CHAPTER THREE:

"WE'RE NOT ALONE."

The group of six walked for a little while, soon leading it to Clarke leading the way. Y/n walked a little behind her, also a little in front of Finn. Plucking a flower, Finn looks to the youngest Griffin sister and jogs up to her, moving a little bit of her hair before putting it in her soft locks. Octavia watches with a smirk, seeing her best friend's cheeks go red slightly.

"Now, that, my friend, is game." Jasper comments, glancing at his best friend.

"That, my friend, is poison sumac." Monty retorts as he plucks one.

"Wait, what?" Y/n questions, swatting it out of her hair. Octavia chuckles at her actions.

"The flowers aren't poisonous." Monty reassures. "They're medicinal, calming, actually."

"His family grows all the pharmaceuticals on the Ark." Jasper informs.

"Hey, guys, would you try to keep up?" Clarke calls.

"Oh, come on. How do you block all this out?" Finn asks.

"Well, it's simple. I wonder, "Why haven't we seen any animals"? Maybe it's because there are none. Maybe we've already been exposed to enough radiation to kill us. Sure is pretty, though." Clarke comments. "Come on."

"Someone should slip her some poison sumac." Octavia quietly comments.

The boys, mainly Jasper and Finn, snicker at her words as Y/n rolls her eyes slightly, jogging up next to her sister, not noticing Finn watching her the whole time. The other four continue following, climbing up a small hill.

"I got to know what you two did to get busted." Finn pleads slightly, glancing to Monty and Jasper.

"Sumac's not the only herb in the garden, if you know what I mean." Monty replies.

"Someone forgot to replace what we took." Jasper reminds his best friend.

"Someone has apologized, like, a thousand times." Monty argues.

"How about you, Octavia? What'd they get you for?" Jasper questions.

"Being born." Octavia replies bluntly, jogging up ahead of them.

"That is so not game." Monty comments, earning a hit from Jasper.

The two best friends hit one another in the arm back and forth before them and Finn jog up to the three girls, Clarke and Y/n signaling them to be quiet. Following their gazes, smiles come onto all their faces when seeing a deer just a few feet ahead of them.

Finn takes a few small steps forward, making sure to be quiet. However, his foot steps on a twig, causing it to break in half, the sound echoing through the woods, which also catches the animal's attention. Glancing to the teenagers, they gasp it shock upon seeing the deer having another head mutated with the original one.

And with that, the animal runs off, leaving the group wide eyed.

The group continued their journey through the forest after getting over their shock of the deer they came upon. The Griffin sisters found themselves trailing behind the group as they all walked down a big hill.

"Hey, you know what I'd like to know? Why send us down today after ninety-seven years? What changed?" Finn asks.

"Who cares? I'm just glad they did. I woke up rotting in a cell, and now I'm spinning in a forest." Octavia observes, spinning around a tree.

"Maybe they found something on a satellite, you know, like an old weather satellite or--" Monty begins.

"It wasn't a satellite." Clarke interrupts, making everyone look at her. "The Ark is dying. At the current population level, there's roughly three months left of life support, maybe four now that we're gone."

"So that was the secret they locked you two up to keep, why they kept you both in solitary, floated your old man?" Finn questions, looking at Y/n.

"Our father was the engineer who discovered the flaw. He thought the people had a right to know. The council disagreed. Our mother disagreed. They were afraid it would cause a panic. We were gonna go public, anyway, when Wells..." Y/n replies, trailing off.

"What, turned in your dad?" Monty asks.

Clarke let's out a small sigh. "Anyway, the guard showed up before we could. That's why today. That's why it was worth the risk. Even if we all die, at least they bought themselves more time."

"They're gonna kill more people, aren't they?" Monty questions.

"Good. After what they did to me, I say, float them all." Octavia states after a moment of silence, skipping ahead of the group.

"You don't mean that." Jasper calls to her.

"We have to warn them." Finn murmurs, staring at Y/n.

