Morning comes quickly.
Sleeping in a tree is uncomfortable, and the fear of falling leaves you restless and unable to sleep. As soon as the light breaks the horizon, you climb down from your lookout and venture past the makeshift camp, into the woods. You spend a long time watching the sun rise higher in the sky, thinking about your life and what led you here.
It doesn't take long for the sound of rowdy teenagers to reach you, and you decide to head back to camp to wait for Clarke and the arrival of food. Your stomach growls in agreement and you shake your head before standing from the fallen log and pointing yourself in the direction of camp. You're only a few minutes out when you hear a twig snap behind you. You turn quickly, eyes scanning the forest for the source of the noise. Finding nothing, you continue on, more alert than before.
You stop again when you hear another branch break and you whip your head around, watching and listening. You swear you hear footsteps running through the woods, and you begin to panic. You take off running towards the camp, head still searching for the source of the noise. You sigh a little when you hear the growing sound of the delinquents, but you keep running until you accidentally collide with someone.
The impact sends you flying to the ground, and you land on your back with a groan. You lie there, looking up at the sun filtering through the trees, when a voice asks, "Hey, are you okay?"
A figure moves into your vision and blocks out the sun, and you start to reply until you see his face.
Wells.
He holds out a hand to help you up, but you swipe it away and quickly stand. You both watch each other, and he quietly says your name. You shake your head, already cutting him off. "Whatever you're about to say, I don't want to hear it. You're the reason my dad is dead." You practically spit the last word at him.
His voice is quiet, barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry? Did you not hear me? He's DEAD because of you! Gone. Floated." Tears well up in your eyes, "I never got to say goodbye."
He steps towards you, and you look up at him in anger, swallowing back your tears. "Just stay away from me, Wells. Me and Clarke."
You turn and head into the camp, not stopping until you reach the dropship. You pull the makeshift door to the side, ready to check on your collected water, before coming face to face with a naked Bellamy Blake.
You freeze in shock, eyes scanning his body, before coming to land on his face. He smirks at you. "Enjoying the view, princess?"
You give him a look of disgust, "The exact opposite actually."
He pulls on his pants, letting out a short laugh. "Really? Because it looked like-"
"I don't care what you think it looked like. I was just coming in here to check on something." For the first time, you see a girl behind him getting dressed, and your brows lift in disbelief. "And now I'm leaving."
You turn and scurry out of the dropship, before colliding straight into Wells, who is mid argument with Atom. You manage to catch yourself from falling this time, but you roll your eyes. "Seriously? Are you everywhere?"
Bellamy comes out of the dropship, still shirtless, and eyes Wells and the pile of clothes in his hands. "This is home now. Your father's rules no longer apply." He snatches the clothes from his hands, and Wells lunges at Bellamy, only to be stopped by Atom. Bellamy motions for Atom to let him go. "You want it back? Take it."
Bellamy and Wells stand in place, eyes locked, tension filling the air. Wells breaks first, and turns to toss the rest of the clothes, which are immediately grabbed by a group of teenagers. Wells turns back to Bellamy, "Is this what you want? Chaos?"
Bellamy smirks, "What's wrong with a little chaos?"
He starts to pull on his shirt when a scream rings out through the camp. You all take off running towards it, and find Murphy holding a girl over the fire. "Bellamy. Check it out. We want the Ark to think that the ground is killing us, right? Figure it'll look better if we suffer a little bit first."
Wells runs towards Murphy and pushes her off the girl, "Let her go!" He turns back to Bellamy, eyes pleading. "You can stop this."
"Stop this?" Bellamy smirks, eyes flitting to the side, where Murphy is getting up and running towards Wells. "I'm just getting started."
Murphy's fist connects with Wells' face, sending him to the side. Wells recovers quickly and starts to fight back, both boys evenly matched in terms of skill. Finally, Wells manages to get the upper hand, and he delivers a final blow to Murphy before standing and walking back towards Bellamy. "Don't you see you can't control this?"
You watch as Murphy rolls over, pulling a makeshift knife out of his pocket. You look over at Bellamy, wondering what he's going to do. As Murphy bears down on Wells, Bellamy steps forward, stopping him. "Wait!"
Your brows lift in surprise, and you watch as he looks between the two boys. After a second, he holds up his own makeshift blade for Wells. "Fair fight."
