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: I new chapter for you guys! I hope you guys enjoy it, it's quite eventful!

So...the last chapter didn't get any reviews, and I'm just wondering why that was. Was it a bad chapter or boring? Or maybe now that it's summer time less people are reading stories? I thought I had the same number of views... but oh well! As long as you guys are reading and enjoying!

Also, I heard a rumour that Season 3 of The 100 won't be until late 2016?! what's up with that? Hopefully just a rumour and we see more of the show this fall, I honestly don't think I can wait another year! What do you guys think? Is it true?

A HUGE thank you to everyone who follows this story. It makes me so happy that people are willing to spend the time reading what I write. You don't know how much it means to me!

Chapter 8

"...It would look better if we suffered a little first."

It's official. The guy's crazy.

That was the first thought that crossed her mind as she stared at the scene before her.

I'd always thought Murphy was a little bit loose in the head. But this is a whole other level...

And it was clear that she wasn't the only one uncomfortable with the scene before her either; the teenagers that had followed the sound of the screams traded uncertain glances and uneasy murmurs at the sight of Murphy holding the whimpering girl over the fire.

Wells was the first to make a move, storming towards them angrily. "Let her go!" he shouted. He violently shoved Murphy in an attempt to get the teen off the girl, but it ended up sending both of them tumbling to one side. At least they were away from the fire.

Alex hurried over, pulling the still sobbing and trembling girl gently away from the other two, away from the fire. "Hey, hey. You're alright," she whispered soothingly to her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders, even as she stared at the broiling conflict in front of her with steely eyes.

After shoving Murphy away, Wells had whirled around to face Blake, body tensed like a coil, ready for a fight. "You can stop this." The comment was said almost pleadingly; he was clearly banking on Bellamy being the saner, smarter of the two.

As Wells turned his back to Murphy, a jolt of panic coursed through her. Why would he turn his back on him?

You idiot! What are you doing?!

And she was right to be worried. Murphy had quickly shoved himself to his feet, his face set in a nasty snarl, clearly intending to take advantage of Wells vulnerability.

As Murphy advanced towards Wells, she could see Blake glance at him over Wells' shoulder, a self-assured smirk growing across his face. "Stop this?" He asked with a laugh. "I'm just getting started."

"Wells, behind you!" She yelled in warning. Head snapping around at the sound of her voice, Wells whirled to face Murphy, just in time to get decked across the jaw, sending him staggering back even as Murphy continued to advance. Before Wells had a chance to regain his bearings, Murphy kneed him in the gut, and Wells folded, spluttering and coughing as he tried to regain his breath

Worry filled her as Alex stared at the fight. She needed to help, she needed to do something...anything. Letting the other girl slide out from underneath her arm and onto the mossy ground, Alex quickly reached down and pulled her knife out of the side of her boot, wondering if she was going to have to use it to save Wells' life.

As she took a step forwards, the other girl grabbed onto her hand tightly, pulling her back, away from the fight. Turning to meet the girls scared gaze, she gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She knew the girl wanted her to stay, but she knew she would never forgive herself if Wells got hurt when she could have prevented it.

With startling aggressiveness, Wells whirled around slamming his fist into the other boy's nose, a stomach-turning crack filling the air as Murphy went crashing to the ground. Alex cringed at the clear sound, she was pretty sure Murphy was sporting a nice broken nose by now.

Murphy staggered back to his feet, spitting some of the blood out of his mouth because of his bloodied, broken nose. Stepping forward, he launched himself at Wells, tackling him around the middle, sending them both crashing to the ground. Murphy quickly pinned Wells beneath him, pressing his knee tightly against Wells' arms. Defenseless, Wells' was unable to protect himself, allowing Murphy to repeatedly slam his fists into Wells' face.

Alex's hand tightened around her knife and she took her first step forward to help Wells. He surprised her when he bucked his hips, throwing Murphy off and onto the ground. He quickly followed through, launching himself across his attacker, elbowing him in the stomach before drawing his hand back and slamming his fist right into Murphy's temple.

The other boy went limp, the blow had nearly knocked him out. Head lolled from one side to the other, groaning and blinking slowly, almost bleary. At the abrupt turn of events, the crowd went from cheering on the fight to voicing their annoyance at the outcome.

