XX

[ PREVIOUSLY: Finn, Clarke, Octavia and four other boys have set out from the drop-ship; intent on reaching Mount Weather. They have learned Clarke's secret and know that the rest of their people are in danger of being destroyed. They must hurry if they are to not only save themselves, but the others left back on the Ark ].

We had been walking for hours.

By then, the natural, raw beauty of the scenery surrounding us had lost it's touch. The ground was wet and muddy, the bushes along the wayside sharp and prickly, the trees surrounding us too tall to climb and too smooth-barked for us to try.

I had never exercised much, considering I was locked in a tiny room for most of my life, so this was seriously pushing me to my limits.

"Oh my god, how much longer, Clarke?" Finn complained in a whiny voice.

Clarke shot him an irritated glare as she consulted her map. "We just need to make it to the bottom of the hill. From there we can decide the best route to take when we cross the valley."

"You're kidding me right?" a boy, donned with a pair of thick tinted googles and a big oversized jacket, spoke up from beside me. "We haven't even gotten down the blooming mountain yet?"

I shook my head and chuckled. "It's called a mountain for a reason, uh ..."

"Jasper," the boy answered for me, sticking out his hand. "Nice to meet you ..."

"Octavia," I returned quickly, hoping he, too, wouldn't remember me as 'the girl under the floor'.

"Oh," Jasper drew in a long, exaggerated breath. "Wait, you're the girl ..."

"Don't say it," I warned him, shaking a finger in his face. "Please ..."

"I was going to say the first one out of the Ark, but ..." Jasper shrugged as he turned away.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Cool. Can we be friends then? Cause you're pretty sweet."

One of Jasper's friends chuckled in amusement as Jasper's face turned beetroot red. "Uh ... yeah ... sure ..." he mumbled.

"Nice pickup line," his friend called out as he joined us. "Sorry. I couldn't help but overhear. Hey Octavia, I'm Monty."

I grinned. "Oh hey."

"And while we're doing introductions," the smallest of the group turned around to face us and threw his arms up in the air. "I'm Bryce Rogers and this here is my best mate, Dustin."

"Hey all," I waved at everyone. "I'm so glad to finally be with people who actually make sense."

"Don't be too sure about that!" Finn teased from up ahead. "Clarke's a bit of a stress queen."

Clarke rolled her eyes and punched him playfully in the shoulder. "Shut your pie-hole, Spacewalker. Like you can say anything."

"Huh me?" Finn widened his eyes in pretend shock and placed his hands over his heart. "I am, legit, the most carefree, easy-going guy you'll ever meet. Just try me."

"Wait!" Clarke threw her arm out in front of Finn, causing him and the rest of us to skid to a halt.

"What? What is it?" Jasper demanded.

"Shhh," Clarke held a finger to her lips. "Do you see that?"

"See what?" I questioned.

"It's - it's an animal. The first one I've seen," Clarke whispered in awe. Crouching down, she pointed through a thick grove of trees to our right and smiled. "It's a doe."

Everyone scurried over as quietly as they could, keeping low to the ground. We all grinned when we saw the beautiful, agile looking beast.

"That's crazy cool," Bryce piped up.

I rolled my eyes as I shuffled closer to Clarke and Finn. "How come we haven't seen any other...?"

SNAP.

My foot landed on a twig, breaking it in two. I froze and grimaced as the deer stiffened and lifted up it's head. It glanced away from us and then, after a few seconds, looked over in our direction.

"Holy crap!" Finn yelped in surprise as he stumbled backwards.

I stared at the deer in shock. I had never ever seen anything that looked quite as gruesome as this.

The deer, although completely normal everywhere else, had been badly affected from its' neck upwards. It had two heads! Which meant, two noses, four eyes, two mouths and four sets of ears! Cracks and scabs of bloody flesh exposed the area around its' eyes and ears while a long, sinister looking line separated both heads down the middle of its' neck. It was so ugly and so disgusting that it took everyone aback.

