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.*･｡. HOOD! .*･｡.
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021.
THREE IS A TRAGIC NUMBER.
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  Despite being their tracker, Finn Collins wasn't up front. Rather, John Mbege was leading the group with Bellamy Blake not too far after, meanwhile Finn Collins was at Robin Loxely's side. She had little idea as to why.

Regardless, Robin walked through the night.

Jace was on the other side of Roma, who was planted between him and Jasper, while the latter was walking closely behind Robin.

She would glance back at him every once in a while to assure he hadn't fallen behind, and Jace would send her a look that said he'd watch out for him. It made her feel better about the promise made with Monty. Eventually, she stopped looking back quite so often. It became apparent that she could tell Jasper was close by — he kept awkwardly stepping on the back of her boots. Honestly, it annoyed Robin, but she wasn't about to shout at him. Even if her tether had been wearing down since they had witnessed the culling. The main reason she kept moving was by convincing herself that her father'd be fine, and that Octavia needed their help. That, and Finn pulling her onwards to prevent her snapping. He seemed good at knowing when her temper was on scarily thin ice. Finn eventually kept hold of her elbow.

"Hey— over here!"

The crowd visibly perked up and rushed to follow Bellamy, and John Mbege, including Finn. He pulled Robin with him and their remaining trio followed them, closely.

   When they pushed through the delinquents and made it upfront and ahead of the pack, they slowed to a stop at a large ditch. John Mbege was flashing his light towards something, and Robin had to squint in order to see the small piece of material stuck in a bush as the ditch's slope inclined.

    "Is that Octavia's?" John asked.

Bellamy couldn't seem to decipher from so far away. He put his palm out and barked for the rope, to which someone handed over the equipment with no argument. Slipping through the group, the king tied the rope around a tree and made a firm knot. Cadets was educational in many ways, most of which Bellamy had thought to be useless but were proving to be useful since making it down to the ground. Setting dislocated elbows back in their places, tying knots, making weapons... Bellamy hadn't expected to utilise any of it, but he was glad. It helped he was taught by Pike, too.

"What are you doing?" Finn frowned, stopping Bellamy with an outstretched arm.

"We need the rope to get back up," Bellamy answered. With a blank look in his direction, the man gripped the rope and prepped himself to go down. However, a hand grabbed his arm before he'd the chance to do anything. "What, birdy?"

    "I'm lighter," she said.

   Before anyone could respond, Robin snatched the rope from his hands and started to scale her way down. She moved fluidly, hands and feet moving in harmony. It didn't take long to reach the brush.

   She couldn't tell if it was Octavia's. Robin plucked the scraps of material out of the foliage and stared at it intently, trying to decide what colour jacket the girl owned. After a short minute, she felt the rope move and jar. Her eyes flitted to the top of the ditch, whereby Bellamy had grown impatient and began his descent. Robin rolled her eyes and held onto the rope tighter, then passed him the scraps of cloth.

   He pursed his lips.

    "It's hers."

    "We're going the full way down!" Robin called.

   Without any other communication, she proceeded on her way to the bottom. Bellamy followed, eyes glittering in an appreciation of which Robin didn't see.

   It didn't take long to reach the bottom. Robin lingered, realising how dark it was without any form of light, and absently found her body waiting for Bellamy. He had no light either, but she supposed another person would do — even if the person just so happened to be the one who had got three hundred killed — and let him scope out the area. His hand floated above the small of her back, fingers not quite touching the area but grazing the hem of jacket, guiding her forward with him. As the rope tussled behind them in signal of others coming down, Bellamy stopped by a puddle of crimson that glistened in the moonlight, just shy of his boot. He knelt down, not quite reaching the dirt, and dipped the pad of his finger in the red pool. Bellamy rubbed it between his thumb and his index. Not good.

    "Blood."

   Her words made him tense, and his breathing hitched at the lack of proximity between her lips and his ear.

    "Ow— Jasper!" Jace.

