Chapter Two
The nights are getting shorter
I don't know where to go
I am getting older
And it's starting to show
And ever since I left my mother
It's much harder to know
How to make my own life here
How to make my own home
Mother & Father - Broods
You won't guess what's happening? Wells and Murphy are fighting. Shocking I know. Who saw that coming? Not me. Honestly, why don't they just whip it out? Save us all the trouble. I roll my eyes as the two continue to deck it out; I would intervene but Wells said violence isn't the answer. And, he didn't let me clock Bellamy so he's on his own. If yesterday proved anything I'm just background noise. But, while the rest of my peers have been screwing around (figuratively and literally) I've put my time to good use. Using the limited supplies we have I managed to build some knives. I even made a cheap bow and currently working on the arrows. As I drag the blade against the wood I try to block out what's going on around me. Looking at the endless stretch of deep-blue sky I wonder what my parents are doing right now. Or Faye, Roland and Kai. Are they okay? Do they know we've been sent to the ground?
"You're dead!" Murphy snarls breaking me out of my train of thought. He jumps to his feet, wielding a knife.
That's not what I made them for. I stand abruptly, dropping my unfinished arrow and tightly clutch my knife. My muscles tense as I prepare to intervene, but Bellamy beats me to it.
"Wait." It's silent as we all watch him produce a knife and hold it out towards Wells. "Fair fight."
Bellamy tosses it near his feet and moves out of the way. Wells steps back from the object as if he's been burned. I step forward gaining his attention. He shakes his head and snatches up the knife. I raise an eyebrow as we lock eyes again, but he nods and I loosen my grip on the blade. They circle each other; Murphy fakes a lunge and laughs when he steps back. With a new found determination he strikes, but Murphy dodges and cuts his arm.
"This is for my father!" Murphy cries running at Wells, but he blocks the blow and forces Murphy around; locking his hands by his sides.
He raises his blade to Murphy's throat, "Drop it."
"Wells." An annoyingly familiar voice breaks through the clearing. "Let him go."
I roll my eyes at her judging tone; without hesitation Wells shoves Murphy to the ground. But it's not over for Murphy and he charges again while Wells back is turned.
Earth tip #1: Don't turn your back on a enemy
I intercept with my knife aimed at his neck and a stoic expression, "Back off." I can tell by his unnerving gaze he doesn't think I'll do it, neither do I. But as he goes to move forward I press the blade harder against his throat. I don't want to hurt him, but I don't want him murder my only friend on earth either. When it seems he's cooled down I lower my arm and turn around fully prepared to finish the arrows for my bow.
"Enough Murphy." Bellamy shouts and I spin around to see him holding back the seething boy. And not just holding him back, like literally restraining him. My stomach feels heavy, like a load of bricks has just been deposited in my stomach. Would he? I mean would he really have? Would I have- I can't even finish the thought. Shaking my head I look down at my hand and the heaviness I feel is replaced with nausea. The underside of the blade is stained with a dark red- blood. Murphy's blood. What am I doing? This isn't who I am. I don't hurt people. I have a second chance and this is what I chose to do with it? I chance a glance at Murphy who's glaring at me over Bellamy's shoulder.
Earth tip #2: Don't make enemies
"Octavia!" Bellamy releases Murphy and gives him a warning look before rushing to his sister's side. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah." She winces as he supports her weight.
He turns to the group, noticing their empty handed. "Where's the food?" They're all share a silent look, their breathing heavy.
"We didn't make it to Mount Weather." Finn says sitting on a log.
Bellamy warps his arm around Octavia, "What the hell happened out there?"
"We were attacked."
"Dun. Dun. Dun." I tease returning to my seat, not the least bit interested in where this conversation is going. I pick the arrow off the ground, fiddling it between my fingers. Should I finish it? Look at what happened with the knives.
"Attacked. By what?"
"Not what, who. It turns out when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last grounder."
