I woke up with the first rays of the sun, and for a moment, I admired the way the morning dew made everything around me shine. The others were sleeping heavily, snoring under the relative shelter of the trees. A few had slept in the drop ship but most, like myself, had wanted to stay under the stars. We had been locked up in a metal prison since we were born. It wasn't hard to understand why we wanted to stay outside.

I got up, stepping over people as I made my way to where I'd left my bow. I wanted to finish it today, hopefully before noon. In such a small amount of time, it wouldn't be pretty but I didn't have time for finesse. I was hungry.

I had been working for a little less than an hour when Charlotte, the youngest delinquent, sat down next to me. I had noticed her on the first day, a quiet girl who stayed away from the others. How old was she, twelve, thirteen? She was still a kid, and yet, the Council had decided she was old enough to be sent to Earth.

'That looks cool,' Charlotte said, her voice barely audible. She was looking at the bow.

'You think so?' I smiled. 'Maybe you should make one too.'

Charlotte's eyes widened.

'But I don't know how.'

I stopped carving and turned, facing her. She looked scared, but there was longing in her expression too. A kind of loneliness I knew too well. She wanted to fit in, but she didn't know how. Maybe I could help.

'Let's make a deal. After I've finished mine, I'll make you your own bow. All you have to do in exchange is find me sticks I can carve into arrows. What do you say?'

Charlotte agreed eagerly and after I described the kind of sticks I needed, she took off. By the time she returned, I was finished with the bow, I'd tied the string and was doing some last-minute adjustments. Most of the sticks Charlotte had brought back were perfect, and she'd even collected stones that could be used as arrow heads once sharpened enough.

'This is fantastic,' I said. 'Thanks, Charlotte. Here, we'll make the arrows together. This way, you'll be able to make your own.'

Charlotte paid attention to each of my word as I taught her how to carve the arrows, her eyes watching my hands intently. She didn't talk much but I found myself enjoying her company as we worked. It was obvious she didn't have the best beginning in life and she was terrified down there. And, I decided there and then, she was my responsibility now.

Two hours later, we had a nice number of arrows. Eager to try my bow, we went away from camp. I checked everything was functional, if not perfect, and made sure there wasn't anyone in the woods so I wouldn't accidentally shoot someone.

'Alright,' I said. 'This can either go really well, or really bad.'

I nocked the arrow and drew the bow, my arms burning pleasantly at the effort. I hadn't been sure I would be strong enough, but my daily fitness sessions in my cell had paid off.

Breathing evenly, I looked at my target, an oak tree that was a hundred yards away. In theory, the bow I'd made could send an arrow more than twice that distance but I'd decided to start small. I quieted my mind, breathed out, and released the arrow.

It sunk right into the oak's trunk.

I laughed, breathless with joy and Charlotte grinned beside me. My makeshift bow on the Ark had been ridiculous in comparison. This was the real deal. I went to get the arrow back and chatted excitedly with Charlotte on the way. I would start on her bow as soon as I could.

'I'll make you a smaller, lighter one. It won't shoot as far but it will still be deadly. We're going to have to train a lot before you can hope to reach your target, though. I hope you're ready for it.'

She assured me she was and I smiled. As we stepped inside the camp, however, not everyone was in as good a mood as we were. Wells and Bellamy were back at it again, arguing in front of the dropship.

'Christ, can't they take a break,' I muttered. 'Charlotte, why don't you go get some rest? You worked hard today.'

She didn't need to be told twice and she scampered off. I approached the boys, bow still in hand, but I drew short when I realized Bellamy was shirtless. I wasn't an innocent, far from it, but it had been a while since I'd had an occasion to appreciate a man's body.

'Like what you see, Sunshine?' Bellamy called, grinning.

'Definitely,' I answered, refusing to be shamed. 'You're the prettiest boy in camp, Blake.'

He threw back his head and laughed loudly.

'See?' he told Wells. 'Even Kane has a better sense of humour than you. You need to relax, Chancellor.'

Wells, a sour look on his face, glared at Bellamy.

'These clothes should go to the people who need it. It's common sense.'

'We're not on the Ark anymore. Your father's rules no longer apply.'

