Bellamy Blake

Bellamy leaned against the bars, listening to the distant sounds of the mountain. His shoulder ached from the impact of the rifle butt, and a familiar mixture of rage and helplessness raged in his chest. Clarke was out there somewhere. He had to find her.

A rustling sound in the next cage made him start. He turned his head and saw a figure pressed against the wall in the dim light.

"Hey, are you okay?" His voice sounded hoarse.

The only response was a quiet, ragged sigh. But something about that silhouette... He narrowed his eyes.

— Do I know you? From The Hundred?

The figure stirred, and the faint light from the ceiling fell on a face. Dirt-stained, emaciated, but familiar. One of those who had joined the earthlings in the first days. He didn't remember the name, but he had seen that face in the common dining hall on the Ark.

"Blake," she breathed out quietly. Her voice was weak, but there was no fear in it. More like... relief.

"Damn it," he whispered, pressing his forehead to the cold bars that separated them. "What did they do to you?"

"Nothing. For now." She tried to smile, but it came out pitiful. "They're just holding us. Like cattle."

A shadow flickered in his eyes, and he slammed his fist hard into the metal. The cage clanged.

• I'll get you out of here. I promise.

"Clarke first," she shook her head, and he saw understanding in her eyes. The same as his. They were all pawns. "I heard you scream her name. They won't forgive you for that."

Suddenly, her slender hand slipped between the bars of his cage, barely reaching his clenched fist. Her fingertips brushed his knuckles, a light, almost weightless touch, but it sent a wave of warmth through his entire body. It was the first kind gesture he'd seen in all his days in hell.

He opened his fingers and allowed her to touch his palm, covered with fresh abrasions.

“Then we’ll have to not forgive them together,” Bellamy said quietly, and for the first time in a long time, there was not only steel in his voice, but also something akin to hope.