That night we all slept in the dropship, either on the floor or on makeshift hammocks. I hardly slept that night, too worried about the group heading to Mount Weather, as well as wondering about my family on the Ark. I knew my father had to have known about the plan, but did he bother to tell my mother?
I pushed through the sheet covering the dropship door, heading outside. Just a few feet away, I watched as Atom reached for the clothes in Wells' hands.
"There's always a market for-"
Wells yanked himself away from Atom. "We share based on need, just like back home."
I felt myself being shoved to the side as Bellamy exited the dropship, his chest bare as a girl followed close behind. "You still don't get it, do you, Chancellor?" I watched as Bellamy kissed the girl, her happily marching away.
Gross.
"This is home now. Your father's rules no longer apply." Bellamy continued, heading over to Wells and grabbing a shirt. Wells attempted to grab the shirt back, Atom pushing him away.
"Atom, hold up," Bellamy responded, looking in Wells' direction. "You want it back? Take it."
Wells stared Bellamy down for a few moments before tossing the rest of the clothes on the ground. A nearby group of delinquents ran over, sifting through the pile.
"Is this what you want? Chaos?" Wells asked.
Bellamy smirked. "What's wrong with a little chaos?"
"A little chaos goes a long way with a bunch of criminals," I responded, knocking into Bellamy's shoulder as I walked past him.
Just as I reached Wells, the sound of yelps filled the air. We all exchanged glances before running off in the direction it was coming from.
"Bellamy, check it out," Murphy spoke, holding a girl's head over a fire. "We want the Ark to think the ground is killing us, right? I figured it would look better if we suffered a little first."
"Let her go!" Wells rushed over, shoving Murphy to the ground. He looked to Bellamy, shaking his head. "You can stop this."
"Stop this? I'm just getting started."
With that, Murphy swung at Wells, clocking him in the cheek. As Wells fell back slightly, Murphy continued to beat on him while others cheered him on.
"Stop it!" I screamed, though Bellamy grabbed my arm before I could place myself in the middle of the two boys.
Wells backed away, limping slightly. "Don't you see you can't control this?" He asked, looking at Bellamy.
"You're dead." Murphy declared, pulling out a knife.
"Wait," Bellamy spoke, letting go of my arm. He reached into the pocket of his pants, pulling out a knife and tossing it on the ground in front of Wells. "Fair fight."
I looked at Bellamy, stunned.
Wells stared at Murphy for a moment before looking down at the knife. He finally knelt down, picking up the knife before rising to his feet again. Murphy was the first to swing, Wells swinging back. Eventually, Murphy sliced Wells' arm.
"This is for my father!" Murphy called out, going to swing again.
Wells dodged the swing, grabbing Murphy and putting him in a headlock. "Drop it! Drop it!"
"Wells! Let him go."
I looked over, watching Clarke make her way down the hill, Finn following close behind. Wells did as she said, Murphy quickly charging back at him.
Bellamy quickly jumped in, grabbing Murphy. "Enough."
Octavia stumbled down the hill next, Monty assisting her. She had a piece of cloth wrapped around her leg, which she was limping on.
"Octavia!" Bellamy called out, rushing towards her. "Are you alright?"
Octavia nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Where's the food?"
Finn sighed. "We didn't make it to Mount Weather."
"What the hell happened out there?" I asked.
"We were attacked," Clarke responded.
"Attacked? By what?" Wells asked.
"Not what, who," Finn responded. " It turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last Grounder."
"It's true," Clarke spoke. "Everything we thought we knew 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."
I stood there, taken aback by Finn's words. "How is any of this possible? There's no way anyone could have survived the blast, let alone the radiation for the last hundred years."
Clarke shook her head. "I don't know, maybe they came from a bunker?"
"They definitely didn't come from space," Finn said.
Wells looked around. "Where's the kid with the goggles?"
"Jasper was hit. They took him." Clarke responded, looking at Wells' wrist. "Where's your wristband?"
I hadn't even noticed it was missing.
Wells glared at Bellamy. "Ask him."
Clarke turned to Bellamy, moving closer as she clenched her jaw. "How many?"
"Twenty-four and counting," Murphy spoke up.
"You idiots," Clarke said, shaking her head. "Life support on the Ark is failing. 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!"
Bellamy's face fell pale, though he quickly pulled himself together. "We're stronger than you think. 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?" He asked, looking around. "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!"
People began cheering, once again eating up every stupid word he said. How could they be so blind?