He took a shirt out of Wells' arms and Wells lunged at him, although he was stopped almost immediately by Atom.

'Oh, no, no, Atom,' Bellamy protested with a smirk. 'Atom, hold up.'

Atom let Wells go and Bellamy stepped towards him.

'You want it back?' he said, holding up the shirt. 'Take it.'

'Really?' I scoffed. 'What are you, five?'

They ignored me completely and stared each other down for a few seconds. Then, Wells turned and dropped the rest of the clothes, uncaring that people scrambled to take them.

'Is this what you want?' Wells asked. 'Chaos?'

'What's wrong with a little chaos?' Bellamy answered, slipping on his shirt. I firmly crushed the part of my brain that was disappointed with him getting dressed.

I had just turned to leave, since they didn't look like they were going to kill each other, when I heard a girl scream. My instinct took over and I ran towards the sound. Murphy was holding a girl above the fire, her face so close to the flames she was sweating heavily. Although, that might have been from fear.

'Bellamy!' Murphy called. 'Check it out, we want the Ark to think that the ground is killing us, right? Figured it'd look better if we suffer a bit first.'

I felt my blood boil. Quickly, I nocked an arrow and drew, aiming at Murphy's head. But Wells got there first, shoving Murphy away, who let the girl go.

'You can stop this,' Wells told Bellamy.

'Stop this? I'm just getting started.'

Murphy suddenly lunged at Wells, punching him. The crowd started cheering them on as they threw punch after punch. Wells quickly took the upper hand. He knocked Murphy down and gave him one last blow to the head. Wincing, he got up and looked at Bellamy desperately.

'Don't you see you can't control this?'

I had been looking at Murphy and I saw him reach for a knife. Quickly, I ran and kicked it out of his hand. I drew the bow once more.

'Let it go, Murphy. It's over.'

'Oh, come on, Sunshine!' Bellamy said behind me. 'You're ruining all the fun.'

'You and I have a different idea of fun, Blake. Mine doesn't involve murder.'

He laughed and I turned my head around, glaring at him. That had been a mistake.

Murphy tripped me with his leg and I crashed to the ground hard, wincing as the wind was knocked out of me. Before I could react, his hands were pressing on my throat and all I could see was his face above mine, contorted in anger. I felt as if my head was going to explode. But as soon as it had started, it was over. Murphy was pulled of me and I coughed, throat burning. Someone I later recognized as Wells helped me up and as I looked at Murphy, I saw Bellamy holding him down.

Everyone was silent, and when a voice rang out, we all heard it.

'What the hell is going on?'

We all turned to see Clarke and Finn approaching. Behind them, Monty was helping Octavia walk down the hill. The group had gone to Mount Weather the day before, hoping to find the food Chancellor Jaha had promised. It wasn't hard to see they'd come back empty handed.

Bellamy, however, only had eyes for his sister. He yelled her name and took Monty's place at her side.

'Are you alright?'

'Yeah,' she answered, but her wince said otherwise.

'Where's the food?' he asked the others.

'We didn't make it to Mount Weather.'

'Why not?' I asked, my voice hoarse. 'What happened?'

'We were attacked,' Clarke replied.

'Attacked? By what?'

'Not what, who,' Finn answered. 'Turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark…he wasn't the last Grounder.'

'Are you telling us there are people out there?' I asked, voice rising despite myself. 'And they're hostile?'

Clarke nodded grimly and I gripped my bow tighter. This changed everything. We weren't safe. I had a thought to this morning, when I'd sent a twelve-year-old girl alone in the woods to get sticks. I searched the crowd and the relief I felt at seeing Charlotte there nearly overwhelmed me.

'Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong,' Clarke was saying. 'There are people here. Survivors. The good news is that means we can survive. Radiation won't kill us.'

'Yeah, the bad news is the Grounders will,' Finn added.

'Where's the kid with the goggles?' Wells asked.

I remembered there had been another guy with them, and felt a little guilty I hadn't even noticed he wasn't with them.

'Jasper was hit. They took him,' Clarke answered darkly. She looked at Wells and her eyes fell to his wrist. 'Where's your wristband?'

'Ask him,' Wells said, nodding at Bellamy.

