Hello! Thanks to those who followed and favorited this!

I want to apologize for anything that may seem off or repetitive. I didn't get feedback for this version of chapter 2 before I decided that I wanted to submit it. If there are any recommendations for later chapters, please feel free to review. It'd be greatly appreciated!

Anyway, I hope that you like this chapter! I actually ended up cutting out a lot of what I wanted this chapter to contain originally. Hopefully it's still okay!

Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Wasteland

Lexa

It has been two years since the world ended. I always thought it was interesting when places were abandoned. The beauty of the overgrown vegetation always seemed to catch my eye. I never thought I'd live to see the overgrowth everywhere. Too bad I can't capture it the way I had when I took advantage of such sights with no fear except the fear of capture due to trespassing.

"Lexa." I opened my eyes, returning to Earth... or well what was left of it. I hated being interrupted during meditation. I stood and met Titus's eyes. "My apologies for disturbing you…"

He was older than I but still followed my orders. If my judgment was clouded, he often stepped in to aid in my decision-making. But, I gathered this group together in the beginning. Plans were often left for me to decide, therefore I was voted leader.

"You need a mental break." His gaze was averted as he removed his hands from behind his back, revealing a sketchbook. He seemed afraid of my reaction due to being interrupted.

It looked worn, the sketchbook, but I already loved it. Titus handed me a mechanical pencil as well. I was one who preferred those to the traditional pencils.

"I know it isn't a camera…" Titus started. I smiled at him, a silent thanks. He understood and began to walk away.

"Titus?" He paused for a moment before turning to look at me. "Are we to set up camp here for tonight?" He nodded once and stayed where he was, waiting for me to dismiss him. "Are the others going to gather supplies?" Again, he nodded. "And you?" I asked.

"They thought it was wise that I rest."

"Do you think it is wise that you rest?"

"I have not slept in days."

"If you are to rest and I am to take a mental break and everyone else is going to gather supplies, who is to watch over the camp? Who is to be in charge if not you or me?"

"I supposed we all needed the break." His gaze fell to the floor again.

"How did you conjure up that idea, Titus?"

"We are all very tired, Lexa." I ignored the hint of defiance in his tone.

"You rest, but only after you inform Gustus that he is to watch over the camp. He is the only one that I trust to watch over us when you or I cannot."

"Very well." His eyes locked with mine again.

"You may go." I started and he turned away. "Oh, Titus?" He immediately turned back to face me. "Thank you… for the sketchbook. That was very thoughtful." A small smile made its way onto my face and he nodded before turning to walk out of my tent again.

Alone.

I was alone.

I was ready to take full advantage of it.

Clarke

Don't worry. We all made it to the gym and eventual evacuation that day. The beginning of the end. It was hell, boy was it hell. We were originally told that this would all be cleared within a week or so. They lied. The "important" people got out. They're safe, or so we believe. The rest of us are forced to suffer, survive the best we can. My group is large, but we can't leave each other behind.

"Clarke, you're zoning again. Come on. New territory. We need everyone focused." Bellamy kept snapping his fingers in front of my face. I knew he meant well, but he could be annoying sometimes. I swatted his hands away.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here." I looked around. Yes, we were in new territory. We hadn't ventured out too far and became comfortable in our "home" location. Problem is, the Zombies found us. The living did as well and not all of them were nice. It was kind of hard to trust anyone.

Bellamy fell back to keep pace with me. Everyone else had travelled ahead. They were talking amongst themselves, laughing, and it was a nice sight, though we needed to keep our eyes peeled for supplies considering we were running low. This was why we needed to relocate and the relocation part of surviving was always one of the worst parts. Venturing out into the unknown was often undesirable. How many Zombies were in this new area? How many traitors were among the living? Were any of us going to die today? It's surprising how long we've survived, how far we've come. Will our luck run out?

"You're doing it again." Bellamy elbowed me and I glared at him as I rubbed the spot on my arm that now hurt.

"Just let me be. We're fine." I was a little tired, not really up for leading today. Bellamy seemed to be handling it just fine. "Who's being the Princess now?"

"What?" He chuckled. "Uh still you."

"Scratch that. You've been a bit of an ice queen lately. What's gotten you so unsettled?" I asked curiously.