You shake your head as he steps back, stopping at your side. You mutter, "You can't be serious."
Bellamy turns to you, away from the fighting boys. "Something wrong?"
"You're really gonna let them pick each other off?"
He tips his head to the side, appraising you. "I thought you didn't like Wells. Heard he was the reason your dad got floated."
You flinch, the pain from your father's fate affecting you just as much today as it did when you first found out. You reach up and touch your necklace, Bellamy's eyes watching the movement. You shake yourself out of your thoughts, and glance over at the pair before looking back to Bellamy. "I don't give a shit about Wells, or whether he lives or dies." You watch as Wells grabs Murphy in a chokehold, and you turn and give Bellamy the same appraising side eye. "I'm just wondering, how long until Murphy gets tired of taking orders?"
Before he can answer you, your twin's voice cuts through the crowd. "Wells! Let him go!"
She jogs into the clearing, the rest of the group right behind her, as Wells releases Murphy and pushes him away. Murphy spins around and lunges at him, only for Bellamy to step in and hold him back. "Enough, Murphy." As Monty guides a limping Octavia into the clearing, Bellamy runs to check on her.
It takes only a second for you both to realize something is missing. "Where's the food?"
"We didn't make it to Mount Weather."
You step closer to them, "What the hell happened out there?"
Clarke turns to look at you, gaze serious. "We were attacked."
"Attacked? By what?"
Finn's voice answers first, "Not what. Who. 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." Clarke looks around at the group of people closest to her. "There are people here, survivors. The good news is, that means we can survive. Radiation won't kill us."
"Yeah, the bad news is the Grounders will."
Wells looks around at the group in confusion. "Where's the kid with the goggles?"
"Jasper was hit. They took him." Clarke's eyes fall to his arm. "Where's your wristband?"
He cuts his eyes to Bellamy. "Ask him."
"How many?"
Murphy answers, proud. "Twenty-four and counting."
She shakes her head. "You idiots. 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 glares at Clarke, and steps closer to the other delinquents. "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! You're fighters, survivors! The Grounders should worry about us!"
The others yell in agreement, and you shake your head at their ignorance. Clarke must feel the same, because she stalks off, Monty hot on her heels. You watch them go, before glancing at Octavia, and the fresh blood on her leg. Getting an idea, you run to the dropship and grab some of your water, along with one of the seatbelts and a discarded shirt. You go and search for Octavia, finding her sitting on a ledge, letting Bellamy inspect her cut. You smile at her as you approach, and she returns it. "Why'd you run off yesterday? I thought we were going to get into trouble together."
You glance at Bellamy and back at her, "'Other sibling' stuff." She nods in understanding. "Looks like you got into enough trouble without me though. I got some stuff for your leg, can I take a look?"
She nods, and Bellamy gives you room to look at the wound. You tear the shirt into pieces and dip it into the water before looking up at her, "This is probably gonna hurt."
You wipe the blood from the bite, and Octavia lets out a groan. You clean it up and look at it closely. "Good news is, it's not deep."
You take another piece of the shirt and lay it on top of the cut, before glancing at Bellamy. "Hold this here for me?"
"Yeah." He reaches for the cloth, fingers brushing yours in the process, causing you to flinch. Subtly, he shifts his focus, his eyes settling onto you. You grab the seat belt and secure the fabric over the wound, as Bellamy looks up and scolds Octavia. "You could have been killed."
Clarke speaks up behind you, and you turn to watch her approach. "She would have been if Jasper didn't jump in to pull her out."
Octavia checks the bandage, and starts to stand."You guys leaving? I'm coming, too."
Bellamy grabs her shoulder and pushes her back down, "No, no. No way. Not again."
"He's right. Your leg's just gonna slow us down." Her gaze shifts to Bellamy, "I'm here for you."
Your brows raise in surprise and Wells protests behind her. "Clarke, what are you doing?"
"I hear you have a gun." He looks down and lifts the edge of his shirt to reveal the gun in his waistband. Your mind flashes back to last night. "Good. Follow me." She starts walking only to be stopped by Bellamy's next question.
"And why would I do that?"
"Because you want them to follow you, and right now, they're thinking only one of us is scared."
As she walks off, you turn to Octavia. "I'll go and get into trouble for the both of us this time. Deal?"
