The forest was startlingly silent; the murky fog had cleared and the sun was filtering lazily through the treetops. There was no sign of the danger that had passed through the day before; as if it had merely been a figment of the imagination. Mara had expected the fog to leave some type of mark or stain on the world but everything looked exactly the same as it always did.

Charlotte lagged behind Mara and Bellamy as they made their way through the forest, searching for the other members of the hunting party. At intervals, Bellamy would shout the names of the missing members but they were yet to hear anyone reply. Bellamy was growing frustrated, Mara could see it in the way he kept putting his hands in and out of his pockets and the way his eyes kept rapidly flashing around the forest. Mara was just as annoyed and frustrated as he was. She kept hoping to see Nathan walking out from behind one of the many trees, strolling along without a care in the world but he never appeared. She was worried about him, she kept replaying the scream she had heard over and over again in her mind, and the longer it took to find him, the more worried she became.

"Nathan!"

"Miller! Jones!"

Mara and Bellamy shouted simultaneously. They waited for a few moments, not expecting a reply but when one came, they sprinted in the direction of the shout.

They burst through a line of trees and nearly collided with three members of the hunting party. Nathan and Atom were not with them. Mara spun frantically around, hoping to spot the two missing boys somewhere in the trees. He has to be here, Mara's panicked thoughts consumed her.

"Where did you guys go?" Bellamy asked the relief clear in his voice. Mara wanted to snap at him that not everyone was accounted for but she kept quiet, knowing that even finding some of their people was only a small relief to Bellamy. The worry he had shown for his people allowed Mara the quiet hope that he wouldn't give up searching until both Nathan and Atom were found.

"We found a cave back there," a blond boy jerked his thumb in the direction the small group had come from. "We waited it out in there, what about you guys?"

"The same. Are any of you hurt?"

If someone had asked Mara if Bellamy cared about anyone, other than his sister, when she first met him, she would have said 'no'. Now, her entire opinion of the man was changing. She had watched him care for Charlotte, had seen the worry he had for his people, and she knew that she could no longer think of him as being entirely selfish. Truthfully, she didn't know what to think.

"Is Nathan Miller with you? Atom?" Mara asked the other group after they had confirmed that none of them was injured.

"We lost Miller in the fog. We thought Atom was with you."

Mara's heart dropped. The gaping pit in her stomach that had gradually been growing since the fog had first appeared now covered her entire being. He's fine, he's fine, she desperately tried to convince herself, but the worry wouldn't stop gnawing at her heart. She took a steadying breath and began heading in the direction the other group had come from.

"Where are you going?" Bellamy's hand shot out and grabbed her arm, forcing her to come to a halt.

"I'm getting Nathan," she answered, daring him to try to stop her.

"Not alone, you're not," he countered and raised his eyebrows at her.

"Come with me then."

He stared at her for a moment, his jaw clenching when she rolled her eyes at him and tried to walk in the direction she had been heading before he stopped her. They stared each other down for what seemed like a lifetime, both too stubborn to give in. No matter what Bellamy did, she was not going to go back to camp without Nathan.

"Fine," he eventually conceded.

"Make sure Charlotte gets back to camp," Mara instructed the other three when Charlotte eventually reached the group.

"Why can't I come with you?" Charlotte almost looked offended that she was being left behind and Mara had to smile at the adorable look on Charlotte's face.

"I don't know how long we'll be out here for. We'll see you back at camp, okay?"

Mara pulled Charlotte into a quick side hug when the girl nodded grumpily. Mara turned and caught up with Bellamy, who had slowly been making his way deeper into the forest.

"Hey," she captured his attention as he slowed his pace to allow her to catch up to him. "Thanks for last night, and for helping Nathan with the necklace. I didn't get to properly thank you yesterday."

"No problem," he quirked an eyebrow and smirked down at her. "I wasn't not going to help the guy with your anniversary present."

"What?" Mara was suspended in a state of complete confusion, so much so that she stopped walking completely.

"Your anniversary present," his voice faltered as he finally noted the look on Mara's face. Her eyebrows creased, her eyes widened and she gently bit the corner of her bottom lip. "Wait, you and Miller aren't-" his question was cut off by a shrill scream splitting through the air. Their heads shot in the direction of the dying scream as it sounded again, this time more desperate and filled with unsuppressed terror.

