Chapter 2: Mount Weather (Pilot – Part 2)
"So what's your name?"
Parker glanced up from watching where she stepped to see the kid with the goggles walking next to her.
"Parker. Parker Nathan," she replied politely.
The goggles kid leaned back, a surprised look on his face. "Whoa! Monty check out her eyes!"
Parker smiled as the second kid, Monty, shuffled over. His eyebrows raised.
"One blue, one gray," he oohed and awed. "Awesome."
Octavia chuckled as she fell into step with the three of them. "Finally realize that Parker here is a physical freak?"
Parker gave Octavia an annoyed look and nudged her with her elbow. "It's not freaky, it's just a mutation in my DNA, that's all."
The goggles kid raised his eyebrows. "That's pretty freaky to me."
Monty nodded in agreement. "Sorry, Parker."
"And you say that you always tell the truth," Octavia joked as she quickened her pace to pass them.
"So what was your name?" Parker inquired.
"Jasper's my name, technology's my game," goggles said, saluting off into the distance.
"You know, your goggles make you look kind of like a fruit fly," she observed, chuckling slightly.
Jasper let out a short laugh. "Do you even know what a fruit fly looks like?"
"I know what they used to look like," replied Parker knowledgably.
"And what did they look like?" Monty questioned.
"Huge eyes, teeny tiny bodies, would make a little buzzing noise and were attracted to fruit."
"And I look like one of those things?" Jasper asked skeptically.
Parker laughed. "No, I was just saying that you resembled the head part with the – never mind."
She was cut when off when she realized Jasper and Monty were too busy staring off into the tree canopy to listen to her explanation of why he resembled an ancient bug that may or may not have been extinct.
They fell behind as she trekked forward. She had to admit – it was hard not to stop and stare. After living in a bare, cold, concrete cell for two years and a metal container before that, Earth was paradise. There were colors here, colors that she had only seen in textbooks in class. She had never seen such a bright green before or blues as beautiful as the sky.
The purple flowers that were growing on either side of their walkway were vibrant. It was almost liberating to see them thriving in such an environment.
Ahead, Finn picked a flower, halted in his tracks, and pushed it up behind Octavia's ear. Parker wasn't sure how to react except to stop and stare. The two boys behind her had also stopped.
"Now that is game," Jasper commented, impressed. Parker rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
"That, my friend, is poison sumac," Monty countered.
Parker laughed as Octavia quickly brushed the flower from her hair.
"What? It is?" she asked, panicked.
"The flowers aren't poison," Monty reassured her. "They're medicinal; calming, actually."
He picked a second flower and offered it to Parker as he took a bite of his own. Parker shrugged and took a bite. It wasn't too shabby, especially since she hadn't eaten for a while.
"Monty's family grows all the pharmaceuticals on the Ark," explained Jasper.
Parker, Octavia, and Finn all nodded. But Clarke skidded to a stop, whipping around to face them.
"Hey, guys, would you try to keep up?"
"Come on, Clarke, how do you block all this out?" Finn wondered.
"Well, it's simple," she retorted. "I wonder, why haven't we seen any animals? Maybe it's because there are none. Maybe we've already been exposed to enough radiation to kill us. Sure is pretty, though."
Parker took another bite of the sumac, wishing that she had some water to wash it down.
"Wait, Parker, what are you eating?" Clarke asked, concerned.
Parker gestured to Monty. "It's just poison sumac flower. Don't worry, it's harmless. It's supposed to calm you down."
"Parker, now is not the time for a picnic," Clarke reasoned.
Parker opened her mouth to defend herself, but Finn beat her to it. "Just chill for a second, okay, princess? She's just getting something to help hold her over until we reach Mount Weather. I think Monty knows what he's talking about."
Clarke, instead of arguing, just sighed. "Come on."
She turned her back on the group and kept on.
"Someone should slip her some poison sumac," Octavia kidded.
Parker chuckled, but scolded her friend. "O, really?"
Behind her, Jasper snorted several times, making Parker laugh even harder. She started walking forward, knowing that Clarke was right. They couldn't afford to take breaks when the entire group of teens relied on them to bring back food.
