Chapter 18

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The sun begins to peak over the tops of the mountains that surround, creating a soft glow all around. Addison tiredly rubs her eyes, her eyes widening in the realization that she had fallen asleep. She quickly peaks into the pod, glancing at the still unconscious girl. She presses her fingers to her neck again and finds a pulse, breathing in relief. "You're taking too long to wake up, you know that?" She speaks to the unconscious girl, moving back out of the pod as she eyes the tree line.

She leans her head against the pod, closing her eyes and listens to the sounds of nature; the birds chirping to one another, the leaves rustling together that create relaxing melody with the birds. Addison winces when she moves her aching neck the wrong way, quickly clamping her hands around her bruised neck. She licks her dry lips, her busted lip throbbing from the action. Her fists slowly clench and unclench, wincing when the dry wounds crack and re-open.

A groan catches her attention, startling her. Her head snaps to the pod, a relieved smile on her face as she watches the now awake girl hold her aching head. She retracts her head, a light layer of blood coating her fingertips, "Crap. That's not good," the stranger rasps out.

Addison softly chuckles, "Thank god," she breathes out, catching the stranger's attention, "It's about time you're awake. I was starting to get worried."

"I'm alive?" The girl questions in confusion, studying the delinquent girl in front of her with an accent she's never heard before.

Addison nods, her smile widening, "Yeah, you're alive." The girl smiles, immediately starting to unbuckle herself.

Addison helps her out of the pod before the girl strips herself of the spacesuit, walking behind Addison to the center of the small clearing. "It's beautiful," she whispers, taking a deep breath of Earth's fresh air, "Ahh...I dreamed it would smell like this," she continues taking deep breaths, holding her arms out to her sides.

She turns back around and faces the smaller girl that watches her with a small, tired smile, feeling the soft rain drops starting to touch her skin, "Is this rain?"

Addison nods, "It may seem fun and exciting now, but it's terrible when you're soaken n wet and cold."

The girl's smile widens, scanning Addison. She starts at her straight, medium length matted and greasy brown hair, to the dark circles that rest under her brown eyes, and down to her busted and slightly swollen lip, her eyes then widening at the large bruise around her neck.

Addison clears her throat, averting her eyes down to the moist soil, hiding her bruise from the stranger in front of her. Her head snaps up in alert when she hears twigs snapping under something, or someone's, feet.

Clarke breaks the tree line, Addison's eyes closing with a relieved breath. The blonde and taller brunette-haired girl stare at each other with smiles. The stranger's smile is full of excitement as she giggles, and Clarke's full of happiness that someone from the Ark had finally touched Earth's surface, too.

"Welcome home." Clarke holds her smile, coming to Addison's side.

"Raven!"

All heads snap to Finn, who's rushing towards Raven, the girl that crash landed in the pod. She rushes to him too, calling his name as Addison's brows draw in a line, "Uh...they know each other?" She points confusingly at the reuniting duo that seem, in her opinion, way too intimidate to be friends. They kiss and her brows unknit, shooting straight up, "Oh. I guess they do," she glances at Clarke, the blonde's smile faltering at the reuniting duo.

They practically make out until Finn pulls away, confusingly staring down at, what Addison figured out, is his girlfriend. "How did you get down here?"

"You know that big scrap hold, the one in K Deck?"

Finn glances at the Pod she came down in surprise, "You built that from scratch?"

Addison's brows shoot up in shock, impressed with the stranger she now knows as Raven. "I kind of rebuilt it." Finn chuckles, "Please, like that's hard. It just needed a couple parts and some love," she cockily replies with a small laugh in her voice.

"I think I liked her better before he showed up," the brunette girl at Clarke's side says quietly, glancing at her. Her face is blank, a mix of different emotions Addison can't quite decipher.

"You're insane." At Finn's voice, she shifts her eyes away from the blonde and to the reuniting couple.

She doesn't understand why Clarke wasn't happy for him. Sure, Finn had always been flirting with Clarke and attempting to make moves since they've landed, but Addison didn't know if Clarke reciprocated. Judging by the look on the blonde's face, Addison knew something had happened between them, she just didn't know what. She wants to ask, but decides against it, knowing it's not the right time or place, especially around Finn's girlfriend.

"I'd do more for you and worse. Just like you would for me." Addison scoffs softly at Raven's words, sticking her hands in her pockets as she glances at Clarke again.

