resist || bellamy blake

five | self-serving jackass

Taya, along with the rest of the camp, grew more and more irritated as the days dragged on. Jasper's moans were keeping the entire camp up throughout the night, and while those alone didn't reach her all the way under the drop ship, the complaints and bitching that came from the people on the first floor? Those she could hear crystal clear.

It put her on edge just like it put everyone else on edge.

Most night, Taya stayed outside until sleep threatened to take her on the spot, finding she liked the cool breeze and rustling of the trees.

On the particular night, Taya felt the wave of sleepiness overtake her, climbing to her feet to turn in for the night in the same moment a scream ripped through the air.

Taya didn't hesitate, rushing towards the sound with her gun out, rounding on a tree to see only a small girl, thrashing and crying out in her sleep. Taya crouched down beside the girl, tucking the gun away and gently holding her shoulders.

"Hey, hey , wake up. It's okay. It's okay. It was just a dream." Taya calmed her down, the girl waking up terrified, her breathing shallow and quick. "What's your name?" Taya asked as she came back to reality, Taya trying to distract the girl from the fleeting recalling of the bad dream..

"Char—Charlotte." She stuttered.

"I'm Taya." Taya introduced herself, sitting down next to the girl as Charlotte wrapped her arms around her knees and sniffled.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Taya asked softly, feeling a note of compassion for the girl who didn't look much older than 13.

"It's... my parents. They were floated and they—and they, I see them in my dreams and I just—."

"I get it. My father was floated, too." Taya said and looked down briefly before pushing the memories away. "How'd you end up here?" Taya asked.

"Well...we were taking my parents' things to the redistribution center and... I kind of lost it. They said I assaulted a guard." Charlotte said. Taya hid her anger, seeing they'd done the same thing to Charlotte as they had to her.

"I did the same, you know?" Taya told her, trying to give her a reassuring smile. Charlotte looked in Taya's eyes, as if not believing they were one and the same.

Taya sighed and looked around, trying to come up with something that would comfort the girl, thinking to what words had comforted herself throughout this.

"Everyone here did something, everyone. Some did worse things than others, but, we all have our justifications. The way I see it, none of it matters anymore. You have to move past it. The ground is our second chance, a new beginning where we can find freedom and happiness, we just have to be bold enough to find it." Taya said.

"Do you really believe that?" Charlotte asked, not thinking Taya would be such an optimistic.

"You have to." Taya shrugged, looking down at Charlotte with a strong look, "And the only way to find out if something is possible is to do it."

•••

"It's that damn kid, always messing with my head." Murphy complained as his failed again to embed his knife in the tree. Taya watched off to the side, sharpening one of her spears with her knife.

"He's not gonna last much longer. Better think of a new excuse." Bellamy taunted him before throwing his tomahawk, it landing dead in the center of the tree. "That's how it's done."

Taya rolled her eyes, annoyed how Bellamy always had to show off. She could easily do that too. Probably. Maybe.

"We searched a half-mile all directions. No sign of Trina or pascal." Atom said as he walked over to the group, Taya standing up and walking over, this debrief being the whole reason she'd been over here in the first place.