Chapter 4

Cheers filled the dusky air as fires all around camp caused shadows to dance in all manner of places. I leaned against the dropship, a makeshift cup in my hands, half filled with Monty's famous moodshine. I took a swig, the burning sensation moving down my throat into my stomach as the liquid made it's journey south. God, this tastes good. Yet more cheers went up from one of the tables that had been erected outside the dropship, justt for tonight. An array of drinking games were taking place on each of the tables. At the one that had just erupted with cheers, it appeared to be Miller at the centre of attention. On one the quieter ones I saw Octavia, and when she felt my eyes on her she smiled, raising her cup at me, a gesture that I returned. Out of the dropship came Clarke, followed by Bellamy., both of which were in conversation, "It's ok" I heard Bellamy say, in a reassuring voice "You go have fun". Clarke seemed to think about it for a second before deciding "Yeah, ok, I will" She said after a pause. She turned to leave, took a step before turning back, "You know, you should try to have some fun too." She said to Bellamy, who smiled, "I'll have my fun when the Grounders get here. Now go." He gestured to the tables. Clarke turned to leave. Bellamy turned his head to look at me. I just smirked at him, hoping he didn't realise. "What are you smiling about?" Bellamy asked seriously. "Nothing" I looked away towards the wall, flicking my eyes back to Bellamy everynow and then, my smirk still on my face. "You little...whatever" Bellamy glared daggers at me before leaving.

I moved through the tents, before coming to Raven's tent. I could hear voices as i got closer. I almost reached the tent flap when I heard Finn's voice, he sounded annoyed "You know what, you're right. I'm being stupid, do what you want on Unification Day". I just heard Raven's typical sarcastic tone "That's what I'm doing". Finn appeared out of the tent, stopping to glare at me before carrying on. He headed in the direction of his secret entrance in and out of the camp. I had found it a couple weeks ago, when I had followed him out into the forest. I ducked down into Raven's tent. It was large compared to most of them, with a large mat of furs on the floor, with bits of tarp mixed in. On the far side of the tent from the entrance, stood Raven's table. It was at this that Raven now sat, carfully, but efficently splitting the gun powder between casings to increase our ammo supply. She stopped her work to glance over her shoulder and throw a glare in my direction. Her face loosened to a weary smile when she saw that it was me, before turning back to her work. As I made my way across the tent she said "I thought you were Finn, sorry". "It's fine" I assured her. "I may have heard that the two of you weren't exactly the best of friends at this point in time." I sat next to her on the second seat. She dropped the casing she was working on, "He is just being so annoying at the moment. He never seems to leave me alone. When he's in camp that is. Often he just seems to disappear off into the forest doing who knows what." The frustration was clearly audiable in her voice, "And when he is in camp, he's always checking up on me or getting on my case about not having enough fun, When all I'm trying to do is keep us alive." After her outburst, she let out a sigh. "I mean, he's great usually, just right now he's just being stupid". I nodded. "I know what you mean. He's just looking out for you, though he is being a bit ridiculous about it in my opinion. Anyway, he is right on this one. We have more than enough ammo for when the grounders attack, you should go and have some fun", I put my hands on her shoulders, which relaxed as I made contact "Seriously, Raven". Raven squirmed a little before relenting. Holding up her hands. she said "Fine, I'll go find a drink". "You won't regret it" I said with a laugh, "Monty really knows how to make a drink." I returned to the tables with Raven, who went off in search of a drink. I resumed my position next to the drop ship. It was only a matter of time before Finn came back. I glanced at Clarke who was playing on one of the smaller tables on the edge of the clearing, near to the wall. Soon, it will get worse. I picked up my cup and took a swig, once more revelling in the marvel that is Monty's Moonshine.

A couple hours passed, and I barely moved from my spot next to the dropship. A couple people had come to say hello, like Fox and Monroe, both of which were stumbling all over. Bellamy came over, asking if I could see any gaps in the sentries on the walls. After assuring him 4 times that they were ok, he went back to his patrolling. Octavia had come up to me, almost crashing at my feet if I hadn't caught her. Luckily, she hadn't told anyone about Lincoln, which had been my greatest worry. She stayed for a couple minutes, needing full support to stand until Bellamy came over and said she had had enough, to which I agreed, much to Octavia's dismay. I would have to explain to her in the morning. I saw Raven at one of the tables, bouncing a ring into a cup. She seemed to be extremely good at it, from what I could see.

