[ edited 7 February 2017]

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"We need more supplies; it's as simple as that." Raine told Murphy, her voice firm as the duo made their way through the woods. It had a few days since they had made their grand exit, and in that time Raine had been doing everything possible to keep her mind occupied. If her mind wasn't constantly occupied, it would come to a stop on the one thing she didn't want to focus on.

Bellamy.

This, consequently, also meant that in the past few days, Raine had barely slept. Sleeping lead to nightmares and the nightmares lead to him. Raine knew that once she ventured down that path, she wouldn't be able to turn herself around. She was drained; emotionally, physically and mentally.

Murphy harrumphed from beside her, "Okay and where are we supposed to find them? I want to keep the few remaining fingernails I have in my fingers, so there's no way I'm stealing anything from the grounders."

Raine rolled her eyes as she walked... or more like waddled as a result of her clumsiness. Her ankle was getting better – the injury wasn't as bad as they had previously thought. It still grew tender as time passed if she was walking on it, but the pain was a dull ache and it was just another thing for Raine to keep her mind off. "I'm not stupid, Murphy. A while back, just after you'd been banished, Bellamy and I went to a supply bunker; it was where we found the guns. As we went in, I saw the number twenty-three plastered on the wall. Maybe, if we went back there, we could find the locations of more supply bunkers."

Murphy paused for a moment, his face a canvas of shock as he took the information in. He resisted the urge to clap slowly, not wanting Raine to slap him again. She may have been a small girl, but hell was she feisty. Raine, however, didn't notice her friend's brief pause as she was focusing heavily on the ground and biting her lip harshly. Without meaning to, she had reminded herself of Bellamy. Their trip to the bunker was what you would call a significant event for them. Not only did Bellamy and Raine battle both their demons and a deranged teenager, but they had had a moment; Raine still remembered the way his hand felt in hers.

"Raine? Did you hear me?" Murphy spoke, waving his hands in front of Raine's face. She was ripped from her memory and blinked rapidly, steadying herself before she looked at him. He had his eyebrows raised, and she waited for a sarcastic comment to come her way. It didn't, instead Murphy's brows knitted themselves into concern and he stopped walking altogether. He stood in front of Raine, forcing her to stop.

"Pardon? Sorry, I didn't hear you." Raine mumbled.

"I asked if you knew where the bunker was. Number twenty-three?" Murphy repeated his previous question. He knew something was seriously off with Raine – she had used 'pardon?' instead of her usual 'what?' and had also apologised to him in a single sentence.

Raine blinked slowly, and then shook her head. "No, I don't. Not from here, anyway. We'd have to go back to camp and then retrace my steps from there."

Even if they did manage to pull that off, returning so close to the camp, there was no way that Raine could confidently lead Murphy back to the bunker. She had been munching on those looney nuts the whole trip.

"Dammit." Murphy cursed, running a hand through his knotting hair. He sniffed, "Whatever, we'll figure it out later. You need to rest before you fall over."

Raine pretended not to know what he was talking about, but her entire body screamed yes at the idea of resting. Her last proper meal was before she had left camp, and in the past few days all she had eaten was a few measly handfuls of berries and nuts – not the looney ones. Combine that with her lack of sleep and injured ankle, she was beginning to look and feel like a bruise.

"We can walk some more." Raine insisted, but Murphy shook his head.

"No, Raine. You look like shit. You haven't eaten properly in days, and I know you haven't been sleeping." Murphy said accusingly, and Raine almost gaped at him. How did he know she wasn't sleeping?

"How do you know I'm not sleeping?" She asked him, eyes narrowed.

He smirked, "You snore when you sleep. It's annoying."

"How come you don't look like shit then?" Raine asked, looking him up and down. Granted, he had a few cuts and bruises littered across his body, but looked exceptionally better than she did.

Murphy's voice was flat as he replied, "The grounder hotel wasn't exactly five stars."

"Oh."

"Yeah. We need to find somewhere to stay the night and we'll worry about that supply bunker tomorrow." He spoke, spinning in a quick circle to survey the area around them. Raine could only see trees, trees and more trees. "This way." Murphy spoke, pointing a hand out in a random direction before heading that way.