'How many?' Clarke asked.

'Twenty-four and counting,' Murphy drawled. His face was messed up and he was rubbing his hand, the knuckles bloody. I shivered.

'You idiots,' Clarke breathed out. 'Life support on the Ark is failing!'

I inhaled sharply. Suddenly, the changes in my father made perfect sense. He had been ruthless, floating people left and right. Actively seeking out criminals. I had been horrified at his actions, but if he'd been trying to save air, I could understand. I didn't approve, but I could finally comprehend his motives.

'That's why they brought us down here,' Clarke confirmed. 'They need to know the ground is survivable again and we need their help against whoever is out there. If you take off your wristbands, you're not just killing them! You're killing us.'

All I could think about was my family. My grandmother didn't deserve to die this way, and my father didn't either, no matter what had happened between us. They were the two people closest to me, the people who had raised me, cared for me.

I couldn't let the others take off their wristbands. Not if it meant the death of my family.

But apparently, Bellamy felt differently.

'We're stronger than you think,' He addressed the crowd. 'Don't listen to her. She's one of the privileged. 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, it makes you a prisoner. We are not prisoners anymore! They say they'll forgive your crimes. I say you're not criminals! You're fighters. Survivors. The Grounders should worry about us!'

The crowd cheered but I couldn't help it. I scoffed. Bellamy turned to face me, his face dark.

'Something funny, Sunshine?'

'Oh no,' I said, low enough that only he would hear. 'Please, keep going. Tell them of how great and powerful they are. Because you know what I see? I see a bunch of kids, stupid enough to believe they stand a chance against Grounders. Look at us. We have no food, no water, not even proper clothing. The only weapons we have are a bunch of makeshift knives. Not to mention the fact that there's only a hundred of us. We're facing people who have been here for decades, if not more. They know the land, they can fight and most importantly, they know how to survive here. We don't.'

'We'll learn.'

'It'll be too late. We need the Ark, Bellamy. But it doesn't have to be black and white. We need the rest of our people to survive, yes, but we don't have to obey them. Down here, every life matters. They can't float us for disagreeing with them. We could build something new, something that's fair to everyone. Do you really want to start our new lives with a mass genocide?'

He looked at me, and I could see my words hadn't reached him. My face fell.

'If that's what it takes to be free,' he said, 'then yes.'

I left without a word and realized Clarke and Monty were ahead of me. I jogged to catch up to them.

'Are you going after Jasper?' I asked.

They nodded.

'Count me in.'

We had agreed to meet near the camp's entrance in a few minutes so I hurried to the makeshift tent I shared with Charlotte. She was inside, waiting for me.

'You're going after Jasper, aren't you?' she asked with a frown.

'Yeah. They need me.'

'What if there are Grounders?'

'I'll shoot them,' I smiled. I didn't feel near as confident as I appeared, but I hoped Charlotte wouldn't catch on. 'Trust me, it will be fine. But I want you to stay inside the camp, alright? It's not safe outside.'

'I will. Oh, and you should probably take this with you.'

She reached behind her and handed me a bundle of arrows. There were at least fifteen of them, perfectly carved and deadly looking.

'Oh my god, Charlotte, did you make those? They're perfect!'

'It wasn't hard,' she said, but she was blushing.

'Thank you. These will definitely help.'

I put the arrows in my improvised quiver and hugged Charlotte, trying to ignore the pang in my chest. I left quickly and joined Clarke and Monty at the camp's entrance. They had Wells with them, which wasn't surprising. What did surprise me was that Bellamy and Murphy were there as well.

'Oh fantastic!' Murphy drawled. 'Robin Hood's coming too.'

'Careful, Murphy. I haven't practiced a lot with a real bow. Who knows where my arrows will end up?'

He scoffed, but didn't say anything else so I counted that as a victory. We started walking, the ever-present threat of Grounders on our minds. I couldn't even bring myself to enjoy the scenery. Clarke was going fast, and Bellamy and Murphy started lagging.

'Hey, hold up!' Bellamy said after a while, gun in hand. 'What's the rush? You don't survive a spear through the heart.'

'Put the gun away, Bellamy!' Wells said.

Murphy grabbed Wells by his shirt.