"Charlotte," they both whispered and locked eyes before sprinting towards her scream.

They didn't have far to run before they spotted Charlotte standing at the top of a small hill.

"Charlotte!" The girl turned around slowly at Mara's voice and gently lifted her hand to point to what she had been screaming at. The three delinquents Charlotte had been with, stood slightly closer to Mara and Bellamy but whatever they had seen was enough to burn terror into their eyes. Mara took a shaky breath and slowed to a walk as she caught up with Bellamy. He was stood next to Charlotte, staring at whatever had caused the girl to scream. As Mara crested the hill, she sucked in a gasp at the sight before her eyes.

A body was lying shaking at the bottom of the hill, its fingers were twitching as they gripped the ground, its legs were jerking sporadically and a soft pained moan was escaping its gaping mouth. Puss filled boils covered its visible skin; some had burst and were releasing a pungent combination of porous liquid and watery blood. The smell of the decaying skin worsened as Mara inched down the hill after Bellamy, quietly ordering Charlotte to stay back. As she reached the body, she quickly realised who it was.

Atom.

He hadn't been able to find shelter and had gotten caught in the fog. He looked like he had been burned by an incredibly strong type of acid, one which was making his skin peel in ribbons from his bones. Maras winced when she noticed that the muscles in his hands had popped through his skin and were pulsating as if they had been electrocuted. His moans turned into agonised whispers when Bellamy knelt by his head, looking over the damage done to the boy's body.

"Kill me. Kill me. Kill me, please."

Atom whispered repeatedly into Bellamy's ear, his voice so choked that it was almost impossible to understand what he was saying. The effort of speaking was too much for the boy as his body began to convulse with coughs. A small trail of blood slipped out of the corner of his mouth and when a violent coughing fit took over his body, orange blood burst into the air and fell to the ground, staining the fallen leaves like a morbid painting.

Mara could feel tears threatening at the edges of her eyes. She hadn't stopped to help Atom when he had fallen. She hadn't stopped and he had been caught in the fog, left to suffer in agony for hours on end. She felt like she was going to be sick as she looked at his mutilated body. One pant leg was ripped open, there were long scratches dancing up his calf and she noticed that the nails in one of his hands had been ripped from their beds. He had clawed at his own skin as if something had been crawling inside his body and he had tried to remove it himself. Mara wondered if the fog had made him hallucinate too.

"Kill me," Atom moaned, a tear clearing a path on his bloodstained face as it slipped down his cheeks.

Bellamy was frozen in his crouch by Atom's head. His eyes were fixed on the irregular rising and falling of Atom's chest, listening to the rasping, drowning sound of the dying boy's breathing. Mara could see the anguish in Bellamy's eyes as he watched one of his people suffer so horrifically.

She took a shaky step towards the two boys and forced the tears to disappear from her eyes. She softly knelt down next to Bellamy and ran a comforting hand through Atom's hair. As she did so, she could feel that some of the blisters had burst on his scalp and her hand was quickly coated with his blood. She carried on regardless, her actions seeming to bring him a small amount of comfort.

"P-please, Bell-Be-Bellamy," Atom was beginning to choke on the blood caught in his throat as he tried to lift his hand to grasp Bellamy's forearm.

Bellamy's eyes drifted to Atom, noting how the whites of Atom's eyes were tinted yellow and that the blood vessels behind his eyes had popped. Atom's eyes were roaming frantically around the forest as if he couldn't properly see. There was so much pain and desperation in the boy's face as tears began to trickle faster from his eyes. Even crying seemed to be causing him pain as Mara noticed that the tears were beginning to become tinted with pink. The dying boy was beginning to cry blood.

That seemed like the final straw for Bellamy who shot to his feet and staggered a step away from Atom. Atom's breathing worsened as he gasped for air to fill his blood clogged lungs. Mara felt her hatred for The Ark grow as she stared at Atom and remembered the pitiful medical kit she had found. They had sent one hundred children to a toxic and volatile planet with absolutely no help whatsoever. On The Ark, there may have been a chance for Atom to have survived, but not on Earth. They had no way to save him. Simultaneously, she felt a tear beginning to emerge in her heart. She had left Atom. She had kept running and hadn't even looked back to see what had fallen behind her. You should have stopped, he wouldn't be dying if you had, she scolded herself.

