hello. it's me. again. writing this book. again.

lol.

on another, more desperate note, if anyone wants to check out my orignal book Devilish, please do because i'm an attention whore and i like validation. pls. i will love you forever.

bold=Swedish

CHAPTER ONE

THE COMEBACK

It was late, the sun had long since set and even in the thick forestry surrounding him, there was still a slight breeze, carrying a sharp bitterness that made him shiver slightly.

Ren poked at his small fire, hoping to feed the flames higher by doing so. It was probably nearing winter again, but he didn't keep track of the days, or the months. He only guessed from the lack of time the sun spent in the sky and how the air seemed sharper.

He rolled his neck tiredly, his casual thoughts numbing with exasperation as he stifled a yawn. Just as he was about set up his regular makeshift bed, there was an abrupt rustle from the bushes, startling him into an innate awareness, his shoulders squared defensively. With tentative steps, Ren's fingers curled around the stick he was using to awaken the fire as he advanced towards the noise. At first, he thought maybe it was just an animal, but living in a radioactive forest you could never be too careful.

And then, whatever it was, started to cough violently.

With a perplexed frown, Ren cocked his head to the side, his grip loosening as he brushed back the foliage. As far as he knew, irradiated massive cats weren't known for coughing. He kept himself hidden, crouching low as he watched a figure stagger towards a tree, their body trembling as they heaved up whatever their stomach had to offer.

Ren knew he should have probably taken that as the opportunity to get one up on the stranger, but he was completely taken aback. He hadn't seen another person in... weeks. He was beginning to think he was cursed to be alone.

From the slick blonde hair that shrouded her face, and the sweat-glistened skin, he didn't need three guesses to work out she needed help and considering they were both in the middle of nowhere, it was unlikely she would stumble upon someone who could help her that wasn't him.

After a moment of a heated internal debate, Ren groaned and rolled his eyes. It looked like he was about to play the part of a savior; something he definitely wasn't.

Clearing his throat as a forewarning, Ren stepped out from his hidden position beneath the shrubbery and almost instantly, glassy green eyes snapped up to meet his. They were bloodshot and puffy, he had a suspicion that the droplets on her face weren't just from the sweat of a fever either. She eyed his awkward stature warily, her fingernails digging into the bark as she tried to keep herself upright, but even a blind man could spot how she looked barely alive.

She narrowed her eyes, as she cocked her head at him. The movement proved too much for her already weak body as she stumbled, her back hitting the tree as her legs buckled beneath her own weight, but her gaze didn't waver from the man who had just emerged from the bushes. With a croaky, unused voice, she asked, "Are you real?"

It was a simple enough question, yet Ren couldn't keep his surprise at bay. What was wrong with this girl? He shook his head slightly, giving her an awkward wave, "I am. My name's Ren, what's yours?"

He figured he better find out the name of someone he was about to help aid back to health.

Her curious gaze quickly turned into a half-lidded, weak stare as she breathed heavily, the back of her head leant against the bark, "Carter." She whispered, eyes closing as she slowly began to lose consciousness. "My name.., is Carter."

***

"Oh come on, stop going easy on me already!"

Ren stepped back with a grin, bringing his hand up to his throbbing lip gingerly. He hadn't expected her to land such a hit. He pulled back his fingers to see a light layer of crimson, the taste of copper tingled against the tip of his tongue and he spat it out as he rolled his neck, tightening his hands into fists again as he eyed Carter challengingly.

"Nice hit," He praised, "Who said I was even going easy on you?"

Carter rolled her eyes, dropping her fighting stance as she placed an accusing hand on her hip, "I'm not stupid Ren, I know you're playing nice," She quirked an eyebrow, "I can handle myself, come on, give me your best."

Ren resisted the urge to smirk as he nodded his head, "Whatever you say, loser."

Carter made the first move, reeling her fist back within a nanosecond and aimed for Ren's face again, but unlike last time, he managed to catch it in his palm, pulling her closer before sweeping her legs out from beneath her. She yelped loudly as she fell on her ass, the wind pushed out from her lungs as she quickly kicked herself back up, groaning as she did.

