The group headed for Mount Weather camped for the night after the exciting events at the river. Then, began their journey again in the morning.

They headed for the river to find a way across without getting eaten by the river monster. Finn was quite practical, finding an old rope from before the bombs that had long since been twisted with vines and frayed at the torn edges. However, the vines seemed to make it sturdier than it was before.

Casey wondered how they would get all of their supplies back if this was their only known way across, but she didn't worry about it long as she joined in with the others to cheer Finn across.

"You wanted to go first," Clarke called to Finn, who now stood on the rock with Jasper beside him and the rope loosely held between his hands. "Now, quit stalling!"

"Mount Weather awaits!" Octavia cheered.

"Just hang on till the apogee, and you'll be fine," Jasper assured Finn.

"The apogee... like the Native Americans, right?" Finn asked, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes as he turned to Jasper, trying to keep a straight face.

"Apogee, not Apache."

"He knows," Clarke cut in, but she was more amused than she had been the day before when snapping at them to hurry. "Today, Finn."

"Aye, aye, Captain. See you on the other side," Finn called back, saluting her.

He was about to jump from the rocks when Jasper jerked forward awkwardly. He took the rope, holding it between white knuckles, and stared down at the group. More specifically, Octavia.

"Let me," Jasper said to Finn, his eyes darting back to him. "I can do it."

Casey let out an ear-piercing whistle between her fingers as Jasper took the rope. He turned to her with a sheepish smile as Finn clapped a hand on his shoulder, stepping out of Jasper's way.

"Knew there was a badass in there somewhere," Finn told him with a bright, almost proud smile.

Jasper stood with the rope as they watched him from the ground. He looked nervously up at it, then back down to them, to Octavia. He hesitated. All Jasper needed was a little push, and Finn could give him that with ease.

"Hey, it's okay to be afraid, Jasper," Finn assured him. "The trick is not fighting it."

Jasper nodded his head.

"See you on the other side," he said to the group, Finn chuckling beside him.

Jasper smiled, getting his grip on the rope before launching off the rock. His long legs curled into his chest, and he sailed across the water, cheering in excitement. Then, Jasper let go too quickly, knocking his feet into wood and water, tumbling onto the other side. But he was there, and he was safe.

Casey and the other teens on the other side quickly moved to make sure he was okay, but Jasper was better than he had been in a long time. He stood, raising his arms, and screamed: "We are apogee!"

They screamed with him, excitement coursing through their veins because something was finally going right for them.

Finn then turned to Clarke, holding the rope out to her.

Clarke held the rope between her hands; they shook from her nervousness as she smiled lightly at Finn.

Casey noticed that, unlike the day before, Clarke now looked a little nervous. She rose an amused brow, a romance brewing between the two even though Octavia had 'claimed' him. Finn didn't seem as interested in her as he did with Clarke.

"Come on, Clarke! You've got this! Whoo! Apogee!" Jasper cheered, climbing up the cliff to move out of her way. After a moment of scrambling along the sandy riverside, Jasper found a metal sign. He got a grip on it, swinging it above his head so they could see it.

"We did it!" he yelled to them. "Mount Weather! Whoo! Whoo!"

Everyone let out a breath of relief.

Casey felt excited for once, seeing that they were on the right path finally. The faster they made it to Mount Weather, the quicker they could help the Ark come down to Earth. Then, maybe, she could see her mom again.

However, those reassuring thoughts were ruined as a spear flung from the trees and pierced into the middle of Jasper's chest. He went flying, smacking hard against a tree, and his head lolled down, eyes wide, staring at the spear.

No one moved as Jasper stayed still.

Then Clarke screamed, and Finn shouted for them to get down. Casey could barely focus, her eyes dead center on Jasper as she thought: He's dead. He's dead. His head rolled to the side, eyes wide open and a spear in the chest dead. He's dead, and we're next. I've only made it a day past my own, and there's a target on my back. On all our backs.

Nothing else happened. The forest stilled, and soon enough Octavia had her by the hand. Casey didn't move from the squat she hardly remembered moving into. Then, they ran into the forest, back toward the dropship.