Gentle footsteps approached Bellamy's side, and Mara lifted her head to notice that Charlotte was handing Bellamy the knife he had given her. Mara could see his shoulder's tense as he accepted the knife and turned back to Atom once more.

"Don't be afraid," Charlotte whispered, her eyes drifting form Bellamy to Mara.

Bellamy's jaw clenched as his gaze flickered from the knife in his hand, to Atom and finally landing on Mara's hand as it continued to run through Atom's hair. He noticed the slight shaking in her fingers as she tried to avoid the boils that had yet to burst. He turned his body to face the other three hunters that were still watching on in horror.

"Go back to camp," Bellamy instructed the hunters, his voice not revealing the anguish in his heart.

With a small nod from Mara, Charlotte joined the other hunters as they retreated back to the safety of their camp. Bellamy knelt back down beside Mara and Atom, the knife gripped so tightly in his hands that his knuckles had turned white.

"Mara." He whispered, but Mara found herself unable to tear her eyes away from Atom. "Mara, you should go."

"You shouldn't have to do this alone," unlike Bellamy, Mara's voice betrayed everything she was feeling. Her guilt and overpowering sadness were evident in the shaking of her voice and the clench of her jaw as she tried to stop her entire body from trembling.

Silence descended on the forest once more, only interrupted by the rasping of Atom's breathing. Mara's heart was pounding so heavily in her chest that she couldn't believe that Bellamy wasn't able to hear it.

Bellamy rolled his shoulders as he tried to steel himself for what he was about to do. Mara didn't think that she would be able to end Atom's suffering if Bellamy couldn't. She didn't know if she would be able to watch as she took his life from him and, though it would be out of mercy, she wasn't sure she would be able to handle the guilt of putting Atom into the situation and then taking his life.

Atom rolled his head to the side, exposing his neck. His forehead was pressed against Mara's knee and she could feel the heat radiating from it as his sweat seeped into her clothes. She felt Bellamy shift beside her, his grip slackening on the knife as someone walked softly up to them.

"I heard screams," the feminine voice softly spoke as she crossed to kneel on Atom's other side.

Clarke, Mara vaguely recognised her from when she had interrupted Wells and Murphy's fight. Mara couldn't tear her eyes away from Atom as she continued to drift her hand through his sweat-drenched hair. She could hear Bellamy explaining how they had found Atom but her attention was held by Atom whose eyes had locked onto her as best as they could.

"Make it stop," he was whispering so softly that if Mara hadn't been paying attention she would have missed it entirely. Her heart broke for Atom. She had only met him the day before and didn't know him at all but she couldn't stop herself from wanting to comfort him as best as she could. She bent down further and pressed a soft kiss to the only area of his forehead not covered in boils and burns.

"It's going to be okay. The pain's going to stop soon," she whispered in his ear so quietly that only he would be able to hear her. "It'll all be over soon. Okay? It'll stop hurting, the pain will stop." She tried to keep her voice steady and reassuring but it broke with every second word. She felt him nod his head subtly against her knee, but that small motion seemed to make the pain worse and his agonised moans grew louder.

"Alright," Clarke spoke up, her voice far more soothing than Mara's had been. "I'm going to help you."

Clarke had Bellamy's knife in her hand and joined Mara in combing her fingers through Atom's hair. The blonde girl began humming softly as she positioned the knife against the side of Atom's neck. His tears had stopped as his yellowed eyes flashed to Clarke's face as he prepared himself for what was to come. Clarke continued to hum as she steadily pushed the knife into Atom's neck. The sound of his flesh splitting open reverberated through Mara's mind; she knew she would never be able to forget the slight shudder of Atom's head against her knee or the sight of the bloody knife being pulled from his neck. Yet, she found herself unable to look away from the fatal wound. As blood pooled around Atom's head, his breathing grew raspier before silencing forever. His chest stopped rising and his hands stilled their twitching.

