Hope you enjoy the new chapter :)
Chapter Four: A Suicide Mission
One thing Thomas prided himself with was that he was curious. Always wanted to know more. And when he was positive, determined and worked hard, Thomas would get what he wanted.
Look at Kaya.
When they first meet she wanted nothing to do with him. She was rude and straight out told him it leave her alone. But that didn't stop him. He wasn't sure whether it was because it was his first time arresting someone or because he sympathized with her situation, seeing her vulnerability behind her anger but Thomas had vowed to himself to win her over. To make her trust him and know she could count on him.
And Thomas had. It had taken almost a year with endless chatter, bribes, even begging but in the end, she liked him. Or at least tolerated him. He wasn't sure if Kaya actually liked people, despite having friends. She was a bit odd.
Like she had a habit of counting everything. Whenever she would get stressed that lead to panic attacks she would count. Apparently, it calmed her down.
She liked to draw but would never finish what she started. The only thing that Kaya had made an effort to finish was a tree she carved against the wall and floor. It was beautiful but also morbid. One time when she was sleeping when he came to deliver her lunch m, Thomas examined it and found that she drew a lot of dead birds, rotting, with their flesh out. And the trunk, if he looked closely, had red streaks cascading down. Feeling disturbed, he quietly left her tray by her bed and walked out, hopping this time she would eat.
That's was another thing. Kaya didn't eat that much. There were times were for a week she wouldn't eat, saying she wasn't hungry. Thomas would find Kaya, laying down in her bed, curled up, humming to herself. He would see bags under her eyes, clear sign that she hasn't been sleeping.
Thomas really tried to help her, especially when she had tried to kill herself. Even though she claimed it was an accident, he knew it was a lie. He knew pressuring her wouldn't help, to would make her withdraw, so Thomas said nothing. But that didn't mean he was going to let it go. Thomas was really scared when he found her. He didn't want her to die. She didn't deserve to. She was a good person. Better person than most people in The Ark.
It would have been a waste for her to die in a cell for a crime that she didn't commit. He tried to vouch for her but it didn't help. Apparently, she was not just arrested for one crime but for various. According to the report, Kaya was often found around places where objects would later disappear, and that she didn't hang around good people. She was friends with the Reyes daughter, Raven. It was no secret that the women did in her free time.
Kaya was a good person. Actually, the nicest one he's meet, besides himself. She was sweet, considerate, and kind. He just needed to get past her thick layer of shyness and sarcasm to see it. She was also vulnerable, mentally and emotionally, making him worry more about how she was doing on Earth. She had a point to freak out, but he was optimistic that Kaya was stronger than she thought. If she wasn't, she would have killed herself a long time ago.
Thomas rubbed his face, pacing around his apartment. He didn't know what to do. He had just come back from a shift of keeping the people calm. They all wanted to know what was going on but of course, they were getting no answers. Like him.
Well, you can't find out if you're stuck inside here, a voice argued. You won't relax until you get answers.
Thomas sighed, agreeing. He promised Kaya that everything would be fine but how could he know if he was here wallowing. Grabbing his gun and taser, Thomas placed them back at their appropriate slots. Taking a look in his mirror, Thomas saw a tired face. He hasn't been able to sleep since he found out that the delinquents were going to be put in the dropship. He hadn't sleep since three days. He didn't know how Kaya did it without looking as dead as he looked right now.
"Get it together Hunter," Thomas scolded to the mirror. "Focus on Kaya. She's your priority." He smiled at his reflection, he got out of his apartment.
Kaya had to stifle a yawn, feeling tired, which wasn't new to her. Last night after, Finn and her went back to rest go their group, she couldn't go back to sleep, which also wasn't new to her. Feeling tired and not being able to sleep had always been with her.
"He's going to die," Kaya muttered, watching Finn and Jasper, from where they were, trying to strengthen a vine.
"Such a shame. He's so good looking," Octavia grinned.
Clarke laughed. "I think he'll appreciate hearing that in his memorial."
"I don't know whether to say this is one of your smartest ideas you've had or the stupidest one so far," Kaya shouted, deciding to voice the girl's opinion. She crossed her arms, watching Finn pull again on the vine he was planning to swing.
"Don't hate or else you won't get your turn," Finn grinned.
"I won't if it breaks," Kaya laughed. Her cheeks hurt from smiling too much but she didn't care. She hasn't smiled this much in a really long time. It was nice to feel happiness instead of hopelessness or worse, nothing.
Clarke rolled her eyes, gripping her backpack straps. "You wanted to go first. Now quit stalling. Mount Weather awaits."
"Clarke, don't pressure him. We all know he's scared."
"I'm going, I'm going, I need to prepare," Finn grinned.
"Idoit," Kaya said to herself, but Clarke heard her and laughed. Forgetting her annoyance at the girl, Kaya smiled at her in appreciation.
"Just hang on till the apogee, and you'll be fine," Jasper instructed.
Finn nodded. "The apogee like the Indians, right?"
Jasper expression made Kaya snort. "Apogee, not apache," he corrected.
"He knows," Clarke shouted. "Today, Finn."
"Come on Finn. Don't tell me you're chickening out?" Kaya taunted.
Finn rolled his eyes, saluting them. "Aye, aye, captain. See you on the other side."
Finn prepared himself and was about to swing when Jasper stopped him. He whispered something to Finn, making him look at him
"What now?" Kaya asked impatiently.
Octavia's face broke into a grin. "I think Jasper is going first."
Kaya shared a look with Clarke, as Jasper grinned at Octavia. That explains why he's going.
Nervous but ready to go, Jasper, grabbed the vine. He hesitated but after a few reassuring word from Finn, he was ready. "See you on the other side," Jasper laugh.
With a swing, Jasper swung to the other side. "Woohoo!" he shouted. "Whoo! Yeah!" When he got to the other side, he clumsily fell to the floor. Getting up, he looked around. "We are apogee!" Jasper cheered, raising his arms.
"Yeah!" Everybody started cheering. "Yeah! Whoo! Yeah, Jasper!"
Jasper continued shouting. "Whoo! Yeah!" He laughed ecstatically, jumping up and down in victory.
