Shoelaces (A Bellamy Blake Fanfiction)

6 ~ Dead

That night, the group camped in the forest, far away from the water's edge. Sophia was only just starting to get warm, the ends of her jack still soaking wet. Her feet were the worst; her socks had been completely drenched and were nowhere near anything close to dry. Unluckily for Sophia, she wouldn't be able to change them until they got to Mount Weather. Which meant a knight trying and failing to sleep on the ground in sodden clothes that only made everything worse. 

She lay on her back, unable to sleep. Her eyes were closed as she tried to picture her family back on the ARC. What were they doing now? What had they been doing when she'd been attacked by that massive sea snake? What would they say if they found out? Her heart sunk as she realised she couldn't ask them, couldn't reach out to wrap her arms around her Mother. She wanted desperately to remember what it felt like to be in her embrace; the smell of her shampoo, her perfume, the feel of her fingers on her back. 

After she'd been caught with a gun she'd found and the food she hadn't stolen, she'd seen the way her Mother had looked at her. Her eyes had been full of disappointment and sadness. Theft of any kind was punishable by floatation on the ark. Her capture was a certified death sentence even though she'd done nothing. 

Her Mother had never come to see her. Sophia wasn't sure why; had never had the chance to ask her. Maybe she couldn't handle the idea that her daughter was to be killed in a little over a year. Maybe it was the disappointment. Either way, Sophia had spent nights crying with anger, wondering why. She had been alone and afraid and her Mother hadn't found the time to visit her. 

As the tears began to fall down her cheeks, Sophia rolled over in her makeshift bed and drifted off into a deep sleep. 

***

"You wanted to go first. Now quit stalling." Clarke said looking up at Finn who held a rope made of thick vines in his hands. He looked at the river in trepidation as he tried to make himself push off the land and swing out and across to the other side. "Mount Weather awaits." 

They all needed to cross the river, and since the water wasn't safe, the only other way across it was above. Clarke had found the bundle of vines in the trees half an hour ago, stating that it was essential to cross to get up to Mount Weather. Finn had immediately volunteered to go first, but now, he was unsure and had been standing there with the vines in his hands for the last five minutes. 

"Just hang on to the Apogee and you'll be fine." Jasper whispered to Finn, bouncing on his feet. 

"Yeah, Apogee. Like, the Indian's right?" Jasper's eyebrows shot up to his forehead. 

"Apogee, not Apache."

"He knows." Clarke announced, a little impatient. Sophia smiled and glanced down at her feet, finding the conversation funny. "Today, Finn."

"Aye, aye, Captain. See you on the other side." Finn was just about to swing when Jasper stopped him. 

"Let me." He said, glancing down to Octavia who was smirking seductively up at the eager boy. Finn looked down at the brunette before looking back up at Jasper. "I can do it."

"Knew there was a badass in there somewhere." Finn said as he handed the makeshift rope to Jasper. Jasper chuckled and looked at the rope nervously. Sophia wondered if he would actually do this. He hadn't seemed like the kind of person to do crazy things like swing across a lake with a massive snake thing in the water just to impress a girl. But, then, he had jumped in to save Octavia without a second thought the day before. 

"It's okay to be afraid, Jasper." Finn spoke as Jasper sighed nervously. "The trick is not fighting it." Jasper nodded and tightened his grip on the vines. 

"See you on the other side." Jasper said a smile on his face. Sophia watched, her mouth hanging open, as the boy launched off the side of the woods and swung across the lake, his feet tucked up beneath him. The boy hooted as he swung to the other side, letting go just before he realised that the only thing to land on was rock. 

He collided with the other side with a loud thump and an audible curse. Clarke and Octavia had looks of concern on their faces as they waited for Jasper to get up. Sophia winced as he landed, happy she hadn't been the one to go first. They all raced to the edge of the rock, Finn grabbing a hold of the vines as Jasper got up, a grin on his face. 

"We are Apogee!" He shouted, throwing his fists up into the air beside his head. The group shouted in encouragement, throwing their fists into the air as they grinned. Sophia smiled and laughed, excited that they were getting closer to the Mountain. 

"Let's go, Princess." Finn said quietly, offering Clarke the vines. "You're up." Sophia turned to look at the pair, remembering the look on Finn's face when he'd apologised to her for bumping her off the rock. He didn't seem to be a bad guy, and Clarke seemed to like him as well as she looked at him with gleaming eyes. She grabbed the vines and looked up at the spot where it disappeared into the trees above. 

"Come on, Clarke! You got this!" Jasper called encouragingly from the other side. "Whoo! Apogee!" Sophia laughed and stepped back as Clarke and Finn shared a googly-eyed glance. Jasper was silent for a moment before he called out loudly. "We did it!" He said, holding an ancient looking and burnt sign above his head. "Mount Weather! Whoo! Whoo!" 

The group all seemed to sigh in relief simultaneously. They'd made it. Mount Weather, at last. Sophia was overwhelmed with the excitement of a dry, non-squishy pair of socks that were no doubt waiting patiently for her on the other side. 

Sophia's eyes widened and she jumped back in shock when a spear sailed over them, landing right in the centre of Jasper's chest. 

"Jasper!" Clarke was calling out, panic in her voice. 

"We need to get down." Sophia shouted, her body flooding with adrenaline. She grabbed onto Octavia's jacket and pulled her roughly behind her as she jumped down behind the rocks they'd been standing on. When they crouched down, the rocks loomed up, blocking them almost entirely from the view of anything in the forest.

They all glanced into the trees as the sound of rustling leaves caught their attention. Panic was flooding through Sophia as she watched a bird startle from its perch in pne of the trees and take off into the sky. Sophia finally let go of Octavia's jacket, glancing momentarily at her to see her terrified eyes were as wide as saucers. 

"We're not alone."