I do not own The 100, all rights belong too Kass Morgan and Jason Rothenburg

Twisted Steel

Chapter 4: New Dawn

The small ragtag group of delinquents walked for a few miles, chatting happily about anything, sometimes bringing up what got them into the skybox. Finn was trying to get Raven to join in on talking their spacewalking excursion. He was ignored by all three girls in the party easily. Dejected, he turned to the guys; Jasper, Monty, and Wells and tried to get them too open up about their own incarcerations. Monty and Jasper, a tag team to the very end, were both arrested for 'illegal substances.' Clarke smirked at that one, and Raven and Octavia both laughed. Wells, she overheard him say, got himself arrested by attempting, and nearly succeeding, too light the Eden tree on fire. Turns out Vera Kane, mother too Marcus Kane, gave him a black eye for his troubles before he was arrested. Then the conversation turned towards the trio of girls walking in front of them

Ignorant of the anticipation and tension building in Octavia at the possibility of being questioned, asked her what she was in lockup for. She whirled around at him and leveled him with a glare before looking down in shame and quietly admitting "I was born, is that an acceptable answer." She spat at him. Clarkes superior ears caught Monty admonishing the lanky teen telling him that that was "so not the way to get the girl."

Octavia was storming ahead of the group because she didn't want to look at them, have to deal with their pitying gazes and judgmental minds. She heard someone pick up the pace to follow her and she heard the group attempt to interrogate Raven on why she was even on the dropship since she was an adult, and she almost didn't notice when cold metal fingers covered in leather gently wrapped around her bicep and pulled her to a stop. She took a breath and turned around.

"I get it you know." Clarke said quietly. and the look in her eyes told Octavia that the blonde really did get it. "you hate the pitying looks, and the judgment from the others. I know how that feels. What with being half metal and all that. But don't let it get you down, embrace it. Own that shit. Because you know what you have?" the brunette quirked an eyebrow "you have a brother. Something nobody else here can say. You also know how to sneak around I'm betting, don't you?" Octavia nodded with a small smile on her face. "who knows, it might come in handy down here. So again, own that shit. Don't let anyone else define you. Only you can do that. Now are you gonna be 'the girl under the floor' or are you gonna be Octavia Blake, certified badass." She asked forcefully, trying to boost Octavia's confidence in herself. Seeing the look on the brunette's face, she knew she succeeded.

"hell yeah!" Octavia said, the energy clear in her voice.

They walked for a couple more miles and the feeling Clarke got a little while after they started this trip only intensified. They were being watched. She used to feel it all the time on the ark from people who knew what lay under her leather sleeves. It always made her feel uncomfortable, and she would use her enhanced hearing to pick out the person looking at her and glare at them until they stopped. People wouldn't stare after a while, and soon the feeling went away. But now that was creeping up on her again, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Someone was getting a fist to the face, yeah, she'd have to hold back so nobody died but, oh well. She whirled around looking for the person who was staring at her, only to find that everyone was conversing amongst themselves. Not looking at her at all. But the feeling didn't go away. So, she took a centering breath and focused her hearing, pushing the loud group out of her mind to focus on the forest around them. It was Raven who broke her concentration just as she heard the rustling of leaves in the treetops.

"hey Clarkey," Finn perked up his head at hearing that name, but she ignored it. "you're really focused, what are you hearing that's got your attention." Raven knew of the benefits of the nightblood. She had helped develop it after all, and had helped, along with her dad, to teach her how to use it. It was a struggle at first until Raven had told her during a particularly bad panic attack to quiet her mind and listen to the heart beating in the Latinas chest. It was the first time she realized just how sensitive her hearing could be. And when she realized just how much she needed Raven. They were inseparable since then

"nothing," she assured "I just thought I heard a bird is all." But the look on Ravens face told her the Latina didn't believe her, and honestly? She didn't believe herself. She hadn't heard any birds since they started the trip.

