Surviving the Sky

Chapter Three

I stood facing Kadian, chained up in a cage, staring at me with hollow eyes. Looking around, the rest of my village were there too.

They all began bleeding. It was horrifying.

"This is your fault. Our deaths," they said, "All because you were a coward."

"No!" I screamed.

"Hey!" Bellamy shook me awake, "What happened?"

"Just a dream," I said.

Bellamy sighed, "Normal dreams don't usually involve screaming. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Since when do you care?" I asked, turning defensive. Seeing the hurt look on his face, I followed up with, "Sorry. I'm fine."

"Okay," Bellamy said, "Good."

I asked, "What do you want?"

"Do you try to sound hostile?" Bellamy asked, "Or is that just your natural tone of voice."

"I'm sorry, I haven't really had anyone to talk to for the last twelve years," I said.

I kept a tally of the days. It helped that my birthday was around the first days of winter, so I could easily keep track of my age.

"Twelve years?" He asked in disbelief.

"I was seven when the mountain men raided my village," I said, "I survived by hiding. I'm a coward, and they're all dead because of me."

Bellamy asked, "Did you see any dead bodies?"

"No, just a bunch of people wearing gas masks," I said, "I watched as they dragged away my best friend. They're dead because of me. Nothing can change that."

"But there weren't any bodies-"

I snapped, "They're dead! Alright? No one ever comes back from the mountain."

"Which mountain? Why were you following us when you saw Jasper get hit with a spear?" Bellamy asked. Jasper. I'd forgotten about him.

"Mount Weather," I whispered softly. I wiped away a tear as it slid down my cheek. I only think if it in my dreams, but I haven't talked about that day for twelve years. To distract myself, I asked, "Is Jasper okay?"

Bellamy sighed, "He should be okay. Clarke, Wells, and Finn are out looking for a red seaweed that'll probably help him."

"Oh," I said, "Good."

Octavia said, climbing up the ladder, "A little crowded downstairs, so I figured I'd sit up here."

Bellamy glared at her, but I interrupted, "If I wanted to hurt her, she'd be dead."

"That's comforting," Miller rolled his eyes.

"It sounded less comforting than I intended," I said.

They spent the next few minutes trying to explain sarcasm to me. I don't get it. Say what you want, but why say something you don't mean as a joke? It makes no sense.

"We're going hunting," Bellamy said, "Want to come?"

"Sure," I said, walking across the room to where my bow and arrows were rested.

Miller tried to stop me, "You can't give her weapons."

"I'm supposed to hunt," I said, "Without any weapons."

"No, just grab them," Bellamy said, "It's fine, Miller."

The boy looked skeptical, but moved out of my way. Murphy led the way out of the fence they were building around the camp. A couple other boys were also following us, but they didn't talk. None of us did.