CHAPTER THREE.
No matter how reluctant the five teens were to leave Jasper after being stabbed by a flying spear, they ran. No, they didn't just run, they sprinted. They did absolutely everything that they could to get away from the river.
Liv wanted to go back, she really did. She wanted to get to Jasper and make sure that he's okay, but she couldn't. She would be as good as dead if she went back. Clarke pauses in her stride for a moment, Liv glancing back at the blonde haired girl.
"Clarke, come on!" Liv exclaims, grabbing her arm and tugging her forward.
Liv falls into place behind Finn, Octavia and Monty leading the group. They sprint through the forest, blurs of green moving past her as she follows them back to camp. For a while they were silent as they ran, stumbling to a halt when Monty trips, falling onto his stomach.
"Monty," Octavia gasps out, Monty's eyes widening at the sight in front of him. Human bones were placed right in front of him. "Come on, Monty. We've got to go."
Finn and Liv each grab one of his arms, tugging him up onto his feet once again. Once he's up, they all pause when they notice the bones lying there, Liv's eyes widening in confusion.
"Who's are they?" Finn breathes out, Liv wondering how they even got here. Were these from the war or after? Were they from the people they just encountered, whoever they may be.
Clarke bends down, lifting up a skull before showing it to the rest of them, asking, "What are they?" Liv examines the skull, noticing how the top of it is deformed, showing her that these people are anything but human.
"We are so screwed," Liv mutters, realizing that they were just dropped off in a place where they're more than likely going to be hunted down one by one. Killed the same way Jasper was.
In the distance there's a scream, everyone's heads whipping up. It was Jasper.
"Jasper," Clarke breathes out. "He's alive."
In an instant Clarke was running past them, rushing toward the sound of Jasper's scream.
"Clarke, wait!" Finn cries, the four of them quickly following behind her.
Jumping over branches and twigs, the teenagers maneuver their way through the forest, Finn practically jumping on Clarke in order to get to her.
"Stay out of the trees," he instructs, keeping her from going any farther. Glancing across the river, they glance to where Jasper was once was only to see that his body's now gone. "He was just there."
"No. Where is he?" Monty questions, fearing for the life of his best friend.
Liv glances to where Jasper was once, concluding only one thing.
"They took him."
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When the five teens made it back to camp, Octavia had an arm slung around both Monty's and Liv's shoulders, the gash on her thigh making it hard for her to walk now. The sounds of teens were erupting, the word 'fight' being heard a multitude of times.
Once they brushed themselves past the leaves and out of the woods, they were greeted by both Wells and Murphy hold knives, Wells' arm wrapped around Murphy's neck with a blade pressed against his adams apple.
"Wells, let him go!" Clarke exclaims, the five making their way over. Three hobbling.
Wells lets go of Murphy, allowing him to fall to the ground. Once released from his hold, Murphy quickly lunges at Wells once again, this time Bellamy stepping in.
Grabbing Murphy, he shouts, "Enough, Murphy!" He then glances over, watching as the three hobble in an attempt to get Octavia back to the camp. "Octavia!" Running over to them, he grabs her from their hold, asking, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," she breathes out, Liv able to tel that she's still hurt.
Glancing over at Liv, Bellamy questions, "Where's the food?"
She runs a hand though her hair, stating solemnly, "We didn't make it to Mount Weather."
His eyebrows lace together, his forehead creasing as he demands, "What the hell happened out there?"
"We were attacked," she explains, feeling panic rise through her, the fact that they're not alone here just now hitting her. That Jasper is now gone finally hitting her. They weren't alone here and they're next.
"Attacked?" Wells asks in confusion. "By what?"
"Not what," Finn cuts in. "Who. It turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last grounder."
Everyone around them looks shell-shocked, Liv nodding her head in confirmation. "It's true. Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong. There are people here, survivors."
Clarke nods, adding on, "The good news is, that means we can survive. Radiation won't kill us."
Liv glances toward Clarke, shaking her head softly. "Bad new is that we might not be able to survive the grounders."
Wells' eyes widen, the boy glancing around in confusion. "Where's the kid with the goggles?"
