●Thirteen●

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"Monty!" I called cheerfully.

"I missed you losers!" I tackled Jasper and Monty in a great big hug. "It feels like it's been months."

"We spoke the other day," Jasper said.

"And we were together earlier when you were helping with the rockets." Monty frowned.

"Way to ruin the moment guys."

"Sorry," Monty rubbed the back of his neck.

I playfully bumped his shoulder then sat between him and Jasper on the metal floor. "It's nice to just relax with you guys. Some of my few favourite people."

"What happened to Finn?" Jasper questioned.

I winced at his current predicament. I briefly spoke to him about it. "He's having girl problems. Turns out Raven is his girlfriend or something along those lines. He didn't think he'd ever see her again."

Monty whistled through his teeth astonished. "I'd hate to be in his situation."

"Two girls fighting for your attention. Monty, that's every guy's ideal situation." Jasper said incredulously.

"Monty is a gentleman." I stated proudly.

Monty smiled, and Jasper rolled his eyes at me.

"So, where have you been? Would your disappearance have anything to do with your secret lover?" Jasper nudged my shoulder suggestively.

I chose to play dumb. "Who's my lover? I have many."

Jasper gawped at me fixing the goggles on his head. "And you made out having two girls was bad," he remarked. "You know I meant Bellamy."

"We watched you both disappear after the rockets."

"More like, he stalked you," Jasper remarked.

These two seemed like they weren't going to give up anytime soon, so I chose to skip down the road of honesty. Who else could I talk to now since Octavia hates me, plus she was Bellamy's sister― it'd be weird.

I began with a nod. "We were together. Spending time with him is nice."

Jasper gagged obnoxiously. I smacked him.

"We did not have sex. Idiot. We hung out. Messed around in that little pool I showed you." Both boys opened their mouths to speak but I cut them off. "We're friends."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Jasper grinned.

Monty laughed, "You'd do anything and everything." Jasper shrugged with pride, in response.

We continued talking, joking and laughing about in the dropship until Clarke walked in.

"Hey Clarke!" Monty greeted.

"You here to join us?" Jasper asked.

Clarke's eyes drifted to me. The expression on her face and the look in her eyes showed that she had no intention of staying.

"Actually, I needed to talk to Eden for a minute."

"Why?"

"Just for a minute," her eyes emphasised her need for me to get up and go with her. I fought with myself, but eventually gave in.

"My tent?"

Clarke nodded.

I hopped to my feet and lead the blonde into my tent. I slumped down onto the makeshift bedding and waited patiently.

"We need to clear the air, because this tension is bad for the camp and us." Clarke the diplomat. As much as I'd like to disagree, she wasn't wrong, the tension wasn't good for anybody. "We don't get on, so I thought we could talk and understand each other better."

"Okay."

"So, you're from Hydra Station; you're actually, really smart, and you had a boyfriend called Orion Salvatore who isn't down here. What was Hydra Station like?"

I shrugged. "It felt like some elite club. Anyone who wasn't from our station couldn't come in, unless they gained special authorisation. We all had to learn how things worked even if we went on to work in another Station. There wasn't much room for fun."

"What were you locked up for?"

"... I don't see how this is going to ease tension between us."

"I'm just trying to understand you."

I laughed a little, "I'm not an alien."

Clarke smiled. "You can't have done much worse than anyone down here. We've all committed crimes."

Loose threading on one of the materials became interesting to me. Twisting it between my fingers and unravelling. Chills slithered up my spine. A ghostly touch danced across my skin without consent. I could feel the guards hands on me. Roughly, caressing my skin. I re-imagined the searing, calculating look in his brown eyes. The smirk he wore. My blood froze hot.

"I killed a guard."

Clarke's features rose to astonishment. "What? Why?"

I ran a hand through my hair and shook it out. "I'm not talking about it with you. Tell me about yourself, daughter of Abby Griffin."

"You already knew my mum quite well, so you probably already know a lot."

"Not really. I knew your mum, because she was treating my dying mother."

"You were always there. You were always with her."

Red flags raised in my head. I detected a hint of resentment in her voice. "You don't like me, because I spent a lot of time with your mum?"

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just, you're childish and immature. You don't take most thing seriously and you always find time to have fun. We've been floated to Earth, where we could easily die, and it's like you don't even care."

Something glimmered in Clarke's eyes. A crease formed between my brows as the corners of my lips turned down.

"I'm jealous of you! I want to be as care free as you are most of the time... but I can't. I don't know how you do it and it's really frustrating."

"I don't seem to get on with you because you're so serious all the time. You're condescending and act like you're better than everyone else just because your parents were who they were. Let's not forget, you're the reason I was strung up."

I sat back thinking about everything. I wasn't a saint, so I couldn't keep attacking Clarke's personality. She keeps trying to make an effort, therefore I had to make one too and stop being a stubborn bitch. Maybe we'll become friends one day.

I cringed at that last bit. Maybe a bit too soon, but we could at least push our differences aside and accept each other for who we were.

"Look, Clarke, I don't hate you. And I guess I can understand your point of view. Let's just― start again."

