Bitter Harvest

Shadow POV

I left Clarke with Lexa and joined Octavia outside the camp, watching the guards. "We're done here?" Monty's mother asked. "Ten-meter draw and I'm good" the other guard tells her. "Pike detail is still at it" I tell my father over the radio. "Soil and water samples" I whispered to him. "Any idea what they're up to?" My father asked me. "No, but considering how heavily they're armed, I don't think they want anyone to find out" I explained. Octavia tapped me on the shoulder and pointed towards a little boy. A grounder boy. "Crap..." I whispered. "What is it?" My father asked. "There's a grounder kid. Hang on" I tell him. "Hello there!" Montys mother called out. "Don't be scared!" She says. The other guard raised his gun and aimed at the little boy. "We can't let him go" he stated. "He will tell his people he saw us" he added. "Shadow, please respond" my father whispered to me over the radio. "Hannah!" The guards yelled at Monty's mom. Just like that the little kid takes off when Monty's mother nodded to the male guard. "Fan out! With me!" She ordered the guards. "Shadow! You there?" My father asked as Octavia and I run for the boy. "They're going after the kid. We're trying to cut them off" I explained to him as we run into the woods after the boy. I see him and grabbed a hold of him, pulling him down into the very tall grass and hide behind the tree, covering his mouth so he couldn't scream. "Shhh!" I whispered to him. I cling my back to the tree as I hear the loud and heavy footsteps, looking over to Octavia she puts her finger over her lips. "We lost him" I hear the male guard breath heavily. "Double back towards the river he can't have gotten far" I hear Monty's mother instruct the guard. We hear the footsteps when something dropped onto my forehead, pain beginning that caused me to hiss. Octavia covers my mouth and I look up to see an acid like liquid dripping from the tree above us. It drips again and I hold me pain in before hearing the guard leave. I let the boy go and wiped my forehead. The kid takes off quickly "You're welcome..." I scoffed before standing to my feet. "Dad?" I say. "I'm here" he tells me. "You okay?" He asked me. "We need to find out what Pike is up to right now,whatever it is" I tell him. "They're willing to kill a kid to keep it quiet" I added. "We're on it. Stay safe" he tells me.

"Okay. Let's get this meeting started" I hear Bellamy voice as Octavia and I are cutting through the forest. My father letting us listen over the radio that he has listening to another radio that's connected to a listening device muller planted. "Welcome farm stations own Monty Green and factory girl Zoe Monroe as we begin our next crucial phase expansion and salvation" Pike speaks. "And this will lead the way" he says. "Dirt" I hear Monroe ask. "Soil" he corrected her. "Fertile, arable soil. Vastly more rich than anything we've found since landing" he tells them all. "We'll clear the trees and plant within the month" Pike tells them. "We start with soy beans and corn. They grown the fastest" Hannah, Monty's mom instructed. "What's wrong Monty?" I hear Bellamy asked. "Don't like corn?" He joked. "I've never had corn, actually" Monty tells him. "Is this where we're going?" He questioned. "That's right" Pike says. "There's a village here" Monty tells them. It caused me to halt to a stop. "What about the people who live there?" He then asked. "That's sector Four. We talked about this" Bellamy spoke. "The people there are not a threat" he stated. "We need that land" Pike tells Bellamy. "With the loss of Mount Weathers resources Arkadia will be starving in less than a year" Pike informed them. "With all due respect, sir you still haven't answered Monty's question" Bellamy pointed out. "You know the answer. Every field must be cleared of stones before it's tilled" Pike responded. It turned my stomach, hurt every part of my body. "We were spotted by a child. So, they'll be expecting us" Hannah tells them. "But they lost their fighters when we took out their army. We don't expect resistance" she added. "They're grounders. They'll resist" Monty pointed out. "Even if they don't, the commanders message was clear. Blood must not have blood" Bellamy says. "But that doesn't mean we can start taking—" Pike cut him off. "What would you prefer?" He asked Bellamy. "Die fighting for your home or starve to death?" He asked Bellamy. "Will you do what needs to be done for your people to survive or not?" Pike asked them all. I look over at Octavia "We'll do what needs to be done" Bellamy answered him. Octavia takes off towards the cave. I followed her inside and see her beginning to sharpen her knife. I break up wood to make arrows before twining pieces of metal on the end and make them sharp before making a bow. "You're quiet" Octavia pointed out. "What's wrong with that?" I asked. "Usually you can't stop talking" she reminded me. I stand to my feet "What do you want me to say?" I asked her. "You still love him?" She asked me. I was about to answer when we hear something in the distance. I pull an arrow out and place it in my bow quickly and aim at the opening to the cave only to see Miller running inside. "Finally...where's our horses?" I asked Miller as I lowered my arrow and bow and approached him. "Outside. Nice to see you too" he chuckled before giving me a quick hug. "Come on" Octavia ordered me. "Wait a second!" Miller yelled. "Do you actually think that a bunch of Grounders are gonna give up their homes because you ask them too?" Miller asked her. "If it's that or be wiped out. Maybe" she stated. "Okay, then what if they don't leave?" Miller questioner. "Then we're leading our people into an ambush" Miller pointed out. "Maybe if you just talk to your brother—" Octavia cut him off. "My brother is on the wrong side" she hissed out. "So what, then. We don't even try?" Miller asked her. "What do you think happens when Lexa finds out that Skaikru massacred another grounder village?" I then asked Miller. "War. More dead friends" he responded. "Stop the attack. Stop a war" I tell Miller before October and me take off on our horses.

