Esperança 》B. Blake

1.13

"The radio's gone." She turned to Roseline with demanding eyes. "Where is it?"

"I--I don't know! I think..." her voice faded as she thought through the scenarios. A name popped into her head, but before she could say it, Clarke beat her to it.

"No, no. Someone got here before us. We have to find him."

"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch," Roseline growled as she stormed back into the woods, the others following in pursuit.

☆☆☆

"What did you say your name was again?" Raven asked Roseline as they marched behind Finn through the woods. 

"Um, Roseline, but you can just call me Rose," the girl responded absentmindedly, distracted by every movement in the trees. 

Raven snapped her fingers. "Rose Taylor! That's you, isn't it? I've seen your parents."

Roseline almost got whiplash from turning her head. "You have? how are they? Are they worried? Do they look okay? Do they know I'm down here? Are--"

"Last I saw, they seemed okay. They were checking your vitals constantly. And honestly? I don't think they've left that lab since you guys came down."

Roseline let out a trembling breath. "Okay, so they know I'm down here, that's a plus. Happen to know anything else?" She gave a dazzling smile for good measure.

"I know that they're Abby's side with the whole voting thing. They're trying to convince the council to bring everyone down here. They're working on collecting evidence to prove their case, but considering our situation, I don't think it's going over very well," Raven said bitterly. 

So they knew about the oxygen problem, but they never told anyone? Would they have gotten floated? Do they know why I'm down here? The questions spun in her head, leaving her more lost than she was before, and it made her want to find Bellamy even more. Nonetheless, she still smiled gratefully at Raven.

"Thank you, really," Roseline nodded before jogging up to Finn. "Any luck finding him?"

"I think we're close," he murmured, scouring the trees and bushes. Roseline surveyed the surroundings with distaste. With every passing minute, Roseline was getting more and more angry with Bellamy. He knew how important her family was to her, so why would he do this? 

She wandered away from the others with her mind reeling. I swear when I find him--

A figure moved in between the trees, and there was no mistaking who those dark curls belonged to.

"Hey!" she shouted chasing after the man. Bellamy tilted his head at the sound of her voice, but still trudged on. She caught up to the janitor and whacked his arm.

"You asshole! Where is it?" she cursed.

"Hey, Rosie, taking a walk in the woods?" he asked casually, avoiding the question. Roseline huffed and beat at his chest with her small fists. He didn't try very hard to stop her, and it ticked off the girl.

"Don't you Rosie me, you piece of--" She cut herself short when Bellamy grabbed her wrists and pinned them up against the tree behind her. Roseline, flustered by the sudden movements, merely stared at his smirking face. Wow, he has a lot of freckles. How many are--

She wriggled out of his grasp and crossed her arms.

"They're getting ready to kill three-hundred people up there to save oxygen, you know that?" Roseline's voice was cold and serious. "And it's not gonna be any privileged people, it's gonna be working people--your people."