Disclaimer: I don't own 'The 100'. No profit is being made from this story. Anything you recognize is from the show. Anything you don't recognize is from the depths of my imagination!
A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry it took me a little bit longer to get this chapter out, but the end of the semester has come around and I have been busy writing not-so-fun things such as essays and presentations. But! Between all the craziness, I managed to get this chapter done for all of you!
A big, BIG! thank you to everyone who followed, and favourited. You guys are great! I mean 29 favs, 50 follows and I'm only 5 chapters in? You guys rock! Thank you to Momsen-xxxx, Alice, x XRoweenaJAugustineX x (x2, double thanks!), and TSCxHG for your reviews.
Thanks to Dannylionthe1st, my amazing beta!
Edited: 2018-11-16 - Minor changes to wording. Cut out some unnecessary description.
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Chapter 6
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Sun shining through the canopy high above her, Alex took a deep shuddering breath as she pushed her way through some low hanging branches, leaves and pine needles crunching beneath her boots with every step she took.
Each step taking her further away from the drop ship, away from the chaos, away from Nate.
She needed to find a place where she could think in peace.
She didn't really know what to think, at least not right now. Her emotions had been in turmoil since her encounter with him. She was upset - angry even. They'd been friends since they could walk, and for awhile, they'd been more than that. Her fists clenched tightly at her sides as she stepped over a log. But apparently none of that meant anything to him anymore. He wouldn't give her the time to actually explain, to tell her side of the story.
She scowled. Why the hell was he even here? What an idiot. He'd gotten himself arrested? What had he done on the Ark to get himself a one-way ticket to Earth - nobody was sentenced to the Skybox without committing a crime.
Another thing that was bothering her was the fact that Mr. Miller had come to her cell to tell her goodbye, but he'd said nothing, not even a hint that his son was being sent down to Earth with her. Why hadn't he said anything? Why had he kept quiet about the whole thing?
Ducking under a fallen tree, she grimaced. Then again, she hadn't seen either of them in nearly two years, both having made themselves scarce the moment they'd heard of her arrest. So why would he warn her? The connection she had with him because of his son was no longer there. They'd abandoned her. Why would he have a sudden change of heart?
At the bitter thought, she came to a halt, blinking away the tears that once again threatened to spill. Reaching up she pinched the bridge of her nose, doing her best to shove those feeling into the far back corner of her mind. What they did or didn't do didn't matter anymore. She could think about that later. Right now, she had more pressing issues to figure out, like what to do about Bellamy and his squad of idiots.
She didn't know why, but for some reason, Blake was determined to fully cut off the already limited communication that with the Ark. His mind was set, determined to get every single one of their wristbands and was apparently willing to go to any lengths to get what he wanted. She snorted in disgust as his chant of "whatever the hell we want" from the night before came to mind. The guy was willing to turn the group to absolute anarchy if he had to.
Stepping forward once more, she carefully made her way down a steeper part of the slope, grasping at branches and smaller trees scatters down the slope to stop herself from careening down the hill head first, each trunk bending slightly under her weight. Making it to the bottom, she jumped over the last tangle of roots, landing in a crouch, her feet splashing in a small puddle. Staring down at her now soaked boots, she felt momentarily glad that someone had thought to provide her with boots before they'd sent her down to Earth.
Pushing herself to her feet, a small smile crossed her face as birds chirped in the trees above her and she realized she could no longer hear the chatter from the drop ship. Peacefulness had settled in the air around her and she was determined to enjoy it.
Maybe not everything that had happened was as bad as she'd thought. She was here. On Earth. One of the first people to step foot on the ground in nearly a hundred years, the place they'd all originated from. And she was free from the confines of her cell, free to do whatever the hell she wanted.
With that thought in mind, she strode forward, hoping that she was going in the right direction. When she's looked at Clarke's map the day before, she saw that if she headed downhill from the landing site, it would be nearly impossible for her to miss the river that cut through the valley.
It was only after she'd weaved her way through the forest for another fifteen minutes that she realized that she could hear the thundering river and as she made her way closer, the sounds only got louder.
Finally reaching the ledge that overlooked the river, she peered over the log that separated her from the muddy, steep banks.
Holy shit, that's a lot of water.
Eyes wide, she stared down at the raging water below her, it's currents crashing and ripping downstream. The river was bigger than she'd originally thought, at least twenty meters across and she couldn't even begin to guess how deep it went.
Itching to get a closer look, and filled with excitement at the prospect of touching water, stepped over the log and scrambled down the muddy embankment, her feet landing on the cobble covered ground below.
