Cattle. They were being treated like cattle. Skaikru had taken the bunker, but they couldn’t hold it.

Octavia had won the conclave, and it was decided that all the clans would now share the bunker. But not all of them. Not all of them would be able to survive. Skaikru were being herded like cattle into the rotunda, with the gossip going around that there could only be one hundred. Only one hundred of them could survive in the bunker with the other clans, and there were more than just one hundred of them. Not all of Skaikru would survive.

One hundred. One hundred spots, filled by an equal lottery. That was the announcement, and it wasn’t taken well. Bryan had pressed back into one of the walls, watching quietly as the man snapped about the girl grounder who’d been staying with them, and as he and others demanded her own people save her. But Octavia saved her, Octavia declared there was then one less spot to fill, and that they had to decide the rest of the spots. Skaikru had until midnight to choose, or they would all be dead.

One by one they made their way into the office of the bunker. One by one they wrote their names on slips of paper and put them into a bowl. And just like that, one by one they’d be drawn out, to see if they would earn a spot in the group of survivors, of people who would be able to survive in the bunker. That was how they would know if they would live, or if they would be sent out to face their death in the vicious death wave that was about to take over the earth. A slip of paper would decide their fate.

Bryan had been standing off to the side, trying to blend in to the crowd to hide. He could see Jackson and Nathan holding onto each other next to Mr. Miller, and he quickly looked away. His heart could only take so much pain right now, and seeing his soulmate with someone else wasn’t something he could stomach. He glanced back up at the bowl of names instead, knowing for a fact that there was no way his name could be called, and there was no way for him to manage to stay safe inside the bunker; no one wanted him there, he wasn’t important to anyone, so he would be one of the first kicked out, he was sure.

He pressed his back to the wall even more, hands shaking and head down, just trying not to cry. How could this be happening? He heard Kane calling the names, one by one, and heard the whispers and whimpers of those who’s names were called or not called. Nate. His name was called, but Bryan didn’t look up. Couldn’t, not when he knew the other was with Jackson, not when he knew he’d see them, and see the look on Mr. Miller’s face. Bryan trembled, ignoring those around him and waiting. Waiting…

Jackson took over saying the names, and Bryan clenched his fists. But it was one name, and then someone spoke up. The man saying they had a plan, that Jaha was going to do something, and that they had to stick together. He knocked the bowl down, shattering it, and the chants of ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’ began instead. Bryan, despite his better judgement, couldn’t help but get caught up in the change and fist pumping. Fighting was the only way he knew to survive anymore, the only way he could have any chance, he thought, of getting to live in this bunker. Fight.

But they didn’t get to fight. They didn’t get a chance, because Jaha changed the plan. The door opened, but out came canisters. Canisters of gas, that as it released it, began knocking people unconscious. Bryan was knocked out just as the others were, falling in a heap to the ground. There was no fighting. There was no way to try and protect themselves. The gas knocked them out and robbed them of the opportunity; not that Bryan really thought they’d have a fighting chance anyway, but even an attempt was better than laying down to die, wasn’t it?

When he woke, he wasn’t in the bunker anymore. Instead, he was lying on the pavement, outside of the bunker, where he’d been dropped and left. He could hear people screaming, pounding on the door and the ground around it; the people who’d been like him, shipped out of the bunker for those who were the chosen ones, angry and scared at being thrown out. Bryan slowly sat up, trying to breathe even though it was so hard already. He watched the people who were there as well when he stood, quiet.

The death wave was close, that was clear. The radiation burned, and he could hear the panic and fear around him. His hands shook and he felt like he wanted to puke or cry. All he could think about was how he was going to die alone; how he didn’t have any of his friends anymore, or family, or Nate… And then a hand was on his shoulder and it made him startle, turning to face who it was, and found a little bit of comfort. Mr. Miller was there, giving him a sad smile, and pulling the boy into a hug.

“I’m sorry,” Mr. Miller spoke gently, “I’m so sorry, Bryan. You should have been in there. You should have been one of the ones they saved.”

Bryan bit his lip hard, shaking his head and hugging the man in return. “No,” He whispered out softly then, “You should have. Nate needs you, sir. They need you in there, you shouldn’t be out here with the rest of us. I’m just… I’m just a stupid kid from Farm Station. Why would they need me?”

