So, this is what the end looks like

[Deleted]

The cries of their anguish filled his head. Their voices "death to the Sky-person, death! Death!", were a blinding storm inside his skull. He could feel a hundred eyes on him, burning a hole right through his soul. He had pictured what his death would be like on the ground. He couldn't imagine that his own people would sign his death warrant. He made a mistake, but was it really a mistake? A true and honestly legitimate mistake. To have killed so many innocent people. He could just the torches that were alive in the night: flickering, and moving from side to side like a mysterious dancer on the brink of death. Maybe her name had been karma. The way she tormented Finn, drawing him ever closer to the edge. Hell, he could see the edge as he loomed over the deep pit. He could would say that he had been inches from.. no, centimeters from the long fall to the black. He could fear the cavernous pit yawning up at him as he put his arms out to either side. He just wanted it to end. Were those voices from deep down that he could hear? Echoing and crawling up the sides of the walls, drawing him closer, ever closer. Nah, they were just the Grounders. The group of uncivilized population that still inhabited these lands. He felt remorse. He felt... something. He was sorry. But sorry didn't bring back a whole village of people. Sorry was worthless. Worthless.



Sorry got you no where. It had been the same when Raven came back. The first moment he had seen her after The Ark. He knew things would change. He loved Clarke. He loved her deeply. But he also loved Raven. It wasn't his love that would get him in trouble. It was playing both sides of the fence. Different shades of truth lived on both sides. It wasn't the sides either that would kill him. It was the sharp edges at the top of the fence. One of these days he was going to take a wrong step and get himself impaled. He had to be built for war. His heart.. his heart was the one thing standing before him. It was do or die on the ground. It was nothing like the freedom he felt up in the sky. Down here. It was different. He knew that. He wasn't ready for the results. He wasn't prepared. The consequences on the ground... those were what feared him the most. Being labeled a traitor to his friends... his people. When he died.. if he died... then he would want to go out knowing he didn't let any of them down. Clarke, Raven, Bellamy, despite their differences. They all mattered. More than Finn could actually account for. They all mattered.. they all mattered... Finn lay prone in the dirt. His thoughts running their own war inside his skull. He could feel the cool ground against his bare torso. He was breathing...



There was still that. But how? Did he deserve it? He could hear their shouts bouncing between the trees. They were looking for him. He hugged the ground as one came close. He could just reach out if he desired. Numbers. He was but one, they were a dozen, if not more. He had to make it to the underground room. He would be safe there. How the heck was he going to manage that? They were everywhere. He could hear the heavy breathing of the Grounder right in front of him. Finn lay flat, still as a corpse, shallow in his breaths, small, short, controlled, breaths. They would kill him on sight. This would be a relations nightmare. The only way to achieve peace was to have him dead. Sorry...[/i]he could hear his own voice inside his head. He began to shake against the ground. He was scared. For the first time in his life he felt scared. This was bigger than he was. This wasn't some thing he could lie himself out of. The judgement of hundreds of blood thirsty Grounders. Then he was up and running. His hands bound, he ran with careful strides, occasionally looking over his shoulder. He couldn't remember what or how he had escaped the Grounders' wrath. One moment he was waiting for execution, the next he was waking up in the forest. It was better than the alternative. At least he didn't have a clue how it had happened.



He ran. He ran as fast and as hard as he could. He had to make it to the safe room. He would hide there.. then what? The thought petrified him. But what else could he do? The entire Grounder nation wanted him dead. He was the most wanted man in the entire world. The faces of his friends flashed before his eyes. He could feel a tear began to streak down his cheek. It was slow in its descent to his chin from all the dirt that congealed along his face. Sorry... I am so sorry. Maybe he should die. Maybe he should have done the thing he had wanted to begin with. Turn himself in. It was for the good of his people. So that they may live long and prosper and be happy. There was no happiness left for Finn Collins. It had all evaporated. It was all gone. So, Finn, slowly came to a stop in the woods. He felt himself turning to face the head of the onslaught. The manhunt for Finn Collins. He could see their torches moving between the trees. Like small ghosts haunting the woods. He had to face the responsibility of what he had done. He could see Raven's face now as it blinded his vision. She was crying. He reached his bound arms out to comfort her. He grabbed air. She was gone.. he realized. All of it was.. gone. If he had died she would be.. Clarke.



