─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

JUNE HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT IF SHE HAD ONE SKILL, IT WAS TECHNOLOGY. Her favorite feeling was keys on a board flying as she typed, watching the screen light up with each hit. On Earth, without any computers, she deemed herself useless and one of the first to die when the threat of the grounders rose. However, that changed quickly when June recognized her inner worth. She had realized just how much she loved helping others heal and learning new nursing skills from Clarke, or spending pass time in Raven's tent and assisting her when allowed.

With chemistry being Raven's weakest skill, and one of June's favorite subjects in classes, they flowed well when working on the bullets as Jasper was busy with guns and Monty was busy with wires. The smell of gunpowder filled June's nose, which was something she had been getting used to despite the distaste for it. "Careful," Raven spoke up in warning. "Try not to get any on your hands. Might become a walking mine."

A smile twitched on the corner of June's mouth, having heard this morning more than once. Raven was more skilled, while her own movements were less steady, yet improving with each day. "I got it," June replied reassuringly, shifting for a more comfortable position and tightening her muscles to keep her hands more steady.

The tent's flap suddenly swung open, Finn making his presence known with a surprised noise at the sight of June. She turned her head, blonde curls flying to the other side as she met his confused gaze that wiped away when realizing she was staring. "Sorry," Finn quickly apologized. "I just - could I have a minute alone with Raven?"

June's eyes flickered to Raven. It didn't take a true genius to really know what had happened two days before, when the sickness hit Raven, who had turned out to know about Clarke and Finn's fling. She didn't question it but could see the break up had happened by the way she avoided him, even refusing to meet his eyes. Here, June could practically feel the awkwardness in the air but made sure Raven was alright to be left alone with Finn before leaving with a nod, brushing past Finn and being hit with the welcoming fresh air.

Being no longer ill had been the best feeling June had felt on Earth, and not vomiting her blood was a huge plus. With her job being interrupted, her mind whirled with what else to do until Finn was finished discussing the topic they've both tried to avoid. She knew everyone was working twice as hard since they've landed, ever since the bomb on the bridge, the fear of the grounders bringing a war settling a terror in them. June was prepared to find Clarke, or even Bellamy, when her head snapped in the direction of a sudden shouting.

"Fire!"

The word somehow sticks out through all the mix of people shouting. June's cursing under her breath as she dashes to the direction, the smell of smoke filling as she gets closer until she's within reach of the cause. A blazing mingle of orange and yellow is in the smokehouse, a light flickering that has June's brown eyes widening in shock. The flames aren't long enough to be a threat to their shelter; only to their food, as it eats up what meat is inside that was supposed to have kept them safe when winter hit.

Both Octavia and Murphy are being dragged out of the firehouse, coughing with soot coating their skin. June snapped out of her astonishment and followed Bellamy in dashing to Octavia, close enough to hear her cough and gasp for air at the same time. "Breathe," June whispered, carefully rubbing Octavia's back until she was able to suck in deep breaths.

"Are you okay?" Bellamy asked in concern. Octavia, still unable to speak, coughed a few more times before nodding.

"This is all your fault!" Another shout echoed, this time, male and very angry. June looked up only to see Murphy, lunging at his target, a male named Del. "We told you it was too much wood!" He shouted, delivering a punch.

Del gives Murphy a harsh shove before he can hit him again. "Get the hell away from me!" He demanded, but Murphy refuses, latching on and refusing to let go.

"Hey!" Bellamy's rough voice shouts, leaving June with Octavia to stop the fight. "Hey, stop!" He ordered, pulling the two apart and putting himself in-between them with his hands up. "Save it for the grounders."

"Bell, now what the hell are we gonna do?!" Octavia called out to her brother desperately. "That was all the food!" June knows she's right, and even she's in distress by the fire, until she sees Bellamy's gaze wander in search of Clarke to only land on a gun.

They were going to have to hunt in the woods if they had wanted to survive. Everyone was still scared, but Bellamy made orders that groups of three leave and one person carries a gun in case they were attacked. June chose to stay at camp, despite itching to have a firearm in her hands, she figured she'd be much more useful here. She watched, standing at the entrance of the dropship, as Clarke led Finn and Myles past the gate and straight into the woods.

June shook off the uneasy feeling at seeing Clarke and Finn together, choosing to turn and push aside the red curtain hanging in the dropship's entrance. Monty was sat at a table with piles of wires and metal components, too focused to notice June's presence. Raven does, looking up with a greeting smile before focusing back on the wires in her hand that she had scavenged. "I found some good antenna wire for the radios. This guy was using it to fix his bed," she announced to them. "You find anything else from the Exodus ship wreckage?"

