xvi. chaos before the storm
the calm

FOR THE NEXT two days, Sawyer and the rest of those infected by the hemorrhagic fever recovered to their full health. At least, the ones who were still alive. Fifteen people died from the Grounders' virus, meaning the hundred they landed on Earth with dwindled close to eighty. They were dying faster than any of them could imagine.

     Sawyer stood on a hill several yards beyond the camp's walls. She scanned the forest, hoping that she did not find any sign of Grounders. Since Raven's bomb blew up the bridge, they failed to make another appearance. Not that she complained. If they never showed up again, she would gladly welcome the peace. Although, she did not think that would ever happen.

     In preparation for the worst, they stuck to a strict guard schedule. Those trained to operate the few guns they had were positioned around the wall, ready to fire at anything that moved.

     Clarke stepped across the hill to where Sawyer remained. "I don't think there's anything to see," she voiced, stopping at her side.

     "I know," Sawyer replied, glancing toward the blonde. "Doesn't hurt to look."

     Bellamy chose that moment to climb the hill where the two girls stood. "Anything?" he questioned as he crested the mound of dirt.

     "It's been two days," Clarke began. "Maybe the bomb at the bridge scared them off for good."

     Bellamy quirked a brow. "You believe that?"

     Sawyer scoffed, shoving her hands deeper into her jacket pockets. "No, definitely not."

     Despite the fact that the Grounders failed to attack, she knew that they would not let them continue their lives in peace. They wanted them dead, and they would not stop until they strung up their corpses as a warning to others who crossed them.

     "Sawyer's right. They're coming," Clarke stated.

     The three of them turned and started back for camp.

     "Jasper thinks he can cook up some more gunpowder if he gets some sulfur, and Raven says she can turn that into landmines," Bellamy told them, grabbing hold of a tree as he almost ran straight into it. "So, be careful where you step."

     Sawyer snorted and removed her hands from her pockets to let them swing next to her hips. "Says the man who almost ran into a tree," she quipped.

     Bellamy sent her a blank, but amused, stare. "Funny."

     Sawyer flashed him a grin, raising a hand to flip her ponytail in a dramatic fashion. "Aren't I?"

     Bellamy shook his head and returned to the previous topic. "What I really need is a thousand more of her tin-can bombs. I can roll into their village and blow those Grounders to hell." Sawyer and Clarke shot him a narrowed look. He shrugged. "That's what they want to do to us."

     "Yes, but as I've said before, we're not like them," Sawyer stressed, coming a halt right outside the closest gate. She spotted a few of their people poised near the top of the wall, rifles held tightly in their hands.

     "Can't believe we survived a hundred years just so we could slaughter each other," Clarke said from beside the Wesley girl. "There has to be another way."

     Sawyer could not help but agree. Everything the human race did to survive a literal nuclear war and solitary in space put them right back where they started – fighting each other for no reason other than bruised egos.

     A beat of silence passed between them, before Bellamy asked, "any word from the Ark?"

     Sawyer sighed. "Not since Unity Day."

     Not without lack of trying. For the last four days, Raven and Monty tried to contact the Ark. Every time, they received no answer. Only static.

     Sawyer did not want to voice her thoughts, but she began to believe the Ark reached the point of no return. That despite the couple of months they were supposed to have left of life-support, they had run out of air and everyone aboard the space station was dead.

     "Finally ran out of air."

     Sawyer pressed her lips together. Bellamy did not seem to have a problem voicing his.

     "Maybe my mom was lucky, being on the Exodus ship," Clarke said after a moment. "At least it was quick." She then released a long breath. "No one is coming down to save us."

     Sawyer's stomach dropped at the statement, but she did not object against it. Clarke was right. If the Ark did run out of air, they were completely and truly on their own.

     _______

     Soon after the unsettling revelation that the Ark might have met its ends, Sawyer, Clarke, and Bellamy returned to camp and separated to fulfill their daily tasks. For Sawyer, that meant making sure they had enough supplies to maintain their survival. After the storm that almost destroyed their entire camp, she, Clarke, and Bellamy decided that their nonperishable foods and other delicate items needed to be placed inside the second level of the dropship. It freed up tent space for the delinquents and kept everything dry and safe from bugs, dirt, and rain.

