I'm Waking Up To Ash and Dust

"I don't think I can do this…"

"Monty"—I place my hand on Monty's shoulder—"They are monsters. They use our blood like some Pre-Praimfaya angsty teenage vampires." I say seriously, pinning Monty in place with my glare.

"What's a vampire?.." His face showed a wary confusion, as if I was slightly unhinged.

"How could you not know what a vampire is? There are thousands of books aboard the Ark, did you even read!? You uncultured pleb!"

"What's… a pleb?"

"You're hopeless. Okay seriously though, I need you to reverse the scrubbers, Monty. The Mountain Men have been terrorizing my people for generations. They created crazed drug addicts from taken villagers to kidnap other villagers. They kidnap their friends and their families just so they can get their quick fix."

"Look at them Monty." I direct our gazes to the camera monitors. "They have your friends at gunpoint, do you want them to be stuck in cages and to be tortured? Only for them to be fed to the Reapers once their uses run out? Is that what you want for them?

Monty's face holds a conflicted expression as he looks at what is currently happening to his people. With the unexpected removal of Dante from the presidential office, Head Doctor Tsing being taken as hostage, and the loss of the medical floor; Cage has lost his mind.

He is scrambling around the bunker looking for rebel groups and securing anyone that could even come close to being a potential threat, and that includes the remaining Skaikru members. Currently, Monty's people are being held up inside of their designated quarters and have Mountain Men guards stationed right outside of their doors to keep them inside.

One of the Skaikru members had recently tried to resist; when the lockdown had first been initiated, he was shot and killed. His body was then ordered to be taken away by Cage.

What Cage does not realize, is that with the medical floor being taken over by my warriors, he had quite a large majority, if not all, of the doctors that the bunker has at their disposal. Not only that, but Doctor Tsing was his people's only hope of walking in the sun again. With his leading Doctor dead, and with the loss of the harvest chambers, Mount Weather's demise is already set in stone.

After a long and very difficult time spent in contemplation, Monty finally manages to tear his gaze away from the camera monitors. It seems that Mount Weather's soldiers were currently gearing up to confront his people, and it did not seem like they were going to take them alive.

"...I'll do it." His gaze fills with unparalleled grim determination.

I met his gaze, unwavering, giving him a firm nod of respect.

Everyone has to make hard decisions in life. Some are undoubtedly more difficult to make than others, but it also depends on what type of person is making the decisions.

Not everyone is able to kill others to protect the ones they love, and not everyone is able to stand by idly as their loved ones suffer.

I am not saying that we are in the right and that the Mountain Men are evil; nor am I saying that we are the ones in the wrong. No; what I am saying, is that either side would make the decision that would best benefit their own people given the opportunity. To many leaders like Cage and I, it does not matter what happens to our enemy… Not as long as our people come out on top in the aftermath.

To make difficult decisions that have such negative consequences, one must harden their heart to be able to endure. And that is exactly what Monty did as his fingers flew over the keyboard.

After about a minute, Monty suddenly stops. Slivers of anxiety and remorse show plainly through the cracks in his mask for the first time since beginning the procedure.

"It's done." He looks over towards an innocent-looking lever. "Once that lever is pulled, the oxygen scrubbers will reverse; and radiation will flood the bunker…"

It's not the first time that I've had to make a decision that has affected the lives of many, but it is the first time that I would directly be murdering so many innocent people.

"You did good, Monty…" My hand feels as if it was made of heavy iron as I place it upon the lever.

Looking back towards Monty, I see that his eyes are glued to the screens. Unwilling, and unable to look away; he doesn't want to hide from the devastation that his actions will soon bring.

Gaining newfound respect for Monty; I too, watch the screens. I need to watch the consequences of my actions, that way I am never able to deny what happens here to anyone… especially to myself.

Clenching the lever so tightly that the skin on my knuckles turns nearly bone-white, I square my shoulders. I clench my jaw, and I pull.

As I watch one screen in particular, it feels as if a piece of myself is dying along with the innocent people on the screen. In response to the lockdown set into action by Cage, all non-combatants were stuck in one room for their safety.

Three hundred eighty-four people, that is the number that Doctor Tsing gave me when I interrogated her. There were one hundred eighty-four men, one hundred seventy-four women, and twenty-six children… That is the number of lives I have destroyed, just so that my people will be safe and prosper.

You are not a monster. I repeat it over and over again in my head, unable to tear my eyes away from the radiation-burned corpses.

