The 100 • Grethan

Day 2

  Hearing blood-curdling screams isn't the best way to wake up. Maybe a warm cup of coffee with some blueberry pancakes and a nice sunrise. But no. Loud, ear-piercing screaming.

  I scrambled from the ground of the hut, realizing I was the last one awake. I grabbed my machete before stepping outside.

  "Sam, are you okay?" I asked running to her. She was the only one in the clearing. Her green eyes were wide and full of terror.

  "Th-There's a snake!" she screamed, yet again. She pointed to about 3 yards in front of her and there it was.

  It was huge. Bigger than any snake I'd imagined. Black, white, gold, and dark green scales shimmered in the sun as it slowly moved its way through the grass.

  I walked to it with my machete and got ready to attack it. But it also looked ready to attack me. It stared at me, unblinking, its forked tongue flicking in and out of its mouth. I quickly brought my weapon down right behind the head.

  It writhed around for about 20 seconds before it stopped moving. It grossed me out, the way it could move after being decapitated.

  "Ethan, thank you so much. I went outside to see if the others were back and I froze!" Sam explained.

  "Where did they go?" I asked. I wanted to know where Marcus was so I could talk to him about last night.

  "They went north to go look for food. Looks like we got some right here, though," she said, gesturing to the snake. "Let's get some water for them to drink when they get back."

  We spent about 15 minutes filling up the pot with water from the lake. It was a pain having to filter all of it, but it was faster than waiting for it to boil. I heard plants rustling and turned to see what it was. Fin emerged from the foliage, followed by Alice and Marcus.

  They had their bags slung around their shoulders and they looked pretty full.

  "We have leaves and berries to last for days," Alice said, putting down her bag.

  "Ethan killed a snake, too," Sam pointed out. I walked over and picked up the thick, long body of the snake, showing everybody.

  "Holy shit! You really killed that?" Fin asked. I nodded bashfully.

  "Anyone know how to cook it? I certainly don't," Alice inquired. Now it was Fin's turn to be bashful. He raised his hand a bit before saying, "I do. I had a lot of free time in my District, so I learned how to cook. I can probably make something work with what we have."

  I handed him the carcass and Sam got a fire started. Alice went to drink some water. It was just Marcus and I.

  "Um, can I talk to you for a bit?" I asked. He nodded, looking nervous.

  "I wanted to ask you the same thing. About last night, I'm sorry."

  "Why would you be sorry?" I asked dejectedly.

  "I.. I like you, Ethan. Considering my feelings, what I did was out of line."

  "Marcus, I like you too."

  "Really?"

  I nodded and took his hand in mine as he smiled. He ran a hand through my hair and kissed me lightly on the forehead, causing me to involuntary blush.

  "You're so cute when you blush," he pointed out. I turned an even deeper shade of pink.

  "Boys! Why don't you come for a swim?" Sam yelled. I turned to look and she was already in the lake. Marcus looked at me and I shrugged.

  "Why not?"

  I walked across the sand to the edge of the water. I realized I didn't want to get my shirt wet, since I only had 2, so I took it off. I went to my bag and grabbed my shorts to wear instead of my pants. Marcus did the same.

  I took a few careful steps into the warm water. By the time I was waist-deep, Marcus was already out near the middle with Sam.

I decided, fuck it, and just dunked the rest of my body into the water. I swam over but wasn't the fastest since I didn't have a lot of experience swimming.

  We splashed around for a bit before Alice joined us and eventually Fin. I washed all the dirt out of my hair, which was a surprising amount. I'd have to make a raised bed to combat the dirt and the cold. But did I really want to combat the cold? I mean, it certainly wasn't fun, but I'd enjoyed cuddling with Marcus.

  Fin said that the snake was probably cooled down, so we all got out of the water and dried off. I took long glances at Marcus in the process. The beads of water trailing down his back, the muscles rippling under his skin. It got to me.

  It didn't help that it looked like he was staring at me, too. I took an extra-long time putting on my shirt and he cocked an eyebrow.

  We all sat down in a semi-circle around the fire and ate. I was pleased to find out that snake wasn't the worst thing in the world. Neither were some of the berries that Alice had found. Acai berries, they were called.

  Once all our bellies were full, we started to talk. I was only half paying attention to the conversation, putting in my share of yeahs and uh-huhs. I was mostly just watching the sky. The beautiful sunset was sadly blocked by the trees, but I stargazed instead. You couldn't really see the stars from the Districts, at least the ones I'd been in.

  I thought about it and realized I'd only been to a few Districts. My own, the Technology District for a school trip, and the Past District because my dad had a friend that lived there. Plus, it was right next to the Arts District.

  My mind slowly but surely drifted back to everyone's voices.

  "... and then he called me a heartless cave troll! I don't even know what that is. Ethan, what's a cave troll?" Sam rambled.

  "Trolls are these big ugly things that live under bridges, or in your case, a cave. I don't know a lot about them though, they're mostly from fairy tales for little kids," I answered.

  "The audacity! Just because I didn't go out with him. He's the cave troll, not me," Sam stated defiantly.

  Alice said something in response, probably agreeing with her, but I was more focused on Marcus's hand on mine. When I'd been giving my explanation, he'd moved his hand so it was on top of mine in the sand. I turned it over so our palms were touching and interlaced our fingers.

  He smiled at me and I smiled back. He moved closer to me and the girls took notice. Meanwhile, Fin was passed out, laying on the ground.

  "You guys are so cute," Alice said. Marcus said thanks while Sam agreed, and I unknowingly blushed yet again.

  "You're doing again," he pointed out. I buried my face in my hands and giggled. He brought them back down and planted a kiss on my cheek.

  Alice covered her smile with her hand and Sam nearly squealed.

  "This would be such a good story. Two boys falling in love in the middle of nowhere, then getting back home and spending the rest of their lives happily ever after," Sam said.

  I nodded. "It's a shame I'm not much of a writer, that would be a good story. But you know what they say, a picture is worth a thousand words," I replied.

  We all sat by the fire and chatted for a few more minutes before labeling it as bedtime. I woke up Fin, not wanting him to spend all night outside, and met the others in the hut.

  Instead of laying away from Marcus like I had the first night, I laid next to him straight away. He let out a content sigh and wrapped his arms around me yet again. Listening to the life buzzing outside, feeling his body against mine, it was so peaceful.

  Right before I fell asleep, I heard Marcus whisper, "Sweet dreams, E."