Kings // c. griffin

Twenty Four

Isaac was awoken by a frantic rustling. He groaned tiredly, rolling over to face the noise. His eyes opened and he blinked blearily at the lamplight next to his face. Shaking his head, Isaac looked up at the person moving around his tent, startled to see Bellamy. The older boy glanced down to see he was awake, and he nodded. "Good, you're awake," Bellamy said.

Isaac blinked up at him sleepily. "What?" he asked in confusion.

Bellamy pursed his lips worriedly. "Clarke and Finn haven't come back from their hunt yet," he explained, and Isaac already began scrambling to get up. "We're sending out search parties."

Isaac nodded, worry lining his brow as he pushed himself off of the makeshift bed. He took notice that Raven had gone, and was thankful for that, otherwise Bellamy might have walked in on an odd situation. "I'm coming," he announced. He hastily brushed at his shirt in an attempt to get rid of the wrinkles before standing up and ducking under the tent flap.

He saw Monty right away, noticing the Asian boy leaning against the table where they had been keeping their rations. They made eye contact and Isaac headed his way. There was a gun propped in his hands and a small radio sticking out of his pocket. "You ready?" Monty nodded towards the gun that was lying on the table next to him, gesturing for Isaac to pick it up.

Isaac picked up the gun. It was heavy and awkward in his grip, but he wrapped his skinny fingers around the handle and pressed it against his side, a stoic expression on his face. He tried to suppress the anxious feeling of worry that was hitting against the inside of his stomach, but the nervous twitch of his fingers was giving him away; Monty noticed his uneasiness, and gave the taller boy a grimace. Isaac tried to smile back, though his lips wavered ever so slightly.

"You can come with me if you want," Monty offered. "I wasn't paired with anyone." Isaac nodded wordlessly, bringing the strap that was attached to the gun around his head to rest on his opposite shoulder. With that the two took off into the forest.

The air around them was tense, and it was no question why. There was a chance of being attacked at any second, of being killed, and though they had each other, other people were alone out there. Isaac knew that Monty had been trying to play off his offer to go with Isaac as him just being nice, but they both knew the real reason was that Monty was afraid to leave camp on his own now. And truth be told, Isaac was too. Everybody was. Even Bellamy.

Isaac sighed quietly, and his breath made a small cloud around his lips. It was deadly silent in the woods around him and Monty, and it made him nervous. They could hear everything- the snap of a twig, a rustle of leaves, a woodpecker burrowing into the side of a tree. Isaac's hand tapped against his thigh; a constant, uneven beat that displayed his nerves more than any facial expression could. Monty paused his frantic survey of the area for a split second so he could glance down at Isaac's fidgeting fingers in concern. "I know you're worried about her," Monty said suddenly, and Isaac stiffened. His fingers paused in their song and he shook out his hand with a huff. Monty gave a dry chuckle at the action. "Hey, we'll find her. You know that, right?"

"No, I don't," Isaac replied bluntly, distractedly staring at a cluster of bent and broken trees several meters off. "We might not find her."

Monty saw past his exterior and narrowed his eyes at Isaac. "We found Jasper," Monty reminded him, earning a look. He sighed. "The first day we got here, and Jasper was taken by the grounders. Remember?" Isaac nodded, looking away. "I thought- God, I was so scared he'd died out there. I was afraid that I would have to be here on Earth all alone, without my best friend, and I- I was just sitting at camp because apparently I was too important to go look for the only person on the planet who cared about me. But you and Clarke and Bellamy and them... you found him. You brought him back to me. I promise you- we'll bring Clarke back to you. If I have to do it myself-"