"You asked for--"

Before Ren could goad her any further, Carter managed to land a swift sidekick to his ribs, causing him to stagger back wheezing. She didn't have time to celebrate, just as he had no time to recover as she went in for another kick, but just before her boot could connect to his shoulder, he ducked out the way, his forearm pushing Carter's calf up further than her balance could handle, and once again, she fell on her ass. With a groan of frustration, she quickly got back to her feet, unsheathing the knife that Octavia had given her all that time ago. With a steady stance, she tightened her grip on the knife with a lopsided grin.

"That's more like it."

Without another word, she swung the blade, hoping it would give her some kind of advantage, but as it came inches close to Ren's chest he easily defected her arm, grabbing her wrist and twisting it so she dropped the blade, but Carter used the opportunity to kick out, her foot hitting the top of Ren's thigh ultimately causing him to fall back. In one swift move, she picked up the knife and pinned Ren down with her forearm as the other pressed the knife against his neck. With bated breath, Ren chuckled and threw up his hands in surrender.

With a triumphant smirk, Carter took the knife away and stood up, "I told you I could handle myself."

Sitting up, Ren dusted his palms against his usual grey t-shirt before running one through his short dark brown hair, "Touche, Carter, touche."

With an exasperated sigh, Carter sat down on a discarded log and began to unwind the bandages that were wrapped around her knuckles. When they started sparring, both of their knuckles always ended up bruised and bloody, and even though the bandages weren't complete protection, she found they helped if not a little. It was Ren who had suggested that after having to clean her knuckles for the umpteenth time.

It had been a month since he suggested that.

While Ren didn't seem too bothered about keeping up with time, Carter did. She had counted every day that had passed since she made her decision to leave Camp Jaha. It had been just over two months since she saw her family and friends. A month-and-a-half since she made her recovery from the withdrawal symptom that left her on the brink of death.

Even when she came around, even after almost dying, she found it so hard not to cave, especially since she still experienced the hallucinations of her best friend. He tried to speak to her on so many occasions, and every time she felt like he was really there, driving a knife into her heart, but she stayed strong and she didn't give in. She fought against it. And slowly, she managed to come to terms with Finn's death, albeit, acceptance took a little longer, but with the help of her new friend and sparring partner, she managed to move on, almost finding the person she was before Finn's death in the process.

She owed more to Ren than he even knew. If he never saved her, if he never pushed her to keep fighting she would have been dead, or worse; she would have turned into her mother.

***

"Why are you helping me?"

Ren glanced up from the flames and towards the girl that had taken his bed for the past three nights. He wasn't happy with sleeping on forest debris, not in the slightest, but he figured she needed it more than him, and he was right. In three days, her bloodshot eyes had faded, her skin was no longer pale and layered with cold sweat and she didn't burn to touch.

Remembering her question, Ren shrugged half-heartedly, "If you died, it would probably sit on my conscience and ugh, I'd rather not drag that around with me for the rest of my life."

A weak smile tugged at Carter's lips as she pulled the layered blanket up to her chin, resting her head on the log so she could look up at Ren properly. He didn't seem much older than her, maybe in his early twenties. Cobalt eyes surrounded by thick, dark lashes, short dark hair that if he didn't brush back, swooped just above his eyes. He had a dirty tan beneath the dirty skin and dark stubble that trailed from his hairline to his chin. She took more interest in his clothes than his appearance; the incredibly drab, grey attire from her home.

"You're from the Ark?" Carter asked, glancing from his expressionless face to the clothes.

"Uh yeah," Ren nodded awkwardly. He was antisocial by nature, even when he was surrounded by people, he didn't like to do much talking. And in three days, he still barely knew the girl he had aided back to health except that she slept with her mouth open.

"What station?" She cocked her head curiously. She wasn't surprised that she didn't know his face, she didn't know many people outside of her small trio of friends.

"Originally, Hydro. But I got a job as a techie and moved to Tesla." He responded, his guise still guarded.

