PP Chapter 35

After the last few people are loaded into the back of the rover, I was about to head towards the driver's door, ready to drive off. When I heard Bellamy calling my name.

"Leon!"

I paused and turned around to face Bellamy, who was making his way towards me.

"What is it, Bellamy?" I asked unsure what he wanted from me , especially since these people needed immediate treatment.

"Let Clarke and Zoe drive the rover to the mountain."

"Why?" I was genuinely curious, mostly because this didn't look like something Bellamy might have asked me to do.

"Why?" I asked him again. "Why would you want me to stay at Polis? Shouldn't we all stick together?"

Bellamy sighed heavily, as he turned his head towards his sister. "Leon, I don't like what O is doing. I fear she's planning something even worse than marching to war. I need someone I trust with my life at Polis to keep an eye on things."

"Are you sure about this, Bellamy?"

"I know it's a lot to ask, Leon. But I trust you, and I need someone I can count on. If things go south, I want to know we have someone there who can act swiftly and protect our people."

"All right, Bellamy, I'll stay behind."

Well in a way that would make our job easier, yet at the same time, I still don't know how in God's name will I even take Octavia down without ending up fighting my friend.

After telling Clarke and Zoe that I will stay behind, both of them asked me why and I told them what Bellamy told me. Even though I know both girls wanted to spend some time with me, duty comes first when the fate of the human race is at risk.

As the rover rumbled away, carrying the wounded, Octavia, being carried on a stretcher by her men approached me, flanked by a dozen bodyguards, almost as if they were scared I would kill their leader.

"Leon. I heard from Harper that you and Clarke have a daughter now. Is it true?"

"In a way. Madi is a big fan of yours. She's heard every story about the girl under the floor who saved the human race."

Octavia looked at me with a shocked expression on her face, maybe because she didn't expect me to tell anyone about her story or maybe because I called her the girl under the floor. "What's her story? She survived six years of radiation. What's her secret?"

"Synthetic night blood, like Clarke and I. We took her to Becca's lab and shared our bone marrow to keep her alive since Clarke couldn't let a poor girl like her die in such a brutal way."

"She's lucky you two have found her."

As we made our way back to Polis, the night draped its inky veil over the desolate landscape. The moon cast an eerie glow, lending an ethereal quality to the ruins that surrounded us. Most of the grounders barely rested, but in the end all of the made it back to Polis.

Most of the grounders had sought refuge in the underground bunker, and only a handful of sentries remained on the surface. And despite my stance on them, I had to admit that I understand why they would choose to do this. The valley wasn't in any kind of way in reach, no matter how much Octavia dreams of conquering it by force and until that day comes, the second dawn bunker was the home of Wonkru.

I was about to go to one of the ruins that still stands and rest for the night when Octavia pulls me to her side, and the two of us walked together as equals, while Cooper and a dozen of Trikru guards hangs back slightly. As we move down the street, some sentries turn away, and some stop to whisper, and that made me realize that maybe just maybe Wonkru wasn't all as united as it seemed to be. Octavia saw it too, because she turns to Cooper, almost as soon as the first sentry starts to whisper to his colleague, "You said they needed to see me, but they can barely look at me. What aren't you telling me?"

"Blodreina, word has spread about our defeat in the wasteland. They say that the sandstorm is Diyoza's firepower which crippled us. The soil here is dead, people don't care how much it rains, it won't be arable for years. And, as you know, the hydrofarm can barely produce enough-"

Octavia cuts her off, sounding upset, "Stop it. We have faced worse odds than this and I will not let some rumors disband Wonkru, not now and not in the future."

"Yes, but now we know the warning signs of rebellion. I once betrayed you when you were vulnerable when Wonkru was living in fear."

Oh, that wasn't something I was expecting to hear from someone that seemed to be a loyal follower of hers, then again things can change with the right bait. However, just as I was about to ask about this, a familiar voice calls out from behind you. "O."

Both Octavia and I turn, and frankly, both of us were surprised to see Echo and Bellamy. I was surprised to see her here, but then again, before I left the village, I told her to wrap things up and leave the place, preferably back to Polis or to hide in the forest. Mostly because I feared, that Dyoza might find her and that would end up with Echo being turned into an example that would turn Bellamy mad.

"Glad to see you back on your feet. Echo tried to get in to see you, but they wouldn't let-"

"What is she doing here?"

"Octavia," I began, placing a hand on Octavia's arm to calm her. "She's here because I asked her to come."

Octavia's brows furrowed in confusion as she looked from Echo to me. "Why would you do that?"

I took a deep breath, choosing my words carefully. "She was inside the village, Octavia. We had plans to free our friends, but they were all wearing those collars. It was too risky. I knew Echo could help, so I told her to come here to Polis until we figure out how to get those damned collars from their necks."

"Leon's right, besides I wanted to thank you for saving my people."

"They're not your people. Azgeda and the other clans are just a memory of a time long ago. There is only Wonkru, and there is no place in it for you."

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