"Let's go, Princess," Finn handed the vine to a laughing Clarke. "You're up."
Clarke looked at Finn and nodded, grabbing the vine. Kaya clenched her fist when she saw that they kept at staring at each other. Finn was a liar.
"Come on, Clarke!" Jasper shouted. "You got this! Whoo! Apogee!" Jasper bent down and picked up a sign. Reading it, he raised it over his shoulder. "We did it! Mount Weather! Whoo! Whoo!"
Everyone continued cheering him on, happy that they were close to their destination. Jasper continued waving the sign around as everyone shouted. In a blink of an eye, a spear flew and impaled Jasper in the chest, making him fall back. Everybody gasped, freaking out what happened.
"Jasper," screamed Clarke. "Jasper!"
"Jasper!"
"Oh my God," Kaya mouthed, covering her mouth. Finn grabbed Kaya's arm, pulling her away from the view.
"Come on. Come on. Come on," he urged all of them. Finn pushed Kaya in front of him and went to grab Clarke.
"Jasper! Jasper!" Clarke shouted again.
"No. Come on," Finn insisted, dragging her with him. They a run down to the rocks close to the water, to hide them from view. "Get down. Get down," Finn hissed.
Their breathing was heavy. They were looking around frantically at the forest, feeling scared and nervous. Whoever had shot Jasper was moving around, either going away or ready to attack again.
"We're not alone," Clarke said, looking horrified.
"No, really," Kaya snapped, her finger numb at how hard she was clenching her jacket.
"We have to go." Finn pulled Clarke up. Seeing that she wasn't moving, he grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her up. "Come on, let's go."
They all got up and ran as fast as they could trying to get away from the river. Chaos happened, all of them running from there. They kept stumbling, and Clarke kept on stopping, looking back.
"Clarke, come on," Finn said, frustrated at her, forcing them to stop. They didn't stop running until Monty tripped. Octavia tried to help him get up, slowing them down.
"We got to go," Finn yelled, helping her.
"Hold on, hold on. What is that?" Kaya panted, seeing what made Monty tripped. They all looked around, seeing skeletons surrounding them. Kaya grimaced, grabbing Finn's arm. "What the hell is that?"
"Who are they?" Finn looked at the floor in confusion.
A flock of crows we're squawking around, making Kaya uneasy. She had read in one of the books from school that whenever those birds around there was a rotting corpse. She honestly hoped that it wasn't Jasper. Clarke bent down to pick one of the skulls. Looking at them closely, they skulls were not exactly human shaped.
"What are they?" she corrected him, staring at the skull.
"We are so screwed," Octavia said. In the distant, a scream erupted the tense silence. Jasper pained scream.
"Jasper. He's alive," Clarke breathed, getting up. Without a second, though, she ran back to the river, making Finn chase after her.
"Clarke, wait. Wait!"
Having no option, they all chased after the two of them.
"Wait," Finn finally reached Clarke and grabbed her. "Stay out of the trees. He was right there." Finn pointed out. Jasper wasn't where they had last seen him.
"Where is he?" Monty asked.
"They took him," Clarke breathed.
"Who took them?" Kaya asked in a breathless voice. "Who is they?"
"I don't know." Clarke almost moaned, her face ached in distress.
"We should go," Kaya said, looking around nervously. Her nails were biting down on Finn's arm. "They could still be here and... we could die... like..." She stopped, her breath going shallow. She placed one of her hands on her chest, feeling a famaliar pain in the chest.
"Kaya, breath. Count to ten." Finn grabbed her shoulders.
She nodded and slowly counted down. "Ten. Nine. Eight..."
"Is she okay?" Octavia looked worried.
"Panic attack," Monty explained. "Right?"
Kaya felt the pain lessen and when she reached to zero, she could breathe more normally. She nodded to herslef and pushed Finn away. "I'm fine. Let's go."
Finn looked unsure. "Kaya—"
"I said I was fine," she snapped. "Now let's go."
They looked surprised at her viciousness but didn't comment. Just like before, they ran as fast as they could back to the camp. They didn't stop running until they reached a familiar trail, that's when they started slowing down.
"Do you hear that?" Octavia asked, making everybody still.
There was a loud shouting coming from the camp. But it didn't sound scared, it was excited.
"What the hell is going on?" Clarke snapped, running ahead to see what was causing the commotion.
"Look a fight," Kaya said, realizing what was going on. "Another one. That's nice."
Finn shot her an annoyed look. "It's not funny Kaya." He walked away to be next to Clarke.
"Ever heard of sarcasm?" she muttered.
Clarke's voice was heard, yelling angrily. "Wells! Let him go!"
Kaya got in time to see Bellamy get in between the fight. "Enough, Murphy," he ordered, pushing him back. Begrudgingly, Murphy listened.
Bellamy rushed towards his sister. "Octavia. Are you alright?" He picked her up, seeing her grimace.
"Yeah, fine," Octavia assured him.
Bellamy looked at the group that arrived. "Where's the food?"
Finn sat down. "We didn't make it to Mount Weather," he said, sounding tired.
Kaya exhaled, brushing her hair out of her face.
"What the hell happened out there?" he demanded, looking at their sweaty faces.
"We were attacked," Kaya said shortly. Bellamy narrowed his eyes at her, going towards her.
"What?" she snapped.
"You're dead," he threatened.
"Attacked? By what?" Wells asked, wanting to know what was going on.
"Not what," Finn got in between them, acting as a barrier. "Who. It turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last Grounder. " Finn glared at him, daring him to say something to Kaya.
Clarke nodded. "It's true. Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong. 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.
Bellamy looked around, counting the group that came back. "Where's the kid with the goggles?"
"Jasper was hit. They took him," Clarke informed him. She looked at Wells' wrist noticing the metals absence. "Where is your wristband?" she snapped.
Wells glared at Bellamy. "Ask him."
Blake shifted at the sudden attention, glancing at Octavia uneasily. Kaya smirked, pleased that he's in the doghouse.
"How many?" Clarke snapped, looking ready to kill.
"Twenty-four and counting," Murphy bragged.
