Not All Fun and Games

Chapter 42

Bellamy's POV

"Dammit, Clarke," I mutter.
She's been gone for a full day. It's the evening and I haven't eaten all day, but I have no desire to leave my tent. Yes, I'm hungry, but it doesn't overpower my... What is it anyway? Anger? Worry?
I don't know, maybe a mix of them both.
I didn't even say bye to her, I was too mad at her for what she said.
"I'm going to Polis and you can't stop me."
I knew she was going to meet the head grounder, but I didn't know it would be a four day journey and that it would be so soon. Clarke hadn't even planned what she would say to the commander.
I had also asked to let me come with her, but she refused. She said I had to stay back to watch over camp, and Calvin and Kaytee were enough company. Basically, she doesn't need me.

***

Clarke's POV

We've been in the woods now for one day. In a period of approximately 24 hours, I've learnt so much about the wild. I now know almost every edible plant, fruit and nut in these woods. I know which animals are hunters and which ones are preys. I know how to climb a tree, in case I'm being chased by a predator. Calvin has given me tips on aiming and throwing a spear, which ended up scoring us a good-sized raccoon.
As it turns out, raccoon meat is nowhere near as good as rabbit, wolf or deer meat, but meat is meat and my rumbling stomach certainly didn't complain at the time.

My thoughts keep drifting back to Bellamy, and how I wish he had come out to say goodbye to me. I feel bad for being so harsh. What I said to him was unkind, whether it needed to be said or not.
I can't worry too much about it, though. I'll see him in three days, and we'll work everything out then. Right now, I have bigger things to think about. Like what I'm going to say to the head grounder. I know what the big message is I have to tell her, but it needs to be perfectly planned out. If I so much as look at her the wrong way, everything could turn upside down and we could be dead in a day. The whole camp.

Due to my messed up sleep schedule, I was up almost all night while Kaytee and Calvin were sleeping. It's eight o'clock and I'm already exhausted.
"If you want, we can call it a night and get some sleep," offers Calvin.
"Huh?" Am I that obvious? "No, I'm fine," I reply.
Calvin smiles sympathetically. "Clarke, I know you're tired. It's already starting to get dark, anyway. Let's eat and get some rest."
"Okay. If you guys are okay with it," I give in. I'm too tired to put up a fight, anyway.
We find flat ground and feast on the rest of the raccoon. Kaytee sets up our sleeping bags. Once I'm lying down, sleep comes quickly.

I wake to the crackling of a fire. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the rising sun, meaning I've slept for at least nine hours. Kaytee is crouched over a well-built fire, smiling at me. "Good morning."
"Morning," I reply. "What are you doing?" My voice is hoarse from sleep.
My eyes settle on a small pile of fish beside her, answering my question.
"I speared them about an hour ago. There's a river nearby," she says. "I thought I might as well cook them up now."
Calvin is still asleep. He doesn't have a sleeping bag, but his clothes, which I assume are made with animal skin, are much warmer than ours. They look soft and leathery and they'd be great to have in the winter, although I don't know how he can walk around in what must now be the summer, when the sun is baring down on us.
"I think we should leave when Calvin wakes up," I suggest. One more day of walking and we'll be in Polis. Although the thought excites me-to see real civilization down here, on the ground-I feel nervous. We know the grounders can be dangerous. It's because of them that Adam is dead. That Bellamy has to limp around in a leg brace. But the only thing we can do now is try to forget the past. Us sky people must learn to forgive the earthborns if we wish to live. Some of them want to make peace, and I'm just hoping the commander is one of them. Since she agreed to meet with me, I assume she is.
I look down at the growing fire. "Do you need any help?" I ask.
I get no response.
"Kaytee?" I look up to see her. Her attention appears to be on the trees. "Kaytee," I shout louder, even though she's only a few meters in front of me. She jumps and looks at me, her eyes wide. "Sorry, I thought I saw something in the trees. What were you saying?"
"What did you see?" I question nervously. "Did it look like a human?"
She shrugs, but her shoulders are tense. "I don't know. I hope not. So anyway, what were you asking me before?"
I look to where she had been staring but don't see anything.
"I was asking you if you wanted any help."
"Yea, that would be great," she chirps. "If you could find a big, flat piece of bark that I could place over the fire and cook the fish on, that would be very helpful. I've already got sticks to hold it up."
"No problem," I tell her and head towards a thick tree.
The bark isn't thick enough on this tree, so I move on. It's hard to peel off bark in a big chunk. It would probably be easier to peel it off a dead tree. Just as I kneel over a log lying on the ground, I hear something behind me. I turn around and hear it again. Whoosh. Suddenly, a human figure steps from behind a tree just in front of me. A grounder.