Serpentine lines

"I'm sorry..." Bellamy apologized to them "I'm a little overworked and..."

"It's okay Bellamy... You fought like a lion for us, as always," Monty comforted him, "and I really appreciate how much you care about Clarke. So do I. Don't blame yourself for trying to make things right..."

Bellamy gave him a nodding smile, appreciating his words of care and understanding. "No more crossing the line from now on..."

"Let's go," Indra said, now taking the lead for the moment and began to lead the group to the main office. For the rest of the way, everyone was silent, trying to forget the confrontation of a moment ago. Despite the awkwardness of the silence, it was a relieving moment to clear their minds and regain their focus. 

They reached the level where the living quarters were located. Everything was calm. It seemed that everyone was taking advantage of the forced pause. It was quiet, probably the quietest it had been in this place in years. Then Indra stopped and opened the door to the office. Wordlessly they all entered the room. It looked different then the last time they were here. Raven and the others had made some significant efforts to cleanse and erase any hint of Bloodreina's reign. In general it looked actually habitable and welcoming. Despite the horrors and memories of what happened here. Bellamy in particular began to wonder if Octavia sat here or paced this place while making her plans. "While making... what exactly?"

It just made no sense to him. And the longer he kept asking himself this, the more unsettled and disturbed he felt. And now he was the one who almost wanted to run away. But only almost. He knew he had to stay and complete their mission. To make a plan. His hope was that Shaw would be able to calm Raven down and bring her back to the circle that had gathered in the middle of the room. Although his only goal was to make Raven understand the situation, now he only wanted to apologize to her. He went too far and realized that he should have been more reasonable and tried to understand her feelings. After all, he and Raven had not yet had time to catch up on the latest events. And before they could do that, he had to lose his cool. 

Bellamy looked into everyone's eyes and they all looked back at him. Indra, Monty, Harper, Murphy, Emori and Echo all focused on him expectantly. Right now, after his unnecessary outburst at Raven, he was struggling to find the right words.

"Now that we are no longer angry with Clarke, tell us: What is our plan?" Murphy broke the silence after taking a seat in the large, comfortable chair at the office's main desk.

Seeing Bellamy's strained face, Echo decided to give him a few more moments to collect himself. She knew that face too well. It always appeared on his face when he was seriously worried. Or sad. Like the many times on the ring when he missed Octavia or mourned Clarke's death. So it was rather easy for Echo to take action instead and speak on Bellamy's behalf before he could actually answer Murphy.

"Miller and the others are unloading the supplies and taking them to the bunker. We also brought a healer..." Echo began the briefing. "Kesbran..." Bellamy helped Echo as she struggled to remember his name. "...he will take care of the most basic medical needs," Echo continued. "We need to fix the radio. We gathered some parts that might help you, but since you are an engineer, you better take a look at it yourself," Bellamy said to Monty, taking over from Echo, "And you, of course, Emori."

"Abby will not be happy when she finds out that we brought you down. So please promise to take it easy. At least for the next days or so..." Bellamy then tried to reason with Murphy. "Don't worry..." Emori assured him, giving Murphy a serious look, "I won't let him out of my sight. "No problem. I'm here where I wanted to be. There's nothing I can do to help here anyway..." Murphy said, accepting his fate. 

"You are helpful to us... but not now. Not while you are still injured..." Bellamy told him. Murphy gave him a half-honest smile in return, marking the end of the conversation. "No one ever doubted that," Echo added. "Now... the hydrofarm..."

"Oh yeah..." Monty said, "It's not a completely hopeless case. I think with the right tools and parts we could probably fix it in the next few days. Maybe even in time for you to come down again..."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Bellamy said.

"And what happens when the storm is over... I mean... what do we do then?" Murphy played the questioner again.

"Kane and Dyoza have come up with some plans that may prove useful. I haven't had time to talk to them yet, but I will as soon as possible. But for now, we don't come around using the bunker as long as we haven't decided how to use the valley and how to live there. It might be harder than you think..." Bellamy began to explain, "After all, Clarke and Madi are the only people who have experience of how to survive here. They know how much food there is... What is edible and what is not..."

"Oh great... Kane and Dyoza... what could possibly go wrong," Murphy threw in sarcastically. "I agree..." Emori said, "I don't trust them..."

"They're on our side. Just like Shaw. Without them, we wouldn't have been able to defeat them..." Bellamy replied. "If they hadn't shown up, we wouldn't have had to fight them..." Emori countered.

