A/N: I'm baaaaaaaack!

Sorry for the long wait, but I was busy getting married and honemooning and real life stuff that I'm actually too happy about to be really sorry for! :)

But to make up for it, I have an extra long chapter for you guys! That's right - my longest chapter yet!

Thank you to everyone who followed and fav'd, you guys rock. I'm nearly 130 follows and 74 favs! It blows my mind! Thank you to narelclollie, Bee-back, Haley, Sonny13, thats-a-moray (x2!) and DenZatz (x3!). You guys makes this all worth it!

Thanks to Dannylionthe1st, as always, for being the best beta!

Chapter 11

After their nerve-wracking day, everyone was more than eager to head back to the drop ship, as soon as Jasper was bundled up and secured on their makeshift stretcher, they were on their way.

Although they tried to be as gentle as possible as they moved, every motion still seemed to cause Jasper pain, his moans filling the air, setting everyone on edge. The group was tense and wary; everyone worried about what, or who, might hear them.

This is getting ridiculous.

At the distant sound of a groaning branch, Alex once again whipped around to peer over her shoulder, they were occurring often enough to set her on edge. Her ears seemed fine tuned to any noise not coming from the group, instead catching every creak and crack in the forest around them. She knew the forest held a certain amount of natural noise, everything making its own sounds as a breeze swept through, rustling leaves and rubbing trunks against one another. She knew this, and it still gave her no comfort.

It would be so easy for someone to follow us right now. Stay just out of sight, hidden in the bushes, behind a tree. They wouldn't even need to see us to know where we are, it's not like we're the stealthiest group around. She thought, cringing and shooting a nervous glare at Wells, who had stepped heavily on some dry branches, the loud crunch causing the entire group to tense up.

Slowing down, she glanced around, allowing Clarke, Finn and Wells to move past her, Jasper slung heavily between the two boys. Ignoring Clarke's questioning glance as she walked by, she focused instead on the dense foliage behind them, trying to see passed the shapes and shadows which too easily caught her eyes.

They could be right there...standing just beyond the edge of the trees, watching us, studying us, waiting for the right moment to us to turn our backs…

Closing her eyes briefly, she rubbed her face tiredly with both hands, ignoring the painful twinge her wrist gave.

Footsteps came up beside her, and she opened her eyes to find Blake frowning back in the direction she'd been looking, before he turned to meet her gaze, adjusting the heavy branch he held over one shoulder.

"See something?" He grunted down at her.

Eyes roving his face before travelling back to the animal Blake and Murphy had strung up between them, she swallowed, trying to ignore the disgusting way it's head hung down, tongue lolled from its mouth, blood dripping from its slack jowls and onto the forest floor below.

Grimacing, she turned away.

"Nah," she said with a small shake of her head, glancing back the way they'd come. "Hopefully, I'm just imagining things."

Hopefully.

Even to her it sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

"Yeah. Hopefully," Blake agreed softly.

"Will you hurry it up?" Snapped Murphy from the other end of the branch, making an irritated motion with his free hand, glaring at them both. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get back to camp. This bitch is heavy, and I'd like to get back sooner, rather than later."

Irritation washed through her, momentarily pushing back any worry she had about being followed. Resisting the sigh that tried to escape her, she shot him a scathing glare of her own. "It was you're idea to bring it back," she drawled, glancing down at the dead animal, "Don't bitch about it." Despite her words, she turned, continuing on walking, picking up her pace to catch up with the rest.

"Don't expect to get any, Evans. I'm not sharing." Murphy sniped back at her.

Taking a deep breath, she gritted her teeth, refraining from answering. It wasn't worth the effort. He had no say real say in how the food was divided up. She wasn't entirely sure that the one carcass could feed the whole group. They would need more, and soon.

Besides, she felt more capable at surviving and finding her own food than most of the other delinquents.

Unfortunately, she couldn't ignore that he was right in one manner.

The sooner they returned to the drop ship, the better.

When a small flock of birds suddenly took flight from the trees behind them, and the air was filled with their distressed chittering and chirping, nobody mentioned their sudden quickening of their pace.

We need to get out of here.

For a while, no one talked, saving all of their energy for their daunting trek home. Minutes soon trickled into hours, although every glance up into the clear sky reassured her that the day was far from over.

The trek back was easily tougher than any type of activity she ever had to do before. Her chest ached, her lungs struggling for air as her heart thumped heavily behind her ribs.

On the Ark, physical activity was mandatory, everyone required to keep up a minimum level of fitness, the energy burnt and food consumed was harshly regulated. Fitness classes were held daily, and it wasn't uncommon to see joggers making laps of their stations at the end of their shifts, footsteps echoing on the steel floors as they went. There were even annual running competitions, competitors timed on how long it took them to run the Main Corridor, the longest walkway on the Ark which ran from the entire length, connecting all the Stations.