She sighs and then smiles, "Deal."
You jog off to catch up with Clarke, who turns as you approach. Wells runs ahead to give you a minute. "I'm coming too."
"Fine. But you better keep up."
You let out a snort, "Easy, I was always the better twin."
You both look at each other and she rolls her eyes. "You wish."
She gives you one last look and jogs to catch up with Wells. You look back when you hear footsteps behind you, and you lock eyes with Bellamy and Murphy. You turn to watch where you're going and let out a sigh. This should be fun.
You keep your eyes on Clarke and Wells ahead of you, following their footsteps as they move through the woods. Bellamy jogs to catch up to them, and Murphy keeps close by his side. "Hey, hold up. What's the rush?" Bellamy punctuates the question with a shrug, gun in hand. "You don't survive a spear through the heart."
The group stops in a clearing, and Wells glares at Bellamy. "Put the gun away, Bellamy."
Murphy steps forward in defense of his leader. "Well, why don't you do something about it, huh?"
Clarke ignores them both, looking at you and Bellamy as she catches you up. "Jasper screamed when they moved him. If the spear struck his heart, he'd have died instantly. It doesn't mean we have time to waste."
Bellamy lunges forward and grabs her wrist, "As soon as you take this wristband off, we can go."
You step up instantly, pulling Clarke's arm free of his grip, and putting yourself between them. "Don't touch her."
Clarke steps from behind you and glares at Bellamy, "The only way the Ark is gonna think we're dead, is if we're actually dead. Got it?"
Bellamy looks between you both with a smirk, but his response is cut off by approaching footsteps. "You call this a rescue party? Got to split up, cover more ground. Clarke, come with me."
Clarke steps closer to Finn, and they split off from the group, taking the high ground. Bellamy storms off in the direction the group was originally heading in, and Murphy follows. You veer off to the right and search the land close to the river. Wells seems to hesitate, unsure where to go, before finally following Bellamy at a distance.
Most of the search is spent in silence, as everyone keeps an eye out for any sign of Jasper. Every now and then you hear the faint whisper of conversation from Finn and Clarke, until eventually they put so much distance between you that everything goes silent again. As your eyes scan the river's edge and surrounding trees, you're surprised to hear bits and pieces of the hushed conversation between Bellamy and Wells.
"...more in common than meets the eye, huh?"
Wells deadpans, "We have nothing in common."
You follow the line of the river, the sound of running water growing louder. Bellamy's voice gets lost in the din of a waterfall. "Finn around, Clarke doesn't even see you. It's like you're not even here."
You stop at the edge of the waterfall, admiring the view. It's a small fall, not very powerful, and it drains into a small swimming hole. It's framed by a semi circle of trees, dense enough to conceal anyone swimming in the water from someone lurking in the woods.
You move away from the water's edge, skeptical of the drop, given your inability to swim. As you get deeper into the trees, a twig snaps somewhere behind you. Your mind instantly flashes back to earlier that morning, and then to Clarke's warning of not being alone. You start to walk faster, looking for any sign of Clarke and the others. When you hear more movement behind you, you break into a run, tearing through the trees in search of a familiar face.
Finally, you spot Bellamy up ahead, and you're surprised to find relief flow through you at the sight of him. You slow as you near him, and he turns at your approach. He ignores you panting for breath, his eyes instead traveling to the moon that sits along your collarbone. There's nothing fancy about it, just a small silver moon secured to a chain. "Was that from him?" You turn slightly to meet his eyes, and he adds, "Your dad?"
You say nothing, choosing instead to continue through the woods in silence. He goes for a different approach. "You know, I don't get your attachment to that bracelet. What has the Ark ever done for you?"
"Isn't this the same speech you gave Wells last night before you ambushed him?" You give him a look of annoyance. "Is Murphy about to jump out of the bushes and take my hand off?"
"No. Not yet anyways."
Before you can answer, you burst through the trees, into a clearing, where Clarke and Finn are pointing at something on the ground, showing Wells what they found. Murphy is standing nearby, uninterested. You run over to them and Clarke looks up at you as you approach. "Where have you been? We found a trail of blood, and we think it's Jasper's."
"Trail of blood, huh? Let's see where it takes us."
She and Finn stand, and start to follow the trail, and you fall in line behind them, with the others right behind you.
