Blue Through the Grey

Part 9: The Grey

Sasha

Months have passed since the war, since Hannah went missing. I go to that crash site every day just to see if she left any signs for me...but there is never any. We stopped battling just to watch the mothership come down. After it smashed into the soft layer of earth, the aliens fled. We don’t know where they went, we just know that they’re weak at the moment. It’s hard for me to even get out of bed in the mornings, knowing that Hannah might be still out there and I might be looking in the wrong places...it frightens me.
Tonight we swear in a new leader, someone that can lead us to victory, and I’m on the ballot. After we returned from the war, we came up with a plan to wait a while so we can get a chance to see who's fit for the throne. Lexa, the tough as nails leader from Treehill offered to lead us, but the others didn’t like that idea very much.

There’s a knock on the screen door. It’s Abigail, we’ve became close friends since the battle. I wave for her to come inside and she walks in and sits across from me at the table.
“Sasha. As you know, you’re on the ballot,” She says, kinda smiling. “So, as a supporter. I need to get you all dressed up for the election.”
“I guess I’ll let you,” I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “I’m not sure I’d even be a good leader.”
“They chose you for a reason,” She stands from the chair and walks out onto the porch, then brings in a big box. “This will make you shine!”
In a few minutes, she’s done...with the outfit. I look like some sort of medieval warrior. Large gold painted metal lies on my shoulders and flowing down my back is a grey cape type thing. Abigail smiles and claps her hands together.
“You look great. Oh, one last thing.” She reaches her hand into a bucket then blows something in my face, I think it’s glitter.

An hour or so passes, the sun is nearly down and the beat of drums pound in my chest. I walk down a small hill and into the gathering area. I’m trying to look fearless, trying to keep my emotions from seeping through but all I want to do is puke. People are lined up, their eyes gazing into mine. I wonder if they can sense my fear, my anger, my agony. My body screams on the inside as the drums get louder and louder. I walk up a set of stairs and see to my right...Lexa. To my left is Victor, a badass that know how to kill. We’re all wearing some sort of medieval armor, mine happens to be the most colorful. I take a seat in the throne and look out to the crowd. I feel so high up on this platform, it’s crazy. My mind races as the drums die down.
Lexa stands and walks to the front. “Today,” She says, I can’t hear any emotion in her voice. She’s adapted to be a leader, to be fearless, to take no shit. “We elect a new leader,” She turns towards me, her eyes burning a hole in my skull. The black warpaint on her cheeks and eyes show that she’s not in the mood for anything but the election.
“On the ballot today is, Sasha Stevens, Victor Summers, and Myself; Alexandria Ashford. Let the election begin.”
The hole in my skull gets bigger as she walks back to her seat. “May the best win.”
“Lexa. You’re running a colony already...why are you here?”
She turns to me quickly. “Because I want humanity to survive.”
A man walks up the steps and turns towards the crowd of people that are now silent.
“I have the results,” He says. It takes a few seconds for him to continue. “The new leader is...A tie.”
“Between who?!” Lexa fires at him.
“Between Lexa and Sasha.”
My heart drops, my stomach turns, my head is spinning.
“How shall we settle this tie?” Lexa asks me, smiling.
“I...I’m not sure.” I gulp hard.
She leaps up and walks to the front, making sure everyone can hear her. “In ancient times, they settled this with a battle.” The crowd cheers. “So I think, it’s fair for us to properly see who’s fit for leadership.”
She turns to me and smiles slightly.
“You weren’t this big of a bitch when we fought together in the war, Lexa.” I regret saying that.
“That’s when we were fighting towards a common goal. Now, it’s the law of the land.”
I grip the armrests hard. “If it’s a battle you want, it’s a battle you’ll get.”

People surround us in a circle, the drums are starting to beat again and I can feel the knot in my stomach get tighter. Abigail takes my cape thing and tosses it on the ground, then hands me a blade. Oh god, I’m not the best at sword fighting...but I know Lexa is. She was raised to be a fighter, she was born a leader. I look over at Lexa, she’s putting on a fresh coat of war paint. She pulls the sword from her sheath and smiles as she examines the blade.
It’s only a split second, I’m barely able to blink. She launches at me, her weapon in flight. It smashes against mine, sending small sparks towards the ground. Her teeth grind together as she pushes her sword against mine. Why are we even sword fighting? Oh, that’s right...Because Lexa is queen at it and she never loses. I push her back and the crowd gasps. I take a swing at her and slice into the bottom of her shirt. She looks at me, rage filling her body.
“Give up!” Lexa says, running at me.
“And let you take over? No!”
I roll out of the way and jump to my feet, smashing my blade against hers. Again, we’re pushing each other. She knees me in the stomach and punches me right in the face. She kicks me to the ground and holds her blade over my face. She jabs down but I’m able to roll out of the way. The weapon sinks into the ground, giving me a quick advantage. I kick the back of her legs and she falls beside her sword. I grab it and toss it away. I pick her up and hold mine at her throat. But I’m not as amazing as I think. She throws me over her shoulder and dives her knee into my chest. And this is where I die, this is where I take my last breath, my last look at the never ending sky. I close my eyes just as she’s about to beat me to a pulp.
“You win, Sasha,” She says. Standing up and helping me to my feel. She wipes the blood from her nose and smiles. “It was a test. I wasn’t going to kill you. You’re fit to lead.” She shakes my hand.
“Th-thanks...Sorry I called you a bitch.”
“Don’t apologize. I am one.” She smiles and walks away. The drums are dead now, the crowd has left and it’s just me...me standing there, wondering what just happened.