❝hope is the only thing stronger than fear.❞

-president snow, the hunger games

♛

I'M FACE-TO-FACE WITH another river, and the only thing I feel is fear. The last time I entered water, I was attacked by a man-eating aquatic monster. I would not like to replay that scenario again.

Finn and Clarke are already in the water. Somehow he was able to coax her in, but she doesn't look happy about it due to her being so stiff, shoulders hunched and mouth dropped open in a gape. I can't say that Murphy or Bellamy will be able to do the same for me.

"I won't go in, either," Wells says as he points to his injured leg which he has propped up against a rock. He's sitting on the dirt by the trees, refusing to even get close to the river.

I examine the water, the sunlight's reflection making it shine and almost blind me. I can't deny that I'm trying to see if I can catch any sign of a beast lurking beneath. "That makes two of us."

"C'mon, Amazon!" Bellamy yells from where he has already jumped in, but far from where Finn and Clarke are. He's wading in the water, beckoning me in. His hair sticks up in all directions after he shakes the water out of it. Droplets of water are rolling down his skin while he smirks at me, and he looks really hot. Too bad he's a jerk.

It does look tempting, but I decline. "No thanks. I don't really want to be attacked by giant river amphibians again."

Bellamy rolls his eyes. "You can't seriously be worried about that." I purse my lips but don't reply. "C'mon, it's perfectly safe—"

Suddenly, he's yanked under the water with a scream, and my heart leaps into my throat. "Bellamy!" I run as fast as my injured leg can take me to the edge of the river, trying not to fall on the slippery rocks. "Bellamy?" The water is completely still. He's nowhere to be seen. Panic strikes me as I frantically look for any sign of him. "Bellamy!"

Without warning, Bellamy pops out of the water below me, sending an entire tidal wave onto me as I shriek and flinch back. While I'm distracted, he tugs on my arm and I tumble in. The cool water shocks my nerves as it soaks through my clothes and chills me to the bone. But I have to admit that it's refreshing.

Bellamy is laughing at me and so I splash him in the face, giving him a fierce glare with my lips pulled into a frown. "I thought you drowned!"

He smiles at me mockingly. "Aw, you do care."

I roll my eyes and splash him again. He splashes me back, and this starts a war between us, much like the one with me and Octavia. But Bellamy is stronger and therefore able to push tsunami waves onto me while I am rendered immobile.

"You ass!" I shout and blindly jump on top of him, pushing him down. He grabs my waist and I scream as he pulls me under with him. Bellamy holds us there for a few seconds before picking me up and tossing me up and a few feet away. I thrash around while I fly through the air and yell in surprise. The water stings as I land flat on my back, and I resurface and glare at him while he laughs. His smile looks good on him, and it doesn't help that his shirt is soaked and sticking to his muscles.

For a moment we just stand there in the water, laughing. This version of him is so different from the one that had threatened Clarke only hours ago that I almost forget he's the same person. He seems carefree, like our playful fight had been just the distraction that he'd needed. And as elation fills my chest for a brief moment, I wonder if I had needed it, too. 

"Hey!" Clarke calls from the shore, making us turn toward her. She and Finn are standing about a foot from the water, inspecting something and looking mildly disturbed. "If you two are done being five-year-olds, we found something."

Intrigued, Bellamy and I climb out of the water to see pools of blood on the rocks by the waterfall. Clarke holds a familiar pair of goggles in her hands with a terrified expression on her face.

"Jasper," I whisper fearfully. I feel sick at the sight of crimson puddles on the rocks, the joy from moments ago fading within a single breath. They're not handling him with care, clearly. Where are they taking him?

Finn dips his fingers into the blood. "We're close."

After Murphy and Wells are rounded up, we set off in the direction the trails lead to with Finn as our guide. Our eyes search carefully for any clues there may be, but by the next half an hour, we're all pretty bored with the lack of evidence.

"Hey, how do we know this is the right way?" Murphy questions as if we didn't see huge blobs of Jasper's blood leading this direction.