Clarke looked furious. "You idiots," she whispered. "Life support on the Ark is failing. That's why they brought us down here. 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!"
Bellamy seeing the fear growing in the crowd stepped in, refusing to let Clake win. "We're stronger than you think. 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?" Bellamy asked the delinquents. "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!"
Despite finding him being incredibly stupid, Kaya couldn't help but admire how confident he sounded. And wasn't the only one. The delinquent cheered and whooped, won over by his words. Kaya saw Clarke look at the delinquents in disgust. She walked towards Finn who was with Clarke.
"Bellamy's not that smart," Kaya offered. "Soon they're going to see through his charade and come to their senses."
Clarke looked surprised at her attempt to comfort her. She nodded in appreciation.
"So what do we do now?" Finn asked Clarke.
Clarke's face became determined. "Now we go after Jasper."
Kaya wasn't paying attention anymore, going behind Finn when she saw Bellamy searching the camp for someone. With the deadly look, he wore, Kaya took a stab that it was her. She was definitely in trouble.
"Bellamy, I'm fine," Octavia pushed him off for the hundredth time.
"No, you're not," he snapped. His eyes darted up again, in search for Kaya. He couldn't find her but knew that she was probably hiding from her. Octavia rolled her eyes but allowed him to fuss over her.
"Where is she?" Bellamy asked Octavia.
"Who?" She wore a puzzled look, but he saw right through it.
"Kaya," he snapped. "I'm going to kill her."
"Bellamy it isn't her fault," Octavia defended her. "It's mine. How was she supposed to know this was going to happen? No one knew, it was a stupid accident."
Bellamy knew she was right, but his stupid overprotectiveness would refuse to let her get away with it.
"Bellamy she's my friend, please let it go," Octavia pleaded.
Bellamy glowered, not saying anything. He looked up to finally see her. She was in front of the dropship with Blondie and Spacewalker. They were all talking, at least Blondie and Spacewalker were. Kaya looked distracted, looking around.
Her eyes meet him and he saw her cringe, breaking eye contact and hiding in front of Spacewalker.
He smirked, pleased that at least she was intimidated by him
"What happened here?" Octavia asked, making him look at her.
Bellamy shook his head. "No, no. You're going to tell me what happened. Since the moment, you guys left."
"Bellamy."
"Octavia," he warned.
She huffed fine. "Fine," she adjusted where she was sitting. "We were following Clarke, she had the map..."
"So looks like it's just going to be us four," Kaya realized when she saw no one wanting to go to the back and get Jasper. Only Clarke and Wells were determined to go. They had gone inside the dropship to grab supplies. Finn and her were nearby the dropship, under a tree.
"Four?" Finn echoed. "I don't think so. It's just going to be them two." He pointed inside the dropship.
"Excuse me?" Kaya turned to face him. "What do you mean them two? I don't know about you, but I'll going."
"No, you're not." Finn shook his head, giving her a disbelieving look.
"Like hell, I'm not. I'm going," she pushed him.
"No, I'm not," Finn glared at her. "It's too dangerous."
She smiled tightly. "Finn you can't tell me what to do. Especially here. So back off."
Finn glared at her. "Since when did you become reckless?"
She pursed her lips, hating his disapproving voice. Ignoring him, Kaya walked to the dropship. She heard Finn sigh and followed her inside. Going inside, Kaya saw Clarke away from Wells.
Clarke seeing, walked up to them. "Hey. You two ready?"
"I am," perked up Kaya but was pushed back by overbearing Finn.
"She's not going anywhere, or me and neither should any of you. That spear was thrown with pinpoint accuracy from 300 feet."
"Now you're good at math," Kaya muttered, earning a dark look from Finn.
"Kaya stop. We're not going," he told her in a patronizing voice.
Clarke looked angry. "So what, we let Jasper die?" Monty demanded.
"That's not gonna happen," Clarke stopped Monty. She turned to Finn. "Spacewalker?" she scoffed. "What a joke. You think you're such an adventurer. You're really just a coward."
Finn shook his head, grabbing her arm. "It's not an adventure, Clarke, it's a suicide mission."
Clarke just shook her head, not believing him and moved away from him. Kaya rushed to get in front of her.
"I'll go. Unless you want to be stubborn," Kaya said to Clarke, daring her to deny her.
"Okay. Follow me. We have one more stop to make," Clarke said in her patronizing voice, making Kaya roll her eyes.
"Build a wall. Use the fallen trees," she heard Wells instruct to Finn, making him useful before following Clarke.
She glanced to see Monty shot Finn a disappointed look. "Jasper looked up to you," he said before walking away.
Kaya felt bad for Finn but didn't feel like doing anything. He deserved it. Going to the exit of the dropship, following Clarke's footsteps, Kaya felt someone pulled her by the arm.
"What are you doing?" hissed Finn. "I said you're not going."
"Let go, Finn," she commanded, pulling away from him. "And don't tell me what to do."
"I thought we already talked about this."
"We did and I said I'm going. You stay if you want."
"This is a suicide mission," he repeated his earlier words.
"You were the one who picked Jasper to go with us," she reminded him.
"Are you saying this is my fault this happened?" Finn demanded. "Are freaking kidding me?"
"Well kinda of," she said hastily. "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be in this mess."
Finn looked as if Kaya had slapped him. "What the fuck? With the two kids death, you said that it wasn't my fault even though they followed my lead and here with Jasper same thing you blame me?!"
"Stop twisting my words," she snapped at him. "I mean—"
"No I get what you mean," Finn spat. "That you're hypocritical."
This time, it felt Finn had slapped him.
"Kaya lets go!" Clarke shouted from outside. "We're waiting."
Finn gave her a terse look. "You should go," he said in a hard voice.
Kaya nodded, agreeing is best of their apart. "I guess I should," Kaya muttered, before walking out of the dropship to Clarke and Wells.
A burning guilt went through her, at blaming Finn but brushed it off. She knew he was right, it was stupid for them to go but she didn't want to stay in the camp. She had gone with them for an adventure and she was going to finish it. Also, it would be a great way to get away from Bellamy's wrath. His look was deadly enough, imagine when he got to her.