As they walked, Monty just stared at Jasper, his snorts dying out in embarrassment.
Finn shook his head at the two boys and glanced over his shoulder. "Okay, we know what Parker did to get here, but what about you guys? I got to know what you two did to get busted."
"You don't know all of it," Parker blurted, regretting the words as soon as they passed her lips.
Finn frowned. "We don't?"
Parker pressed her mouth in a thin line, mentally scolding herself. She knew she shouldn't have said anything.
"You can't just stop talking once you've said something like that," Jasper urged. "What don't we know?"
Parker sighed. She had brought this on herself. "You heard when Bellamy called me 'double trouble,' right?"
"Yeah, and that guy Murphy called you 'double trouble crackhead,'" Monty said.
"They call me that because I was found guilty of two crimes, not just one," Parker announced after a beat.
Jasper and Monty started to freak out, shouting and encouraging Parker. They patted her back and made comments like, "Whoa, nice!" "Holy cow, trying to beat all of us, Parker?" "Double trouble Nathan, yeah!"
Finn looked over his shoulder again, a surprised expression on his face. "You traded rations for morphine tablets and committed another crime?"
Parker nodded slowly. She wrung her hands again in anxiety. Talking about her past mistake was not something that was easily discussed. Why had she said anything?
"Can we talk about something else, please?" Octavia cut in, sensing Parker's hesitation on the subject.
"Okay then, seriously, I got to know why you two got busted." Finn swerved the conversation onto Jasper and Monty.
"Sumac's not the only herb in the garden, if you know what I mean," Monty hinted at.
"Someone forgot to replace what we took," joked Jasper, nudging his best friend.
"And we had to apologize like a thousand times," Monty played along.
Parker snickered at their lighthearted joking about their arrests.
"What about you, Octavia? What'd they get you for?" Jasper asked slyly.
Parker widened her eyes a little as the group went on. That was a very touchy subject for Octavia.
"Being born," she finally growled, bounding up to Clarke as to avoid talking about it anymore.
Parker cringed at the statement. Finn gave her the same kind of look, as if he felt bad for Octavia.
"That is so not game," Monty said quietly.
Then Jasper smacked him in the stomach, Monty hitting him back, and so on.
Parker finally backhanded them both in the stomach, Jasper faking an injury and putting a hand where Parker's had connected with his body.
"Hey," he complained.
"Just come on," she told him, nodding her head towards where Finn, Octavia, and Clarke were knelt.
Clarke held a finger to her lips, indicating for them to be discreet.
Parker approached with caution as Clarke gestured to something out in the field. Parker smiled as she realized what this animal was.
"It's a deer," she told them as quietly as possible. "They're native to this area. Well, to a lot of areas on Earth, but this one, too."
"That's amazing," Octavia whispered back.
"No animals, huh?" Finn grinned at Clarke.
Parker's smile widened at the teasing.
Finn crept closer to the deer, hoping to get a better look at its elegant build.
Suddenly, he stepped on a branch, the snapping startling the deer. It looked up at them, revealing the second face growing gruesomely off the side of its head.
Parker flinched at the sight, almost falling back onto her behind.
The mutated deer bounded away, leaving them all in shock.
"That radiation really did a number on the biodiversity," Parker commented as they all got to their feet.
"That's the effect of radiation?" Octavia questioned in disbelief.
Parker nodded.
"Kind of makes you wonder what happened to all the humans down here," Finn chimed in.
They were all silent for a moment.
"They're all dead, that's what happened. And we'll be dead soon, too, if we can't find food," Clarke reasoned grimly. "We should keep moving. It's going to be dark soon."
Parker followed after Clarke and Octavia, Finn beside her, and Monty and Jasper behind. She knew that what was left on earth wasn't remotely similar to the life it had sustained before, but to see a deer with a second face? It made her wonder how much radiation was really there. Could they be dying and not know it?
"I didn't like that deer," she spoke up.
Finn's head snapped to the side. "Pretty creepy, huh?"
"Not just that," Parker shook her head. "The fact that the radiation is that powerful and present makes me worried."