"Dead bodies," June answered with a snort. "And, all this." They rummaged through what was useful and what was not, which Monty looked interested in.

"And, data log," Monty continued. "Want to hear something weird?" June tilted forward, leaning against the edge of the table as he turned a knob. The dropship filled with the sound of static, a silence that was piercing when June knew it was the radio from the Exodus ship when everything went wrong.

Raven's forehead creased. "Sounds like interference," she noted. June wondered how she knew that just from the static, but she was slightly amazed.

"Wait. It gets weirder," Monty said. "When the signal hit, their nav system went nuts. They never got it back, and then boom." He used his hands to gesture with a mini explosion. "It's like something was jamming the signal."

"Like what?" June questioned. "I mean, I'm not a grounder expert, but I'm sure they don't use technology."

Shrugging, Raven added the wires in her hand to the pile. "It's not anything I've heard of, but it is weird. It also makes no sense whatsoever. Pull the drive-in speakers," she instructed Monty.

His head shop up at that. "You want to strip it?" Monty asked incredulously. "We'll never find out why they crashed."

"We need every component we can get our hands on if we're gonna make walkies," Raven explained curtly, before crossing the room. "And I need the radio."

Shooting up from his seat, Monty quickly attempts to stop her. "No way!" He exclaimed. "How are we supposed to contact The Ark?"

"Raven, he's right," June tried to cut in. "We don't know what's going on up there."

"The Ark is not up there," Raven corrected, putting emphasis on their home's title. "We're listening to a hole in the sky." She reached out again, but this time flicking a switch. Another static fills the silence. It sounds like a wind blowing, telling the three that Raven was correct and no one was up there to listen. She gave them a shrug before preparing to pull it off the wall, but Monty's soft words made her pause.

"Please." Monty looked from Raven to June, his dark brown eyes filled with sorrow. "My family is up there."

This time, Raven hesitated again, before shaking her head in defeat. "I'm sorry," she apologized genuinely. She ripped the port out, before taking the rest of the radio with her, avoiding Monty's hurt gaze. A chatter rises just outside, and she joins it, the radio in her hand.

It only took a few seconds of studying Monty's features despite his head hanging low before June speaks up softly. "Hey, I'm sorry too." Monty nods, taking his seat once more, but his actions are less swift than before. The silence is tense, June's desperate to break it as she sits across from him. "What are their names?" She asks, truly curious and interested to know more.

A small smile spread on Monty's face. "My mom, she's Hannah. Hannah Green," he told her. "She would have liked me to follow in planting, like her, but I always liked engineering more."

June nodded, knowing Monty was raised in Farm Station, and still knew lots about plants despite his interest being more in engineering. "She's proud of you," she stated knowingly. "You're doing great here, Monty. We wouldn't have made it this far without you."

"Thank you," Monty replied, moved. He returned her kind smile before setting his tools down and questioning her next. "What about you? You have any family?"

The one question from Monty was completely harmless, but June stiffened, her muscles tensing with the smile wiped off. She tried to be casual as she spoke, but her voice broke, giving her despair away. "I did." Tears welled up, threatening to spill, but she refused, instead swallowing the lump in her throat. "Wells was my family. My dad fell in a pretty deep hole after my mom's death in childbirth, so..." June trailed off, realizing she hadn't told anyone this, but Monty seemed to be deeply listening. Still, she timidly smiled and shrugged. "You know. Just me now."

"I'm sorry," Monty apologized, interested but regretful. "I, I didn't know..."

"No, it's alright," June quickly denied him. "I'm okay. Really. Besides, being down here, on Earth... I care for everyone here." She smiled wistfully towards the dropship's open door, admiring the camp she couldn't see.

"Like a family," Monty finished for her.

He was right. June hadn't known the delinquents for as long as others had, but she cared for each one, knowing they were all she had down here. "Like a family," she repeated in agreement with a nod. "Anyways, I should check on Raven. We didn't get a chance to finish the gunpowder today," June continued, brushing her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket before rising to her feet and leaving with a wave of good-bye.

The camp is quieter than normal, some hunting groups still out, while others have returned with small amounts of dead animals. June is a bit worried that there isn't much, but she still keeps her chin up, knowing that not everyone was back yet and there was still possibly more. She went straight for Raven's tent, not surprised to see the mechanic was already working with slightly shaking hands like it was taking every bit of strength she had no to leave and start a brawl. June paused, uncertain, before asking. "Are you okay?"