'Why don't you do something about it?'

'Jasper screamed when they moved him,' Clarke answered Bellamy, ignoring Murphy and Wells. 'If the spear struck his heart, he would've died instantly. Doesn't mean we have time to waste.'

Bellamy suddenly seized Clarke's wrist.

'As soon as you take this wristband off, we can go. You too, Sunshine,' he said, looking at me.

'Keep dreaming, Blake.'

'The only way the Ark will think we're dead, is if we're dead,' Clarke said. 'Got it?'

'Brave princess,' Bellamy mocked.

A branch suddenly cracked behind us and we turned around to see Finn had joined us. Clarke's face was blank but I could see the joy in her eyes.

'Why don't you find your own nickname?' Finn said. 'You call this a rescue party? Gotta split up, cover more ground. Clarke, come with me.'

They headed off, and Wells looked longingly after Clarke.

'He's right,' he said eventually. 'We should split up as well. Y/N-'

'Will come with me,' Bellamy interrupted. 'Ain't that right, Sunshine?'

'Sure, Blake. I can't wait to see what evil plan you've concocted to take off my wristband. Let's go.'

Chuckling, he followed me and we left Wells with Murphy. Neither of them seemed happy about it but I doubted they'd fight.

Bellamy veered right and I followed, staring at the ground to see if I could pick up any tracks that would lead us to Jasper. But all I could see were the prints animals had left behind.

'It's too bad we're not here to hunt,' I said. 'A boar went through here not long ago.'

'How do you know?'

'Look, you can see it in the mud.'

I knelt and pointed at the tracks.

'It rained recently, so the boar must have passed after. It should be close.'

'Well, if you see it, shoot it. I would give anything for some meat.'

My stomach growled on cue. I hadn't eaten in a long time. But it seemed luck was on our side, because as we passed an oak tree, I found blueberries. Grinning, I ran to the bush and picked one. It came off easily and I popped it in my mouth, moaning at the taste.

'You have to try these, it's amazing.'

Bellamy picked one off too and ate without hesitation. He immediately ate another. We picked as much as we could carry, and I was struck with how nice it was to share something so simple with Bellamy. Right then, he wasn't an anarchist jerk. He was just a hungry guy in a forest. I could learn to like this side of him.

'So, how'd you learn all this stuff?' he asked.

'My grandmother had all of these books about hunting, foraging and tracking. We used to read them together. When I was sent to the Sky Box, she gave them to me so I wouldn't be bored.'

'She seems nice.'

'She is. Did you know she's the only person who speaks three languages on the Ark?'

That had been one of the disaster of the Great War. Almost every language besides English was now nearly lost. My grandmother spoke Polish and French and even though she had tried to teach me, I was barely able to understand a few words.

'That's impressive,' Bellamy said, looking completely honest. 'And that's the woman who raised your father? What the hell went wrong?'

I glared at him, not dignifying that with an answer.

'Oh, come on, Sunshine! I was just teasing.'

I walked away, ignoring his laughter. Eventually, he came back to my side, serious once again.

'Come on, let's go. We still need to find Jasper.'

I followed him and before long, we joined the others. Neither of us talked about the berries, or the almost nice conversation we'd had. Now that we were back with the group, it seemed unreal that we'd been so amicable just minutes before.

'Hey, how do we know this is the right way?' Murphy complained after we'd walked for a while.

'We don't,' Bellamy answered. 'The spacewalker thinks he's a tracker.'

'The spacewalker was the only one who saw that broken branch back there,' I said. I'd missed it completely, but Finn had a sharp eye.

'It's called cutting sign,' Wells said. 'Fourth year Earth skills. He's good.'

'You wanna keep it down or should I paint a target on your backs?' Finn whispered.

He stopped as we neared yet another broken twig and knelt.

'Is that blood?' I asked, leaning over his shoulder.

Finn nodded. 'Seems we're on th-'

A loud moan interrupted him, coming from deep into the woods.

'What the hell was that?' Murphy asked.

'Now would be a good time to take out that gun,' Clarke said. 'And that bow.'

I nocked an arrow and followed as we headed towards the moans. But nothing could have prepared me for what I saw there.