"It's true." Blondie speaks out over the frightened murmurs, "Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong. There are people here. Survivors. The good news is-"
"There's good news?" I can't help but interject, "We have no food and there are survivors who apparently aren't particularly fond of us."
Her face falls and her voice losses some of it's conviction, "We can survive, the radiation won't kill us."
I scoff, "No just the grounders."
Wells eyes travel over the returned, "Hey, where's the kid with the goggles?"
"Jasper was hit. They took him." Blondie looks down and her eyes widen at Wells' bare wrist, "Where's your wristband?" She grabs his arm inspecting it but he shrugs off her grip.
"Ask him." I defend pointing my arrow at Bellamy. He doesn't say anything, even when his sister gives him a questioning look.
Blondie's green eyes darken as she steps towards him, "How many?"
"Twenty four and counting." Murphy smirks smugly.
"You idiots." She breathes. "Life support on the Ark is failing. That's why they brought us down here. They need to know the earth is survivable again and we need their help against whoever is out there. If you take your wristbands off, you're not just killing them; you're killing us." Nice speech, but she's severally underestimating their stupidity.
"We're stronger than you think. Don't listen to her. She's one of the privileged." Again with the privileged! Doesn't he realize we're all on earth? Okay, we're all screwed. "If they come down she'll have it good. How many of you can say the same? We can take care of ourselves. That wristband on your arm makes you a prisoner. We are not prisoners anymore. They say they'll forgive your crimes. I say you are not criminals. You're fighters. Survivors. The grounders should be worried about us."
"Yeah!" The people holler, throwing their fists in the air.
Oh yeah, I'm sure their shaking with fear. A bunch of teenagers, now that's scary. Morons. Sucking it up I shout over the cheers, "Cut the crap!" I suppress a shiver of discomfort when nearly a hundred heads turn to me. Though I have to say I'm quite surprised they actually listened to me and stopped talking. "This isn't about privileged versus poor. You're not just punishing the council you'll be killing families and children, who've done nothing too you. This isn't justice; this is vengeance and you'll be no better than the people who sent us down here to die. Their blood will be on your hands." It's silent as they process my words, some even have the decency to look ashamed. Even Bellamy who always has a retort. Seconds tick by without anyone saying anything. Okay, I expected some kind of response not this painfully awkward silence. I feel heat rise to my cheeks; I'm such an idiot. I should have never opened my mouth. With little dignity I walk away, my stomach in knots. Wells and Blondie are right behind me. I stop walking and they walk into my back, turning around I face them. "Why are you following me?"
"We're going after Jasper." Blondie says as if it's obvious.
"We?" I gesture between us. "I told you not to go to Mount Weather. That it wasn't safe. Whatever happens to Jasper is on you."
"Lyra." I look to Wells who's eyes are pleading and the longer I hold his gaze the more I can feel my resistance waver. I sigh and rub my forehead, "I'm so going to regret this."
"When my father said they didn't leave us with anything he really meant it." Wells says rummaging through the supplies as we sit in the center of the dropship preparing for the hike.
"If our ancestors could live off the land, so can we." I blow the dust off my last arrow setting it down with the others, "It'll just take some elbow grease."
"You're pretty good at that." He nods to my creations, "Building stuff."
"Yeah," I smile. "We couldn't really afford anything other than the necessities, so my dad would build me toys with whatever we had lying around. Ironically, I had more fun building the toys than playing with them."
Wells clears his throat, "Uh, here." He holds out a quiver made from the remnants of the parachute. I look at it than to him and back; unsure of what to say. He shrugs and rubs the back of his neck, "Consider it a thank you." My eyes sting with tears as he places in the quiver in my hands.
Smiling I run my hand along the material, "Thank you, Wells."
"You're welcome." I look in his eyes and laugh, throwing my arms around him. He jerks in surprise, but slowly wraps his arms around me. I squeeze him tightly before I pull back and admire my gift.
