chapter five | jasper & wristbands
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They sprinted through the forest, their heartbeats echoing their fear. Someone or something was out there, lurking in the shadows, and they had no intention of finding out who or what it was. Hunter and Clarke couldn't help but wonder about Jasper. Was he still alive?

"Clarke, come on!" Finn urgently grabbed Clarke's wrist, pulling her forward.

Monty, in his haste, tripped over a root and tumbled to the ground, landing near a pile of charred bones.

"Monty, get up!" Hunter and Finn rushed to Monty's side, helping him to his feet.

"Come on!" Clarke shouted, but then she noticed the group of bones nearby.

Finn examined the bones. "Who are they?"

Clarke picked up a deformed skull. "What are they?"

"We're in deep trouble," Monty muttered. Just as they were about to resume their escape, they heard a distant scream - Jasper's scream. The sound sent chills down their spines, and Clarke dropped the skull.

"Jasper's alive," Hunter said, her voice filled with determination. She turned and ran, with Clarke following closely behind.

"Hunter, wait!" Finn called out, with Octavia and Monty trailing behind. "Wait!" Finn caught up with Hunter and grabbed her arm. "Stay out of the trees."

"No, he was right there!" Hunter exclaimed.

"No! Where is he?" Monty demanded.

"They took him," Clarke sighed.

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The group retraced their steps, making their way back to the dropship. Their knowledge of Jasper's survival compelled them to seek out weapons and reinforcements. Clarke and Hunter were the first to arrive, witnessing two figures locked in a struggle: Wells and Murphy. Wells had Murphy in a headlock, a knife dangerously close to his throat.

"Wells!" Clarke called out.

"Let him go! Now!" Hunter stepped forward, her voice firm. Wells released Murphy, shoving him to the ground, and Murphy attempted to tackle him in return. Bellamy quickly intervened, holding Murphy back.

"Whoa! Hey!" Bellamy restrained Murphy. "Enough, Murphy!" Octavia, Monty, and Finn arrived shortly after, and Bellamy noticed Octavia limping. "Octavia, are you all right?" he asked, helping her to her feet.

"Yeah," Octavia replied, holding onto Bellamy for support.

"Where's the food?" Bellamy asked.

"We didn't make it to Mount Weather," Finn said, taking a seat on a boulder.

"What the hell happened out there?" Bellamy demanded.

"We were attacked," Clarke explained. Hunter went over to check on Murphy, but he brushed her off in frustration.

"Attacked by what?" Wells inquired.

"Not what. Who," Hunter added. "It turns out that when the last person from the Ark died on the ground, they weren't the last Grounder."

"It's true," Octavia confirmed.

"Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong," Clarke stated. "There are people here, survivors." More delinquents gathered around them. "The good news is that means we can survive; the radiation won't kill us."

"Yeah, the bad news is that the Grounders will," Finn added.

Wells looked around. "Where's the kid with the goggles?"

"Jasper was hit. They took him," Hunter replied, looking downhearted. Clarke examined Wells, realizing that his wristband was missing.

"Where's your wristband?" she asked, attempting to grab his wrist, but Wells pulled his arm away.

"Ask him," Wells nodded toward Bellamy.

"How many?" Clarke asked Bellamy.

"Twenty-four and counting," Murphy informed her.

"You idiots," Clarke huffed. "Life support on the Ark is failing. That's why they sent us down here. They need to know if the ground is survivable again, and we need their help against whoever is out there," Clarke appealed to their sense of survival.

Bellamy stepped forward, attempting to rally the group. "We're stronger than you think. Don't listen to her. She's one of the privileged. If they come down here, she'll have it easy. How many of you can say the same?" Bellamy approached the group of delinquents. "We can take care of ourselves. That wristband on your arm makes you a prisoner. We're not prisoners anymore!" Bellamy walked around. "They say they'll forgive your crimes! Well, I say you're not criminals! You're fighters! Survivors! The Grounders should be worried about us!" The crowd erupted in cheers.

Clarke rolled her eyes and walked away, with Monty following.

"What should we do now?" Monty asked.