You are not a monster…

***

Kicking the doors to the Skaikru holding area open, I strolled inside with long strides. Monty was closely following behind me, warily alongside Echo, Samuel, and nearly a hundred warriors armed with firearms, knives, and anything else that they could use as a weapon.

Almost immediately upon entering the room I was nearly attacked. But upon seeing the size of my entourage, Monty's presence, and Clarke's unconscious form being thrown haphazardly over Samuel's shoulder, Skaikru quickly threw down their weapons. Of course, the fact that I am covered in someone else's blood adds to the intimidation factor quite a lot.

With my head still burdened by the hundreds of deaths I have just recently caused, I attempt to cut straight to the point of my arrival.

"Monty, stand with your people."

Following my command, he shuffles forward and immediately seeks out a tall lanky boy who immediately starts questioning him, trying to find any amount of information that he can.

"Who are you?" The man I recognize as Bellamy Blake asks, his eyes frequently shifting between Clarke's unconscious form and I.

"I am the Shield gon Hedas, and I am the one that decides the fate of your people." What followed my declaration were gasps of fear and faces of recognition. Even Bellamy's eyes widened with recognition and a small amount of fear.

"Good, you've heard of me. Lincoln's information I presume?"

Bellamy nods seriously and his jaw clenches. "...What do you want?"

"What I want, Bellamy Blake, is ultimate victory. I come to offer your people a chance to survive and to live your life how you want it, to live as a 'grounder' as you and your people so eloquently put it."

My words caused more than a few chuckles to sound out behind me. When my people heard that they were deemed grounders, we all found it to be quite a ridiculous term. Yes, my people live on the ground while they live in space, but the ground is where our origins began as a species. It is where their own roots began. It is foolish not to acknowledge that with a better name at least.

Bellamy looks behind him and observes the faces of his people who are rallied behind him. The faces of those who had come to the ground with him. The faces of those that looked up to him for guidance. Returning his attention back to us, he then sweeps his uneasy gaze over my warriors, as if weighing his options; only to let his head fall in resignation.

"What's the catch?" He asks me, visibly swallowing down whatever feelings that are threatening to break the surface.

"There is no catch; it is a rather sincere and straightforward opportunity. Those of you who are willing to live by our ways, adhere to our traditions, and abide by our laws will be considered one of us. But those of you who are not willing… well, you will be considered an enemy, and you shall be treated as such."

I look towards the remaining dropship members and make eye contact with many of them. After my siege on their camp, there are only around a third of them left.

Many of them are looking at me in fear. Though, there are a couple who already seem to want to accept my offer and join me. When I lock eyes with Monty, I see that he is in deep thought. I never discussed my intentions towards him. After I had pulled the lever, I had him restore power to the Elevator, and we then rendezvoused with Echo and Samuel. Echo was wanting to question him, but I quickly waved her off. I wasn't too keen on the idea of scaring Monty from our side so quickly.

"You were all sent to the ground against your will!" I say loudly, no longer speaking to Bellamy, but to his people. "You were not aware of our laws and our traditions, and so you were deemed as invaders! You committed acts of war against my people"—I gestured to the warriors behind myself—"but you did not commit them knowingly. No, the ones responsible for such actions are not yourselves; the ones that are responsible are your leaders! Clarke Griffin, and Bellamy Blake!"

Bellamy's face took on an ashen look after hearing my declaration. I had all but just said that he and Clarke were the only ones from their group that had to die. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but his words seemed to be stuck in his throat.

Not wanting to lose momentum, I continued. "Now, I offer you this chance as a way to start over; a brand new start. You will have a new beginning here on the ground. You can make new friends, learn new skills, explore a new world, and perhaps most importantly… you can have a new life. All you have to do if you want to take this opportunity is to stand alongside me and my people. If you do not want to take this chance, as I said previously; you will be seen as the enemy.

Bellamy seemed to have accepted his fate. His shoulders were sagging and he was staring at the floor. I motioned for Echo to bind him, and he did not even resist. He knew that this wasn't a fight that he could win, and he knew that if he were to fight back, more of his people would be killed because of him.

Many of the former delinquents were in deep consideration after listening to my offer. It took a good bit of time before one finally stood out and walked over to my side. Of course, who the first person to accept my offer was, wasn't really a surprise. Monty hesitantly makes his way over, and the friend that he was previously talking to follows closely behind.

As if those two were the glue that held the group together, more and more started to slowly come over to my side, one after the other. In what seemed like less than five minutes there were only a few that refused my offer of starting over.

Looking at the three who all of a sudden seemed to regret their choices, I ordered for them to be bound.

"They made their choice, and just like how Clarke and Bellamy will be punished… so will they."