A/N: I only own my OC. Sorry for any mistakes.

In the Line of Fire

I pulled my knees to my chest as I watched Murphy sleep. I had moved away from him the second I woke but I still didn't want to go back to camp and I didn't want to wake Murphy up. He had waited for me to fall asleep the previous night before falling asleep himself and I was up until dawn. I knew he deserved the extra hours of shuteye and I was happy to give it to him.

"Good morning." Murphy smiled as he rubbed his eyes groggily. I smiled weakly and rested my chin on my knees.

"Morning."

He sat up slowly and ran his fingers through his hair. I let my gaze wander for a couple seconds, taking in the beauty of the greenery around us again. The air was crisp and moist and the sun had just begun to rise.

"Do you have anything to eat?" I heard Murphy mutter in a low voice.

"No. I'm sorry."

Murphy didn't miss the air of guilt in my voice when I spoke. "Don't worry about it. I actually managed to catch a rabbit yesterday. It was really small but it should hold me off for a couple days."

"Was that before or after you ran into us while we were hunting?" I raised an eyebrow and tried to look stern but I was wearing a weak smile.

"After." He answered with a faint hint of dignity.

I pursed my thin lips. "You're just lucky I was able to get them to go back to camp."

"Thanks for doing that." Murphy gestured to me. "It looked like it hurt."

"It did but I wasn't going to let Bellamy kill you." I admitted truthfully.

"Why not? It wasn't like I deserved your help."

"You sounded pretty pathetic begging for my help so I decided to take pity on you." I shrugged jokingly. He laughed lightly as he shook his head.

"I'm being serious, Brea." He sighed.

I drop my eyes to the floor. "I know you were telling the truth about Charlotte."

We both fell silent at the same moment even though there were a lot of unspoken words hanging in the air around us.

"Wow. I didn't think I'd actually find you out here."

I didn't have to look over my shoulder to know who spoke. I knew her voice like the back of my hand.

"Solstice." I pushed myself to my feet as I turned to face her. She had her red hair braided into two long ropes but it still couldn't contain the wild curls from popping out around her face. I wasn't sure what to do or say since the last time I saw her, she punched me.

"I saw you sneak through the wall last night," She told me as she stepped over a raised tree root. "I waited until daylight to follow you out here though."

"What are you doing here, Solstice?" I put up my defenses as she continued towards me.

"You two know each other?" Murphy asked from behind me but I only managed a nod.

"Wait a second. You're that guy that Bellamy banned from camp." Solstice pointed over my shoulder. "If I remember correctly, he said that he would kill you if he found you anywhere near camp… and this is still pretty close to camp."

"Solstice…" I stepped towards her.

She tilted her head as her eyes met mine. I wasn't sure if I should have been relieved when she finally smiled. "Don't worry. I'm not here to rat you out. I'm here to apologize."

"Are you apologizing?" My eyes widened with confusion.

"Trying to. I'm sorry I hit you Brea." She paused. "When I saw you in camp for the first time the only thing I could think about was my parents."

I watched her for a few seconds and tried to figure out if she was being truthful. "I forgive you."

"So, you guys know each other?" Murphy repeated the question patiently.

"Brea was my best friend. We were closer than sisters." Solstice told him as she walked into the clearing. She stopped a couple feet in front of me.

"Did you two get arrested together or something?" Murphy asked no one in particular.

Solstice met my eyes and I could see her lips twitch up into a weak smile. I slid a glance to my left. "It's a long story."

"Too long." Solstice laughed as she ran her hand over her braids.

I couldn't stop myself from asking the one question that had been on my mind since Solstice showed up. "What made you want to apologize?"

She pursed her thin lips, accenting her high cheekbones. "Someone made me see that what I did wasn't totally justified."

I narrowed my eyes with confusion. "Who?"

"Bellamy Blake." Solstice smiled and I took a sharp breath. "You know, the hottie with the amazing body."

"I… I know who he is, I just didn't know you two knew each other." I could feel Murphy's eyes on me but ignored him.

"We don't. At least, we didn't. He came up to me earlier and told me you felt guilty for what your parents did and he made me realize that it wasn't your fault for what they did." Solstice explained calmly and her green eyes flashed to Murphy then back to me. "Wait a second. Are you two…?"

It took me half a second to realize what she was asking. "No!"

"We're just friends." Murphy added quickly in a hoarse whisper.

"Barely even that." I shrugged lightly before Solstice sidled up in front of Murphy. I could see out of the corner of my eye that she was close enough to kiss him but she kept a small space between them.

I diverted my gaze to the floor but could still hear Solstice talk to him. "So, you're single?"

