Reckless- The 100 English

Chapter 6

The next morning, we continue hiking. We make our way back to what looks like the same river, except further down the bank. We explore for a bit until Finn finds a vine that looks strong enough to take us across.

Immediately, he says "I'll go first.", but he takes forever, adjusting and readjusting his grip multiple times.

"You wanted to go first. Now quit stalling!" Clarke calls up to him.

I laugh. "Mount Weather's waiting. You went on a prohibited spacewalk but don't have the guts to swing on a vine?" Finn smiles nervously.

"Just hang on until the apogee and you'll be fine." Jasper says, attempting to reassure him.

Looking straight ahead, Finn replies, "The apogee like the Indians, right?"

I chuckle and shake my head. "Apogee, not apache." Looking up at him, I yell, "Come on, Finn! You can do it!"

Fake saluting, he nods. "Aye, aye, captain. Here goes nothing." Finns bends his knees, prepared to go, but Jasper grabs his arm.

"Wait." he says, looking at Octavia. I grin, rolling my eyes. "Let me do it." Finn raises his eyebrows before patting Jasper on the back.

Finn hands him the vine. "I knew there was a badass in there somewhere."

I laugh and chime in. "Here's your chance to finally be a ninja, Jasp." He nervously laughs and tightly grips the vine. Finn frowns, grabbing hold of Jasper's shoulder.

"Hey," he says, "it's ok to be afraid, Jasper. The trick is not fighting it." I look up at Finn, a new admiration forming for him.

I agree. "He's right, Jasper. That's good advice- take it." Finn smiles down at me.

Jasper takes a deep breath and smiles. "See you on the other side." He jumps off, the vine in his hands. He swings across, shouting at the top of his lungs in excitement. I watch in anticipation as he reaches the other side and lets go of the vine. He falls in a slump, and I begin to get scared, thinking he got knocked unconscious. However, he suddenly jumps up, shouting, "Yeah! We are apogee! Yeah! YEAH!" The five of us left on this side instantly share in his excitement, yelling and letting out whoops of joy.

"You did it, Jasper!" Clarke shouts at him.

"Alright, let's go princess." Finn says to Clarke. "You're up." She grabs hold of the vine.

"You've got this, Clarke!" Jasper yells from across the river. "Whoo! Apogee!" As Clarke prepares to swing across, the rest of us watch as Jasper rummages through the leaves. He pulls out a sign and begins jumping up and down.

"We did it!" he shouts, "Mount Weather! Whoo! Whoo!"

"Yes!" Octavia cheers, smiling.

"Yeah, Jasper!" Finn shouts.

"Good job, buddy!" I yell, giving him a thumbs up. He continues waving the sign over his head, but before I can even blink he's flying backward into a tree, the sign clattering down next to him. I stare, open-mouthed, at the spear sticking out of his chest.

"Jasper..." Clarke breaths out, and suddenly it hits me. A sob is ripped from my chest, and I can feel the adrenaline in my veins. I push Clarke away from the vine towards Finn and grab onto it myself, preparing to swing over to Jasper. Before I can jump off, Finn wraps his arms around me, pulling me away from the vine. I struggle against him, sobbing.

"No, Ree, stop..." he says, attempting to console me as he continues to pull me farther into the forest. "No, you need to take cover. It'll be ok, come with us." Turning his attention towards the other three, he motions to the forest with his head. "Go, come on, come on." Eventually, I give up, becoming almost lifeless in his arms, staring at Jasper. Finn picks me up, throwing me over his shoulder.

"Jasper! Jasper!" I hear Clarke shouting, but it sounds like she's a mile away. He puts me down so I can lean on a tree trunk. My breath is coming out so fast I begin getting light headed. Clarke comes and sits down next to me, telling me to breathe. I can barely hear her, I can barely feel anything. Suddenly, someone slaps me, roughly thrusting me back into reality. I look and see Octavia, hand still raised.

She shrugs unapologetically, saying, "You were losing it- no one else was going to do it, so I did."

I move forward and hesitantly peek out from behind the rock at Jasper who is slumped against a tree. I can't tell if he's alive or not, but I assume the worst. Finn places his hand on my shoulder.

"Are you ok?" he asks.

I nod. "Sorry about losing it before."

He shakes his head. "It's ok, I understand. He's your friend."

Clarke shushes us. "We're not alone." she whispers. I glance at our surroundings- the scenery is no longer beautiful, but deadly.