   Robin turned in time to see Jace trip over his own feet as he fell to a sudden stop behind Jasper, who now crouched behind herself and Bellamy, eyes trained on the blood. Soon Finn jumped down, smoother than Jace, giving Roma a hand before joining the others.

   If there was one thing about Finn that Robin liked, it was how he wasn't an open book. She learned something new about him every time she bothered to pay attention and, that day, it was that he was rather good at maintaining a pokerface when he wanted to. Seeing the blood didn't faze him visibly, and he instead used Jasper's torch to illuminate the muddy earth. Said light revealed footsteps, bigger than Octavia's would have been, and he observed the directions he could tell they had come from and left in.

    "Prints are deeper going that way," he informed.

    "He was carrying her," Jace said.

    "If they took her, she's alive. Like when they took me."

   Jasper's words had been in attempt to comfort Bellamy, and he wasn't sure they had worked, but the man sent him a solemn nod.

   He jutted his jaw in signal to proceed, and so they did. This time Finn was leading, his eyes focused on following the imprints, and it was Bellamy's turn to take a lesser position.

   Somehow, he had ended up walking alongside Robin. No words were exchanged, yet there was still a thick tension between the two and it must have scared Jasper off, because he slipped behind, Jace and Roma once again at his sides. Occasionally, Bellamy peaked a look at Robin. Short glances that opposed his long strides, grazing over each curve.

   Curiosity, he told himself.

   Bellamy was just curious, was all.

   If she felt his glances, then she was equally as good as Finn with her poker face.

   She showed no signs of any bother, or care, or irritation. Just her generically blank expression, the one that held no emotion, and he vaguely wondered how she had grown to perfect such a look in her lifetime. Perhaps he didn't really want to know.

Perhaps his curiosity would pull him in and drag him to depths of no return. After all, Robin seemed like that — like a cavern the gods sculpted to lure him in, get him close, and then sweep his life out from beneath him. A deep abyss, much like the night sky, stars on her heels and constellations in her eyes. Everything about Robin; it screamed come find me! and figure me out! because it knew that if he didn't, then it would slowly start to eat Bellamy Blake alive.

They walked until dusk.

Until the moon was no longer visible but the sun had yet to rise, and the blues and purple of night were licked with strokes of pinks and reds. The shades poked up from atop the tree line, and served as the only sign that they had been searching for Octavia all night, painfully to no avail.

"Ah—!"

"What is that?"

"Jesus!"

"Finn?" Bellamy pushed to the front.

Hot on his tail, Robin danced in his shadow and came to a halt when he stopped dead. She almost hit his back, and glanced over his shoulder.

It was just awful.

Robin sucked in a breath and stumbled backwards.

Skeletons were strung to trees like forbidden fruit, as if tempting them to reach for it, all the while warning them to stay away. They had hallow eyes and broken bones, and spoke ode to how the night was to end if they ignored their chances to leave. Her eyes couldn't be torn away from the gore of it.

"I don't speak grounder..." Finn ran his tongue across his bottom lip, "...but I'm pretty sure this means keep out."

Panicked murmurs ran through the crowd and tickled their ears, burning the lobes with whispers and chat. Robin looked at Jasper, whom seemed sufficiently terrified, and Jace, for the first time, had no emotions written on his face. He gave nothing away. Maybe the boy was terrified and simply refused to show it, or perhaps he, like most of the hundred, had started to learn that fear would get them killed quicker, and more painfully. And maybe Robin was learning that, too. Because, as she observed the way Bellamy straightened his back and squared his shoulders, she realised death was likely to get them by the end of the night.

"Let's get outta here!"

"I'm out!"

"Leave, if you want." Bellamy told the already dispersing crowd with an edge to his tone, fear? Bravery? "My sister, my responsibility."

Then, he walked into the lions den.

As other teens left, Robin would have lied if she said she hadn't debated it. She wasn't idiotic. Robin wanted to live, and walking into grounder territory didn't seem a very good way of doing that; in fact, it was the opposite.

