XX

[PREVIOUSLY: Octavia loses it with Bellamy and resorts to violence. In the meanwhile, Dustin and Bryce spot grounders in the trees. Clarke and Bellamy hatch a plan to capture one of them].

"We need to catch one."

"One what?"

"One grounder."

As soon as Clarke had spoken these words, she grabbed Bellamy's and I's arms and dragged us back over to the drop-ship; her fast-paced steps full of urgency.

"Raven!" she yelled out as she entered the compartment. "How's progress coming along?"

"It's good!" Raven called back from a secluded corner in the room where she was huddled over a table covered with wires. A large black canvas bag, filled with all sorts of tools, was lying on the ground next to her.

"What are you doing?" I demanded as Clarke pulled me over to where Raven was sitting.

"I'm trying to fix up the radio," Raven replied with a shrug, looking up from her work as we approached. "Why, what's up?"

"We need some sort of communication between us and anyone else who leaves this camp," Clarke briefly explained. "Could you conjure up something in that smart head of yours?"

"What, you mean like a walkie-talkie?" Raven inquired, setting down the mangled black box of a radio as she stared questioningly at Clarke.

A small smile flickered over Clarke's face as she nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what we need! Can you hit the pause button on the radio for now and work on making us some of those? We need at least two before dawn."

Raven let out a sardonic chuckle and shook her head. "Are you serious? I'm good, sure, but I'm not that good."

"We need two of them before the sun comes up tomorrow!" Clarke persisted in a serious tone. "We just saw grounders outside of the camp. They're spying on us! Who knows who long they've been out there?"

Raven's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow. Okay. Well, I'm gonna need some help."

"For sure," Clarke nodded. "Who do you need?"

"Someone who can splice wires," she returned. "Monty or Jasper ... they'll be good enough."

"Bellamy, go and get them, both of them, Clarke ordered. "We have no time to waste."

Bellamy sighed and dropped his shoulders before spinning around on his heel and leaving the room.

"Octavia, you, Finn, Bellamy and I are going to work over my plan," Clarke continued hurriedly. "We need to tweak it to perfection; everything needs to go just right, otherwise we could have a war on our hands."

"Are you sure that's a risk you're willing to take?" I demanded, pulling my arm away from Clarke's vice-like grip.

She turned to look at me and nodded. "Yes. I need to do this. We need to find out what we're really up against. So, are you with me?"

I stared at her for a moment more before replying, "I hate saying this, but yes, so long as you don't kill anybody in the process."

"Good. Now come on. We have a long night ahead of us."

All that night, Finn, Bellamy, Clarke, Raven, Monty, Jasper and I worked over plans. It was hard, it was long, it was tiring, but most of all, it was extremely uncomfortable and awkward. Clarke and Bellamy didn't get along. Clarke and I didn't get along. Having Finn, Raven and I in the same room was sure to cast a shadow over the proceedings and Bellamy and I were far from okay. However, regarding the urgency of the situation, we had to push aside our feelings and stick together in order to ensure the security of our people's future.

It was eventually decided that, as soon as it was light enough, Finn and I would leave the camp armed with weapons. It was supposed to look like we were going on a "hunting trip". We were to talk very loudly and attract the grounders' fixated attention on us; we two were to be a distraction. Finn would carry one of the walkie-talkies that Raven would end up making and Bellamy and his team, who would be situated near the camp, would have the other one.

Bellamy, Jasper and a few other strong, capable boys were to set up a trap, just outside the camp where we had spotted the grounders the night before. It was to be a rope and net trap; meaning that if any of the intruders stepped on the bait, their feet would be looped together by a coil of rope and they'd be hauled up and strung upside down in the tree above them. Another rope, lined with little squares of tin, would rattle together nosily once the trap had been sprung, alerting the people back at camp that someone had fallen into it.

Bellamy and his crew would be on constant alert and within ten seconds, would be at the scene, soon enough, hopefully, to capture the grounder before he got away. Obviously, it would be no easy task dragging the hostage back inside so Bellamy was to insert a vial of sleeping liquid, that Clarke had given him, into the victim's neck. Then he and the others could carry him back to camp and tie him down before he awoke again.

Then, the interrogation could start.

As dawn broke over the horizon, Finn and I left the drop-ship; Finn carrying the walkie-talkie and a rifle, and me carrying a set of knives and my almost-completed sword.

