Love to Hate [1]

Silent in the trees standing cowardly.

Song: Trees // Twenty One Pilots

Nessa's POV

I watched the group leave for Mount Weather, among them the two only friends I had ever made. I mean I had met them about two hours ago, but still my only friends. I sat with my back leaning against the drop ship. Clarke had been right - I was starting to feel the first pangs of hunger in my stomach. I stayed like that for a few minutes before I couldn't take it any longer. I wasn't just going to wait around for them to maybe bring back food. I was going to explore, maybe find some nuts and berries. Anything so I didn't have to watch Bellamy already imposing himself on everyone, trying to take control. Anyone with two eyes could see that he's a power-hungry asshole, yet people genuinely wanted to follow him. They thought he was a leader that would take care of them. It made me sick.

I started towards the trees, clutching a makeshift knife I had fashioned from a piece of metal from the drop ship. Maybe I'd find a small bird I could kill. 

I walked for what felt like hours, marking my way back by carving 'X's in the trees. I found a few berries that I remembered my dad teaching me were edible. Since I had been a secret and hadn't been allowed to leave our room on The Ark I hadn't been able to go to school with the other kids. So, my dad had used my sister's old schoolbooks to teach me himself. Those were my favorite memories with my dad. I particularly loved learning about Earth and the skills necessary to survive on the ground. It fascinated me to picture miles on miles of free space, green, and fresh air. Never did I think I would actually make it here someday. I felt a tear slide down my cheek. Dad would have loved it here. If they just hadn't found out.

I still never figured out how they found me. My dad and Reagan had been so careful. They had told no one. The worst part about them getting floated was I never got to say goodbye. When they came for me I was seven and didn't know what was going on. My dad just handed me a backpack, map, kissed me on the cheek, and threw me into the vent above our room. I still remember his last words. "You can do it, Nessie. I love you. Survive." And I had. For ten years. Until goddamn Bellamy Blake ruined it.

A bird flew right past my face, startling me out of my mental trip to the past. I realized with a jolt that it was getting dark and I'd have to turn back now or I wouldn't be able to see the marks I'd made on the trees.

After a while I saw a flickering light in the distance, followed by cheers. What were they cheering for? Maybe the group had gotten back from Mount Weather. I started to run back. I saw everyone gathered in a circle around a fire. Every so often they would all cheer. I pushed my way to the front of the crowd - my five foot frame coming in handy - to get a better look at what was going on. 

I saw a girl squatting with her forearm draped over a rock. The kid who had fought Wells earlier - Murphy I had since learned was his name - had a knife wedged between her skin and her wristband. He struggled for a moment before prying it open and holding it in the air. Everyone around me let out another cheer. Murphy threw the wristband into the fire where about two dozen more already lay.

"Who's next?" Someone yelled, and Bellamy strode past me. I rolled my eyes. Of course this was his idea. But why? What was the point?

"What the hell are you doing?" Wells called out from across the circle, limping to the fire. It seemed he was a little late to the party as well. And he was not happy.

"We're liberating ourselves," Bellamy replied, smirking. "What does it look like?"

"It looks like you're trying to get us all killed," Wells said angrily. "The communications system is dead. These wristband are all we've got. Take them off and The Ark will think we're dying. That it's not safe for them to follow." Huh, I hadn't thought of that. I wasn't too thrilled about the people who killed my dad and sister coming down here, but at the same time I knew Wells was right. We wouldn't last very long on our own. We were just kids. Not farmers, not engineers, not soldiers. We needed those people to survive.