nepenthe

Chapter 4

After spending their first night on the ground camping out under the stars, the curious group returned to the river. Clarke devised a plan to swing across on a thick vine hanging from the trees, which they all agreed on.

"You wanted to go first. Now quit stalling. Mount Weather awaits," Clarke said to the two boys standing on a ledge above her. "You scared Finny?" Katherine snickered at the brunette boy, who returned her sarcasm with a complacent sneer. "Just hold on until the apogee, and you'll be fine", Jasper assured lowly to Finn, who stood holding the vine. "The apogee like the Indians, right?" Finn jested. "Apogee, not Apache." Jasper rolled his eyes. "He knows. Today Finn." Clarke insisted, raising her brows.

"Aye, aye, captain. See you on the other side." Finn saluted to the teens waiting below him. He leaned back preparing to swing when Jasper noticed Octavia's watching look and stopped him. "What?" Finn stood confused, grasping the vine. "Let me. I can do it" Jasper said calmly, looking down at Octavia. A smile grew on her face as she leaned against Katherine. Finn understood his sudden change of mind and handed over the vine. "Knew there was a badass in there somewhere," he patted Jasper's back for good luck.

Seeking reassurance, Jasper cast a glance at Katherine before redirecting his gaze across the river, contemplating his next move. "Hey, it's ok to be afraid, Jasper. The trick is not fighting it," Finn comforted the hesitant boy. Taking a deep breath, Jasper tightened his grip and turned forward. "See you on the other side." He skipped back and jumped up, letting the vine carry him over the water.

Nothing was said until an excited Jasper landed clumsily, but safely on the opposite riverbank. The group ran up to the small cliff as Finn caught the swinging vine. "We are Apogee!" Jasper yelled, raising his arms in the air. Katherine's arms shot up and whooped as they cheered with delight. In response to their exclaims, Jasper goofily jumped around, causing laughter.

"Let's go, Princess. You're up." Finn said to an ecstatic Clarke. Her eyes locked onto his as she smiled warmly. "Come on, Clarke! You got this! Whoo! Apogee!" Jasper continued his celebrating. He noticed a metal sign on the forest floor. Dusting it off and raising it triumphantly above his head, he yelled, "We did it! Mount Weather! Whoo!" Monty pumped a fist in the air while Octavia and Katherine grinned proudly. They were so close.

The gleeful moment was interrupted when Jasper's body flung back and crashed against a tree. "Jasper!" His name was frantically called out, but there was no reply. His eyes stared down at a spear plunged into his chest. "No! Jasper!" Katherine pleaded for her best friend. Tears streamed down her flushed cheeks.

"Come on! Get down, get down." Finn pulled a hysteric Katherine and stunned Octavia down with the rest behind a cluster of rocks. Their eyes glanced around at the surrounding trees, looking for the attacker. "We're not alone", Clarke struggled to catch her breath. Katherine sobbed. It couldn't be. There's no one else down here but us.

Fleeing the sickening incident, Katherine couldn't comprehend that one of her dearest friends was battling death, and she was leaving him behind. Yet, the overwhelming fear flowing through her veins pushed her ahead.

Clarke came to a sudden stop and spun around. "Clarke! Come on!" Finn grabbed her wrist and urged her forward. Monty rushed ahead towards the camp while Octavia limped behind, holding onto Katherine for dear life.

In a desperate frenzy, Monty blindly tumbled over a branch, his body crashing down onto the verdant ground. "Shit, Monty! Get up!" Katherine grabbed his arm and attempted to help him up. But he stared ahead, not daring to move a muscle. "Come on, Monty!" Octavia begged. Clarke turned around and her eyes widened at a skeleton torso lying in front of the boy's face. Peering around, she saw numerous other bones scattered about.

Monty unfroze and stood with Finn and Katherine's assistance. They stood aghast as they stared at the human remains they had stumbled upon. "Who are they?" Finn asked. Clarke stooped down to pick up an oddly shaped skull to examine. "What are they?" she sighed. Octavia groaned, "We are so screwed." "Shit", Katherine cursed breathily. If there were unhinged murderers on earth with them, they were royally fucked.