He felt a purpose fill his soul. Like cold hands gripping him and squeezing. This wasn't the time to do the right thing. There would be a time for that later. Just as he turned he could hear a cry. It was a warning cry in their language. They found him. Shit! Finn could hear the whistle as a spear merely faced his face. It wobbled and let out a sound as it stuck in the tree behind him. He shot his glance back over to where it had been thrown. They were pouring from the trees now. Hopping, and running, and jumping. Time to run. Finn turned and bolted into the trees. More trees. He ran as fast as he legs could take him. He ran for an unknown amount of time. Until his ribs and sides began to burn. But Finn Collins was built for war. He ran. And ran. And ran. There was no time to cover his tracks. They were right behind him. He could hear their angry yells and cries. His heart was pounding in his chest. They would not rest until they had his skin as a new pelt. He ran until he was just near the hatch. He came to a sliding stop on the ground as he desperately reached for the for the handle. It twisted easily enough and opened. The blackness opened to him. It had never felt so good. Then he was on the ladder scrambling down to the bottom. With the hatch closed he fell to the ground and scrambled backwards until the wall pressed up against his back. Until he was completely and utterly hidden from view. He finally let his breaths out. His chest heaving violently as he began to mix in sobs. He pressed his grime covered hands to his face. Unaware that anybody was in the room with him, if there had been, he didn't know.



Clarke Griffin

[Clarke Griffin]

Instinct was a very funny thing. Clarke knew a thing or two about them from school. Humans had one very simple instinct: Fight of Flight. Fight to preserve oneself or run to preserve oneself. That is all they could do, this was their main choice in a situation of stress. Fight or flight. She had once thought Finns instinct would tell him to run. Recent developments however told her that it wasn’t that simple. It was not what it looked like. If it was simple, those people would not be dead. If it was simple other people would listen to reason. But they didn’t. Death and blood was the only language they spoke. The instinct that belonged to humanity was broken apart by society. The instinct that was so deeply part of a person could suddenly be turned around by the right trigger.

But it was instinct that led her to this very place, knowing a persons instinct. Safety was what people confronted with the fight or flight complex were looking for. Safety was hard to come by in a place like this. And so the places to look were limited. Of course she didn’t want the death of people, but running risked the lives of others. There had to be a solution, other than what was done now. But there would be other problems. Clarke waited. She had the luxury of not being the one to be in the focus. She managed to get there without problem. Her arms crossed, she looked at the other. “What about the others?” She asked him. “Did you tell anyone?”

@finncollins

[Deleted]

For the briefest moment Finn sat huddled against the wall in shame. He had started something he could not finish. The ladder in front of him was cast in a dark shadow. Like it didn't exist. Maybe it was for the best. Nobody knew of this place besides him. They didn't know about this place. There must be hundreds of them up there, he thought. He shivered against the cold wall at his back. It cold down here. He needed to find some warmth. But the thought of them finding this shelter was what kept him anchored to the the very spot. It was the safest spot in the world right now. Nothing would make him from that spot. Nothing would un-root him from his shame. The very thing he was trying to escape; it had become a part of him. It was never going to leave him now. He would no sooner have to face what he had become. He knew that for a fact. So, he found himself looking up toward where the door was in the blackness of the underground shelter. They were no doubt patrolling the woods above this very spot. He could not help but feel a certain feeling of dread. He put his hands to his face; holding his face in his palms. His elbows propped on his knees, feet planted firmly on the ground. The cold stone against his bare pressing hard. For the moment he wanted to rot in self-disdain.