"I'm great," Raven responded in a sarcastic mumble, setting down a box of finished bullets with more force than necessary. "Finn is out with Clarke, alone in the woods, but yeah. They don't waste any time and I'm fine with it."

June understood, practically feeling the heat radiating off of Raven, from knowing how much she still loved Finn. "Look, I know you need to blow off some steam, but - " Her mouth opened, prepared to inform Raven that they weren't in fact alone and were with Myles in hopes to calm her down, but stopped suddenly when the space between them was closed and Raven's lips were on hers.

Frozen in surprise, June wasn't given much of a chance to react when Raven was pressing harder, waiting for the action to be returned as her hands were brought up to tangle in the knotted blonde hair. June was lost, her heart thudding with both shock and fondness and her mind floating. In seconds, she snapped out of it, finding Raven's shoulders with her hands and gently pushing her back until there was a space between them once more, even if it was small.

"Raven," June whispered with concern. "What are you doing?" A minute ago Raven was angry, ranting and speaking with so much frustration in her tone it was worrying. Kissing someone wouldn't make it go away.

"Blowing off steam," Raven mumbled in a response like it was obvious. June would have to be dumb if she didn't put the pieces together quickly. Raven didn't adore her like that, she was only the first person Raven saw. She could have even only wanted to see if it would make Finn jealous. It shouldn't have stung as much as it did - June had only known her for almost a month.

But everything had just always clicked. June grew tight lipped, still feeling the touch of Raven on her as she back away. "Sorry," she mumbled hurtfully, looking away from the other's confused stare. June didn't know what else to say, knowing that she had nothing to apologize for when she was the one hurt, but instead letting her boots carry her outside of the tent without another word. She ignored the stares from her friends as she stormed through the camp, choosing to keep her jaw clenched and refusing to show any emotion, no matter how upset she was.

━━━━━━━━

The night was more comforting than June thought. It was cool enough for her to calm down and leave the dropship where she had chosen to sit with Monty once more, as far away from Raven's tent as she could be without passing the gate. However, the content she felt faded at the new alarming news chattering between the crowd. All the hunters have returned, with more meat, every single one except for Clarke's group. The mention of her best friend had June's ears perking up, knowing it was much too late for them to have not come back by now. Something must be wrong.

"Monroe," June called, rushing towards the red-haired girl sitting in front of a fire with a few others. "Where's Bellamy?" She couldn't catch his face in the crowd, which was a bit odd. He'd usually be the first to order a search like he had with Octavia.

Monroe nodded towards the largest tent. "He's been in there all night," she answered.

"Alright. Thanks," June says quickly, earning a nod, before picking up her pace in the direction. There's a group circling another fire, this one all male, whose eyes all followed June as she approached Bellamy's tent with amused grins that had her halting. "What?" She demanded.

Miller held up a hand, silently telling the others to be silent. "June, I wouldn't go in there if I were you," he suggested, more thoughtful and without the smugness the other boys carried.

"What? Why?" June questioned, holding her tracks and ignoring the snickers growing. "Is Bellamy naked?" Which was a sight she really hadn't wanted to see, but it didn't explain what the unspoken joke was.

The question was only a joke, but it was answered when the tent's flap swung open. But it isn't Bellamy to step out. It's Raven. Her dark hair is out of her braided ponytail, in messy waves that fall past her shoulders. Her head is bowed, working on the button of her jeans, and when she looks up, her skin is flushed red. The scowl on Raven's face drops when her eyes meet June's, turning into a much softer gaze, almost apologetic.

A silence fills the air, even from the group of boys. June and Raven just stare at each other for a good thirty seconds or so, waiting for the other to make some move. Raven had went to Bellamy because June turned her down. She feels sick, her heart squeezing painfully, but she clears her throat and informs Raven with a wavering voice. "You should get Bellamy. Clarke, Finn and Myles are missing." June made sure to tack Myles's name at the end with prominence so Raven would know Clarke and Finn weren't actually alone.

With that, June spins on her heel and leaves, ignoring the pain swelling up. Clarke, Finn, and Myles are more important, she repeated in her head until she believed it, joining the crowd in armoring up. June grasped a gun from the supplies, swinging the strap over her shoulder, and jumping in surprise when a presence joins her right side. She calmed quickly when seeing it was only Monty, but finding herself unable to greet him with a smile.