She'd always been considered fit, passing each testing with flying colours every time, never struggling.

But this...this is something else entirely. She thought as she panted away, wiping away the beads of sweat that had accumulated on her forehead and had begun to run down the back of her neck. When she'd gotten too warm, she'd taken her jacket off, tying it off around her waist. Even then, she found that her tanktop was sticking uncomfortably to her skin.

Apparently, running on flat steel ground is much, much easier than walking on mossy, hilly, log covered ground, she thought dryly.

Glancing around at the others, she was somewhat relieved that they all looked to be in the same boat, hair sticking to their foreheads, jackets around the waist, feet shuffling forward like each one was twenty pounds heavier than it should be.

But although they were all tired, none of them were willing to slow their pace. The urgency in their steps had yet to falter. None of them were willing to tempt the good luck they'd had so far.

Fortunately, they didn't encounter any of the things that they felt were treading on their heels. And as soon the sun began to duck down behind the mountains, the long shadows fading slowly into black, distant flickering glow of fires began appearing through the gaps in the trees.

Thank God. Relief flowed through her at the distant sight.

Wiping a bead of sweat off her brow, Alex glanced back at the others to see how they were fairing. Each of them, minus Blake and Murphy, had taken turns carrying Jasper, switching out when he'd become too heavy, the weight often sending them stumbling, wary feet having trouble finding purchase on the rugged terrain, especially as the daylight faded.

Her turn had ended not too long ago, her wrist throbbing painfully as she switched off with Clarke, who was looking just as bone-weary as she felt.

Stepping over a log, her wary foot caught on a root sticking out of the ground on the other side, her misstep sending her stumbling forward. Trying to stop her fall, she threw out a hand to brace herself against a nearby tree; a decision she instantly regretted as pain exploded through her wrist, the slightly scabbed skin beneath her wristband tearing open. Sucking in a sharp breath, she froze against the tree, eyes clenched shut as she waited for the fresh wave of pain to fade.

It wasn't the first time either. Between carrying Jasper and catching herself whenever she stumbled, her wrist constantly burned as they moved, each step and each heartbeat seeming to flare through her arm.

After Clarke had caught her wincing more than a few times, she'd made more of an effort to hide her discomfort. The last thing they needed right now was to stop, not when Jasper's pained moans reminded them of the state he was in.

She could deal with this on her own.

"Fuuuuck." She hissed softly to herself, slowly releasing the breath she'd been holding, gently rubbing around the edge of her wristband, trying to sooth the never ending itching and pinching that permeated her wrist.

Apparently she wasn't as quiet as she'd hoped, from the amused snort that came from behind her. Gritting her teeth, she didn't need to turn around to know who was mocking her pain.

But she did anyway, shooting a glare at Murphy, who returned the look with a small sadistic smirk, appearing all too pleased with her discomfort.

God, she couldn't stand the guy.

As more familiar landmarks began appearing around them, Alex could stop the relieved sigh that escaped her. They were nearly there; they could see the fires in the distant and soon the drop ship would be in their sights, and despite the general dislike she held for the other delinquents, she couldn't deny the relief she felt when they came into sight.

As they stepped into the clearing, some of the tension and adrenaline from the day's events slowly began to fade away, a bone-deep weariness taking its place, settling around her shoulders like a heavyweight. While she knew that she was fooling herself with her optimistic view of safety, she knew that they were safer here than anywhere else and that allowed them some respite. Here they could recover, nurse their wounds, and begin thinking about how they were going to keep surviving with their new and hostile neighbours.

Walls. Definitely walls. Something nice and tall to keep them and everything else out there, out. The question is...how do we build it? The answer came to her as she glanced up, gaze landing on the enormous trees around them. Now, if only we could find a way to bring some of those down...She shook her head, dismissing the thoughts. That can wait. Right now, Jasper takes priority.

Their arrival was met with mixed reactions. A few of the closest delinquents leapt up, clearly startled at their sudden appearance, the commotion sending a wave of interested murmurs throughout the rest of the group. Soon, others were coming forwards, curious and interested at what had happened to them while they were away. Some looked relieved at the sight of Jasper, other looking more excited at the prospect of food that Blake and Murphy carried between them.

Clarke ignored all the attention, not pausing even once as she wove her way towards the drop ship, Finn and Wells carrying Jasper at her heels, Alex keeping pace not far behind.

They were halfway up the ramp when a frantic looking Monty stumbled through the draping that covered the entrance. As his gaze landed on them, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. For a moment, nothing moved, except his eyes, which flickered from face to face desperately, looking for any clues which could tell him what happened. What they'd found.

