Looking back on it, this chapter is super short, but we're finally getting to some more action! Thanks again to everyone who's stuck with this so far!
Disclaimer: I don't own The 100.
"Hey, hold up!"
Billie almost groans. Bellamy's easily walking parallel to them, and she isn't overjoyed to see his gun in his hands. Murphy follows dutifully, his eyes flicking between Clarke and Billie, and Wells behind them.
"What's the rush?" Bellamy continues, "You don't survive a spear through the heart."
"Put the gun away," Billie complains.
Murphy is in front of her in an instant, looking down at her with a snarl, "Well, why don't you do something about it, Kane?"
She exhales as evenly as she can, lifting her chin back to glare up at him. Her hand finds her hip, as close to where her knife is stowed away as she can get without being obvious. She doesn't want Murphy this close to her, and the stupid gun isn't helping.
"Jasper screamed when they moved him. If the spear struck his heart, he'd have died instantly," Clarke tells them. She eyes Murphy, then looks back to Bellamy calmly, "Doesn't mean we have time to waste."
Bellamy snatches Clarke's arm before she has the chance to turn away, smirking viciously, "As soon as the two of you take your wristbands off, we can go."
Murphy takes a step closer to Billie, if that's even possible, and she instinctively moves back. Her hand grips the handle of her knife, and she wills her heartbeat to stop being so damn loud. She gives Murphy her best sneer, but he just looks amused.
Once again, Clarke saves her.
"The only way the Ark's gonna think I'm dead, is if I'm dead," Clarke says firmly, leaning towards Bellamy with narrowed eyes. Billie's never seen this side of her friend before, but she's sure as hell glad it exists. "Same goes for Billie. Got it?"
The thought to put distance between her and Murphy barely has a chance to cross her mind before she's roughly shoving him back. Murphy hardly stumbles, but it gives her some space, leaving them to glare at each other with hostility. She tries not to think about Nate's warning.
Bellamy seems to only grow taller, his smile locking in place as he looks between them. "Brave princess," he says to Clarke.
"Well, why don't you find your own nickname?" Finn is there before anyone can further retaliate, sauntering into the clearing. He looks between the facing off groups, raising his eyebrows, "You call this a rescue party? You've gotta split up, cover more ground."
Even if Billie isn't overjoyed to see him, she's happy that his interruption cut off the tension. Murphy takes another step back on his own, his hands finding his pockets, and Bellamy just watches Finn closely. Neither of them try anything when Finn says, "Come on," and Clarke breaks away from the group, following the newcomer.
Billie's gaze lingers on Murphy and Bellamy for a second as she tries to determine whether the coast is clear or not. She then glances to Wells, who stares at the ground dismally, and tightens her grip on her knife before turning and marching after Clarke and Finn.
Billie isn't sure how much time passes, but she makes sure to keep her distance from Bellamy and Murphy. Wells, for some reason she isn't sure she cares to know, is down on the ravine below them, walking just a few short paces behind Bellamy. Billie, herself, gives Finn and Clarke some privacy, walking a little to their right. She hasn't dropped her knife just yet, but her grip has eased considerably. The forest seems empty.
"Hey, why are we stopping?" she calls.
The pair turns around, Clarke with dread in her eyes. "We think the river where Jasper got hit was a boundary. Which means we won't be able to get to Mount Weather."
"Shit," Billie mutters in response.
Clarke nods slightly, and Billie isn't sure why, but they both turn to Finn, expecting him to chime in. Instead, his eyes are distant, his head tilted. And then he's pushing away, hiking quickly up the shallow hill.
A stream runs in front of them, bridges made of rocks and pebbles making paths to the other side. It doesn't look too deep, and the water is clear, the ripples from the rocky waterfall distorting the reflection. "Wow," Clarke remarks simply.
"You can say that again," Billie says slowly, blinking up to the top of the cliff. Thriving vines climb the walls and white water splashes against the rocks.
"Well at least we don't have to worry about water," Clarke continues, and Billie grins.
Finn is the first to step into the water, his boots skimming the surface as he balances on the rocks. Billie hurriedly follows, completely silenced as the water seeps into her boots. She stumbles a few times as the three of them climb across to where it's deeper, but at the moment, nothing matters. The Ark isn't dying, Jasper is okay, nobody wants to kill her.
This time, she's the first one in. Her bag is on the rocks in an instant, and she's lowering herself into the deeper pool, first up to her knees, then her hips. Billie laughs loudly as the cold sensation spreads through her legs, and cups water in her hands to splash in her face, "Oh my god!"
Clarke is working to pull the lid off of her canteen, but she shares a smile with Billie. There's a loud splash as Finn climbs in, his first step being to wash his face, splashing water into his hair and onto his shoulders. Billie kneels so her shoulders are under, the tips of her hair barely getting wet. This feels entirely too surreal.
When she looks up again, it's to Clarke's irritated face as she freezes, now soaked, and looks over to Finn with a no-nonsense look in her eyes. "C'mon, Finn. We don't have time for this."