Murphy cleared his throat nervously. "Yes."

"That's really good to know." Solstice flashed one of her award winning smiles before backing away from him. "We need to get back to camp before Bellamy comes looking for you."

I narrowed my eyes again. "Why would he…?"

"I know it's always been hard for you to pick up on the signs that a guy likes you, Brea, but come on… Bellamy has it bad and it's not like he's trying really hard to hide it." Solstice pulls her braids over her shoulder and starts picking at the ends.

I wanted to tell her, my best friend, what Bellamy had done. How he had kissed me and how right it felt but Murphy was there and I knew it was a good idea to keep it to myself. "We should get back."

"Yes. And preferably before he goes to find the drop ship that crash landed."

It was evident that Solstice had merely forgotten to mention the vital information earlier. I moved closer to her slowly. "What drop ship?"

"You two must have been asleep if you didn't see it." She paused. "It crashed like an hour ago but Bellamy said that he wanted to wait until after sunrise to go find it."

I sighed heavily, realizing the deception that had taken place while I was gone. "Bellamy isn't going to wait."

Solstice raised an eyebrow at me and I pursed my lips into a thin line. "He's going to try to find that ship on his own."

"Why would he do that?" Murphy spoke up but his voice was still quiet.

I shrugged even though I knew that answer. "I don't know."

"Then we need to get back to camp ASAP." Solstice dropped her hands to her sides. I nodded in agreement and turned to Murphy.

"I'll come back as soon as I can and I'll try to bring food." I told him truthfully before starting off into the woods with Solstice.

I noticed that the sky had turned a grayish blue now; telling me that the day had just began. I managed to keep up with Solstice even though her stride was longer. I had always been jealous of her long legs.

"So, can you clear something up for me?" Solstice didn't wait for my response. "If you and Bellamy obviously have something going on then why are you still letting that Monty guy chase after you."

"Okay. First of all, there is nothing going on between Bellamy and me. Second of all, Monty isn't chasing after me because I want to be with him. I'm just trying to do what's best for him because of…" I hesitated to finish my sentence. I was still trying to be cautious around Solstice since we had just made up and I wasn't even sure if it was the real thing.

"Skylynn." Solstice glanced at me. I nodded as I squeezed my eyes shut for a few seconds. "Are you still hoping to be reunited with her?"

"Yes. And I'll never stop trying to make sure I do." I told her quietly and dropped my gaze to the floor. "Why are you being so nice to me? I mean, you pretty much hated me only a couple hours ago and now you're acting like nothing ever happened."

Solstice kicked a rock causing it to fly through the air and land a few feet ahead of us. "You were like the sister I always wanted, Brea. I could never hate you. I was just trying to find someone to blame for what happened to my parents and I wasn't thinking when I decided to put it on you."

"And Bellamy was the one who got you to apologize?" I met her eyes for a second.

"You sound utterly surprised." She smiled.

I ran my fingers through my hair. "I am. He never seemed like the kind of person that would…"

"Care about anyone but himself? Yeah, I was thinking the same thing when I first met him but then he actually opened his cute mouth of his and I knew he was just trying to help." Solstice explained as she hopped over a tree root.

I pulled my hair back and twirled it onto a temporary bun at the nape of my neck as I let out another heavy sigh. "So, you want to be friends again?"

"I want to try. I mean, we can't just throw away 16 years of friendship."

"I'm sorry for what my parents did, Solstice." I had wanted to apologize for the damage my parents had caused since the whole thing began but this was the first real chance I had to actually do it.

She didn't respond right away and I didn't push her to give me an answer. It took a couple seconds for her to clear her throat. "I know they didn't plan on it going down like that. They just wanted to save people."

"They loved you like a second daughter."

"Third daughter." She corrected without hesitation. I flinched remembering that I had yet to even tell Solstice the whole truth about Skylynn.

"Solstice, there's something I need to…" I started but didn't get the chance to finish. Solstice stopped suddenly and I could see her squint to see something in the distance.

"Is that Octavia Blake? Bellamy's sister?"

I followed her gaze to see she had been looking at someone walking a little ways ahead. I realized Solstice was right. Octavia was taking an early morning stroll all by herself and I doubted that Bellamy had given her his blessing.

I started towards her quickly. "Come on."

Solstice stayed on my heels as we hurried to catch up with the youngest Blake sibling. She was walking surprisingly fast.

"Octavia!" I called out once we were close enough. She turned quickly causing her hair to fall over her shoulder.

"Brea?" She forced a smile. "My brother was wondering where you ran off to."

I ignored her question with ease. "What are you doing out here?"

"I followed Bellamy. He's going after the drop ship that crash landed." She told us quickly. I could tell that there was something more to what she had to say.

