BE THE WORST YOU CAN BE.

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CARRY YOUR THRONE (book one).
°•        CHAPTER FIVE        •°

"        DON'T EVER THINK I WON'T
GET YOU IN THE END.       "

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THE CAMP IS RESTLESS. Then again, it has been since they landed on this planet. One of the things Aspen loved to do in The Ark - besides discovering the adrenaline rush from stealing or art - was learning. She missed reading the textbooks they offered, hell, she even missed Charles Pike's classes. That all went away when she was in lockup. Aspen knew she was intelligent and used that to her advantage. All those lessons really paid off, she figured, now that they were on Earth and almost everything she learned about the planet was wrong. She couldn't calculate or understand how there were survivors after the bombs, or why they already seemed so eager to pick them off one by one. Jasper Jordan was still on Aspen's mind but she's too smart to gaze at the trees in the woods and wish for him to come back. He may already be gone. That was something to fear, too.

A bustle of firm clothing bumping into Aspen's shoulder as she takes a step on the dropship door makes her snap back to planet Earth. She reacted fast and extended her arms, shoving the one who ran into her with as much force as she can muster. "Watch where the hell you're going!" She snapped before identifying who she coldly attacked.

Wells Jaha's ankle was weak from nearly snapping after Murphy's violent acts on him, so he staggered and nearly lost his balance from Aspen's push. His eyes are wide with intimidation as they meet her incredibly icy gaze that she mastered over the years despite how small the girl is in comparison to himself. "I'm, I'm sorry," Wells stammered out and backed away to put distance between them. "I was just... I was looking for Clarke. She seemed upset."

Aspen's lips press tightly together. Wells was the last person on this planet she wanted to help - well, maybe second behind Nova Sydney, but the blonde wasn't here at the moment so right now it was him. "I saw her head up to the top level," she responded reluctantly with a quick cock of her head. Wells looked grateful that he was answered without as much spite as everyone else uses towards him, but before he can let the thankful words tumble out of his open mouth, Aspen holds a hand up to stop him. "Sorry, Chancellor, but I didn't answer to your little search party question for you. I did for her." She paused. Then, "And Jasper. We won't find him without her."

Somehow, Wells seemed to understand her. He closes his mouth before giving Aspen a nod that seems to say fair enough. She watches him leave, her eyes trailing after his broad form that disappears inside the dropship. Wells Jaha was no better than his father in her book. He may be able to feel as guilty as he wants, but his actions are what led to The Ark refusing to change. At least Clarke made an attempt to warn the people of the air running out with her father. Aspen, her family, and many others she knew and cared for had gone without basic necessities. It's what led Axel Alonso to teach his daughter to steal, where she soon wanted to start a riot for a better fitting life for her people, and evidently ended with her arrest and possible death sentence.

She blamed the Chancellor for that and hoped he'd be one of the first to go slowly when the air inevitably ran out, but Aspen knew better. He'd do everything in his power to save his people first and let the ones in her station die since their lives were, as he so gracefully put it in his recording message to the delinquents, expendable. So Aspen tried to place her blame on the one who stopped her growing faction.

Nova Sydney, daughter of past Chancellor Diana Sydney, wormed her way into Aspen's life like a snake. She claimed she didn't agree with her mother and wanted to alter the laws just like all of them. She earned her trust, one of the biggest mistakes she's ever made, and then turned around to stab the leader in the back with the sharpest knife she could find. Nova was the only possible one who could have gone to the council for her mother and turned them in. Fortunately, Aspen would rather be floated than give up a single name of the people on her side but unfortunately, she's a little scared of what she may do to the girl when she finds her, unaware that time was coming much sooner than she thought.

The delinquents have been putting as much effort as possible into making a stable society for themselves on their drop site. It looked like a pretty poor job considering the state of the tents, Aspen thought, although she isn't sure if she'd be any better. She didn't do a lot of paying attention in Pike's Earth Skills class considering... Well, the fact that she didn't think it'd ever be useful. But one girl seems to have done so and she stands out like a sore thumb among the rest.

"You see, you have to be careful with the frame. It's the most important part because it keeps everything together. So, if you build it right, it won't collapse on you while you sleep," Aspen overhears her explain. Her blonde hair has been swept into a tight ponytail where a few wisps have already fallen free and stuck to her reddening cheeks that were once pale.

