It had been their rightful home before they arrived. It was among those, who lived in the surrounding villages, that believed that they had invaded. Everyone agreed and settled that the newcomers were not to be trusted or to be met with any kind of trust or scheme for negotiation. Their invasion had caused a catastrophe at one of the closer inhabitants' villages. There was a fire, a large one at that, which burnt the Grounders to the ground, killing them. Elektra, one of the Grounders who had been commissioned as a hunter and scout, was furious. The anger that welled up in her body was almost like fuel to an open flame. It ignited her entire body, lighting up her veins like a wildfire that expanded to her bones.

     It was Anya, her unit leader, who had gathered a small group, including Elektra, to head out and keep a close watch on the newcomers. In the back of her mind, Elektra knew that if she brought back one of the newcomers as a prisoner, Anya would be pleased and it would mean that they could extract vital information about the group that the Grounders could use against them, in order to get rid of them. It would also mean that the Grounders could avenge those that they lost in the village. Although she wasn't Anya's second, she was still one of the better warriors in the unit. Which meant that Anya expected her to make it back safely and unseen. Elektra did as Anya wanted, she respected her unit leader's judgement, and if that meant that the newcomers, the Sky people, were unwelcome and bad news, then they were, there would be no question about it.

     When the scouting unit had left for the watch, Elektra double checked to make sure that she was well equipped with weapons for the night ahead. As they headed out, she remained towards the back of the group, keeping a close eye on their surroundings and the rest of the group, just to be sure that no one was slacking or breaking away from the group before they were meant to. One of the scouts, who she had trained with in the past, turned his head back to look at her. Elektra nodded faintly, to which he nodded back, before she began to climb the trees, knowing that the branches higher up were close enough for her to walk along, without being seen from below.

     The woods were quiet at that time of night, Elektra knew that, of course, she did. But it wouldn't mean that she was going to let her guard down, even for a second. Her perch, up in one of the trees, had given her some vantage point on the Sky People, given that she could see their camp and some of the surrounding woods in case they had broken away and were outside of their perimeter wall. She was further away from the rest of the scouts, but that was to be expected. Alone, she was able to be quicker, more agile, stealthier, and if caught; a lone prisoner.

     Elektra had an awful habit of checking and rechecking her weapons, despite knowing, in the back of her mind, that she didn't need to. With a sigh, she leaned against the trunk of the tree, resting her head back. Her legs were pushed against some of the lower branches that stuck out, while her bow was resting on her lap, the arrow bag was hanging on another branch beside her head.

     After noticing things had become too silent, she peeked one eye open, just in time for a twig below her to snap. With her eyebrows furrowed, she glanced down. Surely these Sky People had more common sense than to try and sneak up on someone with a weapon, she thought to herself. Elektra was on high alert now. Quietly, she unhooked her arrow bag and place it around her shoulder, pulling an arrow out, sliding it onto the string that she began to pull back. A smirk twitched on her lips as she saw a shadow move below her.

     "Don't shoot me and I won't shoot you."

     The voice below her was obviously male. Elektra cursed to herself silently. Although it didn't matter too much if she was seen, she still wanted the upper hand for longer than the two seconds she had before. After licking her bottom lip, which he couldn't see due to the fact that Elektra did have a mask covering her face from her nose down and she did have the black war paint that one of the other scouts helped her with. It was most likely her sigh that got her caught. The lack of light didn't affect her eyesight as she narrowed her glare at the man on the ground, her arrow drawn back and aimed towards his head. He didn't seem to have much trouble seeing her, but it was clearly not as easy for him to see her as it was for her to see him.

      He seemed to be alone. But then again, appearances could be deceiving, that much Elektra knew. She still wasn't about to let her guard down either.

     Elektra wanted to laugh, she really did. He left himself open to an attack, especially if he didn't know that there were others of her unit out watching them. It was a very foolish move to make, and she would have been more than happy to attack if she didn't want to bring him back alive to Anya. That was the plan she made in her head, and she couldn't fall through with that plan if he was dead.