But, this wasn't the lions den. It was earth, their earth, and it was Octavia Blake. She could be irritating, and spritely, and was awfully stubborn, but she was still one of them. And she was a kid, too; she was a kid who didn't deserve to die, because she had hardly even got her chance to live. Life under the floors had been survivable, and it wasn't any different wherever Octavia was, right now.

So, Robin followed.

Her strides were of little surprise to Finn and Jace, who made it habit to stay close enough to her that it eased anxiety. Robin made a job out of acting on impulse. She liked to play hero, just like Finn.

"I'd walk into hell, to find her." Jasper nodded to himself.

"I think we—"

"—we just did."

Robin and Finn shared an odd look, having spoken at the same time with the same words. Maybe they would have questioned the event more, had they not been busy.

Night turned into morning. Robin could feel the warmth begin to combat her cold limbs. Earth was brighter, and greener, and all felt eerily calm. There had no been sudden grounder attacks — it was good, but in turn meant that there had been no signs Octavia was anywhere nearby.

While they didn't want to lose faith in the infamous tracker, they could tell that Finn was growing antsy. He was lacking anything of actual substance; anything more than fading footsteps. Finn had a natural gift at Earth Skills, but he was no miracle maker. Tracker? It had been said. Magician? Not, at all. As much as he would have liked to be able to make Octavia spontaneously appear, he couldn't. He was a skyboy, not god almighty. Finn had contemplated praying, at one point in time, and Robin had wanted to join him. So, with the rest still walking on, they tilted their heads back and shut their eyes with the sun kissing their cheeks. And, embarrassingly, they spared time for a prayer, or two. Neither were religious — which was why, when Bellamy called for them to walk now and worship later, it had been humiliating. Although, they soon listened and rushed back up to the front.

"I got nothin'," Finn finally said.

"What?" Bellamy asked.

"We lost the trail," he waved his arms, helplessly. When he was told to keep looking, he sighed. "Wandering around aimlessly isn't the way to find your sister. We should backtrack—"

"I'm not going back," eyes dark, Bellamy shoved past Finn. His shoulder bumped against the younger boy, "There's no way I—"

"Hey!"

They turned to look at Roma while she peered around anxiously, holding tightly onto Robin's sleeve in one hand and a knife firmly in the other. No one could understand why she looked so spooked; Robin wondered what she possibly could have missed if she stood directly left of the girl. Sure, the place was eery, but they were yet to be mauled by grounders— weren't they? Why was Roma so afraid of something? Like she knew and they didn't? Robin didn't know; as she stopped, it made her heart pound against her ribcage, anyway; she didn't like not knowing.

"Where's John?"

"What? I just saw him, over—" sure enough, when Robin went to point to where she last saw Mbege, he was gone. Her heart lost itself to her stomach, and Robin adjusted her hood with her spare hand. "—there."

   An unsettled silence fell over them.

   They looked around anxiously, and Robin noticed Jace taking a hold of Jasper's hand. Whether it was simply a precaution, or way to make him feel better, or because Jace anticipated that they soon would have to run and he wanted to keep Jasper safe— well, Robin wasn't certain. But, despite that, she mirrored his actions and gave Roma's shaky hand a squeeze. She was scared.

    "Spread out." Bellamy said. "He couldn't have gotten far,"

   Nodding, Robin tugged herself and Roma to the right. Just as it seemed clear, something behind them made a thump! Robin's boots moved before her brain said so.

   When they did, she nearly flew over a log. However, upon closer inspection, Robin noticed the log was covered in the blood. And, it had hands. Legs, clothes, hair. Her gaze travelled the pathway of a zip and ended up finding a face. Not just any face, a familiar face; it was that of John Mbege, mutilated and scarred, and the life once within his eyes was far gone. A shriek ripped from Roma's throat as she stumbled away, letting go of Robin's hand. The force rendered Robin wobbly, and she fell to the floor next to Mbege with a grunt, her face mere millimetres away from his. Her eyes widened. Robin found it hard to drag herself up from the dirt, unable to seek effort and courage to move, and instead remained a gasping fright; heap of limbs and heavy breaths.

