CHAPTER THREE.
two rocks and an idiot.

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        In all honesty, Sage was beginning to grow exceedingly bored of the hospital. At this point she had cleaned all areas in sight and done everything in her power to ensure Raven's comfort was at its finest. She trudged into Raven and her's newfound home for the day where Abby stood with a small pin in her palm.

        "You felt that?" Abby asked in astonishment upon noticing Raven's toes twitching after she dragged the pin along the bottom of Raven's foot.

        "Yes, I felt that." Raven confirmed causing Finn and Sage to share a grin of relief. When she tried the other foot and both Raven's face and foot remained unmoving the air thickened instantly.

        "Anything?" Finn asked, only for Raven to remain emotionless.

        "Go again."

        "Try it again." Finn and Sage ordered in sync.

         "Raven, I want you to tell me when you feel something, okay?" Abby explained before dragging the pin up Raven's leg in small strokes.

          Finn's hands grasped Sage's arm in anticipation as they both awaited Raven's response.

         "There." The mechanic responded when the pin dragged along her mid thigh. Sage cringed at how high up her leg it was, she knew it wasn't a good sign at all. Finn picked up on this also and glanced at the shorter girl defeatedly.

        "Raven, It appears that you have significant damage to the nerves in your left leg." Abby announced.

         "Will it get better?" Raven questioned, voicing the one thought all three teenagers shared.

          "For now, you'll need crutches. But you're alive. And you're not in pain anymore." Abby reminded. However Raven's eyes had already begun brimming with tears causing Sage's heart to ache.

          "But I'm still crippled." She mumbled.

          She breathed in a deep inhale before releasing it. Finn's grasp slipped from Sage's arm as they both experienced unsure feelings. Finn looked away from his former girlfriend, in fear he'd cry on her behalf. Whereas Sage's hand slapped over her mouth gently as she prevented herself from releasing any crying sounds. The tears slipping down her cheeks spoke for themselves however.

          "I'm gonna give you kids some time." Abby announced before spinning on her heel and trailing out of the room.

          Sage pushed herself onto the corner end of the bed as she watched Finn stalk over to Raven and sit down.

          "We always talk about you. Don't you want to hear about my day?" Finn mused in attempt to lighten the mood. Sage chuckled softly before wiping her eyes. Raven gazed at her surrogate sister before back at Finn.

          "I'm so tired." She revealed.

          "Get some rest." Finn directed, before getting up to leave.

          "Hey. When I wake up, don't be here." Raven instructed as she grasped his hand.

          "What are you talking about?"

          "You were here for me. Like always. But our friends are out there. And you need to go get them." She muttered.

          "You too Sagey."

↯

         "So your plan is to bust right in and snatch our friends up?" Sage confirmed as she threw her jacket over her stained t-shirt.

          "Pretty much." Finn asserted with a crooked smile.

           "Remind me to come up with the plan next time." She muttered before swinging a backpack with necessary food and medical supplies over her good shoulder.

           He rolled his eyes before the pair strolled out of medical and into the ark's temporary lock up. Courtesy of Monroe and Sterling, the four were able to access the cells without too much of a drama however Sage was still uncertain of the situation.

           Eventually with a whole lot of luck, they made their way into the lockup quarters where Bellamy and Murphy sat idly waiting for anything.

           "Get up. We're going after them." Finn directed as he retrieved his bolt cutters from his backpack.

             He swiftly destroyed the shackles holding Bellamy's hands in place before aiding the boy to his feet.

          "It's about time." Bellamy responded.

          The two boys turned to leave causing Sage to frown, there was still another person in lock up.

          "Hey, whoa, wait. What about me?" Murphy spoke up.

          "Finn, you said we were taking them both." Sage objected in a cross manner.

          "I reconsidered." He stated simply.

            Bellamy stalked towards Murphy after collecting the bolt cutters in his hands.

          "Wait. No! What are you doing?" Murphy whom assumed he was to be abused by the metal object flinched in fright only for the older boy to break the metal connecting him to the pole. However the shackles around his wrists still remained.

           "He's coming with us." Bellamy announced.

           "No way." Finn opposed.

           Sage reached down to gently help Murphy up however Bellamy pulled him to his feet in a much more violent manner causing the girl to step back.

          "He's right. Okay? I can take you there." Murphy muttered as he fumbled in Bellamy's grasp. Finn's eyes switched between the three, Bellamy who held a desperate look, Murphy who was begging as usual and Sage who looked as if she was going to be very angry if the boy wasn't to be taken with them.

          "Hey, Sterling just signalled. Someone's coming." Monroe announced.

