XX

[PREVIOUSLY: The men from Mount Weather have captured their friends in the aftermath of the Battle of the Forest. Now Finn, Raven, Bryce and an injured Octavia must use their wits to conceive a plan and get their people back].

I hated this. I hated everything about this.

I hated looking upon the crisp autumn scenery. I hated the drop-ship and the memories it brought with it, the dirt beneath my feet, and the piles of wreckage that surrounded me. I hated earth, the place that once promised us such peace and prosperity. I hated knowing that Bellamy and the rest of my people were gone. But most of all? I hated myself. I hated being so weak and gutless. I hated feeling so alone and helpless. I hated the fact that I could never get close to anyone ... without them being hurt.

Aidan. Jasper. Dustin. Charlotte.

These were just a few of the many people who had suffered because of me ... It wasn't fair to them.

I remembered the days of breeze and ease when we laughed and played, drank and ate, talked and cheered. I remembered the times when I was simply known as the girl under the floor, the girl who first stepped out onto the new planet, the girl who was cheery, smiley and flirty.

That girl was gone now. All that remained was the half-broken shell of a person who had seen more suffering and death in the last few weeks than she had ever seen in the short sixteen years of her pathetic life as a stowaway on the Ark.

I let out a long, pent-up breath and buried my grimy face in my hands. I had to make this right. I had to keep my promise to my brother. I had to free our people.

"Yo, Octavia! We've finished your stretcher!" the high-pitched squeal that was Bryce's voice sounded through the icy afternoon air.

With a muffled moan, I straightened myself up to my full height. I clamped a hand down onto my injured side and gritted my teeth, trying to stop any further noises from escaping. My head started throbbing, my vision began to blur, my feet staggered over each other and my body careened forward.

Suddenly, bile rose up in the back of my throat. Dropping to my hands and knees, my stomach made a series of retching noises. Unable to stop myself, I spewed a flood of thick liquid onto the ground, hiccuping and gasping at the same time.

"Octavia! Oh my god, are you okay?"

A pair of worn boots stopped right in front of me.

"F-Finn," I gulped as I glanced up at him. "Y-yeah. I - I'm good. I - I needed to do that."

He looked down at me, an expression of concern and worry etched onto his face. Shaking his head, he extended a hand down towards me. "Here, Princess, let me help you."

I rolled my eyes but took his hand anyway. As he pulled me up, I swayed unsteadily on my feet, on the verge of losing my balance again.

Finn wrapped one muscular arm around my waist and latched onto my wrist with the other. "C'mon. Let's get you to the stretcher."

When the two of us rounded the corner of the drop-ship where Raven and Bryce were waiting with the ready-made stretcher, I could see the looks of disbelief and worry on their faces, even amidst the groggy haze settling over my mind.

"Cripes, you look awful, samurai," Raven stated bluntly as she planted her hands on her hips. "You sure you wanna go through with this?"

"Are you joking?" I spluttered as I glared at her. "I was born ready."

"Yep, I can see that," Raven raised her eyebrows as she looked me up and down.

"Phew! What is that smell?" Bryce crinkled up his nose and waved his hand in front of his face.

"Ahh ..." Finn hesitated as he chanced a quick side glance at me. "She had an accident."

Raven pressed her lips into a long, firm line. "Okie-dokie. Bryce go get the last of the packs from the drop-ship and make sure our water bottles are topped, alright? I'll help you get Octavia onto the stretcher, Finn, and then grab the last of our supplies. We have a long journey ahead of us."

With Raven and Finn balancing the stretcher between them and Bryce walking alongside me, holding a sharpened stick over his shoulder, we set off deep into the forest.

For the next few hours, I dozed off and on, unable to focus my mind on anything. A whirlwind of random thoughts was continually buzzing through my brain and my eyelids were drooping lower and lower.

It was nearing dusk when Finn called out, "Let's look for a good place to settle down for the night."

"Oi!" I yelped as I swatted out at him. "Not so loud. I have a headache."

"Are you sure the antidote Lincoln gave her actually worked?" Raven questioned, a hint of worry lacing her tone. "She seems to be very - er - off in the clouds."

"I heard that!" I shouted. "I'm good, okay, I'm good."

Finn bit his lip as he gazed down at me. "Yeah I'm pretty sure she's just exhausted, Ra-Ra. A long night's rest is going to do us all a favour."

"Wait ... do you even know where we're going?" I blurted as I felt the stretcher being lowered down to the ground.

"I have a rough idea," Finn affirmed as he glanced over towards the horizon. "Don't worry though, I'm mapping the entire area just in case we get lost."

"Oh. How comforting," I snorted as I rolled over onto my side and plonked my hand down onto the grass by my side. "Mmm. So soft."

At this, Bryce started laughing.

"Wait! Hold up! What was that?" Raven interrupted, looking this way and that.

"What was what?" I grumbled sleepily.

"No, wait, I heard it too!" Finn hissed in a low tone. "A rustling noise ... It's coming from behind those bushes over there."

"Crap!" Raven swore under her breath. "Y-you don't think the grounders ..."

"How could they have known we were still at the drop-ship?" Finn frowned at her. "They think we were all taken by Mount Weather."

Raven's hand slipped to the pistol tucked in her belt. Whipping out the weapon, she held it in front of her as she slowly approached a series of bushes lining the dirt track nearby.

"Okay, come out with your hands in the air, whoever you are!" she yelled. "I'm only asking once."

"Wait, Raven, don't shoot, please!" a pitiful voice pleaded from amongst the thick greenery.

"What the...?" Raven lowered her gun and her eyes widened in surprise. "Murphy?"

Gif: Octavia. My queen.

XX