Then, my stomach clenched. Finn was making his way directly towards Clarke, who was standing at one of the tables. I quickly made my way down the dropship ramp, dodged round a couple sleeping members of the 100, and snuck through the crowd towards Clarke, and soon Finn. As I got near, I saw Clarke pick up one of the cups, down it and lower it to reveal the ring that had been inside. Cheers and claps rose from those around the table. Finn appeared behind Clarke, as I arrived on the other side of the table. Clarke turned to see Finn, her smile dropping as she saw him. "Can I talk to you a second?" He inquired, urgently. Clarke turned back to the table, rolled her eyes and said "Sorry, guys, I'll finish up later." Clarke made her way away from the table. As she did, Finn grabbed the ring from the table and bonced it into the cup. "That was her go" He said, nodding his head in Clarke's direction, before following after Clarke. The next person picked up the cup to drink, whilst I snuck around the table, and after Finn and Clarke's retreating figures.

Finn led Clarke through the maze of tents, so taht they were well away from all of the comotion of the games and tables. Clarked grabbed Finn's arm, stopping him in his tracks. I ducked down behind a tent as Finn turned to face Clarke. "What the hell do you want Finn?" Clarke demanded, her voice laced with anger. Finn took in a deep breath, "I've created a meeting with the leader of the Grounders.". A weighted silence followed, crushing all ease that may have still been near. "You did what?!" Clarke practically shouted. I heard Finn shushing Clarke, "Keep your voice down will you". "Why the hell did you do that?" Clarke whisper-shouted, "Wait, how did you do that?". I imagined Clarke's face scrunched up in confusion. "They speak English, or at least a few of them do. Most speak another language, but a few speak English that we can understand. I met one when I was in the forest a few weeks ago, the one that we captured. His name is Lincoln.". Once again, the silence that filled the area seemed to squeeze on all those present. "So, you met a grounder in the forest, who is called Lincoln, and thinks that we could have a peaceful meeting with the grounders?" Clarke sounded unimpressed. "Yes, that is what he and I both believe." Finn wasn't deterred by Clarke's skepticalism. "We have a real chance of peace, Clarke. Come on, let's go for it". A silence followed, in which Clarke must have been thinking, "You do know that Bellamy won't agree to this, right?" She said matter-of-factly. "That's why I came to you, you listen to reason" Finn said, not unkindly. "He is gung-ho Iwill give you that" Clarke said, though she still sounded like she didn't like the whole idea. "Come on, Clarke, if it doesn't work out, then no harm done" Finn said reassuringly. Clarke scoffed, "No harm done? They will kill us where we stand if the deal goes south." Clarke exclaimed. "Lincoln said that there would be no weapons, on either side" Finn stated. Yet another silence fell, once again waiting on Clarke, who was thinking hard. "When does...Lincoln...say the meeting will be held?" Clarke said, tentativly. "Dawn tomorrow, at a bridge to the north of here. No weapons of any kind. Just you, and the Grounder leader, in clear view". Finn's voice had picked up in anticipation. "So is that a yes?". "Yes, fine" Clarke sounded pained, "When do we leave?". "An hour. That will allow us time to pack, and then once we have left, time to meet Lincoln and reach the bridge by dawn" Finn said, just containing his excitement. "Fine, I'll go get packing" Clarke's voice laced with annoyance, with a trace of anticipation. Finn went one way, Clarke the other. I waited until I was sure both of them had moved on before leaving my hiding spot and running to find Clarke and, by my guess Bellamy.

I slinked after Clarke as she made her way through the crowd towards Bellamy, who appeared to be going to the shooting range. Clarke caught up with Bellamy, stopping with a light hand on his chest. I was too far away from them to hear the conversation, but as I got closer I heard Clarke say "So? Will you be our backup?" to which Bellamy nodded. Clarke headed off in the direction of her tent, most likely to gear up. I moved to stand next to Bellamy who was gazing after Clarke, thinking. "You do realise I know what is happening, right?" I said cautiously. Bellamy nodded, never looking away from Clarke's direction, even though she was out of sight. When Bellamy made no move to speak, I continued, "I'm in, who else do you need?". Bellamy turned his head finally, looking straight at me, "Raven and Jasper. Make sure they aren't too drunk. But don't tell them what is happened, say I'll explain on the way. Don't need people freaking out." I inclined my head, showing my understanding. As I made my way from Bellamy to look for Jasper and Raven, Bellamy called after me: "Wait how do you-". "I just do Bellamy. I know stuff I shouldn't, don't I?" I called back, laughing. I could see Bellamy shaking his head, chuckling.

