CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:

"SAVE OUR PEOPLE."

As the night sky was still out on the planet earth, the sound of gunshots were loud all around the village, Tondc, that was now all covered in ash and fire and lifeless bodies of grounders laying all around, some cries of help being heard while others could be seen hiding behind something to avoid the gunshots. Y/n continued to crouch beside Octavia as they avoided gunshots that was no doubt from one of the mountain men as they couldn't think of who else would set a missile to Tondc and then have a shooter in the distance, killing them all.

As they hid behind something, the two sky girls took notice of a grounder rush from his hiding spot and run in the direction of Abby Griffin, which Y/n had finally noticed her mother hiding there, calling something out but she couldn't make out what it was since she said it when another gunshot rang through the air, the sound echoing around. She watched in panic as the same grounder who had left his hiding spot collapsed just a few feet in front of her mother when a bullet hit him, the life slowly leaving his body as he laid there.

Quickly, not wanting to leave her mother there where she could be shot if she made any movement, Y/n didn't have any hesitation as she stood up and rushed forward, only to quickly fall to the ground when a bullet grazed past her cheek, creating a line of blood that was slowly seeping out on her dirty cheek as the bullet had flew right past her. Octavia was able to reach out and bring her back to where they were hiding. It was no use, they wouldn't be able to get anywhere without getting shot.

At the sound of a loud and familiar groan filling their ears, their gazes snap in the direction of the sound to see Lincoln rushing over in their direction, carrying a injured Indra over her shoulder as she had been shot by the shooter just earlier.

As he passed the girls, Lincoln called for them to follow him, to which Octavia immediately did so, a very hesitant Y/n trailing behind them as they avoided the gunshots. They were able to get behind something where other grounders were, Nyko included, and Lincoln set Indra softly down on the ground beside Nyko, who stared down at the woman in concern.

"What are we gonna do? We can't move." Nyko points out.

"I'm going for the shooter." Lincoln blurts out, making Octavia look at him with wide eyes. "I'll sound the horn when it's done."

Nyko nods. "Alright, my friend."

"Be careful." Y/n adds, patting his shoulder.

"I'm going with you." Octavia declares.

Lincoln shakes his head. "No. Nyko and Y/n need you here."

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Octavia asks, staring into her lover's eyes.

"Get knocked down, get back up." Lincoln repeats her words she had said to him earlier in the day.

In the corner of her eye, Y/n watched as he reached his hand up, cupping his lover's cheek before they both leaned forward and rested their foreheads against one another's, causing her to frown deeply as she rested her hand on Indra's arm, her mind instantly going to the boy she loves and knows she always will love.

The boy she killed to save him from torture. Hearing Nyko instruct her to place pressure on her wound, the Griffin girl was quick to push Finn Collins to the back of her mind as she did as he asked while Octavia soon crouched on her other side, both girls looking down at the injured Indra, who stared up at both of them, trying to hide her pained expression.

"This is my village. You're the Chief Second." Indra croaks out, looking at Octavia before glancing between both of them and it still surprised Y/n that Indra didn't put all her hatred on her. "Save our people."

"We're pinned down, and the other seconds won't follow us." Octavia reminds in a whisper.

"So make them." Indra demands through a croaked tone as her body shakes before her eyes slowly close, making the girls panic.

"She's losing too much blood." Nyko tells them.

"Indra." Y/n quietly calls, shaking her a bit before looking to the other seconds. "We have to do something."

"Thanks, sky girl, but there's nothing to do until the sniper is dead." A grounder, Caris, states.

It was silent, the trigger of the gun in the distance continuing to be pulled by the sniper as the bullets flew by, hitting their targets as Y/n looked to Octavia, seeing her already glancing at her. The two girls exchange a look, silently speaking to one another as they tried to think of what they should do next to help save the slowly dying woman laying down right in front of them, her blood slowly seeping out of her every few seconds that passed.

Dead bodies could be seen all around the now burnt down village of Tondc, cries adding to the sounds of the gunshots from the sniper as the bullets hit anything that moved. The night sky had disappeared, the sun now hiding beneath the grey clouds, not giving the grounders any light like they'd hoped to have on this devastating day for them. Many other grounders could be seen hiding behind something as they avoided the shots, flinching every so often.

Sometimes, a few grounders could be seen trying to run across to get to their families, only collapse to the burnt ground full of ash once a bullet pierced right through their skin, killing them almost instantly or just in a few seconds. The grounders thought since it was light out, they'd be able to see the shooter, but they were still hidden from their sight.

Crouched beside one another, right behind a large metal piece, Y/n and Octavia were glancing around in hopes of finding the shooter or just any survivors that they knew. Worry filled Y/n when she didn't see her mother anywhere around, but when she saw a bleeding Indra laying just behind her with Nyko and some other grounders around, she remembered to focus on saving her first and dealing with the shooter before finding her mother. Only a bit of relief filled her when she didn't see her mother's dead body laying on the ash, lifeless eyes staring up at the sky or at her.

"We can't wait anymore." Atohl speaks up, shaking. "Our people are dying down there."

The two sky girls knew why he was shaking. He was full of anger and devastation. He was angry that he found himself trying to hide from a sniper with two of the girls he hated and thought they could easily just join with his people, especially when one of them killed a few of his own. He was angry at himself that he couldn't do anything to help his injured people, their cries echoing through his ears. Grabbing a glass bottle full of alchol from his pocket, he takes off the lid and gulps some of the liquid down his throat.

"If we can get to the crater, we can tunnel in from the side." Y/n suggests.

"There's no cover." Caris replies from beside an unconscious Indra.

"I'll do it." Atohl declares, tossing the bottle on the ground.