"What do we do now?" I heard Monty whisper to Clarke.
"Now we go after Jasper."
...
I followed Wells up the dropship ladder, pulling myself up through the door behind him. Clarke sat in the middle of the room, packing items into her backpack.
"There you are," Wells said.
I took a deep breath, exhaling loudly. "When your father said they didn't leave us anything, he wasn't kidding."
Clarke looked over at us, her eyes falling on the gash on Wells' arm from his knife fight with Murphy. Wells looked away. "It's just a scratch."
"You're making friends fast." Clarke sighed, looking at me. "How about you?"
"No knife fights yet, but Bellamy is tempting me."
Clarke smiled slightly before turning her attention back to Wells. "Keep it covered. It could get infected." As Wells adjusted the strap of his bag, Clarke smiled again. "Nice pack."
"Yeah, seat belts and insulation." Wells smiled. "I also packed part of the parachute, figured we could use it to carry Jasper back to camp."
"Good," Clarke said. "Give it to someone else. You're not coming with us."
Wells shook his head. "My ankle is fine."
"It's not your ankle Wells, it's you," Clarke responded, making her way down the ladder.
I climbed down the ladder after Clarke, Wells following after me. "I get to come though, right? Being stuck at this suck ass camp is driving me insane."
"Yeah, we could use another person."
"You came back for reinforcements. I'm going to help." Wells pressed on.
Monty, who stood by the ladder, turned his attention to us. "Clarke, he's right. We need him. So far no one else has volunteered."
"I'm sorry, Monty. You're not coming either."
"Like hell I'm not," Monty responded. "Jasper's my best friend."
"You're too important. You were raised on Farm Station and recruited by Engineering. That's food and communication." Clarke pointed to Monty's head. "What's up here is going to save us all. You figure out how to talk to the Ark and I'll bring Jasper back."
Finn entered the dropship, stopping as he spotted us all.
"Are you ready to go?" I asked.
"I'm not going anywhere, and neither should any of you," Finn said. "That spear was thrown with pinpoint accuracy from three hundred feet away."
"So what, we let Jasper die? Not going to happen." Clarke replied. "Spacewalker? What a joke. You think you're such an adventurer. You're really just a coward."
"It's not an adventure, Clarke. It's a suicide mission."
Clarke shook her head, pushing past him and out of the dropship.
Wells stepped forward. "Build a wall. Use the fallen trees. I'll watch out for her."
As Wells left the dropship, I followed him towards Clarke. She now stood in front of Bellamy and Octavia, who sat together on a log.
"You guys are leaving? I'm coming too." Octavia spoke, attempting to stand up.
"No, not again," Bellamy spoke as he stood from the log, his voice stern.
"He's right, your leg's just going to slow us down," Clarke said, before focusing on Bellamy. "I'm here for you."
Wells raised an eyebrow. "Clarke, what are you doing?"
"I hear you have a gun," Bellamy smirked, lifting up his shirt slightly to reveal the gun tucked in his waistband. "Good. Follow me."
"Why would I do that?"
Clarke turned back to Bellamy, her eyebrows raised. "Because you want them to follow you, and right now, they're thinking only one of us is scared."
Without waiting for an answer, Clarke began heading off into the forest. Wells and I followed her, Bellamy and Murphy joining us not long after.
I wanted to go with Clarke to get away from these two idiots.
"Those guys aren't just bullies, Clarke. They're dangerous criminals." Wells said, his voice hushed.
"Good. I'm counting on it."
...
I followed close behind Clarke as she rushed through the forest, the boys staying further behind. She was avoiding Wells, that much was obvious. All I wanted to do was tell her the truth; that Wells hadn't been the one to turn her father in. I knew I couldn't though.
"Do you really think we'll find Jasper?" I asked. "Finn mentioned a spear. Odds are he wouldn't have survived that."
Clarke didn't answer, her eyebrows furrowing more than previously.
I watched as Bellamy sped up, getting closer to myself and Clarke. "Hey, hold up." He spoke, pulling out his gun. "What's the rush? Like Athena said, you don't survive a spear to the heart."
"Put the gun away, Bellamy," Wells demanded.
Murphy stepped in front of Wells. "Why don't you do something about it?"
Clarke shook her head. "Jasper screamed when they moved him. If the spear struck his heart, he'd have died instantly. It doesn't mean we have time to waste."
Bellamy grabbed her arm. "As soon as you remove your wristband, we can go."