          Finn nodded finally allowing Bellamy to push Murphy out along with him as Sage shuffled alongside the boys. They were lucky to have her honestly, too much masculinity would get the group nowhere.

          As planned, when Sage and the others arrived outside were met with an empty area to cruise through. The less people the easier it would be to escape the camp.

          "You don't think anyone saw us?" Bellamy asked.

          "Shh. Keep it down." Finn directed in a hushed tone.

           The now group of six arrived at the gates where they were greeted by two adults one of whom flashed their light in the faces of Sage, Murphy and Bellamy causing the shorter girl to step back and accidentally bump into the two boys.

          "You're late." Abby stated.

          "Bellamy and Sage decided to bring company." Finn pointed out as he nudged his head in Bellamy's direction.

          "He's the only person that's been in their camp." Bellamy defended referring to the boy still encased in his arms. From her position infront of the two boy's, Sage studied the unknown man's face. He wasn't fond of the situation however the truth was the group would most definitely benefit from having a tour guide.

          He turned to Abby who paused for a moment further before passing a hand gun to Finn, possibly one of the biggest mistakes she would live to make.

          The group were all handed guns as the unknown man began to speak.

          "Here, find my son. His name is Nathan Miller." Miller's dad spoke.

           Bellamy nodded as Sage was handed the final gun which she could only barely carry courtesy of her still prominent shoulder wound.

         "Bring them home." Abby directed with a firm nod.

          The group paid their respects to the two adults before slipping through the gate and venturing into the night.

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          The aching in the lower half of Sage's body was no worse than the pain gracing her self repaired wound. Since her stitching of the injury she hadn't touched it. Considering the group had been on their feet for a good day and a half, the opportunity to restitch the cut or reapply the bandages she had stored within her backpack hadn't exactly presented itself.

          Sage winced at a rip in her bandage, it had come loose only hours ago and was currently rubbing against the harsh fabric of the strap of her backpack. The interaction between the raw skin and the strap caused the curly haired teen to adjust the bag on her shoulder, only causing more of a reaction.

          "Oh for fucks sake." Sage muttered angrily as she shoved her bag in frustration.

          "You good there, Noon?" A voice from up ahead questioned.

           Sage looked up suddenly, various strands of hair falling into her eyes. Her mind registered to the question and to the person whom had asked the question. A hand cuffed Murphy had his neck strained in order to view the girl trudging behind him. An array of jagged scars decorated his face and his hair was braided into messy knots. His lapis blue eyes penetrated vividly despite the series of scars surrounding them.

         "Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Sage nodded dismissively.

          "The last time you said you were fine. I ended up having to pour alcohol on your wound." Murphy deadpanned.

          Sage shrugged before running her hand through her messy hair in order to remove it from her face. Boots shuffled through the soil, staining them as Sage picked up her pace to walk beside Murphy who was in the mist of attempting to break his handcuffs against a stick he had retrieved.

          "I take it the handcuffs are going well?" Sage mused causing Murphy to gaze at her unamused. Chuckling slightly, she watched intently as the boy huffed and gave up, dropping his twig in the process.

          "You shouldn't have to wear them anyway." She noted, adjusting her backpack into a more comfortable position.

          "Sure I do, thy beast must be tamed." He joked causing the girl to scoff.

         "You're far from beast, a dropkick maybe but-"

         "A dropkick?" Murphy questioned in confusion.

         "Oh, it's just an insult my father and I used to use." Sage dismissed.

          "Dropkick, I like it. I'll definitely use that." Murphy approved, nodding his head in affirmation.

          "Alright enough chit chat. Murphy, where to now?" Bellamy interrupted.

           Murphy scoffed in response before glancing down at his hands. He then switched his attention to Sage who nodded upon realising his suggestion. In confirmation of his decision, Murphy stepped forward with his hands raised.

           "What do you say we lose these first, huh?" Murphy inquired, his restrained hands held up before him.

          "No. Again." Bellamy disregarded his suggestion.

          "Are you serious, Bellamy? Let the poor boy go." Sage interjected, beginning to grow displeased with the strong sense of testosterone.

         Murphy nodded in Sage's direction, smiling cheekily and affirming he believed her idea was valid.

          "And if we get attacked, I have nothing to defend myself with." Murphy highlighted.

          "I don't care." Bellamy responded caused Sage to roll her eyes. She didn't know why she felt the need to stick up for him, he had never really done anything spectacular for her therefore she blamed it on her nature. Perhaps it was just the way she was.

          Sage who intended to step forward and defend the bloodied boy was cut off by Finn. Surprisingly, the longer haired boy stalked forward and cut Murphy of his restraints, leaving all parties bewildered.

          "Thank you." Murphy stated, his tone clearly fed up.