"Is everything okay, Octavia?" I put a reassuring hand on her arm.

She hesitated at first but eventually gave in. "No. Bellamy's going after the drop ship because he wants to destroy the radio."

I swallowed hard. "Why?"

"He killed Jaha." She muttered under her breath as she dropped her eyes to the floor. I could see that she was ashamed but I knew that it wasn't her fault.

"He killed the chancellor?" Solstice stepped into the conversation. "Damn."

"He doesn't want the people on the ark to come down because he knows that they'll kill him once they get here." Octavia explained with a grim expression. I couldn't blame her. Bellamy had put her in an impossible situation.

"It'll be okay, Octavia. We'll figure this out." I told her with more confidence than I felt. I had no idea how were going to fix this. Bellamy wanted the radio destroyed and so far, whenever Bellamy wanted something done, he got it done.

"We need to get back to camp and tell the others. We won't be able to stop him on our own." Solstice chimed in. I knew she was right and nodded in agreement.

Octavia sighed loudly enough for only me to hear. I stepped towards her and pulled her into a small hug. "We'll figure this out together. Okay?"

I moved back to see her nod weakly. She pushed her hair out of her face and turned towards camp. "Let's go."

We walked through the forest quietly but quickly. We all knew that we still had a ways to go before we were even in a miles radius of camp.

Suddenly, I heard someone fall behind me. I turned to see Octavia already on the floor clutching her ankle. I hurried to assess her injury as Solstice kneeled beside her. I didn't have to touch it to know that it was sprained. It had already begun to swell.

"Damn it." Octavia breathed quietly. Solstice met my eyes and I knew what she was thinking. It would slow us down but we'd have to help Octavia get back to camp.

We hoisted her to her feet and wrapped our arms around her waist. She leaned on us as we began to continue towards camp. We didn't get far before I came to a screeching halt.

I was the first person to notice the person standing in our way a distance in front of us. Solstice noticed a second later and then Octavia took a sharp breath when she saw the person.

I didn't have time to react to the one person blocking our path because only two seconds later, he was joined by two more and three more fell into place beside them a moment after that.

I let out a shaky breath. "Grounders."

"What do we do?" Solstice asked in her quietest voice.

I swallowed hard. "Run."

"But they're blocking our way to camp." Octavia whispered. I could hear the concern in her voice but I couldn't dwell on it. The grounders had begun to advance.

"We have to go, now!" I demanded as I helped Octavia turn around.

I nearly fell back when I came face to face with Murphy. He didn't say anything. Instead he just hoisted Octavia onto his back and gestured in the opposite direction of camp. I shared a look with Solstice before all three of us broke into a sprint. We knew we were running for our lives.

I never had a chance to practice running on the Ark but I found out that I was faster than I had expected. Even with my shorter legs, I managed to keep up with Solstice and Murphy. I was mostly surprised that Murphy was keeping pace with us with Octavia on his back but I was also relieved.

We tried to weave through the trees in an attempt to lose the grounders but every time I glanced over my shoulder, they appeared to be closing the distance between us. It was obvious that they had a lot of practice.

"We can't run forever!" Solstice shouted as she ducked around a large tree.

I pumped my arms a little faster, hoping to get my speed to increase. "We don't have any other choice!"

Something whizzed by my ear swiftly. The object hit a tree slightly to the left of my path. When I saw that it was a spear I knew that the hunt had officially begun.

I didn't stop running but I did dare to look over my shoulder again to see that the Grounders had only fallen back a little bit. I turned my eyes forward just in time to stop myself from running into a large skeleton.

I stumbled back as I took a sharp breath. I looked around me and saw that there were more trees with a human skeleton hanging on them. I didn't need to be told what the decorations meant. It was a direct keep out warning.

Solstice grabbed my arm and pulled me with her. "Come on, Brea!"

"We're not going to be able to lose them!" I knew it wasn't going to boost the morale but it was the truth. The grounders were in this chase for the long haul.

"We have to try!" Murphy called over his shoulder. He had begun to slow because of the extra weight he was carrying and I could tell he wasn't going to be able to maintain that pace for long.

I fell to my knees when I felt something sharp hit my arm. Another spear. I pushed myself to my feet as I pressed my other hand to the wound. I didn't want to know how deep the cut was. I needed to focus on finding a way to save us before the Grounders killed us all.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw a familiar sight. Sticking out from the grass was a large wheel handle. It looked exactly like the door of Finn's bunker. I dropped to my knees and grabbed onto the metal. I pulled at it with all my strength but it didn't budge. Two more hands latched onto the wheel and helped me force it to rotate. The door popped open a second later and I looked up to see that Murphy had been the one to help me.