When his gaze finally landed on Jasper, the blood completely drained from his face, turning a sickly white and he stumbled back, bracing himself on the edge of the door. Alex swallowed, feeling suddenly sick at the agony that swept across his face.

Blinking rapidly to clear his watery eyes, he opened and closed his mouth several times, nothing coming out as he tried to ask the question that was clearly at the front of his mind. Finally, he managed to squeak out, "Is….is he…" The fear in his voice made her heart clench.

Clarke was the first to move, hurrying forward and putting a hand on his shoulder, giving him, what Alex thought, was the most reassuring look she could manage at the moment. "He's alive." She told him firmly, keeping her gaze steady. "But he needs medical attention. Right now, I need boiled water and strips of cloth, for bandages - as clean as you can find them."

"We can get that." Another steady voice joined them, and Harper stepped out from behind the coverings coming to stand at Monty's side, Charlotte and Jemma right behind her. Harper gave them all a quick once over before turning to Clarke. "We've set up a space for you inside. It's as clean as we could get it."

Clarke gave her an appreciative look as she nodded. "Thank you."

Charlotte and Jemma both turned to give Alex a concerned look but she shook her head, giving them what she hoped was a small reassuring smile, before motioning for them to follow Harper as the other girl turned away to look for the requested items.

Clarke parted the thin material that someone had set up at the entrance of the dropship, allowing Finn and Wells go through, before ducking through herself, Monty nearly tripping over her at his rush to follow her through.

Following them quietly, Alex ducked through the entryway just as they gently lowered Jasper onto the set up space, parachute folded neatly below him, providing some kind of padding against the cold, hard floor.

Watching from the doorway, Alex couldn't help but be impressed at how quickly Clarke took charge of the entire situation, giving everyone orders on how and when to move and unwrap the unconscious Jasper, making sure Finn and Wells moved slowly and were mindful of his injuries.

When they'd pulled all the parachute away, Clarke took a deep breath before moving in to remove the only thing left on Jasper's chest: the quickly thrown together bandage she'd placed over his wound.

The material was soaked through, the previously white material, stained a deep red. It was clear that although they'd tried to move him as smoothly as possible, his would had still been agitated and had begun bleeding once more.

As Clarke removed it, Monty let out a strangled moan and stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall, his face turning a sickly shade of green. As he slide down and rested his head on his knees, Alex couldn't help but feel bad for him. She knew what it was like to feel useless when someone close to her bled out, and you didn't have the skills or the knowledge to help.

When Clarke dropped the bloody material to the side and leaned forward, Alex caught sight of the fresh gaping wound on his chest and her breath caught in her throat, stomach turning violently. Turning away, she took a shaky breath and she quickly decided she was better off outside. As much as she wanted to help, she knew she wouldn't be of any use if she threw up all over them. Blood - she shuddered - it was something she just couldn't deal with. She wouldn't be of any help to them.

Sliding back through the material and into the refreshing cool evening air, she took note of the rapidly fading sunlight as her eyes landed on the group of rowdy teenagers hanging around the main fire, where Blake and Murphy were apparently showing off their kill.

"Who's hungry!?" Blake yelled out to the surrounding crowd, who all roared back with a undeniable cheer of agreement.

Rolling her eyes, she scowled, turning away, not interested watching them show off. Especially when they hadn't actually killed anything.

Beside's...what a stupid question. She grumbled to herself as she marched away, trying to ignore the hot spots on her feet, where her boots had begun to rub hours beforehand. I think we're all more than a little hungry at this point.

Her stomach quickly growled in agreement

They were all hungry. And thirsty. And tired.

And God, her feet fucking hurt.

Going to the closest and comfiest log she could find, she threw herself down next to it, a relieved sigh escaping her as she finally got off her feet. Reaching down, she yanked her knife out from the side of her boot, laying it on the log beside her before quickly untying her laces. Forcefully yanking off her boots, she tossed them angrily to the side, where they landed a few feet away.

Catching sight of her bloodied hand, she grimaced, picking at the itching, flaking blood which had slowly begun to peel off of her skin. The familiar feeling bothered her, and she couldn't help be reminded of another time, when blood had covered her hands, had stuck between her fingers. She remembered how it had been etched beneath her fingernails, and no matter how much she scrubbed, the red tinge around her nail beds just wouldn't. go. away.

But that wasn't your blood, now was it? This time - this time it's different.

Closing her eyes, she forced her thoughts away from the unpleasant memories, letting her head fall back against the log. Instead, she focused her mind on the pleasant feeling of the cool air on her feet instead of how her feet ached, how parched her mouth felt, how her stomach felt like an aching void, grumbling with the pangs of hunger; how heavy her eyelids felt...

