in a sealed bunker," Miller said. The lingering thought that they had either escaped or been thrown out of the mountain stayed with all of them.

⠀⠀⠀"There has to be rooms we don't know about, places that aren't mapped," Jasper claimed.

⠀⠀⠀Miller looked at Maya and asked, "Well? Is it possible?"

⠀⠀⠀"I doubt it, but maybe," she said with a frown, just as shaken up as any of them.

⠀⠀⠀"Thanks, you're just a big help," Miller sneered, venom on his tongue as he looked away.

⠀⠀⠀"Easy, Miller. Maya is on our side," Jasper said with a pointed stare.

⠀⠀⠀"Are you sure about that?" Miller challenged, raising a brow.

⠀⠀⠀"Yes, I'm sure. She's risking more than any of us."

⠀⠀⠀"Really? Is she gonna end up in the kennel, too, if she gets caught?"

⠀⠀⠀"Stop it. I found something," Monty interrupted them, presenting a map. He pointed to a section of it and explained, "That leads to an antenna on the ground, okay? If we can access the radio, we can send a message over the Ark-wide channel. Tell them we're here."

⠀⠀⠀"The only radio is in the command center on Level 7, highly restricted," Maya said firmly.

⠀⠀⠀"We got in before," Jasper pointed out.

⠀⠀⠀"Only because it was scheduled for decontamination. That won't work again so soon," she said with a firm look.

⠀⠀⠀"We don't need the radio," Monty assured them. His finger dragged down the page. "We need the wires that run into it. Here." He tapped against the small square with the number 5 on it.

⠀⠀⠀"The art warehouse," Maya noted, leaning back with a sly smile. "That I can get us into."

⠀⠀⠀"Good. Now, all we have to do is break through a two-foot section of wall, find the outgoing wire, and jack into a closed system without being heard by anyone in the command center or in the field," Monty rattled off quickly, staring at the map.

⠀⠀⠀"That's all, huh?" Miller asked.

⠀⠀⠀Monty paused, raising a finger, before saying, "No. We'll also need to steal some copper wire, the guard schedules, and a walkie-talkie."

⠀⠀⠀Everyone deflated as the plan grew more complicated, and in that even riskier.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, yeah... and a big-ass hammer," Monty concluded.

FINN WAS DEAD. AFTER the massacre at the village, he was demanded as payment for the crimes he'd committed and, in that, sparing the rest of the Sky People from mass extinction. Knowing the grotesque way in which Finn would die, Clarke plunged a knife into his stomach so he wouldn't have to suffer their torture. Now, they were on the road to meet the Commander in the village where the massacre happened, giving them Finn's body in retribution. Hopefully, the retaliation wouldn't be as heinous as some suspected it might be.

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy walked a few paces behind Clarke in the march, but joined her when he noticed the terrified stare she sent into the woods.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, you doing okay?" he asked, furrowing his brows.

⠀⠀⠀Clarke shook herself out of her reverie and turned to look back at the road ahead.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah," she answered stoically.

⠀⠀⠀"You did the right thing," Bellamy said, trying to reassure her.

⠀⠀⠀"Now, I get to live with it," Clarke said. She glanced at him and asked, "You still think this truce is a bad idea, don't you?"

⠀⠀⠀"I think we're wasting time with politics while our friends are in trouble," Bellamy scoffed.

⠀⠀⠀"We need their army to get to Mount Weather, Bellamy, and you know it," she remarked stubbornly.

⠀⠀⠀"Their army has been getting their ass kicked by Mount Weather forever. What we need is an inside man, someone to be our eyes and ears."

⠀⠀⠀"Forget it. It's too dangerous," she said dismissively.

⠀⠀⠀"Clarke, if you can make it out, I can make it in," he said firmly.

⠀⠀⠀"I said no," she snapped.

⠀⠀⠀"Since I don't take orders from you... I'm gonna need a better reason."

⠀⠀⠀"I can't lose you, too, okay?" Clarke asked, turning to him as a slight crack broke between her words. His gaze turned to hers, pleading and desperate, and he couldn't find the words to argue with her about that.

━━━━━━ November 11, 2149

WITH MAYA'S HELP, MONTY and the others made it to the art storage room without an issue. Miller broke apart the wall, timing it to the alarms set off by a friend of Maya's. When they got to the wiring, Monty was able to get their message to broadcast. However, he quickly realized that Mount Weather was jamming the signal to keep either side from speaking to the other. He needed to get into Level 7 where the control room was and turned it off. It'd take five minutes. Although Jasper didn't like the idea. So, when they had to split up, Monty slipped out behind Miller and took the elevator back down.

⠀⠀⠀Monty found a hazmat suit and a plastic mask that was thankfully tinted. He pushed a large trash can with the decontamination spray down the hall and knocked on the door to the control room.

⠀⠀⠀A guard opened the door and sighed. "Again? We were hosed down yesterday."

"Routine follow-up," Monty said, taking out the metal contraption to decontaminate the room. "Shouldn't take long."

⠀⠀⠀The second the door closed, Monty pulled off his mask and looked around, taking in everything before he set to work. He rushed to the computer and used all his years of messing with computers on the Ark to work. Monty could feel the time ticking in the back of his head, knowing the guard waited impatiently just outside. A bead of sweat ran down his face as he moved through the interface. He found his way into the communication tab to the transmitter and interface section, opening it and praying that it would work as he unblocked the signal.

⠀⠀⠀"We don't know how much time we have left," Jasper's voice came through the radio, a little muffled, but all the same. "Please, hurry. This is Jasper Jordan. We need help. Forty-seven of us are trapped in Mount Weather..."

⠀⠀⠀"Yes!" Monty exclaimed, standing as he pumped his hands into the air.