He had betrayed the value of his friends, his people. He had branded himself a terrorist to his peoples' treaty. Oh my god, was the only thing he could think of as he sat huddled. He did not know that he was alone as he searched himself. He had know idea what he was going to do now. It was when he heard Clarke's familiar voice break the silence did he slowly uncover his face. He turned his face towards her slowly. Basking in her unrivaled beauty. His face broke then. His chin he quivered as his face grew soft. His eyes glistened with sorrow. Ohhh, no; He said with an air of knowing that he was going to get it now. The only person on this entire rock that could ream him a new one with her stare alone. She was doing it right now. Yet he attempted a look at her again. She had that stern look on her face like she was trying to solve the world's problems. There was a time where he would crack a joke. This didn't feel like a time for a joke. Instead he let his arms lean over his knees as he looked back at her in silence. He searched for the words to say something to her - anything. He was finding that she was the last person that he wanted to see right now. He wasn't prepared to... to.. He couldn't do this. Yet, it was strange. Her.



He always felt a little better in her presence. She had always been a soul that was comforting to him. Everyone else made him feel like a freak. An orphaned freak with no one to care about him. He let his head fall against the wall behind him, staring straight ahead. I am not sure they would care enough, princess.I did.... horrible... horrible things. He gave her a slanted, sideways look that was all concern. The task ahead of him was monumental. The stake of his survival had become incredibly immense. The beast out there had become more powerful. Perhaps they cared about a treaty with Skaikru. Maybe they didn't. Maybe they would only reach that state until paraded his head around their village. He kept his sideways glare on Clarke. As if he were trying to get a good read on her - what she was going to say next. Though he never could, it was always still worth a try at least. So he tried something else. I know how much you cared about the treaty. I really messed that up. He looked straight ahead as he made a frustrated face.;It was ironic. He had done what he had done for her. Only to see her standing on that hill. He would never forget the look of disgust on her face. It would haunt him until the day he... he looked at her again. He wanted to.. no.





He needed to hold her. He wanted to feel her against him.  Until this whole stupid world went away. Offer him that solid comfort that seemed to be gone from this world. Like all the color had been sapped right out. His shoulders heaved and fell as he sighed. I am sorry Clarke. I made a mistake that cost our people the safety and freedom that we were trying so hard to fight for. We survived so much. We came from the Sky, landed on this rock, survived a war. And there I am messing everything up for everyone. Even if they did know, nobody would get me out of this mess. His brow was furrowed as he always did when the matter was sensitive enough. He had done something really stupid. In fact, he still harbored so much love for the girl, that if she wished him to go up there and face himself, he would. He would face a thousand of them if it meant the preservation of their people. He knew what he had to do. The question was getting there.  How was he going to pay for the sins he had created? Silly boy, nobody cared what he wanted. Those animals up there only cared about blood and war and carnage. He replaced his palms to his face. Not that there was a way out of this mess. He could see the flashes of gunfire as he held the trigger. That would never go away. In a muffled voice he said, How did we get here, Clarke?


He gave her another concerned look, I need your help, I can't fight this forever.

Clarke Griffin

[Clarke Griffin]

“It’s not your place to decide what they care about. You should let them decide.” And right about now not even Clarke could tell what they felt. Parts of them wanted him to sacrifice himself, another part didn’t. I was a question of morality and ethics. It was an issue that ran deeper, so much deeper than the war they were fighting. But that was not an issue they could solve immediately. That would take time and talks, talks that were already over. That was the problem. This put everything under threat.

“It’s not the treaty I’m most pissed about, Finn. It’s how you said you did that for me....You didn’t.” She would have never asked him to. “You believed that guy. As far as I know you were given options, but you chose to believe him. And now those people are dead. That’s what they did to us in the beginning. They killed us before giving us a chance to have our voices heard. We were scared and they killed us. They were scared and you killed them. We don’t understand their culture and they don’t understand ours. But we have to start somewhere. Right now all that is done is that they want to kill our friends and families back in Camp Jaha, because of their culture. But this? This isn’t helping them, Finn.” She pointed out. This was the opposite of it, not just to her. If they didn’t give the grounders him, they would kill everyone else. It wasn’t fair, but it was what they needed. But she had to hold onto the fact that their cultures were so different. That maybe they could make the other understand.