"Remember that show about the zombies. They were referred to as 'Walkers'? They built a community. I wonder if that could happen in real life." He kept walking at my pace but it was clear he wanted to catch up to the others.

"Uh… I dunno. It was fictional. I'm also certain that a task as big as that would take more than seven people." I sped up my pace.

"Well, what if we just started small? Y'know? Took up residence in an abandoned neighborhood. Maybe a cul-de-sac?"

"How're we supposed to block off this cul-de-sac? It doesn't sound realistic. Also, it'd be a big waste of time and a waste of resources, Bell." I was looking at him now. Was he joking?

"We just need something permanent, I dunno." He said as he scratched his head.

"Well there's nothing permanent in this wasteland." We caught up with the rest of our group just as they noticed that someone might have set up camp nearby.

There was no one there that we could see from our positions but everyone could've been inside their tents. It was the middle of the day, why stay in the hot tent? Everyone turned to look at me and I immediately knew that they had no idea what to do.

"We can either go around or we can go straight through." Bellamy spoke up.

"Going around is the best option." I said, not wanting to disturb whomever resided in this area. It was best not to make another group hostile. They looked like they were an unfortunately large group as well.

I watched as Bellamy began surveying the area around us. He seemed to be considering the best option, formulating a plan that would oppose mine. Going around would take more time than walking straight through, but I didn't feel like dealing with the other group.

"What if they're nice?" Monty, he's always the optimist.

"What if they're not?" I asked him. He sighed.

"Why must you always be so…" He trailed off, looking for a less desirable word to describe my lack of optimism. Even if he could think of one that I hadn't already been called, he wouldn't say it. He was too nice.

"Because we need to survive. I don't understand how you don't realize that by now guys." I replied without letting him ponder any further.

"I think we should just cut through. We're just cutting through." Bellamy said. I whirled on him.

"So they can take our supplies? Our weapons? So they can harm us? So they can harm Octavia?" Yeah, I used Octavia, but whatever. He needed to see my way.

"I think you've just graduated from Princess to Ice Queen." I heard Raven say under her breath. Octavia was probably rolling her eyes, hating when we used her that way. I'm sure she wished she were an only child sometimes.

"Using Octavia is getting pretty old 'Ice Princess'. Shoot first, ask questions later, if things get hostile." Bellamy replied as he pressed forward.

What the hell? I don't understand his line of thinking sometimes and today is definitely one of his off days. I looked at Octavia and she shrugged, not wanting to deal with him.

Lexa

I don't really know how long it's been, but I know the others left to search for supplies. Titus was here, probably off resting. Gustus was supposed to be keeping watch. I certainly hoped so. All I could do was stare at the first page of the sketchbook Titus had given me. As much as I wanted to capture my surroundings, I was not in the right mindset to draw. I missed the idea of going into a coffee shop to work on any of my art related things. A sigh escaped me and I stood up, preparing to leave my tent.

Should I go adventure? If I wanted to, Gustus would want to follow, leaving our things (and a sleeping Titus) vulnerable to anyone nearby. But, if I said nothing and something were to happen, he'd worry about my whereabouts. A sigh escaped me as I stood up. I'd just go. I wanted to be completely alone.

I left my tent and made my way to the center of our set up. Gustus was there, playing with a newly acquired knife. It looked dull but sharpening it would cause a disturbance if any Zombies were nearby. Gustus was up and ready in a defensive stance at the sound of my footsteps. I smiled.

"Stand down." At my command, he relaxed.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" He smiled upon seeing that the only intruder to his thoughts was I.

"I want to go for a walk." I watched his smile fade.

"I can't leave Titus here, vulnerable. Can it wait?"

"No. I'll be fine. Give me the knife." He didn't hesitate in tossing his dull blade over to me. I caught it; blade in hand and it was still sharp enough to cause pain. I didn't show it though.

"You sure you don't want me to come along?" He asked, obviously uncomfortable with the idea.

"I can handle myself. Thank you. I'll be back before nightfall." And with that, I turned and walked away in the direction I knew that the rest of the group had gone. Maybe I'll find supplies that they missed along the way.