They were running, and running, and running until they could barely feel their legs, their lungs. The scenery they had once been admiring was now a barrier between the danger lurking behind and the false sense of security they had in their camp half a day away.

Casey could feel herself counting aloud, but no one paid attention to it. They weren't quite on their sprint back to camp, anyway. So, if they were following her voice, it wasn't like they couldn't follow their loud footfalls breaking every branch in their path or their heavy breathing from a mile away.

Monty tripped, falling face-first into the dirt. Octavia and Finn skidded to a stop and pulled him up, where he lay without struggling to move. Casey worried he had given up, but he had been focused on the bones littering the clearing in reality. Everyone stopped as they realized what they were standing in, but Casey only felt the need to keep going.

We aren't safe. We aren't safe. We aren't safe. We aren't safe.

"Who are they?" Finn asked, as if this was more important than getting to safety.

"It doesn't matter!" Casey snapped, catching his gaze as he looked at her in surprise. "We need to keep moving, no matter how interesting it is!" she exclaimed breathlessly, knocking the skull Clarke had picked up out of her hands.

Casey was about to drag them to the dropship by their necks if she had to when a scream impeded their return further.

"Jasper," Clarke whispered, blue eyes wide and wild. "He's alive."

Clarke darted back toward the river. Finn and Monty followed behind her. Casey, however, wanted to stay behind, stay safe, make it back to camp. Her hands pulled at the ends of her hair, squeezing her eyes shut and counting under her breath.

"Hey, hey," Octavia called, about to run when she noticed Casey not moving. "We gotta go. We can't split up."

Casey opened her eyes to find hers, a slight frown on her face. Casey took a moment, but Clarke and the others were getting farther and farther away every second she did.

So, she nodded solemnly and repeated for her own mind, "We can't split up."

Octavia gave her a sad smile, taking Casey's hand, and the two sprinted to meet the three behind a bush overlooking the river where Jasper had been. He wasn't there any longer.

"No. Where is he?" Monty muttered, his eyes scouring the tree line to see if he missed Jasper crawling away or just any sign his best friend was still alive.

"They took him," Clarke concluded, turning the blood in their veins cold.

"THIS IS FOR MY FATHER!"

They could all hear Murphy scream from outside the camp. They were exhausted, running all the way back from the river until Casey could barely stand anymore. They walked for another half mile. Finn and Octavia held Casey up as the wound in her thigh bled through the makeshift bandages, and shots of pain racked up her leg. Clarke reassured her it didn't look infected yet, but she'd patch it up when they returned.

Now, they returned, and Murphy was already trying to act out some revenge plan he had been craving since they landed and learned Wells Jaha, the Chancellor's son, had come down with them.

Casey tried to pull herself out of Finn and Octavia's arms to get to Murphy, but they had locked their arms tight around her, preventing escape.

"He's going to kill him," Casey claimed, bending forward as she tried to slip past the knot of arms. She then tried to beg with Finn and Octavia, but neither budged as she sobbed, "Please, he will."

"Wells!" Clarke shouted, storming past the three and towards Wells and Murphy. Wells had Murphy in a headlock, the edge of his knife resting on the skin of Murphy's neck. "Let him go!"

"Clarke's got it handled," Finn assured her.

Casey turned to watch, tears running down her face as the emotional toll from their trip and injury had her mind all over the place.

Wells stepped back from Murphy like an obedient dog. Although Murphy could not be so easily tamed. Years of untreated anger issues, piled on resentment, and an abusive relationship with his mother created his worst self. However, Bellamy stood in his way.

Murphy was set on a warpath, his expression coiled into anger, and he looked about ready to kill Bellamy just to get his hands on Wells.

Bellamy noted this but didn't back down as he caught Murphy's eye, then nodded his head to the side where Casey stood with Finn and Octavia.

Murphy followed his line of sight and found his honorary sister. His face fell, all the anger in him subsided as he noticed how beaten up and tired she looked. Finn left Casey's side as he approached to give them space, but Octavia stayed to keep her upright.

"What happened?" Murphy asked, snapping at Octavia as he turned to her, fuming again. Bellamy was still watching with narrowed eyes, and Casey was surprised he didn't come to snatch Murphy by the neck for how he spoke to his sister.

