RETURN {the100} ✔️

10.

As the rest of the group managed to pull Jasper out of the tree, I had been kneeled over the panther. It's fur had formed to its skin, giving it its black color and it looked like rubber. It was nothing like they had been described as in books, clearly radiation had also gotten to this breed of animal. My hope for survival on this planet was waning, I mean we could live but it appeared that the generations after us would have some type of defect. The deer, and then the skull, and now this had all been proof of that.

Nothing was as it seemed and that worried me, because that meant we knew absolutely nothing. Everything we had ever been told had been untrue; hell, there were people alive down here after all. I could only imagine what horrors they appeared as. All deformed and grotesque.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Bellamy kneeled beside me.

"What should we do with it?" I turned to look at him and I saw him think for a moment.

Hesitant with an answer he said, "well we do need food."

"So, you wanna cook him?"

"Why not?" He asked nonchalantly.

"It could be infested with radiation." I countered back at him.

"I doubt it. Murphy," he called over his friend, "grab a trap, we're taking this back too!"

Soon enough, Murphy came strolling over with a trap in his hand, it looked to be part of a parachute from the drop ship, and laid it out next to the animal. I stood and backed away from it, as Bellamy and Murphy rolled it up into the parachute and lifted it up on their shoulders. Bellamy gave me a look as if asking me if I was going to help and I simply crossed my arms over my chest and walked away. If they wanted to bring it back and eat it, than they would be the ones to carry it.

The walk back took a lot longer than it should have, but since everyone except Clarke and I were carrying something, that was to be expected. The sun had fallen by the time we got back to camp and I couldn't help but be amazed at the sight. They had built a wall during our absence and a gate even, the wall was about 10 feet high and wrapped around the dropship.

When we entered, Clarke had whisked Jasper and the others off into the drop ship. I could hear her demanding items to help clean Jasper's wounds and I couldn't help but roll my eyes; it wasn't like she was carrying anything, she could have gotten the supplies herself.

Leaving me with only Murphy and Bellamy, I turned my head towards them and watched as the dropped the parachute to the ground. Others had gathered around, curious to see what we had returned with. Bellamy unwrapped the animal, and gasps were heard all around me as more came rushing over.

"Who's hungry?" Bellamy yelled loudly, which brought on an eruption from the crowd. I had to admit, going on two days now without eating anything, I was starving. Yet, the more logical part of me knew better than to just hop in line and eat the possibly radiation filled meat. I'd be sitting this one out, so that was exactly what I did.

I weaved my way out of the crowd and towards the back of camp. Everyone had already claimed most of the supplies to make a tent, which left me with pretty much nothing. Actually, I didn't find anything I could use. Gazing around the camp, I looked for anything that would make some form of shelter for me. But also found nothing, which meant, sleeping in the dropship on the cold ground, or sleeping outside on the cold ground.

Sighing, I moved towards a small lite fire and took a seat on the dirt ground. I laid back and placed my hands behind my head, looking up towards the sky. It was odd seeing the stars from so far away, I was so used to see Earth out of my cell that I never really took the time to look at the stars. They were beautiful, twinkling every so often, and were scattered everywhere above me. It amazes me that people use to use them to build maps and saw figures out of them. It just proved how powerful the human mind could be.

"Here."

I turned my head to the side as someone plopped down beside me, their hand was pushed towards me holding on to a stick with a slab of meat on it. My eyes followed the hand to the owner and found Bellamy's chocolate eyes smirking down at me.

Sitting up, I looked over towards the others gathered around the panther and saw that they all had to remove their wristbands in order to eat. I took in a deep breath and cocked my head to the side, this wasn't right. Sure, I still felt like a prisoner with it on and I almost definitely didn't want the ark coming down after that I had learned I actually killed people. However, I felt that if others wanted to remove their wristbands it should be on their own terms, not because they are starving and want food.

"I'm not taking it off." I stated as I watched a blonde girl forcefully removed hers and than was rewarded with her own slab of meat.

"Oh." Was his response, I could hear him shift uncomfortably beside me and brought his hand back to himself.

"I don't get you." He suddenly blurted, "one minute you are saying that you don't want the Ark to come down and now you don't want to take off the one thing helping them?"

I took in a deep breath and turned to face him, "I will take it off. It's only bound time, but when I do. It'll be on my terms, and mine only."

"I still don't understand." He shook his head.

"That's the point!" I said harshly as I gritted my teeth. "It's my decision. If the Ark is going to think that I'm dead, it'll be because I want them too. Not because I'm starving."

He turned away from me and took in a heavy breath, I watched as he stuck the stick into the ground and stood. He waited for a moment, as if wanting me to ask him to stay, but I didn't. Part of me wanted too, but I didn't.

"Eat it, don't eat it. Doesn't matter to me." And then he left me alone, with a stick of meat where he had just been.