The air was so tense between us you could have burst it with a single jab of a pin. We were both forced to loudly recite the script that Clarke had made us memorise. Of course, our conversation didn't make any sense at all and as the minutes ticked by I felt more and more ridiculous. I couldn't even look Finn in the eye for fear of giving away our charade.

The two of us sauntered down to the creek that trickled its way past our camp and made a massive show of finding a nonexistent frog. Then, Finn led the way across the water via a trail of stepping stones, me close behind him.

"Soooo, Octavia - er - Princess," he sang out as he swaggered across the fresh, lush grass towards me. "W-what are you hoping to catch today? A rabbit? A deer? A mosquito?"

"Shut-up," I told him, reaching over to shove playfully at his shoulder. "But, trust me, if I could catch a mosquito on the tip of my sword, I'd be impressed."

"Haha, me too," Finn let out an exaggerated chuckle. "How is your sword coming along, by the way?"

I shrugged carelessly and pulled it out from my belt to examine it. "It's getting there."

Finn nodded. "I'm impressed, really, I am. It looks amazing."

"I know right?" I smirked. "I can't wait to actually use it ... but these things take time."

"Say," Finn stopped so suddenly I nearly ran into him. "What do you think about ..."

Finn's walkie-talkie suddenly crackled to life, cutting his sentence short. "Finn? You there? This is Bellamy. Over."

Finn quickly whipped the walkie-talkie from his belt and held it to his mouth as he replied, "Yes Bellamy. I hear you. Is everything okay? Over."

"It's all set. You can return to camp as soon as you've finished what you're doing; but I'm advising you to finish soon. Over."

"Okay, the paddocks are pretty empty today anyways so we'll head back now. Over and out," Finn quickly stuck the machine back into his belt and turned to look at me. "Let's go."

Our silly moment behind us, Finn and I instantly dropped our charade and sprinted back for camp. It could only be a matter of time now ...

TINKLE. TINKLE. TINKLE.

At the sound of the alarm, or more like the little tin squares knocking together, Finn froze stock-still. Unawares, I smashed straight into him. In the spur of the moment, I grasped him around the waist to stop myself from falling over. Finn, in turn, reached out behind him to grab my arms and steady my swaying body.

As soon as I'd caught my balance, I swiftly moved away from him and swallowed. "Thanks."

"You heard that right?" Finn questioned as he lifted his walkie-talkie to his mouth. "Bellamy, this is Finn. Come in. Over."

"Finn? Is that you? This is Jasper. I'm watching Bellamy cut down one of the grounders as I speak. Over."

Finn and I exchanged glances. "Well, something's gone right around here for a change," Finn chuckled into the radio. "But wow, that was fast. Has the grounder been drugged yet? Over."

"Bellamy's doing it now. You better hurry up and get your asses back to camp before the rest of the grounders decide to retaliate. Over."

Finn was just about to hang up on Jasper when I seized the walkie-talkie from his hand and spoke into it, "Jasper? This is Octavia. Did you just say one of the grounders?"

"Yeah. We've caught two of them. Big, burly lugs they are too."

My eyes widened in shock as I stared, agape, at Finn. "We're coming right now. See you in five. Over and out." I chucked the walkie-talkie back to Finn and began running up the steep slope that led towards camp.

We arrived at the gates at about the same time Bellamy and his team did. Between the lot of them, they were carrying both captives on small makeshift stretchers. One of the grounders was completely sedated and perfectly still, but the other was still struggling against the drug that was overtaking his mind. He groaned as he tossed and turned helplessly against the rough canvas beneath him.

"I think we might need to give him another shot," Bellamy called out as he approached us, struggling under the weight of the stretcher. "Octavia, the syringe is in my back pocket, can you pull it out and insert it into this guy's neck?"

I nodded wordlessly as I stepped forward and began digging around in Bellamy's pocket. In no less than a few seconds, I had secured the syringe and turned around to face the grounder.

Suddenly, I paused, a slight gasp escaping me. I blinked several times, barely believing what I saw.

I knew this person ...

The grounder had on the same hideous mask as before. His body build looked entirely the same. The chiseled features of his nose and cheekbones were a perfect match. But his eyes, his dark eyes, his hazel eyes, were the thing that convinced me that it was him.

It was the grounder who had tried to stop me from escaping the tunnels!

Gif: Octavia's expression of shock when she sees the grounder.

XX