     The newcomer was tall. Elektra knew that his height was an advantage for him if he wanted to attack, but it was also an advantage for her. His hair was dark, almost completely black, but then again, she wouldn't know until she brought him back to her camp and saw him in daylight. He also had a dark shirt, loose-fitting trousers, that were tucked into his boots, and a strange jacket with odd patches sewn into it. If Elektra didn't know any better she would have assumed that he was a Grounder from another clan, someone who didn't visit very often, maybe even from elsewhere on Earth and not a part of the Coalition.

     But she did know better.

     When she didn't reply, she noticed him visibly tense, obviously sending him on edge. His expression changed, and his weight shifted, there was a weapon in his hand, but it was one that Elektra hadn't seen before. It was strange. After a few seconds of silence between him, his jaw clenched, he clearly didn't know if she understood him, especially when her grip on her bow tightened and she pulled the string back further, just waiting for him to slip up so she could send the arrow through his body, obviously not his head, or heart, she did need him relatively alive when she brought him in, that was her job. After that, it was up to Anya and the Commander to decide what was to be done with him.

     The newcomer shifted his weight away, breathing in deeply as his eyes glanced around him. Another mistake, she thought to herself. There was part of her, somewhere locked away, that thought maybe it was a trap, that maybe he was the one that had the upper hand. Maybe there were more of his people surrounding her, with weapons like his, that she didn't know about, although she doubted it, she did sweep the area from the trees before she took her perch. Whatever the answer was, she wasn't about to jump down from her place to figure it out. That would be like handing her life over to him willingly, and that wasn't about to happen anytime soon.

     "Look." He sighed, moving his head slightly as he came with up something to say to her. "I'm really not here to get into any type of fight, alright?" He held his hands out to the side, showing his weapon to her, showing her that he wasn't about to use it. "Just... Just let me get back to my camp, safely," he continued, "if you do that, then, we won't have any problems, got it?"

     Elektra rolled her eyes. Negotiation? Really? Does he really expect the courtesy of negotiation after his people killed an entire village after setting them ablaze? What kind of world does he come from? He was a trespasser, he wasn't a part of the Coalition, there would be no negotiation, under any circumstances... That's what they were told before leaving on the scouting mission. None of them are to be treated as if they are a part of the Coalition. They trespassed onto our land, killing our people.

     "Do you understand me, Grounder?" He asked.

     Perfectly clear, she thought again, but that doesn't mean I care.

     Her eyes flickered down to the ground, she wasn't that high up where, if she jumped, it would hurt her that much. When she pushed off from the trunk of the tree, the bow was still in her hands as she landed with a heavy thud onto the dead leaves. It was a risky move—leaving herself open to an attack—but it was one that she had to take. Now, she was eye-level with the newcomer, with her bow still aimed at him. He stepped back slightly, tilting his head as he watched her closely. Now that she was on the ground with him, he could see her much more clearly. The light from the moon, that cast overhead, reflected onto her face.

     "Please," he tried to persuade her again, "just don't shoot me. My people,"—he pointed behind himself—"they need me."

     So, Elektra thought as a smirk tugged at her lips, he's the leader. There would be no doubt that if Elektra brought him back to Anya, she would be most pleased. The information that they could get out of him would be enough to make his people crumble and burn, just like the innocent people at the village had to suffer through when they landed on Earth, and he would do the same at the hands of her own people. Maybe the Commander might even have a few words for him. His hand gripped his weapon again and he aimed it at her, it shone in the light, clearly metal. Whatever it was, none of the Grounders used weapons like it, after all, they used handmade weapons and blades.

     "Let me go and I won't shoot you. You get that, Grounder?"

     Her eyes slit into a hard glare as she eyed his weapon. Whatever it was, she wasn't about to find out how it worked, not tonight at least.

     A loud scream caught their attention, momentarily catching them both off guard. The newcomer lowered his weapon and she did the same, hesitantly, with her bow and arrow. From the corner of her eye, she could see him looking back at her, trying to figure her out. She ignored him and took off running, towards the direction that she believed the scream originated from, it led them further away from his camp, which she knew wasn't the mission, but she had to make sure it wasn't one of her own that was in trouble.

