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⃟
There's a new expectation for the juveniles in the camp. They're expected to not act out, and if they did, consequences are to come. The proof is Murphy and his banishment. He's blamed for Charlotte's death, although it was her who jumped off of the cliff.
They made an attempt to contact the Ark. Monty seemed pretty confident that he could use their wristbands to send them a morse code message. They almost succeeded, but the wristbands got fried. All of them. Despite the disappointment that their familes, if they had them, would come down, they all seemed okay with everything that's going on. All the factors that piled and led them closer to death — the lack of supplies, the Grounders, and the constant issues that happens within their camp.
Maybe that's what keeps her up that night, or maybe it's someone's loud snores heard throughout the whole camp. Either way, she grows restless with her tossing and turning. Apparently she isn't the only one annoyed with her movements.
"If I hear you move again, you'll be sleeping with the Grounders," Alec grumbles from his side of the tent. His words are muffled by his pillow that he pushes against his face.
With a soft smile, she decides to take a walk to hopefully tire herself. She sits up and pulls on her boots, making sure to keep as quiet as possible. She ducks under the opening of her tent and slips out. She walks past some tents that are quiet, and some with soft snores. She passed by the one that has the loudest snores and rolls her eyes, of course it's one of Bellamy's friends.
She passes by his tent to hear soft whispers from not only him, but two others with feminine voices. She raies her eyebrows before rushing away from the tent. Obviously someone is getting busy, and she doesn't want to be the one to hear it.
"I was being sarcastic," a voice whispers. Her roommate is now at her side with his hair disheveled and a tired expression on his face. She stops in her tracks before they can get past the border of the camp.
"I know," she replies. "So, what's keeping you up?" Alec asks, nudging her side with his elbow gently.
"I don't know," she trails off with a frown. It takes a few moments of silence to pick her words back up. "I'm just not that tired. But I'm okay, you can go back to sleep."
"You're back to that, huh?" He wonders aloud, looking down at her with a frown. With a questioning look from her, he elaborates, "You have a habit of shutting everyone out when things get hard for you. It happened when your mom died, when Arzaylea chose Anthony over you, and I bet you did the same thing when you got caught."
Her jaw clenches at the reminder of some of the hardest things of her life. Rage boils within, even some sadness as the emotions strike her. In a hushed whisper, she tells him off, "I haven't seen you in years. What gives you the right to bring those things up? Hell, what makes you think you know me?"
"Just relax," he cautiously says, reaching out to put his hands on her arms. She moves out of reach before he could, causing him to sigh and drop his hands. "I'm just worried about you, Zarah. I'm your friend, and I don't think it's good for you to shut down."
"My friend, my ass," she retorts with a scoff. "We haven't spoken in years. I think you lost the title of being my friend. You and I are simply strangers that knew each other."
She wraps her arms around herself and starts to walk away. "Zarah." His voice stops her briefly.
"I don't want to hear it," she murmurs and walks again. "No, Zarah, look," he tells her, a certain amazement and curiosity in his voice. "Guys, come check this out!"
She turns around and follows his gaze. A heavy piece of metal falls from the sky, a trail of heat and fiery blaze behind it. She takes a few steps as she admires it, find her lips part as she is mesmerized. Alec's breath hits her neck at their short distance. Neither of them make an attempt to move, not even after their short argument.
"They're coming to help us," Jones beams as the juveniles leave their tents and gather around. "Now we can kick some Grounder ass."
A few cheers follow before a girl sighs, "Please tell me they brought down some shampoo."
Zarah looks over at the crowd. Most have bright grins on their lips, except for Bellamy. Her smile drops as his jaw clenches. She knows exactly why, he's scared of his punishment from the Arc.
⃟
"If it cleared the ridge, it's probably near the lake," Jones explains to his leader, who only keeps his arms crossed with his jaw clenched.
"We should get moving. Everyone's ready," Octavia reports. She glances over at her brother, who immediately shoots down the option of exploring now.
"No one's going anywhere," he asserts sternly. "Not while it's dark. It isn't safe. We'll head out at first light. Pass the word."
His men leave the tent to tell the others, leaving the two girls. Octavia frowns at her brother, "Everyone for one hundred miles saw this thing come down. What if the Grounders get to it first? Bell, we should go now."
Bellamy shakes his head. "I said we wait until sunrise." He ducks under the flap of the tent without another word.
Zarah meets eyes with his sister and shrugs. She lets out a huff of air and exits the tent. She knows he's up to something. He doesn't want the Arc coming down and he will do everything to stop it, and she knows that. He's going to get there before his own people do.
She walks to her own tent, grabbing her blade and tucks it into her waistband. "Hey, can we talk?" Alec asks.
"Nope," she replies as she tucks another blade into the top of her boot. "Don't wait up or anything. I'll be back later." She exits the tent and finds herself leaving camp.