Finn snorted. "Come on, double trouble."
Parker raised her eyebrows skeptically. "What, you don't think so? Did you see the second face on that thing?"
"Of course I did, but listen – if there was really that much radiation, wouldn't we have felt it by now? Wouldn't there be side effects to that crap?"
Parker sighed. "That's true. We would not be ourselves."
"Exactly!" Finn exclaimed. "Be positive, Parker! We're alive! We're young! We're on Earth! It's a great time to be alive!"
Parker cracked a smile. He was right, as much as she hated to admit it.
"Yeah, Parks, quit killing the vibe out here!" Octavia interrupted cheerfully. "You're so negative sometimes!"
"Fly towards positivity, Parker! Be free, butterfly!" Jasper joined in, putting his arm around her.
"Have you ever even seen a butterfly?" countered Monty.
Jasper suddenly went quiet. "Uhhh…no?"
They all laughed as Parker pushed his arm off her shoulders.
As long as they're with me, I'll never have any time to be grumpy, Parker thought, amused at the previous conversation. But I might get grumpy if we can't find any food in time.
The sun dipped low over the lush green hills. The sky turned wonderful colors the group of teenage criminals had never seen before. Parker was particularly taken with the sight. She had always dreamed of seeing a sunset, and now she had the chance to experience one for herself.
However, Clarke pointed out that the way they had to keep going was downhill, so the view of the sunset would be blocked. Parker sighed as the group started their descent into the forest again.
"I want to know why the sky isn't so blue at certain times, then is so bright at other times," Jasper commented as they all scrambled down the hill through thick brush.
"You know what I'd like to know?" Finn called back at him. "Why send us down today, after ninety-seven years? What changed?"
"Who cares?" Octavia scoffed. "I'm just glad they did! I woke up rotting in a cell –," she grabbed onto a tree trunk and twirled around it, "– and now I'm spinning in a forest!"
She grinned flirtatiously at Finn, but he merely marched past, still looking for an answer. Parker made a mocking expression as she walked by her best friend. Octavia rolled her eyes and followed after.
"Maybe they found something on a satellite," Monty suggested, "like an old weather satellite, or - …"
"It wasn't a satellite," Clarke confirmed. "The Ark is dying."
Parker stopped mid-stride, a panic flying through her. She fell into step beside Clarke as she passed. "What do you mean the Ark's dying?"
"I mean it's failing us," Clarke said firmly. "At the current population level, there's roughly three months left of life support, maybe four now that we're gone."
Parker's jaw dropped. "And that's the secret they locked you up to keep?"
Clarke nodded, still staring straight ahead as the others trailed behind.
"That's why they kept you in solitary; floated your old man?" Finn wondered.
The blonde sighed. "My father was the engineer who discovered the flaw. He thought people had the right to know. The council disagreed, my mother disagreed; they were afraid it would cause a panic. We were going to go public anyway when Wells…"
Clarke's words trailed off into nothing.
Parker knew what that meant. She kept to herself, while Monty voiced the same conclusion.
"What? Turned in your dad?" he finished.
Parker held her breath as she waited for Clarke to answer. This wouldn't have been an easy time of her life.
"Anyway, the guards showed up before we could. That's why today. That's why it was worth the risk. Even if we all die, at least they bought themselves some time."
Parker's mind was going crazy. It made sense. But then a realization hit her like a sack of bricks to the brain.
"They're going to kill more people, aren't they?" she said shakily.
Everyone except Octavia was horrified at Parker's deduction. She flounced out in front of the group, a sour expression on her face.
"Good," she replied bitterly. "After what they did to me, I say float 'em all."
"Octavia," Parker warned under her breath as the younger girl went ahead.
"You don't mean that," Jasper said, hot on her heels.
"Is she always like this?" Monty chuckled slightly, shaking his head and turning to Parker.
Parker sighed, not completely sure of her reply. "No. I mean, she is, but she's not. At least, not usually...most of time. Does that make sense?"
Monty looked puzzled. "Uh, not really."
They both looked over to see Clarke bump into Jasper, who was staring off at Octavia dreamily. Parker's jaw dropped as she observed her best friend out on the rocks, taking off her clothes.