     Elektra knew the woods like the back of her hand, she had to, it was where she hunted. If she wanted to, she could have easily lost the newcomer who followed her, and she could have stayed hidden in the trees, but, not knowing who needed her help, she didn't bother. She just ran.

     When she came to a clearing, there was a young girl, in similar clothes to what the newcomer was wearing, surrounded by Reapers. What were they doing out at this time? But more importantly, why so many at once? The girl was crying and trying to crawl backward away from them. Her leader, finally catching up with Elektra, swore under his breath as he watched them, obviously confused.

     But Elektra wasted no time in taking her bow and arrow back out, drawing the arrow back on the string, shooting one of the Reapers in the side of the head. Its head knocked to the side and its body weight carried it to the ground with a heavy thud, but at least it was no longer moving.

     It was dead.

     The other three remaining Reapers turned their head, their attention now on Elektra rather than the girl. Without much warning, they let out a cry, charging towards her, allowing the other girl to get up and hide behind a tree. Elektra shot again, this time between its eyes. There wasn't enough time for her to reload when the other two grabbed her arms, taking her bow, pushing her to the ground. She froze for a few seconds, recognising her own people, from her own clan, from her own village, with white paint splattered haphazardly across their faces while they snapped their teeth at her, growling and making other animalistic sounds at her.

     She turned her head, one of the Reapers got up and pushed the newcomer to the ground, his weapon was thrown away from his reach, despite his lame attempts at grabbing it again. With her own growl, Elektra yanked the knife from her belt and jammed it into the Reapers neck, twisting the blade, allowing at the blood to pool out and pour onto her, staining her clothes and uncovered skin. As the blood flooded out and his body dropped, lifelessly, onto her body, she wheezed at the pressure, pushing him off with her remaining strength, standing up with a stagger. The newcomer struggled, the Reaper on top of him lifted up a large rock with jagged edges, it was about to be slammed into the new comer's head but Elektra glared and slammed her own body into to Reaper, falling to the side, away from the new comer's body.

     As she fell to the ground, next to the Reaper, her head hit the rock that it had been holding up beforehand. Her vision began to blur uncomfortably, and she groaned in pain, the aching, pulsating feeling began to worsen as she tried to roll into her stomach, her right fist hitting the ground as she tried to push herself back up. With her consciousness weaving in and out, there was another loud echoing noise from behind her, followed by the other girl's shrill scream. Elektra groaned and her body weight dropped back down to the ground, her face landing on the ground, making her headache worse and more painful. Her breathing deepened and her eyes squeezed shut. Her hands balled into fists, crushing the dead leaves and dirt in her hands before all her futile attempts of getting up stopped.

     Elektra gave up.

     Her body was rolled back over onto her back and she was lifted from the ground. Faintly, as her eyes opened weakly, she saw the girl walking just in front of her, towards her. Which, no doubt, meant that she was over the other's shoulder. She groaned again and her body, already drained of her energy, dropped, until all she saw was black.

     When Elektra finally woke up, she could hear the clanging of metal, the sound of it being scrapped across the floor, and people talking. Her head lulled to the side and she caught a glimpse of her arms being held above her head, tied with a red fabric belt. Her forehead stung and she looked back down, the harsh lighting was painful. On a pile on the ground, she could see her armour, stacked on top of each other while the thin, dirty tin she had strapped near her chest, under her clothes, was opened on the ground in the middle of the room.

     It was either a strange dream, or she had failed Anya.

     After another minute, she blinked, looking at the weapons she had with her on a table near the corner of the room. There was also another vial, that was once full, emptied out on the table, dripping onto the floor. Elektra's face contorted into anger and annoyance when she realised what had happened to her. She let out an angered sigh, training her eyes on the ground and her hands gripped onto the red fabric that kept her prisoner.

     It wasn't long before the whispering and hushed talking got louder. The jack-hammer pounding she felt in her head worsened.

     How could I have been so reckless? She thought angrily to herself.

