The Fog

Noelle kept her head high as they passed the people of the Ark. Clad in their black uniforms and some holding weapons they cast scowls and glares in their direction. Bellamy kept a light hand on the small of her back as they headed for the outside gate. Her brown hair stuck out in various directions and she longed to scrub her skin clean from the filth.

“If we aren’t back by nightfall, send a team,” Bellamy instructed. The older man gave a slight nod, the gate pulling open with grinding gears. Noelle wanted nothing more than to break into a run and leave them all behind. The tall grass scratched her shins as they weaved a path toward the trees.

“Planning to kill me?” Her eyes drifted to the cloudless sky.

“As much as you would prefer, no. I told Abby I would convince you to help us.”

“Well you’re in for a surprise,” she said ducking under a stray branch. The birds hidden in the tree tops called out to one another. Noelle took a deep breath through her nose relishing the scent of fresh air. Together they walked in silence over the fallen brush and branches. She would glance over her shoulder every now and then to make sure the dark haired boy was following her.

“Do you know where you’re going?” She rolled her eyes.

“You act like I haven’t lived out here for majority of my life.” She held a branch above her head until she felt his fingers graze hers. Dropping her arm she continued, “I’m dirty, bloody, and would really like to clean myself off.”

“That would require a water source of some kind.”

“Yes, captain obvious, it would,” Noelle snapped. Arriving at the top of a hill she felt the muscles around her lips twitch. She waited until Bellamy was standing next to her to point to the large stream running through the middle of the forest. “Case and point.” She watched him nod slowly.

“Where does the water come from?” Avoiding large rocks and sink holes Noelle wove her way down the side of the hill. Once her toes hit the cold water she let the smile spread. Cupping her hands she splashed her face, a single chill running down her spine, and started wading into the deeper part.

“You’ve seen the waterfall.” She sank down to her knees to let the stream engulf her body. “It stretches for miles.”

“The one where Jasper was speared?” Bellamy stood at the edge raking his fingers through his thick hair. “How do you know about that?”

“Contrary to what you’ve been forced to believe,” she started. Lowering herself fully into the water she let her hair soak through before reemerging. “There are those of us who merely observed the sky people. Once you started retaliating against the grounders, that’s when things got a little more complicated.”

“So you’re saying that you’ve only ever watched our movements.” Bellamy sat down on a fallen tree and propped one leg up. Resting his arm on his knee he waited for her to respond.

“Personally, I’ve only ever watched you. But there were several clans that planned attacks other than Anya’s.” Standing back on her feet she began to rub her arms down. “Now though, the mountain men pose a bigger threat to us than you do.”

“You still include yourself as a grounder? Even after being called out as a mountain man failed experiment?” He saw her body tense, her fingers wringing out the long hair that hung past her shoulders. Her dirt clad skin was now a smooth, milky white that contrasted to the dark clothing covering her torso.

“I am more grounder than I am anything else.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. Facing him fully she breathed out through her nose. “Go ahead.”

“What?” His dark eyes traveled along her body moving toward him.

“Ask the question brewing in that brain of yours.” She shoved a finger at his head that he swatted away. Plopping down on the trunk next to him she started to braid her hair. She hummed quietly to herself gazing up through the tree tops at the bright blue sky.

“Why do you hate Lincoln?” Her fingers stopped moving and she narrowed her eyes.

“Not the question I was expecting.” Dropping her hands to her thighs she tapped the skin rapidly. “It’s a very long story.”

“We have until night fall,” he answered with a shrug. He let his foot slide off the trunk and clasped his hands together. “It’s just you and me out here.”

“Which was your plan all along,” she said slowly. The brooding expression he held gave her the answer she needed. “You wanted to try to warm up to me. You know that there’s something about you I like and used it. Clever boy.”

“Our people, my friends, are stuck in that mountain being used for who knows what. You said it yourself that the mountain men capture grounders to turn them into reapers. Imagine what they will do to us. I’m just looking for anything that can help get them back.” His voice was hard, firm, and Noelle found it hard to deny the sincerity in his tone.

“You care about them, about someone in particular?”

“I care about my friends, yes.” His eyes fell to the leafy ground. The only sounds around them were from the stream running along the rocks. Noelle squeezed her eyes shut.

“I was born in the mountain, that is true. But I was not born as one of them. My mother died during child birth and they disposed of her before anyone realized where I had come from. For years I was poked and prodded, given drugs and kept in a cage, until one scientist grew attached. He had a daughter named Mya who had these big blue eyes and dark hair. She snuck into the chamber room once when they were drawing my blood and she begged her dad to let me go. He was let go from the team all together and I never saw her again.

“They never gave me a name. The only time I was spoken to was when they were telling me to stay calm, that nothing was going to hurt, that I would be okay. Every injection, every serum, it felt like it was ripping the skin off my bones. When they weren’t trying anything on me they were pulling in more grounders to inject the same stuff with. 8 years of my life I was tortured by these people but forced to dress like them to keep the illusion I was one of them.

“A storm passed over the mountain a few months later that had the mountain on lockdown. Lightning struck one of the antenna’s outside and it created an electrical surge in the generator bay. A fire broke out and I remember hearing their screams before the explosion shook the entire underground facility. The power went out, cages were tipped over, and I was one of the few fortunate enough to have the lock break on the fall.