"We don't," Bellamy replies matter-of-factly. The teasing, laughing man from the river has disappeared as he resumes his usual asshole demeanor. "Spacewalker thinks he's a tracker."

"It's called 'cutting sign,'" Wells explains. "Fourth-year Earth skills. He's good."

"You wanna keep it down or should I paint a target on your backs?" Finn inquires just as we pass by a plant, and somehow he's able to notice a broken branch that's barely hanging on by a thread. He bends down, finding a splotch of blood on the ground. He and Clarke share a grave expression.

"See?" Bellamy whispers to Wells. "You're invisible."

I sigh, watching the silent conversation drift between my best friend and the Spacewalker. "He's not the only one."

Murphy snorts. "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd think you have a crush on Clarke."

"Good thing you know better," I sneer.

A distant groan causes all of our ears to perk up. That was Jasper's voice– I'm sure of it. There's nobody else who could have made such an agonized noise. 

"What the hell was that?" Murphy asks with his head tilted up to the sky as if the sound had come from an eagle or something. I swear to God, he's so dumb it physically pains me.

"That," I breathe somewhat harshly, heart thudding hard in my ribcage, "was Jasper."

Clarke straightens in alarm, body stiff. "Now would be a good time to take out that gun."

Without waiting for anyone, I start running through the trees in the direction we heard the noise. I'm vaguely aware of the others trying to slow me down. My legs carry me quickly through the forest as I dodge trees and rocks, completely ignoring how I can hear what sounds like Clarke and - is that Bellamy? - yelling at me to stop. All that matters to me is saving my friend.

"Wait!" Finn manages to get in front of me and hold out his arm, causing me to lurch to a sudden stop and almost fall on top of him. "Be quiet."

"Don't worry," Clarke pants when she catches up. "She's good at this."

"Oh my God," I whisper, my jaw dropping when I see what's in front of me. "Jasper."

The poor boy is tied by the wrists to a branch of a spindly, leafless tree. His shirt and jacket have vanished. The cuts and bruises on his bare abdomen are a sharp contrast to his pale skin, but there's something else peculiar about his appearance. I need to get closer in order to figure it out.

I start to walk forward, my mouth going dry. It turns into a run and my feet make no noise on the overgrown grass. Things are going well until suddenly the ground gives way from underneath me, a startled scream bursting from my lips as I plummet downward. My heart turns to ice in my chest at the sight of pointed wooden spikes only centimeters from my dangling feet.

Bellamy is able to clutch my wrist at the last second, and I grunt as pain shoots up my shoulder from my fall being broken so suddenly. He stares at me for a few moments without emotion and I am struck with unquestionable fright that he might actually drop me, but the others race forward - even Murphy - to help him pull me up before he can make the decision.

"Fallon, are you okay?" Clarke asks worriedly, her eyes on the pit so she doesn't misplace a step and fall in.

"Yeah, yeah," I assure, my heart racing and I lock eyes with Bellamy for a split second before we both look away. Would he have dropped me?

"We need to get him down," Clarke says as she glances up at Jasper. We're all a bit more on edge about the situation now. My fall has reminded us how dangerous this mission really is.

"I'll climb up there and cut the vines," Finn volunteers and slips a knife out of his pocket.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm with you," Wells agrees, starting to walk with him.

"No," he protests. "Stay with the girls." His eyes shift to Bellamy. "And watch him. You," he points to Murphy, "let's go."

Murphy grumbles in annoyance before stepping around the trap and climbing the tree to help Finn. Clarke nudges me, a look of curiosity on her pale face. "Fallon. Look at his chest."

I do so and notice a green substance on the spot the spear landed. My eyebrows crease together curiously. A poultice; that's odd, but explains what had been slightly off about him.

"What is it?" Bellamy asks.

"There's a poultice on his wound," Clarke replies. I can almost see the gears whirring and clicking in her mind as she tries to assess what this means.

"Medicine? Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?" Wells questions.

"They never meant to kill him," I answer, remembering my theory from before. This just adds more evidence into the mix.

Bellamy looks confused. "What do you mean?"