Billie grins at Finn, understanding quickly, and hides her laugh. Finn just smiles widely at her before turning back to the blonde, saying easily, "Clarke. We've been hiking for hours, we need to take a break."
"I'll take a break when we find Jasper," Clarke replies, "Come on."
Finn glances back to Billie, his eyebrows raised high, and she grins back. She can forgive him for being a dick to Monty, just this once, especially if it means dragging Clarke into the fun. "Get down here, Clarke," she calls, running a soaking hand through her hair. "You're not missing out on this."
The blonde doesn't have time to respond. She trips forward quickly, Finn having snatched her arms, and Billie barks out a laugh. Clarke's eyes widen, and she squeaks, "No. No! Finn -"
Clarke's splash is even louder than Finn's as she clumsily sinks into the water, a shocked look on her face. Billie stares at her in anticipation, waiting for some sort of reaction, but it doesn't come until Finn resurfaces, spitting water from his mouth. Clarke splashes him violently, exclaiming sharply, "Damn it, Finn!"
Billie grins as she dunks her head under. She's never been completely submerged in water before, but she knows enough to hold her breath. Her boots float away from the bottom, and there's a steady pressure closing in, but it's comforting. Everything's silent down here.
When she comes up for air, swiping her now smoothly soaked hair down her neck, the other two are talking slowly, Finn's smile having faded. Billie decides that she doesn't need to invade, and instead wades over to where Clarke dropped the canteen, pouring out the warm water inside and scooping up the fresh stream water. She does the same with her own.
"Billie," Clarke suddenly calls.
She looks up, but only sees Clarke making her way across the stream slowly, a concerned Finn on her heels. Billie tries to follow their gaze, trying not to panic, and shoulders her bag, using the rocks to cross this time. "What?"
Water pours from her clothes as she steps onto the rocky soil, but Billie hardly bothers to try and dry herself off. Clarke has led them over to a mound of white rocks, the rough surface only marred by blood. A lot of it. Billie finds the hand print immediately, but she can't look at it for too long. Beneath it, she realizes, is a pair of –
Oh. She reaches down quickly, wrenching the goggles out of the crevice, and straightens gradually. "Jasper," she says, her gaze locked to her friend's headgear.
"He was here," Clarke murmurs, looking around. "We should get the others."
Billie's hand holding his goggles falls to her side, and she bites her lip, trying not to feel nauseaus. Finn kneels next to one of the rocks, his hand swiping across the surface. Before she realizes what he's doing, he pulls it back up, a deep red covering his fingers. "We're close," he says after a minute.
She shuts her eyes and tries to breathe evenly.
They've been walking all day. It's not that Billie doesn't think it's worth it, and she's learned to trust Finn's skills. She's just tired of it all. Tired of having to look over her shoulder every few seconds to check that Bellamy and Murphy aren't misbehaving, tired of straining her eyes to look for traces of blood.
And she'd be lying if she says she's not losing hope, footstep after footstep.
Heavy, lazy footsteps fall into line near hers, and Billie's mouth dries. She knows it's Murphy even before he speaks up, saying drily, "You wanna know something, Kane?"
Billie keeps her eyes on the ground in front of her as she steps over a giant rock, shaking her head minutely as the only response. Murphy doesn't waste time in continuing, drawling, "Your dad arrested me. Told me he'd make sure I'd never see anything but a cell for the rest of my life."
She keeps her eyes on the path in front of her, biting the inside of her cheek.
"Guess what," he says lowly. "Here we are."
Billie waits a beat, and then turns to him. Keeping her voice light, she says, "Wanna know something, Murphy? I don't care."
"Do you want to keep it down, or should I paint a target on your back?" Finn asks, hardly pausing in his walk.
Murphy only gives a disdainful scoff. Billie rolls her eyes, letting her feet carry her away from him and back towards Clarke. The blonde gives her a tight smile, which she returns, and then it's back to walking quietly, giving Finn as much space as he needs.
This time, it's a bush. The boy taps one of the branches with a frown, and Billie raises her eyebrows in waiting. Behind her, Murphy groans under his breath.
There are splatters of blood on the ground. Finn kneels next to them, and Clarke catches on, hunching over. Billie just sighs, trying not to think of all the times Jasper once made her laugh when it felt like there was nothing to smile about. She wants him to come back, but all they can find is a blood trail that doesn't guarantee what they'll find at the end. Don't be dead, Jordan, she prays.
"See?" Bellamy mutters, and Billie glances back to see him breathing in Wells' ear. He raises his eyes meaningfully, "You're invisible."
Wells looks to Bellamy angrily, but he doesn't argue. Just shakes his head. Billie frowns, about to intercede with, "What's that supposed to mean?"
But a sound cuts them off. And Billie's been experiencing a lot of new things the past two days, but none of them quite compare to this. The moan is low and loud, distinctly human, terrifying as it echoes through the forest. Chills climb over Billie's skin as it finally slows to a gravelly stop, silencing even the birds.
"What the hell was that?" Murphy demands.
None of them are willing to imagine. Clarke is the one to finally answer, "Now would be a good time to take out that gun."
Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
