[edited 8 January 2017]

•••

, a burning torch in his hand as he looked for his younger sister. He hadn't seen her since she caught up with him in the woods that morning, and needless to say he was worried. He flicked back a tent, spotting Raine sitting crossed legged on her cot, having discarded her shirt for a singlet.

She jumped in surprise, looking over her shoulder with a dark look until she saw it was Bellamy. "Bellamy, what's wrong?"

"Have you seen Octavia?" he asked immediately.

She shook her head, seemingly unworried. "She's Octavia, Bellamy. She's probably chasing butterflies."

"I've checked the camp, Mist. She's not here."

Raine was already pulling on her shirt when she spoke, "I'll help you look."

"No–"

"She's my friend, Bellamy." Raine silenced him, and he gave a nod. She stepped out of the tent, their chests touching when she stood up. Raine didn't seem to notice, walking away and claiming, "And besides, why would you come to me if you didn't want me to help look?"

"I was looking for Octavia." Bellamy corrected her weakly.

"Alright, check again. Just in case. You go to the drop ship and I'll recheck the tents." Raine ordered.

"Thank you." Bellamy nudged her shoulder.

Raine glanced at him. "Thank me when we find her."

•••

When the secondary search of the camp had proved useless, Bellamy had begun to grow desperate. Carrying a large collect of weapons in his arms, he proclaimed, "Everybody gather round and pick a weapon."

He dropped the weapons to the ground, continuing, "My sister has been out there alone for twelve hours. Arm up; we're not coming back without her."

The pile of weapons began to diminish rapidly, and Raine thought she spotted Jasper waddling over to it. She quickly caught his shoulder, saying, "Jasper, you don't have to do this. You haven't left camp since we bought you back."

The boy looked tired and scared as he responded, "Raine, I need to do this."

"We need all the people we can get." Raine heard Bellamy say from behind her. Raine watched Jasper with a pained face as he walked forwards and picked up a weapon. She glanced at Bellamy in disappointment. Clarke had appeared beside them, the two girls briefly glancing at each other before Clarke picked up a weapon. Raine sniffed as she pointedly reached for her staff. Bellamy smirked to himself at the sight.

"We need a tracker." He stated, and Clarke nodded towards Finn's tent.

"Finn!" Bellamy yelled. "Finn get out here!"

"Don't worry, we'll find her." Raine reassured Bellamy, hearing the edge in his voice.

He didn't respond, only yelled again, "Finn, we're leaving!"

Raine followed Bellamy through the camp, wondering what possibly could have happened to Octavia. Octavia was one of the few people that could handle Raine's remarks, and she was Bellamy's little sister. Bellamy was her friend; and she would do whatever it took to find Octavia.

"Raine..." Bellamy began, struggling to express his gratitude for the girl's willingness to help.

"It's okay, Bellamy, really." Raine reassured him, smiling softly as they walked through the camp.

"What's that?" Someone cried, pointing at the sky. Raine and Bellamy stopped, casting their eyes upwards as multiple people let out whispers of awe. The dark sky was dotted with brightly burning objects, each one leaving behind a trail as they came closer and closer to earth.

Clarke looked at the sky grimly, "It's a funeral. It's the bodies from the ark, we're just usually on the other side."

Bellamy tensed; Raine could feel the air move from his sudden shift. She glanced at him, seeing him swallow heavily and his eyes fall to the ground. Around them, Jasper fidgeted uncomfortably, his eyes glassy, and Clarke shook her head softly. She turned to Raven, "They didn't get our message."

Raven's eyes landed on Bellamy, and a scowl came to rest on her face. She stormed forwards, crying, "This is all because of you!"

Immediately, Raine placed her hand on the girls shoulder in warning, but Raven shoved her hand away. Bellamy held his hand out in defence, "I helped you find the radio."

"Yeah," Raven sneered, "After you jacked it from my pod and trashed it."

Both Finn and Clarke were holding the angry girl back, and Raine was looking at her with a hard stare. Clarke spoke up, "He knows, and now he has to live with it."

Raine scoffed, "You're a real bitch, Clarke, you know that?"

Clarke glanced at the girl, but didn't say anything. Bellamy shuffled on his feet, responding, "All I know is that my sister is out there, and I'm going to find her. You coming or what?" he asked Finn, the boy nodding in response.