Mr. Miller took a gentle hold of the boys chin, making Bryan look at him as he spoke. “Because you are one of the last ones from Farm Station,” He stated softly, “But more importantly because you are a smart and capable young man, Bryan. I’ve always thought you would do great things, and I’m sorry that you won’t get the chance to.”

Tears welled and Bryan just stepped forward to hug the man again, feeling his heart ache. He’d always thought of Mr. Miller like a father in law, ever since he and Nate had gotten together. The man was family to him, always had been and always would be. Even after his and Nate’s fight, Bryan had never thought about things being any different. So being out here, and Mr. Miller being out here, hurt a lot.

“Come on, let’s find a place to sit down,” Mr. Miller spoke then, patting Bryan on the back after a moment and stepping away a little, before guiding the boy through the small crowd of people that were gathered, farther away from the door to the bunker. There was no point in being close to it. It wasn’t going to open again; not until five years had passed and they wouldn’t be alive that long. This was going to be it.

Together, they sat down, leaning back against the wall. For a long few moments, it was quiet, before Mr. Miller was the one to speak up.

“Do you remember the first time Nate brought you over to our room, to introduce you to me?” Mr. Miller asked, a soft smile on his face as he thought about the past.

“… Yeah,” Bryan spoke, unable to help the blush that colored his cheeks; he remembered well just how shy and nervous he’d been in front of Mr. Miller when Nate had brought him over to meet him. Who wouldn’t be nervous about meeting the Chief Guard and him finding out that he was dating his son? Bryan remembered it well, how nervous he’d been, and also how kind Mr. Miller had been towards him; how he’d invited him in like he was already a member of the family.

It was nice, he realized then, a nice distraction from the death wave that was headed their way, to talk about the past and all the nice times that had happened. All the good memories they’d all made on the Ark, before Nate had gotten arrested, before the hundred had been sent to the ground, before the Ark joined them, before Ice Nation, before everything had gone to hell. It was nice to remember the laughs, the embarrassment, the joy that had happened. Even if it hurt, even if the radiation was causing pain and killing them, the memories were there.

When the death wave finally came it was the worst pain that Bryan had felt in his entire life. They saw it coming, and Bryan was sure it would be painful, but he hadn’t imagined just how painful. It didn’t last long though; the pain. It lasted only a second or so, but it felt like an eternity as the radiation killed him and destroyed his body; killed and destroyed everything that was in it’s path as it made it’s way across the land.

Then the pain was gone, and Bryan was slowly opening his eyes. He could see dust and rubble, and for a moment wondered if it was possible that somehow he’d survived. But he could see through his hands, could see the ground underneath him, and as he looked up at Mr. Miller, he could see through him too, as well as everyone else that had been nearby to them. They were dead. They were all dead, killed by the death wave.

They were on the other side.

“Bryan!”

He had stood up, and lifted his head in confusion at hearing someone call his name. That was a voice he recognized! Iris? He spun around, seeing a group of people that were see through just like he and the others were, but this group was different. This group hadn’t been with the ones thrown out of the bunker. These were people who’d passed before them, before the bunker.

Bryan barely had time to register all of this, before suddenly a girl was rushing forward, the one who’d spoken, and was throwing her arms around him in a hug. He let out a shaky breath, shocked to realize that he could feel her, and hugged her back just as tightly.

“Iris…” He whispered out, feeling emotional. Iris had saved his life in Ice Nation, had been one of his best friends, there for him when he’d lost his father, there for him when he was struggling and sure he was going to die. She had died in the Mountain when it was destroyed, had been killed when Bryan hadn’t been able to save her as she had him. “Iris I’m so sorry,” He choked out then, “I’m so sorry…”

“Shh, shh,” Iris just hugged him tighter, swaying a little and pressing a friendly kiss to his cheek, “You were so brave, Bry. I’m so sorry that you’re here now. There’s no more pain now though. It’s okay.”

Bryan could hear the others around them, reuniting with loved ones and people searching and finding those who they’d lost and hadn’t gotten to even say goodbye to. Crying and yelling, he could hear people being upset, people sad, people just grateful they were reunited. He felt another hand on his shoulder then and let go of Iris, turning to see who it was.

Gina. Another friend, another person who he’d confided in, another person who’d died in the mountain, where he couldn’t save them. Seeing here too was just as emotional for him, knowing that she was here.He quickly wrapped his arms around her as well, hearing and feeling her chuckle at him.