They reached the river after only a few more minutes. Octavia, being the more daring of the group, stripped her clothes off down to her underwear and tank top, Clarke staring and gaping the entire time, and jumped into the small river. Raven made a comment "close your mouth Griff, you're gonna catch flies." She giggled. She knew her best friends' preferences towards women, even though the blonde had said she was bisexual. The blonde however, only ever became a useless bisexual around girls, funnily enough. It was the subject of many hours of good-natured teasing from the Latina.

Both were distracted and Jasper still had a hopeless crush on Octavia that he was the only paying attention when something moved in the river, upstream towards her.

It was jaspers shouts of "Octavia hurry! There's something in the river headed towards you!" that drew Clarke and Ravens attention back to the current situation. They needed a distraction, and Clarke quickly spotted one sitting right on the bank of the river. A large boulder precariously perched on the edge of the bank. Quickly rushing over to it she gripped it on both sides and pushed, the servos and pistons in the 'biceps' of her arms whining and straining at such a dramatic series of motions with little buildup, but they quickly rose to the challenge and she pushed the boulder, about 300 pounds in weight, into the river by herself, allowing Jasper to jump in drag Octavia to shore. Everyone else was amazed at the raw power in Clarkes arms.

Clarke was the only person with any medical knowledge apparently, which pissed her off, because seriously?! Not a single person besides her who knew how to treat even moderate wounds!? Thankfully it was only minor, despite the fact that it looked really bad. Whatever the hell that was had barely even gotten to Octavia when the boulder distracted it. They all decided they wanted to explore some more but unanimously decided that swimming was a no go, especially for Clarke. They fashioned a rope out of sturdy vines and threw one end over a tree branch. Finn wanted to be the badass but passed the vine to Jasper after Jasper asked if he could go first, staring at an oblivious Octavia. Finn was more than happy too oblige, he wanted to be nice, he hoped that it would earn him points with Raven. He had no idea she already moved on.

Jasper swung across with no problem, poking around in the brush when his foot hit something metal and he bent down to grab it. He hoisted it up like he had seen in in a movie once and shouted to get the others attention. "check it out guys! We did it! Mount weather!" he gave cheers and whoops of excitement. Clarke heard the rustling again, only this time she focused fast enough to hear a deep breath and exhale as well. Looking up into the trees she saw a sight she never expected, but terrified her none the less. A human. Not one of the hundred. And they had a spear leveled at Jasper. She didn't know him all that well but knew his death would hurt Monty.

"Jasper get down!" she shouted, but he didn't seem to hear her. A spear cut through the air and impacted him in the chest. Everyone saw this and ducked for cover behind the rocks on the river bank.

Raven looked at her with wide fear filled eyes. "what the hell was that! What in the actual hell was that!" she whisper shouted, afraid of attracting the attention of their attacker.

"we're not alone." Came Clarkes grim response

They ran after a few minutes of waiting, hoping the grounder had left them alone. Clarke had to practically drag Octavia because she couldn't run with her injured leg. They stopped at a small clearing to take a breather. Raven looked up sharply at Clarke

"what the hell did you mean back there? What did you mean 'we're not alone?'" Clarke looked back at her with wide eyes. "that noise I heard earlier back in the forest, it must have been the grounder following us. I wasn't sure and I didn't want to freak anybody out." She said honestly.

"freak anybody out!" Finn shouted. "Jasper is dead because you didn't say anything." That was the wrong thing to say as Clarke saw red.

"what." Clarke slowly turned her head, the anger clear in her eyes, as well as the anger in Ravens eyes. "What did you say to me. That its my fault. That someone got hurt because of me." He cowered at the murder in her eyes. Raven had a hand on her shoulder, but not really trying to calm her down. "Here's what's going to happen. You don't look at me, you don't talk to me, you don't get to be around me. And in return I won't destroy your face with my fist." Finn gulped and nodded weakly. It was then they heard a scream. "Jasper." Monty whispered. "Monty," Clarke looked at him with determination. "we're gonna get him back, but first we're gonna go back to camp and regroup. Octavia needs to get off this leg, and then we're gonna go back out and get him. I promise you that." And Monty knew she meant it.