    "Robin?"

She shuddered.

    "Found him."

   Given her current track record, Finn rushed forwards and lifted her from the floor in a singular, fluid motion.

   He feared her stomach would soon start to heave, and, judging by the paleness of her cheeks, he was going to stand correct. Finn mindlessly guided her toward the closest person, and he bared no mind as to who he handed Robin off to, while he made sure Roma and Monroe were alright.

    "Birdy?"

   Touch feathery light, Bellamy placed his hands on her biceps to keep Robin upright. He knew she probably wouldn't want him of all people to be holding her, but he didn't want her to topple to the ground again. After all, she was in shock.

    "Birdy, hey..." he tugged her closer to him when Digg's cried he had seen lifeful silhouettes. "C'mon— snap out of it, sweetheart."

   And, she did.

   She exhaled a heavy breath, clinging onto his arm in hopes of a comfort she yearned for deep down, and Bellamy swore he could've fainted in relief.

    "They use the trees!" Finn warned.

    "We shouldn't have crossed the boundary!" Diggs hissed, fear in his heart and his tone of voice. Nodding, Roma begged they turned around and went back, and Digg's could not have agreed more. He made a beeline for the way they came, but was stopped by a hand on his chest that belonged to Jace. Digg's went to fight him over his actions but Jace shook his head, pointing a finger as another of the silhouettes appeared in the near distance. Both teenagers shivered.

    "There," Jace held onto Jasper's shaky hand, tightly.

   Don't let go! Don't let go! Robin assured Monty that she would keep Jasper safe, and now she wasn't able to, Jace decided the kid was his responsibility now. He liked Jasper — he liked him too much to let him die, anyway.

"There's two!" Roma cried.

   Monroe cast their direction to the left, and she was right; "Hey! Another one— another!"

    "Any bright ideas?" Bellamy asked the group. His eyes lingered on Finn, their resident tracker, and grit his teeth when the boy was as stumped for great thoughts as he was. "Spacewalker? Williams?"

"Run?" Finn tried.

A pause.

Jace nodded his head, rapidly.

"Definitely run!"

He took off with Jasper clinging to his hand. It was hard to run, seeing as the kid was weighing him down, but Jace was fast. That's the only trait he had gotten from his father, and he liked to think it was useful. It was what made him a good criminal.

"Robin!" Bellamy gave her a tug, pulling her along by her better arm. For a minute she stumbled about, and Bellamy was more than ready to haul her over his shoulder and make a dash for it. But her mind started to work again, and she caught her bearings, and soon the tables had turned: Robin was the one dragging Bellamy through the woods. She was quick, terrifying quick, and her boots flew across the ground at speeds he found difficult to withstand. He wondered whether her speed was a result of running from the guard, how long had she been stealing? Regardless, Bellamy didn't want her to stop.

And, Robin didn't plan on it. She ran faster than she had run in her whole life. The ark didn't have corridors this big, but they were just as windy.

Her body seemed to move for her.

Twisting, winding, swerving through trees and jumping over any logs or fallen branches. It was just like back on the ark; cutting her way through different stations, and taking secrets hallways, and she was running as fast as her legs could take her. Bellamy was fast, not as fast as she was, but close.

He didn't weigh her back. Rather, he let her guide him whatever way she moved. Anything was better to Bellamy, than falling behind.

"Let's go! Let's go!"

"Don't stop!"

"What are we gonna do?" Diggs yelled. "They keep cutting us off, man! We're gonna have nowhere else to go!"

"Just keep running!" Robin yelled. That was all they could do, or they would end up like Mbege; picked off one by one, until no one was left and Octavia had no one to find her.

"I like that plan!" Jace shrieked.