"Is he coming?" An impatient Clarke looked at the dropship expectantly.
She shook her head. "So we're going now?" Kaya asked her.
"No one last stop," Clarke said.
"Where?"
"To Bellamy," muttered Wells, looking disgruntled.
"What?" faltered Kaya. One of her selfish reason she was going was to avoid Bellamy. "Why do we need him?"
"She needs to talk to him."
"Why?" No, no. I cannot be near him.
"He's the leader," Wells said bitterly.
"Wait. Bellamy is the leader?" She cringed at being at their leader's bad side. Thomas words rang inside her head
"Get close to the people who influence. There is always going to be a leader in a group. It's a natural response for people to seek a leader, someone to guide them. Those people will be your safety net. Doesn't matter if you agree with their ways but you need them."
"He has taken the role of one," Clarke said bitterly.
"You could have been killed," Bellamy was saying to his sister as he fixed her leg wound.
"And she would have been if Jasper hadn't jumped in to pull her out," Clarke said, interrupting their conversation.
"Are you guys leaving?" Octavia said urgently, pulling her pant leg down. "I'm coming too—"
"No, no, no," Blake said firmly, putting out a hand to keep her in place. "No way, not again."
"He's right," Clarke agreed. "Your leg's just going to slow us down." Her attention shifted to Bellamy. "I'm here for you."
"Clarke what are you doing?" Wells whispered, shooting Bellamy a dark look. Clarke ignored his protests.
"I hear you have a gun," Clarke informed Bellamy. He smirked, and raised his shirt, showing off his gun. "Good. Follow me."
"And why would I do that?" he asked, looking slightly amused.
Clarke raised her eyebrows, smirking. "Because you want them to follow you, and right now, they're thinking only one of us is scared." Her voice was mocking, daring him to back down from the challenge after he had made a huge show that there was nothing to fear and then, later on, refusing to go and save one of them. Clarke walked away with Wells and Kaya at her heels.
"Do you think Bellamy is going to come?" she asked timidly to Wells.
"God you're like the rest," muttered Wells.
"Excuse me?"
"Of course, you want Bellamy to go." Wells wore an annoyed look.
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't get it, what's so great about him? Is it because he's good looking? Or is it his voice? Or his attitude?" Wells continued complaining. Kaya looked at him as if he grew a second head.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Why do you like Bellamy?" he asked, annoyed.
"What?" Kaya sounded like a broken record.
"Now that you know Bellamy is going, you're all gun go of coming."
Her eyes widened, realizing what he was implying. "I don't like Bellamy," she said quickly.
"Sure," Wells said sarcastically.
"Shut up Wells," she ordered him. He gave her a look that said he didn't believe her. "I don't." Kaya surprised him and herself by punching his shoulder. She cringed, expecting him to yell at her but instead he laughed.
"I'm just kidding about you liking him," Wells smiled. "I saw that you're not a fan of his."
She relaxed slightly and nodded. "Yeah, not really. I'm trying to avoid him actually."
"Why?"
"I might have, sort of, promised to take care of his sister and then kinda, almost got her killed," Kaya said hastily.
"And now he's after your blood?" Wells nodded in understanding. "Be careful of that asshole, when he wants something he'll get it." His words were bitter. Something definitely had happened while they were gone.
"I'm taking that he already tried something on you?"
"Yeah. Almost got me killed. By taking off my wristband."
"Oh my sorry," she apologized.
He gave her a bitter smile before walking to Clarke to probably argue.
"Those guys aren't just bullies, Clarke," Wells tried reasoning with Clarke. "They're dangerous criminals."
"I'm counting on it," Clarke simply said.
Kaya heard voices behind her making her look back.
Aw crap, they're here, she groaned internally.
Bellamy and his lackey, Murphy, we're whispering to each other but not quite enough because she manage to overhear the last words.
"...I'm getting that wristband, even if I have to cut off her hand to do it," she heard Bellamy say to Murphy.
Kaya tried not to falter at hearing that. Looking at her empty wrist, she felt relief
"Hey!" Bellamy called out as he caught up to them. Kaya saw that Bellamy was holding the gun in the air carelessly. She frowned and continued walking, getting away from him. "Hold up! What's the rush? You don't survive a spear through the heart."
"Put the gun away, Bellamy," Wells said immediately, turning to face them.
"Why don't you do something about it, huh?" Murphy responded, stepping forward and pushing Wells back.
Clarke, like always, ignored their arguing. "Jasper screamed when they moved him. If the spear struck his heart, he'd have died instantly. It doesn't mean we have time to waste."
Bellamy reached out to grab her wrist. "As soon as you take this wristband off, we can go."
Clarke jerked her hand away, glaring. "The only way the Ark is gonna think I'm dead is if I'm dead. Got it?" His voice was firm, showing off her strong character.
Kaya smiled at her. Despite her bossiness and uptight personality, Kaya had to admire her refusal. Maybe Finn was right, she wasn't that bad. She just needed to relax.
"Brave princess," Bellamy smirked, thinking the same thing.
"Hey, why don't you find your own nickname?" Everybody turned to see Finn walking towards them.
Kaya's eyes widened, surprised to see him. He seemed determined of not want to go at this 'suicide mission'. And now here he was. What made him change his mind?
"You call this a rescue party?" Finn scoff. "Got to split up, cover more ground. Clarke, come with me."
"What the fuck?" Kaya muttered when she saw Finn grab Clarke's arm and drag her away from the rest of the group.
Finn had completely ignored her. She didn't count the dark look he shot her when he had walk towards Clarke. He's definitely mad at her.
Bellamy and Murphy shared a look, before continuing walking. She could hear Murphy and Bellamy whispering again. Shoving her hands into her pockets, she took bigger strides to get away from those two. And Wells.
She was tired of being around guys. They were confusing and frustrating.
"Your secret's safe with me. Of course, for you, it's worse. With Finn around, Clarke doesn't even see you. It's like you're not even here."