⠀⠀⠀A shuffle outside caught Monty's attention, and he quickly composed himself. He sat back in the seat and turned off the output to the speakers. If they had any hope, Monty needed to make sure no one knew he's turned off the jamming.

⠀⠀⠀As he opened the door to leave, Monty's stomach dropped as two other men, another guard and a man in a nice suit, joined the man who had been inside the control room. Monty hadn't seen either of them before, but he didn't let that thought linger as he nodded respectfully.

⠀⠀⠀"All clear, gentlemen," he said, deepening his voice as he pushed the trash can ahead of him. As the three men entered the control room, Monty silently prayed that he had covered his tracks.

⠀⠀⠀"Hold up," the guard called.

⠀⠀⠀Monty paused. How many times could his heart stop before he passed out?

⠀⠀⠀"You forgot to log it?" he continued.

⠀⠀⠀Monty let out a small sigh of relief and turned to him. "Whoops. I'm always doing that."

⠀⠀⠀Monty walked back and took the clipboard. There were codes written on the page with initials written on the other side. He hesitated, considering them, before he copied the ones previously used.

⠀⠀⠀"Thanks for saving me," Monty said, handing the clipboard back. "Take care."

⠀⠀⠀He tried to make his escape, walking slowly so as to not look suspicious, when the guard spoke again. "You said it was all clear. Your entry says something else."

⠀⠀⠀"You sure?" Monty asked, his voice cracking. "Huh, that's weird. If you don't mind, I'll fix it later. I have another room to check," he said, backing up. He was too obvious now as he turned on his heel and sprinted down the hall. As he reached the end, the guard caught up to him and slammed him on the floor. The guard removed his mask before driving his knee into his neck, cutting off his breathing until he saw stars.

BELLAMY SAT WITH OCTAVIA and Lincoln by the fire. It had been an exhausting week since Finn died. Clarke revived Lincoln from becoming a reaper; Raven was nearly killed after the attempted murder of the Commander; and their friends were still trapped in the mountain. However, the night had been kind to them when a radio crackled to life with a familiar voice.

⠀⠀⠀"Forty-seven of us are trapped inside Mount Weather," Jasper said. "They've already taken Casey and Harper. They may already be dead."

⠀⠀⠀Raven held the radio out for Bellamy, Octavia, and Lincoln. Clarke joined them, her brows furrowed as she listened. At the mention of Casey, Octavia's hand gripped Bellamy's jacket. He frowned, his stomach turning to knots. His hand took hers, squeezing it.

⠀⠀⠀"Talk to him. Say something," Clarke demanded.

⠀⠀⠀"We don't know how much time we have left."

⠀⠀⠀Raven paused, listening, and said, "It's repeating."

⠀⠀⠀"Please hurry. This is Jasper Jordan."

⠀⠀⠀"They're alive," Octavia said softly. At least, some of them were.

⠀⠀⠀"We need help."

⠀⠀⠀"We need to do this now," Bellamy said, nodding his head. "We've got the alliance. Now's the time to use it."

⠀⠀⠀"First, we need an inside man," Clarke said, her jaw tightening as her eyes darted to him. "You were right. Without someone on the inside to lower their defenses, turn off the acid fog, an army is useless. You should go."

⠀⠀⠀"I thought you hated that plan. That I would get myself killed," Bellamy retorted, repositioning his footing.

⠀⠀⠀"I was being weak. It's worth the risk." Clarke dug into her pocket and held out a map. "My map of Mount Weather. Find a way to get on that radio and talk to us. Good luck." Then she turned on her heel, not wanting to discuss it further.

⠀⠀⠀"Bell, how are you gonna—?" Octavia started, but Lincoln cut her off.

⠀⠀⠀"I can get you through the tunnels," he said, brows furrowing in determination.

⠀⠀⠀"You can't go back there, not yet."

⠀⠀⠀Sensing the pair needed space, Raven looked at Bellamy and nodded her head for him to follow. "Let me show you what to look for."

MONTY WOKE UP GROGGILY. His eyes first met the yellow hospital gown he was wearing. He groaned, trying to sit up when his head hit something above him. His eyes adjusted and he realized he was trapped inside a small cage. He pulled at the bars aggressively, trying to tear them apart, but only shook the cage.

Above him, a soft sob caught his attention. His eyes looked up to a form curled at the bottom of the cage. Her eyes were brown and full of tears, her light brown hair tangled, and her lips turned into a deep frown.

"Harper. Hey, Harper, what did they do to you?" Monty asked. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed the bruises and cuts lining her cheeks.

"Forty-seven," she whispered. "They built one for each of us."

Monty looked out, noticing the other cages, but something struck him.

"Harper...?" he asked, looking back at her, fear in his voice. "Where's Casey?"

She cried harder. "They took her."

━━━━━━ November 13, 2149

"MONTY HAS BEEN MISSING for two days. Casey and Harper longer than that," Jasper said under his breath. His hands started shaking yesterday, and now they wouldn't stop. He glanced at Maya, seeking reassurance in her gaze, but she was as scared as he was. It almost made the situation worse.

⠀⠀⠀"We'll keep looking. We'll find them," Maya said, trying to console him, but it was nothing but words.

⠀⠀⠀"We both know where they are."

⠀⠀⠀"I checked the harvest chamber last night."

⠀⠀⠀"So, check it again!" Jasper snapped, a little too loud. The mess hall was most empty save for a few people lingering, including a man who sent Jasper a judgmental glare. He looked back with a frown as tears formed in his eyes. "They took my best friend."

⠀⠀⠀"Alright, I'll check again," Maya said softly, her frown deepening like his. "You have to look like there's nothing wrong, like everything's okay."

⠀⠀⠀Jasper knew she was right and nodded. "Yeah."

⠀⠀⠀"Don't do anything stupid."