"Get inside!" I called to Solstice and Octavia. They didn't hesitate to jump into the hole. I dropped in after Murphy and shut the door behind me. I thanked my lucky stars when I saw the lock mechanism on our side of the door.

I landed on my feet with a quiet thud and had just turned around when I felt two arms wrap around my neck. Even though it was pitch black in the room, I knew it was Solstice. I hugged her back, thankful to have my best friend with me.

We found the candles and matches after a couple minutes of feeling around in the dark. Once lit, I saw that we weren't in Finn's secret bunker. This one was much bigger and the inventory was more impressive.

"Wow." Octavia breathed from her spot on one of the beds. She was lying down and I made sure that she was elevating her ankle. We could stay in the bunker until nightfall but I knew that we had to get back to camp as soon as possible and I wanted to try to get Octavia's ankle into better shape.

"Rest up, guys. We're leaving once the sun sets." I told everyone sternly.

I think they all knew I wasn't going to budge on my opinion because no one tried to correct me. On Solstice's recommendation, I shared Octavia's bed while she and Murphy shared the other. Unlike the bunk beds in the other bunker, this one had two full beds pushed against opposite sides of the room. I turned away from Solstice and Murphy and pulled the blankets up to my ears. I didn't want to hear or see what my best friend was planning to do that night.

"Do you think they'll even notice that we're gone?" Octavia asked as she rolled over onto her side to face me. I was thankful for the distraction.

"Your brother will notice you're gone the second he gets back to camp. But I doubt anyone will worry about me since I run off all the time." I gave a small shrug under the covers.

"Bellamy will notice. He always notices when you leave." She had a hint of a smile on her lips as she spoke.

"Your brother is a very confusing person." I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling absentmindedly.

"Misleading." Octavia whispered.

I smiled. "Controlling."

"Reckless."

"Cocky."

"Selfish."

I looked at her as my smile faltered. "Your brother may be all those other things and more but he's not selfish. He loves you Octavia more than he loves himself. That's not a trait easily found in most people."

"He did it for me." She paused as her eyes remained on the ceiling. "He shot Jaha for me. I never asked him to do it but he did it so he could be with me."

"Of course you didn't but he wanted to keep you safe. He risked his own life to take care of you." I pursed my lips. "Not many people can love someone enough to do that, Octavia."

"They're going to kill him if they come down here. They'll kill Bellamy just like they killed my mother." I could hear her voice waver as she spoke. I reached down and took her hand in mine.

"Your brother is Bellamy Blake. He's not going to let some measly council kill him. He'll find a way out of this. And if he can't…" I hesitated to make the promise whirling around in my head. "And if he can't, then I will."

"Why?" Octavia finally met my eyes. I forced myself to blink when I saw the tears in her eyes.

"Because he's your brother." I answered truthfully.

Octavia squeezed my hand. "Thank you, Brea."

"We're friends and friends help each other even in the most dismal situations."

"I know that I might sound like I'm joking when I say that Bell cares about you but I see the way he watches at you when you're not looking. He might not want to admit it to anyone but I know that he feels something for you." Octavia tells me in a certain voice.

I bit my lower lip as I made a hasty decision. "He kissed me."

"What?!" Octavia's eyes widened with disbelief. I could only force myself to nod for a response. "When?"

"Yesterday." I croaked. I cleared my throat before speaking again. "But it wasn't under the best circumstances."

"Tell me everything." Octavia demanded excitedly and I realized I might have just woken the beast. But it was too late to take it back so I told her everything I felt comfortable revealing to Bellamy's baby sister.

"So, Monty is practically in love with you and my jealous brother, who does whatever it takes to make sure he never loses, decides the best time to jump in the race is after you and Monty pretty much seal the deal?" Octavia paused. "Am I right?"

"Pretty much." I sighed as I rubbed my temples. "I don't think this could get any worse."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Octavia cocked an eyebrow and I pursed my lips.

"What does that mean?"

"Murphy might be the next one to jump into the Brea Admirers mixer." She gestured behind me.

I almost laugh aloud. "Very funny."

"He looks at you the same way Bell does, Brea." Octavia shrugged. "Maybe I'm just reading too much into this."

"Yeah." I whispered.

Deciding between two boys was hard enough. Adding Murphy to the mix would only force the complication to the next level. I silently hoped that Solstice might be the right girl for Murphy.

Octavia and I must have dozed off because a few minutes later, Solstice shook me awake.

"The sun has officially set." She smiled lightly as I forced myself to wake up. I nudged Octavia until she finally started to stir.