Looking around, she realized that the bounders that dotted the riverbank were much bigger than she'd originally thought; some easily bigger that the hatch of the drop ship. Gingerly making her way across the many loose boulders, she headed to the closest patch of water she could see.
Reaching the riverbank, she stared down at the water, almost mesmerized by its power; by the way the current pooled and eddies as it moved along. Who knew there could be so much water in one place, in one river.
Scrambling up the rough surface of the nearest boulder, she settled down on the flat surface, the loud roaring sound of the water oddly soothing the tension from her shoulders.
With a sigh, she shrugged out of her jacket, the warm sunshine keeping her warm even in her thin, dark blue tank top. Setting her jacket on the rock, she sat down on top of it, leaning back on her hands. A sigh escaped her and she closed her eyes, head rolling back as she basked in the sun, the warmth feeling wonderful on her bare skin.
Unlike from the Ark, the sun was different here; there was no worry about radiation, no worry about blinding herself if she didn't have eye protection. Instead, it just felt pleasant, soothing, the rays warming her skin. She knew that eventually she'd have to go back to the others and deal with everything else, but right now she was going to enjoy every second of peacefulness she could get. Everything else could wait.
Who would've thought in a million years that you'd ever experience something like this?
Birds chirped and twittered around her, the lively sound bringing a soft smile to her face. Even if humans hadn't managed to survive down on Earth, birds had at least made themselves at home, and seemed to be thriving in the forest around them.
She's probably been enjoying the sun for about an hour when a sudden crack cut through the the sound of rushing water. Lazily opening her eyes, she peered across the river curiously, searching the far bank for any sign as to what had made the sound. The greens and browns on the other side of the river looked remarkably similar to the side she was sitting on: steep banks leading up into dark bushes, trees towering high above them. Branches waving slowly in the breeze that swept up the river.
When nothing immediately caught her eye, she mentally shrugged. Probably just an animal. If birds had survived, there were bound to be other animals in the area. Maybe it was a deer. She'd read once that they'd lived in this type of forest. Were they heavy enough to break a branch if they stepped on it?
But even as she thought about it, she realized she was on edge. No other sounds immediately caught her attention. Something had changed, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was.
Suddenly, a chill swept up her spine, goosebumps prickling her skin as she realized what was out of place. The twitter and chirping of birds had stopped entirely; she couldn't hear them at all.
Feeling suddenly alert, she leaned forward with a frown, resting her arms on her knees, head tilted to the side as she listened. Examining the area around her, she couldn't see anything which set her on alert.
Just because you can't see anything doesn't mean they can't see you.
A sudden shadow darting between the trees on the far bank caught her attention, and her gaze snapped to the spot, looking for any signs as to what it might be. Swallowing the sudden lump in her throat, she wondered what it was, the movement having been too fast for her to see. Whatever it was had disappeared into the foliage or had stopped moving entirely.
As her skin crawled, she realized it was watching her.
Maybe it wasn't a deer after all. If there are animals there's bound to be predators around here, she thought warily, and a flicker of panic went through her. What kind of animals lived in this habitat?
She could have groaned at her stupidity. Idiot, why did you come out here alone? You didn't even tell anyone where you were going!
Slowly pushing herself to a crouch, she continued watching the far shore, her mind telling her that she should leave now.
Even so, she couldn't contain her curiosity. What could it be?
It was then that a new movement caught her attention, and her heart lurched violently in her chest, and she had to blink, her mind trying to comprehend what she was seeing.
A man stood on the ridge across from her in the exact spot she'd seen movement earlier. He stood straight, almost casual as he stared back at her with dark eyes.
That's...not possible, she thought faintly, staring at him with wide eyes. Heart pounding wildly behind her ribs, she swallowed the lump in her throat, her mouth suddenly bone dry. No human has lived on Earth in a hundred years, she told herself, but the words didn't negate the fact that a human man was standing on the bank directly across from her.
Though her shock didn't fade, her mind began to take note of other details. He was dressed in dark greys and browns, both the colour and the texture of the material making him easily blend into the area around him. A hood was pulled back from his face revealing a tanned face with strong features and dark eyes, his skin covered in either mud or some sort of makeup, she couldn't tell. The sides of his head were shaved, but the dark brown hair along the top of his head was pulled back into an assortment of twists and braids.
He was well built, his clothing draped across muscular shoulders, the bare skin of his arms showing the clear lines of solid muscle.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she studied him, and he, in turn, studied her. His gaze was intense, and she shivered as dark eyes roved over her face, her chest and the rest of her body, his expression staying blank, not even looking curious at the fact that he was studying a girl who was so very different from himself. He simply looked... indifferent. Like he didn't care at all.