“You shouldn’t fight this like this, Finn. You have to come back with me. The treaty and our cultures, it could save all uf us. If can make them understand, that we understand that you need to be punished, but that killing you is not the answer, maybe we can make it work. But you do understand, that… justice is not so out of this world for them to want. But we have to make them understand, that there are other ways to achieve that besides killing. That the dead are gone and another death won’t bring them back. This is a thin line we have to walk, Finn. But I think we can walk it. We have a new factor in this game: Mount Weather. If you think of this as a game, Finn, us arriving changed the stakes and the odds. We just need the grounders to understand, that we increased the odds for their survival.”

@finncollins

[Deleted]

Finn didn't have to tell Clarke that he was lost inside his mind. Always lost inside his mind. Like a caged animal. But at this moment Finn was more of injured caged animal. It was etched on his face. Even as she spoke the words he didn't want to hear. Go back? How I am supposed to just go back The entire time she spoke his face had taken a look of worry. His eyebrows furrowed sadly. They were going to rip him apart. He had compromised their safety. How were they going to judge him now? Some deep part of him wanted to believe her. From where he stood it looked like he had given up on them. True, he had given himself up freely to the Grounders. But how the hell did he escape? How was that even possible? They were everywhere. So many thoughts bounced around inside his skull. He couldn't think straight, let alone give her the right answer. It was so hard to make the right decision. This shouldn't be the way it looked. He looked momentarily away from her. His thoughts consuming his mind in a dark swirl of doubt and insecurity. She wasn't wrong. Her points were valid. Very valid. But there was something preventing him from saying the word. Or words. That she expected to hear. He cast her a hardened look of doubt. He studied her face as he looked for an answer inside himself. She wanted him alive.



For the first moment since he had been set free, he felt a sense of purpose. She always had that ability. To keep his feet on solid ground. So that he didn't fall off the Earth by some concussive force. That was the last thing he wanted. To leave his friends behind, leave Clarke behind. He stood up. Once he was on his feet, he ran a and through his hair letting out a long-winded sigh. And covering his mouth with his hand as he looked down at the floor. She was always on his side. He always wanted to be there for her. It was the least he could do. He returned his gaze towards Clarke. She was so strong. He was not. He liked to often pretend that he was. But down here. It wasn't like being home in The Ark. It was a different game. A more animalistic and aggressive game. He was no longer on top of the world. No longer the King of Silence. He had to speak now, or forever hold his peace. He began to nod solemnly. Yeah, yeah you're right Clarke. I can't decide for them. It's not about me. It is about all of us. We will figure it out. Together. Or we will die trying. But he didn't say that. It was something that Finn thought she didn't want to hear. There was only peace between their people. No other alternative. But is scared the crap out of him.



He took Clarke's hand in his own. Hoping she wouldn't lash out at him. He matched his hand with hers. He let his gaze linger on hers for a moment. A hint of apology in his eyes.

Tag: Clarke Griffin

[Clarke Griffin]

It was’ easy. This entire situation was a mess. But in his mess, they had to calculate more than one factor. They had friends and family here. This would all go back to all of them. It was vital that he staye for so many. While Clarke didn’t want him to die, the thing was, she knew at the end of the day his survival might cost the lives os so many people. She could not let people die. Not more than had to. It was a stressful situation.

“We can do this. Somehow.”

 At least she hoped they did.

Clarke stared down at their hands. It was ironic how cocky they always were, how self assured. Up in Space everyone thought they were the last hope of humanity. Down here that belief was shattered and many had not dealt well with the fact that they were by now irrelevant to the survival of human kind. It didn’t sit well with so many. But they were the ones responsible for the survival of their culture. Of knowledge the grounders had long since forgotten.