He won? Alex's mind didn't know how to process that information. The fight had started and ended so quickly she'd barely had time to react.

Wells staggered to his feet, panting, and wiped the back of his hand across his bloody lip, leaving a red smear across his face.

Alex moved towards him cautiously, keeping a safe distance from the downed Murphy, who groaned pathetically as she walked by him, her switchblade still in hand. Coming up behind Wells, she took place at his shoulder facing Bellamy, who stood before them. Wells momentarily glanced back at her, and she could tell that the short fight had clearly drained him.

Bellamy stood almost awkwardly in front of them, looking like he was trying to keep his cool despite the fact that Wells had won the fight. Alex felt a flare of anger course through her when she noticed that he had thrown on the blue shirt she helped Well pull off one of the dead boys.

"You- you have no control over what's happening here," Wells panted. "You think you do. But the reality is that there is nothing you can do to control people like him," he continued, pointing at the downed Murphy. "Is this what you want? People like him...torturing everyone, because he feels like it?"

Bellamy stared darkly back at Wells. "Control? Oh, Chancellor. I think you're missing the point." He stepped up to Wells until they were almost nose to nose. "Torture? Maybe not. But roughing people up a little to send a message back to the Ark? I think it's well worth it." He paused, smirking down at Wells. "Although, I see your point. She wouldn't have been the first person on my list to send a message." He stared pointedly at Wells before glancing at Alex, eyes dark, hostile.

Alex shifted uncomfortably, a shiver crawling down her back. He's bluffing. There's no way he would do it…Or would he? Her thoughts questioned darkly. You don't know anything about this guy, or Murphy, or any of them really. After all, why's he here in the first place? Would he really go as far as torturing people to stop the rest of the Ark from following? She wasn't sure that he wouldn't, and she didn't want to find out.

She tensed up when Bellamy's gaze slid past them, feeling Wells do the same. She heard the distinct scuff of boots on the ground, but before she had a chance to turn, she was shoved, Wells having pushed her out of the way of an incoming Murphy. Landing heavily on her side, the air was knocked forcefully from her lungs. Coughing, she rolled onto her back, desperate to keep an eye on what was happening, fortunately, her knife still in hand.

"You're dead," Murphy spat, glaring at Wells, before darting forwards with a slash, aimed at Wells middle, clearly looking to disembowel the other boy. Wells leapt back in a panicked movement, barely dodging the sharp blade. He watched Murphy with wary eyes, gaze darting down to the deadly weapon now in Murphy's possession. He barely had time to pause before Murphy had leapt at him again, this time aiming higher, deadlier.

Definitely not good!

Alex pushed herself up to her feet, looking to give Wells a hand. She took a step forwards but before she could do anything an arm slid around her middle, tightening across her stomach and pinning one of her arms to her side. The grip forced her back against a firm, solid chest. Alex's heart nearly leapt out of her chest at the sudden and unexpected attack, and with a panicked movement, swung the hand which wielded her knife backward towards her attacker. But the lack of momentum at the awkward angle worked against her, and soon her wrist was trapped in her attackers stronger grip.

"Always putting up a fight, aren't you, Evans?" Bellamy's voice came from beside her ear, almost a purr.

"Blake - let me go," she ordered, heart pounding in her chest, nervous that Wells was only narrowly escaping each slash. She didn't dare think that Bellamy's close proximity added to her emotions.

"No, I don't think I will," he hummed. "See? You and Wells are really starting to get on my nerves. So you and I are going to watch as Wells get taught a lesson. Maybe then you guys will learn your new place in the world."

She shivered at the dark tone his voice had taken. Testing his grip, she tried moving her trapped wrist, but winced when he warningly dug his thumb into the side of her wrist.

She needed to change tactics, he was clearly not going to let her go. Maybe is she got him to focus more on the fight, lower his guard, then she'd be able to make her move."This is hardly a fair fight," she told him pointedly, shoulders tense, cringing when Wells got slashed in the upper arm.

After a second of deliberation, Bellamy nodded and she could feel the motion in her shoulder. "True." His hand that held her wrist slid down to her own, although he never slackened his grip, instead trapping her own hand around the hilt of the knife.

