trepidation |BELLAMY BLAKE| [1]

CHAPTER 05

AVERY HAD AN ARM WRAPPED AROUND OCTAVIA as she and Monty supported the young girls' weight, helping them get back to the dropship as soon as they could. Avery didn't want to be in the woods anymore.

As they got closer, they heard chants and cheering.

"What the-" Clarke and Finn ran ahead while Monty and Avery continued to help Octavia.

The three pushed past all the kids and towards where Clark and Finn stood, "Octavia. Are you all right?" Bellamy asked, rushing over and helping her sit down,

"Yeah." She sighed, gripping her thigh again,

Bellamy looked at all of them, "Where's the food?"

"We didn't make it to Mount Weather." Finn informed everyone as he sat down on a log,

"What the hell happened out there?" Bellamy questioned them,

 "We were attacked." Clarke answered,

"Attacked? By what?" Wells questioned,

 "Not what. Who." Finn replied and Avery shivered, wrapping her jacket closer around her. It made her sick even thinking about what happened. "It turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last Grounder."

 "It's true. Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong. There are people here, survivors. The good news is, that means we can survive." Clarke turned to the rest of the teenagers, "Radiation won't kill us."

"Yeah, the bad news is the Grounders will." Avery mumbled.

Bellamy stared at her for a moment before looking around, "Where's the kid with the goggles?"

"Jasper was hit. They took him." Clarke turned her attention to Wells, "Where is your wristband?"

 "Ask him." Wells replied, glancing at Bellamy,

"How many?"

"Twenty-four and counting." One of the boys smirked,

"You idiots." Clarke scoffed, "Life support on the Ark is failing. That's why they brought us down here. They need to know the ground is survivable again, and we need their help against whoever is out there. If you take off your wristbands, you're not just killing them. You're killing us!"

Bellamy stepped forward once again, "We're stronger than you think. Don't listen to her. She's one of the privileged. If they come down, she'll have it good. How many of you can say the same? We can take care of ourselves. That wristband on your arm? It makes you a prisoner. We are not prisoners anymore! They say they'll forgive your crimes. I say you're not criminals!" He got the other teenagers excited, "You're fighters, survivors! The Grounders should worry about us!"

The delinquents cheered and Clarke stomped away, "What do we do now?" Monty asked as he and Avery followed her,

"Now we go after Jasper."

Avery paused, "You're kidding me, right?" Clarke turned towards her, "Did we not witness the same thing? Those people are clearly dangerous, and besides, how are you even gonna find him? You said for yourself, they took him. He could be anywhere!"

Clarke stood in front of her, "If he's alive, we're not gonna give up hope."

"There's a difference between hope and stupidity."

"If that was you out there, wouldn't you want us looking for you?" Clarke asked.

"I would wish that that spear would have killed me," Avery stated before walking away.