Authors note:

Hey, a rare author's note appears. The flashbacks will not be included in every chapter going forward. They will come now and again when there's a need for it. I'm unsure if I will continue the story for much longer... I'm not a writer, and honestly, I'm unsure why I started the story. XD. But I'm still glad someone's reading this newbie text. Anyhow, I hope you guys enjoy the story.
Valerie's hairstyle is similar to Aloys's in Horizon Zero Dawn, but it is much simpler, with a half-up, half-down style with braids mixed in.

Groans of pain echoed through the camp all night, keeping those inside the shuttle awake. Valerie sat in bed, her mind on the last slice of pizza she had eaten in her previous life: 'Sauce, Cheese, ham, onions, and some meat. But no Pineapples, God no. Am I bad for thinking of food while Jasper suffers…?'

She turned around, placing her feet on the ground to find the other girls wide awake, staring up at the tent's roof with large circles around their eyes, neither sleeping. Even though they had a tent, it was still close enough to the shuttle for them to hear every groan. Her mind drove her crazy, so she decided to get up.

"Nope fuck this, I need to get some food. Harper, tell the others I'm going for a walk. I'll be back later in the evening."

Valerie only heard Harper groan in agreement before she stepped out of the tent. The morning dusk embraced the camp; birds flew around the trees, and some squirrels ran around. Heading out of camp, Valerie brought a homemade backpack that Wells had made for her. Just in case, she packed a fishing line, some containers, and a knife in her bag. After some time, deep in the forest, she spotted some bushes with something blue on them. She looked over the bush: blueberries, and lots of it.

"Blueberries, it's been a while!" She smiled and ate a few. After filling her containers with Blueberries, she decided to find that river again. The sun had begun to shine over the area. The ground was thick with moss, and the trees were covered with leaves starting to turn yellow. It was a magnificent sight.

"I wish I had a camera…" She sighed, closing in on the river she bathed in yesterday. She decided to bask in the sunshine and relax. She let her hair down and lay on a sturdy rock. Her curls spread around her head, and she raised her hand to let the warmth of the sun between her fingers. After a while, she decided to start fishing. Before she could unpack, a loud sound of a horn was nearby. Sitting up, worried, she noticed some birds flying towards her. Although it was a reasonable distance, it still concerned her. What if it was Grounders?

"Weird… whatever..." She turned her attention back to the water, looking for fish. Her foot slipped, scraping the backs of her legs and hands.

"Fuck my life…" She complained. Loud footsteps approached her.
"Moba!" A deep voice came from behind her. Before she could turn around, something struck her on the neck, and she blacked out.

Earlier at the camp:

Wells finally got some sleep and rested for a few hours despite the loud groans around the camp. He felt sympathy for Jasper, who had been in bad condition when they brought him back. Deciding to start the day, Wells got up and noticed the sun shining brightly and beginning to glare. When he left the tent, he walked past Valerie's tent, deciding to check in on her.

"Is Valerie there?" he asked. Harper got out, dark circles beneath her eyes, and her tone was cranky.

"No, she went out for food and said she'd be back later," Harper said, closing the tent. Wells scratched his head. 'Okay, and why would she decide to go alone? I need to have a word with her later,' Wells thought. Putting the matter at rest, he decided to look for Clarke. Wells climbed up the shuttle and crouched down beside Clarke, her worry evident on her face.

"How's he doing?" Wells asked. Clarke's eye twitched. She hadn't slept that night, which was evident in her mood.

"How does it look like he's doing, Wells?" Clarke asked, defeated. Wells wanted to put an arm on her shoulder to comfort her but decided against it.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help." He said with a soft voice. Clarke took a deep breath and calmed down. She seemed to think for some seconds before she steeled herself.

"Alright, you wanna help? Hold him down." Wells complied without a word and held down Jaspers's leg. Finn came and held his arms. Clarke had a knife to the fire and was about to cut Jaspers's flesh.

"I'm not gonna like this, am I?" Came a worried question for Monty. Clarke turned to Monty for a second before she began.

Location: Unknown, somewhere in the forest.

"Ahh, fuck my head."

Valerie opened her eyes to find herself in an unknown cave. There was stuff everywhere. Candles lit the cave, which was big, probably around 15 meters tall. It looked like a hideout, with bed rolls, fabrics, food, and herbs. She couldn't see the exit, only the light from it. There was a constant sound coming from outside the cave. She was tied down, and her hands and legs were unmovable.
Her backpack was neatly beside her but just out of reach. So, she was with a grounder then. She must have; everything was too. What was the word, homemade? It was nothing like her previous modern life or the life on the ark. It had to be a grounder. But why abduct her? Valerie eventually fell asleep; she figured if the person wanted to kill her, they would have already killed her by now.

"Well, uninterrupted sleep ain't bad…"

The sun began to set outside the cave. Valerie opened her eyes; the cave was noticeably darker. All she could make out was a male silhouette. It looked like he was cutting something.

"So, nice weather outside?" Valerie joked. She grimaced inside when the man only turned briefly before continuing. 'Alright, this is my first time being kidnapped. What should I do?' she thought.

