XX

[PREVIOUSLY: Finn and Octavia set out after the crashed drop-ship, determined to seek help for the others on the ground via communication to the Ark. The pair split up, but when Finn uncovers the missile, Octavia stumbles upon him and another girl kissing].

"F-Finn?" I stuttered. "W-what are you doing ...?"

Finn, upon hearing my voice, immediately broke away from the girl and stared at me in shock. "O-Octavia! I - I didn't realise you - uh - well, I didn't think you'd find us so quickly, uh ..." he reached up and scratched the back of his head.

It was as if a cold hand with icy fingers had gripped my heart. I was frozen in place, utterly unable to move a limb. My eyes and mouth were wide with shock and my head was pounding with dozens of unanswered questions.

"Who is she?" the girl suddenly spoke up, eyeing me curiously.

"Oh, uh, t-that's Octavia," Finn motioned to me.

"Wait, as in Octavia Blake?" the girl held up a hand and stepped forward. "You're the girl they found under the floor, right?"

"Um, Raven, she - she's a bit sensitive about that," Finn nudged her gently in the side.

"Oh, sorry," the girl grinned. "I didn't mean to pry. The name's Raven, by the way, Raven Reyes."

I glanced from her to the drop-ship nearby. "H-how did you get here?" I stammered.

Raven smirked as she looked lovingly up into Finn's eyes. She wrapped both her arms around his waist as she answered me, "There's a scrap-hold in the Ark."

"Wait. You built that from scrap?" Finn gaped at her.

"I kinda rebuilt it," Raven shrugged carelessly. "Please, like that's hard. It just needed a couple parts and some love."

"You're insane," Finn shook his head, clearly impressed.

"I'd do more for you and worse," Raven whispered as she trailed a hand down his chest. "Just like you would for me."

A lump rose up in my throat as I watched them. It was obvious that they had known each other before now. It was also possible that they were dating before Finn was sent to the ground. Neither of those theories were too far-fetched.

I bit my lip and looked away from them as I slowly lifted myself to my feet.

The fact that Finn and I were just meant to be; it was just a dream that I'd entertained in my heart. Now it was gone.

"Oh."

At the sound of Raven's muffled moan, I snapped my head back up.

She staggered forwards against Finn and it was then that I noticed a trickle of blood dripping down from her forehead.

"Hey, are you okay? Sit down here," Finn offered as he led her over to a fallen log nearby. He shrugged off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders.

Raven murmured something incoherently in response as Finn helped to lower her onto the rounded chunk of wood. As he pulled away, she smiled appreciatively up at him. I realised how pretty she was, even though she was covered in blood. She had a perfect, white-toothed smile, beautiful olive skin, long slender legs, and thick dark hair that was done up into tiny plaits.

My heart fell again. No wonder Finn had chosen her over me.

I dropped my pack to the ground and began fumbling around in it. "Here, take this," I chucked a wad of bandages at Finn. "Apply pressure to the wound, it should stop the bleeding."

"Since when did you become an expert in the field of medical science?" Finn mumbled, surprised. He handed the bandages to Raven who accepted them gratefully.

"I've been sitting in that damn drop-ship with Clarke long enough to know the basics," I snapped back irritably as I fastened the straps on my pack and slung it back over my shoulder. I began walking closer towards Raven and Finn. "Is - is it just you?"

Raven barely spared me a second glance as she replied, "Yes. Abby was going to come with me b-but ..."

"But what?" Finn prompted her.

"We got caught in the middle of trying to escape."

"Hang on a second, are you saying that the others up in the Ark didn't send you? What about the rest of our supplies? Food? Medical kits? Weapons?" I demanded, a wave of panic rising up within me. "And who the heck is Abby?"

"Whoa, slow down, Octavia!" Finn warned me. "She's just gotten to the ground. Let her enjoy it."

I paused. This wasn't a joke. Finn had just called me by my actual name.

