the streets of Tondc were alive with preparations, warriors moving in coordinated movements, their voices a low hum beneath the open sky. you stood at the edge of the village, your heart racing, the weight of raven’s words pressing heavily on her mind.

“The missile’s coming,”

raven had said, her voice cracking over the radio.

you ran over to lexa, your voice lowered, stepping closer.

“There’s a missile coming. It’s aimed at Tondc. We need to warn the others. We have to evacuate—”

lexa’s face hardened immediately.

“We can’t.”

“They’re watching us, Clarke,”

lexa added, her voice cold and controlled.

“If we warn the others, they’ll know we were tipped off. Our position will be compromised. The Mountain Men will strike again.”

Before you could argue, lexa pulled you, dragging you toward the edge of the village. your feet stumbled, your mind spinning. you could barely process what was happening. The people—Octavia Indra—they were all still in Tondc. But Lexa was moving too quickly, pulling you away from the inevitable destruction.

The sound came first. A low rumble that grew in intensity, shaking the ground beneath their feet. your heart pounded in your chest as you turned back, just in time to see the missile hit. The explosion was deafening. Flames erupted, swallowing the village in a cloud of fire and smoke. The shockwave hit them moments later, the force knocking you off your feet.

you hit the ground hard, the impact sending a sharp pain through your body. your ears were ringing, a high-pitched whine that drowned out everything else. your vision blurred, and all you could hear was the fading echo of the explosion, followed by a distant ringing.

your ears were still ringing, the world around you a blur of sound and chaos. you stumbled as Lexa dragged you deeper into the trees, away from the burning ruins of Tondc.

suddenly, gunfire cracked through the air. you flinched, your senses barely registering the danger. a group of Mountain Men emerged from the shadows of the forest