CHAPTER 7,
( the found. )
The first groan that echoed through the air startled them. The second groan had them running towards it.
Pushing and shoving through the bushes and branches that covered the ground, the group came to an abrupt halt. In the center of the clearing was a large tree that had thick branches sprouting off of it. However, there was an addition to the tree and it's winding branches.
Jasper.
His body was limp against the branch he was set upon, arms tied above him and vines criss-crossing on his stomach. Slashes and cuts covered his pale body, along with dry blood from his open wounds.
Immediately, the five teens sprinted towards the mauled boy, Clarke in the lead, when the ground suddenly gave out from underneath her, revealing a hole with jagged, wooden spikes sticking out and upwards. She fell quick, but Bellamy was quicker. He swiftly reached out and clutched her wrist, though, oddly enough, he didn't pull her out right away. He seemed to be internally fighting with himself, deciding whether or not to save her.
Before he had the chance to decide, the others gripped onto him, helping to shield Clarke from danger. Once she was safely back on her feet, they decided on a plan.
"I'll climb up there and cut the vines," suggested Finn as he advanced towards the tree.
"Yeah, I'm with you," said Wells.
"No, stay with Clarke," Finn replied, before steadying his gaze on Bellamy. "And watch him. You two," his focus faltered from the Blake boy and onto Murphy and Ava, "let's go."
Ava shoved past Murphy, eager to release Jasper from this living hell and take him back to camp. As she stood in front of the moss covered tree, she gazed up at her friend, her heart jumping to her throat.
"You—uh— you okay?"
The sudden voice snapped her out of her morbid and depressing thoughts. She turned to see Murphy standing next to her, looking uncomfortable and slightly nervous. Ava glanced back up towards Jasper's limp body as she pondered his question. She felt sick to her stomach. She forced her eyes to look away and instead tried to find comfort in Murphy's. "No, not really."
He was clearly at a loss for words, his mouth agape and his eyes wandering. He didn't know what to say to comfort her. She didn't mind though. She'd made it this far on her own.
"Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?" Wells asked, leading Ava to wonder the same.
"Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its dinner to be breathing," said Bellamy.
"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us," said Finn grimly, setting an even heavier weight on everyone's shoulders as they all realized that he may be right.
...
Ava, Murphy, and Finn were each crouched down on a thick branch, cutting through the tough straw that bound Jasper to the tree.
"Come on, Ava," said Murphy through clenched teeth, "we don't have all day. Cut faster."
The girl scrunched her nose up in annoyance. She cut through the straw harsher as she let her aggravation out on it. "I only have two hands, Murphy."
"Well, why don't you—"
"Hey! You two, stop acting like children and get back to work," Finn scolded the two sternly, shaking his shaggy head of hair in annoyance. The two sighed loudly and continued to cut through the straw, glancing at each other every now and then. Below them, Clarke was practically jumping up and down out of her impatience and anxiousness, reminding them every few seconds to be careful.
Ava's ears perked up when a low growl echoed through the silence. She glanced worriedly between the others, glad, yet fearful, that they'd heard it as well. "What the hell was that?" She said, voicing what everyone was thinking.
"Grounders?" Bellamy guessed after a pause.
The low, snarling noises increased in volume as a black figure appeared from beneath the shadows that camouflaged it. Ava's eyes widened in fear. Although she wasn't entirely sure what the creature was, she had a feeling that it wasn't exactly the friendliest and that she wouldn't be welcomed to pet it.
"Bellamy, gun!" Clarke yelled as the animal drew closer and closer with each long stride.
Two loud, explosive cracks sounded throughout the air, both hitting the animal. Surprisingly, it wasn't Bellamy who yielded the weapon. It was Wells.
The creature retreated within the long grass, shielding itself from everyone's eyes. Bellamy nervously whipped his head up and down, back and forth, trying to spot the black animal. The air was unnervingly still, everyone holding their breaths, afraid that it may be their last.
Suddenly, a flash of black streaked through the air towards Bellamy, but was shot down just before it could attack him.
Ava gasped in shock, her arm flying out and grasping onto the sleeve of Murphy's jacket involuntarily. He glimpsed down at her dainty fingers that clutched the material, and couldn't help but notice how close they were to brushing against the skin on his hand. Shaking the idea off, he hurriedly focused back on the real, important matter.
The animal was sprawled out across the ground, a pool of blood spreading around it. Its breathing became increasingly shallower with each passing second.
"Holy shit," Murphy muttered, his blue eyes fixed on the creature before looking towards Wells.
Bellamy glanced towards the shooter, his breath labored. "Now she sees you."
...
Back at camp, there wasn't much of a change with Jasper's return. Of course, everyone was surprised that the lanky teen had managed to survive a spear to the heart, yet no one seemed to truly care about his wellbeing. Everyone seemed to sort of just gape at his limp body that was carried away into the drop ship. However, when Bellamy and Murphy hauled in the animal they'd killed, the crowd reacted boisterously as they erupted into gleeful cheers.
Ava secluded herself in the drop ship and sat down by Jasper's side. He wasn't conscious, so she just rambled off to him as if he were while dabbing the side of his slightly bloodied face with a wet cloth. Footsteps echoed throughout the room, alerting her that someone else was present. She ceased her babbling and glanced up to see Monty standing in front of her.
"He's going to be okay, right?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.
Ava faltered her gaze to the wounded boy laying beside her. Her eyebrows knitted together and her forehead creased. She began to delicately brush his dark brown hair out of his face. "I hope so, Monty."