"I'm coming." Raine announced, Bellamy glancing at her briefly.

"What are we waiting for? Move out!" Bellamy barked, turning around and leading the crowd out of the gates. Raine caught up, falling in step beside him.

"Hey," she spoke, "Don't listen to Raven."

"She's right, so is Clarke. It's my fault that those people are dead, and now I have to live with it." Bellamy replied, his jaw set as he marched forwards.

Raine wanted desperately to say something to change his mind, but she couldn't think of anything. Because, as much as she hated it, she knew he was right. But even if she did think of something to say, he was too busy finding his sister to notice.

•••

"Look! Over here!" Jones called, Bellamy's spinning around. They had been searching for the past few hours, but hadn't found much. Until now. Bellamy took off, Raine charging after him, and they broke through the tree line to see a steep hill dotted in rocks.

"What is it?" Bellamy panted eagerly.

"Right there." The boy pointed to a bush down the hill, "You see it? It that Octavia's?"

It was her belt, hanging haphazardly over a bush. Raine's gut twisted; it didn't look good from up here. "Rope." Bellamy spoke, the boy next to him handing him a coil of rope. Bellamy held onto one end, whilst throwing the other end down the hill.

Finn appeared beside them, looking at Bellamy with furrowed brows, "What are you doing?"

"We need to rope to get back up. Someone give me a flashlight." Bellamy responded simply, already making his way down the hillside. He made his way towards the bush, snatching at the belt with such eagerness that it made Raine grimace. "It's hers."

Bellamy paused for a second, before continuing completely down the hillside. Raine was quick to take hold of the rope, shimmying down after him. Jasper followed closely. When Raine reached the end of the hill and dropped down into some sort of ditch, she spotted Bellamy crouching over a rock, a few droplets of crimson blood on it.

His fingers were trembling ever so slightly as he dabbed his fingers in the liquid, and he gave Raine a look as she crouched beside him. Jasper and Finn appeared by their sides, and Raine and Jasper shared a silent look.

"Someone else was here." Bellamy spoke to Finn. Finn held his torch out, revealing a giant shoe print in the mud.

"They're deeper going that way." Finn jutted his chin forwards, in the direction of the footprints. "She was being carried." Finn whispered.

"If they took her, she's alive." Raine said firmly.

"Like when they took me." Jasper added lightly, and Raine nodded. Bellamy's face was pinched as he stood up silently and charged forwards, deeper down the path. Raine hesitated for a split second before following him, Jasper and Finn behind them.

The ditch evened out around them and soon they were walking through a valley, Raine stepping cautiously. Tired teenagers trailed behind them, some beginning to wish they had never come. Raine's eyes were too busy looking at the ground for tracks that when Bellamy stopped abruptly she ran into his back.

His arm went out to steady her, but his eyes remained glued straight ahead. When Raine glanced around him, her eyes widened and her jaw went slack. Rotting corpses hung from trees, some with flesh still on them. Chills ran over Raine's body, and she fought the urge to throw up.

"I don't speak grounder," Finn started, "But I'm pretty sure this means keep out."

"Let's get out of here!" someone called from the back of the crowd, and a few teens nodded in agreement.

"I'm outta here." A boy with dirty blonde hair spoke, disappearing through the crowd.

"Go back if you want," Bellamy told them without turning around, "My sister, my responsibility."

Then he walked forwards, past the bodies and into the unknown. This time, Raine hesitated for more than a second. There were bodies hanging from the trees – and Bellamy wanted to go in there? For once she agreed with Finn, and a small selfish part of her wanted to turn and leave.

But she knew that if the situation was switched, and it was Bellamy missing, Octavia wouldn't stop at the sight of a few bodies hanging from trees. So, taking a deep breath, Raine walked after Bellamy.

Jasper glanced at Finn, "I'd walk into hell to find her."

Then he, too, followed Bellamy and Raine. Finn cursed under his breath before following Jasper, responding, "I think we just did."

•••

Raine was grateful when the sun rose, making the forest look less deadly. The once massive group had dwindled down to around ten kids, all of the other teenagers retreating after they saw the bodies.

Bellamy was still going strong, refusing to return to camp without his sister. Finn turned to Bellamy, admitting helplessly, "I got nothing; we lost the trail."