The deer suddenly took off, making all of us jump in fright. Our eyes followed it's fast figure as it glided swiftly through the trees and disappeared from sight.

"Oh ... my ... god," Clarke breathed.

"W-what even was that?" Monty inquired, a tremor lacing his voice.

"Radiation," Clarke murmured. "The deer was affected by radiation."

"H-how do you know that?" Finn inquired.

Clarke shook her head. "It's a mutated descendant of an original species, Finn. The only thing that could've caused such a horrendous affect on a creature like that is radiation."

"Sooo the Earth is still radioactive than?" I queried as I got to my feet and brushed myself off.

Clarke shook her head. "No, not all of it, otherwise we'd all be dead by now. T-that thing must've been a crossbred of a mutated species that had been previously dwelling in a radioactive place."

"Are you saying that some parts of the Earth may still be simmering in radiation?" Monty asked, his expression one of disbelief and worry.

Clarke nodded. "Yes. We - we need to cross a radiation soaked forest to get to Mount Weather. There - there was a beware sign with an x over it on the map. It's warning us. We - we could slowly die without even realising it ... not until it's too late anyway."

"And you tell us this now?" Finn groaned, slamming a hand to his forehead in frustration.

"Crap," Dustin spoke up for the first time. "That's not good."

Clarke shook her head. "No. It's not. C'mon, we're burning daylight. We just need to get to the bottom of the hill. We'll figure out a plan from there."

Less than half an hour later, we'd arrived at our destination. We began looking for clues or signs that any other animals had been present in the area, but we couldn't find anything.

"For all we know, this place could be affected by radiation," Finn groaned. "We could die before we even get across the river."

"River?" I questioned.

"Yeah," he pointed to something behind me.

I turned around and inhaled sharply. A beautiful crystal clear river, dotted with smooth grey stones and rippling with white foamy froth, was running through a large cavern right beneath a large crest of rocks below us.

"It - it's incredible!" I breathed, catching a whiff of the fresh, sweet scent from the flower in my hair.

Finn pursed his lips and nodded. "Yeah. It is."

"Wait, there's not supposed to be a river here!" Clarke spoke up as she approached us. She had the map in her hands and was gazing intently at it. "It - it doesn't say anything about ..."

"So what?" I shot back irritably, Clarke's over-domineering attitude starting to get to me. "There is. So take your damn clothes off."

"Octavia? What the hell are you doing?" Clarke gasped as she looked up from her map.

I just smirked as I threw off my jacket and dropped my pants.

"I - I love Earth," Jasper got out as he stared wistfully at me, or, more at my bare legs.

I grinned. Then I turned and sprinted, right off the edge of the rocks!

"Octavia!" Clarke shouted as my body hit the water with a loud splash.

She rushed over and peered over the top of the rocks. She huffed and shook her head, a smile tugging on her lips. "You're crazy Octavia."

"Crazy amazing!" Bryce hooted as he scrambled over to join Clarke. He gazed down at me and waved. "You, my girl, have become my favourite person ever."

"Oi, what about me?" Dustin rolled his eyes at him as he began to unbutton his shirt.

"Wait, I - I don't know how to swim," Jasper protested as he watched everyone undress.

"No, but we can stand," I smiled as I stood up, droplets of water arching down my back and arms and tinkling gracefully back into the river.

Jasper sighed with relief as he threw off his jacket.

I smoothed back my wet hair and sighed in contentment. I traced my fingers throughout the soft waves, creating a ripple affect throughout the clear water.

Earth was amazing.

"Octavia! Get out of the water!" Jasper's panicked voice pierced my brain.

I jumped and stared up at him in shock. "W-wha ... ?"

"Get out of the water NOW!" he screeched, staring at something behind me.

My brow furrowed in confusion as I whirled around.

I gasped and my heart dropped straight into my feet.

A monstrous under-water beast, it's teeth bared and sharpened, was hurtling through the water... straight towards me!

Gif: Octavia enjoys the coolness of the river.

XX