When Lexa opens her eyes and wakes up, it's with a heavy sigh. Her back aches for one, and she might maybe be sort of, kind of... Lost.
Yesterday, during her solo hike on an entire empty trail in the Zig Zag ranger district of Mt. Hood National Park, rain had started suddenly pouring down, and heavily. Barely able to see twenty feet ahead of her, and with her phone picking up zero data service, she'd wandered around until she found a little Rock overhang.
So she'd slept there against the stone. And God was she paying for it now. The base of her back ached almost as much as the time she'd been shot to the right of her spine in Afghanistan. She'd been lucky to walk away from that, she knew. And the injury rarely bothered her, really. Crouching down to open her rucksack, she pulled out one of her bottles of Gatorade, ignoring the canteen on her hip. Quickly finding her extra strength Tylenol in her med pack, she swallowed two down; chewing on a power bar as she stood and slung her ruck back over her shoulder after checking her supplies and weapons.
Comfortingly patting the salient arms gen 4 glock 19 on her right hip, she left the little overhang, looking up at the still heavily overcast sky and then the watch on her wrist with a frown. It was sure to rain within the next four hours and wandering around like some private, lost, wasn't apart of her day-plan. Her phone still had no signal, but she did have an emergency radio with the Ranger Station frequency on it and a flare gun.
As she tracked through the forest, unsure of what direction she'd come from and unable to retrace her steps due to the storm's devastation, she sighed. Of course she'd get herself in this situation.
This was exactly what Lincoln warned her about when she told him she was going off alone. She hiked for over an hour before she remembered the compass and map in the back zip of her pack.
"Such a freaking rookie mistake, Lexa. Go off trekking though the damn forest without checking your gear and keeping in touch with Linc and An. She's gonna kill me." Just as she finished berating herself, she reached the peak of the high Ridge she'd been climbing up, a decent sized Valley laid out before her.
"And... Shit is that a fire? Ugh, yes. Thank God." With a rather excited chuckle, she carefully descended the steep hill by finding the softest slope and strapping up with her rappel gear. Once she was down, she tied the other end to another tree just in case she needed it before heading further downhill towards the grey wood smoke, thin and light. Enough to keep anyone from a further distance from seeing it.
Flicking the snap on one of the magazine pouches on the belt around her waist, she checked her Glock's chamber before re-holstering it. She wanted to be safe in the case she'd wandered into a potentially dangerous situation, but walking up on a stranger's camp not only armed but gun in hand wasn't the friendliest way to greet someone she hoped would help her get turned around. Just as she thought that, the rain started up again, so she pulled out her compass, marking the direction of the camp and keeping it in site.
She finally reached a creek around three hundred yards from the camp, around ten feet wide and perhaps six deep. Draining the rest of her canteen, she refilled it, dropping a water tablet in and giving it a good shake. Crossing via the raised boulder's sunken into the water, Lexa, reached down when she nearly tripped over a dense thicket of fresh spearmint, yanking out a few handfuls. With the storm raging once more, there was no chance she would be headed back today and fresh mint tea sounded like a good way to shave off some of the stress piling on top of her currently raw nerves.
Reaching a scattered clearing of sorts, she looked up to where it seemed the fire was actually coming from. High up in a rather massive evergreen tree was some manner of tree house, a ragged stone enclosure housing the fire. Just as she started to step closer, relief filling her veins, there was a flash of light color in the tree house and an arrow was pointed at her heart. Her gun was already in her hand, ready to fire. She raised her left hand in placation, hoping the blonde woman would realize she wasn't there to do any harm.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" She looked angry. Truly angry, and afraid it seemed. The blonde woman was dressed in what looked like leather pants and a green flannel shirt, leather boots on her feet. There was a quiver on her back to accompany the recurve bow she wielded, as well as what looked like a full sized dagger. Lexa frowned. Her weaponry was sort of 'primitive' in nature, her leather clothing appeared homemade, as did those same weapons.
"My name is Lexa. I got lost like an idiot in the storm and I couldn't follow my tracks backwards for obvious reasons, so I hiked this way and saw your fire from the high ridge. I just kinda need directions for tomorrow when the storm hopefully passes and I can head back to the Ranger Station where my friends will, of course, say I told you so."
