Radioactive

Chapter Four

Me and Monty are the first of our group to reach camp. He helps me down the small hill where everyone seems to be gathered watching Wells and Murphy fight each other. He helps me hobble over to a fallen tree and sets me down on the trunk.

Seconds later, Finn and Clarke make it down the hill as Monty goes back up to help Octavia. When Clarke sees Wells holding a knife up to Murphy's neck, she begins yelling at him. A lot and loudly.

I look around and see Bellamy talking to Murphy, but I can't hear what they are saying, and Finn sits down next to me. "What the hell happened out there?" Bellamy asks looking from Finn to Clarke and then to me. Finn takes off my boots and begins to massage my feet, loosening the cramped muscles. I gasp at the pain and grab onto his arm. He gives me a stern look as I try to pull them away and keeps a firm grip on them.

"We were attacked." Clarke says, bringing my attention back to the conversation. "Attacked?" Wells says, sounding confused and surprised. "By what?" Finn shakes his head at him. "Not what, who." He says, still rubbing my feet. "Turns out the last man from the the ground that dies on the Ark wasn't the last grounder." I cringe at the thought of more Grounders prowling around the area looking for our weaknesses to attack. "It's true." Clarke says, speaking up again. "Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong. There are people here. Survivors. The good news is that we can survive. Radiation won't kill us."Clarke finishes, trying to boost everyone's morale. Finn breaks through the murmurs that followed Clarke's speech. "Yeah, the bad news is the Grounders will." There was more outburst of fear and panic at Finn's statement. I watch as Wells looks around. "Where's the kid with the goggles?" He asks, sounding like he doesn't want to know the answer. Clarke gives it to him anyway. "Jasper was hit. They took him." I close my eyes and try not to think about Jasper. The image of him bleeding with a spear through his chest keeps flooding into my mind.

More murmurs break out throughout the Hundred, but I don't listen to them. I try to keep my mind on the pain in my feet instead of the pain in my heart. I don't think I can stand losing somebody else.

"Life support on the Ark is failing. That's why they brought us down here." My eyes fly open as Clarke's voice surprises me and many of the others. "They need to know that the ground is survivable again and we need their help against whoever is out there." She raise her voice even more so that everyone can hear her. "If you take off your wristbands, you're not just killing them, you're killing us." I look over to where Bellamy is standing next to Octavia and watch him walk into the middle where Clarke and Wells are already standing. I knew he wouldn't like what Clarke had to say.

"We're stronger than you think. Don't listen to her, she's one of the privileged. If they come down, she'll have it good. How many of you can say the same? We can take care of ourselves. That wristband on your arm, it makes you a prisoner. We are not prisoners anymore. They say they'll forgive your crimes. I say your not criminals. You're fighters. Survivors. The Grounders should worry about us!" I raise my eyebrows at his speech. His speaking abilities are amazing, in raising the moral of these kids, but they are very very VERY stupid.

I tear my feet away from a surprised Finn and stand up. I march right up to Bellamy and leave any nervousness behind. I stand right in front of him, keeping my face neutral.

"What are you so afraid of?" I ask him, crossing my arms across my chest Bellamy just looks at me with an amused expression as the cheers of the delinquents continue to ripple. "That was a lovely speech where you convinced these people that it is okay for them to kill all those people on the Ark." I say, trying to keep the butterflies in my stomach under control "But, why are you so scared for them to come down? For these kids to see their parents again? Why don't you want them down here?" I say, stepping closer and closer to him to try and make my small frame intimidating to his large one. Instead of answering my question, Bellamy lets the smile slide off of his face and grabs my arm. I try to pull it away, but he keeps a firm grip on it. He uses his other hand to slide up my sleeve, revealing the thick, white scar that runs the length of my forearm. I gasp as I once again try to tear out of his hand. "Why do you want them down here?" He asks, his voice quiet and soft. I look into his dark eyes surprised by his lack of anger at my rebellion against him, and I am trapped. I will myself to look away so he doesn't see the truth, but there is no use and he knows it. I try to instead come up with a snappy comment, but all I can manage is a stuttered response. "I..I don't." I say, my eyebrows furrowing together. "But that doesn't mean that we don't need them." I say, trying to convince myself along with him. He picks up my wrist, now holding both of them. He rubs the skin under the wristband softly with his with his thumb. "Then why not take this off and get what you want for once?" He says, leaning down so he can whisper into my ear. I close my eyes as I feel him lean away. I find my voice and open my eyes and look into his deep, dark brown eyes. "Right now," I say, just as softly as before. "Necessity seems more important than what I want." Leaving it at that, I pull myself away from him reluctantly and slowly and turn and walk back over to the now Finnless fallen tree. I sit down on it and pick off all the stuff that stuck to my socks and all the while my arms are tingling where his hands had touched my skin seconds before. I slid on my boots and tie them before standing up and making my way to go find Finn and Clarke.