She swallowed, suddenly very aware of the weapons he was carrying, recognizing them from stories she had read as a child; she could see the hilt of a blade protruding above his shoulder beside a quiver of arrows. His hand loosely held a long bow in hand. While his stance was fairly relaxed, she had the feeling it could change in a moment's notice.
All in all, he didn't come across as friendly, at all.
So, there were survivors after all, she thought dumbly.
The entire thing felt too surreal to her. No one was supposed to be alive down here. She'd been taught since her first history lessons that humans had all but ceased to exist during the last war, that the radiation on the surface was simply too high for them to have survived. But here, standing in front of her, was a healthy, physical proof that that wasn't the case.
They'd been wrong all along.
Jaw clenched, Alex knelt with legs tensed beneath her, realizing that she didn't know what to do. Slowly wiping her sweaty palms on her pants, she contemplated her options. She'd never expected to run into someone out here, least of all someone that hadn't arrived on the drop ship with her. She didn't know who he was, where he'd come from. Were there more of him, or was he one of the few remaining survivors? All in all, she didn't know what this guy would do. Maybe he was just curious about her and the rest of the people from the drop ship, watching them to see if they were a threat or not?
Or maybe he's been waiting for the moment when people began to wander away from the ship, and was picking them off one by one. Hadn't Pascal and Trina been missing since soon after they'd landed? The thought sent a shiver of worry through her and she shifted uneasily, her knees digging into the rough surface below.
She needed to get back to the others. Now.
Slowly reaching down with her right hand, she grasped the material of her jacket in a tightly clenched fist, ready to make a run at a moment's notice.
How was she going to do this? She was extremely exposed sitting on the boulder, the open area around her providing her with little to no protection at all. If she could somehow slide off the back side of the boulder, she could put the boulder between them. It would at least give her some sort of cover.
Stupid, there's no way you'd make it. He'd shoot you down before you could even make it to the trees. Although, he could just as well shoot me while I sit here.
She started to get anxious, toes wiggling nervously in her boots when all he did was stare, almost unblinking, never even seeming to shift on his feet.
What did he want? What was he waiting for?!
Movement behind the man cut through her thoughts, and her stomach clenched in fear. There's more of them?
As she watched, the man seemed to visibly tense at the presence behind him, and he quickly turned to glance over his shoulder, his braids swinging at the movement, although he always kept her within his sights.
Whatever he saw must have eased his worries, because his shoulders relaxed, although when he turned back to her, the scowl he wore seemed more prominent than ever before.
The new figure walked slowly, seeming to be in no hurry at all until it was standing just behind the man. Whoever it was was quite a bit shorter than he was, head barely reaching over the man's elbow. They were dressed from head to toe in a dark brown cloak, the hood pulled high to conceal their face.
She swallowed nervously as the two figures across the river continued to stare at her. Now what?
After a brief, but tense pause, the shorter figure stepped forward, moving around the man to head towards the edge of the bank. The sudden movement seemed to startle the man, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise as he quickly reached out, gently placing a hand on the cloaked figures shoulder. At his touch, the smaller figure stopped, looking back at him, the hood still hiding their face.
Alex could only watch warily as the man leaned down to whisper something to the smaller figure, the roaring river covering whatever he had said. In response, the cloaked figure reached up, gently patting his hand before using the same hand to push back the dark material of their hood.
Alex blinked, startled at the face that appeared from under the hood.
Light gray hair, almost white in colour, was pulled back tightly into intricate twists and braids, each strand decorated with colourful beads and trinkets. Her skin was weathered, tanned and wrinkled; it was clear that she had spent most of her life outdoors. An old woman, older than anyone Alex had ever seen before.
What caught her attention most were the woman's dark eyes, similar in colour and shape to the man's, but lacking in their hostility and intensity. Instead, they were curious, a small frown etching her features as she studied her from across the water.
The man stood tensely at the woman's shoulder, gazing between them, his stance and the grip on his bow indicating that he was more than willing to step in if he felt the need.
Biting the inside of her lip, Alex tried to figure out what to do. Should she leave? Could she leave? The old woman didn't look hostile, appearing nothing but curious, but the man at her shoulder set her on edge, his glare making the hairs on the nape of her neck stand on end. She wasn't sure that if she turned her back, he wouldn't just lodge an arrow between her shoulder blades.
She gritted her teeth at the thought.
She was stuck.
Alex tensed when the old woman raised her hand, and for a second she was worried the old woman was signalling something to the man. But when she just continued to hold her hand out before her, palm facing out, she was puzzled when she realized that it was a greeting.
The old woman was waving at her.