No, Alex, stop! Please! We need to go. They're coming, they know I know. Come on, Lex! We need to get out of here! We need to move!

"Alex?"

Move!

Eyes snapping open at the call of her name, she lurched forward, groggy and disoriented, the fog draped over her brain slowly lifting as she stared around eyes landing on a figure that stood a few feet before her.

As her mind cleared, she realized it was Jasper's friend, Monty, who was standing before her. Blinking up at him dumbly, she noted how dark it was around them, and realized that at some point, she must have fallen asleep.

Frowning, she took note of how awkwardly he was standing: hands raised, eyes wide as he eyed her warily. He was standing defensively, looking at her like she was about to lunge.

Then she realized that she was. His movement had brought her out of her sleep and as she'd woken, she'd shifted forwards, still kneeling on the ground, one leg coiled beneath her, ready to pounce. Her attention shifted to the familiar weight in her hand, and with a jolt, she realized she held her dagger defensively in front of herself, ready to attack.

Heat flushed through her face, she was glad for the darkness around them, although she was mildly surprised she didn't light up the surrounding area, knowing that she bright red. Mortified at her own reaction to being woken up, she quickly tucked the blade behind her, settling back against the log. Trying to look normal.

Nothing like proving that you're as crazy as everyone expects you to be. Her mind drawled at her in amusement.

"Uh," he began, slowly lowering his hands, although he still eyed her warily, "sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No!" She interrupted him a little more harshly than she meant to. When his eyes widened further and he stared at her like she was a wild animal, she cringed. Bringing up a hand, she closed her eyes, massaging the bridge of her nose. "No," She began again, more softly this time, "don't, don't worry about it. You...just caught me off guard, is all."

"Ah, alright," he said, looking slightly uncomfortable, glancing momentarily over his shoulder, back towards the rest of the group.

Good going, Alex. You're making the kid want to run.

An abrupt snort of amusement escaped her and at his puzzled expression, she shook her head. "Sorry," she sent him a small tired smile, "I'm not usually like this... whatever this is," she motioned a hand down at herself, "I think it's just been a long day."

Her comment seemed to have the desired effect, because he marginally relaxed, shoulders dropping from their defensive pose. There was a momentary pause, then he seemed to make up his mind about something, shrugging to himself and throwing himself down on the mossy ground beside her. Startling her.

"Haven't we all?" He said with a sigh, and for a moment he looked pained as he stared towards the drop ship. "Oh," he said, perking up a little bit. "I brought you some stuff." He said, holding a small bottle and a stick, which she hadn't noticed him holding beforehand. Puzzled, she stared at the stick momentarily, wondering what the hell was on it, when the delicious smell of cooked food hit her nose.

Her mouth watered.

"Is that real food?" She asked almost desperately, stomach growling at the thought of something to eat.

At her probably pathetic and excited look, he huffed a laugh, handing it over, placing the bottle between them. "Wow, you must have been pretty tired. You clearly missed the commotion of Sir Blake, and how he rescued his band of delinquent brats from starvation, feeding them the all-mighty beast he slayed during combat." He waved his hands around comically, at one point looking like he was warding off an invisible attacker.

She snorted at his sarcastic drawl, then as she took a bit of the most delicious, juicy, tasty piece of food she'd ever had. "I take it you're not a fan?" She said between bites.

"They annoy me." He shrugged. "Besides he'd trading food for wristbands. At this rate there won't be anyone with wristbands on by morning." He scowled, "I mean, how are we supposed to get in touch with the Ark, if people are cutting off our only line of communication?" Frustration leaked into his voice, and he clenched his fists on his knees.

"Well, if it helps any. I promise to not trade in my wristband for anything." She offered, eyeing him sympathetically. "Not even if they promise to slay more beasts for food." She continued, sending him an amused smirk. Which he returned with a sincere one of his own. It was clear that whatever misgivings he'd had about her initial reaction had been withdrawn.

A companionable silence settled over them and she used the moment to take another mouthful of meat.

She could barely withhold the embarrassing moan of delight that overwhelmed her, her eyes closing as she chewed. The meat was unlike anything she'd ever tasted before. Although the outside was slightly charred from the fire, the inside was still juicy and tender, the entire thing a mix of amazing flavours, ones she'd never tasted before.

It was so, so, very different from anything they had on the Ark, where daily meals consisted of the products from the Agro Station, where in the early days of the Ark, engineers had designed an efficient space where nutrient rich vegetables were grown.

