Cattleya spent two more day training everyone and coming up with a plan against Skikru. After, she spent the afternoon teaching Tris to reach Locus, and each evening, she went to help train Octavia then at night, go visit Bellamy.

Cattleya's breathing became rapid as she tried to catch her breath for all the excessive exercise. "Cattleya!" Anya called from the entrance of her tent. Cattleya's stomach dropped at the mention of her name. No not the mention, the tone of how she said it. Had she been caught? Did Anya know she was sneaking off to see Bellamy? She was sure no had seen her?

As calmly as possible, Cattleya stood in front of Anya's desk waiting for her command. "Ever since the explosion the Sky People have caused, our troops have been spotting more Mountain men." She stated. Cattleya let herself take breath of air. She wasn't caught.

"Why would more Mountain Men be roaming?"

"We believe they are searching for the Sky People. We have to start war tomorrow." Cattleya nodded her head. "Tris will lead."

"How'd she take the news?" Cattleya asked.

"With a stern face but her eyes told me she was excited. Your reaction was completely different when you were first asked to lead, remember?" How could she forget? Cattleya was actually two years older than Tris. At fifteen, Ice nation had declared war against Trikru after she and her father had just- "Cattleya, I'm s-"

"It's okay. What's happened, happened." Cattleya left Anya's tent and walked to the stables. She gathered a few nuts in her hand and fed them to Patroclus. Her mind wondered to Bellamy. "Did you know your name is from a famous story?" She playfully told Patroclus as she brushed his fur. "The story is called the um...well, I forgot what it's called and I'm not sure what it's about, but if it has your name in it, it must be a great story."

"Talking to a horse?" Cattleya heard Xerxes say. They haven't talked since she punched him and she honestly didn't care too.

"He has ears, doesn't he?"

"Doesn't mean it's intelligent enough to to understand you."

"Great, now you have something in common with a horse." Cattleya said. Xerxes gripped her hand just as she held a knife to his neck with her other. "Let go of me."

"You're still mad at me over the stupid Sky People." Cattleya remained silent. "I know things about the Sky People, things about the plan you don't even know."

"What makes you think I believe you." She sneered at him. How could he know more than her? What would Anya tell him and not her? A smile grew on Xerxes face.

"You think Anya's been completely honest with you." What the hell was he talking about? "Come." Xerxes let go of her wrist making Cattleya reluctantly lower her dagger. Xerxes walked to the east side of camp where only a few people where permitted.

Two guards moved from their positions as Xerxes approached the entrance with Cattleya following quick behind him. He grabbed a fire stick from its handle before walking down the dark steps of the dungeon.

Cattleya hardly recognized him even with the fire shone on his face. Streams of blood ran down his battered face. His entire body was matted with blood and dirt. Blood seeped out from his fingers; they had ripped his nails out. His clothes were roughly torn from where he was cut and dark rings formed around his eyes. Was this an eye for an eye for what they had done to her and Lincoln? "Murphy?" Cattleya reached out to him but Murphy sank deeper into the dark corner at just the sound of his name.

"Our troops found him three days ago. He told us everything about the Sky People. Anya is letting him go tonight."

"Why?"

"He'll spread the disease to his people." She only stared at Xerxes.

"You're lying."

"No, I suggested we make the Sky People sick, so when we attack, they won't be able to fight." Cattleya had to warn Bellamy before they let Murphy go. Cattleya marched her way out of the dungeon. "You still believe the Sky People should be given a chance?" Xerxes taunted behind her. "They don't deserve it."

The sky had darkened quickly in the matter time they had been underground. "Leave the cage unlocked. You're both released from your duties." She overheard Xerxes say to the guards. Cattleya walked to the stables and began to loosen the knot around Patroclus reign. "Where are you going?"

"To visit Lincoln."

"Haven't you heard? Anya declared him a traitor yesterday after some guards spotted a Sky Girl leaving his cave." All this information was brand new to Cattleya. Why hadn't anyone told her? Why hadn't Anya told her? "You're staying here." Cattleya pushed him out her way before heading to Anya's tent.

"Why hadn't you told me about the captured Sky Boy or banishing Lincoln?"

"Because you didn't need to worry about that." Anya stated without hesitation. "I worry about the politics, you worry about training our warriors."

"We were supposed to be working together."

"We are. I work on politics. You work on war. End of discussion." Anya said with a warning tone. "Go eat dinner. You'll need your energy for tomorrow."

Cattleya didn't go to the dining hall. She, instead, attempted every way of getting out of camp. Xerxes placed a guard at every exit and patrolling the camp. There was no way of getting to Bellamy tonight.

She failed him.