     Sawyer scanned the multiple plastic containers stacked around the room. A lot of them were stuffed with wild onions and gathered nuts. Their only food, aside from the meat stored inside the smokehouse. With the Grounder threat imminent, it prevented them from leaving camp to hunt or scavenge, so she needed to make sure nothing happened to their supply.

     Sawyer stepped over to one of the containers and popped the lid. She peered inside to where dozens of green steams laid on top of one another. They appeared the same as they did when they were packaged. She set the lid back into place and moved to the next one, repeating the task until all off the containers were checked.

     When footsteps were heard on the ladder, Sawyer shifted her stare to see Harper McIntyre climb through the open hatch. It had been a long time since she spoke with the blonde haired girl. Since the hundred delinquents landed on Earth, the two of them drifted apart and focused on other things. Sawyer had to lead an entire camp, while Harper became what Bellamy called a "gunner" and integrated into the guard rotation.

     Harper's gaze fell on the Wesley girl as she stepped off the ladder. "Oh, hey, Sawyer," she voiced with a small smile.

     Sawyer took in the sight of the girl. Harper wore a black strip of fabric around her forehead, which hung down the side of her head next to a thick, dirty blonde braid. "Hey," she replied, gesturing to the level around them. "Need something?"

     Harper pointed to where the rest of their guns were kept, along with the rest of their ammunition, which was not a lot. Not after Raven's bomb. "Raven wants the rest of the bullets. Says she's got an idea to make more."

     Sawyer nodded. "Okay. Go for it."

     Harper gave her a tight grin and moved to grab the ammunition.

     Sawyer would have stayed to talk with the girl for a little while, catch up on their lives on the ground, but her duties as a leader did not stop at supplies inventory. She started for the ladder and then stopped as she grabbed one of the rungs. Guilt began to pool in her stomach. Once she saw Harper, she began to realize how much she neglected her friends. The ones who had been with her since the Ark.

     Sawyer blew out a long breath and turned to where Harper stood, shoving multiple rifle clips into the pockets of her jacket. "I'm sorry," she called, capturing the blonde girl's attention.

     Harper paused in her actions and looked in her direction. "What?"

     Sawyer sighed. "I'm sorry. You know, for being a horrible friend."

     Harper's brows furrowed. "What're you talking about?"

     Sawyer stepped toward her and continued, "when has the last time we've even talked? Not related to the camp, or Grounders, or guns." Harper did not answer. "Exactly," she pointed to herself, "horrible friend."

     Harper released a light laugh, which brought a frown to Sawyer's lips. "Horrible friend? Sawyer, you're the leader. You're in charge of this entire camp. You're one of the only reason we're still alive. I don't expect you to hang out all the time."

     Sawyer's eyes narrowed. "You don't?"

     Harper shook her head. "No. You have more important things to worry about. I can live without having meaningless talks about boys, or girls. I promise."

     Sawyer did not know what to say. She should have expected the McIntyre girl's reaction. Harper had never been one to form a grudge, or even hold a mean bone in her body. But Earth, Earth changed people she thought she knew inside and out. Like Murphy and Miller.

     In spite of that, it was good to see that the hostile planet did not change Harper. At least, not yet.

     Before Sawyer could reply, a series of shouts filtered up the dropship. Her brows creased as she looked to Harper. The blonde's stare narrowed, also hearing the yells. Sawyer spun on her heel and rushed down the ladder. Harper right behind her. As soon as her feet hit the lowest level, she ran through the parachute covered hatch and out into camp. Her attention turned to where dozens of delinquents were gathered around the smokehouse, watching as flames consumed it and everything inside.

     Sawyer shoved her way through the growing crowd to where Bellamy crouched next to Octavia, who knelt on the ground as she seemed to expel smoke from her lungs. Behind them, Murphy climbed to his feet and whirled on another boy named Del.