"Hey, how do we know this is the right way?"
You look back at Murphy and shrug, and Bellamy smirks. "We don't. Spacewalker thinks he's a tracker."
Wells turns to look at Bellamy. "It's called a cutting sign. Fourth-year earth skills. He's good."
Finn turns back to the group, slightly exasperated. "You want to keep it down or should I paint a target on your backs?"
He stops and studies a branch, and Bellamy slides up next to Wells. "See? You're invisible."
As Finn bends down and inspects a puddle of blood, a moan cuts through the trees and reaches the group. Everyone looks around, confused.
"What the hell was that?"
Clarke glances at Bellamy, "Now would be a good time to take out that gun."
He pulls it from his waistband as another groan reaches you, and Finn takes off running. Everyone follows behind him in a line, Clarke, then you, Wells, Bellamy, and Murphy. He comes to a stop in a clearing, and as you step past the trees, your eyes land on Jasper, strung up in a tree.
"Jasper. Oh, my God."
Clarke jogs into the clearing, eyes locked on Jasper, and you follow right behind her. Bellamy looks up at the tree as he follows you into the clearing, "What the hell is this?"
As Clarke nears the base of the tree, you hear a cracking sound. Your eyes dart towards her and you watch as she starts to fall, legs already disappearing into a large hole. You lunge forward and grab her arm, both of your hands locking around each other's wrists as you hit the ground. Clarke's weight starts to pull you towards her, over the edge of the hole, inch by inch. Behind you, you hear Finn and Wells yelling in a panic, "Get them up! Pull them up! Pull them up! Get them!"
You reach out and grab Clarke's other wrist and she grabs yours, both of your eyes filled with panic. You watch the pit of spikes move closer and closer to impaling your twin, just as a hand closes around your ankle and stops your sliding. Seconds later, a collection of arms grabs Clarke and hoists her over the side, onto the safety of solid ground.
She lands in a heap beside you, and you sit up and meet her eyes, breath heaving in panic as the reality of what almost happened starts to set in. Finn kneels beside Clarke, checking on her, and she turns away. You glance at the figure near your ankles, surprised to find Bellamy there. You nod in thanks, and he nods once in return. Finn helps you and Clarke to your feet, and Clarke immediately turns back to Jasper. "We need to get him down."
Finn moves closer to the tree, "I'll climb up there and cut the vines."
Wells starts to follow, "Yeah, yeah, I'm with you."
Finn turns quickly, "No. Stay with them." He turns to look at Murphy, "You. Let's go."
"There's a poultice on his wound."
Wells furrows his brows in confusion, "Medicine? Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?"
Bellamy glances down at the pit of spears and back up at Jasper, "Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its dinner to be breathing."
"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us."
You all look around in fear, eyes scanning the trees and brush for any sign of life, as Murphy and Finn work quickly to get Jasper down. You all watch as they free the vines securing him, only pausing when a low growl comes from beneath the brush.
You whip your head towards the sound, "What the hell was that?"
Bellamy steps back, away from the tree, fear in his voice. "Grounders?"
The growling grows louder, and you watch as Clarke tenses up. You follow her eyes and let out a quiet gasp when you see the black panther loom into view. Clarke backs up and yells out, "Bellamy, gun!"
You look over at Bellamy, as he pats his waistband, no gun in sight. Before he can question it, a shot rings out, and you all turn towards the sound, shocked to find Wells pointing the gun at the panther and firing. One of the bullets catches it in the thigh, and it leaps into the bushes surrounding the clearing. You and Bellamy step back as it runs around you, growling and snarling as it moves through the bushes, before everything stills for a split second.
Then with a loud growl, the panther leaps from the bushes behind you. You turn just in time to see it flying towards you, inches from your face before it drops to the ground, dead.
Your mouth drops open, in shock, and you turn and look at Clarke, then Wells. Bellamy does the same, breath coming out in pants. "Now she sees you."
You all stand in shocked silence a few more minutes, before Clarke once again takes charge. "Wells, get the parachute out of your pack."
He reaches in his pack and pulls the parachute out, before handing it to her. She tosses it to you, "Help Bellamy bag up the panther so we can carry it back for food."
You nod, and she turns back to Wells. "Looks like they almost got Jasper freed. We should help them down."