She remembered the first time she'd seen the vegetation. Beautiful. Green. She'd been in awe, gaping and staring, standing along with her fellow classmates. This was the type of life that still grew on Earth.

It was a shame all those lush, vibrant plants were then crushed and processed into little packets of nutrition. It had been determined early in life on the Ark, that the most efficient way to get everyone the nutrition, the calories that they needed to survive, was to give them in gelatin wrapped, disgusting tasting, little capsules, lovingly called GEL-PACs. Each one a standard amount of the resources they all needed to survive in space. Three a day; morning, lunch, dinner.

Three GEL-PACs, along with those god awful soy cubes.

Apparently soy plants grew really well in space. Who knew.

With a shudder, Alex tried to forget their nasty flavour, instead focusing back on the most delicious meal she'd ever had.

Once finished, she settled back with a content sigh, relieved that the pangs of hunger and thirst were finally fading away. A howl of laughter came from a distant fire, and Alex had to smile. It was clear that food had brightened everyone's morale.

Turning her focus to the boy sitting next to her, her satisfaction over her meal faded as she took note of the somber expression now etched on his face, his eyes staring blankly back towards the door of the dropship. His worry for his friend was still at the front of his mind.

Briefly, she wondered why he was out here with her, instead of with Jasper.

"He's going to be alright, you know." She stated after a moment, trying her best to reassure him. Resting her elbows on her knees, her fingers played with the mossy ground. "Jasper's strong."

He's made it this far, he'll survive now that he has the help he needs.

Monty sighed heavily, rubbing his hands across his face. "I know. I know he is. It's just- I don't think I've ever felt this useless in my life. I've always been able to come up with an answer - a solution. But just seeing him laying there, like that…" He trailed off before grumbling, "Clarke threw me out because I wouldn't stop asking if I could help."

She felt a small smile tug at her lips are the thought. Reaching over she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Clarke's good at what she does. Her mother is lead medic on the Ark, remember? If anyone can patch him up, it's her."

"Yeah, I know." He repeated once more and although her words seemed to have comforted him somewhat, the uncertainty, the fear he held over the possibility of losing his friend was still present, still draped around his shoulders. She was sure it would be there until the moment Jasper was up and walking. And even then it would haunt him.

A rustle of movement caught her attention and she turned to find Monty pushing himself to his feet, brushing the litter from his clothes as he stood.

"I'm going to head back," he said, glancing uncertainly at the dropship, before turning to look down at her. He shrugged and gave a sheepish smile, "Maybe Clarke will have something for me to do by now." He suggested, looking hopeful at the idea.

A thought struck her. "Maybe see if Clarke and the rest need any food or water. The hike was pretty crappy, and I'm sure they'll need some fuel of their own."

He nodded, "Sounds good, I'll sneak some more food from Blake's lot when they're not looking."

She snorted in response, waving him away. "Shouldn't be too hard. Just don't get caught."

"Don't plan to." He answered with a small smirk, before turning and beginning to walk away.

A thought struck her. "Hey Monty!" She called out as he began to walk away. When he turned back to her questioningly, she sent him a small smile, before holding up the bottle of water, "Thanks' for the food."

With a quirk of a smile in return, accompanied with a heartfelt thumbs-up, he turned and continued to make his way over to the main fire.

As she watched, he kept his pace casual as he slunk by the fire, and flicking a hand out almost faster than she could see, suddenly there were two less sticks sitting around the fire. Nobody noticed; everyone too engrossed in their own meals.

She had to shake her head as she speculated. Smooth. Maybe that's why he's here in the first place - sticky fingers findings their way into places where they shouldn't be.

A yawn suddenly overtook her and she realized how long she'd been away from everyone. Charlotte and Jemma are probably wondering where I went off to. With that in mind, she reached out, grasping the boots she'd tossed away earlier and quickly tugging them onto her feet and doing up the laces.

Pushing herself to her feet, she raised her hands over her head, giving her back a good stretch, the odd feeling of satisfaction flowing through her as her back popped loudly in response.

She wasn't prepared when a hand suddenly clasped around her mouth, a strong arm wrapping around her waist.

Heart leaping to her throat, she didn't have time to inhale, let alone cry out, before she was hauled roughly over the log she'd been leaning against, a muffled yelp escaping her as her back scraped painfully over the rough bark.

Panic overwhelming her at the thought of who was pulling her backwards into the darkness.

Grounders! Grounders are in camp!

You idiot, why were you sitting so far away from everyone?!

Herself berating thoughts were cut off as she was violently pulled backwards, the arms that had been holding and partially supporting her, gone. Unable to get her feet under her, she fell back, but instead of hitting flat ground like she expected, the surface was much further away.