"Why this way?" Raine asked as she followed slowly. It was becoming harder and harder to use her ankle, despite using her staff to help her walk. She was vaguely aware of how stupid she must have looked.

"Because the ground in front of us slopes downwards, which means we're on high ground. When it rains, the water would come down here and collect at the bottom somewhere." Murphy answered, and Raine had to admit she was impressed with his earth skills. She could only guess it was another thing he had picked up during his time of being a prisoner.

The ground beneath their feet sloped sharply and Murphy helped Raine down despite her constant grumbling. The slope was steep and the dirt was uneven. Afterwards, they walked for a while longer until the dirt became pebbles and then came the soft trickle of running water. A giant smile appeared on Raine's face – finally something was going right for them. Murphy let out a whoop of delight and sped off down towards the small river, which had previously been hidden from sight by overgrown trees.

When Raine reached the water's edge, Murphy had already proceeded to dump his empty rifle and splash handfuls of fresh water on his face and neck. The water was only knee deep, and flowed softly and calmly. Hesitantly, Raine waded into it. She left staff on the ground, next to Murphy's rifle, as she didn't want it to get wet. The water was refreshingly cool and Raine scooped some up in her hands and gulped it down. It tasted amazing.

"Finally." Murphy said in relief. "We deserve this."

"Look at that." Raine spoke, pointing back to the slope they had descended. There was a small cluster of trees growing by the slope, and Raine noticed the way the light was swallowed before it could break through them. Raine left the water and walked towards it, peering around before her eyes landed on a hole, easily big enough to fit two people inside. "It's like a mini cave."

"Just be careful." Murphy warned as he made his way out of the water.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Raine spoke, growing distracted by the small hole. With a random surge of confidence, Raine pushed through the trees and disappeared. Murphy started after her quickly, and when he pushed his way through the trees, he spotted Raine, already sitting down. She looked relieved as the pressure was taken off her ankle, and she rubbed it absent-mindedly as she looked around. The trees formed a sort of ring around the dugout, yet still allowed enough light to filter through the trees to illuminate the space.

"This is amazing." Raine spoke in awe.

Murphy settled himself so he was leaning against a tree, and let out a sigh. "Yeah, and it's protected too. Look, the sun's not going to set for another few hours, I'm going to go out and see what I can find. You stay here and rest."

"No–"

"For god's sake Raine, shut up and sleep." Murphy cut her off, his voice developing a hard edge.

"Fine." Raine said, just to please Murphy. She knew full well that she wouldn't be able to sleep – she didn't know if she wanted to anyway. Murphy gave her a once over before nodding to himself and beginning to climb to his feet. "Wait," Raine said suddenly, and Murphy stopped to look at her. She reached for her staff and held it out to him. His eyes widened.

"I am not taking that." Murphy shook his head.

"Just think of it as an insurance policy. I can't go anywhere without it." Raine proposed, and Murphy was silent for a few seconds before he took it from her hands. He gave her a silent nod before pushing back through the trees and disappearing. The silence engulfed Raine immediately, and she sat awkwardly on the ground, unsure of what to do next. She stayed that way for half an hour, before her eyes grew itchy and it became hard to hold them open. Raine blinked furiously, scared of falling asleep, but she was more tired than she thought because soon her eyelids drooped and she fell asleep.

•••

Raine's boots sunk into the mud as she made her way towards the camp, the sight in front of her making her stomach churn painfully. The front gate leading to the camp had been ripped off, and the stench of blood was so strong she could almost taste it. Dead grounders lay all around her, and her eyes slid over one with a bloody hole in between his eyes. Raine wanted to turn around and run – run as far as she could – but she was a prisoner in her own body.

She continued to walk forwards, her eyes landing on several dead teens with their limp bodies draped over the wall. She choked back a gasp as she passed between through the wall and spotted so many more bodies. People she had come to know lay, some with their throats slit and other with gaping gashes on their bodies. One boy, his name was Derek, lay on his back as his lifeless eyes stared up at the sky. Protruding from his face was a large piece of bloody metal.

