Runaway

[Hunter Solomon]

Everybody was just acting like the explosion had never happened, like those people weren't killed in the blast. Sure, they had that small memorial service, but afterwards it was just business as usual. They didn't wake up in a cold sweat each night because their mind kept replaying the explosion that had killed their mother, like Hunter did. They didn't see burn scars all along their right arm everytime they looked in the mirror, like he did. How was it possible the earth just kept turning in its usual rythm when the last person who'd really cared about the boy had been taken away from him? It just wasn't fair and Hunter felt like he was going to explode like the mountain had if he had to stay around all those people smiling, laughing and pretending like nothing had happened for much longer. He made up his mind that he had to find a way to get out of the camp, even if it was just for a few days.

He was pretty sure that the Grounders were no threat anymore and he felt pretty certain that he'd learn enough about survival to find food and shelter. The only obstacle was the guarded fence around Arkadia, but he'd seen enough Rovers go in and out of camp to be confident, that he could hide inside one going out without being caught. With the truce between Arkers and Grounders in place, his people made regular supply runs to Polis and he figured that one of those Rovers were easiest to hide in since their backs were left empty to hold the goods being transported back to the camp.
His heart was hammering like a set of drums when he heard voices approaching the vehicule he was hiding in. It almost seemed like a miracle, but he wasn't discovered although he could have sworn his heart could be heard pounding for miles around.
When they'd been driving for about fourty minutes, he braced himself to jump out of the back. He was sure his fall was going to hurt and he could still be discovered by the two guards inside the transporter, but it wasn't like he wasn't used to pain and he had to take his chances at some point.
Gritting his teeth, he finally took the leap after attempting it three times, but always going back and he grunted when he hit the ground, letting his fall roll out as best as he could.

He lay in the grass panting and watched the Rover leave, still believing he would be spotted any second and the Guards <ould come back for him. Once it was out of sight, he let his head sink down to the ground and grinned at himself, a triumphant smile on his face as he realized that his escape plan had worked out.

Tag: Aden

[Aden]

Aden walked in the opposite direction of Polis in the hopes of putting as much distance between him and the capitol as possible. He’d only just managed to get away unnoticed and was sure that it wouldn’t be long before somebody noticed his absence. He didn’t intend to be gone long, just a couple of hours, just long enough for him to explore a little more and to have some freedom away from his siblings and those that supervised them. He’d made the decision to sneak away from the tower a few weeks ago and knew that it would be difficult and he’d only just managed to slip away. He knew that when he returned he’d be in serious trouble, by leaving the capitol he was endangering his life but in some irrational part of his mind, he thought that whatever punishment he recieved would be worth a couple of hours of freedom, where nobody was looking over his shoulder and judging his every move. He figured that at that moment it was safer than it had ever been before, there was still the threat of Azgeda that he had to worry about but the truce between the clans and Skaikru made him believed that he’d be safe as long as he didn’t go far.

The rules were in place for a reason and it was important that everyone stick to them and for the most part, everybody did. That way they had an easy life, nobody had to be punished and things in Polis could run smoothly. However, Aden was growing tired of his routine, he had been for a while but hadn’t wanted to bring it up with Titus or the Heda, he’d only be told the same thing, no. The natblida’s weren’t prisoners but it sometimes felt like they were, inside Polis tower they could go anywhere they wanted apart from those areas that were prohibited and those that they were only allowed to go with supervision. However, they were always being checked on, either Titus came himself or sent somebody that he trusted to check that they weren’t getting into trouble and when it came to leaving the tower, they weren’t allowed out of his sight. Aden understood why, one of them would become Heda one day and a lot of time had gone into training them, they were important and it wasn’t worth taking unnecessary risks with their safety but it was because of this constant supervision that made Aden become bored.

They never really left Polis, they were always in the tower or in city if they had the correct supervision and it was deemed safe enough for them to be out on that day. Recently with the threat of Azgeda, they hadn’t really been allowed out of the tower, fears of an assassination attempt were at the front of everybody’s minds and it wasn’t safe enough for them to be out. Aden usually would respect the rules, he wasn’t one of the youngest natblida’s, he didn’t resent the rules and knew that they were there for a reason but there was only so much he could take before he needed to get away from his siblings, especially those that were young enough to grow annoying with time.