“It’s a good thing you can’t hug me too tight anymore,” Gina’s voice was teasing and light as she wrapped her arms around Bryan in return, “You’ve gotten pretty strong since the last time I saw you.”

He was sure that if he could, he’d be crying at this point. All he could do was apologize over and over again; wishing he’d been able to do something, wishing he’d have known, wishing he could have changed things and saved them. It hurt, and it was so much to deal with. It wasn’t that he was upset about being dead, he was upset about them being dead too.

“Is there space for more in this hug?”

Bryan looked up, and if he were alive, he was sure his heart would be freaking out. Jasper. Riley. Bree. Fox. Monroe. He had known as they left Arkadia that Jasper, Riley, and Bree had been part of the group that had stayed behind to die as they wanted, but he hadn’t really expected them to be dead. It hurt, seeing them and knowing they were really dead, even if it had been what they’d wanted to do. He just nodded, unable to speak just yet, stepping forward to hug each of them; his friends, his family, the ones that he had missed and never wanted to reunite with like this.

As he finished hugging Monroe, he saw more people stepping over towards them, and he stepped away to quickly almost throw himself at them in a hug. Hannah. Mr. Green. Pike. The three of them were just as important to him; Hannah had been like an adoptive mother to him after his parents had passed, had been there for him through all of the things at Ice Nation, where they’d lost his parents and Mr. Green. Pike had been like an adoptive father to him; had taught him how to shoot and fight and survive, had been the one to keep him alive until they got to Arkadia.

“I’m so sorry,” He whispered out to Hannah, hugging her even more, knowing that somewhere Monty had to be alive then, that his friend was at least safe. He gave thanks for that, knowing that Hannah and her husband wanted their son to survive and live on. He’d never gotten to say goodbye to her, or to any of them, and this was helping his spirit; knowing they were there, that they cared that he’d died.

“Come with me,” Hannah was smiling softly then, taking Bryan’s hand and leading him away from the group, to two who were standing a little farther back, arms around each other and watching them. Bryan knew almost instantly who she was taking him to see, and he couldn’t help but feel even more grateful for the woman.

His parents.

“Mom… Dad…” He was sure there were no tears actually falling, but he was sobbing nonetheless, letting go of Hannah’s hand and rushing forward, nearly crashing into his parents as he ran into their arms. He could hear his mother sobbing too, her arms around him tightly. She was repeating ‘my baby’ over and over again, swaying them a little and just keeping her son close, his father holding them both tightly.

There were regrets, so many of them. Bryan didn’t want to die, he didn’t want his friends to have died, he didn’t want his family to have died. He wished he could have saved them; wished he could have prevented the bad things from happening, prevented so much of the destruction and sorrow that had happened to all of the people he cared about. But there was nothing he could do, nothing he could have done.

The time for regrets was over; they were all dead and on the other side now, and there would be no more pain for them. Here, they would be at peace, watching over those that were left that they cared about, and together again.

survivorbuiilt replied to your post: [[MOR] Okay, but what if I wrote a drabble with…

w HY would u destroy my he A RT

beCAUSE I had the sad thought and it won’t leave me alone.

Like, Mr. Miller being upset that Bryan got taken out with him, because he always thought Bryan and Nate would be together and the boy is like a son-in-law already to him and seeing him there is upsetting bc why wouldn’t they let him in the bunker??? And huddled together while the death wave comes, then seeing Gina and Iris and Fox and all the others he cares about and hugging them and apologizing and wishing he could have done more and SAD OK

Thin. Pale. Slow footsteps. Wandering down the halls in silence. A Ghost.

Not an actual ghost, that would have been easier than this. No, Bryan was still alive. Still alive and in a bunker with a thousand other human beings, but all alone. It was weird, how there were so many people, and yet… he was invisible. Even to his ex-boyfriend, who was happily off in another relationship already, he didn’t exist anymore. But he was there. He was alive.

Being dead would have made things easier. There wouldn’t be the hunger pains. There wouldn’t be the loneliness. There wouldn’t be that ache in his chest that never seemed to go away and felt like a black hole that was consuming him. Maybe if he was dead he wouldn’t have to feel that. Maybe if he were dead, he’d finally be at peace. This wasn’t peace.

He wasn’t important. Sure, he knew how to run the farm, but the grounders caught on quickly. The last of Farm Station, and he wasn’t even useful anymore, once they knew how to run things and didn’t need his help anymore. It was suddenly their farm to run, not his, and he didn’t argue. The fight had gone out of him once he realized that no one needed him.

