𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍, atychiphobia

september 25th, 𝟐𝟏𝟒𝟗      

      𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐀 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒.

      She doesn't know why, exactly, but she's learned that she likes them. She can't think of a single possible reason why she likes them so much — she just knows that she likes them. She doesn't think anyone is complaining about her liking for the telling of stories, especially because before she started rambling on and on to two of the thirteen-year-olds camped around where the camp fire is lit (They said they were 'cold', but she just thinks they're being overdramatic), the two teenagers were running around, causing disruptions.

      One of them is a girl, named Vivian, and the other is named Isaac. The two had been running around, playing a makeshift game of tag, running into people and tripping over the corners of the tents. She only knew that they were running around, causing disruptions, because one of them fell through the entrance of her tent — crashing into her.

      It had been the boy, Isaac, who had fallen through. He was quick to apologize to her, quick to attempt to not get yelled at — because he didn't know her before, so he wasn't sure if her first instinct would be to shout and get mad. But she reacted calmly, laughing it off as she watched Vivian poke her head through to check on her friend.

      Since nobody needed her help with anything, she offered to occupy the two teenagers with games of some sort so they would stop causing disruptions. She ended up making the decision that telling stories to them would be the safest — so they made their way to the campfire and sat around it, and she prepared some stories.

      It's been like this for a while now, her imagination continuing these stories. The two teenagers before her watch her with an odd sense of fascination, watching her carefully as she thinks of the next part of the story on the spot. Currently, she's making up a story that she 'read' when she was younger about a woman who wanted to climb the tallest mountain in the world. The teenagers haven't called bullshit on her story, even when she falters and has nothing to say for a few moments.

      She finds it slightly odd that they're so fascinated by the stories, but when she was thirteen she was obsessing over Earth like it was nobody's business, so she can't really blame them.

      "With enough perseverance, she was finally able to climb the mountain, and placed her sign in a secure spot so if anyone else dared to climb the mountain, they would know that she was there first. She photographed the spot she claimed, as well, and when she finally came back to her hometown, she shared the photos with everyone. She even got to be put in her town's paper — and eventually made national news!".

      The boy sitting in front of her cocks his head to the side. "Where'd you learn this story from?" He questions, the girl beside him nodding along. Maybe they're finally calling bullshit on what she's saying.

      "The Ark's rec room, obviously! Where else would I get this story?" She's quick to say, not wanting the teens to doubt where her stories come from. 

      The two teens look at each other for a moment, silently speaking through their eyes before turning back to her. Vivian looks eager, as if she's itching to speak. "Do you remember any stories about Greek Mythology? Those were always my favorite on the Ark!".

      She frowns, knowing she doesn't have any stories to tell her. Instead of reading those types of books, she always gravitated towards the ones about the natural world. Her head was always stuck in either a non-fiction book, or a fiction one still centered around something relating towards Earth. To her, mythology had always been something that seemed too fake — she wanted to learn more and more about the natural world, not things that some would say aren't real.

      "I don't, actually. I always read stories about Earth, not mythology" She explains, seeing Vivian's expression go from eager to sad, almost making her heart hurt for the girl. She remembers her childlike innocence at that age, obsessing over Earth and all things about it. Nobody could ever take that innocence away from her, but on Earth, it seems like it can easily strip someone's innocence away from them.

      "Is Earth anything like what you read about?" Isaac questions, tapping his friend on the arm to cheer her up, even in the slightest way. She smiles at that, seeing so much of herself and Sam in the two teenagers, every little mannerism and glance at each other being a reflection of how she was — and still is — with her best friend. 

      She's disappointed with her answer to the boy's question, because Earth is nothing like what she thought it would be. It still has some of the aspects she dreamed of — the shining sun, the tall trees, greenery everywhere — but it has other things she never thought would even exist. Her dreams of paradise didn't have radiation-infused animals, or acid fog, or Grounders that despise the fact that the delinquents have set up a place to live in their territory. 

      "It's not, but it's not terrible".

      She says this with a smile, trying to keep her actual feelings hidden from the two teenagers, trying to mask how she feels about the entire situation. She doesn't want them to lose the innocence that they still have, and in the short time she's known them, she'll go great lengths to make sure these two teenagers keep their innocence.

      Vivian looks up at her. "Did you ever think that you would come here when you got arrested?".

      She doesn't know when her story-telling session became a question and answer game for the two teenagers, but it's not like she can stop them from asking questions. They're young teenagers, and they're curious — she was too when she was thirteen. She's not stopping them from inquiring about things that they're curious about, because she knows how it feels for her questions to be dismissed by both people she looks up to and people who are complete strangers to her. So, she tells the girl no, and waits for the next question.

