Hello again!
I'm sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I hit a writer's block and couldn't figure out how I wanted to progress the story.
My original plot had to be tweaked a little so I had to write and rewrite this chapter multiple times.
I'm still not happy with it completely but I don't want to leave this story unfinished.
I can't promise regular updates, but I will try to make sure there is less time separating them.
Anyway, like I said, my original plot has changed slightly do I am contemplating another change.
Now that that is over with, on to the story.
Please leave a review with any critiques or anything you might like to see in the story.
The commotion in camp was nothing more than a few of the teenagers fighting over the drop ship's parachutes in order to make shelters. Bellamy quickly stepped forward to stop the argument as Calliope made her way over to Clarke who was gearing up to travel to Mount Weather.
"You need another set of hands?" Cal asked the young blonde as she began to make her way out of camp.
Clarke glanced over her shoulder to the small group following her. "I think we've got this, Cal. You will probably be of more use here." Clarke paused to nod her head towards the Blake siblings who were now arguing if Octavia would accompany the group to Mount Weather. "I don't trust Bellamy. Could you keep an eye on him?"
"Glad I'm not the only one," Cal said with a quick nod. "I'll probably see if I can get a group together to go scavenge for some food. You guys will be gone for awhile and food will make everyone less irritable."
"Agreed. Just make sure you stay safe."
Cal nodded with a smile. "You do the same."
A chill went up Cal's spine as she watched the Mount Weather group depart from camp. She turned to find two of the teens glaring at her. One of them was Bellamy's minion, John Murphy; while the other one was a kid named Kyle Andreas, youngest murderer on the Ark. Cal knew all about him.
At the age of eight years old, Andreas had murdered both of his parents by suffocating them in their sleep. Cal heard the story from the arresting guard. Apparently, the kid had been abused by his parents from a young age. It continued for years until something snapped. The bodies were found on a random quarters check two days later. Andreas had been quiet during the arrest and the investigation. Cal's superior had claimed that the boy was the perfect prisoner. He was always calm and respectful to the guard. He never caused problems during his imprisonment, but now, Cal could almost feel the animosity radiating off the teenager. With a shake of her head, Cal turned her back on the two boys and went to search for others to join her in scavenging for food.
"Hey, Murphy!"
Murphy turned away from the guard he was currently watching to see Bellamy advancing toward him. "What's up?" he asked.
Bellamy came to a stop beside him and gestured to Cal as she was talking to a teenage girl. "We need her wrist band. Our best bet of insuring that the Ark doesn't come down here is getting hers, Wells's, and Clarke's. If three council members' kids are assumed dead, the council won't want to come down. After we get those three, we worry about everyone else."
Murphy nodded to the older man. With a smirk he said, "You worry about the princess; I'll get the prince and the knight."
The two gave each other a nod, and Murphy moved closed to Calliope. "I hear you're looking for some volunteers to go scavenging," he said as he came up behind the woman.
"Since when do you pretend to be helpful," Cal scoffed as she turned toward him. Murphy reminded her of a weasel. He only looked out for himself. Why would he volunteer to be useful?
Murphy plastered a smile to his face and answered, "Since it's in my best interest. If we find food, I know where it comes from and I can go back at any time."
"I'll come, too."
Cal and Murphy turned to see the newcomer approaching them. It was none other than Kyle Andreas. "Great!" Murphy exclaimed with forced enthusiasm as he clapped his hands together. "Let's get going."
Cal felt uneasiness settle over her as she looked at the boys in front of her. There could be no coincidence that they had both approached her when they knew she would be out of camp. "Fine," she almost growled as she turned to the girl she had recruited into joining her. "Let's do this."
The four set off into the forest in the opposite direction that Clarke and the Mount Weather group had taken. Every ten feet or so, Cal would snap a branch off a tree and lay it down pointing back in the direction they had come.
"What are you doing?" Murphy asked as he eyed the limbs on the ground.
Kelly, Cal's recruit, was the one to answer. "She's marking our path. We don't have a map so we have to mark our path to make sure we get back to camp." Kelly motioned to the woods around them. "Do you want to get lost out here away from the group?"
"Guess not," Murphy muttered as he eyed the girl. She might end up being a complication to his plan. "So, what did you do to get sent down to this dump?" he asked as he continued to follow Cal farther into the forest.
Kelly's eyes darkened and she glared at their path. "I killed the man who tried to attack me," she stated with no emotion. "I was up for review in about five months. I had a good case for self defense. Was probably going to get released, but instead, I got sent to this trash heap." With a shake of her head, she dismissed the conversation by saying, "It doesn't matter now. We're stuck here, and there's nothing we can do about it."
Murphy glanced to from the younger female to the older one leading the way. He knew he'd have to play his cards right if he wanted to get that wrist band.
The group walked for about two hours until they found a bush with dark purple berries. "Let's get this back to camp. One of the kids from Farm Station might be able to tell us if they're safe to eat. Do you all want to continue to search just in case these are bad?"
"Let's head back," Kelly offered as she put some of the berries in a bag. The others nodded their agreement and finished gathering the ripened berries. After finishing, the small group began to retrace their steps, but thirty minutes later, Kelly called for them to stop.
"Are you all right?" Cal asked as she helped the girl to sit down.
Kelly opened her mouth to speak only to slam it shut again as her eyes went wide. Leaning to the opposite side, she then proceeded to empty the contents of her stomach into a nearby bush.
"I think it's the berries," she groaned as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She turned back to face Cal as she let out a shaky laugh. "Guess I should have listened to you and waited to see if the berries were safe to eat."
"You'll be fine," Cal assured the girl as she rubbed her back comfortingly. "We just need to get the berries out of your system." Cal paused to take a glance around. She focused on Murchy and Andreas as she said, "See if you can find water nearby. Preferably water that has been running over rocks, nothing stagnant. We need to dilute the berries in her stomach and keep her hydrated in case she continues to throw up."
The boys each contemplated her words for a moment before Andreas nodded silently. He motioned for Murphy to follow him as he turned toward the thinnest part of the forest around them. Murphy cast one last glare over his shoulder before silently following.
With a shielded glance, Cal mad sure the boys left before directing Kelly to lean back against a tree and rest.
"Do you hear that?" Kelly asked as a slow smile spread across her tired face.
Cal listened closely to the sounds of nature around them. She smiled at the sound of rustling leaves and a distant bird calling out in sweet yet silvery tones. "It's amazing," she answered as she continued to study the lush forest around her. The tranquility of the moment was interrupted, however when the sound of footsteps over dried leaves reached her ear. She did not have time to react as Kelly called for her to watch out at the same time as a heavy object collided with the back of her head. Darkness enveloped her world as the all sound and feeling faded from her senses.