I followed Indra for 20 minutes, keeping my mouth shut and observing the forest. The trees look decades old, some have the base that has the size of my room. I tread through the forest, smelling the air. It smells… sweet. Of course the experience would've been much better if Indra wasn't screaming at me constantly to catch up.
This is all so overwhelming. Should i be happy that i'm on earth? Should i be scared of Indra, and where she's taking me? All these feeling tumble through my mind. That's not the only thing that tumbles.
I land, face first, to the ground. I grunt as my head spins. Strong hands grab my arms, rather tightly, lift me off my feet and pull me up. I wince internally as i see Indra's infuriated face, but mask it perfectly. My rage helps me keep contact with her eyes. I can feel her fuming. She points behind my feet. I follow her eyes and find a tree root protruding from the ground, sticking upwards ridiculously. I don't blame myself, really. If i hadn't been in a box that moved instantaneously for god knows how long, I definitely wouldn't have tripped over a large, obvious root.
"Look." I say. "Tell me what's going to-"
And for a moment, Indra becomes a blur. She moves quickly and strikes my arm with her sword. A burning sting sinks in my flesh, blood instantly oozing out. I stifle a throat shredding scream, and fling my hand to my arm. The pain is nearly blinding.
"If you don't move in time, you'll bleed to death." Indra simply stated, and proceeded to walk in a fast pace. What the hell is this Tiger-woman?
After a few more minutes of my aching arm and now aching feet, my vision starts to darken. I keep going. Whatever's happening is bigger than me, at least that's what i think. Indra still hasn't told me where we're going yet and i clearly don't wanna ask her again. She looks back occasionally and glares at me. What did i ever do to her?
The sky gets lighter. The clear blue sky is slightly dull and clouds dotted across. It looks like one of the painting that were in mom's room. Mom. I don't know why she would do this. She's the only I have, and she decides to send me to Earth. I mean, thanks but; why? We were told that people do go to Earth, but only professionals. No one was ever allowed to even utter a word about wanting to be on the ground, much less what happens there. There must a whole community here. What i don't know if it's made from our people or Indras.
Indra finally seems like she's going somewhere. We come to a stop right in front of a huge cave, cradled by trees and plants that clung onto the outer rock. The entrance is draped by vibrant green vines that brushed the trampled grass-covered ground. There was light glinting from the gaps of the vines, but I can't make out what's beyond. I guess i'm about to find out, because Indra pulls back the vines, and nods her head at me.
Due to past experiences and the throbbing of my arm, i'm wise enough to do as i'm told. Rebelling against my gut, i walk through the surprisingly damp air. At first, all i see is a mass of light, much lighter than the shadowed forests'. Then there's a gust of wind, picking at my clothes and whipped back my hair. My exposed neck sends shivers down my spine. My eyes adjust.
There was the sight of an entire village that lay on a yet another coastline. A whole community living by the beach, dressed in hides of various animals, knives glinting of the beefy men. Red faced women hustle their...ambitious... children into their small wooden sheds. I realized why soon enough when the only sound filling my ears was the wild wind and distant waves.
It wasn't the noise that startled me. It was the expressions of every man, woman and child bore on their faces; Pure rage.
All of a sudden, they burst out, shouting threats and snarling, some even spitting towards my feet. I instantly started backing away, but i felt a push that urged me forward and hurt my arm in the process. Idra clutched my injured arm (which earned her a ear shredding scream from me) and dragged me past the crowd towards the end of the path. It was one hell of a journey, tougher than the one that i had with Indra.
I don't know what i did to hurt them or anger them. Either they don't like strangers or newbies or we did something to piss them off. By 'we' i mean the Ark. As we get closer to the beach, Indra takes an abrupt left which now display a huge cabin, bigger than any other i've seen so far. This must be where their leaders are at. Indra heads straight for it.