"Hey, I'm alright," Casey assured Murphy, her hand on his chest as she pushed him back, telling him to relax.

"Alright?" Murphy scoffed. "You look half-dead!"

"Well, the other half of me is fine," she snapped back bluntly, exhausted. "I'm not the one we need to be worrying about," she stated, her eyes darting from Murphy to Bellamy, her jaw clenching at the sight of him.

Casey had never blamed Octavia for what her brother did. At least, not in all her time on the Ark. Now, with Bellamy here stirring her emotions, she did for a moment. Especially with how Octavia was acting. Now, having saved Octavia's life and a second of understanding passing through them along with narrowly escaping death together, they were on the right track to becoming friends once again.

Bellamy wouldn't be forgiven so easily. It was his fault Jasper was speared through the chest and stolen from them. If he had relented and sent over six people to go in search of supplies for roughly one hundred people, then they wouldn't be stuck in this mess.

"We were attacked," Clarke explained, gaining the attention of the rest of the camp lingering.

Bellamy caught Casey's glare with his own. His eyes were dark, tired, and seeking a reason she was so adamant about blaming him. He could tell even without her saying it.

"Attacked?" Wells asked, taken aback by Clarke's words. His eyes racked over her to check for injuries but came back reassured that she was okay. "By what?"

"Not what," Finn corrected him. "Who. It turns out when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last Grounder."

"It's true," Clarke followed. "Everything we thought 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 concluded, destroying any hope of survival the hundred had left.

"Jasper was hit. They took him," Clarke said, her voice radiating to ensure that she was heard. Although she was quickly distracted. She turned to Wells, her gaze catching his wristband that wasn't there. "Where's your wristband?"

"Oh, who the fuck cares right now?!" Casey exclaimed, her eyes peeling from Bellamy and over to Clarke. A frown sunk into her features, ignoring the pain in her leg as she leaned heavily against Octavia. "We need to go out there and find him, but we need the backup you didn't want to give us," she spat, walking out of Octavia's grip and towards Bellamy. "Why didn't you back us up? Because felt like trash? Thrown out by some privileged kids who are in the same boat you are?"

"Not because of that," Bellamy stated, dangerously quiet. "If I had sent out more with you, how many would have gotten hurt or died the same as him?"

"None! Have any of you been speared down in this camp?" Casey asked, loud enough for the others to hear the silence answering her. "My poi..." Casey stumbled on her words as she shifted the weight between her legs and nearly crumbled to the ground. Murphy shot forward, catching her.

"Exactly my point," she reiterated, placing her arm around Murphy's neck. "We're better in numbers."

"How many wristbands?" Clarke interrupted.

"Oh my god," Casey muttered, shaking her head in annoyance.

"Twenty-four and counting," Murphy stated smugly beside her.

Casey looked up at Murphy sharply. She didn't think it was the time to talk about the wristbands, but his words were like a hot knife to her already stinging wounds. He knew her mom was up there, his mom was up there, and he was trying to kill her.

"I can't believe you," she whispered in Murphy's ear, turning to look over his shoulder.

Murphy didn't have time to react as Casey nodded over at Octavia, who nodded back. She moved through the small crowd and stood beside them. Casey pulled out of Murphy's arm and landed in Octavia's.

"Let's clean your wounds," Octavia said softly. Still, the disheartened and betrayed look on Murphy's face didn't go unnoticed by either teenager.

Octavia set Casey down beside the dropship and unwrapped her wound to clean it as best as she could. While Octavia did so, they continued to listen to Clarke and Bellamy argue over the best course of action for their people rather than sending out a rescue mission for Jasper, then discuss.

"You idiots! Life support on the Ark is dying," Clarke desperately said to them. "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!"

"We're stronger than you think!" Bellamy countered. "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? 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!"

The hundred cheered in unison at the end of Bellamy's speech. All Casey was left with was an unpleasant taste in her mouth and a knot in her stomach.

Author's Note

Season 1, Episode 2: Earth Skills

Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you'd like. However, this is an all kind of reader safe space. So even if you ghost read or comment every chapter, I hope you know it means the world to me that you've come into this fic I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and until the next one.