"Look, I don't know why you brought me here, but the others ain't that fond of your friends." She tried to explain. The man barely turned again before he continued cutting on something. Valerie gave up and decided to stare at the bonfire inside the cave.

"Isn't it bad to have a fire inside an enclosed area? Have you ever heard of carbon monoxide poisoning?" The man seemed to scoff before he turned around and approached her, a large old knife and a wooden board in his hand. Valerie's eyes widened, and she tried to back up in her bedroll.

"Ok, mister grounder, I won't bother you anymore. Please don't eat me." She pleaded.

He sat beside the fire, the light illuminating his features with a deep complexion with warm undertones. He had long, curly black hair and strong eyebrows. His eyes were hooded, and hazel eyes shone in from the light in the fire. He put meat on a stick and started roasting it. His lips were full, and his jawline was strong. Despite sitting down, he had a muscular build and was quite tall. He seemed to sense her studying him, and their eyes met. Valerie quickly looked away to the entrance. After a minute, the man approached her with the food.

"Choi op." He said and handed it to her. She took it without hesitation. As she started to eat, he roasted meat on a stick for himself.

"Funny how you pretend I understand that language. But how does a language evolve this far after what? A hundred years?" She pondered. The man looked over to her.

"Aha! You have to understand me!" She tried to provoke him. He only sat in silence. This aggravated Valerie, but a mouthful of meat made her forget her anger.

"This is absolutely delish. It had to cost a fortune at a steak restaurant..." she said. The man looked at her, furrowing his eyebrows confused. Valerie noticed and was now convinced he understood.

"Ahh, shame about the others I was supposed to meet right now. They probably wonder where I am now." She said, faking her sorrow. Her eyes met his, and he looked at the entrance before scoffing.

"Okay, now I know you're just playing dumb. Now, in English, please. Why abduct me?" She asked him. He looked over at her, seeming to debate internally. After what felt like forever for Valerie, he decided to speak.

"You would have died. The acid fog is everywhere. Your friends are dead." He said and continued eating. Valerie furrowed her eyebrows. The mysterious grounder looked up at the entrance for some seconds before he continued eating.

"It will be gone by tomorrow." He said with his mouth full of meat.

"Acid fog? Is there no such thing as acid fog on Earth?" she asked. He looked at her for a moment before staring at the bonfire.

"Then you are lucky to have never witnessed it." He said sorrowfully. She stared at him in disbelief.

"Then that loud sound and those birds…"

"You ignored them, stupid. I had no choice." He said.

"Ey, I'm not stupid, okay… I didn't know. And my friends will manage." Valerie pouted and looked back at the entrance. It seemed like the cave was safe. She looked back at him, wondering something.

"Then I guess you've followed me for a while, then..." she asked carefully. He nodded in agreement.

"Then you followed me yesterday…?" she asked carefully, and the man almost choked on his meat, confirming Valerie's thoughts. 'Great, that was the last time I was bathing naked.' She decided to shift the topic.

"Then, if you're gathering intel on us, I presume. Why save me? It can't be wise to reveal yourself like this." She asked. He had to be gathering intel. After all, they were in his people's land. It only made sense to scout the strangers.

"Why save you?" He asked. Valerie nodded, staring directly at his hazel orbs. His eyes seemed to shift in confusion. He finished the last of his meat, thinking.

"That I do not know. I've never seen someone ignore a warning horn like that." He smirked, and Valerie scowled.

"Sorry for not knowing that!" She ate the last of her meal, turned around in the bedroll, and purposefully ignored him.

"I'm going to sleep now."

"Sweet dreams…" He answered awkwardly.

Valerie awoke startled to a fizzling sound. She turned around to find a man putting out the fire. The sun shone from the entrance, illuminating the cave. After he was done, he started walking to the entrance. Valerie tried desperately to free herself from her binds.

"Wait! Please don't leave me here!" She shouted. The grounder ignored her and disappeared.

After some hours, the sun began to set. Valerie sat in complete silence. Her leg had started to hurt after she slipped the day before. She tried to look underneath her foot and observed angry red patches. It looked like it had bled some earlier. She heard a few footsteps coming from the entrance. Valerie sat back, trying to make it seem like she didn't just wait several hours. The last thing she wanted to seem was desperate, and even so to her kidnapper. That would be too embarrassing. The mysterious man had a bag in his hands, approached her and sat down. Valerie tried to back up, but the rock wall stopped her.

"Your legs," he said and grabbed her legs. Valerie's eyes widened, and she almost sputtered her words.

"You can't just grab my legs. Have some respect, man!"

"Relax, kid. There's no one going between those legs," he answered. Valerie was speechless. She had never met anybody this rude.

"You're priceless. I can't believe you said that," she said. The man brought out a metal box. He opened it, and inside was a strange cream. He started to rub it on her wounds. He looked up at her and smirked.

"Do you ever close your mouth?"

If the cream massage weren't this good, she would definitely respond. Instead, she wondered about something else entirely.

"What's your name?"

