chapter 28

Clarke sighed in frustration as she sat down near the fire. The camp had not taken the idea of allowing Lincoln in while they were at war, but they were appeased when they said he would be bound and tied under guard.

They had decided to only post guards at the walls for now because they knew the Trikru were capable of travelling in the trees and having powers was not enough to be safe as Octavia could attest too.

There were going to be guards around the clock and Clarke was happy to do a lot of the heavy lifting. If they were to be attacked then it would stand to reason that as the delinquents' heaviest hitter that she be ready to fight back in case of any attack.

Perhaps, this would have been simpler if they did not need to worry about the added threat of Diggs and his group. Raven, Bellamy and Octavia had taken care of the gunners that were waiting for them in the woods, but it was clear that Mbege was out for blood.

Bellamy sat down opposite her and said nothing for a while as he stared into the burning wood. He sighed before finally looking at Clarke,"You and I both know how this will end. The Grounders are warriors. This is what they do. They have the numbers. They have the better fighters. They know these woods like the back of their hands. We're basically sitting ducks until they come for us. I don't even care about Diggs and Mbege. They're a non-issue. What I care about is that we're stuck here waiting for them to come kill us."

Clarke's hands clenched into fists as she let Bellamy go on his tirade. It wasn't like she didn't know this. She knew all this before the fight which was why she had insisted on there being no weapons at the meeting, but even if it had been the fault of Diggs there was nothing to be done about that now. The sheer venom in Anya's eyes was enough for Clarke to know that she meant what she said.

"What do you suggest we do then?"said Clarke and perhaps she could be forgiven for a sliver of annoyance slipping into her tone. She hadn't asked for the war. It was the last thing any of them wanted. It was a miracle the Grounders had been as cautious around them when they had first landed.

They had only been attacked by the outcasts of the Trikru despite landing right into their territory. Lincoln had spied on them, yes, but who could blame the Trikru? Clarke would have done the same if the roles were reversed.

"We take the fight to them,"said Bellamy harshly as a cold glint entered his eyes,"If we sit here waiting for them then we'll definitely lose. If that's our alternative then we should definitely go down with a fight."

Clarke immediately dismissed that idea. Bellamy was right, but he was also wrong. They knew nothing about the Trikru. The most they knew was that they were only a smaller part of a larger whole. If they did fight back hard enough against the Trikru would things reach a stage where they would call for backup or reinforcements? There were just too many unknowns.

"How do you suggest we do that? It's like you said we don't have the firepower, numbers or intel so how would doing that help? Also, even if it did help somehow we wouldn't even know where to attack unless you have a plan for that."

"You're forgetting that there's a gold mine of intel in the dropship,"said Bellamy heatedly,"Lincoln is Trikru. He knows them like the back of their hand. He could tell us where it would be best to attack, numbers, tactics. Hell, he might even help us himself."

In actuality, Clarke hadn't forgotten about Lincoln. She was the one that carried him to camp, after all. The problem was that it was all nice and good to think Lincoln would be so willing to help them, but that wasn't a plan without it's faults.

"Lincoln might be considered a traitor to the Trikru, but that doesn't mean he sees us as his allies,"said Clarke as she remembered the events on the bridge, "The only thing Lincoln had done to be declared a traitor was help us. We pushed for a meeting with Anya. He thought we weren't a threat and even after Diggs attacked him before the meeting he didn't retaliate. Now, he's been declared a traitor to his people despite never actually doing anything wrong and you expect him to aid us."

Bellamy nodded slowly and a bad feeling rose up within Clarke as he said,"Well, let's hope for his sake that he does want to help us. It might force our hand to do something neither of us want to."

Clarke felt her anger spike as she said,"You're willing to torture him to get information? That's now who we are. He's been the only friendly person we've met on the ground! He helped us find Octavia! She would be dead if it wasn't for him."

Bellamy looked at her with a grave expression that reached his voice as he said,"I know that we owe Lincoln a lot and without him O would probably be dead, but there's nothing I wouldn't do to protect Octavia. My sister, my responsibility. As much as we might not want to hurt Lincoln, it's still possible that we might have to and I know you think the same otherwise you wouldn't have had him tied up despite taking a knife to the chest."

Clarke closed her eyes as she processed Bellamy's words. He was right, of course. She had brought Lincoln back hoping to squeeze him for intel. That was the plain truth. She would be lying if she said hadn't put those restraints on him with this exact thought in mind. The lines had been drawn in the sand and even though Clarke had saved his life twice Lincoln might not be willing to help them or worse he might try to kill them as some sort of twisted revenge.

Thus, it was best that they kept all options open at least until they actually speak to Lincoln.

"You're, "said Clarke finally before adding,"Torture is our absolute last resort. I'm hoping that me saving his life twice – and one of those from his leader – might actually help us."

