Prisoner 138 {The 100} [1]

Chapter 8: Crossfire

The sun was just starting to peak over the mountain, turning the sky a light pink color when I began to regret my choice of sneaking away to follow the group. The effects of not sleeping for 20 hours were starting to set in.

The morning fog rolled in, making the grass wet and slippery with dewdrops and a light wind blew, causing me to shiver.

Rubbing my eyes as I yawned, I made sure to always keep one of the others in my line of sight so I wouldn't get lost. Finally after a few hours of walking, they stopped.

Bellamy, Raven, and Jasper hid in bushes by a river while Clarke, Finn and Octavia made their way up onto a large bridge that crossed over the rushing water. The bridge had become overgrown with nature, vines and moss covered it and the railing was rusty and hanging off the side.

The group below the bridge were tasked with staying out of view, guns at the ready, in case anything went south. On top of the bridge, Octavia was pacing back and forth, worriedly biting her fingernails until a Grounder appeared from the tree line, scooping her up into a tight hug.

This had to be the same Grounder that we had kept locked up in the dropship for stabbing Finn. It was clear now how he had escaped.

When the two pulled from the hug, a clicking could be heard from across the bridge and soon the sound was matched with a small group of four Grounders riding on the back of horses. My eyes widened as the horse's mains flew in the light morning wind.

Horses had been my favorite animal to read about ever since I first learned about them back on the Ark. When we were little my best friend Jace, used to steal books about them from the Library, for me.

A woman, dressed head to toe in animal fur and wearing what looked to be a crown, climbed off her horse, making her way across the bridge to meet Clarke halfway. They each stopped when they were standing about five feet away from each other.

So far everything seemed to be going smoothly as they spoke. Neither of them were hostile from what I could tell and things were okay. But of course, there is always a calm before the storm.

From his spot in the brush, Jasper began to mumble something about the Grounders as he continued to look up at the trees through the scope of his gun.

"This is bad, this is really bad." I heard him say it over and over.

Bellamy tried to calm him down but his words went unheard. Jasper, with his gun ready to kill, ran out of his hiding spot into the shallow river, screaming for Clarke to run as he shot randomly into the treetops, hitting and killing a hidden Grounder in the process.

The others cursed and followed his lead. Suddenly arrows and bullets were flying through the air. In just a few seconds, a peaceful meeting about forming a truce turned into an all-out war. Somehow, Jasper managed to kill two Grounders in the process.

My body was frozen in shock, not knowing what to do as I watched the scene unfold. I cursed at myself for not listening to Bellamy and Jasper when they told me to stay at the camp. My heart was beating so hard against my chest, I could have sworn the Grounders could hear it.

"Ari! What the hell?!" My attention turned to Bellamy who was standing a few feet away, his face red with anger at the sight of me. "Get over here, now!"

Doing as I told, I spirited towards him. Mistakenly not making sure I was clear before doing so. Running through the shallow river, my feet soaked as my boots took in water.

I was halfway to Bellamy when an arrow flew from the trees and jabbed itself right into my left thigh, causing my leg to buckle beneath me. With a shriek of pain, I went crashing to the ground, hitting my head on a rock in the process of falling into the river.