He looked back up at her but continued working on her leg. After finishing the cream, he returned to his bag to find some old but clean-looking cotton. He started carefully wrapping it around her legs.

"Don't go in the water for some while." He said with a glint in his eyes. Valerie looked up and met his eyes for a moment.

"Can I go now? It's starting to get dark." She asked. He looked around for a minute. But he then nodded. He released the ties and backed up.

"I can help you find your way back?"

"Yes, please," she replied, grabbing her bag and checking its contents.

"Everything is there, do not worry. Shall we go now?"

"Yes."

Valerie and the grounder approached the entrance. She stared in awe at the sight before her. A giant waterfall covered the cave entrance. The grounder-man smiled back at her when their eyes met.

"I'm Alaric"

-Back at camp.

"They're back!" A girl shouted. Several of the camp's delinquents gathered together at the entrance. Clarke and Finn hurried to the shuttle, wasting no time helping Jasper.

"We've got to get to Jasper. I'll need boiled water to make the medicine," Clarke said to Finn while they walked to the shuttle. Wells and Bellamy followed closely behind, carrying a body. Bellamy instructed one of the delinquents to assist Clarke.

"I better go get this grave dug," Wells said to Bellamy with a heavy voice. Bellamy nodded with a sigh.

"It's about time, they're gonna kill Jasper!" Octavia's voice rang with relief to Clarke.

"Did you get the medicine?" Octavia asked Clarke. Clarke had a sad look on her face.

"Yeah—I've got it. Come on, let's go talk." Clarke tried to distract Octavia, but it was too late. She had already seen the body. Bellamy wanted to stop her.

"Octavia, just stay there. Please stay back," he pleaded. Octavia shoved him away and went over to the body, covered with a jacket. Her breath almost stopped when she pulled the jacket away to reveal Atom.

"Atom", Octavia whispered in a horrified tone.

"There nothing I could do", Bellamy tried. Octavia looked up at him and raised her hand.

"Don't." She replied. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she wanted right there and now to scream. After a minute, Octavia managed to compose herself and pulled up the jacket, covering atoms face. She ran away, ignoring Bellamy's pleas. Murphy approached Bellamy with a serious expression. Bellamy composed himself, his face blank.

"Lose anyone here?"

"No"

"Jasper?"

"Still breathing… Barely. I tried to take him out, but your psycho little sister…" Murphy began before Bellamy grabbed his shirt.

"My what?" Bellamy asked furiously.

"Bellamy" Murphy tried.

"My what?!" Bellamy shouted.

"Your little sister", Murphy corrected himself and let loose from Bellamy's grip. Bellamy had a small, arrogant smile.

"Yeah, that's right. My little sister… Got anything else you want to say about her?" Bellamy replied with a stone-cold face. Murphy looked down, almost regretting it.

"Nothing"

"Sorry," Murphy added.

Bellamy turned around to observe the delinquents standing around the pair. Everyone froze still, not daring to move an inch. Bellamy turned to Mbege with a cold expression.

"Get him out of here." He said and pointed to Atom.

Clarke decided to go and talk with Wells. After her conversation with Finn. She needed to get answers about her father's death. When Clarke approached him, Wells was at the graveyard, digging a hole for Atom. Her eyebrows were scrunched upwards, and her eyes were wet from unshed tears. Her breath was shorter than usual before she started to speak.

"I know I probably don't deserve it. But I need to know the truth."

Wells remained calm. He didn't dare stop her, but he didn't want her to admit the truth because she didn't deserve to suffer.

Clarke continued, "It was my mom, wasn't it? She's the one who told your dad."

Wells only looked to the ground, not daring to speak. He knew the truth all along; he never intended for her to hurt like she did now. He wanted to give her a hug and tell her everything would be alright, but even then, his body was frozen.

"I didn't want to believe it. I- Couldn't…I blamed you because of my father's death, and it's my mother's fault. Isn't it? Wells, please!" Clarke almost whispered the end. Wells debated on what to say and how to say it.

"I knew how you would feel... I wanted to..."

"Protect me. So, you let me hate you…" Clarke let out a small smile, small tears rolling down her cheek.

"What are friends for?" Wells replied in a soft voice. A small, comforting smile appeared.

"How can you forgive me?" Clarke asked.

"This is already done." He whispered and embraced Clarke in a comforting hug. Clarke cried in his arms.

Wells sat alone on a watch. He was guarding the Camp. His shoulders relaxed, and a slight sense of peacefulness surrounded him. Valerie had been right all along, he thought. Clarke definitely was much tougher than he thought. And he was stupid for not telling her the truth earlier. He had to go and find Valerie at the camp later; even though she went outside the camp, he had no doubt she could handle herself.

"Like a cockroach, she survives..."

Small footsteps came from behind. And he turned around.

End. —

I hope you all liked this chapter. Alaric is an OC grounder. I couldn't find any interesting grounders, so I made one up. I hope you all like him; he won't significantly influence the story just yet. This is only an introduction.

The cave is behind a waterfall; I'm not sure if it's canon, but it's my story, so I made one. And in my story the water protects the cave from the fog. Because I want it to. :)