"Now, we go after Jasper," Clarke declared.

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Clarke, Wells, Bellamy, Murphy, and Hunter set out to find Jasper. Bellamy carried a gun, anticipating they might need it. Murphy kept a protective arm around Hunter as they walked.

"Hey, wait up!" Bellamy shouted, prompting Murphy and Hunter to jog to catch up. "What's the hurry? Surviving a spear through the heart isn't really a thing."

"Put the gun away, Bellamy," Wells interjected, brushing past Bellamy before Murphy grabbed his arm.

"What's your plan, huh?" Murphy taunted with a smirk.

"Jasper screamed when they moved him," Clarke stated. "If the spear had hit his heart, he'd be dead already. But that doesn't mean we can waste any more time." Clarke began to move forward, but Bellamy grabbed her wrist.

"As soon as you take off that wristband, we can get moving," he insisted. Clarke yanked her arm away.

"The only way the Ark will think I'm dead is if I'm actually dead. Got it?" Clarke retorted. Bellamy scoffed.

"Brave Princess," Bellamy replied, sporting a smug grin. Hunter moved to push Bellamy back when she heard approaching footsteps behind her. Finn had finally caught up with the group.

"Hey, why don't you come up with your own nickname?" Finn quipped as he approached. "Do you really call this a rescue party? We should split up and cover more ground." Finn walked over to Hunter. "Hunter, come with me," he said with a smile.

"Don't mind if I do," Hunter replied, and Murphy released her wrist.

"Be careful," Murphy cautioned before letting her go.

"You too," Hunter smiled at the remaining group before walking alongside Finn. "Better late than never."

"I like to think so," Finn responded, looking at her with a sense of determination.

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"Hey, I've been thinking about Mount Weather," Finn began as they journeyed onward. "Why didn't they attack until Jasper crossed the river? We weren't making any noise, and they knew we were there."

Hunter contemplated Finn's words. "They waited for us to cross. Maybe the river is some sort of boundary." They both stopped in their tracks, pondering this possibility.

"That means Mount Weather is off-limits," Finn added.

Hunter scoffed. "So much for those supplies. So, what are we going to do for food?" Finn looked at her before hearing something. He walked over to investigate and stopped in his tracks. Hunter followed and looked ahead. "Wow." They stumbled upon a small waterfall and river. "At least we have water." Finn gave her a questioning look, and they both headed to the river.

Finn waded in and splashed water on his face, his delight evident. Hunter reached for her water bottle to fill it. Finn glanced at her and playfully splashed her.

"Oh, you want to play?" She smiled at him, splashing him in return. "As much as I'd love to, we don't have time."

"Hunter, we've been hiking for hours. We need to take a break," Finn argued.

"We'll take a break when we find Jasper, okay?" Hunter stowed her water bottle. Finn playfully crept up on her, splashing her and attempting to grab her arms and pull her into the water. Hunter resisted his playfulness. "Fine, you want to do this?" She smiled widely at him, and Finn chuckled. Hunter tackled him into the cold water, and they both laughed and splashed each other.

After a moment of fun, Finn gazed at Hunter, trying to understand her better. "I think I know why you're so determined to find Jasper," Finn said.

"Oh, really? Tell me, this should be good," Hunter responded, her smile fading slightly.

"You couldn't save your father," Finn observed. Hunter's smile faded completely, and she fell silent. She had not thought about her father in a long time. She looked at Finn and then sighed, looking ahead. Something caught her eye.

She waded over to it, with Finn following. She approached a few boulders smeared with blood. Sighing at the sight, she checked behind them and found Jasper's goggles. She picked them up. "Jasper was here. We need to get the others."

Finn knelt down and touched the fresh blood. "We're close."

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After retrieving the others, they followed the trail of blood, with Finn serving as the tracker.

"How do we know we're going the right way?" Murphy asked.

"We don't. Spacewalker here thinks he's a tracker," Bellamy responded.

"It's called 'cutting sign,' fourth-year Earth Skills. He's good," Wells defended.