Bellamy enjoyed the discomfort he brought to Wells, the son of the Chancellor. He deserved it. Wells have been causing problems around the camp. And it was a way to retaliate for what his dad did to him and his family. Bellamy pushed his bitterness to the side and focused on the important things.
Instead, Bellamy looked ahead, literally, to watch Kaya walked by herself. He hadn't missed her sour face she made when Finn grabbed Clarke and walked away with her. And the expression Finn gave her. It was obvious he was trying to make her jealous.
Seems like we have a lovers' quarrel, he mused, already thinking of what can he do with that.
He saw Murphy go up to her and try to talk to her. Whatever he said to her, seemed to piss her off, because she shoved him, making Murphy fall to the floor. Bellamy was surprised to see Murphy laugh and not attack the girl.
She's hot, he thought, watching her march off. He had noticed that when he first saw her. She had a nice face and body, from what he could tell. He appreciated her kind. Tall and lean. He wondered how old she was, hoping she was at least seventeen.
But she has a boyfriend, a voice rang.
He smirked, not deterred. If Finn was her boyfriend, he was a shitty one. He had picked Princess instead of Kaya, probably to make the blonde one jealous.
But I can help her, make him jealous. I like helping people, he mused, watching her ass. He frowned when he remembered what she did to Octavia. But first, need to sort out the Octavia problem.
Kaya felt someone join her and sighed in annoyance. He couldn't take a hint.
"Go away Murphy," she snapped, ready to punch him.
"What the hell did Murphy say to piss you off?" Kaya heard from behind her.
That's not Murphy, Kaya realized, stopping. Turning around she saw who it was. A serious Bellamy Blake. "Oh."
"I said nothing has to happen to her and you failed," Bellamy accused her.
She turned around, refusing to see his annoyed look. "No, I'm pretty sure you said alive."
"I said safe," Bellamy insisted, joining her side.
"No. You said alive," Kaya disagreed.
She heard Bellamy make a frustrated noise, making her smile. "Why can't you admit you weren't able to do so?"
"You're so overprotective. She's gonna get hurt at one point. Coddling her isn't going to help her."
"I'm her brother. You don't understand because you don't have a sibling."
"And thank God I don't have one, because if I did, I would kill myself," she muttered.
Bellamy grabbed her arm, making Kaya face him. "She was hurt."
"Bellamy let it go. She's fine."
"No, she's not. She's limping,"
"So what if she's a bit maimed? The important thing is she's alive. Would you rather have her dead but not limping?" Bellamy glared at her, not appreciating her logic. "Fine, I'm sorry. I'm sorry your sister got hurt. I'm sorry that I didn't do a better job. Now that's I've done my begging, what are you going to do?"
Bellamy glared slightly, only because he looked confused. "What?"
"You said you were going to make me regret living. So what are you going to do?" She put her hands on her hip, lifting her chin up.
Bellamy licked his lips, his anger disappearing, and amusement appearing. "Tough puppy aren't you?"
She frowned, not sure what to take of that. "Not really but," she stopped talking when Bellamy laughed.
"You know, ignoring that you almost got my sister killed, you're not that bad," he admitted, still smiling.
She frowned, finding his behavior with her off-putting. Where all guys like that? She didn't have that much experience, she had honestly forgotten how to interact with people. Especially with guys. Thomas and Finn didn't count, they were basically the same person, except with different hair color and eyes.
"Can we move now?" she sighed, not wanting to overthink everything.
Bellamy motioned her to go first. Silently they walked through the forest. Internally Kaya was jumping up and down, not being able to believe what she just did. She had just had a stare down with Bellamy.
That wasn't like her. She was a generally shy person. For fuck sake, the reason she and Finn were friends was because of Finns incessant persistence. He introduced her to Raven and with a little coaxing from both people, Kaya became friends with her. Same went for Thomas, he kept badgering for almost a year until she gave in. Even Octavia was the one who started the conversation.
She was a shy person. Who followed her dad's orders and hid behind her drawings. And here she was, talking back to a guard and getting in a fight with her best friend.
She could feel her breath getting heavy, realizing that she made a fool out of herself. What if Bellamy thought she was stupid? Or annoying? She realized that he was right , that it was her fault that she didn't take care of Octavia. What a crappy person she was. Look at Finn, she basically threw in his face that it was his fault that Jasper got shot and the other two kids dying.
She ran her finger through her hair, and placed a shaky hand over her mouth, trying to breathe. She already knew what was going to happen. It was that familiar sensation.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six—oh crap. It's not working.
Feeling the world get smaller, she leaned against a tree trunk, making Bellamy collided with her.
"Hey, are you okay?" She heard Bellamy's jumbled voice.
Kaya wanted to answers but all she could muster were numbers. "Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven..." she mumbled.
"Hey, hey!" Bellamy's voice sounded worried. "Kaya."
He grabbed her arm roughly and pushed her against the tree. She continued mumbling numbers, still feeling the uncomfortable sensation in her chest. "... Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Seven —no. Again. One. Two..."
Bellamy grabbed her face, squishing her cheeks. "What's going on?" he demanded.
Kaya let a hysterical sound, freaking out that she couldn't breathe. "It's not working. Why isn't is working?" Her voice broke off, gasping for air.
Finally understanding what was going on, Bellamy let go of her face. "Okay. You're having a panic attack."
She closed her eyes, making noises, frustrated.
"Kaya, listen to my voice," ordered Bellamy.
Kaya could listen but couldn't respond, her hand was shaking badly. She could hear Bellamy muttering until she felt a sting in her cheek, making her gasp. Her eyes flew open, grabbing her stinging cheek.
"Fuck," she whimpered, feeling the damp cheek. Had she been crying? "Damn.,,"
"There," Bellamy smug voice said. "I helped end your panic attack and I got you back."
Letting go of her cheek, she hastily wiped her tears, feeling an overwhelming sensation wash over her. "I'm sorry," she muttered.
Bellamy frowned. "Why are you apologizing? I just smacked you. And enjoyed it a little too much."
She ran her fingers through her hair, feeling frustrated and embarrassed that Bellamy witnessed her meltdown.
"Sorry, that you saw... This." Kaya motioned to her distraught self.
