N I N E

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HARLAI HAD NO IDEA where her feet were taking her, but she kept track of where she was going so she knew her way back. Despite being a little scared of Grounders, she was having a nice time being away from all the noise. Back at the camp, there was always a buzz of people talking and working, mostly the leaders fighting, but deep in the forest it was quiet. The only noise was the gentle chirp of the birds.

It gave her space to think. She tried to keep any sad or negative thoughts away since that was all she had lately. So, she decided to think of her family. Her mother and Raven. It was nice to know that Raven was safe on Earth and not being killed to save some air, but she did not know about her mother. The look on Raven's face just a few moments ago gave her a bad feeling to which she shook off. Her mother was going to be fine. Hopefully if anyone was to die it would be her father.

Harlai remembered when she was younger, about five years old, when Elise gave Harlai a book about the Earth.

"Mommy, what's this?" The young brunette asked as she pointed to a red bird. Elise couldn't help but smile as she bent over and scooped the child into her arms, earning a few giggles.

"That's a birdy. Wanna know what kind of noise it makes?" As this question was asked, Harlai grinned widely and nodded her head. Elise began to make 'chirp' noises in a high-pitched tone as she tossed the child onto her bed, continuing the noise as she began to tickle her.

The child began to squeal in response, squirming around before mimicking the noise her mom was making. "Yep, just like that!" Elise said as she slowed her attack, only to resume it moments later.

That was the first time Harlai ever saw a picture of a real bird and as the woman walked among the forest, her eyes fell onto a red bird was perched onto a tree limb. She watched as it made the noise, sounding nothing like her mother. This only made Harlai grin, a soft laugh escaping her lips.

She couldn't remember the last time she laughed like that.

Her laughter stopped as she felt her foot hit something hard and she glanced down before crouching. She brushed her hand over the top, pushing some pieces of grass away to reveal a stone arrowhead.

That was when she remembered how Elise used to also teach her about how Native Americans used to use weapons other than guns to hunt for animals such as a bow and arrow. Indians crafted arrowheads from stone with edges so sharp that the point could slice right through an animal's skin and pierce their heart, killing them instantly or in some cases, letting them bleed out.

Her mother used to tell Harlai about how Elise's great grandpa collected arrowheads during his time on Earth and passed the collection down to his son who passed it down to Elise's dad who introduced it to her. That day Elise showed Harlai the collection which is how she recognized the one she stumbled upon.

As if a light went on in her brain, Harlai pulled the knife Bellamy had given her earlier out of her waistband and she glanced down at the arrowhead. She had an idea.

•••

HARLAI SAT ON THE BANK of the creek nearby the camp, the creek that Bellamy had thrown the radio in. She had spent the last few hours gathering arrowheads and using the knife to make a bow. It wasn't the prettiest, but she had managed to find a tree-limb that slightly curved to which she shaved down.

She even made many arrows, using the knife to cut the body's thin so that they could fly swiftly through the air, but not too thin. Harlai then cut off some of her shirt until it was just above her belly button, cutting the fabric down into thin pieces of string so she could tie the arrowheads to the ends of their bodies. The other end of the arrows had a couple of thick leaves to act as the feathered tail. She also used one longer and thicker piece of string to tie to each ends of her bow.

Once she was done, Harlai couldn't help but smile at what she accomplished. She grabbed one of the arrows as well as her bow as she stood up and she put the feathered end on the string, letting the arrowhead be at the bow's side once she pulled back.

She would definitely need practice in shooting, but she didn't think she would have time that day. Harlai had already spent hours on making the bow and arrows and daylight was dwindling. As she grabbed the rest of her arrows, she glanced over to see Clarke, Raven, Finn, Bellamy, as well as some other campers walking to the creek.

Harlai walked over to Clarke with furrowed brows as kids began to search the creek. "Clarke, what's going on?"

As the blonde saw her friend, a relieved look brightened her face. "Harlai, I was worried about you." She then paused and she glanced over at Bellamy, her lips forming a straight line. "We came to search for the radio that he took. Raven said depending on the damage, she may be able to fix it."

Not even a second after Clarke spoke, Finn walked up to the two. Tearing his longing gaze from Clarke, he glanced at Harlai. "Could I speak to her alone?"

Clarke looked at Finn before sending Harlai a pleading look to stay. Harlai just sent Finn a smile and she began to walk backwards, away from the two. "Yeah, of course." She glanced at Clarke, who let out a quiet huff, and she laughed quietly before spinning on her heel.

Her hand clutched the arrows in her palm, feeling the rough bark scratch at her palms, and she put the bow over her shoulder. The young woman paused as she saw Raven just as their eyes locked. Harlai could tell that something was on the other woman's mind and she was afraid of what exactly it was.

"Hey, Har. I'm sorry our reunion was cut short." She mumbled as she shoved her hands into her pockets.

Harlai narrowed her eyes at the tan skinned girl and she tilted her head slightly. "I can tell when something's on your mind, Ray. What is it?"

This shocked Raven. She knew Harlai would be a different girl than the one who was locked up in a jail cell on The Ark, but this Harlai was extremely different. The young woman that stood before her had long, lightened locks that almost reached her waist. Her green eyes weren't nearly as bright, seemingly having lost their innocent sparkle. She even noticed the long scar protruding from under her shirt from the time that she had been impaled by the Grounders.