"You want to keep it down, or should I paint a target on your backs?" Finn sighed. As they reached a small tree and saw a broken branch, Clarke and Finn knelt down and spotted a small dried puddle of blood.

Then they heard a distant moan of pain.

"What the hell was that?" Murphy inquired.

"Now would be a good time to pull out that gun," Hunter said to Bellamy.

They jogged through the undergrowth and entered an open field with a large tree at the center, where Jasper was strung up, moaning in pain.

"Jasper?" Hunter called out. Clarke rushed over.

"Clarke! Be careful!" Finn followed her.

"What the hell is this?" Bellamy mused aloud, but then Clarke fell into a ditch, only to be caught by Bellamy. Below her was a pit filled with sharpened spears, ready to impale anyone who fell in.

"Clarke!" Finn called out. "Pull her up!" They all rushed to her aid, and Finn and Murphy helped Bellamy pull her up.

Hunter approached Clarke, concerned. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Clarke replied, holding onto Hunter's arm as she helped her stand. They both gazed up at Jasper. "We need to cut him down."

"I'll climb up there and cut the vines," Finn offered.

"Yeah, I'll help you," Wells volunteered.

"No, you stay with Clarke," Finn instructed. "And keep an eye on him," he nodded toward Bellamy. "You," he looked at Murphy. "Let's go." Murphy sighed and patted Hunter on the shoulder before joining Finn.

"There's a poultice on his wound," Clarke pointed out.

"Medicine? Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?" Wells asked.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its prey to be alive," Hunter added.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us," Finn concluded.

Murphy climbed the tree and began cutting the vines.

"Hurry up, Murphy!" Wells called out.

"Be careful, please," Hunter added.

In the distance, there was low growling, which alerted the entire group. "What the hell was that?" Murphy asked.

"Grounders?" Bellamy speculated, scanning the area. Hunter looked around and spotted something. A panther was stalking them. The group began to retreat, and the panther suddenly charged.

"Bellamy, the gun!" Clarke shouted. Bellamy reached for his gun, but it was missing. Then gunshots rang out.

Hunter looked around and saw Wells firing shots. She knew she couldn't rely on him to kill the beast, so she grabbed a spear.

Wells continued to shoot until he ran out of bullets, sending the group into a panic. The panther was concealed in the tall grass.

"Where are you?" Hunter whispered to herself, gripping the spear tightly. Suddenly, the panther pounced at her with a fierce roar, but she thrust the spear into its belly, causing it to collapse lifelessly on top of her.

"Hunter!" Murphy and Finn called out.

"Hunter, are you okay?" Bellamy ran over, pulled the panther off her, and discovered a smiling girl beneath.

"Now, that was fun," Hunter coughed as Bellamy helped her to her feet, his expression a mixture of surprise and admiration. Her face was splattered with blood, and her shirt and jacket were soaked in it.

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The group made their way back to camp as night fell, with Jasper lying on an improvised stretcher and the panther serving as a substantial meal.

"Is he-" Monty rushed over.

"He's alive," Clarke assured. "I need boiled water and strips of cloth for a bandage." Clarke and Monty took Jasper into the dropship.

Murphy, Bellamy, and Hunter returned with the panther and laid it out in front of the group of delinquents.

"Thanks to Hunter here," Bellamy grabbed Hunter's shoulders. "We have food."

"Who's hungry?" Hunter called out with a smile.

As Bellamy instructed everyone to remove their wristbands to get a share of the meat, Hunter hesitated. "I did kill this beast, so maybe I don't have to?" she asked Murphy.

"Why keep it on? What have they done for you?" Murphy replied. She considered his words, realizing he was right. She sighed and nodded. Murphy smiled and helped her remove her wristband, which snapped off.

He handed her a stick of meat, and she walked over to a log to sit down. Seeing that Finn and Clarke were reluctant to remove their wristbands, she took a bite of her meat. It was tough and bitter, but it made her feel better. After a while, Murphy approached her with another stick of meat.

"Here you go," he said, sitting beside her. She thanked him and shared the meat with him while resting her head on his shoulder.

"What a day," she sighed.

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