When he began to pull her arm up and towards her face she began to struggle, trying to pull herself away from his chest, panic flaring through her. "What - what are you doing?" She panted.

"Relax," he said soothingly, pulling her hand up towards her face, towards her exposed neck.

Oh God, oh God. He's going to do it, he's going to slit my throat and leave me for dead.

She was shocked when he abruptly changed his grip on her hand, twisting. With a hiss of pain, her hold on the knife slackened and the next thing she knew, he had her blade.

She froze, pushing back against his chest. "You-"

"Don't move," he said sharply, holding the knife in one hand, his other arm snug around her body, pinning her back to his chest. "Or Wells will really have an unfair fight on his hands."

She wasn't sure quite what he meant, but she wasn't willing to find out.

"Murphy. Jaha. Enough," Bellamy barked above her head, his voice deep, commanding.

She watched as the scowl on Murphy's face deepened, and he slashed at Wells again. She wondered if he was going to prove them right by ignoring Bellamy's order. But after the motion he took a step back and glanced at them, Well's doing the same in his confusion as to why the other boy had stopped attacking. Both boys froze at the sight of her trapped in Bellamy's arms, knife poised at her throat.

Wells looked worried, he must have been able to see the panic she felt. "Let her go!"

"No." Was Bellamy's simple response.

Murphy smirked at the scene, rolling his shoulders. "What do you want Bellamy? Can't you see I'm busy."

"I think it's fair to even up the odds of this fight a little bit. So Evan's here is going to be donating her knife to Wells."

From Murphy's frown, he didn't think it was a good idea. At all. "What? Why would you give him a knife?" He demanded.

"Is that going to be a problem, Murphy?" Bellamy asked calmly, but even Alex could tell there was an undercurrent of something more threatening.

After a moment of deliberation, Murphy shook his head. "Not at all." He smirked. "Besides, the Chancellor probably won't know what to do with it. You do know which end is the handle, right?" He mocked Wells.

Alex felt her shoulder sag in relief. She didn't understand why Bellamy was giving Wells a chance to fight back and defend himself, but she wasn't going to point out his sudden charity, for fear he'd change his mind or throw the knife too far from Wells to get.

Charity? Yeah, right. The word sounded ridiculous even in her own head.

It might not completely even things out, but it was something.

As Wells glanced at her and met her gaze, she steeled her expression, recomposing herself so that the panic she felt didn't make it onto her face. She could be alright. She would be, if he needed her to be.

Flipping the knife so that he held the blade of the knife, In one smooth motion, Bellamy flung the blade at the ground, the tip digging into the soft earth not far from Wells' feet.

Wells looked uncertain, glancing between her, the blade and Murphy, like he didn't know what to do about the situation. When he met her gaze, she gave him a firm nod, and he looked reassured by her calm response, turning back to face Murphy.

She felt relieved that Bellamy no longer had control of her knife, although he kept his grip on her. However, the threat to Wells life was still as real as ever. Although now he had the protection of the knife, he could defend himself, and hopefully give Murphy what he deserved. She wished she could say the same for herself.

Wish I had a second knife…if Blake thinks he can threaten me and get away with it, he has another thing coming.

Murphy motioned impatiently to the blade, clearly telling Wells to pick it up, shifting from side to side, fidgeting with the knife in hand. The gleam in his eyes almost predatory.

As soon as Wells ducked down to retrieve the blade, Murphy struck, leaping forward, bringing his arms down in a stabbing motion, aiming for Wells' exposed back. Wells wrapped a hand around the hilt and rolled to the side, swiftly dodging the deadly strike. He was quick to retaliate, and while he was still kneeling, pivoted and swiped at the other boy's thighs, forcing Murphy to dance out of the way.

As the new, more exciting fight broke out, the crowd that had gathered around the clearing began to cheering and holler. The chant of "Fight! Fight!" filled the air.

The two boy slashed and dodged each others blows, Bellamy kept his arm around her middle, hand resting on her waist, stopping Alex from interfering with the fight. As she shifted from one foot to another, he leaned down, his head coming to rest next to hers. His toned chest pressed closely against her back. She could feel his heart beat through her shirt.