♾

The camp bustled with warriors and weapons. The sound of sharpening metal rang throughout the camp. Cattleya privately stayed in her tent sharpening her own weapon. How many had gotten sick? Would they react violently to the illness? How could she save them? Would she be able to save any of them?

All this thinking made, her stomach uneasy but she still munched on the bowl of food by her cot. Cattleya missed dinner last night and needed her strength today. After taking care of her weapons, Cattleya painted her face and braided her hair.

"Cattleya?" Tris shyly looked in her tent.

"Tris, what are you doing here?"

"Can you help with my war paint?" Cattleya led Tris to her cot with her bag of black ash. She separated some ash in another bowl and mixed it with water making a paste. She created a thin, dark oval around each of her eyes, then dragging the ends of the oval down to her neck making a thick tail.

"Go look." Tris excitedly looked at her war paint with a small mirror she carried. She brightly smiled at Cattleya. "Are you nervous?"

"No." Tris answered.

"You know it's okay to be scared. It what keeps us alive."

"Are you scared?"

"Yes." Cattleya answered truthfully.

"I'll protect you."

"You will be a great leader one day." Tris gave her big hug and left to prepare herself for battle. Cattleya won't lie and say wasn't scared of war, but what scared her the most, is what would happen after it. The little trust Bellamy had in her would disintegrate in just a few moments.

She didn't want to lose his trust. Not after trying so hard to build it. It was the little hope she had left.

♾

Why didn't Cattleya warn him about this? They had an agreement and now his people are dying left and right. The sickness spread quickly around the camp. Two kids already died and more people are getting sick all around. Now, Octavia was outside of campgrounds so they can find a damn cure to this fucking disease! "If anything happens to her, you and me are gonna have problems." He warned Clarke before marching towards the gate.

"Bellamy...." Clarke called after him but he ignored her. "Bellamy!" There were too many people blocking his way.

"Out of my way!" He yelled. A boy turned around with blood coming out of eyes.

"Dude, your eyes." Someone said. The boy touched his face and fear formed in his eyes as he saw the blood. He reached out get help but everyone moved away from him. "Nobody touch him!"

"Get to the Dropship." Bellamy told him. "Now." Bellamy heard another commotion behind him then suddenly everyone had their guns pointed at each other. There was so much shouting and yelling and guns everywhere. "Calm down!" There was too much panic! Someone was going to pull a trigger, he was convinced.

Just then, gunshots rang throughout the camp. Everyone looked to Clarke who had a gun in her hand aimed up at the Sky. "This is exactly what the Grounders want. Don't you see that? They don't have to kill us if we kill each other first." She stated.

Suddenly, a boy emerged from the panicked crowd and pointed his gun at Clarke. "They won't have to kill us if we all catch the virus. Get back in the damn Dropship!" He shouted. Bellamy connected the back of his elbow with the boy's nose and snatched the gun away from his hands.

"Not to state the obvious, but your quarantine isn't working." Bellamy said to Clarke. Clarke's legs began to give out under her, but Finn was there to catch her in his arms despite Raven's protest. "Octavia will come back with a cure." She reassured Finn.

"There is no cure... " Octavia ran back into camp. "But the Grounders don't use the sickness to kill."

"Really? Tell that to them." Bellamy pointed at two dead bodies by the Dropship. "I warned you about seeing that Grounder again." He warned Octavia.

"Yeah? Well, I have a warning for you, too. The Grounders are coming... and they're attacking at first light." Octavia announced to the camp. Her attention then turned to Clarke in Finn's arms. "Come on. I'll help you get Clarke into the Dropship."

First light. Bellamy had less time to prepare then he thought. He turned to Raven. "How many bullets can you make by first light?" Bellamy followed Raven to her tent where all their supplies were being kept.

"We're running out of gun powder. And, as you can tell we don't have the resources to make more right now."

"How many bullets can we put in each gun?" Raven looked down at all the ready bullets and estimated about five to a gun. Bellamy sighed in frustration. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed have more time but he let himself get distracted. He was becoming too comfortable around Cattleya. Bellamy trusted that Grounder too much.

"We've got to start reloading our guns." He left Raven's tent to gather Harper, Jasper and Monty. He needed people he could trust. "Hey, gather all the guns around camp and meet back at Raven's tent."

I took about ten minutes to gather all the guns before they could start restocking them. Jasper was in charge of how many bullets were already in the gun, Monty helped Raven reload the guns and Harper helped Bellamy place the magazines in the guns. "There's five to a clip. Let's go. We need to get these guns on the wall." Bellamy stated.

"Why just five?" Monty asked

"We're running out of gunpowder." Raven said.

Harper darkly chuckled "Oh, we're so dead."

