When Libby got off watch a few hours later, she went to the tent she shared with Jasper and Monty. Tucked against the wall was the small parachute pack in which she kept the few things she'd made for herself on the ground. She tore off another strip of parachute and carefully wrapped her fossil in it. She didn't want it to break.

Someone flung up the flap of their tent.

"What the hell?"

It was Bellamy. "Is Octavia in here?"

"No."

"Have you seen her?"

"Not since yesterday morning," Libby said.

"She went out after me, but I sent her back. I haven't seen her since," Bellamy said.

Libby studied his face. He looked genuinely worried. "I'll help you look."

"Thank you."

Libby crawled out of the tent and stood, brushing dirt off her pants. "Where have you looked so far?"

"I did rounds on the wall, and then I looked in her tent, by the fire—"

"I'll do another sweep of the camp and check the dropship," Libby said. "You check the rest of the tents."

Libby checked the entire camp but didn't see Octavia. She rejoined Bellamy at the fire. He'd assembled a pile of homemade weapons.

"Nobody I talked to has seen her," Libby said.

"It's been over twelve hours," said Bellamy.

"Do you want to form a search party now, or-?"

"We can't afford to wait." Bellamy raised his voice. "Wake up! Octavia's missing!"

A handful of people gathered around the fire, some of them looking decidedly sleep-rumpled.

"Everybody get a weapon," Bellamy said.

Jasper took a crude mace from the pile.

Clarke grabbed his arm. "Jasper, you don't have to do this."

"Do you feel up to it?" Libby said. "You haven't left camp since…that first day."

"I need to do this," said Jasper.

"If you're going, then I'm going." Libby selected a short spear and hefted it.

"We need a tracker," Bellamy said. He raised his voice. "Finn! Get out here!"

Finn emerged from his tent and almost ran into Clarke. Finn spoke earnestly to Clarke, who looked upset. Libby looked away; whatever they had going on was none of her business.

Monroe elbowed Libby. "Hey! Look up there!"

It looked like a meteor shower—except all the lights had the same point of origin. "It's beautiful," said Roma.

Raven pushed her way through the crowd. "The flares didn't work," she said.

"A meteor shower tells you that?" said Bellamy.

"It's not a meteor shower. It's a funeral," Clarke said. "Hundreds of bodies being returned to the ground from the Ark."

Raven lunged for Bellamy, spitting with rage, but Finn held her back. "This is all your fault! If you hadn't trashed my radio—!"

"He knows," said Clarke. "And now he has to live with it."

Bellamy looked away.

Libby deliberately caught his gaze and held it, silently offering her support.

"I have to find my sister," Bellamy said. "Finn? I need you to track."

Bellamy stalked away. A dozen or so others followed. Jasper and Libby waited for Finn.

"We need to find another way to talk to the Ark," said Clarke. "The oxygen level will keep dropping. If we can't get in touch with them, they'll kill more people."

"Finn," Libby said. "We need to go."

"Raven, stay here," Finn said. "Fix the radio."

"The transmitter's smashed."

Clarke and Finn traded a significant glance.

"I know a place where you might find a transmitter," Clarke said.

"I guess you're coming with me, then," Raven said.

"Be careful," Finn said. Libby wasn't sure whether he was talking to Clarke or Raven.

"Hey!" Raven grabbed Finn's arm and pulled him in for a kiss.

Clarke and Finn disappeared last night, Libby thought, and today Finn's girlfriend literally fell out of the sky. Poor Clarke.

Finn, Jasper, and Libby jogged to catch up with the search party. Finn went to the front, but Jasper and Libby stayed at the rear. Jasper was breathing heavily.

The group fanned out, holding torches and flashlights. A few people called Octavia's name, but there was no response. They traveled in the direction of Raven's landing.

Libby couldn't track the moon's movement through the canopy, so she had no idea how long it had been when Jones called out: "Over here!"

Libby and Jasper joined the others at the top of a steep hill. Several lights pointed down the hill under Jones's direction. A belt buckle shone brightly in the dark, dangling from a bush halfway down the hill.

"Isn't that Octavia's?" Jones said.

"Rope," said Bellamy.

Somebody had thought to bring one. Bellamy handed one end to Jones and tossed the other end down the hill.

"What are you doing?" said Finn.

"Need the rope to get back up." Bellamy carefully made his way down the hill using the rope, a torch in one hand. Everyone else crowded at the top of the hill, watching.