“The rain was cold and I had no idea where I was running, but I ran until I couldn’t physically breathe. I ducked under the bridge for protection. I fell asleep shivering and starving. When I woke up, I was by a campfire surrounded by people dressed in deer hides with black markings all over their skin. That’s where I met Lincoln, that’s wh-“ Noelle stopped mid-sentence and slowly turned her head to the left. Bellamy opened his mouth to speak but she pressed her hand against his mouth. She listened for any noise outside of the stream and shoved him off the trunk, her body landing on top of his, seconds before the bark of the trunk exploded from a gunshot. She lifted herself off of him and tugged at his arm. “Come on!”

The tree to the right of them burst open and Noelle swiftly spun around, her hand grabbing onto the butt of the gun sticking out of the waistband of Bellamy’s pants, and fired in the direction the attack was coming from.

“I thought grounders didn’t use guns.”

“Shut up and run!” They took off weaving through the trees and ducking whenever they heard the sound of gun fire. Noelle hurdled over a fallen trunk and slid to a stop. Debris from the ground trickled over the edge of the small cliff leading into a pool of water she knew held a creature that would easily devour them. She threw herself in front of Bellamy knocking him backward and covered his mouth when he tried to protest. Shoved against a tree she pressed the gun into his hand. “I’m going to be a diversion so you can get the hell out of here.”

“We’re not doing this again.” Noelle glared at him hard. “You’re not sacrificing yourself for me.”

“You’re right, I’m not.” Gripping the front of his jacket she pulled him close enough to press her lips to his. Before he could react she was already pulling away. “I’m doing this for me.” Leaning enough around the tree she saw the green suited man taking slow steps fifty yards away. “I’m going to cut back to the right. Once you hear him shoot you go to the left. Do not, under any circumstance, come back for me.”

“Noelle this isn-“ she darted out of his sight before he could finish. Cursing to himself he watched her dive over another fallen trunk, roll on the ground, and narrowly miss being shot. The ground around her feet blew up from the spray of bullets. Bending down he crept along the edge of the tree line in the direction she had told him to go.


“What do you mean you let her go?” Bellamy bowed his head. Marcus was red in the face pacing the metal table while Abby stood with her arms crossed. “We distinctly told you not to do that!”

“It’s not like I really had a choice. We were under attack and she was gone before I could react.”

“Well that’s just great. Our only source of information is now gone because you couldn’t keep her under control,” Marcus spat.

“That’s enough,” Abby said firmly. She leaned to rest her hands on the table. “Can we trust her to come back?”

“You can’t be serious,” Marcus blurted. “Of course she’s not coming back. She saw the perfect opportunity to run and took it. For all we know she orchestrated this in order to escape!”

“It wasn’t her,” Bellamy defended. “She protected me, again, rather than just taking off. Sh-“

“Abby!” One of the guards burst into the room. All three heads turned to the dark haired man. “We’ve got movement along the trees. Two bodies.”

“She probably led them straight for us,” Marcus growled following the guard out of the room. Abby and Bellamy were close on his heels moving through the throng of people that had gathered in front of the Arc. The sun cast yellows and oranges across the sky as it set along the horizon, torches being lit along the gate to provide light. Marcus snatched the pair of binoculars from another guard and zoomed in. He could see a shadowed figured lugging something behind it. “Do you have a shot?”

“Not a clear one.”

Bellamy pushed his way to the front of the group and bumped shoulders with Raven. The dark haired girl gave him a slight nod. “I hear you lost the grounder girl.”

“I didn’t lose her,” he muttered.

“Clearly.”

“Sir,” one of the guards looked down from his post, “it’s a female.” Marcus turned to gaze at Bellamy. “It looks like she’s pulling a body.”

They waited for the person to get halfway across the clearing before opening the gate. Bellamy went to move forward but Marcus stuck out his arm. “Not until we know for sure. It could be a trap.”

“Are you idiots really going to just stand there?” Noelle’s voice cut through the air. Blood stained her left shoulder running down her arm, a bullet embedded in the muscles. “If you haven’t noticed I’ve got quite the load here.” Bellamy jogged out to her the second Marcus lowered his arm. Noelle greeted him with a grimace dropping the suited man onto the ground. He groaned from the sudden contact. “I come baring gifts.” Marcus was the second person to approach followed by three armed guards.

“You did this?” Noelle nodded. “Why?”

“You guys have people you need to save.” Without another word she started toward the large ship. Nobody spoke, letting her pass quietly until she could lean on the metal wall for support. The pain she was able to push down with adrenaline was creeping back into her body. She stopped when she heard her name.

“You’re hurt.” Lincoln stood in front of her.

“I am?” Looking down at her shoulder she feigned surprise. “Would you look at that.”

“Let me help you to the medical wing,” he stated quietly. She jerked away from his hands gasping from the sharp pain.

“Don’t touch me.”

“You’re going to pass out.”

“Then let me pass out!” Her voice echoed off the walls. “I don’t want to be near you, do you understand?”

“But you’re here to help.” The smug look on his face made her angry.

“I’m not doing it for you.” Glancing over her shoulder she saw Bellamy and Octavia in deep conversation as the guards moved the mountain man inside the gate. “I’m doing it for him.”