"That's what my father said." Y/n recalls.

The two stare at one another before Y/n breaks it, walking ahead, only to bump into Jasper's back. The rest come up to them from behind.

"Oh, damn, I love Earth." Jasper comments.

Following his gaze, they all watch as Octavia slowly takes off her pants, leaving her in her underwear and tank top. The Blake girl walks towards the edge of the rocks.

"Octavia, what the hell are you doing?" Clarke exclaims.

In response, Octavia glances over her shoulder at them before jumping down below, a splash being heard. The five rush over, stopping on the rocks, gazes landing on Octavia, who was head above in the water.

"Octavia... We can't swim." Monty reminds.

"I know, but we can stand." Octavia retorts, standing up in the water.

"Wait. There's not supposed to be a river here." Y/n recalls, sharing a confused look with her sister.

"Well, there is. So take off your damn clothes." Finn instructs, chuckling.

Y/n smiles at him slightly as both Jasper and Monty begin to take off their jackets. Octavia runs a hand through her hair before smiling mischievously, suddenly splashing Y/n a little. A little yelp leaves the girl's lips as she stumbles back, arms suddenly grabbing her before she could fall. Glancing over, her eyes meet Finn's, both staring at one another.

"Octavia, get out of the water." Jasper suddenly demands, making them all look at him.

Hearing the panic in his voice, all follow the boy's gaze, Octavia doing the same as she slowly turns around, seeing movement and a giant figure swimming beneath the water.

Octavia wasn't alone.

"Get out of the water now!" Jasper yells out.

Suddenly, Octavia was pulled under the water by the big figure they all saw. The scream that left the girl's throat was cut off as she was pulled under water. The five look around, the whole place being silent as they wait for any sign of Octavia. Soon enough, the said girl's screams were heard as she popped back up from the water, the creature still having a hold of her.

"What the hell is that?" Monty asks.

The creature continued pulling Octavia through the river while Finn took off his jacket, about to jump in and save the girl. Clarke, however, stopped him, getting her sister and the boys to help her push a large rock into the water, distracting the creature as it had let go of Octavia.

Jasper was quick to jump right in and right after the Blake girl, helping her get back to shore. The boy pushed her in front of him slightly when he heard Monty warn them about the creature coming back when Jasper had jumped in. Luckily, both teenagers were able to make it out of the river just in time, the other four rushing down to them.

Once stopping to them, the Griffin sisters both immediately notice the injury on Octavia's thigh. Sharing a look, Clarke leans over, ripping a piece of Jasper's shirt before wrapping it around Octavia's leg as the said girl hugs Jasper, muttering a small 'thank you'.

"Note to self-- next time, save the girl." Monty comments with a little smirk.

After his comment, small laughs leave past their mouths as the sisters continue to help Octavia with her leg.

Y/n's e/c eyes fluttered open as the sound of birds chirping was heard in the night. They had settled down for the day, finding a place where they could all rest. As the others were sleeping, Y/n slowly sat up, eyes widening up, a smile spreading on her face upon seeing the forest glowing in front of her.

Glancing over her shoulder, she sees the others were still asleep. Even Clarke, who laid right beside her. Quietly, she rises to her feet, making sure to not wake the others as she wanders around, soon stopping in front of some plants that were glowing, memorized by them.

"Pretty cool, huh?" A voice questions from behind her.

Looking to the sound, Y/n meets Finn's eyes, seeing a little smile on his face. She smiles at him before looking back at the plants, only to see the boy holding a large leaf in his hand, water sitting inside.

"Did you go to the river?" Y/n asks.

Finn shrugs. "I figured it was worth losing a finger or two. Here."

Taking the offer, she takes the leaf from his hand, being careful not to spill as she lifts it up to her face, taking a small gulp of water, a little smile making it's way onto her lips.

"You call that a sip?" Finn questions.

Instead of responding, Y/n brings the leaf up again, taking an even bigger gulp than before, a small breath escaping her after as she enjoyed the moment.