Libby took up some of the rope. If Bellamy slipped, Jones alone couldn't pull him up.

"She was here," Bellamy said loudly. "I'm going farther down."

Libby tied the rope to a tree, and the searchers followed Bellamy down the hill. When Libby reached the bottom, Bellamy, Finn, and Jasper were crouched over something.

"Somebody else was here," Finn said. He pointed. "The prints are deeper going in that direction. He was carrying her."

"If they took her, she's still alive," said Jasper. "Like when they took me."

Libby wanted badly to hug Jasper, but this wasn't the time or place.

Finn led the way, following the trail. Bellamy was right on his heels. The others strung out behind them. Libby reminded people to stay alert.

The day dawned slowly as they walked, and Libby realized how tired she was. When had she last slept? Not since before they tried to hang Murphy, she realized: two days ago. The thought somehow made her more tired, but she doggedly kept going. She wouldn't leave Jasper alone out here. Not again.

When the column stopped abruptly, Libby was looking at her feet. She ran into Monroe.

"Watch it," Monroe said.

"Sorry," said Libby. "Why are we stopped?"

"Look around," said Monroe.

Corpses decorated the trees. Some were hung, others were pinned to the trees with spears and knives. A horrible smell permeated the air.

"I don't speak Grounder," said Finn wryly, "but I think this means 'keep out.'"

"This is crazy," said Derek. "I'm not going in there!"

"Nobody has to keep going if they don't want to," Bellamy said. "No hard feelings." He lowered his voice and seemed to speak to himself. "My sister, my responsibility."

Libby craned her neck, looking for Jasper. To her horror, he marched into the hostile territory without hesitation.

"If Jasper's going, I'm going," Libby said, and hurried after him.

Finn, Roma, Monroe, Diggs, and John Mbege also crossed the invisible line.

"Why are you doing this?" Libby asked Jasper.

"I'd go into hell to find her," Jasper said grimly.

"I think we just did," said Finn, nodding at the trees.

They hiked in silence, Finn leading the way. The tracks were growing fainter in the thick underbrush and leaf cover. Eventually, Finn stopped.

"I lost the trail," he said.

Bellamy pushed past Finn and kept going, zigzagging widely through the forest. The others followed, albeit reluctantly. Libby's gaze flicked back and forth among the trees, seeking any sign of movement. She saw nothing, which only made her more nervous.

"We won't find your sister wandering aimlessly," Finn said. "We should retrace our steps and try to pick up the trail again."

"Keep looking," Bellamy said insistently.

Roman interjected: "Where's John?"

"I just saw him," said Jasper.

"He can't be far away," Libby said.

They fanned out slightly and started to look, but John's body fell from a tree next to Roma. His throat was cleanly slit.

Monroe, Finn, Bellamy, Diggs, Roma, Jasper, and Libby gathered around and stared in horror. John Mbege was definitely dead.

"They use the trees," Finn said quietly.

Libby immediately looked up, but of course the Grounders were good at hiding.

"Over there!" Diggs pointed as a shadowy figure ducked behind the tree.

"There's another one!" said Jasper.

They drew together, frantically looking in all directions. Libby spotted a Grounder running among the trees. Her throat closed up in fear.

"We should run," Finn said.

They sprinted through the forest, dew-wet ferns brushing their legs. Jasper was slower than the others. Libby stayed with him, jogging, keeping her spear up and trying to achieve three-sixty vision.

Whichever way they turned, there were Grounders. Finn and Bellamy led the way, turning sharply every time a new foe appeared.

"What are we going to do?" said Roma. "They keep heading us off!"

Jasper was gasping for air.

"Jasper can't go much longer!" Libby said.

Bellamy, Finn, and Monroe staggered to a halt.

Diggs kept running. "I am not stopping for him!"

"I'm sick of running," Bellamy said. "They know where she is!"

"What are you suggesting?" Libby asked.

"Diggs, where are you?" said Roma.

"Roma!" said Diggs, his voice faint with distance.

Roma ran in the direction of Diggs's voice.

"We shouldn't separate," Libby said.

The others took off after her.

Roma screamed. Moments later, they discovered why: Diggs dangled a few inches from the ground, his torso pierced in three places by what looked like a giant mace.

"Booby trap?" Libby said.

"They led us here," said Jasper.

"But where'd they go?" Finn looked around nervously.

"After Roma." Bellamy looked terrified. "Where is she?"

