❝then this is a complete waste of time. he doesn't know anything.❞

-allison argent, teen wolf

♛

I'M WALKING AS QUICKLY as I can with our small search party, now positioned near the middle after feeling a strong urge not to be last. My heart is beating a little faster now that I know we've made it out of the premises of 'Camp Jaha' and we're completely at the mercy of whatever is waiting for us in the forest.

The open sky is black as ink, the only source of light being the pale glow of a cloud-covered crescent moon and the yellow flickers of the Ark. It's an almost beautiful sight to see it on the Earth even though half of it is destroyed.

"You don't think anyone saw us?" Bellamy asks above a whisper as he stumbles along with Murphy at his side.

"Shh!" Finn shushes him from the front of the group. "Keep it down."

We break into the obscurity of the trees, barely making it more than ten yards in before a blinding flashlight is aimed at our faces. My heart nearly stops at the sight of Miller's dad, who happens to be a guard, staring at us blankly. His dark skin is layered with sweat.

"You're late," Abby says to Finn, making my eyebrows pinch in confusion as I take in her appearance next to Mr. Miller. I glance between Finn and her with squinted eyes.

"Bellamy decided to bring company," Finn replies and jerks his head toward Bellamy, where he's holding Murphy close by the back of his collar. Murphy seems utterly bored while Bellamy is mostly perplexed.

"He's the only person that's been in their camp," Bellamy explains calmly.

Mr. Miller glances at Abby, who gives a tiny nod and holds out a small handgun. Finn steps forward to take it, loading the cartridge with several clicks. Abby pulls another handgun out of the waistband of her jeans.

"Here," Mr. Miller says as he passes us an assault rifle. "Find my son. His name is Nathan Miller."

Bellamy nods somberly and accepts the weapon. The guard hands another rifle to me, and yet another to Sterling. Finn hands Monroe the second handgun.

"Bring them home," Abby instructs firmly with determination set in her eyes. She seems completely confident that we're capable of doing this, which is part of the reason why I'm so glad she has been like a second mother to me all my life. She has no doubt that we can find them.

And neither do I.

Finn glances back at us and starts to move on ahead between Abby and Mr. Miller, the rest following suit. I stop in front of Abby and watch as her eyes search mine.

"I'll find Clarke. I'll bring her home," I tell her honestly, nothing but certainty in my voice. Abby's eyes slightly water as she pats my cheek lovingly.

"Stay safe out there," she advises in a motherly tone. I nod and give her a reassuring smile before starting to jog after the others.

We rarely pause for breaks, only stopping for short periods of time to rest our legs and drink water from the canteen in Finn's backpack. Thanks to Monty teaching me which berries were safe to eat, I'm able to distinguish some of the fruit as non-poisonous so we have at least something to eat. Just thinking about Monty is enough to make my stomach sink.

It's already morning before I know it. We take a longer break to sleep for a few hours, then Finn has us up and walking after a rushed breakfast of water and more berries. I can tell that everyone is wary of the fact that we're following directions from Murphy of all people, especially when he's most likely the least trustworthy person in the camp.

"Hey, look." I reach out and pick a familiar purple flower from its stem, holding it up to Finn. "Look familiar?"

Finn glances at the plant with a clear loom of nostalgia in his eyes. I can practically see his mind traveling back to him tucking the same flower behind Octavia's ear on our way to find Mount Weather. It seems so, so long ago that we made that expedition. The Finn Collins who is looking at the flower in my hand isn't the same one who had picked it off the stem before.

"Anyone up for trying poison sumac?" I question, not waiting for an answer before moving it toward my mouth. Bellamy lunges forward and tries to smack the flower out of my hand, but it doesn't fall due to my firm grip on it.

"Are you crazy?" he asks, eyes slightly widened as if I've lost my mind.

I can't resist the urge to chuckle at him. "They aren't actually poisonous. They're medicinal." I pop a petal into my mouth and chew, discovering that Monty was correct in saying that it just tastes like a flower. A mischievous gleam twinkles in my eye as I give Bellamy a closed-lipped grin. "Calming, actually."

Bellamy sighs and continues walking behind Finn, changing the subject and not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice. "All right, Murphy. Where to now?"