"If they hadn't shown up, none of us would be standing here having this conversation," Indra burst out from the corner of the room, she had occupied since entering the room. "Sounds like you have a lot of talking to do then..." Murphy broke the brief silence that followed Indra's outburst.

"Yeah, but it's a good idea," Harper calmly agreed with Bellamy.

"So it's decided... We fix the radio, the hydrofarm and keep an eye on our bottom level sheeps..." Murphy concluded, but was immediately interrupted by Bellamy, who had something more to say.

"There's something else..." Bellamy announced, "McCreary..."

"Oh yeah..." Murphy said, "You know... killing him in the first place wouldn't have left us with this problem, so?"

"Madi wants him dead..." Echo explained.

"Oh, no problem... so?" Emori said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"No... She wants to do it herself. And that's where the problem starts..." Bellamy revealed.

"Oh... yeah... I see where this is going..." Murphy realized, remembering the almost traditional brutality of the grounders' culture "So what is your plan?"

"I don't know. My hope is that Clarke will be able to reason with Madi... But first she has to get back on her feet..." Bellamy said before the door opened without warning and Shaw, followed by Raven, entered the room.

"What did we miss?" Shaw asked into the group, while Raven immediately made eye contact with Bellamy, giving him a sharp stare.

"We were just talking about the radio problem. We might have the right parts to fix it and extend the range..." Monty answered the quickest.

"There's nothing wrong with our radio. The problem is on your side," Raven hissed, leaving everyone irritated at her snappy reaction.

"However, we may now have enough parts to hopefully repair the hydrofarm altogether as well..." Monty went on, trying to ignore Raven's attitude.

"Not only have I fixed the water pump so far, we also have access to the feed water system again... But not for algae experiments this time..." Emori said. "Not only have I fixed the water pump so far, we also have access to the feed water system again... But not for algae experiments this time..." she added further. 

"I miss the days when algae were our only problem..." Harper tried to defend Monty against this unfair criticism. Even though it had become something of a running joke by now, it was really insensitive to criticize his efforts to feed them over the last six years. Especially knowing what the alternative was at this place.

Bellamy looked at her with a strained expression. He certainly didn't want to continue this unnecessary discussion, but rather concentrate on the problems that still existed. So his eyes quickly searched for Indra, whose face could tell stories right now. But not happy ones. "Indra... The prisoners must be watched. Only watched. Not guarded. But it's better to prepare for some scenarios. I don't want to get caught cold again," Bellamy said and received a determined nod from her in return. 

"We should start by not calling them prisoners..." Monty suggested. When everyone gave him a surprised look, he added, "I mean... When they live with us, they are free people. Since prisoners are usually not free..."

"Yes, you're probably right. I had a hard time convincing Madi to spare her life. I really hope that I... or Lexa could really change her mind. But if Madi allows it, they will become members of Wonkru. Just like the rest of us. Except for McCreary... The prisoners are right now on parole and will be treated as such. Perhaps this will further convince Madi and everyone else to be lenient with them..."

"What do we do with him?" Shaw asked, unaware that this had been discussed just before he and Raven entered the room. "He has to die, right?" Shaw then asked, not waiting for them to answer his question, "Are you...? When will it be done?"

"That's the problem..." Bellamy began, "Madi wants to kill him herself. And I think that's bad... She's just too young."

"But that didn't stop you from making her commander, right?" Murphy asked from behind the table. Even though this was the worst possible moment to stab him in the back, Bellamy knew Murphy was right. He had created this situation in the first place and now he would have to deal with the consequences if he couldn't find a solution.

"She almost killed him, right after Clarke was shot," Shaw reminded her, "I saw her eyes, she didn't hesitate. In fact, she almost attacked me too... Good luck trying to stop her..."

"Yeah, not to mention when she killed those two prisoners that almost finished us off right after we landed..." Emori said, "Clarke did a good job turning her into a little killing machine..."

"She taught her to defend herself..." Echo defended Clarke "Pretty well, actually. Almost too well..."

"And if we pretend it was just an accident..." Harper suggested, immediately receiving a few puzzled looks in return. "She may be young, but she's not stupid. She's way ahead for a twelve year old... And by the way... if she finds out..." Indra replied to her naive idea. And it also sounded like a clear warning.

"Definitely not..." Bellamy agreed with Indra's objection.

"But what's wrong with letting her kill him?" Shaw asked them. 

"You better not want to find out..." Raven warned him without even looking at him. Together with Bellamy and Indra, she now had the same images in front of her eyes. But even Echo and Emori knew only too well what gonplei kom thauz odon (death by a thousand cuts) really meant.