They ran through the forest at a quick pace with Clarke still supporting Octavia and they made it back to camp safe. There was a group of the delinquents already there when Bellamy heard the commotion and came out to see what was happening. He saw Octavia sitting with her leg propped up and with the bloody bandage still wrapped around her thigh. His baby sister had been hurt. And he was pissed.

"what the hell happened?!" he looked at Clarke accusingly.

"We were attacked at the river a few miles away." She said hotly

"what do you mean attacked?" he was confused. How was that possible.

"There are people on the ground, they know we're here, and they aren't friendly. They speared Jasper in the chest when he crossed the river." She told him. That basically summed up the entire thing, in fact.

"God what the hell is wrong with this planet…" Bellamy looked down at his feet as he grumbled.

"there's nothing wrong, these people somehow survived the bombs, and they're not happy we're here." She said earnestly. She didn't want him to do anything rash, so she gave him no room for argument when she continued. "We're going back out in an hour to get him back, he's still alive out there and we're not leaving him behind." Bellamy was defensive instantly, his authority challenged.

"Oh yeah princess? Who the hell put you in charge?" he sneered at her. "You think just because you're one of the privileged that means you get to tell us what to do?" that was the wrong thing to say apparently because Octavia was on her feet and in his face in an instant.

"what the hell is wrong with you Bellamy! She's concerned for another person, a whole lot more thani can say for you." She spat at him. "You're a hypocrite!" she continued ranting at him "you think just because you're older that you get to be in charge? No. you're just being a bully." She walked back towards Clarke and apologized for her brother's words, giving her a small side hug as a show of support.

"Fine….We're going out in an hour. We'll grab some weapons that we've been working on since you guys left. They're rough but they'll do okay in a pinch. Do you," he looked at Clarke awkwardly, and then pointedly looked towards her arms "do you uhh…need a weapon or…are you-" she put her left arm up to stop him, and slowly extended the hidden blade, all six inches, out of her wrist, and then quickly pulled it back into her arm with a scraping noise. His eyes widened, and Octavia gawked at her. Raven could only smirk because, honestly, she was a god damn genius.

"I'm good." Clarke said, turning around and heading into the dropship grab some things she might need.

Raven and Monty both ambushed her, Monty especially since he had gone into the dropship to work out a way to communicate with the ark. Both wanted to go on the expedition to rescue Jasper, but Clarke quickly shut them down.

"No, I need you both here. You both are the smartest people we have, and you Monty, are the only one who knows how to grow anything. So you're staying here. End of story." She said firmly. The hundred couldn't afford to lose either of them, and she couldn't risk losing Raven. She needed Raven.

Both accepted that answer, Monty a bit more hesitantly because he didn't really know Clarke like Raven did. Raven trusted Clarke with her life. They had been through a lot together. The tech genius' got to work on communications immediately after that.

An hour later, the group got together in front of the dropship. The same as the last group with the addition of Bellamy's crew and minus Octavia and the techies. Murphy was the only one still complaining about this whole trip until Bellamy of all people shut him down.

"If you wanna stay here then stay here. But if you stay you're gonna keep everyone on track building the wall." He said firmly, daring murphy with his eyes to challenge him. Murphy ended up deciding to stay behind and they set out on their expedition to find the missing delinquent. They split up, Wells going with Clarke, Finn with Bellamy, and Atom with Mbege.

Clarke was tense, she hadn't wanted Wells in her group, she would've honestly preferred to go alone than with Wells. But there was no going back now. They walked in silence for almost forty-five minutes. Before Wells decided to try his luck.

"Clarke, if you're not gonna look at me can you at least talk to me. Maybe I can help you track down whatever you're looking for." He tried hesitantly. Clarkes shoulder tensed and her fists clenched before she took a breath and looked at Wells. Her stern face was set, but her eyes betrayed her emotions. She was still angry with him, and he expected that.

"What do you want Wells, for us to sit down and talk it out, for me too just say all is forgiven. I know you said your dad banned you from visiting but I was in solitary for a year believing that you had abandoned me. You could've told Raven or my parents what was going on but you didn't. and so I just sat there for days on end believing that I didn't matter to you and that twelve years of friendship meant nothing." She was breathless by the end as she vented a years' worth of frustration at her former best friend. And he understood.