"Damn, I love earth," Jasper said breathlessly. "Holy…"
"Octavia!" Parker yelled, stepping out in front of Jasper. "Octavia, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Octavia shot the group a mischievous grin and leapt off the side of the river, a small wave hitting the rocks with a loud slap as she made contact with the water.
Parker, closely followed by the rest of the group, rushed over to the edge of the rocks. She peered down to see Octavia nose-deep in the river. She groaned and slapped a hand to her forehead.
"Don't you scare me like that!" she reprimanded.
Octavia raised one eyebrow at her best friend mischievously.
"Octavia, we can't swim!" called Monty from behind.
"No, but we can stand," she replied, giggling and doing just that. She turned to Parker. "Come on in, Parks! The water is…amazing."
Parker wrinkled her nose in skepticism. She was always a little afraid of the notion of floating in water, or being in the water at all. It seemed dangerous.
"I don't know, O."
"Wait," Clarke cut in, looking at their surroundings, "there's not supposed to be a river here."
"Well, there is, so take off your damn clothes," Finn grinned, throwing off his jacket.
Parker watched the rest as they began stripping.
"You're really not going to get in?" wondered Monty, slipping his arm out of a sleeve.
Parker shook her head. "No, no, I'm fine. I'd rather not."
"Suit yourself!" he shrugged.
Parker sighed and trudged over to Clarke. "Are you getting in?"
"Why not?" Clarke mused. "Might as well live a little, right?"
"Sure," said Parker half-heartedly.
"You know, for being called the 'double-trouble criminal,' you're really not very…criminal-esque," Finn laughed.
A small smile played along Parker's lips. "I, uh, I'm not really that – "
"Adventurous?" he smirked.
A full blown smile burst through. "I guess you could say that."
"Octavia, get out of the water," Jasper urged suddenly.
Parker whipped around to see a large, dark shape hurtling itself towards Octavia. It slinked through the water at a rapid pace, getting closer by the second. Fear paralyzed her. She couldn't speak nor move.
"Get out of the water NOW!" shouted Jasper.
Octavia shrieked at the creature pulled her under with a large splash.
"OCTAVIA!" Jasper screamed. "No…"
Parker watched in horror as it dragged her best friend down further into the water. The surface of the river went still again, as if there was no movement under the water.
The wheels in her head spun, hammering out a plan. She immediately rushed to the top of the rocks and flung off her deep, dark green jacket and dark maroon combat boots. She pushed her black trousers down and quickly stepped out of them. She tugged off her navy blue t-shirt and stood, waiting in just her underwear.
The others scrambled over to the middle of the rocks, passing her with no second looks. They all kept their eyes on the river.
Suddenly, Octavia popped up again on the other side, screeching. She thrashed wildly in the water, fighting to free herself from the animal's grip.
Parker's breathing went heavy. She knew what she was going to have to do, but she wasn't fond of the idea. She marched forward to the side where Octavia was taken, her eyes darting around the water frantically. There was a small, raised plateau by the other edge of the rocks. If she could jump in, distract it, and quickly wade over to the plateau, then the gross animal thing couldn't follow her. The water would be much too shallow. That would give them time to rescue Octavia. A stupid plan, but a plan.
"What the hell is that?" Monty blurted, breaking the horrified silence that had fallen over all the delinquents.
"We have to help her!" Finn cried.
"What are you gonna do?" asked Jasper quickly.
Finn was blunt. "Try not to get eaten." He threw off his outer layer.
"No. Wait," stopped Clarke, putting a hand out. "If we can distract it – "
Parker took that as her cue. She jumped, the water sloshing all around her.
The water was slightly chilly, just cold enough to shock her body. Her feet stung from landing on the small pebbles that lined the riverbed, but she ignored it. She splashed around and yelled, "Hey, you oversized worm! Over here!"
Finn hurried over to the edge where Parker stood. His eyes went wide in shock. "What the hell are you doing? MOVE!"
Parker's limbs finally worked with her. She stumbled and splashed through the water, moving as fast as she possibly could. She wasn't used to the heavy gravity of earth yet, and being in the water did nothing to help that whatsoever.
