Day and night we marched, our rations shrinking by the hour. Every step felt heavier, the dessert air drying my lungs. By the time we set up camp again, exhaustion had settled into my bones like lead. I sat by the fire with Bellamy, too tired to speak, when Monty came over.

"Bellamy, Diana." He said, lowering himself down beside us. His face looked hollow, skin pale under the firelight. He handed us two small packets.
"Last of the rations" he said

"Take it" i told him, pushing mine back.
"I'm not hungry" truth was, my stomach twisted with dread more than emptiness. Food wouldn't sit right inside me anyway.

Monty frowned but didn't argue.
"Look, if you want us with you at the front-" he starts

"No. We got this. You stay. They're leaving the tents here. Once the fight is over tomorrow you'll come and join us" I cut him off.

"I told Octavia we're taking 80 acres, eastern edge of the valley. Grow something other than algae, okay?" Bellamy laughed

Monty laughed with him, but I noticed how his eyes darted away- like he didn't believe the hope.

Later, Bellamy and I lay down, the head resting against his chest. His heartbeat was steady under my ear, but mine was racing.

"Bellamy?" I whispered

"Yeah?" His voice was low, carful.

"What are we?" I ask

He let out a small laugh.
"I think it's pretty obvious. Why?" He says

"If we're marching into war tomorrow....i just want to know we're in this together. For better or for worse" I say, my voice was fragile almost.

"It'll probably be for worse" he says

I smiled faintly.
"I knew that the day I met you" I answer

He sat up, pulling me with him. His hand slipped into mine, rough and warm.
"Well then, Diana Gray, for better or for worse- will you allow me the honor of being your boyfriend?" He asks, his smirk on his face.

I laughed, tilting my head back at how ridiculous and yet perfect it sounded in this wasteland.

"You shall, Bellamy Blake" I answer

We kissed, laughter mingling with the tension that had strangled us for days.

"I waited too long to hear that" I whispered

"And I waited too long to ask" he pressed another kiss against my lips. For a moment, I forgot the war was waiting for as at dawn.

But I guess that's what love does, right? Makes you feel safe in the midst of war.

As the morning slowly came, the planning began. Indra laid out the map.
"In position here, according to Diyoza, at the first sign of attack-" she said, pointing.

"At the first sign of attack mccrearys forces at point B and C will converge to reinforce A, thinking that's where we're coming through." Bellamy finished for her

"Leaving the other two doors wide open." Octavia added, her voice clipped.

"We'll come through here- Point C. Now if we time it right, and we move fast, there won't be any resistance" I said

"Once we're in the woods, we take the village." Indra said

"Once we're in the woods, we win" miller adds

"Okay I'll tell my people" a woman added

"Your people?" Miller scoffed

"Save it for the enemy." I cut in, sharp enough to silence him.

Indra nodded.
"Spread the word. We go at first light" Indra said

Miller moved off. Octavia's eyes lingered on me, unblinking.

"Tell echo I said well done." She muttered

"You can tell her yourself in two hours." I replied, walking out with Bellamy.

The camp had fallen quiet: warriors shifting uneasily, looking more to me than her. And I caught the flicker of resistance in her face in the tent.

We marched toward the first line of defense. Bellamy, Octavia, and I stayed at the front.

"Two pillboxes, just like echo said." Bellamy whispered

Before we could breathe, the signal echoed through the valley.

"That's our signal." I murmured

"It's working. They're moving out." Bellamy said

Octavia rose to her feet again. Her hand gripped her sword tight.
"Advance" she said

The army hesitated. Their eyes darted between her sword and me. I gave a single nod, and only then did they move forward.

We pushed forward together. Indra came up beside me, her face tight.
"We did our best to stop this. In the end, if we have to fight, it's better to win" she says

I barely heard her. My gaze had landed on a boy- couldn't have been more than twelve- walking beside Octavia. She laid a hand on his shoulder just as a bullet tore through him. His body crumbled at her feet.

The sound of gunfire rippled through the line.
"Attack!" Octavia shouted, but bellamy shoved her down.

"O, you should be covered!" He yelled

I grabbed a weapon and opened fire, but it was chaos. The enemy's guns lit up, tearing through us like paper.
"Stay low! Stand your ground!" Octavia screamed

I stopped shooting. My vision blurred, not from smoke but from sheer horror of watching them die. Our people. My people. The commanders whispered in the back of my mind, but I didn't need them. I already knew.

We were going to die.

"Retreat! Now! Everybody fall back!" I yelled, voice raw.

"No! Advance- it's the only way!" Octavia roared

"No! Go now! Fall back!" I shouted again, my voice carrying farther than hers. Warriors listened to me, breaking formation, scrambling back.

"O, it's the only way. We have to get out of here" Bellamy yelled, pulling at her arm.

"We go back and find another-" my voice cut off as a shell exploded. The blast lifted me off my feet, pain rippled through every bone. Then everything went black.

I woke up to pain. My body throbbed, each breath sharp.

"Diana, don't move" Bellamys voice. Steady, but edged with fear.

I froze.

"Slowly turn your head. Don't move fast" he said.
I obeyed, gritting my teeth. He was close, dirt smeared across his face.

"We have to move very slowly to get to Octavia. I'll tell you when" he says

I nodded faintly.

We crawled through the dirt, inching toward her. Finally, we stop beside her, Octavia to my right, Bellamy to my left.

Octavia groaned, trying to rise.
"Octavia, don't move." I warned

She shifted again.
"I said don't move. The second we move, we're dead." I tell her

A warrior across the way spotted me. Her eyes widened.
"Heda" she whispered, starting to stand.

"Get down-" I start

"Heda" she repeated, rising fully. A shot rang out, and she dropped, lifeless. Another warrior tried to follow, the same fate meeting him.

"This is your fault, Bellamy." Octavia hissed

"We are not doing this now." He snapped

"Judging by the number of dead, some of the army must have made it back to the wasteland but they won't last long without food or water" I said

"I have to get to them. You lay down covering fire and we run." Octavia ordered

"No. We both lost our weapons. We wait till it's dark. Once we make it back, we get the radio and we surrender. We can't win. It's over. But we can still save our people." Bellamy argued

"Nothing is over." She bit back

"No- you're wrong. Your rule is over. I waited too long to remove you. If we even make it out of here, your time as blodreina is done" my voice shook with fury

Her eyes flashed.
"It wasn't my fault. Your intel was bad. But at least we know what we're up against." She said

"No, Octavia. No one will follow you. This is your fault. Not mine. Not Bellamy's. Yours" I said firmly

"You led them here. You brunt their farm, and you made them march. These people are dead because of you." Bellamy said coldly

She tried to move, but I grabbed her arm.
"O, stop moving!" I demanded

Then a voice cut through the battlefield.
"Please! Please! We give up" I turned my head. Three of our warriors, hands raised.

"What are they doing?" Octavia whispered

"Get down. Get down" Bellamy urged

They didn't. Gunfire answered them, tearing all three apart.

My stomach sank.

"So much for surrender" Octavia muttered