Clarke jerked her arm out of his grip. "The only way the Ark is going to think I'm dead is if I'm dead. Got it?"
"Brave princess," Bellamy smirked.
"Why don't you find your own nickname?" I hadn't noticed Finn following us. "You call this a rescue party? Got to split up, cover more ground. Clarke, come with me."
Clarke smiled, turning around and following Finn.
Bellamy shook his head, turning his attention to me. "What about you, Athena? Ready to remove your wristband yet?"
"Not in a million years," I said. "You might not have anyone who gives two shits about what happens to you down here, but I do."
With that, I turned around and began heading off in the direction Finn and Clarke went. There was no way I was going to give up my wristband. As much as I would love for my father to wonder if I was alive, I knew I couldn't do that to my mother.
...
"Hey, how do we know this is the right way?" Murphy asked.
Clarke and Finn had found Jasper's goggles by the river, and we were now following the blood trail left alongside it.
"We don't," Bellamy said. "Spacewalker thinks he's a tracker."
"It's called cutting sign. Fourth-year Earth Skills, he's good." Wells looked over Finn's shoulder.
Finn turned around. "You want to keep it down or should I paint a target on your backs?"
Finn began following the blood trail further, myself and Clarke staying close behind him. I kept swatting the air around me, growing more annoyed by the bugs and all the bites I could feel covering my skin.
"Too bad they didn't send us with bug spray," Clarke spoke softly.
I raised my eyebrow. "That's a thing?"
"You never paid attention in Earth Skills."
"I never thought it would matter," I said. "I knew they expected the ground to be survivable soon, but I didn't think we'd ever actually get down here. Not in our lifetime at least."
The sound of moans filled the air, causing us all to stop in our tracks.
"What the hell was that?" Murphy asked.
Clarke looked at Bellamy. "Now would be a good time to take out that gun."
The moaning continued and we followed it, coming across an open field. Across the way was a tree, and my jaw dropped as I noticed what was strung from it.
"Oh my god."
"Jasper?" Clarke gasped, rushing forward.
"Clarke, watch out!"
Suddenly the ground fell from beneath Clarke. Bellamy lunged forward, grabbing her hand. I watched as he stared down at her, not pulling her up. The rest of us came to his aid, grabbing Clarke and pulling her back up from the hole.
As everyone gasped for air, I peeked into the hole. It was filled with spikes.
"Are you okay?" Finn asked.
Clarke nodded. "We need to get him down."
"I'll climb up there and cut the vines."
"I'm with you." Wells offered.
"No," Finn said. "You and Athena stay with Clarke, and watch him." He eyed Bellamy, a scowl forming across his face. "Murphy, you're with me."
Clarke took a deep breath. "There's a poultice in his wound."
"Medicine?" Wells asked. "Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?"
"Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its dinner breathing," Bellamy suggested.
"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us." Finn frowned.
Finn and Murphy worked on cutting Jasper down, while Wells was checking in on Clarke and Bellamy and I stood off to the side.
A bug landed on my arm, causing me to swat it, crushing it against my skin. I quickly wiped the blood away, causing Bellamy to laugh.
"What?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
Bellamy shrugged. "Nothing, It's just- from what Octavia's said, I never would've guessed you'd be afraid of bugs."
"I'm not afraid of them," I mumbled. "I just don't want them touching me."
"Just wait until the hornets come out."
My eyes grew wide. "Hornets?"
He simply laughed, looking over at Finn and Murphy.
As I continued to swat the bugs away, a deep growl came from the forest surrounding us.
"What the hell was that?" Murphy asked.
"Grounders?" Bellamy suggested.
The growling continued to grow louder until finally, a pair of yellow eyes came out of the forest. It was a large black cat, unlike anything I'd seen before.
"Bellamy, the gun!" Clarke called out.
Bellamy reached for the gun, patting around but unable to feel it.
The cat lunged forward, Bellamy grabbing me and yanking me out of its line of sight. Suddenly the sound of gunshots filled the air, the cat falling to the ground.
I looked around, my eyes landing on Wells, who held the gun in his shaky hand. Clarke stood next to him, looking back and forth between him and the cat.
"Now she sees you," Bellamy spoke through shaky breaths.
I gasped for air, not realizing I'd been holding my breath. "I hate Earth already."
AN: Hello, I hope you enjoyed chapter two! Please be sure to favourite and follow this story if you're enjoying it. Feedback is appreciated as always!