All Aspen has to see is the back of her head to know. Her boots carry themselves to her because, well, she had a few rules she lived by after carving them into stone, or her brain, so to speak.

One, revenge and justice are two separate ordeals. Vengeance was built from hate, anger, powerful feelings that brew after a betrayal. Justice was for people who were treated wrongly - better yet, an eye for an eye.

Two, make those who did you wrong be afraid of you. Become what they most feared and haunt their dreams until they turned into nightmares. Hell, hold yourself so those around you carried just enough fear so that it's controlled. Let them know how much strength or power you hold so you're never dirtily walked over.

Last but not least, three, Aspen Alonso knows she's not only a fearless, lionhearted rebel constantly seeking to feel adrenaline, but that she looks damn good even when she's covered from head to toe in grime and sweat. Thanks, Earth. She's desirable and she can always have that advantage because men, in her books, were pathetic.

Because let's be honest, the female species is much more deadly than the male. And yeah, Nova Sydney happened to also be female, but Aspen Alonso was still going to bear her teeth and make herself as lethal as possible, even if she saved that darker side of her for men.

Her voice is full of sweet, but sarcastic, sugar, as she comes close to the back Nova has turned on her. "Wow. Where'd you learn to do that?"

Nova doesn't recognize the voice behind her right off. There's a clear smile she's wearing by the tone of her voice as she started to stand and turn so she can answer the question face to face. "Oh, my father was..." Then it died, just as fast, the second her bright blue eyes met Aspen's dark brown eyes met, to be exact. And it brought her more pleasure beyond anything that could be conjured.

Her knees must be wobbling as she stood if the way Nova's legs shook said anything. It nearly knocks her over when Aspen jerks forward and her knuckles curl around the collar of her jacket to keep her close, on her feet. The hold is what keeps her from toppling over as if only fear could sweep her off her feet. This was how she wanted Nova. To feel small, afraid, so just maybe her justice could be served. Aspen wanted to eat her fright, but seeing it in her eyes was more than enough pleasure.

"Do you know how it felt," Aspen started in a dark snarl that she was sure Nova could feel from their noses brushing against one another at the closeness, "To work your ass off every single day without fail for something, something important that meant the world and more to you, for one person to rip it all away?"

The crowd of students that Nova was teaching had begun to back off like Aspen's rage was comparable to a bomb that could explode, and burn them too. Nova fears the same. Maybe it could. Maybe it was so powerful that it could set the whole dropship camp on fire. Only one person wasn't deathly afraid of Aspen Alonso, including herself, at that moment, and that was none other than Finn Collins.

His voice first sounded like it was on the other side of Earth, "Hey, Pen, easy, let up!", but then it tuned in to Aspen's ears. Finn, ever the peacemaker and mediator, is trying to plant himself between Alonso and Sydney while prying the violent hands off.

"Back off, Finn," Aspen warns through a furious hiss. "She ruined everything, and I want - "

"You want to find Jasper," Finn corrects her before she can finish. He's somehow calmer than ever, and it's what kept Aspen from lunging out of his hold to make Nova apart of the soil beneath them. "Remember what your heart is telling you, Pen, you want to take care of your friends first."

What Finn didn't understand was who Aspen tried to take care of. Her friends spread through Factory Station, her friends were those who joined forces with her to save themselves from a tyrant that made unfair laws. But that was in The Ark. Earth came like a hurricane, bringing Aspen into its swirl, showing her a world of other possibilities, other ways to live, new friends that could mean just as much to her as what she once worked for.

Finn lets Aspen go this time when she rips away from him again. She knows he's right, and instead of letting that make her angrier, it somehow makes her calmer. But calmness could be more terrifying than fear, couldn't it?

At the moment, Aspen doesn't know if she wants revenge or justice, possibly both. But she spits out towards Nova, "Don't ever think I won't get you in the end."

Nova's face pales because she may have finally come to the realization that it didn't matter that she was a delinquent, here, as she would have hunted her down to the ends of the Earth if it meant she might get revenge. But there may be some courage in Nova, even if it's only a single spark because it draws her to take a small step forward when they start to retreat with a quiet question of, "Could I come, too?"

