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"Bellamy, check it out. We want the Ark to think that the ground is killing us, right? Figured it'd look better if we suffer a little."
Ava gasped as she found Murphy trying to shove a helpless girl who still wore her wristband into the flames of a fire. Her initial shock subsided quickly, though, as she realized that she expected this kind of behavior from Murphy. He was a violent being, his rage not easily contained.
She began to march towards him, determined to pry his grimy hands away from the poor girl. But the Chancellor's son had beaten her to it.
"Let her go!" Wells bellowed before shoving him off the poor girl. He turned towards a nonchalant Bellamy, breathless and horrified. "You can stop this."
"Stop this?" the Blake boy said. "I'm just gettin' started."
Before Wells could utter another word, Murphy jumped to his feet and connected his fist to the boy's face, nearly sending him to the ground. The two continued their brawl, both of them sending blow after to blow to the other. Finally, Wells managed to wrestle free of his competitors clutches and stormed off towards Bellamy, fists clenched at his sides. "Don't you see you can't control this?"
Rolling onto his side, Murphy jumped back up to his feet. He pulled a knife out of his belt loop. "You're dead."
Ava's blue eyes widened in shock at the sight of the weapon. Before even thinking things through, she charged towards Murphy and tackled him to the ground. Limbs colliding with limbs, they landed with a hard thump. Murphy groaned in pain as he was underneath the girl, having supported her fall. Ava leaned forward, her long hair dangling in Murphy's face as she grabbed his knife and chucked it out of his reach.
From below her, Murphy murmured, "Fucking bitch."
Ava's eyes met his as she leaned closer to his bloodied and bruised face. "Ignorant fucking dick."
Murphy dark eyes narrowed into slits as he glared up at her. This time, she did not look away. Their eyes clashed like steel. In these few moments, Murphy seemed to become increasingly aware of the position they were in. He could feel her heavy breaths on his face, and the ends of her hair tickled his jaw. Suddenly, he clammed up and was forced to avert his eyes from hers.
Ava gazed down at him, a look of pure bewilderment struck across her face. She was snapped out of reverie when two strong hands lifted her off of the boy. Turning around, she saw it was only Wells.
"Thank you," he said, his voice laced with gratefulness and appreciation. His warm eyes gazed deeply into hers with admiration.
"Anytime, Wells," Ava replied, a small smile forming on her lips as she let her hand lay on his shoulder.
"Hey! They're back!" Someone amongst the crowd of delinquents shouted. Spinning around, Ava and Wells could see the approaching figures of Clarke and Finn bounding towards them. Octavia and Monty appeared from behind the bushes, resulting in Bellamy dashing over to them. He embraced little his sister tightly before turning towards Clarke. "Where's the food?"
Ava bounded towards the group, specifically towards Octavia and Monty. She pulled Monty into a quick hug, and then the younger Blake before noticing how she flinched at the contact.
"Hey," Ava spoke softly, her voiced filled with concern, "are you okay?"
"Fine." Octavia grimaced, nodding down towards her leg that sported a long cut. "Just a battle scar."
Before she could respond, Finn spoke up. "We didn't make it to Mount Weather."
Ava gasped, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion and worry. How were they going to survive without food?
"What the hell happened out there?" Bellamy yelled, asking what everyone was thinking.
"We were attacked," Clarke said sullenly.
"Attacked?" asked Wells. "By what?"
"Not what. Who," said Finn, creating a tense atmosphere among the 100.
"It's true." Clarke piped up, her voice nearly shaking at the thought. "Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong. There are people here — survivors."
"The good news is," she continued, everyone paying close attention to her words, "that means we can survive. Radiation won't kill us."
"The bad news is the grounders will," Finn added grimly.
"Wait," Ava spoke up, her heart pulsing through her chest faster and faster, "where's Jasper?"
Clarke turned towards the brunette, a look of sorrow struck on her face. "Jasper was hit. They took him."
Ava blinked and stared blankly at Clarke, barely registering what she had just said. Her heart raced wildly at the thought of Jasper, her friend, being dragged away by a grounder.
How could this happen? she thought.
Ava tuned out as Clarke and Bellamy began to argue — over what, she had no clue. All eyes were drawn to the blonde and the brunette, so no one noticed when Ava slipped out of the crowd and into the woods.
...
Ava stared up blankly into the sky, all the while absentmindedly tugging on the frayed sleeves of her shirt. Her head pounded with the persistent thoughts that buzzed around in her mind like a swarm of antsy bees. She blocked out everything around her, her thoughts drowning out the loud chatter that could still be heard emitting from the others.
Jasper might be dead, Ava thought, her eyebrows knitting together in a mix of confusion and shock, along with various indescribable feelings. If this was her friends cruel fate, who's to say that the very same wasn't going to happen to her? Or the others? They might as well be dead already.
The hope she had harbored for starting a life on Earth was now crushed. She felt like an utter fool, believing that a second chance was in store for her. The ground was the dream, but this was reality.