An agonizing wail echoed through the forest. Clarke dropped the skull as they all looked in the direction of the scream. "Jasper. He's alive." Clarke realized, before sprinting back to the river. Finn ran after her while Monty and Katherine followed, supporting a hobbling Octavia. As they neared the ledge overlooking the flowing river, Finn held Clarke back. "Wait! Stay out of the trees."

Katherine's worried eyes panned to the tree where Jasper had been pinned against. Except he wasn't there. Her heart seemed to stop in her chest. "He was right there," Finn said. "No! Where is he?" Monty stressed. "They took him," Katherine looked at Clarke, who had admitted exactly what she had feared.

As they approached the camp, the disruptive sound of a fight caused Clarke to sprint ahead. She ran into a clearing to discover Wells holding a knife to Murphy's throat as Bellamy stood to the side with the other adolescents. "Wells!" Clarke shouted, entering the camp with Finn. Wells' head whipped over to the familiar voice. "Let him go!" Clarke strode up to the boys. Wells harshly shoved Murphy to the ground. In a rage, Murphy stood up and lunged towards Wells. "Whoa, hey!", Bellamy rasped harshly, pushing him away.

Katherine walked into the clearing, supporting Octavia whose limp had worsened. Noticing his sister's state, Bellamy rushed over. "Octavia. Are you alright?" he questioned as he gently held her up. "Yeah," she winced. Looking to Katherine who was carefully holding Octavia's arm, he nodded a silent thanks. The blonde gave a small grin. He turned to Monty who should have been laden with bags. "Where's the food?". "We didn't make it to Mount Weather." Finn sighed, sitting on a fallen log.

"What the hell happened out there?" Bellamy interrogated. "We were attacked", Clarke said. "Attacked? By what?" Wells asked bewildered. "Not what, who. It turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last Grounder," Finn explained. Bellamy looked at Octavia and Katherine whose straight faces confirmed this was serious. "It's true. Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong," Clarke announced turning to the awaiting crowd. "There are people here, survivors. The good news is, that means we can survive. Radiation won't kill us." "Yeah but the grounders will", Katherine added, resentment laced in her voice.

Looking at the group, Wells noticed there were only five of them. "Where's the kid with the goggles?" He asked. Katherine looked down at her scuffed boots swallowing back tears. "Jasper was hit. They took him." Clarke bowed her head solemnly. Her eyes fixated on Well's bare wrist. "Where is your wristband?", Clarke grabbed his arm. Glaring towards Bellamy, he pulled back his hand. "Ask him," he said bitterly. Octavia looked up at her brother in disbelief. "How many?" Clarke said. "Twenty-four and counting," Murphy said walking up to the pissed blonde. "You idiots. Life support on the Ark is failing. That's why they brought us down here. They need to know the ground is survivable again, and we need their help against whoever is out there. If you take off your wristbands, you're not just killing them. You're killing us!" She said to the surrounding teens.

Bellamy stepped forward, causing Octavia and Katherine to glance at each other. "We're stronger than you think. Don't listen to her. She's one of the privileged. If they come down she'll have it good. How many of you can say the same? We can take care of ourselves. That wristband on your arm? It makes you a prisoner." He paused to draw in a breath and began to yell. "We are not prisoners anymore! They say they'll forgive your crimes. I say you're not criminals! You're fighters, survivors! The grounders should worry about us!" Bellamy finished his speech turning back to Clarke with the backing of satisfied cheers. Defeated, she strode off with Monty close behind.

Katherine turned to Octavia, whose expression finally showed the exhaustion from the past few days. "Well, your brother definitely knows how to stir up shit." She smirked. "And how to look hot doing it." Octavia's jaw dropped. "Rinn!" she scoffed, hitting her elated friend's arm. "You're lying", she said, squinting her eyes. Katherine shrugged, earning an eye roll. Was she lying? She wasn't fully sure herself.

A/N

I wanted to add in a cute Octavia and Katherine moment and it js happened to include Bellamy heehee.🤭Also, the day I published this is my 17th bday! 🥳