It's asked so softly, so innocently, that Aspen would have cocked her head and let them follow her if it was anyone else. But Nova Sydney wasn't just anyone. She did something awful, something unforgivable, and Aspen would hate her guts until she died. "The only place you can go is straight to hell," she barks back fiercely.

Finn doesn't waste time and turns Aspen by her waist like he's the one in control. She yanks away again and chooses to walk on her own. Her blood must have positively started boiling now. She hated how much nerve Nova had to ask something when she would have been choking on her own blood and teeth if Finn didn't step between them just in time to remind Aspen of who she was, what she fought for. She got lucky and dared to push that luck.

The trees have started to look like a home for Aspen the further they dive in. It says a lot, for a girl who believes destiny is bullshit and has never felt truly at home. She was hoping to save that feeling for the rebellion, but that dream was crushed because she trusted the wrong person who ran straight to her mother. Aspen felt as if she never understood that, desperate to seek a parent's approval, so badly that they'd hurt another to do so. As far as she knew.

The spot that looked like home started to part when they come across an opening where the search party Finn tracked was. Bellamy was the loudest of them all, and squinting her eyes, Aspen can see he has a grip on the wrist Clarke has her band on, "As soon as you take this wristband off, we can go," he's offering.

Clarke jerks her arm back and sneers so low that Aspen, from the distance, almost misses it. "The only way The Ark is gonna think I'm dead if I'm dead. Got it?"

"Brave princess," Bellamy fires back, amused. His back is turned, but Aspen can hear the smug smirk he held in his tone. It makes her want to punch it off his face, but she settles for startling him when Finn makes their appearance known.

"Hey, why don't you find your own nickname?" Finn challenges. He stalks through the grass with his shoulders squared like he was seizing Bellamy up when he turns to face him. Finn gives a small scoff in return. "You call this a rescue party? Got to split up, cover more ground." He nods towards the princess. "Clarke, come with me."

They mumble to each other as Aspen watches in a frown. Finn was her friend, why did he take off with Clarke? Plus, she hates how men take control and think they can force a female to follow them simply because their masculinity was too fragile to not allow them. They took what they wanted, degraded girls since they believed they were beneath them, and if that's how they felt, Aspen would make them think otherwise. They didn't think women could handle leadership when it was females who were strong enough to endure, and those who bit back, well... They'd make better leaders than a man who is afraid of those types of girls.

Aspen's nose wrinkles with a hint of disgust when she realizes it leaves her, Bellamy, Murphy, and Wells. Great, she thinks bitterly as Clarke's blonde hair disappears. More men. But she wasn't afraid to be the one to set them straight if she had to.

That changes when a twig snaps behind them. Aspen stopped in her tracks, thoughts becoming sourer when she sees she's suddenly not the only female left behind. Another head of blonde hair pops up, but it's not the one Aspen preferred. She can't lie and say she's not shocked to see Nova staring back, a little shyly, because she really has the guts to want to be alone with Aspen.

So Aspen had to think and consider who she didn't like more - fragile men or Nova Sydney. Decisions, decisions.

She doesn't get much of a choice because it seemed like the men have decided they're better off without the girls. Aspen could have fumed and thrown rocks at them for that, but she settles with storming in their direction. She figured as long as she could see Murphy's ugly jacket with red spikes on the shoulder, then they'd be fine. At least, she would. She wasn't babysitting Nova if she couldn't take care of herself.

"I know you don't want me here," Nova speaks up, breaking the silence without a waver in her voice. She seems to be holding her ground now. Aspen doesn't care. She doesn't as so much glance in her direction as she continues, "I know how you feel about me, too. I probably deserve any form of justice you have in mind for me." Aspen tries to block her out, but for some reason, she hangs on every word. Nova hops down a slope. "I never agreed with The Ark's laws. I didn't join you for fun - "

"No, you joined to stab me in the back, didn't you?" Aspen deadpanned as she finally snapped. She keeps playing the sound of Jasper screaming in pain, not because she wants to, but because it's the only thing that doesn't keep her from having an outburst of fury. Jasper was her mission, not anger. That could come later. "And all for your mom, right?" Aspen continued to jab coldly without taking her eyes off the surrounding woods. Then she goes for the low blow. "Anything to get your mom's approval."