Aden could hear the sound of an engine nearby but even as he listened, he could hear it growing further away until the sound eventually faded completely. Intrigued by the strange machines that the sky people used, Aden decided to go and investigate, to see if the rover had left anything behind, that method of travel was pretty loud and Aden thought that it was probably wiser to travel by horse as the animals didn’t make as much noise when they walked. He hadn’t been walking for long before he saw something lying in the grass ahead and as he neared the area where the rover had obviously been, Aden realised that it was a boy. Aden was confused about why the skaikru would abandon one of their children, he didn’t appear to be injured… Not bad enough to warrant leaving him behind at least but there had to be a reason why they hadn’t taken him with them. Curiosity getting the best of him, Aden took a cautious step towards the boy and remembering that most of the Skaikru didn’t speak Trigedasleng very well or at all, he spoke to him in a language that he would understand “Hello?” he greeted him, staying a safe distance away from the strange boy “what are you doing out here?” it was a fair distance away from the Skaikru village, not that he’d ever been there or ever been allowed to go anywhere near it.

Hunter Solomon

[Hunter Solomon]

Only when Hunter tried to push himself off the ground did he notice the pain in his left wrist, letting out a yelp as it struck through him like a lightning bolt. His landing must have been a little rougher than he'd thought and the adrenaline through him had dampened the initial pain. It was uncomfortable and his face was contorted in a grimace, but he guessed that it was better to have a broken wrist than a broken ankle. This was by far not his first broken bone and he'd had worse injuries before. Maybe he could even construct himself a makeshift sling to speed up the healing process, but it was probably a good idea to get moving in general, since his people could come back any time and he didn't want to be out in the open when they did. Cutting through the trees would probably be the best tactic for now, using the trunks and leafy canopies to shield him from the view of anyone who might come down this path.

He was just about manoeuvre how to best get himself up without putting too much pressure on his injured hand when he heard a voice calling out to him. His head snapped into the direction of the sound, something feeling odd to him about the tone of the voice. Once he laid eyes on the stranger, he could explain what had seemed so weird about his speech. It was a kid, another boy who seemed to be about his own age. But the clothes he was wearing couldn't be more different to his if they had tried. He had to be a Grounder boy, Hunter realized with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. Of course the Arker hadn't been as naive to think that the natives didn't have any children, but it was something else actually seeing one of them. So far, he'd only ever encountered a few of their warriors and only from a distance because the adults mostly tended to keep him and the other kids away from the strangers.
The boy actually looked a bit like that ever youthful boy Peter Pan, whom Hunter had seen in a picture in one of the library books back on the Ark and he couldn't help but chuckle a little when he thought about that comparison.

The both stared each other for a while as Hunter now stood in the same way the other boy did, a few feet of grass seperating them as they scrutinized each other. „Hello!“, he repeated the stranger's greeting, both of them speaking with a healthy amount of scepticism in their voices. „I could ask you the same thing, I know there's no village closeby!“, he answered, sounding a little defensive as the Grounder sounded a little reproachful to him. One could argue that this region was probably rather the land of the other boy's people, but it wasn't like the kid himself had any claim to it and he couldn't accuse him of invading his space or anything like that. Hunter would have crossed his arms in front of his chest, a form of shield he'd been using for many years now, but his right armed was still badly burned from the Mount Weather explosion and his other hand had been injured in his fall from the Rover so he would only hurt himself more and could only let his arms hand by his sides as the other boy and him kept staring at each ohter.