"Nice pack." Blondie climbs down from the second floor.
"He's more than just a pretty face," I say happily stuffing the arrows inside the quiver.
Wells blushes, "Yeah, seat belts and uh insulation. I also packed part of the parachute, figured we could use it to carry out Jasper-''
"Good," she cuts him off. "Give it to Lyra. You're not coming with us."
I shake my head, "The only reason I'm going on this hike is because of Wells. If he stays, so do I."
"Clarke," he stands up. "My ankles fine.''
"It's not your ankle Wells, it's you."
I rise to my feet and sling the quiver over my shoulder, "Can we save this for another time? Jasper's life is on the line. We don't have time for bickering. He's coming, end of story."
"This isn't any of your business." She glares at me and I just roll my eyes.
Wells steps in front of her blocking my view,"You came back for reinforcements. I'm going to help."
"Clarke, their right. We need them." An Asian kid interjects, "So far no one else has volunteered." I step back; where did he come from? Was he here the whole time?
"I'm sorry Monty, but you're not going either."
''Like hell I'm not!" Monty steps forward, "Jasper's my best friend."
"You're too important. You were raised on farm station and recruited by engineering."
I look to Wells, "So, he's freakishly smart?" He smiles at the ground.
"So," she shoots me another glare. "Food and communication." She touches Monty's head, "What's up here is going to save us all. You figure out how to talk to the Ark, I'll bring Jasper back." She turns to to Finn, "Hey, you're ready?" Where the hell did he come from? I glance around the room, is anyone else going pop up out of nowhere?
He scoffs, "I'm not going anywhere. And neither should any of you." He looks at us as if were crazy, "That spear was thrown with pin point accuracy from three hundred feet."
"What?!" I screech turning to Wells, "Did you forgot to mention that tiny detail?"
"I didn't think it was relevant."
"You didn't think it was-" I laugh, "Okay, you go. I'll stay." I pat his back and prepare to sit down, but he grabs my shoulder and pulls me back up.
"Lyra." Not the eyes again, that's just mean.
Crossing my arms I huff, "Fine."
"Spacewalker. What a joke. You think you're such an adventurer, you're really just a coward." I wince at her accusing tone.
"It's not an adventure, Clarke. It's a suicide mission." She shakes her head and motions us to follow her.
I offer Finn a smile as I exit the dropship, "See ya later, pretty boy."
He nods, "Be safe."
We hurry to catch up to Clarke who's heading towards Bellamy and Octavia, "You could've been killed." He scolds, patching up her injured leg.
Clarke steps in, "She would have been if jasper hadn't jumped in to pull her out."
"Are you guys leaving?" Octavia pulls down her pants, "I'm coming too."
Bellamy rises, holding out his hand, "No. Not again."
"He's right. Your leg would just slow us down. I'm here for you."
"Clarke, what are you doing?" Wells asks.
"I hear you have a gun." He lifts up his shirt conforming her statement. "Good, follow me."
"And why would I do that?" He asks, his tone uninterested as she begins to walk away.
"Because," I walk backwards and smile condescendingly, "if you want to play leader, you can't just talk the talk. You have to walk the walk; prove you're willing to save one of your 'own.'" I air quote and wave bye to Octavia and follow after Clarke with Wells by my side.
"You do realize they're not just bullies, Clarke?" Wells whispers, even though Bellamy and Murphy are a few paces behind "They're dangerous criminals." I raise an eyebrow, and what are we?
"I'm counting on it."
"Really?" I agree with Wells. "Inviting mad men to our rescue mission was apart of the plan? This will benefit us how? An early grave."
She turns to me, "Then why did you convince Bellamy to tag along?"
"Better the devil you know." I run my hand along a bush filled with flowers, "And I didn't think he'd actually come." Clarke rolls her eyes, but doesn't say anything. Wells gives me a look and it occurs to me that it can't be easy for him to have his only friends to be at odds. Though Clarke hasn't been such a good friend, if you ask me. But I have been picking fights and it doesn't seem Clarke will be waving an olive branch anytime soon. So it's up to me to be the bigger person, bleh! "We're off to see the wizard," I hum and nudge Clarke.