      "How'd you get arrested?".

      She feels her heart plummet, not expecting those words to come out of Isaac's mouth. The only person who actually knows what happened is Bellamy, and even then she doesn't even like that she told him. Not even Sam knows — and she almost slaps herself in the face for not telling her best friend. 

      She takes a deep breath. "Ask any other question".

      The two teenagers' only reaction is to say 'why' over and over again, pestering her because she tried to deflect their question. She figures that her answer only made them even more curious, but there's absolutely nothing she can do about it now. 

      "That's something I don't tell people" She says, even though she's partially lying to the kids. She's not trying to — she really can't remember why she even told Bellamy. "You can ask any other question, though".

      There's a few beats of silence, the two teenagers talking to each other through their eyes. She almost laughs, because their interrogation game hasn't seemed to be that serious before. She figures they want to find the best question to ask her, probably one that pushes her boundaries. Maybe she shouldn't have said that they can ask any other question, then.

      "Do you have a boyfriend?".

      Bringing her back to the scene in front of her, Isaac's innocent but laced with intent question makes her nervously laugh for no reason. She's never had a boyfriend, so the fact that the two kids may think that she does makes her feel a certain way she doesn't know if she likes. She's quick to say no, but the kids seem to think otherwise.

      "What about that guy with the black hair? The one you share a tent with?" Vivian questions, and Makayla almost bursts out laughing. She would never think of Sam like that, and the fact that the two kids think that is something she didn't realize she would find funny. She can't say she's surprised they asked that though, because when she was thirteen she would probably assume that about someone too.

      "No. We are best friends, nothing more".

      Nothing about their expressions seems to change, and she's not sure if they're satisfied with her answer or not. She's never thought of anything like that, and thinking about that on Earth seems so extreme. When they're faced with constant danger, why would that be one of her priorities? She would rather prioritize making sure herself and the rest of the delinquents are safe, especially with the Grounders.

      "What about that other guy?" Vivian questions, and Makayla stares at her blankly. She's not sure what other guy the girl is referring to, especially because there are plenty of male delinquents in the camp. She picks at her nails as she stares back at her, not knowing what she's supposed to say. She has no clue who this 'other guy' is supposed to be.

      "What other guy?".

      "The one with the curly hair who bosses everyone around and keeps talking to you. I think his name is Bellamy, or something like that. I don't know, I don't really pay attention when he's talking" Isaac answers for her, and the blonde sighs. She's interacted with the guy only a few times, and now two teenagers who barely know what's happening around them think he's her boyfriend. It's safe to say that she's tired of their questions, especially when she's grown to think that they're stupid.

      "No, he's no—" She's cut off by shouting, coming from the main entrance. The voice is shouting, pleading for Clarke presence, and she's quick to recognize it as Jasper. She shoots up from her position around the fire, knowing that Jasper would only be shouting for the blonde medic if something bad happened during the search for Octavia.

      Maybe Octavia's just injured, and needs medical attention immediately. Maybe she should stop thinking the worst every time something happens. Maybe she should start being more prepared to hear someone call for the camp's medic so urgently, because it's common for people to get injured on Earth.

      But maybe her gut is right, and she should trust it.

      "Hey, Vivian, Isaac" She begins, getting their attention. They've both stood up as well, and their brains must've told them already that something bad happened. "Go wait in your tents. Let me see what's going on".

      They seem reluctant to do so at first, but they end up rushing back to the tent they share with a few other delinquents as Makayla rushes towards the entrance, where she can see the gate being opened for the search party to come through. 

      Clarke's reached her side as she rushes towards the gate, wanting to know what happened. Quinn was on the trip, what if something bad happened to her? One of her closest friends, and she could be the reason why Jasper is urgently shouting for Clarke. Why would she not go running towards where they are, wanting to see her friend's condition? Why would she not want to see if she's okay?

      People push their way towards the gate, curious as to who's shouting for the camp's resident medic. She's not surprised, the possibility of someone being hurt can easily gain the attention of anyone, especially with the conditions surrounding them. She doesn't want to shove people out of the way, but she's concerned over her friend's safety — she desperately wants to know if she's okay.

      She sees Monroe come in through the gate, Octavia leaning against her shoulder for support — she's no doctor, but she doesn't think Jasper's desperate screams would be over the injuries Octavia may have sustained. The two look exhausted, completely tired out after the journey they've had — the woods around them proving once again to be dangerous, the Grounders increasingly becoming a bigger threat.