The woman's eyes narrowed, and she pulled her bowstring tighter. Frustrated, Lexa, ducked behind cover, hearing the light 'thunk' of an arrow impacting with the other side of the tree she was bidding behind.
"I'd appreciate you not shooting at me! I don't want to shoot back but I will!" She poked her head out to see the woman sneering, another arrow flying by only inches from her face.
"Okay! If we're doing this let's do it!" Lexa turned around the other side, popping out to fire off three quick but decently accurate rounds before rolling over to her next spot of cover. With a disappointed sigh, she shifted her ruck off to reach in and grab her rifle, twisting and locking it's pieces together before she loaded a magazine in and yanked on the charging handle. When she peeked around the woman wasn't there, but the thick boughs of her home tree shook just barely.
"Come down from there! Please don't make me kill you, whoever you are! I just want to fucking go home!" A quickly fired off arrow buried itself in her shoulder and she grunted in pain. How stupid was she, exposing her body like that? Fucking rookie mistakes would get her killed. She cut off the extended part with her Kabar and grunted at the pain the movement caused.
After giving herself a few seconds to adapt to the pain, Lexa fired up into where she saw the tree starting to shake a bit, two rounds in quick succession and then another when she thought she may have heard a scream of pain. She watched, heart slamming against her ribs, as the blonde fell from at least twenty feet above her house, hitting a few branches on her way down. They'd break her fall, but damn would they hurt.
"Please tell me you're alive... I didn't want to kill you!" she sighed as she slipped her ruck back on and sprinted over to the tree and started her climb up the suspended rope ladder, handgun back in her right hand and rifle slung onto her shoulder. When she reached the top, the injured woman rushed towards her, karambit hooked over her index finger in the reverse grip. When she raised her hand, the first swipe came for her now extended right arm, cutting into the shirt over her bicep, a thin line of blood staining her white shirt. Firing off a missed shot when she kicked the woman away, Lexa growled when her pistol was twisted out of her grip, grabbing her Kabar and cutting into the blonde's stomach.
When she staggered from the pain, Lexa sprinted and slid past and behind her, wrapping her arms tight around her neck and twisting her wrist to disarm her. She tightened her grip, grunting at the wild punches and kicks thrown at her until they weakened and the woman slipped into unconsciousness. With a staggered step and deep sigh, Lexa leaned over to gather her breath and wits. After a few moments, she retrieved her gear and set her ruck aside, picking up the woman to set her on her fur covered bed.
"Damn it."
She'd seen to herself first, dealing with the blood from her arm once she pulled out the arrow in her shoulder, finally suturing the wound closed and rubbing anti infection cream over it, then bandaging it up. It followed with her other injuries, then she set to the woman, digging out bullets and stitching up cuts. With a sigh, she sat down and stuffed another couple power bars in her mouth, Draining her water. She sat in the rough wooden chair in the corner of the small room as the rain beat against the roof outside. She'd stoked the fire then put the cast iron pot full of raw wild veggies and meat on it, as she assumed the woman had intended to.
Looking up as the woman stirred, she tightened the grip around her Glock, hoping she wouldn't have to kill the woman this time. It was obvious she was out here hiding from someone or something, hence her near immediate hostile action. And now that she'd had time to check her map and compass, she knew this place was far off the beaten path. At least twenty five or thirty miles over reasonably rough and steep terrain to the nearest expert backpacking path. She wanted to ask, wanted to know what she was doing here and why she was living the way she was. To be honest Lexa thought it was amazing. Living out here like this instead of just her twice a year hiking trips sounded like a dream.
But she had a life of sorts. A job, family, friends, things she liked to do in the city. Food, for example. Portland was a foodie Hotspot. It was one of the things she loved most about the city.
"Ugh... Fuck. The fuck happened?" The woman was clearly speaking to herself. She was disoriented, probably. And confused.