"May we meet again," Mara whispered into his ear before sliding her hand over his eyelids, shutting his eyes from the world. Clarke continued to hum to his dead body as Mara kissed his forehead once more.

The three sat around Atom's body as Clarke finished the song she was humming; her song was no longer a simple comfort for Atom but a comfort for all of them despite the shakiness of it. Mara allowed a single tear to escape from her watering eyes as she thought of all of the ways that she could have prevented Atom's death.

Why didn't you stop? It would have taken you one second to get him back on his feet and he would have been fine! If you hadn't been thinking of yourself you could have saved his life. He's dead and it's your fault! Her toxic thoughts polluted her head as she tried to stem the guilt from consuming her entirely.

Her mind flashed back to Nathan. She hadn't found him yet and she couldn't look at Atom's body without picturing Nathan in his place. She needed to find him; she needed to know that he was safe. She didn't think she would be able to cope if he was lying in agony alone, with no hope of anyone saving him.

Mara ran her hand through Atom's hair once more as Clarke finished humming and tried to stand up. She had to grip onto Bellamy's shoulder to stop herself from wobbling. She stayed in that position as she tried to calm her quivering legs and swiped away the second tear she had let fall. Bellamy shifted underneath her hand and she glanced up to find both Bellamy and Clarke staring at her. She attempted to calm her pounding heart before she spoke. The other two seemed unable to speak as they waited for her to break the oppressive silence consuming the forest.

"I…I need…I need to find Nathan," she finally whispered to Bellamy, not caring about how her voice wavered as she spoke. "I need to know he's okay. That he's…that he's not…" she couldn't finish her train of thought so she nodded her head in Atom's direction, knowing that Bellamy would grasp her meaning.

"You can't go alone," Bellamy's voice was hoarse with emotion as he turned his steely eyes from Atom's body to Mara. "We'll take Atom back to camp then we'll look for Miller."

Mara knew that he was being logical, that if she found Nathan in a similar state to Atom that she wouldn't be able to handle it on her own. She knew she wouldn't be able to take Nathan's life if it came down to it but she couldn't bear the thought of him being alone any longer.

"He might have made it back to camp," Bellamy tried to reason with her.

"I know, but what if he's – "

"Mara?" She was cut off by Nathan's voice sounding behind her.

She twisted around and couldn't stop the sad smile that filtered onto her face. The smile immediately dropped when she noticed that Nathan was being supported by Finn and wasn't putting any weight on his right leg. She quickly rushed to his side and began inspecting him for any sign that the fog had harmed him.

"What happened?" She asked softly, her eyes trained on Nathan's injured leg.

"I went over my damn ankle trying to get away from the fog. I found Finn, Clarke and Wells when the fog cleared," he nodded his head over his shoulder to where Well's was hovering unseen behind him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I waited it out in a cave with Bellamy and Charlotte, but…Atom…Atom didn't…" she had no idea how to tell him about Atom's death so instead she stepped aside slightly to let him see Atom's body still lying on the ground.

"Shit…" Nathan cursed as his eyes locked on Atom's body before shifting his gaze to Bellamy. A look passed between the two before he returned his focus back to Mara. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," she lied to him and Well's passed them to crouch by Clarke's side. Mara noticed Finn watching Clarke intently and there was a flash in his eyes that let Mara know he would rather be with Clarke than supporting Nathan. "Finn," she grabbed his attention and noticed the cautious way he was regarding her as if he was worried that she would snap at him. "Thanks, I can take over if you want."

Finn offered her a small smile before handing Nathan off to her and making his way over to Clarke and Wells. Bellamy had risen from the ground and was slowly making his way over to Mara and Nathan.

"Did you find shelter easy enough?" Bellamy inspected Nathan for injuries much more subtly than Mara had and he managed to hide the worry in his face.

"Yeah, good thing we went scouting the other night," Nathan breathed out, a smile hinting at the edges of his lips as he squeezed Mara's shoulder with his hand. She shifted underneath him so that he was balanced easier on her as Wells and Finn picked up Atom's body.