"H-hello?" Raine called out, but her voice echoed and there was no response. Raine came to a stand in the centre of the camp, and spun around slowly. Everywhere she looked, she saw carnage. These people – her friends – had stayed to fight for their home and many had died, whilst she ran away like the coward she was. She had betrayed everyone, but most of all she had betrayed herself. It made Raine want to cry, but she couldn't. Again, but weaker than before, she called out, "Hello?"

There was a rustle from behind her and Raine whipped around to see the flap over the entrance of the drop ship swaying. There was no breeze, so it was impossible that it could have moved... unless someone had moved it. Raine's feet moved on their own accord, towards the dropship, but she stopped just outside. What would it look like? Would she see even more of her friends, slaughtered? Her hand moved upwards, and her fingers closed around the material. Raine took a deep breath, and then she pulled it to the side roughly.

It was empty.

There wasn't anything out of place; it was as though the bloody battle hadn't even touched it. Raine walked inside and let the flap go, her eyes scanning the empty room. They stopped at the spot where Bellamy had hung, and a lump formed in her throat. Another betrayal.

"Hello? I know there's someone here." Raine called out again, her hand moving to her hip where her staff usually hung, but there was nothing there. A chill settled over Raine and she looked around once more, before her eyes landed on the ladder. It was the only place to go – she hadn't seen anyone exit. Silently, Raine wrapped her fingers around the cool metal and began to climb. It wasn't until she poked her head through to the second floor did she hear the sobs.

They were soft, almost hesitant, and Raine spotted a hunched figure in the furthest corner of the drop ship. Raine didn't want to scare the person anymore, so she called out softly. They didn't respond, if anything the sobs got louder. Raine crossed the dropship, whispering, "It's okay, I won't hurt you."

The figure, who Raine saw to be a young girl, stopped sobbing. The young girls face was hidden so Raine lowered herself to the girl's level.

"Are you okay? I'm not going to hurt you." Raine spoke softly, "Do you know what happened here? Where is everyone?"

"Don't you know?" The girl whispered, although her voice was muffled as a result of her face being hidden in her sleeve. "They're all dead. They were killed."

Raine's breathing stopped, and she asked, "Who killed them?"

"You did." The girl's voice was suddenly hard, and she moved her head so Raine could see her face. Raine fell backwards with a gasp as her eyes landed on the bloodied and broken face that she knew well.

"Charlotte?" Raine asked in disbelief. Charlotte's once childish face was now distorted and covered in blood. Dried blood ringed every orifice – mouth, nose, eyes and ears. Her hair was a matted mess of blood and dirt.

"You killed me!" The girl screamed vehemently, and Raine scrambled to her feet to try and escape the girl. She turned to run, but was stopped by two figures looming over her. The breath was knocked from Raine as she took in the milky eyes and cracked lips of Atom, and then she saw Bellamy. There was a piece of red rope wrapped tightly around his neck, and his eyes regarded her with open disgust.

"Atom? B-Bellamy?" Raine mumbled in shock, trying to back up.

"You killed me." Atom spoke, his voice the same rasp Raine had heard as he lay dying. It was chilling, hearing it again. Raine teared up as his words sunk in – it was the truth. She was the reason Atom was dead. She had told Bellamy to wait out the fog in the cave with her and Charlotte, and as a result Atom had died. She had killed him; his blood was on her hands.

"You betrayed us all." Bellamy finally spoke, but his voice was hoarse and nothing like how he usually sounded. It was too much for Raine to handle – seeing Bellamy dead again. The first time had been bad enough for her, and now she had to see it again. Only this time, his death was her fault. She had been so blinded her own selfish desire to escape that she was practically the one to tie the noose around his throat. She could've stopped it. She should've tried harder.

Raine cried out as she backed up, her back hitting the wall of the dropship and the three of them surrounded her. Tears dribbled from Raine's eyes as they stared her down. Softly, Raine spoke, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"We're still dead, Mist," Bellamy spoke, his eyes narrowing into slits. "and it's all your fault."