They move closer to the tree and you turn back to the panther, stepping closer to it. Bellamy eyes it with skepticism, "Is it dead?"
You nudge it with the toe of your boot, and it doesn't move. "Looks like it. If you'll lift the head, I can slide the parachute under the body."
He steps forward and lifts the top half of the animal, giving you enough space to slide the parachute under the body. You then repeat the action with the lower half, before twisting the ends to close it off, securing the animal inside. Minutes later, Finn and Wells come walking over, Jasper held between them. Clarke steps up beside them, "We don't have time to waste, let's go."
She leads the way, and the rescue team follows, followed by Bellamy and Murphy, leaving you to bring up the rear.
-
The walk back to camp is silent, as everyone processes the day's events, and the near death experiences. The sun sets quickly, long before you are near camp, and the darkness welcomes a whole host of terrifying sounds and shadows. The moonlight shines through the trees, nearly full, and providing the only light to guide you home.
You reach the camp when the moon is directly overhead, welcomed by a crew of anxious teenagers. Clarke, Finn, and Wells take Jasper straight inside of the dropship, and you watch as Bellamy and Murphy drop the panther near the fire.
"Who's hungry?"
The delinquents let out a celebratory yell, cheering Bellamy on for providing the one thing you all desperately wanted. Octavia hugs him, a smile on both their faces, and you are suddenly reminded of Clarke, and the distance between you. You turn away from the scene and head into your tree, immediately looking up and connecting the stars in the sky, forming constellations.
-
They make quick work of preparing dinner, and soon the smell of cooked meat reaches you in your place in the trees. You climb down, eyes falling to the line of people near the fire. You watch as someone steps up and offers their arm, before their wristband is pried off in exchange for food. You shake your head at the sight, and turn towards the dropship, deciding to look for Clarke, finding her lost in conversation with Finn. You freeze in place, as Finn walks towards the fire and reaches for two pieces of meat. Murphy steps towards him, trying to stop him. "Whoa, whoa. Wait, wait, wait. What, you think you play by different rules?"
Finn shrugs, "I thought there were no rules."
They stare at each other for a minute before Finn turns, smiling at Clarke. You start to walk towards them, to join them, before she follows him into the woods, leaving you alone. You move back towards the fire, deciding to grab your share and take it to your spot. As you reach the fire, you watch as another teenager tries to mimic Finn, moving towards the meat, wristband still firmly clasped around his wrist. Bellamy steps towards him and grabs his wrist, before pulling back and landing a punch on the kid's jaw. He turns and sees you standing there, and you keep your eyes locked on his as you reach forward, grab a stick of meat and take a bite. You give him a small nod before turning and walking away. Bellamy runs after you, "Hey! No food without a wristband."
You glance over your shoulder as he approaches, but keep walking back to your tree. He grabs your arm and spins you around, "I'm talking to you."
You pull your arm from his grip and take another bite, "Yeah, I heard you. But I told you yesterday, I'm not giving you my wristband."
He snatches the meat from your hands, "Then you don't eat."
You lunge for the food, "Screw you, Bellamy. Give it back."
He pulls the food away from you, lifting it higher. "Not without your wristband."
You step closer, reaching for the food. "Bellamy, seriously."
He smirks down at you, "That's the deal." You jump towards your dinner, missing it by centimeters, and Bellamy lets out a small laugh. "Shumway said you didn't know a good deal when you saw it. Guess he was right."
You step back, as if he slapped you. Tears threaten to fall from your eyes, but you push them back down, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. "You're an asshole."
You turn and walk away, careful to keep your shoulders back and head high, until you reach your tree and climb into it. As soon as you are hidden from the eyes of the camp, you allow yourself to cry, the pain from the last couple of years spilling over. Quiet sobs wrack your body as you relive that first day with Shumway, and every day since. The tears turn to anger as you wish him nothing but pain and suffering, because it's the only thing he deserves. Soon, the tears slow and the sobs stop, and you lean back against the trunk of the tree, suddenly exhausted. Your eyes instinctively find the moon, surrounded by stars, and you wish for nothing more than to get lost in the sky. A new constellation to join the stars, born from suffering, forever immortalized by your tragic history. You fall asleep mapping the stars, looking for the faint pattern for constellation 89, the invisible la lune.