Nathan was happy with someone else, and neither of them wanted anything to do with him. He didn’t know Octavia as well as all the others seemed to, and she was always so busy with other things that he couldn’t go to her. Kane and Abby, they still made him feel nervous because he was sure they saw him as one of Pike’s kids still, why would they want to talk to him? And there weren’t any others that he really knew well.

Maybe he’d done this. Maybe his fear of feeling unimportant and not understanding why he’d been saved anyway had pushed the others away at first. But it was a two way street, wasn’t it? They didn’t seek him out. They didn’t spare him a passing glance. And so the divide widened and he fell to the side; watching, waiting, breaking. No one noticed and it made him sink further away; why bother if no one else did, right?

He’d stopped getting his rations a couple days ago. He sipped water only when he felt he had to. Despite being so ready for death, he was afraid. Afraid that even when they found his body, no one would care, that no one would mourn. What was one boy compared to everyone else who had someone that they were close to, that cared about them? It left more space, more rations, more everything to them, after all.

His heart ached, thinking about how life was before. Before his friends had gotten arrested, before the hundred were sent to the ground. Before his life had turned into a black hole. He missed his mother and father. He missed being home on the ark. He missed his friends. He missed his soulmate. He missed feeling like things might be okay for even a small fraction of a second.

The door opened to the farm room and he jumped from where he’d been sitting on the floor, quietly observing the plants. It had become his hiding place; the place where he felt the most safe and happy, which had been so rare since landing on earth and losing Nate. Slowly he peeked over the row to see who’d come in, watching quietly as the grounder male entered the room.

He looked right over him. Bryan didn’t even flinch, as he had the first few times it’d happened. He was used to them just looking right through him at this point. He would have laughed if it didn’t feel so awful; because how could you miss him sitting there? He stood up and stretched out some, despite the pain and weariness he felt in his bones. Still, the man just started to work and didn’t even acknowledge him.

Bryan stepped around the machine and made his way out of the room, head down and just deciding that he was going to head back to the bunk he’d been assigned; he was tired and maybe sleep would do him some good. His footsteps were light and a little uneven as he made his way down the hallway and towards the stairs. Halfway up them he felt winded and had to stop, struggling for air.

He heard footsteps and looked up, blinking and reaching one hand up to scrub at his eyes as the other held onto the banister of the stairs. Was this real? He was sure it wasn’t. Maybe he was already in bed and dreaming. Yes, that was it; he was dreaming because there wasn’t anyway that…

“Bryan?”

His eyes flew open again and he looked up, startled to see the figure seemed to still be there.

“… Mom?” He managed out in a tiny voice, trembling and grabbing onto the banister even tighter, “… Mom, how are you here?” He watched her, suddenly feeling afraid and desperate to understand; though there was also an underlying feeling of almost… peace. His mother was there and despite not knowing how, it was comforting to see her.

“I’ve come to take you home, baby,” His mother was speaking gently, moving down the stairs towards him, “You’ve been so strong and done so well. I’m so proud of you, my darling. You’ve survived so much happening. I’m so sorry that I wasn’t able to be by your side and help you. But it’s okay now, love. You can rest now. Give me your hand, okay?”

Bryan watched his mother as she stepped towards him, taking in her words but still not understanding. “Am I dying?” He asked her after a long pause, “Am I dead?” He wasn’t afraid anymore, he realized. The black hole feeling in his gut was gone, the hunger pains were gone, his shoulders felt relaxed and all he wanted was to cling to his mother now.

“Yes, my boy,” His mother answered gently, “But it’s okay. You’re safe with me now. Your father and all of our friends are waiting. It’s time for you to come rest with us, you’ve done so much.” She reached out and slid her hand into his, and Bryan took in a shaky breath. He could feel her hand.

He stepped towards her, arms moving to fling around her in a tight hug, a soft sob escaping his throat as he felt her there; her arms going around him in return. “I’m ready,” He whispered out then, “I’m ready, mama.” His hands clutched at her shirt, closing his eyes as he hid against her shoulder. He was safe and finally, could find peace, as he followed his mother towards the warmth and light that was at the top of the stairs.

—–

Cold. Pale. Curled up at the bottom of the stairs. Waiting. A body waiting for someone to finally notice, as his soul found peace.

“NO!!”