"Raven made talkies." Was Monty's first words, and showing off the device with his hand.

"Neat," June replied tightly, sounding colder than she meant.

If Monty noticed the frigidness in her voice, he didn't mention it. "Raven and Octavia are going west. I was thinking we could check up north, maybe they got lost," he suggested sounding hopeful, nodding towards the weapon in June's hand.

Monty was completely harmless, and June figured the only person she would want to be around for now. He had a kind aura to him that made her feel less troubled, so she nodded. "Sure. You keep the walkie, I have the weapon," she offered. Monty brightened at that, and together, they made a quick jog for the open gate.

The woods were much different than their camp, filled with something that June couldn't place her finger on. She felt like eyes were everywhere, even in the trees and bushes, watching every move they made and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. June tried to shrug off the weight, focusing on keeping her firearm pointed forward while walking alongside Monty. He kept a light shining their path in one hand and the walkie in the other.

"We've been at this forever," June declared, sounding much more tired. She wasn't sure when the last time she had managed to get more than a few hours of sleep. "Have the others found anything?"

On cue, Monty raised the walkie, pressing the button and speaking into it. "Guys," he started. "Anything at all? A trail?"

"Nothing here," Bellamy's voice spoke.

"No signs," Octavia confirmed next. June sighed in irritation, wanting to curse.

"Where are you?" Monty questioned, his walking coming to a stop with June beside him, lowering her gun.

Bellamy responded. "Just keep the moon to your left, and you'll find us."

But there was a look crossed on Monty's features that caught June's attention. She tilted her head, observing for a minute as he studied the walkie in his hand. "What is it?"

"The sound," Monty said, holding it up so June could hear clearer. June frowns when realizing how familiar it was, the static quivering.

June's eyes widened. "The box from the Exodus ship."

Nodding, Monty spoke into the walkie with quicker words. "Is anyone else hearing this signal?"

Raven's annoyed tone fills the speaker. "Just keep your eyes open."

"I think it's the same thing we heard in the black box," Monty continued, ignoring the protest.

"Damn it, Monty, June, pay attention," Bellamy ordered. "Do you see anything else?"

Before either June or Monty could answer, Raven was speaking into the walkie again, this time with fear in her tone. "Oh my God. There's someone in the bushes."

"Shoot," Monty is muttering under his breath. "Go. Keep the moon on your left and find them, I have to figure this out," he says, refusing to let go of the noise they heard.

With no room for argument, June nods, giving Monty a smile before taking off. She keeps the light of the moon on her left shoulder as she dashes through the woods. The tips of branches scrape at her skin, but she brushes them away, refusing to stop until she can hear Raven frantically speaking. "Clarke and Finn, where are they?!"

Pushing past a large bush, June finally arrives at the scene at the same time as Bellamy, and her jaw drops. Myles is sprawled on the grass, blood seeping through his clothes due to the arrows sticking out of his limbs. His round face from being so young, possibly only fifteen, is stained with tears. She gasps, but Myles doesn't notice, answering Raven's question in a strained croak. "Grounders took them."

"Oh my God," June wildly whispered, throwing the strap on her shoulder and crouching on his other side. "Where? Did you see where?" She demands, trying to sound as calm as possible with a hand on his non-injured arm.

Bellamy comes up from behind, warning June. "Hey, take it easy. We have to get him back to camp." June released a shaky breath when she realizes he's right.

"Bell," Octavia interrupts, standing to meet his level. "What about Clarke and Finn?" Bellamy is quiet before shaking his head, defeated, knowing there was no other option.

Pretending she wasn't hurt, Raven announced. "We need to make a stretcher." Her voice is heavy, but she turns, prepared to grab what they'd need to do so.

"Alright," June mumbles, fighting back tears and shoving away her own emotions. "You'll be okay." She lets Myles grip her hand, tightening her squeeze so he feels comforted. Myles is breathing heavily, but he nods, keeping his clutch on June's hand so tight her skin turns pale, but she doesn't complain.

Lifting his walkie, Bellamy speaks into it, instructing Monty. "Monty, we're heading home. You copy?" No response. June turns her head without letting go, listening more closely as he tries again. "Monty, can you hear me?" Still, nothing except the deafening yet familiar static. "Monty!" Bellamy repeats, this time louder. "Monty, where the hell are you?!"

"This isn't right," June declared quietly, her throat suddenly feeling very dry. "He has his walkie, he was alright - " She's stammering, unable to find an explanation as to how Monty could just disappear, except with the one other enemy they had.