     "This is all your fault!" Murphy snapped as she stormed toward him. "We told you it was too much wood." He grabbed the front of Del's jacket and raised his fist to send toward his jaw.

     Del stumbled back from the hit, trying to shove the boy off him. "Get the hell away from me."

     Sawyer went to stop them. "John! John, stop!" she called out to him, but Murphy ignored her demand.

     Bellamy beat her to the boys, grabbing ahold of Murphy to shove him back from Del. "Hey! Hey! Hey, stop!" he exclaimed and looked between them. "Save it for the Grounders."

     Sawyer dropped next to Octavia as the girl continued to cough. "Are you okay?"

     Octavia nodded, before her attention fell on the smokehouse engulfed in flames. "Sawyer, now what the hell are we gonna do?" she questioned and pointed at the ruined structure. "That was all the food."

     Sawyer followed her gaze to the smokehouse, now nothing but a pile of wood and meat set ablaze. They were so screwed.

     _______

     "Any idea what happened?" Clarke asked as she came to examine the damage the fire inflicted.

     To their luck, or dread, the flames only took the smokehouse. The entire building was reduced to clumps of ashes, charred wood that failed to burn, and scorched bones from the meat inside. Nothing survived.

     Bellamy crouched, trying to sift through the destruction for anything unscathed. "Murphy says that Del kept feeding the fire, mostly because Octavia told him it was a bad idea."

     Sawyer scoffed with her arms cross over her chest. "Kid's getting demoted to latrine duty."

     "And we believe Murphy?" Clarke questioned, looking between her co-leaders.

     "I do," Bellamy stated, after a moment.

     Against her better judgement, Sawyer did believe Murphy. After she, Clarke, and Bellamy decided to let him stay in camp, Murphy stayed to himself and somehow kept himself out of trouble. Much to her surprise.

     When Clarke's attention fell on her, Sawyer shrugged. "I don't think he'd lie about something like that, especially knowing that we could kick him out for it."

     Clarke nodded and then asked, "how many nonperishables are left in the dropship?"

     "Enough for a week or two," Sawyer told her.

     Clarke looked to where Bellamy still crouched near the smoldering rubble. "What's left here?"

     Bellamy shook his head. "Nothing. It all burned."

     "Then we have to hunt." Sawyer and Bellamy turned to Clarke when her statement registered. She simply dismissed their shock and continued, "anyone we can spare goes out."

     Bellamy stood from the ground and questioned, "with the whole Grounder army out there?"

     Sawyer nodded, glancing between her fellow leaders, before she set her sole stare on the Griffin girl. "I'm with Bellamy, on this one. They could be waiting to pick us off. It's too risky."

     Clarke sighed and faced her. "Look. We can't defend ourselves if we're starving. The nonperishables will keep us alive, but they won't satisfy us. If we're gonna have a chance of fighting the Grounders, we need to hunt."

     Sawyer did not want to agree with Clarke, but she knew that the girl was right. If they wanted a fair chance against the Grounders, they needed to be at their best. That meant they needed meat. She pressed her lips together for a beat, before she let out a long breath. "Fine." She looked from Clarke to Bellamy. "Hunting, it is."

     _______

     With a plan of action in mind, Sawyer, Clarke, and Bellamy rounded up the entire camp and told them to prepare for the upcoming hunt. Those who were not on their guard shift, or Raven or Monty, were sent out into the surrounding forest. They were armed with makeshift weapons, like axes and spears, for the actual hunt and guns to protect themselves from Grounders. All of them were required to return by nightfall.

     Sawyer set out with her own group, two girls she knew on the Ark, Kali and Casey. None of them were great at hunting, so Sawyer made the decision to head toward the closest river. The one where they collected all their water. They managed to catch half a dozen fish and made it back to camp without incident.

     By the time sunset came and went, those who left to hunt returned with enough game to keep everyone fed for the next week. Not a great haul, but it was the best they could unless they wanted to risk any encounters with Grounders.

