Kings // c. griffin

Chapter Four

Isaac's legs burned as he pushed himself to run faster, his breath coming out in short huffs as he darted away from the scene. He faintly registered Finn yelling for Clarke, and his breath hitched as his wide eyes took in the scenery. He couldn't tell how far ahead he was (or was he behind?) or where anyone else was. All he knew was that he was running. His legs were turning into liquid as he ran and it felt physically impossible for him to run further without collapsing, but somehow his fear pushed him along and he managed to stay upright and running.

That is, until his toes brushed dangerously close to the ground and got caught on a rock, sending him crashing to the ground. "Isaac!" Clarke gasped, rushing to help him up. Isaac let her grab a hold of his upper arm as he began to push himself up, before he froze, his eyes trained on something in front of him. The group followed his stare to see a skeleton sprawled out on the ground in front of him, the curly haired boy quickly scrambling away from the bones.

"Who are they?" he panted, eyes wide with fear. 

He cringed as Clarke bent over to pick up the skull, examining the almost ape-like features. "What are they?" she added.

The group of now only five stared at the skull for a moment, words and thoughts jumbling around in their minds like tiny hurricanes before suddenly everything was pushed to the side as an ear-piercing scream rippled through the air like an explosion. Isaac was already on his feet as Clarke dragged him up at the sound, taking off in the direction of the yell. "Jasper," Isaac realized, before darting after her. 

"Clarke, Isaac, wait!" Finn called, before suddenly he was racing after them, Monty and Octavia not far behind. 

The five teenagers were back at the riverside in no time, and suddenly Finn was wrapping his arms around Isaac's waist, hauling him back from the water. "Stay out of the trees," he warned, before leaning forwards and grabbing Clarke's wrist, doing the same to her. Isaac's chest heaved with the effort to breath as he slumped back against Finn's chest who, for reasons unknown, wasn't letting go of him as he if feared Isaac would go jumping about if set free. 

Isaac scanned the opposite bank before suddenly his eyes widened. "He was right there," he panted, his tired arm flopping against his side as he gestured towards the weather-beaten sign Jasper had been holding not even minutes earlier. 

"No," Monty breathed, terrified and out of breath. "Where did he go?"

Isaac turned to look at Clarke, an anxious expression spread across his face as they made eye contact, clearly thinking along the same lines as each other. Finally, Clarke opened her mouth. "They took him." 

* * * * *

When they were finally back at the drop ship, the first thing any of them saw was Wells Jaha holding Murphy in a choke hold, a knife pressed against his throat as the crowd around them chanted 'fight! fight!' 

"Wells!" Clarke shouted, and immediately the chanting died out as the blonde marched into the camp, followed closely by the curly haired boy and then by Finn. "Let him go," she told him, and Wells responded by reluctantly shoving Murphy away, the boy being pushed straight into Isaac, which Wells played off as an accident.

"Watch where you're going," Murphy spat, narrowing his eyes at the curly haired boy, who took a cautious step back and closer to Finn, who was also eyeing Murphy warily. 

"Octavia, are you all right?" Everyone turned to watch Bellamy rushing towards his sister, grabbing her tightly as he helped her down the small sloped of ground. Turning to the rest of the group, he looked at them expectantly. "Where's the food?" he asked. 

"We didn't make it to Mount Weather," Finn sighed, sitting down on a large rock in defeat. 

"What the hell happened out there?" Bellamy scoffed, and Isaac sucked on the inside of his cheek to keep himself from snapping at the older boy.