Tumbling head over heels down a small embankment, Alex came to an abrupt stop as she hit the bottom, the cobble covered ground knocking the air out of her and she lay, coughing and spluttering, desperately trying to get some air back into her lunch after it had been so violently expelled.

"Well, that looked like it hurt."

At the sound of the calm, familiar voice, Alex slowly turned her head to face the source.

She wished she could say that she was surprised to find Murphy standing at the edge of the embankment, his self assured smirk ever plastered on his face.

Anger and disbelief flowed through her.

When her lungs finally allowed her to speak, she did. "What are you doing, Murphy?" She snarled at him with a glare, her voice rough.

A mockingly innocent look crossed his face, and he pointed at himself. "I'm just here to help." He told her with a nod, "I saw you take that god-awful tumble, and wanted to make sure you were okay." The nasty smile that crossed his face as he finished talking belied his words, and Alex felt a flicker of worry flow through her.

Murphy was a wildcard in the group. Something about his demeanor set her on edge. So far, he'd been aggressive and violent to nearly everyone, seeming to only be reined in by Blake, although reluctantly most of the time.

But Blake's not here to call of his attack dog now, is he?

Glancing past him, up the embankment she's been thrown down, Alex realized nervously that it did a really good job at secluding them from the rest of the group. Although the closest people couldn't have been further than thirty feet away, she couldn't hear a word they were saying, the only sign of the rest of the group was nearby, was the bright glow of the fires on the trees above. He'd chosen this spot well.

"I don't think anyone is going to help you, Evans." Her gaze flicker back to meet his own, the calmness of his comment set her on edge.

Get up.

Rolling herself onto her side, she ignored the pain in her back as she attempted to push herself up, while reaching for her knife. When her hand met empty air, panic flared through her when she remembered she'd left her knife on the log.

Idiot.

He was faster then she expected, crossing the space between them in the blink of an eye. Unprepared for the boot which planted itself on her chest, she was forcefully slammed backwards, the weight pinning her to the ground.

Eyes snapping up in shock, she stared at Murphy who was now standing above her, head tilted as he stared down at her. Lifting a hand, he waved it in front of her face a few time before she became aware he held her blade lightly in hand, its sharp end pointed down towards her face.

"Nuh-uh," he shook his head, other hand coming up to wiggle a finger down at her, as if he were berating a young child, "can't have you running back to your friends just yet."

Gritting her teeth, she grabbed his boot and ankle with both hands, trying to relieve some of the pressure, to which he responded by moving forward, leaning on his leg, the one pinning her down. At the increase in weight, she winced, struggling to breath, each breath a shallow gasps, the only air her lungs allowed.

She glared up at him, "What do you want?" She gasped out.

He pointed the end of the blade towards her wrist. "Just one thing."

She knew instantly that he was talking about her wristband. She shook her head. "Not going to happen."

He rolled his eyes, "You say that like you have a choice." He drawled, before quickly crouching over her, removing his weight from her chest but quickly leaning down, pressing the sharp point to the vulnerable side of her neck, the cool metal digging into her skin slightly.

Freezing, she leaned away as much as she could, the solid ground beneath her giving her no relief.

Shifting, he settled his knees on either side of her, straddling her hips, his weight pinning her down, keeping her from moving, her own blade keeping her helpless.

You need to do something, and you need to do it quickly. Her eyes flickered from his face to the knife.

You know what he wants. Offer it. Don't let him take it.

A plan slowly began to form in her mind.

Let him think you're weaker than you actually are. Let him underestimate you.

Releasing a shaky breath, she reached up, wrapping her hand gently around the wrist which held the blade, not needing to fake her shaky grip as she pulled it slightly away from herself. Her other hand slowly, painstakingly, began to flutter along the surface of the cobbles beside her, looking for something, anything, that she could use in defence.

"Please." She whispers, eyes pleading as she stared up at him, making sure to keep her eyes on him.

He gave her an amused look before it faded away and he sighed, leaning over her and giving her an almost pitying look. "Look, Evans, we can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Don't make this nastier than it needs to be. All I want is your wristband." He told her simply.

No fucking way. She snarled on the inside, before slowly, shakingly, nodding her head. "O-Okay."

Relaxing her grip from his wrist, she allowed him to grasp her forearm, examining the metal band which enclosed it, her knife moving away from her neck as he did so.

Hand shaking, she slowly tugged at the ground, nail and fingers trying to find purchase as they scraped out a decent sized cobble. Murphy seemed completely unaware of her movements, focused completely on her wrist.

Relief washed through her when she had the rock securely in hand, and her worried expression melting into a dark glare.

"Murphy?" She asked calmly, and when his gaze flickered from her wrist to meet her own, she sneered. "Kindly get the fuck off me." She spat, before swinging the rock up and smashing it into the side of his face.