     Sawyer stood at the edge of camp, watching the delinquents skin and gut the various animals killed out in the forest. The setup did not seem entirely sanitary, especially when many of them pulled intestines out with the bare hands, but she hoped that when they were cooked the fire would burn off all the germs. She scanned the various tables covered in blood and entrails until her attention fell on someone she tried to avoid since they showed back up in her life.

     Aside from the small conversation they had when the smokehouse went up in flames, Sawyer failed to say more than a few words to Murphy. His blatant dismissal of her orders, the way he smacked her across the head with a rock, and how he hunted down a thirteen year old girl still weighed heavy on her mind. Every time she thought about it, her anger resurfaced.

     While they often bickered and fought back on the Ark, they never blew up on each other like they did on Earth. Not to the point of actual violence. Sawyer wondered what went wrong between them. Why did a simple landing on a radiation soaked planet put them at odds?

     Sawyer froze when their eyes locked across the camp. Murphy paused, halfway through ripping a mass of guts from one of the fish she and her group caught. They stared at one another for a long moment, before she turned on her heel and moved away from the center of camp. She did not have a specific destination in mind, but she needed to be somewhere else. Maybe talk to Clarke about what to do after their recent hunting supply ran out.

     And now that she thought about it, Sawyer failed to see Clarke anywhere since the rest of the hunting parties reentered camp. Which was odd. She always saw Clarke, even in a brief passing.

     Sawyer weaved through the maze of tents, searching for the Griffin girl, until someone emerged from one and almost ran smack into her. She came to a quick stop, almost stumbling over her feet when she noticed who's tent she stood next to and who exited in a rush.

     Raven halted in front of the Wesley girl. Her hair loose around her shoulders in dark waves, while she held a bundle of clothes in her arms. "Uh, hey, Sawyer."

     Sawyer pressed her lips together and nodded. "Raven." It did not take a genius to figure out what the girl just did.

     A short length of silence passed, before Raven shoved her red jacket between her knees and slipped her thinner jacket over her arms. "I'm not gonna explain myself to..."

     "No, no," Sawyer cut her off as she shook her head. "You don't have to explain yourself. You're an adult. You can do whatever you want." Especially if Finn is going to keep hanging around Clarke, but she did not voice that part aloud.

     Raven repeated her actions with the red jacket and then began to gather her hair up to secure it behind her head in her familiar ponytail. "I just – I'm gonna go finish those radios," she said and stepped around her, striding off through camp.

     Sawyer blinked after the Reyes girl, before she set her sights on the closest tent. She moved forward and shoved the flap aside without a warning to its occupant. She did not bat an eye at the shirtless man inside and exclaimed, "what the hell, Blake?"

     Bellamy sighed, unfurrowing the shirt in his hands to pull over his head. "What now?"

     Sawyer scoffed. "Uh, you having sex with Raven. That's what."

     Bellamy rolled his eyes and grabbed his discarded jacket from a nearby table. "I can have sex with whoever I want, you know?"

     "That's not the point," Sawyer retorted as her stare narrowed. "Can't you ever just have a conversation with someone. Raven's upset over Finn. She probably just needed to talk, not smash her genitals against yours."

     Bellamy's eyes widened, scrunching his face in disgust. "Okay, don't ever say that again. And Raven can make her own decisions."

     "Still not the point," Sawyer released a long breath and ran a hand down her face. "You know what it doesn't matter. I'm looking for Clarke. Have you seen her?"

     Bellamy's brows furrowed at her question. "No. Not since everyone left to hunt. She left with Finn and Myles. Ask one of them."

     Sawyer paused. Of course that was why Raven went to Bellamy for sex. Finn left with Clarke. Again. But, did she know about the other boy? And if Clarke did leave with Finn and Myles, where were they? She had not seen Finn, either.

     "Okay, now we have a problem," Sawyer stated. "Because I also haven't seen Finn or Myles."

     That captured Bellamy's attention.

     _______

     Sawyer gripped the rifle in her hands as she trekked through the forest outside the camp walls. After her revelation that Clarke, Finn, and Myles never returned, she and a small group set out to find them. She, Bellamy, and Monty broke off to widen the search radius, while Octavia and Raven went in another direction.