There's a silence—Finn and Raven holding one another as they look into each other's eyes while Clarke watches, and Addison keeping her eyes on the blonde girl, still trying to read what's going on in her friend's head.

"Come on, sit down. Sit down here," Finn helps Raven sit on a nearby rock and strips his jacket off, draping it over her shoulders. "Let me go get something for that." Clarke begins digging her bag as he jogs towards the duo standing by the Pod. "I'm sorry."

"Let's not talk about this right now." Clarke snaps, handing him a ration's pack.

Addison awkwardly steps aside, leaving Clarke and Finn to their arguing she knew she shouldn't be apart of. She comes to stop in front of Raven, making sure to keep her hands inside her pockets to hide her aching hands, but she ignores it.

She motions to the girl with her chin, "How's your head?"

Raven keeps her eyes closed and forehead resting on top of her head, "I'll be fine." She groans softly, wincing ever so slightly.

The corners of Addison's lips curl into a small and amused smile at the girl's tough act. Finn and Clarke come quickly to Raven's side, Addison flickering her eyes to the duo. "Thanks." Raven gratefully takes the pack from him, pressing it against the side of her head in the wound.

"This is Clarke and Addison. They were on the dropship, too." Finn introduces, his hands on his thighs, bent slightly to be more eye level with Raven.

Raven glances at Addison first. The way her eyes bore into her causes Addison to become slightly uncomfortable, but curious at the same time. Addison can't figure out the look that covers the other girl's face, so she simply ignores it, introducing herself, "I'm Addison." She then gestures to the blonde on her left with her elbow and a nod of her head, "She's Clarke."

Raven's eyes move to the blonde, a new type of shock lighting up in her eyes as her previous look changes. Addison simply shakes her head, meeting Finn's equally confused eyes at her and Raven's interaction. "Clarke?" Raven stands up, slowly removing the ration's pack from her forehead, "This was all because of your mom."

"My mom?" Clarke is quick to question.

Addison takes a step forward with a raised brow, her eyes flickering between the other two girls, "Wait, you know her mother?"

Raven nods, her eyes darting to Addison as she responds. "Yeah, this was all her plan. We were trying to come together." Her eyes shift back to Clarke, "If we waited—" she stops her herself, averting her eyes to the ground as her face turning serious in realization, "Oh, my god. We couldn't wait because the council was voting on whether to kill 300 people to save air."

"When?" Clarke demands, Addison's face turning serious along with the others.

"Today. We have to tell them you're alive," she sprints through the space in between Addison and Clarke, racing to the Pod. Addison springs into a jog after Raven, coming to her side. "The radio's gone." Raven backs out of the Pod, using it to steady herself, "It must've gotten loose during reentry," she hypothesizes quietly.

Clarke turns her focus away from the girl in the bomber jacket to the other brunette, "Wait, Addison, you were here before us. Did you see anything?" Clarke asks hopefully.

Addison shakes her head with pressed lips, "It was pitch black. I could barely see Raven."

"Did you hear anything that sounded like someone trying to contact from the Ark?" Raven asks.

Addison shakes her head again, but slower, "No, nothing. It was dead quiet," she responds.

Raven inhales sharply, "I should've strapped it to the A-strut. Stupid!" She hits the Pod with a closed fist in frustration.

"No, no, this is my fault. Someone got here before us," she glances between Finn and Addison, "We have to find him."

Addison's brows furrow. She didn't know who Clarke was talking about, but all that matters to the petite girl is that she knows who, and that was enough to get her by. She trusts Clarke, her opinions, and the choices she's made in the process of leading them.

The blonde quickly turns around, rushing into the forest. "Clarke, wait!" Addison shouts, grabbing her arm to stop her. "I'll—"

"No, Addison. Go back to camp. You've been through enough," she rips her arms out of the girl's grip, a sigh escaping the brunette's lips.

Addison faces the couple, shrugging with pressed and slightly frustrated lips. "Come on," she waves for them to follow.

"Didn't she tell you not to come?" Raven questions dryly from behind her.

The girl keeps her eyes on her blonde friend's figure that gets further and further, following her, "I never listen."

"It's true. She doesn't," Finn backs her up, earning an amused chuckle from Raven.

"I like her."

Addison smiles, glancing over her shoulder. Clarke's frustrated voice carries throughout the forest, easily directing them to her. Finn hops into a jog, passing Addison, "Bellamy." He shoves the Blake boy back when he reaches him, Where's the radio?"