She shakes her head, but sings along, "The wonderful wizard of OZ."
"Hey, hold up." Bellamy calls catching up and ending our musical, "What's the rush?" He waves the gun around carelessly, "You don't survive a spear through the heart."
I breathe deeply, "Save the gun for the grounders, will ya."
Clarke turns to him with narrowed eyes, "Jasper screamed when they moved him. If the spear struck his heart he would of died instantly. That means we don't have time to waste." She turns, but he grabs her elbow keeping her in place. Wells and I move in closer in case he tries to pull something.
"As soon as you take this wristband off we can go." He grins charmingly.
She wretches her arm back, "The only way the Ark is going to think I'm dead, is if I'm dead. Got it?"
"Brave princess."
"Hey, why don't you find your own nickname?" Finn marches into the clearing. "You guys call this a rescue party? We gotta split up, cover more ground. Clarke, come with me."
I grab Wells' elbow and pull him towards me, "Mine." He laughs as I drag him away from dumb and dumber.
"How do we even now this is the right way?" Murphy drawls.
I scan the ground, my eyes skipping over rocks and damp patches as we search for clues.
"We don't, spacewalker thinks he's a tracker."
"It's called cutting sign. Fourth year earth skills. He's good," Wells defends.
"You wanna keep it down or should I paint a target on your backs?" Finn hushes them; approaching a bush he picks at a broken branch. He kneels down and frowns when he sees blood.
A wail echoes through the forest causing all of us to freeze, looking for the source of the sound.
"What the hell was that?"
I wet my lips, "Our executioner."
"Now would be a good time to take out that gun." Clarke advises following the moaning.
I reach behind my shoulder to grab one of my arrows from the sling Wells constructed; I'm not exactly sure how to use this thing. Holding my arms out for balance, I half shuffle, half skid down the slope; trying my best not to make any noise. I land at the bottom with a thud; mud squelching under my tattered boots.
"Jasper." Clarke's frightened whisper causes me to look up and I step back at the sight; bile rising in my throat. An unconscious Jasper is bound by his hands from a large tree; his chest covered in blood.
Bellamy tucks the gun back into his waistband, "What the hell is this?"
"What are we waiting for?" I drop my weapon on the ground and rush to help the injured boy. "Let's get him down." The ground collapses beneath my feet and my body drops.
"Lyra!" Wells shouts. I struggle to grab a hold of something before I hit the bottom when a strong hand grips my arm. As I dangle in midair I chance a look below me and instantly regret it. A bunch of sharp pointy sticks! I swallow feeling a panic attack starting.
"Hey!" A voice breaks through the fog, "Look at me."
"I can-n-n-t."
"Lyra! Look at me!" With much effort I look at my lifeline; Bellamy. He's kneeling at the edge, his grip painfully tight and the only thing keeping me from a certain death. "Focus on me. Only on me." I can feel his hand straining to hold my weight, but his eyes are determined and his jaw is set. He's doing all he can to keep me alive; so should I. Using my free hand I grab at the ground above me and dig my nails in. With a shuddering breath I try and plant them on the wall of the trap, it takes me a few tries but I finally have a secure hold.
"Pull her up." Clarke orders, "Pull her up." With the extra help from the others, we manage to pull me up.
My heart races as I sit on solid ground, "So would have rather been floated." They chuckle and roll their eyes at my childishness. Jasper! ''We need to get him down." I lurch to my feet, but my body wasn't ready for the sudden movement and Clarke steadies me.
"Are you okay?" Finn asks.
"My second day on earth and I almost died, but aside from that I'm great."
"I guess the ability to use sarcasm is a good sign of health." Bellamy quips.