What. The. Hell? Alex hesitated, frowning in disbelief. What the hell? Does she expect me to wave back?
The old woman didn't seem bothered by her lack of response, and with a small quirk of her lips, turned and latched onto her companions arm, beginning to slowly tug pull him back up the hill.
He seemed to give an exasperated sigh at the women's incessant tugging. Before turning to leave, he gave Alex a bone-chilling glare as if daring her to move while he wasn't looking, and she cringed slightly in response. Seeming satisfied with her response, he turned, and the two made their way behind a bush and disappeared out of sight.
They were gone.
Get up! Go!
Launching herself to her feet, she spun and jumped the long drop down onto the gravel below, opposite from where he'd been standing, hoping that the boulder would give her some form of protection. As she landed, her knees buckled beneath her, boots sliding on the slippery rocks and her hands flew out in front of her, slamming into the gravel as she fought for balance. A hiss of pain escaped her as she felt the sharp rocks tears into the palm of her hand.
Shit!
Not pausing to check the damage, she shoved herself back to her feet, sprinting as fast as she could for the bank she'd come down not even an hour before. Using her momentum, she scrambled up the slope, ignoring the sting of her grazed hands as she reached out and grasped some tree roots to haul herself up the rest of the way.
Once at the top, she darted into the trees, weaving left and right as she dodged around trees, clearing fallen logs and small bushes, feet pounding on the soft forest floor beneath her. Arms pumping at her sides, she tried to put as much distance between her and the river.
She couldn't help feel that someone was right at her heels.
Sweat dripped down the side of her temple and down the back of her neck. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't hear any sounds over the ragged gasps that tore from her lungs as she pushed her body further and faster than she had ever done before. She couldn't bring herself to slow down or look over her shoulder to see if she was being followed.
Coming up to a small dip in the forest that she recognized as being close to the drop ship, she felt a small sense of relief in knowing that she was close to safety. Slowing her pace to a jog, then to a full stop, she turned to look back the way she'd come, resting her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.
Nothing. Everything stood dead still. Not a single bush or branch moved. It hardly looked like she'd run through there at all.
Swallowing nervously, she didn't know if she should feel relieved or worried that there was no sign of anything out of place. Maybe they hadn't chased her after all.
Once her breathing began to even out, she wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand, turning to head up the remaining distance to the dropship, happy and relieved when she could see movement and the sight of familiar faces.
Wiping her hands on her pants in an effort to remove the grit that stuck to her skin, she gritted her teeth when her grazed palms stung as they encountered the rough material of her pants. Looking down at her hand, she noted that the heel of her palm had been rubbed raw, blood welling through the thin cuts. Grimacing, she gently brushed away the dirt and pine needles that stuck to them, knowing she'd have to wash them soon if she wanted to stop herself from getting an infection.
Looking up, she examined the group around her, looking for any sign of Wells, knowing that he would be one of the first people to hear her out. From what she could tell, the delinquents had broken down into small groups and were sorting through the metal scraps scattered throughout the area, some tearing the large parachute into smaller sections to be used for shelter.
When she didn't catch any sign of Wells, she frowned, chewing on the inside of her lip. Who else could she tell? Clarke and the few other people who she trusted were out looking for food, and might not be back for a while. Who else was there?
What about Blake?
She scowled at the thought. He was one of the last people she wanted to talk to right now. In fact, she didn't want to talk to him at all. But who else could she tell? It wasn't like she had many options. As much as she hated to admit it, it made sense to tell him: the others seemed to follow his lead, or at the very least listen to him.
Everyone had the right know about this. They needed to be aware that they weren't the only ones in the area. That there was still people surviving on Earth.
Plus, he might be an asshole, she tried to convince herself, but his sister's out there. And if he cares about her, he'll listen to what I have to say.
Looking around, she quickly spotted Bellamy sitting around a fire with a few other guys, Murphy and Mbege included. Her resolve wobbled momentarily as her eyes landed on Nate, who also sat among them.
Taking a deep breath, she steeled her resolve, knowing what she had to do. This wasn't just about them. This involved everyone in the group.
Plus, if Nate didn't want to talk to her anymore, fine, she could deal with that. That was his problem. She wasn't going to let him interfere with what she had to do.
Stepping forward, she made her way towards them, stopping only a couple of feet away.
Murphy was the first to glance up at her and gave her an unimpressed look before returning to filing the sharp piece of metal he must have found in the scraps. Nathan ignored her entirely.
"Blake," she snapped, feeling a flash of irritation when they all pointedly ignored her.