The others all watch as he gets up from his crouched position, passing the sky girls as he goes to run out from their hiding spot and in the direction of the crater. However, he was quick to flinch and drop down when a bullet almost hit him, Octavia and Y/n reaching out and pulling him back to their hiding spot. Caris was frantic as she grabbed her friend, bringing him further into their hiding place while narrowing her eyes on Y/n.

"Any other bad ideas?" Caris questions.

Octavia reaches for the bottle Atohl had, taking a gulp before putting the lid back on. "Just one."

After putting the lid back on the battle, she thrusts her arm out and throws the bottle in the direction of a small fire that had been formed after the explosion in the village, causing a small explosion to happen, the fire growing larger. It was small enough not to harm anyone around them, but big enough that it no doubt caught the attention of the sniper.

Seeing the smoke all around, most likely covering the sniper's view, Octavia made the decision to run across, avoiding the bullet while doing do. Glancing back at Caris and Atohl, Y/n motions with her head for them to follow before she does the same, hearing them behind her as they soon slid down a hill, meeting with Octavia behind some rocks. The sky girls glance at one another, sharing a small fist bump.

"Now what, sky girls?" Caris asks.

Y/n gestures to the rocks with her head. "Now we dig."

As both sky girls instruct the grounders to follow their lead, the two grounders step forward as they all begin to grab the rocks and throw them to the ground so they'd be able to get down in the tunnels. For a while, as the gunshots rang through the air, they had gotten deeper into a tunnel as Atohl had attached a rope to a wooden platform as he pulled the rocks out while the girls moved them, ash covering their faces.

At the sound of a horn blaring, Caris stopped the sky girls before they all walked out, seeing many other grounders slowly standing up from their hiding places. They hadn't even realized that there were no more bullets gliding through until there were none.

"Lincoln. He did it." Octavia breathes out, a smile etching onto her lips.

Caris sighs. "We still can't get them out."

"Wanna bet? Get back in there." Y/n instructs, sharing a smile with Octavia.

Deciding to obey, knowing some of her people could be down underground and injured, Caris turned around and headed back into the small tunnel they had made with Y/n and Octavia following right behind her.

They were moving some more rocks out of the way, and soon enough, Y/n found herself pulling on the rope Atohl had been pulling on with the help of Octavia, Caris and Atohl. At the sound of another horn, other grounders called out at the sight of sky people, which the two sky girls were quick to rush up the hill, soon seeing their own people heading inside, Sinclair leading the way.

"We saw the missile, heard the blast, figured you could use some help." Sinclair announces.

Octavia nods with a tired smile. "Just in time. Thank you."

As they gave each other nods, the sky people were walking past them, listening to Y/n's plead of everyone holding onto the rope. It took a bit, but they were soon able to get plenty of rocks out of the way. Seeing two figures inside through the hole that had been made, the light shining down through the tunnel, Y/n carefully climbed down just enough to not get crushed inside. Her eyes widened at the sight of her mother there with an almost unconscious Marcus Kane.

"Mom, Kane, we'll get you out of here." Y/n calls down to them, beginning to climb down. "Octavia, I need you and others down here!"

It took a while, but grounders and sky people were coming down just enough and Kane was put onto a stretcher, being led out of the tunnels and soon back outside. Y/n, with the help of Sinclair, got her mother out as the night sky had slowly formed high above them. Rain had slowly begun pouring down just as Y/n carefully pulled her mother into her arms, relief filling her that she was alive and okay.

"Kane needs blood, 'O' neg., right now." Abby pants out when they pulled away, glancing to Sinclair.

Y/n slowly puts her hands on her mother's shoulders. "Mom, you're bleeding. You need to slow down a bit. You need help, too."

"Sweetheart, I'm fine." Abby reassures, taking her daughter's hands in hers.

Suddenly, the sound of all the grounders chanting the word, 'Heda', over and over again caught their attention as they looked over at the entrance of the village, seeing Clarke and Lexa standing there, side by side. Y/n felt her mother tense when her eyes went to Clarke, and she couldn't help but wonder why. She felt relief at the sight of her sister alive, but questioned where she had been the entire time. Lexa raised her hand, stopping her people from continuing to chant.

"What happened here will not stand. The mountain will fall. The dead will be avenged!" Lexa yells out, receiving loud cheers from her people.

"Enough! That's enough." Abby shouts, to which they stop as they look to her. "There are still others in the wreckage. We heard them. Go to work!"

Obeying immediately, all the sky people and the grounders gone back into the tunnels in search of any more injured people to save as their voices echoed through the raindrops falling from the sky. After a while, after making sure Indra was alright, Y/n found herself rushing over to her sister once she saw she was by herself, hugging her tightly. She felt Clarke slowly hug her back, almost hesitant but she did, eventually, hug back just as tightly.

"I thought you were dead." Y/n admits in a shaky whisper, pulling away and holding her arms. "I'm glad you're okay."

Clarke gives a small, sad smile. "I'm glad you're okay, too. I was scared."

After that, Y/n instantly pulled her back into a hug, not wanting to let go. She couldn't remember the last time she had a genuine hug like this before. The only times she could think of was with her childhood best friend, Wells Jaha, back at the one hundred camp and her sister, the time she witnessed her father getting floated and was wrapped up in her sister and mother's arms, or when she killed the love of her life to save him from torture, only to get tortured badly later after her small family had kept her safe with them in her arms.

All those times it happened, she had either lost or were about to lose the people who were always special in her life. After almost losing her mother today and thinking her sister was dead, she was determined to save the people in her life and keep them alive, no matter what it took. She's made mistakes, everyone has and everyone will, she was sure she'd make more in the future, but she would only hope that her family and people would stay alive along the way.