We ride to the village as it pours down rain. "Put her hands up" Octavia instructed me. Our horses keep walking into the village as I raise my hands. "Yo souda bants kom disha geda. Teik au chit bilaik yo na gada in en gonot. O yo na wan op kom seim fayogon don frag oyo bro en sis op" I tell the village that You all must leave this place. Take what you can carry and go. Or you'll die by the same guns that killed your brothers and sisters. The grounders take out their weapons when they see us both. "Ai nou na bash yo op" Octavia spoke, telling them we mean them no harm. Grounders approached us and we climbed off our horses. "Liar! I've seen your face!" The villager leader hissed. "You were with Wanheda at the battle of the Mountain!" He hissed. "Du laik Skaikru." He announced that we were both Skaikru. "Your guns killed our brothers and sisters" he stated, the grounders getting closer to us. "Warriors sent by the Commander to keep you safe" he hissed. "We're sorry for your loss" I spoke. "But we're here to want you that the shoulders who did that are coming here now!" I raised my voice. "They want your land and they will kill all of you to get it!" I shouted. "You need to leave now!" I shouted. "Are you threatening us?" The leader questioned before he takes his cane and bashed me in the leg with it. The pain was horrible as I fell to the ground. He kicked me and I rolled over and he tried hitting me again but I rolled before he could. I quickly stand to my feet. "Ai's trana sis au!" I shouted, raising my hand as I grabbed his cane off the ground. "Ha osir na wich yu in?" The leader asked, why they should believe us. The kid from yesterday stepped forward as he spoke. "Kos em don sis ai au" he informed his leader, telling them it was us who helped the boy. "You're the ones who saved Gavriel?" He asked me. I nodded quickly before tossing him his cane to him. "Don't leave" he ordered Octavia and me. I leaned over and stared at the kid "You couldn't say anything before I got kicked in the face?" I questioned. He only walked away from me and Octavia approached me. "You alright?" She asked. I wiped the blood from my mouth and nodded.

I fixed my bag on my horse as the grounders spoke to one another. The boy stares at me and my horse. "You can pet him if you want" I smiled to him. He smiled back at me before approaching the horse. I take his hand and softly place it on the horses nose. "What's its name?" He asked. "It's a he and his name is Prince" I say. He laugh "odd name for a horse." "Gavreil! Go pack your things!" His father ordered him. The little boy rushed off as his father approached me. "His parents were warriors. Both killed by Skaikru guns" he informed me. It broke my heart, that little boy growing up without his parents. "You decided to leave" Octavia pointed out as people begin rushing across the village. "As you say, we're no match for Skaikru" he reminded us both. "What you're doing is as brave as going into Battle, Semet" I tell him. A man groaned in pain and I knit my brows together before walking around Semet and over to the man to see the acid on the camp fire and trees. "What is this?" I questioned, turning to Semet. "You think you know us?" He asked me. "You know nothing, girl" he hissed out. I feel someone hit me in the back and everything went out.

"Shadow...shadow wake up" I hear Octavia calling out to me. I opened my eyes and grunt in pain as my head pounded. I groan a little before I hear footsteps. "The trap is set and as soon as it's done. We leave for Polis" Semet stated as I shut my eyes. "We should just kill the girls" a woman says. "No. The Commander needs to hear about this from sky people themselves" Semet says. I hear the loud sound of the rover. "There! Over there!" I hear Semet call out. I move onto my side and move towards Octavia. "Hello? Anyone here?!" I hear Bellamy call out. "Maybe they saw our lights and left?" Hannah voice suggested. Octavia unties my hands and I untie hers after before we get to our feet. "Stop them! She will warn them!" Semet called out as we run towards our horses. The grounder that comes towards me I kick hard and he falls over. "Hyah!" I yelled and my horse takes off towards the village. My horse is loud as is neighs. It's pouring down rain and I see Bellamy standing in the middle of the village. "Bellamy! Get them out of there!" I screamed. "It's a trap!" I yelled. "Move now!" I yelled at them. Just then arrows of fire came down on the village. "The smoke is poison!" I tell them. I watched as they all retreated, all trying to get away from the acid smoke. Just then someone ripped me down from my horse and put a blade to my throat. Semet approaches Octavia and me slowly. I knew then that we were in trouble. Big trouble.