The small group began heading back to camp in silence. Mara and Nathan lagged at the back as Nathan tried to keep up with everyone else but he couldn't put any pressure on his foot without stumbling. As the distance between Nathan and Mara and the rest of the group increased, Mara noticed Bellamy looking over his shoulder more often until he eventually made the rest of the group stop to wait for them to catch up. When Mara and Nathan reached Bellamy, Bellamy took over for Mara and she stepped to Nathan's other side.

Her heart was filled with relief at finding Nathan safe, and alive, and she tried to use that to smother the guilt she was feeling every time she looked at Atom's body. She tried to tell herself that if she had stopped she would have ended up just like him, and probably Charlotte too, but she couldn't stop from blaming herself for his death. The heavy guilt she felt was gnawing at her heart and she wondered if she would ever be able to come to terms with what she had done.

"What's wrong?"

"What?" Her head shot up and she noticed Nathan staring at her. Bellamy was watching her from out of the corner of his eyes but he gave no other indication that he was listening to their conversation.

"You're never this quiet."

"I'm okay," she tried to sound convincing, she wasn't sure she was ready to talk about the thoughts spinning in her head. Nathan cast her a look of suspicion before turning to talk to Bellamy though Mara knew that he would return to his questioning later.

The entire walk back to camp was predominantly silent, the only sound being someone occasionally checking to make sure everyone was okay. They walked until the sun dipped behind the tree line and the sky drifted lazily from blue to purple and orange before finally landing on black but Mara couldn't bring herself to recognise the beauty of the night. Mara returned to help Nathan walk as Bellamy took over carrying Atom from Finn as the sound of the camp could faintly be heard.

The group stilled just outside of the camp, preparing themselves to reveal Atom's death. They took a collective breath and steadily made it into the centre of camp. When they arrived, many of the delinquents crowded around them, wanting to see what Bellamy and Wells were carrying. Finn had taken the initiative to cover Atom's face with his jacket; the image of Atom's mutilated body didn't have to be ingrained in anyone else's minds.

There was muttering from the watching crowd as Bellamy and Wells placed Atom on the ground. Mara gripped onto Nathan a little tighter as Atom's head rolled to the side, the tips of his hair sticking out from the top of the jacket. Wells muttered to Bellamy about digging Atom's grave before he stalked off to a quieter part of the camp. Finn and Clarke rushed to the dropship to help Jasper, the kid that had gotten speared. The crowd was beginning to shift around as someone pushed to the front. Bellamy's sister, Octavia, rushed to Atom's body but Bellamy stopped her before she could reach him.

"Octavia, don't. O, stay back." Bellamy warned, holding his struggling sister back.

"Get off," Octavia growled before shaking Bellamy off of her and crouching next to Atom's covered head. She pulled the jacket away and Atom's barely recognisable face was shown to the crowd. The hundred gasped at the state of Atom's body, a few of them making comments about how disgusting he was.

Mara's heart broke just a little more as she watched the emotions flash across Octavia's face. The girl looked absolutely distraught before her face steeled into an expression of complete fury. She obviously cared about Atom and Mara felt the guilt slowly growing in her heart.

"There was nothing I could do," Bellamy tried to console his little sister but the fury in her eyes didn't look like it would be extinguished easily.

"Don't! Just don't," Octavia covered Atom's face with the jacket once more. Bellamy tried to stop her from walking away from him but she shrugged him off and stormed into the dropship.

There was an awkward silence around the camp as everyone waited with bated breath for Bellamy to react. Mara glanced at Nathan and the two shared a quiet look of understanding. Bellamy was feeling guilty for Atom's death and his sister rejecting his comfort had only made it worse. Bellamy ordered a group of the hundred to carry Atom's body to where Wells was digging a grave. That seemed to release the tension that had settled over the camp. Bellamy seemed composed like he had everything under control.

"Let's get your ankle sorted," Mara muttered and began guiding Nathan towards their tent. She offered Bellamy a sad smile as they passed and there was a flash of acknowledgement in his eyes but his face remained passive.

"What happened to you two?" Nathan murmured as they exited the slowly dispersing crowd. Mara's head shot round when she heard Bellamy shouting briefly before silence descended over the camp once more.

"What do you mean?" She pulled back the flap of their tent entrance and guided him over to his bed and gently lowered him down.

