XX

[PREVIOUSLY: Octavia relies on pure instinct as she breaks Aidan out of prison. Then she and her friends make a daring escape from the camp, using their skills to break through the barbed wire walls].

"Hey, Princess, wake up. It's time to go."

Slowly, my eyelids flittered open and a stifled yawn pushed its way through my lips. "Hmmm?" I hummed, my tone groggy with sleepiness.

"Sorry to wake you but we have to leave. We don't want the guards from the Ark catching up to us."

Blinking, I gazed straight up into the concerned face of Finn. His brown, shoulder-length hair swept across his cheeks and forehead; his large, calloused palms were balanced precariously on his knees; his deep, doe-like eyes were bright with emotions.

For a moment, I just laid there and stared up at him. A pang of pain twisted my heart, remembering the days when I called Finn my own. But then the faces of Raven and Aidan flashed through my mind and I hastily shook myself from my stupor.

Pushing myself up into a sitting position, I stretched and looked around. The five of us were nestled cosily in a grassy alcove tucked under a large over-cleft of rocks. The remains of a small campfire was scattered amongst the ground and a pile of packs had been stuffed into one corner. Lazing around nearby, finishing the last of their breakfast bars, was Raven, Bryce and Aidan.

"Hi, sleeping beauty," Bryce sent me a playful grin.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Wakey wakey, sunshine!" Raven beamed. "I would've woken you myself but Finn insisted he do it."

I forced up a short laugh in response as my eyes bounced over to Aidan. His features were tight and sharp, his muscles taunt and rigid, his eyes dark and angry.

What was up with him?

"Morning, Aidan," I murmured as I dragged myself over to him.

He cast me a quick glance before looking over my shoulder at Finn. "Hi," he returned, his voice noticeably strained.

With a confused frown adorning my forehead, I beckoned to the bars next to Raven. "Oi. Gimme one of those."

"A please would be nice," Raven scoffed as she tossed me one.

"Thanks," I smiled sweetly at her as I ripped open the packaging on the outside of the bar and dug in. "So, what's the plan?" I asked through a mouth full of food.

Finn raised his eyebrows as he exchanged a look with Raven. "Well, according to our calculations, we should arrive at Polis in a few days. We'll have to take the back route to avoid grounder scouts but we were thinking of donning a disguise once we get closer to the capitol. That way we won't be recognised."

"Where are we gonna get a disguise?" I questioned incredulously. "Raid a village and take all their clothes?"

"We haven't thought that far ahead yet," Raven shot me a knowing look. "Don't worry. We'll figure something out."

"You better," Aidan snapped, irritated. "Otherwise you will all be killed for sure. I still can't believe you guys are doing this. Do you know how dangerous this is? There's bounty hunters in every nook and cranny of this forest."

"Tell that to Octavia," Raven guffawed as she wiped some crumbs off her shirt.

A deep flush stained my cheeks as I fumbled for words. "N-no. I - I don't mean to ..."

"Forget it," Aidan cut in abruptly. "But if you guys are gonna do this, you have to do it right, otherwise we all die. No pressure."

I sent him an annoyed look, trying to tell him to shut the hell up when suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. I paused. Someone was watching me and they were very, very close ... I could feel it.

Whirling around, I scanned the bushes behind me as I instinctively scooted closer to Aidan.

"What's wrong?" Bryce inquired innocently.

"Someone's here," I whispered.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Aidan's hand snaking its way down to the knife in his belt. Slowly, I leaned forward, grabbing at the hilt of my sword that had been lying on the ground next to me. Just as I started to pull it towards myself, a rough, ragged voice broke through the tense silence, "Please do us all a favour and put that sword away, Octavia. I don't want you to kill yourself with it."

I froze, anger welling up within me. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Murphy!" Finn groaned.

"Yep. In the flesh," the snarky youth sneered as he broke his way through a series of bushes towards us.

"Why are you here? Aren't you dying or something?" Raven retorted, eying him up and down suspiciously.

Murphy straightened up and brushed himself off as he smirked at us. "Nah. Abby fixed me up. I'm all good now. But seriously? You thought you could run off and have all the fun without me?"

"I'd hardly call this fun," Aidan grumbled.

"Huh. Cheery as always I see," Murphy pursed his lips as he scrutinised the brawny frame next to me.

I glared over at our unwelcome visitor. "How did you know we were leaving?"

"Oh please, like anyone else would've broken out of the camp," Murphy chuckled sardonically as he made his point. "It wasn't very hard to slip away in all the confusion that followed your disappearance. You know what? I'll give you this, Octavia, you sure know how to make a darn good exit."

I ground my teeth together. "Stop. Just stop."

Murphy raised his eyebrows tauntingly as he stared down at me. "Oh really? You think this is surprising, huh? Just you wait til you meet the others."