As the doors creak open, we're surrounded by guards. The interior is larger than it looks from the outside, lit dimly with candles and floored with carpets. And right in front of me was where my eyes met stormy-green ones. She wore a deep purple robe and leather armour, her hair braided down and descending to her left shoulder. She's sitting on her metallic throne that was dotted by glass that glinted. And her face, though breath-takingly beautiful, is fierce and fearless.
Too busy staring at her, i realize that everyone is bowing down. I immediately sink to one knee and bow.
"Rise." Her voice booms, un-matching to her appearance. I gradually pick myself up.
"I thank you Indra for delivering our guest safetly." Safetly? Say that to my arm, lady. She looks at me, and i unknowingly straighten myself up. Why should i be afraid of her?
"I am Lexa. Leader of Trikru and all of the United Clans. You are here for a negotiation we had with Skikru. We have looked past their deception and offered them a deal, which you are aware of. My guards will now take you to your chambers. You will have one night's rest until tomorrow's dawn."
At that moment the guards were behind me, pressing me to move forward.
"Wait- I- Wait!" The guards stop as Lexa nods at me.
"I don't-"
"I'll escort her." A voice states behind me. A familiar, tall man with a mop of curly hair strides towards Lexa, casting a brief glance at me.
"Very well." Lexa agrees. And with that, he strides towards me, grabs my arm (what is with these people and my arm) and drags me back to the entrance. I begin to protest as he quickly escorts me to a nearby cabin that looks shabby, but is slightly bigger than the others. He dismisses the guards outside, pushes me inside the cabin, and shuts the door behind him.
"Are you insane?" I question. He whips around with incredulous rage in his eyes.
"I'm insane? You're insane. Do you have any idea what could've happened back there if you pretended not to know what's happening? They would question our deal! Then you'd all be dead!" He gritted his teeth.
"Listen, you." I say, coming closer to him and staring directly at him. I've had enough for today. "I've been sent abruptly down to earth, all of a sudden separated from the rest of the people, escorted roughly by Indra, had a sword sliced through my bloody arm, not to mention being a verbal punching bag for the entire village and been ordered to perform some journey tomorrow, so before you start pinning things on me, tell me what the HELL is going on!."
I draw in a deep breath. Only then i notice how we're nose to nose. He lets down his guard a little. An understanding look flashes across his face, quickly replaced by frustration. He turned
Away and let out a humourless laugh. His eyes soon came back to me.
"They didn't tell you did they?" I stayed silent. He gestured me take a seat on the bed, and she did. He dragged a chair. He stared at her first, trailing his eyes over her. She hated how she blushed. She had to stay focused dammit. She cleared her throat. Bellamy was caught off guard, and returned his attention back to her eyes. He took a deep breath.
"A week earlier, the Ark sent some men to investigate a place where there could be a place for a settlement. They could build houses for all the people in the Ark and use their technology to keep them safe. The men spent a few days, walking and hiking to the location. Once they found it, they discovered it was a perfect place to build on and was efficient for installing security. They had to stay the night there because it was too dark to go back. We're not sure what happened but…" He hesitated.
"But what?" I urged
"There was an explosion that night. Whatever material that exploded affected some of the Trikru villages. People died. Children, men, women and animals. And we got the blame for it."
I gulp. No wonder they were shouting at me. I'm an enemy to them, someone who killed their people.
"Jaha somehow offered a better deal. He said that he would send help to eliminate their biggest enemy; the mountain men. He sent you and all those others down to help with that."
"That doesn't make any sense. What do we have to do with all this? How are we supposed to help?" I ask desperately, the fear of the situation now taking over me.
"Didn't you notice how selectively they used picked all those people that were in the transporter with you?" Bellamy questioned. "They picked you according to what you're good at, according to your talent, your physical capabilities as well as your earth skills."
"Hold on," I stand up, running a rough hand through my hair, "Are you saying.."
Bellamy looks at me. Something soft in his eyes, for the first time since i saw him. Its unusual, because i know he hates me for whatever reason. Terror settles in my gut after his next words.
"You have to take out the Mountain Men."