In the couple of weeks since she left Camp Jaha she had seen such beautiful places. Ever since Clarke and the 100 had landed on the ground they had been too busy fighting for their lives to even notice the beauty that was all around them. But Clarke hadn't even seen another person since leaving her friends and family behind. And for some reason that filled her with an overwhelming sense of peace
Part of her knows that she should feel some sense of loss at leaving them. That she should long to be back with her friends and family, laughing at the dinner table over a hot meal and sleeping in a room with a padded mattress but she just can't bring herself to miss them. She can feel the blood of hundreds of lives soaking her hands. And she knows that every time she would looked at them, she'd see reminders of all the death and destruction she helped cause.
The teachers and historians on the Ark hadn't told them much about what happened here on the planet, they instead chose to focus on the future, studying survival techniques for when they eventually landed back on the ground and science to get the human race back to its full strength. But stories of war and destruction still made their way around the Ark in whispers, some of the stories seemed wrapped in lore while others seemed to be based in truth but over the decades the two versions seemed to melt together and Clarke could never tell which stories were which.
She did know one common message both sets of stories carried. The people on the ground were responsible for the destruction of this planet, yes, they had built the Ark and yes, they developed the technology that allowed them to survive in space but the only reason they needed to send people away to the safety of outer space in the first place was because they were destroying this planet with their greed and violence.
But no matter how many ears heard or mouths spoke these stories, the human race seemed doomed to repeat itself. They still fought. They still bled and they still destroyed each other for that little piece of something that never had before.
Lexa had told Clarke that the grounders were ruthless because it was how they needed to survive. Clarke felt a little pull in her chest at the thought of that night in Lexa's tent. She tried to bury the kiss deep in her memory because it did nothing but cause her misery. Thoughts of the kiss, of Lexa's gentle lips, of her nose gently caressing Clarke's cheek. It instantly brought up thoughts of what happened just a few hours later. The feeling of betrayal and abandonment as she watched Lexa's back turn to her and walk away. She had never felt so alone.
This world was just like the one before it. The one Clarke's relative had left behind. Everyone looked out for themselves, stealing from anyone who didn't belong, taking things they didn't need. Instead of learning and growing from their tattered pasts, they have answered savagery with savagery, manipulating and abusing each other not just to survive in this cruel world but to thrive and dominate over one another.
And Clarke had become sick of it. She had been fighting since her feet touched the soil, and she was exhausted.
Between the Woods Clan, the people of Mount Weather or even her own people, they all had varying degrees of ruthlessness. Executions, murders, all surrounded with laws, rules and traditions to help justify it all and let them sleep at night.
But how could she think she was any better than the rest of them?
She had shot Dante and played his dying breathes over the radio for his own son to hear. She had murdered innocent people to save her own that day on the Mountain. She had pulled that lever and watched as hundreds gasped and choked on the toxic air while blisters burned into their flesh.
All that death.
Because of a choice she had made.
She had to save her people. She was left no other choice.
But who was she to decide who lives and who dies?
She sighed as she stepped out of the dark woods and into a large clearing.
The day was still new, the sun just making its way over the horizon leaving the sky a light blue. The seasons had begun to show signs of change, the leaves were already starting to change to shades of orange and yellow. The cool nights had started to leak into the morning leaving a light mist over the grass coating it in a light layer of water.
Clarke had spent the night inside of a hallowed out tree trunk. She hadn't slept comfortably though she had gotten used to that in the past couple of weeks. She had slept upright, with her neck twisted in an uncomfortable way. But she had learned to sometimes sacrifice comfort for safety. She was well hidden from anything that might patrol the forests as night and she had made it to another day. And that was all that mattered.
She readjusted the backpack she had casually slung over her shoulder. In it she had carried the minimum supplies she had managed to snag from the old 100 camp. She found a couple of empty bottles, she had filled them up at the river before she continued on her journey. She also managed to find a tattered bundle of rope and a little pocket knife someone had left behind. It was a meager haul but they had taken anything of real use back to Camp Jaha, and she wasn't going back there any time soon. She knew enough about the land from her training on the Ark and her short time with Lexa to know which mushrooms were safe to eat and she hoped she could do some hunting or fishing soon.
