❝ 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮 𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿
𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸 ❞
- 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝘀

𝗔𝘃𝗮'𝘀 𝗣𝗢𝗩

It angers me that Bellamy thinks Jasper is a lost cause. It angers me even more that Finn agrees. But the thing that angers me the most is that there's nothing I can do to help him. I'm utterly useless.

Suddenly I spot a small figure sneaking out of camp and I watch curiously. I recognise that it's Charlotte and I follow her, making sure she doesn't get hurt or lost.

Finally I catch up to the girl, trying to stay as quiet as I can but then I see an axe flying towards her and I grab her out of the way. She looks at me in shock and I hug the girl close to me.

"You are so lucky that I'm looking out for you" I mumble.

"Thank you" She whispers in return.

I give her a smile and look up to see Bellamy walking towards us.

"Who the hell are you?" He asks Charlotte and I clear my throat making him look at me.

"Ava" He breathes out.

"I'm Charlotte" The young girl under my arm tells him.

"I almost killed you" He huffs, pulling his axe out of the tree it had lodged itself in.

Atom walks up next to Bellamy and I let go of Charlotte.

"Why aren't you two back at camp?" Bellamy scolds us.

"Well, what with that guy who was dying I just-...I couldn't listen anymore" Charlotte says and I look down at her in sympathy.

Jasper really is driving people mad

"Ava?" I hear Atom ask.

"I followed her. I didn't want something to happen to her" I say looking up at the two guys in front of me.

"There's grounders out here. It's too dangerous for little girls" Atom quips and I glare at him.

little girl my ass

"I'm not little" Charlotte snaps and I smirk at Atom smugly.

"Okay, then..." Bellamy says and I look over to see him smiling at Charlotte.

"But you can't hunt without a weapon" He adds holding out a makeshift knife to her.

She takes it from him and looks at it carefully.

"Ever killed something before?" Bellamy asks her and she shakes her head, telling him 'no'.

"Well then, who knows? Maybe you're good at it" He encourages her and I smile at his back as he walks away with Atom.

Charlotte and I follow the guys closely, watching our surroundings and looking out for animals or grounders.

Out of nowhere I hear a loud horn and I grab Charlotte's free hand. I pull her forward and grab a hold of Bellamy's shoulder causing him to look at me.

"What the fuck was that?" I demand and he shrugs in confusion.

"I have no idea" He replies, looking around.

A huge cloud of yellow fog abruptly starts making its way towards us and I slap Bellamy's arm, pointing at the fog.

"Run!" I holler.

We all take off, racing as fast as our legs will possibly take us away from the fog that's closing in on us.

"Come on! There are caves this way!" Bellamy shouts to us all.

We get split up with everyone except for Bellamy as we race towards the nearest cave. We reach a small hill and I push Charlotte up it, letting Bellamy catch her at the top and pull her forward.

I feel a sting on my hand making me hiss in pain and I scramble up the hill, Bellamy grabbing my arm and dragging me faster.

We reach the cave and he pushes both of us into the cave. I hear a scream that sounds like Atom but I don't hesitate to reach out and pull Bellamy into the cave with us.

Charlotte and I sit down against the cave wall as Bellamy paces back and forth making me feel dizzy.

"How you feeling, Lottie?" I ask the younger girl who perks up.

"I'm feeling good" She says but she looks exhausted.

"Come here" I sigh, wrapping my arm around her.

"Ava?" I hear her small voice whisper.

"Yeah?" I whisper.

"Can you sing to me?" She asks and I feel a tug at my heart.

"Of course I can" I smile down at her.

"Anything in particular?" I ask curiously.

"Just something to help me sleep" She replies.

"Sure thing" I chirp.

She lays her head on my shoulder and I run my hand up and down her arm. I sing a soft tune, recalling all the times I'd been sang the song by my mother as a child. I smile down at the sleepy girl who closes her eyes, snuggling into me.

Charlotte's head begins to feel heavy on my shoulder and I lay my head on hers, my voice trailing off and getting quieter once I'm sure she's asleep.

I look down to see Charlotte snoring lightly making me smile in amusement. I move her head onto my lap and take off my jacket, wrapping it around her before lifting her off the ground and laying her down on a higher corner of the cave. I sit at her feet and lean my head back onto the wall.

"You care about her" Bellamy observes and I look up at him.

"She reminds me of myself when I was her age" I explain.

"You care about Jasper too" He states.

"Yeah, I do" I reply, frowning at the thought of Jasper dying.

"Why?" Bellamy asks.

"He means a lot to Monty, and Monty means a lot to me. In turn, he means a lot to me too" I tell him.

"You just met him" Bellamy argues and I push my sleeves up to my elbows, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Monty has been telling me stories about him and Jasper for years. It feels like I've known him my whole life. Plus, i've just met most people in camp. You just met me, and yet you've saved my life multiple times" I reply and Bellamy sits down next to me.

"That was different. I owed you" He says with a shrug.

"So, what you're telling me is that if I hadn't saved Octavia from that river snake then you would have just let me fall down that hole and die?" I ask and he looks at me with wide eyes.

"No" He objects.

"See? You still would have grabbed me and pulled me up. You still would have put yourself between me and that panther. And you still would have dragged me from that fog" I declare and he rolls his eyes at me.

"Let me see your hand" He demands and I give him a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" I frown.

"Your hand touched the fog. Let me see it" He elaborates and I sigh, holding up my hand.

I look at it myself and see that it's red hot and burns like hell.

"I think that it's an acid burn" I state and Bellamy frowns.

"Acid fog? That doesn't sound good" He states and I nod in agreement.

Bellamy pulls out his water and pours some of it on my hand, making me look away and bite my lip harshly to stop me from making any noises. I hear a ripping sound and turn my head a little to see Bellamy wrapping my hand in material from his shirt.

"You didn't have to do that, Bellamy" I frown as he ties the material to stop it from unraveling.

"What are friends for?" He replies rhetorically and I smile, rolling my eyes at him.

His finger trails up my arm slightly and my breath hitches in my throat. He circles the cuts on my arm from the river snake that haven't fully healed yet.

"Was this the injury you got from saving my sister?" He asks, looking me in the eyes.

"Yeah, it's just a scratch" I shrug, looking down at the ground.

"You're freezing" He points out.

"I'll be fine. She needs it more than I do" I say, talking about my jacket which is wrapped around Charlotte.

"Here" Bellamy says pulling off his jacket and slipping it over my shoulders.

I open my mouth to protest but he shushes me with a warning look and I bite my tongue.

"You need it more than I do" He declares, using my own words against me.

I shake my head at him and he smiles, wrapping his arm around me. My eyes start to shut and I lean on his shoulder, feeling myself start to drift off.

"Get some rest. I'll wake you when we're leaving" Bellamy whispers and I nod before the darkness takes me.