Carter hummed as she nodded her head, recalling her very rare visits to Tesla station. Even though she was an engineer, Tesla often had their own on sight to deal with more specific problems than what Carter was used to. "I was originally from Alpha, but Tesla, huh? I heard you guys could make some pretty cool tunes."

"We could," He chuckled, nodding slightly. "So, are you the only survivor of Alpha or are there more of you stumbling through the forest on Death's door?"

"Just me," She snorted before quickly correcting herself, "I mean, there are loads of survivors from the Ark, but I'm the only one stumbling through the forest looking like I just dug myself out of a grave. What about you? Any survivors from Tesla?"

Ren's light expression quickly dissolved as he shifted uncomfortably, his gaze boring into the flickering flames of the fire, "No, just me."

***

"I feel like we're going the wrong way."

"Probably."

"No, you're not supposed to agree," Carter scowled, though Ren paid no mind as he read the torn and screwed up map Carter had in her pack. "You're supposed to tell me we're going the right way."

"Uh, that would be lying and I'm obviously too much of a good guy to lie like that." Ren scoffed, rolling his eyes as he turned back to the map. A few seconds later, he nodded to himself before folding it back up, "Okay, I say we're two or three days out from Camp Gaga."

"Camp Jaha." Carter corrected.

"Right, that one," Ren pursed his lips, brushing his hair back so it wasn't in the way, "You know, they should add an extra H-A on the end, it would definitely make the camp seem more threatening."

The engineer knitted her eyebrows together, "Camp Jahaha?"

Ren snickered childishly, "Gets me every time."

Carter rolled her eyes at his behavior, swallowing the urge to groan, "It is a stupid name though. I mean, they are literally two letters away from making the name sound like a joke. At least Camp Ren has a certain ring to it"

"Careful, your modesty is showing."

She found it almost comical that when they first met, Ren seemed incredibly awkward, kind of like he forgot how to socialize and now that she had finally managed to coax him out of his protective, hard exterior, she wanted nothing more than to shove him back in. For the past month, all he had done was make fun of her, annoy her and just generally try to push her past her limits.

And in most cases, he succeeded.

Their journey back to the camp had been content for the most part, with Ren's jibes being limited. Both relishing in their own emotions of seeing more than one person at once. The blonde was excited, elated even to know that she confidently going back to her home stronger than she ever was before. She had found her optimism, her unique outlook on life, and now she couldn't wait to see the ones she loved most again. Ren, on the other hand, was a little more than nervous.

People had never been his forte.

She looked up from her boots, eyes wide as she turned to look at Ren, "What if they don't want to see me?"

"Who?"

"Everyone at camp," she explained. She had been so caught up in how she felt, but barely gave any thought to how they might react. How would her father act after waking up to some half-assed letter she wrote? How would Bellamy be? Would he have waited for her or moved on? What about Raven, Octavia, Rae, Monty, Jasper, Steven and everyone else she didn't even say goodbye to? Involuntarily, her chest began to feel tight as her mind whirled with numerous unanswered questions. "Oh god, what are we doing?"

"We're taking you back to Camp Jahaha," Ren affirmed, looping an arm over her shoulders with a grin, "Because, to be honest, I've wanted to drown you on several occasions, so I think it's time we take you home. Don't worry, I'm sure they miss you like a hole in the head."

"You are such a comforting person." Carter deadpanned, sending him a half-hearted glare.

"Hey, even if they're not happy to see you, you've got me." He leaned in closer, speaking through the corner of his lips like he was disclosing some big secret, "And not meaning to brag, but I'm a pretty awesome person. I'm at least worth five Camp Jahaha's."

Carter chuckled airily, "Thanks, Ren, that was oddly sweet."

"Don't mention it," He smiled before it dropped, "No seriously, don't. I have a rep to uphold."

Carter motioned a zip across her mouth with a gentle smile, "My lips are sealed," With a breathy exhale, she attempted to swallow her sudden nerves,

"Right, let's go home."