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!" He retorted childishly, his lungs burning. Jace had no mind hauling Jasper with him, but he was getting tired. He was a good runner, a natural, but it was hard when he was carrying the stamina shared between two people. "C'mon, Jas! We gotta keep it going! Go faster! You got this, man!" While Jace's encouragements were golden, Jasper's legs grew weak and wobbly, and he found the act of holding himself up was growing more and more difficult, by the seconds passing. He hadn't left their camp since his accident, it was a freakin' huge spear from what Jace heard!, and Jasper suddenly had started to wish he had just listened to Clarke and stayed behind, like she had told him. Jace picked up the pace for the two of them, legs sore and eyes streaming; "Jasper, you have to keep running!"

"I can't—!" he tripped, "I can't run much longer!"

"I'm not stopping for him!" Diggs scoffed.

"Asshole!" Jace panted, tone loud, slowing down and helping to hold Jasper up when Bellamy tugged Robin to stop; "Fuck— screw you, Diggs!"

"Cool it, Jace!" Bellamy ordered him, watching Diggs run — to which Jace grumbled but kept his words to himself. Shrugging, the king spun around, and eyed up the grounders closing in on the last of them. "I'm sick of running, anyway!"

Finn panicked; "What?!"

"They know where she is!" Bellamy wanted to find his sister and if that meant fighting their way through grounders, then so be it. If he didn't find her, he would never forgive himself. He wasn't sure he would even survive a life without his O. Bellamy didn't like to think that way; it still gave him nightmares, the year she was gone. Worst year of his life, other than the years he had lived as an only child — Bellamy wasn't Bellamy without Octavia. It made his chest flare in sudden panic, what if she was—?

He calmed when a hand squeezed his.

"We'll find her," Robin.

   It was out of character for their dynamic, all of this was, but he supposed it was different when you were about to die.

   Another ground came rushing at them, and Rome released the, by far, most panicked scream as of yet. She darted, crying out for Diggs — the latter having vanished, opting to ditch the group rather than listen, going against the best interest for Jasper and the group. But, Robin wasted no time; letting go of Bellamy's hand. She gave it a shove when he tried to stop her from running after Roma.

   She liked Roma. It wasn't safe for her to run off, alone— they all knew that.

   So, Robin acted on it. She called out for Roma and bolted in her direction. Cries for her to come back sounded from behind her, as did shrieks from somewhere, far ahead. Robin quickened her pace.

   Robin was faster than Roma, by miles. It didn't take long for her to catch up with the girl, and when she did, she grabbed her jacket and yanked them to a brisk jog, then a complete stop. Heaving out for breath, Robin pushed Roma behind her, and did a spin, briefly scanning the area. It looked safe, enough.

    "I think we're—"

    "Diggs!"

   Robin spoke, too soon.

   She went to slam a hand over Roma's mouth and tell her to stop shouting for the boy, but she came up much too short.

   Eyes following her shaky finger, Robin slowly looked up and saw a sight similar to that of John Mbege: Diggs' lifeless body was now impaled, strung up like bait. Blood oozed from the puncture and it stained his clothes, and the trickle passing his lips tucked under the boy's chin like a chain. His eyes were open and lifeless, and glaring right back at the two girls whom watched with teary stares. For the second time that day, Robin was tempted to drop to her knees, and hurl the contents of her stomach onto the forest floor. Her eyes fell shut, lashes clamped together, only to shoot open when the images of Diggs and Mbege were stamped to the backs of her eyelids. She looked away from Diggs, and saw Atom's body laying on the floor. It looked so real. Robin hastily stepped away, screaming loudly and crying out when a large hand grabbed her arm.

    "Wait— Roma, come back!"

    "Robin!"

    "Shut her up!"

    "Sh!"

    "Bellamy, make her stop! They'll find us!"

    "Robin! Hey—" Bellamy wrestled against her thrashes, placing a hand over her mouth.

    "Good job!" Jace spat when she screamed louder, "Idiot!"

