Prisoner 83 | the 100

chapter three

After a moment of shocking silence had fallen over the six, Hazel turned around and weakly said, "So, uh, should we continue?" The others were able to hear the nerves in the dirty blonde's voice but appreciated her positive front. They were scared as well, but Hazel remained optimistic and believed that just because the deer's head had split in two, did not mean theirs would, too.

The adventure went on. But soon, Hazel claimed she couldn't feel her legs so Finn was forced to carry her on his back. Finn barely even noticed his sister's weight. He was too busy staring at Clarke from in front of them. Hazel noticed this and tried her best to avoid making belching sounds.

They were walking downhill, Octavia up ahead while Finn asked, "Hey, you know what I'd like to know? Why send us down today after ninety-seven years? What changed?" Hazel frowned as she pondered her brother's question. It was a good thing to ask, for no one else seemed to know.

Octavia wrapped her small hand around a thin tree and twirled around it, trying to catch Finn's attention, "Who cares? I'm just glad they did. I woke up rotting in a cell, and now I'm spinning in a forest."

But Finn carried on past her, causing the dark-haired female to frown. She thought her flirting skills were pretty impressive considering she had lived under a floorboard for sixteen years. From behind her brother's back, Hazel turned her head back to Octavia and mouthed Pathetic. Octavia rolled her eyes just as Monty suggested, "Maybe they found something on a satellite, you know, like an old weather satellite or. . ."

But the boy of average height trailed off, not sure if he even believed his own words. The fact that the hundred had been sent down in the first place was something they had constantly thought over the past few hours since landing but never really knew the answer. Until now. Clarke spoke up, "It wasn't a satellite. The Ark is dying. At the current population level, there's roughly three months left of life support—maybe four now that we're gone." If what Clarke was saying was true, that meant everyone on the Ark would die. Hazel's father would die.

Hazel frowned as her younger brother went on to say, "So that was the secret they locked you up to keep, why they kept you in solitary, floated your old man?" Finn's words hit the blonde with a wave of emotion—unwanted emotion. Clarke already had to deal with Wells being a reminder of her dead father, she did not want the shaggy haired male to be one, too.

"My father was the engineer who discovered the flaw. He thought the people had a right to know—"

"—So was our father," Hazel whispered into Finn's ear. His jaw tensed but he nodded and squeezed his sister's hand slightly as if to comfort her. Unfortunately, it did nothing to help her stop from worrying.

"The Council disagreed. My mother disagreed. They were afraid it would cause a panic. We were gonna go public, anyway, when Wells. . ." Clarke drifted off, thinking about her late father and the fact that her best friend's betrayal led to his death.

"What, turned in your dad?" Monty asked. He clearly did not know what had actually happened, whereas Hazel and Finn did because their father was an engineer and was a close friend of Jake Griffin.

Clarke suddenly continued, her voice a little strained, "Anyway, the guard showed up before we could. That's why today. That's why it was worth the risk. Even if we all die, at least they bought themselves more time."

The blonde's words made Hazel realize something: just how expendable they are.

Monty acknowledged, "They're gonna kill more people, aren't they?" Hazel squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to think about the possibility that her father and all of her friends that were still on the Ark would die.