《Common Ground ⇥ Bellamy Blake》[ nine ]

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[edited 8 January 2017]

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, teens struggling to hold down tarps that were flapping in the strong wind. The storm had come quickly and suddenly, giving them practically no time to prepare. Rain smashed against Raine's body as she helped a few lost kids back into the drop ship. She could see Clarke standing in the doorway, watching the storm with a solemn look on her face.

After Raine had followed a frantic Clarke into the drop ship this afternoon, she had been asked a bunch of questions, all of which she could only respond with 'I don't know'. When it had finally dawned on Clarke that Raine wasn't going to be very helpful, she dismissed her, telling her to be careful when eating or else her tongue was never going to heal.

When Raine looked again, Clarke was gone. She let go of the tarps, ushering the teens inside the drop ship. She shook the water from her jacket and looked for Bellamy, but he was nowhere to be seen. Raine hadn't seen him all afternoon, and there was a small nagging in the back of her mind about where he was.

She made her way over to where Raven was sitting hunched over the small radio she managed to build, and Raine could just hear her snapping at a girl, "Yeah, I'm sure!"

"Raven," Clarke spoke, the brunette turning to look at her. Raven's face was twisted into worry as she glanced briefly at Finn, lying on a makeshift table, before turning her attention back to the radio.

"Can anyone hear me?" Raven spoke, beginning to give up. She glanced at Finn again in desperation, watching as Clarke looking at the knife in his side. "Ark station, this is Raven Reyes, I'm on the ground with the one hundred... we need you..."

"Do you need any help?" Raine asked Clarke, Clarke looking up at her in surprise.

"Do you know how to remove a knife from someone?" Clarke asked lightly. Raine could hear the strain in her voice; see how Clarke's face was pinched in fear.

"Hey, you're going to save him." Raine assured her. "Raven's going to contact the Ark, and you're going to remove that knife. He'll be up and walking by tomorrow."

"Thank you." Clarke responded quietly.

Raine glanced at her feet before asking, "Have you seen Bellamy? I haven't seen him since we got back."

"No, I haven't, sorry." Clarke shook her head quickly, obviously still stressing about Finn.

Before Raine could say any more, a voice appeared on the radio. It was filled with static, yet people still went silent and listened. Raven perked up, speaking loudly as people began to crowd around her. Clarke pushed her way through the crowd, Raine following closely behind, butterflies erupting in her stomach.

"I'm transmitting from the ground. The one hundred are still alive. Please, we need Abby Griffin." Raven begged, her eyes drifting to Finn. "Doctor Abby Griffin, we need Doctor Abby Griffin."

It went silent for a few moments, the static becoming louder. Then a voice was heard, "Raven? Are you there?"

Clarke's eyes hardened as she heard her mother's voice, and Raven stood up, allowing the blonde to sit down. Raine watched in silence. Clarke spoke, "Mum? Mum, it's me."

Her mother's voice was shaky as she responded, "Clarke?"

•••

"Mum, I need your help. One of our people was stabbed by a grounder." Clarke spoke, her voice void from any emotions Raine expected her to have.

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"Clarke, this is the Chancellor." Jaha's voice seeped through the static, and Raine scowled at the radio. "Are you saying there are survivors down there?"

"Yes. The earth is survivable." Clarke nodded, even though Jaha couldn't see her. Her face was shining from sweat and smudged with dirt, and her hair was starting to turn a light brown instead of its usual shiny blonde. "We're not alone."

When there was no response, Clarke spoke again, "Mum, he's dying. The knife is still in his chest."

Clarke stood up, heading over to Finn, and Raven worked to make it louder. Jaha's voice was heard again, "Is my son there?"

His voice was filled with desperation, and for some reason it made Raine happy. He sent his own son down, down to his death, and now his actions would finally have their consequences. Clarke struggled to response, "I–I'm sorry. Wells is dead."

It was like a blanket of silence had enveloped the ship. No-one dared breathe, even move, at the bitter reminder of how Wells had been murdered, and the very next day, Murphy's banishment and Charlotte's death. Raine wondered if Murphy was still alive, or if he had been taken by the earth. It made Raine guilty thinking of him, knowing that if she had just tried harder, he might still be here.

Then her guilt turned to anger. She was angry at how Bellamy had handled the situation, and his willingness to protect Charlotte. Speaking of Bellamy, where the hell was he? He was never far, always finding ways to make people do his bidding, but now he was gone, and whether Raine liked it or not, it made her worried as hell.

It was Abby's voice who responded, "Clarke, I'm going to talk you through it step by step, okay?"

Clarke was unable to respond, as there was a loud smash from outside as something fell against the ship. People let out screams as they surged further into the ship and closer to Finn and Raven as they tried to shelter themselves further.

Abby's voice was broken as she spoke, her words inaudible. Clarke's eyes widened, horror covering her face, "What? Raven, what's wrong?"

Raven turned to her, "It's not the radio, Clarke. It's the storm."

"So we have to wait until the storm passes to help Finn?" Raine asked, and Raven gave her a weak shrug.