      The gate moves once more, Bellamy walking through, carrying an injured Finn in his arms. Sweat drenching their bodies, and a knife poking out of Finn's chest. Her mind immediately assumes this is why Jasper's been shouting, screaming for Clarke to jump into action. She bites her cheek, watching as Clarke flies through the crowd to reach Finn, her voice filled with panic as she starts scanning his body.

      The gate shifts once more, and she sees everything she didn't want to see. Quinn, barely being held up by Jasper, a knife poking out of her thigh like Finn has one poking out of his chest. She immediately goes into a state of panic, watching as Jasper is barely able to bring the girl within the walls of the camp to safety.

      She races towards them. "Jasper, Jasper! What happened?". Her voice is filled with panic, matching Clarke's, as she desperately tries to get answers out of the boy. How could this have happened? To two of the people who went out in search of Octavia as well?

      "A Grounder happened" Jasper informs, his eyes darting around the area, falling on Clarke. The girl beside him franticly looks over, desperately wanting to see what Clarke's next move is. She sees that Raven's joined them by the gate, a stressed look washing over her face as she stares at the state of her boyfriend. 

      Clarke is hurriedly checking to see if Finn has a pulse, her hands shakily reaching Finn's neck. Makayla feels frozen, seeing two of the people that she considers her friends being injured in front of her. Her mind can only think about how their lives are in danger because of a Grounder, but she has no idea what would've provoked the Grounder to do such a thing. Maybe it was in his nature when they found Octavia, or maybe they truly did something to provoke the Grounder. Either way, she doesn't think they deserve to be on limited time, knives poking out of their skin.

      "He's alive".

      She comes to her senses at the girl's words, realizing that Quinn might be too. Her hand flies to Quinn's neck, hoping to find a pulse as her fingers reach the girl's clammy skin. She almost lets out a sigh of relief as she feels the weak pulse, almost letting a smile break through with the knowledge.

      "So is Quinn!" She exclaims, her eyes darting around to see what's happening now. They don't have a specified area to bring any of the injured delinquents, nowhere specific for Clarke to treat them. And she knows that for the types of injuries that the girl will have to treat, she will need some form of privacy so she can work properly, which she's not sure the girl will get.

      She sees Jasper look over to Clarke. "Bellamy wouldn't let me take the knife out".

     Clarke shakes her head and explains that Bellamy's command was a good call. Makayla feels frozen once more, not knowing what to do or how to help. She just wants to make sure that Quinn ends up okay, and Finn as well, but her main priority is the safety of someone that she would consider one of her closest friends.

      She vaguely hears Clarke command Jasper and Bellamy to bring the two injured teens to the dropship. She stands there frozen still, watching Jasper struggle to bring the injured brunette to the dropship so the blonde can treat her.

      She feels someone grab her arm lightly, and she realizes that it's Clarke. "Can you go inside the dropship and find something to lay them on? A table of some sort? I'm going to need your help".

      She nods, and jogs quickly over to the dropship to find something to lay the two teens on for whatever operation Clarke will do. She passes Jasper and Bellamy, seeing them try their hardest to bring the two teenagers into the dropship without causing any more injuries. She doesn't take too long to watch, wanting to reach the inside of the dropship as soon as possible to make sure she can help Clarke tend to the injuries they have sustained. 

      She doesn't exactly know what the girl's going to do, but she trusts that she'll do the right thing. 

—————————————————————————————

      𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐇𝐄'𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐄.

      He shouldn't be feeling this way. He doesn't know why he is — he did everything right, attempting to put extra care into every movement he did while repairing the radio. He watched carefully whenever Raven did a minor tweak or a major one, anything to attempt to fix the radio. After all their work, they did it. They fixed the broken machine, repairing the parts that were damaged by the water.

      So why is he second guessing himself?

      Maybe it's because he feels more pressure now than he ever did before. He's never felt this way, especially on the Ark. It was easy doing mechanical work on the Ark — there may have been limited supplies, but he was in a controlled environment. Nothing about the Ark was working against his every move, nothing about the Ark was hanging over his head, telling him that he couldn't do something.

      His head has ended up in his hands now.

      He tries to distract himself, thinking about how lucky the camp is that he decided to go back and start bringing supplies from the underground bunker to them. The metal tables Raven and himself have been working on — those are from the bunker. The tools are from the bunker. He even brought back some extra sheets and blankets for some of the members of the camp that were previously lacking the layers for when it gets cold. But these thoughts of what he's done right, the things he's done to benefit the camp can't distract him from the lingering thought in the back of his mind.