"I can feel your impatience, Evans." He laughed breathlessly in her ear. His hair tickling the side of her face. "I know you're itching to join the fight. You want to hit something."

She ground her teeth. It was true, she did want to hit something. And although she gladly entertained the idea of punching Murphy across the face, there were other faces in the near vicinity that deserved a beating. Besides, this guy was an arrogant asshole.

"I don't need to join their fight to hit something," she sneered, and threw her elbow back into his stomach. As he folded, she whirled in his grip, raising a fist, ready to smash it into his nose. Maybe then he won't have such a stupid pretty face.

Unfortunately, she must have not hit him hard enough, because as she swung at him, he ducked, her fist only grazing the side of his face. His hand struck out like a snake, latching onto her wrist - now he had both of her wrist in a tight grip. She struggled, leaning back and tugging, but he was unyielding. When he suddenly yanked her forwards, she was thrown off balance and nearly off her feet, crashing into his chest. Gaze jolting up to meet his own, she found dark brown eye glaring down at her, a dangerous glint in them.

"That wasn't very nice." His voice was low.

Her lip twitched into a snarl. "Didn't like it? Then let. me. go."

"Yes, Blake. Let her go," Wells' voice came from nearby. At his commanding tone, Alex and Bellamy turned to face him.

Surprise and pride filled her at the sight of Well standing behind Murphy, one arm wrapped tightly around the other boys neck, her own blade poised at his throat. From the crowd's murmurs of disbelief, it became apparent that while she and Bellamy had been arguing, Wells had won.

Alex could feel Bellamy tense up behind her, his hold around her tightening, the muscles in his arms going rigid. There was a tense silence as the two boys studied each other, waiting for the other one to flinch.

Bellamy decided to make the first move. "Or what, Chancellor? You going to kill him?" He challenged knowingly.

Bellamy knew just like the rest of them that Wells wasn't one to hurt others. Fighting to protect himself, to protect others, was one thing. Being challenged to kill someone was an entirely different ball game.

Fortunately for Wells, the decision as to how to proceed was taken from him when a new voice spoke up from outside the crowd.

"Wells? Blake? What the hell are you guys doing?" Clarke demanded as she marched into the clearing.

Although the situation wasn't fully resolved, Alex felt a weight lift off her shoulders knowing that the other group was back, and they were safe, maybe now they'd be able to focus on surviving instead of their stupid petty squabbles.

Wells almost looked ashamed at the accusatory tone Clarke had taken with him, and quickly shoved Murphy away from him in disgust. In response, Alex felt Bellamy's hold around her slacken, and the moment she had the leeway to move, she roughly pulled away, coolness replacing the previous warmth at her back. Ignoring the chill that worked its way up her spine, she turned to glare up at him, but instead found his attention entirely focused elsewhere.

Turning to follow his gaze, she found him staring with concern at Octavia, who was limping into the clearing behind Clarke, helped along by a weary looking Monty. Alex could see Finn not too far behind them, brow set in a serious frown.

Her eyebrows furrowed in concern. Something was wrong. She could feel it. But she couldn't put a finger on what was out of place. Something about the tenseness in all of their shoulders, set off alarms in her head.

"Octavia!" Bellamy said as he dove forward, quickly grabbing Octavia's other arm, helping her down the slope and to the nearest log. "Are you alright?" He asked, concerned eyes scanning over her figure, searching for any signs as to what was causing her pain.

Octavia gave a pained grimace before smiling up at her brother. "Yeah."

Bellamy studied her expression with a frown, before whirling around to glare at Clarke. "What happened? Where's the food?" He demanded.

Finn sat down slowly on a nearby log. "We never made it to Mount Weather."

What? But... they were gone for so long, they should have easily made it there and back again. Come to think of it, now that she looked around, she noticed that none of them had any extra supplies with them. Instead she took in their weary and roughed up appearances, not to mention the fact that Octavia was clearly favouring one leg.

Shaking her head, for a moment Alex felt disoriented, her mind trying to catch up with what was going on around her, feeling like she'd experienced some form of whiplash. One second she was trying to figure out how to help Wells stay alive, and the next she is trying to get her head around the fact that Clarke and the rest were back, and that they'd never made it to Mount Weather.

What the hell happened out there?