    "Shut it!" Glare sharp, Bellamy held Robin tighter. "Birdy,— it's us! It's just us!" He tried to calm her. And, it looked like it worked. Robin's screams quietened, and she stopped kicking. Thank god, his free hand stroked her hair. "All good?"

   Robin nodded stiffly.

What the fuck was happening to her?

Was she finally falling apart?

   She was still crawling with anxiety, and she uncomfortably tried to avert her eyes from Diggs. A moment passed and Robin tore his hand from her mouth with a shaky grip. Before she was settled, an awful realisation struck her: "W—where's Roma?" She stuttered in fear, then got more urgent. "Where the hell is Roma!"

    "They were leading us here..." Bellamy realised, eyes wide. "It's the only direction we could all run in— they've gone after Roma!"

   Finn sprinted first, followed by Jace and Jasper, then Robin and Bellamy. Robin tried to help Jasper and Jace, them getting slower and slower, but she was promptly told to go ahead and find Roma before the grounders did. At first, she was hesitant — Robin's time in the wood had been most unkind, and she had no desire to find a third body from their group. But, the girl remembered who she was: Robin Loxely was the hood, and she was going to do better. Roma was in trouble and Robin didn't want to find the body of another kid she couldn't save.

   She wouldn't.

   She sprinted like her life depended on it.

   (It did!)

   Robin surpassed Finn, using every ounce if energy she had, her legs and arms pumping away. God— she was tired. So tired. That meant Roma would be, too.

   Somewhere along the lines, Robin crashed into Monroe as their paths crossed.

    "Thank god!" Monroe breathed.

    "Where's Roma?" Cutting the small talk, Robin looked around frantically. She had hardly noticed Monroe had strayed. Although, she was glad to see her in one piece — it gave her hope. "Is Roma with you? Did you see—"

    "Wait."

    "What?"

    "There," Monroe pointed towards a tree, "Roma!"

    "Roma!" Robin hissed the girl's name and advanced the tree. It was quiet, and she got no answer, and Robin's tummy flipped. Her movement grew slow, hesitant, and Robin felt her hands tremble by her sides. She couldn't do it, again. She couldn't do it, again. She couldn't do it, again. She couldn't—

   Luckily, Robin didn't have to. Because, instead, Bellamy did. He placed a hand in front of her when he caught up, stopping her the second she got far too close to the old tree.

   He may have been an asshole, and he may have potentially killed her father, but Bellamy wasn't willing to let endure a third trauma in just that day alone. That wasn't fair. She didn't deserve that. Not if Bellamy had signed her father's death warrant, too. Not, at all. She was only a kid; a teenager, but still too young to experience all that pain and death. All of them were. Too young. Bellamy wished that this was a nightmare, and it was, but not the one he hoped for. The group of delinquents were wide awake.

   Not Roma.

Bellamy held his breath as he gently shut her eyes. Another guilt-ridden flush washed him, cold.

Robin slowly stepped back. She felt her chest grow heavy, throat thick with a rock lodged in her airway, and she bowed her head as to disguise the fresh glossiness to her stinging eyes. Robin sucked in a deep breath through her nose and held it, don't be a baby.

Emotions were childish. They had always been childish. Her dad taught her that emotions weren't to be felt— they were to be aside, not up front; to be channelled into something more worthwhile. It was usually stealing that Robin channelled her emotions into, and, unless Finn had anything valuable in his pockets, stealing wasn't in the realm of possibility, right now. Not on the ground. She had put a lot of her emotion into work, too. Although, she had no wires, or metal, or anything mechanical to occupy her wavering hands. But, she had to find something. Robin needed something to distract from her emotions. Something to channel her tears into so that they had no business tumbling down her cheeks. She thought.

Octavia.

Octavia Blake.

Her chest lightened. If Robin wanted something to channel her emotions into, then she chose Octavia. Finding her before nightfall.