⠀⠀⠀Then Maya left.

⠀⠀⠀Jasper let out a deep breath. "It's okay. Everything is okay. Everything is..." The door closed. Maya was gone. Jasper shook his head. "... not okay. Time to do something stupid," he muttered, standing as a stupid plan formed in his mind.

BELLAMY WOKE UP INSIDE a cage too small to be comfortable. The room was an unnatural shade of blue, and groans of pain echoed all around him. They had stripped him naked, washed and dried him, and left him in nothing but scratchy underwear. He pushed himself to his knees, resting his hands on the bars as he tried to pry the lock off. He tore at the doors and the hinges as the surrounding others watched in interest.

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy realized too late that his plan to get inside Mount Weather was doomed from the start. Running through Reaper tunnels with Lincoln, who had drugged Lincoln to become a Reaper. When Bellamy tried to use that to their advantage, Lincoln immediately let Bellamy get captured for the red drug.

⠀⠀⠀Now Bellamy was trapped and useless; he let Lincoln fall back into a vicious cycle; and his friends were likely in this very room like him.

⠀⠀⠀Beside him, a girl leaned back against her cage with an exhausted slump to her shoulders. She was like him, left in nothing but underwear and a bra. Although, she had plastic bands around her wrists and bandages wrapping new and old wounds to keep her as close to not dying as they could. She spoke to him, languid and dull, in her Grounder language.

⠀⠀⠀"I can't... I don't understand you," Bellamy admitted with a sigh.

⠀⠀⠀The girl moved from one end of the cage to the other with a strange energy to her. She pressed her face against the bars separating them, her eyes scanning his body as she concluded, "Sky person?"

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy nodded.

⠀⠀⠀She leaned back, her lips pursed, before she spat in his face. Bellamy sighed, his lip curled in disgust as he wiped the spit from his cheek.

⠀⠀⠀"I take it no one has told you we're not enemies anymore?" he asked, glaring at her.

⠀⠀⠀She didn't respond, leaning back into her previous position.

⠀⠀⠀"I need to get out of this cage," he said to himself.

⠀⠀⠀"And then what?" she asked.

⠀⠀⠀"And then I'll kill everyone in this mountain," he sneered. His hands returned to the bars as he shook them again and again, hoping to loosen something so he could make his escape.

JASPER RODE THE ELEVATOR down to the President's office. The journey was quiet and ominous. The last time he had met with the President on the bottom level, it had been to discuss Clarke going missing. But he didn't know the truth about the mountain yet; he had been blind to it. Casey had been with him, too, which had taken some of the weight off his shoulders. He probably put a lot more on hers, saying that she broods too much and dismissing any genuine concerns she and Clarke had about their current residence.

⠀⠀⠀On top of that guilt, Maya's voice lingered inside his head, warning him not to do something stupid. Which was exactly what he was doing. But she said it herself. His friends weren't in the harvest chamber, so where the hell were they? The President would know. He knew Clarke had left. At least, that's what he told them. He would know where Monty, Casey, and Harper were. And if he said they left, Jasper wasn't sure what he might do.

⠀⠀⠀Mr. Andre stood stationed outside of the President's door and nodded in greeting. He didn't push Jasper out, but didn't move to open the door. Jasper nodded back and entered the dimly lit room.

⠀⠀⠀"President Wallace. Can we talk?" Jasper asked, breathing deep to keep himself calm. Casey was good at that, talking and not getting them killed. He tried to emanate that now.

⠀⠀⠀Wallace looked up and stepped away from his desk with a small smile.

⠀⠀⠀"What's on your mind, son?" he asked. His tone was casual, which made Jasper's blood boil beneath the surface. It was like his friend's suffering meant nothing to him.

⠀⠀⠀"My friends," Jasper said offhandedly.

⠀⠀⠀"What about them?" Wallace asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

⠀⠀⠀"Three of them are missing. One of them is Monty," he clarified. With every step Jasper took forward, the more the anger rose in his body, nearly choking him.

⠀⠀⠀"Jasper, I don't know what you're—"

⠀⠀⠀"Stop lying!" Jasper snapped.

⠀⠀⠀"Excuse me?"

⠀⠀⠀"You lied about there not being any survivors from the Ark. You lied about Maya's accident. I don't even know how many lies you told about Clarke..." Jasper said, beginning to unravel as his mind reeled from just how naïve he had been.

⠀⠀⠀Hesitantly, President Wallace waved his hand to the chair, keeping his cool while Jasper lost his.

⠀⠀⠀"Please, sit down, and we'll—"

⠀⠀⠀"NO!" Jasper shouted, grabbing a display sword and pointed it at the President, the tip resting against the knot of his tie. "You're gonna tell me the truth!"

⠀⠀⠀"Jasper," Wallace said sternly. "Please, put down the sword."

⠀⠀⠀"Why should I? So I can disappear next?" Jasper asked, his voice wavering and growing more and more desperate for an answer that wouldn't come. "Where are they?"

⠀⠀⠀"I told you, I don't know what happened to your friends," Wallace said, continuing to lie right to Jasper's face.

⠀⠀⠀"Do I look desperate to you?" Jasper asked. His eyes were wide, unwilling to blink, his hands shook again, and his heart pounded a deadly rhythm against his ribs. "Because I'm feeling pretty desperate."

⠀⠀⠀"You're right," Wallace admitted, his frown deepening. Jasper nearly missed what he said with the swimming in his ears. "I did lie to you about Clarke, about the survivors from the Ark, and about what happened to Maya. I'm trying to protect you, Jasper, all of you."

⠀⠀⠀Jasper steeled himself, repositioning his hands on the hilt so he could slide the blade through his throat with ease.

⠀⠀⠀"Where are they? Where the hell is Monty?" Jasper demanded.

