Holy crap it's been a while.

Chapter 10

When Bellamy opened his eyes, the sun still hadn't made it's appearance yet. He crooked his head to the side to see Autumn staring up at the few remaining stars that freckled the sky. A glance in the other direction showed him a still sleeping Lincoln and an empty blanket where his little sister should be. He took a deep breath of frustration and finally sat himself upright. Because the handcuffs left her no other choice, Autumn sat up as well.

"Lincoln." Bellamy said loudly enough to jolt the Grounder from his slumber. "Where's Octavia?" he asked as he fiddled with the handcuff key, letting it fall free from Autumn's wrist, and then his own. He felt a twinge of guilt when he saw the red chaffed skin around her hand. Lincoln's eyes surveyed their little camp before jumping to his feet.

"Relax," Octavia's voice travelled in from behind them. "Can't a girl pee without having to bring a babysitter?" she said sarcastically as she sauntered past Lincoln. Bellamy rolled his eyes. The bickering between Lincoln and his sister had been almost constant for the past week or so. He had no idea what brought it on, but it was getting old. He looked down at Autumn and noticed the small pull at the corner of her lip as she held back a laugh.

"You can't just walk off like that, O." he chastised, hauling himself to his feet. The muscled in his back ached from a long night on the hard forest floor, but he knew the kinks would work themselves out as he walked. From the corner of his eye, he watched Autumn struggle to her feet.

"Maybe she should be the one handcuffed to you." she said, slightly out of breath. There was a silence that spread over them, but it was cut short when Octavia let out a howl of laughter. It had been a while since Bellamy had heard that particular noise, and he couldn't help the chuckle that erupted through his chest.

"Alright, we gotta start moving." he shook his head, but took an extra second to appreciate his sister's smile. It was rare, and he cherished every one he witnessed.

Without another word, the four of them went to work, packing up the blankets and leftover food. Stomping out the remnants of their fire and taking care to make it look as though they were never even there.

The day was the same as the one before, absolutely uneventful and agonizing slow paced. He noticed that Autumn's steps had become quicker, though she still held them back from making good time. That night she hadn't protested when he slapped the cuff around her hand. He was sure that she wouldn't run, she wasn't strong enough to be on her own. But for some unexplainable reason, he felt it was necessary.

Halfway through their third day, Lincoln stopped them all mid stride. "Someone's here." his voice was low and he lowered his body to a crouch. Autumn immediately mimicked his position, reminding Bellamy that she wasn't born in space.

"Where?" He whispered to the man in front of him. Lincoln stayed quiet but raised his knife to their right. Then Bellamy saw them. Two hulking men, covered in heavy furs.

"Trikru." Autumn commented, taking a tiny step backwards and stepping on his toes. His hand at her back kept her still after that as all four of them silently watched the two men.

"They're gone." Lincoln finally told them about fifteen minutes later. The men had strode right past them, never once showing a sign that they had seen or heard their group. "We should go towards the East. Unless we want to run into them up the road."

"That just adds more time to our travel." Octavia countered. "We don't have enough rations."

"No, Lincoln is right." Bellamy moved forward. "We can find food. But if we run into anyone again, food will be the least of our problems." Octavia's eyes rolled back in frustration but she said nothing as she pushed past her brother and Lincoln. The men shared a look, and Bellamy shrugged before following his little sister. He looked back when he realized Autumn wasn't following. She stood in between the same trees by which they had stopped.

"Something's not right." she was shaking her head. "They just, walked right by?" He could see the fear in her eyes.

"They didn't see us." He tried to assure her, but at the same time she was right. Since when is he sneakier than a Grounder. There were four of them, and they had come so close to walking right into the men. How could they not have at least heard them coming? "Linc," he looked back at his friend. "Are you sure they…"

As if on cue, one of the men leapt out behind Octavia and captured her in his large arms. He pulled her back against his chest, his hand coming up to wrap around her neck. Autumn must have heard the other man behind her because she was able to duck out of his way as he made a move for her.