Bellamy surprisingly looked sympathetic. "It's fine. I was really worried for a second. Especially with the numbers. Thought you were having a mental meltdown. What was that about?"
Kaya cringed, feeling her cheeks flush. "When I have these attacks, I count. It helps, it distracts me from the real problem." One of my problems.
"Is that why you said it isn't working?" Bellamy questioned. "The counting?"
"It always works and when it wasn't working—" she stopped, exhaling deeply, trying to calm herself. "I really lost it. So thanks for the slap, that helped."
Bellamy gave her a half smile. "You seem to get them often, from the sound of it."
"Yep," she nodded, pressing her back against the trunk and putting her hands on her thighs, still feeling light headed. "All the time. It's horrible."
"So this is your first one on Earth?"
She shook her head. "Nope but this is the worst one I've had so far and you had the honor to watch it evolve," she muttered bitterly.
"You don't have to be embarrassed. My sister would get them all the time when she was on the floor. She hated it. She was claustrophobic, the irony actually."
"Really?" Kaya said in a breathy voice.
He nodded. "Do you feel better? Or should I slap you again?"
"Slap me and I'll stab you," Kaya half threatened, remembering her small knife she had. Her hand went to her back, where it was not really safely tuck
Bellamy laughed. "Such a tough puppy."
"Stop calling me that," she grumbled. Straightening up Kaya realized that they were alone. "Where's Murphy and Wells?"
Bellamy shrugged. "Bonding," he drawled. "Just like you and me."
"Poor Wells," she sympathized. "Being the son of the Chancellor is already bad enough."
Bellamy rolled his eyes. "Start walking Blondie."
"It's Kaya," she snapped but started walking and he went to her side.
"Kaya," Bellamy mused, enunciating her name slowly. "Never have I heard off that name before. It's a strange name."
"So is Bellamy," she retorted.
"What's your last name?" he asked. She looked at him warily. He raised his eyebrow expectantly.
"Campbell."
Bellamy grinned and Kaya immediately regretted telling him her last name. "If you don't like Blondie, then start walking, Campbell." Knowing it was no use fighting with a stubborn guy, she let it go and ignored him. "What did Murphy say to you, to make you shove him and laugh?" Bellamy asked.
Kaya glowered at the ground. "Made an inappropriate joke how a body like mine is illegal and that's why I got arrested. And then he said if I'm the sun because I raise his cock."
"That's disgusting," Bellamy said, frowning in distaste.
"That's what I thought. I can't hat's what he decided to tell me for the first time in years. He's definitely gotten perverted."
"Hold on, you know Murphy?" He looked at her in surprise.
"I wouldn't say know. His dad knew my dad. My dad made me one time go to where he lived and deliver a... package," Kaya said hastily. She wasn't sure why she was hesitating. She couldn't get floated for what she had done but that didn't mean she was proud. Delivering illegal medicine wasn't exactly that bad, there were worse things. Like hiding an illegal child. "Anyways, John or Murphy as he prefers now, answered the door. I went to his house like ten times and each time he would answer it. Always made a small comment and that's it."
"Do you think he had a crush on you?" Bellamy grinned.
Kaya snorted. "I was thirteen in the awkward phase. I was shy and didn't like to interact with people, making me weird around people. I don't think so."
"I don't know. Awkward you've probably always been. But other than that..." She could feel Bellamy checking her out. "I don't see why not, especially with that charming comment."
She turned around to face him. "That wouldn't be a crush. That would be lusting."
"What's the difference?" Bellamy shrugged.
She remembered who she was talking to. A guy. "I've forgotten how guys are," she laughed, continuing walking.
"Don't worry, I'm different from the other."
"That's what they all say. Along with, don't worry, this will be fun, you'll love it."
They had reached a clearing that had a small river. It wasn't the one that Octavia got attacked. Kaya wondered if this river had a dangerous creature.
She watched the water mystified. Ever since Octavia jumped into the water, she's been itching to do the same. Not even the mysterious sea monster deferred her urge to go in the water.
Get in. You deserve a break. That panic attack to a toll on you, a voice urged her.
Making her decision, Kaya started taking her shoes and socks off. Casting them to the side, she pulled down her pants. She beamed when she touched the cool water with her toes. She felt herself vibrate with excitement.
"What are you doing?" asked Bellamy from behind, bewildered. "I'm not complaining about the view but what are you doing?"
"Going to the water," she replied simply, taking off her shirt, leaving her with her underwear, bra and tank top.
"Wait—what? No, you can't. Octavia got attacked in the water and you want to go in? Are you insane?"
"She got attacked in the deep end, I'm only going to be in the shallow area. So you can calm down," Kaya reminded him.
"We're supposed to be looking for Jasper," Bellamy reminded her.
"Didn't you say no one survives a spear to the heart?"
"Then what the hell are you here?"
She shrugged. "I was trying to get away from you but it didn't work. You're right in front of me, taking away my limited happiness."
Going to the water, she slowly entered until it reached her thighs and then submerged herself completely, gasping as the cold water hit her. She went up and brushed her hair back, laughing.
She was wrong before about the glowing trees being the best thing on Earth. It was the water. The feeling of being engulfed was beyond words. It was cool against her skin and slippery. She loved it. It was so strange here, being happy all the time. Kaya couldn't remember, in her seventeen years, when was the last time she smiled or laughed this much.
And it scared her. It scared her there will be an expression date for her smiles and that she no longer will feel whole again. She didn't want that, but Kaya couldn't help and laugh when she scooped some water with both of her hands and it dripped down her arm. Kaya turned around to see Bellamy staring at her with an intense look on his face.
"Are you going to watch or what?" she asked, raising her eyebrows, going back playing with the water.
"Well if you say it in that tone," Bellamy said sarcastically. Glancing up, she saw Bellamy stripping off his shirt and proceeding with his pants.
Not really caring about him anymore, Kaya focused in the water. She felt like a child, every discovering she made was new and mind blowing. With a splash Bellamy got in the water, shuddering. He had gotten wet from his waist down. Kaya laughed at his reaction, splashing more water to him.
"Stop that," he ordered, shielding himself from her. He moved around her, getting closer.