Because he would do the same if the situations were reversed.

She had been called a freak after her accident, and nobody who was even an acquaintance before would associate with her after. But he stuck by her, and then she went to the skybox. And all she had during that time was Raven and her parents. It would make anybody angry and bitter

He was about to speak again when they came up to a river and Clarke hesitated. He knew what her problem was. Water was the only thing her arms weren't equipped to really deal with, not enough in space for it to warrant an issue to fix. He silently took off his jacket and shirt and turned Clarke around. She was confused at first but understood when he started wrapping the worn clothes around each arm, making them as water resistant as possible so that she could cross without worry.

"Thanks Wells." She said quietly. He only nodded. She might not think the same of him, but she was still his best friend, even if he no longer was hers. And strangely, he was okay with that.

They crossed without issue and stopped for a moment to allow Wells to put his clothes back on. Clarke, with her superior vision, was the first to spot the blood trail. At some put the rest of the group caught up to them as she was stalking along, pointing out broken branches. But something didn't feel right as they got to the clearing. The trail felt too perfect, Jaspers body displayed out in the open for them to find. The slight depression in the ground that Bellamy was walking towards. She surged forward faster than should've been possible just as Bellamy stepped on the weak spot and fell through. Clarke just in time to grab hold of his wrist. Her grip was a bit too tight on his arm in her panic and he winced when she pulled him up. She looked at it, and determined it wasn't broken, just had a hand shaped bruise with ridges where the plates in her palm dug into his skin.

"thanks" he said and made a quick retreat. 'Whatever' she thought. She walked around the pit to the tree jasper was tied on when she heard a rustling in the grass. She looked towards the noise to see what she believed to be a panther.

"Bellamy!" she shouted "Gun!" and pointed to where the panther was. He shot at it quickly, missing the first few times, and panicking briefly when it disappeared, only too nail it in the head when it lunged at Wells.

"Well that was close." He said with a chuckle. He watched Clarke climb up the tree and use her blade to cut the bindings surrounding Jasper, lowering him into the waiting arms of Wells and Atom, who then put him on the rough sled like carrier they made for him when they saw the state he was in.

The long trip back to camp was spent in silence, each of them listening for more dangers in the woods, but none listening as hard as Clarke. She kept her head on a swivel, looking up into the trees constantly. She could've sworn she caught someone watching them every now and again, and knowing there was grounders on earth, she probably had seen people. But she didn't want to cause a panic in their group, and the grounders only seemed to be watching from a distance, so she kept her mouth shut.

Arriving back at camp they saw that the walls were pretty much done, and that a few tents had been set up. Octavia, raven, and Monty all waiting for them. It was slow going and awkward trying to get Jasper into the dropship without hurting him, but they managed eventually. Raven had good news as well. They had managed to get a very basic signal going to the ark. Through Ravens wrist band they would be able to use Morse code, which Clarkes father had taught her, and Clarke then taught Raven to exchange secret messages while in the Skybox. She managed it easily by clicking her pointer finger to the tip of her thumb to produce dots or dashes.

Raven told them that it should work and said that Clarke should have the honors to do it. She held the wrist band in her right hand, and tapped on the prongs, creating a small electrical connection because the battery in her left arm was larger. It was a simple message.

"START. TWO DEAD ON LANDING-ONE INJURED, ALIVE. ALL FINE. STOP"

And Clarke, Monty, Octavia, Raven, Finn, and Wells all held their breath as the wristband started to die, but not before one message made it through

"RECEIVED, GOOD LUCK"

And the collective breath everyone held was released in a cheer that echoed through the dropship and camp.

Bellamy was the only one present not happy it had succeeded. Clarkes mood also soured when she turned around saw the only other person she ever hated in her life. One Finn Collins, staring at her intensely with a look that said 'I know who you are.' And all she wanted to do was wipe that look off his face with one cold fist.

"We need too talk." He said