𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄, this isn't paradise

      𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐔𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃, Makayla finds herself slowly drifting away from the group. It's not that she doesn't want to spend time with them, but she can't help but see the mutated deer in her mind, looking straight at her. The image of the deer hurts, since she's always imagined deer to be peaceful creatures. Whatever she just saw is not at all a peaceful creature, and she's certain the image of the double heads will haunt her dreams.

      Her mind continues to play images of mutated animals in her head, flashing images of large spiders with too many fangs to count or images of a wild panther with two extra legs. She only knows what the original animals look like from drawings in books from the Ark that had survived the war, but somehow, that makes her mind form even more twisted versions. She scratches at a mosquito bite on her left arm, something she was no where near ready to experience on the ground. She remembers reading about mosquitos, but she had completely forgotten about them once they reached Earth. It's not like they would be carrying bug spray.

      Her mosquito bite reminds her of just how unprepared they are for the things waiting for them on Earth. Mutated animals won't be easy to fight, and frankly, with the conditions the delinquents are in, they wouldn't stand a very good chance. 

      Little does she know that the problems they'll face are even worse than she imagined.

      Finn's voice interrupts her thoughts. "Hey, you know what I'd like to know? Why send us down today after ninety seven years? What changed?". Makayla does want to know why, because she is thankful that she didn't die after the guards barged into her room that morning, but why send the delinquents down now? What is happening on the Ark that made them be sent to Earth?

      "Who cares? I'm just glad they did. I woke up rotting in a cell, and now I'm spinning in a forest" Octavia spits out, earning a smile from Quinn. Quinn seconds that, because she has no reason to miss her life on the Ark. "I'm just glad I don't have to count down the days till I get floated anymore!" She adds, which makes Makayla smile. She's glad for the both of them.

      Clarke clears her throat to speak but gets interrupted by a curious Monty. "Maybe they found something on a satellite, you know, like an old weather satellite?" He hesitates for a second, thinking about what he just said. "Or maybe it wasn't a satellite?".

      Sam shrugs and looks over to Clarke, thinking she'd have a good answer. After feeling Sam's eyes burn into her skull, she caves. "The Ark is dying. At the current population level, there's roughly three months left of life support, maybe four now that we're gone". Clarke's words rattle around Makayla's brain. Is the Ark really dying? She knows that she doesn't care for the council and some part of her wishes that the council would just go float themselves, but she can't bring herself to feel that way about the others. The innocent families? They don't deserve to be condemned to a death like that. 

      "So that was the secret they locked you up to keep, why they kept you in solitary, floated your old man?" Finn questions, and Clarke nods. Makayla grasps that, seeing a side of Clarke that she hasn't seen before. This side of Clarke she likes — she doesn't feel weird around her and doesn't feel like Clarke is a spoiled rich asshole. Maybe all Clarke was trying to do was benefit everyone, but her intentions come across as only trying to help herself.

      "My father was the engineer who discovered the flaw. He thought the people had a right to know. The Council disagreed. My mother disagreed. They were afraid it would cause a panic. We were gonna go public, anyway, when Wells —" A solemn expression grows on her face as she speaks, her words trailing off as she accidentally reveals a piece of information that she didn't mean to. Makayla looks down at the ground, taking in what she was just told. Clarke's father was right, they did have a right to know. The Council's decision to revoke that ability just makes her more upset with them. Why is everything they do always self-serving?

      Monty finishes Clarke's statement for her by asking if Wells turned in her dad. She doesn't give a response, just rambling on about how the Ark is dying so that's why they were sent down today. That's why they're on Earth. She finds it funny, because the Ark actually gave her what she has always wanted. That's one thing she can thank the Council for. She's glad her feet can touch soil now, and she can feel a true breeze on her skin. Maybe she's glad there's a flaw in the Ark's system.

      "They're gonna kill more people, aren't they?" Monty asks, and Clarke nods. Octavia scoffs, moving ahead of them with Quinn following shortly behind. "Good. After what they did to me, I say, float them all".

      The group watches Octavia and Quinn quickly walk away from them, Jasper quickly trying to tell Octavia that she doesn't mean what she said. Makayla rolls her eyes at his weak attempt at speaking to her, but also thinking about what Octavia said. The Council has always been, and will always be, ruthless towards regular civilians. It's never fair to them, getting unequal treatment especially compared to the people on Alpha Station. She can understand why Octavia's angry, because she got arrested just for being born, which is pretty crazy to think about, when she never did anything wrong herself. Quinn got arrested for stealing, and judging by what Makayla's learned about the girl, she probably needed whatever she stole. Neither of those crimes should be punishable by death, but the Council will always be ruthless. It's a lesson she learned quickly throughout her teen years.

      Will they still be just as ruthless when they come down to Earth?

      She's not totally sure if it'll be the same old behaviors as what she's used to. She knows that you can't just change someone, or a group of people, that quickly. If they'll be down on Earth in two months, the Council probably won't change. At all. That means they'll lock people up for stealing rations and clothes, just like normal, even though there's still going to be people who aren't as fortunate.

