[C H A P T E R F I V E]
Facing Fears
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IT WAS SHEER LUCK THAT the group had somehow managed to escape the safety of the rocks and run back into the dangerous forest without being harmed by the terrifying thing hunting them. They all took turns pulling each other by the arms to sprint faster, for none of them could bare to lose another person to the deadly creatures. Roseline could hardly breathe from the anxiety and speed she was going, but nevertheless she persisted, keeping her eyes trained on Clarke's wild hair. She knew that if she were to stop now, she would have stood frozen on the spot, too scared to move again.
Behind her, she heard a thump followed by the others calling for Monty to get up. Reluctantly, Roseline stopped too and when she turned around, she wished she had kept going. Staring Monty directly in the face was the skull of something that seemed to be once human, but judging by the long head and wide cheekbones, Roseline guessed that the radiation had a part in the deformities. All the books and pictures she had read would have never prepared her for the truths and realities of the Earth. Her blood felt cold, and seeing the others' reactions, they felt the same way. The team couldn't dwell on it too long though, for a loud cry echoed through the menacing trees.
"Jasper," they whispered in unison before running back to the river. Roseline's feet began to solidify and sink into the ground, but before she could collapse, Octavia grabbed her arm and pulled her along with the others.
Reaching the river, they peered through the leaves of trees and were shocked to see that Jasper's body had disappeared from its original spot against a stump. Roseline searched the trees in a frenzy to spot any of the people that speared Jasper, but her gut knew that they were long gone with both Jasper and the teams' moral.
"He was right there," Monty whispered, shaking his head with confusion. "Where did he go?"
"They took him," Clarke said, voicing everyone's fears.
"We are so screwed," Octavia muttered.
***
They could hear the camp before they saw the commotion of wild and reckless teenagers running about. Roseline had never been more grateful to hear loud shouting and questionable drumming on barrels. She sighed happily, adjusting the arm she had on Octavia's shoulder to better comfort the pair (Halfway back, Octavia began to slow down, and Roseline slowed down as well to help her out, still guilty with the river incident). The one thing that was off about the whole situation was the fact that the shouting coming from the delinquents was, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Knowing that couldn't be a good sign, the team hurried down the hill to see what was going on.
Upon seeing Wells with a knife against Murphy's throat, Clarke rushed to the pair.
"Wells! Let him go!"
Reluctantly, Wells obliged, and Bellamy had to restrain Murphy from going at him again. Seeing Bellamy without his hair slicked back was incredibly odd for Roseline, but she thought the wild curls suited him better, so she didn't complain. It still didn't stop her from staring at his hair a little longer than necessary.
"Octavia! Are you alright?" Bellamy called, taking Octavia from her arms and breaking Roseline's trance. The siblings hugged, and Octavia gave a muffled "Yeah" from his shoulder. Letting go, the older Blake turned to the others.
"Where's the food?"
Everyone was silent. Roseline averted her eyes as to not meet Bellamy's demanding ones.
"We didn't make it to Mount Weather." Finn finally spoke up.
"Well, then what the hell happened out there?"
"We were attacked," Clarke confessed. Gasps and murmurs erupted from the crowd around them. Roseline shifted her weight to the opposite foot, uncomfortable with the fact that everyone was looking at the group to assess for damages and injuries.
"By what?" Wells asked while double checking that Clarke still had all of her limbs.
"Not what. Who," Finn corrected, taking a seat onto a nearby log, similar to Octavia. "Turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last Grounder."
"It's true," Clarke said, now addressing the entirety of the camp. "Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong."
Not the plants and animals. Those are still the same; well, mostly, Roseline thought to herself. She almost mentioned it but figured it would've been a bad time.
"There are people here," the blonde continued. "Survivors. The good news is, that means we can survive here too. Radiation won't kill us."
Realizing Clarke was indeed right about the radiation, her heart sped up. Her parents would've been so ecstatic to hear that Earth was habitable for humans. She gripped the cold wristband tight, hoping her happiness would somehow reach the Ark and to Katie and Conner.
"Yeah, the bad news is the Grounders will," Finn followed up. Boy, he sure knows how to lighten the mood, Roseline thought sourly.
Wells glanced around the area, frowning. "Where's the kid with the goggles?"
"Jasper, he, uh... He got a spear to the chest, and then the Grounders took him. We're pretty sure he's still alive, though." Roseline spoke up, scratching at her wrist. If the tension wasn't thick before, Roseline managed to make it even worse with just one comment. She wished she hadn't spoken at all.
"Where's your wristband?" Clarke questioned Wells, grabbing his arm to get a closer look. He pulled away with shame and motioned toward Bellamy.
"Ask him."
All eyes focused in on Bellamy, and poor Roseline wanted to bury herself into the ground due to the conflict. She wasn't quite used to people arguing or being angry with each other. If her parents ever argued, they would make up within a few hours and be totally okay afterwards. This was completely new to her and she knew instantly that she didn't enjoy it.
She heard Murphy respond to Clarke's question with, "Twenty-four and counting". Knowing that Clarke would yell at them for their stupidity, Roseline inched her way out of the circle and back towards the drop-ship to regain her thoughts. Her left hand still had a firm grip on her wristband as she walked, and when she heard Bellamy say that the bracelet made them prisoners, her grip tightened.