"Jasper was hit," Clarke manages to get out. "They took him." As if that wasn't enough to make Clarke feel as though she's about to lose her sanity, her eyes widened when she took notice that Well's wristband is no longer on his wrist. Snatching it, she demands, "Where is your wristband?"
Tugging his wrist away, he nods toward Bellamy, stating, "Ask him."
Picking up on what Wells was saying, Clarke takes a step forward, demanding, "How many?"
Bellamy's silent, Murphy answering, "Twenty-four and counting."
Clarke shakes her head softly, muttering, "You idiots." She glances back toward Liv, Liv feeling just as terrified as Clarke. If they're taking off their wristbands then everyone on the Ark is going to die. "Life support of 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 kill them. You're killing us!"
"We're stronger than you think," Bellamy states, taking a step forward and everyone eyes fall onto him. "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? That makes your a prisoner. We're not prisoners anymore! They say they'll forgive your crimes! I say you're not criminals! You're fighters, survivors! The grounders should worry about us!"
"Yeah!" rings out from every camper there, Liv shaking her head softly before making her way into the center with Bellamy and Clarke.
"Bellamy!" she shouts, watching him in disbelief. "You don't understand. Whoever or whatever is out there is savage. They had a spear fly into Jasper's chest! He could be dead, don't you get that? And I bet that they'll keep killing us all off until our numbers dwindle all the way down to zero! Those wristbands you have on, and trust me, I know what being a prisoner is like more than any of you, are our life lines! They're what's going to people to come down. Yes, we may not want the Council back, but I'd rather that than be stabbed with a flying spear."
Everyone around her is silent, Bellamy smirking triumphantly at her. "I don't think the people like what they hear, Princess."
Liv rolls her eyes, turning away from him before pushing her way out of the crowd. Running a hand through her hair, she lets out a frustrated sigh, Monty and Clarke rushing to her side.
"What do we do now?" Monty questions, knowing that none of the other campers are going to listen to them.
"We find Jasper."
☢ ☢ ☢ ☢ ☢
Monty and Liv are stationed on the lower level of the drop ship, waiting for Clarke while she searches for supplies above. So far the three of them were the only ones who were on board with going back out there to find and rescue Jasper. No one else seemed like they were up for the challenge let alone prepared to face the unknown yet vicious threat out there.
"It's not your ankle, Wells," Liv hears Clarke explain as she climbs down the ladder, "it's you."
"You came back for reinforcements," Wells points out. "I'm gonna help."
Instead of listening to him, Clarke strolls past him and toward the doors of the drop ship.
"Clarke, he's right," Monty insists, Liv nodding in agreement. "We need him. So far no one else has volunteered."
Clarke turns around, the three of them facing her.
Letting out a sigh, Clarke then begins, "I'm sorry, Monty, but you're not going, either."
"Like hell I'm not," he states, taking a step toward Clarke. "Jasper's my best friend."
"You're too important," Clarke points out. "You were raised on a farm station and recruited by engineering."
"So?"
"So, food and communication. What's up here - " Clarke places her finger on his head, "it's gonna save us all. You figure out how to talk to the Ark and I'll bring Jasper back." Clarke then nods at Liv, the duo making their way toward the doors of the drop ship, running into Finn. "Hey, you ready?"
Finn shakes his head at her, explaining, "I'm not going anywhere, and neither should any of you. That spear was thrown with pin point accuracy from three hundred feet away."
"So what, we let Jasper die?" Monty asks Finn in disbelief.
"That's not gonna happen," Liv assures him, knowing that she's going back out for Jasper whether she has a dozen people or none by her side.
Clarke keeps her gaze locked on Finn, questioning, "Space walker? What a joke. You think you're such an adventurer. You're really just a coward."
Clarke then bends down to grab her pack, Finn stating, "It's not an adventure, Clarke. It's a suicide mission."
She shakes her head softly, grabbing Liv's wrist and the two girls leave Finn alone. Making their way outside of the drop ship, they find themselves walking through camp, Liv's eyes falling onto Bellamy who's kneeling down in front Octavia, cleaning her gash.