"I didn't think you liked him at all."

She could feel his eyes on her as she crouched down in front of him and gently removed his boot. His ankle was swollen and lightly bruised but it didn't look broken. She tried to think of how to respond to him. In truth, she had thought that Bellamy was a bit rash and cold, but after seeing him with Charlotte and how he wouldn't let her wander off on her on, and the look of pure desperation on his face as he watched Atom dying, Mara knew that her initial opinion of him hadn't been right.

"I guess he's not as bad as I thought," she muttered and gently turned his ankle in her hand to get a better look at it.

"Told you so," he chuckled humourlessly and winced when Mara placed too much pressure on his ankle.

"Okay, I have no idea what I'm doing but it doesn't look broken." She still couldn't look in his eyes; she was worried that he would be able to see into her soul if she did. She didn't want him to know that she believed it was her fault that Atom had died. She didn't want him to know how much guilt she was harbouring in her heart. She knew that if she were to voice what she was thinking she would break down and she wasn't sure if she would be able to piece herself back together again.

"What's going on?" Nathan's voice was softer than it had previously been as if he could sense how fragile Mara was feeling.

"Nothing."

"Please don't lie to me," he pleaded as she helped him back into his sock and boot. "Look, if this is about Atom I get it. That must have been horrible to watch but you can talk to me. Mara, don't give me the silent treatment. Talk to me."

She could feel his eyes boring holes into her head but she couldn't force herself to look up from the ground. She knew that she would break if she spoke to him. She could feel stinging at the back of her eyes and her jaw locked shut as her throat constricted. Her eyebrows furrowed and she sniffed slightly, trying to stem the tears that were desperate to fall. She was tired of crying. It felt like that was all she had done since landing on Earth. She felt utterly weak and she hated it but she knew that she couldn't keep everything bottled up, if she did, it would eat away at her until she couldn't take it anymore. It was Nathan she was talking to, not some stranger; he was her best friend, the only person she had been able to confide in for a year and a half and he was pleading with her not to shut him out. She couldn't do that to him, if she shut him out, if she built up her walls, then he would never be able to reach her.

"It was my fault," she mumbled to the ground and felt Nathan leaning in closer to her to catch what she was saying. The tent was silent for a moment as Nathan tried to process what she had said.

"What was?"

"Atom," she still couldn't look at him, even when he placed his hand on her arm, her eyes remained fixed on the ground.

"How was that your fault? He got caught in the fog, there was nothing you could have done," she hated the sincerity in his voice and the complete faith that Atom's death wasn't her fault.

"I didn't stop for him," tears were beginning to slip from her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to push them back. "He was right behind me and he… he fell and I didn't know it was him." Her head shot up and she stared into Nathan's deep brown eyes, desperately hoping that he wouldn't think she was a monster for what she had done. "I didn't know, Nathan. I left him and the fog got him. He… he died because I didn't stop running."

Nathan sank to the ground in front of her, wincing as his ankle twisted slightly. She was still gazing into his eyes, ignoring the tears that were flowing freely. He reached his hand up and gently brushed some of the tears from her cheeks. She flinched away from the contact, feeling like she didn't deserve the kindness he was showing her.

"If you had stopped, you would have ended up just like him," Nathan's voice was steady as he spoke; trying to pull Mara from the pit she had created for herself. "You would be dead too if you hadn't kept running, Mara. What happened to Atom was not your fault."

She wanted to believe him; she wished with all of her heart that she could take in everything he was saying and completely believe him. The funny thing about guilt is that it is not as simple as washing it away with a few well-meant words. Guilt clings to whoever it touches and latches on, it never truly lets go; it may fade after a time, for a while it may disappear entirely, but there will always be traces of it left behind. Even though Mara could understand that Nathan truly believed that Atom's death was not her fault, she couldn't bring herself to agree with him. There was too much pressure squeezing her heart and she knew that it would take her a long time to not entirely blame herself.

She would try, for Nathan, to not blame herself. She granted herself the opportunity to not let the guilt weigh her down. She hoped that if she told herself enough that Atom's death wasn't her fault that she would eventually trick herself into believing her own lie.

"I really hope you're right."