"You think this means we're all gonna grow two heads?" Finn asks in a joking manner.

A small laugh escapes the Griffin girl as she looks at him, a bigger smile making it's way to her face. Finn's smile grows bigger upon hearing her finally laugh.

"What do you know? She can laugh." Finn observes. "Come on. You have to see this."

Curiously, Y/n follows after him, wanting to know what he wanted to show her. She finds herself following the Collins boy up a small hill, both kneeling beside each other as Finn points to a footprint in the dirt in front of them.

"That's a toe." Finn informs. "Plus, near as I can tell, whatever it is, it's walking on two feet. My guess-- monkeys."

Y/n let's out a small snort at his words, making the boy stare at her curiously and slightly confused.

"I'm sorry. It's just, according to everything I've read with Clarke, there were no bipedal animals anywhere near here, certainly not monkeys." Y/n explains.

Finn nods slightly. "Right. You and your sister read anything about glow-in-the-dark forests or man-eating snakes?"

In response, Y/n shakes her head, knowing he was right about this one. After that, the two stare at one another, little smiles playing on their lips before Y/n shyly looks away, looking up at the night sky.

The next morning, the group of six found themselves back at the river. Finn and Jasper stood side by side, the Collins boy tightening the rope they had made to cross the river instead of going through it and facing that giant creature again.

"You wanted to go first. Now quit stalling." Y/n calls to Finn, who glances at her. "Mount Weather awaits."

"Just hang on till the Apogee, and you'll be fine." Jasper reassures the boy beside him.

"The Apogee like Indians, right?" Finn questions.

"Apogee, not Apache." Jasper corrects him.

"He knows." Clarke cuts in. "Today, Finn."

"Aye, aye, Captain." Finn replies, saluting at her before looking to Jasper. "See you on the other side."

Moving back slightly, Finn grips on the rope, ready to go and swing in the air and over the river. Jasper, however, quickly stopped him.

"Wait." Jasper says quickly, glancing down at Octavia. "Let me."

Finn instantly follows the boy's gaze, eyes landing on Octavia, who had been staring up at them the entire time. A little smirk appears as he knew what Jasper wanted to do, who had been bouncing on his heels the entire time.

"I can do it." Jasper urges.

"I knew there was a badass in there somewhere." Finn comments, handing him the rope.

The other five watch Jasper, who continues bouncing on his feet, taking deep breaths, clearly showing how nervous he was.

"Hey, it's okay to be afraid, Jasper." Finn assures. "The trick is not fighting it."

Letting out a breath, Jasper glances down at the others. "See you on the other side."

With that, the boy jumps off the rocks and swings above the river, soon landing on the other side. The others, who were watching him the whole time, run up on the higher rocks, hoping Jasper was okay as he stumbled to his feet.

"We are Apogee!" Jasper soon exclaims, raising his hands in excitement.

Right after his small burst of excitement, the other five all follow, letting out cheers, praising the boy on the other side, who began to do a happy dance, making them all laugh. Finn then lightly grabs Y/n's arm, making her turn to him.

"Let's go, princess. You're up." Finn tells her, handing her the rope.

"Come on, Y/n! You got this!" Jasper calls to the girl.

Y/n and Finn found themselves staring at one another as Jasper walked over to a small pile of leaves and twigs, then picking up a large piece of scrap metal. With a smile, he holds it up high, showing it to the others, the words, 'Mount Weather' carved onto the scrap.

"We did it! Mount Weather!" Jasper cheers.

Relief filled all of them as they let out laughs, cheering on with Jasper. All of a sudden, a large spear was thrown right over the five teenagers heads, stabbing right into Jasper's chest, sending him back against a tree.

The other teenagers shouted the boy's name many times while Finn pulled Y/n with him, them and the others being quick enough to hide behind some of the rocks. Glancing around, the sound of footsteps and twigs breaking could be heard, but no one was in sight.

"We're not alone."