I found Raven and Jasper easily enough. Raven was having an intense drinking game with Miller and Diggs, both of which thought they could beat Raven, only to discover that she was a badass when it came to these kinds of games. And most other things, actually. Jasper wasn't faring so well, getting beaten under the table by Monty, though he was sober enough. Monty seemed a little suspicious as to why Jasper had to go, but after I promised him that I would give him all the details later he relented. Monty had been one of the people who had come to trust me more recently, still seeing me as dangerous after my fight with tatoo guys and his buddies, but he had really tried when Jasper urged him to and once he realised what I was like, he loosened up. Jasper, Raven and I made our way to the armoury to gear up. Bellamy was already there, with four rifles, 3 magazines each. Each of us grabbed a gun, slinging it over our shoulders. Me and Bellamy had done it so often that it came naturally, from his experience as a guard on the Ark and mine back in Los Angeles. Raven seemed comfortable enough with the strap, but Jasper had to try three times before he got it on properly and not tangled all around his body. I slipped the magazines in the pockets of my jacket, a leather one Bellamy had given my second week after watching me trounce three guys at once in the arena, since he had missed my first fight. I reached behind my back and felt the familiar shape of my trusty pistol, tucked in my waist band. I still had all of the rounds I had taken from the range. God, it felt like a lifetime ago. I had been a different person back then. But now, everything had changed. I had ended up here, in what is going to become a war zone in the not so distant future, and no idea how to get home.

When the others were ready, we waited for Bellamy's signal. He came in about a quarter of an hour later, telling us to move out. Keeping to the shadows, we snuck out through the gate, Bellamy telling the guard that they would be back tomorrow around midday if all went well as we went past. We followed Finn and Clarke's tracks through the forest. This wasn't easy as there was next to no light beneath the roof of green leaves from the moon and Bellamy said torches would only bring unwanted attention. I used this time to fill in Jasper and Raven. Jasper seemed calm and passive about the whole scenario, but Raven all but eploded. She went on about how Finn was being stupid and ignorant, not paying attention to the danger that he was in and also how he was always trying to sort everything out himself when it wasn't necessary. All of us just kept quiet, knowing it was not the best move to try and negotiate with an angry Raven. After god knows how long (and how far) we came to the edge of a clearing, where Finn, Clarke and a grounder were conversing. I knew who Lincoln was, but the others had no clue so raised their guns immediately. I pushed their guns down quickly, before any of them could get a shot off. "That's not the leader" I whispered, "That's the Grounder who is trying to help Finn organise peace talks. He's the guy whose taking them to the meeting place. Don't shoot him." Reluctantly, the three of them lowered their guns, Bellamy being the last to do so. After a couple minutes more of talking, Lincoln led Finn and Clarke off towards the left of where we were crouching, pushing their waty through the undergrowth. Bellamy once more led the way, followed by me, then Raven, and Jasper after her. No one talked the whole way to the bridge, by which time streaks of red-orange light were treaming through the leaves above our heads. Once or twice I thought Lincoln clocked our presence but he seemed to still be oblivious. Clarke had left a few pointers to help out. A piece of cloth here, a pile of nuts there, just little pointers letting us know we were still on the right track.