"If they wanted to kill him, they would've hit his heart," I explain, then turn to my best friend. "Clarke, you saw the way that spear was thrown. They wouldn't have missed." My eyes land on Jasper as well as the boys who are cutting him down. "We're being hunted. And we caught the bait."

"Hurry up, Murphy," Finn urges as he starts to cut near the injured boy's waist. Murphy is at Jasper's feet.

"Be careful," Clarke calls anxiously from below.

Just as she finishes, I hear an animalistic growl that makes my stomach churn. Of course, now an animal shows up out of the days we've spent in the woods.

Murphy stops cutting and looks around, asking for the hundredth time, "What the hell was that?"

Even Bellamy looks frightened, lips parted in the slightest as his dark eyes dart around. "Grounders?"

"No," I reply anxiously. "That was an animal."

Sure enough, a black panther prowls out of the bushes a few yards away. It curls into a crouched position, ready to pounce. After a second, it snarls and leaps at us, causing all of us to flinch in surprise.

"Bellamy, gun!" Clarke cries as the panther bounds closer to us. Bellamy quickly pats his back pocket, but the gun is gone. He freezes in place; his eyes are the size of small planets. Now there's no question of his fear as his dark skin loses some of its color.

"Where is it?" I ask frantically, my head whipping around as I search on the ground in case he dropped it. To answer my question, Wells starts firing shots at the animal with his face set in determination. He pushes Clarke behind him for protection as it disappears, clearly wounded. For only moments, the calamity is gone.

The bushes around Bellamy and I start to rustle faintly. I can hear it growling, but the panther is nowhere to be seen. Then it goes silent and I think that maybe Wells injured it enough to kill it after all. But then Bellamy shouts, "Fallon, get down!"

He tackles me to the ground, the panther jumps over us, and Wells shoots it in the head. The gun clicks as he tries to fire it again. He's out of bullets.

"Lucky shot, huh?" I comment, panting as Bellamy rolls off of me and helps me up. A shooting pain comes from my leg as I stand. My heartbeat starts to return to normal as the terror leaves my body. I'm just shocked more than anything now.

The gun slips out of Wells's hand and clatters to the ground. Bellamy nods at him. "Now she sees you."

--

"They're back!" Someone announces as we enter the camp. Murmurs rise up and everyone turns to the entrance. Clarke walks through first, followed by Finn and Wells, who have Jasper tangled in their arms. I'm helping Bellamy and Murphy carry the panther in a cloth. We set it on the ground and unveil the dead animal.

"Who's hungry?" Bellamy roars, many excited cheers rising up from the crowd in response.

I stand up with a grunt, my wound sending spirals of pain through me. The adrenaline is now wearing off and the effects of the bite are coming back. It feels worse now that I've spent so long walking on it– maybe I should have listened to Clarke and stayed behind. 

Bellamy's eyebrows pinch as his gaze flickers to me. "You okay?"

I nod, clenching my teeth. "Fine."

Bellamy's brown eyes cast downward to where the wound is and he jumps in surprise. "Fallon. Your leg."

I glance down at my calf to see that blood is soaking through my pants. Quickly, I roll up the fabric and discover the bite is bleeding heavily and the cloth has come loose. It probably adds to why it's hurting so badly. "It must have ripped open when I fell into that pit."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" he asks, tearing a piece of cloth off the one we used to carry the panther and applying pressure to the wound.

"I didn't realize," I reply, then move his hand away. "Don't worry about me; I can handle it. Help Murphy cook this up, okay?" He gazes up at me, unsure, and I give him a pointed look. "It's a bite. I can take care of myself."

Bellamy nods and gets up from his crouched position. He gives me one last look before walking back toward Murphy, and as soon as he's out of earshot, I sigh in relief. I have no idea what sort of game he's playing. One moment he's exuding asshole, and the next, he lets some of his true self slip through his mask, allowing him to help me and laugh with me. But I'm still wary of him.

I shake my head to clear it. Thinking about Bellamy isn't going to help my leg. I limp to the dropship, climbing up the ladder to the third level where I know they put Jasper.