           Bellamy stared down Murphy for a moment before jogging to catch up with Finn whom was already resuming his journey. Murphy and Sage followed the boy with their eyes before glancing back at one another. Murphy gazed down at his wrists which were adorned with marks of irritation. His typically pale skin was stained with crimson rings which wrapped around both his wrists.

           Sage paused for a moment further before continuing on her way following behind Finn and Bellamy who appeared to be mid discussion.

          "We can handle Murphy." Was the final sentence Finn spoke before he trailed on his own, clearly no longer in the mood to converse with the older boy.

          Murphy strolled past Sage, an amused smirk plastered across his lips. Sage instantly knew the look. The kind of facade which meant he intended to stir the pot and cause a little chaos.

           "So do I get a gun now?" Murphy questioned, voicing his thought as he walked beside Bellamy.

          "Shh, are you trying to get yourself killed?" Sage whisper yelled.

         "I didn't know you cared." He smirked causing the girl's eyes to roll for what felt like the millionth time.

         "I don't."

           The tanned boy shoved Murphy forward, ignoring his inquiry as he set his eyes on the path infront of him. Sage sighed at the boys surrounding her, the only other female being Monroe who she was yet to speak with. The amount of testosterone was surely suffocating but the arrogance was what really ticked her off. With a final sigh of irritation, Sage altered her backpack one final time before trudging behind the infuriating boys.

↯

          Under Bellamy's command and Murphy's direction the six teenagers soon stumbled across what was allegedly the grounder camp in which Murphy was tortured within.The rifle in Sage's hands rocked side to side as she walked in a steady pace. Her line of travel was interfered with when Murphy grabbed a hold of her shoulders and ushered her onto the ground.

          "Everybody down, down. Get down." He instructed in a hushed voice.

           Sage's knees thudded against the soil causing her to groan. In another situation if Murphy had pinned her to the ground in such a way she would have instantly turned around and questioned his actions. However as of now, she understood the boy was simply keeping her from harm.

          The group followed swiftly as the teenagers huddled onto the floor.

          "This is it." Murphy muttered.

          Sage, whom was previously glancing through the lens of her rifle as a makeshift telescope turned to look at the boy instead. His face had dropped sadly and he gulped audibly.

          Symptoms indicated he was not fond of the sight of grounders in their camp. Then again why would he be? This was the place in which he was banished to. Where he was beaten on the daily and was ripped away from all sanity. Whatever small part of him that prevented him from grabbing one of his fellow trekker's guns and instantly shooting the entire camp, certainly was surprising. Sage was unsure of how he was maintaining a facade so emotionless.

          "Told you I'd find it." Murphy piped up, turning to Bellamy who was crouched on Sage's right side.

          As the teens continued to use their rifle lenses as binoculars, Sage instead studied the location they had arrived at. The vegetation was prominent as the vibrant green of the earth proved vivid. It had been a while since Sage had stopped and admired the beauties of the planet, she had been quite deprived of said luxury considering the past couple of weeks mostly consisted of strategising to ensure the delinquents safety and prevent an inevitable war with the grounders. And despite the fact that the greenery was littered with various scrap metal parts, Sage's mind still insisted the sight she was viewing was something of magic.

          "I see nothing but Grounders." Bellamy stated, swiftly snapping Sage out of her personal trance. She too began to use her rifle lens to view the camp only to find the older boy was correct and there were in fact countless Grounders in sight.

           Sage observed the Grounders as they violently rummaged through piles of equipment and other belongings of the delinquent's former camp. Despite the great amount of evidence that the Grounders had visited the  drop ship and scavenged various things Sage was still certain they were not holding the missing delinquents. Partially due to the fact that they were nowhere in sight and also because she had gotten a glimpse of the people whom had in fact taken her friends. And there was no way they were Grounders.

          "Our people aren't here." Bellamy announced, voicing Sage's thoughts exactly.

          "Wait a minute." Finn interrupted. "They've got stuff from our dropship."

          "So maybe they know where our friends are." Bellamy suggested.

          "Yeah, or maybe they killed them already." Murphy stated negatively.

           Sage released a deep sigh before voicing her opinion.

          "I don't think the Grounders have or know where they are. The people who came in and took them didn't look like Grounders." Sage stated as she glanced between her fellow teenagers.

          The boys around her ignored her statement except for Murphy who shrugged at the idea.

         "Son of a bitch." Finn suddenly whispered.

           Murphy and Sage shared a glance before looking back at the boy who snarled from behind his rifle.

          "What is it?" Bellamy questioned.

          "The guy with the one eye." Finn responded.