Murphy merely holds up his zip-tie restraints. "What do you say we lose these first, huh?"

"No. Again." This is the same response Bellamy has given him the other seven hundred times he's asked to be released.

"If we get attacked, I have nothing to defend myself with," Murphy points out as he gives Bellamy an incredulous look. We have to pause our walking again and wait for this small argument to pass.

"Oh, wow, I couldn't possibly imagine how you feel right now," I sneer, sarcasm evident in my voice as I roll my eyes and send him a very pointed glare. It turns into a sickly sweet smile as I tug down the sleeves of my jacket to reveal the new bandages on my wrists and hands. "Poor you."

To my astonishment, Finn comes and cuts Murphy's ties loose. He sighs in relief once the zip tie falls to the forest floor. Finn then turns and keeps on walking, leaving a very smug Murphy with free hands. "Thank you."

Bellamy hurries forward to confront Finn about what the hell he just did, while I grab Murphy by his sleeve and drag him along after me. I don't like the smug expression on his face at all.

"Woah, Amazon," he says smoothly, watching with pleasure as my jaw clenches in anger. "You've got quite the grip."

"Shut up before I clock you in your face," I spit harshly and turn my head to give him my iciest glare. "And this time, I won't restrain myself from giving you the punch my fists have been craving to give you."

I roughly release his jacket and watch as he catches up with Bellamy. His question of, "So, can I get a gun now?" makes me see red until Bellamy shoves him forward so hard he almost trips on his own two feet.

As I walk, I realize how strangely comfortable I am with an assault rifle in my arms. The idea of holding such a powerful weapon used to make me squeamish, but being in the face of battle with the Grounders has made me realize that the law down here is kill or be killed, at least for the most part. However, I'm not going to be the first person to shoot at whoever stands in my way. Morality goes against that.

It's only a short while later that a thin structure starts to come into view. The ground starts to slope upward until it ends at a small portion that's higher up than the soil the wooden place is built on.

I almost let out a squeak of surprise when Murphy literally tackles me to the ground, my clean face smacking into the dirt and grass. I faintly hear him instructing everyone else to get down while I struggle beneath the weight of his body.

"Get - off - me!" I exclaim in a hushed tone, but all he does is move the bottom portion of himself and keep his hands pinning my shoulders down. My head pops up to see what's going on.

"Told you I'd find it," Murphy says to Bellamy, who doesn't reply and instead looks through the scope of his rifle to see from a distance.

"I see nothing but Grounders," he reports as he moves the rifle around to see more of the area. Finn takes the rifle from Sterling and looks through the scope himself. "Our people aren't here."

"Wait a minute," Finn says as he squints through the scope. "They've got stuff from our dropship."

I elbow Murphy off of me and lift my own rifle to see what Finn's talking about. Through the magnifying lens, I see several male Grounders with familiar red seatbelts in their hands.

"The place is abandoned, remember?" I remind him. "They probably took some stuff from inside recently, or Raven would have said something."

"Or me," Murphy adds gruffly. "No Grounders showed up while I was there. At least not inside."

"Maybe they know where our friends are," Bellamy surmises after lowering his rifle.

"Yeah, or maybe they killed them already," Murphy deadpans.

Finn's features harden to stone, and he's suddenly shaking with anger. "Son of a bitch."

"What is it?" Bellamy asks.

"The guy with the one eye," Finn replies vaguely, leaving me to have to try and find the person he's referring to. The man is tall, with the sides of his head shaved and long brunet hair in the back. One of his eyes is permanently closed with long, pink scars over the puffy flesh. "Around his neck."

I slowly move the rifle down to look at something hanging on a strap. A familiar leather bracelet with a blue stone, a messily carved 'C' glinting off of it. My blood freezes in my veins and I drop the rifle, my heart constricting in my chest.

"What am I looking at?" Bellamy questions in confusion.

My jaw trembles with shock as I shakily reply, "That's Clarke's bracelet. I made it for her when we were little."

Bellamy shoots me a sympathetic look and places a hand on top of mine. "She wouldn't give that up without a fight."

Finn looks away from the scope with an almost deadly expression on his face. "Neither will we."

