𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐭︱raven reyes, book 1

xxiv. casualty

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

RESIDUE FROM THE CRASH MADE CRUNCHING NOISES UNDER JUNE'S BOOTS, LEAVING HER TO CRINGE. She didn't want to see any fried bones, but they were unavoidable, under all the rubble, people she may or may not have once known. Their bodies would be too charred from recognition, so instead of trying to dwell on the deceased, she breathed in the smoke and stepped around the pieces carefully. June and her friends were here to find out how the ship crashed, as there was no answers coming from The Ark.

While June came up behind Raven and Finn, who were scanning the area closely, June listened in. "... You want to help her?" The mechanic asked, slight bitterness in her tone, referring to Clarke, she assumed. "Find me the black box, hard drives, anything that will explain why this ship crashed."

"Can I ask why it matters?" June spoke up, nudging aside a metal slate with the toe of her boot to pass through. "I mean, clearly the whole population in The Ark didn't come down. There has to be more of our people up there."

"That's the point," Raven responded. "It's better to have answers than nothing at all, which, at the moment, is all we have."

Noticing the pair chatting instead of staying on guard or searching for answers still, Bellamy called out in warning. "Stay sharp. Grounder retaliation for what happened on the bridge is coming," he alerted the group. "Just a matter of when."

Finn scoffed. "Can you blame them?"

"No," Bellamy countered. "I blame you."

"And I blame you both." June stepped in between the distance of them. "We could have sat down and talked about peacemaking and weapons, but instead you - " She pointed at Bellamy. "Led us guns blazing." She pointed to Finn. "And you, decided not to tell us."

As if June was the problem for being right, Finn shot her a short glare. "Maybe if you at least didn't bring guns - "

Stopping Finn with a raised voice, Raven interrupted them. "If we didn't bring guns, we all would've been killed."

"Why they're coming doesn't matter anymore," Bellamy proclaimed, ending the blame argument. "It's our job to be ready when they do. We're on our own now." June let out a short sigh, feeling a stressing weight press on her shoulders. He was right. They could spend time blaming one another, or stay cautious with guns when the grounders do fight back.

Suddenly, June's head picked up when hearing a shout, set into a state of alarm. "Clarke, stop!" Raven was bolting forward, heading for the girl she hollered too. June stumbled forward, getting a closer look.

Clarke had been studying what looked like a box with a leak in it, the liquid a pink and having a heavy smell as she pressed her hand to her nose. "Rocket fuel?" She guessed.

"Hydrazine," Raven confirmed, crouching to get a closer look. "Highly unstable in its nonsolid form. If this stuff meets fire, we're all pink mist." She picked up a stone, letting the fuel drench it before shouting; "Fire in the hole!" June watched, wide-eyed, as she let it hurl through the air. When it landed, an explosion of fire blew into the air a safe distance away from them. "We need to clear the area," Raven continued once the fire started to fade into a gray smoke.