After the End [ The 100 ]

33. Hello, tree friends

we are grounders part 1

——eiden

The Grounder slowly lifts off her knees. She shakily stumbles forward. The only thing she could be going to is that tall rock formation of boulders and stones.

I flinch when she pulls her fist back, but she never punches. Instead she inhales an unsteady breath and lets it out as a single huff.

That self control. It's the one thing I don't have. Intrigued, my voice asks it on its own. "How do you do that?"

When I hear how vulnerable I sound, I clamp my jaw shut. Goodness, that was stupid. The woman is standing over a mass grave of kids she taught. Really, Eiden? Are you sure you want to be her next student? Aside from that, I've never said anything so insensitive.

It wasn't meant to be that way. It just doesn't make sense. How does she keep control despite everything?

The Grounder flattens her hand against the stone. Her voice is suddenly rough. "Go back. Go to your people and protect the ones you care about."

With confusion splayed on my face, I shake my head. If she doesn't hate me for what I said, then good.

A chill whistles through the bushes. The ones that survived the explosion and collapse. I'm not sure what ashes I'm breathing in. The charred leaves and sticks or the lifeless children.

"I need to know," I say, looking around, catching body parts in my sight. The shake in my voice is uncharted and annoying. I almost scoff at the sound of it when I continue. "And honestly I can't go back because I'm too far gone. You. You've just made that very clear."

Impulse control hasn't been exercised since we all came to the ground. We're killing and fighting each other. Forcing off wristbands by threatening people's lives. Hanging innocent people. Knocking each other out, killing at random, damaging somebody so badly that it kills them them a few hours later.

Im wondering 'what's happened to us'? What's happened to me?

Looking at this woman who's just lost everything but feels the need to hold herself together... I can't lost that. I can't let her go without me. I need that badly, before I can even think about showing up back to camp.

Who am I helping like that? I've already killed a Grounder and stolen his bow. That puts a target on my back, one I stuck there myself. Carrying this weapon is an admission of guilt. If I'm going to bring anything good back to camp, then I have to change. If not her, then who can help me do that?

It should be impossible to trust someone this quickly. But then saving your life twice in the span of a few hours tends to speed things up.

Anxiety begins to settle as she stays silent aside from her heavy breathing. Finally her head turns over her shoulder. I suck in a deep breath as I wait for her response.

If she says no, I'm still going to follow her. She could definitely kill me, not that I wouldn't deserve it. Yeah, I'm back to that now. She basically threw me off of her earlier, and she's stronger than all the guys at camp despite being so thin. Either way, I doubt she'll try. Maybe it's the self control, or the children's trainer thing. Whatever it is, I will follow her around like a lost... person, I guess? to find out.

She shakes her head before dropping her arm. The grounder turns to me fully. "I look at you, and I see bandages on your wrists. Knuckles that never fully healed. You're a fighter, and someone who has punched her way out of one too many problems."