Clarke urges, "Let's get Jasper."
"I'll climb up there and cut the vines."
"Yeah, I'm with you." Wells offers.
Finn turns around, "No, stay with the girls. Keep an eye out for grounders. You," he points to Murphy. "Come with me."
"There's a poultice on his wound."
"What is that?" Bending down I pick up my bow and quiver. "Medicine?" Clarke nods.
"Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?"
"Maybe whatever their trying to catch likes it's dinner breathing."
"Maybe what their trying to catch is us."
"No." I step forward being sure to avoid the big whole in the ground, "It's a warning. A show of force. Whoever they are, they want us to know that they aren't happy we're here."
Finn and Murphy work fast to free Jasper, cutting at the vines. Something rustles in the distance and I tense gripping my bow.
Murphy pauses, "What the hell was that?"
"Grounders?" Bellamy surveys the tree line; a growl vibrates through the forest and a large black animal stalks out from the bushes. As it paces towards us I try and recall what kind of animal they called it in school. A tiger, no tigers have stripes. Cheetah? No um- come on! A panther. Yes, a panther!
"Bellamy gun." Clarke yells and the cat roars in response; increasing it's speed. He reaches around to pull it from his pants, but he comes up empty handed.
My hands shake as I try to load my bow; I miss it several times before I can get it in. Okay, how hard can it be? Just common sense. Bending my elbow, I hold the string with my index, middle and ring fingers. Drawing the arrow back to my cheekbone, I focus on taking steady breaths. Gunshots ring out and I turn to see Wells with the gun, but only one shot hit the feline and injured it's leg. He fires again but it retreats into the bushes and circles us. It's quiet and I watch the movement of the bushes waiting for it to make it's next attack. It all happens in slow motion, the panther lunges with a roar and I relax my fingers and let go of the string. Please, please work. The air leaves my lungs when the arrow pierces the animals heart and falls dead at Bellamy's feet. Blood rushes to my face when they all look at me. Your welcome, now please stop staring at me. Catching Bellamy's eye and I try to make light of the situation, "We're even." A sharp shooting pain erupts along my arm, "Holy mother of god!" I look down at my arm, it's bleeding and missing bits of flesh.
Clarke grabs my wrist and inspects the wound, "I'll have to clean it, but for now-" She rips off a piece of her shirt and gently wraps it around my arm.
I hiss at the contact, "Thanks." I cradle my arm, is this going to scar?
Aside from the occasional groan from Jasper the trek back to camp is silent, the latest events replaying in our minds. Our second chance and we've already made enemies. How the hell did that happen? Earth skills never prepared us for this. The sun has set by the time we reach camp and my whole body is sore. Almost enough to make me forget about the pain in my arm, almost.
"They're back!" Someone shouts.
Monty greets us, "Is he-?"
"He's alive." Clarke assures, "I need boiled water and stripes of cloth for bandage." She holds back the flap of the dropship as the boys carry Jasper inside.
Bellamy lays the parachute on the ground and unrolls it revealing the large cat, "Who's hungry?" He shouts, the crowd cheers and high fives.
Clarke glares at Bellamy as he takes the credit for the kill, "Come on." I lightly touch her shoulder and guide her into the dropship, "Jasper's our priority right now."
She grins, "We?"
I roll my eyes, but don't answer and push her towards Jasper. I shift through the pile of stuff the Council was generous enough to pack for us and find some pots and rags. I hand one to Wells, "We'll be back with your water."
"But your arm?" She looks up from her position at Jasper's side.
"Can wait. Jasper needs your complete focus." She opens her mouth to argue but thinks better of it; I exit the pod strolling towards the basin where we stored the water from the storm. Using my uninjured arm I fill the container up and step back, waiting for Wells. We head over to an unoccupied fire, He places a wooden rack over the flames and we set down the pots. I collapse on one of the logs surrounding the pit, "How long?"
"About ten minutes." I nod and close my eyes, letting a memory surface.