Her worst nightmare had come true – Bellamy was well and truly dead, and even in death he still managed to make her feel ways she had never experienced before. She let out a whimper as tears ran down her face, pooling along her jawline and dripping to the floor. "Am I... am I dead?"

Bellamy chuckled humourlessly, "Not yet. You will be soon, though."

"You could have saved us." Charlotte spoke, her twisted and broken features moving grotesquely.

"I should have tried harder – I know that now." Raine replied, shrinking against the wall. There was nowhere else to go.

Atom rolled his milky eyes at her, "That doesn't do much good to us, does it?"

"I didn't know the fog would kill you!" She told Atom, shaking her head in a weak attempt to defend herself.

"Liar!" He screamed, leaning forwards so he was right in her face. Raine let out a sob and shot forwards, shoving between Bellamy and Charlotte as she looked for a way to escape. Her first thought was the hatch, but when she looked she saw that, to her horror, it was no longer there. She blinked, and then remembered the hole the Murphy had blown in the side of the dropship. Raine spun to see it, gaping widely like a mouth. She crossed the room and stood in front of it.

"Traitor."

It was only a whisper, but Bellamy was standing right behind her and his breath hit her neck. She whirled around and saw all three of them standing right in front of her. She threw a cautious glance over her shoulder, the gaping hole right behind her.

"You don't think you can get away that easily, do you?" Charlotte asked flatly, shaking her head. "What was it you said about me? 'She needs to face the consequences of her actions?' Well, we think it's about time you faced your actions, Raine."

"What do you mean?" Raine trembled.

"Do you know far I fell?" Charlotte asked, tilting her head to the side. When Raine shook her head, Charlotte continued, "Six hundred and eighty-two meters. But it only felt like seconds. Let's see how long it takes you."

The young girl reached out suddenly and gave Raine a hard shove. The scene around Raine changed, and she was falling downwards, away from the top of the cliff where Charlotte had jumped. She could see Bellamy, grinning as he watched her fall. Raine's scream was ripped from her throat as she fell, nearing the ground rapidly. Charlotte had been right; it only took Raine seconds to reach the bottom. With a sickening crunch, she connected with the ground.

•••

Raine jolted awake with a gasp, her eyes looking around frantically for the faces that had haunted her. She was still sitting in the small dugout, and her neck was horribly stiff. Once she saw that she was alone, she let out a deep breath and rolled her shoulders. The light around her had faded immeasurably, and she realised that it was almost night fall. She had been asleep for a few hours, at least. The silence was eerie, and Raine wished for something – anything – to make a noise.

Her prayers were answered as a sudden rumbling filled the air. With a frown, Raine pulled herself to her feet and stumbled through the trees. When she broke through, her eyes were drawn upwards to a bright object in the sky. It was massive and left a bright, burning trail behind it. She watched as it exploded and broke into smaller pieces, and then she realised what it was. It was the ark

"Oh my god." She whispered, her eyes glued to the flaming ship as it plummeted to Earth. She watched it fall for a good twenty minutes before it disappeared through the tree line. The ground rumbled as the giant ship crashed to the ground, and she could see multiple explosions happening in the distance. She didn't know what to do; there was no way that anyone could have survived that, could they? But what was the ark even doing on the ground in the first place?

Another explosion, much closer and much louder, brought her attention away from the ark. She turned around, following the sound of the explosion and her first thought was that it was another piece of the ark, but she didn't remember seeing any pieces head in that direction. Then her blood ran cold, and she realised what it was: it was coming from the dropship. Raine knew immediately that her friends – if they even still viewed Raine as a friend – needed help. Something was very wrong. But she couldn't leave Murphy alone, not out here.

Turmoil filled her and she let out an angry cry, knotting her fingers into her hair. She viewed those people as her family, even more so than her own mother, and they needed her. But she had chosen to leave with Murphy, to abandon them. Then, Charlotte's word echoed through her head, "You could have saved us."

She could still save her friends, and she would.