Chapter 7- The Thrill of the Hunt
Octavia's POV
Octavia woke the next morning well rested. She sat up on the edge of her makeshift bed and started rubbing her leg. The torn edges of skin appeared to be healing together and the flesh was no longer hot and red. "It is healing quite nicely," she thought to herself as she cleaned off the poultice, "I can't believe that Grounder saved me like he did. And why did he just drop me off like a package outside of camp?" Octavia had to pull herself from her thoughts when she heard her brother calling to her. She quickly covered her leg and the poultice she was about to use under the fur. "Hey, Bell. What's up" she called out to him.
Bellamy took her answer as an invitation and entered her small tent. He stood near the end of her bed and looked down at her. Octavia's face bloomed red, and Bellamy laughed out loud at her, "What's wrong lil sis?"
She tried to hide her secret injury so she wouldn't have to tell him everything that happened that day at the river. "It's nothing Bell, I was just trying to get dressed when you showed up. I can't stand wearing the same clothes every day! I think I'm gonna have to go wash them today. Maybe I can save these," she said, gesturing to her worn pants.
Bellamy picked up the pants and spoke, "Well put them on, I want you to come hunting with us today." He tossed the pants down next to her and noticed the fur on her bed. "Hey, where did you find this?" he asked, petting the fur.
Octavia shrugged and said, "I don't know really, I found it when I went to sleep night before last. I figured that someone thought I needed it." She couldn't lie about the fur; she really didn't know where it came from.
"Oh," her brother sounded perplexed by the fur's appearance. "Well just hurry up and get ready. You can wash your clothes later, you'll probably need to." Bellamy smiled and headed to the center fire to meet with his group.
Octavia could feel her heart beating in every part of her body. She thought Bellamy was going to start questioning her more about the fur, but thankfully he accepted her answer without a fight. She applied the last of the poultice to her leg and wrapped it quickly before dressing. She could only hope that her brother wouldn't notice her limping.
Octavia left the camp with her brother after she met him by the fire. When Bellamy noticed her approaching, he dismissed the guards that work sentry at night. She looked at them as she passed, but they all avoided her gaze. Her brother rose with two of his men and walked toward her. He held out a spear to her, and Octavia grasped it firmly and judged its weight in her hand. "Thank you" she nodded to her brother. He smiled down at her and turned her toward the forest. They headed out silently, Bellamy leading and his men taking the rear.
They walked through the trees quickly, trying to reach the deeper wood that their people did not disturb during their daily activities. She looked to her brother, who moved quietly beside her. When he didn't notice her she finally called out to him. "So Bellamy, What are we hunting today? Deer, boar, rabbits?" She held her weapon, a rudimentary spear, swinging idly in her right hand.
"Whatever the Fates put in front of us dear sister," he said cryptically. Octavia wondered what he meant by his statement, but she distracted herself by looking around the trees. She could hear the birds and other small game in the forest, moving about their lives without a care in the world. Oh, how she longed to find such peace. She smelled the air and sighed. She continued walking along with the silent group.
Bellamy's POV
Bellamy called his sentries together when he left his sister's tent. His sister seemed to spend as much time out of camp as she did within its walls. She had been missing from camp the last 2 days when he returned from hunting. He questioned the guards about her comings and goings, and they told him that they only seen her leave a couple of times. Bellamy chastised the young men for their lapse of attention and ordered them to work harder. If his baby sister could slip by so easily, surely the Grounders could do the same.
He looked over at his sister and watched as she moved silently through the trees. Her gait was relaxed, and she looked happy. Far happier than he had seen her in the past few years. He knew that she liked to sneak out of the camp. She'd been slipping out past the guards every day since they were posted. Now he understood why. He could now see that she felt one with these woods. She moved instinctually, never looking at where her feet fell.
Bellamy looked around for any sign of animals. He hoped to find something early in the day so he could see to the camp security. Suddenly Octavia held up her hand and everyone stopped moving and crouched down. She looked to Bellamy to make sure he was watching her as she pointed to a deer eating in the shade of the pines. Bellamy felt pride at his sister's keen eye and studied the animal. The buck was peacefully eating, unaware of the enemy nearby.