⠀⠀⠀Jasper had never been in control of the situation, he soon realized, as the President deftly swiped the sword from his throat and put Jasper into his position. Now, the blade was at his throat while the President stared at him with a hint of disappointment. Jasper was certain he was going to die, letting all of his friends down. Tears fell down his cheeks and the coward he was rising to the surface.

⠀⠀⠀"This is not a toy," Wallace said, enunciating each word to get his point across. Then Wallace removed the sword from Jasper's throat and turned to his desk. He pressed a button and Mr. Andre entered.

⠀⠀⠀Wallace turned to look at Jasper, like a disappointed father, then back to his security guard.

⠀⠀⠀"Yes, sir?" Mr. Andre asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Could you please find out where Dr. Tsing and my son are at the moment?" Wallace asked politely.

⠀⠀⠀Mr. Andre glanced at Jasper with a skeptical look, and asked, "Anything else, sir?"

⠀⠀⠀"Not presently."

⠀⠀⠀Wallace placed the sword back on display as Mr. Andre left the room, calling for a location on the pair.

⠀⠀⠀"Let's take a walk," Wallace said.

⠀⠀⠀"Where?" Jasper asked.

⠀⠀⠀"To find your friends."

⠀⠀⠀Jasper let out a shaky breath as, while nothing went as expected, all the pieces seemed to fall into place. The President didn't know what happened to his friends, but it seemed he suspected where they might be.

BELLAMY DIDN'T RELENT HIS assault against his cage, snapping the metal back and forth, hoping it would break. Because this couldn't be how it ended. He had been fighting since that night the Grounders attacked, and it couldn't be for nothing. If he died or got trapped here indefinitely, he would have failed Lincoln, Clarke, Octavia, his friends in the mountain, Casey.

⠀⠀⠀"They come," Echo, the girl in the cage beside him, whispered. Bellamy ignored her, continuing to snap at the bars, until she snapped further, "Quiet."

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy listened, and a hush fell across the room. Anything to pin the guard's attention on them would only end with them being dragged out and drained of their blood until they were barely alive anymore. Then, guards stuffed them back in cages until their blood replenished enough to repeat the process.

⠀⠀⠀The pair of guards landed in front of Bellamy and Echo's cages. Their beady eyes stared at Echo like she was a rare animal in the woods. Bellamy frowned, watching them carefully and knowing full well that the guards at least knew of his friends. He couldn't let them know where he came from, so he kept silent, watching, waiting.

⠀⠀⠀"This one'll do," the man announced, appraising Echo.

⠀⠀⠀Echo shrunk back, fear piercing her face as the guard unlocked her cage. A strike of lightning ran down Bellamy's spine and into his leg before he kicked the door of his cage. The guards turned to him, their attention off of Echo.

⠀⠀⠀His head went to Mel, straining to hold on to the rope as he and Finn argued over saving her. Bellamy had said 'we don't know if we can save our friends...but what we do know is that we can save this one girl.' Echo had already been drained days before. It was likely she'd be run dry and dumped for the Reapers to feed on her flesh. Bellamy would save her. Then, he would save his friends.

⠀⠀⠀"We got us a live one," the taller guard said with a grin.

⠀⠀⠀Then, a shock baton was shoved between the bars and settled between his ribs. The electricity made his stomach cramp in an unbearable amount of pain, making Bellamy groan as he fell against the cage. The doors opened and Bellamy tried to climb out when he was shocked again. A needle appeared, injecting a clear liquid into his arm, and suddenly everything turned black.

⠀⠀⠀By the time Bellamy woke up again, his entire world was turned upside down... literally. A sharp, searing pain coiled through his leg, and he was gasping for air like he had been drowning. His arms hung down, blood rushed to his head, and he was growing light-headed by the second. He wasn't sure how long he had been hanging there, long enough that he felt sick and his blood was pumping out of him.

⠀⠀⠀Then, a mass of curly, dark hair entered his vision. She had light brown eyes that narrowed with suspicion, and her lips flattened into a line. She demanded, "Who are you?"

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy stared at her, wary to answer.

⠀⠀⠀"You're from the Ark, aren't you?" she continued.

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy's brows furrowed in confusion as he nodded, taken aback.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah."

⠀⠀⠀She let out a sigh of relief, a hint of a smile beginning to show. Her pale features relaxed, and she suddenly looked years younger.

⠀⠀⠀"Do you know Jasper?" she asked.

⠀⠀⠀The simple question rushed through him, his neurons firing, and Clarke appeared in his head, reminding him of Jasper's crush.

⠀⠀⠀"Maya?" he breathed out.

⠀⠀⠀Maya nodded like she couldn't believe he knew who she was with so little information. But they didn't have time for formalities. Their time was short, and he was about to lose all sense of reality if the blood didn't stop flooding his head.

⠀⠀⠀"How about getting me down, Maya?" he asked softly.

⠀⠀⠀Maya nodded again, pulling the needles out of his skin. The monitor flatlined as the door opened. Maya quickly moved away from him and stood with her back straightened.

⠀⠀⠀"Lovejoy, hey," she greeted nervously.

⠀⠀⠀"What are you doing here?" Lovejoy asked, walking a few steps closer. Bellamy's eyes fluttered closed, silently praying that the man would leave. "You're not cleared for this facility."

⠀⠀⠀"I know, I'm sorry," Maya said apologetically. Her quiet, nervous nature would either get them both caught or work entirely in their favor. Bellamy hoped for the latter. "I just wanted to see what was so special about him, but... he's dead."

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy didn't move, relaxing the muscles in his face so he'd appear realistically dead. Lovejoy's boot grew closer, pausing just beside him. Bellamy could feel the warmth of his body beside him and he had to hold his breath to make sure his chest rising and falling didn't give him away.

