Love At First Sight (1)

Chapter 16: Missing Sister

It was agonizing to be in a peaceful slumber for a few hours after being up all night to put together the flares, only to be woken up again. Mackenzie could hear Clarke moving out of their shared tent, and it had her on guard immediately despite the dark bags under her eyes and the tiredness like a drape, begging for at least another hour. Instead of listening and complying, Mackenzie forcibly dragged herself out of her tent, feeling her boots drag against the dirt with each stumbling step.

Bellamy was the first person to catch her eye, taking the leadership position as always, to the delinquents beginning to surround him, "Hey, everybody!" He announced, motioning to the supply of weapons made from scrap, "Gather round and grab a weapon. My sister's been out there alone for twelve hours. Arm up" He commanded, "We're not coming back without her: He was completely firm, and Mackenzie didn't Balme him; she's his sister and she's missing.

But Octavia was Mackenzie's friend as well, and she wanted her back in camp where she was safe. She moved through the crowd and reached out, tightly grasping what looked like a long blade attached to a handle. It could have been a knife, but larger. It was heavy in her hand, but she hung it low, turning to face the crowd. Mackenzie was surprised to see Jasper, knowing that he was still recovering from his chest injury and dealing with the fear of grounders.

"Hey, Jasper" Clarke greeted him cautiously, "You don't have to do this. You haven't left camp since we brought you back"

"Clarke, I need to do this" Jasper instead. Mackenzie frowned, a pitiful look for him crossing her face. She knew he cared for Octavia, as everyone else did, but he was clearly suffering and shouldn't force himself.

"We need all the people we can get" Bellamy cut in seriously

Mackenzie tilted her head, giving Bellamy a pointed look. She wasn't surprised that the statement came from him, "You need to consider the well-being of others. Jasper could get hurt out there" Then again, just days ago he was threatening to end Jasper's life for annoying and scaring others just by being in pain

"He said he can do this, he can do this" Bellamy argued, looking from Mackenzie to Jasper, waiting for an input from him, "Right?" Jasper nodded, "Good. We need a tracker" He said, ignoring the way Mackenzie sighted in incredulity, "Finn! Get out here!"

Turning, Mackenzie glanced towards Finn's tent that was now occupied with two people; him and Raven. There was a glow in the tent, which meant they were both awake. She tried not to think about it, instead shaking it off with a wave of her head as Finn joined them reluctantly, walking alongside Clarke and speaking quietly. It didn't take a genius to know what about, but Mackenzie knew it was none of her business and didn't involve her. It was up to them three of them to work it out together.

It wasn't until nearly everyone was prepared, armed and brave when Mackenzie heard shouting. Confused, she quickly dashed towards the sound, joining the gathering of her friends who were yelling and pointing to the sky with amazement. Lost, wondering what was so important, Mackenzie tilted her head back to stare above her. Her green eyes met what looked like shooting stars, falling from the only spaceship in the sky.

Raven, who had joined them, was in the same saddened state, "They didn't work," She whispered, dumbfounded, "They didn't see the flares"

"A meteor shower tells you that?" Bellamy asked, holding a lit torch in his hand

"It's not a meteor shower" Clarke stated, snapped out of her daze, "It's a funeral. Hundreds of bodies being returned to the Earth from The Ark. this is what it looks like from the other side" Mackenzie shook her head in disbelief, feeling sick, as her head hung low. They tried to stop them but didn't do so in time, and now three hundred people had died for nothing all because Bellamy threw the radio away. Hailey couldn't even be ,ad as of now, to overwhelmed with the wave of despair hitting her.