"Don't worry. I got your back." Jasper smiled at her. Monty scoffed at Jasper's arrogance. Bellamy ignored the two's argument as Raven forced them to get back to work.

Until, Finn barged into the already crowded tent. "It won't matter if there's no one left who can shoot." Bellamy raised an eyebrow at him. "What do we need to build a bomb?" He asked Raven.

"Depends on what you're trying to blow up."

"How about a bridge?"

"What are you talking about?" Bellamy asked.

"Murphy says he crossed a bridge on his way back here from the Grounders' camp." Finn explained. "Sound familiar?" He asked Bellamy.

Bellamy nodded his head remembering the bridge but he didn't understand what Finn's point was. "Yeah. So what?"

"So the virus is fast. He's already getting better. Blowing the bridge won't stop the attack, but the longer we can delay it, the more of us will be able to fight." Bellamy could admit Finn's plan was a smart plan but he would never believe Murphy's word for anything.

"Even if Murphy is telling the truth, and that's a big if, that bridge has survived a nuclear war and ninety-seven years of weather." Bellamy said.

"It won't survive me." Raven confidently said. They were building a bomb and Raven knew exactly what she needed. Liquid Hydrazine.

♾

No matter what Cattleya did she couldn't get rid of her anxiousness. She couldn't help but think this was her fault. Everything was her fault. Maybe if she had escaped when Raven first came, or when the day Murphy was being hanged, or if she never killed the beast, or if she had never cared so much about Jasper. But none of that matters now because Cattleya didn't escape, she did save Murphy, she did kill the beast and she did care for Jasper. "We ride in five minutes!" Anya's voiced traveled through the entire camp.

Patroclus nudged his head towards Cattleya in comfort as if he felt her stress. Cattleya cupped his head and smiled. "Let's try to save lives today." She whispered in Patroclus ear before climbing on her saddle.

Her heart matched the bass of the war drums. Quick and steady. Cattleya watched as a herd of warriors either walked or rode after Tris and Anya in the front lines. Xerxes and Cattleya were commanded to ride in the back just in case of any hidden attacks. "Today we take back our land." Xerxes stated.

"The Sky People are smarter than you think." Cattleya stated.

"What is it that you want? Do you want the Sky People to kill us?" He sneered under his breath.

"I would never want that for my people!" Cattleya snapped at Xerxes. "I wanted peace, but my people will always come first." Cattleya rode her horse ahead of Xerxes trying to create as much distance between them as possible. Xerxes was behaving like a ruthless savage and she was beginning to hate him even more for it.

But, Cattleya couldn't help but think maybe, just maybe, Xerxes was right. If her people really did come first, why did she care so much about the Sky People? About Bellamy, Octavia or Clarke?

Because her parents taught her too. Every life had value no matter where they came from or what they believed in.

The sun was just beginning to set as the Trikru approached the bridge. The familiar sound of a gun rang even through the sound of their war drums. Why would the Sky People attack first? "They are attacking first!" Tris shouted to her people. "This is our land and we will take back what is ours!" The gunfire continued. Cattleya search for the source of the gunfire only to find no one but an object in the middle of the bridge. What was on-"ATTACK!"

Everything happened all at once. Time had stopped yet continued at lighting speed. An unearthly sound exploded among the entire forest. A forceful gust of wind knocked Cattleya off her horse and onto the rumbling ground. An ear-piercing ringing deafened her hearing. She heard the faint sound of her people shouting around her. A great dust floating in the air blinded her vision. Cattleya's breathing was staggered as the feeling of a ton laid on her chest.

"Cattleya!" Her name muffled in her ear. She vigorously blinked trying to refocus her vision, she strained her ear to try to make out the voice. "Cattleya!" It called out, again.

Something lifted her head up and she blinked her eyes again. Cattleya saw Xerxes with his hands on either side of her face. "Are...okay?" He said.

"Anya." She croaked out. All the air had escaped from her lungs.

She frantically scoured for any signs of her in the middle of chaos. "Anya." Cattleya tried to call out, again. She stood to her feet as her people retreated back into the forest. "Anya." Cattleya pushed her way against the crowd. "Anya!" She shouted with all the strength in her voice.

Anya stumbled her way to the broken bridge where Tris body laid. "Anya!" She heard the faint shout of her name. Cattleya made her way over the Anya's hunched over body wrapping her arms around in a hug. Tris face look oddly unharmed only with a few scratches, but her eyes remained closed. Anya stared into Cattleya's eyes with pure rage. She had only seen Anya's eyes like this once. Back when their mother died, and Anya had given her that same look and repeated the same words she had told her then:

"I will kill every man that is my enemy."