Send me “NO!!” for my muse to be killed in front of yours || Accepting

@betterthaanhim

Bryan had always known that Miller was what he wanted to see right before he died; only, he’d always assumed that it’d be on the Ark, peacefully at an old age, and together, not like this. Never like this.

He and some of the others had been in one of the groups headed towards Polis, waiting to see if they could get into the bunker, when they’d been captured by Grounders. Ice Nation, of course, he thought bitterly, it always had to be Ice Nation. They’d been grabbed and dragged towards a building, not killed on sight like Bryan would have assumed at first. Maybe they were being used as leverage, or maybe an exchange.

Whatever it was, Bryan had no idea. He didn’t speak grounder.

Once they were dragged inside, they’d been tossed into a cell that had others in it. Bryan hadn’t gotten to look at first, stumbling and landing hard with a grunt as he was shoved inside. He winced and pushed himself back up, grateful at least that they hadn’t left their hands bound, so he could get up. It was then that he heard the last thing he’d expected.

“…Bry?”

His head shot up, knowing that voice, and his heart sped up. “Nate?” He managed out, looking in shock at seeing the older boy sitting a couple of feet away on the floor, looking just as stunned to see him there. Bryan didn’t even wait for Miller to say anything else. He was scrambling up and over to him, practically tackling the other in a hug, feeling Nate’s arms around him and wanting to cry.

“God, I missed you…”

It’s Miller’s words, but Bryan feels like the other is speaking for both of them; he’d missed the other so much, hated not being able to make things right with him, and yet somehow they’d still been reunited. They would always be reunited, he thought, they’d survived it before, they’d survived it now, they would if anything else ever happened. Miller was his soulmate, that was all there was to it. They could do this.

He was so wrapped up in holding onto Miller and reveling in the feeling of the other’s arms around him, that he was the last one to realize that one of the grounders had re-entered the room; but he was the first one to be grabbed and yanked back by the grounder. Stumbling and franticly trying to hold onto Miller, he was pulled away and forced to his knees in the center of the room, facing the grounder.

The man was speaking, but Bryan had no clue what it was. He must have looked absolutely clueless, until he recognized two words, ‘Farm Station’. His face instantly changed, fury and anger replacing the confusion as he glared at this man. The grounder took that as confirmation it seemed, and reached into his belt, pulling out a knife.

“NO!”

Bryan had been focused on the knife, until he heard Miller cry out, and turned his head to see a couple of the others grab Nathan and hold him back from leaping forward. He turned towards him, moving as if to go to his side, but the grounder reached out, grabbing him by the hair and yanking him back towards him, making Bryan cry out.

“Let go of me! Farm Station did nothing to you, you’re the ones who attacked us first!” He yelled out at the grounder, assuming that was what the other was mad about, assuming that’s why he’d gotten the knife pulled on him, assuming that was why the grounder had grabbed him… and why that knife was now being pressed to his throat.

“Bryan, shut up!”

He heard Miller yell at him, sure that the other was wanting him to stop speaking, to stop giving the grounder more reasons to go after him. It was the logical thing to do, but Bryan couldn’t help it. He hated Ice Nation, and he hated what they’d done to his people. But the knife pressing against his skin made it impossible for him to keep arguing, even though he wanted to.

He could hear the grounder speaking again, harsh words that Bryan couldn’t understand. Someone else was speaking up, someone that seemed to know grounder language and trying to bargain for him or something. He couldn’t see the person, unable to move his head with the knife there.

Instead, he focused solely on Miller.

Eyes locked on his boyfriend’s, Bryan tried to stay strong and to stay quiet. He could feel the cold blade against his neck, and he shivered lightly. He was getting scared though, and he could tell Miller was as well, because the conversation didn’t’ seem to be going well, and Bryan wasn’t sure if he should try and chance it by grabbing for the blade, with how close it was to his throat.

It seemed he didn’t have a chance to do it anyway, because the next second, the grounder’s hand was moving, and the knife was cutting across his neck in an agonizingly painful cut. Bryan didn’t even have time or the ability to scream in pain. The last thing he saw as everything went black and his body fell to the floor, was the horror and pain on Miller’s face.

‘I’m sorry Nate… I love you…’

For a boy who’d come into the world with such a soft whimper, maybe it was only fitting that his death happened the same way. There was no battle. There was no fighting. There was no heroic attempts to save his friends, or to sacrifice himself for the greater good, or showing of bravery. His death was a quiet whimper in the grand scheme of things, that probably wouldn’t matter.