     "I thought you guys said you were heading west," Monty's voice crackled through the handheld radio Bellamy held. Radios Raven just made from spare parts a few hours earlier. "Where are you?"

     Sawyer did not realize that the Green boy was gone until that moment. She glanced around them, confirming that he was nowhere in sight. She sighed and reached out to grasp the radio, yanking Bellamy's arm toward her as she pressed the talk button. "Monty, you were supposed to stay with us."

     Bellamy huffed and snatched his arm back, after he gave the Wesley girl a sharp look. "Just keep the moon to your left, and you'll find us."

     Sawyer rolled her eyes. "Those directions are terrible."

     Bellamy looked to her and asked, "can you do better? We're in a forest. Everything looks the same."

     Sawyer pressed her lips together and did not answer. She would not say that he was right. It would add too much to his already massive ego.

     "Is anyone else hearing this signal?" Monty called through the radio.

     Sawyer's brows furrowed. What signal?

     "Just keep your eyes open," Raven's voice joined the conversation.

     "I think it's the same thing we heard in the Black Box."

     The Exodus ship's Black Box. Sawyer knew that Monty found the hunk of electronics at the ship's crash site, using all his free time to figure out why it crashed. She did not know he found something in it.

     Bellamy raised the radio to his lips and exclaimed, "damn it, Monty. Pay attention. Do you see anything? Report."

     The radio remained quiet for a couple seconds, before a stretch of static erupted in the speaker. Neither Sawyer or Bellamy got the chance to comment on it as Raven replied in a whisper.

     "There's someone in the bushes."

     Sawyer's heart almost stopped at her words. She looked toward Bellamy. Their eyes meeting, both sets equally wide. They lifted their rifles and headed in Octavia and Raven's direction. Sawyer hoped over hollowed logs and jagged rocks as she rushed toward the girls. When the two of them came into view in the dark, she lowered her weapon and went to the side.

     Octavia and Raven were crouched next to a cluster of vegetation, having spread it apart to find Myles on the other side. The boy laid on the ground with two arrows stuck out of his body. One in his chest, the other in his leg.

     "Myles, what happened? Where are they? Clarke and Finn, where are they?" Raven shot off, scanning the immediate area for any sign of the missing delinquents.

     Myles coughed, struggling to catch his breath. "Grounders – took them."

     "Take it easy," Bellamy told the boy and then looked to the three girls. "We have to get him back to camp."

     Octavia turned to her brother with creased brows. "Bell, what about Clarke and Finn?" Bellamy did not reply, prompting her to shift her gaze to the other leader. "Sawyer?"

     Sawyer wanted to stay and continue searching for Clarke and Finn, but it was already night, they had a severely injured boy to think about, and the impending Grounder threat. She met the Blake girl's gaze and sighed. "We can't stay out here any longer. We'll come back out tomorrow."

     Raven stood to her feet, turning away from the rest of them.

     Bellamy did the same and stared after the mechanic. "Raven, I'm sorry."

     Raven met his stare for a moment, before she said, "we need to make a stretcher."

     Sawyer watched the Reyes girl walk off to begin work on a makeshift stretcher to carry Myles back to camp. She set her attention on Bellamy. "Tell Monty we're going back."

     Bellamy nodded and raised the radio. "Monty, we're heading home. You copy?" Silence answered. He tried, again. "Monty, can you hear me?"

     Sawyer's worry began to grow exponentially as Monty failed to reply.

     "Monty?" Bellamy continued to try and contact the Green boy. "Monty, where the hell are you? Report."

     But Monty never reported back.

<January 17, 2020>

Okay, so I was going to do something else for this chapter, but I wanted Sawyer to restore her old friendship with Harper and strengthen her new one with Bellamy.

Also, I kind of like how Sawyer basically calls Bellamy a whore. They're my new favorite brotp.

Don't forget to vote and comment.

-Jordan

P.S. Unedited chapter.