He signaled for his two men to circle around the beast. Bellamy motioned for Octavia to move forward with him. They crept silently forward, trying to get as close to the beast as possible before attacking. Without they element of surprise, they would never be able to land a blow on the deer before he injured one of them or escaped. Bellamy and Octavia managed to get within a few meters from the deer when it suddenly looked around.
The buck panned around trying to find the threat in the shadows. Bellamy was taken aback when the beast revealed a disfigured face protruding from the side of its head. Bellamy tried to close his eyes to remove the image from his mind. The beast could only be describe as grotesque. Even though Bellamy had seen a few of the animals that were affected by the radiation before, he still cringed when he seen the effect the nuclear war had on the environment.
Bellamy looked to his sister to gauge her reaction, but she wasn't at his side any longer. Bellamy looked around to find where she disappeared to and saw her standing triumphantly over the fallen buck. He stood and watched her kneel down to the creature. She stroked the fur of on his neck and murmured to it. Bellamy slowly walked to his sister and motioned for the rest of the party to join them. All three of the men looked at Octavia with amazement in their eyes.
They were on their way back to the camp before midday, with enough food for everyone to have a decent meal again. They had been surviving mostly on rabbits and other small game that triggered the traps Finn created. Bellamy was relaxed for the first time since Jasper was hit with the spear. If his plans worked like he wanted them to, they might just make it. Bellamy hoped to get more hunting teams trained; they would bring back a surplus of food to start storing for the winter.
Bellamy looked as his sister. He was astounded by her actions earlier. She didn't hesitate when she saw the buck's disfigurement. She took the opportunity and struck true with her spear.
As they closed in on their camp, Bellamy stopped with his sister. "Octavia, you really impressed me today. How did you manage that?" She looked up at him nervously.
"I've spent a lot of time in the forest since we landed. I can't stand being cooped up with all of the people in camp. All they do is fight and fuck, Bellamy. Whenever I'm not busy helping with something, I retreat to the woods to clear my head. I've seen many animals while out for a walk. Some of them are disfigured like that one was, but most of them are beautiful."
She shrugged and lifted her arms up. "Look at how beautiful this place is, Bell. I never imagined that I would come here. I expected to live the rest of my life locked up in the Ark. I love being able to walk around freely and explore. I finally fell like I have a home." Bellamy could see the truth of her words shining through her eyes.
He understood her feeling free and happy, but he couldn't understand her feeling safe wandering around alone. "But what about the Grounders?" he asked.
"What about them? We haven't seen anything from them since Jasper was attacked. They aren't being aggressive toward the camp. Maybe they were just warning us away from Mount Weather."
Bellamy didn't like her naivety. "You don't know that Octavia. They could be here right now, listening to us, and we wouldn't even know. No one saw the grounder that attacked Jasper. They know this forest better than we ever could. They could be planning an attack and we wouldn't even know!"
Octavia sighed at his words, but she didn't try to argue with him. "Just go and wash your clothes. You should probably clean them after your first kill; you've got a little blood on you it seems." He gestured to her thigh, where the fabric was stained red. Octavia nodded and turned to walk toward the river.
Bellamy returned to the camp shortly after his men returned with the deer. He looked over to see the deer being butchered and prepared for the evening meal. He found Murphy and asked him for his ear. They settled into his tent so they could speak quietly.
"We need to start increasing the guards around the wall." Murphy nodded but stayed silent. "Octavia has been sneaking past the sentries quite frequently. I will not allow something to happen to her or anyone else because the guards aren't effective. If we can sneak out, the Grounders can sneak in."
"I agree, Bellamy. I'm still trying to get everyone focused on finishing the wall. It seems like everyone thinks that they are safe just because nothing has happened yet." Murphy sat back and waited for Bellamy to continue.
"Yeah, I've noticed that too. Let's go and see what we can do to prioritize the camp's security." Bellamy rose and followed Murphy out to speak with the people. He needed to find people that would be better used as sentries and supervisors for the wall's construction.
Octavia's POV
Octavia wandered toward the river, thinking about her brother's words. He was convinced that the Grounders were their enemy, but she wasn't so sure. The single attack did not call for war. She would have been more wary of the people if she had noticed them watching the camp. During all of her trips out to explore the forest surrounding the camp, she had only seen one Grounder; the one that pulled her from the river. This river, she thought as she came to the water's edge.