"Keep looking." Bellamy demanded.

"Bellamy, relax. We're not going to find her if we keep running around in circles." Raine told him, raising an eyebrow.

"At this rate, we never will find her." He snapped at her.

"We should backtrack." Finn tried, but Bellamy cut him off.

"I'm not going back." Bellamy argued.

"Hey, where's Jones?" a girl asked with frightful eyes, and Raine noticed that they were in fact missing a boy.

"I just saw him a second ago." Jasper answered, looking around in confusion.

"He couldn't have gone very far." Raine reassured the girl, looking around for the boy. There was a loud thunk behind her and Raine turned to see Jones' body lying on the ground. There was a thin red line across his neck and his face was twisted into a silent scream.

Finn looked up from where the body had fallen from, knowing immediately that they were being hunted by Grounders. "They're using the trees."

"We shouldn't have crossed the boundary." A boy muttered, swallowing heavily.

"Now can we go back?" The same girl asked.

Raine caught Bellamy's eyes, staring at him intently. Her hand automatically gripped her staff, and the other wrapped itself around the blade of her knife. Jasper looked around desperately, his eyes landing on a black clad figure in the distance, watching them. Shakily, he raised his arm and pointed, "There."

Raine turned around, seeing another grounder running through the trees. "There's another one. Bellamy..."

"I know." Bellamy breathed in response.

"We should run." Finn whispered, and Bellamy nodded. The group took off, running wildly through the forest in an attempt to get away from the grounders. Her heart beat pounded in her ears as she ran, forcing her legs to keep going. She was right behind Bellamy and Finn.

Grounders appeared on either side of them, horrifying close and Raine forced a cry back down her throat. The ground suddenly dipped, and Raine felt herself skid down the hill. Her knees gave way and she cried out as she crashed to the ground, biting her tongue roughly. The coppery taste filled her mouth and she coughed, blood spraying out of her mouth and dribbling down her chin.

Bellamy heard her cry, doubling back and yanking her to her feet. Raine stumbled after him, and he wrapped an arm around her waist to make it easier to carry her weight. Jasper was slowing down, panting heavily as he called, "I can't run much longer."

"I'm not stopping for him!" the same boy yelled, shooting past Bellamy and Raine.

Bellamy came to a stop, turning to Jasper, "I'm sick of running away. Mist, are you alright?" he asked her, cupping her chin softly. Raine nodded once, and Bellamy gave her a nod in response. Raine wiped her chin, her sleeve coming away bloody, and she spat again.

"Just bit my tongue." She spoke, her words a bit muffled. Bellamy turned to face the grounders, taking a step forward.

Finn seized his shoulder, asking, "What are you doing?"

"They know where my sister is." Bellamy spoke firmly.

Roma screamed, seeing a grounder come hurdling at them, and took off. Everyone followed, Raine feeling more blood fill her mouth as she ran. Roma gave an anguished scream, and Finn yelled out for her to stop, but the girl had already disappeared.

The boy that had run off earlier was dead; his eyes wide open and blood trailing out of his mouth. Large metal prongs poked out of his back, covered in blood. Raine gagged, and Jasper looked around frantically, "They're leading us here. It's the only direction we can run."

It was then Raine noticed the silence around them, and a quick scan revealed that there were no grounders in sight. "Hey... where'd they go?"

"After Roma." Bellamy replied in horror, taking off in the direction that Roma had disappeared. Raine rolled her eyes before following, beginning to grow slightly pissed at the damn grounders. Roma's screams had stopped, and the group – now only four – made their way through the forest.

"There she is." Raine nodded, seeing the silent girl lying against a tree. From their position, it looked like the girl was just standing, back pressed against the tree.

Bellamy brushed past them, headed towards the tree, and Raine followed suit. Her gut twisted when she saw the massive spear sticking out of the girls chest, much like Jasper only a few weeks ago.

"They're playing with us." Finn told everyone.

"She only came because of me." Bellamy said to no-one, using his fingertips to brush the girls eyes closed.

"Well, isn't that great!" Raine snapped, suddenly angry. She now knew where she recognised Roma from; she was the girl from Bellamy's tent who had called her a 'bitch'.

"They can kill us whenever they want." Finn kept talking, his voice low.