The light had turned to a yellow-orange by the time we reached the bridge. Clarke, Finn and Lincoln went onto the actual span of the bridge itself, whilst we went to one side, hidden from view but still able to see what was happening. I scanned the trees of the other side of the bridge, waiting for the grounders arrival. We didn't have to wait long. A grounder on foot, flanked by two on horse back armed with bows and swords at their sides stepped out from the tree line and began across the bridge. The riders stopped when they reached the edge of the bridge, but the one of foot, whose face was covered by a mask continued onwards till they reached the middle of the bridge. Lincoln told Clarke that this was one of the generals, and she would be the person she would talk to. Clarke nodded and catiously began her journey across the bridge. Finn made to follow, but Lincoln stopped him, saying that they had to be alone. From our side of the river a rustling came from the bushes. Octavia's pale face appeared as she made her way towards Lincoln. I glanced at Bellany, seeing his eyes narrowing as he sucked in a breath. Jasper did the same, but instead his eye widened in fear. Octavia embraced Lincoln, placing a soft kiss on his lips before pulling back. Finn and Clarke just stared, as did the Grounders. Lincoln shared a few quiet words with Octavia, though i couldn't hear from my position. They seemed to be arguing over something. My best guess was Octavia being on the bridge at that time at all. When they finished, seemingly at an agreement, Lincoln gestured to Clarke, telling her to keep moving. Clarke met the grounder in the centre of the bridge, who had removed their mask to reveal a tanned and war paint covered face. Anya was her name, from what I could remember, and she had been Commander Lexa's mentor when she was training. A tense feeling covered the area, making all holf in a little breath. The only one who seemed unaffected was Anya, who just stared coldly at Clarke. Clarke held out her hand, saying in a clear voice that I could just about hear, "It's nice to meet you. My name is Clarke". Anya ignored the hand, to which Clarke lowered said hand. "I am Anya kom Tri kru", Anya said "It isn't so nice to meet you, Clarke." Anya's voice was cold and accusing. "Why is that?" Clarke asked, clearly unsure of what the problem was. "You burned down one of our villages with the missles you set off a few weeks ago. We lost two people to the fire." Anya's voice kept up it's manevolent tone. "Missles?" Clarke seemed bewildered, but then realisation kicked in, "Oh wait, you mean the flares. No, they weren't missles. They were flares we were using to signal our families back on the Ark. They weren't weapons", "Yet they killed two people and destroyed an entire village!" Anya just about keeping her cool. "I am very sorry about that, but that was never our intention." Clarke said, trying to regain some ground. So far the meeting was not going the way she had planned it, I suspect. "We are here to make amends for any wrongs we have commited and hopefully have a fresh start." Clarke continued, "As it is obvious we got off on the wrong foot.". "Make amend? You have alot to do with that, as well as a whole host of wrongs that you have commited. A fresh start would only be benificial for your selves, not us." Anya shot back. Clarke seemed to be getting desperate, "We don't want a war. We just want to live here. Our home is dying and we need some where new to live." "Don't want a war? What do you called firing missiles at us, if not a declaration of war. Besides, the land we are on is ours. You have claimed it thinking you were their first. It was our hunting grounds." Anya's serious tones ringing out across the valley. Clarke tried a different approach, "More of our people are coming. They will wipe you out if we are in a war because of our superior technology. You have no hope to win.". "Can you garantee that your people will honour any terms that we set forth here?" Anya's eyes had narrowed sucipiciously. "Not really, bu-" Clarke began, "Why would I agree to a treaty that your people can break the minute they set foot on the ground? We might as well just kill our selves right away. Our easiest option is to kill you now, and deal with the rest later. There is only one hundred of you here right now, after all. I have three times as many warriors available to me." Anya interrupted.

I tore my eyes away from the two women talking, and scanned the trees. I spotted maybe six guys with bows at the ready, but they seemed to not have spotted us. I nudged Jasper, "Look, the trees". Jasper peered through his scope. I saw his face turn to one of fear. "Oh god your right" He whispered, "Bellamy, we have grounders in the trees." Bellamy and Raven both followed the tree line, their faces hardening when they saw them. "We have to get Clarke out of there." Jasper urged. "No" I said firmly "Wait a little longer." Jasper was about to argure, but when Bellamy put his hand on his shoulder he backed down. The talk had got a lot more heated, with comments flying back and forth. Finn once again made to walk forwards, before once again being stopped by Lincoln. Jasper was getting more and more fidgity. Anya seemed as if she woudl go for her sword any second. Jasper couldn't take it any more, and before Bellamy, Raven or I could do anything, he was on his feet shouting, "Clarke look out, there are grounders in the trees!" And then his rifle was at his shoulder and two grounders were falling from their perches. Raven and I opened fire on the other archers, both dropping two each, but not before they had loosed a few volleys at Clarke and the others on the bridge. Lincoln had pushed Octavia behind him and had an arrow in his shoulder. Anya had her blade out but she too a shot from Bellamy, sending her spinning. Clarke and Bellamy seemed to share a look before Finn had grabbed Clarke's hand (much to Raven's disgust) and was dragging her back across the bidge. Arrows were still flying and Jasper, Raven and I had each dropped at least one other grounder. When Finn, Clarke and Octavia were off the bridge in the safety of the tree line, Lincoln made a dash across the bridge towards the grounders, shouting back for Finn to hold back Octavia, who had just made a run after him. " We should go, too" Said Bellamy, after he had lowered his gun. The four of us met up with the other three and we rapidly made our way back to camp, each wondering just how bad this could turn out.