Clarke cried out, "But it could last for days!"

At that moment Octavia burst into the drop ship, water dripped off of her like a mini waterfall. She was clutching two bottles, holding them out to Clarke who sniffed it. Clarke recoiled, scrunching up her nose, "Monty's moonshine?"

"Pretty sure no germ can survive it." Octavia agreed.

"The storm's getting worse. Raine, can you close the doors?" Clarke asked.

"What if there are still people out there?" Raine argued, thinking of Bellamy. Octavia had begun to look around, searching for her older brother.

"Monty and Jasper still aren't back yet. Neither is Bellamy." Octavia insisted, confirming Raine's thoughts. Bellamy had gone out into the storm, obviously for something important, and he had taken his two sidekicks with him. A part of Raine turned bitter at the thought of him not asking her to accompany him, but she steeled herself.

"They'll be alright. They'll find somewhere to ride it out." Clarke continued, and her tone made Raine bristle.

Raven pushed her way through the crowd, holding a needle in the air, "Here's your needle!"

Clarke nodded, taking the needle from Raven's hands. "I still need something to close the wound."

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Raine responded quickly, "There's some wire upstairs that we used on the tents."

Clarke nodded again, and Raine began to make her way towards the ladder in the centre of the dropship. Raven waved her arms, exclaiming, "Stay away from the blue wires, they run to the ceiling. I rigged them to the solar system. That means they're hot, you got that?" Raven yelled when Raine didn't respond.

"I'm not deaf." Raine huffed in response, climbing the ladder. The second level was a lot emptier than the first, although Raine could see some teenagers wisely curled up, asleep. Raine headed over to a neat coil of wire, cutting off a strip she thought would be long enough to stitch Finn's side.

"You didn't cut the blue wire, did you?" Raven accused as soon as Raine had finished descending the ladder.

Raine held the wire up, "Does this look blue to you?"

"Hey, they're back!" someone yelled, and Raine's head snapped over towards the doorway, where a soaking Bellamy had emerged. His head was down, water running down his face and dripping onto the floor.

"Bellamy." Raine breathed, heading over the older boy. "Where the hell did you go?"

He needn't respond, as her question was answered when Raine saw two boys dragging the grounder from earlier into the ship. His head was covered in blood, a blindfold over his eyes that was stained red. The boy dumped him on the floor, and Clarke, Raine and Octavia stared at the grounder.

"What the hell are you doing?" Octavia cried.

"Trying to get some answers." Bellamy finally spoke, his voice flat as he stared intently at Raine. It was as though he was silently asking her to join him in his little expedition.

"You mean revenge?" Octavia snapped.

"I mean intel." Bellamy corrected, his gaze falling upon his sister. Bellamy nodded at the two boys, "Get him upstairs."

"Bellamy, this isn't necessary." Raine spoke, looking up at the older boy. He searched her face, opening his mouth to say something when Abby's crackly voice seeped through the static of the radio. His eyes snapped over the source of the sound, his jaw working as he put two and two together.

He glanced briefly at Raine before turning to Clarke, "You found a way to talk to the ark."

It was more of a statement than a question, but the blonde girl nodded nonetheless. She spoke, "You don't need to do this. This is not who we are, Bellamy."

Bellamy looked back to Raine, before glancing briefly at the unconscious grounder. He jutted his chin out, responding, "It is now."

•••

"Bellamy, why are you doing this?" Raine asked the older boy with narrowed eyes.

"You know why."

"No, I don't. Enlighten me." Raine placed her hands on her hips.

A group of four boys were struggling to tie to stirring grounder up; he was just too massive. The grounder writhed in their grips, grunting and shaking, and a few of the boys let out cries of surprise.

Bellamy turned around, picking through an assortment of knives and other small weapons. The grounder shook again, and he snapped at Miller, "Tighter! The last thing we need is the grounder escaping because of your stupidity."

Raine let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing her face. "You're not listening to me."

Octavia's head poked through the door, and her eyes widened when she saw the grounder. The grounder, now fully awake, went still as he focused on Octavia. Octavia stared back with wide eyes, and Bellamy looked between the two with a frown on his face. "Octavia, get out of here."

"I told you," The girl whispered, "He was protecting me! You didn't have to do this." Octavia's eyes landed briefly on Raine before continuing to the grounder. He was still now, watching the younger Blake intently. The boys that had just been struggling were now standing around, slightly confused.

"This isn't about you." Bellamy ground out, shaking his head. "I'm doing this for all of us."

His eyes flitted up to meet Raine's holding them for a moment. Raine crossed her arms, making a show of rolling her eyes. Octavia was looking at the grounder, and she nodded toward his bloodied face, "You did that for all of us?"

"No, I did that for Finn, and Jasper, and Diggs, and John, and Roma." Bellamy responded, his nostrils flaring. The mention of Roma's name struck anger into Raine's heart, and a small, sadistic part of her was glad the girl was now dead. All Roma was was a distraction, an object Bellamy used to keep himself company. She didn't mean anything to him.