      What if the radio doesn't work?

      He trusts his ability to fix a piece of machinery — something as simple as a radio shouldn't be stressing him out so much. He trusts Raven's ability slightly more than he does his own at the moment, his mind repeatedly telling him that if the radio malfunctions once more, if they cannot contact the Ark, it's his fault.

      He shouldn't be stressing about the possibility of the failure to contact the Ark being his fault — if they end up being unable to contact the Ark, anyway. There's nothing set in stone, nothing telling him whether or not the modifications and repairs he did alongside Raven actually worked — so all outcomes are left to his imagination. 

      It doesn't help that the first floor of the dropship is extremely crowded — heavy rain forcing the entirety of the camp to enter the enclosed space, some of them trying to salvage their tents and blankets, shoving them into corners and taking up even more space. The major amount of people around him seems to be adding even more pressure, as if they'll all be disappointed in him specifically if the radio doesn't work.

      He rubs his temples as the surrounding noise gets louder, Raven's desperate pleas for the Ark to answer their calls overpowering the surrounding voices. He was the one calling for the Ark only moments ago — but after what seemed like an impossible amount of desperate pleas, he gave up and found an uncomfortable spot with the chair he's grown so familiar with.

      "This is Raven Reyes, calling Ark Station" He hears Raven say, once again, and he can imagine her hand being clenched to the radio, hoping to get an answer from the metal box. Normally he'd try to console her, wanting her to feel better so the stress doesn't eat away at her, but he can't find the energy to.

      He finally turns his head, scanning the room to see the insane amount of people in there with him. He spots Makayla, standing in the corner, picking the skin by her nails as she impatiently waits for any voice to tell her what to do. He thinks the desperation he heard in her voice when she came hurtling into the dropship, pleading for any sort of surface for the unconscious bodies of Finn and Quinn to be laid upon, will be engraved in his brain forever. He doesn't know if he's ever heard her so scared, so terrified before. 

      He doesn't blame her, though. He's seen how close she's gotten with Quinn in the past days they've been on Earth. If Makayla had been the one to be injured, a knife sticking out of her torso or thigh, he's sure that he would've went into panic-mode even faster than she did.

      "Please come in. Can anybody hear me?" He hears Raven plea once again, her voice becoming more desperate by the minute. He feels bad for her, knowing that someone she cares about — someone she loves — is laying, motionless on a table, and the only thing that can save him is contact with the doctors on the Ark, which is something they don't have.

      There's a scrape against the floor of the dropship next to him. Makayla's pulled up a chair, giving him a soft smile as she adjusts herself in her seat. He can see how anxious she's becoming, the skin around her nails being a new shade of pink. He wishes he were in the mindset to try and aid her anxiety, because that's what he normally does. But his mind is working against him, eating away at him, taking over his every thought.

      "Are you worried about the radio?" She questions, her voice low. Almost as if she doesn't want anyone to hear her ask that — which he's thankful for, surprisingly. Admitting to his fears out loud seems odd, because he's never done that before. He's never outright told someone that he's scared of something — his small, childish fears have left him now, like when he used to be scared of the dark. But he's never thought that he would be this nervous, this scared of the possibility of failing.

      He lets out a sigh, not wanting to admit to his fears. When he stays silent, he can see the girl next to him give him a look, telling him to be honest with her. He hopes his face isn't too readable, showcasing to everyone that he's anxious — whether or not the people around him would be able to tell if he's anxious over the radio.

      "I guess, uh, I am nervous about it not working" He says, rubbing his temples as he does so. "We need the radio to work. Everything about our lives down here could change if we just had contact with the Ark".

      The blonde beside him stays silent for a few seconds. She plays with her hair between her fingers, and he assumes it's to try and distract herself from thinking about her injured friend who's unconscious on a table a few feet away from her. "Or are you scared that the radio won't work because of you".

      He lets out a huff, finally bringing his head out of his hands. He doesn't like that she pointed it out, saying it out loud, because that makes it true.

      "Yeah, I mean I don't really know why" He begins explaining, seeing her nod her head along as he speaks. "I've fixed radios before on the Ark, so why am I nervous now?".

      He watches his friend twist her hair once more between her fingers. He swears he can see the thoughts bouncing around her head, different ways of going about the conversation being thought of. "If the radio doesn't work then we don't have contact with the Ark, and, Finn and Quinn probably —".