I dropped my legs over the edge of the bed and ran my fingers through my messy hair. I was in dire need of a shower but I knew that was the last thing I should be worrying about. Solstice must have read my mind because she gave me a sympathetic look.

"Want me to work my magic?" She asked as she held up a hair band.

"Please." I smiled. Solstice had always been good with hair. We would stay up half the night at sleepovers just testing styles. I admit, half of the experiments ended with me working out knots the size of quarters for days afterwards.

I sat on the couch patiently as she ran her fingers through my brown hair. I had curly hair when I was young but after I had Skylynn, it straightened out into loose waves. It was easier to work with but sometimes wished I had Solstice's curly locks.

Solstice finished my hair in five minutes and I smiled when I looked in a small mirror she had dug up in the bunker. I ran my fingers over the three braids she woven together at the back of my head. She was an expert braider and I knew that she had just set a record.

"Thank you." I turned to her and gave her a short hug. I knew it would be easier to maintain my hair now that it was tied back.

We got up and helped Murphy and Octavia return everything to their places and blow out the candles. Once it was dark again, we made our way to the ladder leading to the door. I took a deep breath before unlocking and opening the door.

I peered outside slowly and breathed a sigh of relief when I didn't see any grounders waiting for us. But I knew that they could still be waiting in the shadows. I pulled myself out and watched the trees around us as Murphy helped Octavia and Solstice get out after us. I shut the door slowly and took a few careful steps into the darkness.

"I think they're gone." Solstice said as she looked around. I nodded after a few seconds.

"Yeah."

"We should get back to camp before they send out a search party." Octavia had the sense to whisper but I could hear the hurry in her voice.

I started back the way we came slowly, keeping my ears open for any abnormal noises. From what I could tell, the Grounders liked to play games.

I was the only one to hear the snap of a branch to my left. I stopped and looked for my friends. When I saw that they were all behind me, I held up a hand to signal them to stop.

"Did you hear that?" I said barely above a whisper.

"It was probably just one of us." Murphy responded in the same tone.

I forced myself to accept his excuse and carried on. When another branch snapped on my right, I knew I wasn't being paranoid. Then another branch snapped to my left, loudly. The Grounders were doing it on purpose. I shuddered as I realized that the hunt wasn't over.

"Get down." I dropped to a crouching position and thankfully everyone followed shortly.

"What's wrong?" Solstice asked as she scooted closer to me.

I put a finger to my lips. "They're still here."

"We should go back to the bunker then." Octavia suggested quietly but I shook my head.

"We're in their home. The only way they'll leave us alone is if we're dead." I bit my lower lip as I tried to think of someway to get us out. When an idea popped into my head, I knew it was a long shot but it was the only thing I could think of. "We have to run."

"I can't. My ankle." Octavia reminded me quickly.

I leaned closer to the three of them and lowered my voice even more. "I'm going to act as a decoy and lead the Grounders away so you guys can get back to camp."

"No way."

"You can't."

"There's no other choice. The Grounders want to hunt, they want to run and chase someone. Their border can only go so far. I'll make it out and meet you guys back at camp, I promise." I kept a light smile on my lips even though I believed my words only as much as they did.

"I'm going with you." Solstice said in a stern voice.

"No. I'm doing this on my own." I shook my head but she acted like she didn't hear me.

"You guys wait here until it's dead silent. Then you run for camp like a bat out of hell." Solstice instructed Murphy and Octavia.

"But I'm banished." Murphy reminded us.

I exchanged looks with Octavia. "You saved Bellamy's sister. You saved all of us. They'll let you back in."

"And if they don't, I'll be killed."

"I wont let that happen." Octavia grabbed his arm. "You did save me."

Murphy was still hesitating to agree to the plan so I leaned in slightly. "You know how much Bellamy loves his sister. If you're the one who saved her from the grounders and carried her all the way back to camp, he'll pardon you."

He sighed heavily. "Fine. But be careful, please."

I noticed that his eyes kept bouncing back to Solstice. She smiled and took his hand. "I'll see you in a little bit."

"Ready?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No." She shook her head before standing up. "But we have to do this."

I stood up and nodded. "I know."

We took off in a sprint making sure to run parallel to the skeleton barrier. We needed to lead the Grounders away from Murphy and Octavia.

As if on cue, the sound of footsteps started up behind us and Solstice and I glanced at each other. We knew that most likely we weren't going to make it back to camp but I was willing to die if it meant Octavia and Murphy lived. I just wished that Solstice hadn't felt the same way.

Next chapter will cover the rest of the hunt and more. Please review/favorite/follow. I love hearing the opinions, suggestions, or thoughts. I'll put up the next chapter soon.