Bellamy smiled at Clarke's words, but it dimmed slightly as she added,"The raiding idea is still stupid. There's no way we can defeat thousands of warriors, but I do think there's something else we can plan for, but we'll need to speak to Lincoln first."

Clarke stood up and began to make her way to the dropship. Bellamy followed after her and said,"You think he's awake?"

Clarke shook her head and said,"No."

She held her hand up and electricity crackled across it,"But I can wake him up."

Bellamy didn't respond to Clarke's statement and the two walked in a comfortable silence to the dropship.

Miller was at the bottom of the ladder and Clarke looked at him and said,"Has Lincoln woken up yet?"

Miller shrugged and said,"He wasn't awake when I was last up there, but I haven't been up in a while so he might be now."

"Thanks, you can take a break now. We have it from here."said Clarke to Miller who nodded gratefully before leaving.

Clarke climbed up the ladder and once she climbed fully into the room to see Lincoln fully restrained to a chair. Bellamy had at first suggested that Lincoln's arms be tied to separate ropes as that was bound to be painful however Clarke had refused seeing as they needed to foster good relations with Lincoln and if they were going to tie him up, he would at least be comfortable.

Luckily, Lincoln appeared to be awake and Clarke moved closer to him as she heard Bellamy climb up the ladder and shut the hatch. There was silence before Clarke decided to get the ball rolling.

"How is your chest?"said Clarke as she looked the spot where Anya's knife had been embedded. Lincoln had suffered some blood loss which was the main reason he had been unconscious, but the doctor within her wanted to know if there was anything else she could do to help.

Lincoln had a conflicted expression on his face and Clarke was sure he was remembering the moment Anya had thrown her knife into his chest. It had caught Clarke completely off guard that the knife hadn't even been aimed for her and so she hadn't been able to stop it, but luckily Lincoln hadn't succumbed to the wound before Clatke could heal him.

"It is fine,"said Lincoln passively, but his next words pulsed with gratitude and awe as he said,"Thank you for saving my life. I can barely be of help to you and still you saved me and for that I'm indebted to you."

Clarke nodded at Lincoln and said,"I did what anyone else would have done. You've helped so much since we've been on the ground. There's no way I was going to let Anya kill you."

Lincoln straightened in his chair at the sound of Anya's name and he looked at the two people opposite him and said,"Your people are going to lose this war with Anya. I know you truly wished for peace however I am now seen as a traitor to my people. Even if I were to return to them and try to convince Anya that you were not at fault she would have me executed on sight. "

Clarke bit her lip in frustration. It was one thing to speculate that they were going to lose, but it was a whole other to hear it from Lincoln. Lincoln had seen what both the delinquents and Trikru were capable of and he essentially confirmed that the delinquents were doomed.

"We know,"said Bellamy as he spoke up for the first time,"That's why we're here to ask you for help. Anything you know that can help us. Numbers, tactics, anything really. "

Lincoln's voice hardened as he said,"You are the reason Anya banished me. You were incapable of saving your sister from the weakest of traitors and so I helped you. I asked Anya for an audience and again you were incapable of calming those under your control and you are now at war. I never betrayed my clan and I won't start now."

Lincoln's words rang true and Clarke felt uneasy as she could tell that Lincoln wouldn't give them anything on the Trikru despite Anya nearly killing him and Clarke saving him. The frustration in Bellamy's eyes was palpable and Clarke feared she wouldn't be able to convince him to take the high road for much longer.

"They aren't our people anymore, "said Clarke in exasperation, "We exiled them. Their actions don't reflect on us. We do want peace. "

Lincoln sighed and said,"Clarke, do you know that you are seen as the leader of the Sky People? No one else. Anya may believe that you didn't intend to ambush her, but for that to happen you need to bring those in the wrong to justice."

"Justice?"echoed Bellamy with a confused expression on his face,"We've already exiled them. What more can we do to punish them?"

"Anya would want us to execute them, wouldn't she?"said Clarke to the surprise of Bellamy.

Lincoln nodded at the question, but said,"Yes, but as the leader of the Sky people. You must be the executioner. That is our way. The leader must show their strength by killing those who dare defy them. If you wish to live with us, you must abide by our laws."

Clarke was appalled at the sheer thought of having to execute the exiled prisoners. The whole reason they had left was because they did not wish to live in a system similar to the Ark and yet despite her wishes it seemed like that was a reality impossible to get away from.

"Isn't there any other way?"said Clarke desperately and to her dismay Lincoln shook his head in the negative.

It was disturbing that the humans on Earth had such a cruel system, but perhaps what was most disturbing to Clarke wasn't having to actually kill Mbege and his people, but just how easy it would be.