The 100 • Grethan

Day 1

Ethan's POV:

  As the Island slowly came into view, I got more and more nervous. Marcus tried his best to comfort me, but it wasn't working well.

  There was really nothing to be worried about. We had a group of five people, me, Marcus, Alice, Sam, and Fin. Alice, the girl from last night, was from the Plants District, Sam was from the Government District, and Fin was from the Medicine District.

  They were all amazing at what they did. I felt like I was the awkward puzzle piece that didn't fit anywhere. None of the skills I had would help us survive. Wow, I can paint a pretty picture and I know exactly what shade of blue the sky is. How is that going to help us find food and water?

  But they all said I was just as important as them. That my puzzle piece did in fact fit. I tried my best to believe them.

  It was now time to leave the safety of the boat and get onto the Island. They were dropping us off at the east side. I found everyone already by the dock and stood by them. Everyone slowly made their way onto the sand, us being last. I gripped my bag in my hands, not wanting to accidentally lose anything.

  The boat sailed away from the shore, leaving us. It would come back in exactly 3 months to take the strong ones back to the Districts. I just hoped I was one of them.

Later

  Our group had headed northwest, unlike the majority of people who went southwest. There were a few groups who went our general direction, though.

  I recognized some people from the Arts District. Dillon, Taya, and Penelope. Dillon was with a group of 7, most of them tall and muscular. They scared me if I was being honest.

  Taya and Penelope were with a group of all girls. They all seemed to be part of the "soft Districts" as people called them. Arts District, Medicine District, and Plants District.

  I followed Marcus's lead through the dense woods. Alice pointed out some poison ivy and we all avoided it. Eventually, we found an amazing spot for camp. It was a clearing right next to a waterfall, pouring into a crystal clear lake. Too good to be true.

  Marcus, Fin, and I all gathered materials for a shelter while the girls made a fire. I left them my fire starter and grabbed my machete.

  "How clean do you think the water in the lake is?" I asked. The Island was hot and humid, they'd taught us about it in school.

  It was once part of a jungle before they terraformed almost the entire known world. It had hills, quicksand, rivers, and trees taller than any building I've ever seen.

  "Probably pretty clean, but we should filter it just in case," Marcus replied, wiping sweat from his brow. We gathered a bunch of sticks, leaves, and some long, thin grass we could use as string.

  When we made it back, the fire was going steadily, and there was already clean water in the pot. We all decided making one big shelter for all of us to stay in would be best since it would be warmer. Nights in the jungle got very cold, they taught us.

  The sun began to set before we'd gotten it all done, but we decided to just keep working. Fin and Marcus had to go get more materials, but we were finished with it after a couple more hours.

  I completely lost track of time, and couldn't guess since the sun wasn't out. Either way, we all went to bed in the hut we'd made. The fire did a little bit to keep us warm, but it wasn't enough. For the first time in my life, I was cold. I'd never felt it, only learned about it. What I'd felt on the boat was minuscule. A slight chill. I had goosebumps on the boat. Shivering is when your body uncontrollably shakes to try and warm itself up. I was shivering.

  Marcus was too. I could see his silhouette, shadowed by the moonlight seeping in through small cracks in the roof.

  "Colder than a witch's tit out here, huh?" he asked me. I nodded before realizing it was pointless.

  "Yeah, sure is," I replied, my teeth chattering.

  He moved onto his side and the moonlight hit his face so I could see him smiling. His eyes looked so nice. Warm, kind, soothing.

  "Come over here then," he beckoned. I hesitantly scooted my way over since we were only laying a few feet apart.

  "Body heat is good for staying warm," he said quietly, wrapping me in his arms. I pressed my forehead against his chest and sighed. Even though he was cold too, he felt comforting around my shivering body. We both slowly but surely warmed up together.

  "Hey, do you know any songs?" he asked, still quiet.

  "Mhmm tons. You want one in particular?" I replied. He thought about it for a moment.

  "Um, do you know Twin Sized Mattress by The Front Bottoms? I just like it a lot and haven't heard it in a while."

  "Yup, I know it by heart at this point. An oldie but a goodie."

  I started humming it softly and I could feel him tapping his thumb on my back to the beat. At that moment, I felt another thing I'd never felt before. Love.

  Of course, I loved my family and my friends, but this was different. It was the kind of love that makes your heart beat faster. The kind of love that you only feel a few times in your life.

  In the month of preparation that I'd known Marcus, I'd caught feelings for him? No way. Yet there I was, heart beating faster as I hummed.

  His thumb slowly stopped moving, but I didn't even notice it since I'd already fallen asleep.