Bellamy's nostrils flare slightly, his teeth gritting, "I have no idea what you're talking about." He shoves Finn back harder.

Addison's pace slows down, a heavy and drawn out sigh coming out in annoyance at the two boys. Raven easily passes her and halts near the Blake, "Bellamy Blake? They're looking everywhere for you."

He glances down at her, barely keeping his eyes on her for a second. "Shut up."

"What the hell did Big Brother Blake do?" Addison curiously scrunches her brows, coming to a stop beside Raven.

Bellamy averts his attention to the girl with a blank look, "Really, Addison?"

She simply shrugs, flickering her eyes to Raven for her to answer. "He shot Chancellor Jaha."

Addison's eyes widen. "That's why you took the wristbands. Needed everyone to think we're dead," the blonde leader easily pieces.

Every memory Addison has of Bellamy's decisions since they've landed on the ground make since to her now. Why he's been so anal on making sure the Ark thought they were all 'dead'... The wheels were turning, and once they start turning, there's no going back now that she and every one of them standing with her know the truth about how he was able to sneak on. He's always had an agenda—make sure the Ark and the rest of its occupants, specifically the council, don't reach Earth.

"And all that "whatever the hell we want"? You just care about saving your own skin."

Addison shakes her head at Finn's statement, pressing her lips together. Bellamy's selfish to do that, but there's a reason for everything selfish action he's done. "It's not just his own skin he's saving," she says quietly, shifting her eyes to Finn, "What do you think they're going to do to his sister? They're not just gonna let her slide, especially since she hid from the Ark her entire life."

"Her crime will be erased. Just like all of ours because we've been their guinea pigs!" He shouts, getting in her face.

"This is different, Finn!" She yells just as loud, taking a step closer, "You really think the Ark's gonna let the sister of the guy who shot the Chancellor live?"

"Why are you defending him? So you can screw his sister?"

Addison's fist and jaw clenches, her short fuse exploding. Clarke moves in front of Finn, blocking her shot, "Addison, let it go. The radio is what we need to be focused on, not this." She keeps her jaw and fist clenched, staring at Finn, Clarke's words having went through one ear and out the other. "This can wait until after we find the radio, ok?"

Raven jogs pass the trio, "Hey! Shooter! Where's the radio?"

"Get out of my way."

"Where is it?!" Raven yells, snapping Addison out of her trance of wanting to punch Finn.

She slowly unclenches her fist, slowly shifting her eyes to Clarke as Bellamy replies to Raven, "I should've killed you when I had the chance."

"Really?" Raven takes a daring step towards Bellamy, "Well, I'm right here."

Within seconds, Bellamy has her shoved against a tree by the red fabric of her bomber jacket. Raven swiftly pulls a knife, pointing it at him with hard eyes. Addison doesn't find one ounce of fear on the girl's face that makes her brows raise in surprise, despite her previous encounter with Finn. She crosses her arms, watching the scene play out between her and Bellamy.

"Where's my radio?" Raven demands lowly, her brown eyes darkening slightly that cause Bellamy's own to flicker to Addison for a brief second before he returns them to Raven.

Clarke moves to them, "Ok, stop it." She commands sternly.

Bellamy finally releases Raven, backing away. "Jaha deserved to die. You all know that," he states, his back facing the four.

"Yeah, he's not my favourite person, either." Raven raises her voice, Bellamy turning to face them as he meets Addison's eyes again. "But he isn't dead."

Bellamy's face falls, his eyes immediately moving to Raven, his voice wavering ever so slightly, "What?"

"You're a lousy shot," Raven taunts with a small chuckle.

Clarke moves forward, "Bellamy, don't you see what this means? You're not a murderer," she tells him softly with a shake of her head. "Addison's right... you always did what you had to do to protect your sister. That's who you are. And you can do it again, by protecting 300 of your people." Bellamy averts his eyes to the forest floor, Clarke's words sinking in. "Where's the radio?" She asks the question again, keeping her hopeful eyes locked with his.

Addison keeps her arms cross, her leg shaking impatiently waiting for Bellamy to tell them. If anyone can get him to answer something like this that isn't Octavia, it's Clarke—the only other person in the entire universe he'll fully listen too.

"It's too late." He says softly after a few moments of silence, everyone going silent after his statement.

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