She sat on the end of the drop-ship door as everyone dispersed from the large group. She watched as Bellamy helped Octavia sit down on another log closer to the drop-ship, and she watched Clarke storm past her and into the drop-ship with Monty following behind. Roseline thought it was kind of weird that everyone seemed to know exactly what to do, where to go, or who to see. Unlike them, she was by herself. Her brain knew that she didn't belong there, that she belonged in space where the Ark was slowly losing oxygen. Yet, her heart thought differently. Her heart told her that this was the place she was meant to be, that even though she wasn't with the most ideal people, she still belonged there on Earth.
Her eyes wandered back to Bellamy, the only person she actually knew, and watched him carefully re-wrap his sister's thigh. She wondered if it would be a bad idea to go and talk to them, making herself a little more useful than she was currently. Before she could consider it any more, Wells came up to the entrance, his eyes searching the area.
"Have you seen Clarke?"
"Yeah, she went in there." She pointed behind her where the parachute cover the doorway. He nodded and went inside, leaving Roseline alone once again. A few minutes went by and Roseline felt a headache forming from all the noises she was hearing. She needed to be a part of a conversation and focus herself fast, or else she would begin to lose it in the middle of the camp for everyone to see.
Luckily, her distraction came at the perfect moment, and it came in the form of Clarke denying people their right to go with her on a quest to find Jasper. Roseline jumped up and opened the parachute curtain to reveal Clarke telling Monty to stay at camp.
"What's up here," She touched her index finger to Monty's temple. "it's gonna save us all. You figure out how to talk to the Ark, and I'll bring Jasper back."
"Can I come?" Roseline asked, walking over to the pair.
"Um..." Clarke trailed off, giving a quick glance to Wells. "Are you sure?"
Roseline frowned in confusion. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"
"Nothing," she dismissed before addressing Finn who had just walked in. "Are you ready?"
"I'm not going, and neither should any of you," Finn said. "That spear was thrown with pinpoint accuracy from three-hundred feet--"
"So what, we let Jasper die?" Monty glared.
"That's not gonna happen," Clarke assured, then turned back to Finn with a scowl.
"Spacewalker, huh? What a joke. You think you're such an adventurer, but you're really just a coward." Roseline cringed at the insults thrown, thinking about her hole in the ground again.
"It's not an adventure, Clarke, it's a suicide mission," he tried to explain, but Clarke was already picking up the rest of her gear and leaving the drop-ship. Roseline trailed after her, not wanting to be in the situation any longer. Wells followed behind and handed her a small bag.
"Here," he said. Roseline smiled and clipped the bag around her, grateful to be able to contribute to the group somehow, even if it's just carrying a bag that most likely had nothing in it.
Walking towards the Blake siblings, the three could hear Bellamy say, "You could've been killed." Clarke took this as an opportunity to insert herself into the conversation.
"And she would've been if Jasper hadn't jumped in to pull her out."
Upon seeing people getting ready to leave, Octavia rose to her feet and dusted off her pants. "You guys leaving? I'm coming too."
"No, no, No way. Not again," Bellamy jumped up and set a protective hand on his sister's shoulder. Octavia sputtered, but Clarke nodded in agreement.
"He's right. Your leg's just gonna slow us down."
"Then why is Rose going? She was scared stiff on the way to Mount Weather. Shouldn't she stay back too?" Octavia huffed, giving a weary eye to Roseline. Her cheeks burned, and she tucked a couple strands of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah..." Clarke crossed her arms and looked at the girl. "if you were so scared of the Grounders, then why are you going out there again?"
Roseline cleared her throat and finally faced the group with her hands on her hips and her head held high. "Well, my dad always said that you should let the fear challenge you, not control you. So, if I let the Grounders scare me into never finding out more about this amazing Earth, then I would be a terrible scientist, And if I die, then at least I died doing something worth while, like saving Jasper, or discovering a new plant species" she finished with a shrug and big smile. Bellamy smirked and nodded while the others furrowed their eyebrows in puzzlement.
"So, uh, what were you here for again?" Bellamy switched the conversation back and stared at Clarke expectantly.
"I'm here for you. I hear you have a gun." The statement shocked Wells, and he gave Clarke a look that said, "What the hell are you doing? Are you crazy? This man cannot be trusted!" Meanwhile, Bellamy raised an eyebrow and lifted his shirt just enough to where they could all see the handle of a handgun protruding from his waistband. Roseline fiddled with the strap on her backpack. She wasn't sure if she liked the idea of her former janitor owning a weapon.
"Good. Follow me." Clarke started to walk away but Bellamy stayed put.
"And why would I do that?" Clarke rolled her eyes and turned around.
"Because you want them to follow you, and right now, they're thinking only one of us is scared." She gave a smug smirk to to the man as he pondered her words. Nodding along, he grabbed a jacket and called over Murphy.
"Murphy, you come with me. Atom, my sister doesn't leave this camp. Is that clear?" Atom and Murphy both gave a firm nod which seemed to satisfy Bellamy.
"I don't need a babysitter," Octavia grumbled. Roseline tilted her head and squinted her eyes at the demand, which led to Octavia cracking a small smile.
Ignoring his little sister, Bellamy continued on, "If anybody touches her, they answer to me."
"Are we ready then?" Roseline asked. Bellamy and the others confirmed with nods, and she grinned, skipping ahead of the group with hope in her heart. "Cool! Then let's get this show on the road!"
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A/N: hello hope you enjoyed!! also i hope you guys like the new cover!!
anyways, happy reading!!
-kate