⠀⠀⠀"So he is," Lovejoy agreed.

⠀⠀⠀The restraints hanging Bellamy started to lower. His head pressed against the floor as he allowed his head to roll with it, then his neck and back, until finally he laid flat against the floor. Lovejoy kneeled down to undo Bellamy's restraints, his attention put on Maya.

⠀⠀⠀"You're a brave girl coming in here—"

⠀⠀⠀As Bellamy's foot was unshackled, he took in a deep breath before slamming his heel into Lovejoy's chin. The guard fell to the ground, surprised, as Bellamy quickly undid the other restraint.

⠀⠀⠀Lovejoy pulled himself to a squat, his gun pointed at Bellamy, as he said, "Don't move!"

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy crawled back on his hands, putting distance between them as Lovejoy continued to bark at him. Lovejoy moved around the small space, his back to Maya as she found a scalpel left aside and dug it into the guard's neck with only a moment of hesitation. Lovejoy's fell to the ground from the sudden assault and Bellamy went to grab it. Lovejoy pulled the knife from his neck and lunged forward, slashing Bellamy's arm with it. Then he punched Bellamy against the jaw and slammed him against Echo's cage.

⠀⠀⠀"Stop!" Maya shouted, the gun pointed at Lovejoy with shaky hands.

⠀⠀⠀"Don't, they'll hear," Bellamy said, before slamming his fist into Lovejoy's stomach.

⠀⠀⠀As Lovejoy keeled over, Bellamy spun the man around so his back was against the cage. Lovejoy raised his hand to swipe with the scalpel again when Echo grabbed his wrist in a lock-tight grip. He struggled against her as Bellamy used the opportunity to get his hands around Lovejoy's neck. The guard's free hand clawed forward, attempting to dig into his eyes. But Bellamy, desperate to save his friends and himself, used his teeth to rip into the flesh of his hand.

⠀⠀⠀Lovejoy grunted in surprise as Bellamy's hands wrapped harder around his neck. Bellamy's teeth gritted together, his eyes narrowed, and followed Lovejoy as the life in his eyes dulled and he fell limp. Dead.

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy slowly stood. Killing someone never got any easier, but he couldn't let that eat at him. Not now. Maybe later over a drink.

⠀⠀⠀He looked at the cage above him, his eyes finding Echo's, as he whispered, "Thank you."

⠀⠀⠀Echo stared at him, only a subtle nod to show she heard him.

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy turned to Maya as she stared in silent horror at the man lying on the floor. Her lip slightly quivered as Bellamy moved into her line of sight, and asked, "Hey, you alright?"

⠀⠀⠀"I'm fine," she said.

⠀⠀⠀They both knew she wasn't.

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy looked back at Lovejoy, feeling his blood beginning to dry against his skin. He wiped it onto the back of his hand, likely only making it worse. He glanced at Maya and nodded down at the guard.

⠀⠀⠀"Help me get him undressed. We need to get rid of the body," Bellamy said. He wished he could have done it alone, sent her on her way, but there wasn't time and he needed help.

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy moved Lovejoy's body to lie flat on the ground, rather than leaning against the cages, and removed his vest. Maya unbuttoned his shirt with the sides of her hands, keeping the blood from staining the cloth.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm Bellamy, by the way," he said, glancing up at her.

⠀⠀⠀"Bellamy," Maya repeated, smiling softly. "I've heard of you."

⠀⠀⠀"Really? From Jasper?" he asked, moving to Lovejoy's lower half and removing his shoes.

⠀⠀⠀"No, Casey," she said. When Bellamy looked up, Maya was already watching him with a smirk and a raised brow. He could feel his lips tingle at the memory of the last time they'd seen each other. "She was reading a mythology book and mentioned it made her feel closer to you."

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy wished the feeling in his stomach wasn't dread as Jasper's looping message repeated in his head. The whole reason he was here.

⠀⠀⠀"We heard Jasper's message. He mentioned Casey was missing, that she—" Bellamy started, unable to finish the rest.

⠀⠀⠀Maya sighed, shaking her head. "She and Harper have been missing for days but—but that doesn't mean she is. It can't," she said with such a desperate ferocity that Bellamy believed her.

⠀⠀⠀When they finished, Bellamy changed into Lovejoy's clothes and dragged his body into the disposal room, as directed by Maya. He stepped out and pressed the button. The alarm sounded, the body slid down, and Lovejoy hit the bottom with a loud thud.

⠀⠀⠀Maya stood, a dazed expression on her face, as things started to fall into place.

⠀⠀⠀"You've done enough. You should walk away," Bellamy said.

⠀⠀⠀Maya shook herself out of her daze and turned to him determined. "You don't know where you're going."

⠀⠀⠀"So, draw me a map."

⠀⠀⠀"No, I'm in." She held out Lovejoy's gun and access card to him. He took it, knowing there was no room to argue.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay." Bellamy nodded. "I need to get to the radio so I can contact Clarke."

⠀⠀⠀"I helped them set up the SOS so I know where it is," she said, but her face fell. "Bellamy, I have no idea where your people are. I thought they'd be in here, but—"

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy took in a breath. 'Save the ones we can' repeated like a mantra in his mind. And, for whatever reason, despite her never saying it, the voice sounded a lot like Casey. It was something she would say and hold him to.

⠀⠀⠀"I want to see the others," he said.

⠀⠀⠀"The dorm is on the way to the radio," Maya said.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay."

⠀⠀⠀He started to leave, but Maya stopped him. She pulled the name tag off his chest and slipped it into her pocket.

⠀⠀⠀"Everyone here knows everyone," she explained. She looked around and picked up Lovejoy's hat. "Put this on... and roll up your sleeves."

⠀⠀⠀"The tracking chip," he said in realization.