He’d been having trouble focusing. Ever since the incident at Farm Station, he’d been having trouble being focused on anything but Nathan and himself, and what was happening. All he wanted was for Nate to understand, to see that their people were important, that they couldn’t leave them; especially not when it meant leaving them to a life of slavery. He wanted to save their people, but that meant all of their people, and Nate didn’t seem to understand it.

It hurt, and it was distracting him. All he wanted was to go running back to Nate and try and explain, to try and beg him to understand. But he wasn’t sure how to even explain it, and he was scared that Nate wouldn’t even understand if he did explain it. Maybe he was choosing to just not understand… Things had changed on the ground, after all. Maybe Nate just didn’t want to understand him anymore. That could be it, right?

He was putting all his efforts into helping make the ship safe. That was their viable option, and even if it meant less people could be inside now, Bryan wanted to make sure that those people that were in there would be safe. He wouldn’t be. He would do whatever it took to make sure that Nate, Harper, and his other friends were all on that list that Clarke had made, but he wouldn’t be. He couldn’t take that spot if it meant that someone else could be saved.

He’d spent the day working on whatever odd jobs that Raven ordered him to do. He had to be useful, had to help make sure that his people would be safe inside. His plan was to finish up the task at hand and then find Clarke; tell her he didn’t want to be on the list, and make sure Nate was. Then he’d go to Nate and apologize. Maybe they could spend their final months together before the end of everything. That would be nice.

His steps had led him to the gates and past; headed towards where he knew a patch of plants were that they could use and that they hadn’t gathered yet. He knew they’d be useful when the others were inside, and he also knew that they were by a field of flowers as well; one he’d stop at and gather some, so he could bring them to Clarke and Nate. After all, flowers could soften the blow of the things he was saying, right?

He’d gathered the plants in his bag and then made his way to the flowers. A handful for each of them, he thought, to convince Clarke, to apologize to Nate.. Luck was on his side for a split second; he knelt down to pick up a flower that was in full bloom and looked beautiful, and the arrow that had been aimed at his head barely brushed his hair as it sailed over him. Then his head shot up, and panic rushed through him at seeing the arrow a few feet away.

He’d spun, hands dropping the flower, moving to the gun hanging from his shoulder. A grounder. Of course it was a grounder. They couldn’t just leave well enough alone, could they? He didn’t understand them; couldn’t understand them. If it was an archer, maybe he could have faster reflexes. Maybe he could get a shot off before they could get another arrow launched at him. Maybe…

But as he turned to face his would be assassin, he realized that the grounder was not alone. It was like time slowed down to just tick… tick… tick… Seconds felt like hours, it felt like he was watching a movie frame by frame. The world was frozen and he could see and feel everything that was going on. There were three grounders there; an archer, one with a sword, and one with an ax. The archer and axman were farther back, but the swordsman…

His sword was through Bryan’s chest.

Bryan could feel the searing pain from the entrance and exit wounds and all inbetween. He could see the grin on the grounder’s face, the girl smirking at the fact that she’d caught the sky boy at just the right time. He could see the other two, weapons slowly lowering now that they didn’t need them anymore for him. He could hear the quiet around him, could feel the blackness slowly starting to engulf him.

Would they notice, he thought, would they realize that he was gone, that he hadn’t returned to arkadia? Would they just recognize that a gun was missing, and wonder who’d taken it? How long would it take before they knew something was missing, that he was gone? Would they even come looking for him? Or would they write it off as a gun going missing and no one knowing where it had went? Would they wonder if something had happened?

Would Nate notice? They’d been fighting, what if he just thought that Bryan was hiding or working somewhere and he’d missed him? Would he come looking for him? Would he want to find his body? Would any of them? Would they make sure that Nate was okay if they did? Would they take care of his soulmate for him? Would Nate even know how much he loved him? How desperate he was to make sure he was safe? His last thoughts were of Nate; of the love of his life and that smile he missed so much. Nate…

A tiny whimper escaped his throat, and then it was over. The darkness swallowed him up, as the grounder removed her sword and his body slumped to the ground. He fell, landing beside the flower that he’d stopped to pick, his gun hanging at his side and sliding to the ground, his bag laying beside him. It was over, there in that field of flowers, there with the three grounders standing above him. It was over as the grounder wiped the blood off of her sword on his pants, and the three turned to leave.

It was over in a whimper, just as he’d come into the world, he’d left.