They still had a job to do, and that was to find Octavia before it was too late. Time for grieving was later, or never. Robin didn't let herself grieve; she usually stole.

Brows pinched for a split second, Robin then relaxed her face as she let out the breath she had been holding. When her head raised back to face her fellow delinquents, it was scarily neutral. Stoic, her common expression. Their eyes lingered upon her briefly, but their attentions were snatched by the silhouettes that had begun to loom around them, circling them in, keeping them trapped. Again.

"What are they doing?" Monroe murmured.

"They're not attacking..." forehead creased, Jace observed their lack of movement.

"I don't get it," Finn shook his head slowly, glancing at everyone and counting their heads, making sure no one else was lost. He felt helpless, and looked to Robin in hopes of reassurance. Not that he expected any. She wasn't one for words of affirmation. He got only a shrug, "They can kill us whenever they want."

Jasper nodded, "Yeah..."

"Goggles...?" Robin watched him with squinted eyes. He spread his arms and lifted his weapon, wavering it about and letting a yell slide from his tongue. Horrified, Robin lunged at him and aimed a palm towards his mouth, "Cut it out!"

"Maybe they should just get it over with!" He hollered, "What are they waiting for, huh? Come on! Come on! Get it over with! Is it not obvious?"

"Jasper!"

"Be quiet!"

"What are you playing at?"

"Stop!" Jace tried to tackle him down, "Shut up, Jas! Shut up!"

"We're here!" He squawked, "Come get us—!"

"Watch your mouth, goggles boy!" Seething, Robin attempted a shove at his chest but she was hauled back. "Shut up! You best shut the hell up, or I'll kill you before the grounders have the chance! If you don't—!"

"Guys! Guys!" Monroe screamed. Her heart lurched in her chest when she spotted grounders in every corner. "They got us pinned! I think— I think we're dead! Bellamy!"

They ceased in their attempts to smother Jasper Jordan and shut up, him included. It was a stunned silence, then it was a scramble to find protective stances and draw their weapons. Robin was planted firmly in between Bellamy and Jace, slipping her knife out from it's home in her back packet and holding it in front of her, knees bent. Robin had been in fights, before. Plenty. More than her parents had ever been happy to bail her out of detentions for. Her most recents involved Wells Jaha and John Murphy; two names that gave Robin a clammy feeling. She tried to brush that off.

Ultimately, Robin failed. Her body remained stiff and rigid, the earth rocky beneath her boots as they parried in a circle. They had no chance. There were too many. Grounders were everywhere and they were caged in like their wild hunt. In that moment, Robin got close to death. Too close, for her liking. For a moment, she truly had decided that it was all over.

Until a horn blared.

Quickly, grounders started to disperse.

One by one, the grounders disappeared. They ran rapidly, blurs in the wind, and they were gone so quickly that Robin wondered if they had even been there, at all.

"What are they doing?"

"Running away," Jace answered Finn, "Leaving."

"That horn..." Bellamy recognised it from somewhere, "What is that? What's it mean?"

Robin and Finn's faces twisted. Their lips parted and they wore a matching wide-eyed expression. They knew that sound. It served a vivid reminded of the journey to find Jasper seaweed. They had been apart when they heard it, in different places, but they both had heard it, all the same. It may have saved their asses, but not for long.

"Acid fog."

"Stop speaking at the same time!" Jace shook his head, fingers a knot as he rung his hands out anxiously. His right eye twitched and fluttered in duress; he looked insane, and he felt it too. "It's weird! I hate it!"

"We need to run!" Monroe said.

"There's no time!" Finn objected as he slung off his pack. It fell to the floor and he haphazardly yanked out an old parachute from the dropship, unrolling it in expert time; "C'mon! Down!" Most of them dropped to the floor, "Loxely! Get down!" His tone was strict while she hesitated, "Down!"

Surprised by the urgency in his voice, Robin stopped hesitating, and relented. Her knees hit the ground, and she rolled. Darkness.

━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━

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