She wasn't the only one in disbelief. "What the hell happened out there?" Bellamy demanded, echoing her own thoughts, frowning down at Finn before glancing at Clarke.

"We were attacked." Clarke said, the worry in her expression was clear.

Alex felt cold dread wash through her. There was something in the way that Clarke had said they had been attacked that implied it hadn't been by some wild animal. No, there was only one other possibility that she was talking about.

The people by the river.

"Attacked? By what?" Wells asked Clarke hurriedly, looking concerned as he glanced around the group.

"Not by what. Who," Finn stated. "It turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, well, he wasn't the last Grounder."

Grounders. Yeah...Grounders sounds like as good name as any. Now who was saying I'm crazy? She felt a small sense of relief at the confirmation that she had actually seen the people down by the river, that she wasn't going crazy. Seeing the Grounders, then seeing Liam's face on that body had sent a sliver of doubt through her. What if she was losing her mind?

But she wasn't, at least not about the Grounders.

Feeling reassured, she turned and shot a pointed and distinctly 'i-told-you-so' look in Bellamy's direction, managing to catch his eye. He only rolled his eyes in response.

As Alex turned her attention back to Clarke, he thoughts faltered as she realized what had been said. "Wait - they attacked you guys?"

If they'd been attacked by the other people, Earth's remaining survivors, then things could get really complicated for the group real quickly. Not only would food and water be a priority for them, but they'd need to figure out a way to defend themselves. Right now, there was nothing keeping the Grounders away, nowhere for them hide behind and protect themselves. The drop ship was too small for anything other than immediate protection.

Trina and Pascal haven't been seen since we landed...The thought sent a shiver down her spine.

This was a whole new level of problems they'd have to figure out.

"What?" Clarke asked stepping towards her. "Did you see someone?" She looked like even though she was asking the question she was already dreading the answer.

"I - Yeah. There were - I saw people down by the river." Alex noted the way the people from the expedition group exchanged wary glances.

"What?!" Clarke repeated, this time her voice held a tinge of panic in it as she stepped forwards placing her hands on Alex's shoulders. "Are you alright?" She demanded, her gaze running over Alex's frame, clearly looking for any signs of injury or discomfort.

Stunned at Clarke concern over her well-being, Alex nodded quickly in reply. Clarke dropped her arms, releasing a big sigh of relief, before a serious look fell back over her features.

"Did they see you? What did they do - what did you do?" Clarke continued, hurriedly, looking like she didn't know which question she wanted answered first.

"Well, honestly, they just stood there for a minute and then went back to whatever they were doing beforehand," Alex shrugged. "I was on the other side of the river, so it wasn't like I could get close enough to talk to them," she continued.

"You were by yourself?" Clarke asked incredulously, and when Alex cringed, giving her a grimace of a smile, she shook her head, massaging her forehead before continuing. "You know what, never mind. I don't want to know. Did you tell anyone about it?"

Alex scowled, "I tried to. But some people weren't willing to listen." She shot Bellamy a glare.

Finn frowned up at her, looking almost perplexed, "So they didn't do anything? Didn't try to attack you?"

"Attacked, no. They actually didn't do anything except stand there." She shrugged. "They seemed fairly harmless to me." Sure, they had bows, arrows, and swords, but those could easily be used for hunting.

Hunting. The word sent a shiver down her spine as she looked at the returning group. They looked more than worried- they looked scared, as if they'd been hunted or attacked by something that they had no defense against. The only person who seemed to be proof that they'd been attacked was Octavia and her injury.

The returning groups' shoulders tensed at her words, and her uneasy feeling returned. Alex counted the group again, despite having done it earlier. She just had to make sure everyone was here. A crown creased her forehead. Hadn't five of them left for Mount Weather?

Oh no...

"It's true," Clarke continued after the pause. "There are people here, survivors. The good news is, the radiation won't kill us. We can survive here."

...Their weary expressions, Clarke's panic when I told her I'd seen others, the haunted look in Monty's eye….

Her eye darted around, searching for any sign of the familiar goggles, dread welling up within her when she couldn't see them anywhere.

Finn took a breath. Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it. "...The bad news is, the grounders will."

No...

Alex couldn't hold back her question anymore. "Clarke, where's Jasper?" She demanded.

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