Swiping the globe, ''What's this one?'' I ask pointing to the outline of a large country.
Dad squints, ''Let's see... that's Saudi Arabia.'' He rotates the sphere and points to a long, narrow country on the other side of the globe. ''What about this one?''
"Chile," I say confidently.
"Really?" He pulls his shirt, "I think it feels pretty warm in here."
I roll my eyes, "Daddy, are you going to make that joke every time we play?''
He smiles and his eyes crinkle, "Every. Single. Time." He pulls me into his lap and I wrap my arms around his neck. "At least, until we're actually in Chile. Then it might get old."
"Dean," Mom warns from the kitchen; she doesn't like it when he makes jokes about going to earth.
"What about the people?"
He cocks his head to the side, "What do you mean?''
"I want to see where all the people lived. Why aren't any apartments on the map?''
He ruffles my hair, ''I'm afraid we don't have anything that detailed. But people lived everywhere." He traces his finger along one of the squiggly lines. "They lived by the ocean, in the mountains, the dessert, along the rivers.'
"How come they didn't do anything when they knew the Cataclysm was coming?"
Mom walks over to join us on the coach and lays my feet on her lap. "It all happened very quickly. And there weren't many places on earth where people could hide from all that radiation. I think the Chinese were building a structure here." She points to a spot on the far right.
"What about Mount Weather?" Dad asks.
"That was in Virginia, right?"
I pout, not like being out of the loop. "What's Mount Weather?''
"Many years before the bombs, the United States government built a large underground bunker in case of nuclear war. The scenario seemed unlikely, but they had to protect the president- he was like their chancellor." Mom clarifies at my confused expression. ''But when the bombs finally fell no one made it there in time, not even the president.''
''How many people died? Like thousands."
They share a look, ''More like billions."
"Lyra." Wells calls pulling me back from the past. "It's done." I nod and hold out my hands, he shakes his head but grabs them and pulls me up. His smile turns serious, "How's your arm?"
I shrug, "I'll live."
"You really should let Clarke look at it."
"And I will, when Jasper's in the clear."
He sighs but doesn't push it, ''Okay." Taking a rag he carefully lifts a pot off the rack and hands me it. ''Come on." He grabs the other one and walks back to the pod.
I hesitate scanning the night sky for the Ark, but can't find it. I bow my head, "Jasper's our top priority now." I remind myself. With a deep breath I take the water to Clarke.
"He's stable for now," Clarke informs the boys as we step out of the dropship; after she cleaned Jasper up she disinfected my wound and re-bandaged it.'' But without medicine-" She trails off catching sight of the kids around the fire removing their wristbands, "They're taking off their wristbands for food? No way, I won't do it."
I clench my fists, even after all I said they still don't care. "You don't have to." I glare and tap Finn, "We got this." We push our way to the front and I reach for a stick of meat, but Murphy grabs my uninjured wrist.
"Not so fast spitfire." He taps my wristband twice, "This needs to come off." His eyes sweep over me and his tongue darts out to wet his lips, giving his words a double meaning.
My skin crawls. I feel Finn step closer flanking my side, his presence gives me the courage to continue. Smiling I pat Murphy's hand, "You wouldn't have food if it wasn't for me, John." Shaking him off I take two helpings, Finn takes two as well. As I turn to head back I catch Bellamy's watchful gaze and wink. "And that my friends is how it's done." I hand the food to Wells, sitting in the middle of him and Clarke. "To Jasper." I raise my stick in a toast, "May he have a speedy recovery." We clink our sticks together.
"To Jasper!"
AN: Okay, I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but in Season 2 should Lyra be captured by the Mountain Men or be left behind with Bellamy and Finn? I'll have a poll up tomorrow so you can vote. Also the flashback was a scene from the book. Also how would you feel if I let Wells live, I really dread having to kill him. I love him in the books, but if you think that will ruin the story I won't.