          Sage quickly gazed through her gun lens and manoeuvred the rifle's position in order to scope the area. Her eyes soon landed upon a Grounder with a horrendous wound covering his right eye. The skin was pink and scratched and held no evidence that an eye used to inhabit its space.

          "Around his neck." Finn explained.

          Sage adjusted her rifle to view the man's neck which was adorned with a thin string with a small watch attached.

          "What am I looking at?" Bellamy questioned.

          "He's got Clarke's watch." Finn spat in a hushed voice. His soft eyes morphed into something so cynical and angry, Sage was partially frightened.

          "It was her father's." He elaborated. Sage and Murphy shared another glance after noticing the shaking of Finn's gun courtesy of the fury coursing through him.

          "She wouldn't give that up without a fight." Bellamy noted before looking over at Finn who's gaze hadn't budged from the one eyed Grounder.

          "Neither will we." Finn muttered.

          Bellamy analysed the Grounder camp for an additional moment as Sage waited for him to begin instructing them on what to do. As he had opted himself to perform as the leader of the group.

          "Alright. Finn and Sage with me, You two stay here, out of sight."

           Sage began to collect her belongings, throwing her backpack onto her good shoulder as Bellamy continued to explain instructions.

           "If this thing goes south, take out the other Grounders. But don't shoot the Grounder with the watch. Copy?" The mocha coloured boy asked.

           "Copy." The boy, Sterling responded.

          "Copy, but what about Murphy?" Monroe asked.

          "Yeah, do I get a gun now?" The tattered boy inquired.

          "Something like that." Bellamy nodded before grabbing the boy's jacket and shoving him toward Finn. Bellamy did the same with Sage causing her to trip over her feet before regaining her balance and following after Murphy.

          When Bellamy revealed he would provide Murphy with something similar to a gun, both Sage and Murphy were glad. Murphy, because he would now have something to defend himself with and Sage because she was sick of watching him being treated like some imprisoned animal.

         However both teenagers were disappointed when Bellamy handed Murphy a pair of stones and told him to use that as a distraction to lure the one eyed Grounder their way.

"And what am I supposed to do with these?" Murphy asked in a hushed tone. He stared down at the stones in his hands before up at Bellamy with an emotionless gaze.

          "You're gonna lure him in. Hit them together to make a sound loud enough for him to hear. Sage will keep an eye out and alert you when he's too close. Then you get out of there and we knock him out." Bellamy explained.

           "Any questions" he asked.

           "Yeah, uh, what the fuck?" Murphy drawled only to be shoved to the ground by Bellamy before he huddled behind a bush big enough to encase him.

          Murphy scoffed at the rocks before glancing at Sage who crawled into a cluster of greenery to hide herself.

           A small clacking noise began to sound as Murphy banged the stones together. Sage chuckled at his bored expression as he hit them together. However she quickly switched her attention back to her gun lens where she followed the one eyed Grounder whom she really needed a name for with her rifle. His attention was easily drawn to the sound meaning Bellamy's plan was proving successful.

          Sage's heart rate slowly began to speed up as the Grounder drew closer, she carefully placed her rifle on the ground as the Grounder was close enough that a lens was not required. Sage inched closer to the edge of the bush close enough so that Murphy was in arms reach. When the Grounder began to walk around the left side of the tree, Sage grasped the front of Murphy's shirt and harshly tugged him so he was beside her in the shrub. The boy hovered just above Sage as he attempted to hold himself up so he wasn't touching her.

          "Bit eager there, aren't we Noon?" Murphy smirked causing the girl to roll her eyes and scoffed quietly.

          "I just saved your ass, I think a simple thank you would suffice." Sage muttered, trying her hardest to keep her face as far as possible away from Murphy.

           "Thank you." Murphy whispered to Sage's surprise, his lips barely centimetres from her ear. He hadn't showed any form of manners all day however now he seemed to have found a small piece of sincerity.

            Upon hearing a lofty thud Sage and Murphy peered through separate openings in the bush. Once they realised Bellamy and Finn were both out of the greenery the pair rushed out to meet them.

            They group crouched down around the unconscious man's body before beginning to analyse him. Finn swiftly snatched the watch from his neck causing the other three to watch warily.

         "We need to take him somewhere quiet." Bellamy noted glancing up at Finn whose eyes held such a bloodlust, Sage found herself questioning his sanity. She soon interpreted that perhaps only his need to return to Clarke was driving him this crazy. But if Sage had thought she was witnessing the peak of his insanity, she was in for quite the shock.

         "I know just the place."

— amazing gif made by the wonderful! -brxvehearts go check out her graphics she's so talented!

so i have ballet rn and thought i'd leave y'all with this, enjoy my loves ! hope you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to vote n comment.

sm love!

— @clovdynova