He nodded solemnly before taking a seat on the other side of Jasper. "I think they cooked whatever it was they caught. You should go eat, I'll stay with him."
Ava smiled down at Monty gratefully and glanced fleetingly towards Jasper once more before exiting the room. Immediately, her nose filled with the sensational smell of the cooked food and her stomach growled hungrily in response. She ambled closer to the flames of the crackling fire, taking notice of the large amount of people crowded around it. Ava watched as wristbands proceeded to pop off in exchange for a piece of meat. She huffed, irritated as she realized that she still bore her own. Truthfully, she didn't care much if she had the wristband on or not, she didn't have anyone on the Ark to grieve her absence.
Her mind and stomach screamed at her to fall in line with the others, but she revolted against the urge. Murphy was yet again the one who was prying the peoples' wristbands off. Her stubborn nature took control as she huffed angrily. There was no way she would let him go near her with a metal object that could easily be used as a weapon. More importantly, she couldn't stand to watch that infuriating little smirk fall across his lips knowing she'd given in.
Feeling defeated and hungry, Ava sat down on a stump close to the fire, relishing in the heat that warmed her skin. She watched with a slight tang of admiration as Finn disobediently grabbed two rations for him and Clarke. Seeing that Spacewalker managed to get away with it unscathed, another delinquent tried the same, but was met with a swift punch to the jaw from Bellamy. The girl chuckled at the sight.
"Clarke Griffin, is that you?"
Ava tore her eyes from the fire and stared up to see Murphy standing beside her, his signature smirk on his face. He twirled a stick that had a portion of the mouthwatering meat around his finger.
"What?" she asked, genuinely confused.
The boy rolled his eyes, huffing out a loud sigh in annoyance since she didn't understand his joke. He slowly sat down on the log next to her. "I'm saying that you're still so determined to keep that silly wristband on — just like our little princess."
He shifted slightly until his knee was brushing up against hers, the sudden contact sending sparks of warmth throughout both their bodies. "So, tell me, Avalyn," he drew out her name in low tone, eyes daring to clash with her own, "who do you have on the Ark?"
Ava did not speak. She stared at Murphy instead as she let his question sink and tried to come up with an answer. Her chest began to feel tighter and tighter the longer she pondered it. Other than that, she felt completely hollow. "No one."
Murphy gazed at her, eyebrows pulled together in confusion and slight wonder. He searched her eyes for something — anything. But found nothing. He marveled at how her eyes looked so cold and hard; void of emotions. They looked dead. It almost frightened him; her eyes looking so drastically different opposed to their normal, lively brightness.
"Then why don't you just take off your wristband?" He muttered.
She simply continued to stare at him with her empty eyes, no words being formed by her lips. Murphy coughed awkwardly as looked away from her unwavering stare before regaining his composure. "What? You're revolting with Princess and the Chancellor of Earth?"
Her gaze did not falter, nor did she show any signs of surprise or shock from his bitter tone of voice and the sneer that crept onto his lips. "No."
"So, what? You want to wear it as a piece of jewelry or something?"
Ava rolled her eyes, a spark of that normal brightness returning to them because of his amusing foolishness. "No, Murphy. I couldn't care less if I had this hunk of metal on me or not. I just didn't want you to be the one to take if off of me."
"Oh," he said, the word drawing out slowly. He turned to her with a puzzled look on his face. "So, you're basically revolting against me?"
A small smile made it's way onto her chapped lips, the light lost from her eyes returning. She shrugged playfully. "Basically."
Murphy chuckled before placing his hand over his heart, feigning hurt. "Wow, Ava. I didn't realize just how petty you are."
She giggled while tucking a piece of stray hair behind her ear, smiling up at him. "No, not petty. I just find it funny because your face gets all red when you see that I still have my wristband on."
"So, you find my anger amusing?"
"Hmm," Ava hummed, pretending to think. She held up her thumb and index finger an inch away from each other. "Just a little bit."
The two erupted in fits of laughs, cherishing the unusual moment. Murphy relished in the way her face lit up; her cheeks tinted pink and her eyes squinting slightly. He took note of how her eyes harbored that bright, liveliness again, and took pride in the fact that he was the one who brought it back. After settling down, they both awkwardly glanced at each other before staring into the flames of the fire. Murphy twirled the portion of food he had around his finger and glimpsed over towards Ava. He noticed her eyes quickly glance at the food before averting her gaze elsewhere. Gently pushing the stick towards her, Murphy tapped on her shoulder. "Here, have it."
Her eyes widened and her dark eyebrows shot up, creating little creases in her forehead that he was close enough to see. "Are you sure? Have you eaten?"
He shrugged, his signature smirk twitching at the edge of his lips. "Trust me, I've had more than my share. Take it."
Hesitantly, Ava grasped the stick in her hands before sinking her teeth into a portion of it. She closed her eyes in satisfaction, savoring the taste of the delectable meat. "Thank you."
Murphy shook his head. "No problem."
Glancing towards him, Ava scrutinized him with curiosity. "You've been somewhat nicer to me. Why the sudden change of heart?"
He shifted uncomfortably, moving his knee from hers so there was a noticeably larger gap in between them. His eyes averted to the fire, never meeting hers. Ava felt the mood change drastically, his company suddenly cold and unwelcoming. Jaw tightening, he began to shake his head. "Who said I was being nice to you?"
And with that he got up, not sparing her one glance, and walked away, leaving her to stare after him in confusion and disappointment.