"Sounds good. Friends?" She extended a hand to me.

I winced. Her face showed surprise and confusion at my reaction. I shook her hand. "Maybe. Just not yet."

Suddenly, the opening of my tent whipped open to reveal a handsome Bellamy Blake. I couldn't take my eyes off his wide dark ones, there was something about him that slowly continued to grow on me.

"You're up?"

"Yeah," Clarke and I replied at the same time.

I laughed in my head― awkward.

Clarke clambered out of my tent and I followed.

"Knowing that hundreds of people might be dying on the Ark makes it pretty hard to sleep."

Bellamy looked on, full of guilt. I felt the same way, hundreds of people could die because Bellamy and I got rid of the radio, however Clarke's constant guilt tripping wasn't helping anybody.

Bellamy sensed my impending comment and gave me a look to shut up. I bit my tongue and listened to his hopeful response, "Raven's flares will work."

"Her radio would've worked better."

I held back an eye roll. Getting accustomed to Clarke's ways was about to be a difficult journey.

"Have either of you seen Octavia?" Bellamy asked becoming more serious.

"Not since we saw her in the woods," I replied feeling worry teasing its way through my mind.

"No. It's Octavia. She's probably chasing butterflies."

"Clarke, I've checked the camp. She's not here." I could feel Bellamy's anxiousness radiating off him, and if he didn't find his sister soon, it would only get worse. The only person that Bellamy cared about, other than himself, was Octavia, but she didn't seem to realise that.

"Ok. Eden and I will help you find her. Let's check again. You go to the dropship. We'll check the rest of the tents."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for Octavia." Clarke marched away without a second glance weaving between tents.

I placed my hand on Bellamy's shoulder comfortingly and gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. We'll find her. She'll be somewhere around here doing something to piss you off."

"I hope so."

●▪●

"Hey, everybody, gather around and grab a weapon." Bellamy dumped a bag in the center of the camp. "My sister's been out there alone for 12 hours. Arm up. We're not coming back without her."

Hands reached in grabbing whatever, whilst others stood with lit torches. I moved forward with Jasper, he held a torch in one hand and a nervousness on his face.

Clarke intercepted us on our way to the weapons and studied Jasper. "Hey, Jasper, you don't have to do this. You haven't left camp since we brought you back."

"Clarke, I need to do this."

I intertwined my hand with his as a sign of encouragement and to let Jasper know I'd be here for him. After, the spear ordeal Jasper has been a little paranoid and refused to be out where Grounders could get him. It was sad that he felt that way, so I hoped to bring him some sort of peace of mind while we were out there tonight.

"We need all the people we can get." Bellamy moved over to us. His eyes briefly lowered to mine and Jasper's hands, a stern look on his face, before nodding to us briefly.

Jasper squeezed my hand as we walked around Clarke and Bellamy to the bag.

"We're going to be fine out there, Jasper. And Octavia will be grateful that you put aside your fears to help find her."

Anxiety swarmed in Jasper's eyes. His hand felt clammy, but I didn't say anything. I wanted him to feel confident again.

I grabbed us both a weapon then we proceeded to follow the crowd. Bellamy stood tall at the front, his eyes scanning over his soldiers. Octavia had gone missing and all these people stood here ready to look for her, that really showed the power Bellamy had as King of the camp. Our eyes found each other through the crowd, holding a stare that felt almost forbidden; warm shivers sprinted up my spine.

"Finn, we're leaving!" Bellamy began to lead the group towards the boundary of our camp.

We barely made it five metres before everyone seemed to halt up ahead. Outbursts of amazement and inquisitiveness erupted from the kids up ahead. Their words guided my eyes to the dim cloak with silver zips racing down opening pockets of glistening residue. Lips parted and eyes wide I studied the spectacle. It was exquisite.

"They didn't work." Raven barged past me, stealing my attention from the sky, shooting me a cold glare. "They didn't see the flares."

I frowned. How would she know? Hesitantly, my eyes drew back up analysing what I thought was a natural spectacle. The longer I stared, the harder reality came crashing upon me.

"A meteor shower tells you that?" Bellamy asked sceptically.

I felt my eyes prick and my throat clog up.

"It's not a meteor shower, it's a funeral. Hundreds of dead bodies being returned to the earth from the Ark. This is what it looks like from the other side." Clarke looked helplessly at Raven, "They didn't get our message."

I looked down at the dirt beneath my feet. Guilt washed over me like a tsunami and flooded my senses. I did it again. I killed more people.

"This was you!" Raven's voice surrounded me before I felt hands shove me back.

"Back off. I feel guilty enough as it is," I bit out. And I did.

Bellamy wedged himself between Raven and I before she could make another move. Her angry expression flipped to him instead, leaving Finn to grab at his girlfriend and stop her from advancing on Bellamy.

"This is all because of you, too!"

"We helped you find the radio."

"Yeah, after you jacked it from my pod and trashed it!"

Clarke glanced at Bellamy and I, then addressed Raven calmly. "Yeah, they know. Now they have to live with it."

I sensed Bellamy's dark eyes burning into my skull, but I was too in my head to give him my attention. This was down to us.