     Casting her eyes down to her boots, she noticed her shirt was stripped from her, leaving her in the black under armour she had, although it was cut and torn, trousers, and thick boots. They had been unlaced and pulled at as if someone had tried looking for more weapons. Elektra had to give them some credit for that—at least they weren't entirely stupid.

     Not only did her head hurt, but her face felt sore as well, which no doubt meant that they took her mask off and scrubbed the war paint from her eyes as well. Her eyes looked back towards her pile of clothes and saw her mask was beside it. They must have used a knife to scrape it off, considering how painful it was on her face. Sweat trickled down her body too, down her face and onto the floor, along with drops of blood from her injury.

     "B... You... Sh... Kill."

     Elektra struggled to make out whatever it was that they were saying. From what she could gather though, it was a girl talking, maybe even the girl from the woods. Once more, she tried to move her arms, but all it did was rub against the wrists and burn.

     "She... Saved... Could... Good," It was a different girl who spoke that time, she sounded softer and younger.

     "Octa... Stay away... Could be dangerous," the first girl replied, this time it was clearer.

     When she lifted her head up, she was blinded again by the harsh artificial light, she blinked a few times. As her vision cleared and it showed more than just a small spec of light, the man from the woods was in front of her with her arms crossed. Although his face appeared to be hard, it looked like he wasn't enjoying standing there.

     Next, to him, there was a blonde girl. She had blood over her shirt and hands, she held a conflicted and pained expression as she sighed. It was obvious, even from an outsider of their people, that they didn't agree on many things, and the distance between them could have easily fitted a small planet.

     Behind them, off to the side, closer to the man, there were a couple of boys who had been watching her, glaring, turning their top lip up in disgust.

     Lastly, there was a girl with long brown hair, she looked to be the youngest. She looked scared and upset.

     Anya wouldn't be happy with this.

     The man, who stood to watch her, sighed and spoke up, "Clarke, get out of here. You two,"—he looked at the boys behind him—"make sure she doesn't come up again for a while."

     The two boys nodded and pushed the blonde girl, or Clarke, over to a latch in the floor.

     "Octavia, you should go too," he told the younger girl, his expression softening when he looked at her. He uncrossed his arms and placed a hand on her shoulder.

     The air was getting thicker, Elektra struggled to breathe, and she began to cough, sputtering painfully as something dripped from her mouth, it was metallic and as she looked down, the small drops from her forehead mixed in with the newly spilled blood into a small puddle. Elektra looked back at the girl who shrugged the man's hand off. She eyed her carefully as the girl stepped closer.

     "No, Bellamy, she's hurt."

     Why would she care? And what the hell was a 'Bellamy'?

     "She's a killer, O," he tried to reason with her.

     She scoffed. "So are you."

     The girl glared at him before she moved away, towards the opposite side of the room. Elektra followed her with her eyes, her jaw clenching when she saw Lincoln on the other end of the room, in the same position as she was. He struggled in his restraints when the man moved towards Elektra.

     "Bellamy," the girl sighed, "leave her alone." His name was Bellamy, that made more sense. "Please, bell, for me?"

     The girl, Octavia, looked like she was about to cry, glancing between Bellamy and Elektra. Octavia sniffed and moved towards the latch, not looking at Bellamy as she climbed down.

     "Fine," Bellamy muttered, walking in front of Elektra to block her view of Lincoln, and his own view of her. Bellamy edged closer and his face as eye-level with hers as he whispered, "Brave Grounder,"—his eyes scanned her face, lingering at the blood that dribbled down her chin from her lips, then locked back onto her eyes, she could easily cut off his face and burn it—"you're not going anywhere."

     Lincoln began to yell and thrash against his restraints, glaring at Bellamy, who, smirked at him and looked back to Elektra, while placing a hand on her face.

     "Sleep well, Grounder. You're going to need it."

     After that, he turned around, walking over to the latch, dropping down, closing it. Elektra's eyes moved from the latch to Lincoln, who looked exhausted.

     "I'm so sorry, sister." His head dropped, and her own tears filled her eyes, rolling down her cheeks.

     She was trapped...