Surrendering Sanity

Im Taking You Home

"Hey, how do we know this is the right way?"

It had to have been only fifteen minutes or so sense the group had left the waterfall behind them. All the while Murphy had been complaining.

Casey was stubbornly ignoring his existence. She knew what his problem was, John wanted to piss someone off. He was craving interaction, craving attention. She definitely wouldn't be the one to give it to him. Everyone but Bellamy had been ignoring him this entire time. And he didn't like that.

Casey didn't know why he was here to begin with. Or Finn either for that matter. He wasn't even helping with the tracking now. At least not really. Spacewalker using the fact he did actually know what he was talking about to impress his 'princess'.

"We don't. Spacewalker thinks he's a tracker."

Wells shot Bellamy a glare at his words, nodding in Casey's direction ahead of them.

"It's called cutting sign. Fourth year Earth skills. And she's good. Finn's not who we're following."

A small smile broke across the brunettes features as he defended her. It went unnoticed the small woman at the head of the pack, her back to the rest of them. But she appreciated his faith in her.

"You want to keep it down or should I paint a Target on your backs?"

Finn's terse words where followed by him joining Casey on her search. His pride no doubt wounded. Clarke seemed to think no less of him, the blonde trailing quickly after. Bellamy's tone was condescending as his words where, no doubt, meant for Wells.

"See. Your invisible."

Casey opened her mouth to retort in his defence when she heard it. A faint moan of anguish. All other concerns leaving her mind in that instant.

"What the hell was that?"

Murphy's question didn't even register Casey was already running. There was only one thing in her mind it could be.

"JASPER!?!?!"

The pained moan came again, this time louder. Almost as if he was answering her call.

"JASPER!!! DON'T WORRY I'M COMING!!!"

****

"Casey, WAIT! We have to stay together."

The brunette either didn't hear him or didn't care because she kept right on going. Clarke gave Bellamy a fearful look as she extended a arm in his way, stopped him from chasing after her.

"Now would be a good time to take out that gun."

For once, he whole heartedly agreed with her. The pistol quickly finding it's way into his hands as he ran in the direction Casey had disappeared. He had made his sister a promise. But the small woman's recklessness was making it extremely difficult to keep.

He couldn't protect her if she kept getting away from him.

Wells had been the first to go after her, Bellamy hated the man, but he had to admit Jaha never let that limp slow him down for a second.

****

What Casey found when she broke into the clearing had her freezing in her tracks. Jasper's body hung limply in the branches of what the brunette could only describe as a tree of death. It's bark was a dark brownish grey, the branches twisted and dead, no life growing on it at all. Not even a single leaf. Moss had began to slowly consume it. Giving it a earily deadly beauty. 

Jasper himself was covered in blood and dirt, his eyes closed as it looked like he wasn't moving at all. Whoever or whatever had done this to him had tied him to the monsterous thing like an offering.