"Tell me what..." Shaw insisted, not knowing what emotions and memories this had just triggered in Raven.

"Why do you think she did not just slit his throat open, stabbed his heart…?" Raven now covered him with unwanted attention. However, Shaw was aware enough to realize that he had just crossed a red line. "She wants to kill him slowly... piece by piece... because of Lexa..." Raven muttered after realizing, "She is... isn't she?"

"I haven't talked to Madi about her yet, but yeah... I had the same thought..." Bellamy told her as she stomped towards him, ready to give him an ear slap, only to back off at the last moment, "You know what she did to me. Forgotten?" She hissed right in his face.

"I had no choice, Raven!" Bellamy said in a raised but calm voice, trying to defend himself. "Oh yeah? What do you think is going to happen now? You just brought together the two people who love Clarke the most..." Raven shot back. "Why not Clarke... why not her?" Raven challenged him. "They wouldn't have accepted her like Madi..." Bellamy replied, defending himself even harder. But she was right. If he had made Clarke commander instead, he could have avoided a lot of their current problems. Clarke wouldn't have been shot, she wouldn't have been mad at him, he wouldn't have been mad at her... The list was long. Too long, in fact, to even think about any of these points. But that was the question he had to ask himself: "Why not Clarke?"

"They would still have chosen her over Octavia," Indra interjected, but apparently not for his benefit.

"Maybe... But... I didn't want her to... She's done enough for us..." Bellamy tried to explain: "I thought it was the best solution. Madi was an outsider. Nobody knew her... And she is a Nightblood by birth."

"It's over," Monty raised his voice, "That doesn't help now. It's too late to change it anyway. It's only fair to let Madi decide whether she wants to lead us or not the next time she's here with us".

"Yeah…" Raven agreed

"That's something we could think about in the next few days," Echo suggested, "Give her her rest like everyone else..."

"Yes, you're right. We'll find a solution then. For now, let the others believe that everything is as it is..." Bellamy suggested, "We should give them some free space for a while."

"Politics..." Raven commented sarcastically, "Abby and Kane would be proud of you... Not to mention Jaha of course".

"Raven!" Bellamy called after her, but Raven was already on her way out. "I have to fix a radio, remember?" She said before disappearing through the door.

" Yes... let's get started," Bellamy said, and everyone nodded before going their respective ways. It was time to finally get started. As he left the room, he did not realize that he had left Echo behind as well. Unbeknownst to him, he was one of the first to leave the room, without direction or purpose, just wanting to get away and be alone for a moment. And it wasn't long before a voice behind him called his name, "Bellamy...!" He turned to see Echo coming towards him. "What's wrong with you?" She asked him annoyed, trying her best not to sound too accusatory, but sensitive. "I don't know... I just need a break so badly..." He opened up to her. There was no point in hiding his feelings, especially from her. His best friend and the woman he loved.

"Hey, it's okay," Echo comforted him, giving him a soft hug. For the moment, it was all she could offer to make him feel better. Even if only a little. 

"You said there would be no more going it alone," Echo reminded him, "we're going through this together. I'm here for you"

"Sorry..." Bellamy said, feeling a little guilty. Echo gave him a small smile to let him know that it was no big deal anymore, "Thanks, Echo.

"Good. Then let us get started. The sooner we finish our work, the sooner we can leave this place and get some real rest," Echo said.

"I need a break from all this..." Bellamy confessed to her as they walked a little further down the corridor. "Let's check out the hydrofarm first..." He suggested and Echo agreed with a nod.

4 hours later…

"I think that was all..." Echo said after they left Kesbran and helped him organize his improvised medical station.

"Yeah..." Bellamy confirmed. "I have a feeling we shouldn't look for Raven and Shaw right now..."

"Well... we still have time. That might give us some time for..." Echo said, but she didn't have to finish her sentence.

"I know where to go..." Bellamy interrupted her. He understood her intention only too well. Even though it wasn't the right time and definitely not the right place to have such thoughts, the truth was that he would do anything to forget everything for just a few desperate minutes. Echo's passion often spread to him like a spark, and he only hoped that it would work this time as well. The truth was, he needed this relaxation so badly. The last time they slept together was before they left for Earth - almost a month ago. Despite his worries, he knew that this opportunity could be helpful in releasing some of his tension.