Her plan didn't work as she expected. She had hoped her attack would render him unconscious, knocking him to the side and away from her. She did get one thing right - his head did snap to one side, but he didn't completely lose his balance. As his hips lifted slightly she knew she only had a small opportunity to get away. Bucking her own hips, she tried to throw him the rest of the way off, while at the same time her hands scrambled for a purchase to pull herself out from under him.

But Murphy was too quick to recover.

She was nearly out from underneath him when he resettled his weight down on her legs, across her shins, stopping her from fully getting away. She was fully unprepared when he whirled around, his fist slamming into the side of her face, catching her just below the eye.

Pain and little black spots exploded in her vision, and she fell back with a cry, hands coming up instinctively to protect her face. The coppery tang of blood filled her mouth, and she knew that the impact must have gashed the inside of her cheek against her teeth.

Murphy huffed a laugh as he scrambled up her, once again settling on her stomach, his weight making her feel sick, her lungs struggling for oxygen. Once again, her knife was poised at her neck, his empty hand gripping her wrist tightly, the rock she'd struck him with still in hand.

"You little bitch." He snarled, bringing up his bladed hand to wipe it along his eyebrow, which had split where she'd hit him, blood streaming out and beginning to run over his eye and down his cheek. "Miller warned me you'd be sneaky, that you were smart." He smirked down at her. "Little trickster, aren't you?"

She gripped his wrist once again, nails digging into the soft skin of his wrist, trying to pry him away. "I'm not letting you have the wristband." She wheezed, glaring up at him, before spitting a mouthful of blood to the side.

"You just don't get it, do you." He shook his head, "I'm taking it whether you like it, or not. Blake wants all the wristbands. No exceptions." With that, he forcefully slammed her wrist down on the ground next to them, the shocking burst of pain making her unwillingly drop her only weapon of defense.

A pained smile crossed her face, "What, you his bitch now?"

Murphy's expression darkened and for a moment she wondered if he was going to hit her again. Then a new voice interrupted them.

"Need a hand there, Murphy?" Alex grimaced, feeling her heart sink as she recognized the voice of Murphy's sidekick, Mbege.

Murphy glanced up at him momentarily before looking down to giving her a menacing smile. She flinched back as he brought the blade up, taping the tip on her cheek. "Things aren't looking too good for you." He singsonged.

She snarled, her mouth full of blood. "Fuck you!"

Murphy nodded to Mbege. "Hold her wrists, I need to get this thing off." The other boy quickly complied, kneeling down by her head.

No!

Renewing her struggled to get away, she tried keeping her banded wrist away from his grabbing hands, but with Murphy's weight keeping her down, and holding her other wrist tightly, she didn't have much leeway to keep him away, and soon they had both of her wrists pinned down.

Panting for breath, she swallowed down a sudden wave of real panic. She couldn't lose her only connection to the Ark!

As Murphy began sliding the blade between her wristband and skin, she stared up at him pleadingly

"Murphy, Murphy please don't." She begged, her words hurried. "You don't have to do this. You don't have to follow Blake's every order or do anything for him."

He paused for a second, glancing down at her with a mocking grin. "For him? Hardly." He scoffed. "See, Blake may think he's running the show. And he is - for now. But he won't be for long. Things are just convenient. He wants to cut all connections to the Ark. I want to cut all connections as well. He even asked me to get it." He shrugged, before digging the blade in further. She let out a cry as it tore across her recently closed scabs, reopening the barely healed wound.

A hand covered her mouth. "Shh, shh, Evans. You don't want everyone coming to your rescue." Murphy said before turning the blade sideways, Alex giving a muffled scream as the sharp metal slid into her wrist. Clenching her eyes closed, she was helpless to the tears that pooled from her eyes, her breathing coming in shuddering gasps. Pulling back his arm, Murphy gave one final wrench.

There was a distinct 'snap!' as the band opened.

"See, wasn't so bad." Murphy told her, putting the knife to one side as he fully removed the band, a whimper escaping her as the needles slid painfully out of her already abused arm.

"Murphy!" Came a commanding bark, before Murphy was abruptly hauled off of her, Mbege quickly releasing her arms, scrambling to his feet, a worried look plastered on his face as he stepped away from her.

Taking a shuddering breath, her eyes clenched shut, a few tears leaking out of the corner of her eye, stinging the cut below. Slowly, she turned until she was resting on her side, allowing her to cradle her torn wrist, her other hand clamped tightly around it, trying to staunch the now steady flow of blood.

"Blake! Put me down!"

At the sound of Murphy's protests, she peered open an eye to see what was happening, a disbelieving scoff escaping her at what she saw.