She took a few more steps forward before she she could really see the entire valley. She felt the air escape her lungs in a gasp.
A veil of white clouds covered the tips of two mountains that rose in the distance. Between them was a staggered valley with a fast moving river rushing through the center. Even from here she could hear the water crashing against the rocks below. The only thing that stood between herself and the river was a long field of tall grass with flowers that held hints of purple and white flowers. The grass looked like it probably reached up to Clarke's waist.
Clarke dropped her backpack onto the grass and used it to shield her jeans from the wet ground as she sat and used the moment to enjoy the landscape. She had spend so much time on her ground with a mission in mind. She always had somewhere to be, someone to meet or something to plan. But she honestly didn't have a plan and as scary as that sounded sometimes, it was nice to be able to sit here and not feel like she was wasting time. There was no one to save, no rescues to plan, she could just be herself.
In the survival classes she had taken on the Ark, they had always taught the importance of bodies of water, especially running water like a river. The flowing of the river told her the direction she was heading and that was useful in case she ever wanted to find her way back to the Camp Jaha. Not to mention the fact that the water was an important life support tool and the countless edible plants and wildlife she could find thriving along the banks of the river.
But the path down to that river wasn't as obvious as the decision to follow it. The large field in front of her was gorgeous with its flowers but the tall grass could hide numerous dangerous creatures. They had learned about snakes, insects and various other predators that could hinder survival and if there was anything the Pauna or River Serpent taught her, it was that there were many creatures out here that were never documented or had never been seen before by people of the Ark. And she wasn't sure she'd want to risk discovering a new species unseen while trampling through that grass all by herself.
To the left of the field was a rocky cliff edge. She didn't have enough rope to completely repel down what looked to be a deep drop and she didn't trust what little rope she had. There was another path to the right that was through a thin forest of vines and trees but it was going to be a much longer walk down. It was the longer way but Clarke wasn't in much of a hurry anyway. She stood up, picked her pack off the ground and shook the water off of it.
The hair stood up on the back of her neck.
She had become so accustomed to the early morning birds and their songs that their silence screamed louder in her ears than a siren. Something nearby had scared the birds away and the thought of what the could be made Clarke feel uneasy.
Something or someone was out there.
She turned her head and studied the woods behind her. She caught no figures or shapes but knew that something could easily be hiding in the shadows of the trees. She could feel their eyes watching her. She quickly shouldered her backpack before seeing movement out of the corner of her eye.
She didn't have time to decide in any other plan and instead she took off for the field of grass.
Her legs moved as fast as the could, the half filled bottle of water slammed against her back with every step but she didn't stop.
She felt her boots slip on the wet grass. The morning dew soaked through her jeans as she fell to her knees.
She glanced over her shoulder and saw a dark figure finally stepping out from the woods. Even from this short distance Clarke knew the figure would easily tower over her. He stopped and tilted his head, assessing Clarke.
She knew her path was obvious, the only advantage she had was the short distance they had between them and she had to be faster then this guy. She just had to be. She hoped to use both her advantages to put enough space between her and her pursuer, she could enter the thick grass and disappear. She rather take her chances with the creatures hidden inside the field then with the person behind her. She took off.
She didn't have to look back to know he was hot on her heels and coming up on her fast. She could hear his ragged breathes and the pounding of his feet on the ground. If she just made it into the grass, she knew she could just slip away.
Her legs pounded against the ground, her heartbeat pulsed into her ears and she was sucking in air as she pushed her body to run faster and faster. Her muscles screamed at her, a sky person's legs weren't a match for someone who's spent a lifetime on the ground. He was faster then she was and her muscles were already giving up on her.
She just needed a little more time.
She was just about the reach the edge of the tall grass when she saw a line of warriors rise to their feet, revealing their hiding spots within the tall grass. She felt a wave of relief hit her. It had to be Lexa's warriors, they had found her and were here to protect her. But then she took note of their armor. They wore blue and gray instead of the usual greens and browns of the Woods Clan, The symbol some bore on their chests, others bore on their arms, was something Clarke had never seen before.
These weren't Lexa's people.
She felt a dull pain slam against the back of her skull. Her legs gave way and she felt herself falling, falling, falling. Then she saw black.