Tag: Aden

[Aden]

Aden continued to watch the skaikru boy as he got to his feet, as soon as he was on his feet Aden realised that he’d been wrong to assume that he wasn’t injured. He seemed to be holding one of his arms weirdly and he noted how reluctant he’d seemed to put any weight on the limb while he was trying to get to his feet. “Are you hurt?” the natblida questioned, his eyes flicking down to look at the boys seemingly injured arm before returning to look at his face. It was dangerous enough for the kid to be out in the forest without anyone to protect him, but only having one functioning arm made everything worse. When the boy spoke, Aden smiled before gesturing back the way that he’d come “there are no villages nearby but our capital is relatively close” he informed him, knowing that the boy wasn’t a threat to anyone in Polis, there was peace for the time being and this boy was injured. “Have you got a name? I’m Aden” he introduced himself to the injured boy, but didn’t move any closer to him. He wasn’t afraid of the kid, he had no reason to be as he was fairly certain that he could beat him in a fight even if he had two healthy arms.

“Your village is nowhere near here though… Why did your people leave you behind?” he thought that it was very careless of skaikru to leave behind one of their children, especially from what he’d heard about how their numbers were small. “Did they hurt you?” he asked curiously, wondering about how the boy had come to have his injuries “or are you diseased?” Aden took a couple of steps backwards at the idea that perhaps he’d stumbled across a sick child that had been cast out to prevent the spread of disease, but the boy didn’t look to be ill. Aden thought that it was best to be cautious, he didn’t want to get sick and spread to everyone else in Polis, they’d never let him leave the tower again.

“If it’s just your arm, I could take you back to Polis and request that you’re seen by a healer” he ventured, he didn’t know how willing the boy would be to go with him to the capital, especially since they’d only just met. “The commander might even have somebody escort you back to your village, assuming it’s safe for you to return to your people” he knew that if he brought a sky person back, then people would realise that he’d left the tower, if they hadn’t already noticed his absence and he’d be in a whole heap of trouble, but it didn’t really seem right to him, to just leave the boy out in the forest alone to fend for himself, especially when he was injured.

Hunter Solomon

[Hunter Solomon]

Hunter kept cradling his injured wrist to his chest, noticing how it seemed to be slowly swelling up. Still, he didn't take his eyes off the other kid, worried that the Grounder might have some tricks up his sleeve and he could have other motives for talking to him. He was certain that the boy must have some kind of weapon hidden somewhere underneath his clothes, most Grounders did from what he had heard. His breath caught in his throat for a moment when Aden as he'd introduced himself asked if his people had hurt him. He thought back to the beatings he used to take from his father, but that man wasn't part of his people anymore. He bit his lip, trying to remember all of the boy's questions as he hesitantly opened his mouth to answer.

„My name's Hunter. I ran away from our camp because I was mad. My arm got burned in the explosion that killed my mother and everyone seem to have already forgotten it even happened!“, he said in an angry tone of voice, not even sure why he was telling this strange boy everything that he'd kept inside since the explosion of Mount Weather. Maybe it was because Aden was his own age and that made it easier than talking to an adult. Knowing the Grounder's name also made him seem a little less dangerous and foreign although his clothes did still create a huge contrast between the two kids.

„I hurt my wrist when I jumped off the Rover, I think it's broken!“, he stated, hissing a little as he felt another strike of pain go through the limb as he moved it a little. „So what are you doing out here?“, he imitated Aden's question. He wasn't sure about the way the Grounders educated their children, but he couldn't believe that they would let one of them be this far away from their next village all on their own. Of course he really had no idea, this could be some sort of training ritual or something along those lines. He knew that they started learning how to fight from a pretty young age, although he wasn't really soon at what age exactly. Aden did seem pretty young to be fighting anyone, but different societies could have a different understanding of maturity.

