(Author: Nightwing27th)
I've spent the last twenty minutes running faster than I ever have and I'm almost there. I shouldn't have left them. But then I wouldn't have found that note. It must have been there the whole time and we just walked right passed it. There's a slim chance that the hundred could've fought off the Grounders, but most likely my aunt was with them and that would change things… a lot. But I don't think the Grounders will still be there, or at least I hope not. As I approach the hundred camp, now ten feet away, the first thing I see that stands out is Kane and Abigail. And it's not them but the fact that they're just standing there, with their backs to me. I walk into the camp and stand next to Kane. They haven't noticed me yet.
"Wow," the word leaves my mouth in a whisper. I've never been in the camp, but I've watched them from afar. The "drop ship", as I've heard many of them call it, sits near the back of the camp. Like always, the door is open. But that's not what we're staring at. More like the ash and charred bodies that surround the drop ship. "And I thought I had a bad day." Kane jumps and looks at me as Abigail sinks to her knees, probably imagining the worst.
"I thought you went back," he says, glaring at me.
"I did." I gave him the note I found and then crouched down by Abigail. Her eyes locked straight ahead as they fill with tears. I glance around and try to get my bearings. Thinking of all the ways this could've happened, I notice a can lying on the ground. The closer I get the more sure I am that I know what it is. I pick it up to examine it and find Mount Weather written on the bottom. "Don't worry, Abigail. They're not dead." Her eyes locked on me after a few seconds. She slowly realized what I said and snapped out of it.
"What?" Kane helped her to her feet and then handed her the letter.
"Here's what I think happened: the Grounders attacked the camp, they fought back and somehow burned a whole lot of them." I started tossing the can in my hands. Abigail read the letter and looked up at me, "But how do you know they're alive?"
"There are four of these cans lying around the camp. Meaning that the Mountain Men showed up," I replied. "And they wouldn't have shown up in the middle of an empty camp"
"Mountain Men?" Kane asked. But I'm too busy listening to the woods to reply. Ever since I got here I've felt like I'm being watched. And now I know I am. I hold a finger up to my lips and pull out my knife. They didn't look too concerned until they saw the knife. If anything, at least these people have common sense and know when to be quiet. I waved my hand in the air, telling them to follow me as I walked the perimeter. I hear the rustling of bushes and the occasional snapping of a twig in the distance. "They can't be more than thirty yards away."
"Who?" Abigail asked, as they followed me. I turned around and replied in a hushed tone, "You need to run out of the gate and then keep running in the direction you think we came from. Run until you're over five miles away and try to get back to the crash site," I gave them each a knife from my boots. "I'll find you as soon as I can."
"Where are you going?" Kane asked as he glanced at the knife I gave him like it was poison.
"I'm going to get them off your trail." The looks on their faces told me they weren't going without me, "Oh, you're going. Don't worry about me. I'll take out one Mt. man, take his weapon and then take out the rest. Now go!" I pushed them foreword, toward the entrance to the camp. I pushed them toward the left and I ran right, in the direction of the sound. I climbed up the first available tree I came to and then looked behind me. Kane and Abigail ran like I told them too. Good. Now I only have to worry about myself. Last time I faced Mountain Men, I barely escaped with my life. They are a whole lot more deadly than the Grounders ever could be. One reason is that Mountain Men have these things called "Guns". And they hurt. But most of all, I know how to use one.
I climbed across five trees and then I saw one; a man dressed from head to toe, wearing a mask that stuck out from his face, and of course a gun. He doesn't look so big, ten feet off the ground. I positioned myself so I was right above him and then let go. I landed on top of him, hugging his back with my left arm wrapped around his neck. I brought my right hand with a knife in it up to his neck and… well, you know the rest. He fell to the ground dead. I stood and then took his gun from him. Putting the strap around my shoulder, I glanced around. I took what bullets the man had and then kept running. Two more men appeared ahead of me and I killed them with the gun before they even saw me. I forgot how strong it made you feel to even hold a gun. Three more dropped just like the first two and then a twig snapped behind me. I turned around just in time to see the bottom of a gun headed for my face. I ducked as I slammed the bottom of my gun into the man's gut. As he fell, I took his gun and threw it into the woods. I know, it was stupid but I don't have any free hands right now.
But this man was different from the other men. He's wearing an official Mt. Weather uniform, meaning he's someone important. But it wasn't until I saw his face that I knew who he was. I have in front of me none other than the leader of the Mountain Men. But he's the last thing I see before it all goes black.