"Stop what?" Kaya continued splashing him.
Frustrated, he tackled her into the water, submerging her into the cold water. She gasped under water, making the water bubble. With one push, she moved him away from her. She went up to the surface, gasping for how cold it was.
"Crap. It's cold."
She could hear Bellamy laugh, making her splash him. Both of them fully submerged in the water, only their faces could be seen.
"I should have drowned you," he said, looking annoyed.
Kaya glared at him. "Fine, I get. You're still pissed about Octavia."
He shrugged. "Yeah but also you were annoying me."
"I'm annoying?" She hadn't realized she had been.
Bellamy ran has hand over wet his hair, making it look slick. "When you're denying about not protecting Octavia."
"You're never going to let that go, are you?"
"No."
"What can I do to make you forget?"
"A lot of things," Bellamy grinned, getting closer to her. "What's up with you and your boyfriend?"
She frowned, confused. "Boyfriend?"
"Finn." He gave her a knowing look. "Saw the two of you be icy with each other."
Kaya sighed. There goes her good mood. "He's not my boyfriend."
A look crossed his face. For a second she thought it was a disappointment but she couldn't be sure because his face had changed, wearing a devious smile. He moved closer to her, making her move back. Kaya stopped when she hit a rock.
"I was thinking that a way to piss of your boyfriend was to give him a taste of his medicine but looks like plans have changed."
"What?" She swallowed, feeling confused and nervous. He was so close to her, allowing her to see that he had freckles.
"Are you afraid?" he smirked.
"No," she breathed.
She wasn't stupid. Kaya knew what he was trying to do. What he wanted. It's just that Kaya didn't know what to do. She was afraid that if she pushed him off, he would get mad and she didn't want that. Thomas advice kept ringing. She needed Bellamy by her side. If she didn't, she was going to end up like Wells, beaten up or Clarke, who may or may not lose an arm.
"I'm just waiting for you," she said.
"Good." Bellamy got even closer. Taking a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, Kaya gave him a smile. He's a guy, what do guys want?
As if reading her mind, Bellamy leaned in and kissed her. Kaya was surprised but didn't push him off. Quickly regaining her composure and trying to remind herself how to kiss, Kaya returned him the favor, pressing herself closer to her. She bit his lower lip, making him push her even more to the rock.
He's in, she mentally high-fived herself.
He had overheard the guards talking about how the signal for several of the delinquents wristbands had disappeared. They had named a few names, not all, and wasn't sure whether or not he didn't hear Kaya names.
It was frustrating that they had lost communication with the kids. Now they wouldn't know what was happening down there. The biggest theory they had was that they were dying. But it didn't make sense. It the radio
"Hey! Thomas!" someone called out his name, making him cringe and reluctantly turned around.
It was Raven, someone who he had been trying to avoid.
Their relationship was odd. They weren't friends, or so that's what Raven would tell him (she like him but would never admit it). They meet when Raven went to visit Kaya about two years ago. He greeted her cheerily making Raven look at him as he grew two heads. After that whenever she would come and visit Kaya, he would be there, to escort her to Kaya's cell. Thomas would try and make small talk with her, asking about Kaya and how long has she known her, stories about her and overall just to be friendly. But Raven found him annoyingly cheery—making him realize that's where Kaya got her snarkiness.
"Are you avoiding me?" she demanded.
"No," he lied, giving her his usual smile, that felt forced and she would see through.
"Good," she smiled, not seeing anything wrong with him. "What was is going on?"
"Excuse me? What's going on? Nothing is going on. I'm just walking." Thomas felt his inside cringe at how obvious he was being. He had never good at lying, he was an honest guy. An open book they would call them. A terrible liar from his side and a persistent curiosity from Raven, it was not a good combination.
Raven gave him a look. "Don't act stupid Thomas, you're a smart guy. And a guard, that means you know what's happening. What is the counsel hiding?"
"A check up is happening. Something broke and their fixing it. Nothing to worry about," Thomas waved her off.
Raven narrowed her eyes. "You're lying," she accused him. "You're a terrible liar. Everybody knows that. You're lying."
"I'm not lying." He tried to look straight in her eyes, hoping she believed him. Raven watched him carefully.
"Okay, fine. I'm letting it go." Thomas tried to hold his sigh of relief. "For now."
And tried to hold back his groan. He refused to insist that it was nothing, fearing that would only make things worse. He was better at keeping his mouth shut.
"What about the quarantine?" Raven asked. "When am I able to visit Finn? Or Kaya?"
Never, he thought. "I don't know. A lot of the delinquent got affected so they're trying to keep it for a while. It's a mess, we're trying to fix it. Even the guards are being numbered, not all allowed in," he resisted what they had been told to say to the people.
Raven deflated, unhappy about the situation. Thomas congratulated himself for making the lie believable.
"I'm sorry," he tried
Raven nodded dejectedly. "That sucks."
"Yeah it does," Thomas agreed, thinking about the half truth he told her. It was a mess, they didn't know how bad it was. And weren't sure when they were going to find out.
"But it's weird," Raven mused.
"What weird?" he asked quickly.
"The whole thing. The deploy and that the delinquents are in quarantine. Something doesn't fit."
"There have been quarantined before," Thomas pointed out, trying to keep her off track.
"No. Not like this, something isn't wrong," she grabbed his arm. "Come on, don't tell me you aren't a bit suspicious of anything?"
Thomas laughed nervously. "Raven don't be paranoid. Don't make a big deal out of something small, no matter how weird you find it."
Raven shook her head. "Don't you care? What happens to Kaya?"
Thomas glared at her, his nervousness gone. "Of course, I do. That's why I'm not trying to think of the worse. I will lose my mind. They're fine." I really, really hope they are, if not...
"I'm sorry, I just have a bad feeling. Finn and Kaya are my family, I don't want anything to happen to them."
"I understand," Thomas told her gently, accepting the apology. "I get that you're worried, they would be too if it was the opposite."
"They would want to find out," Raven said eagerly. Thomas nodded. "You're a guard. Can't you get more information about what's going on? Please? I'm sounding desperate, that's how much I'm worried."
