East Of Eden.

III. Walking The Tightrope

THREE. Walking The Tightrope

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               IT WAS A mystery how Alana Varvera was still alive.

               She was like Icarus— one of the many Greek gods who died in the fate of their own hands. Ironically, he had gotten himself in too deep when he had flown too high. Ignoring the wise warning foretold by his father, Icarus flapped his wax-worked wings too close to the sun. The wax slowly, but surely, melted off his feathers until he was left with nothing to sustain his flight over the sea. The god had found himself way over his head when the adrenaline of the high affected his rational thinking, plunging him into the water with no return. Mesmerized by the light, he had done exactly what he was told not to do.

               Don't fly too close to the sun, Daedalus, his father, had instructed.

               But, Alana found life in balancing between death.

               She thrived off of the rush of walking the thin-wired tightrope. One foot in front of the other, but one wrong step, and you were gone. The stake was high, but she always got to the end with her feet planted on solid ground, because there was no fun if there was no risk. But Alana didn't recognize her limits and when she was too close to hitting them. It was all fun and games until she starts to unknowingly lean to one side with no hope of finding her balance again.

               So, after Clarke had burst into Alana and Raven's tent announcing that Octavia was missing ( whoever that was ) and a search party was created, a new adventure opportunity fell at the feet of Alana. And, knowing her, she had no choice but to happily oblige.

               "Hey, everyone," Bellamy addressed the group of kids congregated around the camp at the sound of his voice. "Gather round and grab a weapon. My sister has been out there alone for twelve hours. Arm up, we are not coming back without her."

               A girl went first, and everyone else followed lead. Without second thoughts that might have persuaded them to not follow instructions, they dug into the bin of makeshift weaponry.

               Alana, in her short period of time being on the ground, started to see a pattern of authority revolve around Bellamy Blake. It made her uneasy and constantly on edge as if something bad was about to happen at any moment. Her first impression of him wouldn't make her think of him to be able to rightly lead a hundred teenagers, but they seemed to listen to him. Maybe it was because of how much older he was than everyone, but it's not like the criminals listened to the authority on the Ark.

               Of course, it was not her fault, but her eavesdropping ears that couldn't help but overhear the conversation that was taking place right next to her.

               "Hey, Jasper," Clarke addressed the frightened boy. "You don't have to do this. You haven't left camp since we brought you back."

               Brought you back? Alana's eyebrow raised in peaked interest. From the few things Finn had the time to share, it sounded as if the hundred's time on Earth the past ten days had been anything but uneventful.

               "Clarke, I need to do this," Jasper whispered back with a determined look crossing his face as if he felt the need to prove himself.