The morning sun had barely crested the ridges by the time they reached the gorge. The terrain had grown steeper, forcing them to navigate the edge of a massive, rocky ravine with a rushing river far below. A thick, ancient vine hung from the canopy, perfectly positioned to swing across the divide.
Finn, naturally, had claimed it first. He gripped the heavy vine, testing its weight, looking over his shoulder with his signature grin.
Clarke crossed her arms, clearly out of patience. "You wanted to go first. Now quit stalling."
"Mount Weather awaits," Octavia chimed in, leaning against a tree.
Jasper pointed at Finn, acting like the resident physics expert. "Just hang on till the apogee, and you'll be fine."
Finn smirked. "The apogee like the Indians, right?"
"Apogee, not apache," Jasper corrected, rolling his eyes.
Clarke sighed heavily. "He knows. Today, Finn."
"Aye, aye, captain," Finn saluted playfully. He gripped the vine tighter. "See you on the other side."
He bent his knees to jump, but Jasper suddenly stepped forward, holding his hand up. "Wait."
Finn paused, looking back. "What?"
Jasper glanced at Octavia, swallowing his fear, desperate to impress her after last night's river incident. "Let me. I can do it."
Finn's grin softened into something genuinely supportive. He stepped back, handing the thick vine over. "Knew there was a badass in there somewhere."
Jasper gripped the vine, his knuckles turning white. "Heh heh."
"Hey, it's okay to be afraid, Jasper," Finn told him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "The trick is not fighting it."
Jasper took a deep breath, nodding. He backed up a few steps, locked his eyes on the far side of the gorge, and sprinted.
"See you on the other side!" Jasper yelled as he launched himself off the ledge. He swung wildly over the rushing water, the adrenaline completely taking over. "Ha ha! Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! Yeah! We are apogee! Yeah!"
He released the vine at the perfect moment, soaring through the air and crashing safely into the thick brush on the opposite bank.
"Yeah!" Clarke cheered, a massive smile finally breaking across her face.
"Yes! Whoo!" Finn yelled, pumping his fist.
"Yeah! Whoo!" Octavia joined in, laughing brightly.
On the other side, Jasper scrambled to his feet. He bent down, dusting off a large, rusted piece of metal partially buried in the moss. He hoisted it up for them to see. Faded, peeling letters read: Mount Weather Operations Center.
"You did it, Jasper!" Clarke shouted over the roar of the river.
"Whoo! Yeah! Ha ha ha!" Jasper cheered, holding the sign above his head like a trophy. "Come on, Clarke! You got this! Whoo! Apogee! We did it! Mount Weather! Whoo! Whoo!"
"Yes!" Monty yelled, practically jumping with relief.
"Whoo! Yeah, Jasper!" Finn called out.
And then, the cheering died.
A sharp, violent THWACK cut through the air.
Jasper was suddenly knocked off his feet, propelled backward with terrifying, unnatural force. He slammed hard into the trunk of a massive oak tree and stayed there, pinned entirely off the ground. A massive, crude wooden spear was protruding directly from the center of his chest.
Jasper was suddenly knocked off his feet, propelled backward with terrifying force. He slammed hard into the trunk of a massive oak tree and stayed there, pinned entirely off the ground. A massive, crude wooden spear was protruding directly from the center of his chest.
"Jasper," Clarke whispered, paralyzed with horror.
"Jasper! No. Come on," Clarke cried out, taking a blind step toward the edge of the gorge.
Before she could take another step, Aleksander moved.
He didn't yell. With blinding speed, Aleksander grabbed the back of Clarke's jacket, yanking her violently backward away from the ledge. In the same fluid motion, he shoved Monty and Octavia hard into the dirt.
"Get down! Get down!" Finn yelled, scrambling backward.
"Come on!" Octavia screamed as Aleksander grabbed her and Monty, physically dragging them all behind the massive, thick roots of a fallen tree.
A heavy, rustling sound—fluttering—echoed from the trees across the gorge.
"We're not alone," Clarke gasped, pressing her back against the decaying wood, her chest heaving.
Aleksander crouched low, his dark eyes locking onto the tree line across the river. His Phoenix blood boiled, begging him to leap across the chasm and incinerate whoever threw that spear. He had the speed. He could cross the gorge in a fraction of a second.
But his hyper-analytical mind ruthlessly overrode his instincts. He extended his Dark Fey empathy across the ravine, and what he felt made his blood run cold.
It wasn't just one attacker. He felt a dozen erratic, disciplined heartbeats crouching in the canopy above Jasper. He heard the faint, terrifying creak of heavy bowstrings being drawn back, aimed directly at the riverbank.
It's a trap, Aleksander realized instantly. A hunter's snare. They pinned the bait to draw out the rest of the pack.
"Alex, we have to get him!" Clarke hissed frantically, trying to peek over the log. "We have to go back—"
"No," Aleksander ordered, grabbing her shoulder and forcing her down. His voice was a harsh, completely unsympathetic whisper. "We stay exactly where we are."
"He's dying!" Monty cried, tears streaking his face.
"He's alive," Aleksander corrected coldly. His eyes darted to Jasper's chest, calculating the brutal physics of the wound. "But the spear is lodged deep in the heartwood of that oak. If I cross that river and try to pull him down, the sheer force required will rip his chest cavity open. He'll bleed out in less than thirty seconds."
Aleksander looked at Clarke, his gaze entirely devoid of panic, forcing her to see the brutal reality of the board. To save Jasper, Aleksander would need to channel a massive amount of Phoenix fire to seal the wound the exact second he pulled the spear out. Doing that would take total focus. It would leave him completely exposed to a dozen archers.
More importantly, it would leave Clarke exposed.
"They aren't just watching him, Clarke.
They're watching us," Aleksander stated, his tone absolute. "There are at least a dozen hostiles in those trees with drawn weapons. If I cross that gorge, there is no one on this side of the river to protect you, Octavia, or Monty. If they flank us while I'm playing medic, you all die."
Finn stared at him, breathing heavily. "So we just leave him?!"
"We fall back," Aleksander commanded, his eyes already scanning the dense brush behind them for an exit route. "They want us to rush out there. We don't give them the satisfaction. We retreat, regroup at the dropship, and return with Bellamy's guns. Moving right now gets Jasper—and all of you—killed. Move."