Bellamy lunged towards his sister, only to be stopped by Lincoln's out stretched arm. Fear took over his body, boiling his blood. That was his sister. His responsibility. Lincoln began to speak in Triku tongue, leaving Bellamy to feel utterly useless.

Something compelled him to reach behind him. Reach out for something that he knew would be there. And he was flooded with relief when he felt Autumn's arm. Instinctively, he drew her closer to himself.

"I remember you." the one man said in a language that Bellamy could understand. "Lincoln the traitor. The one who left us for them." he spit towards Autumn, letting Bellamy know that she hadn't been recognized. They thought she was one of them.

"We mean no one harm." Lincoln was saying through clenched teeth, his eyes never peeling away from Octavia. "Let her go and we'll be gone."

"Her?" the man holding his sister threw her to the ground. "What good is she to us?" he laughed. "You're the prize." he sneered before hurling a small knife in their direction. It caught Lincoln in the arm, ripping a growl from his throat.

Bellamy barely had time to comprehend when the fighting had begun before it stopped. Autumn had expertly reached around him and yanked the knife from Lincoln's shoulder. With a quick flick of her wrist, the knife landed right between the eyes of the Grounder in front of her. His sister had popped up from the dirt, jamming her own knife into the other man's neck. Black liquid oozed from his wound, pooling on his chest and shoulder before he finally fell to the earth.

When he was sure both men were down, Bellamy hurried to his sister's side to inspect her neck. But she pushed him aside, annoyed at his overprotectiveness.

"Nice aim." She nodded to Autumn as both women walked towards one another. Octavia came to a halt in front of Lincoln, and as much as she tried to, she couldn't keep the concern out of her eyes. "How bad is it?" she asked in a cold voice.

"I'll live." Lincoln replied, his hand clutching at his arm where the knife had stuck.

"Too bad." Octavia shrugged and pushed by him to search the other man for weapons they could take.

"Octavia," Lincoln sighed before following behind her. Bellamy turned to search the other man.

"She's right." he said to Autumn as he passed. "You've got one hell of an aim."

"I was a small child." she muttered as if she were giving out secret information. "My brother taught me how to throw knives because he knew I had no chance in hand to hand combat." It was the first time he'd heard her speak of a brother. It felt strange to be around someone else who was a sibling. Octavia was the best thing that had ever happened to Bellamy, and he had never been allowed to share that joy with anyone on the Ark. But here on earth, siblings weren't uncommon. They weren't illegal. They weren't abominations.

"You don't look so small." he said without thinking. But it seemed that what would have been an insult to a woman on the Ark, wasn't taken so harshly by a Grounder.

"Not anymore." she seemed proud, but it was hard to tell behind her dark features and stoic expression. He noticed the way she watched Lincoln and Octavia. Though they couldn't hear their words, it was obvious that they weren't happy ones. "We need to keep going." she said after a few more seconds. "I need to get home."

Bellamy nodded in agreement. "We'll start moving, just give them some more time." he thrust his chin towards his sister. Again, Autumn watched their argument with interest. "How are you feeling?" he asked, hoping to keep her occupied. She looked up at him, her eyes sweeping over him.

"We're fine." She finally whispered. He watched her hand come up to rest on her abdomen. In all of the chaos between getting her out of Arkadia and stumbling through the woods, Bellamy had nearly forgotten that she was pregnant. His stomach ached at the thought, at the image of what Trikru had done. It served as a reminder to why he was here. Why he was crossing the boundary lines and sacrificing his life, his sister's life,

Bellamy had done terrible things. Things that haunted him in every dream. Things that forever echoed in the back of his mind. But that wasn't him anymore. He wouldn't let it be him. He would spend the rest of his life making up for the ones he snuffed out. Even if it meant one person at a time.

She was the first step to his redemption.