"You could have been killed," she hears Bellamy state to his sister, Liv making her way over to him, Wells now following behind her and Clarke.
"She would have been if Jasper didn't jump in to pull her out," Liv begins, Bellamy glancing up to see her making her way over to them.
Octavia meets her gaze, questioning, "You guys leaving? I'm coming, too."
Octavia begins to wrap her bandage before pulling herself off the log she was seated on. Bellamy, on the other hand, had other plans for her. He places his hand on her shoulder, pushing her back down onto the log.
"No. No, no," he insists, becoming protective of his sister. "No way. Not again."
Liv nods in agreement. "He's right. Your leg's just gonna slow us down. I'm actually here for you." Bellamy turns to look at her, his dark eyes locking on her blue ones. This was the first time she got a decent look at Bellamy, noticing all of the small freckles that are dotted along his olive skin, his once black, slicked back hair now messy on his head.
"Liv, what are you doing?" Wells demands, seeming annoyed with her.
"I heard you have a gun," Liv states, raising a brow at him in questioning. She glances down as his hand reaches the hem of his shirt, pulling it up to reveal a gun tucked in his pants. "Good. Follow us."
With that, Clarke and Liv begin to make their way toward the opening in the forest once again.
"And why would I do that?" Bellamy demands, Liv turning around to face him.
Liv simply smirks at him, stating, "Because you want them to follow you. Now, as their apparent leader, you wouldn't want them thinking that you're too scared to save your own people, now would you? They're only thinking that one of us are scared here."
Liv had drawn a large enough crowd to put pressure on Bellamy, making it so that he has to come with them to save Jasper.
Glancing over toward his followers, he orders, "Murphy, come with me. Atom?" he calls, a boy making his way over toward Bellamy as he throws his jacket on. "My sister doesn't leave this camp. Is that clear?"
"I don't need a babysitter," Octavia argues, Liv knowing that Octavia is perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
Glancing toward Atom, Bellamy states, "Anyone touches her, they answer to me. Let's go."
Murphy and Bellamy then take off, slightly behind Wells, Clarke, and Liv who have already started covering a bit of ground.
Wells watches Liv in disbelief, stating, "Liv, they're not just bullies. They're dangerous criminals."
Liv smirks, muttering, "I'm counting on it."
For a long while they all walk in complete silent, Liv's focus being solely on finding Jasper. She came here to live, not die, and she wasn't going to let anyone else here be buried six feet under.
"Hey, hold up," Bellamy's voice sounds, Liv rolling her eyes without slowing her pace. "What's the rush? You don't survive a spear through the heart." She glances over toward him, noticing that he's holding his gun up and waving it around recklessly.
"Put the gun away, Bellamy," Wells states, Murphy quickly making a move on him by grabbing his throat, causing Liv and Clarke to stop.
"How about you do something about it," Murphy snaps, Liv glaring daggers at him.
"How about you stop being a jackass, Murphy," Liv snaps at him, growing fed up with him and Bellamy acting as though they can do whatever they want in this camp. "Jasper screamed when the moved him. If the spear stabbed his heart, he would have died instantly. It doesn't mean we have time to waste."
She turns around, but is unable to keep going when Bellamy's hand wraps around her wrist tightly, making her cringe with the force he's using.
"As soon as you take this wristband off, we can go," Bellamy tells her, Liv turning around to face him.
Liv's eyes lock on his, the girl chuckling softly in a mocking way, making Bellamy's eyebrows lace together in confusion. "Sweetheart, I have family aboard that ship that I haven't even met yet. So, they're not going to think I'm dead unless I actually am. Got it?"
With that, she snatches her wrist out of his grip, Bellamy smirking at her. "Brave, Princess."
"How about you find your own nickname," Finn's voice sounds, Liv glancing up to see him making his way over toward them. "Call this a rescue party? You got to split up, cover more ground. Clarke, come with me."
Wells makes his way to go follow Clarke and Finn, leaving Liv alone with Bellamy and Murphy.
Turning his head to glance at her, Wells questions, "Liv, you coming?"
