Haunted || Octavia Blake || 1 ||

10: T h e T r a p

Finn pushed his way through the thick, prickly undergrowth, watching out for traps as he did so. Finally he stumbled out into a clearing and froze. I wasn't watching where I was going and slammed straight into the back of him.

"Watch your step, Princess," he warned me, his gaze fixated on something in front of me.

"W-what? What is it? Is it ... oh holy crap!" I exclaimed, my mouth falling open in horror.

For there, smack bang, in the middle of the clearing was a large gnarly tree and with his hands and waist strung up to the thick strong branches with a coil of vines was Jasper! He was groaning and screaming in pain. The spear had been removed from his chest and a green pulpous-like substance was covering his wound. He was shirtless, however, and his bloodied and bruised body was in full view of us all.

A nauseating sensation churned in my stomach as I stared, aghast, at the awful sight.

"Oh my god!" Clarke cried out as she pushed past me and began sprinting towards the tree. "Jasper?"

"Wait!" Finn called out as he started after her. "Clarke! Wait! It could be a trap!"

"What the hell is this?" Bellamy mumbled as he hurried forward. He held out a hand to keep me at bay, "Stay behind me."

Wells came up alongside me as we both watched Clarke, Finn and Bellamy advance closer to Jasper.

I began walking towards them, slowly and cautiously, my head pounding and my heart hammering. "This - this is barbaric," I whispered, more to myself than to Wells. "This is awful! Who could've done this?"

Suddenly, a loud cracking sound occurred and a shriek of shock escaped Clarke. We all whirled around, just in time to see her fall through a canopy of fallen logs that were right in the middle of our path!

Bellamy, who was right behind Clarke, reacted quickly, grabbing her wrist in a strong vice-like grip. Her body flailed in the air and her breathing came out in short, rapid pants.

"Pull her up, Blake!" Wells shouted defensively as he rushed to Bellamy's side. "Pull her up!"

Bellamy only hesitated for a moment more before lifting Clarke up and out of the pit that had been dug right beneath the logs. "You okay?" he questioned.

Clarke nodded and swallowed hard as she smoothed down her shirt. "Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks."

"Neat trap," I commented as I neared the edge of the dug-out and peered down into it. I uttered a low whistle when I saw that it was lined with sharpened sticks and spears. "If Bellamy hadn't caught you, Clarke, you'd be dead."

"These people don't fool around, that's for sure," Bellamy huffed as he backed away from Clarke. "Octavia, get away from that pit."

I rolled my eyes as I stepped back a couple metres. I locked eyes with Finn.

"We need to get Jasper down. I'll climb up there and cut the vines. Wells, keep an eye on him," Finn ordered as he looked pointedly at Bellamy.

Bellamy raised his hands defensively and backed away from the others, shaking his head in annoyance as he did so.

The four of us watched as Finn cautiously made his way to the base of the tree before scrambling nimbly up the thick gnarly branches.

"This doesn't make sense," Wells murmured, echoing the doubtful thoughts that were racing through my mind. "Why would the grounders keep Jasper alive just to string him up as live bait?"

"Maybe whatever they're trying to catch would like its dinner to be breathing," Bellamy pointed out.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us," Finn countered soberly.

I swallowed hard when I heard the words, a chill running down my spine.

"B-Be careful!" Clarke called up to Finn as she glanced around worriedly.

Finn nodded in response as he whipped a sharpened stone from his pocket and began slicing away at the vines trapping Jasper.

CRUNCH.

I was the first to hear it: footsteps, stealthy footsteps, rustling around in the long grass behind us.

I turned around, my heart pounding so hard I'm sure anyone within a one hundred mile radius could hear it. "W-what the hell was that?" I questioned.

"What?" Bellamy queried, concerned. He scanned our surroundings carefully and shrugged. "I - I don't see anything, O."

RUSTLE. RUSTLE. RUSTLE.

"Now I hear it," Clarke spoke up, her eyes riveting towards the gun in Bellamy's belt.

"Who is it? Grounders?" Finn paused in the middle of his work, trying to get a good vantage point from his position up in the tree.

As if to answer his question, a low, deep growl resounded throughout the air. We all turned in the direction of the noise and simultaneously gasped.

A large blank cougar, it's fur shimmering in the noon day sun, was standing right at the edge of the clearing, crouched and ready to pounce!

Gif: Octavia when she first hears the noise of the cougar creeping up on them.

XX