⠀⠀⠀"It'll trip alarms once we start moving." She held up a clean scalpel, thankfully not the one that had been stuck in Lovejoy. "We have to take it out."

⠀⠀⠀"Do it."

⠀⠀⠀Maya pressed the scalpel to his forearm where the chip sat just beneath the surface. "How'd you know what my name was before I told you?" she asked, trying to distract him from the knife cutting into his skin.

⠀⠀⠀"Clarke," he said, his jaw tightening. "Clarke said Jasper couldn't stop talking about someone named Maya."

⠀⠀⠀"Guess we have something in common," she mused, the chip now pinched between her fingers, and she handed him a cloth to stop the bleeding. Once she put a bandage over the cut, she handed him the chip and said, "Put this in your cage."

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy did as told and walked to his cage. He set the chip inside, hiding it in the corner, before standing. Echo kept her eyes on him, her hand gripping the door, silently hoping to be freed.

⠀⠀⠀"I'll come back for you, I promise," he whispered, but she didn't move. Bellamy went back to Maya and said, "Take me to my friends."

A PAINFUL, WHIRRING SOUND filled the brightly lit surgical room as Harper laid on the chair. It had been less than an hour since Casey was in her position: drill in her hip, whimpers passing her lips, tears streaming down her face. Now, she sat in the corner of her cage, terrified of the sound. She could feel a phantom pain dig into the spot as the drill across the room found purchase in Harper's bone marrow pocket.

⠀⠀⠀Casey wanted to scream.

⠀⠀⠀She buried her face into her knees, her hands wrapped around her legs, and chest convulsing. This was possibly the worst way to die. Casey would rather feel the air ripped from her lungs and her neck crack torn out of an airlock or thrashing against a water monster ready to eat her alive than ever go through this pain again.

⠀⠀⠀Casey and Harper had been trapped in cages since they went snooping in the President's office. By day three, Casey's hope of being rescued had run out and when Monty was brought in, it turned into a drought. Her heart broke as she knew that soon each of her friends would be picked off and the cages would be filled with children just wanting to go home.

⠀⠀⠀Casey whispered numbers to herself, her mom's litany (or rather, Frank Herbert's), revisited the dropship in her head, anything to block out the suffering of the drill and Monty's begging. But it wasn't enough. She grit her teeth, curled her toes, pulled her hair. Everything was excruciating, and there was no escape. She was trapped in an extreme version of her head, tormented with Clarke pointing at the exits and claiming there was no way out.

⠀⠀⠀None of it subsided, not even when the door opened and the drill stopped.

⠀⠀⠀"Mr. President."

⠀⠀⠀Casey glanced over her shoulder, barely moving a muscle. The President stood at the door with a furrowed brow and deep frown. His sharp blue eyes scanned the room, taking in Harper on the table and Casey and Monty trapped in cages. Jasper stood next to him, mouth open in horror, as his hands shook with a nervous fury. She didn't believe it was real.

⠀⠀⠀"Put that down. Get away from that girl," the President demanded.

⠀⠀⠀Tsing stepped away, staring at President Wallace in a stunned silence. Casey watched, but was still certain that her pain had become so overwhelming she was dreaming of freedom.

⠀⠀⠀"Jasper!" Monty said.

⠀⠀⠀"Monty!" Jasper can over to his cage.

⠀⠀⠀"Release them!" President Wallace commanded.

⠀⠀⠀One guard with him opened Monty's, then Casey's. She watched skeptically, not willing to come out. It was all some big joke. The second she got out, she'd be back on the table. If Jasper were really standing in front of her, they would throw him into a cage, and the cycle would continue.

⠀⠀⠀The guard that opened her cage reached his hand inside. A string of fear curled inside her chest and pulled her back. Her eyes bugged out of her chest, her hip throbbed, and she held her hands close to her chest, trying to keep herself as far from him as possible.

⠀⠀⠀"Can you go with him?" she heard Jasper ask. The guard took Monty and helped him walk out of the room.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, Case," Jasper said, his voice soft as he stood at the front of her cage. His eyes were soft and warm brown, his forehead creased in worry, and he allowed a gentle smile to ease her. He held out his hand, just barely entering the cage. She watched him, hesitantly.

⠀⠀⠀It's a dream. It's all a dream.

⠀⠀⠀Casey couldn't help herself, a sliver of herself praying that it was real. But even her hallucination of Murphy had pushed her over. Her hand wrapped in Jasper's. She looked pale, even against Jasper's paper white skin, but that was quickly remedied by the angry bruises beaten down her skin.

⠀⠀⠀Jasper helped pull her out of the cage and stand on her own two feet. She groaned in pain, legs shaking as the most recent treatment still racked through her body. A tear slipped, both from the pain and the relief. Her hands clung to Jasper like a lifeline, still half-believing this was all a horrible nightmare and she'd wake up trapped again.

⠀⠀⠀"Go back to the dorm and tell your friends to pack their things. You're going home," President Wallace told the pair with a stern gaze.

⠀⠀⠀Jasper hesitated for a moment before saying, "Thank you."

"THERE ARE THREE HUNDRED and eighty-two people inside this mountain," Maya said, her words the speed of a bullet as she and Bellamy moved through the bunker and stopped in front of an elevator. "If any of them realize you're not one of us, you're dead. We're on Level 2. The dorm is on five. There's a camera in the upper right-hand corner. Keep your head down."

⠀⠀⠀The door pulled open, and they slipped into the empty elevator. Bellamy tipped the bill of his cap so his face would be hidden by the camera. They were nearly safe when a large, dark hand stuck into the middle of the closing doors. A man nearly a foot taller and twice as wide as Bellamy stepped into the elevator. He wore a well-worn button-up shirt and tie, but that didn't make him look any less likely to snap Bellamy in half like a twig. He glanced between the two from behind half-moon glasses, and Bellamy quickly averted his eyes.