She can nearly hear how Nova swallows thickly. "It's not how you think," she says so softly that it almost blends with the breeze. "I'm not like my mother. She was ashamed of me." She pauses before adding, "Maybe you could understand that - "

Suddenly, Aspen stops in her tracks, so fast that Nova rams into her shoulder. It stops them both. The dark look in Aspen's eyes doesn't help either. "Don't you ever bring my parents into this," she warns, the threat clear. "They kept me alive. I owe them my life for everything they've done, for everything they taught me. Your mom may not have loved you, but they love me."

A soft look is brought to Nova's expression. She's almost apologetic. But Aspen sees it as pity and her hands clench into shaking fists to fight the urge to swing back. "They treated you like a possession. They made you steal," Nova whispers what no one else will tell a girl devoted to a family who doesn't appreciate her. "They made you risk your life every day - "

"I don't care." Aspen spun on her heel and continues stalking after the three. She doesn't want to hear this. What Aspen didn't want to face was the truth. She can't listen to someone tell her that she wasted her life loving the people who raised her when they treated her like nothing in return. It didn't sit right with Aspen because she loved Axel and Victoria Alonso like a daughter was supposed to love their parents, and maybe they weren't fair all the time, but... They taught her how to survive even when things looked the worst. They saved her life when they didn't have to. Aspen could do nothing but love them for it.

"I know you don't. I never cared what my mother thought of me either," Nova admits. She grabs onto a low tree branch to guide her under the short tree. "Until she told me about you. I saw it as a way to earn her love, to be the perfect daughter she always wanted." Nova has to pump her legs quickly to keep up with Aspen's fast pace that only quickens to get away from her and the truth. She's almost breathless as she says, "I'm sorry for what I did to you. You can't hate me any more than I hate myself for it."

Aspen inhales sharply. Then releases it with, "Take your apology and shove it up your ass."

She can't believe she's thinking this, but she takes off then to catch up with the small group of boys. Aspen knows Nova is still behind her, but she doesn't give her the time of day now. She needs to do something, anything that would get her blood pumping through her veins with adrenaline instead of anger. Aspen has the idea to pick a fight with one of the boys, maybe Murphy, but she doesn't. Because her eyes landed on something special poking out of the belt dangling on Bellamy's hips, nearly hidden under his jacket, and practically lit up. Sometimes she was grateful for how stupid boys were.

Bellamy is too busy taunting the Chancellor's son to notice Aspen sneaking by him by tugging herself onto higher ground. "... It's like you're not even here."

Aspen twists her wrist when she comes around him at an awkward angle to sneak her fingers around the weapon. She covers it with a simple bump to his upper arm and flashes an innocent smile that Bellamy may have taken more personally.

"You would have made such a great guard, you know that?" Aspen comments as she slid the gun out of Bellamy's view and into the dip of her denim pants.

Anyone with a brain could hear the thick sarcasm in her tone, but Bellamy, the jerk with an empty head, slowly grins in return as he took it as an invite. She can feel his eyes following her as she skips ahead with her own satisfied smirk.

The adrenaline returned and made a home inside Aspen as she felt the warm gun pressed against her skin. Men like Bellamy Blake were truly pathetic. But she was so distracted in her own head and own thoughts that she didn't notice Wells Jaha wasn't as mindless as she thought because he may have been the only one to notice the little trick she pulled.

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The sight of Finn still sent a twist to Aspen's gut that turns into a knot. She's still holding a bitter grudge he took control and left with Clarke after asking her to be on this suicide mission since they were friends. Plus, Aspen wasn't shy, or subtle. Clarke wasn't a toy they could fight over, she was a person, but she felt as if she was the only one who saw that. Then there was Raven. They didn't know if she was alive, waiting to come down. Still... Aspen didn't see that as an excuse. She's eyeing the back of his head wearily as Finn leads, occasionally lowering to the ground for a better look at the tracks.

A waterfall roars nearby. As soon as Aspen noticed it, she can see why Clarke and Finn were soaking wet, their clothes sticking to them like a second skin. She's hit with a spark of jealousy that she has to swallow down. It doesn't matter anyway. The trail had guided them to a downstream of rocks, damp from the water.

It was mostly quiet until Murphy grumbles in annoyance, "Hey, how do we know this is the right way?"

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

"It's called cutting sigh. Fourth-year Earth Skills. He's good," Wells dismisses flatly.