Liv shakes her head at him. "I think I'll take my chances with these two rays of sunshine over here," she explains, venom and sarcasm dripping off each word. She begins to walk a separate route, noticing that neither Bellamy nor Murphy are following behind her. Glancing back, she calls, "Come on, we don't have all day."
She hears Bellamy let out an amused chuckle, their footsteps being heard. Liv was quite familiar with the trails, the two boys following behind her seeing as though they have no idea where they're actually going.
Liv could hear water roaring off in the distance, showing her that she's getting closer to where they were just this morning.
"Hey, Princess."
"Sweetheart," she responds, the nickname seeming to roll off of her tongue perfectly. Bellamy can't help but roll his eyes, an amused look on his face nonetheless. "Did you want something?"
"Why are you so hell bent on getting everyone from the Ark down here?" he questions, Liv sensing the hostility in his voice as he asks the question.
She sighs, stating, "I already told you."
"No, Liv, I want to know more," he demands, Liv turning around and crossing her arms while raising a brow.
"You want to know more?" she questions, cocking her head to the side before narrowing her eyes into slits. "Well, Bellamy Blake, you're not the only one here with a sibling."
He looks at her in confusion, Liv watching as his face, as well as Murphy's, slowly turn into an expression of knowing.
"Now, come on, we need to go find Jasper," she murmurs quietly, turning around making her way back toward the river.
And in all honesty, she didn't know why she was so quick to tell Bellamy, especially when she couldn't stand the guy.
☢ ☢ ☢ ☢ ☢
Thankfully, Liv finds herself reunited with Finn, Clarke, and Wells once again, the six walking along the riverside, following a trail of fresh, crimson blood. Jasper's blood.
"Hey, how do we know this is the right way?" Murphy demands.
"We don't," Bellamy tells him. "Space walker here thinks he's a tracker."
"It's called cutting sign," Wells explains to them. "It's a fourth year Earth skill. He's good."
"You want to keep it down or should I paint a target on your backs?" Finn asks them, knowing that they're making too much noise which could possibly draw the attention of the grounders around them. For all they know they've already been found.
Finn quickly bends down, glancing at the pebbles to see droplets of blood painted on them. Clarke bends down as well, Liv's head snapping up when a moan sounds in the distance.
Jasper.
"What the hell was that?" Murphy demands, Liv glancing around in an attempt to spot any grounders.
"Now would be the time to take out that gun," Clarke states, Bellamy doing just that.
The six then duck down, trying to stay out of sight of any grounder that could be around, brushing plants away from them. Making their way out of the bushes, Liv brushes a strand of leaves away to reveal Jasper whom is tied on a tree, hanging there.
Liv's eyes widen, the girl murmuring, "What the hell did they do to him?"
She quickly takes off after saying this, rushing away from the group and toward the tree, doing anything she can to get Jasper down.
"Liv, wait," Clarke hisses from behind her, not wanting to put another one of her friends in danger. "Be careful."
Disregarding Clarke's protest, she continues to make her way toward the tree.
"What the hell is this?" Bellamy demands from beside her, Liv opening her mouth to say something, but letting out a cry when the ground under her gives out.
She feels herself begin to plummet down, a hand wrapping tightly around her wrist. Glancing down, she sees herself dangling over large spikes, knowing that if no one grabbed her wrist she would have been dead within in an instant.
Liv looks up, her eyes locking on Bellamy's dark, brown ones, her hand quickly grabbing his wrist to keep from slipping out of his hold.
"Get her up!" she hears Clarke cry. "Pull her up! Pull her up!"
Within seconds, everyone's surrounding Bellamy, helping him hoist her out of the hole. Everyone stands around her, Liv sliding out, panting as she sits for a moment.
Bellamy kneels down next to her, questioning, "Are you okay?"
She nods quickly, gasping out, "I'm fine."
Liv quickly scrambles onto her feet, glancing back up toward Jasper.
"We need to get him down," Clarke explains.
"I'll climb up and cut down the vines," Finn offers, walking over toward the tree hesitantly.
Wells nods, adding on, "Yeah, yeah, I will too."