"Nah, Spacewalker, it's fine," Raven teased, rolling her eyes and smacking Finn on the leg. "I can answer her questions, I've got all the time in the world."

"Actually, you don't," I spoke up shortly. "We have four days left til our supplies run out."

"What?" Raven stared at me. "You're saying that everyone up in the Ark were such bummers they didn't even send you enough frickin supplies?"

Finn sighed. "T-that's the point, Raven. They - they expected for us to reach Mount Weather in the time the supplies have been used up. But that land's outta bounds. Grounders roam all through that territory and the last time we tried to go through it, some of us nearly died, Octavia included."

"Wait. Grounders?"

"We aren't alone down here, Raven," I told her, expanding on Finn's explanation. "There are others. Others who survived the nuclear bombings."

Raven's mouth dropped open. "Damn. That's bad."

"Tell me about it," Finn mumbled.

"So, to make a long story short, Abby and I, that is, Doctor Abigail Griffin and I, were planning to come down to Earth together," Raven stated, a hint of sarcasm sugaring her tone.

Abigail Griffin? As in Clarke Griffin's mother?  I shook my head as I turned my attention back to Raven.

"Abby had ten days to prove to the rest of the council that you lot weren't dying," Raven was saying.

"What do you mean?" Finn probed her.

"Those ol' wristbands you have on," Raven pointed to the cylinder-shaped metals clamped down on Finn and I's arms. "They're transmitting your vital signals to the Ark. Whoever takes theirs off is presumed dead. The rest of the council think you're all dying from radiation. Abby thinks you're alive and that you're taking them off because you were told not too. She was going to prove her theory by sending us both down to the ground ... But word got to the chancellor and she had to stall them while I launched the pod. I - I'm afraid she's in trouble."

Finn and I exchanged troubled glances.

"What's the catch?" I queried.

"The catch?" Raven repeated quizzically.

"Yeah. What other dirty tricks does the chancellor have up his sleeve? Is he planning to send more of his people down to the ground any time soon?" I crossed my arms and raised my eyebrows.

"It'd be about time, too," Finn nodded in agreement. "We need all the help we can get."

Raven hesitated as if she didn't know what to say. Suddenly, her expression froze. A look of horror crossed her face as she jumped to her feet. "Oh my god!"

Finn grabbed her by the shoulders as he inquired worriedly, "What? What is it, Raven?"

"Abby and I couldn't wait because the council is voting whether or not to kill three hundred people to save air!" Raven gasped.

Finn and I stared at her in absolute shock. "What? When?" I breathed.

"Today!" Raven exclaimed. "We - we have to tell them you're alive!" She brushed past me and burst into a sprint as she ran back towards the pod she came down in.

Without a second thought, Finn and I dashed after her.

"Hang on a sec, I'll grab the radio," Raven called out over her shoulder as she dove through the pod door and into the front seat of the compartment.

"Y-you have a radio?" Finn shouted out after her as he skidded to a halt just outside the door.

"Yeah."

I jogged over towards him and stood nearby as we waited.

"Hey," Finn grabbed my arm. "I - I'm sorry. We grew up together. I didn't know ..."

"Let's not talk about this now," I hissed through gritted teeth as I jerked my arm away from him. "Please."

"The radio's gone!" Raven shouted out in a panic.

"WHAT?" Finn and I yelled at the same time.

"It - it must've gotten loose through reentry into the atmosphere," Raven explained as she jumped back out of the pod. She groaned as she buried her face in her hands. "I should've strapped it down. Stupid!" She lifted her head and smacked the palms of her hands against the drop-ship's metallic wall.

"No! Wait! It wasn't your fault, Raven!" I held out my hand to silence her as I pointed to something on the ground nearby.

Raven and Finn glanced down and simultaneously gasped.

The clear imprint  of someone's booted foot was outlined in the dirt just below the drop-ship door.

"Someone got here before us ... But who?"

Gif: Octavia as she demands answers from Raven.

XX