The best I know, Aspen thinks but doesn't say because there's an instinct telling her otherwise. He meant a lot to her. She sometimes wondered if she was alone in that feeling. She even considered that she may be right when Finn recommends to them, "You want to keep it down or should I paint a target on your backs?"

But because Aspen can still taste salt on her tongue, she gazes dramatically in the distance. "Paint a target on my back."

A soft snort sounds behind her. Aspen pretends she didn't hear it, that Nova wasn't even there. As far as she was concerned, Nova Sydney did not exist in her space, nor her world. But there's an even more awful noise, a loud groan of pain from someone that just wants to scream but is too weak to do so, that echoes louder and sends the group on their guard, heads snapping to where it came from. It didn't sound too far away.

"What the hell was that?" Murphy demanded anxiously.

"I don't know, why don't you go find out first, Murphy?" Aspen suggested, this time making sure her sarcasm was dripping clearly in her tone.

Murphy scowled in her direction, but Aspen didn't feel threatened. "Why don't you - "

"Enough," Clarke cuts in firmly, sensing a fight bound to break out. It's the first order Aspen thinks she's ever followed as her mouth snaps shut, but her sharp jaw tightened. Clarke doesn't take notice and glances at Bellamy, eyebrows raised. "Now would be a good time to take out that gun."

Aspen ducks her head in hopes her dark hair would be a sheet to hide her grin.

No one is as quiet as Aspen when they sneak towards the sound. She's spent years perfecting her stealing techniques, knowing that you had to take the lightest steps, using the balls of your heels, avoiding leaves that crunch or sticks that snap, and shifting your weight to the weakest spots of the ground. Aspen could feel her frustration spike. Finn had a lot of room to talk about painting targets on their backs when every noise they made could only draw the grounders closer.

It soon stops anyway when they burst into an open clearing in the woods. Clarke gasps with a whisper of Jasper's name, her hand flying to slap over her mouth in shock. Aspen sees why as she picks up her pace and comes up behind her, suddenly afraid that she'd fall into the tall grass that brushes against her knees.

Jasper Jordan almost isn't recognizable. Aspen would give anything to remember that goofy smile, bursts of energy. It's like he's become apart of a rotting tree now. His shirt and jacket are gone, leaving his chest bare from his spot on the tree where his wrists are tied above his head with the vine. Various cuts are scattering his skin, but in the middle of his chest where the spear must have landed, was covered with a patch of dark green. Jasper can't even squirm or try and break free. Aspen doesn't even know how he hasn't stopped breathing yet. The thought was so awful that she could have vomited it out, and Nova makes a sound like she's about to instead, but presses the back of her hand to her nose and mouth.

Clarke has already thrown herself into the field that seemed more and more like a battlefield. Finn warns her to be careful, but she ignores him. She only makes it a few swift steps when she suddenly lets loose a terrified scream as the ground below her boots gives out.

She doesn't spare a moment to let being stunned hold her back from processing Clarke's possible death as Aspen darts after her, calling her name. Bellamy had already beat her to the rescue. His hand was clasped around the wristband he desperately wanted before and it seems his stare lingered a little too long on the bracelet.

"Pull her up, pull her up!" Finn shouted. They all race to help Bellamy, if he even wanted it, to tug Clarke out of the hole. Aspen extends her hand from the edge at the same time she sees spikes stuck out of the hole. Clarke's dangling legs were inches away from scraping against the points. But losing her wasn't an option.

"Here, Clarke!" Aspen exclaims with another thrust of her arm. The others seem too busy tugging at Bellamy or the single arm he was holding. Clarke's blue eyes, holding fear, seem momentarily grateful for the extra hand. She reaches out to grasp her forearm and Aspen's fingers curl tightly around the limb, refusing to let go. She plants her boots firmly in the soil and heaves until Clarke's knees can lift enough to press into the grass.

She's shaky from nearly facing death, but Finn holds out an arm until she's steady. "You okay?"

It takes a few seconds of Clarke's panting as she desperately tried to catch her breath. "Yeah." She swallows thickly like her throat was dry before adding, "We need to get him down."

They're lucky that Clarke made it, but Aspen hoped they'd take into consideration to be more careful now, to move like a cautious thief. Like she's done since she learned how to walk.

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

"Yeah, yeah, I'm with you," Wells agrees.