Bellamy

I'm getting bored with the day-to-day bullshit filled with nothingness. I ignored the "Ice Queen" as Raven referred to her (I think Raven's too good for Finn. He's boring as hell). I kept walking. If someone was in that camp either: they were nice and we could all get along, maybe even trade, or they were stupid and they'd get a bullet in the head.

I pulled away as Clarke grabbed at my arm, shouting my name as always. Sometimes, I swear she's my mother. She's going to draw more attention to us than me walking through the goddamn camp. If she were ever President of this country, I don't think we would survive. The only reason our particular group has survived for so long is because I am getting us through this.

"Bell, I don't agree with this." Clarke said to me as she could helplessly follow.

"I don't care Ice Queen." I wish that iPods could survive off of solar energy cuz I'd shut her out.

"Stop being such an asshole." She looked back at Raven for a moment, "Thanks a lot Raven! He won't let that one go." She then grabbed my arm and turned me toward her. "This isn't a safe idea."

"Look, then you stay here and we'll check it out." I said.

"Who's 'we'?" She asked.

I looked past her at the group. "Who wants to stay here with her? Finn? Cool. Everyone else come with me."

Finn looked at me like I was crazy and spoke up. "What makes you think I want to stay here?"

"Do you want to go?" I asked him.

…

"Exactly. Raven, you staying with him?" She nodded. Of course.

"I'll go!" Octavia walked over to me. I saw the look of defiance in her eyes, begging me to challenge her.

"Whatever. Monty? Jasper?" I moved my attention to the two other boys.

They nodded, confirming my suspicions about the group being bored. I looked over at a defeated Clarke and she averted her eyes in embarassment. I turned and walked away, with the group following me on the short journey to the camp 1000 feet away. Clarke, Raven, and Finn kept their distance and remained farther back.

Gustus

I heard voices. They were getting closer and I could tell that I'd be outnumbered. Titus was still asleep and I didn't have the time to go wake him. I grabbed one of the knives that Anya left behind and stood up.

Closer…

Closer…

Closer…

Here.

I threw the knife in the direction that I heard them coming from and immediately a girl was pulled out of the way just in time. She looked at the knife curiously before picking it up off of the ground. The boy who pulled her back aimed his gun at me.

"That was a mistake you won't make again." He said to me.

The girl smiled. Her eyes focused on mine before she said, "This is mine now."

I kept my mouth shut and assessed the situation. There were three boys and only one of them was in possession of a weapon that I could see. The other two looked rather weak. The other person there was a girl. I could easily take her on if she dared to make a move toward me.

"Wait, he could just think we're here to steal from him." The Asian boy said. He stepped in front of the hostile boy and pulled the gun from his hands. "Let's just talk."

I rested my hand on the hilt of a knife hidden beneath the waist of my pants. I wouldn't relax until I could see that they weren't going to be a threat.

"Octavia, give him back his knife." The Asian spoke again.

"No way! I should keep it. He threw it at my head!" The girl named Octavia spoke up.

The Asian boy took the knife from her hand before she could protest any further and turned to face me. The hostile one grabbed the Asian's boy's arm and said something inaudible before being rejected and walked away from. The nicer of the two headed towards me and I took a few steps back when he got too close for comfort. Before I knew it, he was handing Anya's knife back to me, hilt first.

"Take it. I'm Monty by the way." He insisted. I cautiously took the knife from him and he smiled. "This is the part where you tell me who you are?"

"What do you want?" I asked, refusing still to relax.

"Just passing through. We want no trouble." He replied, his smile faltering a bit.

"How do I know you're not sizing this place up?" I asked.

"We're not. Just passing through." He repeated, furrowing his brows.

My attention was diverted when the one named Octavia started to enter one of the tents. I drew back my throwing hand quickly and released the knife that the one named Monty had just handed me. The satisfying scream of a wounded person pierced my ears. Monty's reflexes were slow and he attacked after I had already thrown the weapon. I grabbed both his wrists and flipped him. Then, I quickly pulled him up as he was still dazed and used him as a shield against the one with the gun.

"Let him go!" The hostile one shouted as he made his way over to the girl looking at the knife sticking out of her arm in disbelief. "Octavia are you okay?" His eyes stayed on me and the other tall boy took a look at the girl's arm.

"Why are you here!" I shouted, pulling the other knife from my waist and holding it to Monty's throat.