Bellamy quickly led them to Abby and Kane's room. When they arrived and carefully opened the door, his hunch proved correct. It was unoccupied and untouched, probably since Kane and Abby had left. And it only made sense, since most of the others had probably returned to their old quarters. Bellamy quickly locked the door to make sure they would be undisturbed for the next few minutes. He looked around the room. There was still a lot of their stuff left, mostly clothes and notes. And suddenly the thought of having sex in the same bed as Abby and Kane wasn't as appealing as it had sounded at first.

But he didn't get any further with his second thoughts when Echo almost jumped in front of him and started kissing him passionately. Her eyes sparkled and without warning, she began to remove his shirt. Then he felt her hands grab his hips. She was almost squeezing his flesh, but he didn't want her to stop. It seemed to be starting to work: He wanted to go even further and now he grabbed her back in the same way she held onto him. Now he was taking the lead and began to push her gently towards the large double bed. He didn't notice that Echo had already started to unbuckle his belt to undress him further. Her hands then entered his pants and began to tease his penis with very pleasurable movements. They were still kissing, blowing hot puffs of air into each other's faces. He felt his arousal rising. His head began to feel lighter, and Echo began to occupy more and more of his attention.

"On your back," Echo commanded, and Bellamy did as he was told, but not before Echo had taken off his pants completely. Now it was her turn to undress. She threw her jacket and top in the corner and quickly unzipped her pants. Once she had removed her bra, Bellamy could see her beautiful breasts again. Echo was truly an attractive woman, and sometimes just looking at her bare body was enough to make him forget everything around him. So much so that back on the Go-Sci-Ring, he sometimes forgot to show up on time for his duties, only to get an angry lecture from Raven.

He wanted Echo so badly right now. Her beautiful naked body was starting to drive him crazy. It felt like such a long time ago that he had been so horny. And only now did he realize that he had a huge erection, much to Echo's amusement. She slowly climbed onto the bed until she was kneeling over his legs. He didn't need to look at her face and try to read her expression to know what she was going to do. She began to move her head down his stomach, slowly reaching for his lower body. Then her lips made their first gentle contact with his penis. She placed a few soft kisses on his shaft and let her tongue do the rest. That alone brought him close to coming. And Echo didn't even go all out to please him, because this was just supposed to be a starter.

"Whoa... that's a loaded gun now..." Bellamy warned her to ease up if she wanted to continue. Not without a few more gentle kisses, she finally turned away from his crotch and moved further up. He felt her warm body press against his own as she kissed him on the mouth. Hugging her with both arms, he slowly began to roll them over, changing their positions. Now that they were in the missionary position, there was nothing left for him to do but to finally make love to her after all this time.

The first thrust inside her felt almost like entering another dimension. He had to stay focused to make this last longer than a few moments. It was as if all his desire and lust had been stored up all this time, just waiting to be unleashed. When he felt himself leaking out a bit during the first movements, his heart's peace began to increase even more. It wasn't ideal, since contraceptives were a rare commodity. He just hoped that this time - like the other times - there wouldn't be any consequences. So far, they had been lucky for the last six years. Relying on the Grounders' ways and methods of birth control wasn't the safest way, but it was the only choice they had.

Echo's hands moved from his shoulder down his back until they reached his hips again. She held him tight, encouraging him to go further: Deeper and harder. He knew he couldn't last very long, but he tried his best to hold out as long as he could. Echo's increasing moaning signaled to him that he wasn't doing too badly, despite his rapidly increasing level of pleasure. He felt that he was getting closer and closer to his climax.

When Bellamy felt that it was time and he couldn't risk just one more push, he quickly pulled away from her and came on Echo's chest and belly. He looked into her hazel eyes as he tried to catch his breath and received a warm smile from her before he let himself fall back onto Echo's body and kissed her, spreading his sperm evenly over both of their bodies. They didn't care about the mess they had just made. For this moment of undisturbed intimacy, anything seemed acceptable. Right now, their bodies were almost boiling after they had finished. Bellamy and Echo exchanged one passionate kiss after another, gasping for breath frequently.

"I'm sorry..." Bellamy apologized, realizing this wasn't his proudest performance. "You can pay me back later," Echo pardoned him before giving him one last kiss before rolling over to the bed so she could quickly disappear into the bathroom to freshen up. He knew she only did this to help him relax and not for her own pleasure. Another reason he loved Echo. Before living with her on the Ring, he had never thought that Echo had such a caring and emotional side. Although she was a spy and a warrior, she had a soft core under her hard shell and only opened up to those she trusted unconditionally.

Bellamy took the time to look around the room. And it didn't take him long to find something that piqued his interest. It wasn't right to go through Kane and Abby's personal belongings, but when he saw Clarke's name on a piece of paper, he couldn't resist.

