SOLDIER
book one
It's been 97 years since a nuclear explosion radiated life on Earth and life support on The Ark is now failing. In a desperate attempt to grant the citizens of the SpaceCraft more time, 100 juvenile delinquents are sent down to the...
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THE night air was crisp and biting, each gust of wind feeling like icy needles agains skin. The dense woods loomed ominously, sending shivers down Vivienne's spine. Every sound—the crunch of twigs underfoot, the eerie rustling of leaves, and the distant hum of insects—heightened her unease.
Yet she kept her composure, determined not to betray any hint of fear in front of Bellamy's followers and the women he paraded around, who were here more to flaunt themselves than to contribute.
Suddenly, after nearly an hour of trudging through the dark woods, Mbege's voice cut through the night. He shone his lantern towards a steep dip by the path. "Look! Over here!" Bellamy, followed closely by Vivienne, Jasper, and Finn, hurried to his side.
"What is it?" Bellamy asked, peering into the ditch with the rest of the group.
"Right there," Mbege said, pointing to some branches of a bush. "You see it? Is that Octavia's?" He looked back at Bellamy, who squinted at the bush and caught the glimmer of a metal clasp from her belt in the moonlight.
"Rope!" Bellamy commanded, and the necessary gear was quickly handed to him.
"What are you doing?" Finn asked as Bellamy secured the rope to a tree and threaded the rest through his large hands.
"We need the rope to get back up," Bellamy said as he tossed the rope down the steep drop, watching it unravel as it descended. "Flashlight," he added, turning to Mbege and tucking the torch into his jacket pocket.
Without hesitation, Bellamy jogged down the slope, lightly gripping the rope for balance. As he reached the bush, he carefully picked up the piece of material tangled in the branches. "It's hers!" he shouted up to the others, causing Vivienne to swallow hard and Jasper to shift nervously on his feet. "I'm going all the way down!" With that, Bellamy disappeared beyond the bush and ventured further into the dark woods.
Without a second thought, Jasper followed Bellamy's lead, quickly descending the slope, his grip on the rope steadying his steps.
Vivienne hesitated for a moment, glancing at the murmuring crowd around her before tightening her hold on the axe, with a reluctant sigh, and sliding down after them. She skidded to a stop beside Jasper, who wrapped a supportive arm around her waist, keeping her upright. One by one, the others followed, joining them at the bottom of the slope.
Jasper, Vivienne, and Finn crouched beside Bellamy, their eyes locked on the rock smeared with fresh blood. A trail of crimson droplets led to a set of footprints embedded in the wet mud. Bellamy's jaw tightened as he ran his fingers over the bloodstains. "Someone else was here," he said, his voice low and tense, the sight of his sister's blood clinging to his hands intensifying the dread in his chest.
"The prints are deeper going that way," Finn pointed out as he gestured toward the large footprints that trailed further into the woods, each step sinking deeper into the mud.
Bellamy glanced back at Finn, the flickering light of the torch casting sharp shadows across his face. "He was carrying her," Bellamy murmured, his voice tight with tension as the realization settled in.
"If they took her," Jasper began, his voice trembling as he shuffled on the ground, "then she's still alive. Just like when they took me." His words sparked a flicker of hope in Bellamy, but the uncertainty gnawed at him. How much longer would they keep Octavia alive?
•••
TORCHLIGHT flickered against the trees, casting eerie shadows that danced like ghosts among the woods as the group of teenagers, led by the eldest, ventured cautiously into a part of the forest they had never dared explore before.
Suddenly, a wave of dread washed over the group as they came to an abrupt halt. In front of them, lining the path through the dense woodlands, were dozens of skeletons, gruesomely pinned up by spikes.
The sight sent a cold shiver down Vivienne's spine. There was no doubt in her mind that these bodies were a grim warning to any who dared trespass. This land had been claimed, and anyone who ventured further was likely to meet the same fate, their remains left to serve as a macabre marker on the path to doom. As Vivienne stared at the fleshless bodies, her eyes caught the differences in the skulls—some appeared more ape-like, resembling those she had read about in books on the Ark.
"I don't speak Grounder," Finn began, his voice tense as he kept his eyes on the grisly display ahead. "But I'm pretty sure this means 'keep out.'"
Fearful murmurs rippled through the group as more and more people considered turning back to camp rather than risk the ominous fate hinted at by the line of skeletons. "Go back if you want," Bellamy said to the people closest to him, including Jasper, Finn, and Vivienne.
Despite the knot of dread tightening in her stomach, Vivienne's boots remained firmly planted. Her gaze stayed fixed on the skeletal remains, a mix of terror and curiosity keeping her rooted in place.