He didn't bother to even look up at her, just gave an exaggerated sigh as he continued filing his own piece of scrap metal. "You're starting to sound desperate Evans, with the number of times you call my name." He smirked, though it didn't reach his eyes. "What do you want?"
She licked her lips. "I saw people out in the forest, down by the river," she stated, deciding to get straight to the point.
"That's...exciting," he replied dryly, glancing up to give her a derisive look. "And... why should I care?"
"I mean strangers, Blake! They weren't part of our group," she snapped back, glaring down at him.
That seemed to get his attention because he finally looked up at her, giving her skeptical look, eyebrows furrowed. "Not one of us?" Even the other guys looked up at her statement.
"Yes. As in didn't come from the Ark, didn't arrive on the drop ship, weren't part of this group, aren't one of these many teenage delinquents." She waved a hand out around them sarcastically. "Should I keep going, or do you get the point?"
He sent her a quick glare of annoyance. "That's not possible," he said simply in return. "Besides, it probably was one of our own. Trina and Pascal have been off exploring from the moment we got here, it was probably one of them."
"Well, unless they really decided to really embrace this whole 'we're on Earth' thing by wearing furs and painting their faces," she said sarcastically through clenched teeth, glaring down at him. "I'm telling you, it wasn't them."
"Look, Evans..." he sighed as he pushed himself to his feet, taking a step towards her so her could look down at her. However, once his eyes caught sight of her, whatever he'd been about to say died on his lips. Instead, a small smirk grew on his face as he stared down at her. "Well, this is a surprise. You should wear less clothing more often," he said as his eyes raked over her body.
Frowning at his comment, she realized that in her hurry to get back to the drop ship, she'd forgotten to put her jacket back on, and was wearing only her blue tank top, which was cut low enough that it seemed to catch Blake's attention.
"Eyes up here, Blake," she snapped her fingers twice in front of his face, and he blinked, dragging his eyes up from where they'd been looking. He gave her an unabashed smirk despite her irritated glare. "And before your tiny little mind gets distracted again, I'm being serious. There were people out there, and they definitely weren't one of ours."
He rolled his eyes, running a hand through his hair to push it away from his face. "You're being ridiculous." He slowly shook his head. "No one's been in this area for nearly a hundred years. Or didn't you learn anything in your history lessons?" He asked her mockingly, tilting his head as he studied her.
She scowled, feeling exasperated that he just kept trying to brush her off. "What makes you think our teachers were right? It's not like they've been down to Earth before. For all we know, they could be wrong, and there could be survivors."
Nathan growled as he leapt to his feet, shoving his way between her and Blake, and she stumbled back in surprise. Her heart leapt in her chest as he glared down at her, and she had to stop herself from flinching away.
"Stop lying!" Nathan snarled down at her venomously. "Just stop trying to ruin things for everyone else. That all you seem to do! So why don't you get lost, and leave everyone alone!" He shouted out the last words, and silence descended in the area, most of the delinquents turning to see what was going on.
Her jaw dropped as she stared up at him, she had to blink the sudden tears that blurred her vision.
Blake watched them from the side, a curious frown on his face as he glanced between them. A snort came from Murphy who was staring up at the whole spectacle with an amused expression on his face, knife lying forgotten in his hands.
Clenching her fists to hide her shaking hands, she tried to ignore the nervous churn of her stomach. She hated the unfamiliar malice and venom on Nate's face, in his voice, feeling hopeless that there was nothing she could do to change it. It was clear to her that he hated her; any shred of friendship they'd ever shared was long gone.
Pulling her gaze away from Nate's, she swallowed. "Fine," she told him softly and turned to walk away but not before stopping in front of Blake. She met his stare with a watery look of her own. "Just thought you would want to know what I saw, since its your sister is still out there. Do you really want to take a chance if I'm right?" She asked him quietly and he frowned at the mention of his sister. Before he had a chance to say anything in response, she turned and walked away from them, ignoring the mocking way that Murphy whistled and twisted his finger around his temple, and made her way through the crowd that had stopped to watch the brief altercation.
She kept her gaze forward, jaw clenched, refusing to meet the gazes of any of the delinquents who stared at her as she walked by. She ignored the smirks and the snickers that followed her as she went.
As she passed through the crowd a small hand slipped into her own. Looking down, she found Charlotte staring up at her, eyebrows drawn in a concerned frown. Giving the younger girl a small wavering smile, she squeezed her hand gently, letting her know how much she appreciated her comfort.
They didn't believe her, but she knew what she'd seen. She knew she'd have to be extra vigilant, for Charlotte, for Wells, even for the rest of them. Because sooner or later, something would happen and they'd all find out she was right. Hopefully their disregard of her warning wouldn't come with dire consequences.