"Okay," Bellamy says after looking through his scope one last time. He pats my hand and looks at Finn. "You're with me. You two" - he addresses Sterling and Monroe - "stay here, out of sight. If this thing goes south, take out the other Grounders. But don't shoot the Grounder with the bracelet. Copy?"

"Copy," Finn answers.

"Copy." Monroe looks down at Murphy. "What about him?"

"Yeah, do I get a gun now?" he asks for the hundredth time.

Bellamy nods. "Something like that."

I quickly stand and push my hair off of my shoulder before starting to head off. Bellamy shoves Murphy after me before following behind, Finn catching up as well.

"What's the plan?" I ask behind my shoulder, making sure to stay quiet and low.

Bellamy scoops up two large, perfectly smooth stones and hands them to me. "You're fast and silent on your feet. Go follow that Grounder and tap these rocks lightly together until he gets close enough. Then dive into the bushes. I'll take him out from there."

I nod and run as fast as I can around the way the one-eyed Grounder is heading, the routine of staying silent and quick coming naturally to me once again. I take cover behind the thick trunk of the tree and wait for the others to assume their positions in the plants around me.

Once Finn gives me the signal, I begin tapping the stones together just loud enough to make a sound for the Grounder to hear. It echoes slightly more than I intended, but at least there's no doubting he heard it. I pause for half a second before resuming the tapping, repeating this process until he's just about to find me. Then I launch myself into the bushes and lie completely still as he bends around the tree trunk.

Bellamy rises to his feet once the Grounder is turned around, reaching back and whacking his rifle into his head before he can realize what's happening. The larger man crumples to the ground.

I sigh and sat up, brushing the twigs from my ponytail and grunting as I stand. My aching thighs protest as I do so, but I ignore the sore feeling and get to my feet. Finn yanks the cord off of the Grounder's neck and slips the bracelet around his wrist. I glare at the jewelry possessively. I feel as if I should be the one wearing it since I made it.

"We need to take him somewhere quiet," Bellamy breathes.

Finn looks up at him. "I know just the place."

--

"We're gonna do this again, and this time you're gonna stop screwing with us," Bellamy taunts lowly. He holds up Clarke's bracelet. "Where did you find this?"

The Grounder, bearded face now covered in trickles of blood, replies, "I told you. I found it outside your camp."

His silver teeth glitter in the dim lighting of the bomb shelter. I have no idea how Finn knows about it, but this is where he had led us to in order to perform our interrogation. The place is definitely well-stocked with supplies. I notice a jar of colored pencils on one of the tables and immediately think of Clarke.

"He's lying," Finn spits with his teeth clenched. "She would never take it off voluntarily."

"I know," Bellamy answers calmly, an almost defeated expression on his face. I stand behind the Grounder and against the wall, arms crossed as I watch them.

Finn snatches the bracelet out of Bellamy's hand and bends so close to the Grounder that I think the jewelry will hit him in the face as Finn waves it around with every syllable. "Where is the girl who was wearing this bracelet?"

The sentence ends in a rising shout of frustration that we're getting nowhere. Sterling visibly pales. Along the way of coming here, we had retrieved him and Monroe, and they both appear uneasy.

"I never saw a girl," the Grounder replies, with his one eye looking right into Finn's.

"Another lie," Murphy sighs from his place on the floor. "Maybe you should stop asking him nicely--"

"Shut up, Murphy," Bellamy rebukes sharply before addressing our captive. "Where are our friends? You took them. We know you did. Just tell us where."

Finn pulls his handgun out of the pocket of his jeans. "Murphy's right. We're wasting time." He reels his arm back and slams the handle of the gun into the Grounder's face, knocking his head back. "Answer the question!"

My arms drop to my sides in surprise and I kick my foot off the wall to stop him, but Bellamy already has that covered. He shouts in protest while grabbing Finn's midsection and pulling him away.

"Where's the girl who was wearing this bracelet?" Finn demands in a furious shout, his face turning red while Bellamy continues to make him back off.

"Hey, Finn, stop!" Bellamy chastises at the top of his lungs. His voice has that slight rasp to it as it usually does when he becomes angry. "You don't wanna do this. Trust me. There are some lines you can't uncross."