"All I know is that my sister is out there and I'm gonna find her. Are you coming or what?"

"Yeah," Finn replied.

"What are we waiting for? Move out!" He barked.

I stood aside by Jasper, waiting for Finn. I couldn't ignore the things Clarke kept stating.

Three hundred won't be enough.

The oxygen level will keep dropping.

They'll kill more people.... they have to.

Being on Earth was really beginning to feel like hell.

"We're going," Jasper whispered to me. Jasper's breathing increased slightly and his grip on my hand tightened the closer we moved among the trees. "Eden..."

I gave his hand a squeeze full of reassurance.

●▪●

"Look! Over here!"

We rushed forth to John, where the soil began to drastically slope down. If we weren't careful in the dark, we'd easily slip.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Right there. You see it?" Eyes squinting, further below a piece of material became visible in the shining light. "Is that Octavia's?"

"Rope."

"Bellamy," My hand flew to his arm, stopping him in his tracks. "What are you doing?"

"We need the rope to get back up. Flashlight." I heaved a heavy sigh allowing Bellamy to scale down the slope towards the bare tree. "It's hers. I'm going all the way down."

We waited a moment for any form of protest from Bellamy which never came. I squeezed Jasper's hand then untangled my fingers from his. "Looks like we're going down."

My feet thumped into the dirt below, followed by Finn, Jasper, and slowly the others. Light from the still flickering torches allowed me to see the footprints Bellamy knelt by.

"Those definitely aren't Vi's."

"Someone else was here," Bellamy mumbled in response.

"The prints are deeper going that way. He was carrying her."

"If they took her, she's alive. Like when they took me."

I nodded feeling confident that we'd get Octavia back fine. If we got Jasper back, we could easily do the same with Octavia. "That's good. Let's get a move on!" I clapped my hands and moved to march forward. Bellamy's hand stopped me.

"Woah! Hold your horses. This isn't a game, we need to be careful."

I rolled my eyes. "I know that. She's basically my best friend."

Bellamy continued to practically scold me with his eyes until I gave a huff, took a step back, and stopped coming across a little too eager.

"Fine."

He laughed at my expression. "I never said I had to lead. Just be a bit stealthier." He nudged me up beside him and we both started leading the rescue group, I made sure Jasper was right behind me.

"Let's not pretend like you'd actually let anyone else lead the group," I spoke teasingly. Bellamy was very much an alpha male, it's like he's leading a pack right now.

A boyish smile surprised me, "I'd allow you to."

"So, why don't you let me?"

Bellamy stopped in his tracks and held back a smirk.

"What?" He just raised his eyebrows. "Seriously, what?"

"You've been leading us for a while now."

I pursed my lips and inspected the gap between us― small yet noticeable. Though I rolled my eyes, I couldn't help but smile. My smile then grew hearing Bellamy's out of place chuckle. We were amidst a serious situation, but the gravity of the situation did seem to dull ever so slightly with Bellamy being here; I also felt certain that Octavia was fine, and we'd get her back in no time.

We kept padding through the dark on high alert, watching the trees, listening out for any questionable noises. Everything appeared normal until the scenery altered. A thick air of menace steamrolled over the group. The determined heat around us turned chilling. Bones and full skeletons dangled from trees. Too many to count. It was like a graveyard. Instead of putting the dead to rest, they were put on show as a warning.

"Shit."

"I don't speak grounder... but I'm pretty sure this means keep out," Finn commented wearily.

Choruses of fear rang from the group like a domino effect of terror. Murmurs of retreat reached the front of our slowly diminishing group. Some kids all but run back the way we came taking torches and weapons with them. At least they understood self-preservation, unlike yours truly.

Bellamy addressed those still attempting to appear brave and confident. "Go back if you want. My sister, my responsibility."

A final group disappeared leaving myself, Bellamy, Finn, Jasper, Monroe, John, Roma and Diggs to carry on alone.

"I'd walk into hell to find her." Jasper stated confidently.

"I think we just did."

"I second that, Tarzan."

The darkness eventually melted into a morning haze. Thick trees parted into wide spread, towering poles of bark. Vibrant green was everywhere. Jasper and I had been walking together whilst Finn and Bellamy took the lead. We'd seen no signs of life for what felt like never-ending miles and it was taking a toll on all of us.

"I got nothing. We lost the trail."

Bellamy shook his head ignoring Finn's tiredness. "Keep looking."

"Wandering around aimlessly isn't the way to find your sister. We should backtrack..."

"I'm not going back."

"If we go back a bit, then we can scan again for anything that might lead us to her," I suggested.

"I'm not going back, Eden."

I didn't have the energy to argue with him, so I simply nodded.

"Hey, where's John?" Roma asked.

"Oh, he's right he―" the words died on my lips as I turned and pointed to thin air.

"I just saw him a second ago," confusion laced Jasper's tone.

"Spread out. He couldn't have gotten that far."

Thud!

John's limp body collided with the ground. 

























Sorry it took so long guys, but here's another chapter with a pretty bad cliffhanger.

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net