“We have to keep our people alive, Finn. I believe we can make them believe in our cause. Technology can make them believe, I think. I hope.”

@finncollins

[Deleted]

He was tired of running. It seemed that was all he did since being on this godforsaken rock. That was no small thing to hope for these days. Peace would not be so easy to achieve. Up in the stars it was a simple matter of following a set of rules. He kind of missed them. He felt himself smile to himself at the irony. The corner of his mouth tilting upwards in a tight smirk. Maybe it was the feeling of Clark's warm hands in his own. Maybe it was the short little words of hope that she offered. Maybe it was the possibility that he had been given a second chance to right his wrongs. Whatever the reason was he held the smirk for a long minute. Just relishing in the moment of warmth that took over his aching body. He let their fingers intertwine as he looked Clarke in the eye. He couldn't begin to fathom what it would be like to have left his friends behind. Should he have... been one of the departed from this world that night. Something niggled into his self-doubt. Some unbecoming form of dread and cold blackness that begun to slowly creep over his soul. He couldn't fathom leaving them behind. Even if it was a selfless act to broker peace between their people. It was something to unimaginable to process. They still had work to do. He still had work to do. He wanted to do everything in his power.



To make sure that his friends were able to carry on. With the new chance that he been spared. He would not let that go to waste. He began to scrunch his face like the he does when thinking too much. "I don't know what I would do if I never got to see you again, Clarke. That night when I was going to be executed for.. what I did to those people...." his voice broke momentarily as he let his thoughts drop away. He looked down, frowning, trying to make sense of the scramble in his head. It was a cold night. It all seemed to be just a blur. All their voices screaming at once. But one thing he could hear through the static - BLOOD! BLOOD OF THE SKY BOY! BLOOD. He felt his senses overwhelmed as their voices filled his mind. He was scared. For the first time in his life he had something to fear. It was not something he was going to be able to shake. He swallowed back the trepidation that was beginning to make it hard to think. "I did something horrible. I slaughtered those people for no reason. I was afraid I would never see you again." He hung his head again. This time though his face slowly began to bury itself in Clarke's shoulders. She had always been so strong. Someone who could always take his weight when he needed to lean on somebody. He let himself be taken over as the feeling of insecurity began to dig itself deep. He wrapped his arms around Clarke, hugging her tightly. But then he realized he was being way to dependent. Something pulled him back. "I'm sorry..." it wasn't like him to cry. The tough, rugged, spacewalker reduced to tears. It was almost funny.



But these days things were different. His life could be snuffed just as easily as he had broken a rule on the Ark.

Clarke Griffin

[Clarke Griffin]

“You’d still live.” She said, bluntly. That was just it. It was not some end all be all romance between them. They were young, stupid in many ways. They would survive this, get through this and live, with or without each other. That was just life. True Love was not a thing. And he would move on. So would she. It was not the end of all things. Him dying. That was the end of all things for him. That was Well his death, no point in sugar coating it. 

“Stop saying that, Finn. This is not my fault. Me being gone should not have made you kill those people in cold blood.” It was sadly as simple as that. He should not have killed them. Period. And she did not ask him to. She never implied she wanted anyone to kill people. Least of all for her. She had tried to save lives. But she too had a flirt with the lines that became increasingly blurred. She still managed to not cross it entirely. Finn had crossed it. And Finn kept bringing her up as justification and she was having none of it. “Bellamy didn’t go and shoot up villages. Murphy tried to stop you! And I know we gave him a hard time, but he did what he could. Logically in this situation he did all he could do without getting killed by you himself. Murphy!”

“Then you help me.” She said. “You help me save you. You do as I say. Or as my mother says or Kane. And nothing else. You help us save you. No more stunts on your own.” He cried, but what was she supposed to do? This was not over yet.

@finncollins