'Jasper,' Clarke gasped.

He was shirtless, tied with vines to an ancient tree in the middle of a clearing. There wasn't anyone in sight, but it was obvious the Grounders had put him there. The whole scene was eerie and I shivered.

'Oh my God, Jasper…' Clarke repeated. 'Jasper!'

I let the others step forward. I kept a careful eye on our surroundings, aware that Grounders might be nearby.

'What the hell is this?' I heard Bellamy say, right before Clarke disappeared down a hole. Bellamy caught her and started pulling her up after a few seconds, the others running to help. My heart was racing in my chest.

'You okay?' Finn asked Clarke.

'Yeah. We need to get him down.'

'I'll climb up there and cut the vines,' Finn said.

'Yeah, I'm with you,' Wells said.

'No. Stay with Clarke.' Finn replied before glancing at Bellamy. 'And watch him.'

'There's a poultice on his wound,' Clarke noticed.

'Medicine?' Wells asked. 'Why would they save his life just to string him as live bait?'

'Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its dinner breathing,' Bellamy replied.

'Maybe what they're trying to catch is us,' Finn added.

'Maybe we should worry about getting him down and get the hell out of this place,' I said.

Murphy climbed the tree with Finn and they began working on the vines around Jasper. They had been up in the tree for a few minutes when a strange noise came from the bushes.

'What the hell was that?

'Grounders?'

It wasn't grounders. It was a panther, and as it crouched on the ground, I realized we were dinner. I nocked an arrow, drew the string and aimed. I'd never shot a moving target before, but my life was at stake. I released the string and my arrow embedded itself in the panther's leg. It yelped, but still lunged towards us.

'Bellamy, gun!' Clarke yelled.

A shot rang out, but it wasn't Bellamy who had fired. I shot another arrow, this one hitting its thigh. Wells kept shooting as the panther disappeared in the bushes. Suddenly, it jumped, heading straight for Bellamy. I released my arrow as Wells fired his last bullet. Both hit the beast and it collapsed, dead.

We all stood in silence, hearts racing. Finally, Jasper moaned and broke the spell. As Finn and Murphy finished cutting the vines, I approached the panther. I knelt and yanked my arrows out. One of them was broken, but the others were intact. I wiped them on the grass and put them back in my quiver.

'That was a good shot,' Bellamy said. 'You aren't kidding around with this thing.'

'I never am,' I replied with a smile. 'We should take this back. Looks like we'll have meat on the menu tonight after all.'

The boys managed to bring Jasper safely down from the tree and used Wells' parachute to carry the panther. It was a long walk but our success made it seem easy. As we finally reached camp, Clarke set off to help Jasper. I focused on the food. As far as I knew, I was the only one who knew how to skin game. I did it slowly and made sure to show others around me how it was done. They needed to learn. I set the bones apart to use for arrows, and as the meat slowly roasted over the fire, I finally allowed myself to relax. I couldn't see Charlotte and set off to search for her. The young girl was asleep in our tent, a few sharpened stones next to her. She'd been trying to make arrow heads. Smiling, I examined one.

'Not bad,' I whispered.

I decided to wait a little for Charlotte to wake up before we went to get our food. But in the half-hour since I'd left, everything had gone wrong.

'What the hell is this?' I said.

The delinquents stood in a line before the fire. One after the other, they took off their wristbands and then were given food. Bellamy and Murphy controlled the entire thing.

I should have known, I thought.

'They're not going to give us food, are they?' Charlotte asked desperately.

'Like hell they're not. Stay here.'

Furious, I marched right up to Bellamy.

'Hey there, Sunshine,' he grinned. 'Want some food?'

'You're despicable. I thought you hated the Ark. And yet here you are, sanctioning people just because they don't agree with you. Maybe we should call you Chancellor.'

He flinched. I stared at him, my eyes unwavering and without another word, grabbed two pieces of meat from the fire. Bellamy didn't move.

'You saved my life,' he said. 'I'll let you get away with this. Just once.'

'We'll see about that.'

Ignoring his eyes boring into the back of my head, I marched back to Charlotte and gave her the meat.

I would never take off my wristband. Bellamy Blake would just have to deal with it.