"Parker, it's almost to you!" Finn shouted desperately.
Parker's labored breathing only became more shallow as she kept on. Her mouth was dry and fear shook her to the bone, but she didn't look back.
She scrambled up onto the higher rock, water lapping at her ankles as she stood. Her entire body trembled, and she collapsed onto her knees as the giant water snake swam back-and-forth in front of her, twice.
She looked over to see Jasper in the water with Octavia. She held onto him for dear life.
"Are you okay?" Finn demanded fervently.
Parker nodded, breathing deeply. But then the snake left Parker alone and began to slither back towards Jasper and Octavia.
"Get out now! It's headed right for you, guys!" she warned.
She looked down to see that her plateau connected right with the one that Jasper was pulling Octavia onto.
"You got this, Jasper, come on! Keep moving, O, keep moving!" she encouraged as she swiftly jogged over through the ankle-deep water.
She reached the two the same time as Clarke, Finn, and Monty did.
"Not that adventurous, huh" Finn smiled at her.
She smirked. "Whatever."
She watched, relieved, as Clarke tore off a strip of cloth from Jasper's shirt and tied a tourniquet to Octavia's wounded leg.
"You're going to be okay," Clarke told Octavia.
But Octavia was too busy hugging Jasper in thanks. Parker knelt next to him and patted his shoulder.
"Note to self – next time, save the girl," Monty joked, slapping a hand onto Jasper's arm.
Everyone chuckled, resting on the rocks for a moment.
"My brother's going to kill me," Octavia sighed as she glanced down at her hurt leg.
"On the contrary," Parker replied grimly, "he's going to kill me."
Jasper scoffed. "Why would be kill you?"
Parker smoothed back her light brown, that faded into ash-blonde, hair and inhaled loudly through her nose. "Let's just say Bellamy and I didn't exactly get off on the right foot."
She turned to Octavia and smirked. "Let's get you clothed, shall we?"
The younger girl laughed heartily. "Parker Nathan, you're wearing less clothing than I am!"
Parker rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well it was for a good cause. At least I wasn't getting almost-naked because I wanted to."
"Yeah, whatever," Octavia giggled, nudging Parker's leg with her foot.
Jasper kindly helped Octavia up off the rocks, holding her arm around his neck protectively. Parker resisted the urge to roll her eyes again when she noticed him staring off at Octavia dreamily.
"Okay, Fruit Fly," Parker said jokingly. She unhooked Octavia's arm from around his neck and slung it over her own shoulders. "Your chivalry privileges have been revoked. Stop ogling my best friend or I'll – "
"Or you'll what?" Jasper smirked, crossing his arms.
Parker raised her eyebrows, trying her best not to crack a grin. "Or I'll kick your ass."
Finn and Monty both started laughing at Jasper while Clarke merely smiled.
Parker led Octavia up the rocks and to her own pile of clothes.
"Was he really starting at me?" she wondered as she stepped into her jumpsuit.
"Like a little kid on Unity Day morning," Parker relayed.
"I thought he was staring at you," the younger girl chuckled.
Parker scoffed. "Yeah, right, O. You're delusional."
"Hey, you're the one in just your underwear!" defended Octavia.
Parker huffed in amusement and continued to get dressed.
"What do we do now?" Monty speculated when Parker and Octavia were fully clothed. "It's going to be dark soon."
"We find someplace to settle in for the night," Clarke said. "We need the rest anyways. With the increased gravity, we're going to get tired a lot faster. We're using more of our muscles than we ever have before. And that's why we need to get to Mt. Weather as soon as the sun rises."
"Then let's get searching," Finn suggested. "Let's find the perfect campsite."
The group walked only a few minutes before they found a nice spot of ground full of soft moss to sleep on.
Parker was more than happy to lie down and gaze up at the night sky. She was sick of the darkness, but on Earth, darkness was never really darkness. The moon was different, less full. The sky wasn't black, but, seemingly, a dark blue, like her t-shirt. There was a certain peace that was unwavering on the Ground, while on the Ark, peace was momentary. The hum of machinery was constant, like a consistent ringing in her ears. But down below, there was nothing. She could be in absolute silence.