      Following Quinn and Octavia has given her another instance of letting her mind race, to the point where it's overwhelming. She shakes it off, trying to pretend like she wasn't in deep thought as everyone walks ahead of her and she's left, walking as slow as possible, on her own.

      Looking up, she swears she can see something off about the trees. Maybe it's radiation affecting the plant life, or maybe the branches just grew in a weird way, but something's off about it. It looks like there's a dark shadow stuck between the branches, looming over her with ill intentions.

      But she tries not to look too long. And thankfully, Jasper's voice pulls her out of her trance.

      "Oh, damn, I love Earth!" He exclaims, which makes Makayla move her attention to where everyone else is. She rushes towards them, only to see Octavia and Quinn pulling their pants off and some of their layers, leaving them in their tank tops and underwear. She's not surprised Jasper made a comment on this, he's obviously into girls, and he's obviously into Octavia. Makayla's able to crack a smile, thinking about how he can take a break from focusing on the possible impending doom of the Ark (and possibly the camp if they can't make it to Mount Weather), and act like a normal teenager. 

      Clarke looks over at the rest of the group before deciding to question the two girl's motives. "Octavia, Quinn, what the hell are you doing?". Her voice falls on deaf ears as the two girls jump in, their bodies making a loud splash at the bottom of the small rocky platform they're standing on. 

      Makayla can see Clarke pull a map out of her bag almost immediately. She's thankful that Clarke's prepared, but still uneasy since she's one of the privileged. She can find good intentions in Clarke's actions now, since she wants everything she does to benefit everyone. She's not doing all of this for herself, she's doing it for everyone. Clarke looks over her map, only to look over at Finn and explain to him that there isn't supposed to be a river where they are.

      Makayla immediately scrambles to the edge, looking over it to make sure the two girls are okay. She'd jump in if she wasn't scared of the possibility of mutated animals living in the water, because the deer still haunts her. And now she's slightly worried about the shadow she saw in the trees only moments before. She loves the idea of experiencing water on Earth, since she knows it's a different feel than the water on the Ark, but she's scared.

      And she has every right to be.

      Sam drops down beside her as everyone else starts ripping off their clothes. "You good?" He asks the blonde, and she gives him a small smile. "Just being cautious, I don't want —".

      Her words are suddenly interrupted by a shout. "Octavia, Quinn, get out of the water!". Makayla immediately looks over at Jasper, seeing his concerned expression and then back down at the girls, only to see both of them get pulled under water out of nowhere.

      Shit.

      The two girls emerge from the water a couple times, only to scream and get pulled back under again. Makayla watches, frozen in place as glimpses of red appear in the water, from the blood loss of whatever wounds they were sustaining. She's not the only one frozen in fear either, everyone in the group is stuck in their spots, just watching as the two girls continue to get attacked.

      Monty's the first one to say anything. "What the hell is that? We have to help them!". Finn looks over at the boy, a look on his face that says he's about to do something risky. He starts throwing off some of his extra layers, and by the looks of it, he's about to jump in to help them.

      Makayla stops him. "What the hell are you doing? If you think you can jump in there to save them, you're insane. We need a better plan than that!". Finn hesitates, which gives Clarke enough time to figure out something. "If we distract it, it might let her go". Makayla nods as Clarke rushes over to some rocks that are sitting on the edge of the rocky platform, but calls for the rest of the group to help her.

      The group is able to push two of the rocks into the river, which makes the river-dwelling monster let go of the two girls. They start flailing in the river, not knowing how to swim in it or at least make an attempt to tread the water. Jasper calls over to the two girls, telling them to get to the shore before the monster comes back. Makayla almost rolls her eyes, since it's almost obvious that the two girls can't. 

      Makayla looks at the two girls one more time before making a decision. She normally wouldn't do something like what she wants to do, but she doesn't want to lose the two girls. It'll just confirm her two fears about Earth — that it's not what she dreamed of.

      So, she jumps into the water. And Jasper follows her.

      She grabs onto Quinn as the boy grabs onto Octavia. The rest of the group rushes after them, holding out their arms for them to grab. Makayla shoves Quinn onto the shore, the rest of the group grabbing onto her. She sees Jasper help Octavia out of the water, only to hear the rushing of the water monster behind her. She's scared, and almost freezes, but Jasper grabs onto her hand and gets her out of the water. 

      She flops her back on the ground, her wet clothes sticking to her. She would never normally do something like that, the confidence coming out of nowhere. But she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she had left them in the water. She can feel Quinn holding onto her, mumbling something to her but the adrenaline rush stops her from hearing anything. Her eyes stay trained on the sky, the slow moving clouds being the only thing she can handle right now.

      Because no matter what, her fears continue to be true.

—————————————————————————————

      𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐀 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓, a peaceful forest that ended up glowing in the dark. It had been nothing like what Makayla had seen before — the glow was beautiful. And the way she slept that night made her feel like she was in heaven. Maybe it had been the environment, with the peaceful glow and the quiet background noise of the animals. Or it had been the first time she had been active in months, which had made her tired enough to almost pass out the moment her head hit the ground. Whatever made her sleep so nicely, she was thankful for.