Finn's head turns sharply towards him. "No. Stay with Clarke." His gaze falls on Bellamy with darker eyes. "And watch him." He retreated to the tree again with another demand to Murphy, "You, let's go."

There he goes, making orders again, Aspen thinks with a slight roll of her eyes. She wished she was surprised. It was just too like him. She wished sometimes he'd just stop. She doesn't know how else to describe it. Did he even care about Jasper like Aspen did, or was he doing this to prove something to Clarke?

"You'll need me too," Aspen suggests, diving into the mix. Finn casts a glance towards her, curious, but unsure. "Unless you want to plummet to your death. In that case, be my guest."

A faint, amused smile twitched on Finn's lips, and Aspen thinks maybe she forgot everything else. "Alright," he agrees. "Be careful, Pen."

The ground was important to study when you stole because you had to be as careful as possible, considering every possibility. Aspen could feel beneath the soles of her boots how the floor of Earth was thin or thick, depending on if there were other traps laying around or if it was just leaves. She relied on her weight to guide the pair that followed each of her footsteps until they were safely able to climb the trunk of the tree. Aspen waited at the root, leaning carefully on one of the branches. It was cruel alone to do this to Jasper, but they hung him by his wrists and didn't offer any other support.

"There's poultice on his wound," Clarke muses with a squint of her eyes. That must have been the spot of green Aspen noticed, she guessed.

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

"Maybe they didn't think of that," Nova suggests hopefully with her arms crossed over her chest. "Why keep your bait breathing, right?"

"Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its dinner breathing," Bellamy counters.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us," Finn states, effectively bringing that conversation to a halt.

Aspen could have shouted in annoyance with all the maybe's everyone wistfully threw out there. She was an all or nothing person - she either loved with all her heart or not at all. She either poured all her soul into something or kept it hidden in a safe place. It didn't matter why they strung up Jasper, not to her, he just needed to be helped. That's what they were there for. Not to study every move the grounders made. They could care about how their minds worked later.

The knife Murphy holds is sawing into the bounds so carelessly that Aspen feared he'd slice into his skin and cause him more injuries. She was about to call up to him, warn the emotionless sociopath to be a little more considerate of Jasper's state, but the words get caught in her throat when somethings sounds behind them. It's quieter than the groan Jasper made, but more threatening, striking fear into all of them.

Murphy froze in place. "What the hell was that?" He asks just as it sounds again. Aspen has never heard an animal, besides the various options of media The Ark had to offer, but she was sure this was it. It was like a deep, growl that came from the deep rumble of its gut.

"Grounders?" Bellamy guessed. But Aspen knows they think otherwise when the grass shimmies until it's like a blur. A sleek, black coat peeks through the blades. And it's large, prowling the area slowly.

It meant something was hunting them, and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

The snarls grow louder and Aspen doesn't move. She's become a statue, focused on following the animal's every move, afraid the yellow eyes that peer back would target her first. They watch in silent horror as it moves quicker, paws slapping against the dirt, leaving Clarke to cry out, "Bellamy, gun!"

The two words weren't directed at Aspen, but her hand flew to dig at her hip at the same time Bellamy's does. She's never used a gun in her life, but there was nothing that could stop her from aiming at the animal and pulling the trigger until one bullet could possibly end the beast's life. There was only one problem. Aspen's nails only scrape her skin because nothing was there. She was weaponless.

"Shit," Aspen hissed under her breath. She doesn't remember dropping the gun, she sure as shit didn't give it back to Bellamy -

Suddenly, gunfire rips through the air, aiming towards the shivering long blades of grass. It was bolting now, like it was testing them, making them its prey. Aspen's head whips when she sees it's Wells, standing protectively like a shield over Clarke with the pistol, finger on the trigger that sent clumsy shots the animal's way. Nova had thrown her hands to cover her ears in surprise and fear. She never thought he had it in him, to end something alive before it killed him, but Wells seemed more than prepared. She'd be a little insulted that he swiped the stolen possession from her if she wasn't so damn terrified.

It all stops, but only for a few seconds. Aspen would know, she counted them in her head until it struck. She only sees a flash of raven fur from its powerful leap, claws sharp and about to sink into Bellamy, but Wells gives one final shoot. The bullet rips through its chest and it lets out a low whine of pain before it falls limply with a thud.