Octavia sat on the bank of the river and stared into the depths. She searched the river for movement and thought back to that day. She had come down to the river to wash herself and her clothes in its current that day. She hadn't thought to be wary of creatures hiding in the depths below the surface. I should have known that the shadows have plenty to hide. Octavia rose and followed the river upstream, searching for a shallower section.
She found a tributary not far from where she was sitting. She followed it upstream and found a slow moving section she would be able to sit in. Octavia removed her boots and placed them up on a boulder on the edge of the stream. She walked into the small pool and sat down, placing her weight on her arms as she let her legs flow in front of her. She sat up and pulled the piece of fabric from her hair and let it soak in the cool water.
After a short time Octavia finally felt relaxed. She grabbed a handful of slit from the streambed beneath her rubbed it into her clothing. She scrubbed at the stains in her clothes but they were too stubborn to be removed. Octavia rubbed the silt out of the fabric, along with some of the grime. When she was satisfied that she could get no cleaner, she rose and sat on the rock beside her boots.
Octavia tried to relax on that rock, but her thoughts drifted back to that morning. She was concerned with her brother questioning her about her activities. She loved to be able to come and go as she wished; and she was afraid that Bellamy would try to put a stop to it. She saw him talking with the sentries when she left her tent that morning, so she wouldn't be surprised if they stopped her the next time she tried to leave. Octavia put her boots on headed back out into the woods.
Lincoln's POV
Lincoln followed the hunting party when they left that morning. He tried to convince himself that he might find some kind of useful information for his tribe, but he knew that he just wanted to follow after her and keep her safe. He was surprised that her brother brought her along on this trip; from what he had witnessed, Bellamy wanted his sister safe within the camp at all times. She left the camp daily, and every time that he noticed her missing, Bellamy seemed irritated until her return.
Lincoln admired how she was able to float along the forest floor silently. The three men in the group made constant sound while walking. This was why the people had been relying on their small-game traps for sustenance. She gazed out at her surroundings, searching the shade for any signs of life. Lincoln knew how to melt into the forest, and she looked passed him several times without ever noticing his presence.
As they approached a small clearing, Octavia spotted a buck feeding on the ferns at the base of a large pine. Lincoln watched as she crouched down and signaled for the others to follow her lead. He was impressed by how she handled the situation. Two of the men moved around to the sides to gauge the attack. She slowly crept forward and lifted her spear. When the creature lifted its disfigured head, Lincoln saw all three of the men flinch at the sight of it. Octavia jumped at the opportunity when beast looked away and thrust her spear into his chest.
She settled on her knees and spoke to the buck; Lincoln could only assume she was thanking him, for she petted the fur as she pulled her spear out. The men slowly walked forward and shared their amazement. Lincoln smirked at the group celebrating her first kill. The siblings watched the others field-dress the deer and lash it their spears to carry it home.
Lincoln followed the group as they travelled back to the camp. He moved closely to the siblings trying to listen in on their conversation. They stopped near their camp and Lincoln settled in to listen for anything that could be useful. She spoke of her love of this place and her freedom, but her brother wasn't impressed. He tried to tell her that she was putting herself in danger by leaving the camp, but she refused to believe him. Lincoln was impressed by her intuition and by the way she expressed herself. She seemed to take her brother's words for a challenge.
When she left to go to the river, Lincoln followed behind her to see what her reaction would be to returning to the river. She stopped when she reached the water's edge; she seemed to hesitate before she sat down on the bank of the river. She stared deep into the depths of the river for several minutes. Finally she shook herself and stood. He followed her as she travelled up stream until she found a small stream that fed into the river. She settled into a calm pool and began to relax.
Lincoln turned and headed toward the camp, wanting to give her privacy. He knew she would be safe from any harm in that stream. As he closed in on the camp he noticed that the sentries on the perimeter of the camp were now patrolling the border with determination. He assumed that Bellamy finally realized that the security he put in place needed attention.
Lincoln hunched down a short distance from the path the sentries were digging into the earth, and watched the people within the camp. He could see that most of the population was working on filling in the wall with more young trees and parts from their ship. Bellamy appeared to be speaking with different members of the camp, but Lincoln was too far away to be able make out what was being said.
Chapter 7 6
