Coming Back Down

Unity Day

  Unity Day. The day the 12 stations came together to form The Ark after the 13th had been shot out of the sky. Pulling the book I had taken from the Grounder out of a tree hole I had hidden it in, I sat at the base of the tree with the book in my lap. Sure, Unity Day was a huge celebration on The Ark, but after spending all those years in the Sky Box, it just lost its glow to me.

  Just as I was about to open up the book while everyone else in camp was listening to Jaha's speech, Octavia walked up to me. She had this small smile on her face and waved her hand as if she wanted me to follow. Quietly rising to my feet, I followed after her with furrowed brows.

  "Octavia, hey!" I whisper-yelled. "Where are we going?"

  "Can I trust you?"

  "To an extent." I replied. "Why?"

  "I need you to cover for me. If they notice we're both missing, I can say I was with you on a foraging trip." Raising a brow, I tucked the book under my arm as we went through the woods.

  "And what is it that you'll really be doing?"

  "You remember that Grounder that saved me?"

  "Yeah, big dude. Can't forget a guy like that." And I began to get an inkling as to where this was going.

  "Well, he's been training me, and that's what I'll be doing." She smiled. "He gave me a knife and everything."

  "So....you want me to be your alibi?"

  "Yes."

  "....Whatever. If I'm out of camp, why not?" After spending a lot of time with Octavia, it became easier to speak to her, and my voice didn't come out so rough with her either. "Oh, by the way," I began while holding out the book in my hand as I rubbed the back of my head. "could you give him this back and tell him I'm sorry?"

  "Sure." Octavia chuckled. "And thanks for doing this. We can meet back up right here before we go back to camp." She added while marking the nearby tree with an 'X' by using her knife

  Parting ways, Octavia went further into the forest as I went in the opposite direction. Sighing, I stuffed my hands into my pockets and set out to find some food to back up the lie that Octavia and I went out foraging.

  Finding some nuts and edible flowers, I put them away in my pack and headed out toward the river. Remembering the story of how Octavia got her wounded leg, I made sure to stick to the shallower parts of the river when I went in for a drink. The cool water on my tongue gave me an odd sense of comfort until I heard a splash in from of me.

  Tensing up and feeling as if every hair on my body was standing on end, I looked in front of me.

  Fish!

  Standing up, I smiled since there were actual fish here.

  Quickly kicking off my shoes and socks, I wiggled out of my pants and tossed them to the side. Carefully wading into the water up to my knees, I stood as still as possible while waiting for a fish to come by.

  Holding my hands out above the water, I patiently remained still. Seeing a fish coming toward me, I felt excited while getting ready to catch it. As it came closer, I felt a smile pull at the corners of my lips.

  Throwing my hands into the water, I managed to grab the fish. Laughing with joy and excitement, I pulled the fish out of the water as it was flailing around. My laughter was cut short, however, when the tail of the fish smacked me across the cheek with an audible slap. The fish slipped out of my hands as my head jerked to the side, and when it splashed back into the water, I felt a pang of defeat

  "Oh, come on!" I cried out while holding my throbbing, wet cheek. Hearing laughter that was deep and definitely not mine, my eyes snapped to the other side of the river. Sitting on a large rock right on the edge of the water was a Grounder. Freezing in my spot, I was ready to run away while panicking, but I noticed that the Grounder wasn't making any move to attack.

  Glaring as he was still laughing, I ignored him while turning back toward the river. From the clothing and those dark eyes, I could also tell it was the same Grounder that had saved me. 

  Looking into the water, I had to wait until another fish came along. As the minutes passed, I could feel the cloudy sun on my back and the soft flowing of the water against my legs. Twitching my nose, I saw another fish coming toward me. As the same feeling of excitement began to boil up inside of me, I slowly lowered my hands toward the water.

  When the fish came within range, I snatched it out of the water and raised it over my head. Laughing and holding the flopping fish like a trophy, I began to splash through the water toward the riverbank. Dropping the fish on the rocks, I waited until it had suffocated and stopped flopping around before I left it out to dry.

  As I was heading back into the water, I remembered the Grounder as he was still sitting there. However, he now had a spear with a couple of fish impaled on it. He chuckled to himself for some reason, then threw the spear. It landed a few feet from me, impaled in the rocks and dirt. Looking back at the rock where the Grounder had been, he was gone

  "What the Hell...." I mumble before scanning the treeline for the tall man. Just like before, he was there and gone without ever saying a word. Was that a common Grounder thing or something? Breathing out through my nose, I grabbed the spear and tried to pull it out of the ground. It didn't budge with the first tug, but it thankfully came out with the second.

  Stabbing the fish I had caught myself with the spear, I carried all three over to my things. Pulling on my pants, I sat on the rocks to slip my shoes and socks back on. Grabbing my jacket, I kept the spear holding the fish and began to walk back toward the tree where I'd meet up with Octavia.

  Leaning on the tree with the 'X' mark, I waited until well after nightfall before she showed up. However, she wasn't alone. Finn was with her.

  "You found fish?"

  "Yeah." I replied while eyeing Finn.

  "He knows." Octavia sighed. "He actually set up a meeting with the Grounders to try for a peaceful resolution to everything."

  "A meeting?" I raised a brow. "And you're sure it's for peace?"

  "Yes. Nobody wants a war, especially with the people coming from The Ark in more dropships."

  "All right, is there anything you need me to do?" I asked Octavia, nearly ignoring Finn.

  "Just stay at the camp. We need to show we have good intentions by only bringing our leaders." Finn answered.

  "So, who's acting as our leader?"

  "Clarke."