𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃 | the 100¹

30 | Staying Put

"Looks like you've got your fight."

‧ ✩ ｡ ✭ ° ☆ ･ _______ ･ ☆ ° ✭ ｡ ✩ ‧

It feels as if Amber has spent a whole lifetime in the dropship's camp, and she's surprised at how quickly it's all packed away. Knowing it's only been a few weeks doesn't ease the ache in her chest as she watches everything be abandoned so abruptly. The memories are all that remain now.

She takes one last look to imprint the image onto her mind before turning her back and joining the tail of the line exiting through the gate. Advancing through the tow with a firm grip on her backpack's straps, she finds a position between Jules and Raven. She had worried Raven couldn't be convinced to use the stretcher Finn and another boy now carries her on, but Amber only had to say her name once in a firm tone, and she gave in. If there's one benefit to being weak, it's that people listen when you finally snap.

Careful murmurs drift between tense faces, and only one stream of cheerful chatter reaches their ears as Miller excitedly rants at the front, unaware of the other's mood. The gunners hold the perimeter tightly, but dread crawls down Amber's spine and she keeps a grip on the handle of her knife. The forest is the Grounders' turf, and she can't shake the feeling that they're being watched.

"This is creeping me out," she mutters. "I'd rather be in camp where I can see the Grounders than out here where they can be hiding anywhere."

"Yeah, running isn't really my style. It's not a good look," Jules agrees, her eyes steadily scanning the trees while she keeps her assault rifle poised. Despite the fear visible in everyone else's faces, she manages to appear composed, and Amber can't help but smile.

"Wrong. You make everything look good," she says.

Jules snickers. "Now that's how to flirt with a girl. The guys should take notes."

"You don't have to like it," Finn interjects. "But you do have to stay alert."

Amber grabs Jules' wrist to cut her off from arguing with him and flashes her an exaggerated eye roll. It works, and Jules bites her lip to stifle a laugh.

"Why are we stopping?"

Amber follows Raven's gaze to see the people at the front coming to a halt. As the people behind them catch up, the formation breaks down into a jumbled mess in the middle of the forest, with everyone nervously turning about, searching for an explanation to the sudden stop.

Jules gently nudges Amber further into the crowd, but Amber refuses to leave her side. If Jules stays by the perimeter, then so will she, even if she risks becoming a target.

"See anything?" Craving even just the sense of protection, she lays a hand against the bark of the nearest tree.

Gasps erupt from the front of the tow, followed by a heavy thud, a sound Amber recognizes all too well. She cranes her neck to gauge the situation, to see who has fallen, but the crowd stirs.

"Grounders!"

Everyone snaps into action, retreating back to where they came from. In the chaos, Amber loses sight of everyone she knows, vision blurring as she spins wildly, bodies surging past her in a frenzied rush.

"Raven?" Her eyes fall on the stretcher, now discarded and trampled on the ground. The urge to push through the panicked crowd and search for her friend rises, but she forces herself to trust that Finn wouldn't just leave her.