      She trails off, her words dying out as she turns her attention over to the two unconscious teens laying on the tables. He feels bad that she feels this way over their pain, how they have a possibility of dying if Clarke can't figure out a way to help them. Their lives are being held in a teenage girl's hands, possibly even two teenager's hands if Makayla ends up helping the girl. He can see that there's pressure on the two of them, and he can even feel the pressure that himself and Raven feel.

      The lives of so many are in the hands of teenagers, which doesn't leave them with much faith. He may trust Clarke, but he's not sure how well their environment will aid them in saving the two teens. Limited supplies, no real medical station — there's so many things blocking them from easily helping the two, which puts a hefty amount of pressure on them.

      "They'll be fine" He tries to assure, but he knows his words might not seem as reassuring as they should be. Normally he's confident in himself, having faith that it'll work out in the end. But when this amount of pressure is on him, telling him that if he fails, they die, he can't be confident, nor can he be reassuring. 

      Makayla lets out a shaky breath. "I get why you're scared though".

      He doesn't respond. His mind is all over the place, and he's trying to block the thoughts of them all being condemned to horrible deaths because he couldn't fix a radio, but nothing he does seems to be working. Everything's in disorder, he can't even organize a single thought on any possible repairs they may need to do to the radio to fix it. He feels completely and utterly useless, because all he can think about is if he may have failed the entire camp or not. 

      He notices that Makayla's left his side, and she's now standing over Quinn, hesitantly removing the cloth from around the knife poking out of the girl's left thigh. He's not sure why she's hesitant to remove the cloth, but he places the blame on the fact that it's because it's blocking a weapon that's opened a wound in her friend's body.

      "Has anything changed with her wound?" He hears Clarke ask from her position by Finn. Makayla's hesitant to respond, the air around them seeming so still as she stares at the wound in front of her. She stammers out a response, telling them all that everything is the exact same as it was before.

      "Calling Ark Station, the hundred are alive" He hears Raven say once more, continuing to attempt to contact the Ark. He's torn between wanting to attempt to console his best friend, who's hovering over the unconscious body of Quinn, not having any idea what to do — or attempting to aid Raven in their desperate attempt to contact the Ark.

      He figures he should probably take over, brushing his fears off to the side, hoping he can forget about them for a few moments. He gets up off his chair, attempting to make his way over to Raven, until a voice distracts him.

      "This is a restricted channel. Who is this?" He hears someone say through the radio, and he almost wants to jump up and down out of joy. His fears have faded, a smile plastering itself on his face knowing that they should be able to save Quinn and Finn now, and get the help they need from the Ark. 

      He races over to the radio, smiling at Raven as he leans over the table. He's excited, so much so that he assumes that everyone around them can tell. He knows that people behind him are inching closer, for what reason he doesn't know, because everyone can hear the radio from no matter where they're situated in the first floor of the dropship. But he doesn't want to focus on that, instead giving his full focus to the one thing he's been so unnecessarily stressed about for what seems like forever.

      "This is Raven Reyes. I—I'm from Mecha Station. I'm transmitting from the ground" She exclaims, Sam encouraging her to continue speaking from beside her. He would love to talk to the Ark, get any sort of help from them that they could get, but he decides to wait. All that he cared about originally was that the radio would be up and running, not if he could talk to the Ark. 

      Maybe it's because he was so fearful of failing the entire camp, and even the people on the Ark, if he had messed up anything during his attempt at repairing the radio. Obviously his decisions and improvements ended up working, but his fear hasn't already faded entirely. He can almost feel it coming back, the newest pressing question being if they can't continue to have contact with the Ark. 

      "The hundred are alive. Please, you need to get Doctor Abby Griffin. Doctor Abby Griffin. Now" Raven commands, and she gestures to Sam to say something to whoever's on the other end of the radio, to make his presence known, but he declines. He's perfectly okay with standing there, essentially on the sidelines for the time being, because he knows that he didn't fail the camp like he thought he did.

      He pushes his fears of the radio not continuing to work away — he wants to continue to stay happy over the radio actually working, not being focused on the possibility of the hard work of the two mechanics not helping them as much as it should've. He spares a glance over at Makayla, who doesn't look as anxious or fearful anymore, a smile forming on her face as he looks over.

      Maybe they'll actually end up being okay.

      𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 —

if you didn't see the cast list update vivian and isaac are played by momona tamada & walker scobell, ty ultrapunks for helping me find faceclaims!!

i also may or may not go back and edit some of the formatting in earlier chapters, i haven't decided just yet but if you get a bunch of notifications for this book that's why

this isn't edited like at all so im sorry abt any grammatical errors

anyways i have nothing else to say hope you enjoyed, xoxo!!

𝟓𝟎𝟕𝟖 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