Tag: Aden

[Aden]

Aden was a little taken aback by the boy's sudden outburst, he was obviously angry with his people and had mentioned something about an explosion that had taken the life of his mother and injured him. Aden had learnt something that he could use, the boy had mentioned that his name was Hunter and that he’d run away from his camp, anger had caused him to run from his people and Aden realised that Hunter probably didn’t understand how much danger he’d put himself in by doing so. “It’s nice to meet you, Hunter” Aden smiled at the other boy, trying to make it clear that he wasn’t going to hurt him, their people had been at war for a while and not everybody was that willing to obey the terms of the ceasefire. “You should not be out here alone, it’s dangerous and if you knew the land then you’d know this” many people travelled to and from Polis every day and not all of them were friendly, pleasant enough to their own people, but maybe not too welcoming of sky people. “You shouldn’t let your anger control your decisions, I’m sure your people will be worried about you once they realise that you are missing”

He couldn’t imagine running away from Polis… Not with the intent of never returning that is. He’d often thought about it but he had a responsibility to remain there and train for his conclave, not to mention the dangers he’d face by leaving and the trouble he’d be in if he was discovered. Aden’s gaze went straight to the arm that the boy seemed to be cradling when he mentioned that he thought that it might be broken “we have skilled healers back in Polis, if you’d like I could take you there and they could look at your arm” he suggested, knowing that the boy might not be too keen to follow him into the capital, he knew that he wouldn’t really like being led into the skaikru village alone.

He was hoping that if the boy went with him and the healers helped to mend his arm, then he would have calmed down enough to be persuaded to go home. Or maybe transportation could be arranged for somebody to take him back to the skaikru village. He didn’t want skaikru to think that they’d taken one of their children, that would only lead to another war and that wouldn’t be good for anyone. “I thought I’d go for a walk” Aden answered Hunter’s question, trying his best to smile innocently at him, it was true… It just wasn’t the whole truth, he couldn’t exactly explain that he felt like a prisoner in his own home and was never given the freedom to explore as much as he wanted to. “We’re actually not that far from Polis, it’s quite a walk but it’s your arm that’s hurt and not your legs so you should be fine”

Hunter Solomon

[Hunter Solomon]

Hunter couldn't help a scoff from escaping his mouth as Aden suggested that his people might be worried about him. The thought alone seemed ridiculous to the boy since the only person who'd ever really cared for him, was dead. Maybe Bellamy would be a little worried about the young boy he'd found after the explosion that had killed his mother and injured himself but the young guard had too many far more important jobs to do so he wouldn't notice his disappearance for a while. And once he did, Hunter would just be another name on the long list of Arkers who had died since coming down to Earth, he would get over losing him pretty fast, the boy imagined. The thought of anyone really grieving for him somehow seemed ridiculous, especially now that his mother was gone. He was hardly irreplacable like Bellamy, Clarke or Raven would be were they ever lost.

He kicked at a small rock in front of his feet as this situation still felt uncomfortable and a deep frown was edged into his forehead. Aden seemed pretty set on taking him to the Grounder capital and that had him feeling even more sceptical. Hunter wouldn't put it beyond his people to use their children to lure Skaikru into their territory. After hearing so many terrible stories about the Grounders, the boy wouldn't put much beyond them and he was scared about walking into a trap.
„Yeah right, I'm sure your people would love to help a Skaikru boy like me!“, he said with a laugh and his head was running wild with stories about how a scenario like that could end for him. They could try and use him as a ransom to blackmail the Arkers, he was sure his own people would welcome him with curses and abuse in such a case, or they wouldn't even get him back at all. And who knew, the Grounders might even eat human flesh if they got their hands on a stranger that wouldn't be missed. The idea of going to Polis seemed less and less appealing to hom with every gruesome thought that popped into his mind when he'd been so curious about the Grounders before.

Tag: Aden

[Aden]

Aden was confused about why Hunter had chosen to run away from his village, there had always been safety in numbers and a child couldn’t be trusted to look after themselves, it was dangerous to be alone in the forest. Hunter didn’t trust him and Aden could understand why, they didn’t know each other but it also meant that unless he earned his trust, Aden wouldn’t find out much else from the boy. “There are a lot worse things out there than the people you’ve been told of… Unless you want to find out what they are it’d be smart to come with me” Aden warned him, knowing that if he didn’t at least warn Hunter then he’d probably fall prey to a predator. Of course the people of the twelve clans were to obey the truce that was in place but nomads had no obligation to leave a young skaikru boy alone, especially if they saw that he was injured and with no one watching over him.