"You fell from the tree, we fought. I won, and I fixed you up. Put that food you had all prepped into the oven. Wanted to make sure you were okay before I left. I finally got my directions straight, and though it's clearly still pouring outside I'd rather not fight again. Or have to kill you. So, getting Oscar Mike seems like the best idea. It was... Honestly not so great to meet you." She managed to finish speaking before the woman turned quickly, sitting up before crying out in pain.
"Hey, whoa, calm down. Don't reopen your stitches. I'm going." She kept her gun in hand as she pulled her ruck and rifle on with a frown. She might have been a tad sad to go. She hadn't had a real meal in a couple days.
"Why didn't you kill me? You work for them. I know you do. There's no way you found me otherwise. And you're well trained."
"You can thank the Corps for your last point. And as I said, I stumbled onto the valley like an idiot. A lost idiot. Look. I have zero idea who 'they' are. Or if they're even real... But I'm not them. I don't want to hurt you, I'm not trying to take you anywhere, and this isn't some weird spy mindfuck or whatever. My name is Lexa Redding. I'm a retired marine. I live in Portland, work at Trikru Inc. Anything else you need to know?" The woman's brows creased as she looked down in thought then looked back up at her.
"Trikru? You know Indra Tondisi?"
"Well she's my mother... So yes. How do you know her?"
Lexa sighed, already wondering how much more complicated this situation could and most likely would get. She was exhausted, and still keyed up from the combat despite the few hours it'd been. She wasn't angry at this woman. She wasn't; just frustrated and pretty damn annoyed. Now both of them were injured, all of which could have been avoided if she'd just given Lexa directions so she could get back to the Ranger Station.
"Through my dad. Jake Griffin? He said I should go to her if anything happened but they came for me before I could. So I ran, ended up here. No one followed you?"
"No. But if your dad was Jake Griffin... then you're Clarke." Lexa realized, having heard of her numerous times over the years, even meeting her once when they were teenagers, though briefly. It was only now she remembered. Clarke had been in a black dress. Her hair curled, heels on, bright smile attracting the attention of everyone around her. How things change.
"Do you want me to call her? I have a secure line, but it'll have to wait until the storm clears." She was a good fifty miles from the Ranger Station at the least. She wasn't exactly sure about the range of the radio Anya had given her. Pulling it from her belt, she pressed the button.
"Ranger Station alpha, do you read? This is Lexa, over." They both waited for nearly three minutes before the static cut and her sister's voice came over.
"Where the fuck are you, you fucking idiot? You've been gone for two days without calling in! We told you not to go off alone! Over." Lexa sighed, pushing a hand through her now clean and combed hair, her trademark braids absent.
"Pine, Sierra India Uniform. Over." Clarke looked confused at the vernacular and raised a brow at her. She motioned tuning the radio and she nodded. Anya sighed over the line.
"Copy that, Commander. Young. Over." Lexa frowned at the reference but tuned her radio to the frequency. Costia's birthday.
"Anya, what's your location? Over."
"Just passing the tower on my way back to the station. What the hell is going on you need a secure freq? Over."
"Something serious. Call my mother while I'm on the line. I've got no signal. Over."
"Copy that, Commander. Dialing her up now."
"Anya, what a pleasant surprise. How's dealing with my headstrong daughter out there? She must have already drove you crazy."
"Oh, you have no idea. She's here via radio. Her phone can't connect apparently. Over, Commander."
"Nomon, I have Clarke Griffin with me. If you can get a bird to the coordinates I'm about to give you, We'd both appreciate it." She recited their coordinates then released the button, hearing her mother speaking to someone before she was speaking again.
"Clarke? I'm glad you're alive and well. I've worried for you after the fire. Jake taught you well. Lexa, someone's on their way. We can talk about everything soon. Over and out." The call ended and Lexa sighed, nodding back at Clarke to get a go back put together.
"Heda, what the hell's going on? And where the hell are you? Over."
"It's a very long story. I got lost when the storm hit. I was off the master hiking trail mapping and I had to hike a while to find shelter for the night. By the time I woke up the next day everything was a mess and I couldn't find my way back. I hiked up to the nearest ridge to get a bird's eye and saw smoke. Basically I found a woman and her camp. We tussled. Over."
"Lexa, are you hurt? Over."