Finally calmed down, Finn nods and Bellamy releases him. Just when I start to relax, Finn shakes his head and turns to punch the Grounder in the face so quickly that I hardly have time to blink. "Where's Clarke?!" His fist pounds into our captive's face multiple times as he continues to scream, "Where is she?!"

I dart forward and wrap my arms around him, using all of my strength to pull him away before he entirely blows his top off. I hardly move with how strong he is. Bellamy rushes to my aid, and together we pull him away, but he surprises us both by shoving us back and pointing his gun at our heads. "Back off!"

For a second I blink and I'm back in the dropship with Jasper, Murphy pointing the rifle between my eyes and threatening to kill me if I call for help. My entire body tenses while my eyes widen in fear. I stare into the barrel of the gun where the bullet can come out and kill me as soon as the trigger is pulled.

"Put down the gun, Finn," Jasper says, but the voice that comes out of his mouth is Bellamy's and it sounds like he's speaking underwater. I'm confused. Finn? It's Murphy that's trying to kill us.

But then I blink again, once in the shelter with Finn pointing the gun at Bellamy and I. My chest is relieved of some of the built-up pressure, but my heart still races with the fear that he'll actually kill us.

Finn swiftly changes direction and aims at the Grounder's head, the barrel just inches from his temple. "Three seconds. Two! One."

"Okay," the Grounder finally gasps, turning his head away. "I'll tell you. Your friends are east of here. The village where we take our prisoners of war."

A slow breath escapes from my lips when I realize that maybe, just maybe, nobody will have to get shot. My heartbeat starts to return to normal and I continue to try and breathe steadily.

"East where?" Finn demands with his teeth clenched in a growl. "How do we get to them?"

"I can draw you a map," the Grounder offers. "But you should hurry; soon they'll outlive their usefulness."

Finn drops his arm. "Get him something to draw a map."

Monroe approaches with a piece of yellowed paper, dramatically flapping it in his face and setting it in his lap. Sterling hands him a marker.

"And you thought I was the crazy one, huh?" Murphy mutters to Bellamy and I, causing a chill to run down my spine at his words. I pretend to ignore him and move to sit down on the dust-covered couch.

The Grounder only takes a few minutes to draw the map, and soon we all sit around it and try to see if it seems legitimate. Bellamy stands after examining it for a while. "Gather up your gear. We're leaving."

"What about him?" Sterling questions, glancing at the Grounder, who now sports a gag in his mouth.

"For now, we leave him," Bellamy answers. "We'll deal with him when we're done."

"What if he escapes?" Murphy asks. "He knows exactly where we're going."

"We're not killing him," Bellamy bluntly shoots down the implied idea.

Murphy scoffs. "I'm not seeing another option here. If we don't take care of this now, this is gonna blow back on us and you know that."

"He's unarmed, Murphy."

"He's a Grounder." Murphy looks around at the rest of us. "Really? Come on, tell him."

I shake my head. "I don't know."

"You don't know what?" He demands sharply. "He's gonna tell his people everything. We're as good as dead. Our friends, too."

"We're not doing this," Bellamy says. "End of discussion. You want him, you gotta go through me."

"What happened to you, huh?" Murphy taunts lowly, taking a step forward with a sneer. "You're talking like you never killed a Grounder before."

"That was in battle. This would be an execution--"

My heart nearly stops at the sound of a gunshot and I instinctively point my rifle at the source. Through my scope, I see Finn with his gun smoking. He has the bracelet on his wrist again. My widened eyes watch him, alight with fury and disbelief.

"What the hell--" I begin to say, my eyes darting from the gun to the Grounder with a bullet through a bloody hole in his brain. "What the hell?"

The rest of the room is completely silent as we either stare in horror at Finn or the dead Grounder on the floor. Finn's face is completely devoid of any detectable emotion while he lowers his arm. Then, he pushes past me and starts toward the ladder. "Let's get moving."

-------

damn finn back at it again killing random grounders!!!

pls stop thx

okay guys so i really want to make a video edit of bellamy and fallon so someone who watches pll please tell me some clips or episodes that would look good for the 100!!

-kristyn