He glared at Hunter as the boy laughed “my people will respect the ceasefire” he answered him and wondered what sort of stories Hunter had been told about them. They must’ve been pretty bad to discourage him from trusting even an unarmed boy who offered to help him. “If I wanted to hurt you then I would have already done so, it would save me a lot of hassle and I wouldn’t have to try to explain you to anyone” but he wasn’t a murderer, he wouldn’t kill somebody who didn’t stand a chance of fighting back. Even if Hunter had two working arms, Aden still suspected that it wouldn’t be a fair fight. “If you’d rather, I’ll leave you out here… You’ll probably get eaten but better that than trust someone who just wants to help” Aden told him, shrugging as if it didn’t really bother him what the skaikru boy chose to do.

Hunter Solomon

[Hunter Solomon]

The Skaikru boy let his eyes roam over his surroundings, still feeling unsure about what to do. He bit his lip at Aden's words as the boy actually seemed offended by Hunter's suggestion that his people would hurt him. He did remember a few of the Grounders helping his people cultivate new plants and trade with them for ingredients he'd never seen in his life. They actually had real milk that tasted sweeter than Hunter would ever have imagined. It was probably a bit stupid of him, but he'd never even thought about Grounder children, but of course they had to exist, he'd just never thought about these people as parents before. Every Grounder he'd met so far had seemed so terrifyingly intimidating to him, but he remembered one of them being prepared to share his wisdom of planting a potato with him and the man had seemed almost gentle with him, probably because he had the bonus of being a kid. He sighed as he looked up at the sky, seeing how low the sun was already standing. It wouldn't wait for him to decide that to do and the prospect of being alone out here in the dark was rather frightening. With his arm being injured, the survival skills he'd started to learn wouldn't really help him much so he guessed that he really had no other choice but to follow Aden.

„Okay, okay you're probably right!“, Hunter finally said, raising his healthy arm apologetically. „I guess I have no other choice but to trust you and your people anyway.“, he added with a bit of a teasing tone. Trust was still a concept that was pretty hard for the boy. The only thing he'd ever been able to trust was his survival instinct since his mother had been as defenseless as himself against his father. Staying alive through the beatings he had to take and what little food he could scrape together what with his father using all of their points to satisfy his desire to drink, had been his sole focus during his life on the Ark. Trusting someone else to help him get through was a new thing for the boy. „So how long will it take to get to Polis?“, he asked, wincing a little as the pain of his broken arm kicked in.

Tag: Aden

[Aden]

Aden didn’t know what he’d do if the skaikru boy didn’t agree to come with him, he didn’t see how it was even remotely right to leave an injured child out in the forest alone when he would have no chance of survival out there alone. They were around the same age, but Aden already felt a great responsibility to protect Hunter, he had found him and offered him help and now he would be unable to walk away with the knowledge that by doing so he’d be sealing the other boys fate. Aden had never met anyone from skaikru before, he wondered if they were all so infuriatingly stubborn. He just hoped that if Hunter did agree to go with him, that he would be a little more respectful and not make wild assumptions about his people based on things that he’d heard about them, because others might not be as forgiving as he was.

When Hunter raised his good arm apologetically, Aden relaxed a little as it looked like Hunter would be coming with him after all. “Probably right?” the boy questioned, a smile appearing on his face when he realised that he wouldn’t have to drag Hunter back to Polis kicking and screaming “there’s no probably about it”. If Hunter wanted to live then his only option was to return to Polis with him and Aden knew that the boys sudden change of heart meant that he’d probably realised that too.

Aden began to retreat back into the trees, in direction that he knew would lead him back home. He made sure to walk slowly, waiting for Hunter to start following but he stopped and turned back to face the other boy when he heard his question. “That depends on how fast you travel” he told him. He crossed his arms over his chest and began to study the other boy intently “From here, an hour… Maybe two at the pace you’re going” he teased him, gesturing to Hunter for him to hurry up. “A snail could move faster than you” he mumbled, running a hand through his hair nervously hoping that Hunter would see that he was joking and wouldn’t take offense to his teasing.

Hunter Solomon