"Clarke?" I call. "Do you have any extra cloth or anything to use as a bandage?" Looking up, I notice that she and Finn are sharing a moment, and I just ruined it. "Oh."

"It's fine," Clarke says. Finn leans a little away from her with a flash of disappointment on his face. "What do you need them for?"

With difficulty, I walk to them and present my wounded leg to Clarke. She gasps and starts fussing over it immediately.

"Relax, Clarke," I tell her. "All I need are the appropriate supplies. You work on Jasper." I raise my eyebrows. "My mom taught me some stuff too, remember?"

Clarke hesitates, then nods. She passes me a wet cloth to clean it along with a makeshift bandage. I accept it with a grin and move away from her and Finn, giving them some space while I take care of myself.

Puffing air out of my cheeks at the pain that shoots up my leg, I remove the cloth that Bellamy had put on it, which is now starting to stick to the wound. I grit my teeth together and peel it off, immediately pressing the wet cloth on it. Once the bleeding slows, I wipe off the blood and stick the homemade bandage on.

"There," I whisper to myself. "Good as new."

I spend about an hour with Clarke and Finn, helping Jasper. There isn't much we can do except patch and clean him up, but at least it's something. He slips in and out of consciousness. His skin is still deathly pale, lips chapped to the point where they're almost bleeding. However, he won't stay awake long enough for us to give him any water. It breaks my heart to see an affable boy like him be in so much agony.

When Finn and I go outside for food, we are horrified by what we see. Kids are lining up to get their wristbands off, and when they do, Murphy, Bellamy, or another boy named Connor hands them their dinner as a reward.

"This is disgusting," I mutter lowly, watching the scene unfold with a frown. Clarke comes out of the dropship and stands next to Finn and I with a report on Jasper. 

"He's stable for now, but without medicine..." Her words falter as she catches sight of what we're scowling at. "They're taking off their wristbands for food? No way, I-I won't do it."

"You don't have to," I respond. Then, I remember something I have in my pocket and hand a tiny metal flower to Finn. "Here's your flower back."

He stares at it astonishment, brown eyes wide and lips parted in shock. "How did you get that?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Fastest hands in the whole Ark. Remember when you pulled me out of the river?"

Finn, clearly impressed, takes the flower from my hand.

"There's no way you'll be able to sneak around all those people and a fire," Clarke says to me with her eyebrows raised. She knows me so well, even after two years of being apart, that she can tell what I have planned before I can even mention it directly.

"Don't worry," I assure her. "This time I want to get caught."

Clarke is confused as she watches me march confidently forward, still not making any noise as I do so. I weave through the crowd without a problem. It's only when I grab a stick of meat that Murphy notices me and holds an arm out to stop me.

"What do you think you're doing?" he spits angrily, clearly not happy that he's being disobeyed.

I give him a blank look. "Whatever the hell I want."

Murphy, defeated, watches as I pluck the stick from the ground and walk off with it. Finn comes forward and copies my actions, as well as Clarke. Mostly everyone begins to do the same. It's difficult to keep the accomplished grin off my face even as Murphy sends me a death glare from where he stands beside the fire.

Sometimes getting caught is worth it.

That night, as I sleep with my head on a patch of moss as a pillow, I dream of wildflowers, rivers, and black panthers. But my peaceful slumber is short-lived when a hand covers my mouth and nose and I instantly wake. My hands claw at theirs in an attempt to tear them away, but the person has an advantage over me. My eyes finally adjust to the light and reveal the culprit.

"Shh, Amazon," Murphy shushes me. I try to scream, but my voice is completely muffled. "Come with me."

I don't really have a choice, so I stand and allow him to lead me to a secluded area away from everyone else. He releases me and shoves me to the ground. Since it's so dark that I can barely see, I trip, causing me to painfully roll down into a lower area of the ground. My arms push up my top half so I can see him lazily walking toward me with a smug expression on his face.

