chapter four | forests & spears
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The group of six had set up a small camp to rest before they continued their journey to Mount Weather. Hunter, however, had trouble sleeping. She awoke to a mesmerizing view.

The forest had become bio-luminescent in the night. Hunter sat up and looked around her, her breath taken by the beauty of it. She stood up, and a smile swept across her face. Glancing back, she saw Jasper, Octavia, Monty, and Clarke all huddled together as they slept, presuming that Finn was with them.

Making her way over to a fallen tree, Hunter observed the beauty of nature. She placed her hand on the tree's rough bark. Finn, who was awake, noticed her and made his way over.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Finn smiled as he stood next to her. Hunter slightly jumped and looked at him with a smile. Then she noticed what he was holding: a large leaf filled with water.

"Did you go to the river?" Hunter asked. Finn smirked.

"Figured it was worth losing a finger or two," he joked, handing Hunter the leaf. "Here."

Hunter took the leaf and had a small sip. "You call that a sip?" she chuckled, taking a bigger sip and sighing happily, feeling more refreshed. "Do you think all this means we're going to grow two heads?" Finn asked with a smile. Hunter laughed.

"I really missed that laugh," Finn smiled at her. "Come on, I want to show you something." Finn, after a brief pause, led Hunter over to a patch of dirt on the ground with visible footprints.

Hunter and Finn knelt down, and Hunter looked at Finn, wondering why he had brought her here.

"That's a toe," Finn pointed at the footprint. "Plus, near as I can tell, whatever it is, it's walking on two feet. My guess - monkeys," Finn said, looking at her.

Hunter chuckled at his answer. "What?"

"I'm sorry, I may not have studied a whole lot, but I'm pretty sure there were no monkeys anywhere near here," Hunter smiled.

"Right. Did you read anything about glow-in-the-dark forests? Or man-eating snakes?" Finn smirked.

"Fair enough," Hunter said, looking at him and admiring the beauty of her close friend, which she hadn't realized before. She felt a connection between them, something she thought was normal considering how close they were, but now she wasn't so sure.

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The group of six gathered on one side of a swiftly flowing river. Jasper found a vine that could be used to swing across the river, and Finn eagerly volunteered to go first, although he was now feeling a bit anxious. Jasper stood next to him.

"Come on, Finn, you wanted to go first! Quit stalling!" Clarke called out. "Mount Weather awaits."

"Just hang on until the apogee, and you'll be fine," Jasper told him.

"Apogee, like the Indians, right?" Finn asked as he held onto the vine.

"Apogee, not Apache," Jasper corrected.

"He knows, today, Finn," Hunter called out.

"Aye aye, Captain," Finn saluted Hunter. "See you on the other side." Finn started to pull back on the vine, ready to swing, until Jasper stopped him.

"What?" Jasper looked at Octavia, so did Finn, and he smiled, knowing exactly what Jasper wanted.

"Let me," Jasper smiled. "I can do it." Finn looked at him and smirked.

"I knew there was a badass in there," Finn handed Jasper the vine. Jasper stepped back and pulled it, but hesitated to jump off.

"It's okay to be afraid, Jasper. The trick is not fighting it," Finn patted Jasper's shoulder. Jasper looked at him, reassured, and grinned.

"See you on the other side!" He smiled widely. With that, Jasper pulled back and jumped off the ledge, swinging across the river and cheering all the way. "Woo!"

The group waited on the edge as Jasper swung across. Jasper let go of the vine and landed safely on the other side of the river. The group rushed onto the ledge, and Finn grabbed the vine as they all watched Jasper.

"We are Apogee!" Jasper cheered. All of them whooped and cheered him on as they celebrated.

"You did it, Jasper!" Clarke called out. The group laughed and cheered him on. Jasper danced and continued cheering. Finn looked at Hunter and handed her the vine.

"Let's go, Hunter. Your turn," Finn smiled. Hunter looked at him and held onto the vine.

"Come on, Hunter! You got this!" Jasper cheered her on. "Whoo! Apogee!" Jasper looked behind him and saw a very damaged metal sign. He picked it up and read what was written on it: 'Mount Weather.'

"We did it!" He held up the sign and cheered, and the rest of the group joined in.

Hunter looked at Finn as she started to prepare herself to swing across. She glanced at him, then looked up, but the celebration came to an abrupt end when a spear flew right past them and impaled Jasper. He was thrown back and collided with a tree.

Hunter stood in shock as Finn quickly grabbed her wrist. "Jasper?" She called out.

Octavia ducked and backed away with Monty as they quivered and looked around. "Jasper! No!" Hunter was pulled down by Clarke and Finn.

Jasper stared down at the spear that impaled him, in complete and utter shock.

The group jumped down behind the ledge, on the verge of terror and tears.

"We're not alone," Clarke shuddered.

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