⠀⠀⠀"Hello, Ms. Vie," the man greeted, nodding his head at her before he hit the button for his floor. "Sorry to bother you, but have you seen Ms. King? She missed our last session."

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy's ears rang at the question. From the corner of his eye, he looked at the man again, assessing him. He wore a small, worried frown, his brows furrowed, and he seemed concerned for Casey's well-being. A knot tied in Bellamy's stomach. Not sure how he felt about that.

⠀⠀⠀"No, I'm sorry," Maya said with a soft laugh to keep him from suspecting anything was wrong. But Bellamy could hear the nervous tremor in her voice. "I've been so busy at work that I've gone straight home the last couple of nights."

⠀⠀⠀The air in the elevator shifted. Bellamy could feel it. His hand rest on his gun, eyes shooting to Maya, and silently asking if the man was catching onto them. Maya shot him a glare and shook her head.

⠀⠀⠀"If you see her, let her know I'd like to speak even if she'd like to stop our sessions. Like I always say, 'communication is the key to a happy life,'" he said with a light chuckle.

⠀⠀⠀Maya chuckled along. "Of course."

⠀⠀⠀The elevator stopped, and a pair of people entered. Bellamy was forced back to the corner of the elevator, keeping his head down. The man who had spoken to Maya moved to the back wall, now in clear view of Bellamy. His eyes trained to the floor, praying their journey would end soon when the elevator stopped again. When Maya didn't move, Bellamy realized it was another floor until they reached their destination. The pair of people stepped off, but the man stayed with them.

⠀⠀⠀He sighed, removing his glasses as he rubbed his fingers across the bags under his eyes.

⠀⠀⠀"What happened?" he asked, his voice lowering an octave.

⠀⠀⠀Maya glanced nervously at Bellamy before pressing her lips together and sending him a confused smile. "N-Nothing has happened."

⠀⠀⠀"Maya," he said like a disappointed father. "I know this boy doesn't live in the mountain."

⠀⠀⠀Hackles raised along the back of Bellamy's neck and he reached for his gun. Maya's eyes widened, and she quickly pressed her fingers over his. Bellamy took her word for it, mostly since there were cameras in the elevator and they'd be dead by the time the doors opened.

⠀⠀⠀"Please, I need to know," he said.

⠀⠀⠀"Some of the sky people have been taken," she answered.

⠀⠀⠀"Maya," Bellamy hissed.

⠀⠀⠀"It's okay," Maya said, looking sharply at him from the corner of her eye.

⠀⠀⠀"Casey, then?" he asked with a frown.

⠀⠀⠀Maya nodded slowly. He sighed.

⠀⠀⠀"You know, Maya, I was close friends with your mother. When this happened before, I was on the wrong side of things," he said. Bellamy furrowed his brows, not sure what the man was implying. But, by the way Maya's face fell, she knew exactly what he meant. The elevator beeped, and the doors opened. "If I can help, you know where I am."

⠀⠀⠀As the man left the elevator, silence encased them until the doors closed again.

⠀⠀⠀"Who was that?" Bellamy demanded.

⠀⠀⠀"Dr. Hassan," she said, facing away from the camera as she chewed on her thumbnail.

⠀⠀⠀"Doctor?" Bellamy asked, frowning. "What's wrong with Casey?"

⠀⠀⠀"Nothing... well, not physically," Maya said offhandedly with a small shrug. Her eyes flickered to his. "He's a therapist helping your people with trauma after you came to the ground. And... you know, if they have other problems."

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy didn't know how to respond, especially when everything was so vague. He scanned Maya, looking for an answer in her creased brow or worried eyes, but received nothing.

⠀⠀⠀"You trust him?" he asked.

⠀⠀⠀Maya's face hardened. "Casey trusts him."

⠀⠀⠀The doors opened again and, finally, Maya led Bellamy off of the elevator and down the hall. Thankfully, they weren't busy, but Bellamy could hear the faint sound of talking coming from down the hall. A bell rang and Maya stopped the pair at a corner as children left rooms and scrambled to another. Once it was clear, Maya continued, but before Bellamy could follow, a small hand tugged at his belt loops. Bellamy looked down, staring at big, innocent brown eyes.

⠀⠀⠀"Mister, are you on the ground unit?" the little boy asked. There was a sing-song quality to his tone as he rocked back and forth on his heels. Bellamy stared at him in surprise, unable to say anything. "My dad is training for a ground unit."

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy found his way back to his body and smiled softly at the kid. "It's pretty cool up there. I hope he makes it."

⠀⠀⠀The boy grinned from ear-to-ear, obviously incredibly proud of his father, and walked back to his classroom. It felt like he did it on purpose, so the stitched letters of LOVEJOY on his backpack could sear guilt onto him like a second skin.

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy let out a breath, closing his eyes as everything hit him. He didn't just kill a man, but all the people that he touched. A son, a wife, friends, family.

⠀⠀⠀"They're just kids," he whispered.

⠀⠀⠀Maya looked at him, a sad smile on her lips, as she asked, "What'd you expect you'd find here?"

CASEY WAS THE DEFINITION of exhausted ever since she was a child. There was some form of insomnia that had always lingered behind closed eyes and the ground had exasperated that fact to an intense extent. But now, as pain coursed through every muscle, tears slipped past her cheeks as she so badly wanted the bed to swallow her whole.

⠀⠀⠀Jen, one of the hundred, helped her change out of the yellow hospital gown and into something more comfortable. Casey had a few minutes to rest before Jasper would force them out of the mountain. In the meantime, Miller was king enough to let her use his bottom bunk.

⠀⠀⠀"Alright, listen up!" Jasper called out to the room of teenagers, the remaining hundred swarming around him to listen. "There's gonna be questions, but there's no time. We're getting out of here. So, pack your stuff."