      They were originally going to keep going, but it was the first place they had found for what seemed like miles that was peaceful enough where they could stop and rest. And the wounds on Quinn's arm and Octavia's legs were bothering them — a large claw mark on Octavia's leg and two medium size claw marks on Quinn's arm. Makayla understood why they wanted to rest — she would want to as well.

      But now they're continuing on their way to Mount Weather. But they had been stopped by another river. And nobody was really keen on the idea of swimming through it, especially the two girls with injuries.

      The group had found a rope that they could use to swing over the river. And now it is just a matter of who would be the guinea pig. And it's safe to say that Makayla doesn't want to be the first one over. It's not that she wants to put others in danger, it's that she doesn't want to be out in the open. She feels like she's being watched by something, constantly checking the trees to see if anything is up there.

      And all she's ever seen were shadows cast by the canopies of leaves. She's never pointed out the suspicious looking shadows to the rest of the group — she's figured that there's enough to worry about — but the fact that she continues to see them scares her. If the shadows are really anything, they're most likely animals that reside in the trees. She doesn't want to freak herself out with her fears, because Earth's supposed to be the paradise she's always imagined, but the creepy shadows that continue to plague her vision have been getting under her skin. It's like her brain's trying to warn her about something, but she just can't figure out what it is.

      "You wanted to go first. Now quit stalling" Clarke says to Finn as he hesitates. Makayla can't blame him though. She would be hesitating too if she was in his position. She hears Octavia say something about how Mount Weather's waiting for them, and she almost smiles. "Just hang on till the apogee, and you'll be fine". Makayla watches Finn question Jasper's comment, only for Clarke to tell him to hurry up. Makayla wants them to get this over with too, since standing out in the open has been making her uneasy this entire time.

      She hears a twig snap behind the two boys, but it seems like she's the only person who noticed it. She tries to look over to see what it is, but can't see anything since the boys are blocking her. She shakes it off as she turns her attention back to Finn, who's just about ready to launch himself to the other side of the river, when Jasper interrupts him. 

      "Let me. I can do it" The boy says to Finn, and Makayla can see Octavia smile from the corner of her eye. It's obvious why Jasper wants to go first — he wants to impress Octavia. She smiles at the thought, seeing Jasper anxiously look over at the Blake girl before taking the makeshift rope from Finn.

      Finn smiles as Jasper prepares himself. "Knew there was a badass in there somewhere". Makayla sees Jasper smile before looking back over at the other side of the river. Makayla hopes he shakes off his nerves before he swings to the other side, or else he might slip and fall into the river, possibly injuring himself.

      Jasper hesitates, and Finn tells him that it's okay to be afraid. It's obvious that he knows that it's okay, but everyone's anxious. Makayla thinks her anxiety is radiating off of her — she's gotten more jumpy and nervous ever since the river. "See you on the other side!" Jasper announces before swinging across the river.

      Makayla holds her breath as Jasper swings across, not releasing it until he safely makes it to the other side. He stays on the ground for a second, catching his footing before standing up and cheering. "Yeah! We are apogee!" He calls, making the entire group smile.

      Clarke gives Jasper another cheer of encouragement and celebration before Finn hands her the makeshift rope. "You're up, Princess" He states with a smile, and everyone backs up so Clarke has enough space to launch herself across. Jasper yells a cheer of encouragement before spotting something lying around on the ground, covered by vines and dirt.

      Makayla watches him pick up a piece of metal that has scattered holes in it. He looks at it before cheering, turning the sign for them to see. "We did it! Mount Weather!" He calls, holding the sign above his head for them to read. The sign looks like it was something that would welcome someone to an area, with the words 'Mount Weather' plastered on the metal. Makayla smiles — they really did it. They're really about to get the supplies they need, and they're going to survive. 

      She hears another rustle from the trees behind her, but it's not something she's focusing on anymore. It's something so simple that she would've never thought about, a simple noise that seems like something insignificant. 

      Something hurtles through the air, making noise as it flows through it. It impales Jasper, sending him flying back into the trees. Makayla stares with wide eyes as Sam grabs her arm, pulling her down to where the rest of the group is. They're all freaking out, scanning the trees to see what speared the boy. 

      And that's when she sees it. There's a shadow, moving from tree to tree. And it doesn't look like an animal. Makayla pales, and shifts her weight back as she runs a hand through her hair. The shadows and the noises have been significant, but she's been too careless to realize. She holds out a shaky hand to the shadow as she tells everyone to look. The figure hiding in the trees then disappears, leaving them by themselves.

      Then Clarke utters the most terrifying words she could at the moment. Something Makayla couldn't find in herself to comprehend as she tries to calm herself. It's truly terrifying, and it confirms her fears. The fears she's been denying, pretending like they wouldn't come true.

      "We're not alone".

      𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 —

poor jasper. and now makayla's going to blame herself for jasper's injury because she noticed the shadows and noises before anyone else did and didn't say anything. but how would she have known??

anyways, if you have any feedback, i'd love to hear it!

𝟑𝟑𝟓𝟗 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