Parker was the first asleep, and the last to wake.
"Hey, Parker," whispered Octavia.
Parker groaned and fluttered her eyes. "What is it?"
"Time to get up. Mt. Weather, remember?"
This kick-started Parker's brain. She sat bolt upright, wide awake. She knew how important getting that food was, not only to them, but to the rest of the hundred back at the dropship. She could only imagine what they must have been feeling.
Then, her stomach growled loudly. Okay, she knew exactly what they were feeling: hungry.
"Is there anything to eat?" she asked.
Clarke came over with a leaf full of water and offered it to Parker. Parker drank happily, relishing in the fresh taste.
"That's so much better than water on the Ark," she commented, standing. "Thanks."
"No problem. But now we have to face a problem – getting supplied back to the others. Come on, let's head out," announced Clarke.
They had reached another, deeper, river around midday. They had been debating on how to get across for about fifteen minutes.
"I bet we could use that tangle of vines right there as a rope to swing across," Parker reasoned.
"Well, let's test it then," Monty suggested.
"I'll do it," Jasper volunteered.
"Okay, but I'm going first," Finn chimed in.
"I was just gonna say that," muttered Octavia as the two boys ran up the small hill of rocks.
"Hey, you'll get your chance to be Queen of the Jungle at some point," Parker mocked.
"You know, Parks, I've never see you in such a good mood before," the younger girl noticed. "What's up?"
Parker froze. She hadn't noticed how good she was feeling that morning.
"I don't know," she answered honestly. "Maybe it's a combination of finally being free of the Ark and sleeping really well for the first time in my entire life. There's no certain death looming over my head like there was in the Skybox. I'm free to live like a normal teenager. Heck, I'm legally an adult on the Ark, but down here, I feel like I'm ten again. Not worrying about my future or stuck in a cell. It's nice to have the chance to lighten up. I'm not going to die anytime soon. I'm not going to be sentenced to float. We're on Earth. I guess I just feel like…anything is possible for me."
Octavia could only blink.
"What?" asked Parker. "Was that weird?"
"No, it's just…you're so…hopeful," Octavia observed. "You almost never laughed before."
"I never saw you do anything crazy, so I guess we've both seen something different in each other," smiled Parker. "It's nice to see you free of containment, by the way. I know you've always dreamed about it."
Octavia sighed quietly. "Yeah, but Bellamy down here? Trying to tell me what to do? Nuh uh. He can't do that to me."
"He's just trying to do what's best for you," countered Parker. "I kind of understand."
"Yeah, I get it, but…I need to find out who I really am," said Octavia seriously. "And I can't do that when Bell is going to be constantly watching me behind my back. And please, I know you're my sister, but don't be Bellamy. Don't try to hold me back from doing something I'm determined to do."
Parker merely raised her eyebrows. To some point, she agreed with her best friend, but part of her didn't. "Look, I get it. You know that I do. But I can't agree on every little insanely dangerous thing you want to do. I'm going to want to keep you safe, too, and I know you'll not worry about me because I like being safe, but you have to keep listening to me. At least listen to me, if not Bellamy. But I know that I also am your best friend, and, at the end of the day, I'm not your biological family. Bellamy is. But I can try to do my best to keep him from getting in your space."
Octavia looked somewhat disgruntled at the plan, but she held up her hands in defeat. "Alright, fine. But if I sneak away sometimes – which I will and you won't stop me – you have to cover my ass for me. Bell's gonna come looking every single time."
Parker grinned. "I got you covered."
She looked over to see Clarke and Monty waiting directly below Finn and Jasper. She and Octavia, who hadn't noticed the two walk away, strode over.
"You wanted to go first," Clarke yelled up to Finn impatiently. "Now quit stalling! Mt. Weather awaits."
"Just hang on till the apogee, and you'll be fine," Jasper encouraged.
"The apogee. Like the Indians, right?" Finn questioned, obviously trying to hold off jumping.
"Apogee, not Apache," Jasper clarified.
"He knows. Today, Finn," Clarke said firmly.