"Why don't we talk when we get back-"

"Raven." Harlai was beginning to grow desperate. By the look in Raven's eyes, she could tell that it was about her mother.

Raven's eyes dropped to the ground as she reached over to grab Harlai's free hand, giving it a tight squeeze. "Clarke's mom wasn't the only one who helped me make the pod, Harlai. Elise did, too." Her eyes locked on Harlai's once again as the brunette sucked in a breath, grasping Raven's hand tightly. "When I was leaving, the guards were trying to break down the doors and Abby and Elise were holding them off so I could escape. I-I'm not sure if they were arrested or not."

Abby's chances were much higher than Elise's, Harlai thought as her eyes grew moist. She blinked them away as her hand fell from Raven's and her jaw clenched. "My mother's alive. Let's just find this radio and get in touch with Abby so we can know for sure."

Raven's lips upturned into a sad smile. At least Harlai managed to keep one thing: her hope.

"I found it!" A kid exclaimed, breaking off their little moment.

Harlai turned and she began to walk over to him through the creek with Clarke, Raven at her side. The mechanic grabbed the radio and Harlai grimaced as she saw water pouring out of it. Once they made it to the bank where Bellamy was, everyone crowded around Reyes.

"Can you fix it?" Clarke asked.

"Maybe." Raven replied, making Harlai slump in relief. "But it'll take half a day just to dry out the components to see what's broken."

"Like I said, it's too late." Bellamy spoke up. Harlai looked over at him as her jaw clenched.

"Do you have any idea what you did?" Clarke asked him as she stormed up to him. "Do you even care?"

"You asked me to help. I helped."

"Three hundred people are gonna die today because of you!" Clarke yelled at him, but it didn't seem to phase him. It only made him angrier.

"I swear to God, Bellamy Blake." Harlai's voice was low as she stared at the ground, everyone seeming to be a bit surprised. "If my mother dies because of you-"

Raven cut the girl off, leaving Harlai's revenge a mystery. "Hold up. We don't have to talk to The Ark. We just have to let them know we're down here, right?"

Everyone, even Harlai, looked over at the mechanic. A small smile flickered onto the wanna-be-archer's lips as she caught an idea of what she was getting at.

"Yeah, but how do we do that with no radio?" Finn asked her.

"We can use anything that will get their attention." Harlai responded, her gaze still on Raven who just smiled at her lover as she grabbed the radio.

•••

Everyone began to follow Raven's orders by carrying various parts of the pod back to camp.

"We need to launch those flares ASAP if we have any hope of saving those people. Finn, get that control panel to camp." Raven ordered as Finn as well as another boy carried a large bulk of equipment. "You, pull out those firing circuits or they won't work." She paused and she looked to Clarke. "Clarke, can I have a hand?"

The blonde stood and followed Raven around to the other side. "Work these bolts here gently" Her words faded from Harlai as the woman spotted Bellamy who was beginning to walk away. That boy knew just how to grind her gears.

Once they had everything they needed at the camp, the sky began to darken. Harlai's mind raced faster than a shooting star as she thought of what might happen if they didn't get the flares up in time. Her mom was technically a criminal for helping Raven, so what was stopping them from floating her along with the other three hundred?

The others were building a place to shoot off the flares. Harlai helped in any way she could, ignoring a pain that shot through her chest occasionally. It seemed like someone had pressed the fast forward button because they had little time. They were practically throwing the everything together, but with ease and precision.

Harlai set one of the flares against it's tower and she stood up. Her head lifted so that she could get a good look at The Ark, which was only a small dot in the dark sky. Somewhere up there, her mother was fighting for her life and she just wished that she could see her one more time.

Everyone gathered around as Raven shot off the three flares and Harlai watched as they shot off into the sky.

"If you cross your fingers like this, there's more of a chance that what you want will happen."

"Really, mama?"

Harlai dropped her hands to her side as she crossed two of her fingers on both hands. She could feel Bellamy's presence beside her and as she glanced down, she saw that his fingers were crossed, too. She looked back up to see that his eyes were following the flares, a small smile curling her pink lips. No matter how much Bellamy made her angry, he would always calm her down. Why was that?

"You think they can see it from up there?" Bellamy asked from beside her.

"I don't know. I hope so." Harlai paused as she spoke, her fingers still tightly crossed. "Can you wish on this kind of shooting star?" They exchanged glances and she sighed when she noticed Bellamy's blank look.

"When there was a meteorite shooting across the sky, people used to make a wish on it because it looked like a star." Harlai tried to explain as she looked back up at the flares. When she looked away, Bellamy couldn't help but smile a bit.

"I wouldn't even know what to wish for." He sniffled and he looked back up to the sky, watching as it brightened from the flares. "What about you?"

Harlai hadn't even thought about it until then. "I would wish for us to be able to get on our feet... come together as a group of kids who were sent to their death only to rise and live."

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WORD COUNT: 2235

I love how well this book is coming along! Harlai's found her little thing, but that happiness won't last for long.

Do you guys think her mom's alive? Comment whatcha think ;)