Free || The 100 [1] || ✔

F O U R: apologies

In a center of a clearing stood a large tree without a single leaf. Tied to the tree was Jasper. I immediately limped forward to him, not paying attention to any of my surroundings. Before I knew it, I was falling but a strong hand gripped my arm before I met the sharpened stakes below.

I looked up and made eye contact with Bellamy, "Damn, Princess. You almost died twice within twenty-four hours."

I rolled my eyes as the other boys ran over to Bellamy to help him lift me up. I dusted myself off and Finn helped me to my feet. With more caution this time, I proceeded to reach the tree.

I carefully climbed the tree and propped myself up next to Jasper. Finn and Murphy climbed up the tree shortly after with their knives.

"I think they tried to heal him," I stated as I inspected Jasper's defeated-looking body.

"Medicine? Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?" Finn wondered.

"Maybe what they are trying to catch likes its dinner breathing," Bellamy sighed as he looked around cautiously.

"Maybe what they are trying to catch is us," Clarke responded.

"I agree with Clarke. It's probably a trap. We better hurry up befo-" I was interrupted by growling and rustling in the nearby bushes. "Now would be a good time to have that gun out, Bellamy."

I noticed Bellamy looked worried as he grabbed for his gun but instead touched bare skin. The growling stopped for a mere second before a dark black blob sprang from the bushes. I closed my eyes and all I heard was a loud bang, a thud, and then silence. I opened my eyes to see a black panther on the forest floor, not making a single move.

"Okay, we should really get out of here before something more dangerous arrives," I shakily stated.

The group nodded in response and we immediately went to work on getting Jasper down and finding someway to carry the animal home for a feast.

***

It was a long hike back to the drop ship.

When we reached it, I immediately grabbed Clarke and instructed a few of the delinquents to carry Jasper into the drop ship. Clarke and I ran around grabbing old T-shirts, bowls, and water. We also grabbed some wood in order to make a fire. We immediately got to work on Jasper's wounds.

After hours of work, Clarke announced, "He's stable for now but he needs medicine."

"Well, unless someone smuggled some drugs in here, Jasper is going to have to tough it out," I agreed. "We did what could for now, let's get some food."

We headed outside and met up with Finn who was standing at the entrance of the drop ship. A large fire had been made with parts of the animal that Wells had killed on sticks around it.

"We have to take our wristbands off for food?" I asked when I noticed that Bellamy was handing food to those without wristbands.

Finn shook his head, "We don't have to."

I followed Finn as he grabbed a stick from the fire. When I grabbed mine, Murphy, who I assumed was Bellamy's "assistant" grabbed my wrist and yanked the stick out of my hand.

"Do you think you play by different rules, princess?" the boy asked.

I spat in his face and he raised his fist. I closed my eyes and prepared for the hit but it never came. I hesitated before opening my eyes but when I did Murphy was on the floor and Bellamy was on top o him. Before Bellamy could do something serious to Murphy, I, along with a few others boys, pulled him off.

"Bellamy! Bellamy! Stop. Just leave him alone," I said as I tried to hold Bellamy back.

He let out a heavy sigh and handed me a stick with a slab of meat on it and continued taking off everyone else's bracelets. I walked back into the drop ship and helped Clarke take care of Jasper.                                                                                                ***

"So, Athena," Clarke started. "How have you be-"

"Save it, Clarke." I cut her off. "Stop trying to initiate small talk with me. You killed my father."

"I killed my dad too, Athena. Look, you can hate me all you want but don't hate on Wells, please. He had nothing to do with it," Clarke sighed.

"I never said I hated Wells. If you had not eavesdropped on our dads' conversation, you wouldn't have known about the whole plan. If you had not told Wells, he wouldn't have told his dad. The common factor in this whole situation is you," I snapped.

"Athena, I'm sorry. I truly am." There was a long silence before Clarke continued, "What did you do to get locked up, anyway?"

"You don't want to know," I responded.

Clarke started to open her mouth to talk but Jasper cut her off with his groans and moans. I grabbed his wrist and searched for a pulse.

"His pulse is three eighty," I said worriedly.

Some of the delinquents downstairs started to get restless and began shouting at Jasper.

"Oh, shut the hell up, would ya? If you continue the death threats then I will personally come down there and kill you," I shouted down the hatch.

Clarke laughed, "Keep an eye on him. I'm going to go get some clean water."

She carefully climbed down the stairs and then I was left alone with Jasper and Monty. I held Jasper's hand and tried to comfort him as best as I knew how.

"All right, Jasper, I'm going to tell you a little story now. It's about a time where I went into space," I started. "My dad was one of the engineers of the Ark. He was the smartest person I knew but sometimes the stupidest person I knew," I chuckled, remembering how my dad was book smart but not even close to being street smart. "I had always wanted to go to space and just float; be one with the stars and planets. So one day, my dad made my wish come true. May 11th in the year 2106, when I was twelve years old, I put on a spacesuit and stepped outside the Ark. It was so beautiful, Jasper. It looks so different in the Ark. The stars were so much brighter and the surrounding space was so much darker. The Ground looked so much bigger and I felt like I could smell the flowers, trees and dirt we are smelling right now." Then, I remembered what I had done. What I had caused. "But at the time, I didn't know that a little fifteen minute trip would waste almost a month of oxygen. I could have given everyone up there at least another month to live."

Before I had finished, Monty had fallen asleep and Jasper had quieted down. The sound of the delinquents had also silenced. I sat in the darkness by myself listening to Jasper's shallow breathing, Monty's snores, and the tosses and turns of the kids sleeping.

"I'm sorry," I said to no one in particular.