"Aye aye, captain," he joked. He turned to Jasper. "See you on the other side."
Finn leaned back, vine tangle in his hands, ready to launch off to the other side, when Jasper startled him with a loud, "wait!"
"What?"
"Let me. I can do it."
Jasper smiled sheepishly down at Octavia, then glanced back at his new friend. Finn picked up on why Jasper wanted to go first, grinning slightly. He handed over the makeshift rope and slapped Jasper on the shoulder.
"Knew there was a badass in there somewhere," he joked.
Parker chuckled slightly at the interchange.
But then, she saw hesitation cross Jasper's face. She understood. It was a long way across and the vine might break, sending him into the water, where he couldn't swim…yeah. It was a little frightening to think about.
"Hey, it's okay to be afraid, Jasper. The trick is not fighting it."
Jasper looked over to Finn in thanks, a boost of confidence flowing through him.
"See you on the other side," he laughed, still sounding the slightest bit nervous.
And then, without any warning, he took off, like the magnificent fruit fly Parker saw him as. He sailed through the air, whooping in delight. He soared across to the other bank, then hurled himself at the shoreline, his foot hitting a pile of wood as he landed.
Parker hurried up to the front of the rocks, heart beating quickly in anticipation. She hoped Jasper was unharmed.
She got her answer when he turned around and raised his arms in the air.
"WE ARE APOGEE!"
She cheered with the others. "GO JASPER! YEAH!"
"WHOO!"
"YES!"
"YEAH!"
"YOU DID IT, JASPER!"
He did a jig to celebrate his safe landing on the riverside. Parker laughed harder than she had in years. This was truly a moment to remember for her.
"Let's go, princess. You're up," Finn told Clarke.
"Come on, Clarke! WHOO! You got this! ApoGEEE!"
Parker noticed something silver reflect off the sun's rays near where Jasper was standing.
"Jasper!" she hollered. "What's that shiny thing behind you?"
Jasper spun on his heel and hopped up to the silvery object. He uncovered it from the pine needles and dirt and smiled. He held up the rusted and broken sign like a trophy.
"We did it! MOUNT WEATHER! WHOO! WHOO!"
"YES!" Monty applauded.
Octavia and Parker laughed as Jasper continued to celebrate.
"Yeah, Jasper!"
But, out of nowhere, a long, thin object pierced the air above their heads. Parker watched in horror as a spear sliced into the middle of Jaspar's chest.
Parker was stunned. She couldn't even find the words to say anything. Octavia yelled for Jasper, but Parker barely heard her. Her eyes were glued to Jasper's unmoving body on the other side of the water.
She finally came to her senses when Monty pulled her over to the underside of the rocky bank.
"Get down, get down!" Finn warned.
Parker knelt between Monty and Octavia, Clarke and Finn on the other side of Monty. They all breathed heavily, terrified for their lives.
Parker lost all sense of freedom. She was suddenly full of dread. She could die here. There was still a chance. She wasn't free from any of what she left on the Ark, besides her own cell.
Clarke announced what they were all thinking.
"We're not alone."
Thank you all so much for reading this chapter of Landfill!
This chapter actually took me a really long time to put together, as I had to start in the middle of episode 1, but I think it came together quite nicely overall. There is so much more in store for Parker and the storyline of the 100, as it will change now that Parker is in the picture.
Thanks so much to those who have reviewed, followed, and favorited! I appreciate it so much. I'll answer some reviews right now!
12: Thank you so much for reviewing! And don't worry, the storyline is going to change because of Parker. I'm just getting the ball rolling! :)
Guest: Thank you! Here it is haha. :)
Bee-Back: Well, thank you so much! I'll be posting more soon, so don't worry. :)
Donny Donowitz: First of all, I think your username is awesome. Second of all, thank you so much! I really appreciate that you like it! I really tried to make Octavia and Parker's friendship somewhat unique, as they spent a year of their life together in confined quarters. And there is so much more in store for Octavia and Parker's relationship, trust me. :)
I will be posting the next chapter as soon as I can, so stay tuned! Please don't forget to review, follow, and favorite. :)