"Hold her down, boys," Murphy orders. Two males appear out of nowhere, holding down my arms and legs in iron grips. They carry torches in their other hands, which illuminate Murphy's face in a soft orange glow as he stands above me, holding a crowbar. I know what's coming.

"No!" I shout, kicking my legs and trying to wiggle out of their grips to no avail. "Let me go!"

"Shut up!" Murphy hisses, jamming his foot into my side. I cry out at the burst of pain it brings about. "Maybe this'll teach you not to disobey me."

"Let her go, Murphy."

I never thought I'd be this happy to hear the voice of Bellamy Blake.

In a matter of seconds, Murphy has yanked me onto my feet and has a knife to my neck, not giving me any time to struggle. My mind whirls as I recall possible pressure points to use. However, I draw a blank. There isn't anything I can do from this angle without bringing harm to myself as well. 

"If you move," he growls into my ear, "you're dead."

"Murphy," Bellamy warns, putting his hands up in defense and jumping down onto the lower ground we stand on. "I said, let her go."

"Isn't this what you wanted, Bellamy?" Murphy questions, a sadistic tone to his voice as he pulls me closer until I'm flush against him. "You wanted her wristband off. Well, I'm gettin' it off."

"You don't have to hurt her," Bellamy argues as he takes a careful step forward.

"It's either her life, or the wristband." Murphy presses the blade against my skin. My heart skips a beat at the cold sensation it spreads down to my toes. I tilt my head back, trying to distance my skin from the knife as much as possible with how unsteady my breathing is. "You choose."

Bellamy is quiet for a second, looking at the ground. It scares me how he actually has to think about it, but then I remember that this is the same Bellamy who saved me from the spikes, was so playful in the river, bound my wound, and prevented a panther from killing me all within a few days. Surely he won't let me die now. Not after all he's done. Not even with that terrible mask of his that he wears. 

A human life or a wristband. Is it such a difficult question?

I tilt my head even further for air, grabbing at Murphy's arms to try and loosen his grip. It does next to nothing except make him tighten his grip until I suck in a startled breath. My chest is starting to tighten from not getting a sufficient amount of oxygen.

"You have three seconds to decide," he snarls. "One..."

"Bellamy," I plead quietly, my voice barely above a whisper as terror takes over my body again. I'm breathing unsteadily, nearly choking as Murphy's hold gets steadily tighter. Tears gather in my eyes as the cold metal blade rests against my neck.

"Two..." Murphy pricks my skin with the blade and I gasp at the stinging pain. A drop of blood rolls down my skin and into my shirt. The tears threaten to spill at the paralyzing fear turning my limbs into lead.

Bellamy still hasn't said anything. He is refusing to look me in the eye. I'm begging him silently now. If only he would just look at me—

"Three!"

"Wristband!"

Both are shouted at the same exact time, Bellamy and Murphy's voices blending together. It's impossible to tell whose voice was first.

Bellamy's face is stormy with burning anger, his voice deeper than I've ever heard it. "Murphy, you kill her, and you have me to answer to." He steps forward. "And trust me- you don't want to answer to me."

Murphy is quiet for a moment, knife still at my throat. He releases me slowly. I turn and nail him in the throat with my elbow so hard he falls to the ground. Nodding toward his partners, I ask breathlessly, "Wanna be next?"

They are gone without a second thought, the light from their torches leaving with them. The darkness returns; the moon casts eerie shadows on the forest surrounding us.

My hand goes to my throat, where blood is still dripping down. Pain flares from both my side and my neck. Tears start to fall at the force it took to hit Murphy and I quickly wipe them away, sniffling.

Bellamy steps back, a distant expression on his face as his walls build back up before my eyes. He nods back to where the camp is. "Come on, Amazon."

Just as I start to walk back to camp, Murphy suddenly reaches up, sticks the crowbar between my skin and the metal, and the wristband pops off.

-----

fallamy is otp but bellamy wyd

for those of you who are confused: bellamy has been putting on a convincing show with his alpha male persona and feels like hurriedly admitting that he wants fallon alive will appear like a weakness to murphy, so that's why he took his time.

-kristyn