𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞︱the 100, book 1

( four )

"You wanted to go first. Now quit stalling!"

Harley crossed her arms over her chest and looked up with a smile on her face when Finn clutched the rope plant they built out of what they found in the woods, who smiled back when Clarke hollered to him.

Swimming across the lake was too dangerous, and they weren't willing to risk their lives when there were other options to consider. Making the rope took awhile, and by the time they were done, night had fallen. They slept in the woods as a group together, Harley choosing to curl up against the roots of a tree with her arm used as a pillow and her jacket as a warming blanket as she slept.

"Aye, aye, captain!" Finn called back, mocking a salute in her direction. "See you on the other side." Harley waited, excited to see what would happen as he prepared himself to jump. Before he could, Jasper stopped, whispering to him and looking back at the group. Harley slowly turned her head to see Octavia, who was looking up at the pair in admiration. She figured Jasper wanted to impress her. "Knew there was a badass in there somewhere," Finn stated, patting Jasper on the back and sliding the rope to the other.

Jasper grinned, but still hesitated as he looked across the lake with wide eyes. It was a long way, and he was the first to see how it'd go. "Hey," Finn said, his voice hushed to be kind but loud enough for Harley to hear. "It's okay to be afraid, Jasper. The trick is not fighting it."

"See you on the other side," Jasper stated after thinking what Finn said over for a minute. Harley watched in amazement as Jasper darted off the edge, clutching the rope and swinging his feet forward. The rope carried him as he cheered loudly, suddenly not so fearful as he was swung across the lake.

Turning her heard, Harley saw him land as the group gathered around the edge to get a better look when Jasper hit the other side, toppling over and landing on his side roughly as Finn grabbed the rope that swung back to them. She looked worried for a second until Jasper bravely rose to his feet and pumped his fists into the air with a loud, excited shout. "Yeah! We are apogee!" He shouted.

Apogee. The highest point. Harley grinned widely in delight at his words as she pumped her left fist into the air and shouted cheerfully with the rest. She cupped both her hands into a circle around her mouth and shouted loudly. "You did it, Jasper!"

Jasper laughed, jumping with his hands held up in enthusiasm. Finn held the rope out towards Clarke as Harley, Monty and Octavia continued cheering Jasper on. "Let's go, Princess," he spoke. "You're up."

"Come on, Clarke!" Jasper encouraged Clarke, still bouncing on his feet. "You got this! Whoo! Apogee!" Harley pressed her hands together, feeling the buzz of happiness and laughed. Jasper turned around for a second, digging in the grass from his side before picking up a large sign and wiping the dirt off of it. Harley watched as his expression became more of a thrill as he picked it up. In large black letters were the words 'Mount Weather', covered in odd holes. "We did it!" Jasper shouted to them. "Mount Weather! Whoo!"

Eyes wide, Harley tilted her head back and laughed. They were so close now, and she couldn't figure out why she was more than happy. Maybe it was because she was finally free, able to travel the woods, and was now on a short journey to Mount Weather safely. On the side of Harley, Octavia leaned her head back and closed her eyes, seemingly in a relief. Monty cheered on his best friend louder, his fist thrown down in the process.

All of a sudden, a long spear was hurled through the air and pierced Jasper's chest in one single strike.

Suddenly, Harley was frozen in place. Her happy smile was turned into a large gaping mouth and the adrenaline pumping through her veins ran cold as she watched Jasper being flung back from the weapon. Monty was the first to shout his best friend's name in fear, but it was a buzz in Harley's ears. She felt like she couldn't move, just stared at Jasper's body until Octavia grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her to duck behind a large boulder with the others to shield themselves. Harley's legs felt wobbly as she did so, and when her knees hit the dirt, tears sprung in her eyes.

Harley's head whipped around in fear as the trees in front of them began to rustle. There was someone hiding there. She used the sleeve of her jacket to wipe at her eyes, trying to forget the mental image of Jasper's chest with a spear through it to focus on the danger that her group was in. Harley could hear the other's breathing heavily, and was sure that they themselves could hear the sound of her fast beating heart that wouldn't be still.

"We're not alone here," Clarke finally whispered, blue eyes wide, and focused on only nothing but the trees.

━━━━━━━━

Harley's boots dug into the dirt as she raced through the woods, following the others. She didn't know where they were heading, but running from whomever could possibly be there had seemed like the best idea. Branches scraped at her from different directions, and she hadn't bothered brushing them aside, only ran past them.

From in front of her, Monty's foot caught onto something sticking out of the ground and he suddenly fell forward. Harley had nearly toppled on him from the fast pace that she was going, but caught herself quickly before she did. She quickly bent over and grabbed Monty's right arm while Octavia held onto his left and they each tried to pull him up. He seemed frozen in the girl's grip as Clarke came to a halt in front of them, finally seeing what Monty was.

There wasn't sticks, or even something relatively normal sticking out of the ground. Instead it was bones, the human bones left there and withering away. Harley looked at them, panting as she tried to help Monty balance onto his feet.

"Who are they?" Harley wondered aloud, wanting to know who could possibly be there besides them. Harley believed that anyone and everyone who was on Earth when the nuclear bombs went off were dead, because that's what The Ark had told them all.

Clarke corrected Harley in hushed, scared words. She slowly picked up a skull, that had to belong to the rest of the bones, but it wasn't normal. It was curved in odd ways, and could have passed off as an animal's head skull. "What are they?"

"We are so screwed," Octavia stated what they were all thinking, leaning on Monty for support.

As if they could be safe. There was a sudden noise in the distance, that sounded relatively like a scream, but a male's scream. With realization, Harley turned around figuring out quickly that it was Jasper who had somehow miraculously survived the spear in his chest. "That was Jasper!" She exclaimed.

"He's alive," Clarke added on. She was the first to take off back in the direction that they came from after dropping the skull.

Harley and the others followed her, and as expected, when they arrived on site Jasper was long gone. His body, where it was once resting in a sitting position, was no longer there. She gasped in shock, her hand flying to cover her mouth as she hid behind a tree. It was easy to figure out quickly what had happened, and this somehow seemed worse.

"He was right there," Finn whispered in confusion, as to not alert the ones who attacked Jasper in case they were still there. "Where is he?"

Clarke breathed out slowly before shaking her head, speaking what was the quick answer that they were all figuring out. "They took him."