"No," Finn states, glancing back at him. "You stay with Clarke and watch him." Glancing at Murphy, he orders, "You, let's go."
Murphy makes his way toward the tree, the four of them still standing down on the ground.
Examining Jasper, Clarke states, "There's a poultice on his wound."
"Medicine?" Wells questions, glancing at it quizzically. "Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait."
"Maybe whatever they're trying to catch likes its dinner to be breathing," Bellamy suggests, Liv's eyes widening slightly.
She glances back at the hole that's behind her, Liv breathing out, "What if what they're trying to catch is us?"
Bellamy glances toward Liv, Liv finally realizing that this is what the grounders have been planning this whole time. Finn and Murphy are finally up in the tree, all of them realizing that they need to go quick before they fall into the grounder's trap.
"Hurry up, Murphy," Finn snaps.
"I am."
"Be careful," Clarke calls up to them, Liv's body tensing when a growling sounds in the distance.
"What the hell was that?" Murphy demands, Liv glancing around in an attempt to find the source of the sound.
"Grouders?" Bellamy questions, none of them sure what a grounder even looks like.
Liv's eyes catch something in the distance, something animalistic. What her eyes had fallen upon is a panther. Her eyes widen slightly, watching as it lets out a snarl before charging in her direction.
"Bellamy, gun!" she exclaims, Bellamy feeling his side only to realize that his gun is no longer there. Liv's eyes widen when she realizes that Bellamy can't find his gun, glancing behind her when gun shots sound.
In Well's hand is the gun, the boy shooting at the panther charging at them. It stumbles when a bullet his one of its back legs, it continuing to make its way toward them. The bushes by Bellamy and Liv rustle slightly, the two backing away as the panther comes closer to them before shooting off once again.
Everything falls eerily silent for a moment, Liv letting out a cry when the panther jumps in the air, soaring in her's and Bellamy's direction. Without a section thought, she quickly clings onto Bellamy, her hands gripping his jacket tightly as he shields her away from it, using one of his hands to defend them from it.
A gun shot booms, the panther falling to the ground before it can reach the two. Liv lets out a shaky breath, glancing down to see the dead animal laying at their feet.
Wells continues to pull the trigger, no more bullets coming out, just soft clicks. Liv watches, her face still stricken with fear.
Somehow they've all still made it this far alive.
☢ ☢ ☢ ☢ ☢
The light from the flame of the campfire can be seen, Wells and Finn carrying Jasper into the camp. A crowd quickly surrounds them, Monty quickly coming up to Clarke and Liv.
"How is he?"
"Alive," Clarke explains, none of them knowing if he'll be okay tomorrow or even two days from now. "I need boiled water, strips of cloth, and a bandage," she instructs, listing off items she'll need to help fix Jasper up.
Murphy and Bellamy, on the other hand, are carrying in a parachute which they wrapped the panther from earlier in, their source of food. Liv watches as they carry everything in, sitting herself down on a log.
"Who's hungry?" Bellamy's voice bellows, cheers erupting throughout the crowd.
Liv watches from where she's sitting, feeling a finger tap on her shoulder. Turning her head, she glances up to see Monty behind her with a warm smile on his face.
Standing up, she turns to face him, noticing another boy standing beside him. He had the same shade of hair as her, a dirty blonde and the same shaped face. She was perplexed as to how the boy looked so much like her, but she brushed it off.
"Hey, Monty," she greets, smiling softly. She was warn out from the day she had just endured, wanting nothing more than something to eat and a night's long sleep.
"Olivia Ross," Monty begins, grinning at her, "meet Ashton Ross."
The one person she least expected to see here was; her brother.
Not edited.
I honestly don't know how I've written so much for this in only two days, but that's probably becasue I have Thanksgiving break rn. I'm not sure how updates will be after today (although I hope they're frequent) becasue I'm going to try and finish Nefarious (a Teen Wolf fan fic on my other account @voidance) in these next three days. I have like four more chapters of that so I'm just going to try and push through. Anyway, let me know your thoughts! I'd love to hear them!
By the way, dedicated to @akalei for her sweet comments!