If that was true... why was Raine suddenly feeling jealous?

"It wasn't even him." Octavia protested, shaking her hands.

"You don't know that!" Bellamy yelled suddenly.

"Bellamy, stop. Think about what you're saying – what you're doing!" Raine gestured to the grounder, "Are you really doing that for us? Or for yourself? Because I think I know the answer."

"We need to know what we're up against! How many there are, and why they're killing us! And he's going to tell us, right now." Bellamy finished, his tone turning deadly as he stalked towards the restrained grounder in a way that reminded Raine of a predator stalking its prey.

"Bellamy, stop!" Octavia tried to stop her brother, but he shook her off. "Please!"

"Miller, get her out of here." Bellamy brushed his hand away, and Raine watched as a boy made his way towards her. Miller grabbed Octavia, easily dragging the girl out of the room.

"No! I was there!" Octavia cried helplessly, struggling to fight against the grip of the boy holding her. The grounder tensed, pulling the chains taught as he fought against them. "Get – get off of me!" she yelled, shaking the boy off of her.

She stepped back indignantly, before taking a few steps towards the ladder. She stopped, pointing at the grounder, "I don't even think he speaks English... he won't understand you." She spoke in defeat, heading down ladder.

Bellamy was too busy busy staring at the grounder. He muttered in response, "Oh, I think he will."

Miller threw a look at Raine, and she sneered at him in response, "Touch me, and this grounder will be the least of your worries."

Bellamy was forced to bite back a smirk as Miller held his hands out in defence. Raine walked around Bellamy, standing in front of him and crossing her arms. "You realise you just threw your sister out? You just had one of your buffoons place his hands on her and physically drag her out of here."

Bellamy's jaw worked, "Mist–"

"'Now isn't the time'." Raine mocked rudely, "Oh, I'm sorry. Do I need to make an appointment?"

Bellamy's fists were clenching and unclenching as Raine used her sarcastic remarks to push him over the edge. He couldn't understand why she was being so... irrational. The grounder – this monster – had taken his younger sister hostage, killed his friends and stabbed Finn. Why was Raine always so quick to defend those who needed to be punished? First Murphy, and now this grounder? Was she purposely trying to piss Bellamy off?

However, before anyone could fit in another word a tree snapped outside, plummeting towards the ship. Its sharp branches pierced the lower level, knocking everyone over, and Raine felt herself falling before she could react. She hit the ground, knocking her elbow painfully against the ground. Bellamy crashed beside her; however he managed to twist mid-air so he didn't land on anything.

"Is everyone alright?" Bellamy called out, mostly to Miller and the few other boys. He pulled himself to his feet, kneeling in front of Raine. "Mist, are you hurt?"

She shook her head, despite the burning pain in her elbow, "No."

She struggled to get up, so Bellamy wrapped his hands around her biceps and tugged her upwards. She stumbled a bit, but he steadied her. She nodded gratefully at him. He nodded in response, bending down to pick up a lantern that had fallen over, hooking it back up.

As if all caring and gentleness had disappeared, he turned, and headed towards the ladder, speaking loudly, "What the hell was that? Are we under attack or not?"

"Storm damage, we're okay." A boy replied, making his way up the ladder.

Bellamy faced the grounder, anger taking over, and he grit out, "I'm going to ask this one more time, what is your name? Where is your camp? How many of you are there?"

"Aye," Miller interrupted, gesturing to the stuff the grounder had been carrying, "Check it out."

When Raine and Bellamy joined him, Miller continued, "What is all this stuff?"

Raine shook her head, "Medicine, poison - who knows with these people."

Bellamy's hand searched through the stuff, coming to find a leather bound journal. Throwing a look at the grounder, he cautiously unwrapped it. Immediately, the grounder surged forwards, an urgent sound escaping his lips.

"Bellamy, put it back." Raine said firmly, but she was ignored, "Bellamy!"

"I think we found something he doesn't want us to see, Mist." Bellamy smirked sickeningly, further opening the book.

"Bellamy, stop. Put it back. It isn't ours to go through." Raine tried again.

Miller rolled his eyes, "Shut up, would you?"

"Do you want me to stupid kick that beanie off your head?" Raine snapped in response.

Bellamy chuckled at the girl's words, flicking through the pages of the journal whilst the grounder continued to protest. Bellamy nodded in approval, "These aren't bad..."

He froze as he came to rest on a page with a drawing of a young girl on it. It was obvious, even from Raine's angle, that the young girl was Octavia. Bellamy breathed out deeply, his nostrils flaring, as he stared at the drawing. Quickly, he flipped to another page, revealing one with a very detailed drawing of their drop ship. Beside it, was a tally, with about ten marks scratched off. It reminded Raine of the three tallies on her staff, although now one had a scratch through it.

"That's our camp." Raine whispered.

"I guess those tally marks equal one hundred, too." Bellamy added, "Ten crossed out, that's how many people we've lost." He snapped the book shut, making his way over to the grounder. He threw a look over his shoulder to Raine, and his expression made her gut clench. "He's been watching us ever since we got here."

•••

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