"Then they should get it over with!" Jasper screeched suddenly, shaking his fists in anger. Finn jumped at the boy, trying to silence him but Jasper kept screeching, "Come on! Get it over with!"

"Shut up!" Bellamy hissed uselessly, knowing that the grounders had already heard them.

"They're coming!" Raine screamed, causing the three boys to stop their actions. Grounders were closing in on all sides, and Raine gripped her knife tightly.

Suddenly, a loud noise cut through the air. It sounded like a horn was being blown and the grounders halted, turning around and running away. Bellamy spoke, "They're leaving."

"That horn... what does it mean?" Jasper asked.

"Acid fog." Finn responded, already pulling a tent out of his pack.

"We need to go, now." Raine argued, Finn shaking his head.

"There's no time." Finn spoke, shaking the tent out around them.

•••

The four of them lay huddled together under the tent, Raine squashed in between Bellamy and Finn. They had been huddling under the tent for a while now.

"How much longer do we have to wait?" Jasper asked no-one in particular.

"Is this even going to work?" Raine asked Finn.

"We'll find out." He whispered in response, shuffling in anticipation.

Bellamy grew impatient, rolling his eyes before muttering, "No, we won't."

"Bellamy!" Raine hissed as the older boy poked his head out of the tent.

"There's no fog." Bellamy stated and Raine peeled back the tent to discover he was right; it was just as clear as when they had all crawled into the tent.

Finn glanced around, "Maybe it was a false alarm."

Bellamy's eyes landed on a grounder, trotting through the forest and he announced, "They're coming back."

"I... think he's alone." Jasper whispered in confusion.

"He doesn't see us; I'm going after him." Bellamy said, Raine reaching over to grab his jacket.

"Are you insane? Two people are dead Bellamy! Perhaps we should go back and get better weapons."

"No." he snapped at Raine, and the girl shot him a dark look.

"What are you going to do then? Kill him?" she asked sarcastically.

"No – catch him. He can tell me where Octavia is. Then I'll kill him." Bellamy stood up, walking after the grounder.

"How do we know he's not leading us into a trap?" Jasper asked.

"We don't." Finn responded tiredly.

They followed the grounder in silence, Raine still bitter about what happened earlier. Bellamy was going to get them all killed if he didn't stop and realise that they weren't properly equipped to find Octavia. Raine's movements were sluggish and her eyelids were heavy and her stomach was growling painfully. They had been out all night and most of the day, and Raine could also feel a headache coming on.

The grounder stopped suddenly, the four teenagers dropping down into the shrub as not to be seen. The grounder bent down and grabbed something, lifting it up to reveal a secret door in the ground. He cast a quick glance around before dropping into the hole, the door shutting behind him.

"Octavia's got to be in there." Bellamy said.

"Oh great, so now we're supposed to follow a grounder down a hole? This isn't freaking Wonderland." She rolled her eyes. As a child she had read Wonderland over and over again, finding it fascinating how another world could be found just by going down a hole. However, Raine didn't want to discover whatever world was waiting down that hole. No, she'd rather stay alive.

Bellamy threw a weird look, not understanding the reference. "Mist, my little sister is down there. I'm going down there whether you come or not, but I really wish it would be the former." He retorted, silencing Raine from any further protests.

"I'll go." Jasper spoke up, and Bellamy gave him a firm nod.

"Me too." Finn added, and Raine heaved a sigh.

"Hell with it." She muttered bitterly as they made their way towards the secret door.

When Raine dropped down the hole, she became aware of how damp and muddy everything was. Her boots made a squelching noise as she landed, and she grimaced, hoping she hadn't just alerted the grounder of her presence. Bellamy dropped down after her, landing heavily. He straightened up before pulling the axe out of his belt.

He led the way, and Raine could feel a shudder run through her body. She had gotten so used to being free that being underground again reminded her horribly of her cell back on the ark. Bellamy stepped into a room, his eyes scanning it before they came to rest on a frightened and bruised Octavia.

"Bellamy?" Octavia choked out in surprise.

"Octavia!" Bellamy exclaimed emotionally, rushing over to his sister. He knelt beside her, seeing that large shackles around her wrists.

"The key." Octavia spoke fervently. Raine's eyes were glued on the grounder, lying unconscious on the floor, blood dribbling down the side of his head. He was giant compared to her, and even though he was unconscious Raine still found herself intimidated.