"I'm fine, Anya. Took an arrow to the shoulder and a shallow cut to the inside of my upper arm but I'm all bandaged up already. Listen, this woman is someone I've met before, and as you heard someone my mom knows. Jake Griffin was her father. That's what this is about. I need you to update Lincoln, and keep an eye on your guests, will you. We'll be gone, but we may get some clues about their operation if they show up. Over."
"Copy that, Heda. Shit though, Jake's daughter? I thought she was dead. We all thought she was dead. Over."
"I think it's obvious that was the point. Anyway, look, we've got to get ready to get oscar mike, you keep an eye out and keep me updated. Be careful, stay armed. I love you, I'll probably see you soon. Over."
"Ai hod yu in sentaim, Heda. Over and out." Lexa sighed and turned off the radio, slipping into the pouch on the side of her ruck straps.
"Ready." Clarke stepped up next to her, a worn north face backpack and her bow over her uninjured shoulder, the other thankfully still in the sling Lexa had thrown together. She'd tied up her hair into a messy bun and slipped a Trailblazer's hat over top, and her quiver was tied to the pack by the bungee straps.
"Have they ever found you out here?" Lexa had to ask, for intel's sake. Knowing how much your enemies knew was vital.
"No. You're the first to find me. I couldn't take the chance. I'm not sorry I shot you. If you hadn't been who you said you were it would've meant my life." Lexa rolled her eyes, leading the way towards the rope ladder.
"Yeah well, I am sorry I shot you. I mean you no harm and I didn't then, but you're a bit too good with that bow. I'm just glad I went with fmj rounds and not jhp. I would've hated to hurt you more than I had to. Let's go. If I know my mother, she sent the Peregrine. They'll be here soon, probably set down a bit to the west in that meadow there." She climbed down rapidly despite her injured shoulder, holding the ladder stiff for Clarke to follow. She was the most injured of the two of them and that was Lexa's fault.
When they were on the ground, she once again pointed towards where it was likely their pick up would set down and started heading that way, taking point. It was less than a mile away, no big hike at all, so she wasn't concerned.
So they headed west, Mt. Hood at their backs. Clarke was quiet, and seemed deep in thought; so Lexa didn't bother her.
It didn't take them more than fifteen minutes to reach the clearing, and it was only a few more after they'd stopped there that the Peregrine jet's four vtol engines announced it's presence.
It whipped up the knee high grass around them like a chopper, and then the engines shut off and the boarding ramp in the bag slid down to meet the ground. Lexa motioned for Clarke to follow, walking around the back and up into the jet. She grinned when she saw Tris standing there in her uniform, little metal wings pinned above her name patch.
"Well skrish, look who got their wings! Hey there little sis." She wrapped one arm around her sister, wary of injuring her shoulder further.
"Just got them yesterday. Gustus cried." She laughed out loud, eyes wide as she mentioned her first.
"I bet he did. I would've too. I'm so proud of you, Tris. This is a big deal, but I always knew you'd get here, no matter what anyone else said. I hope you gave Titus the biggest I told you so ever."
"Aden helped me prank him. We put a giant picture of me with feathered wings above his bed. It was the first thing he saw this morning. The whole building must've heard his squeal." Lexa laughed even more loudly this time, using her one hand on Tris to keep her steady.
"Oh my god that's perfect! Too bad there's no video, I'd have loved to see that." Clarke cleared her throat and Lexa looked back at her, catching the raised brow.
"Right, introductions; Tris, this is Clarke. Clarke, this is Tris; my sister. Now that's done, let's get going. Who's your co-pilot?" She motioned for Clarke to sit down in any of the seats and followed to strap her in when she did so.
"No co-pilot, just me. Go ahead and sit down, I'll help you strap in. When we get time later, after your debrief, I very much expect you to explain to me why you're both injured." Lexa sighed, but sat down and let Tris strap her in.
"We may have had a violent disagreement. But we're both fine, nothing major to worry about. Go ahead and get us in the air, we'll have dinner together when we get back; I'll fill you in." Tris eyed them both, glaring at Clarke in particular. But she headed into the cockpit, and they were off the ground only a minute later.a