Fire Away(On Hold) // The 100 // Book 1

Thri

***The Ground***

Clarke sat poised beside the dropship door, her attention focused on the task of mapping out a potential route to reach Mount Weather. Wells descended the ramp and made his way toward her, his demeanor tense. "We've got problems," he informed her, a hint of concern in his voice. "The communications system is dead. I went up to the roof. A dozen panels are missing. The heat fried the wires."

Clarke, engrossed in her planning, responded without taking her eyes off the map. "Well, all that matters right now is getting to Mount Weather." She turned to Wells, presenting the map that she had been working on. "See? Look." Her chalk traced the path she had charted. "This is us, and this is where we need to get to if we want to survive."

Curious about her sudden expertise, Wells inquired, "Where did you learn to do that?" However, Clarke offered only a blank stare in response, leaving the question unanswered. "Your father?" Wells guess. Map reading was a skill she'd inherited from her father, and it was a point of pain and pride for her.

Jasper approached them, his voice laden with a touch of sarcasm. "Ah, cool, a map," he chimed in, appearing somewhat unsteady on his feet. "They got a bar in this town? I'll buy you a beer."

Wells, however, had other concerns. "You mind?" he asked, gently pushing Jasper back a step.

Before the situation could escalate, another delinquent intervened. "Woah, hey, hey, hey," he called out to Wells. "Hands off of him. He's with us." It was John Murphy, accompanied by his friend John Mbege, and they were joined by a small group of fellow delinquents.

Wells attempted to defuse the escalating tension. "Relax," he urged, trying to maintain a semblance of reason. "We're just trying to figure out where we are."

Bellamy's sarcasm cut through the air. "We're on the ground," he called out, his tone dripping with disdain. "That not good enough for you?"

Wells shifted his gaze between Murphy and Bellamy, steadfast in his determination. As the circle of delinquents tightened around them, he pressed on, emphasizing the urgency of their mission. "We need to find Mount Weather. You heard my father's message. That has to be our first priority."

Octavia, not one to shy away from confrontation, challenged Wells with a hint of defiance. "Screw your father," she retorted. "What, you think you're in charge here, you and your little princess?"

Clarke, never one to back down from a challenge, interjected with a practical perspective. "Do you think we care who's in charge? We need to get to Mount Weather, not because the chancellor said so, but because the longer we wait, the hungrier we'll get and the harder this'll be. How long do you think we'll last without those supplies? We're looking at a 20-mile trek, okay? So if we want to get there before dark, we need to leave now."

Bellamy, with a rebellious streak, offered an alternative, met with agreement from the crowd and an unexpected concurrence from Delyn. "I got a better idea. You two go, find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change," he proposed.

Wells, resolute in his purpose, tried to make them understand. "You're not listening. We all need to go," he insisted.

Murphy, however, continued to provoke, pushing Wells to the ground, leading to mockery and jeers from those around them. "Look at this, everybody—the chancellor of Earth," Murphy taunted, eliciting laughter from the onlookers.

Undeterred, Wells got to his feet, his limp evident. "All right," he responded, refusing to back down.

Murphy persisted in taunting Wells, and the situation seemed to be escalating. However, Finn intervened, jumping down from the top of the dropship to stand between Murphy and Wells. "Kid's got one leg. How about you wait until it's a fair fight?" Murphy stared Finn up and down before turning to walk away.