With the Grounders gone—for now—they slowed to a walking pace. Jasper was breathing easier, but Libby stayed close to him anyway.

"There she is," said Monroe.

Libby saw her, too. Roma was leaning against a tree some distance away.

Bellamy walked ahead of the others. When he reached the tree, he froze. Libby and Finn caught up to him. Roma was pinned to the tree by a spear.

"Oh, my God," Libby said.

"She only came because of me," Bellamy said hoarsely. He reached out and gently closed Roma's eyelids.

Libby thought of the previous night, when Roma was in Bellamy's tent. Libby might've thought that Bellamy didn't care about his conquests, but his expression suggested otherwise.

"They can kill us whenever they want," Finn said.

"Then they should GET IT OVER WITH!" Jasper screamed a challenge at the silent forest. "Come on!"

Libby saw at least three Grounders running at them. She stood with her back to Monroe and lifted her spear. Jasper stood to her right, Bellamy on her left.

This is probably how I die, Libby thought.

The sound of a horn echoed through the trees. The Grounders turned and ran.

"They're leaving," Monroe said.

The horn sounded again.

"What does that horn mean?" said Jasper.

"Acid fog." Finn fumbled in his pack.

"We have to run," said Monroe.

"There isn't time." Finn pulled a parachute out of his bag and snapped it open. Libby helped him spread it on the ground. They lay down in a line, then pulled the parachute over their heads.

Libby tucked the entire end of the parachute under her body, and held the edge in front of her face down with her hands. "Finn, I've got my end underneath me."

"Good idea." The parachute rustled as Finn shifted.

They fell silent, listening for the hiss of acid. Libby tried to calm her breathing by counting slowly: inhale, two, three, four, and exhale.

She was lying next to Bellamy under the parachute, pinched between his side and the edge of their shelter. Because of the lack of space, Libby laid her head on Bellamy's shoulder. There was no sound from outside, except the chirping of birds.

"The birds," Libby said quietly.

Bellamy instantly took her meaning. "There's no fog." He threw back the parachute, exposing them all to cool, fresh air.

"False alarm?" Finn said.

"Seems unlikely," said Libby.

"They're coming back!" Monroe said.

A solitary Grounder was moving through the trees.

"I think he's alone," said Jasper.

"I'm going after him." Bellamy stood.

"And what?" said Finn. "Kill him?"

"Catch him," said Bellamy. "Make him tell me where Octavia is. Then kill him."

Bellamy crept after the Grounder.

"How do we know this isn't another trap?" said Jasper.

"We don't," Finn said.

They trailed behind Bellamy as he followed the Grounder, keeping as quiet as they could. Libby glanced at the sky as they passed through a clearing. Dark gray clouds partially covered the sun, which wasn't yet overhead.

The Grounder disappeared behind a screen of ferns.

"Monroe, stand watch," Bellamy said.

They followed a short tunnel into a cavern. The Grounder lay prone on the floor. Octavia stood over him.

The siblings hugged fiercely.

"How did you find me?" Octavia asked.

"Followed Finn," Jasper said.

Octavia threw her arms around him.

Libby gave Jasper a thumbs-up.

Finn crouched over the Grounder. "She knocked him out."

"Badass," Libby said admiringly.

"Let's go before he wakes up," Octavia said.

"He's not going to wake up." Bellamy lifted his axe.

"He didn't hurt me," Octavia said. "Let's just go."

"Finn, move," Bellamy said.

"He's got a horn," Finn said.

"What?" said Libby.

The Grounder grabbed a knife from his belt and plunged it into Finn's ribs. The Grounder kicked Bellamy's feet out from under him, sprang to his feet, and held a spear to Bellamy's throat.

"Stop! That's my brother!" Octavia said.

Bellamy had the end of the spear in both hands, barely keeping it from piercing his throat. The Grounder leaned on the spear.

Libby clubbed the Grounder on the back of the head with her spear, and he fell. Libby held out her hand to Bellamy. He grasped it, and Libby heaved him to his feet.

"We have to get Finn back to camp," Libby said.

"Can't you fix him?"

Libby snorted. "I'm a botanist, not a surgeon. We need Clarke."

A/N: So this story has forty-two followers ! Thank you guys. That is so gratifying. Wow. I can't get over it. This is definitely the largest number of people that have ever been excited about my writing. I'm going out of town this weekend, hence the early update. Hope that's cool. Best, ST.