Blake had Murphy pinned up against a tree, both of his hands fisted in the other boys shirt. His shoulders were tense, his entire posture rigid; he was clearly not happy, his glare zeroed in on Murphy's face. Murphy held tightly onto Blake's wrists

"What do you think you're doing?" Blake demanded calmly, coldly.

"Bellamy," Murphy welcomed, than winced as the other boys knuckles dug into his collarbones.

"What do you think you're doing?" Blake repeated, his gaze steel as he stared at Murphy.

"Just doing what you asked man - getting all the wristbands." Murphy said calmly, rolling his neck.

When Blake's dark eyes flickered down to meet her own, she turned her head away, teeth clenched. She didn't want to know what she would see in his gaze. She didn't know if she would see approval, judgement, or pity. None were emotions she wanted to see right now. Turning away, she focused instead on getting to her knees, so she could wrap her wrist in something - anything - that would stop the bleeding.

"You're an idiot, Murphy," Blake snapped. "We can't go beating the shit out of everyone. It's one thing to go after Wells, but is we keep going after Clarke's crew, people will start talking."

Murphy scowled. "Who fucking cares what they think?" he snapped.

Alex felt Blake's eyes on her, but she refused to return his gaze.

Blake glowered at him before cocking his head to one side, a dark smirk crossing his face. "Are you questioning me, Murphy? Let's make something very clear." Blake said, stepping back towards him and staring down the shorter boy. "When I tell you to do something, you do it when I want you to. Not any other time. You want to stay in this camp, be part of this group? You do what I say."

Murphy sneered back, glaring back challengingly. "You don't get to tell me what to do."

"Try me." Blake snapped back, voice cool.

The silence that followed was tense, neither boy willing to give ground.

"Fine," Murphy finally spat, throwing her wristband at Blake, who caught it one handed, glancing down at the bloody metal. Without another word, Murphy stomped by them, storming up the embankment and out of sight. After an uncertain moment, Mbege quickly followed suit, disappearing over the edge.

Shakily pushing herself to her feet, Alex ignored Blake who stood quietly at her back. She could feel his gaze and knew he was waiting for her to say something. Running her tongue across her teeth, she spat to the side, trying to remove the bloody tang from her mouth.

Holding her wrist tightly with her other hand, she took a shaky breath before turning, keeping her gaze down, intending to move past Blake and head up to the drop ship, knowing that she would need Clarke's help to wrap her wrist.

As she moved past him, he reached out and grabbed her upper arm, his grip surprisingly gentle.

"Evans..." He began, voice much softer than she'd ever heard him sound. It lacked all of the arrogance, the aggressiveness his voice usually held was absent. Instead he sounded...concerned.

Irrational rage surged through her at the thought.

He feels guilty now. He's only treating you nicely because he now has the one thing he wanted from you. Her mind whispered.

"Don't touch me!" She snarled up at him, whirling to meet his gaze with a glare of her own.

He was quick to release her arm, raising both his hands in surrender, showing he meant no harm. His gaze was different than she'd ever seen before.

How dare he? This is all his fault. Him and his fucking need to cut off the Ark.

"Happy now, Blake?" She spat up at him, glancing down at the wristband he still held in hand and his eyebrows raised in surprise. "You have exactly what you wanted. Now leave me alone."

Even as she glared at him, her gaze was suddenly filled with tears, and she turned away, blinking rapidly to clear her vision.

Blake didn't seem to know what to say, but when he opened his mouth to answer, she beat him to the punch.

"Let make something clear between us. Don't touch me, don't talk to me. I'm not a fucking damsel in distress, I don't need your help."

Blake took a step away from her, arms dropping to his sides, his expression closing off, his eyes darkening as he stared back at her.

After a moment, he nodded. "As you wish." He said, voice tight and controlled.

Then he turned and walked away.

Something about his tone gave her pause, and as she watched him stalk up the embankment and disappear out of sight, she couldn't help the nervous butterflies that arose in her stomach.

All she knew is that all of a sudden she felt very, very alone.

AN: Two steps forward, one step back, right?

Please review and let me know what you thought! My fav Monty was introduced! Murphy being a jerk, and Bellamy...well poor Bell. He tried.

Think we can hit get 50 review mark before the next chapter? That's only 8 away and would make my day (the rhymed!).

Anon review answers:

Bee-back: I'm glad you couldn't stop reading, because I couldn't stop writing! I'm glad you liked Jemma as an addition, it's an interesting add and I'm looking forward to seeing where I can take her story!

Haley: I'm glad you loved the chapter! I hope this one was what you were looking for! :)

Thank you so much for reading!