After getting up and walking to the small desk, he identified the piece of paper as a letter. Not just any letter, but the most recent letter Abby had written to Clarke. As he continued to search the desk, he found a whole bunch of letters from Abigail. All addressed to Clarke, like a diary for her to catch up on.

"No, I shouldn't read it..." Bellamy said to himself after accidentally reading the first lines and the end of the letter.

"Clarke,

I don't know how much time I... how much time we have left. Things are going downhill in a disturbing way. Marcus and I tried our best... but we couldn't get it done. Few of us have found peace that we will never leave this bunker again...

...

I hope you are alive. I know you are. I love you, Clarke. I love you so much...

Mom"

"Should we..." Echo asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. "What is it?" She asked as she approached him. Though he wanted to stop her, Echo already saw what he was looking at and would probably come to the same conclusion after apparently peeking at the letter as well. "Do you think Abby wants Clarke to see this?" Echo asked him from behind his shoulders.

"No. It's their stuff. Not ours. Abby has to give them to Clarke herself if she wants to. But I think she just wrote them for herself... Just like Clarke did when she called us. She knew we wouldn't answer, and she kept on calling. Every day." Bellamy said. The thought of all the sadness going through all of them almost overwhelmed the few happy minutes he and Echo had just spent.

"Then let's go," Echo said, and he gave her a quick nod and turned away from the desk. After checking that they had all their things with them - to leave no trace of their presence - they unlocked the door and left the room. Just as Echo and Bellamy closed the door, they bumped into Shaw, who was on his way to find them.

"Hey, are you done... I mean..." Shaw asked her, trying his best not to make this encounter seem uncomfortable.

"Yeah, we can go... Let's not waste any time," Bellamy confirmed.

"Okay. Glad to hear it. The others are ready as well and are already leaving the bunker. We three are the last to leave," Shaw informed them.

"Good. Then we leave at once," Bellamy said and they followed Shaw to the former fighting pit.

As they arrived, they could already hear the wind gusts hammering over their heads. "Looks like we are not a minute early," Bellamy commented. They also saw that Raven, Murphy, Monty and the others were already waiting for them. For the last four hours Bellamy hadn't seen or heard from Raven. It felt like she was trying to avoid him. Not that he could blame her, but it still wasn't ideal since Raven was a key person in running this bunker. Especially on an organizational level, since Indra and Miller were there to keep everyone in line if necessary. At least he managed to come up with a rough plan together with Indra and Monty, which they would hopefully explain to Raven later.

"Alright... See you in a few days," Bellamy said goodbye to everyone. "Yeah... I think I'm going to miss you," Murphy told him while exchanging a quick hug with him. "Now make sure Clarke gets back to her old self."

"I will. Don't worry..." Bellamy promised as he watched Echo, who had already said goodbye to everyone, begin to strap herself into the harness and gear of the rope system.

"Hey..." Bellamy said to Raven as she suddenly stood in front of him after kissing Shaw goodbye. Now she just hugged him silently and briefly. "We'll talk later..." She told him as he started to strap himself to Echo.

"Call us as soon as you can..." Monty called after them as they began to climb up the rope system. Looking down one last time, Bellamy saw at least a dozen pairs of hands waving them goodbye. "Until we meet again..."

On the surface, the wind showed its true nature. Not just the wind, but the rain as well, as heavy raindrops came at them almost vertically. Sealing the entrance hole as best they could wasn't an easy task and required at least ten people working together under Bellamy's command to place the cover tarps correctly. Meanwhile, Shaw was already on his way to the dropship to minimize the time until takeoff. 

"This must do it..." As Bellamy shouted these words to his helpers, they began to run simultaneously toward the Gagarin, whose headlight had come to life when they were only a few meters away.

With himself being the last one at the boarding ramp, Bellamy took another quick look at the remains of Polis to make sure no one was left behind. He pressed the button to close and cover the ramp and walked with Echo to the cockpit to take their seats. 

"Eligius, here we come," Shaw said as the engines began to roar. A heavy vibration shook the ship as it made the first hundred feet in the air. It was far more than the last two times they left Earth. Looking at Shaw from the back seat, Bellamy could tell that even he was having a hard time keeping the ship on course for the upper cloud layers. After a few minutes, the cloud layers became thinner and much brighter. When the Gagarin broke through the last band of clouds, there was nothing but a dark blue sky and the sun shining directly from above. Not long after the blue sky gave way to the black darkness of space. And in a way, it felt a little like coming home. Coming back to a home with mostly dark memories...