"Others? What others..." my voice trailed off as my gaze diverted to the scrub behind Murphy. "Oh my god."

Three people, their clothing tattered and worn and their faces grimy and streaked with dried blood, scrambled out from their hiding spot to join Murphy.

"Zoe Monroe?" I gasped. "Oh my god! It is you!" Leaping to my feet, I hurried forward and wrapped my arms around the shorter girl. Before the grounders attacked the drop-ship, I had shared a tent with both her and Charlotte. Charlotte had been the second delinquent to die and Zoe, who had been a guard under Bellamy, was there to give me some comfort in my darkest moments.

As I pulled away from her, I glanced over at the other two. "Who are you?"

A boy with ginger hair and a splattering of freckles across his nose nodded at me as he returned, "Tim Bartlett." Nudging the dark-haired boy next to him, he smiled apologetically as he spoke again, "This is our friend, Peter Colton. Sorry about him, he's still suffering from trauma."

I nodded understandingly. "Sure, it's fine, I get it. Jeepers. How did you all escape the grounders?"

"We were all on the front line with you and Bellamy but, unlike the others, we didn't have enough time to get back to the drop-ship," Zoe explained with a shrug. "I caught up with these two and we all hid until the battle was over. But when the explosion went off, we were way too close to it for comfort and had to move out of the way of the smoke. We ended up getting lost and have been scrounging around in these woods ever since, hoping to run into some survivors. We bumped into Murphy here last night."

"It's a miracle you're still alive," Raven shook her head in disbelief. "Apparently there's bounty hunters out there, looking for us."

Zoe shuddered. "Creeps. I don't even want to think about it."

"I've already filled them in with what's happened since," Murphy offered dryly. "I suppose they can tag along?"

"He can't," Finn pointed at a trembling Peter. "Look at him. He's not fit for travel. You have to take him back to the Ark, Murphy."

"Hell no, I'm not going back there!" Murphy protested. "I left because I didn't want Kane to get on my case. If I return, he's just gonna lock me up or worse."

"It's the least of what you deserve, you bastard," I scoffed as I backed away from everyone. Just listening to Murphy's whiney voice was enough to put me on edge.

Clenching and unclenching my hands, I bit down hard on my lower lip, hoping to stop myself from completely losing the plot. Flinging my hands up into the air, I exclaimed, "I've had enough of this crap. Just have it all sorted out by the time I get back, okay?"

As I turned to leave, Murphy called after me, "And who exactly made you the boss?"

A low growl rose up in my throat as I threw all caution to the wind. Spinning around, I started after him, intent on cutting his tongue out. Suddenly, Aidan sprang up and stood in front of me, placing a restraining hand against my shoulder. "Octavia, don't," he whispered. "He's not worth it."

I pushed against his hand as I glanced over at Murphy's smug face. "Let me go!" I hissed.

"No, I won't!" Aidan shook his head at me. Seizing both of my arms, he spoke authoritatively, "Octavia, look at me."

Clenching my jaw and balling up my fists, I forced myself to look into his deep, hazel eyes. "What?"

"Just breathe," he said softly. "Just breathe."

Gulping down a couple of deep breaths, I jerked myself away from Aidan and shook my head. "I - I have to go."

Hiding my face so he wouldn't see the tears gathering in my eyes, I strapped my sword securely around my waist and took off, plunging deep into the dark shadows of the ebony forest.

I knew it wasn't safe to be out there alone. I knew I had a bounty on my head. I knew that I was on Trikru's most-wanted list. I knew that I was the enemy, the intruder, the one with the sword.

But, in that moment, none of that mattered because it was just me ... alone, in the woods, with my thoughts and my demons.

When I was out of sight of the others, I slowed down, allowing myself to regain my breath. Stumbling up against a nearby tree, I leaned my forehead against the rough bark and closed my eyes, fighting the cries that were trying to escape from my lips.

Suddenly, the noise of a twig snapping jerked me from my reverie. I lifted my head and gazed around; my heart starting to pound as adrenaline seeped through my veins.

CCRRAACCKK.

What on earth was ...

I froze stock-still as I realised: I wasn't alone.

I saw a flash of movement occur from behind me but before I could contemplate any further, something wet and rough clapped down on my mouth.

I was so shocked I sucked in a sharp breath and then perceived my mistake. Someone was holding a rag, soaked in water and scented with some sort of drug, right over my face!

Oh crap.

My senses began to weaken, my sight began to dim, my muscles began to turn to jelly. The darkness began to overwhelm me and I was absolutely helpless to fight against it.

The last thing I thought of was Aidan and his soothing, hazel eyes.

Then everything went black.

Gif: Octavia as she leaves her friends.

XX