⠀⠀⠀"W-What are you talking about?" Fox asked nervously.

⠀⠀⠀"What? They're just letting us go?" Miller asked with a disbelieving chuckle.

⠀⠀⠀"Yes, right now, before they change their minds," Jasper said.

⠀⠀⠀"But, Jasper, what the hell is going on?" Fox continued to badger him.

⠀⠀⠀So much for no questions, Casey thought to herself, closing her eyes. She pressed her palms into her eyes, so so so so tired. She needed nothing to remind her of this place. Maybe her books to remember the few good things that she would leave behind. Like Keenan, Maya, and Dr. Hassan, but nothing else.

⠀⠀⠀"They lied to us the whole time about everything," Monty explained to them through grit teeth. "The Ark is on the ground and we're not safe here. Do what he says."

⠀⠀⠀The room was still and Casey peeled her eyes open to see everyone wait with bated breath.

⠀⠀⠀"Now!" Jasper shouted, and they scattered.

BELLAMY AND MAYA WERE inches from the dorm room where his friends resided. Five more feet and they'd be reunited to fight tooth and nail out of the bunker. Then an alarm shrilled to life, and the doors slammed shut before they could enter. The pair stopped in their tracks and moved out of the way so the door was still in sight.

⠀⠀⠀"What's going on?" he asked, bowing his head down from prying eyes.

⠀⠀⠀"I don't know," Maya muttered, shaking her head. "It's not a breach, but it can't be good."

⠀⠀⠀Maya glanced at the door, and Bellamy followed her lead. In the small square window was Jasper. His brown eyes were wide with surprise, stunned by their method of escape closing on them, then from realizing Bellamy was standing there.

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy couldn't make out anyone else, and no matter how much it pained him, it had to be enough.

⠀⠀⠀"Get me to that radio," Bellamy said, peeling his gaze away.

⠀⠀⠀Maya sent Jasper one final look before leading him away. They found the radio without a hiccup, everyone else in the mountain too distracted by the ongoing alarm. Maya walked into a large storage room filled with paintings and, quietly, held her hand out to signal 'be quiet.' As she rounded, she let out a small breath and nodded.

⠀⠀⠀"All clear."

⠀⠀⠀A large painting hung on the far wall and Maya removed it to show the massive hole broken into the concrete. Somehow, Monty wired a radio through this. Bellamy chuckled, shaking his head, before picking it up.

⠀⠀⠀"Camp Jaha, this is Mount Weather. Can anyone read me? Camp Jaha, this is Mount Weather. Can anyone read me?" Bellamy said down the receiver, then listened.

⠀⠀⠀"Bellamy?" Clarke answered.

⠀⠀⠀"Clarke?"

⠀⠀⠀There was a moment's pause before she continued. "Are you alright?"

⠀⠀⠀"I'm fine," he sighed. "That's it for the good news. We have to talk fast. Something has changed. Jasper, Monty, everyone. They just locked them in the dorm."

⠀⠀⠀"But they're alive? All of them?"

⠀⠀⠀"I think so, for now. Maya says that they're already using their blood and things are gonna get ugly in here real fast."

⠀⠀⠀"Maya's with you?"

⠀⠀⠀"She helped me escape. If not for her, I'd be dead," he said, turning to look at her pointedly. "And Clarke, there are kids in here. We need a plan that doesn't kill everyone. Please, tell me we have one."

⠀⠀⠀"I hear you, but we can't do anything until you disable the acid fog. Raven is gonna help you."

⠀⠀⠀"Got it. What else?"

⠀⠀⠀"You have to figure out a way to free the Grounder prisoners. There's a whole army inside that mountain and they don't even realize it."

⠀⠀⠀"Trojan Horse," Bellamy muttered, nodding his head absentmindedly. "Good plan."

⠀⠀⠀"What does Maya think? Is it doable?"

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy looked at Maya. She glanced at him, shaking her head.

⠀⠀⠀"She says it's not a problem." Maya stared at him and he silently told her that could do it. "Clarke, if I'm gonna pull this off, I need you to buy me some time. It won't be long before they realize I don't belong here, and if that happens—"

⠀⠀⠀"That can't happen. I'll come up with something."

⠀⠀⠀"Come up with it quick."

⠀⠀⠀"Copy that, and, Bellamy..."

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah?"

⠀⠀⠀"You came through."

⠀⠀⠀Bellamy scoffed. "All I've done so far is not get killed."

⠀⠀⠀"Keep doing that."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I know a bunch of you are probably relieved to see that Dr. Hassan is just a good guy. He just wants the best for all his patients. I didn't need Casey having more trauma on top of her mental health with a shitty doctor.

This has been the longest week of my life. I applied for an apartment, the winter storm blew through and dropped a ton of snow giving me two days off lol, and then I got the apartment and had to do ten hundred things to finalize it. I took today off to finish some final stuff but I'm pretty much moved in! It was a lot of work both emotionally and physically since I was moving out of my parents place. 

And while that has really drained me, I've been looking forward to posting this chapter. Extra long since episode 9 was around 2000 words and didn't feel like it deserved its own mini chapter. Like, could you imagine a chapter with no Casey? :(

We're nearing the end with only three chapters left in this season. I'm very excited to get to season 3. A lot of things happen and it's just one of my favorite seasons both to watch and for Casey's story.

CHAPTER TIME FRAME: Season 2, Episode 9: Remember Me / Season 2, Episode 11: Coup de Grâce

Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you'd like, they keep me motivated! However, this is an all kind of reader safe space. So, even if you ghost read or comment on every chapter, I hope you know it means the world to me that you've come to spend your time in this fic ♡

NEXT TIME: Casey and her friends must take Level 5 if they want to survive.