It's still withering a little, but Wells is still pulling the trigger despite the continuous clicks that the chamber is empty since he used all the bullets. Aspen swallows as she watches the first death on Earth. But it wasn't only that. They all knew whatever this beast was, it was killed because it attempted to attack them with a promise of death. Instead, it died, and now, it would be made into a meal. Aspen knew most of that wouldn't change when it came to the grounders. It would soon be them or the delinquents.

Jasper is as heavy as the dead animal they carry back to their camp because he's unconscious. It's a struggle to carry them both through the woods while being prepared to defend themselves, but there are no other animals or grounders to pop out. It takes so long that by the time they reach the fallen dropship, night had already blanketed the sky, and Aspen could feel her eyes burn with tiredness. She's positive dark bags had already taken over.

"They're back!" A few call out as they approach between a few bundles of trees.

Aspen feels the heat of a fire as she breaks through. Someone must have started it when the sun went down for light and warmth. They must be starving. Aspen knows that she is. The crowd seemed more than pleased when Bellamy and Murphy lug the animal with a careless toss to the ground and reveal the surprise they had in store when Bellamy shouts, "Who's hungry?!" Receiving multiple, excited cheers in return that echo into the night.

Clarke, Finn, Nova, and Wells had already taken off to the dropship with Jasper while Monty approached them, desperate for answers. Aspen doesn't know where she belonged for once. She always poured everything into what she did, but Earth, well, maybe it was changing that - and now, she could feel an awful emptiness.

It isn't long before the rumbles in her stomach start getting to Aspen because the beast had been sliced into smaller pieces to roast over the fire. Bellamy had already lined up the delinquents with their wristbands still on and offered a stick with cooked meat attached if they let him pry off the electronic band. Aspen had been watching in silence for so long that the scent was only making the urge to take off hers worse.

But Aspen Alonso wasn't like every kid there, she had people who loved her in space. At least, she loved them. Her parents, Jax, Raven... It hurts to imagine how they'd react if they saw her vitals vanish into nothing. But then Nova's apology hits her again. She mentioned how those Aspen loved may have used her, made her into a weapon, and she was repaying that cruelness by keeping her wristband on. She denied it until she was blue in the face because it made her feel loyal to them. It wasn't until now she considered how poorly she was treated.

"What about you, Gorgeous?" Bellamy's voice intruded on Aspen's thoughts. The corner of her lower lip curls as he holds a metal bar in her direction. "You want your bracelet off for your first meal on Earth?"

"Call me that one more time and I'll detach a limb," Aspen threatened back without missing a beat. She drags her tongue across her lower lips as she contemplated one last time the consequences of her actions. There was a first time for everything.

Then Aspen storms forward, carelessly cutting everyone in line with her outstretched while rolling the sleeve of her jacket up. "Hit me with your best shot, Blake," she challenges as she lowers to kneel in front of the rock, arm pressed against the rough top.

Aspen knew there was one thing men hated, and that's when a woman dares to appear bigger than them, even on their knees. She knew how dangerous she was, even this low. She wasn't bowing. She was a girl that would hide a dagger up her sleeve and attack when they were least expecting it.

That could come later. But for now, Aspen watches as the wristband dies out at the same time her eyes light up.

━━━━━━━━

author's note:

it's been a hot minute ahhh. i've had so many people asking me if i'll ever update this fic so i reassured them i was still and dammit if i don't keep my promises!

no but i was going through a pretty intense writers block and everything i came up with was just utter trash for this book. i felt horrible, i didn't want you guys to get half-ass work after such a long period, so i made it worse by waiting longer obviously lmao. so i'll deeply apologize, aspen alonso is still very close to my heart and although my updates may be slow, aspen alonso's story isn't over yet!

nova seems like a background character now but i promise she'll have a lot of meaning in this story in the future. she's a sweetie, and her and aspen are a lot alike besides the fact they're both super gay.

also, keep in mind that aspen's parents do not love her. they don't know how to love her. they are terrible parents who made their daughter risk her life every day for their own selfish needs. when i write aspen speaking of them highly, she's speaking from deep rooted trauma.

anyway, i think that's it. once again, i am sorry about the incredibly long wait, but i hope this chapter was worth it! i'll truly try to be back soon ❤️

- koda

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