Thomas nodded, defeated. He wanted to calm her down and himself, in honesty.
"I'll go see what I can find out," he said, making Raven brighten. "But I can't make you promises. Okay?"
"Okay, okay, okay," she grinned.
"Good."
Raven pushed him away. "Okay then go."
Thomas blinked. "What?"
"Go and find out what is going on." She swatted him to get away from her.
"I can't go right now. I have a job," he exclaimed.
Raven gave him a look. "That is currently on hold. You said it yourself, guards are being cut off."
"What make you think I'm one of them?" Thomas asked, offended.
She snorted. "No offense, but you're not exactly guard material. I'm surprised you're even one."
"What the hell? I'm trying really hard not to be offended."
"You're too soft. Too nice. You wouldn't hurt a fly. I can be a better guard than you," Raven said smugly.
"Keep it up Reyes and I'll float you," he threatened.
"It's a joke dude. I thought you were all sunshine and rainbows but I guess you aren't," Raven smiled. "I'm glad you aren't. It's not normal for someone to be that happy."
"It's like I'm talking to Kaya," Thomas muttered. "But I'm going to go before you insult me more."
Raven rolled his eyes. "Don't forget," she reminded his retreating form.
"Forget what?" he called over his shoulder.
"I'm serious Thomas," she shouted.
He laughed and took a turn to the left. He continued walking, not sure what to do. Should I find out more? he wondered. He did want to know what was going on but was afraid to what he would see. Thomas knew that Raven would continue pestering him and when she would realize that he wouldn't help, she would take manners to her own hand. Probably getting her in trouble.
Making his mind, he headed to where all the data was being held. And where he knew for sure that Dr. Griffin would be. She practically lived in that room. The only time she would leave is to check the Chancellor, that got shot.
Thomas walked in hesitantly to the room, where it was solely occupied by the women. She didn't seem to know he was in the room, to absorbed at staring at the monitor that had various stats with images of the delinquents. Some of the delinquent stats were blank, having no signal. He tried to find Kaya's but it was impossible, there were too many delinquents. Straightening up his posture and uniform, he gripped his gun for a second, seeking the courage.
"Dr. Griffin," he called out tentatively.
The woman turned around. "Oh hello Thomas. And Abby I keep telling your knucklehead."
He smiled lightly but refused to call her Abby. She deserved to be named after her title.
"What can I do for you, Thomas? Are you okay?" She went immediately into doctor mode.
"No, I'm fine," he brushed off her concern. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you. I just ..." Thomas hesitated, not sure if he should ask.
But Dr. Griffin seemed to know what he wanted. "About the kids?"
"Yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. This was harder than he thought. "I know this is a secret but I really wanted to know how's it going?"
"It's fine. A lot of people are worried. Though I'm surprised you are."
"I know a few people who are down Earth," he said vaguely.
Dr. Griffin nodded in understanding. "You must care about them if you're here looking for me."
"They mean a lot. And I really want to know if they're okay."
"What's their name?" Dr. Griffin was already on a computer, ready to type their name
"Uh, Finn Collin's and Kaya Campbell."
She quickly typed Finns name first. His image appeared along with his information and from what he could decipher, he had a steady pulse. He nodded, pleased that he would have good news for Raven. When Dr. Griffin typed next Kaya's name, he felt his inside grow cold, when he saw signal lost.
No, no, no, no, he repeated. She can't be dead. She can't.
"I'm sorry Thomas," Dr. Griffin went towards him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
He took a deep breath and gave her a terse nod. "What is going on?"
She sighed, rubbing his face in frustration. "I wish I knew Thomas. We lost all connection to them and it's hard to see what happenings with all their signals disappearing."
"How many?" He looked at the monitor, not liking what he was seeing.
"Going to thirty," she frowned.
He inhaled, that was a lot of numbers. But at least it wasn't over half. "I wonder what's happening? It can't be radiation."
"Why would you say that?" Dr. Griffin looked at him curiously.
Thomas felt embarrassed. "I was just a thought."
"No, no. Tell me. It's refreshing to hear that it's radiation."
In that moment, Thomas could see how tired and stress Dr. Griffin looked.
Thomas nodded. He took a step forward the monitors. "Well, there a hundred delinquents, that are clever and come up with the craziest things. And only thirty have lost their signals. The rest are still there. What happens before a signal disappears?"
Dr. Griffin was looking at him with utmost interest. "There's a spike in their vitals before the signal disappears."
Thomas pursed his lips. "It means they go through a small pain. Kinda like the one they felt when we placed the bracelets."
Dr. Griffin looked at him in awe. "Are you saying that something they're doing is causing Thor signal to disappear?"
"They're teenagers. They're probably messing with the bracelets, trying to figure out what it's supposed to be. It was no secret that they hated them."
Dr. Griffin smiled tiredly. "If only the council thought like you."
"It's just a thought. I don't know but it's better than think that they're dying." Dr. Griffin assistant came into the room, making Thomas step back. "Thank you, Dr. Griffin," he told her sincerely.
She smiled at him. "Abby is fine Thomas, don't treat me like a strange. I've known you since you were a child. I was your pediatrician."
Thomas blushed, at the reminded of Dr. Griffin forcing him to pull down his pants, to stay just in his underwear, when he was six for his check up.
"Yeah, but not anymore," Thomas mumbled. "Goodbye."
"Bye Thomas. Don't hesitate to come back," Dr. Griffin waved at him before getting distracted by something she was shown.
"Don't worry I won't," he whispered to himself. Thomas didn't learn much but there was still a possibility.
When getting out if the room, in the corner of his eye he saw Raven sneaking around, surely up to something.
He sighed. Of course she wouldn't let it go. Dammit Raven.
Going to a corner, close to the room where Dr. Griffin was, he leaned against the wall and waited. Ready for Raven to get caught and kicked out of the room.
The chapter song I had in mind, especially the water scene, was Swimming by Florence and the Machine.
Thanks for everything! Leave reviews! Reviews would really help to see if I made the right decision.
Any errors I will fix!
Disclaimer: I don't own the 100, just my OC's
